They’re done! My Serendipity socks are FINISHED! Have been for about a week now or more, really, but I finally got the pictures online. And got around to blogging about it. For the last week, I’ve been sick-sick-sick, and it’s been no fun at all. This last year has been rather poor, healthwise, for me. Would be nice if that’d change! But I’m loving these socks like crazy! :) Makes all those hours spent worthwhile.

Also, I’ve been knitting two other pairs of socks. One, the Ampersand Socks I’m knitting for my friend R., have no photos yet, since a) it’s supposed to be a surprise, and b) uh, I’m lazy. Get over it. I’ve only got one sock done, though, and am waiting to do the other until I can confirm it’ll be the right size. :)

The other pair is the March Mystery Entrelac Socks, which are… yes, socks with entrelac.

They’re lovely socks, in bright springy colors. Jury’s still out on whether I like the top entrelac portion or not. I figure I’ll give it some time to grow on me before I really decide. Everyone except A. (and me, yes) likes it a lot.

Also, started my new kitty hat, but I’ve barely begun that at all. I figure that’s a good project to take along with me on my weeklong vacation next week! Another thing I’ll be doing on my vacation? Mailing out my Wee Tiny Sock Swap Sock! I just signed up this morning, and due to my vacation, am already knitting my tiny sock! This’ll be fun!

Another swap I’ve signed up for is The Loopy Ewe Swap, which not only involves a great swap of stuff, but also, of knitted items made from one of the many yarns available at The Loopy Ewe! I’ll probably make my pal socks, but we’ll see. I’m in love with that store, though - The Loopy Ewe? Great shop, great service, great stuff. I even managed to get Mom to order me some yarn for my birthday from there!

Haven’t done one of these in a while, so… here I go. This week’s Friday’s Feast.

Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Celebs? Gosh, I don’t know. I have a vague phobia of the entire celeb ‘class’ in general and like to scoff at anyone like that… but I do think that being The Yarn Harlot would be kind of fun. Celeb status in a certain circle, but not too celeb for my tastes!

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

Five, maybe six. I don’t really like to talk on the phone - it just happens to be the only way I can actually have conversations with certain people that isn’t either a) on the internet, or b) without major interruptions from other people.

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

This winter I donated (not much, granted) to Feed the Children, but have swiftly been irritated by their continual harassment for more and more money… and their religious slant.

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Cheese. And I DO eat it every day. Seriously. Or potatoes. In any form. Both together? Even better.

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Nope! Not yet, anyway. Sinus problems, allergies, maybe a cold - yes. But the flu? No. And no flu shot, either.

Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? This week’s FF wasn’t really that inspiring to me, so let’s talk about something else. Like the fact that I’ve embroidered my first tea towel ever! And actually, it went faster than expected. (Certainly faster than my socks are going, though at least I got the first one done and have finished the ribbing on the second!)

I’ve been going through old Workbasket magazines, finding ancient history (Okay, since 1964 anyway… ancient enough, well before I was born, anyway) embroidery transfers (so cute!) and the ugliest knitted and crocheted and otherwise crafted things EVER. Fun to look through! And gah, the hairstyles! And, as A. would say, THE TEETH! (She’s a bit of a teeth fanatic, to be honest, and those unperfect, unstraightened, non-bleached teeth shocked her a bit, I guess.)

I’ve been sorting out the ones with transfers, wondering whether to use them (and risk destroying them, maybe? I don’t know…) or do some copying of them with tracing paper and a transfer pen before I touch them. Hard to say. But I’m anxious to start embroidering something else! Heck, this is an even more portable project than knitting - it doesn’t require me to carry around magazines, books, or copied sheets of patterns!

In other news, I’ve finally finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Great book, truly great, and it would’ve been finished ages ago if I could’ve put down the knitting long enough to read it. Erm. You might say I have a bit of a problem, yes? Anyway, though the author is definitely passionate about her family’s food choices (all local food, with few exceptions, for a full year) the book is really just the story of one family’s year of “living on the farm” with a little political and environmental data thrown in. It reminded me oh so strongly of the Little House series - one family’s living with nature, for better or for worse, part story, part inspiration, part instruction manual, part values. The best part? It describes the sort of life I want to live perfectly.

I’ve always been attracted to stories like Little House on the Prairie - stories about independence, a connection to the land, making do with what you have, creating something from nothing, survival, sacrifice, and warm, happy home with good, fresh food. Stories like that have always tugged at my soul - and in the past few years, the idea of living as independently as I can - growing food, raising animals, owning not just a house, but a home. I want that for myself. I want that life; I want those stories to be mine.

But how do I get there from here?

Thirteen Random Things

Wow, do I suck at keeping good habits going, or what? I haven’t done one of these since… OCTOBER. Jebus….

