Here’s the link to La’s blog

And one to Jen’s blog

See you there!

Fly as fast and true as as the arrow doth fly from my bow, for I am Muttinhood, scourge of all Bloglandia, come to hie ye hither to Fibercrack’d, where there be great news and much rejoicing for La, the Great Procrastinatrix has finally announce her winners!

Alores! Why doest thou tarry? Quick, we shall away!

ahem…

…that I’m up to no good!

Just a quick little hello to let you all know that, thought I’m busier than a one-legged Riverdancer, I have not forgotten about the contest! I’ll be posting all about over there tomorrow…hopefully…if all goes well, and I don’t know why it shouldn’t, but you know, the minute you don’t plan for armageddon, is the moment it happens.

so, in the meantime…

Mishchief Managed

Ha! Betcha all thought I was gonna nag you to go vote, didn’t you? Nope, that’s not my style.

However, I AM going to remind you all that I’m running a caption contest, whose deadline is looming incredibly close: 5:00 pm Pacific Time, November 7, 2008.

Details here.

I’m loving everyone’s entries so far. You all are making it as hard as you can for me to pick a winner, aren’t you?

Last Tuesday I got to go have a day filled with fun and win at Disneyland with most of my family (including the Denverites) along with FickleKnitter and the Ficklette!

Since a Wilson gathering of such magnitudinal proportions rarely occur, it was a very momentous and truly epic occasion (okay, I may be exaggerating). Even after factoring my penchant for making all our babies cry, I STILL had an awesome time, to spite the rather ominous phone call I got just the day before. A call from my dad.

Now, since it’s usually my mom who calls just to jaw-jack, I was instantly on alert…and for good reason, come to find out. In a very nonchalant, unconcerned voice he informs me that “they” found something on his left lung and was sending him for a CT scan that Thursday, and that he thought I should know before I meet up with my brothers and their families the next day, just in case the subject comes up in conversation.

WTF?????

So, me being the level-headed, non-panicking daughter I am started doing the math: 82 years old + 25 years of smoking - 40 years ago since he quit smoking + 6 of his elder family members died of one form of cancer or another (both parents and ALL his mother’s sisters) = WTF, and I did what any rational, non-anxiety driven daughter would do. I freaked out turning to the DH for support…who said “You ALWAYS think it’s the worst case scenario, jumping to conclusions and getting yourself all worked up over what could be nothing.“…which instantly earned him a punch in the nose and the right to be talked about in a most negative and snarky manner all the next day to my friends and family.

He just doesn’t get it, I have a right to freak! Daddies, like their Mommy counterparts, are supposed to live forever! Don’t they know that?

So, I then get a call from my dad on Sunday and I find myself holding my breath, hoping for good news, but bracing myself in case it isn’t.

Dad - I just got a call from my doctor, and my results from the CT are in already.
La - yeah? (tiny voice)
Dad - I have a terminal case…
(pause)
Dad - …of left nipple
La ::blink blink::
Dad - Hello? You still there?
La - bwahahahahahahahahahaha-ha!

If it wasn’t so fucking funny, and I wasn’t so relieve, I think I’d be pissed off at some radiologist or tech for putting our family through all the worry for an x-ray version of a fucking typo. And then…THEN having to put up with the smugness and I-told-you-sos that were the DH’s when I told him all was well with dad.

I may just have to sue.

Instead, I think I’ll celebrate dad’s left nipple by holding a contest! This one will be easy, I promise. All you have to do is to caption the picture below, a la I Has a Hotdog and I can has cheezburger.

Double brownie points if you make me laugh so hard I shoot coffee outta my nose. TRIPLE brownie points if you actually yoink the picture and do the photoshopping/gimping yourself.

There will be a prize of 1 skein of yarny goodness…

…plus some extra treats and goodies thrown in for good measure.

Please either leave your entry in the comments section, or email your brownie-point injected entries to LauraMartos(at)sbcglobal(dot)net. Contest ends 5:00 pm pst, November 7. AND if I meet my KnitScene design submission deadline of November 15, I’ll award 2 prizes!

Oh, but it’s been an exciting but busy time at Casa de La lately! All good stuff, I assure you! But OMG! busy doesn’t even BEGIN to describe it!

