I Gone and Done It

I bought my own domain name and switched over to Wordpress. Oh the possibilities. Please, for the love of Cats, update your bookmarks and stuff and start reading me over at http://turtlegirl76.com I've updated all my ring codes so no worries for you Yarn Pr0n Friday surfers. You won't miss out on me!

Commenting

So, I'm trying this Haloscan thing for comments now. To make the transition, I've temporarily "hidden" blogger's comments so that y'all will use the haloscan comments. I just want to see if it's easier to reply to comments with a different system. It should make it easier for y'all to comment too. If it's a pain, tell me. Your opinions are appreciated. I'm still playing with my template to make the comment link not show up smack dab above the previous post's date.

Calorimetry!

Yesterday, I was starting to catch up on my blogrolling (a never-ending task) and was over on Knit Mongrel's blog admiring her Malabrigo Calorimetry that her good friend Knitdds made for her. I was wishing someone would make ME one since I couldn't seem to get around to it myself. Well, screw it, I said. I'm casting on tonight! And so, last night, I made my very own Calorimetry. Shh. Another workplace photoshoot upon arrival this morning. Pay no attention to the sales van behind me plastered in potato chips. Back detail: Hey, Knitting Cat! Check out the button! Details: Pattern: Calorimetry from Winter '06 Knitty Yarn: Malabrigo from my first SP jochibi Bead: From my second SP Knitting Cat Needles: Knit Picks Options US #7 Mods - NONE! Believe it or not, even though I'd heard all sorts of complaints about the size of the thing, I went with it as is. It fits wonderfully! The secret is, well duh - gauge. Unless you like your headwarmers quite a bit tighter, I see no reason to cast on fewer stitches unless you are going for a larger gauge. And yes, that's the same yarn I used to make "Le Slouche". I love me some Malabrigo. It's the perfect yarn for snuggling against your ear. I'd love to see this done in maybe a Noro Silk Garden or Paton's SWS. The long color repeats and the short rows would make for a very cool looking headwarmer, no? Speaking of Malabrigo, I have a bag of it on order from the shop. Wait'll you see what I have in mind for it. Muah ha ha ha ha ha!

Ass and the Many Different Ways You Can Feel Like It.

#1. 1 Kind of Ass. Defined as mild head and chest congestion, the sniffles, mild aches and pains. May include some or all of the above. #2. 2 Kinds of Ass. Defined as mild to moderate head and chest congestion, itchy, watery eyes, persistent cough, mild to moderate aches and pains (including headache) leaky or clogged nose - either way requiring multiple boxes of kleenex. Medicine is introduced to the picture. Typically in pill form. #3. 3 Kinds of Ass. 2 kinds of ass, plus the inability to sit upright with eyes open. Requires hours of rest and relaxation, inability to knit. Medicines are upgraded to the gross, liquid "cherry" flavor kind. #4. 4 Kinds of Ass. 3 kinds of ass, plus nausea. If feeling persists for an entire day, the doctor may be visited. #5. Ass Battalion aka. Near Death. I got to number 4 by late Friday night. Fortunately I was able to downgrade back to 2 Saturday morning, and work at the shop all day. Sunday and today, I'm holding strong at 2, though I'm wavering back to 3 at the moment. I hate being sick. Calvin and Ripple, as you see above, have declared a truce and begun a lifelong friendship. Calvin is a handful. Hoo boy. Troublemaker actually likes to chew on all the plants that Morris and Ripple had always ignored! Gah! I've pulled out the big guns, my AKH2O. When I'm around to see it, the method is rather successful. Alas, this morning, after having spent the night with neither cat on the bed, I found Calvin laying in one of my potted plants. Sheesh. Once I started feeling better, I was able to finish up my sock swap socks for Karen. Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Winter 2005 Interweave Knits Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill in "Emerald City" Started 1/13 finished 1/21 Modifications, left off the last 8 row repeat on the foot and used the reverse shaping for the star toe as suggested on Mona's blog. I cannot say how much I enjoy knitting this pattern. I am entranced by it! It's so easy to memorize, it just flies off my needles! I'll be making many more of these in the future. This is pair #2.

A Trifecta!

Of Lorna's Laces that is. In Denim and Navy. The Navy one was an orphan but I'm getting an itching to try more fair isle so that's why I yoinked it. Like Last Week's Pr0n I purchased this while on a road trip with Tvini. Now, if you'll forgive me. I feel like three kinds of ass and have stayed home sick from work today. Must. Return. To. Bed. Yet again, Ripple hogs the shot.

