Ohhh Lawdy, I've been bitten hard.
Sweaters. I must make more. Better ones. Cuter ones. Cardigans and pullovers both.
My first foray into the land of AdultSweaterWorld was a very poorly adapted attempt. I'm not even gonna sugar coat it: I made a baby sweater and then thought "pshaw, lemme just cast on more stitches, using a COMPLETELY different yarn and needle size, and eye ball the thing. I'm smart, so this should go swimmingly!"
You'd think I would have learned by now my whole "eyeballing" inability.
It's so hideous that it will never touch the light of my ravelry projects page! Badbadbadbadembarrasinglybad. But, I learned some techniques and absolutely learned from the experience . . .
Until the next time I cast on for a sweater :blush:
This one was via an actual Adult Sized Sweater Pattern, even. My Radiate (from knitty.com) Did I follow it? Since this is my blog, and ME we're talking about, you can safely answer "oh hell no." No swatch and liberal application of casting on stitches with zero regard to pattern sizing. Hi! I'm ajdury and I apparently don't learn from my mistakes!
Again, I learned some things (outside of how much of a dummy I am) but the nail in this sweater's coffin was that my 4 skeins are comprised of two different dye-lots. Before this sweater even started, I missed two opportunities to notice that little fact :blushingredder: Hi! I'm ajdury and I can't even be bothered to read ball bands!
I may be a damn dummy, and I may be doing things the hard way, but! I'm 98% done with my third, and final, "First Adult Sweater" and can't stop thinking about the next one to get on the needles.
This last one is (again with my inability to strictly follow a very well-written, well-executed and so good it doesn't need MY interpretation added to it) the fabulous Tomato sweater (originally on knitty.com).
My husband (who has witnessed every good/bad/inbetween thing I've ever knitted) and my two friends Alex and Sheila have all said very nice things about it. Hell, even I like it!
For now it's the best sweater I've knit to-date, but it won't be the best sweater I've ever knitted.
The sweater bug has bit me hard and all I can think about is making a better one next time, and an even better one after that.
I'm so smitten with sweaters that I'm going to do the following: 1) Swatch (don't faint), 2) follow directions (get off the floor!) 3) seriously consider a "pieced" sweater pattern (don't MAKE me get the defibrillator out!)
Whadda ya think about THAT? :bigproudcheesygrin:
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
About Those Kids I'm NOT Having:
Was that a long enough "hang time" since the last post? :giggle:
Y'all have commented in multiple ways (personally and online) and my blog comments sum them all up nicely.
No, I haven't bumped my head, come up with a baby-bump or bumped on over to "Pregnant Women Are Smug-ville* (I'll leave that to others I'm oddly related to).
When I wrote of "All the cuteness there is out there", it was THE KNITTING stuff, Chickens!
Mike's niece, Ms. Ella-Gator is turning 4 in July, thus I've been knitting up several beach-themed stuffed animal/toy/things in anticipation.
You've all seen the parade of knitted fish, starfish, sun, mer-woman, the errant penguin (wrong ocean :blush:) and that octopus march across my ravelry project page. What you haven't seen, I'm guessing, is the gi-freak'n-normous amount of super a-dang-dorable knitted animal/toy items that are out there, floating through the intronets ether.
The web is just chock-full of knitted cuteness, lemmetellya.
Remember though, when I said I "wanted kids", I had a set limit. I wrote "Maybe around 3. I think I could handle three."
Again - that represents knitting. Three to knit for, LOL.
I already have the aforementioned Ms. Ella-Gator and the second slot has been taken by Suzanne's granddaughter, Ms. Ireland.
Who shall be the third? My hope is that the last one is a boy, to give me knitting variety! :grin:
You all do the difficult and thankless work of having and raising them. Me - I'll be over here in quiet and calm child-freedom, knitting cute things for you to wash puke out of.
* that video/song makes me belly-laugh every time I open it.
Y'all have commented in multiple ways (personally and online) and my blog comments sum them all up nicely.
No, I haven't bumped my head, come up with a baby-bump or bumped on over to "Pregnant Women Are Smug-ville* (I'll leave that to others I'm oddly related to).
When I wrote of "All the cuteness there is out there", it was THE KNITTING stuff, Chickens!
Mike's niece, Ms. Ella-Gator is turning 4 in July, thus I've been knitting up several beach-themed stuffed animal/toy/things in anticipation.
You've all seen the parade of knitted fish, starfish, sun, mer-woman, the errant penguin (wrong ocean :blush:) and that octopus march across my ravelry project page. What you haven't seen, I'm guessing, is the gi-freak'n-normous amount of super a-dang-dorable knitted animal/toy items that are out there, floating through the intronets ether.
The web is just chock-full of knitted cuteness, lemmetellya.
Remember though, when I said I "wanted kids", I had a set limit. I wrote "Maybe around 3. I think I could handle three."
Again - that represents knitting. Three to knit for, LOL.
