bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Unfinished Business

so before i even start thinking about my project for the olympics, i decided i would finish up some languising FOs that were hanging around the house.

so that's what i did this weekend.  well started on finishing them.  my olympic trials involve finishing the following projects:

1.  wedding blanket for friends who got married in the fall -- i sewed up the squares this weekend.  all i have to do now is knit the edging. 
2.  finishing mariah which currently looks like an octopus -- i'm at the yoke and so far so good.
3.  finishing up a bag that i crocheted 2 years ago.  i need to sew it up and add handles.  i need a knitting bag.
4.  finishing my mitred square afghan -- i'm at the edging.  i'm thinking a simple crocheted edge so that shouldn't take too long.

i have 11 days.  well maybe less if i'm going to do any "training" for my olympic project.

and, i finished another pair of socks.

good thing i joined beth's unloved sock yarn swap (to those of you who have gifted me sock yarn, I AM NOT GIVING AWAY ANY OF THAT YARN -- THAT IS LOVED YARN)  (and "unloved" yarn is perhaps inaccurate for me.  "finding a better home than mine" sock yarn swap would be better.)

here's the button.

Countdown to Torino

it's with great pride and honor that i've been selected (ok that i selected myself) to represent my home, and country(ies) in the knitting olympics.

when i was a kid, i dreamed about being an olympic athlete (or marrying one), even though i had been cursed with having absolutely no gross motor control.  i imagined myself as a syncronized swimmer (i was an excellent swimmer but very slow) or a speed skater (although i really wanted to be a figure skater, even my dreams however grand and insane were based on a smidge of reality.)  the fact that i couldn't then nor can i now stand on ice skates was irrelevant.

so i'm very excited to finally get to participate in the games.  i haven't quite decided in which event i will  compete.  like carl lewis, jackie joyner-kersee and clara hughes, i'm a multi-faceted athlete, able to compete in multiple disciplines.  i still have time to decide.

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where time is running out though is getting my pins together for trading.  because you know that's what the olympics are all about.  the pins*. 

of course there's the general knitting olympic pin, designed by the yarn harlot herself.

a usa knitter pin designed by jenla.

and some france national team pins (also designed by jenla).

should i not be good enough for the american team, due to my dual citizen status with france, i have petitioned the french national olympic committee to accept me as a member, where the competition isn't as fierce for the olympic spots.  the beauty of being part of the french team is a certain laissez-faire attitude that basically allows me to punt should i decide that i just don't care anymore and i need more wine.  because it really is all about the wine.  (and turning the entire western world against george bush)

finally, i have my team boston pins.  they're wicked pissah.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

*or as they call them in france "les pin's".  yes pins with an apostrophe.  the french do not have a word for pins.  the kind you collect.  yet, rather than call them just pins, they throw an apostrophe in the mix so that you know to pronounce the word like english speakers do, just more exagerrated  ... les peeens. this is a pet peeve of mine.  indiscriminate use of apostrophes in the french language in an english word because it's easier to just steal the word then come up with their own french word.  for example, sometimes you'll see the word jeans (as in blue jeans) spelled jean's.  there's no possession there.  it's just they can't leave well enough alone.  but anyway.  les pin's is my personal favorite.  and the french love their pin's.  fuck the pin's.

B is for ....

Well, it’s one for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to get ready,
Now go, cat, go.

But don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.

Well, you can knock me down,
Step in my face,
Slander my name
All over the place.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.

You can burn my house,
Steal my car,
Drink my liquor
From an old fruitjar.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.

Winter's Back

so, on saturday it was 60 degrees.

this is what i woke up to this morning

4 hours later, it's still snowing.  the plows haven't come by.  the roads are a mess.  so i called in snow.  i kind of feel guilty for staying home, but the weather people didn't tell us about this snow, so j didn't drive me to the train station this morning. 

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yesterday was another one of claudia's fabulous fiber parties.  by the time i got there, there were 25 cars parked along her quiet suburban street.  it was mayhem (well kind of).  i got to reconnect with some wonderful knitters, spinners, fiber fanatics that i had met the last time i was there, and i got to finally meet in person some great women with whom i've been corresponding lately.  it was great being able to talk with them, and hear their laughs and voices.  (i'm purposefully not linking to any of you because i don't want to accidently forget someone.  because i will.  and then i'll feel like ass.  and guilty.  and i've already told you all that i have guilt issues.)   of course there was lots of food.  i totally went off plan.  eh, what are you going to do.  (other than feel guilty)

no pictures of this event by the way.   well from me anyway.  carole's got some though.   

in addition to the great company though, i also came home with stuff.

first, to feed my new found sock obsession, maggie brought me some pretty sock yarn from her stash in some of my favorite colors.  (these socks will coordinate nicely with the mini).

she also brought me some tea (even though i stared at her like a moron while she reminded me that we had talked about this tea at length via email just a few weeks ago.)  thanks maggie.  i'm drinking it now and it is very good.

and jackie brought me some .... yarn snobs, turn away ... red heart.  remember, i love all yarn, much like a mother  loves all of her children. 

finally, claudia did some serious de-stashing, throwing all that she didn't want on her fiber room floor.   i patiently waited my turn and came home with this.

and this ....

and this ...

it was like friggin' christmas!!!

