Random Stitches

SAFF

2011-11-17T21:54:00.012-05:00

The stars aligned in October, and I was able to hitch a ride with a friend to SAFF in Asheville, NC.

I was sadly restrained in my purchases. I wanted to BUY IT ALL! ALL THE THINGS!

Here is what I did buy:

I got a braid of beautiful fiber from KnittyAndColor.

I also got 2 skeins of yarn from kitchen sink dyeworks (sadly going out of business).

a bag of fluff from Moonwood farms

a felting kit for a pumpkin

some natural wool, some acerbitas merino, some yak/merino fibers from LunaBudKnits

2 skeins of sock yarn from UrbanGypZ

some patterns

a SAFF tote bag

some bunny fluff

a sheepy pin and a lamb button

I had a great time. I'd love to go back. My friend phobbs to me to the Biltmore, and we ate at Cedric's Tavern. Have the fish and chips. And the chenin blanc limited release. NOM

The leaves were fantastic. We don't have many around us here. They won the leaf lotto in Asheville. :D

I miss the 90s

2011-11-03T19:04:00.002-05:00

The 90s seemed to be a Wonka-lika wonderland filled with hope, goodness, and prosperity for most folks I knew. I was a kid with zero responsibilities or bills, but I remember the 90s being a time of plenty for the folks around me. The innernet was new and bubbly. (Thanks for that btw Mr. Gore!)

Even the early 2000s shaped back up after 2001 and were ok. I was in college with scholarship money to burn. I had hope. I had a FUTURE! I was going to change the world.

Yeah, 6 years down the road, and I find myself fresh out of all of those things: scholarship money, hope, the desire to change the world.

Now I'm jaded. I'm cynical to the point of being a severe pessimist. I didn't change the world. My degree didn't help me get a good paying job. The future just looks like more bills, more work, and even less money day after day.

At work, things are terrible. Our lab just had to cut hours by 50%. Yeah. Hearing that was GREAT!

So that explains my negative nelly attitude in this post. But in general, I'm really tired of the economy, unemployment, elected officials, protests, paying bills, being responsible, be a grown-up. It would seem that I'm primed for a job in our government. Badaboom-ching!

Anway. I just miss when things were bright and wonderful. Where's that blue bird that once sang to me from my shoulder? It feels like the glass isn't half empty or half full; it seems like the glass is shattered on the floor. Today, I feel every inch a member of my jaded generation.

At least knitting still holds true. I can always trust my needles to see me through. If I move them in the same way, time and again- if I work really hard, I'll come out with something useful, functional, and possibly beautiful. Knitting is the only place in my life that I feel that way any more. I once thought that if I worked hard enough that it would make me happy. That I would feel like my actions meant something. I've learned time and again this year that it isn't true. It doesn't matter how hard you work when education is last on everyone's balance sheets.

So here's to making your own happy. To finding that silver lining even if you have to scrape through 10 layers of crap to get to it. In this month of gratitude and thankfulness, I am still happy that I am mostly employed. But I can be bitter and thankful all at the same time, right?

I'll pack up my pity party now and head on back to knitting. I just felt the need to vent that out there. It lightens the load on my shoulders. Feels like the whole world is up there these days. :D

And thanks for the love about my successes at the fair. It means a lot. :)

Winning

2011-10-25T14:53:00.011-05:00

In the spirit of Charlie Sheen, I titled this blog post "winning" based on my performance at the Ga. National Fair.

That's right kids, I cleaned up at the fair. My mama taught me to be humble and not to brag, but I can't help it. I'm so proud of these accomplishments I could burst.
I went back to my post (on a limb) and copied the content below.

1 skein of handspun, beaded supercoils- first place

1 handspun crochet scarf - Queen Anne's Lace Scarf - first place

plain roll brim- 3rd place (the first place winner had a beautifully spun.knit snood that was lace. SOO honored to be 3rd after that work. (the hat is pictured above on that foam head)

1 felted singles shawl - Citron -third place

1 handspun shawl- The Age of Brass and Steam - honorable mention (the first place ribbon went to a beautiful lace pi shawl)

3 handspun hats -Fairy Lights didn't place

button tab hat- honorable mention.

I have 1 crochet monster (the one with 3 eyes from an earlier post) - first place with an award of excellence

1 knit shawl - first place with an award of excellence

1 cabled hat second place
1 knit monster (Maddox the monster by Danger Crafts)- first place and an award of excellence.

So for my first year, I think I made out like a bandit! Only 1 thing, ironically the 1 thing MADE for the fair, didn't place or get a ribbon of any kind. I nearly tore boyfriend's arm off as we walked around the convention hall looking for my spoils. When I found more than 1 blue ribbon on my stuff, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

And yes, I'm already plotting for next year.

Netflix and Dump Trucks

2011-09-19T12:54:00.003-05:00

So I use this blog as a dumping ground for rants quite frequently in between the posts about my crafting. Today is another such day. Feel free to skip it. I understand.

*****************************************************************************
Dear Netflix,
I was 1 of your 25 million customers who didn't actually care that you decided to raise prices a big 60%. I don't have cable television, so I use your streaming and DVD delivery in the place of that expense. I thought it was still a better deal than a hundred dollar cable bill. I was diehard and sticking by your side.

Notice the past tense verbs? I'm an English teacher, so I used them on purpose. It wasn't a slip in verb tense.

No, it was purposeful because you have stepped in it with me this time. Splitting up the services so that I now have to have 2 bills to pay instead of 1, 2 log ins to remember instead of 1, and 2 new, unconnected websites to learn to navigate instead of one. Thanks. I really did think the all in one method was way too streamlined and modern. It was way too user-friendly. You are right. What the world needs now is 2 totally unconnected sites to order DVDs and streaming from. You are so ahead of the game there splitting things up and making them 100% separate. Yeah.
Wait.
Um.
No.
That is stupid. In a world where my phone can do anything my computer can do and my life insurance can be bundled with my house and car insurance, what the hell makes you think that splitting things up is a good idea? HELLO? Have you seen the Progressive "bundler" commercials? That is the future kids. Not the 1 site=1 purpose deal. Even clothing sites are now "bundled" so that you can shop all of the brands owned by a company by clicking tabs in the website. What's wrong with your management/planning team?

I know, I get that mail is expensive. I get that DVDs cost money to buy, keep in good condition, store, and redistribute. I get that. That's why I wasn't mad about you jacking my price up so high. I understand that you gotta feed your multimillion dollar bank accounts. I'm ok with you making money off of me by providing me with a service. I get that's what I'm paying you for. But I also expect I'm paying for leadership in a company I once respected and liked. I don't see that happening right now.

What I see happening is a company growing too big for it's britches to put it Southern-ly. You managed to become the "600 ton gorilla" that Wal-mart is and you shut down Movie Gallery and have Blockbuster on the ropes. You revolutionized how I get my movie content. You made my life simpler, easier, more entertained. Yes, you won the "badass idea/concept" of the year again and again. Americans welcomed you into their homes and their pockets happily. Until this year.

This year, you seem to have lost your damn mind. First, you wanted to jack rates up. How's that working out for you? Now, you're trying to push the market in the way you want it to move. You are probably right, Netflix guys. DVDs are probably going the way of the dodo and vinyl records. But you forgot that your market if full of red-blooded Americans. We don't do what we're told to do. In fact, when you tell us to do something, we often rear up against that and do the thing you tell us not to do. It's how we roll. It's part of the American DNA strand. Telling us that DVDs are the way of the past and that we should let it go (by making us have to go to another place to get them) isn't going to go over much better than your crazy price hike.

In fact, I'm one of those red-blooded Americans who is now pissed off and thinking of dropping you. I stuck by you through the price increase because I valued your product, but now you've gone and ruined that product for me. I know what your little move of splitting the company up is all about. You are either going to sell off the DVD side or just kill it quietly when you think I'm busy watching Mad Men on your streaming site. You see, Netflix doodes, you've broken the thing that kept you in business: consumer confidence in your product/business. I no longer trust you with my money. You're liable to use that money to do something else stupid that affects me as a consumer.

Since I can't trust you any more, I feel like our relationship is going to end soon. I may keep my account with your Qwikster branch, but I'll probably give Hulu.com my money for streaming. Or Amazon. Or someone else who hasn't gotten too big for their britches yet.

I hope this gives you something to think about while you ride that elevator to the ground floor of stupid and stock prices.

No love.
Me

*************************************************************************
I'm also very tired of dump trucks in my city. We're growing (thankfully) and roads are being fixed and developments are going up to house people we think are moving to our city. With all of this going on, my city is crawling with dump trucks. I hate them all. 1-the drivers are all jerks who drive as though they are in a tank in some foreign country where other people on the road don't matter. 2-the trucks spit gravel etc. from themselves and kick it up off the road and at my car. I'm tired of the sound of gravel pinging off my 2 year old car. Yes, I keep about 3 school buses back, but they like to cut you off in traffic on the highway, turn in front of you, etc. etc. I'll be so happy when all this construction is over and the volume of dump trucks on the roads goes back to something more normal. I saw 12 on my 10 minute ride to work this am.

On a Limb

2011-09-12T17:41:00.004-05:00

This year, I decided to finally do something I've been saying I'd get around to for years: enter the Perry Fair. I went through all the forms/booklets and did my research and made plans. I got things all together and knit up a few new items. I flipped through my handspun and pulled out an art piece.

And then I freaked out the night before everything was due to be turned in at the fairgrounds.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fairly confident person. I usually do things very well (and boy is she humble!). Something about this unnerved me though. I felt unprepared and ill informed.

I sucked it up and put on my big girl panties, and on last Friday, I took the trip to Perry with my mama (for moral support) and turned it all in.

So far, I've entered 7 items.
1 skein of handspun, beaded supercoils
1 handspun crochet scarf - Queen Anne's Lace Scarf
1 felted singles shawl - Citron
1 handspun shawl- The Age of Brass and Steam
3 handspun hats -Fairy Lights, plain roll brim, button tab hat
This is fairy lights.

Those were all for the spinning/weaving competition. I hope I place at least 1 item. I'm really hanging my hopes on that crazy handspun art yarn of mine. I'll probably pout if it doesn't get some nod. :P

This next weekend will see me back at Perry for the last turn in of items. These will be made from commercial yarns. I have 1 crochet monster (the one with 3 eyes from an earlier post), 1 knit shawl, 1 cabled hat, and that might be the extent of it. I'd like to enter more stuff, but I don't want to put too much out there and wind up falling on my face with ALL of them. :P

Look for me in October with a notebook and a critical eye at the fairgrounds checking out what placed in my classes/divisions. I entered at novice/apprentice in all of them since it was my first year ever.

Anyone else got fair fever?

Spotty at best

2011-09-06T18:31:00.008-05:00

I know. I know. I'm the world's WORST blogger. I could never do this for a living because I forget I even have a blog most of the time. The real issue is also pictures. I take junky pics of my knitting, so I hate to show it unless it's actually a nice photo.

Also, life has had a way of falling apart this year. I feel like my Grandma sometimes because I think, "If it's not one thing, it's another!" My job is weird right now, and boy's job is up in the air most of the time since he went to contract work. We are learning to cope with being less than secure in our futures. We're learning to roll with the punches you might say. We've also had lots of changes in our personal lives as friends move away, drift away, or enter into our lives.

Along with these changes come changes in the lives of our friends as well. At least 2 people I know are expecting little strangers. Since I'm all about crafty, you know I couldn't let that news just fall on idle hands. I only know the gender of the first baby, so I went about flicking through the WHOLE web looking for cute baby knits/projects. I made a gazillion of them too. I have a whole little basket of handmade and semi handmade gifts for her and bebe boy. If this baby turns out to be a girl, I will have a stroke.

First up: Bibs from old t-shirts- all of these came from the Goodwill here. I got the tutorial off of pinterest.com. That site is like Crack!

I cranked those out after a day spent sewing with a new friend. I used flannel for the backs of all but the button-up one. So cute and easy!

Next: Lion toy that didn't turn out as planned. This toy is on my remake list, but the first one is now a ferret toy. It was ok, but I thought the pattern was more of an oblong shape. It was NOT. I should have googled up the pattern and just downloaded it. Another find through pinterest. I followed a tutorial from Lil Blue Boo for how to make it, but I looked at a blog for the inspiration.

Breaking News: In the middle of this blog post, guess what boy ims to tell me? The friend I made all this for, yeah- she's having a ....

you guessed it!

girl!

DANGIT!

Takes the wind out of your sails to find something like that out the day after you have all of the handmade projects completed and beautifully arranged in the gift basket.

To finish this blogfail:

A semi-handmade onesie-

And a handknit monster that will have to get a bow and a skirt:

I also knit a pebble vest and crocheted up a little cardigan. I guess it's back to the drawing board. The only positive thing here: a coworker is preggers too. She had better have a little dude! Otherwise, I have a lot of random baby stuff made for a boy I don't even know. :D

See what I mean by rolling with the punches?

Ahhh! Real Monsters

2011-04-06T21:56:00.008-05:00

Soo, I've been on a monster making binge. I saw the fellas at Who Doo's booth at the Doo Nanny, and all I can think about making more monsters. I went right out and bought the one I loved the best (sidekick). Then I waited on pins and needles for him to get here today. Love doesn't really cover it. That little guy is fantastic. I rilly needed him. See how cute he is?

Inspired by this fella, I got my hook out and went to town. I used all found stuff in my craft room to whip these two fellas up. I was thinking the bigger one needs a pair of mini-tighty whities. I don't know how I'm going to manage that.

I made these fellows in a couple of days while I watched Bones on Netflix. I recycled most of it too. The jeans for the short one from a pair of my old ones. All of the buttons came from my collection. The yarn is cotton and something I found in a bag of yarn from a thrift store. I love them.

Hold on to your seats

2011-03-30T13:19:00.005-05:00

As promised, here is a parade of FOs. Please forgive the terrible quality of the photos- cloudy day, no model, and lack of photo editing. :) Also, hats look goofy on bear heads.

Sockhead hat from BohoKnits in MadTosh sockyarn in colorway Twain. This is the most recent of the knits to fly off of my needles. It is the second of three sockheads I'm knitting *love the pattern!

Sockhead the second - I want candy Merino.Tensel from Yarn Pirate. And now, a random assortment of projects that I cannot remember when I finished. I'm guessing these were all knit in 2010, but I could be wrong. It was really a year of shawls. I'm still on the shawl crack. I just took a month or so to knit hats.

This is the boneyard shawl by westknits knit out of a mustard colored cotton I got in a swap. The color is wonky here because of the clouds.

This is the honey cowl from MadTosh (kinda gotta thing for them *swoon* ) knit in some purple yarn I got when the Opelika yarn shop closed. I kind of made it into a mobius cowl. Of course it was on purpose, why would you ask that? lol [edited to fix the link and the pattern attribute...doh!]

This is a close up of a shawl I knit out of some more handspun. There are many of these knocking around the house.car.closet right now. :D

This is one of my faves. I knit it out of more handspun (loving the handspun this last year). It started as a scarf, but I ran out of yarn, so I just sewed the ends to make an infinity scarf, but it will also fit over me like a caplet. I knit 2 more of these for friends right after this, but I don't remember getting pics of the. Oops.

This is my first ever project out of Socks that Rock lightweight. The color is moss agate. The pattern is Stitch DC Infinity Scarf. I knit this at NWP in Orlando last Nov. Loved the project. It knit up pretty too. :D Ok. I think that is enough fiber in your diet for today. Whew. I have a few more in my flickr stream if you want to check them out. Knitters can go to my Rav page for more knitterly details. :D

Lack of Knitting Content

2011-03-30T11:49:00.001-05:00

On a whim, I flipped back through the last year or so of posts, and man, I haven't posted any actual knitting on here in AGES! We're gonna have to fix that. Keep your eyes peeled today.tomorrow for actual knitting content! :D

Things I Know

2011-03-28T13:11:00.004-05:00

This "morning", I rolled out of bed at 1pm before D woke up, and I decided to make him biscuits. He had purchased the sausage and the buttermilk for me last week, but I never got around to doing it. More important things to do like knitting and spinning got in the way. But not this morning. This morning, I decided to do it. And I did. But sitting here just now, enjoying the spoils of my labor, I started thinking about blogging them. That's when it hit me: I have no idea how much of each thing you need for these. I have no idea. I know what it looks like when it's right, but I couldn't tell you a measurement to save my life. I just know. And it was this train of thought that brought me here today. What do we know just because we grew up where we did? I know how to make those biscuits because I saw my mama make them 1000000000000000 times in my life time.

I know that you get a stainless mixing bowl, heap self-rising flour in the center until there is a little mountain, stick your finger into the top of the mountain to make a well (shorter the mountain, wider the well), and then pour veg oil in until it fills the well and runs around the side just enough. Then you add enough buttermilk to make it dough (it took half a quart today). That's all there is to it. Oh, and mix it with your hands no matter how icky it feels. Something about using a regular spoon messes with them.

Mama once made these to make extra money and sold them two to a wax paper envelope at her work. She mixed in bacon chunks or sausage crumbles along with shredded cheese. I like the sausage ones best, so that's what I mixed in this morning. I did have to call and ask Mama what temp to bake them at, but that is a tiny detail that always gets lost. Maybe I really do remember, but I want to talk to Mama when I make them. I'm not sure, but it is the one thing I can never remember.

So this morning, I toast to your health with a biscuit that I just know how to make because. I can't remember her standing me in a chair and telling me the steps, but somehow, I got it all the same. I want to say these are her grandmama's biscuits too, so I'm keeping the tradition of just knowing stuff alive. What do you just know?

Quilting to heal

2011-03-21T15:33:00.002-05:00

Funnily enough, this post came today when I am thinking of crafting for family after T's death. Dad got me a bunch of T's cowboy/flannel shirts, and I was planning to make Mema and Dad a quilt from them. Now I have new inspiration after the post on WhipUp. I was only going to use fabric from the back cut into squares, but now I wonder what it would look like if I used the front with the pearl buttons or the back shoulders with the cowboy details and piping. I hope that my little crafty project can bring me some comfort and that the finished projects can bring comfort to a family who lost before they were ready.

