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Dec 18, 2009
Epic Fail I'm not sure how many of you are still out there. It's been months...again. I just got internet put in, so maybe I'll be around now. Knitting has been really good for me. Getting back into touch with my favorite bloggers/knitters would be better. I need some shoulders to cry on. Some friends to lean on.  My 25th birthday passed, it was good. Not great. Still, a lot of good things happened and I'm trying to focus on that. Mr. Shad bought me a cake and sent me pictures of the kids with cute little signs. The work day was rather rough, but that night was great. I just hung out with those three little crazies. They are my everything right now. That weekend Mr. Shad took me to see Daniel Tosh. Be forewarned that his sense of humor isn't for everyone. Only click that link if you are ready for some twisted laughs! Don't be fooled though friends, just because he was doing all of these nice things doesn't change the status of our relationship. We are due to be divorced very soon. It kind of breaks my heart a little. Apparently we're failures at marriage. Who knew? So I'm trying to focus on the positive things in my life, the things I can control. After looking at my Ravelry...I realize that when things were at their worst, I took a break from knitting. From about March til August or September there wasn't much knitting happening. Probably due partially to not having my own place to live. Right now I am living in my own apartment, it feels really good to know that I am taking care of myself. The next step is to get a career. Not a job, anyone can get a job. I need a career. Something that makes me happy and fills my time. At this point I am very tired of men. Though there have been several in my life. Some important, some not. Recently, I re-taught one of them to knit!! How do you feel about that? He wasn't even that bad. Though, I am not sure that he is on the "important" list. Actually, I know he isn't. That list is very, very short. I can count it's members on one hand. I've also made some close friends. There is going to be a little more heartbreak when I leave than I had originally intended. Yes, I plan on leaving North Carolina. Time to hit the road, stick out my thumb and close this chapter of my life. Speaking of knitting, by the way, some time last month I had a "blonde moment" and cut the hell out of my thumb with...staples. Yes, I said staples. But it was those  big industrial type staples!! Stop laughing! Okay, it was a little funny. What wasn't funny is that I had to get three stitches and couldn't knit for a few weeks. That was sad! Especially because I was trying to finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket for Mr. Shad's grandmother, which I had intended to be her Christmas present. I sent some of the earrings I had made earlier in the year instead. Apparently they were a big hit and everyone was impressed I had made them. Which confused me because I had been sure that my MIL had seen them before. I mean, Heather did get some for her birthday. (Oh dear...that is coming up again soon, isn't it?) So...back to the knitting. I did finish the blanket. Yesterday. :) I also finished a shawl. Which is absolutely beautiful. Right now I have no camera, so all my pictures are from my cellphone. SORRY! The limelight scarf is finished also. Right now on the needles I have a Morning Surf Scarf from my own handspun! This is the perfect pattern for handspun. Of course, that's what everyone says. Sometimes I work on this at work. Early on Sunday mornings, and it gets so many compliments. I love that I have been working at this store for a year and people are STILL amazed that I knit. REALLY? You haven't seen the huge tattoo?? Wow...sorry, got sidetracked. The only other thing OTN is a pair of fingerless mitts that I am test-knitting for Krystofer.  Labels: birthdays, knitting, life, scarf, shawl 20:08 | | 
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Feb 17, 2008
Something Like ThatGo here, just do it, don't ask questions. Okay fine, a few questions. It's totally work safe, that link will take you to the homepage for our dear friend Krystofer who is participating in the Aids LifeCycle this year. He needs our help in the form of donations. Anything you can give will be appreciated. Also, I know he is going to put names into a drawing for every FIVE dollars you donate (seriously? can you tell me you can't spare $5?_. There will be lots of lovely handknit goodies to win! That is, if you feel you need a reason to donate to such an outstanding cause. :)
 I don't even know what I talked about in my last post. The Somewhat Cowl is making some serious progress, which you all know is unusual for me. Normally, stockinette sends me into a boredom induced coma. The second Serpentine Mitt has been cast on...I got about two inches into it. Actually, Brandy was confused and impressed when I was knitting on it Friday evening. When she asked me about it (Is that knitting??), I got started on a whole thing where I showed her different projects. She also asked about the tags, so I showed her the Buggerloo hat for Heather and she just thought it was great. It's always fun to show off all of the things one can do with knitting. People really do seem to think it's all about  frumpy sweaters and baby blankets.
Valentine's Day was boring, I don't really want to talk about it, so don't ask. Kyran's birthday was not as much fun as I would have liked, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Oh well, the kids enjoyed themselves. Ky is really digging his new three year-old class.
