Lick My Sticks

File under: Completely unrelated to knitting but helpful tips…

It pisses me off. It’s unnecessary tree murder. Here’s how to stop about 80% of it:

This is the Postal Service Statement:

The Postal Service must deliver all properly posted mail. You can, however, reduce the amount of advertising mail you receive by contacting the following organizations to request removal of your name from mailing lists:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512-0282

Trans Union LLC
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094-0505

Experian Consumer Services
901 W. Bond Street
Lincoln, NE 68521-3694

Equifax Inc.
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Up to 90 percent of mailing lists are accessed by this process. Registrants generally note a decrease of unsolicited mail one to three months after their names are listed. Since some customers may receive mail under various names, include alternative names or spellings to ensure that the advertiser’s mail is stopped.

In summary, by law we must deliver ALL mail that has been paid for – including your private personal mail and that of businesses and organizations.

And if that doesn’t stop it all…do what the geniuses at redpac.com suggested and save all their postage paid return envelopes and mail them back empty or with something stupid inside…on their dime! Amazing.

I’ve written my letters and will be saving my envelopes. This is guerrilla mail/warfare!

I got a great email from Sherry over at Addicted to the Needles today and I asked her if I could share it. It kind of shows two things. People still have definite preconceptions about knitting (a fun challenge to break I think) and that knitting, more specifically the knitting blog community, brings so many different people together. I like to think about that stuff sometimes. A Sunday school teacher like Sherry could sit across from a degenerate punk ass like myself on the subway and see no reason to strike up conversation normally…but if I were knitting? Think about that!

I’m so different from a lot of you, but we’re all linked by our freakish healthy obsession with sticks and string. Pretty fucking cool, eh?

Here’s the letter:

I thought you might enjoy a funny story about your site.  My daughter and her boyfriend, Jeff are both rather punky.  He is in a couple of bands and has several piercings, they like to wear skulls, stuff like that(not that theres anything wrong with that) Well, being the conservative Sunday school teacher/mom that I am, they are a little out there for me at times and I am always teasing them about the things they do.  Well, I have been lurking on your site for quite awhile and love it–Imagine Jeff’s surprise while looking over my shoulder he sees your topper and your 11/16/06 post.  He was like wh, wh, wh, what??!!??  Then he saw the bad ass knitters club and was shocked.  “I didnt know there were knitters like that,” he says.  Oh yeah we are just a bunch of middle-aged moms with nothing to do!!!    Now his favorite thing to ask me is if I have joined the bad ass knitters yet!! 

Tomorrow (probably) I’ll have lots of pictures of today’s sledding excursion complete with photos of my wimpy dog zipped into my jacket shivering. I’ve also cast on for Branching Out, finished Fetching, and am still successfully ignoring my Jaywalkers.

I saw this on My Eclectic Mess yesterday and thought I’d do it.

Soundtrack of my Life

Directions: If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

1. Open your mp3 library
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press Play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the Next button.
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool.
7. Don’t skip songs.

My Movie:

1. Opening credits: Punk Rock Tragedy – The Casualties
2. Waking up: The Girls of Porn – Mr. Bungle (hahah)
3. First day of school: God Machine – Acid Bath
4. Fight song: Shut Your Mouth – Pain
5. Breaking up: Cold Light – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. Happiness: Banned In DC – Bad Brains
7. Life’s okay: Ram It Down – Judas Priest
8. Mental breakdown: Incoherence – Mr. Bungle
9. Driving: Cursed We Are – I
10. Flashback: Morbid Fascination of Death – Carpathian Forest
11. Getting back together: Love None – Soilent Green
12. Wedding song: Why Do You Bother – Faith No More (hahaha)
13. Birth of first child: Rapid Eye Movement – Head Control System
14. Final battle scene: Chambers of Dis – Morbid Angel
15. Death scene: Chinese Arithmetic – Faith No More
16. Funeral song: R’n'R – Faith No More
17. End credits: Had To (Leave) – Katatonia
If you’re reading this, I’m tagging you! Let’s see it!

