The Loopy Swap project is DONE. The only thing left is washing and blocking! Hurrah! I worked like mad tonight to finish it, and have just a tiny bit of yarn left - perhaps enough for a wee tiny sock or a miniature sweater. Maybe two wee tiny socks - one for pal, one for me?

We’ll see. At any rate, I’m quite happy to just have the swap project off the needles so I can work on something else!

I’ve been working for a month now (on and off) on a very special item (yes, a knitted one) for my Loopy Ewe Swap partner, and the end is at last in sight. To be honest, I haven’t heard from her in a while, and it worries me a bit - especially since she doesn’t have a blog and is only somewhat active on Ravelry. Hopefully, she’s doing fine! And hopefully, she loves her gift when she gets it! I know I love it!

Also, coming up on halfway through a Very Long Week at work. I’ve worked three 12-hour shifts in a row, and have two more to go before I go back to working regular 8-hour days. Yes, that’s right. Five 12-hour shifts in a row, and then I don’t even get any days off for another two days. And all this after getting only one day off before it began . That’s the day in which I spent doing laundry like mad, and making The Most Horrible Swedish Meatballs Ever, otherwise known as Swedish Allspice Balls, because that’s what they tasted like. Allspice - and lots of it. Gah. (It wasn’t my fault, to be fair - the recipe demanded that much allspice, and like an imbecile, I just didn’t question it.) So instead of eating tons of yummy meatballs all week while I have no time to cook, I’m eating Hamburger Freaking Helper, greasy potato chips, and bar pizza. Urgh. Not exactly food to fuel you for a week of hellish hours.

Luckily, all the tons of overtime should make up for it. Here’s hoping.

In the meantime, to kill sometime at work, when the hours get really really long, I’ve been hunting down podcasts and listening to them. So far, Faerie Knitting is my favorite. Go have yourself a little fairy tale now. Enjoy.

It’s been for-ever, in a big way, since I’ve had any photos up, I thought I’d be generous with a few! Enjoy!

The last month has been a blur. A severe cold turned to severe allergies turned to a terrible cough (or perhaps it was the allergies that started it all?) and I wound up on every over-the-counter cold and allergy medication on the market the week before Easter. I was sick throughout my week-long vacation, but it was fun anyway, and I purchased yarn and quilting supplies - what could be better? However, only in the last few days has the coughing started to wear down, and that’s only because I dove into the bottle of Singulair I had from the last time I had these bronchial spasms. The inhaler the doctor prescribed me this time just didn’t do the trick. Neither did the Mucinex, Robatussin, or codeine syrup (which also, amazingly, did not knock me out like I wanted). Sleep has finally found me again, though I still nap far too much and do a whole lot of staring blankly into space instead of something more productive - say, knitting.

While I’m bitching, let me just say that I’d been suffering some odd hand aches, but that, too, is disappearing, thank the gods. So, with life finally getting back on track, I’ve started to knit again (that was generally on hold due to the severe craptasticness I felt - knitting while feeling tired, crappy, sniffly, and/or achy is nothing but a recipe for disaster over here) and finished a new kitty hat and the first of my bright daffodil colored entrelac socks (pictures coming soon).

All going well, right?

Not so fast, cowgirl. My brother, 23, is depressed - suicidally so - and my mother is stressed out beyond stressed out. My cat had urinary tract infection and requires a second trip to the vet sometime soonish so they can check his urine again to see how the disgusting and horribly expensive special food they put him on is working. A close friend is having a personal crisis (to say the least!) and we were just hit by a sudden snowstorm - the *only* such snowstorm to hit this winter, really, except for a small one that hit while I was away.

On top of all that, in the last seven days, I have broken three dishes, destroyed a perfectly good breakfast, and had some delicious hot cocoa that was (much to my horror, as I spit out something odd feeling during those first few sips) INFESTED WITH BUGS.

Nothing like a little insect larvae in your mouth to fucking ruin your day already. And there’s a photo, for ye who told me you’d never seen these horrendous things. It’s a large photo - the real thing is much smaller, but no less disgusting to eat.

Now tell me… who the hell have I pissed off, and how many chickens should I sacrifice to get rid of this curse?

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?

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?

So what’s up? Long time, no see. I haven’t been feeling well - sinus infection seriously doing me in - and a lack of sleep certainly hasn’t helped. I guess I just haven’t felt like popping on to say so… or much of anything.

It isn’t that I haven’t been busy - sinusitis and all. I’ve (finally!) finished up my peppermint socks. Check this out:

They were finished up on February Eve. Er. January 31st. At about 7 a.m. I had a deadline to finish those that day - and through a miracle bestowed upon me by the knit-like-fucking-hell gods, I managed. They fit great, despite my gut-wrenching fear vague worry that they would be too small on the size 0 needles I’d decided on, and I do not (thank heaven) have to rip them all out and start anew. The only thing I could’ve done differently in the end was make them a bit shorter in the foot. Due to the change in gauge due to the needle size change, I miscalculated the number of rows I’d need for the toe and knit the foot a bit long. But they still fit!