Source

Little Things

2011-03-14T19:03:00.004-05:00

Image Souce

Thursday before last, the world went sideways for us at the Random Stitches house. We got an early morning call that D's uncle had been beaten by some unknown party and didn't look like he was going to make it. I had to go on in to work before any more details could come to light, but I was really upset. D's uncle (T) was one of the sweetest men I've ever met, and I cried all the way to work trying to figure out what in the world could have made someone mad enough to beat him to death. I managed to zombie through my day since I only had to suck it up and teach 2 classes as the other 2 were (thankfully) testing. We went straight down to the hometown that night to be there when everything started the next day, but T was already gone, and the story was known by this point.

The facts as known at this point: T tried to stop an argument between an 18 yo neighbor boy and his mother (the boy was on the attacking side in this whole drama). Words were exchanged, the boy tried to push T, and T wrapped him up in a bear hug. The two fell to the ground, and T being a late middle age man was not the first to regain his feet. Mr. 18 yo was. Mr. 18 went to kicking on T's face and head, and that's that.

T was brain dead at the hospital, and some of his organs were harvested for donation. I hope that some good comes from this horrible tragedy, and someone lives, sees, breathes better after T's ultimate good deed.

So that was Thursday.

Friday dawned, and because T lived in a poor neighborhood/town, the family had to clean out the house as soon as they could. D and his family went down there to try and get things boxed to move to a storage shed until things settle down. When they went through his truck on Saturday, they found a number of things stashed in the console of the truck. Now to understand this next bit, follow me back a year or two.

I have travelled a lot in the past few years for part of my job, and on one of these random trips across the country, I sent T a postcard. When I saw him again, he was as proud as a new papa about that postcard. Since he liked it, I started sending him a postcard from all of the little trips I would take on the weekends and on business. I loved sending him a card because I knew he would like it.

Flash back to the present and the clean out of the truck.

In the console, along with pictures of D's dad and step mom, D's Mema, and D was the stack of postcards I'd sent from all over the place. He kept them in his truck, right next to him, so that he could keep them safe and so that nothing would happen to them. These were the things he cared most about in life. A few faded pictures and some dog eared postcards.

When I sent those cards, I just sent them to make him smile. I thought he would like them enough to read them, but I never had any idea what they would mean to him. I can't tell this story without crying each time. There is a Jack Johnson song that has lyrics that now make me cry:

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
no song that I could sing
but I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
like a shoebox of photographs,
with sepia tone loving,
love is the answer
at least for most of the questions in my heart,
like why are we here? and where do we go?
and how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
and sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together.

*****

The first lines now make me bawl like a baby. His memorial service was last Saturday, and I counted everything in the church I could see to try and keep myself from crying. The preacher didn't know T, but I was preaching the eulogy in my own head. I keep thinking about those post cards now. They play on my mind all day and night. Those simple little cards sent with little thought or effort meant more to him than I ever knew. It just brought me back to the awe that I have for simple things. Doing simple, good things for people and the impact that those actions could have makes me think about the life I live every day. Mema hot on to me last year at Thanksgiving because I was sending T postcards and not her. I do not regret a single one I've sent now. I'm so happy I sent those to T because they meant so much to him.

*************

So the whole point of this blog post is to think about those small things we could do for people every day that take little time, effort, or money to do. I challenge you and me to do them. Hold the door. Call your grandma. Wave at the strange fellow on the sidewalk. Make someone's day.

Local ... Love ... Hate

2011-02-16T12:50:00.000-05:00

Local
I love local. I love art. I love pottery. I love local art and local pottery. Kelly McKernan is my favorite local artist, and she linked into a giveaway by a local blogger of a local pottery artist. How much more awesome does that get?!! [I'm using local in a wide sense as all the ladies come from ATL].

PS- I own almost all of KM's prints on her website, an original by her, and send out her postcards through PostCrossing.com. I loff her lots. I also go to ATL when I can to see her openings or shows she's featured in. LOFF!

Love
I hope all of you out there in blogoworldo had a great Valentine's Day. I did. My honey rocked out my day (also our anniv.). I've got pics taken, but they are still on the cam at home. Nothing dirty- promise. Just unbelievably sweet. :D I'm still smiling about it.

Hate
Joann's Fabric and Craft is on my *hit list. D's boss fired him 3 days before Christmas this year for being tired of the unrealistic expectations and telling him they were screwy. D left that day an hour and a half early after letting all of the managers there know. His boss called an hour later and asked him to bring the keys back to the store because he was fired. For leaving early. The day after he'd pulled an 11 hour shift because the boss couldn't make it to work for personal reasons. Jacked up much?!

So that is reason #1.

Reason the second: Now D is trying to make an unemployment claim. Joann's Fabric and Craft is fighting him on it. They are saying that he "quit" and that he used profanity. 1: he didn't quit. He told his boss he was going to quit if he didn't stop getting harassed. 2: Profanity isn't a fireable offense. It's a verbal warning. He got no kind of warning at all, written or verbal.

So please dear friends and readers, take your crafting dollars to Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or Hancock's. Don't support a store that doesn't care about it's employees. D was fired unfairly and had been being harassed constantly by his boss (who wasn't doing HIS own job) and his district manager. It's a crappy place that treats its employees like crap and has high prices for its own crappy merch. I haven't been back in the store since before Christmas, and I have zero plans for going ever again. I refuse to spend my money in such a place.

Busy

2011-01-24T13:14:00.003-05:00

I've been keeping my hands busy since the COLD OF DOOM set into GA. I've been so busy in fact, that I have not taken any pictures of what's being going on. I've been knitting like a fiend. I have 2 new shawls hot off the needles. One has been hanging out since sometime before last Thanksgiving (WHOA), and the other was cast on and off in the span of a week. I've been very much knitting handspun too. Both projects were from my own- I'm so chuffed. [What does chuffed mean? Where did it come from? I blame Lime n Violet for my usage of it.]

This is the first one to be finished - Citron. I'm wearing it elegantly around my shoulders with a large pin holding it in place.

I also made something of a caplet/infinity scarf/biggass cowl using this pattern [Rav link]. I used stripey handspun, and it is really kinda cute. I found that it wasn't going to be long enough for a full on scarf, so I sewed the ends together to make it a circley thing.

I've also been keeping my eyes and ears busy while I've had the needles clicking. This is what I've been watching on NetFlix. It's really funny to me that his movies/shows still work in the current time. I'm going to profane the name and say he may be as timeless as Shakespeare. :D I think AH is terribly funny. Funnier than most people/shows are even today. It's nice to watch a very different breed of TV. Smart TV even.

I've also stopped watching some TV. I love the original CSI and the NY spinoff. But I heard Stella was leaving NY, so I can't really bring myself to watch it without her. I hear Catherine is also leaving CSI, so I'm not excited about it. I don't know if I'll keep watching if they keep going without her. I'm still loving NCIS and NCIS:LA. Gibbs and LL are both my homeboys. I also like H5-O and Mike and Molly. I'm a little mad because I can't really watch Mike and Molly any more. They were letting the episodes hit the website for viewing but stopped after I got hooked. No show is good enough for me to have a cable bill each month!

I find I have a large span of time in the middle of my work day now that has no strings attached to it. I've been filling it with knitting to keep me sane on the job. I'm not really on the clock, so I dare anyone to tell me I shouldn't. The only problem this presents is that it requires me to have a project on the needles. I cast my last one off last night and didn't have the time to start a new one. Bummer. That is how I find myself here today, telling the world about my dilemma. Any suggestions from the unnamed They about what to knit next? It needs to be something passingly simple since I'm doing it in a distracted environment, and I don't want to stress myself with charts and crazy directions.

Well, it's off to the saltmines soon. I'll leave you here until next time when I shall portray another little playlette to entertain you.

Holy Holiday Crafting, Batman!

2010-12-13T18:06:00.002-05:00

Obviously, I've been quiet. I've been working nearly 12 hours each day, so I'm a little more than beat. Now my quarter is over, and it's on! I've go so much craft energy going it's scary (read: I-don't-want-to-clean-my-house-avoidance-energy). Here's a round up of the humteen million things I WANT to make in the nearly month break before I have to go back to working 12 hours a day again. Whew!

What's on the needles:
A pair of purple slipper/socks for a friend who has a new apt. of her very own.

Knitting has just been TOO SLOW for my ADHD brain this month.

Sewing:
I've made some fleece wrap things that I ripped off of a store bought article and have some fleece left over. I'm feeling these mittens with the leftovers. I don't love the elastic on the outside bit, but I'll figger' something out.

I just found these and LOVE them. I think my mom would like one and maybe me too. :D

I also need new stockings as I made my first set when I was a newbie...they hold almost NOTHING and stretch like I do...not at all! These look like winners!

I do NOT need to make this pillow, but I want to all the same.

I'm in the process of making this bear. I have gotten so far as to buy fabric. And print the pattern. And cut the pieces. That's it. :P I need a new snuggle bear because it's butt cold outside here, and my regular fella is just too old to snuggle without fear of taking the lovin' too far and squishing out some stuffin'. I tend to waller (as Mama says) in the night.

I'm thinking I should leave it at that. Whew. That's a lot. If I manage even two of those, I'll be amazed! :p

Wonderment

2010-10-28T21:07:00.005-05:00

I read craft blogs all the time all across the web. I read crafters, quilters, and momsters. They all seem to have so much more "life" than I do and so many more words too. I found a journal I started five years ago. I read through it and boggled that I had so many words then. I wonder what has happened to all of those words. Maybe it is like John Mayer says. Maybe my words have been wrapped up in the pictures I take where ever I go.

I have managed to create 1 skirt that fits me from two old tshirts with a few more in the works. I used the reinvention skirt pattern generously given to me to plus size test from MayaMade. I'm sad to report that my hips are too wide for the use of the 1 shirt method so far. I even went to a 3x and tried (and failed) to make it work. The four pannel works just ducky, but I want to have it work with the 2 pannels too.

I'll leave you with a picture of my work "costume" that I wore today since we only go through Thursdays. I got many comments and a few odd looks as I wore it out to a fast food place later in the night to eat wings. My students didn't seem to notice that I had dressed up-guess they all think I look this way daily. :P

It gets better

2010-10-08T12:04:00.003-05:00

With all of the heartbreaking news of teens around this country killing themselves because they are struggling with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender queer, or just plain different, I cannot stay quite any longer. I keep reading stories from others, watching youtube videos, and talking to friends who have gone through similar struggles. I want to add my voice to the chorus that is ringing out: It gets better.

I hated high school, and high school hated me. I was always confused. On top of being upset about crap life at home, I had to deal with being the fat kid at school too. Bullies who torment GLBT kids torment fatties too. Just a fact of life. Luckily, being a fat kid means you can get shoved inside of lockers. You don't get as much physical abuse because you're so damn big, but the abuse still comes. Teenagers are the meanest form of human you can find. They are freaked out because their bodies are changing, their lives are changing, and they are becoming something new. So to protect themselves from the scarrrry changes, they lash out. People who are different catch that nutjob wrath.

But it gets better. It gets SO much better.

I lived through high school and college. I thought very strongly about not living at all during those years. I wanted to die and thought about how to die again and again. I was just so unhappy, and I couldn't see the end of the pain. I was too chicken to ever actually go through with any of the elaborate plans I made walking down the hallways- If I take X amount of Y, what would happen? I lived through it. I was miserable. I thought death would be better than the hell of being a fat, confused teenager.

But it wasn't. If you die in high school, you never really live real life. High school is a terrible social experiment gone wrong. It's not real life. Those assholes who make fun of you today will be the same assholes stuck in your home town after you've graduated and gotten a real life.

Bullies will always remember high school as the best days of their lives. You won't. You'll go to college (do go- you'll never be the same after it), get a degree or two, and get a real life with real friends. That's when it gets better. As soon as I was out of my high school, I felt free. Those idiots who made fun of me, excluded me from their parties, and made me feel less than human are all trapped in their own lives. None of them are as happy as I am. None of them have made it more than 30 miles outside of our hometown since they've graduated.

I've been to a foreign country to help build houses, I've travelled around this country with the National Writing Project, I've become what I always said I would. They have not. Those bullies will always wish they had what you'll grow up to have if you can just live through high school and college. It sounds like a Hallmark card, but it is so very true.

I don't know if this will reach the eyes of anyone who needs this message, but I want to put it out there- just in case. It gets better. These are some of the darkest days you'll have to live through. The best revenge on those idiots who tell you that your life isn't worth living is to live the hell out of your life- no matter how messed up you feel now. You take that life you have, and you use it as a weapon against ignorance.

Wake up every day ready to fight those jocks who slam into you in the hallway by getting a full ride at a great school based on your grades alone. When they blow their knees, and they will, you will still have your scholarship. Live the hell out of your life. Giving in to that noise and bullshit gives them power. Live your life like a punch in the face. Slap them with every breath you take.

It gets better, but you have to stick around to see it. I promise it will be worth it, just wait for it.

***PS- I haven't forgotten the giveaway winners, but I'm broke as a joke right now and have been since half of my job was eliminated. Once I have the funds to ship, I'll get the stuff out to you. :D

About to burst

2010-08-19T15:24:00.000-05:00

I have a secret- I'm throwing D a surprise birthday party tonight, and if I don't tell someone, I might just die! We have lots of things planned for him, and his mom is even coming up from Ame for the event. I also hear that one of our drag friends plans a raunchy lapdance for the birthday boy! :D I'm not sure if D's ever had a birthday party before because he was a painfully shy kid, so I'm about to die of keep this to myself. So please, could you keep it to yourself until about 7pm tonight? Thanks. I just knew you'd understand.
Whew!

If you can't say something nice, blog about nothing important

2010-06-04T11:00:00.003-05:00

It's the end of the quarter, and I'm feeling very prickly right now. So as Mama always said, I will say nothing at all about those things and go to a totatlly different subject. ME! I stole this from the weiner of the prize drawing once I realized her link was a blog click. She stole it from someone named David.

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1. What curse word do you use the most? F*ck

2. Do you own an iPod? No.

3. What person on your flist do you talk to the most? Aponi

4. What time is your alarm clock set to? 5:30am, but I snoooooze it until around 6:15ish.

5. Do you still remember the first person you kissed? Yes. His name was Nick and we went to elementary school together. He was my first boyfriend. We went to the school dance together. He gave me a carnation. It was either him or Dereck who kissed me after I chased him up the climbing wall at the same elementary school. Can't remember which came first.

6. Do you remember where you were on 9/11/01? I was a senior in high school. We were in Mr. Mitchell's art class for first block. Someone came in and told us about it, and he actually let us turn the tv on. While we watched, the second plane hit. We didn't realize or understand that it was REALLY happening live. We continued to watch through second block, Mrs. Goat (not her real name, but she raised goats) and A&P. It was surreal. My Papa told me about Pearl Harbor and where he'd been when I got home that night. Also about where he'd been when Kennedy was shot.

7. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture? Take take take. I look like hell in photos. And fat. No photos of me.

8. What was the last movie you watched? At the movies: Alice in Wonderland. It was total crap. HATED IT. But I felt like I got my money out of it since I only paid $1.50 to see it at the cheap seats. At home: Jurassic Park - one of out all time favorites. LOVE IT.

9. Do any of your friends have children? One of them, and he's a cool little. The ones who I am no longer in contact with from college (mostly cause they found a new man and he was their new religion) have started making babies too. It is strange to me to see party girls and morons with littles. Scary.

10. Has anyone ever called you lazy? Yes. It was my mother's greatest insult. To be called lazy was to be the bane of the world.

11. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep? Sometimes I have to take a Benedryl to sleep if I'm really keyed up and the next day is really important. Or Nyquil when I'm sick.

12. What CD is currently in your CD player? Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales

13. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? If I'm drinking it, choc. If it's on cereal, regular.

14. Has anyone told you a secret this week? Yes, actually.

15. When was the last time you had Starbucks? Um...a month or so ago when I got a vanilla cupcake from the Barnes and Noble 'bucks. I'm not into coffee. Cupcakes are gooood tho.

16. Can you whistle?Yes, both the normal way and also through my teeth.

17. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?Eyes.

18. What are you looking forward to? The end of next Monday. I will have turned my grades in and have washed my hands of this quarter. Then I'll be off for a month of writing in Ame and I'll be with my people and happy. I may even want to still teach after that- right now- not so much.

19. Did you watch cartoons as a child? Yes. I liked Rocco's Modern Life. I hated Ren and Stimpy. I liked Rugrats before Dill was born.

20. Do you own any band t-shirts? Yes. I have some Guster t-shirts.

21. What will you be doing in one hour? Showering and getting ready to go buy foods.

22. Is anyone in love with you? Yes, or at least I think he is.

23. What was the last song you heard? dunno- but I have a Jack Johnson song stuck in my head...does that count?

24. Last time you cried? Yesterday. Like I said. The end of the quarter is an ugly time.

25. Are you on a desktop computer or a laptop? Desktop. But I want one of those laptop babies- the little net book.

26. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos? Yes. I want to get a little sparrow on the inside of each ankle as a tribute to my Papa. He always put on his socks wrong- they had the little Izod alligators on them, and he would put the socks on with those facing inside. Always. I've wanted a sparrow since I saw a really cute one on a student, and I've wanted to do a tribute to a family member via tattoo (or I'd never get another one) like Amy from Spunky Eclectic. This would be killing 2 birds with 2 bird tattoos!

27. What’s the weather like? Dunno. Still in my pjs. Not wanting to know either. If I had to guess, really friggin' hot. Like prolly already 90+ F.

28. Would you ever date a girl/guy covered in tattoos? Oh yes. I would have done it as a teen to scare my parents too. I would sooo date somone tatted up. D is not tatted at all though. :(

29. What did you do before this? Make 2 grilled cheeze sammiches.

30. When is the last time you slept on the floor? The last time I visited my Mama. I started out on a nice, elevated air mattress....I woke up on a flat mattress on the floor. Something went wrong obviously.

31. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? TONS. I need at least 8. I love it when I get 10. Sleep is one of my fave things to do in this life.

32. Do you eat breakfast daily?Yes. I wouldn’t get very far without it. But I forget sometimes and feel really mean before lunch.

33. Are your days fast-paced? Without question. I go from class to class, and I squeeze in tutoring between classes. I don't have an office, so I'm always on the run. I am coordinator of a database that holds over 1100 student accounts that I oversee in the middle of all of that. Whew. I got tired typing that.

34. What did you do last night? Cleaned my nasty bathroom (partly), got a mani-pedi with my work PediPosse (TM), watching a movie with D, played Farmville, spun a bit.

35. Do you use sarcasm?A lot. It's my native tongue.

36. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 27

37. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?Yep- I drive people nuts when I feel it is important. I’m slack when it doesn’t matter (like email, blog posting, facebooking). I am the person who changes signs in Walmark. And in the bathrooms at school! I even encourage my students to attack signs! hahahaha

38. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes. HATE it. I'm not a patient person- I don't wait well. That's what 6 Flags teaches you. The only ride I enjoy is the River one where you are in the round things and you bounce down the river. Not the one where you are in the water, but the one that is actually a ride.

She says it goes to 80, but these are the 38 she posted. Sooo, as she continues, I guess so shall I.

Squoze

2010-05-28T14:06:00.003-05:00

First things first- I have a new weiner: murfomurf. Come on down to give me your across the pond addy. That means that Rae will get your mug since she's on this side of the creek. :D The email is Scooby_dooby_doo_2002 aht yahoo daht com. [Usual disclaimer- replace the aht with @ and daht with . ]

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We went on Vacay with D's mom a few weekends ago to Chattanooga, TN. We had a good time and did most of the touristy things to do in the town in 3 days. I know right?

We went up on Thursday night after work so that we could wake up in TN on Friday to make our 10:30 aquarium tickets.

We got there early and since our hotel had a crappy breakfast, we were hungry. We found a little spot called the Blue Plate. It was awesome and had the best servers evar. We got this little hottie named David. He was a great server, got us great food fast, and gave us the DL on Chatty. He gave us tons o' places to eat, and I think we lucked out with him. More on him later.

They have a sea horse exhibit down stairs, but to get to the real show, you ride what could possibly the the world's LONGEST escalator. This was taken from the top.

It took ages to go all the way up. But the cool thing is that you go from the top to the bottom of the aquarium like following the water to the ocean. They had some wicked large catfish in a tank. There was a diver in there feeding while we were there, and the fish was as big or BIGGER than the huge man diver. UM NO. I would NOT be in that water. No way, no how.

We have been to the Atlanta aquarium, so we have seen a lot of these fish before, but they had the coolest otters EVAR! They were HUGE and very playful. The TN aquarium wins over ATL because they have a better otter viewing area. I got great shots of them.
Of course, we were also in the middle of about 1000808 school kids- we went right when schools were about to let out, so they were all on friggin' field trips! ACK.
This was in their butterfly garden.

After the aquarium, we went across the Walnut St. pedestrian bridge to explore the North Shore because hottie David said there was a good lunch place over there.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm terrified of bridges. I hate driving over them, hate walking over them. H.A.T.E. them. Like I freak out and have panic attacks on bridges. Soo...yeah. We WALKED across the pedestrian BRIDGE to the North Shore to explore. They walked; I crept. I also cried. I really d.o. n.o.t. do bridges. I finally got across the damn thing.

It was worth it I guess because we crossed to find a great little ice cream place called Clumpies. They make all their own ice cream. FAB! I had lemon cream, D had butter pecan, and Moms had....something? The best part about clumpies besides the homemade everything was a shirt I tried to get D to buy: it said simply, "Creamy." I thought it was funny. He thought it was inappropriate. That's why I thought it was funny, but anywho.

We walked around a little more, but we had to hoof it back across because we had tickets to ride the aquarium's River Gorge Explorer boaty thing. D and his Moms got all cracked out on the time and rushed us down to the dock (yeah, another bridge to get to the dock...ugh). They thought the ride started at 3pm. I knew it was 3:30 and kept asking if we could slow down or sit down. NO! WE HAVE TICKETS! So we finally get there and they realize what I've known all along: we're WAAY early. Of course, you know, it was my fault that we were early then. We did get to sit down in the shade finally on the dock and waited for the boat.

It pulled up and was like a yacht big to me. It was crazy fun to ride that boat. It goes up to like 55 mph on the water and comes to a complete stop in seconds and on a dime at that! We stopped for every boat, float, and barge in the river that day- many many splashes!
This is where I want to live when I grow up.

We cruised through the river gorge and it was really pretty. It was just nice to be out on the water after being off of it for so long. I grew up on Lake Oliver here in Col, but when I got to be a teen, it wasn't cool anymore. I can't tell you the last time I was on ANY river on a boat. Riding up top was really cool too.

That night we ate at the Market Tavern per David's suggestion from that am. It was 'lish! I had a bison burger (locally raised!) with cheese and they had chicken and fish- my burger was so good that after they ate their foods, they ordered another bison burger to share. :P This place was big on fresh, local, and fabulous. The burger bun was a roll from a local baker. Yum. They also had cupcakes from a local bakery: amaretto, strawberry, mocha, and red velvet. We got all but the mocha- we're not coffee ppl. The red velvet was so good that D and I split it at the table and had to order another one to take with us.

The next day, we had 3 attractions to hit: Ruby Falls, See Rock City, and the Incline Railway. It was a threefer pass, so we were set.

We hit Ruby early because it was Racin' at Ruby and we are NOT race fans. That started after lunch, so we wanted to be in and out before the race nuts got up the mountain. It was an interesting place. I would NEVER go again. It's a privately owned attraction, and I don't like how they keep the caves and falls. They take HUGE groups through the caverns with 1 tour guide for like 50 people. She can't keep an eye on them. You know if you touch the formations, they die. Folks kept leaning and touching stuff. I was going nutzo. And it's a half mile in to the falls....you get like 5 minutes at the falls before the lights go out. And then it's a half mile out at break neck speed. You could tell the whole time that it was a money machine and not a true attraction for the beauty of the formations. It felt like they were pimping the falls. I didn't like it at all.

There weren't even any bats in the caves. What's a cave without bats?

Since we had walked a billion miles before lunch, we went to the Incline Railway next. We got on at the top and rode down and back up. It was intense. That was one crazy train ride. The little speakers said that it had served to get expectant moms down the mountain to the hospital to give birth. I loved that.

We saved Rock City for last, and I'm really glad we did. After the obvious capitalism of Ruby Falls, Rock City was like an untended wild space for me. I loved it. That's where the title of this post comes from.

If you don't know about Rock City (how?), it's this crazy place full of paths and gardens in, around, and through huge rock formations. The thing I can remember the most about Rock City from my childhood is Fat Man's Squeeze. I'm officially a squoze fat person now. I got through the needle, but Fat Man's Squeeze was really squeezy. I got in there ok, but half way through, I couldn't go any farther....ruh roh. So I wiggled down to my knees and crawled the rest of the way out on my hands and knees. It was very ladylike I assure you. Ah hem.

I love the icon of the red barn with "See Rock City" painted on it. LOVE IT. I also love that Neil Gaimen made it a holy place. :D

I even walked on the swing along bridge. ACK. Had to keep telling myself, "it's not a bridge, only a weird path..not a bridge....not a freakin' bridge....not a bridge...just keep swimming swimming swimming..."

I don't know about seeing 7 states...but they say you can.

As it was the weekend of freakin' fears and bridges (also don't do heights):

Best place at Rock City:

And I should have taken a shot of the outlook I had to go out on to get this picture:

It was like a concrete slab poured on air with a rail sticking it to the side of the mountain. I couldn't do the standing up out there, so I kinda crawled out there and got on my belly to take that shot. Great picture- terrible experience taking it. I feel ill just talking about it. I should note that neither D nor his Moms would come out there with me. [Another note: D doesn't have multiple mothers. He just calls his mom "Moms" for whatever reason.]

When we went back down the mountain, we found a tunnel to go through on the way back to the hotel.

And we went barhopping. Best Long Island Ice Tea in TN.

Thanks for reading the longest post on planet earth! I took lots of cool photos. More of them can be found on my flickr. :D

Hidden

2010-05-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hideandsheep has hidden away! I haven't heard not a peep (sheep) out of this person! I'm giving Hideandsheep until next Tuesday to stop hiding and sheep up for the prize. After that, I'm gonna pull a new grand prize wiener.

Won

2010-05-04T20:20:00.003-05:00

Congrats to hideandsheep and RaenWa who both won! That's right. I pulled two names. I felt bad having only one winner (and even still felt bad after all of y'all put in, but I am not MADE of money!), so I'm diggin' in the stash to make up a second prize of Stitches goodies. I think I found something to go- a little ball of colorful Laines Du Nord Korall yarn (it says fancy on the back?)- it's soo cool. Each ply is a different color and it says that it's "100% Merino Fine Irrestringible" which sounds like a good thing. I got this at Stitches last year too. Notice that I'm not willing to part with the haul from this year yet- still too new. Like a new baby I guess- only mama can hold her! :D

So you two lucky ducks email me at Scooby_dooby_doo_2002 aht yahoo daht com. (Y'all are smart enough to know that aht should be subbed for @ and daht should be . Right? Right.

Sorry for all of the broken hearted out there. It's like the Audi commercial says, in all friendly competition, there is a winner....

** I LOVE that commercial. We saw it during the Olympics, and I thought we were gonna hork Dr. Pepper through our noses! hahahaha

Now for Freeness

2010-04-24T18:53:00.002-05:00

Since we can't all make it to the Stitches Show, I thought I would bring a little stitches home with me. I swiped things from all over the place. This is the racked up swag:

The prize includes:
The Eat.Sleep.Knit coffee cup from the Rav party with a pen, 4 mini skeins of yarn, and a coupon.
2 mission falls samples
a lion brand catalogue package (has a lion brand magnet- a $3.95 value!)
a plastic zippy change pouch from univeral yarns
a cha cha scarf pattern
a blue go knit pouch
a Hello my Rav name is buttonn
a Stitches South 2010 Bob and Peach button from Rav.
a sock pattern from Plymoth yarns (basketweave socks)
a cocoon scarf pattern in both knit and crochet *this was EVERYWHERE this year- weird
PLUS- 2 skeins of Stitches South 2009 yarns that have been hidden away in the stash- 1 purple and 1 green of Elsbeth Lavold silky wool (192 yrds each, 45% wool, 35% silk, 20% nylon

To win:
Leave a comment here. It's that simple. Since the coffee cup is kinda heavy and is um..fragile, I'd like to keep this in the states (and Canada). However, if you are just gonna die if you can enter and live across the pond, we can try to ship it to you over the big bad ocean.

If you plurk, tweet, facebook, blog, skywrite, etc. this giveaway, give me a linky and I'll give you an extra entry for every medium into the drawing. So that means if you comment, plurk, tweet, facebook, and blog it, you get your name entered 5 times. Simple, huh? I'll leave this open until April 30 at 6pm EST. At that time, I'll write you all on a slip of paper, clip you apart, and let D draw a winner. He's half blind in one eye and deaf in the other, so it will be fair to all entrants. Promise. Scout's honor.
* the coupon to eat.sleep.knit expires on the 26th though. If you're gonna die without that, email me and I'll tell you what it is*

Stitches South 2010

2010-04-24T17:46:00.002-05:00

Whew. I'm kinda glad to be home in my pjs and listening to John Mayer and the rain fall. Today was one long, busy, crazy, fun, fantastic, wooly day.

Whew.

Before you read any further, I need every one of you out there in the Intarwebs to raise your right hand and repeat after me:

"I will not tell D what all L purchased today. I will not mention it in his presence, bring it up to him, or say, 'Golly, how much did you let her spend!'"

Realize that this is a solemn oath between all of us. You keep mum or I'll dig secrets up and tell your person of interest! That is not a threat. It's as solemn as the oath above- it's a freaking promise!

Now that we got the legal stuff out of the way, we can move on to the haul:

That's the fambly picture that I took once I wrangled them all together. You can see Cousin Swift lurking in the back of the pack- someone said that his cotton ties made him look too country. He'll live though ( a steal at $25 at Just Our Yarns- coulda spent a mint on her handwoven scarves!). I posted notes on the flickr page.

Highlights:

Hello- doorprize that I won at the Rav. party on Thursday night:

BUGGA! 'Nuff said.

Crazy Good sale at Booth 419- Emma was the discount code for a 10% off- her bulldog. NO IDEA WHO THIS IS!

MacKintosh Fibers - the yarn logo with the cute puppy in the logo

This person was so sweet and nice. We talked forever while I was buying this braid. Really cool person. I want to steal her dog a little.

Or a lot.

Meeting the RavDudes:

This is MaryHeather and Casey the CodeMonkey doing the meetngreet outside while we were hearding into the Rav Party. If you blow up the pic, you'll see that casey has MONSTAEYE OF DOOM! because I was trying to fix the redeye, but made him look more crazy when I tried to fix it. Eh.

And if you've made it this far, you get a great reward. I'm going to post a giveaway in a seperate post in just a few minutes. Now you know about it. I've giving away swag from the event plus some yarn I stashed from there last year...that I have YET to knit. Sos life I guess.

Here's the 1 pic I took today- H taking a pic of the ultimate stash wall of doom.

And 1 really cool pic I took while I waited for D outside on Thursday.

Come back in a few for the giveaway. :D

Hotlanta

2010-04-12T12:45:00.004-05:00

It was my birthday over the weekend (Friday to be exact), and we packed up and headed into the big city for a weekend adventure. I must say that I have always been TERRIFIED!!! of big city driving. Petrified even. But armed with a new car that I trust to get me going and NOT break down and a Nuvi, I was at home driving the crazy. I managed to get everywhere we needed to be, and we never even got lost! We went the wrong way a few times because of traffic, but Nuvilou got us back on track with little effort. She was "recalculating" a lot this weekend!

We got the Atlanta CityPass that got us into all sorts of places like the Aquarium, the World of Coke, the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the High Museum of Art, and the CNN Center. We skipped the last two because we just wanted to piddle around the neighborhood on Sunday.

The Aquarium was a lot of fun because our friend J had never been before. She wants to go back this summer when her son gets home (he's seven). What was cool was that the CityPass got us a ticket to the 3-d show and something called the Quick Dip Backstage pass. We gave a little family our tickets to the 3-d show, but the quick dip thing was AWESOME!!!! You get to go behind the exhibits and see things from a crazy different view. We got to see the top of the tank where the whale sharks are kept and they were so beautiful swimming so close to the top.

We went to the World O' Coke next and stood in line. Then we stood in another line. And after that, we got to stand in another line. Yeah. I wasn't feeling the world of Coke. I would NEVER pay $$ to go back in there. I would suggest just going over and shopping the gift shop from the back entrance and skipping the whole museum dealyo.

That afternoon we parked at the hotel (The Highland Inn - crappiest hotel I've ever paid over $120 a night for!), and we got the nuvi back out to see what food was near. We walked to the Vortex Bar and Grill because I had seen it on Man VS Food on the Travel Channel. I was stoked because I had wanted to go to this burger joint when I saw it on TV. If you are ever in the ATL, go by there and have a burger and fries. I got the black and blue burger (cajun blackened burger and blue cheeze spread).

And that's where the fun nearly stopped. While we were in the hotel recovering from the cows we had eaten, I got up off of the side of the bed closest to the wall. I was barefoot since I was relaxing, and I slammed my bare toes into an exposed pipe jutting up from the floor. This tripped me up and I went down face first over the bed, hit the radiator (old hotel, built in 1927), and slid down to the floor. D and J said it all happened in slow motion and that if we'd have had the camera out, we might be $200,000 richer...

After I started crying, they knew that the fall was not a pratfall and that I was indeed hurt. I finally pulled myself up into a sitting position to find my middle toe split open and bleeding. And it hurt like all get out! I was terribly upset because I was afraid the next day would be ruined because we had planned to walk the zoo and botanical gardens. I hobbled down to the front desk and the night guy shrugged it off after handing me a few tiny bandaides.

I tried to still have a good time that night, but the bar downstairs was 1)lame and 2) LAME and 3) OH SO LAME that I was bored to tears and packed into bed early.

The next day was much nicer than the previous night. We walked the zoo early and avoided many of the screaming kids by moving quickly (or as quickly as you can with a busted toe and flipflops because you hurt too bad to wear shoes). D and J kept losing me in the crowd, but I finally found them again. It was really funny to watch the animals since it was spring time- lots of babymaking on lots of animal minds.

The Botanical Gardens were SOOO cool. They had a display of orchids that was OUT OF THIS WORLD! It was called Towers of Flowers. I took sooooo many pictures of them that I think I could walk you through the whole exhibit.

We ended the day at Ikea. That store is crazy. We're going back to buy some new bookshelves. They are larger than the ones we were going to buy from Staples and about $40 cheaper. Hello new guestroom.

The day before we had found a shop next to the hotel that sold independent artist's stuff and J bought us an original painted that was very neat. The funny thing is that I had picked up a lot of postcards that were prints of paintings, and the original and the postcards were all by the same artist. We found out that the artist was having an opening on Saturday night. We went there (a bit too early) and bought up some new prints of her new work. We heart her stuff. Now we have new art to put in our hallway since we've been living with naked walls for months because we were tired of the old stuff.

Sunday was a lazy day. We got up and loaded up the car. We wanted to go back to a store we saw the day before, but it didn't open until 12. We went to a Whole Foods (this is why I'm going to move to ATL) and shopped while J went to a bookstore next door. We all wound up next door shopping for books, and then we could go back to the Junkman's Daughter (a crazy alt shop). I got a darwin fish for my car and D got a set of salt and pepper shakers (humping bunnies). We went back to the Vortex for lunch, and then walked around Little Five Points. There were some funky shops. We spent hours in Bang-On making custom tshirts. J made 2 for her kid and 2 for her. I did 1 for me with zoo animals.