Carmen + Calvin = Joy!

Carmen sent me a wonderful package for participating in her blog contest a few weeks ago! (And yes, mine is still ongoing - 68 public subscribers, 8 more to go) and I still suck and haven't sent Rain her's yet.) But check out the pile of joy she sent me! Turtle bathtub toys! I did take a bath last night but couldn't bring myself to toss them in yet. Not before their photo shoot. But aren't they so fun to look at? Also included was a house music mix-cd, a little notebook with my (our) initial on it, another turtle (destined to peek from behind a flower in my garden?) and a little zippered bag with a bookmark, cool pen and stitchmarkers in it! Check 'em out! She even has her own e-bay store! I love my new little stitch markers. The construction is similar to Knitting Mamma's that she had sent me. I have to try this out for myself some time. I'm intrigued with how perfect the circles are. Thank you, Carmen! And now, some kitty pics. And because I'm a total dork, a video of Calvin attempting to play with Ripple. Heh. And thank you all for the warm welcome you gave to Calvin. He's irresistable isn't he?

Introducing Calvin!

Yes, another orange tabby. But Calvin has a little something extra mixed in with him. Siamese. He's got a very cool sloped nose and is very slinky with the long pointed tail. He's 7 months old and has spent his entire life at a wonderful pet rescue called Second Chance Kitten. I initially thought I would be bringing home one of the sweet little grey kittens they had there, but when I saw Calvin, and how friendly and playful he was, I knew he and Ripple would be perfect for each other. He bounces around all over the place and Ripple doesn't quite know what to think of him yet. Quite honestly, I didn't get much sleep last night as Ripple would not SHUT UP with the yowling and the growling and the general pissiness that goes with having a feline intruder in your domain. He'll get over it. They're far too curious about each other. I mean, look at this face. What's not to love? If you asked Ripple, he'd say "The little shit eats my food and plays with my toys. What do you MEAN what's not to love?" Now. Memorize their faces. You never know when they'll be a who's who pop quiz. Whoops, I published before I finished his story. Calvin actually came with the name "Calypso". I guess that's the name of Jacques Cousteau's boat. Meh. Too many syllables and too feminine as far as I'm concerned. I immediately started thinking of what else I could call him would too much confusion. Cal? Sosie? Ipso? Keyser Soze? I seriously considered that last one, but then I thought of one of my favorite cartoons and realized it was the perfect name! Ripple does remind me of Hobbes anyway. Heh.

In Which Prostiturtle takes out her WIPs

Well, it's been a while but I have something for the blogstalkers out there. This week, it's a WIP update. For some people it's a daunting task. I usually don't have more than 2 things on the needles but recently, I've gone a little nutty and have 5. First up, the socks. I have 3 socks on the needles right now. They all serve a purpose. First, the upper righthand one, is the "Whiskers and Paw Prints" socks from The Keyboard Biologist. I'm finally using some of the Koigu in my stash that I covet so and I'll tell ya, it's everything I've dreamed it to be. Me love it long time. But not quite as much, yet, as I love working with Cherry Tree Hill. That's the lower left hand one. Yes, another Embossed Leaves socks. This one is for Karen. She's my partner in the sock exchange on the knittyboards. I knew I wanted to make her the Embossed Leaves socks, so after making sure she didn't already have a pair, I had her pick some yarn out of my stash. Quite honestly, until I piled all my solids/semi-solids together, I forgot I even had this color of CTH, Emerald City. It's working up so wonderfully with this pattern. I started that Saturday Night and by last night (Sunday) I'd already finished the gusset decreases on the first sock. The third sock has been my travel knitting. Just something for me to work on in the car or at lunch. It's Knit Picks Sock Memories in "Flower Power". These will be a gift, I know to whom they will go, but not when. I can't decide whether I want to save them for a birthday gift or just send them when they're done. Anyway, now we have the non-sock WIPs. A Bucket Bag and the Muppet Raper. I'm just over halfway done with the Bucket Bag. The Muppet Raper is waiting for sleeves before I can procede any further. I wish I'da done it top down but oh well. Progress is slow, but it's happening. I just got the DPNs for the sleeves this weekend. After Karen's socks are done, I'll get back to it. So, what'chy'all working on? (I just made up a new southernism!)

