This was once the blog that told of my doomed abilities at fending off the zombie apocalypse. Sigh.
9/19/2007
9/18/2007
Images of a Party
Our first official night went off fabulously, all. It was a night of The Faithful with the great addition of Sheila from the bookfloor working on her snazzy sock creation. Pray, I am short on time today, so I shall leave you with a fleeting view of such revelry you shall long for such wondrous good times.
It began with a fierce round of Magic: The Gathering in which Jan was beaten (but you didn't hear this from me, he he he) by Ryan, and then moved on to conquer me with her brilliant artifact deck. Which worked, by the way. I learned a few things, yes I did. In the backround was Valerie, knitting her beautiful wrap and secretly planning her strategy for our match next Monday, goblins and wizards. Hmmmm...
Then we all got back down to the business of knitting our separate projects. The table was soon cluttered with pumpkin spice mochas, mango tea, scones, straight up coffee, yarn of every color and style, books we couldn't help but devour with our eyes, and all the chatter that comes with knitting fiends and their conclaves. It was our first Third Monday, and next week will be our Off Monday. See everyone there. Bring your knitting, your books, and most importantly your stories of your crazy week.
Cheerio.
9/15/2007
Great Tidings of Increased Blogging
A new job is on the move. This will be my second job on top of the Barnies and Noblies full time position that I hold. And second job means more money! And more money means Halloween extravaganza and a fixed computer. Yes, my darling, soon you shall function fully and beautifully once again!
As for the Halloween extravaganza, I have big plans for an industrial vampyre costume. Similar to Lestat's (left) look in Queen of the Damned. Well, plus a shirt. I'm not that sexy... yet. I need money for the not-so-expensive fangs I'm buying from Vampfangs, and some chunky silver jewlrey I need for my fingers and ear along with the cross I want for my neck. I think I'll get that from Hot Topic or some other gothic site, or, even better, some little out-of-the-way shop. And that whole cross-of-burning-holy-death thing is such a fable! Well, the whole vamp thing is a fable, but the cross thing has no metaphysical basis. Makes a good story though. I'll get into that the closer we get to Halloween and I start exploring the different folklore and fantasy around my favorite holiday. But the clothes I plan on raiding from the local thrift store since goth/industrial are so damn expensive anymore! Damn goth wannabes! You're not goth, you're just emo with a goth fetish! Arrgh! Okay, I'm done. To each their own.
Yay, Halloween!
As for the Halloween extravaganza, I have big plans for an industrial vampyre costume. Similar to Lestat's (left) look in Queen of the Damned. Well, plus a shirt. I'm not that sexy... yet. I need money for the not-so-expensive fangs I'm buying from Vampfangs, and some chunky silver jewlrey I need for my fingers and ear along with the cross I want for my neck. I think I'll get that from Hot Topic or some other gothic site, or, even better, some little out-of-the-way shop. And that whole cross-of-burning-holy-death thing is such a fable! Well, the whole vamp thing is a fable, but the cross thing has no metaphysical basis. Makes a good story though. I'll get into that the closer we get to Halloween and I start exploring the different folklore and fantasy around my favorite holiday. But the clothes I plan on raiding from the local thrift store since goth/industrial are so damn expensive anymore! Damn goth wannabes! You're not goth, you're just emo with a goth fetish! Arrgh! Okay, I'm done. To each their own.Yay, Halloween!
9/14/2007
Fire and Flight
Sticking with the post-parent rebellion I'm currently enjoying, I went and got my tattoo started this week. It was oh so much fun! It was supposed to be incredibly painful and sore, but I sat through the whole session just fine and today I don't even really remember that it's there. Until I smell it. It's got that A+D stuff on it and it smells like a wet dog at times. Uhhg. But it's not bad. I'm completely pleased with it. It needs a bit of touch up, which will happen in a couple of weeks with the fill-in, and the tips need to be extended just a bit to make it a bit more symmetrical, but not bad at all. I had it done by my friend Molly who just finished her apprenticeship to another awesome guy and is now fully able to professionally tattoo and charge you for it! She does awesome work, so check her out if you are thinkin' of getting a piece done.
The symbolism of the tattoo is one that I've been working on since I was seventeen. It has the Celtic symbol for inner strength and also triplicity of being as is the popular idea today. That also ties in with my Celtic heritage that, while muddied considerably, still is pretty strong for me. The curling fire represents emergence and passion, 'cus who don't love passion! Seriously though, passion is important in any artists life and I draw on mine continuously. The tattoo also has a yin yang element that of course represents balance and duality. That's a no brainer for me. The fire unfurls to represent wings which carry four meanings- the phoenix, which is one of my favorite mythical and metaphysical creatures and also ties in with the fire; flight, when I dream, my dreams are of flying and are usually remembered for a long time after waking and they also are my favorites; freedom, also felt in my dreams while flying, but something I have also come into realization of as my inheritance as a human being in the last few years; and Air, which is the element of my zodiac sign Gemini. So appropriate, too, if you know me at all.