We finally got home about 6 and crashed into the bed. I was dog tired, but I had a good time.

This Moment : Shared Day Off

2010-03-05T13:08:00.004-05:00

Taken from Soulemama:
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Happy Friday, friends!
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I iz Olympic strong

2010-02-25T11:11:00.002-05:00

I don't know if you know this or not, but the winter Olympics have been going on recently. I know...how didja miss it?

Well, the thing you probably really don't know is that during the Olympics (winter and summer), a website called Ravelry hosts something they've dubbed the Ravelympics. This all started with none other than the Yarn Harlot who started her Knitting Olympics during the last winter Olympics. The idea is that you pick something wicked hard to accomplish during the games. You cast on during the opening ceremony and you have to be finished by the time the closing ceremonies close. The Ravelympics started when the community on Ravelry wanted to do the Knitting Olypmics during the last summer games, but the Harlot said that wooly sports she participated in would be in the winter only and that 4 years is the proper time for her to try something crazy hard. So now you have some back story to explain what I've been spending my time obsessively doing the last week and a half.

I didn't really buy in to this whole thing pre-games, but as everyone started getting hyped like German lugers before the games, I was caught up. I had to get in on the crazy. So I set myself a goal. I would knit an entire shawl in 17 days from my own handspun. Now this isn't really a hard thing for many of the knitter in the games, but I'm a slacker/procrastinator who has had a single shawl on the needles for like a year now and is in no hurry to finish. I also set myself a goal of spinning up all of my scrappies from the vairous dyers I had in my wool stash. I thought this one was do-able and nearly in the bag as I like to spin a lot at one time.

However, I surprised myself. I did finish that shawl in the time given, and I finished it early. It took my around 7 days to do it. That is UNHEARD of in these parts. The yarn was so much fun to watch stripe that I think I got a little addicted to see what would happen next. I also managed to score a place to watch the games as our cave is without cable or one of those converter boxes for the dinotv to go digital. We've been camped out at pal J's house for most of the games. As she lives on the complete opposite end of town, we've been staying up a weeeeee bit late. The coverage ends usually around midnight or midnight thirty, so we've been crossing town and getting home around 1ish. It's like smack...totally addicting. We took a few days off this week because we were all SOO tired, but we were back at it some last night.

Now that I've finished the shawl, I've cast another on to keep me busy during my TV watching.

But I also finished my spinning goal ahead of the pace too. I finished that the last night of Ice Dancing (stupid russians). So I've accomplished all of my challenges for myself. That's the whole point of this game deal is to pick something hard and do it. That I finished it at all was the hardest part for me. So score! I have already won gold for the shawl, and I'll be winning another gold for the spinning later at the medals award ceremony.

I know- what a freakin' dork!

But I have fun!

I have also sewn up a quilt top (well, into strips...gotta sew the strips to each other tonight). This thing is SOO cute. I linked to SouleMama's little stairstep quilt a while ago, and I used my own stash of cotton flower prints to make me one inspired by hers. I'll have to finish it and get pics up soon.
PS- I have pics, but blogger and flickr aren't on speaking terms just now.

Retreat!

2010-01-24T11:03:00.004-05:00

[A railing at the park- really great texture to photo]
I have been retreated all weekend with my Writing Project People. We went back to FDR state park and crammed ourselves into 2 cabins. Let's do a headcount- me, friend L, friend K, friend P, friend B, friend G, friend C, friend I, friend I's 3 children. That's almost an even dozen. We had 2 cabins. Our cabins slept 6 with 1 bathroom, and thiers slept 5 with 1 bathroom. During the day, the 5 from cabin 8 trooped up to our "bigger" cabin for the work we had to do. SO- 11 people with 1 bathroom. NOT COOL. I could kill FDR state park for their 1 bathroom policy. Stupid. Nice place otherwise (oh and the mice last year), but 1 bathroom was out of the question for a repeat. We had a good time and we did a LOT of work. By "we" I mean friend L because she is our scribe. The rest of us talk out our issues and plans, but she is the one who actually puts it all down so that we can remember it in the future.

We took a walk yesterday afternoon, and I took a few really nice pictures. I thought I'd share them here.
I found this in the leaves beside the main road through the park- thought it was interesting.

Stuffs growing on trees

The sunset up the mountain on Friday night.

New Year, New Post

2010-01-17T12:52:00.002-05:00

Hello 2010!
You have kept me busy thus far. Please to stop soon. I need a break!

Since my last post, school has started back, and I'm beat. Who knew working 4 days a week could wear you out so fast?!

Last weekend we finally finished all of our Christmases with the many extended families we have. Divorce makes for interesting holidays. His parents are divorced, and so are his grandparents. Hello mulitpile events! But we have them all out of the way now, and we really did have a good time even if we ran all over creation to do it!

D's moms got a new baby after Christmas because she missed her old one so much, and he is a trip. His name is Jasper and he's a ball of energy ALL the time. Taking this pic took about 4 tries to see his face.

I've finished a knitting project already this year after being in SUCH a slump last year. It's the boneyard shawl from Westknits. I like it, but I want some frilly border on it to class it up a bit. It was made with yarn from a swap on Rav. in the Spin or Dye Swapping group. It was in a "bag of crap" thread where you just claimed stuff unknown. I got LUCKY and was given some beautiful pima cotton/tencel yarn in goldenrod. I'm all about some goldenrod right now. The only problem is that now I have about 10000000 ends to weave in and the yarn is slicky. The skeins were SOOO small and some places were spun weird, so I pulled those out. Maybe I'll try and bribe someone at SnB to do it who is better at it than I am.

I went to Macon again yesterday for a writing project meeting, and this is what I did on the way home:

If you notice, the spedo. shows no little needle. I was sitting still. Since I saw an ambulance scream up the highway northbound while we were sitting still, I can only imagine that a wreck stopped us for about 30 mins. When I finally got out of the standstill, I saw a broken guardrail on the side where it looked like the wreck may have happened. It was nasty and rainy yesterday, and people were driving like crazyfast. My happy self drove like a little old lady so as not to wind up the next person through a guardrail.

And speaking of rain, it's still here. This is the view out of my window today (the blue car is MINE! so sexsay):

So this is how/where I'll be spending my day:

That blanket is made of all sorts of handspun yarns. I've been working on it on and off, mostly off, for quite some time now. It's getting big, and BOY is it ever warm. I'm crocheting, so it's eating yarn like crazy, but it's also FAST.

***********************************************************
A few links because I'm cool like that:
*A really great sponsor giveaway at SouleMama- you could win a sewing pattern + kit to make it or just the sewing pattern. Either way-cool!
*Another great giveaway of things from India at Lavendar and Limes (a new blog to me, but BEAUTIFUL photos).
*A quilt I wanna make for ME. I wouldn't be using that same fabric, but I'd use giant florals from my stash.
*Another option- I've loved this since I saw it made on her blog. LOVE IT. But this one also takes me in dearly. I want to do this one too. maybe this one before the other because I want the BOLD, giant strips like this.

New Years

2009-12-31T11:55:00.007-05:00

freak me out. There's so much hope and happiness about a new year. I'm always worried I won't have packed the tree up on time and catch bad juju for the next year. I know that's an easy fix, but this being off thing is like a terminal disease. It just saps you of your strength the longer you are off! I've gotten so sorry...or well...sorrier. But I did managed to pick up the little decos scattered through the house this am when I got up (ah hem...10:30ish). D got the 2 boxes our decos go in out of the storage room, so I have no real excuse not to do it today. I'll think real hard and try to come up with one right after I post here.

Since I last posted, I've been a busy little bee. Or maybe I've posted since I've done some of this, but I didn't talk about it, so it still counts.

1. We, J and I, drove to the Miss'ippi/Lousyanna line on the 21st to fetch her son P who lives in TX with his dad most of the time. Remember she works with D as a part timer...those kinds of moms don't rake in the cash, esp. while they are still in college. So I have seen a few things on the way and back again. Like this:
There is a town called "Chunky." Reckon all skinny folks live there?

And another thing about Miss'ippi, they like first names as town names. Weird. We drove through Jackson, pased Brandon, saw Flora and Edwards, passed by Flora, and I half expected the next exit to be Fauna...but it wasn't. I think it was Pearl.

I saw and crossed the mighty Miss'ippi. Didn't pass out. I have a thing about bridges. I am phobic of them....seriously. Scared to death of them. But I made it over this one. Just don't ask me to drive in the Charleston from Savannah. WON'T DO IT! That bridge is high, it curves, and you can't see around it. To top it off, we wound up stopped on the damn thing with DUMP TRUCKS! I just knew we were all going to die. D-I-E! I cried on that bridge. But NOT this one:

I also visited the meanest gas station in Lousyanna. They wouldn't even put my little post cards in with their mail. Besides, it said "FOOD MART" on the outside, but it was really a "BOOZE MART" on the inside. I bought my 4 little LA postcards and fairly ran back to the car. They wuz mean, even on a Sunday.

And as weird as Miss'ippi was about first names, Lousyanna was just as unimaginative. Here is a sampling of the towns we saw on the exit with the mean gas station:
Really, a mound AND a delta...in LA, really?? Who'da thunk?

The next day, J and P came over to bake cookies. We were all so messed up from the 12 hour trip that I only managed to make choc. chip, but we made cookies all the same.

Oh, and I bought a new car. :D It's a used 2010 Ford Fusion with a blue paint job, leather seats, a moon roof, a 6 cd player, and it GOES with it's happy 6 cylinder heart. We couldn't be happier. We're still missing a few things to have it perfect (like a front tag bracket), but I keep harrassing the fellow that sold it to us at RiverTown Ford, so I hope that we'll get it all taken care of soon.

We've also been to Fantasy in Lights again, but this time we had a real live little one to share it with. P had a fantastic time and was the quietest I've ever heard that kid the WHOLE RIDE! And he sat still. That in and of itself is a miracle next to the loaves and fishes. He is a wiggle worm.

Then we've also been to Chuck-E-Cheese's. I felt like a 7 year old all over again. I played skee ball and all the little coin eating games. The pizza tasted a little like sugar was put in the crust (prolly was). But P and D had so much fun. You would have thought D was 7 too. The boys played some Johnny Nitro comic game for like an HOUR. J and I kept feeding them coins and starting them back up when they were killed. When we ran out of coins, we had all played, and we made it through 2 of the comics games and were in the third one. A good time was had by all. P even gave us some new fridge decos in the form of three spin art pieces he and his mom made with a gift from santa.

OH and we all 4 had a silly string war on our playground the night before we went to see the lights. The grown ups were out of string pretty quickly, but P saved his up for a sneak attack.

So, that's a fair account of how I've spent my last few days and weeks. Hope all is quiet and peaceful tonight as the ball drops or wild out and party hardy if that's more your style. We'll be out and about tonight at the bars downtown to watch everyone get really trashed and have a good time ourselves.

THE WORST GIFT EVAR

2009-12-22T15:33:00.001-05:00

MVI_4683
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

If you love me, you'd never get me the thing I avoid like the plague. Just sayin'.

A pap smear? Really.

Umm no. I'll take a wad of cash instead.

Random Stitches

2009-12-18T23:35:00.002-05:00

And now for something completely different...

Sewing!

I've been a little blue as of late because I've wanted to sew. Only sewing would make me happy. Sew sew sew sew. But my little $54 brother sewing machine was having NONE of this sewing thing. I'd bought it a few years ago at Walmark on the Black Friday crazy sale. I sewed it to death. Made all sorts of crazy things on it and never paid much attention to it. I blew out the fuzz balls every now and then that lived in the bobbin case, but nothing serious. Well, it's always had personality issues. It'll work for a little while and then snap every thread I put in it. I had enough of it and called to see about getting the stupid thing serviced. It would have cost $69.99, and it wouldn't be ready until after the new year. UM NO. I want to sew RIGHTTHISFRIGGINMINUTE!

Enter Saint D. He got to thinking in the car that the stipid little $54 machine wasn't really worth the $69 it was going to cost. And I wanted to sew RIGHTTHISMINUTE! So he asks, "why don't we just buy you a new one? There's one on sale at the store for cheap."

I'm sorry, was there a question?

YES! Due to some packaging error at Joann's, we got the nicer of the machines I'd wanted for the price of the baseline machine. Someone at the factory was sticking the wrong machine in the wrong box. SCORE for me. The machine was marked at $128, and I purchased a few half yards of fabric (like 8) plus a by the bolt package of fusiable web interfacing. Our final total was only $111. Granted, we used some coupons and my teacher's discount, but DANG. That was a steal. I kinda felt guilty that I snatched it at such a fabu price.

Enter J and today. She is a friend who works with D, and she's a sewer. We like to get together and make these cute, simple bags. It's her pattern, and she's planning to make up a billion of them to sell at craft fairs. We work as a team. She does all the PITA parts like cutting and ironing, and I do all the sewing. She HATES to sew in the bottoms of the bags, so that is all me. She brought over a stack of them that only needed the bottoms sewn in, and that's what I set myself to doing. Then she had another stack that had already been cut and only lacked the iron-on interfacing. She ironed them on, and I stiched them up. We were our own little sweat shop. I only poked/tore my fingers up once that required a bandaid out of all 22 bags we made today. 4 of them were mine to keep. It was a good day.

If you look at that pic, the top four are mine. You can only really see the top 3 because my Geisha one is squished under the vintage santa print.

And that brings up another issue. I found a new quilt shop in town. Well, new to me. It's right behind my house!!!! Like if I weren't a giant fat kid and a scardy cat, I could walk to it! I'd have to cross like 8 lanes of traffic to get there at one point, but I could technically walk there. That's the place that we found the vintage santa print and the skunk print. J is a HUGE fan of skunks (no idea why...), and she had a duck when she saw it. It's really quite cute. I liked it. We made her a bag straight away when we got home.

So, that's what I spend this fine Friday night doing. A nice cozy night by the Singer and good company. OH, and pizza. And a great torte that didn't look 'sactly like the photo because I can't follow simple directions. It still tasted mi-t-fine though.

Oriented

2009-12-17T17:20:00.003-05:00

I have been doing a bit of navel gazing today, and I was inspired to post. I thought all this up in the shower as I washed my hair. Seems that's when I get my best ideas these days.

All my life, as I was growing up, I thought I was straight. Just one thing for me...easy, relatively uncomplicated.
But then I went to college, and I fooled around with other types. I found that I liked more than just one type.
And now I'm out of college, and I'm still fooling around on the weekends. And I find that simply calling myself Bi isn't cutting it. I thought for a while that it would; I even loved the idea from Miz Violet to make a shirt that proclaimed my bi-ness, but I don't think that covers it all anymore.
I've thought about the label I'd like to wear on this blog, and I've tossed straight and bi out the door. Now I've been thinking about being tri, but that sounds a little narrow (only 3) and it also sounds desperate (try anything once).
SO what I think I'll call myself now is poly.

There. I've said it. I'm POLYCRAFTUAL!

I knit. I spin. I crochet. I dye. I sew. I bake. I love to make stuff.

My mother should have always known what I was. She taught me most of what I know. My father might be ashamed, but he always has been - no big change there.
My boyfriend won't be surprised when I come out to him because he's always been there for me. He even likes to watch!!!! Ever since I've started bringing girls home to craft with me, he's been all eyes and ears when I'm fooling around. You've never seen a better fetcher when you're all tangled up in yarn or stuck at the sewing machine for hours trying to get 1 damn hem straight.

I figure now's as good a time as any, I thought I'd come out to all my friends and admit that 1 craft or hobby just isn't enough for one girl. Hell, two or three aren't either! I'm up for all the crafty love I can stand. March loud and proud ladies and gentlemen! We are POLYCRAFTUAL, and we are happy to say it!

***Nearly died laughing as I typed this entry by the way. I wrote this in a spirit of silly happiness and do not mean to be disrespectful to anyone who has really had to come out and tell his/her family something painful. I do not mean to mock you with this post. I was shooting for funny.

As promised

2009-12-12T12:56:00.001-05:00

MVI_4428
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

A rather poor quality vid, but it's still funny!

My Fridays

2009-12-12T12:34:00.004-05:00

I have a confession to make. I've been busy doing fun stuff and living a really full life these last few weeks. We have a new friend who wants to be as good a friend to us as we always are, and we've got a new bar.

I just have to channel Toby Keith and say, "I love this bar. It's my kinda place!"

We have finally found the gay bar in Columbus, and while I'm not gay, it's about the most fun you can have with most of your clothes on. Rilly.

And the costumes are FANTASTIC!!! I would just love to make friends with one of the girls so that I could help make them.

So from mine to yours, Have a Happy Holiday...no matter who you are or who you love!

ps I'm uploading a video on my flickr right now...it's a trip!

Fair Time

2009-10-12T20:50:00.007-05:00

I got up early on Sat. morning to trek to D's Mom's house in Americus to ride to the fair in Perry, GA. It was an interesting ride.
Early

Later

Latest

The Fair means:

Candy apples.

Cotton candy.

Fried stuff.

Stuff on sticks.

Cat calls.

And meat on the grill.

And we went to the Montgomery Gentry concert that night.

Terrible shots, but a kick ass concert. :D

No, I'm not going to talk about my broken car that I killed today. We're gonna pretend it isn't broken. Instead, we'll leave this post with a pretty picture.

Helping Others

2009-09-23T15:20:00.002-05:00

So I'm on it again. I've got my do-gooder cape laced up and ready. The Violet of Lime and Violet needs to escape her current situation and her cheating hubs has taken the money out of their accounts. Like all of it. SO, I'm donating all of the cash I make on Etsy sales. You can visit this blog to see all the fantastic things people are doing to help this woman out.

Also, there's another warming project out there. Warmth For Washington. I'll be knitting for it too.

Blogging

2009-09-21T08:41:00.005-05:00

I'm terrible at it, but I do think about it quite often. I take random pictures to share with the blog, but I never remember to come and actually share them! So here is a record of my blog thinking for the past few weeks.
I've been stalking Ysolda it seems. First I cast on for Ishbel [rav link]with the rest of the free world. Here you see D trying to help me knit. If he hadn't been so cute, I'da killed him. He didn't manage to drop any stitches though. Thank god.

