Never Enough Time

See my plant? This is one of my garden successes, Bee's Balm. I never knew its blooms would be so pretty.

My Jasmine is apparently not getting enough sun to bloom though it is growing well. The Rosemary is flourishing and the only thing that keeps it from being a photo op is the funky split down the middle that makes me want to remove half the plant. The Sage and Lavender are recovering beautifully from Deans mowing last yr and I am looking forward to them next yr. The Salvia is thriving and if I ever remember I will get pictures of it.

The new plants are setting in and I should probably give them a once over with a little pruning and TLC. Lowes had Peonies for 13 dollars, I was so tempted, but this is really not the right time of yr to plant it and I do not have the time or money. Next yr I really want to put in Strawberries and Raspberries and expand my herb collection. something to look forward to.

I feel like I accomplished very little this weekend. of course I feel like Sunday was a total loss. Saturday I got up at a reasonable time and took care of all the dishes and did some baking, and well that felt like quite alot for a Saturday morning, we spent all afternoon with our friend Esther. Which means we got home late and bed even later.

Sunday I got up to early to talk to Lori about R2R. I am having trouble getting the upload images to work on the forum, and I can still not find the mod for group invites I want. I went grocery shopping before Indra woke up, got home and made her breakfast and then took a nap, baked and then took a nap, baked some more, Some where in there I did manage to do some laundry and take some pictures before I passed out for the night. I was still exhausted this morning. And now the kitchen is a mess, because while I baked I didn't clean up.

I got the first clue for my Slow Bee KAL. I have already learned alot like how to do decreases easier. I have also learned that, Cones do not travel well, that even with 20 rows 19 stitches across you need to count your stitches every row and have some way to keep track of what row you are on and mark it on the pattern. As soon as I have finished it there will be bad pictures. I promise :)

Oh Yeah!

I promised a while ago to tell everyone one about my fun with Kool-Aid. I did not have as much fun as who ever dyed these lambs (they were for a children's day at a library). I am really considering getting a white pet just so I can dye it like these lambs they are adorable. On to the show, here is what I did.

I was originally dyeing the yarn for my Slow Bee KAL but it turned out that the yarn was to think and their wasn't enough of it. Who knew Lace yarn was so thin! Now I have about 1000 yds of hand dyed angora blend I get to play with.

So I started with a sweater that was a very pale pink and rather ugly and did alot of very careful unraveling. I discovered that unraveling directly to my swift is a real time saver, unfortunately I have two sweaters already unraveled and sitting in big fluffy heaps waiting to be wound up. Oh well someday I will be either that bored or that desperate, until then it isn't getting any more tangled.

I then looked over the Kool-Aid I had on hand to see what I had to work with, it was a rather poor assortment since we don't really drink the stuff. But I rounded up enough for these samples and I was more impressed with the lemon lime then I had thought and the reds were really lovely. Who knew Kool-aid could be so, well Cool?

The colors I decided on were blue lemonade with a touch of the lemon lime. I ended up dying it twice because I didn't think the colors were dark enough (still don't) but it turned out pretty nice). I am not sure if the problem was my math or something in the procedure but I am happy with the results even if they are little more subtle then I had planned.

K is for....

K is for Knit Knacks, Font is Knits and Scraps

Some of the little Knit Knacks I have collected. If you are interested Flickr tells you what everything is.

G is for Glovely

G is for Glovely, Font is Guttenberg, Pattern is Nona Knit's I-cord Gloves.

I promise this is the last time i will use this project for a letter. But I really really like these. And the seam on the thumb has me all worked up, isn't it beautious?

F is for..

F is for Five Fingers. Font is Freebooter. Pattern is
Nona Knits I-cord Gloves.

I am fascinated by this pattern it is so cool to have five little fingers floating around on a pair of circulars just waiting for the rest of the glove. I kind of feel like Goldilocks, the first glove was too big, the second one was too small, and the last one was just right. Guess that means I am going to have three pair of gloves instead of just one when I am done.

Oops I did it again...

I missed updating this week despite composing several entries in my head driving to and from work. I had a bumper sticker to share 'Save the Planet, More Trees, Less Bush!' and a billboard, 'I am so over you Sarah Marshall', I was disapointed to find out it was an ad for a movie and not a more personal statement.

It was a rough week though, long hours not enough sleep and way to much stress. I will be so happy to get back to our own place. So let me give you the quotes I had picked out in honor of the new car and the old one not dying yet...

