The Scarf

Okay, first I have to start with the car.  Oh, poor Roxy.  She was more of a mess than I thought.  I'd hoped the noise she was making was because the bushings were going bad.  But upon examination by a qualified mechanic, whom I trust, it turns out there was much more wrong with her than that.  So she got new ball joints and control arms and new wheel bearings and new transmission lines.  And I am out a small fortune that I'll be paying off for six months or more.  Which is less than fun but I will deal.

Second I have to say that I ended up getting sent home from work today.  It's actually pretty cool when you have a headache bad enough that your boss notices and tells you to get out and go home and get better.  Now, granted, she needs me to come in tomorrow so she'd rather I went rested so that I didn't have to cal in tomorrow, but still.  There's a lot of things that are crappy about my job, but the people, and the family atmosphere in our little office, isn't one of them.  

But after pain relievers and a good long nap, I woke up feeling 95% better and that was awesome.  I was able to eat, and that helped even more.  And then, I sat down and finished the scarf I'd been working on. I'm keeping it and I love it a lot.

So, I adore it.  And it's actually brighter than what is usual for me.  I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I do.  But because I do, I have no qualms about keeping it, even though I usually feel guilty about making stuff for myself.

It was super easy too.  I only had to frog it twice before I figured out that a simple basket weave pattern would both show off the yarn and give it texture and excitement.  It's color change yarn, and it happened to work out that the number of stitches I used meant it self-stripped.  Which, I think, is awesome.  

Pattern time!  In case anyone cares to give this a go.
I used Hikoo by skacel Simplicity for the yarn.  It's a DK weight, but I used size US 8 needles (5 mm).  It gives the yarn a bit more stretch.

CO 50 (or any multiple of five)

Row 1: K 5, P 5 to end
Row 2: P 5, K 5 to end
Row 3: rep row 1
Row 4: rep row 2
Row 5: rep row 1
Row 6: P 5, K 5 to end
Row 7: K 5, P 5 to end
Row 8: rep row 6
Row 9: rep row 7
Row 10: rep row 6

And yep, that's it.  Repeat these 10 rows till desired length, bind off, and you'll have alternating blocks of stockinette and reverse stockinette that are 5 stitches wide and 5 rows tall.  It means that this scarf is basically reversible, because whichever side is showing is the right side.  I love that in scarves.  

Okay, yeah, super easy pattern right?  Sometimes, simple is better.  Not always, but in this case, I definitely let the yarn do the work and I didn't want to muck it up with complicated stitches.  Besides, reversible! :D

Serendipity

So, last weekend I bought a couple of hanks of rainbow yarn with the intent to make a scarf.  This past Friday, I finally got a chance to sit down and yarn, and I started on the scarf because I didn't want to work on the hat.  After a couple of attempts, and frogging about three patterns, I decided on a simple basket weave.  I fell in love with it pretty quickly.  On Saturday, I worked on it some more, and as I neared the end of the first hank of yarn, I realized I didn't have enough.  In fact, I had nowhere near enough.  

I contemplated my options for a while.  I had enough for a cowl-ish neck warmer, and I could do that instead.  I didn't really want to buy more.  But then I got an email from my LYS saying it was birthday sale weekend, and everything in the entire store was 20% off on Sunday and Monday.  Well, that decided it, and I went to the yarn store on Sunday and bought two more hanks.

It's color change yarn, a variegated that basically self-stripes.  That was, in part, due to the number of stitches and rows in my pattern.  But it's fantastic.  But I discovered it had a very set pattern of colors.  So when I went to join the second ball of yarn, I had a decision to make.  I could just join on where it started, and the color pattern would change a bit.  But it would be clear where each new ball joined in.  Ultimately, I decided that wasn't something I wanted, so when I joined the second ball, I had to pull out a bunch until I got to the right section of color.  I wound that into a mini-ball, and then started knitting again, thinking I would join that little bit at the end or figure out where it went in the grand scheme of things.  

I went to the store and got two more hanks, and I wound them into balls last night.  And when I was done, I discovered something magical and utterly fantastic.  I chose all four hanks at random, just picked the same colorway and dye lot, but didn't examine the hanks too closely.  But, as I said, wound up into balls I saw something amazing.  The two hanks that I had bought, along with the little bit from the second hank, all end on the color where the next one begins.  It's perfect.