I already have the aforementioned Ms. Ella-Gator and the second slot has been taken by Suzanne's granddaughter, Ms. Ireland.
Who shall be the third? My hope is that the last one is a boy, to give me knitting variety! :grin:
You all do the difficult and thankless work of having and raising them. Me - I'll be over here in quiet and calm child-freedom, knitting cute things for you to wash puke out of.
* that video/song makes me belly-laugh every time I open it.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
OMG, I SO Want Kids!:
Well, not six, eight or fourteen, but some.
Maybe around 3. I think I could handle three.
All the cuteness there is out there has finally won me over!
We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?
Stay tuned.
Maybe around 3. I think I could handle three.
All the cuteness there is out there has finally won me over!
We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?
Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Here's The Part Where I Babble:
To steal a quote from Meghan's podcast, I'm just throwing some things here I don't want to forget about.
Given that tomorrow is The Big Day at our house - anticipated more than Christmas and Birthdays combined, and The Mike has invited about 10 of his nearest and dearest drinking buddies over to watch the game, I'ma be a bit busy once I wake up in the morning!
In no particular order, here's what I wanted to share:
Kath mentioned it first, but it bears repeating any chance we get! Set your televisions for this year's Puppy Bowl. You will die from all The Cute. I've watched it a few years now, and my hands-down favorite is the "water bowl cam". Yep. They have a camera under see-through water bowls. If you love dogs, this is the show for you tomorrow. Just don't blame me if it makes you want to run out and adopt a bunch of adorable puppies on Monday!
I've knit things, oh yes I have!:
The socks I prematurely set up for gusset decreases have been off the needles for several days now. Why no pictures? No good reason, frankly, but I'll fix that soon. How is it that they are too small when I freak'n tried them on as I knit them? The heel flap is not as long as I would have liked, and the foot part is too short, so they end up riding down my foot and I walk on the heel. Grrr. Yes, I know I could absolutely rip back and re-knit them, since I have plenty 'o yarn left over, but . . . well . . . I really want to use the leftover yarn to do some colorwork knitting with! There. I said it out loud :grin: I think this yarn would make an awesome "stained glass" looking knit if used in a stranded method.
I went totally out of my knitting comfort zone and 1) knit entirely from a pattern (except for adding a button hole, but that's it, I SWEAR!), 2) I seamed and 3) knit it for the granddaughter of an extremely accomplished knitter. EEK! It's like giving your stick figure drawing to Michelangelo's son.
(more pictures here and project info here)
Because tomorrow is going to be so busy, I'm frantically looking for a (relatively) easy project to throw on the needles while I watch the game. My current socks are on size 1s. Too dang small. I have zippy interest in knitting some garter stitch boring bland gag-me-with-a-dpn scarf. I'm midway through one fingerless mitt, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for. There are increases and counting. I'm thinking "hat on 7's or 9s". Once I make the guacamole in the morning, I'ma get the necessary items together to get the hat started.
Don't you all consider it The Mike's job to clean the house in the morning? It was HIS idea to invite all these people over AND they are all HIS friends . . . so . . .? Yeah, me too.
I'm *thisclose* to casting on for the Hey Teach! sweater. I have four skeins of this yarn in this colorway. Is it wrong that I think about knitting this in the round and deleting the sleeves, creating more of a tank-like item? Tell me the truth, people.
The only reason I didn't start swatching for it yesterday was because of all the Wasting Of Time I had invested in our current knitting-world mystery.
Speaking of that? HELLO to the four HUNDRED visits to my site in the last 30 hours!!! When I blogged it yesterday my view count was at the low 800s. If I'd known so many people were going to stop by my virtual home, I would have put out the good China and offered refreshments, LOL.
Here's another number for ya: 105
What it doesn't represent? My I.Q. (I think, but I'm not sure. Let's say it's not) My temperature. (again, not 100% sure since I don't own a thermometer, but I'm taking an educated guess). My weight. (the last time I was that weight, I didn't even know what "weight" was) The number of yarn balls/skeins/cakes in my knitting room. (hahahahaaaaaa! Not even close)
Want a hint? It has to do with this post. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Suzanne already knows the answer.)
If you guessed "number of total applicants for the job you recently interviewed for"? Winner!
One hundred and five. That is a huge number, people. I do not think I've ever interviewed for a job that had more than 30 people applying.
Even if I'm on the short list of "qualified" or maybe even "over-qualified" for the original payroll position, there has to be a goodly number in my same boat.
If you'd like me to eventually, one day, be able to afford yarn outside of Michael's and Joann's, please keep your fingers crossed that my 20 years of accounting office experience and expertise tips the scales in my favor.
No matter who they pick though, there will be 103 or 104 other people still looking for a job in this field. It's a terrible time all over.
Given that tomorrow is The Big Day at our house - anticipated more than Christmas and Birthdays combined, and The Mike has invited about 10 of his nearest and dearest drinking buddies over to watch the game, I'ma be a bit busy once I wake up in the morning!