Besides the tremendous take-off of Dizzy Blonde Studios, it looks like I may actually get published in the near future. First, I’ve been working on Tenderfoot (Ravelry Link), a sock pattern for the 2010 A Pattern A Day Calendar. Unfortunately the October 15th deadline is looming dangerously close, and I’m only about 1/3 of the way through the initial engineering, let alone drafting the pattern, taking the pictures, etc. So instead I’m going to plan B. Since the designers retain all rights and ownership of the patterns, I’m submitting some of my other designs. Which ones? Well, that’s MY secret. I know, I know…I’m such a tease. I’m reluctant to say because I don’t know yet if any have been accepted or not. We’ll see.

Next, despite my initial misgivings, I’ve answered the the call for design submissions from Knitscene, and I’m working up an entirely new design, since my current half-baked ones are considered too advanced, difficult, challenging, whatever…(insert eye roll here, and check out this post for further opinion) for the magazine. The deadline on that is November 15, so that one I should actually be able to meet.

Then, I’ve been asked to write a pattern for a book.

And that’s about all I can say on that, except that I’m looking forward to being able to work with a couple of my favorite knitters whom I’ve never met before, in a theme that I find fascinating and fun. It’s just in it’s initial stages, so there’s not much to say, even if I could. But I can’t. So I won’t.

So that’s it on the designing front, and whew! That’s quite a lot. But, my friends, it doesn’t stop there. Nope. I’ve have the opportunity to participate in a indy sock yarn club: Knitting Purls Indy Sock Yarn Club (KPISYC) to be exact. Yes, you are looking at Miss January, and I think I’ve got something really special in the works for that. And yes, Rubberneckers, it WILL be an exclusive colorway, not offered anywhere else. Ida’s limiting the availability to 50 members. So if you want to get your hands on it, sign on up, there are still spots available. I like the idea of this particular yarn club because it introduces new indy dyers to the knitting/crocheting/fiber community and gives us a chance to grow.

But I’m not the only one whose got a lot of irons in the fire. My friend Ida, besides orchestrating the KPISYC, now has a Knitting Purls Podcast & Blog, and her very own Knitting Purls Ravelry Group! On top of that, add the Lily M. Foundation and all the wonderful things she’s doing there, and Wow! She’s one enterprising lady!

Another Up-And-Comer is my very good friend Michelle (that’s her ducking from behind the uberswift in the above picture). She just recently started FickleKnitter Designs, and they’ve become very popular. Many of her designs are smart, innovative, quick and fun knits, yet extremely practical in use. And you should SEE the awesome designs she has on the drawing board. Right now, she’s got several patterns on sale just in time for your holiday knitting. You should go check her out!

Have I mentioned yet the wonderfulness that is DivaSoaps? These are soaps are hand crafted by Cheryl aka DivaKnitting. These soaps are cold-process cruelty-free and vegan (some are even organic!), and they are fantastic! I think I have gotten at least 1/3 of the different scents and they’re all amazing, and priced right.

Oh! For all my fellow geek knitters out there, I, along with 3 or 4 other knitters are being interviewed tonight for the Babylon 5 Podcast. And I gotta say, I’m pretty stoked! and nervous…well, kinda terrified, actually. What if I’m a total dork and say all the wrong things? Shut up.

Last, but not least…help your favorite animal shelter win $10,000! Just click on the button and follow the prompts. These shelters need all the funding they can get!

This should have been posted yesterday, but eh. Inertia. What are you gonna do, you know? All in all, the second anniversary of Mom’s death could have been a lot worse. I got up at 2:45 to be at work at a ridiculous 4 am only to sit in the parking lot until my regularly scheduled time of 5 am because wires had been crossed and doors weren’t unlocked, etc. It wasn’t a total waste because I did get some knitting done. A couple of repeats on the Clapotis. A few more and I’ll begin decreasing. I’ll have this done in time to give it to my MIL when I go up for Rhinebeck. I started off making this for myself, but somehow the yarn just keep sending me pictures of her and sometimes you have to do what the yarn tells you to do. I like the idea of giving her something that’s knitted up with memories of my own mom.