The ball I'm working on now ends in green.   There's a ball that starts with green and ends in purple.  The little bit left over starts in purple and end in yellow.  And the last ball stars in yellow and ends in purple.  That will be be the last ball I put on and, as an added bonus, it ends in purple which was the color that started the scarf.  

It won't be a perfect match for number of rows and the like.  But it will be a general match and that is just awesome.  It was a serendipitous series of events.  The yarn gods were with me.  Or something.  But it's awesome and I'm really happy about it.  

The pattern is relatively simple, with just a bit of variation to keep me interested.  And the color changes give an additional excitement to working on the project.  And I'm loving it.  

Also, I've gotten back into Ravelry, a social media site for yarners, and that's exciting too.  I joined about five and half years ago, but it fell by the wayside.  But I'm back there now, and that's fun.  Though as I was adding in some of my projects, I realized that I am sadly lacking in pictures of completed work.  I was going to be better about that, but it seems I've seriously slacked on it.  So that's another goal for me, to take the pictures of the completed works!

Anyway, after a bad few days, where nothing seemed to be going my way, and my temper was getting the better of me, and so was my sadness, it was really awesome to end the weekend on a lovely yarn note.  

Join Me In Wishing Alder a Happy Birthday!!

May your day be filled with awesome, my friend, on this momentus birthday!  Enjoy the heck out of it and have a wonderful day!!

Happy December!

It's December!

I love December!

Even though, for the moment, the snow has melted away, it's crisp and cold and soon it will start falling again.  I have almost all of the decorations up.  The tree is lighted and waiting for ornaments.  And all of that just brings me great cheer.

I have a couple of packages ready to go that I'll be dropping in the mail this week.  Hoping they get to their destinations on time.  Okay, I'm only worried about the one as it has a long way to go and a particular deadline.  But it will arrive in time, as long as I get my bum to the post office.

I've broken out the Christmas movies to watch while I yarn.  I spent the weekend with some animated classics, and I'll be moving into cheesy holiday romances this week.  I'm looking forward to it immensely.  I have a few great stories waiting to be read as well.  

This past Sunday, we had beautiful weather for our drive to Massachusetts to see my nephew and celebrate his fist birthday!  His actual birthday is Friday.  He's such a joy and a love, and though we drove ten hours (there and back) for a three hour party, it was worth it to see him.  And fortunately, it wasn't as bad as some of our other trips have been.  It wasn't great, no, but seeing that baby and getting loves was a very good thing.  We're actually hoping there will be a trip in this direction in the coming weeks so we can show him off to our family here.  Fingers crossed.

Happy December everyone!  Soak in the Christmas cheer!

It's the Holiday Season!

I really love this time of year.

'Round these parts, we get the snow, which for me makes the season.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not a fan of blizzards, or 18 inches in 18 hours or anything like that.  But when it's all less than a couple of inches, and it just looks pretty on the grass and the houses and cars and trees, well that makes me really happy.

And Thanksgiving!  Oh, yes, how I love that holiday!  It a wonderful day, and my favorite part is spending it with my family, stuffing ourselves full, and enjoying the hell out of each other.  We usually laugh really hard, and often play board games.  Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV, and a few other things that are tradition.  I love it.

And then, after the turkey coma wears off, it's the official start to the Christmas season.  I have to admit, I'm anxious and excited to get decorating, because I love seeing the Christmas cheer all around me.  

And holiday movies...I cannot even tell you how addicted to holiday cheesy romances I am.  Though most of them are het, I still love them.  On top of all my other Christmas movies.  That's basically all I watch from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas.

So anyway, family time, and holiday cheer, and this whole end of the year makes me very happy.    

Happy Birthday!

To the BFF!!

Happy birthday to my girl, my rock, my confidant, my support, my awesome BFF.  

It was my good fortune when I stole you.  I'm keeping you.  May your day be filled with awesome.  I love you 12ever.  

Yay Brubby!

After three grueling years of hard study, after graduating magna cum laude and number 7 in his class, after worrying and fretting and working his butt off three months ago, the results have finally arrived.

Brubby passed the bar exam!  

There's a few more steps before he's officially admitted to the bar, but there's no worries about that.

My brother, the lawyer.  

I'm a proud sister right now. 