Xander quickly pulled over, as his engine made noises that he didn't know were possible without an extensive special budget and George Lucas being involved.

and

“Okay, then,” Dawn agreed, “Floor this thing.”
“This is Giles’ car, Dawn,” Xander sighed.
“Would leaning forward help?”
“Probably...”

I finally got the pictures of my pouch (sounds better then purse) uploaded and thought I would share it. It is almost perfect. I would like the strap to be a little shorter and am thinking of reinforcing the bottom and sides so it isn't quite do pouch like. Ain't it purty though?

Also added today (why yes I have been busy) are some more links on the left.

I'm a Big Kid Now!

I feel all grown up. I have a car that runs, my own phone, And soon I will be moving into my own home. The surprise for Indra on Monday, was the new phone and I got a hair cut. My hair was driving me absolutely bonkers. I was actually contemplating cutting it myself. So when I found myself with an hour free I got it cut. It is wonderful. I have been walking around in a new phone, haircut and car haze all week.

Continuing the trend of non fanfic quotes here is one from my favorite poet.

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. ~ Ogden Nash (1902 - 1971)

My new phone is a 'slider' and a lovely shade of brown. So I am making a purse to carry it and the rest of my pocket trash so it doesn't get all banged up. I am making a purse and not a pouch like previously so Indra won't diss it. I am using my brown S.R.Kerster, the real worsted acrylic and King Cole Smooth DK, Teal Acrylic. Yes it will be in Ravelry and soon there should be pictures (maybe even pictures taken with my phone!).

I finished my Easter Egg Bunny Cozies and let my friends claim their favorites. I still have several left and am not sure what I am doing with them. If anyone wants one let me know asap, and I will mail it out. The taken ones have been tagged in Flicr.

Good Day

I am having a pretty good day, and yesterday wasn't bad either. I had homemade egg noodles with chicken and mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. And Sunday we went to see that car and it was nice! It is the first car I have owned that wasn't old enough to drink.

I finished knitting bunnies and have found new homes for some of them but there are still plenty left. And today I started a new project (I decided I needed a little purse because the pocket method of tranporting everything isn't working.) I measured for Lisa's cardi Saturday, and it will take less hexagons than I thought, but the arms are going to be a bugger to fit together.

I got Indra a couple suprises I think she is going to love. they certainly have me all bouncy in anticipation. I am predicting much squeeling and bouncing. But more on that latter... when she can't ruin the suprise by reading.

The image is the rough for a T-shirt contest Work is having. When finished there will be a hot dog on it.

E is for Eleven Eclectic Easter Egg bunny cozies!!!

E is for Eleven Eclectic Easter Egg bunny cozies!! Font is Eskargot.

Go to
Flickr to see the rest. I will be giving all the bunnies away, so if you would like one drop me an email (Tblackthorne@gmail.com) with your address and a description of the bunny you desire. Friends have first pick, and I will tag the bunnies taken as I get requests.

All in a row

This picture is the only reason for this post



Look at all the little bunnies in a row. So sweet. And the little white one is angora and oh so soft.

Answers

Ok so apparently I am warped cause consensus says I am the only one who saw a hairy boob. In my defense I beleive the word Breast was part of my image search (I was looking for a knitting pattern, don't remember which one now).

So another question What kind of person that has a liscence plate number of SUBARU and drives a Chevy? Some days the drive to work can be quite entertaining. For instance they changed all the hockey signs to Baseball signs and there is a new one that says 'Souvenir is French for Foul Ball'. It always makes me smile.

I have been knitting Easter egg cozies, they are fun and adorable and there will be pictures soon. But the reason I brought it up is I made one of them with recycled angora and why did no one ever tell me how wonderful this stuff is. It is almost orgasmic to knit with I swear.

Q and A

'How do you stop depreciating a dead goat?' has got to be my all time favorite question here. And gives you a fair Idea of the insanity I face daily. Now I have asked alot of people here that question and got a lot of answers but no one has answered the real question, why were they depreciating a dead goat to start with and why stop? did it suddenly become not dead?

And then there is this picture. I came across it browsing Google and at first glance I thought it was a breast. Actualy the thought that went through my head was 'huh, I didn't know hobbits had hairy tits' So am I the only one that sees a hairy boob when you look at the picture?

I set up direct deposit but for some strange reason got a paper check today. So tomorrow I have to hit the bank and deposit it. I hope next time it is straightened out because personaly it is annoying.

Hump Day

I have decided that Wednesday is Quote Day! Why? because I have all these quotes to share and Monday and Friday are too busy to do it then. Keep in mind that the majority of these come from either Buffy or Harry Fanfic, and I am not going to attribute most of them because I don't remember where I got them.

