I'm on a trickle of an internet connection right now, tethering on a phone with a very sickly battery. My computer is about to have the same problem and I've been hating it for other failures lately as well. It still technically works, but not particularly well. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Because I'm thinking it's time for a new laptop, and maybe a dedicated video camera.
Speaking of video, I promise to have the next podcast episode out... soon. As I'm stranded in the beautiful woods with minimal internet, I've done a lot of knitting and other activities but not so much the writing and podcast prep. It could happen today, who knows?
So since I'm an incoherent happy mess right now, I thought I'd show you a picture of a pup who I think is the most gorgeous thing in the world. His name is Cassius but we always just called him daddy man because he's figuratively and literally a stud. *ahem*
He's gone back to live with a brother in law, but for several years he lived with my bestie and her husband and I got to know and love him quite well. Having a 90 lb. manatee dog snoring in one's lap is unforgettable, if you're into that sort of thing.
In the meantime, I finally knit the second mitt of the pair and wrote up the pattern. Actually, I completely changed the original pattern because I found out that my verbosity is not pithy and charming when translated into knitting symbols. So it was deleted, re-written and much improved I think. I can't update the google doc until I'm on real internet unfortunately, but it will be alive (and perhaps have charts?) later today. I really love these, btw, and had knit them as a gift but now I need a pair myself and might have a little texture change version soon.
I also totally forgot that I knit a cowl the day before I left to come here to Katy's. It's a a Cat Bordhi Moebius and I will also replace this blather with a link to her video and my choice of textures written out in a semi-sane little blurb with gauge and a picture.
That's Katy, my bestie and her husband Tom. Their friend just got a new Polaris RZR XP which is apparently a very nice little 4WD vehicle in which one *could* hunt or do farm work, but what it's really for is going crazy damn fast over meadows and screwing around on/ in the mud. I must say, it's an ungodly amount of fun. Naturally high from the adrenaline and the cold (um, hello? Wasn't the tropical weather supposed to follow me?) I marched everyone out to take pictures, and I rather like them. I did a crappy job of fixing the reflector glare for Kate but she forgives me.
So this is a picture of Katy and Mimi. Katy is an esthetician who doesn't like doing makeup, working at a spa that didn't have a free makeup person at the moment. So when Mimi came in and needed a little foundation and blush for some kind of video, Katy had me do it and I'm super proud of the results. Mimi was perfectly happy about having it done too, and that was a very nice surprise because she can be a little unpredictable.
We ended up having dinner with Mimi on Saturday at the golf course and my hair was clearly a topic of open conversation and staring but fortunately no outrage. You never can tell with those country club people.
It's a shorter episode but heavy on the jibber jabber.
I'm also pleased to have more photos and bloggy stuff, though I warn there's a lot of overlap with the podcast, so without further ado...
This week's LYS haul, less some boring black sock yarn, a pair of US9 Cubics and a pair of US5 Red Lace. And there at the bottom we have my latest creative endeavor, a pair of Malabrigo Rios fingerless mitts for my brother's girlfriend. So if you didn't see it in the above notes, I finally made a Rav group for this shindig and you can find a draft version for the left half of the set. I knit up the right side this afternoon and should have a fully test-knittable version ready by tomorrow, which I will also announce in the group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/biddypunks-fiber-podcast
Easter dinner last night was just precious and my mom made it gorgeous as she always does. We had sirloin steaks, broccoli, asparagus /w hollandaise, mashed potatoes and a bottle of malbec. I love it so much when we eat from the pretty china and silverware.
I just have to interject that I'm so happy to be reunited with my car. She is a tiny blue panther and I'm so sad I have to go back to driving a big old boring sedan when I get home. But for now I'm in driving heaven.
Random beam of light in the grocery store was perfect for the drinks with texture elements suspended in them.
And then there's this amusing little story. I was really anxious to see how my dorset/ texel fleece would spin up so I combed it up on a hair comb. Much to my surprise, it worked! I wouldn't do a fine fleece or any quantity this way, but I did successfully prepare something like a sliver and spin it up.
Oh, and my spindle was a little unconventional as well, HA! Yes, that's a small crochet hook and an irrigation bulb. What?
I explain this post in advance by saying I want to catch up on my stash pictures when I get stuff and I'm also needy so I'm going to post them for you to see. I know, I'm like an evil genius.
First up, we have my hand washed, hand carded, woolen spun 3 ply moorit merino yarn, being knitted into I don't know what yet.
My mom's peach tree is in bloom (how Georgian, no?) and I got some pics of yarn in the blooms. Fils en Fleurs.
I will not hate these socks and I will finish them tonight.
Blue Mountain Targhee Top in Lupine purchased at Sheepish in Decatur on Mar. 17th. If you shop there, Carrie will email you your receipt which is good unless you don't want it...
Ecological Wool by Cascade in Natural
My Russian spindle in Zebrawood with some merino that I got in a destash a while ago. I'm trying to copy some lovely sock yarn that I made gorgeous blue socks out of a while ago. Have I said I miss my wheel yet? Oh yes, and husband. I miss him too.
Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport in Charcoal Heather, from Sheepish.
I can't believe I didn't have pictures of this hat already. I wear it absolutely every day here because it's so cold.
I.. bought yarn at Walmart. 3 in Mauna Loa and 3 in Pink Sands.
Gift from bestie, Patons Classic Wool in Lemongrass, 2 skeins.