Have any of you seen that Suave commercial? The "89% of moms admit they've let themselves go" one? I hate that commercial. What about dads? Don't any of them notice that they look awful? Really...? Sorry. Momentary rant. I am seriously stressed right now. There are only a few more months to go. Then I get to readjust to living with my husband again, and right about the time when I get comfortable, he'll probably have to go somewhere else. Ugh.
 I have four WIPs right now, and 5 UFOs. The question is what to do to get that all finished up. Yarnissima contacted me about my problems with La Digitessa, so I know how to fix that. Two of my UFOs are very near completion...I really just need to finish them. The baby hat in the Amazonas might just end up being frogged. What do you guys think? I mean, clearly I'm not concerned with finishing it. Labels: babies, birthdays, blah, Somewhat Cowl 14:29 | |
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Feb 9, 2008
Not Dead Yet Yeah. No. My computer's AC adapter broke, and since my battery is basically useless...I was without the internet briefly. If nearly three weeks can be considered brief. Actually, can I admit to somewhat enjoying it? It was nice to get in some actual knitting time as opposed to just reading about it on Ravelry! Not that I don't love Ravelry, it really would have come in handy when I realized that somehow my Digitessa and the charts/pattern were not syncing up. :( More about that in a second. Basic life update first. In the time I was gone, I've been going to the gym three days a week, knitting, and getting together with my friend Brandy every Friday night. It's really helpful to have a friend who truly understands what I am going through. Heather is five now, I missed doing a birthday post for her since the computer was out of commission. Kyran will be three on Monday. Expect one for him. And Nolan got his very first haircut! He looks older, or so everyone says. He still looks like little Nolie Bird to me. This is gonna be a long post guys. So, settle in.
Before and After shots of Nolan:
 
Alright, what else is there to tell? Well, let's get to the knitting stuff first. I  finished one of the Serpentine Mitts, and finally finished Tree Jacket. Come on, you guys knew I'd be knitting in my "time off" from the internet. When Tree Jacket was finished, I thought my Denise needles looked bored, so I cast on for the Somewhat Cowl. The Berroco Ultra Alpaca is really nice to work with. It doesn't feel as soft against my face as it does on my hands though. Which is strange. I'm really thinking I will like this sweater a lot. Tree Jacket is great, it fits perfectly, and my best friend said it makes my boobs look big. lol That's always a plus. Right now most of my projects are simple, mindless TV type projects. Unfortunately, those are the type of projects I tend to stall on. However, I needed something either simple, or that I had a pattern for once my computer died. As I didn't have a lot of patterns printed out. Oh, and I had a slight problem with my one complex and interesting pattern.
 La Digitessa and I are not in agreement right now. I should probably take a picture, but for now let me try to explain. Chart 6 has the cable pattern on the front of the leg as starting (row 33) on what would be row 10 of Chart 4. However, my sock has row 33 of Chart 6 being comparable to row 2 of Chart 4. Anyone? Should I just go about knitting using Chart 4 and trying to incorporate it into Chart 6 somehow? I posted about my dilemma on the Yarnissima group on Ravelry, nobody has given me any ideas yet. So, I might just start privately messaging people on Ravelry who have completed the socks. I am just concerned I did something wrong, and wouldn't even know how to begin to fix it! Argh. As soon as I can, I will get a picture to kind of show where I am at on the sock. It's just so aggravating. Anyways, after that, I started a modified version of the Charade socks. All I did was change the knit stitches in between the "slip, YO, k1, psso" type part into purls. Which my stitch dictionary calls a "rolled rib". Whatever, it is just something to do. Probably going to take them to the gym with me.  And now a meme, as I don't feel like posting anymore: Rules and whatnot 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. (which I don't feel like doing, so I won't) 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. These are the facts: 1. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 about...4 years ago. I refuse to take medication for it, and I don't have the time to see a therapist/counselor. Though it is free. Instead, I track my "symptoms" and try to adjust accordingly. Luckily, it's not as bad as it once was. Some days are still worse than others. (this might explain some things about me) 2. I still can't decided if I hate doing dishes or laundry more. It's always the putting away/folding/loading parts of these chores I have the hardest time with. 3. Driving still scares me. After rolling our Explorer several years back, I can only drive about 2 solid hours at a time. Anything after that, I start white-knuckling it! 4. Feet are gross. I don't like them, except baby feet. I have an absurd fondness for baby feet. The reason I love socks so much is because they cover up my totally abnormal looking feet. I hate pedicures. 5. My best friend is my polar opposite. She loves feet, pedicures, water, swimming, the beach. When my hair was long, hers was short, now that mine is short...hers is long. Her favorite colors are pink, green, and white. Mine are purple, blue, and black. Seriously? The plus side is: we've never been attracted to the same guy at the same time, can't even conceive of it. We balance each other. 6. The penguin thing, if I haven't already explained it, came about rather simply. Whenever I was pregnant, Mr. Shad would tease me about the way I waddled. He said I looked like a penguin. And the nickname stuck. I am still his penguin. Penguins are fascinating, and cute. So, why not? 7. I want to learn how to do some pole tricks. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably don't want to. I love to dance, and I think it's just a neat thing to be able to do. Eh, what do you want? I'm weird. :) Labels: birthdays, Digitessa, disappointment, finished object, kids, Knitter Project, life, memes/blogthings, penguin, pictures, progress, rambling, Somewhat Cowl, sweater, Tree Jacket, updating 11:28 | |
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Dec 11, 2007
Happy Birthday Post First, thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes, and all of the wonderful things that have been happening lately. It really feels as if, for once, things are looking up. From here on out this is a totally self-indulgent post. But don't worry! There is knitting content!
