Tangled Grrl

I should preface this whole post with the following information: I have not slept more than 2 hours at a time in over 7 days. Read at your own risk. Ok, now that the PSA is over I must tell you exciting news! The crocheted Blanket of Neverending Doom is finally for real FINISHED! It only took me somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-9 years but it's really done. It's currently in the dryer though so no pics as proof yet. Tomorrow it will be gracing my bed. I also made a set a of 4 coasters today. And I made an amigurumi. And I frogged a project. And I knit on another project. Oh and I frogged another one and started it over. Why so productive? Because I can't sleep and can barely function courtesy of allergies and asthma that plague me this time of year. I'm under the care of an amazing specialist who has me properly medicated. Even better, he has been treating me for close to 11 years now and knows how to properly threaten me in order to get me to actually take the prescr

I am normally a busy person. I do best under pressure. Lately I have spent less time worrying about my household chores (my house is still cleaned, but looks a little more...lived in) and more time playing with the kids around me. My nephew is 15 months old and recently began walking and talking up a storm. He's a complete terror and I absolutely adore him. I am lucky enough to only live a mile away from him but until recently didn't make as much of an effort as I should have to go and see him. I had work to do. Laundry that needed folded. Floors that needed swept. The last couple of weeks I have gone to see my nephew every couple of days. The laundry piled up a little. I'm pretty sure all three bathrooms need a serious scouring and I probably need to run the dishwasher. But the world didn't end. So today when I had the option of going home or playing in a sandbox with a delightful 4 year old, I picked the sandbox. I got to shovel sand into a dump truck and make vroom v

I have never been a monogamous knitter. I like having multiple projects going all at once. I normally have at least one shawl, a sock, a few big projects and some that caught my eye and I have to knit them Rightthissecond. That being said, this whole Ravellenic Games knitting is kicking my butt. I'm working on just my project and only my project since opening ceremonies. I'm knitting the Color Affection finally and it's wonderful. But I miss my other projects! I'm almost done and very excited that it looks like I will meet my goal. But seriously. I miss knitting socks. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Anyone in the fiber community who knows anything of Ravelry knows what has been going on the last 24 hours. The USOC sent a cease and desist letter that was tactless, rude, insulting and just plain mean. Their reasoning was sound. They have to protect their trademark. But they did it poorly. Knitters united. Some with hate, some with venom, some with tact, some with kindness. But they united to voice their opinions on what they took to be a personal attack on what they love. That united front received international attention. It generated not one, but 2 apologies. It resulted in the head of the USOC admitting they were insensitive. It resulted in NPR taking notice. While I may not agree with all other knitters about their tactics I do recognize that maybe, just maybe, we helped stop another organization from receiving their inflammatory, insensitive and insulting standard form cease and desist letter. If we helped make their legal department or their interns or their leader take notice

I'm a horrible blog owner. I always come up with all of these wonderful things to write about and then never actually write anything down. I am pretty sure there's a whole stack of post-it's floating around my house full of fabulous ideas. Of course I won't find them again until I'm once again feeling too lazy to type anything. So you're just getting my normal rambling instead of well constructed ideas. I have moved yet again. This time into a house that feels more like mine. My boyfriend and I have been house shopping for months and finally found one! He bought it but we both picked it out. It's been a trial of wills and patience but I think we are working through the clutter and each others' idiosyncrasies pretty well at this point. One of out big sticking points is the craft clutter I possess. We are in disagreement on where it should all go. He has no problem with the massive amounts of yarn and scissors etc that I have, he simply thinks they should

Today was a horrible day at work. In an effort to keep my New Years resolution of being Happy I decided to leave work at work and focus on better things. Here's a list of things I absolutely love in no particular order: 1. My iPad (although I won't lie, I'd love to trade it for the brand new one) 2. Seche Vite top coat because now I can paint my nails AND still knit the same evening 3. China Glaze nail polish, particularly the color For Audrey. 4. iPad/iPhone apps that actually make life better. Like Goodreader because now I can make notes right on my knitting patterns. 5. Anything that's teal or turquoise. Or hot pink. 6. Mini Stitch dots stitch markers. (If you Iike knitting with skinny yarns and do a lot of yarn overs invest in these. They retail about $8.99 for 30 and come in a super cute case. They are worth every penny. No more lost yarn overs.) 7. Pizza and calzones. 8. Wearing my hand knit shawls. 9. Wearing my hand knit socks. 10. Knowing I have finally managed

When I first started knitting a little over a year ago the only things I wanted to make were sweaters and socks. That was my whole reason for really learning to knit. I swore I could crochet anything else I wanted. But everyone knows sweaters and socks are better knit (insert sarcasm button here). In the last year I have knit exactly 0 sweaters. I have queued patterns and even bought a few. Do I have the yarn for them or even begun to cast one on? Nope. One of the knitted items I saw everywhere but didn't see a purpose for were those fancy lacy shawls. I figured I would never wear one. Ever. They were for old ladies who couldn't ever get or stay warm. What use would I have for one? I now have 6 completed shawls. That I wear. Almost daily. I test knit patterns for the talented Mindy Wilkes. I queue more shawls than any other pattern. I have drawers of fingering weight yarn bought only to use for knitting shawls. I even joined the group 12 shawls in 2012. And I have knit 3 shawls

I love New Years resolutions. Mostly I love breaking them. I don't know why. Probably because it makes me feel like I can be a rule breaker without any real consequences. Most years I make up a zillion and most never make it to midnight on New Years Day. This year I did away with all of that. My New Years resolution? Be Happy. That's it. No fanfare, no trying to fit into clothes that I wore in high school, no quitting smoking, no trying new things that scare me, etc. Just Be Happy. Or in the words of The Bloggess be Furiously Happy. I like to think I'm doing a good job of it. I got out of a destructive relationship. I cut off 14 inches of my hair and am donating it to Locks of Love (when I manage to get around to sending it that is). I cast on new projects that I want to make just for myself instead of feeling guilty for the 10 or so WIPs I already have going. I bought an overpriced purse that was on mega sale. I took on additional responsibilities at work. I stayed up A