Yarn Pr0n Friday II - Electric Boogaloo

Yeah, I know I've used the whole "electric boogaloo" thing before but hey, it's funny. Anyway, this last weekend, Tvini and I went on a road trip. You know what that means...SOUVENIR YARN! This is Hilo, Creatively Dyed for You in "Grape Vine" Admittedly, I see no grapevine in this per se, but it does remind me of the rolling hills of grape vines that all around the Finger Lakes in NY where I went to college. Particularly in the fall. This stuff is so soft too. Dianne from Yarns Forever also sells her hand dyes HERE. As she says on her blog, she's getting better at this. Not having seen her early stuff, I'd have to agree. The base of the yarn I bought is Kona Superwash. It's so soft! It reminds me of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the softness to the touch. She uses other base yarns as well but I can't recall them off the top of my head. And yes, that first pic in the upper left hand corner - I fucked with the colors in my photo editing software. The others are more accurate, but that one gives you a really pr0nny feel. See? Feel the softness. Mmmm....sock yarn. Edited to fix the name of the dyer. Blame my mistake on Tvini.

I've Hit the Big Time

I have me my very own real life stalker! This is the wonderful Suanne. Isn't she cute? I had my usual Wednesday Night Knitting Group at the local Books-a-Million last night and we had 3 new members join us. Suanne was the first new arrival. "I recognize you from your blog!" Those were the words she greeted me with. "I've been stalking you. You're the first blog I've ever read." Quickly followed by reassurance that she doesn't mean to scare me or anything. Heh. Isn't she cute? She also joined the Knitty Coffeeshop yesterday so if y'all see "Maman" (it's the French derivative of "Mother" not MaMa N or some retro way of greeting your friend "Ma Man!") give her a warm welcome and let her know that should I disappear from the blog world or the boards, you'll look at her first. Hee hee. And Suanne - apologies for not linking to every pattern I knit for my year end wrap up. I know I disappointed you greatly. But to placate you (Please ma'am may I have another?!), here's the Pinwheel Baby Blanket Pattern. And for the rest of you wondering what it is she's got in her hand that's so artfully cabled, it's the Endora baby blanket from Berroco. Her first cabled project! Yay! You wouldn't know it. It looks great. Yay for new members of knitting groups! If you aren't part of one, find one and join. If there isn't one you know of in your area, form one yourself. There are so many people out there in your area that you may never meet without taking the chance and getting yourself out there. And do show your face on your blog once in a while so new members know they've found the right place. ;^)

Well, What Would You Do?

If you opened your trap enough to virtually invite a meme thrown your way? Dammit. I started trying to catch up on my blogroll Saturday and decided I'd try to comment a bit more on the ones I don't regularly actually comment on. And, well, I read This Post by La and went an commented:

turtlegirl76 Says: January 6th, 2007 at 11:11 am Dude, I don’t like memes and the folks that would actually ASK for a letter so they can do a meme? The hell? Here’s an “F” for ya - Foist. ‘cus that’s what you’d have to do to get me to do a damn meme. Foist one off on me and Feign that your Feelings would be hurt if I didn’t do it. Heh.

I was being a wiseass! I just wanted to see how many times I could use the letter "F" in a comment. Well, slap my ass and call me Sally because I got an e-mail this morning from La.

"F"ine! I "F"oist the letter W on you. And you'll hurt my feelings, no really, if you don't do it. Ha! Just kidding, you know how I don't like to be tagged, but prefer to elect to do memes. Do it if you like, and if you don't, no biggie. Surprisingly, I had fun with mine, and it gave me good fodder when I didn't have jack else to post. La

Well, phooey. Yes, she gave me an out but she still got me. I replied:

Ha! You said Fodder! "W" eh? Well, I wonder how a wierdo like me would wend their way through a wacked out list while not wimping out by wandering through the Wikipedia, I'll accept your Foisted letter and figure out how many times I can use whatthefuck as a word. Heh.

Her response?

Woohoo!