 

Let There Be Light

lately, i've been leaving for work a little early so i haven't had time to take pictures.  by the time i get home, well it's nighttime.  so this morning, i got the camera out to show you all what's going on around here.

first off, i bought merino roving.  from michelle at fun with yarn.  it was a visceral purchase based on gut emotion, not at all a cerebral decision.  although i like to think that this is not typical of me, i think it should be.  so like george costanza, perhaps i should begin doing just the opposite of what i normally would do.   see how that works.

isn't it pretty? 

even rocky liked it (he sniffed it and then plopped himself right next to it.  he is half shepherd.  maybe he smelled his flock).

but wait ... that's not all!

guess what this is?

another sock....

(i'm halfway done with the second of the pair)

finally, it feels like spring so much around here, that even my chili pepper plant is confused.

it's flowering!  i'm going to have chili peppers soon!  i've never grown a real fruit before!  ay caramba!!!

There's Nothing to See Here

i've been doing a little knitting but i've had to go into work early these days so it's been really too dark to take pictures in the morning.  i swear work gets in the way of my life let me tell you.  so when i've got nothing, i do a meme.

i tagged myself on this one.  because i can.

4 jobs you have had in your life
research lab tech -- i had to chop the heads off of live rats using a mini guillotine.  not my favorite job. 

word processor

admin assistant/office manager for a diabetes research lab

project manager for a national cancer study

4 movies you could watch over & over
i'll watch them over and over again only if i come across them on television -- i don't own copies.  if i did, i think i'd never watch them.  it's the joy of coming across them on a quiet sunday afternoon on tbs or tnt that makes me happy.

animal house

excalibur

when harry met sally

an american in paris

(and a fifth, a few good men tom cruise peaked in this movie as did demi moore)

4 places you have lived
NYC (i was born there and i lived there for 9 months after college)

Chaville and Le Chesney, France

Tehran, Iran

Milford, MA

4 TV shows you love to watch
it's sad but i don't love any shows anymore.  i remember when thursday night television was an event.  i ordered chinese, turned off the phone and watched must see tv.  now, if i miss an episode, no biggie.

seinfeld reruns

the gilmore girls

two and a half men (mostly because j just loves this show and he laughs and laughs and laughs and i love his laugh)

project runway

4 places you have been on vacation

st. thomas -- went with girlfriends when i was in my 20's -- we call it the "last time we had fun"

bermuda -- cruise with the inlaws this past summer

greece -- i went in highschool for a week.  i hope to go again some day.

france -- i go back every couple of years to visit the folks. 

4 websites you visit daily
www.boston.com this is my home page

www.yahoo.com  gotta check the mail

www.bloglines.com  gotta monitor the blogs

www.wkoxam.com  this is the local air america affiliate website.  gotta listen to al franken and company.  (it's just not the same without morning sedition by the way.  fuckers)

4 of your favorite foods

butter (the world's most perfect food)

anything with cilantro (it's like catnip for me)

super chicken burrito from anna's taqueria with black beans extra salsa and a little hot sauce (damn, haven't had one of those in over a year!)

chinese food (good, bad, ugly)

4 places you would rather be right now
not at work

not at work

not at work

not at work

4 bloggers you are tagging

you, and you, and you and you

Double Secret Contest Winner

so i've been hosting a contest here for the past few days.  and i didn't tell you.  i know i'm very stealthy.   

anyway, Kat is the winner! 

the winner?  of what?  did i pick her name out of hat?  am i just screwing with you and not giving anyone a chance to enter a contest by not announcing it ahead of time?  do i just like her better than the rest of you?  NO NO NO

well you see, the last time i told you all about a contest, i was told that i was a comment whore. 

so this time, i didn't announce that i was coming up to 1500 comments.  so there.

Kat wrote me comment number 1500 and is therefore winner.  c'mon on down!!!!

(Kat, email me your snail mail address and i'll send you a little surprise)

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in other news, another FO for 2006

my first pair of socks.  i did not get second sock syndrome by the way. 