Being Me

So you may have noticed that I haven't been around in a bit.

I meant to post.  I really did.  But, you know, I didn't.  So there's no excuse for that, not really.  I just...haven't.

Anyway!  To fill you in on what's been going on...

Went to the BFF's new place last Friday, and I made her dinner and we also baked cookies. The oven was a little bit possessed and there was a bit of cookie burnage, but we managed to own that bitch and 96% of the cookies were full of awesome. It's just a cute little place, and it feels like her.  It's nice, and I fucking love her back door (get your mind out of the gutter, people!  lol)  Her kitty, Cersei, attacked the crap out of me.  It was so damn cute I don't even have words.  My hand was all chewed up, but I forgave her.  But it was awesome to have BFF time.  And I really loved giving her prezzies, one of which was her very own bob!

I had two days off this week and it was...not all it was cracked up to be.  Unfortunately.  Monday, I woke up with a migraine, and they suck donkey balls, and I was extra super pissed because it was a day I already had the day off of work.  At any rate, pills, and coffee, and unfortunately a little bit getting sick, took care of that, and the afternoon was mine. 

Tuesday I got bad news (and I was very sad), followed immediately by good news.  And also the Flash Fic Holiday Blog Hop sign up went live!  It's super exciting.  We've had quite a few sign ups so far, and I'm just thrilled about that.  And I really, really can't wait to see all the different stories that people come up with.  I think it's going to be so fun to see what's the same and what's different.  So Tuesday was just a roller coaster of emotion, and that made me tired.  It was mostly good, though.  

I've been yarning a bit.  I wanted to get the mitts done BEFORE I went to the BFF's but, yeah, that didn't happen.  But now I'm nearly done, so she really will have them in time for winter.  Her birthday present on the other hand?  Nowhere near done.  And since her birthday is like, in less than three weeks, well...let's put it this way.  I already told her it might be late.  She loves me so it'll be forgiven.  But I still really fucking love it, and she will too.  

And so, yeah, that's pretty much it.  Work is still work.  I've been writing, and reading, and yarning.  So basically, I've just been being me.  There were some low points, and I was really low, but mostly it was good.  

And  now it's Friday night, and I'm chilling and happy.  And I'm about to make tea.  And enjoy the holy hell out of my weekend.  

Sister Time!

So, Sis and I had extra sister time this past weekend.  Started with dinner out on Friday night, just because.  Then Saturday we hit the craft store and then had lunch out.  It was really good food.  Both times.  

While at the craft store, Sis bought a ginormous crochet hook.  The biggest they make.  And really fat yarn.  And then, she crocheted a wrap while I crocheted on a blanket and we watched West Wing.

 Comparison of one strand of the fat yarn, next to a single strand of regular, standard medium weight yarn.  Huge right?  Ginormous.  But that's okay, because it works up really quick.

 See how big this freaking hook is?  Do you remember my really big knitting needles?  It's about the same size, roughly an inch in diameter.  And you can see how it all works up, how big the stitches are.  How quickly you can make a 36" by 25" wrap.

And this?  This is the wrap.  Which is so warm and cozy it's ridiculous. And also mine.  Did I mention that part?  No?  Well it is!  She made it just for me!  Technically, she gave it to me as my birthday present, and said she did better than I did (yes, she did.  It only took her six and a half months, instead of the 11 months it took me for the first time, and the 10 it took me the second time)  And it's mine, and Sis made it for me.  For me!  Some actually yarned for me!

I LOVE YARN DAY!

Here it is again!  I love yarn day!  Woo!

I do.  I love yarn.  I love the way it smells, the way it feels, the way it works up to make something wonderful.  I love molding and crafting it, making my vision come to life.

I love yarn.  

If you are a fiber addicted, happy I love yarn day!  And if you're not, well you should be, but it's okay if you aren't.  Instead, wish your favorite yarner a happy I love yarn day!

October

So it's October which is, overall, probably my least favorite month.  The only thing I like about it is that fall is well and truly here.  Though not quite in my area; it's still rather warm.  But it's getting there and that makes me happy.

Don't know why I dislike October as a whole.  There really isn't a reason for it.  Just do.  