Here's a picture of it in progress with, I think, all of chart A done. It mostly looks like a pile of st. st. at this point.

I also made her plum cake because D bought this ginormo thing of plums at Sam's right before we went on vacation. OF course they were "ripe" when we got home. I peeled them and made a cake. I bought a pound of greek yogurt when it only called for like a third cup, so if you know what the heck to do with greek yogurt (not eating it straight...ick), let me know. I guess I could make gyros again and have better tzatziki sauce.
D's been cooking too. He makes strange things sometimes like these honeyed figs.
They smelled divine. Too bad I don't like figs. He ate them with ice cream from a can.

He made green pasta last night while I watched When Harry met Sally for the 1087th time. He got stuck on the "puree spinach" bit because we don't have a food processor and the blender was NOT working well with others. He managed to stick something in the blades while trying to puree. When he snatched the cooking utensil out, he slung spinach all over the kitchen. I put him in time out to boil the noodles while I made nice with the spinach. No more mishaps. It was good even though it kinda looked slime green.

And it seems that I have a new collection in my life (NO MA- no elephants from you unless they are OLD or very cool). We've had the first one for a while. We found it in D's nothermom's house when she passed away. You put the coin in the trunk and pull the tail. He puts the coin in the seat on his back. Very cool.
Then I found the wooden/copper one at an antique place in Warm Springs and I needed him. He looks like an old souvenir from India or something.

And last but not least, I picked up the little elephant planter from a thrift store in town. TOO CUTE! Fez the monk rides in him.

I've also been knitting other shawls than Ishbel. Meet my silk kerchief. This is s'posed to be made with Noro for it's fantastic colors to stripe against each other, but noro is spendy. I am not. I used my own handspun. The blue stripes are from batts purchased from HeartstringsbyDee on Etsy. The orangey yellow bits came from a batt by Funky Carolina. This thing is sooo squishy. Oh and the border yarn was spun from BFL roving dyed by Jenna at UniquelyYoursDesigns.

Up next on the list of stuff I've been up to we have spinning and dyeing. I hung them all up together to dry after a leisurly soak in the tub in many many bubbles.

To round out the yarny arts, I've also been crocheting. This yarn tried it's hardest to work as a lacy baktus scarf, but it ain't happ'nin. I give you the floaty fall scarf instead. I'm starting on my second ball now. :D

I've also been quilting. But don't judge these. I didn't use a ruler the entire time. And I can't sew a straight line to save my life. Ma, go somewhere else. You can scroll down and see Bug's quilt, but then go away. Yours is up next. You'll spoil Christmas.

My pantry had gotten out of hand, so I attacked it. Here is the before shot. No, I haven't finished, so there's no after shot yet.

And now a few out takes from my photo sessions with The Diva himself. I don't know what happens to him when I pull out the camera. I guess it's to make up for YEARS of being too shy for words.

The Merino Kid

I can remember

2009-09-07T19:27:00.004-05:00

Today, my grandmother died. She was my last living grandparent, but she hasn't known me for a year or better. She hasn't known my father, my uncle, or any of our other family members. But she knew my Papa John. She remembered that he was dead. That's what she remembered.

And now I remember her. I couldn't bear to visit after the last time when she couldn't remember me or my parents. She wasn't my Grandma anymore. I think I should feel terrible that she died without my saying goodbye to her, but I don't. I think that would be selfish. Good byes are for the living. The dead aren't leaving you forever, you just can't see them anymore, but they're still by your side. I'm not sad she died either. She was in pain and her quality of life had flatlined long ago. She had to be taken from her home shortly after she lost her husband and put in the one place she never wanted to be, a nursing home. But we had no choice at that point, it was too dangerous to leave her alone.

All that aside though, I remember her tonight. The woman she was to me, and the woman I will carry with me until I die. My grandma gave me many gifts over the years. I was her number one granddaughter. But the one gift she gave me that I cherish most is the gift of crochet. She pulled me into her tiny lap, into that awful orange striped recliner chair, and she taught me the basic stitches while my hands were still smaller than hers. She taught me to move the needle and to wrap the yarn so that it wouldn't slip from my fingers, and I still wrap it like she did even though I have all five of my fingers on my hand where she had only four. I can make all of the stitches she taught me still. My hands can remember her.

Memory loss is a thief in my family. It has stolen from us all, on both sides of the tree. I sit at the bottom, waiting for my turn to be taken. When I forget where my keys are, it bothers me a little that the thief is in my house already, so early. I should have years before I have to bar the door with a chair or a well placed nail. Even so, I hope that I will always remember her, and those like her who have made me the woman I am today. But I know that these are just dreams, and that my thief will one day come for what's his. The things I hope I hide from him are in my hands tonight...those things these people taught me. I hope I never forget to hold my yarn and needle the way Grandma did. I hope I never forget to core a navel orange and squeeze for the juice like Papa John. I hope I never forget how to bait a hook like my Daddy. I hope I never forget what goes into my Mama's biscuits.
At the end of it all, I hope.

Two Months

2009-08-11T16:30:00.002-05:00

Seems like two months between posts is about the right amount of time for me to remember to blog. I'm so bad at this. I'll never have a book published- I can't keep followers interested in a semi-dead blog. OH ZOMBIE BLOG.

This is now the ZOMBIE BLOG.

*cackles*

Really, I'm posting for a good cause today. I'm all hopped up on do-gooder juice today and have a few things to mention. All you sewers, knitters, and crocheters, listen up- this one's fer you. I've found out about a charity project called Iraqi Bundles of Love run by a guy whose wife is on my blog roll of things I check compulsively. I'm discounting the skeins I have left in the shop to help finance my packages to the Iraqi Bundles of Love project here It costs around 11 dollars and some change to send each box. I have 5 to send. If I manage to sell all of the items in the shop, I'll pack some more boxes to send with the extra funds. So not a penny will go into my little hands because I'll spend it right back on shipping the boxes that I pull together. If you felt so moved, you could wrap up your own bundle and send it along. Art posted guidelines and says that almost any crafty item from knitters, crocheters, and sewers would be welcomed. Think about living in a land of no LYSes or fabric and craft stores. We could open the world to them with 11 measly bucks. :D

And, closer to home, Nest is taking submissions again until Sept. 1. I know that is like NO time to knit up stuff, but I thought I'd throw that out there too since I'm all do-goody today. :D I've got about 6 hats knit up and am 1 mitten into a pair to send along too. This year, I'm using my own handspun too, so it's exxxxtra love going out to Mainers. How boring am I, nothing but text? I'll have to dig up some pics to drop in here.

Please do think about sending something into these charities because they do good things for people and aren't scams. As an american, I know I have more than enough to keep myself in the plush life, so sharing should be second nature to me. I also know that it hurts to share sometimes, but that little "mine" sting is NOTHING next to the "don't have anything" hole that sits in the heart of some countries. So please do think about sharing some of your stash. You know you'll die before you make up most of it into something to be used anyway. These people need it. We just want this stuff. .

Thanks for checking back in on me. I'll not even try to be crazy and say I'll do better at posting- you and I both know it's a lie. :P

Not dead

2009-06-08T11:02:00.003-05:00

Nope, I'm not dead. Have been feeling that way a lot, but I'm still kickin'. I had some major creep bug that stole my voice last week, so you can imagine how much fun teaching was. HA. I typed a lot. Good think I type really fast.

I've been knitting and spinning and crocheting like a fool again too. I spun up about 2 oz into frog hair yesterday, boy is it thin. I plan to spin the other half soon and two ply it. I think it will have nice long color repeats like a certain Japanese yarn that is so hard on my hands, but I make no promises.

I'm making my brother a toy for his birthday based on the Kate pattern from Knitty (ravlink). I started to just make it a rockstar cat, but then I put fangs on him and his ears next, and lo and behold- it looked like a bat. So I'm going to finish out the Kate bodt with arms and legs, but then I'm gonna mod me some bat wings to sew on to his back. I think I'm also going to give him a mohawk and pierce his ear. I also bought some jewlery finding (chain extenders) to attach to him that will make him look like he has a wallet chain going on. Bub will get a kick out of it, or at least I hope he will. I'm using up some handspun for this, but I'm gonna have to use commercial yarn for the wings. I'm thinking black batwings.

I also knit the free pattern by Raynor called Sugar Bunny(ravlink). It was her take on the best bunny by lionbrand except she knit it up. It was a really cute pattern, and would have been great if I could read. I made the feet for the hands and then got so excited I sewed them on. Of course, once I had darned all the ends into the stupid thing is when I realized that I had screwed up. There was no way out either. I used some really pretty handspun to make a shawl to hide the UGLY seam I made when I attached her head. Again, not a pattern flaw so much as a crafter flaw.

I'm also thinking of making a little stuffed dog for a lady who loves dogs and is retiring from my school. I don't know her very well, but it doesn't look hard to make and it will be a sweet thing to do.

I've been spinning a bit more too, and here's the proof.

I've been taking weird pics in the fruit section to show my mom orange lemons.

I've been walking down by the river and really getting irritated by irresponsible people. We picked everything in that pic up from the river bed/bank, even the plastic bag it's held in. This was our second load.

But there were some nice things to see while we were playing riverkeeper.

And one last pretty pic, but not at the river. This is in D's dad's back yard.

Video

2009-03-01T22:22:00.001-05:00

P1020045
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

Crap video, but you can see the snow is really coming down.

P1020051

2009-03-01T22:21:00.005-05:00

P1020051
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

Early Bloom

2009-03-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

P1020042
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

View from driveway

2009-03-01T22:21:00.001-05:00

P1020050
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

Hell hath frozen over

2009-03-01T22:20:00.005-05:00

P1020024
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

mailhouse snow

2009-03-01T22:20:00.003-05:00

mailhouse snow
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

That's not snow on the lense- that's snow still coming down.

SNOW

2009-03-01T22:20:00.001-05:00

dave snow day
Originally uploaded by venutian_beauty

Blogger is being weird and won't let me upload photos through them, so I have to do this 1 at a time through Flickr.

But yes, we have had SNOW.

And I get a SNOW DAY!

Party party party

Nothing To Lose

2009-02-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

I'm not a designer. I'm not planning to become one. BUT I AM a knitter and I do USE patterns, so I think I should voice this in some way.

Annie is a megapower in Knitting Design and she still gets treated like crap. So imagine what I would feel if I were to try and design to publish. Less than crap. No, that's not right. It's not right that if I did get my stuff into a major mag that they could rape the profits of unknown hours of work and determination and kick back a dime for every three dollars they make. NO. That's not right.

No. That's not right.

NO. THAT'S NOT RIGHT.

And now you can go read what she's said because I'm just a nobody in this, but it will affect my penchant to purchase Vogue mags from now on. Did you hear that Vogue? I hope so. Knitters shouldn't be f-ed with. Just in case you DIDN'T know that.

http://www.modeknit.com/2009/02/valuing-our-work.html

To New Knitters

2009-01-12T18:33:00.002-05:00

Soulemama asked her readers today for advice to new knitters. I waxed loquatious, so I'll repost here what I blathered there. Also, Wendyknits says it's delurker's day. I guess that goes for me too - I come from the shadows to post and not lurk!

I'm a child of the digital age, and knitting and crochet came as a hobby at the strangest time of need. I needed to destress during my last semesters of college and while student teaching. My grandma crocheted all through my childhood, but by the time I was ready to take it up in earnest, her hands had turned on her and her memory failed as well. So I did the next best thing I could figure in my age, I googled it. I had an online friend who knew how to knit and had inspired me to pick up the pointy sticks, so she was a sometimes resource, though her webcam caused as many questions as it answered.

But, for new knitters (says the self-taught knitter of 4ish years), I would say:

1. Find needles that feel good to you. Pick wood if you like them in the store, plastic if you think they are fun. Don't look so much at price, go with what feels good. If you are serious, then price will not make any difference down the road anyway. You'll buy what you want, no matter the cost.

2. Buy yarn that you love. And learn to knit with it. Don't pet it, put it aside, wait for the day your skills are perfect. It won't come. I promise. I'd still be waiting for the "perfect" cast-on for that cashmere silk blend I bought myself on a tough day. Buy a smooth yarn that feels nice to your hands. Don't fret over the content (even if it's 100% acryllic). Love the yarn you learn with. It will make the learning easier. And more enjoyable.

3. Read a few books. Check your library or go to a book store and pile up a bunch of knitting books. Sometimes just flipping through the pages will help you understand a skill. Flick through a stack and see which ones you love, the pictures, the writing, the patterns, and then buy that as your reference. Elizabeth Zimmerman would be a great read for a new knitter, she'd teach you to be fearless from the first.

4. Have NO fear. Do NOT let a single soul tell you how hard socks are, or how scary lace is. Personally, socks seem easy and lace scares the pants off of me, but that's me. Many people I know are afraid of even socks, but will knit a full man's sweater. You pick out your patterns and projects (don't start with a scarf - they NEVER END!) and decide what seems hard to you. I cried for 30 minutes on night trying to cast on for a square. I couldn't get the yarn to stick to the needles right. I forgot the slip knot - so don't be afraid. Nothing is terribly hard to do, otherwise it would have been lost to the ashes of times gone by. Simplicity sticks to us, we only keep stuff that's simple and easy to pass on. Think of the thousands of poorly educated people of the past and realize that if they could do it without the Internet to hold their hand - you sure can do it with the wealth of resources we currently have in our data rich society.

5. Remember, knitting is s'posed to be fun. Well, that last one, I stole from Mason-Dixon Knitting. But it still holds true. So don't let it become a chore or something you "HAVE" to do. Only do the things you enjoy or that challenge you in a good way. Never say you'll make something for someone out of guilt. Those are the WORST projects. Ask me how I know. :D

Other than those ideas and that knitting content, things are still busy and happy here. Running like the headless chicken and all, but happy while I go. Work is good still, new quarter brough 5 classes a day for me. Three of which are back to back, a solid three hour and 15 minute block of me talking and talking and talking. Blech.

Who needs November?

2008-12-04T16:19:00.002-05:00

Not me. :P

So yeah...quiet around here. I've been enjoying my job and my life and my boyfriend. We've been trying to fit as much down time between his job as we can. But, this weekend, he's off Saturday AND Sunday. I'm going to die from shock.

I've been knitting TONS. About 20 scarves for the ladies in my office. Each one different. 3 more went to the ladies I went to San Antonio with (yeah, I went to Texas) and another is on the sticks for the boy's stepmom.

San An was fabu and I ate texmex 2 times and I've had enough, thank you very much. I also had a texan cow. mMMM cow.

Thanksgiving was good, all except for a visit with my Daddy's Mama. She didn't know who I was or who my daddy was when I tried to tell her. So, yeah. That was NOT good. Didn't enjoy that. But I did see my ex's cousin who was there visiting a relation. Didn't speak, but my did I look good-on purpose.

My Daddy had his baby - a new little girl. That's all I know or care to know.

And I tried to break my foot walking on it while it was asleep. Almost accomplished it.

And I'll try and get back in here more often than not - maybe update the shop soon too - but I promise nothing as Christmas looms!

Fall, Fell, Have Fallen

2008-10-31T09:07:00.002-05:00

Again, a me post because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. :P This one's for my mama. And since I'm on housearrest until the washer guy comes and gives me the new washer....

Photos I've taken in the last month- Hold onto you dialup, this is gonna be a long one.

Hello World, this is me looking at my bellybutton

2008-10-30T20:24:00.002-05:00

I sometimes wonder what goes in to the making of a successful person. Nature, nurture, genetics, and location all must play some role, but what role? Can we put some of it down to a choice? How much do we have to be given at birth, how much do we need from our parents, and how much is simple, dumb luck? Are some of us just born to prosper or do we make our fate over coffee and toast each morning? I feel like I've made my life what it is by determined daily toul. I am what I am because I said I would be. This person I am sprung from my toddler's braindwaves Athenian in nature. It's clear that my choices led me down a certain path- towards one thing and away from another.

But am I a thief? Did I steal the best parts of myself from those in my life, those who raised me? Did I reach into their souls and take what I needed to become strong? A grubby, stick, chubby fist locked around straings of my grandfather's spirit. Did my development strip them of their souls, their wisdom, their lives, as I took chunks, splinters, pieces- daily- into me?

What makes a successful person? How does one reach the top? Does it even matter, as long as we get here in the end? Looking behind me, who have I used, needed, leaned on, reguarded? What did I take from them?

My Papa's determination and focus drove me to success. My mother's care, concern, and soft-serve heart lie in my core. My father's stubborn refusal to admit flaws haunts my relationships. My grandmother's crafting heart and busy hands wile my idle house by. My teachers' styles, dispositions, and passions burn and bubble in my heart. All of it stolen, bit by bit, secreted into my squirril's cheek mind.

I am the fox and the world around me is a roost. Beware hens and protect your eggs. The fox is hungry.

I spy

2008-10-16T06:40:00.003-05:00

I spy with my little eye
out my workday window
a wheel of cheese
a man on a crescent
the pale and jealous lady

You peer down with your little eye
the whole Earth you could spy
and see me here
looking to you there
and smile, turn, and move on.

******************************
Not really sure what that's all about. My brain does strange things this early in the AM so please forgive if you think that was dumb. I like it. :D

It was cool this AM when I walked in under moonbeam and starshine. Maybe Fall really is on its way.

I'm not dead

2008-10-12T18:06:00.002-05:00

I have a job and I'm not dead. I am now working at the Tech School in town. MUCH BETTER than my old place. Jeesh. I love it.

And I've been spinning my butt off.

And I've been dyeing up yarns to sell in the shop.

And knitting.

And crocheting

And shopping.

These are from a major yard sale...LOVE THESE. The big thing is a picnic basket that has plates and cups that buckle in.

I'll try not to be so long next time. :D Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers that I'm sure many of you sent out.

