Ravelry Killed My Blog

Well, not really. I tend to put my projects on Ravelry, and then forget to mention them here.

So this post is to rectify that.

I'll start with my Socktoberfest socks.

No, it's just one sock. Modeled on two feet.

One of these days I will actually knit a decent short row heel. This is the flamingo stripe yarn that I won from Paula. Originally I was going to use it for the Violet Points scarf, but decided they would make a better pair of socks. Obviously they aren't going to get done before October is over. (BTW, I decided to use some KnitPicks Gloss for a Violet Point.)

I'm also working on a Pi Shawl with some Malbrigo.

I'm pretty sure another rule of blogging is good photography. oops.

I'm using malabrigo. It's nice, but I'm not convinced it's the bees knees like some people say.

Now...brace yourselves...I'm two rows away from done on MILs shawl!

Test Test

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure this out.

Friday Fill-In 10/30

1. It was a dark and stormy night, inspired a great contest.

2. Max couldn't get to the library so I offered to take the books myself. (yeah, this was completely random...I don't even know a Max and I never go to the library.

3. Rushing out, I realized I'd locked myself outside without my keys.

4. Wait...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... Mommy's had a bad day.

6. Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to quiet knitting time, tomorrow my plans include handing out candy and Sunday, I want to watch the Vikings win!

Titles I Got...

• "The Knit Nite Cast"
• "Online Knit World- Middle School All Over Again"
• "Quarterly Report"

Too bad I can't think of more than a line or two. I may posts these (with content) eventually.

I'm still slaving away working on MILs shawl and the sock. Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow and I can get some pics.

I'm stuffed up and tired. *whine* (And it's not even Wednesday!) BLARGH!

PS: I'm skipping today's Ten on Tuesday. It didn't appeal to me at all (meaning, too hard.) Next week looks pretty fun, though.

Job Opening

I am seeking a computer-graphic savvy type person to create two buttons for me. I am willing to pay cash for the work. (I have a figure in mind.)

Here's what I need:

• Two buttons (or badges). One for Christmas in July, another for Dishcloths in December.
• Size: no more than 120 x 120 pixels square or 175px × 88px rectangle.
  
• My blog name (Lazy Knits and Purls) and "Christmas in July" and "Dishcloths in December" should be included on the button/badge. (If possible.)
  
• Designer will receive sidebar credit but use of the images will be exclusively mine. (You may, however use the image for your portfolio.)
• I'm not trying to sound bitchy, just want to cover my ass.
  

If you are interested please contact me. Please include some examples of other buttons/badges/etc. that you've created. Please do not create my button yet. I will let you know if you "got the job." If you know someone who may be interested, please pass this info along.

Sunday Afternoon

I would love to report that I have made stellar progress on some projects, but I can't. Most of Saturday was wasted looking for canned pumpkin. I don't even know where today went. I did manage to block and stiffen some of the snowflakes:



I ran out of T-pins, so I couldn't get them all done at once. No, I have no idea where the rest of my T-pins are. Surely I have more than 20-30?

So anyhoo. That's all there is to report. I'll leave you with a kitty pic (I'm a WendyKnits wannabe I guess.)

Friday Fill-In 10/23/09

They're tough today!

1. The crickets sing, in ancient China. (Yeah, I didn't get this one)

2. You are wherever you are. (Very Zen of me, no?)

3. I want to get far away from the the selfishness and cruelty of people. (We need another Woodstock Generation)

4. ??? That semi-colon threw me off!; this was a dream. (I pass on this one)

5. But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord. (Didn't know I had some religion, did ya?)

6. 60 degrees is winter where I come from. (Florida)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include 'Bama vs Tennessee and Sunday, I want to watch the Vikings go 7-0! (and of course I'll be knitting all the while)

I look forward to reading everyone else's brilliant answers. Seriously, I feel so stoopid after seeing other Friday Fill-ins. :-)

WIP Weekend

Accountantgrrl is brilliant. She declared a WIP Weekend last week and I'm totally ripping off her idea. If I play my cards right I might make some super progress on my Socktoberfest socks and MIL shawl.

