Picky, Picky

So, after finishing the Pi, putting it in place, and sprinkling it with catnip, this is what I get. Morris, sleeping on the futon in the office. Oops, the flash disturbed his highness. Sheesh. Someday, I'll get a pick with him as the Pi filling. Someday. I know y'all caught that Cattitude in the previous post. He always looks like that! It's hilarious! I swear, from day 1 I've always said Morris looks like Walter Matthau. ETA: SP SP I GOT YOUR PACKAGE! Oh Dear Lord you spoiled me rotten! I've taken all sorts of pictures and really wish I had the time to blog about it right this very minute but it's monday and I have to get the Deadwood transcript done! Thank you thank you thank you! I can't get on knittyboard right now but as soon as I can late tonight or early tomorrow I'll thank you there too! I promise a photo-packed blog entry tomorrow!

The Pi, She is Done!

Morris does not look amused by the fun fur trim. This was it pre-felting on Friday night. First thing Saturday morning, the felting party started! Only two trips through the washer to get this: None of my felted projects have come out as well as this one did. Perhaps I simply need to put them through the wash again, but still, I am amazed. It fits perfectly in the basket! I really wanted it for a new liner to the basket that Morris likes to sleep in next to the bed. There was an old ratty towel in there before. He deserves better. Now, to just get him IN it. The Pi needs it's filling! Pattern: Kitty-Pi from Wendy Knits! Yarn: Noro Big Kureyon Color #18 nearly 2 full hanks. Eyelash yarn is Fringy by Darice. I got it for $1.50 at Garden Ridge before Christmas, before I had taste. Needles: Size 13

Yes, I'm actually doing a Meme - shut up.

Well, don't shut up, you're allowed to say one word. I took this from my wonderful SP6, jochibi. Rules: Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me — it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

Yarn Pr0n Friday the 7th!

I'm getting really creative with these titles aren't I? Heh. Well, it is what it is. So yesterday at lunch I got the urge to swing by that yarn shop that's closing down. I'd heard they'd consolodated their inventory from their shop in Black Lion across town, so I headed in. And lo, I found 2 more skeins of Cotton Fleece in Alpine Lilac (same dye lot as before!) and the 4th needed skein of SWTC Bamboo in "Intensity" for Convertible. I also got a single lonely ball of the Linie 11 in a bright limey green. The color didn't turn out in the pic, but it's a decent shot otherwise.

Ready for Fug

I'm nearly done the Kitty Pi. I just finished the bottom part and started the sides. Soon, I'll have to decide. Do I fuggify it with fun fur? Or do I forego the fug and leave it plain? I think the fug shall be involved. If you can't make something for your cat with a bit of fun fur, who can you make something with fun fur for? That little gold falling man? He's my stitch marker. Stephy has his brother. They used to be earrings and the little guys were bungee jumping. Much better as a stitch marker, don'tcha think?

K is for Kite and Kindness

I coulda gone with big "DUH! K IS FOR KNITTING!" But decided against it. I got the most wonderful R.A.K surprise yesterday when I got home. Not one, but TWO R.A.K packages! Entrelac sent me this: It's a paper kite! She made it! How fragging cool is that?!? I think I'll be hanging it from the ceiling so it survives. And not only that, but Rachele sent me this: All because I made her an avatar for the knitty boards! How cute is this thing? I'm going to use it for my handmade stitchmarkers. It's so, so cute! Is it silly of me not to want to take the tag off because it's all cool with it's foreign-language self? Heh. So that, my friends, is why K is for Kindness. And Kites. Oh, and Sunday night right before Deadwood aired, I finished these: I suppose they do look more like stars once they're on the feet. Not too shabby. God I love making toe-up stockinette socks. So fast, so well fitting, and such an obvious use for all this self-striping/patterning stuff I have. The Best Foot Forward Socks from Knit Socks! Are coming along now. Slow, but I'm working on them. I'll probably start up another toe-up stockinette soon though. They make better purse/stop light knitting. What can I say? I'm an addict.

