Had a bit of a busy weekend. Heh. Busy weekend. Just a bit. Hehehehehahahahahahaheeeheeeheeheelmmfao

Yeah. Ok. So. Right now we’re looking at roughly 272 people for the dyeorama swap when I’m all done confirming a few entries and getting some info I need from a few others. Call me a softhearted woman but yeah I’m giving people about eleven more hours to confirm or ask nicely if they can join.

Let me say that again. Two hundred seventy two people. And the server didn’t go down. And it won’t show up as overage on the bill either. So hooray for Dreamhost! It shows a little having that many people signing up for WordPress but the swap registration form was great. All things considered there were very few problems to fix. Especially once we got the Internet Explorer issue resolved. When there were problems (primarily people entering wrong information and a RTFM moment or two) they were incredibly easy to fix thanks to Cody’s programming and Dreamhost running PHPmyadmin so I could maintain the database.

Now on to the programming a way to randomly match people and email them by May 1.

We were approached by a store for sponsorship and decided to give out some prizes in a random drawing from the list of people who completed the swap. I’m really pleased with the sponsor’s yarn and I think her dyeing kits are great! We’re accumulating several good gifts (I love the idea of having an incentive to be a good buddy) and trying to come up with a way to confirm when people have received their yarn. Cody has some great ideas.

It’s kind of hard to get across how much work programming something like this from scratch really is, or making things run as smoothly as possible with all the possible variables. I pretty much haven’t done much else this weekend but check emails, change database info, fix the website, and figure out how to fix bouncing emails. It’s not sexy or exciting but I’m proud of the work. And I think it’s going to be a fun swap.

The great part of this is knowing that between Cody and I we can pull off a project for almost 300 people. That’s something to put on a resume. Which is very cool.

So after all the work I’ve been shopping online for a prize for myself. Between this work and resolving a serious problem we were having wth PNM misreading our gas gauge and overcharging us by several hundred dollars, *and* selling some yarn this weekend (to a dyeorama member no less!) I feel like I should buy myself a present.

In a state of sleep-induced delirium yesterday I wandered around online looking at my favorite places. My favorites list at Etsy, Kpixie’s one of a kind yarn, the new Fiber-of-the-month club at Spunky…I couldn’t decide on anything.

After running to Trader Joe’s for groceries (we still can’t get over the prices there) and to Smith’s for the less glamorous groceries like toilet paper and kitty litter (I know TJ’s has hippie pine pellet kitty litter but that isn’t going to work for my cats’ industrial grade asses - we need crystals), I ended up going to Borders to get the brand new “Big Girl Knits” book. They couldn’t find it for me so the nice guy called Barnes and Noble (which was maybe a football field away anyway) and had them hold it at the desk for me.

It’s a great book - the models are actually plus sized not the like “oh she’s a little hippy but otherwise railass thin” kind of models. The advice is good, the patterns cover a wide variety of materials and shapes. I’m very pleased to hear that ribbon yarn is the novelty yarn for the big girl since that’s what my big tunic project is - also pleased to find out that they recommend tunics. And I love the boobs, butt, belly category. I found the bottoms section a little - well, kind of weird. But I’m not much for knitted skirts. And there weren’t any bottoms for belly people which annoys me a little. I might try the yoga pants pattern someday. Yoga pants are my favorite kind of pants. The accessories was an interesing section - mostly because of the advice to carry larger accessories. I can attest to that - there’s nothing that will make you look bigger than a tiny purse. Or make your neck and chin look larger than a mini necklace. So overall, I’m pretty pleased with the book. It’s a nice sized hardcover that will take a lot of abuse. I beat up on my books ya know.

So I was feeling pretty plus-sized friendly. And still looking around in my wishlists and things for something else fun to buy, maybe. And I’ve been going back to this one little weird thing on etsy the last few weeks. It’s by the same woman who made my incredibly cool purse. And I kept going back to this weird thing and last night I’d just pointed at this little chubby guy and made too many cute boopy “poking in the belly with my cursor” sounds for Cody - he decided that Barry had to come live with us. I’m very excited about this. He’s definitely a belly guy. No boobs and a flatter ass than mine which I wasn’t sure was possible. Aww but I love Barry. Can’t wait to have him here.