And that's about all for this post. On a side note, Fall is finally here. It swept in on first fallen leaves rustling in the wind. The first day this week was a perfect cold, grey day with just enough sullen beauty in the sky and earth to be appropriately chilling. In the old pagan beliefs and many other earth born people's today it signified the slow fading of the Old God as he made his decent into the Underworld. The Dark Mother began her reign over the land and winter settled in, blanketing the ground until the God was reborn and emerged from the Goddess' womb to cover the Earth with new beginnings. Sigh. I love all the old stories.
The symbolism of the tattoo is one that I've been working on since I was seventeen. It has the Celtic symbol for inner strength and also triplicity of being as is the popular idea today. That also ties in with my Celtic heritage that, while muddied considerably, still is pretty strong for me. The curling fire represents emergence and passion, 'cus who don't love passion! Seriously though, passion is important in any artists life and I draw on mine continuously. The tattoo also has a yin yang element that of course represents balance and duality. That's a no brainer for me. The fire unfurls to represent wings which carry four meanings- the phoenix, which is one of my favorite mythical and metaphysical creatures and also ties in with the fire; flight, when I dream, my dreams are of flying and are usually remembered for a long time after waking and they also are my favorites; freedom, also felt in my dreams while flying, but something I have also come into realization of as my inheritance as a human being in the last few years; and Air, which is the element of my zodiac sign Gemini. So appropriate, too, if you know me at all.
And that's about all for this post. On a side note, Fall is finally here. It swept in on first fallen leaves rustling in the wind. The first day this week was a perfect cold, grey day with just enough sullen beauty in the sky and earth to be appropriately chilling. In the old pagan beliefs and many other earth born people's today it signified the slow fading of the Old God as he made his decent into the Underworld. The Dark Mother began her reign over the land and winter settled in, blanketing the ground until the God was reborn and emerged from the Goddess' womb to cover the Earth with new beginnings. Sigh. I love all the old stories.
9/12/2007
Take that eHarmony!
I was going to post my thought on this, but this article sums it up well enough in it's first half. All you ever wanted to know about the scandalous eHarmony and its reasons for not allowing same sex couples a chance on its site.
Pretty f'ed up if you ask me.
Oh, and I love the guy's incredulous look. Reminds me of times not so long ago when I dared. Yup, same look. Lol!
Officially Official
What does the word "official" mean to you?
To all the knitters at the Mondays@7 group, it means that we now are officially sanctioned (oooooo!) by Barnies and Noblies and acquire all the perks theretofor... allowed us. Lol. We will be meeting "officially" (we defy them to keep us from meeting every damned Monday night, ha!) the first and third Mondays of the month, at seven pm, in the south-east corner of the store with a wonderful spread of the mountains visible out the windows behind us. A few expressed their dissatisfaction with our new locale, but I'm quite happy with it.
So there.
To all the knitters at the Mondays@7 group, it means that we now are officially sanctioned (oooooo!) by Barnies and Noblies and acquire all the perks theretofor... allowed us. Lol. We will be meeting "officially" (we defy them to keep us from meeting every damned Monday night, ha!) the first and third Mondays of the month, at seven pm, in the south-east corner of the store with a wonderful spread of the mountains visible out the windows behind us. A few expressed their dissatisfaction with our new locale, but I'm quite happy with it.
So there.
9/10/2007
Moonlight and a Faun
So I have another new music obsession. One of so many here recently, I don't blame you if you think I've jumped off the deep end of music blogging and will never come back. I will come back. Eventually. Actually, I just need to get this stuff out there so I can free my tired old head from the nagging "Omgblogmusicomgblogmusic!"
Faun is a group I had maybe heard of before, but I don't know that I ever actually checked them out. They are a German folk music group who's sound has been referred to as "dark Enya." This is probably due to their classification as a goth rock band with a contemporary Celtic sound. As last week I received their CD Totem released just this year. Having now listened to their haunting tracks thick with the rich cultural flavor of ancient Germanic tribal sounds, I can say that they definitely are darkly Enya-esque but by no means do they copy the amazing singer. They have made a name for themselves. When knitting to this CD, I imagine sitting in a grove surrounded by a dark forest which hides all kinds of faerie folk, beautiful and airy, but also dark and shadow bound. Drumming puts me into a semi-trance where the simple repetitions of knitting move to flow to the rhythm. Definitely a highly meditative, and I suppose spiritual, soundtrack that appeals to that dark satyr in me. Makes me happy.
