bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

B is for ....

of course, it's only B and i'm already behind.  *sigh*  oh well, i guess i've been too busy yarn shopping because ....

B is for Binge!

you know, because i didn't already have a large enough stash. 

so yeah, i've been a little out of control.  since christmas, i've done some damage and i'm afraid that i'm having a hard time stopping.

i'm going to blame this crazy shopping frenzy on the fact that i'm hungry most of the time with the weight loss plan and everything and the depression of being stuck on a weight loss plateau while the rest of you all eat yummy snacks that i can only dream about like a child and sugar plums.  see, i'm delirious with the hunger.

or i'm doing my part to help the US economy get back on it's feet.  yeah that's it. 

or maybe because all of this yarn is just so damn pretty. 

 

ooh pretty lorna's laces bullfrogs and butterflies for a clapotis (my third.  but this one is for me)

or some baby ull for adrian's snail  mittens in The Book of Yarn.

or ......   

some green alpaca for another gathered scarf . 

and then there's the sock yarn .  i kind of fell head first into a giant bowl of sock yarn.  but sock yarn is like vegetables .. NO POINTS!  so i can binge all i want on sock yarn, right?  RIGHT?!

A Break

christmas has  come and gone and this year unlike previous years, i'm a little disappointed that the christmas carols are over.  i know!  they've been on since halloween and yet it feels like i barely got a chance to get sick of them!  we never even put up a tree.  although i did have the inflatable snow globe up.  i love that thing. (although clearly not enough to actually have a close-up of it).

i partly blame that on being back in school.  it was only one class but between lab and lecture, i barely had a week without an exam or project due.   kind of sucks any joy out of the holiday season.

my birthday and christmas were relaxing.  j surprised me with a fancy schmancy wide-angle lens for my birthday.   we're still getting acquainted. (me and the lens.  not me and j.) and the girls pitched in a got me a gift card to lush.  i have high hopes for the beautification.

for christmas, j got us a network storage type device thing.  overkill of course, as all i wanted was an external hard drive to back up my laptop.  but that's j for you. you send him out for  a shovel, he comes home with a backhoe.

what's been great is that i've had the past week off from work.  there was time for last minute shopping and meeting up with stitchy.  and thursday, i introduced caro to WEBS.  despite the weather i think we both enjoyed ourselves.  it's possible that i may have bought some noro sock yarn and some kidsilk haze.  and a namaste needle binder. 

there was some knitting too, but i'll save that for tomorrow.

 

My Etsy Shop is Open

i had tons of cards left over from rhinebeck so i opened up an etsy shop.  check it out.

Friday is for Housekeeping

today's list is brought to you by the letter F for Friday and Y for Yay!  i love fridays.

1.  first things first.  i got a 100 on my biology test.  yeah, i'm wicked smaht. 

2.

little coin purses made from felted (or should i say "fulled") swatches.  yay me for actually doing something without having a written plan and approval from the authorities in charge of making things out of felted swatches!  by the way, i love that you can cut this stuff with scissors.  there may be more of these in my future.  maybe.

3.  weeks ago, while at the grafton flea market with stitchy mcyarnpants (shameless name dropping) i spied a typeset drawer, whatever the hell they're called.  you know you've seen them.  they're skinny drawers with tiny little compartments for holding letters for printing.  every now and again, they show up at the flea market but they've been a little on the pricey side. anyway, that time with stitchy, the guy wanted $15 for one drawer and although it was pretty and shiny,  i decided to walk away and come back later.  my rationale being that if it's still there when i come back, then it was meant to be.  well it wasn't meant to be.

because the typeset drawer gods had something else in mind for me.  last weekend at a local yard sale i found TWO for $5!!!! oh they're not nearly as shiny as the one i almost bought at the grafton flea, but FIVE BUCKS!!! FOR TWO!!! 

i love them.  i also scored this fabulous black windsor chair for my office/yarn room and a bench (not pictured) for an additional $35.  if only all yard sales were this good.

that's about all i've got for now.  have a good weekend!

