Obsession du Jour

Best Laid Plans....

This was a blog-filled weekend for me.  Not MY blog, mind you, but others'.  See, Mr. ODJ had a bunch of social engagements over the last week or so, meaning that I was putting in a little extra evening bedtime work in while he was out - he's in charge of bath and stories most nights, usually while I'm trying to scrounge us something resembling dinner out of the pantry/freezer.  What that meant for ME (aside from some extra quality time with His Cuteness this week) was that I got to negotiate a little non-baby time for myself here on a nice chilly Sunday afternoon, time I could spend however I chose.  Normally, I would choose to a) sleep; b) finish up one of the eleventy-million projects littering the house; c) make some underpants clean for the Mr and I for the upcoming week; d) drink heavily; or e) make some calls/write some emails to catch up with the friends and family that I can never seem to find the time to keep up with anymore.  Not necessarily in that order.  Oh, um....right...also maybe write some damned thank you notes already.  Ahem. Oh, and did I mention sleep?

Instead, as a measure of the mature and responsible Adult (and also Parent) that I am, I chose to spend this fine and glorious Sunday catching up on the Bloglines backlog, a backlog of posts numbering in, I kid you not, the THOUSANDS.  I will admit it. I briefly considered marking all of them as 'Read', and just starting with a clean slate. See above...THOUSANDS.  Y'all are a chatty lot, and I mean that in the best possible way.  I thought about it, and then realized that I couldn't.  I too badly wanted to know how everyone had spent their summer.  So I read, and read, and read.  And then I read some more.  Then I made us some clean things for the upcoming week because really? Clean underware.  I'm just saying. There was little to no commenting, I knew there was no way I could afford that luxury and still make it through.  No commenting, just lots and lots of reading.  And I almost made it, I did.  About 2/3 of the way through, some thing fantastically screwy happened to the laptop.  I have no idea what, as I was not in the room - or on the same floor even - when it happened, but when I came back with my hot chocolate, the computer was frozen, Explorer was closed, and my Bloglines slate had been wiped completely clean.  Completely.Clean.  Insert your preferred string of obscenities here. I did.  No, the Mr. wasn't in the room either, and shame on you for thinking that.

**SIGH**

It was fun while it lasted.

So I went and played in Ravelry for the first time in months.  Lemons to Lemonade, says me.

Hey look!  Knitting!

The Seaweed Set.

Knitted over Thanksgiving weekend during the 4-hour drive to St Albans, VT to visit family (and back).  There is just so much joy in the instant gratification factor of a beautiful, giant yarn on giant needles.

Specs:
Pattern: Seaweed, found here.
Yarn: Decadent Fibers Cream Puff in (I believe) the 'Indian Corn' colorway. This yarn salvaged from a failed sweater idea.
Mods: While mine is a bit longer than the one in the pattern, because I have a longer coat, the only modification I made was to add a few short rows to the center ribbed section at the top.  I wanted it to stick up a little higher than the rest of the piece and sort of make a little half-hood.  It works perfectly, and just flips down like a little shawl collar whe not in use.   Also, despite the lopsidedness going on at the top of the Seaweed (the left of the picture), it IS actually a normal arc, not all wonky like that.

Hat:  No pattern.  Just started knitting and decreased as necessary to make it the shape I wanted, trying it on a couple of times in the process.  Knit flat and seamed up the back because a) I didn't take any DPN's with me since I wasn't planning on knitting a matching hat (er...do I even own #13 DPN's?)  and b) I really wanted it to stand up and not be floppy so I thought a seam would help, structurally. 

Neck Warmer:   Betcha didn't realize that's what that freaky thing at the bottom was, eh?  Wearing this seaweed thing over a carried baby - a GRABBY baby, I might add - when one's primary base garment is a nursing tank with some sort of cardigan-ish top over it leaves a LOT of flesh exposed to the elements.  None of my scarves survived 5 minutes hanging right there in front of B's curious little eyes, hands and mouth, so I had to come up with something different.  I just cast on enough stitches to cover the exposed neckline of my favorite nursing tank, knit for a bit, started decreasing to a size that would wrap aroud my neck, yet lay flat.  I did 3 or 4 shortrows to get the bump for the back of the neck (nothing worse than the wind whistling down the backof one's collar) and then straight on to the end of the piece.  Add one button and voila.  Neck warmer.  I knew the thick and thin nature of the yarn would give it that little scalloped edge, so I didn't even have to dress it up any.

I'm not going to bother to promise pictures of this ON since it gets dark here just sortly after luchtime, for pity's sake, but I'd like to think we could make that happen.  We'll see.

And now, since it is a couple of HOURS past my bedtime, I'm off.  If anyone wanted to send B some sleepy vibes so that he doesn't wake me until morning, that would be grand.   

Beeeeeeeeep........

I'm sorry, I can't come to the blog just now on account of a terrible case of the giggles & fits brought on by this: 

 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  It's HERE! It's HERE!  Congratulations Ms. McYarnpants, it's freaking hi-larious. 