Playing my cards right will mean:

• Getting up at the butt-crack of dawn because...
• I need to get the grocery shopping done so I can...
• make a pumpkin pie, muffins, vegan pizza and vegan fettuccine alfredo for next week's lunches.
• I also need to go to the post office.
• Walk with hubby
• Write the flippin' Socktoberfest post I've been planning since about the 5th of October.

All before the 2:30 'Bama/Tennessee kickoff! Ciao!

Teh Wennur Iz...

Ikkinlala!! Please drop me a line by October 30th and let me know which size sock blockers you want and where I should mail them.

Speaking of socks...

I decided to participate in Socktoberfest again this year. I finally turned the heel of the first sock tonight. I don't think I will finish the pair by next Saturday.* (I've got MIL's shawl I want to finish)

Last year I signed up and didn't even start a pair of socks. So this year's effort counts as progress, right?

*I've got MIL's shawl I want to finish.

WIP Wednesday 10/21/09

That time has come again! Last Wednesday I committed the grievous sin of *gasp* starting a new project. This Wednesday I will be good.

Due to circumstances at work, I may have to start bringing knitting. If I don't, someone may end up dead. So the challenge is to bring something relatively mindless.*

Let's look at Sunday's goal list:

Goal #1: Finish my thneeds...today. There's perhaps 45 minutes of work left and can call them done. Surely I can spare 45 minutes?

Goal #2: At least get to and turn the heel of my first Socktoberfest sock. (I'll worry about the second sock on some other goal list.)

Goal #3: At least swatch for Ophelia.

Goal #4: Work on MIL's shawl. She has surgery next week. I will not have it finished by then, but it would be nice if I could get it to her during the recovery process. (although this really is an ongoing goal, I am striking it because I did work on it on Sunday.

Last but not least goal: make the last snowflake for the Christmas in July giveaway then stiffen them all.

Obviously I won't be stiffening any snowflakes at school. So that leaves me with Ophelia swatching and sock making, neither of which can be done while monitoring a hallway or cafeteria. The sock pattern in mindless, but small yarn and small needles make it a little harder to look away for periods of time.

Hmmm. I do have a dishcloth I started a while back. Or maybe the cookie sheet blanket...

Be sure to stay tuned for the next installment of "As the Needle Picks"! Whatever will I decide?

*Actually, this isn't much of a challenge. 90-95% of my projects fall into the category of "mindless knitting".

You Aren't the Only One, Hon.

So, Bubblesknits apologized for her blog silence and I sort of feel I should do the same.

I know, I know. Two days does not blog silence make, but I did commit to Blogtoberfest '09 and I sort of wimped out.

According to the roolz of Blogging one should not blog if it feels like it is a chore.

Oh? The roolz of Blogging? You don't know about these? I think you do. I speak of all that advice around the 'net and in books.

Some roolz include:

• don't curse (shit, I'm screwed)
• don't rant (seriously? *sigh* whatever will I talk about?)
• Syndicate a full post feed
• Syndicate a short post feed (wait. Don't those contradict each other?)
• Don't write long posts
• Don't write short posts
• include high quality pictures (aw, man!)
• stay on topic (so if I just say "I went to Knit Nite", can this still be a knitting blog?)
• Avoid the minutiae of daily life (I had a bowl of cereal for dinner. I rinsed the bowl and put it in the dishwasher. I petted the cats... In case you're interested.)
  

Happy blogging, my friends! I will be back to break the rules...when it doesn't feel like a chore, I have nothing to rant about, I have not too much and not too little to say and tons of pictures to prove it.

Goal List Wrap Up

I am pleased to report that two of the goals were met.

I have finished the thneeds:


I should have flipped one of them so it didn't look like I made two right handed thneeds.

I am quite pleased with myself. I made this "pattern" up as I went along. Well, considering it's stockinette a monkey could have figured it out, but considering I can figure out anything for myself knitwise I'm pretty happy. I do wish I had decreased a stitch or two on the thumb of the first one I made, but I corrected the mistake on the second one. I expect these will be just perfect for those cold mornings when my steering wheel is freezing to the touch.

I also managed ten rows on MIL's shawl. I'm using Homespun (one of the unfortunate side effects of stashbusting) and La La's Simple Shawl Pattern. Perhaps not the best choice of yarn. It' doesn't show off the pattern very well, but it makes a nice smooshy shawl.

