Freak of Knit-ture - work

This I have decided

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:25:19 -0500

1) Most importantly, that by the end of this year I will have enough hand-knit socks that I will never have to wear store bought socks again. Now, this doesn't mean that I need to knit them all, so any sock-knitting fairies out there....get to work.

2) I am going to make enough money this year to be able to afford a house-keeper to come in at least once a month to clean that which I don't want to.

3) I'm going to lose some weight. Just some. I'm not fooling myself.

4) I WILL get myself onto a yarn diet. At some point.

5) My sewing machine will come back out of hiding and actually get used.

These are the important decisions I have made. Life-changing aren't they?

In doggie-dog news. Sydney and I went to the canine cardiologist today (Conan stayed at Camp Auntie-Peggy). Our Sydney guy's ticker is status quo, which is better than the other options, and he is ok for anesthesia if needed. He's such a good boy with this cardiologist, just lies there and lets her take an EKG, while I pet his nose and talk to him. This means that by this time next week he will have at least one less tooth in his mouth, maybe more. I kind of wish they made doggie dentures, because the thought of his poor toothless smiley mouth just makes me want to cry. But it should also help his cough, so I guess its for the best. Oh yeah, and he lost some more weight! Our Sydney-potamus now weighs 24lbs and losing! Yay Sydney!

I'm sorry Secret Pal! I'm sorry!

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 21:40:00 -0500

I am so sorry Secret Pal! I'm going to give you the answers to the Secret Pal 7 Questionnaire just as soon as I explain why I haven't already done them. Oy. First you'll probably laugh, but then you'll want to cry.

Here goes my week:

On Friday I was in a car accident. Actually, I was hit. It was a low impact thing, no one was hurt. I was in the left lane, advancing to turn, and the guy in the center lane decided he needed to be in my lane, where I was, but he didn't look before he turned. So he got my car on the passenger side, from the front all the way to the back.

I had to drive up to Ft. Washington, PA with my father to go to the Philadelphia Gift Show (which OBVIOUSLY isn't actually in Philly, but who's really paying attention) on Saturday. We came back the same day, so its a looooong day, with just me and dad, which usually leads to some sort of unpleasant fireworks. Fortunately there really weren't any, which is odd, considering I had a headache that had been around for days AND I got my period.

I spent Sunday doing paperwork that I had been putting off.

Monday, I was supposed to go to some customers, but I never made it out of the house. I was on the phone with the company I lease my car from, and the insurance people all day. I have to go to the Geico insurance adjuster NEXT WEEK. Sheesh. That and I had to get plane tickets and a hotel room so I can fly to Atlanta this weekend for the Atlanta Gift Show. Yes, I could've booked earlier, but my father didn't make his mind up until late last week that I was definitely going. It'll be Saturday to Sunday, but now I've lost yet another weekend. And there's basically trade shows every week from now until mid February, so I don't know when I'll see another.

Yesterday, I was everywhere, trying to make up for Monday. Which wasn't so bad. I just didn't get time to go to the grocery store, but hell, that'll wait.

Today. Today's the kicker. We went to bed late last night, I've been struggling with the Crusoe Socks. Had to frog them once, and I had finally casted back on with 60 stitches yesterday and started again. I'm using Fleece Artist merino for this and she originally used Koigu, so either Koigu is much stretchier than I give it credit for, or she has teeny tiny feet, because 40-44 stitches never made it past my toes when I tried to try the first go on. Anyhoo, we went to bed around 1:30 am and I was woken up by Conan around 4:30 am. Usually this means he just wants to get off the bed and get a drink of water. Well, around 5:30 am I was awoken to a horrific smell and an upset Conan. He had had an ass-splosion on the bed (he's done that only once before, both times I didn't get up when he tried to get me to, and both times he didn't mean it). So of course I get up, take EVERYTHING off the bed, clean clean clean the floor and take the dogs out. I start the washer and that's when I notice, WATER COMING FROM UNDER THE WASHING MACHINE. That's not good. So I check the hoses, I look everywhere, hoping its coming from the back, or something, because UNDER is never good. Nope, its coming from under the washer and its a fairly good amount of water. So I finally find someone who can come out tomorrow to look at it. Just the "diagnosis" is going to cost me almost $100. And on top of it all, I think to myself, oh self, maybe I should move the basket of clean laundry off of the floor and out of the way of the potential water. So I do, but somehow manage to poke myself in the eye with my laundry. So now my eye hurts too. Geez. And Conan has started coughing on top of everything, and he's a bit out of it, so I'm even more worried about him. I'll be sleeping light tonight, huh?

On the upside, I DID get that paperwork done finally, and faxed off to the people it needed to go to. But I didn't get to go to the post office, which I desperately need to do. And I still haven't sent off the crappy 2006 Pattern a Day Calendar that I promised to swap with this woman on the Knitlist. I received the handspun yarn she swapped for it today. Crap. So, now I have to do that tomorrow too.

So anyway, hopefully you are only on the laughing stage.