The Grafton Flea Market

i'm not much of a flea market aficionado.  i like the idea of them and i love what some people manage to find at flea markets but most of the time, i have trouble seeing past the crap.  two sundays ago, though, i was bored and decided to head out to the grafton flea market just to see what it was like.   at 2 in the afternoon, not all that much.  well, except for fudge.

i gave it a go yesterday but this time i was there at 7:45am.  some vendors were still setting up.  within 15 minutes, i had found what i was looking for -- a big ass crockpot for dyeing.

and then i found some fiestaware.  oh nothing old and antiquey, but still.  look how pretty!

i came home with an orange pitcher that i love.

and then i walked around and check out some of the other stuff i saw.

an old croquet set.

and old bottles.

cooking utensils.

and um.. a boar's head.

i'll definitely be back.

Because I Need Another Stash Like I Need a Hole in My Head

i was going to write a "things i like monday" post monday because over the weekend i came up with several things that i liked but then monday came along and  then passed and then tuesday came along and then passed and then today started and it's no longer monday so a post listing the things i like would be ok but then it would be "things i like wednesday" and not "things i like monday."  and i hardly have the energy to write a post about "things  i like" anyway.  why is it that it's so much easier  to write a post about things i don't like?  what does that say about me?

but enough with the whining...

1.  i like that i'm close enough to going away on vacation to actually start counting down the days until i go on vacation.  i don't like to get excited way in advance (one of my nieces has been counting down the days until vacation since january!)  because there's potentially so much unpleasantness to get through until that first day of vacation.  but i can start counting down now.  9  MORE DAYS!!!  and think about packing.

2.  i like shopping for fabric.  last thursday, stitchy  (dude, update the blog will you?) and i met at The Fabric Place for some notion shopping.  (is there anything more gratifying than shopping for notions?  remember when you could buy notions at woolworths?  remember when there WERE woolworths?)  i got there early.  walked right by the yarn department (if you've seen my yarn stash on ravelry you know i had no business being there anyway) and attacked the 50 cent  (no, not the rapper) fabric scrap table.   by the time stitchy had found me, i had dug  a hole in the huge pile and was practically crawling into it to get the good stuff at the bottom.  it was madness.

i found toile and fabric with chickens.  i like chickens.  and plaids and cute fabric with little flowers.  all for 50 cents a piece!  and no, i don't really sew.  well not beyond what i learned in 7th grade home ec.  this discrepancy (is this the word i want here?) will need to be dealt with.

3.  did i mention i liked chickens? 

4.  and last night i got to knit with ben and her adorable daughter ... well her daughter didn't knit but she did her best to gross us out by showing us pictures of sharks.  i don't like sharks.  but i do like little girls who like shark books.

An Ode to Cummington

it's official.  the MA Sheep and Woolcraft Festival is my favorite fiber festival.

even though i didn't have my usual energy and social butterflyness due to the sickness which had afflicted me, i still had a very good time socializing and shopping and admiring sheep.   again, i didn't come home with a fleece and the reason for that is that i don't like touching them.  i think they're gross.  but i had no trouble assisting in the enabling.  what i did come home with though is 13.2oz of this beautifully colored roving.  i can't remember the name of the booth where i purchased it, but it's not amy boogie's. 

here's what i got at amy boogie's. 

corriedale in "rocky mountain high"

bfl in "mash"

skinny sock in "leaf peep."  yeah i stopped there, but could have easily kept going.  willpower i tell you.

half of the reasons why cummington's  my favorite though  have little to do with the festival itself, but rather it's location.

first of all, it was the first time since december that i got to listen to Stephanie Miller in my car.  see, the boston area no longer has a progressive radio station.  turn to 1430 AM in boston and you've got 24 hour rumba.  not that i have anything against rumba, but i think that one of the most "blue"  cities in the country should have it's own  progressive radio station.  i find it pretty hard to believe that "24 hora rumba" makes more money.  northampton on the other hand isn't all about the rumba and still has a progressive station, so i was able to listen to a little stephanie on my way to the festival, which  made me very happy.

but that's not all.   i missed "this" on my way to cummington, which is funny as i was stuck helplessly behind some NH asshat who was going a good 10 mph BELOW the speed limit (you would think that going at a crawl would allow me to actually do a little sightseeing)  but caught it on my way home.  i had to stop.

minis!!!  a whole bunch of them!  really old minis.  really teeny tiny minis! (and another car that i can't identify).

i love minis.

then there's webs of course.  i went with the intention of purchasing a new bag or two.  but elisa and kellee had already been there, so they didn't have any of the colors i was looking for.  but that didn't mean i came home empty handed.  i bought some cotton classic  and a couple of skeins of silk garden.  i also came home with a big ass blocking board.  yes, the big ass size.  (the new bag(s) will be for another time.)

that's all i've got for today.