Like the jerk I am, I ignored my WIP’s and cast on for Fetching. I’m getting close to being done, for the second time. I frogged one to do a purl row before the Picot bind-off so it would lay flat. (Thanks for the tip, Donna!) They’re a pretty fun (and fast) knit!

I was laying in bed yesterday having a Daily Show marathon (downloaded a torrent of ALL January’s shows) when I started, for no reason, thinking about Orangina. I was thinking about how it’s way too big for me and how I messed up a lace row. Two hours later this is Orangina:

I’m going to reknit it, smaller and flawless. I may also frog Baccarat’s shoulders and reknit them so it actually fits me, too.

I think I’m transitioning into a real process knitter. Before I’d sail by mistakes just to get the thing finished, but I can’t do that anymore. I don’t wear any of the tops I’ve knit, and I want to start making things wearable. I may even start swatching! (I heard that gasp from you! Hush!)

I’m off to finish my Fetching mitts, I so love them already. I leave you to ponder the following…

Are we ever as comfortable as a cat?

Photobucket has FINALLY done something to convince me to never use another photo service again. They gave me the XP Publisher plug in. You can download this little file and upload your photos right from the folder on your computer. That POS Flock thing sucked, and uploading one-by-one sucked, this…is awesome. Guess I’ll be renewing my subscription next month.

Two FO’s for you today! I put off the ribbon part of my Baby Kimono forever because I didn’t like any of the ribbon I had. Then I was cleaning my sewing box last night and out fell just enough of the perfect ribbon. So here it is:

Pattern: Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting

Yarn: Idena Twins in #307 (Pink/White)

And another boring black pair of Knucks came off the needles the other night, just for me. They’re made from Microspun and they’re super soft and smooth. They yarn and smaller needles combo made them tighten up and fit my smaller hands much better than the test-pair.

Pattern: Knitty’s Knucks

Yarn: Lion Brand Microspun in #153 (black) Knit on size 3’s to make them more snug.
(That’s my Valentine’s rose that has been cheering up my sewing table all week. I must admit my dorkiness for flowers is pretty extreme.)

I’m still plugging away on my Jaywalker. I think I am the slowest sock knitter on Earth. KB was saying he was on his blog the other day but I dunno…I’m pretty damn slow. He and I should have a slow-off. Although I’ve been knitting and re-knitting this thing for a year so I’ve got a head start.

It’s coming along though I guess. Sloooowwwwwlllllyyyy

I’d like to talk a bit about why people have pets. Humans keep pets for companionship, right? Cats and dogs who loyally love you no matter what. You didn’t get that job? Doesn’t matter, Fido still loves you. Boyfriend dumps you for some skank from the local Hotdog joint? Kitty will still curl up with you at night. You know what loyal animals SHOULDN’T do?

Eat your fucking size 3 Crystal Palace ten dollar needles! (I gotta fix the picture, I know…but you get the idea.) These BASTARD animals tag-teamed to accomplish this destruction. The cat fished it out of my knitting bag and the damn dog went to town. I almost cried. My very first (and only) Crystal Palace needles. I feel so betrayed. For payback I clipped both of their nails and didn’t even feel bad doing it. Screw you both.

Now to prevent me from dropping them both out the window all I have to do is look at them sleeping together:

Or being cute:

Or protecting the house from intruder flies (flies which somehow are alive in the winter? wtf?)

They just don’t know how close to their end they came. Luckily, they’re too adorable to be mad at for long.

I got a shipment of books yesterday (I joined another bookclub…I think I have a sickness…I barely remember signing up for this one. From the confirmation email I apparently did this at 4am last month.)

Yes…those are two Martha Stewart books. Yes I do love her. The YOU On a Diet book is really cool. It tells you all about how your body works, and it’s really funny. I thought instead of constantly beating myself up to go on a diet, I’d learn how everything works and go from there. I’d love to drop the 20lbs I’ve pack on the last couple of years. Unfortunately I love the six pack you can drink more than the six pack you can show off.