Heh. The way this meme works is that you get a letter from someone and then you have to list ten things, themes, theories, etc. in your life that begin with that letter. So, I present to you, W. 1) Whiskers It's been less than a month since Morris passed away. Ripple is lonely. He misses his friend and it's so sad for me to watch him sleep in Momo's basket, or on the floor in front of me while I'm knitting. He just LOOKS so sad. He'll find a place on the floor to settle down and sloooowly lower himself down. Almost as if he too, is getting old and it's catching up with him. He's been jumping up on my lap frequently as well. He used to only do this when I had food, but now he does it while I'm knitting or reading the paper, or generally not paying attention to him. I've been playing with him a lot more, trying to cheer him up. But he needs a playmate. I've told my friends and co-workers to keep an eye and ear open for me. Ripple himself has been a huge comfort to me, as well as all of you. Your comments, e-mails, PMs and even packages have really helped keep my spirits up. But nothing can fill that hole in my heart that Morris filled. Not right now anyway. Dammit, now I have that Extreme song stuck in my head.

Life's ambition occupies my time Priorities confuse the mind Happiness one step behind This inner peace I've yet to find Rivers flow into the sea Yet even the sea is not so full of me If I'm not blind why can't I see That a circle can't fit Where a square should be There's a hole in my heart That can only be filled by you And this hole in my heart Can't be filled with the things I do Hole hearted

That song is definitely speaking to me right now. 2) Weather. You know, I love the south because we don't see snow very often but dammit, I love having 4 distinctly different seasons and I ain't gettin' 'em. I still haven't knit myself a new scarf, and feel like an idiot when I wear my hat and coat, but still. I want it to be colder out so it feels like January! It was 70 degrees out on Saturday! 3) Wings I pass by this statue every day on my way to work. I took this pic at 7:30am so the lighting was sucky and I was trying to take it before the light turned green. But you get the idea. It heartens my spirits to see this. With the support of an angel at your back you really can dive into the great unknown without fear. It's a message of hope and strength. Few statues evoke such a spirit when you see them, but this one is special. I keep telling my friend D. that she needs to take her kick-ass camera over to this statue and capture it. God knows she'd do better than I could. 4) Working with the yarn. Remember this? Y'all liked the look of that and thought the pattern was oh-so-cool but really, come on. That pattern wasn't working with the yarn. It was pooling! And not in an attractive way. I had gotten all the way past the heel and decided that I just wasn't feeling it. The pattern wasn't working with the yarn. So I frogged it. And made these: Pattern: Wendy's Generic Feather and Fan" Yarn: Lorna's Laces in "Purple Club" Needles: Addi's US 1 Details: Magic Cast-On for the toe, short row heel. My short row heels are getting better and better. The P3Togs have always been nice and tight but I struggled with the K3Togs. I was doing a SSSK and that was alright, but on this pair I did a K3Tbl and that tightened it right up. I then did 5 rows of stockinette after finishing the heel before starting the cuff. It feels good on my foot and I do believe I'll be using this heel more often now. I've taken a page out of Knitting Mamma's book and been more attentive to what the yarn is telling me. If I don't hear it at first y'all need to be telling me. Seriously. If I post a WIP and you think it looks like crap and there's a better pattern out there for it, tell me! 5)Wheel Tvini and I had the opportunity to demo a Louet S10 on Saturday out in Greer, SC at Yarns Forever. That's Heather, the owner, sitting to the left of me. She was so patient. And talented! Never mind that she's a spinner, she also dyes her own yarns! I snapped up a skein of some Superwash Kona that you'll see on Friday. She's also nuts about socks, just like me, so she had a fabulous selection of sock yarn to choose from. Remember, sock yarn doesn't count, but this also counts as souvenir yarn. I don't care that it's only an hour and a half away. It's still a road trip. 6)Whatthefuck? Do I really have to explain this one? Look behind that guy's head. Click the pics for larger images if you still can't see it. Yup. That's a dog laying behind the guy's shoulder. That's me, trying not to laugh. 7) Wood I received this turtle from fiberfool on the knittyboards. Her ex had gifted it to her after a trip to Puerto Rico. Rather than have it hang around her house and send bad juju vibes to her, she sent it on to me instead. I sent her a pattern row counter as sort of a swap/thank you! It's pretty cool looking and just the right size to house my small turtle brooches. Again, another way that the knittyboards really show you that there are some genuinely nice people in the world. 8) Wonderful As in, that wonderful feeling you get when you get a picture like this in your inbox. That's my nephew modeling his Christmas present. It looks good on him! And a perfect fit! Yay for modeled pics! And not on cats or me! 9) Weak Do I ever feel like a Wuss after this weekend. As mentioned above, Tvini and I took a little roadtrip this weekend. The point of it all was to go bowling with a bunch of her friends from the NC Browncoats. Yes, another Firefly reference for those of you not in the know. And yes, I said bowling. You see, a little while back Tvini found out that not only did I used to bowl in a league when I was in high school, but I still have my own ball and shoes. Figuring I'd be a ringer for the Charlotte team, she asked me to come along. I did pretty well too. Surprisingly I broke 100 each game. Even bowling a 154 the second game. We had fun. And check out my new glasses in that pic. Shiney! 10) Weekend I need another one. Like now. So I can take a nice long hot bath and soak my weary muscles from bowling. I look forward to my weekends. As anyone that works a Monday-Friday work week would. But on the weekends I have a chance to work at the yarn shop, see my friends, and generally indulge myself in a long session of knitting if I so choose. I didn't go anywhere yesterday. I cleaned up the place a bit, actually organized my jewlery (and I desperately need a better place to store my earrings and necklaces and bracelets. I have a ring box but anyway...) The weekends are a time for finishing up projects, starting new ones, cleaning up the mess created from the week, and generally relaxing. Hopefully one weekend soon it will be for welcoming in a new little friend for Ripple. We'll see. If you'd like a letter, please e-mail me at prostiturtle at gmail dot com and I'll be happy to foist one off on you as well. Suckers.

