Why I knit, #9

Posted on October 3, 2008 by HappyGoth

#9? Is that right? I hope so.

I knit because I gave up smoking and I needed another addiction. No, really. Let me ‘splain:

Smoking is an addiction. Knitting is an addiction. I can only go so long without it before I crave it again.

Smoking has a unique and instant community. Knitting has a unique and instant community. After I quit smoking, I found myself missing that camraderie that came from smoking with other people while shivering huddled on the sidewalk in the middle of February. Now, I can share a similar camraderie, but one that involves sitting indoors in climate control, eating brownies and drinking beer. Overall, a pleasant shift (though I still kind of miss that miserable, smoky huddling).

Smoking makes you look cool. Knitting makes you look cool. Well, I think it does, at least. People get really excited when they find out you made the excellent socks you’re sporting.

The reason that I thought about this is that I bought some more sock yarn, ensuring the continued fungus-like growth of my stash (it happens overnight, in brilliant colors, and oozes between cracks in the shelf and drawer, seemingly with a life of its own, in a process that breaks down the fibrous makeup of my bank account). And it is this:

Glorious, glorious Lotus Aura yarn. It is coming in the mail as we speak. I have just now decided that I will knit the Knitty Baroque sock pattern using this yarn. It feels perfect for that.

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I have knitting!

Posted on September 28, 2008 by HappyGoth

Like, new stuff. See?

Rivendell socks by you.

I gave up on using the Marrakesh to make the Rivendell socks. Instead, I’m using Lotus Yarns Aura (it’s the one with the sparkly bits) in the Walking With the Ghost colorway. It’s perfect (thanks to the chickengoddess for the superb creative genius). And now that I’m done with those darned wraps at the top, it’s going very quickly. Just don’t look too hard at the heel; this is my first 3-needle sock, and somehow I forgot how to pick up stitches properly.

What became of the Marrakesh, you ask? Well, this is the beginning of the first Interlocking Leaves sock:

Interlocking Leaves, stage 1 by you.

It’s a perfect colorway and weight for this pattern. The pattern came from this month’s Knitty, and so far I love it. It’s a little more complicated than the last lace socks I knit, and I’m feeling satisfied with the new challenge. I’ll keep posting photos as I progress. I’m excited to see  how the colorway continues to work with the leaves.

In additional progress, I’ve picked up Super Secret project #2 again, and am surprised at how easy it was to do. I last knitted on it roughly three months ago (I think – it could have been more), and have found that I knew just where I needed to go next. I might have it finished in time to gift at Christmastime, if I’m very disciplined (and don’t cast on another four projects in the meantime, a thing that is likely to happen if I’m not careful). I find that knitting is like every other artistic pursuit for me – I can’t be satisfied unless I have many multiples of projects going at once. Though I don’t consider myself to be ADD usually, art is one place where I am definitely so. Knitting falls squarely into the art category for me.

Alert to all you Atlanta knitters – Knitch is carrying Prym stainless steel dpns for the time being, in sizes 0, 00, 000, and 0000 (for this last size, I’m planning a pair of Renaissance period-accurate stockings, provided that I can find a pattern). I have bought one set in each size. You never know when you might need some more needles, especially with a sock project record like mine. I appear to only be limited by the number of sets of needles in my possession at any given time.

And although I swore never to learn, today James gifted me a drop spindle and some roving and I am indeed learning to spin using it (I draw the line at a wheel, though – let’s do this in baby steps, if at all). I keep telling myself that I’m gearing up for tasty fiber at Maryland Sheep & Wool in May (yeah, right).

I forsee a new sweater project coming up as soon as the weather cools off. I have the needles, so it could happen (but if I’m smart, it won’t).

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Oh, Method

Posted on September 25, 2008 by HappyGoth

How I love thee.

Most specifically, your shower scrub, which is not only friendly to the environment but also my hands, and smells pleasantly of eucalyptus (not the ammonia that other scrubs smell like). Take that, Scrubbing Bubbles. You are forever dead to me.

I went on a bath products/cleaning products shopping frenzy, and feel like I’m doing one of those consumer tests. I tried a Swiffer (both dry and wet, generic and Swiffer brand), the Method earth-friendly bath scrub (mint eucalyptus scent), and Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day hand soap in Lavender scent. The Swiffer is great, but only if you use the Swiffer brand pad thingies (yes, I’m lazy and don’t like to empty mop water although that is the more ecologically-friendly option). The Method bath stuff has won me over totally, as have their air fresheners, hand soaps, and possibly everything else I haven’t even tried yet. The Clean Day hand soap is amazing. It smells like wonderful to start off with, and wears off to a faint Krispy Kreme scent which is utterly delightful. I think my husband thinks so, too. I mean, whose husband doesn’t want his wife to smell like donuts?