In no particular order, here's what I wanted to share:
Kath mentioned it first, but it bears repeating any chance we get! Set your televisions for this year's Puppy Bowl. You will die from all The Cute. I've watched it a few years now, and my hands-down favorite is the "water bowl cam". Yep. They have a camera under see-through water bowls. If you love dogs, this is the show for you tomorrow. Just don't blame me if it makes you want to run out and adopt a bunch of adorable puppies on Monday!
I've knit things, oh yes I have!:
The socks I prematurely set up for gusset decreases have been off the needles for several days now. Why no pictures? No good reason, frankly, but I'll fix that soon. How is it that they are too small when I freak'n tried them on as I knit them? The heel flap is not as long as I would have liked, and the foot part is too short, so they end up riding down my foot and I walk on the heel. Grrr. Yes, I know I could absolutely rip back and re-knit them, since I have plenty 'o yarn left over, but . . . well . . . I really want to use the leftover yarn to do some colorwork knitting with! There. I said it out loud :grin: I think this yarn would make an awesome "stained glass" looking knit if used in a stranded method.
I went totally out of my knitting comfort zone and 1) knit entirely from a pattern (except for adding a button hole, but that's it, I SWEAR!), 2) I seamed and 3) knit it for the granddaughter of an extremely accomplished knitter. EEK! It's like giving your stick figure drawing to Michelangelo's son.
(more pictures here and project info here)
Because tomorrow is going to be so busy, I'm frantically looking for a (relatively) easy project to throw on the needles while I watch the game. My current socks are on size 1s. Too dang small. I have zippy interest in knitting some garter stitch boring bland gag-me-with-a-dpn scarf. I'm midway through one fingerless mitt, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for. There are increases and counting. I'm thinking "hat on 7's or 9s". Once I make the guacamole in the morning, I'ma get the necessary items together to get the hat started.
Don't you all consider it The Mike's job to clean the house in the morning? It was HIS idea to invite all these people over AND they are all HIS friends . . . so . . .? Yeah, me too.
I'm *thisclose* to casting on for the Hey Teach! sweater. I have four skeins of this yarn in this colorway. Is it wrong that I think about knitting this in the round and deleting the sleeves, creating more of a tank-like item? Tell me the truth, people.
The only reason I didn't start swatching for it yesterday was because of all the Wasting Of Time I had invested in our current knitting-world mystery.
Speaking of that? HELLO to the four HUNDRED visits to my site in the last 30 hours!!! When I blogged it yesterday my view count was at the low 800s. If I'd known so many people were going to stop by my virtual home, I would have put out the good China and offered refreshments, LOL.
Here's another number for ya: 105
What it doesn't represent? My I.Q. (I think, but I'm not sure. Let's say it's not) My temperature. (again, not 100% sure since I don't own a thermometer, but I'm taking an educated guess). My weight. (the last time I was that weight, I didn't even know what "weight" was) The number of yarn balls/skeins/cakes in my knitting room. (hahahahaaaaaa! Not even close)
Want a hint? It has to do with this post. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Suzanne already knows the answer.)
If you guessed "number of total applicants for the job you recently interviewed for"? Winner!
One hundred and five. That is a huge number, people. I do not think I've ever interviewed for a job that had more than 30 people applying.
Even if I'm on the short list of "qualified" or maybe even "over-qualified" for the original payroll position, there has to be a goodly number in my same boat.
If you'd like me to eventually, one day, be able to afford yarn outside of Michael's and Joann's, please keep your fingers crossed that my 20 years of accounting office experience and expertise tips the scales in my favor.
No matter who they pick though, there will be 103 or 104 other people still looking for a job in this field. It's a terrible time all over.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Real Life Knitting Mystery:
Do any of you knitters remember the sock pattern designer Gina Silva, aka Gigi Silva, aka Momma Monkey, aka Monkey Toes? How 'bout the name Socktopia?
Yeah, she has* a lot of aliases.
If you don't remember her from her patterns, maybe you remember the memorial write-up done back in February of 2008?
Wellllll, strange things are afoot people.
Seeing as how she passed almost a year ago, would it surprise you to see that her user account has posted forum comments as recently as 4 months ago?
The Lazy, Stupid and Godless group over on ravelry are hot on the case. Over at the rubberneckers group, they're talking about it too.
Seems Gina/Gigi/MommaMonkey has been busted and it's all coming to a head. Due to only so many hours in a day, I rarely read the Knitty boards anymore and haven't been over there in about a week or so and I missed the start of this groundswell.
Man. I just LOVE the internet! Go pop you some corn, gather up your knitting project and watch this latest mystery get solved.
(*I used "has" because I think she's alive and stone cold busted)
***eta***
I think post number nine in this thread is very hinky as well. How can a real life friend die, and you act as the liaison but the real life friend isn't really dead?