I can haz busy

2008-07-17T15:14:00.003-05:00

Yes, in lolspeak, I've been busy. I've made some good stuff, some bad stuff, and some eh stuff since I last posted. Noo, no job news still.

So---in an effort to keep busy I give you a parade of things I've made. We'll start with a mess.

I got hurt making this bread and I was going to do a play by play,but I'm not there yet. Let's just say I have a new scar, I got burned (this didn't scar), I set my oven on fire, and the bread wasn't very bready.

This is why I thought I could make bread. That's the WHO bread I made from Soulemama's blog.

Yum.

This is the plum bread of doom:

See how unbready it really was? We call it cobbler and it was good that way. Not bread, but we can still eat it all the same. And I saved the plums from going bad- well, spoiling, well rotting. Cause they did go bad, very very very bad. And they did spoil, spoiled my bread making. So yeah

And another eh kind of project. I give you Chaos A. Cat. I crocheted him up, but his fluff showed. He is now a dog toy. Poor kitty.

And this is some yarn I spun back in June, art yarn I call it. It was a felters pack of scrap wool,silk, strange weird fibers. I made yarn from it. :D

This is some Spunky Eclectic roving of the month stuff I spun half of *and got some powdered dye that was chillin' in the fibers onto a WHITE shirt that I activated teh dye on accidentally after I spilled something else on, so not a good day that day* and have just unspindled it so I can spin the other half. It took me like 3 hours total to get all of the singles off of the spindle and onto the papertowel holder=bobin.

And this is the next month's roving, flowering weeds that I've spun up and now started to ply with some embroidery floss (spell check?). I still have half of this to spin up too.

And now for the good deed of the week. I made 4 sock project bags to give away on the RAK boards on Ravelry. Here they are:

Soo, that's what I've been doing.
Oh, and something small to note. I got Lime and Violet'ed. That's right, they featured my little yarn shop on their HUGE podcast. Yes. I know. I rock. So hard. :D

PS. There are still some great yarns to be had in my shop, pop over and see what I gots. I added three new ones the other day, two are still left.

No News

2008-07-09T14:00:00.001-05:00

No, I don't know about that job. The longer I know nothing, the more I think I've got nothing.

So to put off the freakout, I'm going to focus on charity knitting. I've got like 100 projects on the needles right now, but last time I did this, good things came and it just feels right again. I'm going to knit wool hats. In July, yes I know I live in GA and it's 100 outside my door. But I don't have to deal with heating costs this winter, so I'm going to use some of the wools I have to help those who do have that issue. I am greatful for the things in life I don't have to deal with and am trying to be greatful for those that I do which should by theory make me stronger.

Here's the link if you feel the need too.
http://nestmaine.blogspot.com/

Oh, and I've joined a Random Act of Kindness group on Ravelry. I'm sending out flowerr seeds. I'm very glad as I had NO idea what to do with them here, I'm killing sweet peas and lavendar at the moment.

Need that Voodoo You Do

2008-07-07T15:44:00.002-05:00

Ok guys, I need all of your positive energy and prayers tonight and tomorrow. Focus it towards the BOE and the principal at the school I interviewed with because he said he wanted to make a recommendation to his BOE at their meeting tomorrow night. I want this job. I need this job. Focus the positive energy and prayers for me and Lord hear them all.

Thanks guys.

Hello Out There HenCirclers!

2008-07-01T11:33:00.003-05:00

So, I must be bored this summer since I'm addicted like crack to plurk. It's this online dealy where you can chat with like 2340287096 people at one time and sucks all your free time. Watch yourself. I told you so.

Anyway, so there I found Miz Vi of LnV fame and she is all hopped up on farmgirl crack and is dealing. I bought some. :D And so did like 90something others. Our first directive is to intro ourselves on our blogs. This is that.

I am a 24yo teacher, spinner, knitter, dyer, crafting baker. I plant plants and sometimes they live. I like to walk the riverbank and pick up river glass and cool rocks. I like to visit nature as often as I can, to get all Emersonian and transparent eyebally. My quest for farmgirl is to get back to where I came from. I have lived in the city for a year and it's really weird being here in the summer. Blackberries and blueberries do NOT grow in my backyard anymore. I'm sad about that. I miss it. Terribly. I've always lived out in the country (mostly) or lived somewhere that wasn't all citified like I do now. I live in the concrete jungle, nothing really grows wild here, very manicured, and I pay for it too.

But I'd like to bake WHO bread (planning to this week for shrimp bisque) and have a flower patch (2 containers ain't cutttin' it) and sew more than I do now.

I'd just like to get back some of the things I lost when I grew up, got a job, and moved away from home. I miss them.

ETA: WHO bread link, that's the acoustic version. I did't link the bread machine version because I'm not using a bread machine. But you can get it from her too.

Garbage in Garbage Out!

2008-06-28T19:25:00.000-05:00

So I've been a busy bee. I finished my grad class and I went on an interview and cleaned out my stash.craft.guest bedroom and D got a job! Yay. D was offered the job of asst. manager at the new store and he took it. :D It's a blessing really since he was as high up as he could go in his old store. Now he's asst. mgr- in less than a year time- from part time seasonal minion to asst. mgr. WOOT!

And I went on an interview and I felt like I rocked it. I was armed with test scores and stats about the school, they were blown away. I'll hear by July 8thish. Pray that I get it, it seems like a great place to set up shop for a while.

And my bedroom was trashed- really. I had been so busy with weekend crafty stuffs that I'd just shove stuff back in there and not really put it up properly. So, here we have the new and improved closet where almost ALL of my yarn, et al is stored.

And a close up of the tall thingy:

This is a little messy still, but I have to get new bookends for this:

Then there's the new yarn D got me at his store at a STEEP discount. :D
That's all double stacked in there. I know...

Then there's this drawer too

And I'd like to share my tattoo for the first time

Also, I saw Shawn Mullins at The Loft last weekend. ROCK OUT! He played late and my mans Marshall Ruffin opened for him

Oh and the car is still screwed up- something else this time. GOOD LORD!

Stop buying and Think for a minute

2008-05-27T17:05:00.002-05:00

http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2008/05/mid_year_resolu.php

Go there. Read that. Back? Okay.

Now. I'm not poor. I'm not broke. I am, however, unemployed in about, um, 24hrs. Yes, tomorrow is my last day at my current school and I'm still looking for a school (ahem universe, I'm sending positive vibes- using the Secret, please help a sista out!) for next year. Anyway. I was reading this and it really struck home.

Laurie Perry (aka crazy aunt purl) speaks as thought she lives in my body. Really. Like she has the same soul. Freaky huh? Maybe that sounds all weird and stalkery, but really. Anyhow. She is taking a break from buying crap. Not like the world ends if she buys, but she's just gonna focus on her needs, not her wants.

And as I was reading this, I was flicking between tabs- frantically refreshing the Yarn Pirate website, stalking roving. I have just purchased two bumps (12 oz) of fiber. I need no more.

I just sold four skeins of sock yarn that I know I wasn't going to use. I get rid of stuff at a scary rate.

But I also bring stuff in at a scary rate. I scour the Rav boards for great yarn finds. I think about yarn and junk to buy when I'm washing my hair in the morning.

I'm a rabid consumer. And it scares me. My finances are not up to snuff for me to want to own the world. No Trumps or Rockafellers in my family. Nada.

Jeesh. I think I should follow her example and stop the buying a while. But, lets face it- I can prolly only last a month.

Whoa Cool!

2008-05-26T13:44:00.002-05:00

I linked to Sonny and Shear, a yarn store online. They kick butt. You can send them yarn bands that total up to 2lbs and they give you 10% off your next purchase. EVEN if you didn't buy the yarn from them, they let you play. EVEN IF you have never ordered from them, THEY LET YOU PLAY! How rock is that?

Also, they give you points for your purchases. You only have to spend $200 to get $25 to spend for free. We all know how FAST we can do that. Sheesh. I'm thinking my next birthdays and Christmases may come from there- that way I get the yarn and the yarn credit too! :D

Check it out. They rock.

Six Things

2008-05-20T11:06:00.002-05:00

Six Things

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

Since I hate to be tagged, I tag not here.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Let's see, I was 14. That puts me in middle school, living in Columbus, GA. Arnold Middle School- 8th grade. I would have been totally in love with a guy named Matt, dorky but tall, dark, and goofy cute. I was giving gifts for all occasions- wearing tie-died pants on Easter. My parents were still married- unhappily. I was growing up- trying to figure life out. :P

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order): write study guide, learn to center clay on the wheel, spin, knit, take a nap, grade papers. Notice what I put last - the thing I hate most!

3) Snacks I enjoy: Apples, bagelfuls, cheesesticks

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Quit my job, invest some money, save the rest and live off of the interest. Buy a new car. Pay off my credit cards. BUY MORE YARN!

5) Places I have lived: Cordele, Americus, Columbus, Ga Seale, Alabama

6) Jobs I have had: waitress, tutor, lab monitor, teacher, babysitter

Whoosh!

2008-05-14T11:31:00.002-05:00

I feel like I've been in a windstorm all weekend. Well, Sunday I was, but we'll skip that for now.

Friday was a busy bee kind of day. Had to get home, pack orders to ship, pack clothes to go to Americus this weekend, and clean up a bit before we could go. I let the house fall in during the week and then rebuild each weekend. Sucks when I don't have a weekend to rebuild, then I have to do it during the week. Boo.

We got in around dark at his mom's house and had steak, potatoes, asparagus (sp?), and salad. I actually at the veggies, never before being a fan of the spears. That being said, I do think the only way I'd eat them is grilled. mmmm We veged out the rest of the night with Dave making fun of Mom about turning off ALL of the lights in the house. "We're saving electricity!" Except we couldn't see to talk to each other at one point she had been so click happy. It became a running joke.

Saturday I got up and went to the college, the real reason we were there, and attended the first day (pre institute) of the Writing Project. I worked for the WP for years while I was in college and now I get to go through as a fellow. :D Yay. And I got my books and supplies. It felt great, like the first day back after summer. I really do LOVE to be in school. Go with it, you and I both know I'll be grumpy once the projects start coming due, but we'll pretend like that's not the truth.

Saturday night we went to Cordele to visit with my cousin Cal. We ate pizza, played guitar hero, chatted, and then watched the real history channel version of 300. He freaked us out because he's been sick and his blood pressure has been sky high. Like 10 points from stroke zone. We're very worried about him. I played the role of Mama and made him get out of his wheelchair when we were just sitting around talking or watching tv. I know it wore him out, but the chair doesn't do him much good.

Sunday was interesting. I had about 10 lbs of water on Saturday so I kept having to get up and tinkle. Well, I noticed one blurry time that it was very dark and that it was flashing light and I heard the thunder. Then I woke up again to potty and it was raining like something out of the old testament! Jeebs. [I later found out that tornados touched down all around our area!] Dave, saint that he is, let me sleep unabused until 11am. Glory! Then I got up, showered, and we sat around waiting for Terry's kids to get there for Mother's Day lunch. They took FOREVER! GOOD GOD. Ahem. After we ate and chatted, we packed up and headed out. On the road between his mom's and Americus, we saw 2 turtles in the road. One was a big snapper and the other turned out to be a gopher tortise. We turned around to go back and save the snapper but he must have hauled boogie or been saved by the truck behind us, we never did find him. And then we turned around in the parking lot of a church to save him.

When we got home, we went and ran errands and at at Wendy's. On the way back into our apts, we saw a baby snapper caught between the curbs, making a mad dash. We picked him up, drove him up the hill, and let him go down where our drainage ponds are. :D We are the turtle team or something hehe.

The Fuzzy Peach Rides Again!

2008-05-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
thefuzzypeach

Check out our new base- Sproing!

Spin me right round baby

2008-04-15T10:59:00.002-05:00

Yeah, what's with all the song titles? I dunno. They just come to me and seem to fit. :P

I've been given the gift of a spindle and fiber. I'm a spinner! Finally. I've wanted to learn to spin since I started knitting.

Here is the gift that I got from SPLJ5 pal Knit Kit.

I got the package right around my birthday and managed to spin all the fiber she sent before I managed to snap a pic. :D I love spinning. It's fun. And easy. I might can make sock yarn one day. :D WHOO.

This is some Crown Moutain Farms roving that I bought from a person on Ravelry. I think it's called Tahitian Dream or something. I broke the big pile into 2 bumps and have spun up all of one and have one left.

This is something I got in a birthday swap. IT ROCKS!

And this is recycled yarn that I got from the same person who I got the fiber from. It was a sweater and I ripped it and dyed it this weekend. It's drying now, I should be able to use it this weekend. I'm thinking to start the mystic lights shawl. I joined the KAL, but you know me- I've not even picked out my yarn! :P

And since I'm here, since I'm posting, I'll add one more. This is my sock yarn stash as of last month. I think there are 5 new ones already and I have a $100 order from Woolgirl coming my way. My cousin loves me and forgot my birthday. SO he made up for it in fiber. :D YAY

I need to cast on a new pair of socks with some of this yarn. I just finished a pair of socks out of my own yarn and I need to get a pic soon. But I forgot yesterday when I was snap happy.

Touch me, turn me on, baby burn me down

2008-03-28T16:17:00.000-05:00

I used to LOVE that song. I am on fire this week. I've crocheted three owls and a robin. I cleaned out the stash to give like 10lbs to his mema's church for their children's center. I've purchased lots o' crap. Just tons of stuff has been done this week. Please don't make me go back to school.

Please?

Really?

See how cute? *dies*

Out of the Pot and into the fire

2008-03-17T16:53:00.004-05:00

I'm dyeing again. :P I've been busy like a bee. I dyed up 4 skeins Saturday night. Fun stuff. I had a blast. I tried a new way of doing things. 'Speriments if you will. [Me and Dusty Rhodes]

So here we have my fave mistake, er um, experiment.

It's still in the rinse, so no really great pics of it. BUT LOVE IT! I can't wait for you to see it. It's like the inside of a watercolor paintbox after it get rained on. Fab.

And here you see a project that I've finished recently. My stearing wheel kept freezing me to death. So as soon as I got sick of it, Spring happened. Whatever. I'm over it.

And a yarn I just got from The Loopy Ewe. I could just roll in the yarn.

Speaking of what's left, we've got a few skeins left in the shop. Go check it out. I want to wait until April to put more yarn in the shop. I have a birthday to celebrate early in the month, so no yarn worries for me then. :P Maybe my new sock base yarns will be dry by then. It's squishier than the one I already use. :D

We Interrupt This Radio Silence

2008-03-02T17:02:00.001-05:00

We're back. After the Holidays, I needed a break. Now I feel fantabulous and we've been head over heels in the dye pots these past few weeks. I dabbled a bit in there last night as a matter of fact, so those will be coming out soon and up to dry. When they do so, we might sneak a few into the shop. :D And we have a new sock yarn base to play with. I'm still testing some stuff, seeing what dyes work, etc. So look for a new base yarn to add to the one we already have in stock.

Enough already! Check our Etsy mini and see what we have new for you!

Etsy
Buy Handmade
thefuzzypeach

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. One lucky buyer who purchases one of our four new yarns will get a FREE matching set of stitch markers (4)!

Enjoy!

Chore Wars!

2008-02-15T14:35:00.000-05:00

Random Friday

2008-02-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

Jan. was the month that I thought would never end. I lived six lives through that stipid month. And went broke! :P This being a teacher and getting one check a month thing is for the birds.

I voted. :D I felt very grown up. It was my very first time voting. Eva. !

I have just finished a pair of socks. I'm wearing them right now as a matter of fact. They are from my own handdyed yarn. I hated that I had to many knots, but if there weren't knots, I would have never been able to keep it!

I'm not impressed with the last Pirates movie. It was a bit too fantasy for me. The first one could have happened-ish but the next two, no way! And I hate that they left it open for a 4th. Won't be seeing it if they do. I don't like when movies keep going and going. Jason, Freddie, and the Halloweens are dumb to me for that reason.

I want to start a pair of Noro socks. Bad. Real bad. Like NOW. But I'm still at school, so no socks for the wicked.

My car is broken. It's leaking water like crazy and we can't find where it's coming from. I've driven to work the past two freezing mornings with no heat because I can't keep enough water in the stinkin' radiator. We hope it's just a hose. And we can fix it over the weekend. If not, we may have to do something serious like borrow a car or rent one! for the 4 days I'm in school next week. Eep.

There is a really icky piece of hair on my speaker on the desk. Squick!

It's Friday, 3:14 and I can't stand myself I'm so excited!!! My fave guy is going to be playing at The Loft tomorrow night and we are THERE! :D He hasn't played since waay before Chirstmas because he's been cutting an album. Yay! He's going to have a CD release party in March.

I hate giving makeup tests. I always wind up rewriting them so that the kids these days can't type them into their cells and then give them or sell them away to the kids who missed. More work for me, but it keeps them a little bit honest.

I had a really healthy discussion with my 4th block 10th graders today about race, racism, and MLK. We read his speech and talked about whether or not his dream has been realized. My special ed. teacher grew up in the civil rights era and told some stories that happened to her and her family in Alabama. It was really cool. A very neat way to spend a Friday during Black History month. Oh, have I ever mentioned I teach at a predom. black high school? That made it especially cool to have the convo. with my kids. I've been hit as a racist sooo many times this year that I'm so sick of it but I think the kids really opened up to me today. For the first time. Breakthroughs.

Ok. I think that's all the random info I can type out before the 3:30 bell. If only this kid would get finished so I can go!!! :P I feel the highway calling my name. Must make a note to add water to my car before I hope in and fly off.

Hace a great and random weekend!

Whoa Weather!

2008-01-21T11:17:00.001-05:00

GA. has been having some weather as of late. Snow and sleet and ice. Some are braced for the end of times. ;P I managed to get home the other day fine because it turned into rain and the temp. rose right after that. And then we had a heavy snow warning for Saturday. It snowed all around us, but none in Col. as far as I know and I live on the North end. I wonder if my kids got snow?
I worked another yarn event at AC Moore and people were saying that it was snowing in Pine Mtn. and Warm Springs. So maybe they got some at school. I know they'll be pleased if they did.