I will be trying the Method brand lazy person floor sweeper in the future, in the wood floor variety. I think it’s a biodegradable option (though the plastic stuff it’s packed in is probably not so biodegradable, but you never know).

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I’m a bad blogger.

Posted on September 24, 2008 by HappyGoth

But! I’ve been busy! With stuff! And things!

My husband and I recently moved (which makes this at least once a year since I was 18) into an awesome new house and I’ve been unpacking (like you do). Though the kitchen was the first thing to be unpacked and organized, one of the more immediately following things was (of course) my knitting things. I had bought one of those Jrnslooopend shelf thingies from IKEA (actually, the Expedit unit, plus a couple of those plastic drawers that you can buy to go with it), and had been using it to store yarn, so I again am using it for this. I now have all the yarny bits in little plastic bags (take that, you hungry and unknowingly malicious wool moths!) and have discovered that my sock yarn occupies and entire drawer, so much so that it is nearly overflowing. And the rest of it takes up another drawer, plus two whole shelf compartments. I know this isn’t a whole lot of stash for some of you (I hear you scoffing at my mere four shelf units of yarn stash *ahem* chickengoddess *ahem*), but it’s a lot for me! I have a stash! I’m done for now. Though if there’s a sudden unexpected shortage of sock yarn, I’m covered for several years, since it takes me so long to finish a project.

Somehow, I’ve managed to whittle my WsIP down to (checks Ravelry) 6, from the 9 I had originally, so it’s time to start a new sweater project. I bought some sale Cascade 220 (next up – update Ravelry stash page) in blues and a lime green, and I’m going to make a striped cardigan out of it. I’m kind of excited about colorwork, even if it is just stripes.

And then the last bit of DragonCon was that on Sunday, we got up, went to see a BSG panel (best. thing. ever.), during which Edward James Olmos got us all to stand up and shout “So say we all!” over and over, then spent more time at Jennie’s booth. I bought a corset, and lost my husband to a nap, then found him again. We all went out for sushi for dinner, danced like chickens (well, baobh and I did), drank lots of sake, then went back for more kilt blowing. We hung out for a while and then went upstairs with Baobh and husband and friends for a glass of wine, and I acquired the nickname Fuzzbutt (I had a fuzzy butt). Then we went to bed. Monday was a little quieter. Most everybody went home, so it was mostly tearful goodbyes, and lunch with fyvel and telaryn, and wandering around. I saw an Edward James Olmos solo panel in the morning, and still think he’s an incredible actor/director/human being. After everything ended, we helped Jennie pack up, then had Jennie and our (not hapless) British friends over for dinner and dessert, then sent everyone but the brother-in-law (who left in the morning) home.

And now it’s a month later, and I still haven’t managed to decompress. I have that weird con-funk that everyone talks about, where you don’t really feel like the “real” world exists, and if you could extend the con in a free and endless and effortless sort of way, you just might. Thankfully this time I have managed to keep up with the friends I’ve made, so in a small sort of way I have extended the con somewhat endlessly. I think it’s more of a realization that the fun and friendships don’t actually have to end just because the con does; we’ve all just shifted locations. In lieu of going to France, I’m going to several cons with Jennie, so we’ll see what happens this coming year. I’ll post accounts of those, as well.

And also, soon I will show photos of knitting (I know, I keep saying that, but last night I found not one, but both of my camera cables! Hooray!).

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Yarr.

Posted on September 19, 2008 by HappyGoth

It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties. Do lots o’ natterin’, in sea-dog speak (ye swarthy sea dogs).

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Why I Knit, #8

Posted on September 18, 2008 by HappyGoth

Because with knitting, you can be a grandmother and be a knitter. You can be pierced and be a knitter. You can be a man, or in middle school, or German, or Pagan, or Catholic, or a chicken farmer, or a geneticist and still you’re a knitter.

And do you know the best part? You can come to knitting group once a week and you get along with all these people, because you’re a knitter. It is the great equalizer (and although I don’t think it could create world peace, it could come pretty close, unless you post about it on a Ravelry forum).

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I like smart people.

Posted on September 10, 2008 by HappyGoth

Normally, I don’t touch on politics because it opens big cans of very slimy worms, but this needs to be shared all over the internet:

John McCain is an elitist.

(Thanks to Rafe for showing me this in the first place)

Not only do I now know the correct word to use to describe a feeling of academic and intellectual superiority, but I also am just a little closer to being able to make a decision I’m comfortable with come November (though I’m still holding onto writing in Colin Powell).

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It’s about knitting! For real!

Posted on September 9, 2008 by HappyGoth

I am constantly trolling the interwebs via a few blogs I read (okay, more than a few, but who’s counting). And very often, it brings me things like this:

RSS knitting

No, really. It’s RSS news feed info in a sweater. This just goes to further my belief that knitting is just another medium for artistic expression.

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DragonCon, Day, Erm… 3?

Posted on September 8, 2008 by HappyGoth

Or as much of it as I remember.

