Belated Post

Okay so I haven't been home much this week. So I'm lame and didn't post on Wednesday. And I didn't post on Friday. But I do have yarn pr0n. Or yarn voyeurism. Pics taken from the door of the yarn room. It now has all of my mom's yarn in it, and today I'm moving my yarn in.




Woohoo! It's starting to look lived-in :D

Also, I have pics of a necklace I made for a friend. It only took, ya know, three tries or so before I was happy with it. I won't give a gift that I don't like.






My friend has a thing for fused glass pendants, so I figured that she might be able to put one on the necklace. Might need a jump ring or something, but it could work...

And yes, I'm still working on the baby blanket. Not making as quick progress as I'd like to make, but it's coming along. Little by little...

Handspinner's Guide to the Galaxy

Sorry I'm late! I didn't have pictures last night that I could post when I wrote my post about Cowboy Mouth. So now I have pictures, and they are of the first yarn I have spun on Ford!!!

I took this:


And spun it into this:


What's that you say? It just looks like a blob of black and starry? Okay, here ya go:


It's cabled. My first successful cabled yarn! I spun the whole bobbin full and then Andean plied it onto itself once and then once more. A note to those who prefer Andean plying: a whole bobbin is a LOT of yarn to wind onto your hand. I used a chopstick as a splint to keep my finger from bending back, but it still got a little uncomfortable. Worked like a charm, though :)

And some extra pictures... the yarn room is ready for the stash! It's mostly furnished (Mom and I are looking for a table to place in the middle of the room, where the swift and ball winder will live), we just need to move the stash in. Wanna see?






It's a happy place :)

Are you glad to be alive?!?!?

*not-so-craft-related post*

This morning, I wasn't sure I was. My ears were still ringing and I could barely move and could hardly feel the palms of my hands. Surprisingly I had a voice. Why was I so broken, you ask? Because I saw Cowboy Mouth from New Orleans, Louisiana last night. It's the second time I've seen them, and the second time I've been right up against the stage. This time was so much more intense. And I had a ball. Even though my favorite member of the band (if I even have a favorite) has quit, which means no more of his songs in concert. No Hurricane Party, no Shotgun in my Soul, none of that... However, my other favorite member was RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and wow. That was hott (yes, I did just say that). He rocked out an inch and a half from my nose. And he high fived me. Hellz yeeeahhh!!!! And the drums were right next to me with the leader banging away and singing as though his life depended on it. Because his life does depend on it. And he makes you feel like yours does too, and no you're not allowed to stand still, and no you're not allowed to stop clapping, and no you're not allowed to stop screaming and YES you WILL have the time of your life dammit, and if you don't then what are you doing there so YES Fred I AM glad to be alive and YES I will scream louder than I thought humanly possible and YES I will jump up and down until I collapse in a panting, twitching heap of euphoria at just being alive. YES.

Okay to be fair, it did kinda suck to be barely able to walk and mostly deaf. I've never left a concert that deaf, and I've seen this same band before, standing directly in front of the drums. Last night was its own unique sort of glorious pain.

Anyway, if you ever have the chance to see Cowboy Mouth, do. You will never go to another concert that is more intense, more uplifting, more fun, and more gloriously and euphorically exhausting. By the time we left, my friends and I thought we were going to die. And we were pretty okay with that.

The bonus, now? One of their openers was this rather subdued young man with an acoustic guitar signed by B.B. King. When he took his place, I wasn't sure if he was a roadie warming up the guitar for the musician, or the musician himself. Then he started playing. Dear God. You know how some people are described as having an old soul? I think this kid is one of them. His name is Eli Cook and you should listen to him. If you have the opportunity to see him live, it just might be the closest to God you'll ever come in America. There's more talent in his little finger than the rest of us mere mortals have in our entire beings.

Presents!