Here is the first quote of the day...

“Gorgonzilla?” Ron asked as the map swung open. “What is that?”
“A type of animated cheese.” She answered confidently. “From Milan.”
“Animated cheese?” Harry asked, confused. “Why would anyone animate cheese?”
“Strangely enough, it was created as a surveillance and assassination tool at the bidding of a man named Metternich. He didn’t want to be traced, so he went through Milanese wizards, but a combination of bad luck and bad choices exposed him to—“

Some quotes are better, some are worse, but they all amused me.

I sent of My contributions to Purlescence's storyteller competition. It cost me 48 dollars. 48 dollars! Thats alot of yarn (or chocolate). I learned two things from this experience, it is cheaper not to procrastinate and pen pals in foreign countries are a bad idea. I almost decided not to send it, but I really wanted to be in the textile exhibit they have going and I had already told them I was sending the stuff.

I went back to the Dr yesterday because the bronchitis was still making me huff and puff. The Dr gave me an inhaler to use twice a day and told me if that didn't do it they could always shoot me. The inhaler has me a little nervous, there was a long list of rules for its use that summed up was hazardous substance use only if you are already dying. And it tastes bad.

On the way back I stopped and picked up my glasses. As soon as I have a picture I will share, cause they look good on me! Unfortunately the left lens has the wrong prescription and the ear pieces are loose so the glasses keep sliding down. But that is easy enough to fix, it will just have to be later, I am busy now.

I'm blind!

Isn't this picture gorgeous? And just for Indra I have linked it to the flickr page I got it from (thanks to Cute Overload).

I started on some fingerless gloves for me today. because A. my fingers are darn cold and B. I am not in the mood to work on socks. I have to get the socks finished this weekend if I am going to however. Talk about pressure. And I need to remeasure Celebration before I continue knitting. Anouther weekend project, I think I will steal one of Lisa's shirts and do that Sunday.

As I was planning my knitting I was reminded of my Play it Forward I am looking forward to figuring out what to make and send. I still need two more people to sign up though.

I didn't post yesterday because I spent most of the day changing my blog. It is now 100 pixels wider! But on my computer the paper background has a small jog on the upper right hand side that is driving me crazy! I can't figure out what is causing it or how to get rid of it. Indra doesn't see it on her computer but I see it on Frog's. Any ideas?

I want my glasses, Now that I know how much my perscription has changed I feel even blinder then usual. Now it might just be my sinuses giving me hell due to the weather. Or lack of sleep. but the bottom line is my monitor is to far away for me to see clearly, heck the bottom line is fuzzy too come to think of it.

And a last little bit of goodness, brought to you by Cute Overload.
Feltidermy! its disturbingly cute!

looking for a silver lining

I am mightily peeved with the car situation. Once again I thought I had everything ready to go and I was thwarted, by an evil government conspiracy! Evil, I say! Apparently The car was registered in Fannin county where the lucky people don't do emissions testing. So I have to get the car inspected so it can pass the emissions test before they will transfer the title. It is almost enough to make me go straight so I could tell some man it is his job to take care of the darn car!

To top off this badness Indra's computer is heading down hill fast. We are not sure what it is but it is giving her blue screens of death periodically through out the day (about once an hour). So this weekend in my copious free time I get to dig around in computer innards to find out what needs replaced. I just hope it is something cheap.

And... My elf shoe toe is just not pointing. I have tried several different things and started multiple times to no avail. I even resorted to browsing Ravelry for ideas, I was not reassured when I saw what currently is available in pointy toes. It was sad, and I will do better. Unfortunately I have a deadline I need to figure it out this weekend so I can send it in.



Goodness is just around the corner though. (see above: pick axe cosy pictures). And I have my kismet lace pattern mostly figured out (including what yarn to use). I have decided socks are my next project until I get a better handle on short rows, cause currently they are giving me a headache. And hey, Socks, everyone needs socks right? Though I have been seriously contemplating doing some quick fingerless gloves for work here one day when I am not so sinusy.

I am really looking forward to getting my glasses. I am hoping it will help with the headaches and itchy dry eyes. Sides I picked out cool glasses besides using my favorite frames for computer glasses. The big problem is going to be keeping the animals from playing with them and me from loosing / stepping on them.

Cutie Pie

Linkage today cause I got stuff that is just too good not to share. Like these Knit Cupcakes, or the Eglu from Omlet, even the names are cute. And then there are gems like this.. The daily Coyote. Of Course we can't forget the King of cute, Cute Overload!