ABC-Along

over new years weekend, i didn't do much blog reading.  the end result of that is that i missed the whole ABC-along joining thing.  missed the deadline.  out.  no chance to play.  several of you out there still encouraged me to play along.  and like the unpopular girl who gets ignored by the popular ones at school but who still wants to be part of the group, i said fuck it.  i'm playing anyway.  i'll just set up my pictures to the side here.  next to the popular girls.  not so close as to get in their way.  but close enough that it could possibly look as if i'm playing along.  you know, to people from the outside. 

so i've got the button, but it doesn't link to anywhere. pretty pathetic isn't it.

anyway, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER BEEN EXCLUDED!!!!!!!!!!!

so this is my first entry.

A IS FOR .....

ARACHNID!!!!!!!!!!!

they are HUGE out here i'm telling you. 

First Official FO for 2006

i finally finished a baby blanket i started last spring.  when i started the kid had 3 months left in the womb.  she's now about 8 months old.  still under a year, that's well within the window.  right?

anyway, i adapted the building block pattern from 100 afghan squares to knit by making the blanket smaller and by going monochromatic.  when i started we didn't know if she was a boy or a girl and from what i know of her parents, a less obvious baby color was the way to go.

TA-DAAAAAA

sorry it looks a little wonky, but i didn't have much time this morning when i took pictures. 

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i brought my camera into work this morning and stopped to get this shot. 

a seagull perched atop the head of one of the statues in front of the boston public library.  i sometimes forget how close we are to the ocean.

Celebrity Lookalikes

so i found this link chez chicknits and have spent the past 30 minutes uploading photos of myself to see which celebrity dead or alive i look most like.

ha!

at first i was offended.  i matched closest with oscar wilde.  another picture with another hairdo -- anthony kiedis (from the red hot chili peppers).  hmmm

this picture taken right after college, the first time i visited boston -- babe ruth (ok it said i looked more like pearl s. buck but babe ruth is funnier). 

i pulled out some pictures of me that weren't quite so old, but at a thinner time of my life right before i met j.

i got ewan macgregor.  a man yes, but at least a good looking one this time that wasn't also dead.

some pictures got me no matches at all. 

finally, i tried this picture (yes this is me) ...

this picture got me uma thurman in the number 1 spot!

i will make a lifesize mask of this photo and wear it from now on (or at least start getting my eyebrows waxed again and letting my hair grow out).  just sayin'. 

A Problem Like Maria(h)

actually compared to the horror that was the bpt, mariah's going ok.  i knit the sleeves up together.  ran into a little problem 3/4 of the way up, but i was able to fix it.  the sleeves are a little long, but i'm not going to worry about that right now.  i really can't.

here's one of the sleeves. 

and a gratuitous kitty pic.

There's Always Something Special About Your First ....

i present to you my first completed sock.

i used some kool-aid dyed yarn that i had hanging around and knit her up on size 5 bamboo dpns.  she's a little too long even for my sasquatch feet but i love her. 

here's a little heel detail.

anyway, all i can say is that a damn good thing that  ms. secret sock yarn hoarder isn't allowed to buy sock yarn anymore, because she'd have to fight me for it.

One Woman's Trash

Happy New Year everyone ...

I hope everyone had a great time celebrating.  after getting dissed in the most wonderful way new year's eve by a "friend" who shall remain nameless (although why i'm protecting her identity i don't know since .. 1. she doesn't read this blog; 2.  no one *here* knows her and 3.  she's not a knitter  ...) j and i ended up ordering chinese food at the last minute and i was in bed by 9pm.  i even missed dick clark.  i hear he didn't look or sound so good.  so sad.  see, i'm old enough to remember american bandstand  (i was very small) but i do remember.

but anyway -- no biggie.  although it's the last time i turn down the invitation of a knitter for new years because of loyalty to a non-knitter who invited me first.  just saying -- call it a new years resolution.  there.

anyway, back to the original point of this post.  a couple of weeks ago, colleen blogged about some artyarns legend that she was using to make a hat ... or trying at least.  i mentioned that i thought it was rather nice (which now after re-reading her post means that she thinks that my taste in colors and yarn sucks ASS.  hmmm ok whatever, fine.  )  anyway, maybe because she knew i would give this poor unloved yarn a good home, she sent it to me!

and i knitted it up.

i see her point, with her cool coloring (she's got the prettiest fair skin and blue eyes) this "cacophony" wouldn't do her justice ...

but i think it works for me. 

thanks colleen!

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JenLa wanted to see our avatars ... there's my pat avatar (get it?!! pat avatar?!!!) in the sidebar.  isn't she pretty?