On a whim, I also snatched up Amethystium's new CD Evermind. I don't usually go for electronic/synth/heavy ambient since I figure that's better at a rave or far out club. But this one is so masterfully done I can't help but love it. It gives my apartment an "otherworldly feel." Almost like I'm sitting in the middle of The Dark Crystal or Pan's Labyrinth. The electronic sounds blend over and under each other on so many levels. To follow just one layer is tough since you will more likely find yourself distracted to a whole other level of the song. Each track fits its title so well. Click here for a sample of what I'm talking about. I usually am disappointed with how unlike the track title the music usually is that I ask "What? Did they just randomly slap on a name? Wtf, mate?"
These CDs didn't disappoint though. If you feel like walking into another world while going about your daily activities (i.e. cleaning, reading, knitting, working out) Evermind is a great CD for that. Enjoy the samples I left. Totem should help you get into your deep, dark otherself and fall away from the visible world and the brightness of all we call real. I appologize for the lack of material to play for ya from Totem, but check out the website, it's just as good.
I end this post on this day dominated by the darkened, new moon with a recommendation. Check out The AntiCraft. It's one of the coolest, goofy-yet-gothy sites I've found. They will be coming out with a book in November this year. Can we say excited! They put out a webzine that updates around eight times a year. It's very comparable to Domiknitrix. My favorite for a while was the End of Days Kit, but my love has grown for all their craziness! Sit back and enjoy all the twisted crafts they have given the equally twisted WWW.
9/04/2007
Hat Started and Finished!
This took me only five hours. I started it numerous times, but I finally finished it last night and this morning. It's a superfine nylon/acrylic blend on US 7 needles. And yes, I can work in the round!
And here is a really dumb picture of me modeling it. Sigh. Why I do these things is unknown. By the way, the lip of the hat is rolled in this picture. Looks like a really small hat...
9/01/2007
New Scarf Now in Color
Here is a little emo-ness for you today.
Lol. This is Pon and Zi. They are cute little emo characters created by Azuzephre (Jeff Thomas) from Deviantart. They hit a huge popularity boost a few years back with the online art community that is DA, and have since blown into the mainstream. There are a horde of sites dedicated to Pon and Zi and their cartoons can be found all over the internet. I've left you a bunch of links, so enjoy and keep reading.
I have a new project that I may or may not have mentioned to all webdom. It's my crazy new Halloween scarf! 
It's simple, yes, but oh so much fun. It's what I've put into the "grunge" pile to work on at knitting group or whenever I'm doing something that takes a bit more concetration than I can devote to my current UFO. I'm using the orange merino/alpaca blend yarn that I won from A Knitted Peace, and the chocolate highlander wool that I later went back to purchase from AKP.
And that concludes my quickie post on current projects! I'm so efficient.
New Look Brings New Confidence
Okay, so this will fall into the random life and craziness folder, but have you ever just gotten a huge boost of confidence because you changed something about yourself and it turned out to be immensely complementary to your image? For example, a new haircut, a tattoo, new clothes, a boob job, a new workout routine, a mani or pedi, new piercing... You see where I am going with this. Well readers (and adoring fangirls and fanboys), I have recently had two such confidence boosters. You will have noticed the painful lack of any author imagery on this blog and it is because said author has been so bored with his looks that he has merely decided to waive the author picture. Well, no more. As of today, you will notice a new addition to the sidebar and it sports a likeness of His Shmexiness, myself. Now I have revealed my scariness to the world. *Munsters organ music* Yay, confidence!
I know a lot of my friends who have seen me in the last twenty-four hours will just roll their eyes at this post. It has been an intense few days of reveling in my new look and the afterblast is smoking out the crowd. But I am still reveling, so on I shall revel to all you who have the patience to listen.
I had started with the image adjustment process a few weeks ago when I went shopping with the ever adorable girlfriends of mine, Molly and Joanna, and I tried on a pair of sexy pants... get this... in a size smaller than what I have been wearing! Woo knitting! Why knitting you ask? Knitting has given me something to do with my time besides eating, and often encourages me to walk to my Barnes and knit there, requiring some form of physical excercise. Thus, a trimmer me. With this trimmerness has come a desire to reinvent myself a little. So, I needed a haircut and what did I do? I got one. Duh. I got a fauxhawk! And after the many stares and adoring fans at my favorite bar, JR's, I decided to go another step in the transformation process. Can't stand the suspense anymore? I got my ear pierced! Bam!
*-* Attention *-*
You are now wondering "what the hell is the big deal?" There is a long story behind all of it, and you know I would love to go into detail about it, but I'm not gonna. Simply put, I got to do some things I've wanted to do for years but were never allowed. Now I am free to do what I will and every new exploration of that freedom gives me a boost. The new look has been excellent for my self confidence as people now tell me I look older. Crank in the points! Gone is the 18 year old highschooler look. Thank the gods! I've now graduated to the college kid block. Sigh, new wardrobe someday will help dispel that bracket and move me up a bit more.