Okay, so the CAL?  Yeah, I'm done.  This was week four, I still didn't get the clue despite several complaints.  I had to go to the website, and then wait for that to be updated.  And then when it was...another awful pattern stitch choice.  I thought perhaps it was just me, but nope.  I checked out the forum, which I hadn't been looking at, and several other people were all, these stitches don't go together!  They don't look good!  And it's true.  It doesn't work together.  It doesn't look good.  And even though I started the next one, about three rounds in I was just like, nope!  I just couldn't do another one.  Just couldn't.  So I've given up on the CAL because I can't, in good conscious, make something that I think is ugly.  I did it in the first place because of the donation from the sale of yarn, and for the fun "choose your own adventure" feel of it.  But it's awful, so I'm done.  I will continue to buy that yarn, and I will use the yarn I have to make a throw instead, because I have enough, especially if I frog what I've already done.  But I'm so over this CAL it's not even funny.

I had a really lovely two days off.  It was incredibly wonderful just to chill.  I treated myself to fast food breakfast one day.  I read.  I wrote.  I napped.  It was wonderful.  And in a couple of weeks, I get to do it again.  It'll be lovely.

And yes, I know it's silly, but the Bobs?  They still bring me great joy, they are growing like awesome with new leaves and new shoots emerging all the time.  I talk to them, and I swear they preen.  One of my great joys is walking 'round the room and giving everyone their drinks.  I check on them daily.  And I want more.  

So even though October makes me cringe, it's here and there's nothing I can do about about it.  It'll be over in 30 days, and I just have to wait it out.  And take joy in the little things while I'm at it.  

The Hole

So, fall is here.  Which is awesome.  I love this weather, I love this time of year.  It's just the perfect season.  I love the reprieve from the heat and humidity of the summer.  (Spring arriving after the cold of winter is a close second)  And as the days, and especially the nights, get chillier, it's time to break out the warmer wear.  That I especially love.

Last night, it was pretty dang chilly.  I had my fingerless mitts on.  I wore them when I ate dinner because it's too early to turn the heat on, even though it was about 40 degrees.  And then I noticed it.  A hole.  Near the edge of my right mitt.  

Oh No!!

At first, I thought the seam had come apart, which would have been good because I could have fixed that.  But nooooo.  Of course not.  It must have gotten caught on something, because one of the stitches broke.  And knitting, well, it unravels from top to bottom.  So the stitch above it was coming loose as well.  Dammit all to hell!  I wracked my brain, trying to remember if I had any of the yarn left in order to darn the hole closed.  But I couldn't remember, and I wanted it fixed quickly so that it didn't unravel anymore.

Enter Sis to save the day!

I don't sew.  I especially don't sew with a sewing machine.  But Sis?  Sis is a master at the sewing machine.  She took my mitt, and she stitched underneath and above the hole so that even though it's still there, a wee bit, it will not unravel.  It is secure.  And my mitts live longer.  And that makes me happy.  

Randoms

--Have you heard about the latest Facebook idiocy?  I used to have a FB account.  I used it a lot.  And then I didn't.  In fact, I haven't been there for more than browsing for probably about two years.  I was finding it kind of intrusive anyway.  But in light of the recent developments, I have disabled my FB account.  Authors, performers, and others (LGBT people in particular) using variations on their names, or fake names, to keep themselves safe are being suspended from using the site.  It's ludicrous to me.  And it seems they are doing it because they want to make money, because they want to sell things, and that is just beyond insane to me.  It's supposed to be a place to connect with friends and family.  I've long been over it, though I've considered going back.  Not going to happen now.  I won't be a party to that, or condone their behavior.  I'm done.

--I'm disappointed in the CAL.  After the mess up last week, it was supposed to be corrected and all is well.  Except I didn't get the email again this week, though I was able to get the next clue online.  I was disappointed in the choices for the next pattern, and I was disappointed in the way that the sections are connected.  If it's going to be like that the whole way, then I'm really going to be cranky.  For a few minutes there, I even considered abandoning the whole thing.  But now I'm kind of perversely determined to see it through.  I've emailed the company about the screw up with the emails again, but I hold no hope of it being resolved.  I'll put the pieces together each week, but I have a feeling it'll end up hanging on the wall instead of around my neck.

--The bobs are still doing wonderfully, and they still bring me a great big smile when I see them.  I think I might need some more.