My man is wonderful. See, we've been having a bit of a rough spot, as people do, and he felt maybe we need to get back to the romance and the sweet little things that we used to do for each other but let slip recently. So I come home from work to this:



He had taken his afternoon after work and run around accumulating things for me to enjoy on my evening that I'd claimed all for myself, and sneakily dropped it off at my house before I got home. My man is wonderful.

And so this week's yarn pr0n is going to be from the gift basket. It's Lion Brand Homespun in Gothic. Who knew humble Lion Brand Homespun could be so beautiful? Maybe that's the sentimentality in me talking.



I confess, I like Homespun. A lot. It's just so damn cozy. And the two skeins of it that my wonderful man gave me today are going to become something warm for football season. Which is only two months and... 15 days? away. Go Ravens!

And, just an update: I spun a skein of yarn on Ford today! Spun, plied, and cabled! The cabling was a pain, because I got it snarled right at the beginning, so that made the whole process difficult. But it turned out almost completely balanced. Yay! I'm withholding pics until Handspun Monday.

Also, I'm starting to feel pretty down on myself as an aspiring designer. I haven't designed much of anything in a while. I certainly haven't been particularly productive in crochet or knitting. Mostly in spinning. There are projects that I need to finish on a deadline right now, and then I've got a to-do list as long as my arm. The problem is, only two or three of the projects on said to-do list are originals. I was going to write up a pattern for Gryphon, but I didn't because I wasn't pleased with the prototype. Now I might have another one I can do for her, but I don't know if it'll work and I need to actually get to doing one up, and frankly I'm terrified that it's going to turn out to be not so brilliant after all. Argh.

That's it, I need to stop ranting and go to bed. Just gotta focus on my presents and let it all go. Because my man is wonderful.

Work in Progress for a Work in Progress...

Well, maybe not. This project is for the new baby that was born on Sunday. Two weeks early. So she's more of a finished object now. Her blanket, however, is still a work in progress. So much for being able to bring it to the hospital when she's born. It's now going to be a christening gift.





It's in EcoKnits organic cotton, in five natural colors :) I'm using the "Coral Waves" pattern from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns. Oh, you wanted to see a clear shot of the pattern? Gotcha...



So that's my only WiP at the moment. Well, the only one I can show, anyway...

New Arrivals

I have a perfectly good excuse for getting this up with only two hours left in Handspun Monday. A new baby in the family decided Father's Day would be a perfect choice for her birthday, which it was, except that now she's been born before I could finish her blanket that I'm making. *sigh* But anyway she took precedence over blogging, so now I am finally getting some quality time with my camera, my laptop, and my blog after getting sufficient quality time with the new arrival. Onward!

So you've seen Zaphod's new paint job. Now you get to check out Ford :D

\





I apologize for the crappiness of the photos, especially that last one. Oh and I should mention that some of the stars are glow in the dark. Oh yes. I'm so excited, and pleased with how he turned out. He damn well better have turned out the way I wanted, he took long enough to paint. Geesh. So what do you think? Teahee...

And the actual handspun... Currently on Merriweather I'm spinning Happy Hippie soy silk in California Dreamin'. It looks like this:



Yeah. Trippy.


Ahem. Anyway. Once spun, this gloriously soft, brilliantly firey, and somewhat static-y roving looks like this:



I honestly can't spin it any thicker than that. It's so much fun. I think I need more of this stuff, in every color. Eeee!

By the way, I've started listening to a podcast called Stash and Burn. It's entertaining, great stuff about patterns and yarns and various ways to use up your stash. If I keep enjoying it, I'll link to it... (also I'm too lazy to go looking for the link right now)

Well, I hope the pics made up for me being late. Next week I'll post in a more timely fashion, I promise...

Where'd the Week Go?

Come back, week! On second thought, don't.

So, I missed WiP Wednesday. It's kinda okay, because I didn't have any new WiPs to show, at least not until I got home from knitting guild. And then I only had a foundation chain and a few stitches of the first row. Not terribly impressive. I guess I could've posted pics of Ford with his new coat of primer, but I think I'll make you all wait for the finished product.