Eye Sore Friday and Ravelry

how about a little housekeeping today?

1.  thank you so much for the lovely compliments on the ripple.  and i love that some of you have admitted to now wanting to learn how to crochet just so you can make one yourself.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  my work here is done.

2.  is it wrong that i want these shoes?  and in this color?  (this is the eye sore part of the title)

3.  and finally ... have you heard about RAVELRY yet?  yeah i'm a little late to the party.  fashionably late of course.    it's the brain child of frecklegirl jess and her code monkey husband casey and bob the dog (well i'm sure he's been very supportive).  and it's wonderfully clever.  it's like a merging of  flickr and blogs and knitting and CROCHET (YES, CROCHET PEOPLE!!!) .  and i understand that spinning will be thrown into the mix soon.  it's still in it's beta version, but i've been given 3 invitations to dole out.  if you are one of the very fashionably late like i am and have not received an invitation, begged for an invitation (pathetic), or actually added yourself to the queue to get an invite from the ravelry people (that's jess, casey and bob) and would like to play along, just let me know.  first come, first serve.

thanks for your interest -- but all of my invites are gone.  but you can always sign up.

ok, that's all i've got for today.  have a good weekend everyone.

BIG ASS SALE!!!!!

BIG SEMI-ANNUAL SALE AT GRACEFUL STITCHES

THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, JANUARY 19-20, 2007

ALL YARN IS 25% OR MORE. 

REMEMBER THAT ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS CANCER RESEARCH AND CARE CHARITIES.  

I'll be working on Saturday from 10-1 so come and say hi.  and buy stuff.
 

Bizarre Bazaar

to those of you who said i should get to the bazaar early ... i thank you.  you couldn't have been more right.

early saturday, i met up with adrian and cynthia at coolidge corner for a yummy breakfast at the coolidge corner clubhouse and a little preliminary shopping.  we stopped by the brookline booksmith to see what new knitting books they had.  HEY BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH --- GET WITH THE PROGRAM GUYS -- WAY TOO LITTLE BOOK SPACE FOR THE KNITTING BOOKS  -- just sayin'.    one new book, though, did catch my eye.  unfortunately, once you got past the gorgeous photography, what you have is another beginner knitting book with patterns like ribbed mohair throws and any of a number other projects that have been done before over and over again.  anyway.

we took our time and finally got to the bazaar by 12:20.  not 5 minutes later, they let us in.  we were shopped out an hour later and passed the line to get in that went down the block.  we all agreed that had we encountered such a line, we would have definately punted.  my criteria for shopping was this:  if i could potentially make it or had plenty at home (yarn, fiber) i didn't buy it.   yes, the self-control was amazing on my part because i did fall a little bit in love with a skein of pretty yarn.  there's was tons of great stuff though.    t-shirts, bags, bowls made out of old 45s, etc.    the creativity was inspiring.  we even got to meet shannon okey who was there signing her books.

what did i buy?  i bought some lovely lavender soaps in support of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. 

and some pretty vintage ornaments (see white blob reflected in the blue ball?  that's me.  the big white blog).

and this cute little porcelain tree that i got from ambrosia porcelain. 

this little russian mushroom house (you can't see the cap in this picture) with santa, mrs. claus, frosty and a tree stuffed inside, was not purchased at the biz baz (that's what the cool kids call it) but it was so cute, that it too had to come home with me (santa is about an inch tall -- look how surprised  mrs. claus is.  she could have sworn he was an inch and a half).

we ended the afternoon with some carbo-loading at bertucci's, where we stopped for rolls and beer (and salad so we could get the free rolls), and some window shopping on boylston and newbury.  it was a lot of fun.  i hope adrian and cynthia thought so to.  yes, i had my camera with me but it never once occurred to me to take a picture.  go and figure.