Oh, another of Gina's online personas
Curiouser and curiouser
***eta (again)***
The Miss Cissy Wordpress link I put up has, like every other site tied to her, just gone belly up. The blog I linked was very sparse - starting around December of '07 and ending around March/April '08. No one had, until me today, ever left a comment there. My comment was for her post around late Feb/early March 08 (just after her "demise"). She'd blogged about some kick-ass pink Doc Martins recently purchased . . . and her just-broken hand. Since I'd just gone swimming in all her Munchausen_by_Internet issues, the post brought to mind Charlton Heston's NRA quote. Because of all those swirling thoughts in my head, I wondered in my comment if her 'broken hand' was her 'dead broken hand'.
Ayup. I did. A few hours later the site went tits up.
Does Gina/Gigi/Momma Monkey/MissCissy think she's exempt from the power of Google Cache?
After reading the posts of all the people she burned in swaps, contests and product - both on ravelry and on the knittyboards? They deserved better.
Knowing that there was a "memorial" and charitable knitting in Momma Monkey's name as Gina watched? Just. Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong.
Yeah, she has* a lot of aliases.
If you don't remember her from her patterns, maybe you remember the memorial write-up done back in February of 2008?
Wellllll, strange things are afoot people.
Seeing as how she passed almost a year ago, would it surprise you to see that her user account has posted forum comments as recently as 4 months ago?
The Lazy, Stupid and Godless group over on ravelry are hot on the case. Over at the rubberneckers group, they're talking about it too.
Seems Gina/Gigi/MommaMonkey has been busted and it's all coming to a head. Due to only so many hours in a day, I rarely read the Knitty boards anymore and haven't been over there in about a week or so and I missed the start of this groundswell.
Man. I just LOVE the internet! Go pop you some corn, gather up your knitting project and watch this latest mystery get solved.
(*I used "has" because I think she's alive and stone cold busted)
***eta***
I think post number nine in this thread is very hinky as well. How can a real life friend die, and you act as the liaison but the real life friend isn't really dead?
Oh, another of Gina's online personas
Curiouser and curiouser
***eta (again)***
The Miss Cissy Wordpress link I put up has, like every other site tied to her, just gone belly up. The blog I linked was very sparse - starting around December of '07 and ending around March/April '08. No one had, until me today, ever left a comment there. My comment was for her post around late Feb/early March 08 (just after her "demise"). She'd blogged about some kick-ass pink Doc Martins recently purchased . . . and her just-broken hand. Since I'd just gone swimming in all her Munchausen_by_Internet issues, the post brought to mind Charlton Heston's NRA quote. Because of all those swirling thoughts in my head, I wondered in my comment if her 'broken hand' was her 'dead broken hand'.
Ayup. I did. A few hours later the site went tits up.
Does Gina/Gigi/Momma Monkey/MissCissy think she's exempt from the power of Google Cache?
After reading the posts of all the people she burned in swaps, contests and product - both on ravelry and on the knittyboards? They deserved better.
Knowing that there was a "memorial" and charitable knitting in Momma Monkey's name as Gina watched? Just. Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Quick, Rub My Belly:
A big huge Thank You to two different bloggers.
Yesterday, I got an email letting me know I'd been randomly chosen to receive this book, via Shepard Susie's awesomely awesome blog/business.
I originally learned about raised bed gardening from Laurie, aka Crazy Aunt Purl and was, quite frankly, intrigued. At the time though, our back yard was the domain of our two dogs and really, just a large plot of dust.
Since our move to a much nicer back yard, and the loss of one of our dogs, I've been giving the idea some serious thought. We have blackberry bushes in one corner, and a tiered section already had the set-up to grow tomato plants (my all-time favorite food EVER!)
Then someone told me all about some bug that is inherent to tomato plants and right there I lost all desire to grow my own. I hate bugs. Like really really REALLY hate. Spiders don't bug me, but anything else just creeps me the hell out. One time (back when I was single) I spent a month sleeping on my living room couch because Moth-ra had taken up residence in my bedroom. I'd take on a masked intruder trying to steal my yarn before I will come within 10 feet of a creepy-crawly.
Then I went and won this book and so have resolved to deal with my bug-phobia.
That was yesterday.
This afternoon, I received an email from Wendy - another favorite blogger/designer. The woman knits like a soul possessed! Her F.O.s not only fly off her needles, she makes some stunning things - her own and others. How she knits so much while maintaining a job is beyond me, but definitely inspiring.
She just held a contest giving away a kit for the most interesting mittens and it was Love at first sight.
Like so much Love I might have entertained eating a bug to win it! Well . . . a small bug :grin:
I won the kit and no eating of bugs!
All this luck hitting me at once has gotten me contemplating whether I need to go buy a lottery ticket, lol.
Trust that I'm not a prize pig, entering contests every time I run across one. I read blog entries for the pure enjoyment of what they have to say/share and rarely leave comments. These two items were things I knew I would enjoy but just cannot afford to have at this time.