Tell Your God to Ready for Blood

And now for something completely different. I'm like a diamond. I have many different facets. One of them is the knitting side of me, the other is the Deadwood side of me. There are a few others, but none so big as those two. Last night was the premiere of the 3rd season of my all time favorite show, "Deadwood", on HBO. And what an episode it was. We saw nearly every character in the show in one episode. All but our dear Mr Wu. He'll be back soon though. Episode 3 apparently. We pick up 6 weeks after the end of Season 2. Alma and Ellsworth are back from their honeymoon and settling into a new home. Alma is having a rough pregnancy, and poor Ellsworth is doing his best to care for her and Sophia. Al healed up finally. I was getting sick of looking at his bruised and swollen face last year. So that's something. Looks like this season we'll be looking at E.B's bruised and swollen face instead. He finally got what was coming to him, though perhaps at a strange provocation, Seth still had at him pretty merrily. And Richardson! Oh Richardson is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. He doesn't run for a weapon, he runs for the Antlers. His love for Alma and his newfound religion have only strengthened. And Al, "Fucking Pagan, tell your God to ready for blood." Heh, so much going on this episode. I can't wait to soak it all in word for word. While Deadwood is airing this summer, you'll see Monday's blog entries dedicated to it. I'll stick with the regular content the rest of the week. Those of you that know me first from the HBO message boards are probably wondering about the scripts. Ron over at the HBO Fanclub donated a laptop so that I can get the scripts out quicker without having to handwrite them first. So here's hoping I can get it done and released tonight. I can't wait to get home and get it started! I'm not looking forward to transcribing the Cornish, but if they actually have that dialogue come up saying something other than "speaking cornish" I'll be good to go. As always, the scripts can be found at the usual place but new this year, will be announced first at the HBO fanclub. I won't be e-mailing them out anymore. The mailing list is long and it's a pain in the ass to maintain. So to the website with y'all.

Yarn Pr0n Friday the 6th!

Imagine if Tuesday were actually today and it could have been Yarn pr0n friday the 6th on 6/6/06 - heh. Extra evil. Because what I'm about to show you is just purely evil of me. Why? Because it's mine, and I didn't have to pay for it. Well, it's on commission actually. I stopped by Charlotte Yarn last night to show off the Clap and also check on the hours I'm supposed to be working on Saturday (My first day! Working in a yarn shop! Ahhh!). And there it was. Sitting on the counter. Innocent as could be. Except it's not. Once you touch it, you're sucked in and you can't stop thinking about it. You sit and pet it without realizing it. What is "it" you ask? Muench Touch-Me. A CONE of it! Not a whole cone, it's exactly half the stated length on the cone label. Me and my super powers of deduction, along with my handy dandy kitchen scale and google, led to me determine that there is 6.4 balls worth of Touch-Me there. The color is Vibrant Pink #3608. Let's take a few more looks, closer of course for pr0nny goodness. Even closer. Closer still? You want closer? I got yer closer right here: Now, here's the conundrum. Remi said I could have this if I knitted something with it that could be displayed for a while, then when it's worn out it's welcome among the other samples, I can take it home. So, what do I make? I found the "Vintage Velvet" pattern in Scarf Style by Pam Allen that calls for 5 balls of this stuff. So that would work. But in another approach, I kinda want to try my hand at an original design for the shop. Not just another silly scarf, but maybe a capelet? Definitely something that touches the skin. If I do the scarf, I might have enough to do Velvet Oblivion from Knitty as well. Gah! I dunno. The capelet might be overdone, I definitely don't want a poncho out of it, but I want something that touches the neck that I'll actually get to wear. Scarves aren't exactly a regular accessory here in NC. Help me! People please! Comments, suggestions, links, whatever. If you have an inkling of what you'd do if you were given 6 balls of this stuff to make something to display at your LYS, what would you do?

J is for Jewel

This might be stretching it, but this yarn, knit up, is the most beautiful Jewel I've ever seen. And a heckuva lot softer too. Amy was right. Blue Heron Rayon Metallic DOES make a beautiful Clapotis. Not that I doubted her, but when Amy Singer comes to your blog and makes a comment that the yarn you just showed the world yarnography of, makes a beautiful Clapotis, you make a beautiful Clapotis with it. So here it is. Artsy shot: And here's what's left. Talk about cutting it close. That is 12.5 inches left. I was sweating it near the end. But I had to have enough. I just had to! I mean, I got out the scales for this project! After the second section, I weighed my yarn ball, and made a note to leave at least that much, plus some leeway, before I started the decrease section. I managed to do, oh, 10 repeats of the straight rows rather than 12, but it's still a good length. I was worried about that too. But I'm so, so happy with the results. Thank you, Amy!

