Lick My Sticks

This post has been over a week in waiting, lazy me! I’ve dedicated all of today to catching up on blogs, uploading photos and prepping links for this post. I really REALLY need a new lap top, this one is five years old and slow as shit. Doing the most menial tasks takes me all day because my processor is probably made of wood and elephant shit. So allow me to pose a question: Who’s got laptops out there, what kind do you have, what do you love about it? (I’m a PC user, sorry Mac-fanatics!) I could use some feedback, I’ve had my Dell for a long time, and really…it’s been a good computer, but Dell customer service fucking SUCKS. Award winning my ass.

Anyway, shitty processors aside, I’ve been nominated for a Rockin’ Girl Blogger award! It all started here, and the lovely Sassy Stitchess passed it on to me! I can safely say if I had been nominated by someone else, I’d have nominated her! Girl rocks like it’s her JOB.

So now I must pass the torch to five other bloggers!

Christine/Fluttercrafts – Link. I suspect that’s she’s already been nominated, I think I remember her posting about it, but I’m nominating her again! Christine blogs about everything from knitting to cooking to poetry. Christine is often the first person to comment on my posts, and really has become one of my favorite e-friends. She’s a wonderful person and not only entertains through her blog, but also for charitable causes like blanket squares and food bank donations. If you ask me, she deserves a rockin girl award every day of her life.

GrrLeigh Knits- Link. If there were ever a woman I thought should be paid handsomely for her blogging, this would be her. I’m sure she’s already been nominated, but too bad. If you have never read a GrrLeigh magazine review, you truly have not lived. She’s got razor-sharp wit, steadfast opinions (don’t get her started on leggings, seriously), and one hell of a sense of humor. She is rockin, hilarious, and the definition of a Bad Ass Knitter.

Jess/Just My Type- Link. (Formally Taking Back [The Knit]) Again, she’s probably already been nominated, I’m sure everyone I chose will have been (because I obviously have outstanding taste in reading material) but Jess pretty much defines the Rockin’ Girl Blogger. She’s a smart, sarcastic, punk and metal loving knitter…my kinda gal. She just moved her blog so go say hi (and happy belated birthday!)

Marnie/Marnie Talks- Link. I’ve been reading Marnie’s blog since the very first knitting blog I had. She’s probably been nominated a million times as she’s probably the most well-known blog I read faithfully, but whatever. Marnie makes the most breath taking knits I’ve seen, she designs, spins, crochets, draws, and even spoke at a BlogHer convention. She’s been on Knitty Gritty a bunch of times (although I swear DIY will never rerun her episodes so I can see them!) and is my comment-answering hero as she always takes the time to write each commenter back. I’m a life long Marnie fan!

Tropical Knits/Bonnie- Link. I’ve also been reading Bonnie’s blogs for a long time, I found her via Craftster.org and have been reading ever since. Bonnie is a riot, smart, and one hell of a knitter. I don’t think I’ve ever skimmed her blog posts once, she has a great way of telling a story like that. Go forth and worship her!

Thanks to all the good vibes sent Val’s way (I’m convinced) she is not only better, she is just a little bundle of trouble energy! It’s been a couple years since I last had a kitten, and Dio was a considerably calm one. But not Val, oh no! In case you’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a kitten, allow me to remind you:

They will dirty up ur tubz with paw prints. (And give you dirty looks when you catch them.)

They will interrupt ur Avonz


They will liberate the keys from ur laptopz

And they will do this to ur tamponz

She’s a pain, but man is she adorable. I will ignore my attacked feet, shredded paper, and still missing 7 key…I will.
I’ve also got a small FO. I knit up a quick baby blanket with Plymouth Oh My! and size 17’s. The yarn is soooo soft. The blanket is smaller than I would have liked, but good for snuggling none the less.

Adreanna’s Oh My! Blanket

I will leave you with the moment Abbath decided he liked Valhalla, for ur awwwwz. (I promise to stop talking like that hereafter)

Little update on Val…she’s still got the diarrhea, but she’s doing much better. All her tests (poop, xray, blood) came back clean, they’ve wormed her and she’s been eating like a pig and chomping her IV just to keep everyone on their toes. I’m waiting on the call from the vet on whether she’s coming home or not.