Now I'll go back to my relative obscurity - knitting my first pair of mittens while reading a book about gardening and community.
Maybe some of this new-found luck will rub off on you!
Thank you again to Susie and Wendy! Please check out their blogs/products if you aren't familiar with them (And if that's you? Get out from under that rock you've apparently been hanging out at!)
Yesterday, I got an email letting me know I'd been randomly chosen to receive this book, via Shepard Susie's awesomely awesome blog/business.
I originally learned about raised bed gardening from Laurie, aka Crazy Aunt Purl and was, quite frankly, intrigued. At the time though, our back yard was the domain of our two dogs and really, just a large plot of dust.
Since our move to a much nicer back yard, and the loss of one of our dogs, I've been giving the idea some serious thought. We have blackberry bushes in one corner, and a tiered section already had the set-up to grow tomato plants (my all-time favorite food EVER!)
Then someone told me all about some bug that is inherent to tomato plants and right there I lost all desire to grow my own. I hate bugs. Like really really REALLY hate. Spiders don't bug me, but anything else just creeps me the hell out. One time (back when I was single) I spent a month sleeping on my living room couch because Moth-ra had taken up residence in my bedroom. I'd take on a masked intruder trying to steal my yarn before I will come within 10 feet of a creepy-crawly.
Then I went and won this book and so have resolved to deal with my bug-phobia.
That was yesterday.
This afternoon, I received an email from Wendy - another favorite blogger/designer. The woman knits like a soul possessed! Her F.O.s not only fly off her needles, she makes some stunning things - her own and others. How she knits so much while maintaining a job is beyond me, but definitely inspiring.
She just held a contest giving away a kit for the most interesting mittens and it was Love at first sight.
Like so much Love I might have entertained eating a bug to win it! Well . . . a small bug :grin:
I won the kit and no eating of bugs!
All this luck hitting me at once has gotten me contemplating whether I need to go buy a lottery ticket, lol.
Trust that I'm not a prize pig, entering contests every time I run across one. I read blog entries for the pure enjoyment of what they have to say/share and rarely leave comments. These two items were things I knew I would enjoy but just cannot afford to have at this time.
Now I'll go back to my relative obscurity - knitting my first pair of mittens while reading a book about gardening and community.
Maybe some of this new-found luck will rub off on you!
Thank you again to Susie and Wendy! Please check out their blogs/products if you aren't familiar with them (And if that's you? Get out from under that rock you've apparently been hanging out at!)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Happy Anti-Valentines Day:
Now this is something I totally support!
Dabbled.org is holding their second annual "Dabbled Black Heart Anti-Valentines Day Contest". It's open to crafters of all types, and the interpretation of what "anti-valentines" means is left entirely to you to decide.
My evil little mind is already at work on submission ideas :mwuuaahahaaa:
The deadline for entering is February 12th and the (few) rules are in the post I linked.
Get to crack'n, my talented crafty friends!
Dabbled.org is holding their second annual "Dabbled Black Heart Anti-Valentines Day Contest". It's open to crafters of all types, and the interpretation of what "anti-valentines" means is left entirely to you to decide.
My evil little mind is already at work on submission ideas :mwuuaahahaaa:
The deadline for entering is February 12th and the (few) rules are in the post I linked.
Get to crack'n, my talented crafty friends!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Are You Kidding Me?
Since I was in the area today, I finally hit up Cute As A Button.
If you're not familiar with the name OR the location, I don't blame you. They are located in Grover Beach, at Oak Park Road and Grand Avenue, right next to Stacked.
Once parked, the entrance is very inviting, with signage on some prop surfboards. Just inside and to the right, they have a carousel of A-damn-dorable aprons (which made me think of you CJ), sundresses and kid items. The walls and shelves have many sewn items as well, including purses and clutches. A chair held some knitted dog sweaters and other sewn items below them.
Weirdly, I didn't notice any buttons, which I thought they would have, given the name.
Anywho. I was totally weirded out when I realized the only other person in there was not just the employee, but said employee never acknowledged me and *get this* continued to curl her hair with a curling iron (hello "TGIF" at 4:30 pm) in the public mirror.
Weird. As. Heck.
I'm hoping the Hair Curler Chick isn't the owner and doesn't know what her employee is up to . . . yet.
Fabric? Yes
Cute Sewn Items? Yes. Unless you are a seamstress (and I wish I was because their stuff was CUTE!)
Cute Knitted Items? See above.
Customer Service? Oh Holy Mother of Fiber and Fabric No. No. No. No. No.
Because seriously. Who the hell gets ready for a Friday night out on the town at FOUR FREAK'N THIRTY in the afternoon? Oh, I know! Dumbasses that curl their hair with a curling iron, WHILE WORKING THEIR DAY JOB as the sun is still shining.
Never not going back until 1) she's fired or 2) their Out Of Business sale.
I hope it's #1 because the store is pretty dang interesting.