Yarn Pr0n Friday the Fifth!

It's that time again, kids. Friday is here, the sun was shining, and the macro function on the camera did it's job. Here's something y'all actually haven't seen yet. Nothing too exciting, just some Cascade 220 intended for some Fuzzy Feet, but pr0nny none-the-less. Let's take a closer look at the fibery goodness: Delish, no? The Clapotis is coming along very nicely. I've dropped 5 stitches so far, and used 4.3oz of the original 8.1 so I won't be able to do the full 12 repeats of Section 3, but I believe the length will be fine. Check it so far: It's all I can do not to stop and pet it every other stitch. Oh, so scrumptious!

Stupid Sweat

What the hell is this?? See that? That's the Green Gable after the first wear. Discoloration at the pit! Oh my, I've had this happen on a garment before, but never did know if it was the sweat or the deodorant. I mean, you see how short that region of the pit is, it's not like I can wear dress shields with it. And besides, I've only heard of dress shields, I've never actually seen them in a store or know if they even sell them still. So what do I do? Argh, I'm pissed. So lets look at a kitty playing. I had the fan turned toward the shower for the Green Gable to dry, and before I turned it back around (I'll admit, it took a couple days) Ripple decided the shower curtain was a fun new toy! There's something going on behind the sheer fabric and dammit, he was going to find out what. Then he discovered the faucet, he was actually trying to bite it through the curtain, but I kept missing the shot. He's such a spaz sometimes.

I always hated playing tag

Especially when I'm it. Rain finally tagged me. Called me out on my avoidance techniques. I knew she'd been tagged on a few things lately, so I'll admit it, I avoided her blog for a bit, hopeing against hope I could play the "I didn't see it" card. Well, I saw it. So, here it is. My knitting bag. Y'all have met Agent Bagsmith before. But what's in him nowadays? Here he is at homebase. My dining room table that I bought at Fred's for all of $79. I love Fred's. I paid more for my swift and ball winder than I did for my table. Heh. Priorities. So, in the bottom pocket, we have my reference pamphlets (which I have yet to actually use) measuring tapes (3!), bobbins and dental floss for lifelines. In the top pocket we have my Chibi collection (save the whales! Collect them all!) and my stitch markers. Of course, that's not all my stitch markers. Oh, no. This is the best thing I never got around to throwing away. Thank God a caboodle product finally serves a useful purpose to me other than floor decoration under my bed. This was marketed as an earring holder. No no. I have a better use for it. In one side, my coilless safety pins and larger stitch markers: In the other side, small stitch markers and point protectors So, what all is crammed inside you ask? Well, we have the Best Foot Forward socks both in progress and on holders. Pattern book as well. The in progress one is my purse knitting during the week. The Fortissima 1776 socks, needles awaiting stitches for the second. In the inner pockets we have Hand lotion, chapstick, a portable pen, clover wheel, and scrap yarn. Oh, more stitch markers. These from NoNoKitty. And lingering on the bottom, always, my Knitter's Companion. Tucked into the inner pockets we have my pens and crochet hooks Scissors, ruler Needles - I keep my dishcloth sized needles in here all the time (6s - 9s) and those big ones, I have no idea what they're doing in there. I put those back where they belong after this photo was taken. I put those addis back where they belong too: Which lives on the bottom shelf of my primary backup station. The office bookshelf. Needles on top of the shelf. The yarn closet. Where my project bags (empty) hang out, and also my sock yarn, miscellaneous yarns and beading materials linger. And there you have it. But wait, I know you saw something in the first picture that probably peaked your curiosity. I restarted Clapotis. AmyKnitty actually commented on my blog the other day(!) and suggested that the Blue Heron Rayon/Metallic would make a beautiful Clap. She was so right. So now I must tag 3 people and tell them to go take some pics. So, ok then. Of you go Zonda, Bezzie and Pyewacket!