Public service announcement:  I would suggest caution in the application of thirst-quenching liquid whilst perusing this book.  Unless you happen to enjoy shooting soda out your nostrils, in which case you may ignore this entirely.

There's something in the water.

OK, so check this out....the husband pops out the front door yesterday morning on his way to the corner to grab our favorite Slack-Ass'-Sunday-Breakfast, right?  And it's this beautiful, sunny, perfect New England Fall day, right?  So he stops and takes a deep breath of the crisp fall air as he stares up at that perfect blue sky that really only happens here at this time of year, and as he starts down our steps he notices that one of our neighbors across the street appears to be basking in the glorious sunlight on her front steps.  Then he smiles in appreciation as he notices that there's a camera in her hands.  And THEN he realizes that her camera is pointed at her feet.  That's right, her feet...upon which there are....you know where this is going, don't you?....uh huh....hand knit socks. 

Now y'all have already made this leap and are clamoring for the details, but the husband, he is nothing if not polite, so he walks over and ask if she knits (of COURSE she does) and also if she blogs (because who ELSE would be doing this camera and stockinged feet on the front steps thing, right?), and then proceeds to mention that his wife is also insane a knit-blogger, and her blog is...yadda, yadda, yadda.  And off he goes to get our breakfast.  You know, like nothing at all momentous has just happened.  DUDE! A knitblogger lives right.across.the.street!  Go say hello to Joan * you guys.  See that blog name?  I'm telling you, it's something in the water around here. 

*Note:  She doesn't have a standard comments section, but if you scroll to the bottom of the page, there's a spot for you to drop her an email note.

The One Where We Met Some People

When we left our intrepid heroines, they were trapped between rising floodwaters and dark, scary roads. Bereft....adrift.....lost...   Hmmm....I guess we've discovered why I don't have a book deal, eh?  Blah, blah, blah...so anyway, we did indeed make it to Stitchy's cousin's house, which was, incidentally, stunning.  We unloaded our gear and our Web's haul in the STILL pouring rain - not neccessarily in that order, mind you - and commenced to eat fine cheeses and drink some very nice wine with some very lovely people.  I am sad to report though, that it seems that the Yarnpants' sense of style has completely skipped Cousin Elaine and that there was not one single knitted jumpsuit anywhere in the house. It's tragic really. Then again, this IS just the weekend getaway, so maybe she saves those fashion gems for her glamorous life back in the big city.  I blame my unwillingness to go to bed and get a decent night's sleep entirely on her and Debbie - also the sore stomach from all the laughing.

We awoke the next morning to find that it was miraculously.....still.raining.  Want to know how great Melanie and Debbie are as travel companions?  Here:

You probably can't tell from this picture, but it's raining.  And they're just standing there in the rain so that I can take a picture.  Cheerfully.  Looking all cute and shit.  That's dedication to blogging road trip, people.  Standing in the cold, early morning rain for the photo op.

Ah well, who cares about rain? There are barns at Rhinebeck.  Right?  Right.  And there were.  Barns, that is.  Barns full of sheep and people and fiber and people and yarn and alpacas and llamas.  *sigh*  Did I mention the people?  Here's some:

Notice, please, the crystal clear blue sky above and the glorious dry ground below.  Note also the handknitted wool garments. Many were being carried around rather than worn, but oh yes, they were there.  2 hours before this it had been fridgid and rainy.  Mother Nature, it seems, has herself a bit of a sense of humor, eh?  Maybe even a teeny, tiny mean streak.

Shamefully, this is the ONLY picture of ANY of this amazing TGKWB all weekend.  I'm going to blame it all on Rhinebeck 'first timer's syndrome', that sense of being overwhelmed by how many amazing people are there and how much fun you can have just standing in the hot sun petting someone else's wool.  It's possible that it might also have been because my hands were full of LOOOOOT.   Do ya wanna see it?  The haul?  Of course you do. 

I'm just going to throw up super-brief discriptions with these because it's getting very, very late and my hands are FREEZING. No, I will NOT turn on the furnace in October, but I WILL go have some tea and start a pair of fingerless mitts.  Liar, you do so see the logic in that. I'll update the album on the sidebar tomorrow evening with the whole scoop for anyone who happens to be interested.  Actually, these will have to just be wee little thumbnails - we are experiencing some technical difficulties with our media card reader - head over to the photo album for the real deal. 

This year's theme was fiber and wood, but fear not, there is also yarn.  Yes, it's true, I ALSO fell prey to the evil, evil Sock demon.  As a matter of fact, between Avi's spindles - oh y'all, so damn pretty - and the Socks That Rock craze, Toni at the The Fold was definately my Achille's Heel.  I did, however, manage to hold onto my sanity at the Brooks Farm booth.  Gotta save SOMETHING for next year, right?

