And She Knits Too!

Memes are fun (so sue me)

1. FIRST NAME? Stephannie
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I don't remember; with life being what it is lately, I'd guess any time now.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? not really, I mostly print
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Corned beef (on rye, with a pickle)
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This is it
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope.  Never. Ever.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? What I tell my kids: Mini Wheats.  What I eat when my kids aren't looking: Sugar Crisp
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes, if they are untieable
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate chip cookie dough if I have to pick.  Ice cream in general if I don't.
14. SHOE SIZE? 9 1/2
15. RED OR PINK? Candy Girl KSH right now.  Purpley reds normally
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? when I get indecisive and need to weigh out things forever
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I can't think of anyone, I guess that makes me lucky.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Grey cords, purple stretch long sleeve tee, Must Have Cardi, handknit socks, slippers
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? "Chips and cheese" aka Tostitos and this fake orange nacho cheese that I love even though I know it's fake orange cheese that comes in a jar, and someday it will kill me.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The fridge (it's really quiet in here) and now a distant train whistle
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Indigo
23. FAVORITE SMELL? My kids when they're sleeping
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Craig
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their sense of humour and fun.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Absolutely
27. FAVORITE DRINK? I'm not good with favourites--Coke, Beer, Skim Milk
28. FAVORITE SPORT? To do: Cycle. To watch: hockey
29. EYE COLOR? Greeny, bluey grey
30. HAT SIZE? Dunno
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Tuna sushi
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings (though I prefer movies that surprise me in some way
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Apple pie
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably no one, this meme has been around for a bit
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everyone
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Gender Trouble by Judith Butler (though I haven't picked it up in a while--it's one of those foundational works that I've never read and feel I should), Otherwise nothing but research data.  I read all day so I prefer to knit for leisure
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad.  When the stupid desk at work messes with my optical mouse I use a notepad
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Six Feet Under Season 5 on DVD
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Happy kiddies, city sounds
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Seoul
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Very analytical and organized (but in a fun way)
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Thunder Bay
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I pinched it from Rosemary

That extra hour

We've been on fire this weekend.  Snowboots and winter clothes were purchased, beds were changed, food bought and prepared, laundry completed (folded even), two homework projects were finished with no tears, pumpkins were carved and everyone got enough sleep. 

This morning I've already emptied the dishwasher, put the chili in the crock pot, started working on Wednesday's lecture and it's only 9am.  That extra hour is really helpful.  I could use it every week.

Maybe it was my witchie persona that led to all this magic.  We even went to a Halloween party.

I even almost finished packing the room with the most stuff in it.  I'm going to miss this attic room.  Mostly because I'm not sure where all this stuff will fit in the new house.  I am happy about all the stuff I've been throwing away.  Moving is good for culling junk. 

However this:

Does not lead to this:

I'm *almost* done.  I didn't share the story of the sweater last week.  The required ball of KSH arrived Thursday night and I picked up the neck that night.  The sweater came to Rhinebeck and I worked on it for a few hours only to discover that four ball would not be enough.  I stopped the neck and went back to the sleeve to confirm it--I needed another freakin' ball.  With some help from Denny I decided having a sweater done right is better than a sweater done fast so I put it away for the weekend. 

Monday morning at home in bed, I started ripping.  Ripping mohair is evil.  But ripping double-stranded mohair is evil with added maleficence.  When I was done there were about a dozen little balls of KSH.  We took some time apart after that.  Oh, and I didn't have any time to knit.

I used the little balls (that sat there like high-end tribbles) and finished the sleeve.  Then I used one strand of the first dyelot with the one ball of the other dyelot to do the neck.  Hopefully tonight I'll finish it--I don't want this momentum to stop yet.  Just remember, if you're making the size medium sweater, be warned you need 5 balls, not four.

Fibre P*rn

Really, I shouldn't be afraid of the word p*rn, but I don't use comment moderation, so I'm going to be cautious.

Here's the loot from Rhinebeck.  It's late and I'm tired so there will be minimal writing.  Besides it gets in the way of the prettiness.

First, I had the pleasure of shopping for Elizabeth who gave me some cash and some vague instructions.  It's fun to shop with someone else's money.

I drive 1400km to buy Canadian yarn from Durham.  But I've never touched it before so I figured what the heck.  It's the softest sock yarn ever--Shelridge Farm Soft Touch.  Beautiful.

Blue Moon Fiber Merino Tencel.  Shiny and pretty.

The one that veered from the colour instructions but was too beautiful to pass up.  Briar Rose Fibers Angel 100% Alpaca laceweight.  So, so gorgeous.  There's more about this shop in a minute.  Chris the dyer "gets" colour.  I loved everything she had.  Even alpaca (which sadly doesn't love me).  Elizabeth agreed.

