Lick My Sticks

…to Christine

Nia was born last Thursday, the 13th. Yay babies!!

Kaitlyn’s turn!!

THE HOMETOWN SHOW! I almost forgot to add this! The show was fucking amazing!! Every friend I had over the last 20 years showed up. People I hadn’t seen in 2, 5, even 7 years!! Everyone stuck around to watch us play last, we were ON, it was GREAT. I was on a high all week from it!!

Click here for photos from the show. (Opens in new window)

SO…
I’ve decided that I’m suffering some form of knitting karma…

Orangina is fighting me. She keeps mysteriously eating stitches, causing me to frog this three times this week after crossing the two-inch-just starting-to-feel-accomplished mark. Lace and me (a pothead who’s enemy in life is numbers and keeping track of them) don’t mesh well. Don’t get me wrong- I can do it, but not before 3-4 tantrums and multiple DO-OVER’s.

I am shown here in mock-happiness for my third cast on.

Now this do-over might not have pissed me off so much, if I hadn’t come home to this:

Now…for those of you paying attention, that is the yarn I’m knitting the DAMN SOCK (which I frogged and re-did, more on this in a moment) with. Now…shown here is what was in the living room when I got home, this does not show the yarn going up the stairs, around the banister, into Zoe’s room and finally ending in my bedroom, where the actually WIP was safely locked inside the plastic pencil case I keep my knitting “stuff” in. Had this not been saftely locked inside, I’d have lost the sock, too.

THIS might not have pissed me off so much if I didn’t spend THREE hours untangling the SAME yarn the night before, because Dio decided he’d be the stereotypical kitten and have a romp with the skien.

So if you’re counting, that’s three times for Orangina, and 2 and a half for the damn sock.

You see what I must contend with?

School lately has been insane. Test after test, everything is due, I’m going out of my mind trying to keep up. I’m a horrible procrastinator and I’m worse at the the end of a semester. I got a perfect score on my 2nd Astronomy exam today, so that at least perked me up. Tomorrow I’m in the dark room all day prepping for our showcase in the school’s library. Chris has an entire panel for his “Death Wish” series (that I modeled for twice) and my Photo II class has a bunch of space for our “Prop” assignment. She gave us a mirror panel to use and I think my shoot came out pretty cool. I’ll post some pictures once they’re developed and scanned.

I have “an opening” Thursday, one of my photo projects made into the gallery for the Student Art Show. I know it’s not that big a deal but I’m pretty excited about it.

Today Zoe and I went CRAFT CRAZY and made tissue paper flowers. For any of you with small children, you know these wonderful bonding activities require a great deal of patience. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself, but when we were done, it was go-in-your-room-and-watch-a-movie-time for Miss Zoe. She had fun though, and eagerly posed for a picture for Mommy’s blog.

I’ve also been obsessed with learning new crafts lately and picked up some oragami paper at A.C. Moore…I ended up mindlessly making crane after crane whilst engrossed in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

Now after all my knitting suffering you’d think the animals would let me and my paper creations alone. You’d be so tragically wrong…

Animals and crafting…do NOT mix.

My knitpicks order is still missing, however I did get these in the mail the other day:

mmmmmm new skates.

My chinese food is here, I am awash with glee.

I’ll leave you with my paltry progress on the damn sock: (done right this time)

I have progress bars! eeeee! I am the epitomy of a nerd. Thanks to Kaitlyn for posting this! I’ve been terrified to try setting these up before but ever since I DOMINATED (yeah, that’s right) this blog I am fearless!

Tonight I took my anger at my child out on my debit card and bought some books on Amazon (all used of course, do I look rich to you?). With the intention of loading up on books for the summer, I got: (for about 20 bucks!)
The Lovely Bones- Alice Seabold

A Room of One’s Own- Virginia Wolf

At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much-
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic-
Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

I feel I should explain the parenting book. I don’t know what I’m doing. All I know is that my child has spent the last two years unable to sit still, pay attention, and stop talking in school. I’ve punished, praised, ignored, blown up, belittled, cried, yelled, shrugged it off. I can’t get her to stop. My child is kicking ass and taking names in reading, but her math…like mine, is not even coming close to soaking in.

Her teacher called tonight, we’ve gotten her a tutor for Math, but I’m beyond ideas for the talking and utter lack of respect for the teacher. My mom said she was always dead against buying a book and looking back she wished that she did, even just to “check herself” and think before she acted. I figure it can’t hurt. Zoe’s so smart and awesome, there’s gotta be some other approach I can take, and this book is supposed to be good, so why not.

I’m about to finish Nickel and Dimed, which is a great read. It’s about a woman who tries to live off minimum wage in three different cities. It’s really funny, light reading for such an unfunny and serious subject. I highly recommend it! I’ve had to put American Psycho on hiatus for school, and I have to start Native Son this week.

Enough about books, I know! On the agenda for tomorrow: cutting Astronomy because my 1st and 3rd classes cancelled and I’m taking it as a sign. Off to the Coalition for Social Justice to help with a mail out, then back home to get ready for the hometown show with Smite The Righteous. (I’m VERY nervous about this one, I might go for a skate to chill out beforehand) Now-I’m off to finish my book and maybe knit some of the damn sock. I just bought my orangina pattern and should be casting on this weekend!!