Other than snow news, no news. I'm still knitting away on two pairs of socks. Working the scarfotis. Started sewing a lamb out of socks last night. Have the stuff cut for a zebra but I ran out of polyfil. Bummer. D said he'd bring some home from work for me if he could remember to buy some. :D We'll see about it.

Today is a good day, no school. But of course I had dreams of school all morning as I slept through my usual time. I had one where I didn't get there until 4th block and my principal was mad because I didn't call and was about to fire me. I woke up thank goodness before he got the chance. And then I had one where someone came in and rearranged my room. Put up these shelves in front of the chalkboard (*chalk where a white board should have been!) and moved my desk and my kids desks. Freaked me out a lot. I hate when I have time off and all I can think about is work. Makes me crazy. :P

Sleet and Prayers

2008-01-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

So...we have sleet. In Georgia. And I'm 30+ minutes away from home. Im' not excited about that. Not at all. I keep hoping that they will cut us loose before 4th block and call this a snow day before the roads ice over. Let's all send out a prayer. :D And if they do keep us all day, I'm soo going to skip the faculty meeting. It's been sleeting in Columbus where I live for hours now. And it hasn't gotten any warmer outside, only colder. So I'm thinking I may drive slow and slide home. :P

For the Mason Dixon Ladies

2008-01-01T17:06:00.001-05:00

ETA: SCORE! I won. :D Yay. *happy dance* And Ma, we rock. :P

I am a sheep. Baaa. I also love contests. So this is the reason for my posting. I am entering my recipe box, the one we use and the one that sits on top of my fridge.

My mom started this for me when I was in high school. She was going to give it to me for my birthday or something but she got caught or ran out of time or something. So she started it and I finished it. :D So this is a two person project and I've used it for various things since we finished but since I have my own house, I use it for holding recipes. :D

This is the front view.

Open and not at all cleaned up!

And a back view.

You can tell I was a little bubblegum pop, teeny bopper back then. I love it and I have kept it cleaned off since I've been using it. :D

And now for the recipe. This is one from his Mema and it's sinfully easy!

1-2-3 Tuna Pie Serves 6

Needed:
1 frozen pie crust
6 1/2 oz. can tuna in OIL, drained
1 lb. can Mixed Vegs (veg-all), drained
10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Do:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Turn pie shell out on wax paper.
Combine tuna, veg-all, and soup in mixing bowl.
Put mixture in pie tin.
Slit crust in several places, place over tuna mixture.
Do NOT seal edge.
Place pie tin on baking sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until crust is golden.

This is yummy, yummy, yummy! Sorry Ma for not sharing any of our families recipes. Truth be told, none of them are written down. :P

Christmas nears :D

2007-12-21T12:13:00.001-05:00

So we will hit our first Christmas event Saturday. We'll be motoring down to his Dad's house to do that side of Christmas. Then we'll come back Sunday, do our own little Christmas, he'll work Monday, we'll then drive back down to Americus for Christmas Eve and Christmas with his moms, and then back on Christmas day for him to work day after Christmas. Whew. I guess while we're in the area, we should go by my Dad's etc. but I haven't gotten them one single thing for Christmas. Crap. That also leaves his grandparents in Macon and my mama in Valdosta. Whoa. No IDEA how we're going to manage all this. Stupid job. I can go just whenever, but he can't manage to get off. But we're not bitter, we won't go there.

Ahhem.

More pictures of the Christmas nature.

This is a pic of the angel and the two lady ornaments we found in the stuff his mom ditched on us this year.

This cool little ornament is another that we found in the box o' crap. I love it!

Is this not the sweetest thing? I love it very much and it's at the front center of the tree this year.

And this little one has sisters, but they are so fragile that I left them packed up. I think they were his Mema Joyce's and then his mom's and now they are ours!

And isn't she sweet? I found her too. I like her painted face and hair.

And these are some new additions to our collection o' junk. The hippo is a candle, how cool? I got it, along with tons of others, for $2 at the goodwill store! And then the little snowman is something that was packed in with the mom stuff the sent us. It is china and so dainty! I love it. Then there's the yellow bird. Do you love it?! It was $1.01 at the goodwill. It was cast in 1945 (so says the pencil inside of him. I just love these three guys. :D

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2007-12-17T18:10:00.000-05:00

So here's the state of the craft:
I'm crankin' stuff out like a machine over here!

These are some things I've been knitting:
Camo Scarf for my little brother-

And a Mason-Dixon Scribble Scarf going to a teacher at school-

And the snail I mentioned-

A Fun Fur tree I made to give as SnB swap tonight-

And to prove that I still knit- WIPS

Branching out-

Some socks in progress-

That's 2 pair! The lighter of the two purples is some yarn I dyed for myself. It was the end of the cone that was all warped etc. SO I got to keep it! :D

And now for some of the cuteness that is my house at Christmas:

The cactus of 52+ blooms. :D We think it's dying.

And the cutest tree on Earth!!!

And the greatest stocking yet made by man-

Status

2007-12-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

Jeesh. Whirlwind would not even begin to describe my life. Hither, tither, and yon I have been. Or at least it feels like that. I did little of nothing all weekend, but boy howdy do I feel like I climbed Everest. We cleaned the house, I mean CLEANED the house this weekend. After Sunday, you can't tell any difference. We spent all day Sunday in house, piddling, crafting, watching movies.

I've been sewing and knitting. And dyeing. I dyed up three more skeins of yarn for the shop, one though, is short so I get to keep it. :D It's a beautiful mix of greens. I started with a school theme in mind, blue and gold, but it was more fun to keep dumping them in at the same time and see what came out of it! I was also a bit impatient. I could have let the yellow strike and then the blue after the yellow exhausted, but who DOES that? :P

Not me.

And I think I've broken the curse of the ugly stocking. I've made a new stocking for myself for the last three years running. And they all come out ugly. So. This year, with my handy new machine, I ziped one up in patchwork. SO cute. I'll have to get pictures up. I'm in such a Christmas mood today. I've been listening to Yahoo! Music's Christmas stations. It's postplanning today, no kids!!! Can you tell I'm in a great mood? I would to a hula if it weren't so blasted cold in my room. I am not keen on the heater becuase of all the candy(paper) in the heater. Afraid I'll set this place ablaze. Not sure that's a bad thing, but you know, I'll wait for a day with kids to do it so we can all go home! :P Just kidding.

OH, I've knit a snail. It has to be the cutest thing EVA. I used the top part of the Nautie pattern from Knitty and made his little shell. Then I freehanded the body. I'm so proud. And no, I can't share a pattern. I just kinda did it. I increased when it seemed like a good idea, I decreased when it looked right, I made i-cord when it felt like the thing to do. I guess I can finally say that I am a true knitter cause I pulled that entire snail out of the air. It's for the boy who has said on multiple occasions that he's a snail. I don't know why, but he is a 26 yo kid at heart. Really. He just up and says he's a snail sometimes when we're playing around and then makes this noise like he's slithering. Eww. Then we were huddled under the covers, in cave darkness, one cold day and he was suddenly a "bat snail." So after I finish sewing him up, I've got to make some bat wings too. :D

Oh and my mom's husband's name is Donald. Naturally, we all give him ducks for Christmas. Dave just got this the other day when he was saying something about Donald's duck. He's slow I swear. But I'm going to sew him a duck. I've made this pattern out of thin air too. So I'm now a real sewer (is that a word?) too. I saw one online that I liked and it's from a Japanese craft book. It would cost $30+ to buy and ship from Japan, so I am guessing how this thing goes together. I made one out of paper first, and then some scrap, and next will come some bright yellow fabric I didn't even know I had. :D Yay for being a packrat.
For your info, I am NOT procrastinating grading papers. I'm being informative. :P

Sneaky

2007-12-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

I've just put up one more skein in the shop. Catch it while you can!

The Update Is Up

2007-12-10T18:21:00.000-05:00

We've updated. Faster than expected, so it's now up there. We didn't expect to have it up until 9, but I'm a fast little bunny.

Speaking of bunny, there is a skein called Bunny Nose. :D

Holy Crappola

2007-12-06T12:20:00.000-05:00

I am amazed. :D I (by me I mean the shop, whateva...:p) am in the Holiday Shopping Guide for Lime 'n Violet. :D YAY. That's so cool. And I love The Black Apple. Her illustrations are so pretty. And I love lots and lots of those yarn shops. hehehehe

And a side note. I'm watching tv so this is why I'm off on this. What is up(!) with the Aero Garden thing? It looks like it would make some icky, fake veggies. I have seen them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and just shake my head in wonder. And the next question is WHO has that much counter space? I mean really. Kitchen counters are worth their weight in gold. Never a kitchen built has had enough counter space. Never.

And another thing. I am sick of ghetto little girls with nasty attitudes. Head snappin', lip smackin', nasty nasty comments. I ask them to sit down and be quiet. You'd thought I called them some name or something. No, just sit down, shut your mouth, get to work. This is after I've asked them at least 20 times to do their work. I mean jebbus. I'm just really sick of working with kids who don't care, who won't ever be more than they are today because they just don't have the drive or anything near a goal.

GROWL.

And boy are they gonna be angry when they fail in a week and a half. :P

About that Update

2007-11-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

You know, life is a funny thing. Well, in recent months, not so funny haha, but funny all the same. I know that we all talked that game about an update on the 30th, but it's the 30th. I only have 2 skiens preped at this moment. We had a cone issue, but got it fixed. Now I'm winding my little heart out at home when I get home from work. Maybe we can shoot for next weekend, if the weather holds. Last update was killed with rain (no drying!). I have some new dyes, so I'm going to try and NOT dye any oranges this time. There are still a few oranges in the shop, so orange isn't the color of the moment. :D

In knitting news, I've finished a ton!! of projects. I have finished the scribble scarf from MDK (finally), a camo scarf for my brother for Christmas (UGLY!!! Boys are weird), and other things that I can't remember. I think I've finished a new pair of socks since I've posted FOs.

I've had ADD like whoa of late because I don't want to knit anything. I want to knit EVERYTHING. :P I've started the branching out lace scarf with some yummy yarn that is a mystery to me. I got it in with a number of packages when I was swapping and sending gifts to friends and getting gifts from friends. I have NO idea who gave it to me, who dyed it, what the type of wool...nada. But boy it's pretty.

I'm knitting another pair of socks (purple, what else?) from Francis Patrick Sales on EBAY. I heart this yarn. I accidentally ordered sport weight and I don't like it as much as I like the sock/shawl fingering weight from them. I'm using up the purple because I have a skien of "bluebell" that I want to design some socks for it. I have been looking at lace patterns to try. Nothing has blown me down so far.

In the cone issue I had, I made some short skiens and dyed them up for myself. Bet you can't guess what color? Purples. I used some Dylon and used a base purple. I added navy to it for a darker, some pink for a redviolet, and mixed my own for a purpley pinky bluey. :P Those may be the next on the needles. I know, I have a problem with purples. I have lived in purple rooms in my lifetime. :D

Thanksgiving was nice, spent time with my family. My boy had to work Black Friday and the Saturday afterwards. He was not happy. 4am is not a wake-up time. It's a bedtime. :P I was very proud of myself though, I didn't eat myself sick. I ate until I was full and then stopped. I loved my aunt's chocolate poundcake. MMMM.

I think that's all I can dump from my brain at this point.

Chum Cha Chum Chum Chum.....

2007-10-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

That's right, we at The Fuzzy Peach are going to be featured on Lime N Violet's Daily Chum Blog!

*happy muppet dance*

I love me some Lime N Violet, so this couldn't be cooler. Well, maybe if LnV bought a skien a piece, that would rock. But really. COOL.

So go check out the chum, it's full of great stuff and now, us! Well, not right now. But sometime soon.
And, if you've been waiting to buy, go quick because tons o' people read that thing, so if they likes, it may be gone.

Life Takes Visa

2007-10-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Or Vodka. Which is it?

Things have been harried as of late. Last week was homecoming from Hades. My kids have lost their minds. And it's taking them a long time this week to find them and get them back in their heads again. Jeesh. Feels like the first week of school all over again.

But I'm living and breathing and working through it. Or rather, they are working through it. Quizes abound, holding them accountable for everything I've said. :D I'm evil, or so my kids think.

Had a kid tell me that if I didn't write up so many kids I'd be teacher of the month (teachers vote for this award). I looked at him with my eyebrow cocked and said "Does it look like I care?"

No was the obvious answer there. :P

I've been knitting like whoooa lately. I've finished a pair of socks in plain st. st. feets with 3x3 rib legs. Now I'm past the heel on a pair on a pair of double eyelet rib socks from WendyKnits! I've only been working on those a week. Talk about speed, baby! :) I'm happy with the yarn I used, doesn't make the pattern stand out, but it is beautiful to me. Like Darla to Spanky. It's spinning bunny in paintbox from Ebay. Love! It is wool tencel. mmmmm So soft and shiney.

I've been a little miffed with Blogger of late. I've tried 5 times to post to a blog I belong to for Sock A Month and it won't let me. Not even just text. Grump.

But I'm happy it's Friday. Praise be.

October Update at The Fuzzy Peach

2007-10-01T17:54:00.000-05:00

It's October 1st and fall is upon us, even here in Georgia the temperatures are beginning to dip slightly, a welcome respite believe us. Fall also means the creation of warm handcrafted goodies is gearing up and, most importantly, The Fuzzy Peach has UPDATED!

Yeah some believed it would never happen again, like the dinosaurs :P Yet here we are. Getting quality yarn blanks took a little longer than anticipated, so our September update got pushed. The good news is we have enough to supply a couple of updates so our next one should be on schedule barring any catastrophic events. For any of you who may have been champing at the bit to get some more yarn-y goodness or checking our shop with religious fervor we sincerely apologize for the lag. To make it up to you good people, for the first 24 hours (10-1 7pm - 10-2 7pm EST Daylight Savings) ALL our yarns will be a dollar off. Thats right, consider it more money in your wallet, a treat from the Wendy's dollar menu, or "free" shipping on that second skein. However you slice it, you're saving a little money. You could call this offer semi-exclusive since, unfortunately for us, we won't be indexed into Etsy's search pages for a "few days," so a direct visit to our store is the only way to take advantage of this discount. And as always we encourage you to tell your friends and link us in your journal/blog.

Also, we like to have fun so for all the game-of-chance fans out there, you can now be part of the Peachy Lottery. How to play- just purchase a skein from the shop and check the ballband when you recieve your order. If you find a multicolored froggy stamp on the reverse, then its 1/2 off any one skein with your next order, yeah thats right, you heard it from the horse's mouth, 1/2 OFF. Go on and play, we haven't crunched the numbers but are pretty confident your odds of winning this lotto are far greater than hitting the Powerball, after all 11 skeins verses 54 numbers, give or take :) Anyway enough about us, follow Elberta (our banner sheep) or click on your favorite yarn to browse our new selection (you know you wanna :)

Etsy
Buy Handmade
thefuzzypeach

A Letter From My Day

2007-09-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Dr. Angelou, September 13, 2007

My name is L and I am a new teacher. I would like to thank you personally for your inspiration to me. I read your autobiographical novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings when I was a teenager in high school. The influence of Mrs. Flowers was astoundingly powerful. I was assigned a collage depicting her and I spent hours pouring over magazines, finally settling on the one African American face I could find in a white household, Vivica Fox from a Cosmo ad. I scoured, searching for flower prints and white gloves. Today, as a teacher of English I have made the same assignment. However, my students were less moved by her than I had been.
Speaking of my students, that is the actual reason I write to you today. I have no idea if this letter will make it through your publisher to your actual flesh hands, but I write with hope. It is a thing with wings after all, so maybe I have a chance.

I wanted to tell you of my experience this August and September. I am a first year teacher, I am Caucasian, I teach in an almost entirely African American school system. The community that the school is in is predominantly native sons and also African American by a vast majority. This information is vital to understand the unique situation in which I have found myself. I taught this book to my tenth grade literature class, we read almost the entire novel, cover to cover. We talked about your experiences and the difficulties that faced young black Americans at that time in history. I spent a great deal of time discussing the historical context, taking the words out of my mouth and putting them back in Dentist Lincoln’s, the used-to-be Sherriff’s, and all his ilk. I warned them when difficult things were coming. And we read. Aloud. All of us. As a group, as a community.

Today I have been shouted down as a racist. For teaching black students a book by a black author in hopes to inspire, elevate, and educate their lives.
As an educator, as a fellow human, this pained me greatly. I cried upon hearing that almost all of my kids feel that I am racist. For reading them a novel, for bringing light and literature into their lives. For teaching.

Overall, I suppose I write to you in search of succor. In search of an understanding ear. I don’t necessarily expect any response, but I feel so strongly about this that I am seeking outlet. Today at school I was confronted by two administrators who told me of my kids’ feelings. I felt terribly singled out and unfairly used. And I guess this is going to serve as a great learning experience for me. I have never before felt so aware of the color of skin that I was in, looking into a group of brown faces that hated me, standing whitely at the front of a classroom. Perhaps I should just chalk this up to a learning experience, to knowing better next time. But I can’t because I had the most pure intentions for teaching this novel. I didn’t want to be another teacher teaching the cannon of dead white men with money. I hated that cannon when I was a student, felt it stranglingly exclusive.

As I am still reeling from this experience, I apologize if I meander. I was told not to teach your novel next semester. I’m “putting out fires” so that they do not become “forest fires.” I just wonder what my objective in the classroom is to be from here out. For these reasons, and others too numerous and confusing to name, I felt compelled to write to you today, and I thank you for your time and attention.

Most Respectfully Yours,
L

The Fuzzy Peach is Heating Up

2007-09-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

From the good folks at

Hello faithful customers and fans! Never fear, like Count Dracula, we're not dead. Our hiatus and unfortunate update postponement was due in large part to the relocation of our shop, our home, new jobs, and well...life in general. I'm sure ya'll understand. On to what you've been waiting to hear- with the unbearable heat of another Georgia summer slowly giving way, we're gearing up for a large update with some fun discounts, although the date is a little fuzzy at this point (yeah the pun was intended:). Also, we've recently procured some new tools that will greatly speed our dye process (in theory).