So click on the photo and give him some clicky belly boops with your cursor for luck and safe travels for Barry.

And now, photos of my ironically cabled socks (ironic of course because the cable was out when I started them) that I finished last week sometime.

a silly photo I took of myself in my rock n roll cowgirl t shirt

And a few birds have been building their nests under our porch roof again. This one had used a little strand of pink yarn. Isn’t it sweet?

Is this post long enough or what?

You’re going to love this. Seriously this thing rawks. Remember when I talked about that crazy light-sensitive yarn? Well, I knit a fun set of armwarmers and had just enough yarn leftover for a neckwarmer / headband thing. So here they are in natural light.

Sure they’re funky and slubby and soft with some cool pink fuzzy stripes. But wait! Can you see the little clear beads? There are a few in that photo. Hmm let me show them again!

Can you see them now? Yeah! They have color now because they change colors in the sun. The yarn is also plied with this tiny little string that’s white in natural light and turns a subtle pink in the sun too. And the fuzzy stuff in the pink parts. It glows in the dark. This yarn is seriously bad ass.

Here’s the neckwarmer / headband.

And a couple of pretentious art school poses.

Hey, do you know how hard it is to take a photo of your arm and head at the same time?

Remember how I have a busy street and a bunch of construction just on the other side of my backyard wall? Imagine the kind of looks I get when I do little photo sessions like this. Yes. Sometimes they honk.

I think they just particularly liked my extremely old black leather clogs / pink and blue argyle happy bunny pajama bottoms / red shelf bra tank / shizniftle punky glam armwarmer and headband ensemble today.

And yes! I will post a pattern for this! Very soon! Now go worship Reenie (and Angela too!) for making this unbelievable yarn possible. Buy some yarn! Because, amazingly, I’m still doing pretty well on this yarn diet thing but I think someone should buy it so why not you?

Hmm well I was hoping to post some lovely photos of Cody’s frankenstein fuzzyfeet all fulled and shaped. But, er, it didn’t work out. I overfelted them and now neither of us can get the tighter manos heel around our ankles. So if anyone with tiny feet, like a women’s size 6 or so, wants some very unique wool slippers let me know. Or I’m just going to cut them into strips and do something else with them.

The good part is I have something else to post about. And it even falls into the Project Spectrum category! It’s yarn! Yay! I’m getting back into the spinning! And let me say, I’m really glad. Spinning is so calming and I’m always really proud of what I come up with. This time it was some great 50% merino 50% tencel that I’d picked up from Winderwood farms last fall. I spun it thin enough to feel comfortable plying it.

So I borrowed Beverly’s giganto plying head from her lendrum wheel while she’s out of town and made a pretty big batch of two ply. 294.12 yards to be exact. Although I have some more on one bobbin that I’m going to try Andean plying or maybe just wind half of it into a ball and ply it that way. So there’ll probably be about 315 - 325 yards altogether. Not bad.

edited (again) -

I ended up winding the remaining single ply into a center pull ball and plied from the center and outer edge of the ball. That’s a nifty little process I’d heard about from the people at sheep to shawl last year. I learned so much that day. Much more than just how to spin with a wheel.

Anyway, there was more than I estimated for that second skein - 39.56 yards! So the total yardage is 333.68.

I wound the plied yarn into a skein using my trusty Goko swift this morning.

What I love about my Goko is it’s so unique. It makes just winding or unwinding a skein a pretty little sculpture. Those Japanese really know from the aethetic don’t they?

The tencel really made the shades of pink and orange shine. They’re like silk. But softer. And shinier. And silkworm friendly. The colors and the shine made me think of fabrics from India. So I’m calling it Bombay Dreams.

The bad news is Beverly has first dibs on this yarn. The good news is if she doesn’t want it I’ll be happy to sell it to you.

edit: Now if Miss Beverly doesn’t want it Miss Pamela will buy it. Yay!