I am done here. I think I'll move on to a quickie post about my new yarn and project. Yay!
*-* WARNING *-*
Intense bouts of insanity brought on by muchhappiness evident below. Not for the faint of heart or easily bored. You have been warned. Now go on and read it like you intended to anyways.
I know a lot of my friends who have seen me in the last twenty-four hours will just roll their eyes at this post. It has been an intense few days of reveling in my new look and the afterblast is smoking out the crowd. But I am still reveling, so on I shall revel to all you who have the patience to listen.
I had started with the image adjustment process a few weeks ago when I went shopping with the ever adorable girlfriends of mine, Molly and Joanna, and I tried on a pair of sexy pants... get this... in a size smaller than what I have been wearing! Woo knitting! Why knitting you ask? Knitting has given me something to do with my time besides eating, and often encourages me to walk to my Barnes and knit there, requiring some form of physical excercise. Thus, a trimmer me. With this trimmerness has come a desire to reinvent myself a little. So, I needed a haircut and what did I do? I got one. Duh. I got a fauxhawk! And after the many stares and adoring fans at my favorite bar, JR's, I decided to go another step in the transformation process. Can't stand the suspense anymore? I got my ear pierced! Bam!
*-* Attention *-*
Insanity levels decreasing. You are now safe to take interest again. Wake up, dipwad.
You are now wondering "what the hell is the big deal?" There is a long story behind all of it, and you know I would love to go into detail about it, but I'm not gonna. Simply put, I got to do some things I've wanted to do for years but were never allowed. Now I am free to do what I will and every new exploration of that freedom gives me a boost. The new look has been excellent for my self confidence as people now tell me I look older. Crank in the points! Gone is the 18 year old highschooler look. Thank the gods! I've now graduated to the college kid block. Sigh, new wardrobe someday will help dispel that bracket and move me up a bit more.
*-* Yo *-*
You can go get some coffee.
I am done here. I think I'll move on to a quickie post about my new yarn and project. Yay!
*-* Warni-- *-*
Well, maybe not. Thought I saw the insanity level skyrocket for a sec. God, I need a new job...
8/30/2007
Daughtry!!!
Wow! I'm still excited and I've already been to bed and back! Last night was the first actual rock concert I've ever been to, complete with an amazing light system and phenomenal speaker system. And what concert was I at? Daughtry!!
It was held at the Colorado State Fair in the events center and the festivities began at the early hour of eight pm. It was a massive setup. Not as big, I'm sure, as others, but by far the biggest I've ever been to. I've no idea how many people were actually there, but it was enough to fill the place up almost completely. It was an awesome crowd that sat there through an hour and a half of opening artist Day of Fire. I was no big fan, but their songs weren't bad. After the screaming headbanger music and a surprise appearance by Chris Daughtry, the lights came up and it was a rough half hour 'til the lights came back down and everybody pulled out their cell phones to catch the first appearances. The lights flared on revealing Daughtry's stage set with it's industrial back alley look, and the group walked on to a massive roar that rose from the crowd below. A little warm up, a little "we love you Colorado" and we settled into the concert that slowly built up this amazing energy. It was contagious. We knew the minute the drummer tore off his t-shirt, the music reached a frenzied crescendo, and Chris Daughtry pulled open his shirt that the party had truly begun!
From that point on it was one song after another of Daughtry's amazing talent and Chris' amazing voice. He is so much better in concert than any of his songs played in any car or on any stereo could ever let on. His voice has a real, masculine power that sucks you in and then blows you away on a wind of energy that is like flying out of yourself! The band members that back him up through it all have talent that is coveted and envied greatly as far as I am concerned. They complement his style and ability excellently. Chris' stage presence is a winning piece, too. He walks the stage reaching for his fans hands, not missing a beat or step in the whole song, and manages to put real emotion into his performance that makes you want to really feel what he feels. It was an amazing experience I can't wait to repeat!
There were, of course photos taken and video snapped, so I'll post all of that to the blog when I get it (Joanna has it). Check out all the stuff I've linked to below for Daughtry. It's so worth it. If you haven't heard these guys... SHAME!!