I read this tonight on Natasha’s blog and had to re-post. I laughed so hard because it’s so true!!

Letter to My Pets:

When I say to move, it means to go someplace else, not to switch positions with each other so there are still two of you in my way. The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. All other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note that placing your paw print in the middle of MY plate and food does not stake a claim making it YOUR plate and food.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help in your quest to reach the bottom first, because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this Do not think that I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.

It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to one another, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge of the door and try to pull it open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Honest. Also, I have been using the bathroom by myself for quite some time — canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

I can’t stress this one enough — kiss me, THEN go smell the other dog’s/cat’s behind.

To pacify you, my dear companions, I have posted the following notice on our front door:

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and then Complain About Our Pets

1. The pets live here. You don’t.

2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That’s why it’s called “fur”niture.)

3. To you, our pets are just animals. To us, they are an adopted son/daughter who happens to be hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

4. Dogs and cats are better than kids because: – they don’t ask for money all the time – they are easier to train – they usually come when called – they don’t hang out with drug-using friends – they don’t need a gazillion dollars for a college education, and – if they get pregnant, you can sell the children.
AS FOR KNITTING-RELATEDNESS:

Thanks for the help on the socks! I get it know and found a flaw in the damn pattern!! Slip the slips my arse!

I am accumulating yarn in my “basket” on knitpicks.com for when tax returns come in Friday. muahaha. I’m buying some pretty lacey mohair…I was to knit a shawl or something like that that is very ethereal (only word I can think of to fit what I have in mind) any ideas?

I am buying yarn for this.

I am going to attempt orangina in this random German yarn I got at a swap. Wish me luck on gauge.

I also purchased yarn for Zoe’s Ballerina top from Loop-d-Loop.

Next post will have some progress on the “damn sock” (which is now it’s official name…I modified the pattern, so I’m naming it.) and hopefully cast-on’s for Zoe’s top and Orangina.

I also bought some ruby red Lamb’s Pride worsted to make a felted cloche (spelling?) hat. No pattern in particular on hand, but I’ll find one…cause I want one.

Lastly, I finally signed up for Bloglines. I’m still trying to find the button to add to my site, but it’ll be there soon!

I hate that no matter how many times I read a pattern I won’t figure out that I read it wrong until hours of work has slipped by! I started making some easy socks, from the back of a yarn label, to break myself in on sock knitting. The instructions told me to knit 2 purl 2 rib for ONE INCH, then ST st until the cuff is 6 inches. Somehow I read that as do the rib for 6 inches. So I figured, fuck it, I’ll just make them that way…then I get to a weird command for the heel flap. It says to Slip 1. Knit 1. right across row 1, and Slip 1. Purl 1. across row 2, then repeat. WTF does that mean? I tried slipping one stitch, then knitting the next, but you can’t do that cause you’re slipping the same unknit stitch in row 2 and it doesn’t work like that. I tried slipping the stitch and then knitting it, but that’s the same as knitting it. What the hell am I doing wrong here? I’m heading to craftster after I finish this blog to investigate. Anyway, here’s the progress on sock number one before I got to this hellish heel.

Besides knitting I’ve finally, using a sweet diagram I found online, threaded up Stella and took her for a spin. I figured out all the settings by trial and error, and she is friggen sweet. I made this shirt in celebration. I am a T-mod fanatic now.

My tax returns come in this week, I’m THRILLED. My electricity is going off tomorrow, so it’s definately needed! We’ve started looking at apartments, we’re aiming to get the hell out of here within the month, shacking up with Julie and her daughter Alexis. (Who I adore.) Any roommate will be better than the last…

Today was BEAUTIFUL outside! We got up, hit Gary’s Best for hotdogs, met up with Julie and Alexis and went up to Fort Taber. I strapped on my roller skates for the FOURTH time this week and rolled alongside the ocean, soaking in the sunshine and sea breeze. We picked up Zoe, went over to Buttonwood Park (see pic) where I planted in the dusty grass and knit while the girls played and my dog barked at everything that moved. THEN, we decided to take the girls to Chuck E. Cheese’s for Alexis’s belated birthday gift. They had a blast! Jon and I rocked the skeeball until the girls had a few hundred tickets a piece to purchase their crappy toys that couldn’t have made them happier.

Now we’re home and in bed, Jon is racing through the DaVinci Code and I intend to finish Nickel and Dimed tonight, as well as get an assignment done. (It’s 10:30pm, I am dumb.) This week promises to keep me busy, tracking apartments, catching up on assignments, roller skating my heart out (yay spring!), working on these wretched socks, making my t-shirt collection sexxxy, and my band has a show in my hometown of Quincy on Friday. I can’t wait.

Well that’s all for now. I’ll leave you with a paltry excuse for a photo of the BEAUTIFUL yarn my dearest Jacey sent me. She had (like I do with all things mail) forgotten to send my 2nd SP package for a while and completely spoiled me by letting me pick anything from her store (Insubordiknit…check it out). This is the most incredible yarn, it has buttons, beads, worry dolls, easter grass, and all kinds of awesome stuff spun into it. I am so incredibly grateful, I could kiss her feet. Behold!