I was pretty tired because of the early wake up and the killer day once I was able to get in there and actually do the work. So after I visited with some of her stuff yesterday afternoon, I took a nap. When my brother and I finally broached the subject of what day it was, it was late and we didn’t feel like reminiscing anyway. Today, though, I wanted to post some pictures of her knitting stuff. I have mom’s cedar chest in my bedroom and I hadn’t opened it up in a long time, but since I wanted to remember her, it was a good place to go. It still smells like her. I have a couple of her FOs, but I only took one out to photograph. This is what I call “The Football Sweater”. She made it to wear to my brother’s and my games. (He played for several years and I was a cheerleader for a couple.)
It reminds me of cold autumn nights and pompoms and my mom buying me hot chocolate and cheering us on under the stadium lights. And it reminds me of the enormous piles of sweaters and coats that ended up on the back of the couch after games, when we were all too tired and cold to put them away before bed. Once my brother sleepwalked downstairs and laid on the couch, pulling the entire pile-including this one-on top of him for warmth. It’s nice to have a physical object of those memories.

I have no idea where this hook came from, but I can see that it’s ivory and probably fairly old. It’s sort of polished by wear in a few places and for some reason, I always find comfort in things like that. Like worn wooden stair railings and kitchen utensils with the paint rubbed away. I keep associating the few pieces of ivory that were in my mom’s possession with the fact that we came from whaling people on one side, but that doesn’t make any sense at all. Unless elephants used to roam the oceans, right? I hate this muddy state of mental confusion. I wish I’d asked more questions when she was still here. I wish she was still here to answer them. I wish I had more than her smell and a few of her things. And I wish she hadn’t died just at the beginning of Autumn. The rhythm of the seasons aligns with the end of her life for maximum effect with me. I wonder how much longer I’ll be counting off the anniversaries.

It’s not all sadness, there’s new good stuff going on, too. Like Jojoland melody which I had to finally put out of sight in order to finish Clapotis. Mom wouldn’t approve. She would have looked askance at my choice of earth tones in the bottom picture, but she wouldn’t be at all surprised when I smiled and used it anyway. (I’ll make it up to you, Mom. I promise to knit something red or yellow very soon.) I abandoned all hope of spinning and knitting a Rhinebeck sweater, which I think is a return to my former good sense. If you see me at Rhinebeck, I’ll be wearing my CPH or my Norma sweater, neither of which got enough good exposure last winter anyway. I’m looking forward to meeting some of my friends. That’s a very odd sentence, but some of my closest friends these days are only known to me via the internet. It will be so nice to have faces and voices to put with the pictures!

…unless it’s been wishful thinking on your part, and to that I say HA! Foiled your evil plan!!!!

Yes, I am alive. No, no tragedies have befallen me or mine. Yes, I am still knitting (among other things). No, I have no excuse for not posting. Bad blogger, no cookie. Which is okay I guess…well the “no cookie” part at least because I’m supposed (she said, voice dripping with sarcasm) on a diet. But the bad blogger part? Inexcusable.

Now, I could blame Dizzy Blonde Studios and all the dyeing I’m doing just to be able to update the store in the relatively near future (I’m thinking first week of October), or Ravelry and getting lost in all the interesting stuff on there, or other fun interactive (read addictive) sites like Dragon Cave and Plurk and Molehill Empire, but I’m not gonna, because those are excuses. Nope, I’ve just been busy and lazy. End of story.

What have I been busy with? Well, Jackass is 95% retired, which means I have more responsibility, which means more work, and less time to play on the interwebs among other things. Also, the launch of Dizzy Blonde Studios was way more successful than I imagined, almost embarrassingly so…to the tune of being sold out in a matter of hours successful. So, since my inventory was entirely decimated, I’ve been busily dyeing yarn every weekend like a madwoman. Both situations leave very little knitting time, but I HAVE still been knitting, and other stuff. Wanna see?

It’s only been almost a month since the 2008 Ravelympics ended and I have some good new and some bad news. The good news:

My Team Rubbernecker, Sock-Put event project is a win!

Pattern: My own. One day I’ll write it up.

Needles: Addi Lace size 1 [2.25mm] 32″ Magic Loop Bay-Bee!

