Trip #2

As all good children know that when a steal of a plane fare jumps in your inbox you better take it, because if your folks find out that you passed up on a $300 ticket to visit them they'll be sorely disappointed. And that's how my second trip came about. Very last minute and incredibly cheap. Plus I didn't want to dissappoint the folks!

Honestly, I don't visit my parents as often as I should and my excuse for it isn't a very good one. They live out in the middle of nowhere and there's not much to do except eat and go to the Walmart. And since I'm not a fan of Walmart (I'm a Target Girl) we end up eating. A lot. And on this trip I ate stuff that I can't find easily in healthy California. Like shrimp 'n' grits, country fried steak and BBQ - just to name a few things that I sucked down with such wild abandon that it made me giddy.

But the coolest thing was that I was able to be in town for my Grandma's 91st birthday. And we celebrated with cake and chinese food. It was awesome!

Between Trip #1 and #2

I knew my rest and relaxation was going to come to a crashing halt when I got back to SF. The day before I left for Toronto I had a meeting for a big project that was going to be due the beginning of January. That meant that I needed to have started my part of the project last month. So I was preparing myself for running around with my pants on fire. And it was true. I did. I'm a fan of the original Batman with Adam West and my week between Trip #1 and #2 kinda felt like this:

"They may be drinkers, Robin, but they're also human beings."

Trip #1: Return to The Great White North

Although, it was pretty freakin' warm for November.

Anyhoo, when I moved back to San Francisco in August I promised Michelle that I'd come back for her wedding. At the time I agreed it felt like November was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the fuuuuuuuuuuture. But it came quick as a hare. And boy, was the return trip amazing. The wedding was so much fun. It was perfect in every way. And it gave me the chance to cut loose. Which I really needed since The Move was so stressful. I know Michelle has a bit of wedding burnout but I'm going to post some photos anyway.

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Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Friends opened up their homes to me (big props to Jen, Miko and Amy - ladies, you rock my world!) and the whirlwind of social engagements was dizzying. From the wedding to seeing Cute With Chris Live! to hanging at The Purl to photography in the park to watching the election results in my jammies and eating amazing s'mores - the list of goes on and on and I had more fun than the law should allow!

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Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

The funniest and weirdest thing I did on the trip was take some socks out to photograph in the park by The Purl. I'm keeping some of the pics under wraps but there's a few I'm sharing.

But I tell ya, hilarity ensued what with appearance of a wiener dog and then a small child (see below). As an extra bonus, when I start my rock'n'roll career I already have my first album cover shot.

I definitely didn't spend enough time with some peeps (you know who you are) and there are some I didn't even get to see at all (you definitely know who you are). I'm hoping to remedy that in '09 (along with my lack of cell phone coverage) when I come back yet again.

You may have thought you got off scot-free, but Toronto, you've been warned!

Hello? Is this thing on??!

Testing, testing.

Is anyone out there?

*crickets*

I'm not surprised you left. For the love of all things yarny, I did go away for a long time! And I didn't write. Nor did I call. Bad blogger, indeed. At this time I think passing blame is an excellent idea and I am going to blame the invention of the airplane. If it wasn't for the airplane I would have been home knitting and blogging. But I didn't stay home. I took two wonderful trips. More to come. I promise.

Roses!!

As I mentioned before, Michelle's getting married and I'm so excited to be coming back in TO to celebrate the big day. Also noted before was that she's knitting her own bouquet. I got completely addicted knitting those little treasures during her Wine & Roses party that I volunteered to knit more. Michelle sent me a bag o' yarn scraps and I sent her these:

Most of them are the American Beauty pattern by Nicky Epstein in a variety of yarn and needle sizes. And I love them all. I hope Michelle loves them too!

Ravelry deets here.

If you love tedium, Clap your hands!

This project has been off the needles for a bit but I haven't had the time to post it. Honestly, I thought it would never get done and I would be ripping, knitting, ripping, knitting ad infinitum.

Even with it being such a difficult easy project, I still love the end result. And I love wearing it! The bonus? I've already received a few compliments - which doesn't hurt!

COTTONY CLAP
Started: September 6, 2008
Completed:October 12, 2008
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Dye-Version's Chunky Cotton
Color: Smoke
Skeins: 4
Needles:5mm (8 US) Knitpicks Options
Notes: This took way too long and too much energy to take any kind of notes but I think I only increased to 59 stitches. It's not quite as wide as I would have liked it but the length is perfect.

Ravelry deets here.

Toronto, here I come!!

I'm so excited! In three days I'm going to be back in Toronto. Hanging with my knitting peeps. And it will be so awesome!! I land Thursday (hopefully mid-afternoon) and I'm heading straight to The Purple Purl - no passing go, no collecting $200 - and then enjoying some Knitty Yarn Roundtable time.

The reason for my trip? Michelle is getting hitched on Saturday night and I wouldn't miss it for the world! I decided to stretch the visit out a bit so I'll be in TO for a full week. And I plan to be at The Purl as much as possible.

Oh, and I'm going to see the Cute With Chris live show on Friday night - but that is just the cherry on awesome trip sundae.

Hee!

Cute With Chris - LIVE in TO

So Chris, from Cute With Chris, is putting on a live show of his wildly popular  blog in Los Angeles and Toronto. I was surprised to see that I was going to be in TO at THE SAME TIME. Kismet?!