I've still got 1 1/2 football games to watch so I wonder how many goals will be met when the day is officially done.

Goal List 10/18

To Do Lists don't seem to work out for me, so I'm going to try a different tactic. If I call them "goals" I won't feel so bad if I don't actually "do" them.

Goal #1: Finish my thneeds...today. There's perhaps 45 minutes of work left and can call them done. Surely I can spare 45 minutes?

Goal #2: At least get to and turn the heel of my first Socktoberfest sock. (I'll worry about the second sock on some other goal list.)

Goal #3: At least swatch for Ophelia.

Goal #4: Work on MIL's shawl. She has surgery next week. I will not have it finished by then, but it would be nice if I could get it to her during the recovery process.

Last but not least goal: make the last snowflake for the Christmas in July giveaway then stiffen them all.

Secondary Goal #1: Start another Lillian Tank
Secondary Goal #2: Work on crochet scarf.
Secondary Goal #3: Work on Pi Shawl
Secondary Goal #4: Stop starting new projects

Happy Fall!

All pictures brought to you by my local curb market:


Today was my first trip and I am smitten. Had it not been so chilly (by Alabama standards) it would have been more open, but today they had things closed up and heated.

Decked Out For Halloween

I changed the color scheme on the blog to reflect the current Halloween season. It's still a boring layout, but it's Halloweeny colors. Too bad you can't add smells. I would love it if my blog smelled like caramel apples or pumpkin pie.

I am not counting this as a Blogtoberfest entry. I'm saving that for the flea market report later today.

I'm In Love

And I know I shouldn't be. It will just end in frustration. It's futile.

This pattern has captured my heart (PDF).

Now what would I do with a bunch of knitted leaves?? But I want them so....

Friday Fill-In 10/16/09

The glorious day has arrived that I don't need to think about blog fodder!

1. So are we going to enjoy the week-end? Yes we are!

2. Utter laziness is what's up ahead.

3. I love to sit on my tush and knit.

4. I need to think of an answer of some sort. This one stumped me!

5. I walk a lot, but lately it's been raining :-(.

6. Laughter is the true elixir of life! Lord knows it's better than crying!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Starbuck's, tomorrow my plans include the curb market and Bama football and Sunday, I want to watch football and knit!

Why I Knit

So this came up on a ravelry group and my first thought was "Ugh! Hasn't this been done to death?"

But it's 9:25 on Thursday and I just realized I have not blogged yet today.

I don't know why I knit any more than I knew why I smoked. It really is something I must do. Observe...

Some of the symptoms common to addictions are*:

• Tolerance - the need to engage in the addictive behavior more and more to get the desired effect Check.
  

• Withdrawal happens when the person does not take the substance or engage in the activity, and they experience unpleasant symptoms, which are often the opposite of the effects of the addictive behavior. Oh yeah. I'm quite the crankster when I'm without my yarn.
  

• Difficulty cutting down or controlling the addictive behavior. Have you seen my stash?
  

• Social, occupational or recreational activities becoming more focused around the addiction, and important social and occupational roles being jeopardized. Ravelry, Plurk and why yes, I have been called out for knitting in meetings.
  

• The person becoming preoccupied with the addiction, spending a lot of time on planning, engaging in, and recovering from the addictive behavior. I am currently obsessing over Ophelia. I've printed it. Now I'm studying the pattern. I will be swatching soon.

Signs of Addiction*

Symptoms can only be experienced by the person with the addiction, whereas signs can be observed by other people. You can never know what someone else is experiencing unless they tell you, so if you are concerned that someone else may have an addiction, look for signs as well as for symptoms.

You might see some signs in an addicted person but not others. These are signs which occur across many (but not necessarily all) addictions:

• Extreme mood changes – happy, sad, excited, anxious, etc Do you knit? then you know what this is describing.
  
  
• Sleeping a lot more or less than usual, or at different times of day or night Just one more row...
  
  
• Changes in energy – unexpectedly and extremely tired or energetic Usually coinciding with boring knitting or the euphoria of starting a new project.
  
  
• Seeming unwell at certain times, and better at other times. Like when you have to frog the last 10 inches of work...or when you finally cast off that project from hell.
  