Yarn Pr0n Friday the First!

Of the year. Now, before I start with the pr0n, I want to remind everyone that even if you are participating in the knitting from the stash thing, it doesn't mean you can't do Yarn Pr0n Friday. Feel free to take new pics of yarn you've featured on friday previously, or even give us a pr0nny pic of a WIP! Let's see some stitch definition! Get arty! Don't pull out of YPF just because you've run out of new yarn to show off, that's not the point of YPF. We want to see that fiber! I want to see the halo of the fiber, the twist of the yarn, the color, in short - the DETAIL! Get creative with it! Just remember one thing, the "F" is for FRIDAY! That doesn't mean to post your pr0n at 11:59pm on Friday night. Let's have it out there before the workday is over folks. I prefer the A.M., but we're all human. I just want to know that y'all are making an effort to participate every friday. Now, onto the pr0n. I'm a lucky girl. For some reason, people that have never met me care enough to send me stuff just to brighten my day. Like Rosi.G. Look what I got this week. That's two giant cakes of soap (they smell fabulous, don't know what "flavor" they are though.) And a mini sock blocker keychain! And a pattern to make a sock to slip onto it! I've always wanted one of these so I am so freakin' excited over this it's rather silly actually. I have plans for a bunch of tiny socks to change with the seasons or something equally silly. But that wasn't all. Check this out. (Yes, more office pr0n with parking lot pr0n following.) 3 skeins of Cascade Pima Tencel! The color number is 1353. It's a delicate lilac color. I have no idea what to do with it but I can't help but think of maybe some knitted toys out of it. Like a bunny or something. It's so soft! Rosi is the best! Go over to her blog and tell her I said so.

Happy New Year!

I do hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. I, for one, rang in the new year with some of my friends from my Stitch 'n Bitch (yeah, I said it - STITCH AND BITCH) but anyway. We played games! I haven't had a game night in forever! We played Trivial Pursuit (80s edition). (I'm the laserdisc.) I did really well! And my friend, Ann, was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, being the youngest one at the table. Sheesh. I'm a child of the 80s. Do not doubt my knowledge of 80s figure skating or Fat Albert Cartoons! We also played Outburst. (Circa 1988 as well, it was kinda funny how many cigarette related cards there were.) And then my favorite game of all time (second only to Yahtzee) - Pass the Pigs! We had a lot of fun. The next day, I relaxed a bit. First I stocked up on groceries (being away for 8 days, I had nothing.) Then I started my Firefly and Knitting marathon. Shiney! It's a good series and I'm really enjoying it. Can't wait to watch the rest. I finished a sock and started it's mate, worked on the muppet raper for a while, and then finished fixing the bartender hat. Here it is modeled for you: Oh, you want to see the top bit? No, it's not a slouch hat, the guy wanted it to sit off his head a bit and requested I add a good 3 or 4 inches to it. So I did. It looks a bit funny but that's what he asked for. And I didn't have any of the black left so I frogged back to the decreases, did a little fibonacci fade into the red and called it a day.