mmm.... coffee.....

i just wanted to be your housewife

that is what i was working on until i got inspired to make a halloween costume:
more skeletal trees, some weiner dogs a la teresa (she used to make adorable stuffed ones that were so fat their legs didn't touch the ground) some toast because i love toast (not just because heidi makes toast!)  and some slugs because with all the rainy weather they've been out & about & i saw a little mustard yellow pair on my way to work a couple weeks ago.  (i'm betting voz will be wanting one of these...)

that is patricia, teresa, me, jodie & allison working busily at craft night this week.  we were all knitting this time, usually one or two of use are doing something else, maybe it's the cold weather inspiring us.  i don't feel much like talking today & i should get back to making pretty boxes at work, but please enjoy the pictures & don't forget to click on them for close-ups.

in the dark it's more likely that you notice light

i'm having one of those days, you know, when everything's just a little bit off?  i can't quite put my finger on it, but i did put my finger under the clamp of the board shear.  yeah.  that hurt.  i keep getting paper cuts today, too - kraft paper cut, chipboard cut, bookcloth cut...  maybe i should leave early?  at least it's lunch time & i can do a little knitting to sooth my addled soul.  when i go home i'm going to make a very small quilt, yes, very very small because i have a few more 6" sq frames.  now that i've decided that i can spend my afternoon daydreaming colors!

no donny, these men are cowards

wednesday was my birthday!  did i forget to tell you?  probably, it didn't feel much like a birthday, although i must be getting older because i didn't get carded at the restaurant nor at the liquor store.  i went out for dinner & drinks with art & kristen, teresa left an awesome bowling themed package in my hall, tara sent a great mix cd, and there were cards & calls aplenty.  on sunday i bought myself some yarn at sakonnet purls "for my birthday" and then some more today at a stitch above.  i know, i shouldn't have, but it was on sale!  how can i resist that?  i caught up on my bills yesterday so that makes it okay, right? 
i put up several of the vinyl clutches in my etsy shop & i'm adding the vinyl cuffs as i make them, too.  unfortunately we have not seen the sun in new england for what feels like months so the photos are terrible, they're much better looking in real life & you know you have to have one...  c'mon!  buy it!  it's just one little cuff, one leetle tiny cuff...  if it makes you feel better here is some of the yarn i bought on sunday (i'm hiding the most expensive one from you as i'm already knitting it into a mini clapotis!)

 

"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. 

dear knitternet,

i thought i would show you what i've been spending all my time on lately.  look, i told you i shouldn't learn how to knit, i told you i didn't have time for another craft.  i blame you, knitternet, with your knitblogs and your hand-dyed yarns, and your endless free patterns.  damn you.  i can't get anything else done, i want to be sewing with vinyl, swapping creatures with other crafters, hell, i should even been cleaning my apartment!  but, noooo, instead i'm knitting, and in this weather, too - it's way too hot & humid to wrap my fingers in wool.  i'm allergic to wool.  who thought alpaca was a good idea?  for that i blame the lady in the knitting store & the alpaca for seeming so silky smooth until i rub my eye & OH GOD THE PAIN.  but still i knit with sweaty hands, itchy eyes & itchy nose.  instead of answering nice people's emails, i read about blocking & dream of drop-spindles & of one day having a "yarn stash."

above is a little scarf from the book of scarves teresa & alison bought.  they both came to craft night & sat down to knit that pattern and, in typical little-sister-syndrome, i had to knit one, too.  the orange is the beautiful, but evil alpaca & the weird stuff is optik by berroco.  they have a new yarn called foliage that i swear is trying to imitate Noro.  speaking of which, here is a crappy photo of my mini noro clapotis:

the colors in the photos are a little off because i took them at night & not in the sun, sorry about that.  i actually knit the clapotis all wrong, but hopefully you can't tell & it'll just be my little secret!  i have yet to block it or even weave in the ends, it was much more fun just to knit & i wish i could afford to make a full size one.  i only did the increase rows once & used two skeins of noro silk garden 201.  i don't know what i'll do with it, perhaps give it to someone i love?  it seems rather manly, i think.

yes please

<--clickylinks!
  well, i was going to call my friend jonathan & see if he wanted to hang out tonight, but instead i have spent several hours drooling over handmade yarn online!  each picture should take you to the spinner's online shop - let me know if any of them don't work properly.  now i can return to this post & remember all the pretty things i want to buy (or you could buy me...)  maybe after the renegade craft fair when i have lots of money...  i swore i wasn't going to learn how to knit, but the yarns are so darn irresistable.  i have allotted myself this past week to play around & figure some stitches out before getting back to sewing my fingers off.
  the alumni sale was great, despite being freezing & damp & standing in a puddle all day.  teresa & i did really well & rewarded ourselves with a trip to ikea today!  we both spent way less than expected because we found these cheap tables to help us get our studios organized.  yes, i have given up on getting my dream workbench built.  if 4 different carpenters can't get it made...  of course, now that i've bought some tables one of them will probably show back up as is often the way things go.

  now please tell me where the charger is to my digital camera battery so i can rescue the pictures on it & start posting all my lovely knitting & my new workspace!  at least if i don't find it this week i can recharge it when i visit my sister next weekend...

i was feeling bad that i didn't do anything for the month of softies, but i couldn't decide what to do.  i'm definitely inspired by this month: the recycled monster, i've been eyeing my bag of old stuffed animals that hasn't made it's way to the salvation army...
  i'm sorry there aren't any pictures in this post, but i am at the bookstore working (only 2 more weeks!) but i did upload a new photo album of what happened late saturday night.  it didn't really rain as much as they predicted, instead there were strong winds & a 3-story tall piece of the neighbor's tree fell against our house!  it hit the back porches, the pictures i took in the night show the view off my porch & of the tree leaning against the house.  my housemates moved their cars to safety & pushed the tree off to the side.  no one was hurt & i don't think much got damaged except for some pots & planks.  i didn't get much sleep after that, though.  sunday was a two-cup-of-coffee day with a trip to the fabric store.  then i stayed up till 3am knitting a little green cotton scarf which is definitely not on my to-do list!

i need a hug

i resisted relearning how to knit for a long time, but last week was horrible & i think i deserved to treat myself to some delicious hand-dyed yarn from uruguay.  it will be a skinny little scarf, all lumpy & uneven, just right for this inbetween weather. 
  knitting these last few days has been just what i needed to occupy my wandering mind.  when i started this journal i wanted it to be all about my art & craft, i wasn't going to post about personal stuff.  except my work is personal & my emotions are all tied up in what i create, or, like last week, in what i don't create.  there is so much that i want to do, sew, draw, make, but i'm so tired.  i feel empty.  i know it's probably better for me, but it's so painful to let someone walk out of your life who has occupied your heart for years.  it's hard to feel inspired & motivated when feeling so alone.  but, i've been surprised to find caring support in new friends & it's brought us closer together. 
  i'm still waiting, but this time with more hope, for a job change.  if it all works out, i think it will be wonderful.  i will have access to incredible equipment & inspirational people & so many good things.  please keep your fingers crossed!