Another laceweight--merino tencel--for my friend Amy in LA.  This is the super skinny stuff.  And that sparkle you see is some gorgeous gleam in the yarn.  The colour isn't flat and it was so lucious that it had to come home with me (even if it is going to the west coast).  This is from Skaska--a booth that always makes me want to knit more lace. 

Some roving for a friend who reads this blog and will get her birthday present this weekend.  A merino silk blend that was calling me.  I still don't spin (but since I figure being a knitter it's like camping near a black hole--I know I will some day) but I do appreciate lovely fibre.

Now for my stuff:

Obligatory Socks that Rock in Sun Stone and Spinel.  I have no solids (or semi-solids) in the stash so these are perfect.  Bought and paid for by 10:15am.  I missed out last time they were at my lys, so I made a point of going to The Fold right away.

And here's the yarn that got me.  I had no intention of buying a sweater's worth of stuff.  I had a budget and was there to see people and have fun, but as soon as I was near the Briar Rose booth I was sunk.  I could have bought everything in there.  I love handpaints and these are beautiful.  I went outside my normal colour choices and bought 1800 metres of sport/dk weight wool (called Fourth of July) in this gorgeous blend of fall colours--reds, golds, apple greens and oranges.  It looks just like autumn in New York.  And I keep staring at it and going Gah.

Go see the site.  Now.  I can wait. 

They even make buttons

This yarn will be knit up right away.  Well as soon as I can decide on a pattern/design.  I want a pullover, and I'll likely use the buttons at the cuffs or do a button raglan similar to Laura's (I'll do a funnel or turtle neck because that's what I do.  Though I'm completely in love with Rachael's new sweater too.  If you have a pattern suggestion for a dk pullover please leave it in my comments.

Rhinebeck Report

On Friday morning I met Rachel H and Laura at the car rental place and we got our wheels.  Then we headed off to get Denny and Mel and by 10:39 we were on our way to Rhinebeck.  It was raining.  Hard.  Really hard.  Visibility sucked.  The temperature gauge said 2C.  The rain started to plop rather than pitter on the windshield and by the time we hit Kingston so Rachel could take the wheel we were starting to think we didn't pack for the weather.  Five minutes later we were in a freakin' snow storm.  Rachel's driving rocks.  She only screamed once.  A big blob of snow fell out of a tree and completely covered the windshield so she wasn't the only one screaming.

We drove in snow for about 2 hours.  Or at least it felt that way (Denny's eyes are closed to shield her from the horrors of snow in October).  Good thing we had Norbert, the trip mascot, who was rescued from one of those horrible vending machines where you maneuver a claw with a joystick.  Who would keep sheep in those conditions?  We all hailed Mel, sheep rescuer who liberated our Norbert with only one toonie.

About 10 hours after we left, the girls dropped me in Tivoli where I met my friends for dinner and beer--I really needed the beer.  We went back to our hotel and had a good time talking about fibre and everything else and we got to bed so we could hit the fair the next day.

Saturday was great.  So great that I didn't take enough pictures of all the people I saw.  I was with my pals Jaya, Hope, Anmiryam, Michelle, Vanessa, Adrianne, Regan (fantastic roomie), and Dr. Laura (the total opposite of the infamous Dr. Laura).  And I also stopped to chat with lots of other blogger/virtual friends: Cate, Em, Jenn, Cassie, Juno, Cassie, Kate, Cara, Cari, Alison, Claudia, Emma Jane, Jillian and a whole bunch of other people I'm forgetting.  I did my best at Blogger Bingo and met lots of new-to-me-bloggers.  I'm giving you the links because I'm hoping they have pictures--we can do one big collective photo album.

The blogger meetup looked a lot like this:

There was lots of yarn of course, and plenty of cute animals:

I'm sure the merinos aren't always this snooty--there was a lot of paparazzi and they were probably not used to it.

I shopped 'til I dropped.  It was really crowded! I also ate some lamb and fried dough (a new experience for me).  I quite liked it.

After we left, we had wine and show and tell.  It was nice to sit and chat with "my people" about the fair, yarn, fiber and all that good stuff.  That's me with Michelle and Anmiryam playing with our new stuff.

We also went out for a dinner where the food was good, the service was not and the company was superb.

Of course we liked it so much we were back bright and early on Sunday.  I didn't buy much more (though I had a few things to pick up for friends) and by 2:20 we were back in the van for the long trip home.  The autumn colours were spectacular and we were happy in our van full of fibre.  We even coined a new term: It's raining like when Rachel is driving.  She should go to drought stricken lands and drive around--the rain seems to follow her.  I was home by just before 11 and was completely exhausted.  It was a great trip.

Tomorrow I'll show off the fibre p*rn. 