1. I want to make some pantaloons. You know, for that old timey prairie fashion feeling, because I bet they’d be comfy under my long skirts!
2. A couple months ago, I purchased the Stitch It embroidery kit, and last night, i sat down and actually got to stitching! Soon to be done with my first ever embroidery work! Pictures will follow.
3. My reading input has drastically taken a dive now that my knitting output has increased. Yikes. I’m nearly finished with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and it’s an excellent read! Got it from my understocked library, of all places, and will buy it soon! But perhaps in paperback.
4. I declare March the meditation month, and though I’m five days late, I’m starting today - five measly peasly minutes of meditation no less than three times a week, preferably five. How hard could it be?
5. I finished Dad’s Dashing mitts! Woot.
6. Also? I need more aprons. The only one I have is very… gingerbready. Also, after wearing said apron, I also want one that’s a bit more… ruffly. You know, not as utilitarian. More flowing, less stiff. Need a new pattern, yo!
7. I got in one of two college applications after a trip to the doctor to pick up my immunization record. The lady there was rather rude. I walked up to the window and waited patiently for her to get done with whatever she was doing, and she looks up at me and goes: “Do you need something?” as if I’m just standing there for no bloody reason at all. I tell her that I’m just there to pick up an immunization record and it should be waiting for me. She glared at me like I’d just told her I was there to audit her damned taxes, sorted through a few envelopes, and handed me one in a huff. To her credit, it was a Monday morning, bright and early at 9 a.m., but still, I was irritated.
8. I made a pot roast that S-U-C-K-E-D. Not inedible sucked, but sucked just the same. Also, I made spaghetti that did not suck! Very good! (But it always is.)
9. I have no money right now - how can I possibly buy yarn?! I want to buy yarn. I NEED to buy yarn… One week and one day, and I’ll be paid at last - but not near enough. Never enough…
10. I have a mouse problem. One little mouse… such a big problem. You wouldn’t think a mouse could survive three cats and a set of sticky traps, but this mouse is a genius. Also, he’s running around under my stovetop. Like, under the DRIP PANS for the love of god, and not just once or twice. You don’t even want to know how I found that out, but I’ll tell you anyway - mouse shit has a distinct odor when ‘cooked’. *gag*
11. I made some homemade glass cleaner. And used it! And it worked pretty well. But not as well as I’d like on a couple spots. Maybe I needed more elbow grease. Or maybe I should’ve let it sit a tiny bit longer.
12. Picked up my quilted christmas table runner from Mom’s and started in on it again! Appliqué. Oi. I have a feeling I should’ve hand-stitched them down, considering all the twists and turns and little bits to it. Next time, though I cringe at the thought. And I really don’t know what I have against hand-stitching, considering that it would take me a lot less time to sew down some appliqué than it does to knit a pair of socks. Weird.
13. Speaking of knitting socks, I have all but the toe of one of my Serendipity socks done - but would like to throw in a lifeline before I knit the toe, in case I hate it or it doesn’t fit right. I forgot my needle at home. Grrf. So they’re on hold for the night! My hands could use the rest, though, really.

1. Di 2. storyteller 3. Sosunaolata 4. Britni 5. Briggie 6. badpuppydog

7. arlene 8. Joy Renee 9. Tissot watches 10. Music Downloads 11. phentermine 12. Michael Buble

13. Mp3 14. phentermine prescription 15. acomplia online 16. You're next!

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Can’t believe it’s March already - and we even had an extra day in February this year! How fast time flies when you’re knitting like a vampire and never see the light of day…

They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb… but it’s coming in this year pretty lamblike, what with no snow on the ground and only the slightest (30% - scoff scoff!) chance of snow over the rest of the week, and temperatures starting in the 40s!!! Incredible. We had a very mind February - hell, a mild winter overall, once again.

So, February’s theme was, of course, devoted to crafting, and I think I did quite well! I made a pair of socks for A. - Embossed Leaves socks, in STR Lightweight, Blarney Stone colorway:

and am nearly finished with some Dashing mitts for Dad (birthday in less than two weeks!)

and am halfway through the first of a pair of socks for me, the Serendipity socks that came with my January 2008 Socks that Rock ‘Rockin Sock Club’ - yarn color is Dragon Dance,

made up a mini raglan sweater ornament out of leftover Blarney Stone yarn (still need to get some wire to make a hanger, though!), (sorry, picture not of the finished sweater!)

and knitted some more on the chevron scarf (no picture of updated progress. sorry.). Also, in a non-knitting arena, I’ve done some cleaning, reorganizing, dyed my valance a reddish orange (wouldn’t go redder, darn it!) and bought more lighting for my sewing area, since it… well, had none whatsoever.

And oh! I had a stitch n bitch! *beam* Much fun, that. First ever real-life person I’ve met who’s got the same yarn fetish I do. Everyone else is just like: “Oh, that’s nice… you psycho…” So Dobarah & I got together Thursday night and knitted. And fondled yarn. And complimented each other’s projects as we showed off our own. *lol* It was good.

Goals for March?