The others are all novels, cause clearly the stack beside my bed isn’t quite big enough yet. I can’t help myself…I love books.

I also love Knit Picks, so I spent my etsy savings on yarn. I got beautiful green Merino Style for Knit and Tonic’s Sizzle and some black Shine for a cabled, hooded scarf. I also grabbed some purple Cotlin for Knitty’s Twinkletoes for Zoe, and a sweater stone. I can’t stand the wait already and it’s only been a couple of days.

I should be finishing the stuff on my February Is For Finishing list but all I want to do is cast on for Fetching and turn this:

…into Branching Out. I made Branching Out a million years ago but I don’t like it and gave it to Zoe. This yarn is so effing gorgeous and I think it’s time it became something.

Well…my knitting is calling, my throat is killing (my glands are swollen about 20 out of 30 days per month…I think my body is trying to choke slam me.) and I’m hungry. I’m outta here.

Sorry the posts have slowed down, school and Craftster craft swaps have been keeping me pretty busy! Looking forward to the start of Secret Pal 10!!

Woo!

Still trying to figure out what this is…but I am good at partying!

Wimps have 10 more minutes to cry over their last ex!!! I’ve seen more whiny myspace bulletins today than I care to count.

For fuck’s sake…if you’re single…SO WHAT!? Do you really need someone else to measure your self worth? Grow up! This is a stupid holiday created SOLELY to reinforce the bullshit notion that if you’re not married by 20 you’re somehow a failure. Gah. HATE this “holiday”.

However I did get a sweet rose and some chocolate from the DH, appreciated despite my feelings on today. I leave you with two adorable, romantic, greeting care worthy photos…

For the knitters:

And for the fun of it:

And it is now midnight. Dry your tears Emo kids. You’re going to be O.K.

Slacking this week on posting, but not knitting! I’m plugging away at my Jaywalker sock, finished my Baby Kimono (except the ribbons), and started the second Damn Sock.

I’m organizing a Charm Swap on Craftster, in the Secret Detective swap and excited for Secret Pal 10! So I’ll be busy, busy, busy!!

For the school nerds out there…has anyone been invited to join Phi Theta Kappa? If so…how is it? I’m sending back the application they sent this week. Pretty cool!

Update with FO’s soon! Just gotta get by this week (lots of exams!!)

Also- I’ve sold 7 pairs of the Lick My Sticks earrings! Yay! I’ll be casting some knitting themed resin pendants this week, too! (All in the name of stash building!) I’ve also posted these this week…I think they’re pretty neat!

It’s that time again! I’ve been waiting a bit for SP10 sign ups, this one falls at a good time for me, time and money wise! I’m excited! Here goes!

Secret Pal 10 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love natural fibers, although mohair makes me itch like crazy. I’m not a total yarn nazi, I use blends…but god help you if I see fun fur.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
At the moment a vase my daughter made me for the straights, I’m in the middle of making a circular holder to hang in my craft room.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting almost 3 years now, I learned the basics from my mother in law and taught myself the rest. I’m an intermediate knitter I think. I can do lots of increases, decreases, cables, etc. However you won’t see me churning out elaborate fair isle afghans…I just don’t have that kind of patience.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have a wist here.
And an amazon list here.