New products to make you feel crappy about your body*

A blogger I like pointed out a new product that got me ranting today:

"Not your daughter's jeans".  They are "tummy tuck" pants that have some sort of bondage inspired criss-cross pattern that flattens your middle and pulls up your ass. 

I have two things to say about these, besides WTF?

First, this is just a fancy fucking corset.  It cannot be good for one's insides to cinch in your stomach and butt using criss-cross spandex.  Often too tight pants can cause health problems including infections, bloating (makes the tummy even bigger), and even carpal-tunnel like numbness symptoms in the legs.  Yuck.

And from a purely practical perspective--where the hell is the stuff you're cinching in supposed to go?  This isn't like rolling dough--these jeans don't make you  taller to stretch out the extra lumps.

Second, why not use a model who doesn't need these pants so I can see if they really work?

Wait, three things...(Though that second one is just me being extra bitchy.)

Third, it completely bugs me that this stuff is even made.  <Insert my usual rant about patriarchy and women's bodies and the tyranny of slimness here.>

It reminds me of this new HP camera which has a "slimming function".

Notice how men never have this stuff marketed to them?

Grrrrrr.

And even if it's a day early, Jo is right; I need the button:

*My apologies to those looking for a Rhinebeck post.  I'm at work and haven't had time to download photos etc.

Film at 11

I'm back from Rhinebeck and I had a blast.  There was 1400km of driving and a lot of friends and fibre since I left at 9:30 am on Friday so I'm pooped.

I'll tell you more after I have a nap and catch up on the home and work front.

Pathetic Fallacy

Pathetic Fallacy is a literary term I learned in high school that aways stuck with me.  It's when inanimate objects are endowed with emotions.  The example I remember is when the weather reflects the mood of the story (notice how it always rains when the lovers are separated?).  Or at least I think that's what it is. 

Today I had that going on in spades.  It started raining sometime before dawn, and it hasn't stopped.  As it continued my life and mood ran down the drain like all the fallen autumn leaves into the sewer grate.  Or maybe I'm projecting my mood on the inanimate objects.  Don't you hate it when a good blog idea doesn't work out once you start writing?  I'm too pissy to care so just keep reading.

My office was so hot it gave me a headache and made concentrating almost impossible.  The kids are acting out a lot since their dad is away (day 8 and counting) so I had to deal with a temper tantrum turned into passive resistance (ie not walking) in the pouring rain and the other kid who got soaked in the puddles and wanted to get home because he was cold.  I love to hear "I hate you" from my children.

At home the dining room window leaked like a mo-fo and some of the boxes I packed were soaked and needed to be unpacked.  Of course the worst-off one was full of knitting books--the damage isn't too bad--things are just a bit curly.  I'm more mad that I had to unpack and will have to repack.

There's a mouse in the house, but the traps don't work.  I tried to set them off myself and apparently they're made for tigers, because I couldn't trip them. 

The basement is leaking too.  I've actually stopped caring because I gave my notice today.  The owners can let the house rot for all I care--they've had a good start on it, my dining room wall is starting to bubble with water damage.

And my yarn didn't arrive and none of the cool local shops have it.  I've now given up on having the sweater for Rhinebeck.  And tonight I don't even care--there's beer in the fridge and I'm going to swatch for something new.  That always cheers me up.

Starting to panic

My yarn isn't here.  There are only four more sleeps until Rhinebeck.  I'm getting worried.  Right now I have a one-armed, no neck sweater. 

Do I start calling the local shops to see if they have my yarn (which will ensure that I'm driving to hell's half acre for what I need tomorrow, only to return home to find my yarn in the mailbox) or do I just go through the cedar chest looking for another good sweater to bring?

I have been consoling myself with Lizard Ridge squares, I'm working on number 15, though I'm planning to reknit the one on the bottom left. 

I'm learning to embrace the randomness of kureyon, but it doesn't always work.

Cutting it close

Will I be wearing Cactus Flower to Rhinebeck?  I'm not sure.  My well thought out but somewhat denial based plans have come undone.  And it's not a lack of time that's standing in my way, but a lack of yarn. 

Cactus Flower was a project from the stash.  I had enough summer tweed and almost enough Kid Silk Haze.  The pattern calls for 4 balls, and I had 3 in one dyelot and another in a different one.  I figured I would have enough out of the three for the body and sleeves and would use the fourth on the neck where it wouldn't matter (the cowl is just KSH yumminess). 

The third ball of KSH ran out on the second sleeve.

I have secured another ball in the same dyelot and it was sent from England on Monday.  *Hopefully* it will arrive tomorrow and I can get back to the knitting denial based plan. 

Can all you knitters summon the postage karma for me please?   I'll be doing the seaming and whatever else I can until the yarn arrives. 

Ten

Fourteen to go.