Daughtry Home
Daughtry Music Video- "It's Not Over"
Daughtry Playlist (opens new window)
It was held at the Colorado State Fair in the events center and the festivities began at the early hour of eight pm. It was a massive setup. Not as big, I'm sure, as others, but by far the biggest I've ever been to. I've no idea how many people were actually there, but it was enough to fill the place up almost completely. It was an awesome crowd that sat there through an hour and a half of opening artist Day of Fire. I was no big fan, but their songs weren't bad. After the screaming headbanger music and a surprise appearance by Chris Daughtry, the lights came up and it was a rough half hour 'til the lights came back down and everybody pulled out their cell phones to catch the first appearances. The lights flared on revealing Daughtry's stage set with it's industrial back alley look, and the group walked on to a massive roar that rose from the crowd below. A little warm up, a little "we love you Colorado" and we settled into the concert that slowly built up this amazing energy. It was contagious. We knew the minute the drummer tore off his t-shirt, the music reached a frenzied crescendo, and Chris Daughtry pulled open his shirt that the party had truly begun!From that point on it was one song after another of Daughtry's amazing talent and Chris' amazing voice. He is so much better in concert than any of his songs played in any car or on any stereo could ever let on. His voice has a real, masculine power that sucks you in and then blows you away on a wind of energy that is like flying out of yourself! The band members that back him up through it all have talent that is coveted and envied greatly as far as I am concerned. They complement his style and ability excellently. Chris' stage presence is a winning piece, too. He walks the stage reaching for his fans hands, not missing a beat or step in the whole song, and manages to put real emotion into his performance that makes you want to really feel what he feels. It was an amazing experience I can't wait to repeat!
There were, of course photos taken and video snapped, so I'll post all of that to the blog when I get it (Joanna has it). Check out all the stuff I've linked to below for Daughtry. It's so worth it. If you haven't heard these guys... SHAME!!
Daughtry Home
Daughtry Music Video- "It's Not Over"
Daughtry Playlist (opens new window)
8/29/2007
Template Poltergeists
So, many may wonder what the hell is going on with all the pretty stuff that used to make up my blog's template. I'll tell you. It's a poltergeist! Screwy thing just keeps messin' up my layouts. I believe most of this is in part a conspiracy of the Web Lords who own the webspace on which my layout dwelt. Polter decided to haunt there, and thus the resounding chaos. I since left the groovy layout to find its own way in the WWW and have stuck with a supplier closer to home. Until I have built a template in my own kingdom, I will just have to use the borrowed one from Lord Bloggertemplatebuilder. In short, if you see things goin' screwy, just sigh and pray for my soul. Who knows, I may end up possessed if Polter finds his way back.
There will be other changes soon. Enough that I really don't want to go into detail and will simply let you all know when we've hit the stable state. It may be a while...
There will be other changes soon. Enough that I really don't want to go into detail and will simply let you all know when we've hit the stable state. It may be a while...
8/28/2007
Summer's End, New ReStartings
Yes, I know it's not a word. It's a blog, for pete's sakes!
During lunch, I put an idea out to our girls about taking our group Barnes and Noble official, and they loved it. Easy. If you missed my last post, you can check out the pre proposal ideas I had here. In discussing plans and ideas for our proposal, we came out with the following ideas: we'd meet every week on Monday at 7pm; it would be open to everyone, men and women; we would discuss a minimum of one book per month with a project available and encouraged for everyone to mess with; we'd have reserved seating and full facility use as well as a spot on the events board and in the newsletter and website; and, as facilitator, I can give everyone a lot more access to books that they need, info on the group, a contact base in case of a problem, and the opportunity to pull in both local authors and touring ones as well. Can I just say "Yes!" I'm very excited. And that's putting it mildly. For me.
Besides all that craziness going on with the group, I have a few new things to cheer about myself. I went to my local knitting store, positioned, conveniently, down the street from my apartment last Saturday with some friends, and won a raffle! The only guy in the store won a knitting raffle. How awesome is that? What did I win, you ask? Three balls of alpaca/merino blend yarn in a harvesty orange color and the book The Knitting Goddess by Deborah Bergman! It's totally synchronistic as I had just ordered the book from Barnes. Ah, karma.
With that yarn I have started a fall scarf that is thick and chunky and is hordes of fun to knit up. This on top of my new hat project from a design given to me by Molly. It's done on my first set of circular needles and the yarn is a nylon/wool blend. Soft, but a bitch to knit with. It keeps splicing on me. Grrrrr. It'll be cozy when it's done. I don't remember if I tallied my scarf to finished or not, but the pink lovely is done. I hope to add a fringe to it, since four-year-olds love fringe. When that's done, I'll have a pic up for ya all.
I've got a couple other projects in the back of my head on a to-do shelf. They are a lovely halter from the Hollywood Knits book done in a black pima cotton yarn for my bff Ashley, and the tank I have a picture of below done in grey and black. My grey will be a shade darker, but basically the same. I say this shirt on Adam & Eve's website and said "I can knit that." So, I'm gonna.
I have a lot to blog about today, and I don't know how much I'm gonna get out before I have to take off to new and exciting adventures here in the wild world of Littleton, CO. The library may close, but my day is not yet over! All sorts of new things to chat about; knitting, knitting group, thoughts about the end of summer, a new find on the WWW, etc.. But I should just start already.
