NOOOoooooo!

The cats believe my alpaca yarn is an animal they must hunt and carry off. I've saved my yarn a few times but the cats did some real damage a few days ago. I had put my gauntlets and yarn away in my knitting box, but didn't zip the lid. Alex found it later. The needles were not near the yarn any longer. T_T I frogged a few rows and replaced the needles. I haven't yet checked to see where I'm at in the pattern...dunno if I want to.

Oh no!

From the time of a lack of knowledge to the (ongoing) time of lack of money, acrylic yarn has been the staple of my small stash. When others felt my yarn or projects and said "It's a bit scratchy", I looked at them like they were crazy or way too picky. It seemed soft to me! Well, I bought 2 balls of Baby Alpaca yarn by Alpaca with a Twist the other day to make me some Dragon Scale Gauntlets. DOOM! I started the pattern, complained about the slippery-ness of the yarn on my new addi turbos, and finally got a few inches completed. Then I set it aside to return to a hat I was making for Alex's youngest. DOOM! (even though I already said that) The acrylic that I had previously knitted/crocheted up happily felt like sisal rope!! I told myself "Shame on you!" for wanting to make a hat from this stuff. T_T

I am convincing myself that I can skip the cheap acrylic from now on because the nicer acrylic costs about the same as cheaper good yarn. Ok, I know that I get alot more of the cheap yarn for $6 while I get a small bit of the nice yarn for $7, but I've got to convince my brain it's needed.

pwnd by NORO

What am I to do with my Kureyon? I'm attempting the Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style...again. Why does it keep coming out so frigging HUGE? ARG!

Library fun

Best 'Renew Your Subscription' message I've seen yet:
"Don't Let Your Ancestors Down!" - Augusta Genealogical Society newsletter

Christmas means crafts

Well, actually it's 'no money means crafts.' ^^; It's a good thing my friends have let me use their stash for supplies too. I've got nothing but many rolls of acrylic yarns. (And not enough time to crochet anything.) So far I've attempted crocheted snowflakes (takes too long), crocheted stuffed robot toy (takes too long, but I may finish it in time), soaps (not enough time, didn't even start), and now...felt food.

The daughters (mine and Ashley's) are getting a dinner's worth of play felt food. Avalee is getting a bento box. Morgan is getting a lunch/tea set.

I'll post pictures soon.

A late update

Damn but I've been sick too long! Just before I left Florida on Oct. 28, I caught a cold. Sucks, sure, but I've still got the damn thing! Well, sort of. I've got that lingering cough that's really, really bad. Just like the past two times I got a cold! No, I haven't been to the Dr. What could he do?

I've determined I have crafting ADD. Definitely. I made the two Monmouth caps for the boys for Danelaw. I've been working on a fair isle Christmas stocking, but after the third time of frogging the pattern, I've set it aside. I've starting the much easier task of crocheting snowflakes for gifts. I can finish a small one in a short time so I don't fear having them done by Christmas. Mind you, I've not worked on another one in nearly a week... ^^; Last night, I was even too exhausted to play a video game!! And that's saying something!

I was SUPPOSED to be resting...

instead, I made a hot wheels town playmat on 2 yards of fabric. *shrugs*
Places I included:
Farm with pond, geese, barn, cow, dog, vegetable garden, and shed
UFO with alien
Hospital
Police Station
Airport with helipad
Mall
Fast Gas gas station
Greg's Groceries
McDonald's
Post office
Pete's Pizza
School
5 houses
Haunted house with ghost
Persephone's Pet Store and Vet
Park with nature trails and playground
and of course the two and four lane roads, stop sign, and traffic lights.

A Day at Work - edited to protect those involved

kelsie is here says:

oh NO!!!!! there's a note in most of these things stating that **** wants them INCLUDING ALL EARLIER PRINTINGS!!! oh noes!!!!

*** says:

so, is that a problem?

kelsie is here says:

...

*** says:

i fthey are sending all that anyway?

kelsie is here says:

i'm asking for a BAJILLION bajillion now...rather than just a bajillion back issues. doom

kelsie is here says:

who knows what they put in the boxes.

kelsie is here says:

maybe a rubber chicken for all i know

kelsie is here says:

snowglobe of atlanta

*** says:

okay, lets just look the the stuff when it comes and worry about it then

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

hell NO am i composing this big ass list AGAIN

kelsie is here says:

you crazee?

*** says:

not again, just put it

kelsie is here says:

do you have any idea of how high my claim stats will be for today. YEEHAW

kelsie is here says:

:D

*** says:

you'll be our receiver

kelsie is here says:

hellz yes

kelsie is here says:

theres something like 50 issues a year!