  
• Pupils of the eyes seeming smaller or larger than usual. Cashmere...
  
  
• Secretiveness I'll just leave this recent yarn purchase in the car until Hubadub goes for his walk, then sneak it in the house.
  
  
• Lying What are you talking about dear? I didn't buy any yarn/needles/etc.!
  
  
• Financially unpredictable, perhaps having large amounts of cash at times but no money at all at other times. OO! Payday! Webs.com here I come!
  
  
• Changes in social groups, new and unusual friends, odd cell-phone conversations. Knit Nite. "Well I don't know, did you try googling phallic chapstick cozy?"
  
  
• Drug paraphernalia such as unusual pipes, cigarette papers, small weighing scales, etc. Circs, straights, tape measures, stitch markers...same difference.
  
  
• “Stashes” of drugs (*cough* yarn *cough*), often in small plastic, paper or foil packages Or huge gallon tubs.
  

*Thanks to About.com

Whipped Wednesday

I got nuthin'. We did testing for about 4 hours today and I made a scarf for charity. It wasn't even a WIP. I actually started something. Shame on me.

Actually, I guess I did work on something. I tried to think of a cutesy giveaway for the sock blockers. The challenge is to find something original yet somewhat easy for the contestants.

I couldn't think of anything. So I will have to stick with the tried and true "1 comment gets you one raffle ticket" kind of thing. Maybe with a tiny twist.

The Roolz
1. leeve a kahment anytimez between nao and oktobur 21st.
2. rite ur kahment in lolspeek. (Ahm nawt varee gud.)
3. Ah willz anownze teh weeneer furzday nekst week.

If lolspeak rubs you the wrong way you have an alternate mode of entry (and, oh my, that sounded wrong.)
1. leave a comment between now and October 21.
2. Tell me what your word verification was.
3. Tell me the first thing that popped into your head.

Example: I recently had "anglo" and "precreme". My first thoughts were "but I'm Hispanic" and "oh, that sounds dirty" respectively.

The Prize
1. Sock blockers of your choice of size.
2. Enough sock yarn to make a pair of socks. (You will have a choice. I just haven't taken pictures yet.)

Let's Play A Game

I call it "Smart Purchase/Dumb Purchase"

Smart Purchase



Ball Winder and swift. I use them at least once a month. Way to go, me! Money well spent.

Dumb Purchase



Sock blockers. Note to self: just because all the cool kids have them, does not mean you need them or will even use them. I have feet. They will do in a pinch when a sock needs blocking or modeling.

I may not need these but perhaps someone else would like them. So in honor of Socktoberfest I will be giving these away (because you can't resist them now that I've bad-mouthed them.) I have two sets: small and medium. I'll post instructions for entering later today. Right now I can't come up with anything interesting and/or cute.

Happy Hump Day everyone. We've made it though No Hope Tuesday (as I have begun to call it.)

Meetings-A Love/Hate Relationship

Yes, I totally feel lame for giving you a bulleted list. (The lazy blogger's life-line!)

• 3 hours is too long for a meeting....it doesn't matter how many activities you have or how much chocolate you bring. (And yes, It was I* who wrote "More alcoholic beverages" on the evaluation sheet.)
• I do appreciate that I was able to knit during this time. (This item helps me rationalize a work post.)
  
• And I'm thrilled that I influenced someone else to bring their knitting along.
• Knitting actually makes the situation worse, though. I pay more attention when I'm knitting, hence, I actually process the BS you are spewing. (Ah! The conflict this creates in my crafter's soul! To knit and suffer mental anguish or to daydream and remain blissfully calm?)
  

If Mother Nature affords me a nanosecond of sunshine, I may be able to get pics of the FO I managed during the meeting.

*Ugh! I'm just trying to be grammatically correct, not pretentious :-(

Blogging-Folks Along the Way

Now you know how it all began, but now I want to introduce you to some people that I've met during my stay in the blogiverse.

There are three gals that, in my head, I consider my blog buddy quadrangle. They have been reading since very near the beginning and have always left comments and I have been reading them since the beginning (maybe not the beginning of their blogs, but I discovered them soon after starting mine.)

