Wednesday, February 27, 2008

My So-Called Glamorous Life


Unknown Tweed
Originally uploaded by craftytails
So... What is entailed with said glamorous life? Lots of work, little knitting and a vague concept of a social life. In three days, I have canceled plans twice in order to work on spreadsheets. Excel is so punk rock.

Speaking of punk rock, I am so thankful I decided to knit the skully sweater in a coffee brown bulky yarn with lime green skulls. We will see if I have it ready in time for the next convention in April. Knitting time is now scarce, but bulky yarn is quite forgiving and quick.

Also, happy belated birthday to the lovely Lady Dee. In true scary fashion, we managed to book salon appointments at the same place within an hour of each other. She was on her way out when I arrived. These coincidences are typical and slightly disturbing.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Oh Noes! Voldeymort!

(yanked from a memorable incident involving Andy, Del, sleep-talking and a Ralph Fiennes poster)

I can finally post a photograph of the secret present I made for the bad man (not to be confused with the other bad man, who I reserve much, much more colorful nicknames for). Unfortunately, I was not present during the gift exchange, but my boyfriend was. He was very careful to note the exact reaction. It was the glorious type of response that gift knitters aspire to have from all of the people lucky enough to receive something handmade. Score one for Team Slytherin!

When Taliesin received the scarf, he put it on immediately and looked down, instantly recognizing the symbol. Assuming this was a trick present (it would not be the first I have given him), he looked at a mirror to see if there was something hidden. Indeed, the "something hidden" disappeared and the scarf looked like a regular stripe pattern. I am incredibly happy with the way this turned out and consider it one of my most interesting FOs. This is a free pattern, in case anyone is curious. The designer also created a Dark Mark bag which may come in handy when attempting to summon fellow Death Eaters.

Now, on to my mundane life. I returned home from a long day at work, hoping to look through my plethora of knitting books for inspiration for a friend who has recently become pregnant. (Incidentally, I find this completely icky on a personal level, but become quite excited when it happens to my friends. What gives?) On the top shelf of the bookcase in my craft room, I keep my huge stash of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride yarn. I love coming home at night and looking at the brilliant array of jewel tones, juxtaposed with neutrals. It sounds ridiculous, but it really makes me happy. Although I knit regularly from this collection, I still have plenty of pretty colors to greet me when I am not in the best of moods. When I pinched some of the bulky weight yarn this evening, I had a nasty shock. A moth hastily exited from the recesses of the shelf and fluttered off to destroy something else precious to me. In a panic, I quickly grabbed a plastic tub of yarn and replaced the nice, expensive wool with some cheap, ugly acrylic. I felt something darken inside of me when I pulled out various skeins of "workhorse" yarn and hid the beautiful, rich, inspirational fiber away. I have never seen a moth inside my home until today and I can only hope it didn't ruin something I hold very dear.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Slipped


Blue Hands Fibers - Slipped
Originally uploaded by craftytails
Sure, I'll admit it. I received a gift certificate to Webs, so I bought yarn. I know I have been stash-busting lately, but a few sweater projects called to me; the discount was great; I didn't have lunch that day; I had a flat tire; my bunny was shedding, etcetera. The nice caveat of the entire, "I screwed up and bought more yarn incident," was getting a mistake skein from Dee. I hardly think this was a dyeing error on her part. As a matter of fact, I am completely convinced that I have fallen prey to her deliberate machinations. Fortunately, this colorway is absolutely perfect for the Firestarter socks which have been lingering in my Ravelry queue for a while. I plan to cast on after I finish my rpms. Cheating on my current knitting by fantasizing about other projects is disgusting and wrong, but I just can't help myself. I am starting the second rpm this week in order to keep my conscience and knitting stash free and clear.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Happy New Year!

I realize this is the year of the rat, but snakes can hope for a good one too, right?

This weekend, nearly all of my work-related friends are out of town at various conventions. And what does this mean? A lot of pet-sitting! One sweet Akita and the usual angry Tabby (who need to be regularly dosed with canine separation anxiety medication).

The Bad Man: "So, you are staying at home like a sane person."
Me: "If the word sane covers fighting and drugging a cat."

Tomorrow I finally return to my regularly scheduled social life with a therapeutic visit to Dee's house. A horror/comedy movie marathon will follow the next day, with back-to-back screenings of Lake Placid and Black Sheep. Although my Central Park Hoodie is coming along nicely, I think attacking my plethora of Hallowigs is far more appropriate. The glowing orange wig is complete and I am working on the pink colorway. If I have enough tacky neon yarn left in my stash, a green one will be added to the mix. My models have been carefully selected from the wide range of degenerates lurking within my stash of friends. Yes, I said stash. They just don't know it yet.