*** says:

keep a copy of the list of issues you are claiming

kelsie is here says:

though i must admit, i probably should sit on this thing until i get the definite final answer from ****

*** says:

yes, i agree

kelsie is here says:

it's alot of $$ for toilet paper...i mean, these back issues

*** says:

lol

*** says:

plus, shouldn't we wait to see what is in the boxes before you go claiming more?

*** says:

maybe the things we need will be in there?

kelsie is here says:

she's not going to send the boxes

kelsie is here says:

not till i say sure.

*** says:

so run this all by **** and see what he says

kelsie is here says:

can't till tmw at the earliest

kelsie is here says:

he's out

kelsie is here says:

i called

*** says:

so it can wait a day

kelsie is here says:

do you really think i'd claim enough newspapers to make the atlanta skyline in paper mache without asking first?

kelsie is here says:

...

kelsie is here says:

can i at least count half of em today...

*** says:

maybe if you are under the influence of a migraine?

kelsie is here says:

i'm always under the influence of a migraine

kelsie is here says:

makes me crazeeeee

kelsie is here says:

i'm gonna turn into a zombie

*** says:

maybe it is the weight of your hair

kelsie is here says:

instead of eating brains, i eat back issues....mmmmmtasty

*** says:

then what are we doind recycling?

kelsie is here says:

it could be my hair, but i'll suffer the rest of my days instead of cutting it

kelsie is here says:

you don't wanna see me with short hair. truly frightening

*** says:

what about long layers?

kelsie is here says:

ah, the recycling bins are just full of regurgitat....i mean...you don't wanna know

kelsie is here says:

layers? my hair is freakin layered!!!

kelsie is here says:

HAHAHAHAHA

*** says:

:D

kelsie is here says:

really

*** says:

no it isn't

kelsie is here says:

yeah it is

*** says:

looks one length to me

kelsie is here says:

trick of the eye. my hair is smart

kelsie is here says:

it plots to take over the world

*** says:

like william shatner's toupe?

kelsie is here says:

starting with the office of one *****...i mean...um

kelsie is here says:

yeah like his toupee...thats how they got the tribble episode doncha know

*** says:

according to robot chicken, it saves the world every night

kelsie is here says:

oooh...what a death match...my hair vs. shatner's toupee

kelsie is here says:

my hair would SO win

*** says:

you know it

kelsie is here says:

yeah

*** says:

it is prettier, anyhow

kelsie is here says:

don't complement it...it just makes it worse!

*** says:

sorry

kelsie is here says:

i do actually get a person every so often who says 'i'm sure you hear this all the time, but your hair is so pretty!'

kelsie is here says:

my favorite though is 'your hair is long!'

kelsie is here says:

i mean

kelsie is here says:

that's a real no brainer there

*** says:

i got that a lot when mine was that long

kelsie is here says:

but i do turn to them sometimes and say, 'nah, i don't think so.'

kelsie is here says:

when did you cut your hair?

*** says:

January 2004

kelsie is here says:

just got tired of it?

*** says:

yeah, it was giving me headaches.

kelsie is here says:

...

kelsie is here says:

no comment

*** says:

:D

kelsie is here says:

wow...11 vols worth of one of them...let's see 11 x 45 is what?

kelsie is here says:

no, 11 x 50

kelsie is here says:

maybe 52 even

kelsie is here says:

hehehe

>>

kelsie is here says:

oh yeah, back to the lady...she wants to ship them all rather than bring them by.

kelsie is here says:

i don't remember if i mentioned that or not

*** says:

uh, ok i guess

kelsie is here says:

hmmm...

kelsie is here says:

wow a rough estimate on the number of missing issues is just over 1500

*** says:

8o

kelsie is here says:

yeah

kelsie is here says:

in the note it says that **** wanted earliest possible issues. some of them were on v. 11 when we started the subs.

kelsie is here says:

god, i've just wasted a chunk of time compiling this gd list...ah well

*** says:

yes, but you will remember it for years to come

*** says:

(old biddy voice)" I remember back in 07, that derned ..."

*** says:

it'll be one of those stories you kids wish you would stop telling them over and over again

*** says:

once you lost your short term memory

*** says:

you know, the memory that reminds you that you told your kids that story a gazillion times!

kelsie is here says:

at least i'll still have my hair

*** says:

if you don't have to have chemo

*** says:

while they try to kill the thing that is killing all your memory

kelsie is here says:

it's my hair, it's guilty of everything

*** says:

see, it all goes back to the hair

*** says:

i need tea

>>

kelsie is here says:

yikes! did your cold medicine run out?

