Must Have Knitting Content

Remember two years ago--three years ago--when every single day had to include some form of knitting--or at least fiber art--since I can now crochet and such--every day or I just didn't feel good about myself?
Well, last year that really went to hell in a hand-basket. Alot happened last year. Alot. And I have been sort of not myself for two years now anyway--that's a lie--I haven't been myself in way longer than that.
Say 1993? 1994? to start?
Anyway--2008 was a really terrible year--even though it was an incredibly good year as well. In 2008 I finally got all my sh*t together.
Got on my feet financially. Bought my house. Killed the car. Moved--mostly. :-)
I found my happy place. I found a home.

I do not usually knit when upset--or if I go the opposite route--I knit alot. Obsessively and compulsively. Even if nothing comes of it. I will admit I am a bit on edge at the moment--or I have been up until today--today thus far has been a stellar day--talk about getting things done. Wah-hoo! :-)

I balked at the December holidays as I had set myself up a mighty task of many fiber-y things for many people. I failed miserably at most of those tasks. I did however manage to finally FINALLY finish the mermaid doll I have been promising my niece for what two years now? Yes, I am a bad auntie. It is true. But--I didn't want to KNIT another one--I wanted an amigurumi version. And I found it--on etsy . The doll went over tremendously well. I also managed to crochet some scarves and knit some scarves. And I am more than halfway done with a willie warmer--but I have until January 3 to finish that. The use of dpns that size makes my fingertips hurt--so I have been taking it in stages.
I have a real Scotsman that hangs around looking for weird things to wear beneath his kilt--and lucky me--I can knit--and crochet. Will wait to sew one from fleece for him.

Question: can someone explain to me the reason the bottom of the sac opens? I have asked a couple guys and they are all of the opinion it must be to vent and allow air in if things get a little warm. Is this true--or is there something we are all missing about such things? Enquiring minds want to know. :-)

However, once the kids were gone to the x's --and my house emptied of guests--I had no other desire than to pick up needles and yarn and DO something.

I have frogged no less than 2 shawls and roughly 6 hats. All for various reasons. I have been updating my ravelry space darn near daily--to my utter delight. I even frogged the old patons essence shawl that I had stopped when we were in WV. I reclaimed just over 2 skeins of patons essence again--and I am very happy about that. Now I am looking forward to recycling all those sweaters I have in storage waiting for me to get to them--

I have finished three hats. I have found out that I have one skein of yarn that is just not enough to finish a hat--though I tried very hard to make it work out--but it didn't.
The one thing I did finally learn was how not to start any project in the round by working things back and forth until I feel confident enough to join things and work around without having to worry about the stitches being twisted. Now I cast on and go working in the rounds from the get-go without worrying about the stitches

I have alot of planning to do for the coming year.
I decided not to buy any knitting or crocheting books--and then I saw some hats from 'Boutique Knits' and I thought--well--maybe just this one.......
but -- lucky me--I have connections who have library cards in the ST Louis County library system. Mwah haha. :-)

I need to decide what I am making for the kids -- I want to both sew them blankets and crochet them blankets.
I have a nesting instinct going on which is calling me to start thinking of what I am going to make for the forth-coming babies. I think I am going to focus on hats and booties and soakers and blankets and such simply because until I am actually pregnant I have no clue what season they will be bourn in--and although I get alot of conflicting information there I am erring on the side of caution--lest I put alot of effort into sweaters that are too small to begin with, the right size for the wrong season--or the wrong size for the right season...so I need to make a list there.
In 2008 I had planned to knit from my books--did I? Well, maybe a little. I bought too many patterns from etsy--and discovered that all patterns are not created equal--and I can use that as a hefty excuse not to make them up. Otherwise everyone I know would have had a very sushi holiday. :-)
My plan this year is to knit my own stuff. I am unpacking gobs of stuff--and I have TONS of patterns I have printed out and/or copied down--I mean binders and folders and just plain old stacks of paper covered with patterns all over the place. I have a 72 in tall bookcase full of nothing but fiber books--knitting, crocheting and the few spinning books I have. Full. In 2008 I did manage to release all the books I no longer wanted (on the fiber front at least--I am still working on the rest :-) )--and as I look over some of these books it dawns on me--I couldn't tell you what is inside most of these books--much less why I bought them--why I keep them--or what I could possibly desire to knit from them.
If i want a pattern for something--what's the first thing I do? I go to ravelry, of course. If I can't find it there for free I usually do not need it.

