bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Spring Forward

i stopped wearing my heavy black wool winter coat monday, but this morning, my black top and burgundy cords felt wrong and i've felt tired and blah all day.  so i went shopping.

first purchase was an l.l.bean boating tote -- large with long handles in true teal.  i carry all of my crap to and from work in a big ugly navy briefcase.  if i was going to not feel blah, i needed a new big ass bag.  besides, a pretty blond woman wearing a bright pink coat had one.  if i couldn't look as springy and pretty and fresh as her, then at least i could have her bag (she had the one in teal too).

then remembering that i do not own a pair of red sneakers, i ordered a pair.

i can hardly wait to get them. 

finally, what would a day of online springtime shopping be without some sort of knitting purchase?

   

i'll be stalking my friendly neighborhood postal worker for the next few days.

To Get You Over the Hump

a little something that made me smile ...

http://folksongsofthefarrightwing.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

March Mascot

say hi to pinky -- my march project spectrum mascot.

i made him using kim's "dude" pattern from crochetme, adding ears and a tail and a little collar.

Seeing Red and Pink

when i was looking for my eiffel tower pictures for the letter E, i found this photo:

La Maison Rose (the pink house) is a little restaurant-cafe in montmartre, probably my favorite  neighborhood of paris. La Maison Rose used to be the home of the artist Utrillo (1883/1955) and was once a hang out of Pablo Picasso's and Gertrude Stein's.

*********************************************************************************

and i got word that leah received the post card i made for her, so i can show it to you.

 

just some fancy paper, pink tissue, red crocheted flowers and a little acid green cotton stuck all together with the aid of a hot glue gun.

E is for ...

Eiffel Tower

sorry i'm a little behind.

Bad Publicity

i'm an average knit/life blogger.  i have my little circle of pals (hi pals!!) who read me regularly, and i imagine a larger group of lurkers who come out every so often to comment when i'm ranting about bathroom etiquette or show pictures of my dog.  yarn harlot has commented (oh yes she has!) and crazy aunt purl and i are *like this*.  i blog because it's fun for me.  i don't try to win any awards (i don't have the time, patience, nor the talent to even compete) and i've gotten much more out of this experience than i ever thought possible.  on average i get about 150 hits a day that i can tell (not counting bloglines).  not too shabby. 

so imagine my surprise when i checked my stats and saw that in the past 12 hours or so, i've gotten over 800 1000 hits!  so i investigated....

grumperina is dissing me.  AND SO ARE HER COMMENTERS!!!  ok one commenter.  but still.  so now 800+ people think i'm lame.  and at least two people have come out and said that my work is crap.  fine. be that way.  have they bothered to look at my other work?  probably not.  whatever. i don't care what they think of me. 

my mother loves me.

stitchy says my mother thinks i suck too. 

*******************************************************************

update:  ok, before this gets out of hand.  not that it's close or anything.  as kate says, one of the problems with the internet is the lack of voice tone and facial expressions. (and of course the possibility that i'm not nearly as funny as i think i am).  i'm not upset.  i'm not hurt.  it's all good.

Wednesday Rant

i'm probably in the minority on this -- and that's fine.  remember i admit to knitting with red heart so i'm ok with being on the fringe.

i just went to the bathroom and watched a coworker use a paper towel to pump the soap dispenser, turn off the faucet, etc.   she probably also flushed with her feet and applied toilet paper to the seat (only to leave it there for someone else to remove) or squatted (so someone else can wipe up her urine).

i so feel like going to her office and licking her doorknob.

now i know i just got over the bird flu and someone will argue that i got the bird flu from someone pumping the soap dispenser with their disgusting bare hands.  but i disagree.  you immune system can't get strong if it doesn't have a nice infestation of bacteria or harmless viruses to work on. 

that's all i'm saying on this subject.

Post Card Swap for March

so one of the more interactive aspects of Project Spectrum is the postcard swap.  if you want to play, each month, lolly will match you up with someone and then you make a postcard and they make a postcard and you exchange them.  the one rule is that it has to be in the color of the month.

so for march, i was paired with lovely leah of use your hands.  leah is wonderfully creative -- she has her own etsy shop that she shares with her husband -- and is of course too cute, with the flirty pink skirts and the general youthfulness and everything (i'm such a wordsmith).  just go look at her!  what is really cool though is that she and her issac and me and my j were married on the same exact day.  october 25, 2003!  hey we both thought that was very cool.

anyway, here's the postcard i received today!  isn't it cool?  i love mail (and clearly the word, cool).

there's all sorts of fun stuff going on.  i love the polka dot print with the yellow.  and she's got two embroidered/appliqued motifs -- one in felt, another in felt and another cute polka dot fabric (is that from your new skirt?)  and my name in silver... everyone should have their name in silver.  thanks leah!

and here's a peek at the postcard i sent her...  just a peek. 