Yarn: 2 balls Knit Picks Essential in Cocoa

Thoughts: This is the same toe-up sock pattern that I’ve been knitting these Rometard socks in for the past year. I use Judy’s magic Cast-On with an encroachment/sherman short-row heel, and I’ve pretty much got the socks memorized. I like how the leg and the rolled cuff kinda remind me of an ancient Roman architectural column.

Now, since I’m so familiar with this sock, I thought I’d challenge myself by knitting 2 pairs of socks in the 17 days of the event. So I entered the sock-put event for team Mission Possible 08…and that’s where the bad news comes in.

For that project I chose to knit up my catface lace socks in my Momoze colorway (damn, but I still miss that cat!). With only 4 days remaining, let’s just say I was already SERIOUS pushing my luck. Then due to gauge issues, I ended up frogging the sock twice, and then rewriting the pattern so I could use fewer stitches. Needless to say, the socks are still on the needles, but I am thoroughly enjoying them, so I guess it’s not all bad. Of course, no pictures have been taken, so I can’t even show you how cute they are.

Now, it hasn’t been all work though. I did manage to do a little shopping online. Eric, aka KnittingDragon, the proprietor of Cables and Lace has 2 color series that I found impossible to resist: Seven Deadly Sins Series, and the Apocalypse Series. I had to pick me up a little of each…

On top is Apocalypse War in Lizard Toes soc yarn, and on the bottom is a bit of the Gluttony (fitting don’t you think?) in Dragon Toes (mmmmm, silk!). War found it’s way into Andria’s hands. She’d been having a tough time of it, and the only thing I could think of to help the hoar was booze, avocado rolls and yarn. But the gluttony? That’s mine mine MINE!!!!! all mine!

Recently, my SD and SGD moved to New Mexico…conveniently close to Taos. Unfortunately, I didn’t find out the dates in time to make it to the festival this year. But I’m SO there in 2009! I have a feeling that we’ll be visiting more than once a year. SBH really misses his daughter, and wants a chance to get to know his granddaughter. I can’t believe she’ll be 2 in February! And she’s getting so big! Wanna see? Of course you do…what kinda dumbass question was that?

And here she is with her beautiful mommy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Blogsylvania is celebrating birthdays in the next coupla days…at least 2 that I know of…probably dozens that I don’t. First, today is Restless Knitter’s, and tomorrow is Fluffy Knitter Deb’s! Why not head on over and wish them both a happy birthday! Happy birthday ladies, and many happy returns!

Pattern: Zetor Scarf by Jatta Soheltaa.

Yarn: handpaintedyarn.com merino lace in black, a gift from Hockeymom.

Needles: Addi Lace size US 2

Other: Knit for the Team Rubberneckers and Team Mission:Possible Ravelympics

Notes/Mods: This project started off as the Veil of Isis, but I couldn’t for the life of me follow the complexities of the chart morphs for the corner section and halfway through the Olympics decided that a change in pattern was required if I was to finish. My bind off (the K2 Tog type) was too tight to get the scallops in the edge, but I’m okay with it. This “scarf” is shawl-sized, though I will probably wear it as a scarf, actually. I did finish this project in time to cross the finish for a gold medal.

In other and far more exciting news, I have been given a 99% verbal approval for my leave request scheduled for the third weekend in October. You know what happens on that weekend, right? Yes, I’m going to Rhinebeck! I will be staying with my husband’s family and some of them may attend the festival with us, but husband and I plan to go both days. It’s putting a cramp on SAFF, but I might still make a day trip there on Sunday.

The festival of fibers type news doesn’t stop there, either. Next April 23-25 will be Stitches South. Stitches is FINALLY getting us an event down here and the best news for me is that it’s in Atlanta. If you’re in the south and you’ve never been to a fiber convention, you won’t want to miss this one. Stitches has loads of classes. No animals, though. It differs greatly from say SAFF or Rhinebeck in that it’s a much more commercially themed event, but it’s HUGE. I’m planning to take time off for this as well.