Fiber_cormo_ball

Fiber_cormo_n_falklands

Fiber_indigo_moon

Fiber_moorit_wool_n_mohair

Mitten_book

Patterns_braid_sock

Spindles_avi_1

Spindles_avi_2a

Spindles_avi_2b

Woodchuck_diz_set

Yarn_bijou_scarf_kit

Yarn_scarf_kit

Yarn_seduction_1

Yarn_seduction_2

Yarn_snake_scarf_kit

Yarn_sock_candy

Yarn_soft_rock

There's also a Lincoln fleece from the fleece sale in the washing machine, and there's some laceweight yak/silk from THAT booth, er...somewhere.  Wierdly, I can't find it right this second, but I assure you that you will see it again someday.  I predict that it will be soon, but then, I am becoming notoriously fickle in my projects these days.

If they could see me now..

Those of you who know me AT ALL will be thoroughly shocked by what I am about to show you.  You may even want to sit down. Really.

No really, sent TO me, not BY me.  Tee hee hee...Steam Queen....me.  I know. I told you to sit down. 

That Julia, she's the best (also please note the beautiful plum wool as packaging.  LOVE the way this woman thinks).  See, we had this really, really fun dyeing shindig last weekend at the fabulous Julia's, and it was really, really hot outside.  Really.Hot.Outside.  (It bears repeating.) So anyway, there was yarn and sangria and fiber and margaritas and really good food and really fun people and....well...dye.  And where there's dye, there's a steamer pot.  The rest I'm guessing you can figure out on your own.  There's a small album over on the sidebar and you can also go see other pictures here, here, and here for more goodies. What you may or may not be able to tell from these pictures was how much fun it was.  It was a million degrees, and we still had a blast.  I'm here to tell you, folks, THAT'S saying something.  Oh, and George?  Cutest damned dog ever.  The Futureman of the dog world.

Thank you Julia. 

Wow!

WOW!!  Have you seen this yet?  Is this the cutest thing EVER?  Yes, it is.

St Pepper's

Whew!!!!

It was a wacky, exciting, whirlwind here this weekend, all starting with this:

I would like to take this moment to give a shout out to Melanie for getting in earlier than the rest of us and grabbing what, by chance, turned out to be the best seats in the house.  Yes, we are indeed sitting on the floor at her feet.  Talk about front row....

As exciting and fun as it was, I'll not bore you with yet another description of how charming, gracious and funny she is.  Just know that what everyone else is saying is true, that she was a blast, and that we had brownies -- really goooood brownies.  Uh huh.  Oh, and baby carrots.

And theeeeeeen, a whole bunch of giddy Harlot-groupies took over the corner table at Doyle's.  It looked something like this:

Now, having never hung out with a group of knitters before, I had no idea what to expect from the evening.  Sure, everybody SEEMS charming and witty on their blogs, but there's no way they can all be that fun in person, right?  (I mean, what are the odds really?)   WRONG!   They were, if anything, even MORE charming and witty, and truth be told, my face hurt at the end of the night from smiling so much.  I thought about attributing my tummy-ache to the laughing too, but then decided that the giant cheeseburger packed in on top of 25 pounds of brownies was probably a more likely culprit.  It's a tight call though, 'cuz there was a whole lot of laughing.  Thanks everyone for a really great evening. 

Saturday AM saw me out bright and early (ugh) on a last desperate birthday-shopping errand, and then upon returning home empty-handed from said trip, making a decision to "whip up" a little summer tank for a last-minute birthday gift.  Not that I didn't know far enough in advance or anything but......aw hell, I really thought I'd find something for her that I would like at the store.  Instead, I worked feverishly for the rest of the day and part of Sunday to turn something from The Yarn Girls' book (and my considerable stash) into a suitable gift in just a handful of hours.   Miraculously, it worked, though it left the house so quickly there was no time to take a picture.  Maybe if we ask nicely, she'll model it for us.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Meanwhile, I'll just be in the corner over here massaging my hands and remembering the day six years ago Sunday when my super-fantabulous husband made an honest woman of me. 

Happy Anniversary sweetheart.

(edit: no, even though our wedding was tres csual, this is not a wedding picture.  it's just the only one I have of us here at work.)

P.S.  Yes, slutty cat is still pregnant. 

Imaginary friends

You know how in the movies when imaginary friends come to life or show up on your doorstep, it's always some kind of freaky, scary thing and you just know that something bad is going to happen? Well, I'm here to tell you that it just isn't true. Hollywood has lied to us yet again. Case in point: Ms. Melanie. After emailing back and forth a bit, sharing memories of our mutual hometown (Atlanta, Ga) and such, we decided it would be more fun to do that in person, and it totally was. She's charming, funny, witty, has fabulous taste in knits, and has a deep love for pulled pork and hard cider(no one can have a deep love for pulled pork and hard cider and be a bad person, it's impossible). Also, she didn't hit me on the head and tell me to shut up after I talked her ear off for two hours, and that goes a long way too. Oh, AND she didn't make fun of my congenital inability to carry cash, even to a restaurant that only takes cash and checks. When was the last time YOU paid for dinner with a check written with a purple Sharpie? Yes, I'm a dumbass. And yes, it was THAT Sharpie. Hopefully she won't hold it against me and will come out and play again soon. Pictures? Um, no -- no pictures. You'll just have to take our word for it that it was fun and that you totally wish you were there.