They also managed to find me when I *ahem* changed blog addresses and failed to post it before the move. Ooops, yeah. Um. Sorry.

Anyhoo, in alphabetical order:

Andrea
Blog: Soapbox

• When I first "met" Andrea, she was living in the US (North Carolina, I believe.)
  
• She is a fixer. Seriously. She can fix anything. Her posts about fixing holes in knitting or any gadget just amaze me.
  
• She finds the neatest things on Flickr.
  
• She crochets socks.
• She knits.
• She paints.
• She is wicked smart.
  

Deneen
Blog: Yarns and Musings

• When I first "met" Deneen, she was struggling to get a pool installed at her house. Her posts about it were hi-larious. Like pee in my pants funny.
  
• Her daughter is wise. I don't mean like book smart, a mean like zen-master, deep-observations wise. And cute as a button to boot.
• You always know exactly where you stand with Deneen. I love her intense honesty.
• She crochets.
  
• She designs neat crochet items.
• She has really awesome shea butter (which I need to get for future tatts...)
  

Swapna
Blog: Where Is She Now?

• Cats. This woman loves cats. If I post a picture of cats, it's because I know it will make Swapna happy.
• Swapna lives in India.
• She knits.
• She crochets.
• Her doilies make me swoon.

Lori
Blog: The Shrone

• When I first "met" Lori, she was living in Washington state.
• She is a very conscientious Feline Maintenance Worker.
• She crochets doilies.
  
• Her doilies also make me swoon.
• She has won prizes for her doilies.
• She loves food and should have her own travel/food show...I'm just sayin'...
  

Ink!

I have a post idea, but right now no time to write it. Since I am somewhat obligated to blog daily (thanks to Blogtoberfest,) I will leave you with a picture of a tattoo I had done way back in the spring.


I believe that makes 10...

Now, off to the store to get the things I need to make baked oatmeal.

Good Help Is Hard To Find

Me: Honey? Can I get you to take a picture of me in the sweater I finished?
Hubadub: Huh? What? Why?
Me: for ravelry.
Hubadub: rolls eyes
Me: just hush and come on.
Hubadub: sigh Ok. How do I turn this thing on.
Me: It's already on...back up honey. The don't need a close up of my forehead.
Hubadub: Ok *click* here.



Me: Sweetie, you can't move the camera so soon. Let's try this again.
Hubadub: (grumble) ok. How do I turn this thing on...
Me: (interrupting) It's on already sheesh.
Hubadub: What button do I push?
Me: the same one from last time...dear.
Hubadub: *click...pause* Ok. I'm done.

Me: Oh. I don't like this picture, love of my life. I look kind of chunky, and like I'm missing an arm.
Hubadub: Ok. One more. That's it, sugar dupe (I don't know what it means, either.) *click. PAUSE* How's that?


Me: My teeth look kind of big.
Hubadub: I'm going inside.

Blogging-Origins

Disclaimer: This post is perhaps more suited to my Blogiversary, but there's no way I will remember it in two months. I'm a pretty impulsive blogger; appropriate and timely be damned.

Way back in January 2005, I began my journey into the world of blogging. I have no clue what got me started. Maybe Crochetville? Maybe the Harlot? My first blog was named Crochet All Day and I was quite the crochet advocate.

I wasn't quite anti-knit, but I was at the very least annoyed that crochet got no respect. I was pretty adamant about the craft. (And I think I was a better writer, too...what the heck happened? And, yeah, I just corrected a spelling mistake from 2005.)


My, how things have changed.

Do I feel a little ashamed?

Yes, perhaps.

Am I a sell-out?

Well, one would actually have to show a profit to be a "sell-out."

Does crochet get more respect?

Maybe? I see better offerings out there.

But boy do I still see a lot of *ahem* crap (PDF file)

Friday Fill-In 10/9/09

1. Sweet dreams are made of Annie Lenox and lovely orange hair.

2. Filling in this one is hard, especially for me.

3. Silliness is very important. Never take yourself too seriously.

4. I will be staying home this Halloween.

5. Outstanding or not I will continue to teach until I die or they kill me.

6. Friday afternoon is what I want right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include football and knitting and Sunday, I want to watch football and make muffins...oh and knit!