Anyway, it's now Friday, and I'm going to make up for Wednesday by joining in the fibery goodness of Yarn Pr0n Fridays! And so without further ado, I bring you the yarn that my wonderful friend Irene bought me in Germany:



It's wool and acrylic, and it's really soft, and I LOVE the color. Let's take a closer look, shall we? C'mon Goteborg, work it!



Yum. And one more yarn for this week, a silk that I got at MDS&W. It's soooo wonderful. I'm a big fan. It didn't get its own photoshoot, though, just a few snapshots. Here's the best one (sad, I know):



It's so... silky! And shiny! And there's ever-so-subtle color variations. And I have no clue what to use it for.

So I'm really glad it's Friday. It means the work week is over, and it means that tomorrow is Saturday. W0000t! This Saturday will be especially fun, because Pam and I are getting together to paint Zaphod and Ford. So excited! Spiffy paintjobs on our spiffy wheels! I can't wait to show off Ford when I'm done :) And Pam, I'll have everything we need, including Vanilla Coke and the Hitchhiker's Guide dvd running in the background :)

A New Tradition?

Dunno how many people will start this, but I'm gonna try and start something. A little something I'm gonna call "Handspun Monday." Dunno about y'all but I feel like Mondays need a little spice. Friday's got its yarn pr0n, Wednesday now has its WiPs, so I feel that Monday needs a little something. Handspun sounds good with Monday, so there ya go. The inaugural pics...

Remember this?


It's now this:




It's not balanced, sadly, because I ply worse than I take pictures. (BTW, is there anybody that might be able to help me with that?) But it's definitely at least close to what I wanted it to be. Somewhere around sockish weight.




So, join me in my quest! Post your handspun on Mondays! Make the lamest day of the week less lame!

P.S. In other news, I saw Jesus Christ Superstar this weekend with some friends. It's my favorite show. The one I saw this weekend is now my new favorite production of my favorite show (not counting the one that I was in, that would be a conflict of interest ;) ). Til now, the movie has been my favorite. Well, this one had the Jesus from the movie (Ted Neeley, eeeeeeee!!!), plus Corey Glover from Living Colour as Judas, and oh My GOD. The set was pretty minimal, the costumes were interesting. I liked the costumes, my friend did not. They were layered and kinda modern middle-Eastern looking, all in a very warm palette. The staging in general was excellent. One element I really enjoyed was that Jesus had little conversations with God throughout the show; you'd see him look up and out, and reach up or make gestures. And "Gethsemane" just about killed me. It was perfect. If there's a Platonic ideal of "Gethsemane" then that was it. Or as close to it as earthly possible. But really, I'm starting to think that God created Ted Neeley specifically to play that role. It made me inordinately happy. I can't stop raving about it.

Also, the end of The Sopranos? Wow. I never followed the series, cos we didn't have HBO at home until I was at college, and at college I didn't have HBO on campus, but my parents are fans, so I've been watching the last six episodes. For the last five minutes, I was in a constant state of panic. Every detail they zoomed in on made me jump. Wow. And Mom thinks I'm nuts but I really hope the actor that played A.J. has a good career after this because he's adorable. When he's not being, ya know, A.J. Bye-bye, Sopranos.

Day of Awesomeness

Today was a day full of awesomeness. First, behold:



Following a conversation with a coworker, I went investigating into the possible return of that greatest of all sodas, Vanilla Coke. Sure enough, they've brought back this nectar of the gods, much to the pleasure of those like me, who once was dubbed "the Vanilla Coke Goddess." Seriously, when I found out, I was bouncing around. No joke.

Secondly, and probably more awesomely, when my dad got home from work, he commented that there was a large box on the doorstep. Could that be...?

Say hello, Ford!





"Hello, Ford!"

Nice.



Isn't he cute? I know, he looks just like Zaphod. But hey, they're semi-half brothers, after all. They share three of the same mothers.