(Before you ask… yes, that is my yule tree still standing, a month and several odd days past yule… I sucked it up and tore it down about a half hour after taking this photo, and barely beat that “have it down before the 1st, or A. will mock you forever and ever” deadline.)

So now what am I doing? Knitting more socks, of course - this time for A., with the most gorgeous and softest and most luscious sock yarn ever - Blue Moon’s Socks That Rock, in the color Blarney Stone. (Pics when I get the first one done in a day or so, I swears!)

And… I’ve been amusing myself with a new game for my Nintendo DS - Harvest Moon DS. This is such a stupidly addicting game I’m almost embarrassed to admit it. The point is this - you’re a farm boy, and the Witch Priestess has accidentally cast a spell on her rival, the Harvest Goddess, making her disappear. Now you, the farm boy, must work real hard to get her back. No, you’re not doing any special “retrieve the goddess” work, you just have to be a farmer, and miraculously, if you do really well at it, all the harvest sprites will return, and then so will the goddess. Or, uh, something. Okay, the plot really really sucks. But the gameplay is damned cute. You grow things. You mine for ore and gems and minerals. You raise animals. And of course, you romance the cute town girls. It’s not, admittedly, really supposed to be a linear plot-driven game. It’s supposed to be a game about farming, and gosh darnit, it is.

The only thing that could make this better (besides, er, plot… was that really the best they could come up with?) is a little more choice in el farmboy. Can’t I be a farmgirl? Or better yet, can’t my farmboy romance the local dudes as well as (or instead of?!) the girls? C’mon, yaoi makes everything better…

But anyway. I’ve been playing for a few days now, and I’m… er… hooked. Like a crack addict. The worst part? It’s one of those games where you’re playing happily, and then you think: “Gosh, I should totally be doing this in real fucking life instead of pretending to do it on this little game…”

Tonight is the February new moon. (Also, for those who care, it’s Ash Wednesday today.) I realize that I didn’t put up January’s New Moon Tarot Card - why? I had it done… - so belatedly, I’ll just say that it was the reversed Five of Pentacles, and it was a very good reading.

Tonight, with luck, I’ll actually put up February’s reading. And tomorrow, ladies and gents, we officially enter the Year of the Rat. Four or five days ago, depending on which calendar you use, was Imbolc, a winterly pagan festival to call spring forth. Usually, it’s set on February 2nd - groundhog day - or February 1st. You may also know it as Candlemas; way back in time, the Irish people worshiped a goddess named Brigid, a goddess of healing, and hearth, and smithing - healing, home, and craftsmanship, she did it all. When the good Christians of the Europe came to show them the way, they convinced the Irish people well enough to convert to Catholicism, but convincing them to stop worshiping Brigid was such a lost attempt that they canonized her as a Saint, downsized the fire festival to candles, and called it Candlemas. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em…

So anyway. The festival typically marks the very beginnings of spring - deep in the earth, under all that winter snow, things are stirring to life again. The days are gradually lengthening. In another six weeks (the spring equinox), signs of life should be everywhere. Many pagans pay homage to Brigid this day, and I did with a candle in her honor and a bit of a tarot reading (that, unsurprisingly, considering the origins of the festival, focused very much on craftsmanship.)

Merry Imbolc to all, belated as it may be.

I’ve been enjoying my latest knitting projects. Slowly (hands hurt, excema, tendonitis, dry skin, grah!!), but surely.

In order, the above photos are my peppermint socks in some yarn from Gypsyknits, my first chevron scarf, in a couple beautiful STR colors (and oh, how I am in LOVE with this yarn! so soft!), and a snowflake ornament that wouldn’t take me a half hour to finish, if I’d just do it….

However, my Fetchings were finished just before midnight on December 31st, so I have finished something recently! Here’s a blurry photo. Maybe I’ll get a better one later, if I think of it later. I made these in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, on way smaller needles than called for so they’d fit my tiny hands. Love them. Here they are:

In other yarntastic news, I’ve received my second shipment of Sundara’s Seasons yarn club, which is as gorgeous as the first… And also, I’ve joined the Rockin’ Sock Club!!! I didn’t think I’d make it in, but hallelujah, I did!

That whooshing sound you just heard? That was all my spare cash.

You ask what I’ve been knitting? Dishcloths!

Plus, I made some catnip mice. I may end up making more, though, so no photo yet! ;)

I don’t have too much Christmas knitting left to do. Really, I just have to finish a scarf for R., and make a few more catnip mice, if I want to, which… I may well not do right this minute. I still haven’t finished my shawl. Shame. On. Me.

Perhaps I’ll work on it once the scarf’s done! Perhaps. Or perhaps I’ll do like I’ve been dying to do, and start my Fetchings. So much yarn, so little time to knit!