Now I'll post the SP7 stuff.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

Yes. I admit it. I've been known to use acrylic stuff, but I much prefer natural fibers. Blends are ok, but more wool than nylon/acrylic/poly-crap please.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

Yes. I do both, though mostly I knit. But I have a wheel and once in a while I'll spin something. Just not recently.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Storage? What's that? Actually I have a Circular Solution and a Double Point Solution, and my straights are kept everywhere and in some needle rolls.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been seriously knitting for about a year now. I'd consider myself to be of an intermediate skill level.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

You bet yer bippy I do. Here.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Coffee. But I love white gardenia too.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Too much so. I'm trying to cut down. Momma's gotta diet. But you can't go wrong with chocolate. Or chocolate covered coffee beans....mmm. I also like Goldenberg's Peanut Chews. But who doesn't?

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Not much. I can fix things, and once in a blue moon I'll make a card or something, but mainly its fiber stuff.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I have an MP3 player and I'll listen to just about anything. I haven't been listening to much music right now.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love green. But if its bright or has a sparkly thing running through it, I'm hooked.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I'm single, with 2 fur children. Conan and Sydney. Both boys.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Anything but ponchos.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

ALPACA ALPACA ALPACA. Did you get that? I'm in love with handpainted and/or handspun stuff.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Polyester. Rayon. Man made goo.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Socks and lace. This week.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Anything. I haven't found one that I don't like to knit yet. But I haven't tried everything, so I also don't have a favorite either.

17. What are you knitting right now?

3 pairs of socks and a lace shawl. Don't ask. Just know that I'm going to stick to Queen Kahuna's way of doing things, or I'm using dps from now on.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

YES. I. DO. The more useful the better, because I like to show them off.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circs.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Give me my addis. Otherwise I'll use my Denise set, thank you.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Both, but I'm looking to upgrade to a wood swift and a jumbo winder.

22. How did you learn to knit?

When I was about 6. My mother and my grandmother. But I had no concentration then, so I was never any good.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

I guess about 6 months. Maybe longer. Its the Bevin Tank.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I like my dogs. Otherwise, armadillos.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween, or the 4th of July.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Armadillos.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Interweave, Vogue Knitting

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

I want Big Girls Knit when it comes out. And I want to add Elizabeth Zimmerman to my knitting library.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I want to start doing intarsia and fair isle.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I wear a 7 1/2 to 8 shoe. I have an almost 9" ankle, and the same with the ball of my foot. I have better measurements someplace.....

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

March 18th.

There you go Secret Pal! Hope that helps. Now stop crying about my day and get back to knitting!

Are you ready? It's been a while since I posted!

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 23:50:00 -0400

This one's a no pic-er!

I had to go out of town last weekend. Left on Saturday, came back Tuesday night. Mind you, it was for business, so don't say you're jealous when I tell you it was to go to Las Vegas. There was a trade show, for scrapbooking, that I had to attend. And I had to leave the boys behind. But I did get to stay with my best friend and her husband and 3.3 kids (the .3 is for the baby boy to be - and I saw the ultrasound. Its DEFINITELY a boy! He made sure that they knew...yup, he flashed 'em). Their new house is in Henderson, NV, in this great neighborhood, and they are surrounded by parks and stuff. Very suburban. And they're like 10 minutes from UNLV where her husband teaches. So they're like 10 minutes from The Strip. Which is convenient for not a whole lot. I've discovered that I have no desire to gamble. And believe me, I had plenty of opportunity. I didn't check, but I think there are even slot machines in the bathrooms at the airport.

Anyway, I took a few pictures, the kids were showing me their halloween costumes, and then the batteries in the digital camera died. So I'll have to wait for her to e-mail me theirs. DD#1 is going to be a cowgirl, DS (soon to be DS#1) is going to be a pirate. And DD#2 is too young to care. I had a great time, its nice just to spend time with them. And we went out to eat at some great places.

The big breakthrough that happened while I was away is that Conan and Sydney now spend time with each other, they sleep next to each other or on top of each other and stuff, whereas before they would be in the same room, but wouldn't be closer than 4' apart. I don't know if the dog-sitter, yes the dog-sitter, had anything to do with it.

I was on the plane all day on both Saturday and Tuesday. I didn't bring books, just knitting. I discovered that with 2 naps on the way to LV I can knit 3 baby booties (I'm doing the ones from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in alpaca - for the soon to be baby and some others). And I can almost finish one Tychus, with 3 naps on the way back.

Of course, now that I'm back I'm trying to get out from under work and knitting. So I'll have to post more later. Maybe by then I'll have some pictures, huh?

Sometimes I hate people, but sometimes I dont.

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 16:29:42 -0400

Sooooo........

I just got off of the phone with Ms. DevilDoll herself. I had been trawling the Craftster boards obsessively, as I usually do and came upon this post. Enough people said her site was really cool, so I took a look. And it is.

So, anybody out there want to take a guess at what I do for a living? Blogging? Nope. Knitting? Nope. Dog-sitting? Nope. I'll give you a hint, I work for the family business....Give up? I am something called a Manufacturer's Representative. A what, you say? I am an independent sales rep for companies who make products that they want to sell to stores, and that those stores want to sell to YOU. And some of those companies I represent make scrapbooking supplies. And I've been trying to convince my daddy-o (who is also my boss/sales manager) that we should pick up a stamping line. So, I shot off a little e-mail to Ms. DevilDoll, telling her how much I like her stuff and that I'd be interested in selling it here in Baltimore if she's interested. Given the fact that she called me like right away, I think she is :). Always nice to talk to a fellow Craftster. She's one of the people that I don't hate.