I was walking over here today and it was a tad chill out with a nice breeze blowing through my styled and long-but-needing-to-be-cut hair as well as the trees, though I think my hair looked cooler than a bunch of half-turned, rustling leaves. Ah, such an ego booster. After my moment of shallowness, I noticed that, technically, Fall has already hit us and the Autumnal equinox is fast upon us with Mabon on the 21st of next month. Aaaaaaa! What happened to keeping track of the year? Climate-wise I think Summer is finally bidding us farewell as it trundles off to sleep. Here come the wood sprites and their crazy paint buckets full of all those warm browns, yellows, reds, and oranges. Craziness.
Last night was our knitting groups Monday meet, just like every week, and actually was a bit sparse due to school starting, boyfriends needing some lovin' time, errands, and a general pooped-outness. The Old Faithfuls were there with Molly, Jan and Valerie making up the posse. Molly made some progress, finished actually, on her sweater while Jan played with some gorgeous new purple yarn and Val stitched away on her wrap. I stopped over to the table for a lunch break and then went back to making drinks for the sleepy grouches who give us so much business at the coffee shop. Can't help but love them.
During lunch, I put an idea out to our girls about taking our group Barnes and Noble official, and they loved it. Easy. If you missed my last post, you can check out the pre proposal ideas I had here. In discussing plans and ideas for our proposal, we came out with the following ideas: we'd meet every week on Monday at 7pm; it would be open to everyone, men and women; we would discuss a minimum of one book per month with a project available and encouraged for everyone to mess with; we'd have reserved seating and full facility use as well as a spot on the events board and in the newsletter and website; and, as facilitator, I can give everyone a lot more access to books that they need, info on the group, a contact base in case of a problem, and the opportunity to pull in both local authors and touring ones as well. Can I just say "Yes!" I'm very excited. And that's putting it mildly. For me.
Besides all that craziness going on with the group, I have a few new things to cheer about myself. I went to my local knitting store, positioned, conveniently, down the street from my apartment last Saturday with some friends, and won a raffle! The only guy in the store won a knitting raffle. How awesome is that? What did I win, you ask? Three balls of alpaca/merino blend yarn in a harvesty orange color and the book The Knitting Goddess by Deborah Bergman! It's totally synchronistic as I had just ordered the book from Barnes. Ah, karma.
With that yarn I have started a fall scarf that is thick and chunky and is hordes of fun to knit up. This on top of my new hat project from a design given to me by Molly. It's done on my first set of circular needles and the yarn is a nylon/wool blend. Soft, but a bitch to knit with. It keeps splicing on me. Grrrrr. It'll be cozy when it's done. I don't remember if I tallied my scarf to finished or not, but the pink lovely is done. I hope to add a fringe to it, since four-year-olds love fringe. When that's done, I'll have a pic up for ya all.
I've got a couple other projects in the back of my head on a to-do shelf. They are a lovely halter from the Hollywood Knits book done in a black pima cotton yarn for my bff Ashley, and the tank I have a picture of below done in grey and black. My grey will be a shade darker, but basically the same. I say this shirt on Adam & Eve's website and said "I can knit that." So, I'm gonna.
Damn computer is telling me to get off. I swear, I could spend eight ours a day on this thing and not bat an eye. Damn regulators. *string of curses*
8/27/2007
Rufus Wainright Made Me Knit
I have a new love when it comes to music. His name is Rufus Wainright, and for some reason I keep mistyping his last name. Sorry, buddy. I also have some new news on our Mondays group and the stuff I want to implement. I'm gonna dish on Mondays first I think.
Our Monday night knitting group get togethers have been awesome thus far and have sparked interest from other Barnes & Noble customers. I've had four requests just this last week for info or about whether or not we teach and so on. Tonight I'm going to put an idea to the group for decision and polling. I think it'd be a smart move to make our group a sanctioned Barnes & Noble Event with all the perks and benefits. I hesitate to make this decision on my own only because I feel there are a couple of cons. One is that we kind of lose our anonymity and become public, which means anyone will be able to join. Now, while I'm not saying that we are a picky, bitchy group that chooses who and who not to let into our knitting "tangle," I think being that open may be a bit of a problem for some people. And so, a discussion. Two on the cons list is the censored approach we will have to take with new members since B&N will shut us down as an Event if we aren't "family friendly." I think this will be an easy one for everyone, but it does take some of the fun out of the bitch time we all love. We'll see. I've done up the proposal for B&N and will be handing out for vote tonight. For a looksee at my store and the hangout for our group, check this out.
One big change I would love to make is the ability to play our own music for our knitting group. With this option, as unattainable as it really is, we could share music that we like to knit and listen to during our groups. My current favorite is the handsome Rufus Wainright and his newest album Release the Stars. He is an out and fabulous performer/song writer/musician with a very unique style reminiscent of a seventies singer all with a modern mix of orchestral and rock music to back him up. As the hip Aussies say, "So flash!" I've left you all some links to his site and a popup playlist below. Listen to the boy's music. It's scandalous, heartfelt, and passionate. You will fall in love, guaranteed!
