SP9, You're the BEST!

My SP9 is awesome! SP9, You're awesome!

I'm totally remiss in just posting this now, because I got my package a few days ago, and I love it.

Some pics of the fabulocity. (That's a word, right?)


Here we see a HANDMADE basket. That's right. Off her own needles I suspect, and freakin' gorgeous. Even the Lt said "hey, cool basket thingy!" It's yummy tealy navy-y and has a silver trim that curls around, very Cat Bordhi. That's not all, it's filled with some super soft aqua silk blend and limey green merino blend that is so yum, I may have been seen this weekend with my nose buried in it on more than one occasion. I am now the proud owner of my very own set of KnitPicks size 2 circs...mmmm, pointy. There WERE dark choc-o-lot M&M's (now found in my jeans, if ya know what I mean), some super cute knit-themed notes and a teeny little super kawaii tape measure that's a perfect size to keep in my desk for work knitting. She even sent me a CD, and totally pegged me on my music taste. Let's just say that I've been jammin' in my own personal karaoke studio also known as my car.

(P4 SP9: The last song on the CD was a nice touch, I laughed out loud!)

I was not the only one who was super excited at the arrival of a gift:


Thanks SP9!!! We love ya.

I'm stopping in the middle of a row to post this.

Addi "turbos" in size 0 SUCK. Flat out. SUCK. Majorly. In a big big way. Accept it. I have 2 matching 12" size 0's and they are both horrendous. I hate them both with a ferocity with which no knitting implement has ever been hated before. Except maybe intarsia-bobbins, but anyway...

Let me count the ways:
1. Crappy Join
2. Crappy Join
3. Crappy Join
4. TOO SHORT...jeez addi people, don't bend the damn things so close to the tip. Perhaps a large portion of the knitiverse has very small hands and only need 2 inches (I measured) of needle to grip before it bends off into oblivion. I am not in that portion.
5. Crappy Join. I need a damn bridge to get the damn yarn over the damn join. The gap is monstrous and the teeny tiny evil little yarn keeps falling in and getting lost.

I fling them from a cliff.

But only in my imagination as between the two I have 23.00 worth of evil hateful arthritis-inducing german metal in my hand. How is it possible that one cost 2.00 more than the other when I got them at the same place at the same time? Further proof of their evilness.

I wave my paw at them and say "Bah."

Tomorrow: a happy post.

Round 1

Alright, the first round has gone to The Project. I was very sad, but that's the fact of it.

Turns out, most on-line yarn stores keep a handfull of the most commonly purchased colors of Louet Sales Gems yarns, but order the rest straight from Louet when the customer asks. Also turns out, I happened upon one of the most helpful, customer-oriented online yarn stores around!

The next time you need Louet products, please please please visit Wendy at Lanas de Libelula. The site's homespun, the yarn's handpainted, the product commentary is funny. She has been really helpful, even offering to contact another LYS in her area to see if she could get me their yarn at her price!

Now that I'm looking at an extra week until I get my yarn, I'm considering moving my deadline to New Year's... I can reneg this early in the game, right? Here's why:
Say the yarn arrives exactly 3 weeks from today, that's December 8th. That gives me 17 days to swatch, knit, block, seam and finish an entire cardigan that's knit on size 1 and 3 needles. Even in my excitement am I not that high. Perhaps if I were willing to forgo sleep for those 17 days...no, not even then.

So, the yarn got a good punch in. The Knitter shakes it off and regroups.

Delusions of Grandeur

So, here I am with plenty projects going that I could work on, to name but a few:
-4 super-secret gifts (SSG)
-1 Technicolor Dream Sweater
-1 Eris...this may get frogged, I'm not feelin' it
-1 project for Barley, as yet unnamed

But, you know how it goes as a knitter, some things lose the excitement. Of the SSG's, one is a tad complicated for my fried out brain. One is SO close to being done, it's really pathetic that I don't sit down and bust out the 2 hours MAX it would take to finish it. One I can't guarantee I'll ever finish, and the last is waiting on the needles to come out of the Orangina-of-which-we-do-not-speak.

In order to boost the excitement, and you'll notice I try this method more frequently than is truly adviseable, I've decided to start a new project. And not just start one, but attempt to order the yarn, wait for the yarn to arrive, knit the blasted thing, and finalize it by: CHRISTMAS. Can it be done? By the girl who never finishes ANYTHING? In barely 5 weeks? Well, we'll just see, won't we.

Of course, to make a true assessment and place your bets, (come on, somebody please bet FOR me!!) you need more information on the contenders. I do not dissapoint:

In one corner we have The Project:
1. The pattern: Vintage Pink Cardigan, by Nora Gaughan, published IK Spring 05.

2. The yarn: Louet Sales Gems Opal, superwash merino, sport weight, color Shamrock.

3. The buttons:


In the other corner, we have The Knitter:
Ashley. AKA: QTPURL2T. You won't find this chicky in baggy satin shorts because EEWW. She's in well-fitting Lucky jeans (worth every penny) and a top by Old Navy that makes her boobs look great. While she has a history of painfully SUH-LOW knitting, she's been dreaming about this cardi since it came out, and knows it'll be super-kawaii with the sparkly buttons and shiny pink lip gloss. She plans to add in some bust-shaping so there will be curve-huggage but no botton-band-gappage.

Ashley's no sucker, she's surfed the web and found her opponent's weak spots, a yarn shop in San Diego selling the yarn for $1.50/sk less than the manufacturer: SUCKAZ. She's also found a great price on the buttons, and has decided that 2 pairs of new Addi's are for the birds. The Susan Bates already in the yarn closet will be the weapons of choice.

The VISA is out...she thinks she remembers her PayPal password...

Ladies and Gentlemen, ante up.

Thank God

I'm not the only one who looks like this after hauling my ass off a plane.

Gomennasai

I know it's been a million years since I've posted, and yet, somehow my rockin' awesome SP9 has managed to get a package on it's way! I'm waiting and doing everything but bite my nails to keep from nagging the Lt about the mail. I think I've developed a slight twitch.

As I said, there has been much knitting on the Orangina. Evil little slag that she is. I take the liberty to call her horrible names because, fellow knitters, SHE DOESN'T EFFING FIT. That's right. Too small. There is much boobage poking thru the lace. There is much blubbage distorting the ribbed bottom. There is no way in hell this will ever be a flattering top on me. The neckline is awful on me, and the sleeve non-shaping makes my arms look like, like, well, it isn't pretty. I refuse to cry. I refuse to frog. I shall marinate the blasted thing in solitary confinement until we move, and then I'll take it out, curse at it like a drunken Marine, and put it back into confinement. I'll revisit the issue in 2017 when we retire. As for now, I shall eat cheesecake and blur the memory that I ever knit a stitch of...of...of what? See, it works! Here's a mugshot of the offender:

We shall speak of this no more.

Knitting is not the only thing that has gone to the wayside since I've gone back to work. Here is a plant that hasn't been re-potted. He languishes in his craptastic plastic nursery pot.


Here is a pumpkin that hasn't been carved. I'm thinking of tracing my hand on it and calling it a turkey.


I told you about the bentos and how freaking cute they are, right? Here's a little bit just to show you. Keep in mind, I'm a super-new-novice, and this is truly the tip of the iceberg.

Here we have yumm-o pear cut out into sakura blossoms and cottage cheese, with a little avocado to stir in. MMMMM. How cute is the little heart foil!!!

This is a two-level bento, the cottage cheese gets a lid and goes on bottom, then the pear stacks on top, and it all snaps together with the cutest lid you've ever seen. It's so sweet it makes my teeth hurt, and I think you'll agree!