So. Got up at OHGODTHIRTY (not too early, by normal people standards, but I had gin the night before) and met husband and brother-in-law for the parade. I kick myself beforehand every year, and every year the parade is awesome. And it was this year. I started my photo collection of things what be/be in Jayne Cobb hats. Like this:

Jayne Trooper by you.

And this:

Jayne Xena by you.

And also this:

The Jayne Hat by you.

Yep. She’s a giant Jayne hat.

And there were Klingons on motorbikes:

Klingons on Harleys! by you.

Incidentally, they show up to just about every parade in Atlanta, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome.

(The rest of the set is here.)

So then afterward was manning Jennie‘s booth a bit more (and meeting more fans), then going to lunch and wandering around shopping, and I bought a stuffed octopus which baobh put on her head:

Tentacular. by you.

It made a very good hat (we have conducted further testing since then, and have found our theory to be sound).

We didn’t manage to be able to catch up with Jennie after that, but grabbed others, including our unsuspecting [edit: I stand corrected; hapless is not at all what I meant!] British friends, and all went to Hooters for dinner. It was great, but exceedingly loud, so we left as quickly as we could to go back to the hotel room to finish watching Dr. Horrible and drink more gin (I’m sensing a theme…). Once we were properly liquored up and the husband had costumed himself, we went down for more leaf-blowing. The husband was nifty in his costume:

Sandman by you.

And the leaf-blowing went much more smoothly, as people expected it, the cute stormtrooper guy showed up again, and we commandeered a real table for the waivers. I think the grand guy total came to 27.

Afterward, there was more hanging about and chatting, then some of us split off to go to a bar for a drink, and by some bizarre stroke of good luck, we managed to find the secluded-type bar the famous-type people liked, and while we were in line, none other than Nathan Fillion (swoon) was right in front of us. We were nice. We didn’t pester him (not at all! really!), but we did ogle him from afar for a little bit.

This kind of sums up that part of the evening:

Breeden Babes by you.

I doubt we’d have had the energy for more than ogling.

And then at about 3, we all went to bed. Or maybe it was 4. I forget.

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DragonCon, Day 2

Posted on September 5, 2008 by HappyGoth

View from the Mariott by you.

[Hotel room view]

And then the stuff started, and it was crazy, and continued throughout the entire weekend. However, let’s see if I remember it, first.

Okie. We slept in again, and the husband finished his sweet Sandman costume, and I got dressed in mine, and we all trundled over to the Marriott to check into the hotel. We met Lessa there at Jennie’s booth so that Jennie could go to a panel (this was a theme for the weekend), and then met a lot of awesome fans (and Lessa put on her costume).
IMG_3597 by you.

[Tentacles!]

One fan was Greyloch (I’ve met him before, but now I feel I know him better), who was dressed as Zebediah Strain from Iron Man, and excellently so.

Zebediah Strain by you.

[Damn. Just… damn]

And the Danes came by,

The Danes! by you.

[Danes have Spunk!]

and RazorJak (I *heart* RazorJak; he’s one of my favorites, and did I mention that he bought me gin?), and a bunch of others. Then Jennie came back so Lessa and I could wander and find her a corset (she bought a blue one, incidentally, but took it back because it was hurting her). This is just about the point where the weekend became surreal. We ran into Baobh in the dealer’s room, and she rescued me from a creepy photographer guy by whisking me away to go and meet none other than Laurell K. Hamilton, of whose work I’ve been a fan since I was 16. No, seriously. I was amazed that I didn’t geek out and make a fool of myself as I conversed briefly with her and then with Jonathon, her husband (who is really nice, too).

So then the day’s fun continued with more hanging around Jennie’s booth and after that going up to the room to sit for a bit (I showed Baobh the sparkly elf socks, of which she was appropriately appreciative), and then going to Ted’s Montana Grill for steak (mmmmmmmeat). I love going to places like that in costume. You get such strange looks.

Ted's 1 by you.

[Chili so far; the meat comes later]

And then came the first night of the kilting. I had my waivers all set up, and the guys lined up, and then I geeked out (secretly) a little more because LKH and crew showed up (!) and hung around to talk to Husband of Baobh and all us DP folks (!!!), and all the guys in their kilts were incredible and funny and much fun was had by all. And then we went to bed, because it was very late and we were all really tired (but this was, like two hours after we finished, because nobody wanted to leave).

Oh, how the shoe is on the other foot by you.

[Jennie gets a taste of her own medicine]

Kilting crowd by you.

[Big crowd, and it only grew]

Fishing for Scotsmen by you.

[Success!]

Soooo… yeah. It was seriously surreal. I think every DragonCon gets more so, because through Jennie and Baobh I meet more and more interesting people every year. Stay tuned for DragonCon Day 3, in which we see a certain sexy member of the Firefly cast and watch a parade and eat some hot wings.

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