I know it sounds weird, but I am part of the cult, so I decided that it WAS fate and that I should go. I'm going to buy a single ticket for Friday, October 31st. But I'm thinking that I don't need to see it on my own. That it would be more fun with a friiieeend! And that I should share the crazy Cute With Chris love.

Anybody want to join me? $21 a ticket. And you can buy them here. 

I promise it will be a night you'll remember. Plus you'll get a free button. I hear the kids love buttons.

EDIT:  If you're vaguely interested I would say buy your ticket soon as some shows are already sold out.

I do... it's true!

and this one is for Michelle.

Yarn art!

Awesome/weird yarn art.

Just the facts... honestly!

Here in The States we're in a froth over the upcoming presidential election. And as the election gets closer the rhetoric gets louder the speeches, ads and spin inevitably get nastier. If you're undecided (or just curious) and you want to cut through the bullshit then I recommend two sites - FactCheck.org and it's sister site, The Fact Check Wire. From their mission statement:

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

These sites have been invaluable to me, mostly in debunking a certain political party's dubious claims. It's also cleared up some of the mud the other side has been throwing too. (I'm never a completely decided voter until I'm in that voting booth.)

No matter what side you support, the poo slinging is only going to get worse and it doesn't hurt to be truly informed.

A new online knit mag??!

It looks as if there's new online knit mag for us to ogle over. It's called popknits and their first issue is online. From their about section:

Over the past few years, knitting vintage items has become popular again. Whether the item is a revamped sweater from the pages of Vogue Knitting 1955 or a new take on doily patterns as shawls, vintage knitting is taking a modern turn.

Sounds interesting, no? The first issue has only 6 patterns and they are loverly. I'm smitten with Gossamer Garden Stole. Prrr!

Up for air....

Wow. Can you believe it's been over a month since I posted last? Holy crappers. Things have been crazy. My mind has been mush. And I have been seriously distracted. With the economy taking a big dump and the biggest election ever (or at least in my lifetime) looming only a few weeks away I'm spending a lot of time gnashing my teeth and pulling my hair. I guess I shouldn't be giving myself such a hard time. But I am. What do I have to show for it? Nada. I have no knitting that I can proudly show. I worked on my cotton Clap on what feels like an eternity but it has ended in disaster. See:

Ran out of yarn. With just that wee little bit of corner left to do. I can't bring myself to rip it out, although I probably will. (EDIT: And I did.) I still can't do anything with the yummy malabrigo sock yarn as my swift and ball winder are still packed. Yes, my friends. My crafty supplies are still packed. Two months later.

Oh, and did I tell you that I caught the plague last week? And that I'm still suffering? Oh, woes is me.

But don't feel sorry for me. No sirree, bob! I've been doing the modern day ostrich's head in the sand thing by surfing the world wide internets and I'm quite happy (thankyouverymuch). Interested in what I've been wasting my time over?

Cake Wrecks - Srsly? There is someone out there obsessed with cake design/gaffes and wants to share with everybody? Awesome. Don't know how I stumbled upon this one but I can't look away.

Unclutterer - Moving into a much smaller place than the one you had before will make you reconsider that box you moved three times already (or is it more?) and never opened. I'm on a kick decluttering my life... in between nose blowing.

Wonkette - I love me some snark-tinged news. Especially during an election. It keeps me sane.

CRAFT zine - OMG how I wish I sewedquiltedembroideredweaveddiditmyselfeverytingomgsqueee!!!1!

What blogs do you find suck your time the most/best? Please let me know as I have more time to waste.

This is the site that Paul can't get enough of:

see more puppies

Today two good things happened

I love it when golden moments slip into a rather uneventful yet stressful day.

This morning my doorbell rang. I thought it was the FedEx person. But no!! It was my mailman and he was nice AND he had a package for me. The return address was from The Purple Purl. Were they sending me back my Vine Lace Vest? NOOOOO!!! They sent me a "hey we miss you and heard you couldn't open your box of yarn yet" package. *wipes away tears of joy*

Malabrigo sock yarn. Soooooock yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarn. AND I'M ROLLING AROUND IN IT RIGHT NOOOOOOOOW. Weee! Thank you, ladies, for thinking of me in my dire time! And as if the yarn wasn't enough, I stumbled upon this on my friend Allyn's LJ:

nataliedee.com
click here if you can't read it

Heeeeeee!

a long time coming...

Too tired to talk about these now. I'm a little afraid that if I don't mention them now they won't ever get mentioned... at least not until the end of the year when I do my round up. Ravelry deets here.

Oh lordy

Sorry I've been quiet but I'm having a time with the amount of boxes that are still unpacked. Not to mention that our furniture isn't reeeeeally quite fitting in the new space. And we've had a bit of a heatwave. I have no window covers so the place heats up like an oven. If you're imaging lots of gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair and cursing of words than you are... well... right.

If you've sent me an email I promise that I will respond. Some day. And if you haven't sent me an email, and you'd like to, I promise to get back to you as well. As soon as I have my sanity back. Seriously. I promise. Stop laughing.

half of an FO

I still love these socks...

R.I.P In The Loop Café

It's official. In The Loop Café has shut it's doors for good. *sniff!*