A Bear in Sheep's Clothing

so of course there was shopping.  i bet you i'm the only girl to come home from rhinebeck with one of these..

grrrrr.  now that's a bandsaw.

   

but that's not all i came home with.

my first purchase, a little sheepy ornament ...

from carolina homespun i picked up one of these tubes of fiber

and 4 oz of multicolor merino in Baltic (and some additional denise cords and needle points)

from cloverleaf farms i picked up 9.5 oz of blue faced leicester

(the colors are off here, i mucked around with the light balance and still couldn't get the colors right)

from "i don't know where" i got a big ball of "i don't know what" -- i think it's merino.  i was taken with the color.

and from two places that i also don't remember, i got this lovely ashford niddy noddy (thanks laurie for advice on what to look for) and two skeins of trekking sock yarn.

mmm watermelony...

on sunday morning, i finally made it to The Fold where things were pretty picked over (i too saw the line on saturday, and said "fuck it") but there was still this poor little lonely skein of STR left... poor little guy. 

i mean, think about it.  people stood in line for hours to get a hold of this stuff, and yet this little guy in olivite was left.  i couldn't just let that be!  i had to give him love.  it was a matter of his little sock yarn self-esteem!  so although he didn't come in a color i would normally choose, i took him home anyway.   you could tell he was happy to be loved. 

look how happy he looks with the skein of blue moon worsted wear in "flourite" that i also picked up!  it warms my heart.  me and madonna, we're really two peas in a pod.

hmmm.  that's about it, this time around.  oh and of course, the very awesome bandsaw.  i'm just dying to try that bad boy out. 

 

I'm a Scurvy Dog

it's talk like a pirate day today.  i did not know this.  so how funny is it that i made a reference to pirates just yesterday?  arrrgggh.  a french pirate reference.  even if it's in the form of a finger puppet.  the lovely young lady modeling the finger puppet is my niece.  she's wicked smaht.  which i know is not pirate speak but how we talk in new england.  really.  all of us.  and maybe a new england pirate said that once.   maybe.

i just got me some serious booty over at hello yarn.  my blood sugar was a little low i think when it happened.  i can't be held responsible when my blood sugar is low. 

Charity Begins at Home

a week ago saturday was "closing for the summer" day at graceful stitches, the shop where i volunteer.  the place was rocking and knitters came in in droves to stock up on yarn for the summer.  (the shop will open again in september).  so of course, i had to do my part to fight cancer.

you'll notice a theme here.

2 skeins of colinette point 5 in this wonderful berry color.  i kept petting it.  it had to come home with me.

5 skeins (i know there's only 3 shown here) of touch me.  if i ever make a scarf again, i'm making vintage velvet from scarf style.  this picture does nothing for the color of this yarn.  trust me, it's so rich.

1 skein of berroco suede.  i have an idea of what i want to make with this but i'm not telling right now. 

Bloggers Suck

i read over and over again how wonderful knitbloggers are.  how kind and generous and how they look out for eachother, yadda yadda yadda.

you know what?  that's a bunch of bullshit.

and let me tell you why.  i asked you people to help me out with a small problem.  and did you help?  NO!

clearly you all couldn't be bothered. 

i just ordered it.

no thanks to you.

heh heh

(hey i needed a bag for france)

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Update:  cheryl had a brilliant idea.  no one can resist an -along

no need to sign up.  just go shopping.

Save Me From Myself

and buy this bag so that when i finally break down and order it, there won't be any more.

get it at kpixie.  i'm begging you.

Rain Rain Go Away

by now you must have heard that it's raining like the bejesus in new england and that those of us who drove through the pounding rain to hopkinton, NH for the NHSW are insane.

but what's a little rain?  this was my first ever fiber festival and i wasn't going to miss it.  the girls would be there.  j was coming.  and i had on my slicker.

incredibly, i didn't spend too much.  i bought soap and some pretty fiber for practicing on my spindle.

but overall damage was minimal (if you don't count the fried dough and beer i bought j in exchange for his agreeing to be our sherpa).

j and i spent some time visiting the animals.  the alpacas were hard to photograph.  every time i was about to take a shot of their expressive faces they would show me their asses.    the goats moved too quickly which made it hard to get a clear shot in the low light.  but i did manage to catch this little blue eyed angora.

but this little girl (i guess, i really don't know, but s/he seemed like a girl) wanted me to pay attention to her.  she baaaa'd her little heart out so that we'd stop and look and admire her.

