I’m having one of those sleepy, slightly brain dead days. Of course, I didn’t let that stop me from blogging, even though it probably should have. Heh. Lucky y’all… not! Anyway, I’ll apologize in advance to UB40 as I present a little song from Chaos, who’s as peppy as always.
My thoughts not in a straight line travel
Hard to believe it’s Wednesday again, isn’t it? First, go wish Scout a happy birthday. I’ll wait…. You did? Good. Ok, now go do a happy house-getting and joyful Badger Bygone jig for Rabbitch. I’ll wait again… Finally, on to your regularly scheduled randomness.
Last weekend, I dragged out all my yarn bins to take pictures for Flash Your Stash this Saturday. Talk about an eye opener… After some calculations based on the number of Sterilite bins I have, I estimate I have about 1000 quarts (or 250 gallons) of yarn. About 100 quarts/25 gallons of that is sock yarn. When you consider that volume and then consider that my entire condo is only 637 square feet… What problem?!
Why don’t cats have any smell to them? Dogs do – a distinctly “doggy” scent. But not cats. Well, ok, maybe some cats have a smell. But Chaos doesn’t. I love his furry unscent.
How are they going to finish the Harry Potter movies with the actors they have?! Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) was born in 1989, so he’ll be what, 17 this year?? The fifth movie is slotted for 2007… You do the math. Won’t it look odd to have Harry, Ron, and Hermione be 25 or so when they get their O.W.Ls?!
I’ve turned the heel and started on the leg of my first Rainbow Jay sock. Last night I had a bad moment when I thought about how long the color repeats were and wondered where exactly my second skein started… So I started the second sock, with a wee bit of messing around and cutting so that the socks would match. All I can say is that I was very lucky to have started my first sock with the skein I did. If I’d started it with the second skein, I’d be cursing and stomping and rewinding and cutting right now. Whew!
My copy of Subversive Cross Stitch arrived last Friday, during a very rough day at work. The designs definitely brightened my day and had me giggling maniacally in my cube. Nope, I don’t cross stitch. But I do have one of the kits from the book and will definitely be making it at some point. (It’s this one, if you’re curious. Everyone at work knows things are really getting bad when I start dropping the F-bomb. Too bad I won’t be able to hang that in my cube…)
G is for…
Grape ivy. With flamingo. Very dusty – it’s gotten a bit too large to drag into the shower, so at some point I’ll have to actually dust the darn thing (ack!). I’m in the picture, too, if your eyes are keen.
G is also for Goldfish. Yes, Chaos has a toy from Creative Kidstuff. How could I resist giving him a goldfish in a bowl, er, ball? The goldfish always stays upright as the ball spins, providing a great deal of feline fascination.
And finally, G is for El Gato! (Oh, come on, you would’ve been disappointed if I couldn’t work him in here somehow.)
In which we welcome a new red mouse to our household
Friday I got a fabulous package from the wonderfully generous ElizaGrrl. She made the lovely black kitty bag below and included a bar of dark and delicious chocolate for me. Plus she knit a red mouse for Chaos and stuffed it full of very high-quality catnip from Wild Oats.
I think he likes it… What do you think?!
Thank you so much, Eliza!
(Why, yes, I did trim his claws after seeing these pictures…)
Worth nine thousand words?
Whew! Yesterday was a very fun and knitterly day for me. First, I met another knitblogger for coffee and (no surprise) knitting at the Riverview Cafe. Meet Renee of A Good Yarn, holding up the Nantasket Basket she just finished knitting as one of her Project Spectrum projects.
On my way out of the Riverview Cafe, I discovered that its restroom was rather Project Spectrumesque:
Then I headed west to Minnetonka to Charlene’s house (Charlene should drop me an email with her blog address) for an afternoon of knitting (me) and spinning (not me). Here’s Charlene, a lovely local spinner/knitter who shall not be named, and part of Kerry. (Very tricky, Kerry!)
Somehow Leah managed to not be in that picture, so she gets her very own picture (Leah, I didn’t get your LiveJournal address, either):
Hey, I was having way too much fun to worry about those blog address details.