***EDIT*** Val is home!

I’d just like to say to all of you who’ve emailed, commented, and offered to donate money…you are all amazing. I can’t tell you how much your kind words and sympathy mean to me and it really speaks volumes about the kind of people there are in this community of knitters. People who care about someone they’ve basically never met, it’s incredible.

I won’t take money from people, but I’ll tell you what…I’ll be posting a ton of new Lick My Sticks earrings (this time they’re polymer clay and pretty nice looking, I’ve been experimenting!) and if you’d like to help, you can always buy a pair of those! Win-win.

Just to further the fact that when it rains, it pours, I woke up today to the usual cat-butt-in-my-face from a hungry Jamara only to see pieces of tape worm crawling out. (EEEWW) Fortunately the meds were only four bucks, I got some for Dio to be safe, and bought Frontline for all 4 animals to get these goddamn fleas out of here. Most expensive week ever, but I don’t care about the money. It just doesn’t matter, I’d rather know I saved a kittens life and have an extra bill than just letting her die to save a buck.

The nurse at the hospital said people quite often just abandon their pets there because it costs too much to treat them, so very sad. The costs of veterinary care are outrageous, but then again, all health care is. The doctor seemed almost surprised when I told her to spend every penny of my CareCredit. It’s just money, I’d rather spend it helping an animal than yes…even yarn.
And for the hair style winners…I haven’t forgotten you. I’m behind on my emails but rest assured I got all your addresses and am working on your goodie bag.

Lastly (so much for a LITTLE update) who’s going to Rhinebeck? I bought my bus ticket today for Saturday and I’d love to meet some of you!

I’ll update this when I get that vet call. Thanks again everyone, I’ll get back to you individually soon.

I just left Val at the emergency vet overnight. She got crazy diarrhea this morning and gradually got lethargic. I spent the whole day cleaning up poop and panicking. We have NO money right now, even my bank is under because our van died and we had to buy a new one. Of course NO vet will even look at your pet without taking money first.

By the time I was in hysterical tears on the phone with the emergency vet, I was ready to storm in there and flip out until they saw her. They told me to try applying for a CareCredit card. I have lousy credit and figured they’d deny me but they didn’t, and I’m so relieved.

We got her in, she was way dehydrated and basically ready to lay down and die. They tested her for feline aids and leukemia which came back negative. They were going to send us home with some meds, but I asked what the vet IDEALLY would like to do for Val’s best chance and she said she’d rather keep her overnight, do blood work, an x-ray, fluids, etc. So I told her to do it. We have a 500 dollar credit limit and I told her to spend every penny. I’d never be able to live with myself if I put money before a life.

So, I’m in for a sleepless night. Send some good thought’s Val’s way and give your furry ones a squeeze.

Couple of FO’s! First is Adrianna’s Hoodie! Finally…

• Pattern: Half Pint Hoodie by Bonnie Evans
• Size: 12 Months
• Needles: Size US 6
• Yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby DK in pale pink

I think there may have been an error in the stitch count for the hood, but I’m not sure, so if you even knit this, check into it. Hopefully I can get some nice pics of Adrianna wearing it.

Next, a little last minute present for my Punk Rock Gift Exchange buddy Meg. It’s a wonky looking Henry Rollins!

• Pattern: Knit Your Own Rockstar: Henry Rollins from Stitch N Bitch Nation
• Needles: Size 7
• Yarn: Craptastic Red Heart

I’m focusing on my buttony right now because I love it so much. I have too many WIPs, I’m trying to wrap up at least two before school starts and I’m a hysterical stress case again.

My other news…I am officially a crazy cat lady. Last night I was in the shower, which has a window next to it that was open. I heard “RRRRREEEEEOOOOWWWWWW” over and over from the brush across the street. I got out and listened for it again. Nothing. A few minutes later, Zoe came in with a concerned face and said, “Mom, there’s a kitty meowing outside and I think you should go make sure she’s OK.”