 

before heading home, j and i met up with wendy and rob, elisa and mike, carole and dale, kellee, debbie and kat for some margaritas and dinner.  i'm not saying more.  what happens in concord, stays in concord.

 

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.

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.

Birthday Week Wrap Up

i'm a great proponent of the "birthday week" as opposed to a birthDAY.  and my birthday week began with the boy friend and i meeting up last friday.  i was tired and intimated that i might not drag my sorry ass all of the way to quincy, but there was a promise of presents.  and well, i love presents. 

well they weren't lying. 

2 skeins of artyarns supermerino from melanie (who looks fabulous for a pregnant lady with 2 buns).  she was generous enough to gift us all with our own special colorway.  i got this color, that we called mexicali because well i'm hot and spicy.  cha cha cha.  and then the girls all pitched in and gifted me with a very generous gift certificate to a good yarn in honor of the birth day.  THANK YOU LADIES!  YOU ROCK AS MY BOYFRIEND!!!

next in the birthday celebration was cake with the inlaws on sunday.  i share a birthday week with a niece who turned the tender age of 17 and was ready to fight me to the death for all over control of the month of december.  considering that i've had 43 years of december being all about me (and the baby jesus) i figured in the name of world peace that i would let her think that it was all about her.  so young.  so trusting. 

then there was the actual birthday.  j forgot.  and didn't remember until he heard me humming the birthday song while making coffee.  "i swear i remembered last night!"  yeah whatever.  tell that to someone who cares.  since i'm getting a big ass christmas/birthday present, i didn't expect a gift.  but he surprised me with a table top tripod.  yes, i wanted one.  and a mushy birthday card.  he loves the mushy birthday cards.  no birthday dinner though as i was too tired.  yes, i'm officially old.  spent my birthday evening with my ass on the couch, knitting.

finally last night, a friend of mine took me out to dinner and then we shopped at home goods.  sometimes i leave that place empty handed, but not last night.  along with other things, i picked up this lovely.

.

my friend asked what i was planning on doing with that ... she doesn't know about the blog ... and i had to lie.  um... for decoration.  not  .... for hanging scarves on and stuff for taking pictures for my double secret blog ...

all in all, this birthday week was a great one.  and all of you who stopped by to wish me a happy birthday are a big reason for that.  thank you so much for your good wishes.

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

saturday before last, elisa had a few of us area knitters over for some knitting and drinking and eating.  and yankee swapping.

i think i totally scored.

because in exchanged for a nose (poor keiko) ...

i got me some yarn.

yes, 2 skeins of claudia (not that claudia)  hand painted merino wool sock yarn and some dpns from the sock yarn hoarder, elisa.  i'm going to have to learn how to knit socks.

I Wore A Scarf Today

it's officially fall.  the house was cold this morning.  and i wore a scarf in to work.  i think we're supposed to hit a high of 65 degrees today.  it's awesome.

in other news.  the work auction was yesterday with all proceeds going to hurricane relief.  my throw made some money $50 but my little crocheted flower pins -- $2 for five.  no appreciation for high fashion, clearly, but what do you want from a bunch of computer geeks and statisticians.  if they have pants on it's a good day.  (sorry no pictures, i am still sans digital camera but word on the street -- ritz camera sent me an email -- the new camera is on it's way.  woo-hoo).

i also received two new knitting books in the mail yesterday.  yes, because i needed new knitting books.  because the 1,249 knitting and crochet books that i currently own just aren't enough. 

i love this one.  i've only flipped through it quickly.  this weekend, i'm going to sit on my couch, and lovingly page through it.  from what i can tell, the photos and designs are beautiful.  the colors used are rich and vibrant.  it's like melanie falick's weekend knitting but better.  she's an incredible editor.

and the other book i received was hot off the presses.  so hot, that amazon doesn't have a picture of the cover.  it's by debbie bliss and it's called "Home:  27 Handknits for Living."  what a disappointment.  i'm a big fan of patterns for the home -- you know me and my afghan, throw, pillow obsession.  but this book is going back.  maybe she should have talked to sarah dallas before publishing this one ... because it's virtually the same type of book, with the same type of patterns, only not as wonderfully photographed.  been there, done that. 

finally, can i tell you how friggin' excited i am that it's friday?