Click and Play!
Our Monday night knitting group get togethers have been awesome thus far and have sparked interest from other Barnes & Noble customers. I've had four requests just this last week for info or about whether or not we teach and so on. Tonight I'm going to put an idea to the group for decision and polling. I think it'd be a smart move to make our group a sanctioned Barnes & Noble Event with all the perks and benefits. I hesitate to make this decision on my own only because I feel there are a couple of cons. One is that we kind of lose our anonymity and become public, which means anyone will be able to join. Now, while I'm not saying that we are a picky, bitchy group that chooses who and who not to let into our knitting "tangle," I think being that open may be a bit of a problem for some people. And so, a discussion. Two on the cons list is the censored approach we will have to take with new members since B&N will shut us down as an Event if we aren't "family friendly." I think this will be an easy one for everyone, but it does take some of the fun out of the bitch time we all love. We'll see. I've done up the proposal for B&N and will be handing out for vote tonight. For a looksee at my store and the hangout for our group, check this out.
One big change I would love to make is the ability to play our own music for our knitting group. With this option, as unattainable as it really is, we could share music that we like to knit and listen to during our groups. My current favorite is the handsome Rufus Wainright and his newest album Release the Stars. He is an out and fabulous performer/song writer/musician with a very unique style reminiscent of a seventies singer all with a modern mix of orchestral and rock music to back him up. As the hip Aussies say, "So flash!" I've left you all some links to his site and a popup playlist below. Listen to the boy's music. It's scandalous, heartfelt, and passionate. You will fall in love, guaranteed!Click and Play!
A Game For You!
Yay! I love games like this. Sadly, I like like games like this maybe a little too much. If I said I filled this out three times before I posted it, would you think I'm crazy? Aww, too bad for you that I didn't, huh? Can't call me crazy now. Well...
My adopted Mom tagged me. She runs the ever colorful and knitty Emma's Daughter Designs Blog with the newly added Etsy shop. If I tagged you, make sure to copy the game from my blog and post it on yours. Then tell me 'cus I suck at checking up on stuff like that.
The game is SCATTERGORIES … and it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules:
* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
* They MUST be real places, names, things … NOTHING made up!
* If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
* You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!
1. Famous Singer/Band: Smashing Pumpkins
2. Four letter word: Shit! One of my favorites, especially when screwing up a drink at work.
3. Street: Sycamore St.
4. Color: Scarlet
5. Gifts/Presents: Spa and Skin Care Products- Seriously, any kind!
6. Vehicle: Scion xD
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Shot Glass
8. Boy Name: Sasha
9. Girl Name: Sharpe (makes me giggle... kinda)
10. Movie Title: Stardust!
11. Drink: Saki
12. Occupation: Ski Instructor
13. Celebrity: Siefried FischBacher from Siegfried & Roy
14. Magazine: Style Watch
15. U.S. City: San Francisco
16. Pro Sports Teams: San Jose Sharks (hockey team)
17. Fruit: Silverberry
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Shower went a bit long.
19. Something You Throw Away: Starbuck's cups
20. Things You Shout: Shweet!
21. Cartoon Character: Spongebob Squarepants
Seeing as I don't know a lot of your email addresses (shocking), I'm gonna pawn it off on ya'll to just post it and then link back to me so I can read whatcha put. Fun fun!
My adopted Mom tagged me. She runs the ever colorful and knitty Emma's Daughter Designs Blog with the newly added Etsy shop. If I tagged you, make sure to copy the game from my blog and post it on yours. Then tell me 'cus I suck at checking up on stuff like that.
The game is SCATTERGORIES … and it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules:
* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
* They MUST be real places, names, things … NOTHING made up!
* If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
* You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!
1. Famous Singer/Band: Smashing Pumpkins
2. Four letter word: Shit! One of my favorites, especially when screwing up a drink at work.
3. Street: Sycamore St.
4. Color: Scarlet
5. Gifts/Presents: Spa and Skin Care Products- Seriously, any kind!
6. Vehicle: Scion xD
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Shot Glass
8. Boy Name: Sasha
9. Girl Name: Sharpe (makes me giggle... kinda)
10. Movie Title: Stardust!
11. Drink: Saki
12. Occupation: Ski Instructor
13. Celebrity: Siefried FischBacher from Siegfried & Roy
14. Magazine: Style Watch
15. U.S. City: San Francisco
16. Pro Sports Teams: San Jose Sharks (hockey team)
17. Fruit: Silverberry
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Shower went a bit long.