I spent most of the weekend cleaning. Friday, Emily came over and helped me to clean. In between bouts of cleaning, we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3!! You know how I love my Johnny. Anybody else really looking forward to Sweeney Todd? Just gotta find someone willing to sit on the kids on Christmas! lol Saturday, more cleaning. Then Brandy came over with a cake, a balloon, and some cards. She videotaped it for my hubby. Let's hope that he's the only one to see it, my hair was insane! We hung out for awhile, more cleaning, then after Kyle and Emily got there we went out to eat. Nowhere spectacular, still haven't been to the new Olive Garden. Sunday, my mom came up to see me. She took me out to get my hair cut and then she took the kiddos to the mall while I went to Bombs Away. Yeah, I have another tattoo. This one is much smaller than the penguin. Okay wait, let me tell this story really quick.
I go in to the shop, it's about 3pm. They close at six, and I feel kinda bad about  coming in so late but it's a small tattoo. So, I bring in the picture, chat with my guy, and take a seat. He's got two tattoos to do before mine, and he's already started the first one. Out comes the knitting, and I get comfy. Waiting...waiting. The movie that was on when I first came in is over, not a big deal, it wasn't far from the end anyways. It's about 4:30...Nik (my artist) takes a smoke break and tells me he'll be awhile yet. *sigh* At around 5ish, he comes to me, still hasn't finished up with this other girl. Do I mind if his buddy Josh does the tattoo?? Um...well, in the interest of getting everyone out of this shop by six, and since it is such a small tattoo...why not? Okay, Josh comes over, we talk about the design, he pumps out a sketch for me, and then (are you with me?) tells me he has to wait for the piercer to get out of his station!!! *rolls eyes* Fine. How can a couple of piercings take longer than a couple tattoos? Yes? No. Nik actually gets finished before Josh is ready for me. However, since he already sketched my design and stuff, I am still waiting on Josh. It's all good though. Nik came and talked to me while I got the tattoo done. Really, it's a lot about the compatibility too, not just the skill. Both are important, I like to talk. In case you hadn't noticed. Process-wise, the tattoo was not at all gratifying. It was too small for that. However, it's super cute, and exactly what I wanted.
Whew. Okay. I got home at about 7, and called Ty to let him know that he could come over whenever. As I sat down with my gross McDonald's chicken strips that I really did NOT want to put in my mouth...I realized I should have asked him to make me dinner. So, I call him back and ask if he's up for that. :D He was broke, so we  decided dinner could be his present to me. Which is cool with me, I love food. We all dance around the kitchen and hang out. Ty finally gets to meet my mom. After that, we went to the bar. When I got done wasting money on drinks, we went to meet some friends of his. Good times.
I'm done. Now the knitting stuff. Somewhere in between all of that, I was working on a hat for Kyran. Just grabbed some green acrylic from Michael's, and started a basic-ish slouchy hat. Only, I planned to put a brim on it. Kinda like the newsboy hat in the SnB book, except, I don't have the book. lol I mean, it can't be that hard, right? Too bad I didn't write any of it down.... Whatever, he's super cute. Okay, so, update. I wrote down what I remembered doing. It might not be exactly the same. But almost. If you would like to see it, let me know.