So consequently, this has been a thoroughly awesome day. Well, thoroughly awesome afternoon, at least. One or two more things though. First, this is ganked from Pam:

PocketSize -- [noun]: A real life muppet 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Totally true.

Also, she tagged me. I forgot (conveniently). But I'll be a good sport and tell you 7 random things about me, but I don't know 7 other people to tag, so the chain gets broken here. Deal?

1. I dated Jesus. (Okay okay, so he was playing Jesus in my high school's production of Jesus Christ Superstar, but hey. Close enough.)

2. I harmonize with dead people. (Okay, also related to a show I was in...)

3. I'm good at math. I just hate it, so it's easier to say that I'm bad at doing math so that I don't have to do it.

4. I still have one baby tooth. There's no adult tooth to replace it, and it's a canine, so it's right smack in the front and it makes biting into things kinda tricky.

5. I hate peas.

6. Those who have met me may have noticed that I buckle my belts to the side. I picked this style up from Peter Tork on The Monkees. And now I can't bring myself to buckle a belt in the center.

7. I have a really hard time coming up with things to say about myself. Ask me specific questions, get me on a particular topic, no problem. Say "Tell me about yourself" and I can't think of a damn thing to say. Thus, this meme was really difficult.

I might start Friday Yarn Pr0n tomorrow. I might not get the chance. Yay! Awesomeness!

WiPing myself into shape...

Okay, I don't have a witty parody like Cristi's. Though I have been humming that all day and giggling.



I just have the one and only thing on my hook at the moment. WiPs and now hooks? Ouch...



It's a present, so shhh don't tell anybody that it's not finished.





It looks a lot better in person. The yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed. I wanted to make a simple spring scarf, cos the recipient lives up north and so spring is still rather brisk. I started out knitting it, but ripped it out and switched to crochet because, well, I like it better. Also, when you're already behind schedule, it helps to use the craft you can do faster.

One more, ok? A spinning WiP, also a future gift.


One ply of luscious baby camel. So soft. This got lots of comments in the courthouse I was working in for the week. I love spinning in public. Plying this has been kind of a bear, though. Aside from the fact that I can't ply worth crap, it got all tangled and I totally flipped out. My daddy is a hero, though, and he has mad skillz at untangling things. Mom helped too, but she doesn't have the fishing experience that Dad does ;) Maybe the finished product will be my Friday pr0n.

Now I've got so many more projects to start. A baby blanket, a vest for myself, something for an auction I'm donating to... eep. I guess this makes tomorrow "Impending Projects Thursday," or something more catchy.

Mixed Mail

So yesterday's mail was exciting. I got two packages that I'd ordered, and a big envelope from Interweave Crochet. To which I had submitted a pattern. Eeeeee!

But alas. They cannot accept my submission at this time. Oh well, I'll just have to hawk it elsewhere (yes, I looked it up, that's the correct spelling for that use of the word). The form letter was very nice. I'm only moderately disappointed.

The two packages that did come in, though, were awesome. I got the squirrel fabric I ordered from www.reprodepot.com which is ADORABLE and is going to be part of a skirt and probably a purse as well. Also, I got the five skeins of EcoYarns organic cotton that I ordered to do a baby blanket for my family friends' impending new arrival.

Which means I now need a pattern.

Enter Barnes & Noble.

I went ahead and bought 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns by Jan Eaton. I like her books. I like them even though there are not 200 distinct patterns, but rather 200 different colorways and only maybe 100ish different patterns. That's okay. Different colors can totally give a different look. Besides, I liked a lot of the ripple patterns. Just like I like a lot of the blocks in her 200 Crochet Blocks book.

Now I just have to decide. Eeep!

Gah! Okay, so I still didn't update! I suck at this game. But, okay, here, a pic of all the rest of the stuff I got at Sheep and Wool. Maybe I'll post individual pics here and there, but as it's a month later already I've got other stuff to post about too, so S&W will just have to join the list of things to post.




News to follow, including new yarn safari plans and possible total excitement!