19. Something You Throw Away: Starbuck's cups
20. Things You Shout: Shweet!
21. Cartoon Character: Spongebob Squarepants
Seeing as I don't know a lot of your email addresses (shocking), I'm gonna pawn it off on ya'll to just post it and then link back to me so I can read whatcha put. Fun fun!
8/22/2007
Another Mondays@7 Meet
I think having this Mondays@7 thing every week really picks up the days for me. Mondays are no longer a drudgery or a day to stay inside. I want to be out, be working, or shopping, and building up all kinds of energy to throw at my work while ticking off the hours with my local "tangle." That's the term I've obsessively adopted when refering to a herd of knitters. Like it, you have no choice! *sinister laughter
Last Monday was a suprisingly more upbeat and exciting one. I didn't think that was possible with all the new blood we have. I think our three hours we spend there get shorter every week. There was talking, talking and more talking, as always. We decided to start implementing a weekly book review done by one of us each week on a knitting book from our favorites list. Valerie has volunteered to pounce on the first week and hopefully we'll have someone all over the next. With the ample supply of knit-craziness our group possesses, I'm sure it won't be hard to fill a few months. I for one am reserving the week in October after Debbie Stoller's Son of Stitch 'n Bitch rolls out in Barnes.
Thanks be to the knitting gods on behalf of all men out there!
Also, I'm exploring the idea of having a group page where those of us who check in on stuff or feel like contributing to a group blog can post, shout, or vent on our events abroad in the knitting world. I looked at Google Groups today since I'm not a huge fan of MSN or Yahoo!. If anyone has any ideas, this would be the blog to post them on. Or tell me next week. On Monday, at 7pm!
Next on my To-Do List: Blog about our Sock Contest Winner, change a few mechanics to the blog, and look for a brand new look for this thing.
8/20/2007
New Religious Artifact and MenWhoKnit.com
Today I received a sacred relic. It was given to the first Google blogger, Moser, when he scaled Mt. Sitemap to receive sacred instruction for the migratory Nation of Bloggers. Here is the sacred .Gif he received.
In case you are having issues reading the sacred text, I have rewritten it for you, unabridged, below.
1. You shall have no other Blogs but me.
2. You shall migrate to the New Blogger for it is a land of milk and honey.
3. You shall not misuse the name of Google your God.
4. You shall upgrade to the new template to seek salvation for your blog.
5. You shall submit your blog to the search engines and ping them after every post.
6. You shall not delete a blog lest it be taken over by spammers.
7. You shall not copy-paste old blogger templates into the New Blogger layouts.
8. You must not steal content even though you may be "inspired" by it.
9. You must back up your template BEFORE and AFTER any changes to the template.
10. You must not be envious of your neighbor's blogs or his template.
Just a little something I found while browsing other blog help sites. Worth a good laugh, I do believe. I also spent all day on MenWhoKnit.com and even got my first blog entry off. I was initially kind of worried I'd be a lot out of the loop and maybe just chatting around with a bunch of odd people with no lives, like me, but all fears were banished when I got on and read a few of the newcomer's entries and read through some of the project ideas that these guys had going. So refreshing and totally inspiring! It's actually a "cool" community made up of some pretty diverse and interesting people. 'Twas most invigorating. I can't wait to jump on and start discussing new ideas to start on with these guys.
MenWhoKnit.com was the only major "all-guys" knitting community I found while online searching through Google. Maybe I just didn't spend enough time looking (I would think a good hour would be long enough), but there it sat, the sole guys-run, guys-oriented knitting community for, wait for it... guys! Guys, check it out, join it! Girls... sorry, I'm afraid you'll just have to check it out.
Also discovered on (ta-da) MenWhoKnit.com was this fantastic read about the connection between knitting and religion. Initially I thought I'd end up a little steamed (I'm so bad at being open minded sometimes) just because I assumed it'd be a little preachy, but I was rewarded for my adventurousness. YugiDean makes some very insightful points.
8/18/2007
Scary Knitting!
Who can resist a good video with such craziness? Found this on YouTube after seeing a shoutbox comment on MenWhoKnit.com. While some of these may seem out of taste for some knitters, I find them hilarious and brilliant! Maybe it's that scary "dark" side of me comin' out. Enjoy, feel horrified, or poo-poo it to your hearts' desires! lol
8/14/2007
New Knitters
Okay, so I'm not going to blog every knitting group. (lol) Just the maiden voyage ones, which means I'll post... who knows!!!
Our group last night was small, but a lot of things came up for everyone, work being the biggest. Bernadette did show up and with goodies too! As she so eloquently quipped, anything to satisfy a sweet tooth! Josh, Joanna, and Kim all stopped by too, so our party was random but much fun. Next week we'll try for Katherine and Sunny. And maybe we'll actually get Josh to knit!
The Last Knit
Bit long, but I couldn't help it! Pray I never get that bad!
Next week- scary knitting!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)