Lame Ass Title

it's been 10 days since i last posted.  i don't think i've ever let 10 days go by without a post.

things have been very busy.  work's been nuts.  and j and i have had some sort of social obligation every weekend day (sometimes more than one) and some weekday nights (not counting dates with my boyfriend) since the beginning of may.  HEY PEOPLE WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS LONELY AND HAD NOTHING TO DO IN FEBRUARY!!!!????  anyway, tomorrow i'm taking a well-deserved personal day where i will run around getting passport pictures taken, taking books to my town library for donation (because they are closed on the weekends during the summer so there goes that idea of hanging out in the library some saturday afternoon...i'm a tax payer i should complain to the town elders or the librarian or something), and preparing for the air conditioner man who is coming on thursday to install our brand spankin' new air conditioner.  i *heart* central air.

in the meantime, i've been trying to calm my anxieties (i've learned that i'm not all that good with stress after all) with shopping.  i spent a fortune at j.jill the other day.  (curse them and their sales.  do you know what they do?  after you've placed an order, they send you an email with another link to another double secret sale that you weren't privy to prior to the purchase you made a microsecond before.  fuckers).  and joann had a sale this weekend so of course i had to go to the joann in my town and the one in natick.  the rat bastards at amazon.com sent me an email today with some suggestions.  so you know i had no choice but to order cool crochet, and cozy crochet, both by melissa leapman.

and i'm not done.  i just downloaded the pattern for the one skein wonder (i haven't seen a "big girl" wearing the one skein wonder so we'll see) and unloaded carolyn of some pretty yarn.

someone needs to save me from myself. 

50% Off

i just got an email from JoAnn's.  they're having another 50% off 1 item special until june 1. (promotion code MAYE550)  and i checked -- the swifts and ball winders are back in stock.

Jonathan Swift

look what was waiting for me at the door when i got home tonight.

take a closer look

closer

ooh... could it be? 

yes it could!  50% off baby!

Charge IT AGAIN

joann's is having a 50% off sale until wednesday so i bought myself this.  with my newly found ball winder (it was in a box in storage) i'm good to go.

also, i've been selling some stuff on ebay.  two items didn't sell -- a cross stitch booklet and a crochet booklet.  if you want either or both just drop me a comment and they're yours. 

Charge IT!

i haven't finished a project since my pre-easter bunny knitting smack down .  well i finished a cowl.   it's way too big and if my boobs were a tad smaller (and of course if i weren't so fat) i could actually wear it as a tube top.   but i've already frogged this thing 3 times.  it started out as a scarf that didn't work out.  then i made a knitted neck warmer from the yarn but that didn't curl my toes.  finally after fucking around with various cable patterns i finally came up with a staggered cable design that was kind of fun to do.  but of course i cast on way too many stitches.  but now i don't care.  it's done.  it's over.  i've even worn it. 

it's a lousy picture but i look and feel like ass so i'm not up to taking more pictures. 

here's a detail of the stitch.   clearly the cowl sucks.  but if i don't show you the crappy stuff then it looks like i don't do any knitting at all.

on the other hand, i've done tons of shopping in the past few weeks.  which is what i do when i don't feel inspired to do anything else.

a few weeks ago there was a sale at ACMoore.  so i picked up some landscapes in my 3 favorite colors (no idea what the hell i'm going to do with it),  some fishermen's wool (for koolaid dyeing) and a lone ball of  trellis.  everyone else has walked down the novelty yarn scarf  path.  i have not.  so i figured what the hell.  hey at least i didn't buy any friggin' fun fur (although i'm thinking that i may buy some in green and steal amy's lawn rug idea. )

then maybe even the same weekend, i went to The Fabric Place in framingham and dropped some coin on ... yes ... a how to knit socks book and bamboo double pointed needle sets in sizes 1, 2 and 3.  (although i'm a classic aluminum needle knitter, the aluminum double points come in sets of 4 needles only -- hence contributing to my frustration with them -- and are  way too slick.  besides i didn't have any smaller than a size 5).  i'm not knitting socks yet ... and i'm saying this because during Belly Fest 2005 i did say that i couldn't understand the attraction to knitting socks that will just be worn on ugly smelly ass feet --  but i do love sock yarn and well what do you make with sock yarn ... but socks.  so i'm willing to give them a try.    (ooh on that day i also purchased yarn harlot's wonderful little book ).