--Works is...the hardest part of my day.  But I am persevering.

--My family is providing me with a great deal of joy lately.  In particular Sis.  We've been having a lot of sister time lately.  And it's been really, really nice.

--Hope everyone is having a good week and that all is well in your world!

Nice and Clean

I'm not a fan of cleaning.  I know that comes as a big surprise.  The people who actually like to clean are rare indeed.  I wonder if there's some sort of genetic marker for that?  Anyway, so no, cleaning is not fun.

But what I do like, no love, is the end result.  

I'm a bit of a pack rat.  It's probably why I have such a huge stash of yarn.  I make piles of stuff.  And it's only when I can get up the ambition that I go through the piles, sort out what I don't need and get rid of it, and put the other stuff away.  Sometimes, the piles get a bit unmanageable.  And then I get all cranky, and it takes me a long time to get through stuff and every time I swear I'm not going to let it get to that point again.  Which never works.

Admittedly, I've been better for the last year or so.  My stuff accumulates, sure.  But It hasn't got quite to the crazy hoarder stage in a long time.  (For the record, I'm not a hoarder.  I have no problem chucking stuff out.  I have no problem getting rid of stuff.  I'm just lazy.  I'll get to it later.)  So my space has been cluttered, but it's never really, truly messy.  And now, the bad times only require an hour or so to pick up, put away, dust, vacuum, mop the floor, and then I'm done.  

With fall descending quickly, I decided to take some time this morning and get uncluttered and clean.  It's nice now and that makes me happy.  And the stuff I use on the floor makes it smell all fresh and clean.  So now I can sit back and enjoy the clean.  And vow to myself I'll actually start putting stuff away, even though I won't.  

But it's really nice right now.    

CAL Update

Okay, yeah, more CAL stuff.  This is what has been going on so far:

--I had to make some decisions right off that bat.  And decisions are sometimes tricky for me, because I end up second guessing.  I'm always wondering if I should choose a different path, if another choice would have been better.  Especially when it's something I have to commit to and shouldn't change later.  So!  The first thing I had to do was choose which color was A, B, and C.  This is a very individualized sort of thing, and the choice is left up to the yarner as to which color gets assigned to which letter.  I hemmed and hawed for a while, rearranging and second guessing.  But in the end, I decided the lightest color would be A, the medium color B, and the darkest color C.  .

--Since this is a mystery scarf, there are three options to choose from in each stage for the pattern.  I know I wasn't going to choose option A--it was just singles and doubles, nothing exciting.  So I skipped right over that.  Option B was interesting, with a combination of colors, but I sort of didn't like the way it looked.  So then it was obvious I would be doing option C (which, incidentally, was labeled intermediate skill, but I don't know why as it was super easy).  

Thus decided, color and pattern, I commenced yarning.

--When I was studying the options, I realized that the "blocks" of pattern would all end up measuring the same.  Pretty ingenious way of getting all the different pattern stitches to fit together.  So, having decided on option C, I picked up color A and started going to town.  Roughly an hour later, my first block was complete.  I'm not sure if all the blocks will go as quickly, it all depends on the pattern of course, but it would be nice if the only took an hour or two each.

--Since it's six weeks long, there are six blocks.  Again, I'm not sure if they'll all be the same length (I do know they'll be the same width) but if they are, then the scarf will be about seven and a half feet long.  In my opinion, that's a wonderful thing.  I personally like them long.  

--I'm very anxious and excited to see what's next up in the mystery scarf CAL!  I'm sort of peeved I must wait.  But it's something to look forward to.  

Meet The Bobs

It became a thing with a friend of mine.  I wanted some plants, was gonna name one Bob, and he suggested that I call them all Bob so I did't get confused.  At any rate, I finally got me some Bobs.

Bob 1

Bob 2

Bob 3

The Bobs in my wee car

*Happy Dance*

So I was feeling guilty about all the spending, right?  And I sort of regretted, a little bit, buying the swift.  I was thinking I should have waited till a later date in time, or just forgone it all together, but it was too late, it was on it's way.  I was excited about getting it, but it was marred by feeling guilty.

It arrived on Tuesday evening.  I expected it to be waiting when I got home from work, and it wasn't, so I was getting cranky thinking I had to wait an extra day for it to arrive, even though I had the two day shipping thing going on.  And sort of thought it was my karma for buying in it the first place when I maybe shouldn't have.  But arrive it did, and with a few quick motions, it was put together and spinning merrily.