*** says:

pretty muich

*** says:

much

*** says:

god, i can't type

kelsie is here says:

ugh

*** says:

well, it only lasts about 4 hours

kelsie is here says:

you sound like a =the living undead

kelsie is here says:

...

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

HAHAHAHA

kelsie is here says:

i meant the living dead

kelsie is here says:

duh

*** says:

BRAAAAIIIINNNNZZZ

kelsie is here says:

sheesh

kelsie is here says:

i blame the migraine

kelsie is here says:

ok, the other mag is 11 bux an issue roughly

kelsie is here says:

you want me to dup the cheap one and give the other one to you?

*** says:

how much is it?

*** says:

the other one?

kelsie is here says:

sheesh, shows how much i matter to you...

kelsie is here says:

:p

kelsie is here says:

11 dollars an issue roughly

*** says:

if you had as many different issues going on all at the same time, it would be a miracle you could remember your name

kelsie is here says:

$$ a year cause their rate went up

*** says:

just dup them both

kelsie is here says:

kk

*** says:

im feeling selfish

kelsie is here says:

we ALL have issues here...we're in the periodicals dept for cryin out loud

kelsie is here says:

it's ok for you to be selfish

kelsie is here says:

you need chicken noodle soup, a hot bath, and lots of dumb tv time

*** says:

no, i meant in not wanting to see if pub wants issue back

kelsie is here says:

oh, ok

*** says:

i wish i had tv this past weekend

kelsie is here says:

you don't have tv either?

*** says:

no. i guess i shouldn't try to do yoga tonight

kelsie is here says:

no sheesh, no yoga. rest get better. remove cooties

*** says:

i guess we are oddities not having that connection to pop culture

kelsie is here says:

um comma comma

*** says:

coma? i'm in a coma

kelsie is here says:

its alright, i get more than enough from

kelsie is here says:

i meant that i left out some needed commas

*** says:

i've been left out in a coma

kelsie is here says:

sounds like you're drowning in the sea of congestion!

*** says:

snot, the original rubber cement

*** says:

got an empty bottle?

kelsie is here says:

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

>>

*** says:

my tea is cold

kelsie is here says:

you never drank your tea?

*** says:

i got distracted

kelsie is here says:

yeah, coughing

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

wow, the american taxation association just sounds vicious doesn't it?

*** says:

sounds toxic

kelsie is here says:

taxing at least

kelsie is here says:

:p

*** says:

groan

kelsie is here says:

heh sorry

A surprise

While getting ready for work this morning, I browsed my bedroom bookshelf. To my great suprise, I found every single Anne of Green Gables book except the first one. I really thought they were down at my dad's house two hours away! Since I've not been able to find the time to go to the city library, I hadn't started reading for the Anne of Green Gables Read & KAL. I grabbed the one copy here at my work and started reading it during lunch. I didn't remember all the knitting, except Anne's messed up sock (how could anyone forget that scene?). Here I am barely into the beginning and already two people knitting!
I've discarded the 1895 leg o' mutton blouse in favor of the Aran sweater concept. But boy is it beating me. I've started swatches three times now. All of them were no good. I've looked through Mary Thomas's Knitting Patterns book, two of Barbara G. Walker's knitting patterns books, and all of my magazines for ideas. Nothing is just right and most of the directions are beyond my novice knitter's grasp.

Early Monday

Wow! Is it really October already?? It just doesn't seem right...

Recently I've finished:
trial Birka tablet woven band
inkle woven belt
my donations for the LSA afghans of never-endingness

I have been working on:
IWK Concentric Vest
1895 Ladies' Blouse knit pattern
Aran Fisherman's Sweater

The last two are for the Anne of Green Gables KAL. No, don't think I'm going to make two things for it...I'm going to pick one from the two.
I'll post pictures soon.

Too Busy!

What am I doing??!
--Those danged squares-of-doom for the Library Staff Association's benefit blanket (maybe pillow at this rate).








--The Concentric Vest from the Fall issue of Interweave Knits.
--Tablet woven trim from a Birka pattern. It must have taken me 5 hours to warp that sucker! And of course the cats HAD to help.




What all should I be doing?
--Well, those danged squares...
--Hat for each child
--Calcifer (from Howl's Moving Castle) stuffed doll for Avalee
--Striped blanket for Avalee
--Halloween costumes (two Jedi and a devil, I'll let you figure out who's what.)
--Sweaters for the guys
--Rug for small bathroom

Squeeal!

