Blargh!

Ever have one of those days when everything you touch just seems to turn to shit? That's been my life since Monday evening. Oddly enough, I had an easy time in Photoshop and Blogger getting my new decorations up.

Refinished Object

After a crummy day, I went to slap my Jayne Hat on for a few minutes while getting ready for bed Monday night. Wearing my doofy Jayne Hat lifts my spirits, so I'll break it out at odd moments. After putting it on my noggin, I noticed a big effing HOLE in the top of my hat that kept running and getting bigger. :( 45 minutes later, I had the top decrease section ripped out and ran a lifeline though the now live stitches and left it for the night. Tonight I re-knit the top, doubly securing the gathering of the stitches at the top of the hat. And making sure the pompom was securely back in place. A Jayne Hat just isn't a Jayne Hat without the pompom! In the picture of my newly recommissioned Jayne Hat, take a gander at my shirt. I bought it from Cafepress 2 weeks ago. It took UPS nearly 2 gorram weeks to ship my Cafepress order from Louisville, Kentucky to the northside of Indy. :-/ Thanks UPS - my Dad's Father's Day gift is now obscenely late. >.<

Redecorated

In case you read my blog via an RSS reader, pop on over and see my redecorated site. Thought I may as well get into the spirit of the season - Harry Potter season that is! With the Order of the Phoenix movie and Deathly Hallows book premiere in a few short weeks, I had to reflect my excitement on my blog. Oh, and if you wonder why I didn't use Gryffindor house colors of gold and burgundy, I'm more of a Ravenclaw house member. :)

Yes, it has grown!

I finished 1/4 of my Knitty Sock Swap knitting yesterday evening (one sock done out of four!), so I picked my Feather and Fan shawl out of the works in progress basket. It's ready for row 54 of the first chart. With 240 stitches per row, it's taking me awhile to get through 2-3 rows per hour. Of course, that was also hindered by watching last night's Dexter rerun. :)

I would be amiss if I didn't apologize for my lack of posting last week. Feeling horrid for 2-3 days really set me behind, and my poor blog was left gathering dust. I'm back with now and hope to resume more frequent posting this week. :)

Covert and Crummy

I'm working on two covert knitting projects at the moment for secret pal swaps. Sorry for the lack of blog fodder. I should be able to finish one of my covert projects tonight, but I feel like asscakes after having a migraine all day. :(

Geek Test Indulgence

Yeah, I took another test and feel the need to share on my blog. I saw this one on trillian42's blog earlier tonight.

Your Score: Outcast Genius

60 % Nerd, 73% Geek, 52% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.



Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).



Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.



Congratulations!
Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

I'm trying to convince myself that my high dork score is due to my asthma. But damn it, I may rule the world yet!! Mwahahah!!!

Progress

I've been catching moments to work on the Feather and Fan Shawl for a few days. After a few evenings worth of knitting on the dpns, it looked like a lunch lady's hairnet. :-/

No, it's not a hairnet!

Much better on circs!

There are still 15 rows or so left in the first chart, but it's all ready on a 24 inch circular needle and over 200 stitches around.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

If bad things happen threes, then disgusting things come in twos. Case in point, yesterday evening around our house.

After work, I made a quick stop at the local grocery store. After the shopping was finished, I popped the hatch of my beloved Escape to find something lurking for me. A quart of milk from last week's grocery store run, or newly forming cheese depending upon your point of view. So glad the top didn't pop off!!

Later in the evening, I stuck my head out the back door to see how Bandit was doing. He seemed to be playing and mouthing....something. I said "Bandit, what do you have in your mou....EEEWWWWWW!" He was bobbling a deceased robin in his mouth and started to shake it. Dogs can be so damned gross!

Weekend in Review

Ever have a weekend so busy that you feel like you needed a weekend from your weekend? That's the point I'm at today. This past weekend was jam-packed with stuff. Biggest news, Hubs got and accepted an offer for a new job. He starts July 2nd. Horray for new opportunities!

I started another new knitting project yesterday evening when I had some down time. I'll be sending it to my downstream Knittyboard Harry Potter Swap Pal. Lemme tell you, this project is a finger/hand killer, but will be oh so cute!

Summer 2007 Knitty hit the interwebs today. In addition to fab new patterns, I found the article on knitting socks for diabetics very informative and applicable to my sock knitting. Several of the my sock recipients have diabetes, and this article provided me with great guidance in what fiber types to use, what type of stitch patterns, and even what type of heel will work best.

Time to crash for the night!

The Finger

After reading about this quiz on knitspot.com, I had to give it a go.

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

More Socks!

Blogger ate my Movie Musings (not so) Monday post last night on Casino Royale. Instead, I give you another finished pair of socks!

Horcrux Socks

Project Specs
Pattern: Horcrux Socks from ImKnittingAsFastAsICan.com
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns "Hedwig"
Needles: Trusty Crystal Palace US1 DPNs
Modifications: To keep the fiddly factor down, these were knit over 4 needles, not 5 as specified. Also I made the cuff a bit longer. Kinda sad that the fab lace pattern in light yarn is lost against my pasty, pale legs.

Started at Last!

After swatching, winding yarn, and drooling for months, I cast on the Feather and Fan Shawl last night at long last. My summer-time opus knitting has begun!

Surprises!

Something came in the mail this afternoon...

A Package from my Spring Fling Pal, Bluetangle!

It had an awesome knitting card, froggy notions pouch (too cute!), Artyarns sock yarn, hand lotion, guitar shaped note paper (have I mentioned that I play bass guitar?), Hello Kitty pen, and Lego magnets. The little frog pouch has made it's home in my Beatle knitting bag - perfect size for stich markers and my Chibi!

Artyarns Sock Yarn - so summery!

Thanks a bunch, bluetangle! You ROCK!

Preparations

Knitting this week has taken on a big theme - preparations for starting the Feather and Fan Shawl from "Gathering of Lace". I've been eyeballing this pattern for a few months after seeing it on the Knitpicks site. Never before have I hashed through an example project before just casting on and starting a new project. But, I didn't want to waste an inch of the beautiful Briar Rose yarn earmarked for this shawl. Tuesday night, I sat down and figured out Emily Ocker's circular cast on. I had a hell of a time with it since I couldn't find an online example video and used pictures instead. Wednesday, I wound the project yarn and was shocked all 2,500 feet (almost half a mile!!) fit on my ball winder.

Briar Rose Fibers "Angel Face" Lace Weight Alpaca

Last night, I sat down with some superwash Cascade 220 to try the start of the shawl. It's a circular shawl, so it starts with a belly-button like cast on in the middle and is knitted outwards. I decided the sample I knit last night was too pretty to just banish to my knitting drawers, so Mom's going to use it as a small doily.

Sample Start of the Feather and Fan Shawl