As I've heard my whole life (and failed at too) - You never get a second chance to make a first impression - Curling Iron girl.
If you're not familiar with the name OR the location, I don't blame you. They are located in Grover Beach, at Oak Park Road and Grand Avenue, right next to Stacked.
Once parked, the entrance is very inviting, with signage on some prop surfboards. Just inside and to the right, they have a carousel of A-damn-dorable aprons (which made me think of you CJ), sundresses and kid items. The walls and shelves have many sewn items as well, including purses and clutches. A chair held some knitted dog sweaters and other sewn items below them.
Weirdly, I didn't notice any buttons, which I thought they would have, given the name.
Anywho. I was totally weirded out when I realized the only other person in there was not just the employee, but said employee never acknowledged me and *get this* continued to curl her hair with a curling iron (hello "TGIF" at 4:30 pm) in the public mirror.
Weird. As. Heck.
I'm hoping the Hair Curler Chick isn't the owner and doesn't know what her employee is up to . . . yet.
Fabric? Yes
Cute Sewn Items? Yes. Unless you are a seamstress (and I wish I was because their stuff was CUTE!)
Cute Knitted Items? See above.
Customer Service? Oh Holy Mother of Fiber and Fabric No. No. No. No. No.
Because seriously. Who the hell gets ready for a Friday night out on the town at FOUR FREAK'N THIRTY in the afternoon? Oh, I know! Dumbasses that curl their hair with a curling iron, WHILE WORKING THEIR DAY JOB as the sun is still shining.
Never not going back until 1) she's fired or 2) their Out Of Business sale.
I hope it's #1 because the store is pretty dang interesting.
As I've heard my whole life (and failed at too) - You never get a second chance to make a first impression - Curling Iron girl.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Aww, Thanks Guys!
Well, I think it went VERY well tonight, given that I interviewed for a freak'n hour and a half!
It's a husband and wife accounting firm - she's the tax side and he's the payroll side. They both interviewed me. He tested me on Word (pahleeze)and Excel, but no Quickbooks (which I know inside and out and it's how they do payroll) and she tested me on Lacerte (the program I know inside and out to process income tax returns).
My one failing in Excel was not knowing how to convert segments of time into a decimal base, but now I do :grin:
My one failing in Lacerte was not knowing what the '08 figure is for the maximum IRA contribution allowed. Other than that, I had to do a tax return for Married Filing Joint, 2 kids, one in college, an elderly parent dependent, husband with w-2 income, wife with own business, sold stock, had itemized deductions, depreciation and dividend income. I think I did okay, but couldn't print & proof my work, like I would do in real life.
I had boned up on the new payroll tax rates for '09 and the mileage rates for '08 but those weren't asked, LOL.
Fingers crossed, my friends. Times are tough all over and I'm not the only well-qualified fish in the unemployment pond anymore!
(Oh, and now my neck hurts from keeping my hair out of my face, since I'm so used to wearing it up, but . . . STILL LOVE IT!!!)
It's a husband and wife accounting firm - she's the tax side and he's the payroll side. They both interviewed me. He tested me on Word (pahleeze)and Excel, but no Quickbooks (which I know inside and out and it's how they do payroll) and she tested me on Lacerte (the program I know inside and out to process income tax returns).
My one failing in Excel was not knowing how to convert segments of time into a decimal base, but now I do :grin:
My one failing in Lacerte was not knowing what the '08 figure is for the maximum IRA contribution allowed. Other than that, I had to do a tax return for Married Filing Joint, 2 kids, one in college, an elderly parent dependent, husband with w-2 income, wife with own business, sold stock, had itemized deductions, depreciation and dividend income. I think I did okay, but couldn't print & proof my work, like I would do in real life.
I had boned up on the new payroll tax rates for '09 and the mileage rates for '08 but those weren't asked, LOL.
Fingers crossed, my friends. Times are tough all over and I'm not the only well-qualified fish in the unemployment pond anymore!
(Oh, and now my neck hurts from keeping my hair out of my face, since I'm so used to wearing it up, but . . . STILL LOVE IT!!!)
lovelovelovelove LOVE it!
Nooo - not anything knitting related this time, sorry!
I made a 2008 resolution to get my hair cut and then did nothing to achieve that goal. Hell, I made many a resolution at the start of last year and hardly any were accomplished, It was (and continues to be) a rough period, but that's a post for another day.
This year I made ZERO resolutions and finally finally finally got my hair lopped off about an hour ago.
Roughly 14 inches in total, ifn'youcanbelieveit! Ayup. I had that much to spare.
This afternoon's Befores:
December 30, 2007 (YES! 2007!):
And Afters:
See that body and "style" in the after? That's air dried only. Zippy styling! No blowdryer or product at all. My hair has a natural wave to it that gets bogged down with 14 extra inches :grin:
I have a job interview this evening (wish me luck, ifyouplease) and being a girl, I know there's few things better than a fresh hairdo to give a shot to the 'ole self-esteem.