Send me an email or leave a comment if you’re interested. I’ll let you know when she decides and we can work out a bill on paypal or a special listing on etsy or something. I’ll be selling it for 60 US dollars. That will include the yarn I’m going to be plying today so that will be 333.68 yards for 60 dollars - that’s less than 20 cents (17 cents to be exact) per yard. It winds out at about 10 wraps per inch - worsted to heavy worsted weight.

This stuff is so pretty. And shiny. Did I say how happy I am to be spinning again?

Also, I’ve been knitting the little ugg baby booties for a pregnant cousin-in-law. Ramona gave me the yarn that was leftover from knitting hers. And I did go ahead and buy some more so I could be sure I had enough for the hat too. I finished one bootie last night and these things are huge. If I do it again I’m going down a needle size or two.

I’m glad Chloe won. Not only because she was “anyone but Santino” but because I really like her model. She has such a unique look I’ve been rooting for her all season. I think it’s fun to see untraditional looking people model. Makes me think that even normal people might be able to wear those clothes too. Which is why I really like the models from the Interweave magazines. Some are pear-shaped or have big shoulders. Some even have *gasp* bellies! Models with bellies not modelling fat girl clothes! Whoda thunk it?

Technically it’s not Friday but I’m a rebel…Here are some photos of the finished shawl. Still not blocked but I know you won’t mind.

I can’t properly describe how much I enjoyed knitting this. Or really how much I enjoy knitting with anything I buy from Adrian’s shop. Her sense of color and great visual sense of using simple patterns to enhance the beauty of her (and Sarah’s) handspun yarn is unsurpassed. I don’t say that lightly either. I may be a new knitter but I’ve been studying color all my life. And I always find something truly desirable to knit with in her shop updates. You might notice that I had this knitting project interrupted for a few months. But you might also notice that I bought another kit in the meantime. The prices might seem a bit high if you’re unfamiliar with the usual cost of handspun yarn - but it’s important to consider how much wool is actually being used in the thicker yarns. Believe me, if you love unique and soft yarn it’s totally worth it.

Cody said that I haven’t taken enough photos of Winter with my knitting lately. So here’s a gratuitous dog being tortured by knitting photo.

Don’t let that hounddog face fool you. She loves the attention. And she was happily eating a greenie about three minutes after this photo was taken.

I started my besotted scarf but things got a little sloppy. So to get back into the practice of knitting cables I’ve been knitting a collar for Winter. Regular collars tend to rub on her short fur so I’ve been making one that can cover a new one. The idea is based on this necklace and I’m using some old mercerized cotton that I bought at a local store where 80s yarn went to die, or be bought for a dollar a skein by a newbie knitter.

It’s knit on US size 4s and will be sewn into a tube using some fabric on the back then slipped onto a collar.

Technically since it’s pink it fits into Project Spectrum right?

And isn’t it sad that we’ve recently lost both The Old Man from A Christmas Story (as well as Kolchak The Night Stalker) and The Artful Dodger from Oliver (also in that terrifying show HR Puffinstuff)? What great guys they were.

That’s right! I’m bringing FO friday back! At least for this week. And hopefully I’ll have my clappy done for next friday. Also I think I may use FO to stand for Fiber Obsession and show off some yarn sometimes too.

These are some oldie buttons I made a while back for it. Feel free to snag. I’m on a button binge so I might make some more.

So. This I finished this a few weeks ago but I’m going to show it anyway.

It’s a very very very long airy scarf. Like ten plus feet long. Knit using a nice little sportweight kid mohair new wool blend from Dale of Norway. Why yellow and why this yarn? Because it’s for my mother-in-law who loves yellow and it’s very hard to find a non-poopy colored yellow yarn that isn’t for babies.

I think she’ll like it. It’s long enough to wrap it around twice and have it drapey in the front. That’s how she wears her scarves.

In UFOlympic Clapotis news, I dropped the eighth stitch last night, the one with the longest drop in the corner. Halfway through ball four of six. I even watched some ice skating. I haven’t really been watching the Olympics because it seemed like every time I turned it on they were showing that silly curling stuff which automatically makes me sleepy. I’d wish I could catch more snowboarding (is that done?). Bill the houseboy used to go up to Taos to snowboard. Strangely, I’ve made my best progress while watching Dancing with the Stars. No idea why.