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

am i the only one who sees a resemblance between my childhood idols

and the 40something me?

it's eerie isn't it?

Necessity: The Mother of Invention

when you've spent the last two weeks feeling like ass, with a stuffed up nose and cough, and then your husband starts feeling the same, you can't help but feel compelled to crochet this:

i know what you're thinking..."oh god those are heinous, it must have been the fever!" but i like 'em, especially the pink and green one that matches the soap cozy. 

in project spectrum news, here are some socks that i made with some yarn that maggie had given me awhile back.  i was so paranoid about running out of yarn, that i kept the cuff short and ended up with enough yarn left over for a third sock.  it's good to know that i have enough yarn for a third sock. 

 

finally, it appears that martha stewart has joined project spectrum.  look what i found in the april issue of martha stewart living?

   

Red is the New Black

red is probably my favorite color.  i have short lived obsessions with other colors off and on -- like orange or slate blue -- but my default color, my when in doubt, i need to feel good about myself, ooh which color yarn should i buy.. color is red.  a clear bright red with a drop of blue.  it's a color that i'm instinctively drawn to whatever the situation.  it's one of the colors that look best on me.  it was our wedding color.  if i hadn't married someone afraid of anything brighter than eggshell, we'd have a red couch.  (he looks fabulous in red by the way). 

margene and chris have posted pictures of red and pink in their lives ... here are just some of the examples in mine.

a couple of things come to mind when i look at these pictures...1.  i've got a thing for chickens -- i've got more, they just don't happen to be red.  2. i have a lot of red purses/bags.  in fact, i only have brightly colored bags.  i think i own one black bag that i never use.  and 3. i seem to confine my inner pink girl to my feet (hmmm, i don't have red sneakers though, i'll have to remedy that.)

what's red and pink in your world?

The Bird Flu

george bush is very concerned about a potential avian flu epidemic hitting the united states.  so he's ordered a pre-emptive strike of the canary islands.

i've been struck down with the flu.  i've spent a couple of days home, but haven't had the energy to knit much, blog, read blogs, or even eat.  you know i'm sick when i'm skipping meals. 

i feel a little bit better today.  fever's broken.  the aches are gone.  the bulging goiter-like lymph gland type thingy in my neck has receded.  and the appetite is coming back (you win some, you lose some). 

i did manage to make a couple of things during my fever-induced haze, but i don't have the energy to post pictures tonight.  maybe tomorrow.

My Contribution to the Cause

i made buttons.

help yourself.

Scary Knitters

so it's march.  and i can't remember if it came in like a lion or not.  it's been pretty chilly around these parts   (hitching up of pants) these past few days -- probably colder than it's been all winter -- but it's been sunny, and snow has been minimal.  is that lamb?  or lion?  no idea.

a lot of bloggers think of march as the beginning of the end with the 21st being the official first day of spring.  but here in new england, that's a big fat lie.  because march can suck as much as february if not worse.  and there are more days of march.  the only advantage of march over february is that the days are longer. 

another advantage of march ... is that it's the start of Project Spectrum.....*angels singing* ...Lolly's brain child.  when she announced her project, i pounced.  i'm obsessed with color to the point of not being able to pick a favorite, wearing colors that look like ass on me, just because i can't say no, and laboring over every large decorating decision because i want to make sure that everything goes with everything.  it's quite stressful really.

case in point.  look at the projects i choose to work on...

and look at what i end up buying because i can't just pick one color ....

[that's malabrigo that i picked up during the semi-annual knitter's breakfast at the fabric place in framingham on saturday.  i ran into kathy and kerstin and had a wonderful time with them.  but can i just say that 90% of the knitters who come to those breakfasts are whacked?!!!  and not whacked in a good way either.  they'll wrestle you to the ground for a piece of cold quiche and will resort to crying should someone take their "saved" seats. i was a little embarrassed for them.  it was sad.]

anyway, i've got some ideas for projects.  i'll keep you posted.