All the rest of the news in a nutshell? Jared has been up to Stonehedge Fibers in Michigan to begin the fiber mill building process and has also started working on the actual business of setting it up. We hope to have an operational mill by next spring. My brother is moving back in with us for awhile to save up money and help with the setup. We got between 10 and 12 inches of rain this week from the remains of tropical storm Fay, and boy did we need it. We made 9 round bales of hay the first cut and only got 4 a few weeks ago because the drought has been so bad. Up the road from us, a bridge was washed out, a huge low-lying pasture looks like a rice paddy and a road has been closed. Perhaps this next hurricane will be easy on New Orleans but still bring us another few inches. I’d love to get the barn filled to bursting with good quality hay before winter. As for me, I’ve been working non-stop and since the Ravelympics have been trying to spin up some romney/mohair with which to knit Cassidy in time for Rhinebeck. Romney is, after all, the sheep of the year for 2008. I don’t know if I can actually pull this off in time. I’ll keep you posted!

OMG OMG OMG, I can’t believe I fixed the blog. I broke it by upgrading WP, btw. And I just blew an evening of ravelympic knitting trying to figure it out, but yay for comments working again.

: victory dance :

We now go live to Wool E. Sheepleton at Ravelympic Village…

It’s a lovely day here at Ravelympic Village, and the games are in full-swing! Our story today is focused on one our two favorite plucky Ravtheletes. In the Ravelry circles, she’s known as KnottyLa, but here, where we know her best, she’s just plain La, and man, does she have a story.

Two years ago, La, suffered a crushing defeat, being unable to finish her baby sweater in the time allotted. But she persevered, and even after everyone else went home, she remained until that sweater was done. Was too inexperiences? Too ambitious? Not focussed enough? Who knows? All I know is that I hope she learned from her mistakes. Now, it’s two years later, La’s been knitting like the lean, mean knitting machine she is, and is hoping to take home the gold, for not one, but 2 teams! But she’s off to a rocky start.

In the beginning La suffered a self-imposed but not anticipated set-back. As you all know, La opened up the doors of her yarn store for the very first time on the same day as the start of the Ravelympics. Will this effect her outcome, or is it just a temporary set back? Are we in for the rally of the games, or yet another crushing defeat? We’ll find out.

The unanticipated part of the set-back occurred when she sold all her inventory and then had to process the orders in a timely manner. But all her packages are shipped so she can now focus 100% on her events.

Let’s check in now with the voice behind the scenes…Lana Lamberg, Lana?

Hello Wool! And I must say, it’s like a zoo here! Knitters everywhere, bits of yarn flying, ball-bands being flung around like panties at an 80s rock concert…and the click-click-clackity-click of the needles is deafening. But you know what? I’m in heaven! I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I was finally able to catch up with La for a few minutes last night between the dinner relay and synchronized showering, where she was able to share her progress:

That, my friends, is an almost completed sock. I was able to talk with her very briefly this morning and she said she had made some progress since the last time we talked, she’s casted on for the second sock of this pair, and has worked all the increases, and now it’s just a matter of working her way up the foot. Oh! And I was supposed to remind her to print out the Cat Face Lace Sock pattern for her second pair, which she hopes to start some time this early next week, if all goes according to plan.

Back to you Wool!

Thank you Lana! That just about wraps things up for today, and I leave you with a replay of the hanging of the official Team Rubbernecker’s Banner. What a thing of beauty!

I am Wool E. Sheepleton and this has been a Ravelympics 2008 update!

Dear family, friends and loved ones, both of the 2-legged and 4-legged variety:

No, I have not died, gone into rehab, joined a nunnery/foreign legion/peace corp. I have not been kidnapped, nor abducted by aliens. I am not in a coma, nor incapacitated in any way. Let me assure you, I have control of all my facilities…well as much as I have ever had. I am perfectly fine and healthy. Nothing untoward has befallen me, but I greatly appreciate your concern.

For the last week or so I have been busy with final preparations, engaging in exercise after exercise, testing my dexterity, endurance, aneuphoric stress threshold, and finally time management skills. I’ve been so excited that I’ve had my bags packed since Monday, and have checked them every night to ensure that I have all the proper equipment, gear and supplies; anything and everything I will ever possibly need for this year’s participation in…

Yup! The crushing defeat I suffered previously can’t stopped THIS Knithelete, no sirree Bob!! In fact, it’s strengthened my resolve. So, what am I doing different this time?