I also finished my Rose Garden Dublin Bay socks yesterday. I think they got the Chaos Seal of Approvaltm.
“Hmm, I guess they’re ok. They’re not catnip socks, but they’ll do.”
And I got a good start on my April Project Spectrum socks – my Rainbow Jays. If anyone can tell me exactly what country Regia Nation color 5399 is supposed to be, I’d appreciate it!
The interesting shape of a toe-up Jaywalker reminded me of something and I finally figured out what it was:
Cat in motion is a crazy thing
Chaotic ostrich butt
Both Jeanne and I had rough days at work yesterday, so we met to knit at a wine bar instead of our usual coffee shop. Really, who were we kidding? We were there to talk and drink some wine and laugh at old knitting books and the current issue of Knitter’s. Everyone knows that it’s too dark to knit in a wine bar – although I did pick up 13 stitches, then knit across those 13 plus 8 more stitches. At that point, I decided to rest on my laurels and not try to pick up the other 13 stitches for the heel.
Anyway, we each tried a tasting flight: Jeanne tried the shiraz/syrah flight and I tried the pinot noir flight. It was quite fun to sip our little glasses of wine, make notes on our flight sheets, and toss off pseudo-oenophilic jargon, describing one wine as “delightfully undistinguished” and another as having “deep fruity overtones.” (Well, we thought we were funny at the time…)
Yum.
Chaos? Hey, Chaos, can you come out of your “hiding” place and wish Peeve a happy birthday? And maybe send get well wishes to Mrs Pao’s husband, Pao, who had surgery today?
“How did you know where I was?!”
Random gardening (Wednesday again?!)
Both Mouse and Jane had this fun game on their sites. I thought this was particularly apt:
Yesterday I actually found a few fun things at my local thrift store:
That first book (Knit Knacks for the Whole Family) is a particular gem. It has patterns for leotards. It has pattern for bonnets that will put “Oswald Owl,” “Klotilde Kat,” or “Lionel Lion” on the back of your head (can fit all sizes!). Cabled argyle socks. A sequined hood. Both a French shrug and an English shrug (the French shrug is frilly, while the English shrug is no nonsense). Interestingly shaped tanks tops/vests called “popovers.” A fringed pixie hat. And more…
Jeanne’s blog entry yesterday has some completely hysterical pictures in it and a Chaos connection – check it out! Plus a lovely picture of more Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk than I’ve seen anywhere outside a store…
Several people asked whether I purchased anything at Coldwater Collaborative on Sunday. Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I did… (Oh, come on – no one’s surprised about that.)
A skein of Meilenweit ColorTweed (it looks a lot like Trekking to me) and a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot.
If you’re wondering whether I ever actually knit, I’m working on a pair of socks for myself right now. They definitely have the Project Spectrum colors in them. The pattern is Dublin Bay (links to a pdf) and the yarn is from ebay seller lotusblossom in color RoseGarden2.
WARNING: Not suitable for those sensitive to violence against miniskeins
In which I verify the physical existence of three knitbloggers
Yesterday, Jeanne and I journeyed west from Minneapolis to the 318 Cafe in Excelsior, Minnesota. There we met up with knitbloggers Amy, Deb, and Lisa D for coffee, lunch, knitting, and lots of laughter. Deb’s putting together a local knitblogger networking event in April – stay tuned for more details.
If Excelsior sounds somehow familiar to you, it might be from the Betsy Devonshire mysteries by Monica Ferris. While Betsy’s store Crewel World is entirely fictional, Excelsior does have a really cool yarn store – Coldwater Collaborative. (I posted some pictures from Coldwater Collaborative about two months ago.) The cozy 318 Cafe is handily located across the street from Coldwater Collaborative. And Deb works at Coldwater, so Jeanne and I got to see the mystical and fabulous storage area “next door.” Let’s just say if you stop by the store and don’t see a color you want, you should definitely ask about it.
From left to right: Jeanne, me, Amy, Deb, and LisaD
And LisaD brought me these super cute little stitchmarkers. Thanks, LisaD – that was so sweet!