So I put on my shoes and went outside to find the guy from downstairs petting a little black kitten. He said he was thinking about taking her to a shelter, I offered to feed her so I brought her upstairs.

The plan WAS to find her a good home amongst my friends. It really was. I swear. But…look at that face…

So now I had THREE cats and a dog. What the hell am I thinking?

(We named her Valhalla, Val for short.)

Sometimes it feels like my WIPs stay stubbornly the same size no matter how many hours I plug away at them. However it turns out they DO grow in size! Adrianna’s Hoodie is one sleeve away from completion!

And my Buttony Sweater is starting to look like a sweater!

Yay! I’m really excited about the Buttony Sweater, it fits PERFECT so far and the KP Panache is the softest yarn! It feels so nice against the skin.

I’ve decided I finally like my hair. I tried styling it totally different and I like it way more. I decided the dog could use a short ‘do himself and attacked him with the buzzers.

He looks so funny without his long hair, his ears are huuuuuge!

Well I have to actually get showered and dressed at some point today, so this will be a quick post. Cat already posted this on her blog, but it bears reposting. Ladies (and gentlemen), I give you…the dirty tomato.

Thursday, I went through a sort of right of passage for knitters. I met Stephanie, The Yarn Harlot. My mother-in-law, Debbie, and I set out for a really warm drive to Burlington, MA and an hour and a half later we were plunking down waaay in the back (thanks traffic) just in time for Stephanie to come out. She was so fucking funny, if you’ve never seen her…get to it.

I brought the wretched Jaywalker sock because I couldn’t bring myself to cast on another sock when two are languishing without partners.

The place was packed, it was great. (PS- thanks to the lovely lady sitting next to me who provided a crochet hook in my time of need.)

The genius Ravelers did some panty throwing, I wish I got a shot of it, it was hilarious.

After some gratuitous book shopping with MIL (who bought me Fitted Knits…thanks ma!) we went downstairs to get in line. The nice line lady put us in, and we just happened to end up in front of Honeybee33 from Ravelry, and Batty and LindyDiva from the Knitty boards.

I also got to meet Jess and Casey (creaters of Ravelry) who gave me a sweet Ravelry button. Awesome.

We finally got to Steph, who was great. I got to hold her sock, it was very hot.

I also got a couple last goodies from my Punk Rock Gift Exchange partner Megan. She sent me a cute green beer cozy which I thought was something dirty upon first seeing it. And some lovely KP Quarry (an alpaca boucle) in a pretty purple.

She’s been a great partner, and I have been horrible being all late and such. BUT I’ve got lots of goodies going out to her tomorrow!

I also went to Eva’s for some serious stash enhancement slash extra Megan shopping. I bought a clasp for the Anthropologie Caplet I plan to make, and this BEAUTIFUL sock yarn I’ve been eying…

It’s Madelinetosh in “Twilight”. I LOVE it. I had to have it. I also picked up a ball of Cascade Fixation which is a cotton/elastic yarn that’s super soft and stretchy. I’m going to make cousin Adrianna some baby socks to go with her hoodie. If you’ve never knit with this yarn, give it a shot, it’s really neat.

And lastly, thanks to everyone who played in the little contest. I ended up choosing A…however my hair doesn’t look like that. :-\ It will in about 2 months when it grows out a bit, the girl cut it WAY too short and neat. I wanted K, but I didn’t trust anyone to cut it right. I really need a good hairdresser. (To be fair, the girl who did my hair couldn’t see the pic I printed out well enough and went by a similar style in a magazine. I didn’t realize she was going EXACTLY by the supplimental picture.) I wouldn’t mind if the sideburns were there but she cut them right off. So I parted my hair different to cover up my Annie Lennox burns…

SO if you guessed A, get back to me with your favorite color and address!

Hope you’re all having a nice week. We just towed POS van number two of 2007 to the junkyard, and my niece went into surgery for the hundreth time…so I’m a bit stressed. Kaylah (my niece) is severely autistic and has had all kinds of medical issues in her 15 years of life. I’m happy to say she’s doing well, I can’t say the same about our van but that is far less important!

Lunch time!