 Labels: birthdays, finished object, hat, messes, pictures, rambling, slouchy hat, tattoos 22:48 | |
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Dec 7, 2007
Wait...What?Geez, I keep disappearing. Blame Ravelry and my ridiculous life. A lot of drama went down last weekend. Nothing I really want to go over again. So, I'll be showing you a bazillion pictures in hopes of distracting you. Oh, and for my fellow NC knitters (especially those in the Wilmington area) my friend Tyler is totally hot, he cooks, wears handknits, he's funny, likes kids, and is single. :D hahahahaha He told me I could sell advertise talk about him on my blog.
     Between the drama and the migraines, I have been knitting a little. I started  the Serpentine Mitts for myself, and a hat for Kyran. The mitts are also my project for the Knitter Project that Elizabeth is doing. Sign-ups are closed, but you should really check it out. It's pretty awesome. I seriously think it's one of the coolest things I've ever heard of. Besides, she knows about the FBU. She's gotta be cool. In other news, my birthday is Sunday. You know, in case you hadn't seen the countdown thinger. Yeah, I love those things. I'm ridiculous. lol Going out with friends tomorrow evening. Sunday, my mom will be getting here, we'll go shopping. Then Tyler will take me out to do something wild and crazy. Should be a good weekend. Or, I hope so. I really need the break right now. Labels: birthdays, friends, Knitter Project, knitting, life, updating, weekend 20:28 | |
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Sep 21, 2007
What's a Girl To Do?When everything is hectic, and your life feels like it is falling apart....it's time for retail and craft therapy! Yes, even though my finances are ridiculous (oh, we're not even going there), I have been indulging a bit.
 Actually, before I really knew how bad the situation was, I purchased some Cascade Magnum from a fellow Raveler (who seems to have no blog but is cool nonetheless). My eyes were on the Skating Sweater from Big City Knits, and she had exactly the number of skeins I would need in exactly the color I love. It was meant to be. That, and she was offering it for an incredible price. Trust me, I priced many alternatives from different sources and this was the best one. Especially considering it is marked as $26 on the tag! But I won't tell you what I stole bought it for. Don't you love how honkin huge this thing is?! When I got it I was pleased and amused. Those are some serious skeins...no wonder they call it Magnum. :D
The catalyst to my discovery that we are broke was a birthday present. A friend of mine's twins will be one tomorrow. She invited me to the birthday pary, and I had no gift. Any good crafty chick will immediately consider what she can make! Of course  some Converse booties would be great. But that is just not enough. (Even though my mom said I didn't have to give them anything, heck they didn't even come to Nolan's birthday.) So off I went to Michael's, we had enough money in the account to spare 5-10 bucks. Or so I thought. Turns out we didn't. Still, I had money in my personal account and purchased the neccessities, including another skein of Bernat Alpaca to finish a hat that I started. Yes, that's right, I'm procrastinating. Big surprise. Looks like you won't see Goddess until October. Right about the time when it gets too cold to wear something without sleeves. Where was I? Right, presents. So, I picked up some fabric paint, these rockin (literally) stencils, and dug around in the boys' closet. I found some old onesies that looked clean (or never worn, that seems to happen) and set to work. Really, it was only about $5, probably less because I already had some fabric paints from the time I painted my jeans. What do you all think?
 It was horribly overcast all day yesterday. Sorry about the pictures. The blue is actually more of a teal. I want to make one for Nolan too, but with a different stencil (it was a 4-pack). But what cool thing can I put on there for his name? His nickname is Bird...and I think Mr. Shad might kill me if I put that on there. lol But what about Bird of Prey or something? That might be cool? Geez, how is a girl supposed to double check her craftiness without a husband there to tell her that it's a bad idea? Whatever. Look at my dinner. Yum it was so good. My mom is coming to visit for the weekend. So I can have a bit of a break. I am really looking forward to it.  Labels: birthdays, blah, booties, food, painting, presents, purchases, yarn 08:13 | |
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Aug 12, 2007
Hot Hot Heat Damn it's hot out there. Makes me want to sit in my living room with the air conditioning and a glass of ice water. And knit. So, that's basically what I've been trying to do. Except life keeps interrupting me. This past week was not great. Really, I don't want to think about it. Mostly just a lot of little things. Like the fact that only one couple showed up to Nolan's birthday party yesterday. He still had fun and all, it just hurts to know that I've got lots of fake friends. Mr. Shad is deploying soon and I'm not sure I have many people to count on. Anyways, here are some shots from Nolan's party. Plenty of messy faces.