Pathetic

I was just overcome with shaky chihuahua excitement over the impending Friday Fill-in. I think I can now say with confidence that I have no life and no blog fodder.

And now in a stunningly bad transition I will rant a bit on the schizophrenic* nature of teens.

• They are singularly selfish.
• Yet at times they can be more caring than some adults I know.
• Some girls can be appallingly mean, rude, trampy and bitchy.
• Other girls are sweet, kind and innocent...and treated terribly.
• Some are shockingly ignorant of basics.
• And the some say really though provoking things.
• They whine about the stupidest things.

John Mayer has a song "Waiting on the World to Change" and it pisses me off to no end. I hear the lyrics and my thought is "wimps". Effing wimps. The problem is too big, so we'll just sit on our bums and do nothing.

Every. little. action. counts.

Why can't teens see this? (In fact, why can't I see that right now? *sigh* I guess I will have to go back to work tomorrow and be nice because my good attitude may influence theirs. Being a role model sucks sometimes.)

ETA: Hmmm, as I read over that list I began to think to myself "And how is that different from adults?" Shit. There is no hope for the teens. They won't change. They will just get taller.

*With no offense meant to those who suffer from the disease.

WIP Wednesday: The Update

I am pleased to announce the completion of two WIPs:

Little Sister's Dress:


And the baby bib:


Now if you will indulge me for a moment.

Someone in Barueri, Brazil has visited my site 13 times. And according to Google Analytics, I've only had 14 visitors....for the last month. I have had no visits to the site since September 21. WTF?

I can only assume...
1. I have no idea how to interpret data (highly possible)
2. Google Analytics sucks (can't make a judgement here since I know nothing of computers and the jury is still out on my ability to interpret data.)
or
3. Most people are reading my posts in a subscription service.

Well, I laugh in the face of Blog adversity! I will not be silenced! (Please picture me in a stance of defiance, fist to the heavens in a I'll - never- be- hungry again-Scarlett O'Haraesque kind of way.)

WIP Wednesday 10/7/09

I'm an inactive member of the Stash Knit Down group on ravelry and a WIP Wednesday thread was recently started. I figured it was a good idea and complements my Project Bust a Stash. (And it gives me more Blogtoberfest fodder) I hope you will forgive me for choosing WIPs over Whiskers on Wednesdays. My cats are thoroughly boring. (But then, so is my knitting eh?)


I am bound and determined to sew buttons on this:


and this:


Of course, this will be after school today. Independent wealth would come in handy right now. Then I could stay home, knit and regale you all with my wit and knit wisdom all day long. *snort*

Inspired By Another

I was just reading Shortly Stitches and her favorite week-day is Tuesday. I found it funny because I spent most of today bemoaning Tuesdays.

• Classes are 72 minutes long on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at my school. (Classes are only 65 minutes long on Mondays and Fridays. Yes, 6 minutes makes that big a difference.)
  
• Unlike the other days, Tuesday is not Hump Day or Friday Eve.

I do, however, have Knit Nite on Tuesdays and for the most part I enjoy Knit Nite. Some nights I'm a little cranky and don't have the patience for some of the personalities, but I'm sure I'm not the easiest to get along with either.

Speaking of Knit Nite: it's tonight and I don't know what I'm going to be working on. I better think of something!

The Snowflake List

Here's the final list of snowflake recipients:

1. Photoknitdog -Crocheted Snowflake
   
2. noricum- Crocheted Snowflake
   
3. Amanda- Crocheted Snowflake
   
4. Accountantgrrl- Pretty Snowflake
   
5. Deneen-Makers choice
   
6. Kara - Pretty snowflake
   
7. Jane- Crocheted Snowflake.

If each of you would drop me a line and let me know your mailing addys I would appreciate it. I've already completed 3! I'm hoping to get these out before the end of the month.

Piddly Day and Book #7

I started yesterday with a huge burst of energy: Grocery store, exercise and then home again to make mushroom and barely stew and biscuits.

The rest of the day was taken up with what I call "piddling" . On a piddly day, you do a little work on a lot of things and accomplish...nothing. I cast on for a mitten, discovered it was too big and then put it down. Did a few rows of Violet Points. I watched a little football. Mainly I read. So at least I can say I accomplished something on my 50 Book Challenge.