LOVE IT.
Nooo - not anything knitting related this time, sorry!
I made a 2008 resolution to get my hair cut and then did nothing to achieve that goal. Hell, I made many a resolution at the start of last year and hardly any were accomplished, It was (and continues to be) a rough period, but that's a post for another day.
This year I made ZERO resolutions and finally finally finally got my hair lopped off about an hour ago.
Roughly 14 inches in total, ifn'youcanbelieveit! Ayup. I had that much to spare.
This afternoon's Befores:
December 30, 2007 (YES! 2007!):
And Afters:
See that body and "style" in the after? That's air dried only. Zippy styling! No blowdryer or product at all. My hair has a natural wave to it that gets bogged down with 14 extra inches :grin:
I have a job interview this evening (wish me luck, ifyouplease) and being a girl, I know there's few things better than a fresh hairdo to give a shot to the 'ole self-esteem.
LOVE IT.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Bonehead Rookie Move:
For the last few days, I've been working on the commissioned knit item previously mentioned, but then I hit a decision point, so I set it aside tonight, to continue on some "ME" socks that jumped on the needles a few days ago.
The last "for me" socks I worked on were some Plain Vanillas in a horrific color palette. Just eye-bleeding UG. LY. I talked about them here and showed the unfortunate color combo here.
Seriously. They were so butt-ugly it made me question my ability to comprehend color combos on the skein.
This current UFO of Plain Vanillas is from a different multi-colored skein and Holy Cow they couldn't be more different in acceptability!
Here's the skein balled up:
As I keep knitting on it, it reveals the most beautiful fall colors you've ever seen. Greens, yellows, reds, burgundys, and all color combinations in between. Just breathtaking, if I say so myself.
It's the only reason I have for my utter bonehead move tonight. After doing the heel flap, I completely omitted the heel TURN and instead went straight to the gusset decreases.
D'OH!
Luckily, I caught myself as I was situating the stitches evenly around the needles after the pick-up part.
Some days I worry that the Knitting Police are going to pull me over and impound my needles, once they run my fiber abuse history, LOL!
The last "for me" socks I worked on were some Plain Vanillas in a horrific color palette. Just eye-bleeding UG. LY. I talked about them here and showed the unfortunate color combo here.
Seriously. They were so butt-ugly it made me question my ability to comprehend color combos on the skein.
This current UFO of Plain Vanillas is from a different multi-colored skein and Holy Cow they couldn't be more different in acceptability!
Here's the skein balled up:
As I keep knitting on it, it reveals the most beautiful fall colors you've ever seen. Greens, yellows, reds, burgundys, and all color combinations in between. Just breathtaking, if I say so myself.
It's the only reason I have for my utter bonehead move tonight. After doing the heel flap, I completely omitted the heel TURN and instead went straight to the gusset decreases.
D'OH!
Luckily, I caught myself as I was situating the stitches evenly around the needles after the pick-up part.
Some days I worry that the Knitting Police are going to pull me over and impound my needles, once they run my fiber abuse history, LOL!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Flattering, No?:
Back in the dark ages, when I joined ravelry, (if you can call June 2007 the dark ages, LOL), the only way you could upload your stash and project pictures was by first putting them on flickr.
I bet ravelry has been the single largest reason for membership over at flickr!
So anywho, although ravelry has changed and you don't HAVE to use flickr for stash/project purposes, many of us still do. In fact, I have a premium membership because of all that I enjoy from being a part of such an awesome photography site.
One of the cool things at flickr is finding other photographers in your area (much like how ravelry is awesome in helping you find other knitters in your area).
Here's the really neat thing that just happened! A local-to-me flickr member has been watching my parade of knitting pictures lately, and asked me if I would have interest in knitting her something for her daughter's birthday. FOR MONEY.
How awesome is that?
I know, I know, I know - commissioned knitting has its pit-falls. Most people don't comprehend the monetary value of a hand-knit. Even more people don't understand the fine distinctions between various fibers. Acrylic, to their eye and finger, is on par with any natural fiber and they don't *get* how knitting with some yarns can make a person die a little on the inside.
INSERT SNOOPY DANCE!
This person has let me guide them in yarn choices and didn't have any problem with my stated price for services rendered. How great is that? The icing on the cake is that it's an item I enjoy knitting. Not something like, say, a king-sized afghan in garter stitch.
My price was fair (given the item and the supply cost), it's something I enjoy making, and the recipient is extremely appreciative of my skill and is very excited about getting it.
A commissioned knit-piece made of Win. I love it!
I bet ravelry has been the single largest reason for membership over at flickr!
So anywho, although ravelry has changed and you don't HAVE to use flickr for stash/project purposes, many of us still do. In fact, I have a premium membership because of all that I enjoy from being a part of such an awesome photography site.
One of the cool things at flickr is finding other photographers in your area (much like how ravelry is awesome in helping you find other knitters in your area).