The weather is miserable, Indra is miserable and I am not happy about either situation. I am making remarkable progress on Celebration (secret project for Lisa) it is soooo pretty! (pictures on flickr) And I finally got pictures of my Pick Axe cosy to upload tomorrow. And I think perhaps the best thing is I will have Saturday evening to myself! I am really really looking forward to that. Oh and eye appointment on Sat so pictures of me with my favorite glasses soon.

B is for Beautiful

B is for Blossom and Betty sister designs, Font is Bradley Hand ITC, These are the first items I designed myself

This is my B picture for the ABC along I signed up for. I loved the way Blossom turned out and plan to make some alterations and give her a brother, Bud before I share the patterns. She is meant to be used for those first newborn pictures, something fancy and impractical that makes the baby that much more adorable. forget stocking caps and onsies, This is the way to go!

The Secret of Cozies!!!

I have discovered the secret of the Cozy. It is not hideous acrylic yarn in garish colors it is RUFFLES! You know I am finding this whole Pick axe cozy thing fun. I may have to make more cozies so I can explore the relationship between gaudy acrylic yarns and ruffles that produce kitchy goodness. I think next it will be a mailbox cozy.

Last night I stopped by Whole Foods for Esther. That place is Evil! Evil I tell you. They greeted me with a blast of hot air that smelled Divine and then led me on a merry chase through aisles of overpriced specialty goods I would love to try. I mean come on, grind your own peanut butter? its just too much. And then there is their whole bakery/bistro/food thing. It was 8:30 at night I was starved. I managed to get away with just a slice of BBQ chicken pizza, but Damn was it GOOOOD! There was crispy bacon on it and melty cheese and real onion bits. and none of it tasted like it came from the supermarket produce section. I also got a sample of Turkish delight, I have been curious about it for a while but unwilling to pay 10 bucks a pound. It was good, and the lemon sugar was nice but not worth the money in my book.

Some where in all the talking Esther and I did last night I realized I had graduated from caretaker to enabler where Indra is concerned. Not a happy realization, but with any luck I will be over this phase soon. Make me wonder what role is Indra playing in my life?

I have been browsing Ravelry this week and I am scared. Cause I live in Texas most sweaters just don't look like they are worth the time to knit. And I am not a shawl type person, have no children and refuse to knit for the dog. All that leaves is socks, and I don't wanna be a sock knitter! Not that I have anything against socks. Socks can be quite nice but it is like knitting nothing but scarves for the rest of your life. I would go crazy! (well crazier). I am thinking Lace might be a good thing to knit especially if I get involved with the SCA like Esther and I have been talking about. I think though I just need to move somewhere cooler.

Winter wonderland

It was and is COLD. Darn Cold in fact. And more then a bit windy. I was not happy this morning. I was cold, I stopped to get gas and opted to pay inside so I could warm my hands over their hot dogs and other assorted hot foods. It made me wonder how fast I could knit a ski mask or a nose warmer at the very least. I didn't get warm til I got to work and got a hot chocolate from the cafeteria, it was made with steamed milk and was really more like hot milk with a hint of chocolate, but boy was it good. Next time I need marshmallows though.

I had plenty of time since I didn't get to register the car (get to try to do that again tomorrow) so I stopped by Lowes to measure their pickaxes. On the way out I browsed there garden department, they had all their stuff out for spring planting. It made my fingers itch to buy things to plant, never mind that it was freezing outside and I am a lousy gardener. They had Peonies and Raspberries and all sorts of lovelies. And I love Peonies and Raspberries and have never been able to find them in Texas before. But I was strong and resisted temptation.

Today has been slow at work so I have spent time browsing Flickr and Ravelry. Random searches are great things. they let me find things like this series of pictures. Zoo Keeper Says. All these images, funny and otherwise, really make me wish I was better with a camera so I could share the things I see with others.

Acrylic Blech!

Ok so here it is the very rare knitting post. I have started knitting on my Pick Axe cozy. In the interest of money (and bright colors) I went with Red Heart Acrylic. And I am here to tell you it is horrible stuff. All plasticy and harsh. very blechy and icky and just plain old disgusting. I can't imagine why someone would willingly knit with this stuff. ::shivers::

apparently my usage of the word disappointing in my last post needs explanations, I am not disappointed in what I receive, I am actually disappointed before I even receive anything. Perhaps disappointed isn't the best word, but it is the only one I can think of. I just don't like gifting occasions.