He ate like three cupcakes, and those things were sugar overload. At about 10:30 or something he woke up on a sugar high, puked, and then played for a bit. It was like watching a little drunk person. lol
Aside from the craziness of life, I've been knitting. While in Maryland last weekend I did finish the Twisted Flowers socks, but forgot to take pictures. I ended up giving them to my brother's girlfriend, she is a little tiny thing and has size 6  feet. Seemed to fit her perfectly. Also, I think I gave her a whole new view of knitting when I showed her my Ravelry queue and projects. Once that was finished I wanted to dive into Eiffel, but uh...forgot the needles. lol Instead I just worked on Mom's top for a bit. And read some comic books that Mr. Shad picked up for me. Did I mention I am a huge Stephen King fan? Especially The Dark Tower series. Specifically, Wizard and Glass. Awhile back, Marvel mentioned they were co-oping with Stephen King to create a comic series based on that book! Woot! Mr. Shad saw them at the comic book store he likes to visit while in Maryland, and bought all of them for me. Oh, and my brand new IK arrived the day before we left, so I perused that as well. Eunny's long awaited (for me anyways) Tangled Yoke Cardigan is in it!! My LYS owner got me all hyped to spin my own yarn for this...we'll see how that goes. Maybe use some of that Alpaca I got for Mother's Day?
On my doorstep when we got home were these LOVELY balls of SWTC Bamboo in Electric  Blue. Let me tell you, when I saw this on Kpixie, I had to have it. I was afraid at first, because the swatch pictured on SWTC's website was darker than the yarn pictured at Kpixie. Still, I figured it would be worth the risk, besides, if it really was as bright as it was on the Kpixie site then it would be a perfect match for Goddess. Oh, they really are that gorgeous. Castonitis hit me hard when I opened the box to see the bamboo (my fav fiber!) calling to me, and the pattern...just begging to be swatced for. Grrr! No. I had already swatched Eiffel, plus made a deal with myself to knit an inch a day on Mom's top. Still, it calls to me, sitting in my little bag of yarn in my bedroom. Oh yeah, it's next in my queue for sure!
 Eiffel is coming along nicely. The lace pattern is very simple and kinda flies by. The yarn...well, I am not so in love with it. The color is awesome, and I love that it can be machine washed. However, it's kinda tough and unforgiving. I don't hate it, but it is certainly not my favorite. Of course, that's why I like to try new and different yarns, it gives me a chance to experience everything. My LYS just got in some nettle, that ought to be interesting! I really only want some because of some movie I used to love as a kid. Baccarat Player is about 4 inches  away from completion. Then I can weave in ends (which I have been trying to do as I go along for the front), and *gulp* seam. Linda has already been warned that I am bringing it in for her assistance when I finish it. Generally...I suck at seaming, and I want this to be well done, besides, the yarn is so slippery and fiddly! My number of FOs is really growing, and I am very happy about that. The pair of socks a month thing, and the sweater every two months... well that was shot a long time ago. It's okay, because I am still making things, getting things done and all. Ew...Christmas is coming up soon. Alright, I'm going back to my water and needles. Labels: babies, Baccarat Player, birthdays, Eiffel, family, frustration, funny, kids, knitting, messes, progress, project spectrum, Twisted Flower, yarn 14:27 | |
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Aug 9, 2007
The Last First It was fun to post birthday blogs for Heather and Kyran, many of their pictures hadn't been seen before. Nolan has been a part of this blog from day one though. Some of you may even remember his first debut! Even though you have probably seen these pictures, I still want to share them again. It is my very last first birthday.
Nolan doesn't have Heather's charisma, or Kyran's lovability, but then, he has things they don't. Nolan has the most contagious smile I have ever seen, and he uses it constantly. Just today he was laughing because he was sitting in a shopping cart. He is very independent for such a little baby, quietly playing by himself for hours. It can be easy to forget that he's not napping. Kyran is quiet and moody, Heather is loud and crazy, Nolan is my sanity. The quiet in the dinh. If Nolan had been any different, I am not sure of how well I would be handling my situation as of now. Sometimes I get into lengthy conversations with my mom about how good he is. Simply amazing, isn't it?
Anybody who has kids will understand. Nolan hardly cries, when he does it is out of  neccesity. You can entertain him just by smiling at him, and he will take naps without a fight. Of course, the constant smiles make him an instant favorite for my camera. lol I'm sure, if you have been keeping up with my blog on a semi-regular basis, you know the constant trouble Heather and Kyran cause. When I became pregnant for a third time, I felt worn out and frazzled at the idea of THREE! I am glad to know and care for him though, he is an angel. If it were not for his mellow and happy attitude, things might be different. :)
So, Happy Birthday Nolan! It has been a crazy year, full of many experiences for us all. You have taught me that compassion and love really know no bounds, and that a smile really is all it takes to brighten a room.
      Labels: babies, birthdays, pictures 13:36 | |
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