5. What’s your favorite scent?
Lilacs, and anything that smells like rituals and magic and forests and stuff. The Goth Rosary is my favorite source of yummy smells.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do. I love Swedish Fish and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups..a lot. Good chocolate is always a Pam-pleaser.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I love to sew…mostly recon’d t-shirts lately, but I also love making bags out of cool material. I dabble in spinning. I make earrings, decoupage boxes…pretty much anything crafty I enjoy. I want to pick up subversive cross stitching and embroidery.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like ze heavy metal. My computer can play mp3’s, I also have an iPod. There’s a big list of bands I like on my myspace.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I like all colors except blue and brown. I hate the shit out of blue, actually. Not HUGE on yellow. I love black, hot pink, dark reds, dark purples, forest or jade greens, and for some reason I like orange.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live in an apartment with my husband Jon, my 7 year old daughter, Zoe, a cat named Kitty James Dio, and a tempermental/co-dependent dog named Abbath who my life pretty much revolves around.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear scarves, hats, mittens…never worn a poncho.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Lately I’ve been knitting a lot of socks. I like large intricate projects as well as small instant gratification projects like wrist warmers.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A baby kimono from Mason-Dixon knits for my cousin, and 2 pairs of socks. I’m casting on soon for gloves for my mom and Fetching wristwarmers for myself.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like both. Bamboo is my favorite. If I use metal I used quicksilvers. Otherwise I hate metals, they make my hands hurt.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No. But I aspire to own both someday.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I hate you for making me admit this. I have TWO from last Christmas!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, although I’m starting to really love Christmas. And of course there’s a warm spot in this drunken Irish girl’s heart for St. Patties Day.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn…band t-shirts to cut up…souls of neighborhood children.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have a Knit.1 subscription and I think I put in for Interweave Knits a few weeks ago. I buy things when I’m half asleep a lot. I love knitting magazines…bring em on.

As for patterns I will add the ones I like to my wist to make life easier. (In other words I can’t think right now!)

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
I’d like to overall improve my knitting. I’ve got Zimmerman books and the like on my lists because I’m at that point where I’m into doing what I do BETTER. Intarsia is the only thing I haven’t done that I need to tackle soon. I’ve never done fair isle, and I don’t really want to.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes! I enjoy knitting socks. My foot is a women’s 9…about 10 inches from big to to heel and 10 inches around just under my calf muscle. (It’s a vicious muscle, too…letmetellya)

23. When is your birthday?
June 15th…I’m a crazy ass Gemini.

Cause I’d be watching shows about knitting instead of Jon playing Call of Duty.

So we had our first “accumulation” of snow this week. Jon went out to shovel and made a tiny snowman:

Which of course, due to rapidly warming New England temperatures looked like this an hour later:

I’ve barely knit at all this week, save for an inch or so on my Jaywalker sock. I’ve been in my craft room sewing away. I’ve made about 10 or 12 recon’d t-shirts and a couple of skirts. (Come on warm weather!) I also made this little wallet which I think I’m going to put on my etsy shop:

I also made this backpack out of the other half of my too-big Carcass shirt (the other half is a sweet halter top right now) which is mine mine mine:

AND I made this for Zoe:

I also made a few more pairs of the Lick My Sticks earrings in black and orange, which are in my shop.

I need to be sedated. I also need to do the homework I’ve very much neglected for endless hours of sewing to Portishead, Peeping Tom, Katatonia, and Amorphis.

Not much new to report for this post. Due to not having more than $2.00 to my name this week I am missing the Destruction/Municipal Waste show tonight in Boston. Words cannot express how much that thought makes me want to punch myself in the face.

My little brother is in trouble again. He’s been in trouble with the law/drugs for years now…we really thought he had finally pulled it together but I heard from my mom last night that he’s being kicked out of his program again. Wish I could get it through his head that he’s ruining his life.

On a brighter note…I think Zoe has finally caught on to knitting! I’ve been trying to teach her since she was five, which by the way is the BEST and most efficient way to end up drinking at noontime. She was telling me the other day that she knew how to knit and wanted to show me. (She’d been watching me, she said.) So I humored her, and goddamned if she didn’t come out knit a perfect stitch followed by another…followed by a couple of yarn overs and a dropped stitch. BUT two perfect stitches! I walked her through her first row! She was very proud of herself and telling Jon in her authoritative voice “I totally know how to knit now…I said I CAN DO IT, and now I can. I watched Mommy and now I’m REALLY GOOD.” She is so funny. Behold…the future Bad Ass Knitter:

That is her deranged fake smile. I see it in my nightmares sometimes.

Happy Super Bowl to the sports fans…I’m not one so I don’t care. Today is “beer and junkfood” day for me. Woooo!