Book #7:
Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton. Once I got into it, this book was great! It's been on my "to read" list for a while, but I finally sat down to read it because the sequel (Laced With Magic) is the book of the month for my WhoDuKnit group.) I'm glad I have the sequel ready to go, 'cause I really wasn't ready for the first one to end. (On a 50BC side note...I wonder if I will get to the double digits this year. It doesn't look good.)

Toward the end of the day, it began to rain and that just made it even better. I was snug on the couch reading and piddling. Cats were snuggly. Really a great end to a day.

Many people find piddle days to be restorative. Sadly, this is not the case for me. It just makes me dread going to work even more...especially since it is still raining.

I Swear It's Not a To Do List

And it's not quite startitis. I'm not sure what it is, but there are so many projects that have captured my attention:

• Ophelia
• Another Lillian. I finished the first one and want to do another one in wool.
• I've got to start a pair of socks if I don't want to feel guilty about the Socktoberfest button on the blog.
• I've still got the pi shawl in the works.
• I signed up for a mitten KAL and can't decide between EZ's Mitered Mittens (out of *ahem* Patons SWS) or Blackrose Wristlets.
• I've got the Violet Points scarf going, too.
• I've got a shawl for my Mother in law going.
• I started a hat for charity last night.
  

Obviously the yarn/pattern diet have not stifled my knitting/crocheting urge. I've got plenty of yarn and patterns.

Confessions and Rationalizations

• I bought two back issues of Interweave Knits. Now before you start pointing accusatory fingers (Like, ya'll would be so cruel *grin*), it was two issues that have somehow disappeared and have left gaps in my collection. So really I was not buying patterns but keeping my collection intact. Yeah, that sounds good. (Plus at this point we all know that buying a replacement is the only way I can find things.)
  
• Not only do I own 5 skeins of Malabrigo (I mis-counted, it's not six) I also own 17, yes 17 skeins of Patons SWS in Natural Pink. Seriously, what was I thinking? The original plan was to make the 10-stitch blanket. Then someone pointed out that I have 4 cats and the stuff isn't machine washable. Very good point indeed, but now I've got 17 (does everyone understand? 17) skeins of the stuff. There is no rationalization for this. None.

*sigh*

The Giveaway

As you know, I am Jewish and celebrate Chanuka. That does not stop me from loving Christmas ornaments. I have no reason to make them for myself, buuuut I can make them for others. So I came up with a cute idea: Christmas in July.

There's only one problem. It's October.

I can either wait 9 months or go ahead with it. I'm not very patient, so I'm gonna go for it.

Here's what ya do:

Leave a comment and let me know which snowflake you want: Pretty Snowflake by Julie Bolduc or Crocheted Snowflake by Poodie. I will make you one and get it to you before Christmas.

Now for the fine print:

• Limited to the first 15 folks to comment.
• Deadline to sign-up: Midnight CDT on October 5
  
• All flakes will be crocheted with white thread.
• Lazy Knits and Purls will pay for all shipping.
  
• Lazy Knits and Purls reserves the right to amend the fine print.
  

Friday Fill-In 10/2/09

1. I have a history of over-committing and being oversensitive .

2. French is something I wish I knew.

3. I'm eating (or recently ate) Tofurky Kielbasa.

4. I hate being on the road.

5. So that's it, that's all I'm gonna say.

6. Trying is better than nothing!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to what I do every week-end: laze around and knit, tomorrow my plans include football and Sunday, I want to finally put up laundry!

Well, I've Gone and Done It

I signed up for Blogtoberfest.

What does this mean for you? A daily dose of banality and poor writing. Aren't you thrilled?

I will be doing a giveaway, so you'll have a reason to drop in at least once. I'll explain more tomorrow.

Things like this always make me really appreciate folks like the Harlot and Wendy. They just make it seem so easy. I'm sure it's not, but they are just so entertaining and so prolific that I can't imagine them sitting at home going "What am I going to write about?GAH!"

Ze Weenair EES

During the month of September (well, half month)I received 178 comments. Random.org chose comment number 172 so that makes..........


Cat our winner! Please contact me with mailing information. I will get yarn to you ASAP.

Stay tuned, folks, I've got something in the works for October!