In the meantime, there are still a couple of skeins left to be purchased if you can't wait for the next update to get your fix. These listings won't last much longer though and once they're gone, they're gone for good (ok, ok, if they aren't sold you're bound to see them again:) So go forth and purchase!

Still Alive

2007-08-28T20:43:00.001-05:00

It's almost midterm. Lord help me! :P I'm still alive. I've had to boys raise their hand at me this week, as though to strike. Two. Not even in my class, I was covereing. I think I wrote up 15 today. Not kidding. Gave out at least 4 zeros for talking during a reading quiz. Why is it that they think they can talk through it (when I say again and again that if you talk, you are cheating, and that gets a zero!) and not get a zero?

In knitting content, I'm chevroning a scarf from my old sock yarn scraps and a sock yarn I bought off Ebay when I first started knitting. I hated it and decided I'd never make socks from it. And I'm making a pair of self-stripey socks from some Sockotta (sp?) from secret pal. It's going to be plain jane. But the chevron rocks! It's so pretty with the melting colors.

And I've joined an S n B here in Col. I've only made it to one meeting because they are on Mondays and Mondays have been rough. It's like my kids forget how to work school over the weekend. :P

I hope to get some yarn with my paycheck at the end of this week and start the Fuzzy Peach back up. I've been itching to dye some more. Maybe I can express some of my issues in yarn colors. Just hope they won't all turn out red and/or black! :P hehehe

Thanks for your kind comments and your support. I'm keeping on at this thing, I've come too far for a bunch of teenage punks to beat me now. I've won against better (and worse!). :D

School Day Blues

2007-08-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

Dear Lord,
Please give me strength today. Help me remember why I am here and what my purpose in life is, even if I have to do a few things outside of my normal job. Like stop fights outside my classroom door between two ex-lovers. He a large, rude, illeducated individual with a temper who has already told me to "f" myself when asking him to please pull his pants up. She a larger girl, hard to control physically, streaming tears. Lord help me remember not to strike out at these foolish children as they ruuun to the door to see what's going on and then spill into the hall, moving me physically. Lord, help me not to have a heartattack while screaming at them to sit down, shut up, and get to reading-there-is-a-quiz-when-you-walk-in-tomorrow. Lord. Help them to control their emotions as they come back in my classroom, snapping at each other, an almost start a fight in my room. And Lord, please don't let me see a day like today again for a long time.
Oh, and it's picture day. They are in the halls, being called by homeroom to go to the gym and get snapped. Teaching is futile today. The only class I accomplished even a small thing was first with my nightmare of a tenth grade class.
Lord, give me strength not to snap on my fourth block. And give them the wisdom not to try me today. I wrote two up yesterday, and I'll do the same today if need be.

Actual Knitting Content Ahead

2007-07-15T16:19:00.001-05:00

Finished my July pair, nothing special, just k3p1 rib on the leg. My brain needed a rest and an easy project while we worked on getting real jobs and moving. :D Here they are, a prayer knit into every stitch.

Specs: 2 socks magic loop, US 1s Knitpicks classic needles
Online Supersocke in ??? can't find the ballband since the move, got the yarn from a SP on LiveJournal, thanks Amanda!
Started in June and finished on July 12

Forgive the bad pic, had to tweak the colors to let you see the socks at all. It rains all the time here, or so it would seem.

And, a secrit project for a seekrit pal. This pal doesn't know I have a blog, so I'm safe. Plus, by the time she sees it, she'll know my name. :D

A Stash Bunny!

Bunny outside

Bunny in the stash basket

Le bunny has cedar bits inside him. So you can sit him in your stash and he'll keep the buggies away. I made him with leftover sock yarn bits and I dum dum dummm, crocheted him. :D I've gone over to the dark side, and it's not so dark. I loved making the little guy. I could see my crocheting more stuffies in the future, not so much for the knitting of them. Crochet is forgiving, you can just make it up as you go, sorta. And I just kinda made this guy up. I based him off a lion brand pattern, best bunny, but I don't follow written directions worth a crap. I looked at the pic and made it look like that, even if I didn't so much follow what the words said.

And now I'm on to another pair of socks. This time on 2s. Whoa these babies fly. I'm using the Broadripple pattern from Knitty and some yarn my SP9 sp sent me, thanks TeAntae! I know you meant it to be a scarf, I just couldn't bring myself to not make socks out of it, it's my frist Claudia Handpaints. I lOOOOve this yarn. It's sooo smooshie.

I don't think so

2007-07-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

I just read the Yarn Harlot's blog for today and I'm very angry. I wrote both of our Senators as soon as I read the story. You should. If you don't know what I'm talking about go here and read this. http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ I could stroke. I hope this guy gets raped some time in the future and has to describe the event as sex. And I cannot believe this. We have to edit our language because some words are too inflammatory? How can someone be accused of rape and not have this charge read in court? You can't use the word he's accused of...umm...hello!? Next thing murderes are simply going to be, I dunno, disgruntled humans who poke other humans? You know, with sharp pointy things.

So go, speak out, let them hear from you. You can no longer find the Lincoln Nebraska judicial site. It gives you a 404 not found error. Soo, it looks like folks have been hitting Mr. Judge Butthead pretty hard. I wish they'd hit him with something harder, like sense.

I'm it, April 9

2007-07-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here is something cool, I was tagged by LaurieC

The rules: Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth month and date (mine is Sept 4th), then post 3 events, 2 births and a holiday. Then tag 5 others, I'm not much for tagging, but I pick Mrs. B and anyone else who'd like to play along. :D

Events:
193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans). [Totally thinking of Snape when I read this one!]

1413 - Henry V is crowned King of England. [Love ya Shakespeare and your Historical self! I read Henry IV and V in my Shakes II class]

2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad, Iraq falls to American forces. [Thanks Dubya, we're still stuck over there]

Births:
1926 - Hugh Hefner, American editor and publisher, founder of Playboy [Yeah baby!]

1981 - Eric Harris, Columbine High School shooter (d. 1999) [I could have been this nutjob! EEK!]

Holiday:
Day of National Unity- (ეროვნული ერთიანობის დღე), an annual public holiday in Georgia. [Not my GA, but GA all the same :D ]

Back

2007-07-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

Yep. Tha's me. I'm back in the world of the connected. We've been online since sometime last week, but I've been in hiding. I guess I'm just spending my time wallowing in this nice new apt. It is a castle man. We have SOOO much more room (we've already filled it up to the brim and have a just purchased coffee table under our bed). Don't ask me how the world we lived in a studio, I can't even begin to tell you. But we're back, unpacked, and settled in.

The boy cooked some yummy salmon tonight, our first real, not a hot dog or sammich meal. :P We have eaten a LOT of Fox's pizza. We can't afford it, but we did it all the same. This not having a job thing and thereby no paycheck and no money thing is for the birds. The ones who aren't afraid to eat out of garbage cans or the gutter. :P

And The Fuzzy Peach is open again, buy it up so I can ruin our new kitchen with the dyes. :D I just can't stand to have white counter tops and a spotless floor!

Radio Darkness

2007-06-27T18:48:00.000-05:00

Captain's Log, 6-27-2007:

As we approach the slingshot around the moon in approach to the asteroid, we will experience radio darkness, we will not have contact with either ship.

Yep, tomorrow is D-day here, we're movin' the furniture out of this apt. and moving into his mom's until the 3rd of July (we'll move into our Columbus, Ga. apt that day). We may or may not have internet for a week or two.

I may be able to get back online in the am, but consider this my last transmission.

Signing off.

Finally, Some KNITTING

2007-06-23T21:21:00.000-05:00

So I have been telling ya'll I've been knitting, but finally proof! I give you my June socks for SAM3 knit with Lorna's Laces Shep. Sock in mountain creek (a birthday gift from a friend). I did my usual toe up with magic cast on, magic loop, two socks at a time. These don't fit so well, but it could be my feet are funky in the summer. I know my hands swell in the heat, my feet may have the same reaction. I hope they fit during the winter weeks.

I sorta used this pattern, but I didn't like the diamonds after the first one I knit. And I was all nutty about the ktb marching up the front and I think it kinda looks like a skinny snake now, starting with the diamond head at the toe and going up to the cuff.

I don't like them soo much, but I hated knitting them. I love this yarn, but it's dark. Don't even think of k2tog or p2tog with this stuff, that willow green will make your eyes bleed trying to see in all but the brightest lights. I just worked with this yarn too long.

Remember that I started with the Pomatomus socks and couldn't turn the heel in this yarn, I'm just not that bright. Not right this second anyway, but I have evidence that I got that far before I ripppped right on out. This pic is terrible, the sun wasn't being nice, neither was the sock yarn/pattern/brain.

See, I can knit the stupid pattern, but I can't do the heel flap or pick up the gusset. I want these to be turned toe up by someone smarter than I am, I think Domesticat may have, but I'm not sure if that's Pom. or monkeys. Either way, I want to knit them. Yeah, it's Pomatomus.

In other news, the marathon of baby hat knits ended and I have 8 finished. I sent them out last weekish?? and I hope Sheri gets them before she goes on vacation. Here they are in all their glory, I did do individuals with Julian, but I'm too tired and covered in newsprint from packing for out move to Columbus that I just don't have it in me to edit and load those bad boys. Maybe for a future post.

Off to pack more boxes and perhaps fall asleep on a pile of newspapers.

Scattergories

2007-06-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

The game is SCATTERGORIES, and it’s harder than it looks!

Here are the rules:

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. Have fun!

Your Name: Lacey
1. Famous Singer/Band: Leadbelly

2. 4 letter word: Limp

3. Street: Learning Ave. (NO Joke, schools are located there in Sumter Co. I think)

4. Color: Lemon Yellow

5. Gifts/Presents: Lame, Late, Last Minute Oh, not describe them, types of: Leisure Suit, legos, linkin logs, Littlest Pet Shop

6. Vehicle: Lamborghini

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Lanyards

8. Boy Name: Lewis

9. Girl Name: Laura Lee

10. Movie Title: Lion King

11. Drink: Liquid Heroin (Ingredients: 1 part Goldschlägar, 1 part Jägermeister,
1 part Bicardi 151) [Holy Crap! You could light your breath on fire after this one!]

12. Occupation: Line Worker, Locomotive Engineer, Line Dancer, Longshoreman, Lord of the Dance

13. Celebrity: Lindsay Lohan

14. Magazine: Life

15. U.S. City: Ludowici, GA

16. Pro Sports Teams: Lakers

18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Lost your keys

19. Something You Throw Away: limp lettuce

20. Things You Shout: LOSER!

21. Cartoon Character: Leanardo (Ninja Turtles, TURTLE POWER!)

Crap

2007-06-20T19:11:00.001-05:00

I was working on this long big post, and even got it posted. But the pics were too big and everythign got all wonky and then it died. So I give you this small pic of Passion (now sold) wound into a center pull ball. I think it is very sexy. :D Maybe this will give you lurkers an urge to buy from The Fuzzy Peach. The others should wind up just a sexily (not really a word, but go with me).

*Blogger hates me and my photos. They keep blowing up when I blog them. GRrrr. This photo is only like 300 pix at it's largest. Rawr*

Fuzzy Update

2007-06-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's live, and it could be coming to a browser near you (assuming you follow this link)

that's right as advertised on Beneath the Fiber Moon by none other than lovely Jessica (episode 27) .

It's been a few weeks now since the Fuzzy Peach hit the street and we've moved some yarn. However, we, the faithful owners, are relocating to a bigger city (eek!) and we need to get this stuff out of our hands and into yours. (read: I don't want to move this yarn :P) So I'm posting the little mini guy below to show you folks out there in blogland what we have left to get your paws on.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
thefuzzypeach

For our customers to see our next update tenatively scheduled for August, we need to sell these skeins so that we can buy more yarn with the profits, duh. For our next endeavor we'll be using a new base yarn that will be more substantial and hold up to Soviet missle attacks and nuclear holocaust (it has nylon). Since that's a bit nicer and more hardy, we have to shell out more for the stuff. Also, when we get this sold, we may be bringing you some cool promotions in the next update. Perhaps some discounts, perhaps some freebies. Freebies are goooood. :D

And to soothe your soul about the purchase, just think, I'm going to be a teacher (high school) so every dollar you spend here supports education! I realize that it probably isn't in your community, but still, it supports education (rationalize). And for the handfull that may be holding out for that "going out of business" fire sale, not gonna happen because I'll knit it up myself! :P

Remember if you love us, blog us!

Newsy News

2007-06-16T13:50:00.001-05:00

So I have had some wondermus news for a while, but never had the time to post here, not really.

I have a job for next year, I'll be teaching in Talbot County at the high school. :D And, we have a two bedroom apt. on hold for us to move in on July 5th. And, today the boy got a call from Aflac to do a preemployment screening thing. You know, pee in a cup, do computer tests, see if he's nutzo. So the world is looking up for now. :D I'm very happy and things are just coming together. We're buying furniture like mad trying to fill the new apt. (the living room alone is almost the same size of the entire apt we live in now: just about 1 ft. shorter and 5 ft. skinner). We bought a king sized bed today and it has one seXy headboard. It's like from the 60's or 70's, it reminds me of the kind of bed my Granny and Papa had, except a little tackier. hehe

And so I am packing, not knitting. I knit 8 baby hats for the Loopy Ewe's Q2 challenge and sent them off this am. I also finished my moutain creek socks. I hated knitting them. I think I worked with that yarn for too long, trying too many different patterns. Finally, I found one that was ok but by the end of the thing it looked nothing like the pattern, I just used a few of the pattern elements and repeated them a bunch of times. I am also working on a next pair of socks, this in On Linie (??) in a very springy color. They are pretty, but due to short time and poor lighting, I cut the yarn in the wrong spot so they are two totally different socks. Ah, well. Can't have exact twins each time. I was going to frog and try to start over with the same repeat, but I'm not so sure I'll have enough yarn, it said it was 100g which is usually enough, but I dunno. Don't always trust what I read on ballbands that are printed in different languages. :P

Other than that, things are just about packing, cleaning, painting, sanding, panicing about getting out of here the 30th and not being able to move in there until the 5th of July. We have to move to his mom's for a week. :/ I'd rather just move once and be done with this mess.

Example Sock

2007-05-29T12:29:00.000-05:00

Mrs. B suggested that I knit up a sock to show how looovely my colors are, and I was waay ahead of her. I turned these babies out last week (ignore the one with the ugly color changes at the top, I ran out of my yarn and had to sub this really multi-color, tried to cut the ugly out, but I got tired) and they are so just the thing for my bear, Julian. He rocks these socks folks!
Work it! :P

And here is a zoom version. I cut most of the ugly out of this picture so you can't see the orange, brown, and purple that I bound off with! :D Like I said, I got very tired, these are some small socks. I had only a 9g skein (like my heel or toe skeins) and managed to get one full baby sock and one baby sock up to the end of the heel. I had to pick up the new yarn after I had all my heel stitches done. I would assume that a tiny skein would work a full set of grown up toes or heels.

And I have to tell you, even though I have a stake in these yarns, I loved working with it. It was soft and sqoooshy. And it knit up into a nice fabric on size 1s (US) and I had a ball making such tiny little socks.

As you can see, the colors just blend and flow together in such a beautiful way. :D I think that this would be the way that Passion and Shades of Kermit would knit up, esp. Shades of Kermit because the colors are all in the same family. Passion is going to have some red punches in the darker background. It's the one I most want to keep for myself and knit into some cool socks. :D

Sick

2007-05-24T19:08:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's me. Coughy, sneezy, about an inch from death. Or at least that's how I've been feeling since Monday. Lower than a worm's belly. I'm thinking it has something to do with being in my mom's house all last weekend (she smokes!) and then seeing her friend who was also sick. I think I got her mega virus thing. I wish I could give mine away now. If you want a nasty little cold bug, got one, cheap!

In other news, The Fuzzy Peach opened on Friday, selling three skeins in less than 10 hours. I thought it was a great sign of quick sells to come. No such luck. Rawr. I really would like this stuff to sell, I need the cash flow, plus...the longer it sits in my house, the more it's likely not to ever leave. The stash has been eyeing it greedily and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it from consuming all 7 skeins that are left.

And you wanna know what's better than silk yarn on a 75% sale? Cream cheese stuffed croissants. MMMMM. The Atlanta Bread company (and I'm sure Panera and the likes) sell them, and I've only had one recently. I loved it to death and wanted more (the closest one is like an hour and a half away) so I decided to make my own.

What you need:
Croissants in a can (a la the dough boy)
1 bar of cream cheese softened (Philly baby!)
1/2 cup sugar (pure bliss)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tabs melted (liquid) butter (I just eyeball this stuff folks!)
Basting Brush thingy
Flour
Rolling Pin
Flat surface to roll on
Pan
Oven

To Make:
Preheat the oven like the package says.
Blend softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in small bowl.
Take your croissants and separate them out, I roll mine flatter and wider than they come. Fill the center and a little down the legs of the croissant with the cream cheese yumminess. Roll that puppy up and place it on the pan. (You may want to PAM the pan first) I try cutting little slits in the top to give the filling a place to go, but it's easier said than done most times. When you have them all filled and rolled up, brush them with the melted butter. Then bake according to the little can.

YOU MUST WAIT TO EAT THESE. Cream cheese that's been in a 375 degree oven for 11 minutes is hotter than all fourty hell, ask me how I know. :D

My boyfriend says they'd be good with some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on the top before the butter goes on, but I can't ever remember it!

I suggested the little bit down the legs of the croissant because if you don't you get these puffy little croissant pieces with no cream cheese, now who wants to eat that? :P Also, note...I have NO idea how to roll these suckers up to make them look right, I just wrap the dough around the blob in the middle and hope for the best!

Good luck and Enjoy!

Don't forget to shop THE FUZZY PEACH! You knowww you NEED more sock yarn...muuhahahahaha. :P