So I finished the hat for Mr. Tong. Since it’s his birthday tomorrow it definitely won’t make it to San Francisco in time. I thought I’d post it here and Jocelyn could choose to show it to him tomorrow, or wait until they’re visiting in a little over a week. Anyway, I took some nice photos of it today.

So about the hat. This is from some obscure short-lived Sci Fi show called Firefly (which I’ve never seen) and apparently there’s a spin off movie or movie based on it or something that’s recently come out called Serenity. Don’t ask me I’ve never seen either. I’m not a big science fiction fan. But a lot of people in my life are, including my best friend and her boyfriend, whose birthday is tomorrow. Between being a warm-natured guy (according to his girlfriend) and my not knowing him very well I didn’t have a lot of knitted present options. So when I mentioned the big thread on craftster about this hat we agreed this was what I’d make.

According to this thread and Jocelyn, there’s this cranky guy on the tv show named Jayne Cobb who wears a big silly hat knit by his mom. According to some it should be irregular and very homespun-lookin’. Well, far be it for me to not take advantage of an opportunity to spin my own yarn. So I did.

I knit one hat on Sunday, pretty much following the directions on craftster. But in the end I didn’t feel like I’d made it tall enough so today I frogged it and tried again while watching a great biography on Lucrezia Borgia and a history’s mystery show about the man in the iron mask. I made a few alterations to suit the yarn a bit better - namely, doing a k2 p2 ribbing instead of a k1 p1. It just looked better with this yarn.

It might be a bit tall now. But the earflaps were easy and the pom pom pretty much makes the hat.

This hat is very, very funny.

It’s hard to not make silly faces while wearing it. Even for the dog

Now onto the holiday knitting panic.

First up: a Fulled Lopi Tote for the mil made with Fiesta Yarns‘ Watermark and Kokopelli in (repectively) Amazon and Peony. This was bought during my first trip to a non-chain yarn store, their factory outlet store, and it’s been sitting around waiting for me to use ever since.

Because I’m tired.

Here’s some merino I spun and set a few weeks ago. I’m already running out of creative names for yarn so Cody has dubbed it “Romantic Bruise” for me.

This stuff is gorgeous and super soft.

This is some pink, yellow, and purple alpaca that I spun last weekend. Without Cody here to name it I’ved been calling it Pepto Party.

Spinning alpaca is a very different proposition than spinning wool. It spins sooo fine though. I’d say this is almost sportweight but is mostly dk.

I also finished the ornaments for the aunts’ party.

And I’m thinking about printing this photo for holiday cards

I also knit two very silly novelty yarn scarves.

This was last week’s. It’s a silly glittery fishnet pink fuzzy boo boo kitty kind of scarf that Dr. Frank N Furter would kill to have.

And I knit this one yesterday. It’s another dropped stitch crossover scarf on bigger needles with this supersuper soft novelty two ply from the Hobby Lobby store brand called Yarn Bee.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. Oh, and Winter has been getting cold (she’s a very shorthaired dog) and they just don’t make very many sweaters and things in her size. I have plans to knit one and she has a great polar fleece coat from Orvis. But she just needed a little extra, it’s not quite cold enough for polar fleece yet. So she’s been wearing some of our old t shirts.

I got that t shirt free when I bought a pair of docs in some weird downtown Sydney shoe store sometime in 92. It’s shrunk significanty since then but it fits Winter nicely. I just have to tie the shirt at her waist a bit but she seems to like it. And she looks so cute. My little punk rock mohawk sporting dog. She calmly puts up with all kinds of silly humiliations at the hands of her mom.

Ok, naptime.

Claude Monet was obsessed with light and its effect on color. He’s probably best known for his waterlilies paintings where he painted scenes from the garden of his home in Giverny at different times of day. But I think his most revealing work is the haystacks series. It really shows his appreciation for light and color, painting the same object several times but always in different colors to reflect the changes in the light.

My finished object today isn’t terribly impressive. It’s just a scarf and headband set. But there are a few things about it that make it more than a plain old scarf set.