finally, a few days later i found myself at A Good Yarn (notice how i didn't actively go there...it was like i lost consciousness for a few minutes and then woke up in the shop).  the shop has changed since the last time i was there.  i was able to browse without getting the hairy eyeball and was helped by a really nice young woman.  the owners should keep her.
anyway, i bought more needles, and yarn and a leaflet for estimating the amount of yarn one needs for sweaters, etc.

i need to do some organizing now because i've forced napoleon out of his favorite little futon sleeping  niche.  this is where he sits now when i'm working on the computer.

Oh I Don't Have Time To Knit...

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

i meant to post the results of this quiz on friday, but then the day got away from me, and then the weekend came. 

friday night i did nothing. i just sit on my ass and knit.

saturday, i cruised around town and in my cruising, ended up in the shop of a local craft celebrity, Kathy McMannis, author of Rag Wool Appliqué: •Easy to Sew •Use Any Sewing Machine •Quilts, Home Decor & Clothing . she was very friendly and we chatted about how she started out and what it was like owning her own shop (she's had it for 3 months and has been keeping busy with custom embroidery orders for the local highschool and businesses). anyway, it was kind of cool. maybe i'll buy her book and have her sign it for me... right next door to her place, is my town's only yarn shop. i really really really want to love this little shop, have my picture up on the wall, have the owners wave to me when i drive by, come by for a sit with my Big One from dunkin donuts .... sigh... but it's not going to happen as long as OVER HALF OF THEIR INVENTORY IS THAT HEINOUS FUN FUR NOVELTY CRAP!!!! they also had a bunch of baby yarn. my guess is the bulk of their clientele answer to the name of granny or nana. i did buy 2 skeins of very pretty dark pink cascade, since i felt kind of guilty just coming in, making retching noises at the wall of fuzz yarn, and then walking out.

saturday night, j and i went across the street to the neighbors' annual holiday open house.  this is the third year for me.  the first year, we had just gotten engaged that day so i spent the evening showing off the crazy ass 6 carat cubic zirconium that j had just given me (to be traded in later -- he had wanted to surprise me, but he had also wanted me to pick out my own ring, so he decided to get me something fabulously fake).  last year i got drunk, spilled red wine on the carpet, and ended up with a mother of a hangover.  this year, i behaved myself, but came close to going postal on the nicolette sheriden of the neighborhood when she asked me to make her a fuzzy assed novelty yarn shawl like the one she was wearing.  i told her that i'd be happy to teach her how to knit one herself, to which she replied, "oh i know how to knit, i just don't have time."

i've heard other bloggers talk about this...i didn't realize how infuriating it would be to be on the receiving end of such a comment.  'yeah lady, i have so much free time myself that i'd be more than happy to knit you some fuck ugly shawl out of yarn that i can't stand on needles the size of tree trunks that hurt my hands while you prance around showing off your navel ring to my poor husband who is nice enough to help you around the house (because your ex-husband is a loser) but who is afraid to go over to your house alone because you make him "uncomfortable." '

no i did not tell her that.  i think i did say though, "if you have time to sit on your ass, you have time to knit."  was that rude?