1. Unlike the last time, I’m on 2 teams, entering the same event for both, with 2 different projects: The Sock Put.

2. I’ve had 2 years to perfect my technique and improve my time. I’ve discovered several different ways to give me an edge, and the technology in the tools and equipment has improved much over this time. Judy’s Magic Cast-on, Encroachment Heel, Backwards Knitting, and Addi Lace, thy names are VICTORY!

So, look for me with…

Where I’ll be turning some lovely Knitpicks Essential in Cocoa

…into a pair of men’s size 10 Roman socks (Udones) for my friend Ron Glass (no, Browncoats not THAT Ron Glass…unfortunately.)

Since this is my own design, and I have it pretty much memorized, this will probably be my “strive for speed” entry. I’m pretty confident I’ll be breaking my own personal best sock-knitting time on these bad boys.

For my MP08 Team entry I’ll be using this yarn…

…inspired by this precious paw: Momoze, my one-off Dizzy Blonde Studios yarn to complete my Mission Project #10: Cat Face Lace Socks by Jennifer Fleury, with some modifications. This will prove to be more challenging, but I shall prevail!

Hell, I even have my favorite fanboy to urge me on to victory!

I am very honored and excited to be participating in the 2008 Ravelympic Games! Though this year’s games may require some sacrifices on my part, and much understanding on yours, I WILL KNOW the sweet taste of success! Let the games begin!!!

Love, La

Pattern: Toe-Up Monkey Sock by Zhenya Lavy (pattern is on Ravelry, aren’t you?)

Yarn: Miss Bab’s fingering weight, in the Watermelon colorway. I purchased this at SAFF for someone else, but I couldn’t bear to part with it. I should feel more shame than I do. I LOVE THIS YARN!

Needles: US 1 Knitpicks fixed options; magic loop

Mods/comments: I used a magic cast on toe, sewn bind off and a modified encroachment heel. I’d love to tell you about the modification on the heel, but I didn’t take any pictures so I’ll show you on the Nutkins socks, okay?

—————————————————
I’ve been very busy with house redecorating, working and hanging out with Jared, so not much knitting is getting done around here. I am working on some Nutkins here and there using some Tofutsies I picked up back in January. I hurt my finger at work (like it might actually be a little fractured) so I’ve been taking it easy. I’m gearing up to make the Veil of Isis for Team Rubberneckers in the Ravelympics, though. Also, I’ve been doing some tablet weaving:

Neat, huh? You can make or improvise everything you need to do this without spending a dime. There’s even a website with a free tutorial and you can use up your stash yarns and remnants from old projects.

I’m dashing this off before work, but I plan to duck in again shortly. I know I owe several people emails and I will get back to you soon!

…than this here blog lately. Sheesh!

No, you are not mistaken, that WAS a tumbleweed rolling by. Life certainly has intervened…well, life and that crack-site called Ravelry. But for me lately, it’s been life. And the good stuff, not the sucky stuff…knock on wood. Basically, a frantic scramble to open up shop by my projected date, while still being a full-time wife, step-mom and employee. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel though. All the initial colorways have been dyed. I’m half-way through aesthetizing them (yeah, that’s my fancy way of saying, I’m re-skeining them so the colors are all mixed together all pretty-like). I have my logo, banner ads designed and all my printing done; and promo items, shipping materials, etc. have all been ordered and paid for. All that’s left doing is photographing the last 5 colorways, writing up the descriptions and then posting them to both my Etsy store and my Yarn Page, make the yarn page point to the Etsy store, and open up shop! Projected opening date (fingers crossed, please)…August 8, 2008…the 3-year anniversary of the day I quit smoking. Seemed fitting to me!

I’ve been doing a little knitting too.

Nothing spectacular, just another pair of udones, this time is size 10, and Knitpicks Essential Tweed in Aztec Gold. I gotta say, I’m not loving the bits of fluff everywhere in this yarn. Makes the Udones look…well…UNdone. Doubt I’ll get the tweed version of that otherwise decent yarn again.

Fred, the fellow reenator I made the socks for, wore them all last weekend at our event, and said they were a perfect fit! This does my heart good, because this is the first design I’m writing in various sizes, and that was a serious concern. So far US Men’s size 10 & 11 have checked out beautifully. Now just gotta test the size 9 before I can go any further.