Firstly there’s the yarn. This is my first time using Manos de Uruguay and you can bet your butt it won’t be the last. This stuff is soft and thick and warm. The colors vary from inch to inch (and skein to skein) and make a gorgeous robust knit. The fact that it’s produced by a collective of women in South America who are earning their own living makes it even more special.

Then there’s the stitch pattern. This is not an easy stitch, basically you’re doing a decrease but slipping an extra stitch in there every time. I cast this on maybe about two months ago and it’s taken me a while to finish because the progress seemed very slow. But in the end it makes a beautiful crosshatch that’s particularly nice with the variegated yarn and produces a nice, thick scarf.

And there’s how much the colors change with the variations in light.

I didn’t have enough yarn leftover from the scarf to make a hat but I wanted to make something with it so I made a headband / earwarmer. It’s not all that wide really but is thick enough to really keep the ears warm on a cold day. I was worried that it might stretch out or be too small so I made a series of eyelets and sewed on some small wooden beads I got at the infamous estate sale to make it easy to resize. It could make a good small neckwarmer too.

Winter also makes a very patient model and photography assistant.

No modeling today though she’s a bit stinky and needs a bath.

Yeah I had a busy day today. I spent the morning turning mittens into kittens. Kitten mittens.

Are these not the cutest things in the entire universe? Even if I say so myself.

You bet yer bippy I made that pattern up from scratch. And yes I have it all written down ready to post just for you, I’m just very very tired right now and can’t muster up the strength tonight. Did I mention this will be a pattern for mittens for a one-year-old done in the round on double pointed needles? This is something the web (usually abundant in any and everything) sadly lacked.

But I’m going to also post the pattern I made up for this little bear’s scarf because he’s never giving his up as it’s nicely secure around his neck to avoid hurting the cutie niece.

I also have some photos of the sloppy slubby scarf I made with the preppie boy yarn. This is being modeled by the sister-in-law who really enjoyed her present.

I also have photos of the baby second cousin in-law in his baby kimono and matching hat and some photos of me wearing my loop d loop ballet t as a vest which I think looks quite nice.

There are many many MANY photos of robo cutie niece being incredibly cute and sassy with her birthday cake but I’m considering starting a new flickr account just for the fam photos. That way I can share the photos without having relatives reading my blog ickiness.

Finally caught up on taking photos of finished objects. I’ve uploaded 42 images today. All knitting related. Yarr. So to avoid killing your browser (which I’ll be risking anyway) I’ll try to only post the highlights. There are still a bunch though.

Click on the photos to go to the set page and see a bunch of other stuff.

Handspun Mohair Scarf

La Boheme Nouveau Poncho

Rayon Boucle Shoulder Scarf

knit mini socks and mitten xmas ornaments

a stuffed chenille pumpkin toy for the nephew

a bunch of dishcloths

Many Handspun Yarn Photos

People think I’m kidding about the magical New Mexico sun. Oh no. Everything I knit and spin looks 78% better in the sun here. It really makes colors pop.

I’ve been going back and forth on this for weeks now and we finally decided not to go to the Taos Wool Festival. I’ve spent entirely too much on fiber related stuff this year anyway (oh and um this) and we have visiting niece and nephew obligations. And I want to see my Saturday knitting group ladies. With the way Cody’s work schedule has been the last few weeks I haven’t been able to get to knitting groups nearly as often as I’d like. So we weighed the pros and cons and decided not to go. Maybe next year.

I’ll try to get balloon fiesta photos this weekend. But I usually forget.

Speaking of fiestas, I don’t quite understand the attitude of people who move here then get indignant about the Hispanic influences of a state called New Mexico. Yes, festivals will be called fiestas here. Because fiesta means festival. I don’t see people complaining about the overuse of the word festival. I just don’t get why people would want to complain about that. It just seems like going to Boston and complaining about having clam chowder on the menu in every restaurant. Awfully silly.

Since I haven’t gotten the mt blogrolling plugin working properly since the upgrade (because I’d much rather spend my leisure time reading weblogs or knitting or spinning not futzing around with code) this is what I’m working on atm.