Quietly of course, I'm at work. Lisa dropped off three books for me this morning. She's says they are presents, but I can't actually have them. They belong to the library. Tough for me! All three are bibliographies from the early, early 19th century. Two are foreign and not very eye catching, but the third! *laughs* The third is the 1806 version of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum by Pope Pius VI. At least I think it's Pope Pius the 6th. I never took Latin, I just guess.
And who is among the banned?
Dante, Erasmus, l'Antechrist...
What a shopping list...
:D

Projecto Speedo

What do you do when you've got a birthday party for a friend's 3 year old planned last minute for the next day? Design and make a knitted hat using techniques you've never tried before of course!

I used the off-white Pound of Love yarn I had remaining from the previous week's last minute baby-shower blanket (*rolls eyes* I'm a glutton for punishment.) and some lovely dark burgundy soft acrylic of who-knows what brand I had in my stash.

I had seen the square top n' tassles hats before online and thought they were so cute. I found a simple pattern at MAG knits called Sprout.

The only things I kept was the cast on of 80 stitches and the needle sizes. I winged the rest.

My Firsts:
--Finished knitted wearable item (hat)
--Circular knitting finished object
--2/2 rib
--Fair Isle
--Chart for Fair Isle (no matter how simple, I drew it and made it fit the number of stitches.)
--3 needle bind off
So the only bits I've done before were the stockinette stitch and the tassles. :D

My Errors
--"But Where'd the Stitch Go?" I'm not sure what happened but, at the end of the first or second patterned row, I had one fewer main yarn stitch that I should've.
--"Where'd THAT Stitch Come From?" To confuse me further, when I went to bind off, there was one extra stitch. I just knitted the last three together so there wouldn't be any obvious decrease.



Rough instructions for Heart Fairly Isle Belled Pillowcase Kid's Hat
Age 3-7ish
I used size 5 12" circular needles for ribbing, 7 for rest of hat
Cast on 80 stitches
Join for circular knitting, place marker
2/2 rib for 6 rows
Attach contrast color, knit one row
Pick up main color, knit one row
Follow standard Fair Isle practice of weaving. It's basically dropping last used yarn and picking up new yarn from under previous yarn. Next time you drop last used yarn, bring new yarn over it.
Knit 5 in main, knit 1 contrast, knit 5 main (repeat) I suggest weaving contrast yarn in between the 2 sets of 5 main.
Knit 3 main, 3 contrast, 3 main (repeat to marker)
Knit 2 main, 5 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit 1 main, 7 contrast, 1 main (repeat) Again, I suggest weaving the main yarn 3 stitches into the 7 contrast color.
Knit 2 main, 2 contrast, 1 main, 2 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit main
Knit contrast
Knit main for 7 inches
Divide work by putting 40 stitches close to each needle and pulling cable out between. This way the needles are parallel to each other.
Manage to turn the whole thing inside out.
Perform 3 needle bind off across top.
Make tassles by wrapping contrast yarn 25 times lengthwise around a credit card or other suitable stiff cardstock. Use 6" yarn to slide under loops and tie in double knot. Cut bottom of loops. Use another piece of yarn for shank, wrap tightly around tassel, tie. (I used tricks learned by doing kumihimo tassles and monkeying around with a crochet hook. I doubt I can remember what all I did to fasten everything.) Trim ends even. Put another length of yarn through tassle top. Knot in middle leaving equal lengths hanging off. Use crochet hook to pull the ends of this piece through the corners of hat. Leave about 1/4 of an inch between the top of the tassel and the hat for better dangling properties. :) On inside, knot 2 or 3 times. (Here, I pulled these ends back to the outside, knotted it again, went BACK inside and again knotted the heck out of it.) Trim ends to be only about 3/4" long.
I also added two small bells to each tassel by using the long lengths left over from the first knot around the tassel. I threaded (with thread) the tiny loop on the bell, pulled a loop through, evened it so the bell hung in the middle of the yarn, pulled the free end through the loop, tightened it, then did some more monkeying around with the crochet hook to fasten it to the shank. The bells did not fall below the ends of the tassel for safety and aesthetic reasons.

This is a quick gift. I know, I finished it in about 6.5 or 7 hours. And that's with me not knowing what I was doing!

The model is Nicky who kindly offered his head for sizing purposes. :D

An Obsession

Is it so wrong to love old books? While enduring the too long new employee orientation at the library, I got to visit the rare book room again. It's just a breeze through tour, nothing in depth. I don't actually get to touch anything. When asked if anyone had been into the area previously, I answered with "Yes, I love old books. I keep coming back when I can. One day I will make it to the other side of the glass wall." I think I scared people.
We made it into the reading area. I saw a 16th century book on a table and made a beeline for it. I can't help it. I didn't touch it, but I stayed near it as long as I could.
Like an addiction.