The only thing I have on the needles now is Central Park Hoodie. I’m at the point in the pattern where I need to graph the hood, sew the seams so I know how the hoodie’s fitting, and then pick up and knit all the way around for the button band. Yeah. I said GRAPH…and SEAM. With a huge database job at work with a looming deadline, yarn business start-up, dogs to play with, BLOG POSTS TO WRITE, I’ve been procrastinating actually DOING the Bitchener/Mattrees Stitch Mambo exceedingly well. That is, until right now. Job is done, just awaiting pickup and payment, I’ve done all I can do from work regarding Dizzy Blonde, there are no dogs here, and after I’m done with my post, my slate is clean. DAMMIT! I guess it’s time to put on my big girl panties and just do it.

In the meantime, I think I’ll waste a little more time by highlighting a couple of peeps and what they’re up to.

~~Ruth is doing some major destashing! Go here to get all the juicy details on some awesome deals, but you’d better hurry. I’ve already got my eye on a couple of things.

~~~~Blogless Homesteadmom (Ravelry link) is participating in the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-day, and holding a raffle to help her meet her fundraising goal of $5,000. For all you Ravelers, here’s her
original detailed post. There’s even an entire dedicated thread in the Ravelry Rubberneckers’ Group on the subject. Curious about the prizes? Check ‘em out!

A handy-dandy Ravelry tote bag!

From Homesteadmom’s own stash:

3 different prizes 1 skein each of yummy Yarntini sock yarn: Pomtini, Ice Blue & Twistini colorways

1 prize of 3 skeins of gorgeous Malabrigo laceweight in the Taureg colorway

Donated by others:

1 skein of Rock Creek Yarns sock yarn in the one of the most beautiful Cherry Blossom colorway, generously donated by Raveler Threeteens (who is also blogless)

and last…

1 skein of Dizzy Blonde Studios sock yarn in the limited-edition (one-off)
“Mae” colorway

It’s really simple to enter. All you gotta do is donate. For every $5 you donate, your name goes into a hat. For example, if you donate $25, you get 5 chances to win one of the gorgeous prizes. The last date to donate is July 31, so hurry! Drawing will be held August 1.

…you get to work and you find that your boss has replaced your old chair with a brand-spanking new one? And the old chair that you’ve had for 3 years replaced another old chair before that, which you had had for a good 3 years, and both the old chairs had arms, and the new chair doesn’t, so when you sit back to knit a row and you go to lean on one of the now non-existent arms like you have been since you BEGAN knitting, you fall off your chair?

You hate that too right? What do you mean, you have no idea what I’m talking about…uh, neither do I. Because that sort of thing would NEVER happen to me…honest!

So, I’ve been a bit remiss. I have yet to announce the winner of the “Destination Unknown” aka “Life Handed La a Heaping, Steaming Pile of PWND” Contest!

more cat pictures

Doh!

okay okay, I’ll get on with it.

And the winner just so happens to be a fellow Rubbernecking reenactment enthusiast, LadyMacha72 in all her boobie-flashing, smoking-quitting glory.

And because she’s a Ravelry Rubbernecker, I’m gonna give her a choice of prize. She could either…

a) Wait for the special Rubberneckers-inspired, limited-edition colorway called “Woe Cake With Tragic Cherry Topping” yet to be dyed.

or

b) She can receive instant gratification and take the mystery colorway behind door number 2.

Decisions…decisions…decisions. So, LadyM…email me your mailing addy and claim your prize!

For those of you still curious, our exotic-yet-not-to-be destination was Svishtov, Bulgaria for the “Eagle on the Danube” European Roman Festival. Whether the planning fell through, or our European contact was of the less-than-honest variety, the end result was the same: our entire group didn’t get go. The event still happened, and those who DID attend (mainly groups from central-eastern Europe) had a nice time, and are looking forward to going again next year.

At any rate, for those of you who wish to come and point and laugh at La being all Rometarded, especially those of you who have I lovingly call hoar, or spawned the littlest cylon, or, hell, just want a good laugh at my expense, I will be here this coming weekend. I may or may not be brandishing a wad of gorgeous pencil roving and a pretty little drop spindle. I’ll be the one in the gorgeous styled-in-the-hadrianic-fashion Roman wig. Thanks Wen!

Pattern: Tuscany, by Amy Singer from the book, “No Sheep For You” (ravel it)