And then I used it.  And, oh holy crap you guys, this was the best thing ever invented!  It worked like a charm, I was able to wind the five hanks I had into balls with minimal tangling and what tangling there was, it was because the hank itself was a little twisted around itself.  But fortunately, I'm an expert at untangling yarn and have an extraordinary amount of patience when it comes to that.  (Not so patient other times, I'll admit, but untangling yarn is like a puzzle and the result makes me happy)

I now have to refrain myself from buying other yarn in hanks just to wind it. :)

But I no longer feel the least bit guilty for the purchase.  It's wonderful on a lot of levels and it will get continued use in the future.  I am very happy.  

Glorious Day

So Sis and I were up and out a reasonable hour this morning.  Found the new location of yarn store without trouble, walked up to the front door to see Lucy (the bulldog) and the owner's son on the wee porch.  Lucy loves people and went nuts.  I gave her lots of pets and told her she was a sweet girl.  I called her by name, which the owner's son thought was funny.  "Oh, so you've been here before huh?"

It's got a different layout inside, but I even like it better.  Still a great little place and lots of new yarns.  I actually fell back on one of my favorites Rowan (I got the color Seasalter) and a couple of balls of Marmot by Berroco (in colorway Spinel).  It's all for me.  I swear up and down.  The Rowan will be made into a hat because I don't have one yet (crazy, because I've made a bunch of them) that's all slouchy so that if I have my hair all down my back or up in a bun, I can wear it no matter what.  And the other is super soft and lovely to the touch, so that's going to be a short scarf/neck warmer.  Also for me.  

I also spent a stupid amount of money on needles, but they are my favorite kind, Addi Turbo, and I needed the sizes so I got them.  I'm well pleased but I have to avoid some frivolous shopping for a while.

After shopping, we went to Target real quick so Sis could pick up some stuff.  And then we went to lunch.  Oh my god.  The food was so good and I ate way too much, and so did Sis and it was all "UUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" when we were done but it was worth it.  

And then I came home and took a nap.  And that right there was seriously awesome.

But now I'm awake and even though I need to make things that are other, you know, like the BFF's other mitts, or even the shawl I started for myself and didn't finish (I'm frogging that and starting over) I'm going to sit down in a minute and make either the hat or the neck warmer.  Probably the hat.  Cause fun.  I'm going to find something to watch and spend the rest of the evening/night yarning.  It's going to be great.  

Nationals!

It's Nationals weekend!  Yay!!

Oh wait, you don't know what that means?  It means that Kris gets to drool incessantly over all the pretty cars! :D

Nationals is a big car show we have in the area every summer.  Classic cars and trucks of every make and model flood the area, driving around and distracting me.  Perfectly restored, pristine condition, beautiful cars.  There's even a hotel on my drive to work where a lot of the participants stay so I get to see even more than usual.

This morning I saw a bright yellow roadster circa 1930 that nearly made me crash.  (Okay, not really. I'm exaggerating.  But it was pretty.)

I'm a car girl, you know this.  I come by it honestly, because my mother is a car girl too.  We like to play the game when we're driving, "Mom!  What's that one?" "It's gotta be a '57 because after '58 the fins were a little bit different on the Buick." (Or something like that, I'm paraphrasing)

One time I was stopped at a red light behind a '40's era Ford pickup and I had to snap a picture to send to Mom.  We bot love the classics and it's a real treat to see them all shiny and pretty and well cared for.  

I don't go to the show at the fair grounds--too many people and I get anxious--but I get to spend the next three days seeing all the lovely car eye candy!

501

Long about 20 posts ago, when I saw that my 500th post was coming up, I had this idea that I'd do something big.  There were tentative plans.  But as the days passed, and I didn't blog as much, I sort of stopped paying attention.

This is my 501st post.

I totally missed it!  Blargh!  So instead of a big thing, well...how about this: if there are any lurkers out there, comment.  If I get enough comments, I'll pick a random winner to receive a prize.  I promise it'll be something anyone can use.

And hey, if you want to still just lurk, that's cool too.

Thanks for sticking with me this long, y'all.  Maybe we'll have 500 more