Here's the really neat thing that just happened! A local-to-me flickr member has been watching my parade of knitting pictures lately, and asked me if I would have interest in knitting her something for her daughter's birthday. FOR MONEY.
How awesome is that?
I know, I know, I know - commissioned knitting has its pit-falls. Most people don't comprehend the monetary value of a hand-knit. Even more people don't understand the fine distinctions between various fibers. Acrylic, to their eye and finger, is on par with any natural fiber and they don't *get* how knitting with some yarns can make a person die a little on the inside.
INSERT SNOOPY DANCE!
This person has let me guide them in yarn choices and didn't have any problem with my stated price for services rendered. How great is that? The icing on the cake is that it's an item I enjoy knitting. Not something like, say, a king-sized afghan in garter stitch.
My price was fair (given the item and the supply cost), it's something I enjoy making, and the recipient is extremely appreciative of my skill and is very excited about getting it.
A commissioned knit-piece made of Win. I love it!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Where I've Been & Where I'm Going:
2008 was the year I really branched out in my knitting skills.
Partly (well, mostly) due to becoming friends with Suzanne. That woman is a knitting phenom! Not only is she inspirational, she's also a great motivator as well. One time, she off-handedly mentioned using the duplicate stitch to weave in ends. She kinda-sorta showed me and it has made a HUGE difference in my finishing.
Other big influences were: Hanging out with the Bakersfield knit bunch and the Visalia knit bunch, having CJ and SisterDi as good friends, finally discovering all the fabulous fiber podcasts out there, definitely getting to attend Stitches West with Suzanne and SisterDi, participating in the 2008 Ravelympics and HELLO! Ravelry in general. What a great knitting year it has been.
So, in '08 I worked on stranded-knit socks, finished a child's size sweater (albeit just a circle with sleeves, but still. . . ), understood and executed chart knitting, and really comprehended patterns for real and not just faked my way through. I got a lot of stuff knitted up last year and it's only made me more interested in expanding my experiences from here on out.
Here's where I'm headed during 2009:
Knit one entire ADULT-sized sweater from start to finish. I lean towards Hey Teach but that could change by the time I cast on.
Knit one large lace project. Lord knows, I have enough lace yarn stashed to knit 8 large projects at least! I started the Fiber Trends Seascape Shawl but put it down when The Mike started working less and being home more. It's too hard to concentrate with him around.
Learn to knit a patterned sock. That is all.
Learn to knit a toe-up sock. That is all.
Enter something in the fair in 2009, although this one scares me a bit, given some of the horror stories I've read about during 2008's fair season across the U.S.
Finish: these socks and these gloves and this pair of socks.
Keep on knitting: Socks for ME! Hats for ME! Stranded/colorwork knitting - it's my new knit addiction, LOL.
In all of this upcoming knitting activity, there is no doubt in my mind I'll be learning new techniques and skills, not just filling up time knitting stuff I already know how to do - lots and lots of learning, I'm sure, and I can't WAIT to get going on it all!
Partly (well, mostly) due to becoming friends with Suzanne. That woman is a knitting phenom! Not only is she inspirational, she's also a great motivator as well. One time, she off-handedly mentioned using the duplicate stitch to weave in ends. She kinda-sorta showed me and it has made a HUGE difference in my finishing.
Other big influences were: Hanging out with the Bakersfield knit bunch and the Visalia knit bunch, having CJ and SisterDi as good friends, finally discovering all the fabulous fiber podcasts out there, definitely getting to attend Stitches West with Suzanne and SisterDi, participating in the 2008 Ravelympics and HELLO! Ravelry in general. What a great knitting year it has been.
So, in '08 I worked on stranded-knit socks, finished a child's size sweater (albeit just a circle with sleeves, but still. . . ), understood and executed chart knitting, and really comprehended patterns for real and not just faked my way through. I got a lot of stuff knitted up last year and it's only made me more interested in expanding my experiences from here on out.
Here's where I'm headed during 2009:
Knit one entire ADULT-sized sweater from start to finish. I lean towards Hey Teach but that could change by the time I cast on.
Knit one large lace project. Lord knows, I have enough lace yarn stashed to knit 8 large projects at least! I started the Fiber Trends Seascape Shawl but put it down when The Mike started working less and being home more. It's too hard to concentrate with him around.
Learn to knit a patterned sock. That is all.
Learn to knit a toe-up sock. That is all.
Enter something in the fair in 2009, although this one scares me a bit, given some of the horror stories I've read about during 2008's fair season across the U.S.
Finish: these socks and these gloves and this pair of socks.
Keep on knitting: Socks for ME! Hats for ME! Stranded/colorwork knitting - it's my new knit addiction, LOL.
In all of this upcoming knitting activity, there is no doubt in my mind I'll be learning new techniques and skills, not just filling up time knitting stuff I already know how to do - lots and lots of learning, I'm sure, and I can't WAIT to get going on it all!
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