I spent hours yesterday trying to find my fleshed-out outline for my knitting book (remember that? it's still here, yes--I kind of laid it aside when I learned to crochet--because my crochet really expanded my knitting world--but now I actually want to work up the patterns in my own book--because that is one of my goals for 2009--to knit my own stuff from my own book so I can have examples so I can get the darn thing published!)--I think it must be in my boxes still at dad's--and I am not going for those until at least March -- simply because I am not going alone again--and E is not coming w me--she says she is far too afraid to move again--and she also thinks we will be moving within the year. I said if we do move, someone is moving us--we aren't doing it all by ourselves again. Note here: I said when we moved in here that we'd be here 3-5 years--but the more I think about what the small girl has to say the more i think she may be right--we may only be in this house a year before we sell it--but we aren't leaving this area for 3-5 years--long back story here that I am not getting into at the moment--lest I jinx it. :-)

I also lost one of E's holiday presents--I put it somewhere safe in the storage room--then re-arranged and stuffed full the storage room--and for the life of me cannot figure out what I did with the thing. It's an ant farm--with the blue gel stuff instead of sand. Yes, I got her ants instead of a snake--and thank goodness the ants are not actually in the thing. So--this pay check I am looking to buy some vertical storage things to sort and store paperwork in--rather than buying yet another bookcase. Plus, if I manage it correctly, I can have the sucker delivered--which for me is a god-send and about the only way I am going to get anything into this house as the car is still sitting in the carport awaiting the ever-unreachable claims adjuster to get off her butt and actually do something other than pretend to call me--when you call a person back within moments of her calling you and there's no answer--more than once--then the issue is not with you. Really. :-)

Also on the agenda is to set up a business here in the state I am living so that I am covered on that basis. I am trying to ponder if I should save the $500 for the car--or move forward on the business --which would be more--effective. But I have time to ponder that more--and saving the $500 makes me feel better in either direction anyway. I have to go talk to someone about the legal ins and outs there.


Typed 12/29/08 before my son came over and accidentally killed my computer monitor
more will be forth-coming asap :-)

Well, Those Who Know Me Knew It Was Coming

Ok, so I watched 'Wanted' with Angelina Jolie. I can deal with it. It's not a bad movie, just not really the kind I like. I prefer knowing just what the back-story to all of this 'stuff' is rather than watching the blood and gore and ultra-violence. Except in certain moods. Do not get me wrong--I liked the movie--it's just not one of my top ten all time picks.

I want to know things like why the weavers became assassins. Who learned to curve the bullets and what were they doing that caused them to have such a discovery. That thing. What I do not need is more visions of bad sex, cheaters having bad sex, and stupid people trapped in lives they hate--or of the sad individuals trapped in those lives finding out they are some sort of fantasy super-hero.

But--it's kind of obvious I have a thing for tattoos. I have so many tattoos--and small ones--the biggest one I have is roughly 5x7--most are only a couple inches big around--I have so many I actually have to stop and count--and then count again because I miss some. Every time.

Anyway, I love Angelina Jolie's tattoos in this movie--or just the fact that she showed them all on film. I am no longer impressed with Angelina naked--I'm sorry. I am not dissing the woman or saying anything negative about her. She is still absolutely gorgeous. But--the whole wow she's naked thing with her has lost the appeal with me. Maybe it's the whole she's someone's mother and now she feels the need to show off that much more because of it or something. I don't know.

I spent some time online looking up celebrity tattoos. And then just tattoos in general.

Now --I have been planning a bronze Chinese wind dragon running from my ankle all the way up to my waist--winding up my leg, opposite the octopus.
I have been planning a small forest on my chest to compliment the wolf.
And since the moment the ink first hit my lower spine for the om I have wanted something that goes all the way up my spine--I originally wanted om mani padme hum from the top of my spine to the bottom--but it morphed into the single symbol.
I want to find a design that incorporates all the symbols on my back--from lower spine to the top of my neck--or at least up to the tree. I have been dreaming about swirling wings and Oriental designs--but in order to make everything fit properly, flowing properly. And believe it or not, I cannot have certain images permanently placed upon my body.

I know it has to be black ink--which is my preferred medium anyway--the design must flow like water--it must have something wing-like--and it must incorporate at least four of the five tattoos on my back. It cannot have spider-webs or webbing to it. Some colour can be used, but overall black ink is the name of the day. It can have knot-work galore--as well as fish scales....I need to maintain a very Oriental symbology -- incorporating all the aspects I started with the rest of the tattoos.

I am going to have bf take a picture of my back for me so I can start working up a design. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome To The New Blog

Ok, so the more I try to learn about wordpress--the more they change everything. And since I get blogger here without issues--usually anyway--I am going to use this for my personal blog until I figure out the more professional wordpress.
Wordpress, btw, does work beautifully for my work blog--but I don't want to upload pictures or anything over there. It's strictly an article based blog.

Here we are, on the raggedy edge, the end of the year of 2008. And I have been thinking for over a week now about the things I want to do--and the way I want to keep track of everything. Breaking things into separate blogs last year (well, 2008) did not help me nor motivate me at all--in fact--it more than ticked me off a little. Even with my whole blogging without obligation thing going on.

I decided one blog would be--should be--more than enough to make me happy--and keep me that way. But the old blog--has alot of other stuff attached to it. I purge my journals periodically--especially after leaving toxic situations--and although 2008 wasn't too bad (not like say 2001/02 or 2006--but there was alot going on--that no longer has bearing on things right now.

Plus I am really looking forward to the coming year. :-) I have a feeling about 2009--and it's one of those feelings that makes me both happy--and frightened--all at the same time. A good sort of frightened--but still.

So--here I am. Going about things all over again.

I am planning to leave the old blogs up and running--for the most part. Otherwise, I plan to use this blog as much as I can and as much as I am able.

Much more to come.

Peace. :-)