Christmastime Is Here

to get too and from the train station, i have to drive for about 20 minutes through a couple of towns.  it's actually quite a nice drive and i've found a couple of shortcuts so that i don't actually hit traffic unless i get stuck behind a school bus.  my route takes me through hopkinton center which is very "new englandy." and i pass by some beautiful old farmhouses.  but now the lights are up.  and everynight on my way home, more and more of these houses are awash in lights.  and i love lights.  even the really tacky, neon baby jesus in the psychedelic manger tacky lights (there aren't many of those in hopkinton.  there seems to be a rule about being tastful in hopkinton -- my town, however, does not seem to have that rule).

another sign of christmas of course is the gazillion catalogs i get in the mail.  i very rarely order from one but every now and again something intrigues me.  last night i got a mini catalog.  yes, not only can i drive a mini, i can outfit my person in full mini regalia.  these slippers particularly intrigued me.

kind of freaky, huh. 

also in my mailbox was a small package from alison.  a few days ago, she held a little contest and i actually won some lovely sock yarn.  how cool is that?  i don't know how to make socks, but i can certainly learn how.  i can use the tutorial that appeared in an old issue of knitty a couple of winter's ago.  thanks alison!

last night, i finally made j watch the daily show.  jon stewart was mocking tommy thompson's press conference where he gives his resignation and says that he can't believe that terrorists haven't already attacked the food supply, yadda yadda yadda.  j turns to me and says, "did he really say that?"  "yep."  "why would he say such a thing?"  "don't know, maybe because he had an audience and since he's resigining, he can say whatever he wants.  i mean what are they going to do, fire him?"  "do you think no one's listened to him in the administration?"

YES BUCKO THAT WOULD BE MY GUESS...

i think we'll be watching the daily show everynight from now on.

finally, dude, does the fact i found this fascinating make me a dork?

Choice

i could cry about tuesday's election results...but i 'd rather go shopping.  check out this cafe-press site.   

and no matter what your opinion of michael moore is, he's certainly puts things into perspective:

Friday, November 5th, 2004 17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists...by Michael Moore

Dear Friends, Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in the words of Monty Python, “always look on the bright side of life!” There IS some good news from Tuesday's election. Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists:

1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.

2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always wrong and you should never listen to them.

4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don’t approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)

5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.

6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water, all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in lava. And no more show tunes!

7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut. May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.

8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.

9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't have to buy now.

10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress, including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates can't.

11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!

12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.

13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3 chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the 2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53 chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47 chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber (Montana House) is still undecided.

14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out -- and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.

15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from office.

16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are coming!!!

17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore. Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact, that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November 2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of surprise in 2008.

Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"

But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.

Yours, Michael Moore MMFlint@aol.com www.michaelmoore.com

Super Freak Super Freak She's Super Freaky

rick james died today. there is no song that takes me back to the fall of my freshman year in college like "super freak." unfortunately when i think of the song these days, i can't get away from the damage done to the memory by MC Hammer and his "can't touch this." TOUCH THIS %$@# MC HAMMER!!!!!! ok i'm done.

i went online window shopping at Anthropologie again. it's a good thing that i'm not at my fighting weight these days -- i'd be way too tempted. this sweater reminds me of a pair of shiny loafers i had in the late 80's. the shoes were black patent leather with the uppers covered in buttons. they were very cute. even in a size 10.

this sweater i probably actually could purchase .... hmmm maybe i need to go and see if they have it in the store ....

i like the neckline on this one and the off-kilter closure with suede flowers instead of buttons.

finally, these just remind me that i've got crocheted flowers somewhere that would make fun pins.

Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Handbag

ok ... i really want this bag. i saw it in real life... and i don't know if it's the strap or the gorgeous pink lining, but i really want it. the coordinating clutch is cute too but i'm not a clutch type of girl. by the way, i love Coach. other women love shoes? well i wear a size 11 shoe, so i obsess about bags. sometimes very expensive bags.

i've also decided that since i'm in the process of trying to shed some poundage ... and everything i try on looks like ass... that i'm going to concentrate my knitting and crocheting efforts on accessories (bags?) and not on sweaters for now. every pattern that i like is just wrong for my current form and things that are designed for "large sizes" just makes women in my predicament look that much bigger. HEY PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE I'M BIG DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T HAVE A FRIGGEN WAIST! I'M NOT BUILT LIKE A BOX! I'M NOT BUILT LIKE A RECTANGLE OR A CIRCLE OR A SQUARE ... i'm more like a great big catherine zeta jones. or a fat anna nicole .... with a brain. *shudder*

i'm seriously considering joining the Charlotte's web bandwagon because i'm a "follower," and i don't have an original thought in my head. what do you think of this colorway?