Fishermen's Wool! 25% off total purchase at Jo-Anns, 4 skeins.
Transcribed: "Why did I buy this? Do you remember? You should've stopped me I'm not going to use it!"
Answer: She bought this for me to make a hat for her and I asked her about it *multiple* times. I ended up using another roving style yarn to make her a pretty pink and grey two color brioche hat (that I totally forgot to take pictures of) with the other skein that she bought at the same time. Crazy dame.
My art was getting a little weird at this point. This is Bernat Handicrafts crochet cotton in Pewter.
Same in Orchid.
A sweater swatch that I'm now reconsidering.
JoAnn's clearance, $2 a ball with the discount. I think I might make my dad an absurd hat.
$2. 50g skein of bamboo and wool sock yarn.
So now I need to go be a good little girl and populate a bunch of fields with a bunch of words and numbers. Does this feel a little like work to anyone else?
P.S.- I'm trying to figure out how to transfer the blog to my current email address so it might look like I'm posting as someone else for a while. I plan on fixing it or just changing my username to 'betsysomething'
I suck at blogging and I'm not really sorry, but I also want to blog. The eternal catch-22 of the lazy and procratinate-y.
I'm at my mom's house, on her couch tucked in with a glass of wine and Interview With the Vampire on tv. It's peaceful but so cold! What could ever persuade someone dropped in the lap of paradise to leave vistas like these?
Well first of all, I know what you're thinking and those are men's pants, so that's why they have so much room in the crotch. But the answer to my question is this:
I really fucking love yarn. And I guess I miss my family, my best friend, cold weather and being able to choose foods I haven't had the luxury of choosing in 10 months. Whether that's good soft serve ice cream or smoked BBQ, it doesn't seem like much until one day... Truth be told my elderly grandparents or as we may know them, both of my mother's parents are very ill and in the hospital. Yarn makes it all bearable. Whether it's illness, the incumbency of death, or the perils of travel on a US Air Force KC-10, yarn just seems to take the edge off the way my physician-prescribed benzodiazepines just can't quite handle without putting me to sleep.
Before I got on the plane, I was panicking with a vengeance. It didn't feel like I would have it all done in time. I had phoned a friend to pick me up at the appointed hour, gotten the cat sitter to pick up my kitty package from home after I left, packed all my bags and even cleaned out the fridge but I still felt like I'd missed something. I paced for an hour, wiped out the microwave, double checked that I had every electronic and charger, and finally accepted that I had 2 hours and that was more than enough time to dye silk scarves.
It helped. They dried, I ironed them and spent the remaining time waiting for my ride making sure that the iron was unplugged. It was. So I made it up to the airport (an hour early, at 11pm) and found that, unexpectedly, my ship had come in and I was manifested on the next flight out to Alaska. Cool. I waited in line, I drug my bags up to be checked, I fell asleep listening to music. The loudspeaker came on, we boarded a bus and then an enormous grey plane with seats about like those on a standard commercial flight, but I daresay with a bit more legroom. We taxied. We paused. We taxied again, 20 minutes passed, and the engines shut down. We would not be taking off that night.
I called the friend who dropped me off and she sweetly came to retrieve me. I was disappointed but not deterred and returned to the airport the next day, filled out the longterm parking receipt and dutifully witheld my audible glee when I was transferred to the same flight that was delayed. It was awesome.
Same transfer situation, except this time everything was way cooler. We actually took off, which was so smooth and impressive. I guess bigger planes have more horsepower to use to get off the ground smoothly, but I was still enamored. When the sun rose the passengers were invited to the cockpit to see the fighter jets that were flying with us, two painted in desert camo, one in arctic and one in matte black. It was a surreal sight to see on either side of the plane, one backlit with the rising sun and the other dim with newly departing darkness.
Next up was a layover in Hawaii. I was a dolt and didn't take any pictures but in my defense my phone died and my camera was buried in my checked bag. I was only there for about 16 hours, but I did meet up with a friend in Waikiki. It was cheaper to rent a car than to get a taxi, which I thought was hilarious, and I found myself in her capable, social company in a matter of minutes. I parked at her house, we walked to a bar and teetered back home by 11:30pm. The parking fascist made a very rude appearance at 4am, but it was time for me to head back to the airport anyway so I stood him down with my early morning mean face and took off for the airport.
My next flight offered me untold joy as I saw two things in panoramic breathlessness for the first time, the view of the Alaska/ Canada border above, and a plane refueling a jet in midair over the same scenery. I didn't think to ask if I could take pictures of the jets, but trust me when I say that it was amazing to see two relatively huge pieces of metal flying in the air, lining up a fuel hose between them and then severing the link without killing anyone. Spec. Tacular.
Oh, I missed you Nikodemus!
Of course as soon as I got home I had to ferry my mother and best friend to the airport and back. My dear bestie however was off to sheep shearing school and brought me home a delicious Polled Dorset/ Texel fleece!
Finally at home and reunited with mama at the airport, we swung by Haveli, an Indian restaurant with a delicious lunch buffet.
Hey, who's that gorgeous woman who happens to be my mother?
We parked at The Mart and on the way to the car we got distracted looking at the cases of stuff that wholesalers bring to stock the gift shops and boutiques around these parts.
And I finally got my mom's Stor Rund Dug half shawl photographed. Go me.
Since I've been home it's been really lovely. It's good to be home.