Yarn: Brook’s Farm ACero 60% Super Wash Wool/20% Silk/20% Viscose, approximately 420 yd/skein. Two skeins used. The company calls this ‘fingering weight’, but I’d call it just under worsted myself. The light outside today refuses to give me pictures that don’t look lavender, but this yarn is pink.

Needles: Addi Turbo size US 6 (4 mm)

Mods/Thoughts: No modifications. LOVE this yarn soooooo much! It was a gift from Evilsciencechick and Grace at SAFF last year and this was one of my Mission: Possible 2008 projects (knit gift yarn into projects worthy of the love.) The yarn has a terrific drape and a bit of luster and it’s a total pleasure to knit with because it’s soft and springy and comfortable. There was a time-long, long ago-when I used to see Brooks Farm and wonder what the big deal was, but then I tried some. And then some more. And now this yarn and this company is still batting a thousand with me. I don’t know if I would have bought the Acero of my own accord, but you can bet I’ll be snapping it up next time.

The pattern is rhythmic and simple and I’m always a little leery of saying this, but I think it would be a good first lace project. The shawl itself is a little bit wider than it is long, which is exactly what I like in a triangular shawl. I’d like to see more patterned that way. It blocked out bigger than I was expecting, which is good because now it’s the perfect size. This took almost exactly two skeins of Acero. I decided to knit this yarn into this shawl because that seemed to be what everyone was doing with their two skeins of Acero. Turns out that sometimes the crowd knows what they’re talking about because this is a case of yarn and project that were meant for each other.

Happy Fourth to the American readers. I’ll be spending mine shopping with a couple of friends who also lack the typical girly shopping chromosomes. Guess where we’re not going? Yarn stores. Take that, stash!!

Okay, so I’m cheating a little bit. I done Effed this Oh a while ago, but I’m only just now getting around to posting about it.

Stats:
Pattern: Noodle Cozy (free pattern by yours truly!)
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky [104yds/50g] 1 ball Alpine Pearl
Needles: US Size 9 [5.5mm] Addi Turbos
Started: April 1, 2008
Finished: April 5, 2008
Mods/Notes: Well, since I wrote the pattern as I went, I guess you’d call the whole thing a mod. It’s just a basic 2 x 2 ribbed beanie with symmetric decreases at the crown. And as you see, it took me only 4 days to knit it, which means, it’ll take an average person 1 day. Or if you’re Jen, 1 hour.

I whipped this bad boy up after realizing that my sweet, frail (Ha!) 81-year-old dad had a beautiful hand-made Washburne scarf…

…but nothing to keep his melon from frosting over. With only a few days to make it, I knew simple and chunky was the way to go. And voila!

The yarn is bulky weight without LOOKING like a messy,cheating chunky bulky piece of sh knit. I like that! This is the first time I’ve ever worked with Malabrigo, and I really enjoyed it. Not as much as some of you, who would marry it, and then name all your children Malabrigo because you love it so much. YOU know who you are. But it IS a nice, soft yarn, with good body and lovely colors, so I can appreciate that love, even though I don’t quite share your complete enthusiasm…devotion…OBSESSION.

The pattern is a free download. You can either Ravel It!, or click the button below to be taken to my free patterns page.

P.S. Have you had a chance to enter the contest? July 4 is the cut-off date, so get your entries in soon! Wanna witness a good heaping serving of irony? Read. Watch life have a good laugh at La’s expense!

How do you even begin to comfort someone in a loss of this magnitude? My dear friend, Claudia, was working in her native country of Germany and couldn’t reach her husband. Now she has to return to a house and life without him. The shock in her group of friends is a palpable thing. I could tell you stories of how his generosity touched me personally, like how it was he who made my birthday cake last year-or how he always so unselfishly shared his wife with us. How he was always available and happy to look something up in one of Claudia’s knitting books for a friend who’d forgotten their pattern that day. Or I could tell you many stories of their loving marriage and the kindness and tenderness he always showed her. But words are so inadequate. My heart is breaking for you, sweet friend. We are all here for you when you’re ready to let us share the burden of your loss.