mmm.... coffee.....

steamers, calamari & clamcakes

oh hello dream coffee maker!  my sister & her husband received the dream coffee maker when they got married & i am so very jealous of it.  you may (or not) have noticed that i added :edit: thingie to the lower left of my journal.  :edit:  because when you do i make a little money.  a very little money.  but it adds up - i already have enough to buy a cup of coffee!  Abby is moving out (still haven't found a new roommate...) and the coffee maker i've been using belongs to her.  she's leaving tomorrow.  the plan is that you all :edit: & help me raise some money to buy a lovely new coffee maker!  maybe not the dream coffee maker, but really anything would be nice since by morning i will be wandering around bleary-eyed & depressed & desperately in need of some coffee.  so please help & maybe buy some discount yarn or a magic scarf... or just mindlessly click on it. i don't care, i just want a coffee maker.  so i can make coffee.  mmm... coffee...

"old israel's arid plain, it's magnificent, but so's maine"

i'm giving you lots of photos to look at since i have finally exhausted the tiny blue laptop!  who knows what it's fate will be, poor sad little limping laptop.  (it barely qualifies as one since it has to be tethered to an outlet at all times)  it had become a storage facility for my digital photos, but as of this evening it has less than 200MB left!  my camera has more memory than that.  i was hoping it would last until my birthday/christmas when i could ask for assistance in buying a real computer...

mm, apple coffee cake & coffee.  apple cake made from aforementioned translucent apples from the farmers market down the street.  awesome diner-style mug from maine & second only to the hand made one by Carole Beal.  mod little plate from my collection of Taylor Smith & Taylor dishes.  and how could i resist a little skein of recycled silk yarn from Nepal?  any suggestions on what to knit with it - i hear it's quite a bitch to handle...

i got this cool robot cuff from Jill Killjoy at Renegade & wear it constantly - it has survived being caught out it a couple rainstorms including the one that lasted the exact amount of time it took us to pack the car & leave Manhattan the monday after the sale. the adorable fetal skull is by allie's oddities & i also got it from a trade that weekend.  i keep it at work - hopefully it will frighten away anyone who even thinks about touching something on my desk!  it is photographed beside my hand-carved bone folder.

another at-work photo: a super cool chair i found in a corner, buried beneath spiderwebs & mouse poo & other old furniture.  (can you tell where the lab desks were ripped out?)  i think it looks quite lovely in my room & will be the perfect spot for taking a break & sipping some coffee!  here's my little head with my mohawks crappily fanned out for the first time!  (i usually use elmers to spike them up)

i frogged an old sweater of mine, a wool/cotton blend, & played with koolaid dyeing since it was too hot to iron little silk origami flowers Friday.  the yarn is wonderfully soft & i already knit some of it into a delicate scarf pictured somewhere below.  (hey, anyone notice the swanky new knittermeter on the right?)  now i understand, it's really hard to take a photo of yourself modeling scarves!  many many scarves...  especially when one is allergic to the scarves...

manos del uruguay variegated wool knit on giant heirloom needles,
berroco hiphop needing blocking & weaving in,
first FO ever scarf in noro silk garden.

infamous evil alpaca scarf - alpaca blend with berroco optik,
misty garden from scarf style, again, recycled sweater,
neat woven thread scarf neighborSusan bought in SanFran.

still here?  well, i'm finally off to Maine in the morning.  as you can see, i have shaven off the mohawks.  i was kind of sad about it, but i can't be bothered with doing my hair when i'm in maine.  MAINE!  i love maine.  gotta pack, i'm going to maine.  bye.

dumdee dumdeedum dumadum day, oh-oh new england. 

canned heat?

i think it was pre-determined that i would be frustrated at work today.  despite a very pleasant walk in with neighborSusan & her lovely dog Hollow, i don't feel like i'm handling things well.  i keep thinking i'll get something to leave the room, but them i am thwarted.  again.  i am overwhelmed by the amount of large fragile things that cover every possible workspace & even the floor & it's always someone else's job to decide where it belongs!  & teresa is not here.  she is in california, normally i would call her & we would get lunch & grumble about work.  i need to tell teresa about the large warp in time & space that is occurring in my dining room that only she & her dad would understand...

it's freezing in here again, the thermometer claims it to be 67 degrees,  but i think it lies.  how does one measure the wind chill?  i'm sorry, i'll stop.  instead of more complaining, here are some pictures i've been keeping in my digital camera for one reason or another, but mostly because they make me smile:

like t' hear it, here it go

 

finally!  here are the first bunch of pictures from renegade last weekend (was it really only last weekend?)  this is our little tent set-up with our lime green sign that attracted people to our table - especially coffee drinkers!  they'd walk up to me & ask "are you the coffee drinker?"   
one of our neighbors was the Amazing Talking Paintings & they were amazing & talked & some were rather suspicious...  on the right is heidi of mypapercrane & her husband with all her yummy stuff: i ran up to her pile of hand-spun yarn & just hugged it because it was so wonderful!  i love her cute pink hair, too!

my sister lee took us to Patsy's for real NYC pizza, note the life-sized portrait of Frank Sinatra behind her.  it was the most delicious thin crust pizza & we ate 2 whole pies of it!  kristen was telling a story in the picture on the right, but i don't remember what it was about...

 

a little photo of teresa enjoying some coffee from the corner store before attempting to navigate the BQE for the second time.  after the sale ended on sunday my brother-in-law jo insisted we go out to a german beer garden with him so here jo is with his giant glass of beer & plates sausages!  (there was also potatoes, but mostly sausages)

i hope that is enough for now, i'll post more when i get teresa's pictures & still to come are the photos of the awesome trades i brought home...

wee-hoooo!

i got it!  i got the job!  man, oh, man, do i feel relieved, it's wonderful to get good news when you're feeling down.  so for at least the next 2 years i will be working in the John Hay Library making all sorts of boxes & other enclosures!  i'll be working less, but making more per hour, so the plan is to have the time to make all that stuff i was whining about wanting to make!

speaking of which, i'm sorry, but i had teresa take down the slithy tove & mome rath from her shop because i need to start making creatures for the RISD Alumni Sale on April 30th.  we also got into the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn on june 25 & 26th and i'm making some creatures to send to Art Star in Philly!  if you really have to have one of the jabberwocky creatures i might be able to make some more in a few weeks & i still have a couple more to sew.  thank you all for waiting & the rest of the little guys are getting mailed out once the torrential downpore ceases in providence!  the talented mimi kirchner just got hers...

< thank you so much to everyone that sent me kind words last week, i really appreciate all of your support & encouragement.  teresa has been so nice to drive me places & make sure i eat dinner & kristen gave me the little coffee book at craft night.  i ran off to nyc for the weekend to be comforted by my sister & fed bagels & lox & mimosas.  it was super fun & i hope i'll get down there more often in the coming months...  if she can afford to keep feeding me!

 

fleetly flit i fly

i'm just back from the south & just heading to the north!  i've been visiting my parents in south carolina & buying fabric, when i get back from maine i'll put up pictures of all the delicious new patterns.  i also sewed on my mom's bernina & made a little something for my sister & jo...