wow....its GREEN

10 am

4 pm

Its kinda hard to tell from these photos but the room is now green. and I mean GREEN. Two coats on the ceiling and one on the walls. Now I just need to nail down my technique for the walls. Who knows I may have it ready for the floor to be installed this weekend.

Oh and I finished the body of Kyoto...or at least I thought I did. I screwed up the last side. I didn't notice my little note where to start when I picked back up and I'm about 7 rows too many. Unfortunately its in a way that requires ripping back to where I began. ugh. I'm blocking the rest of it right now anyway. I'll hit the frog pond tomorrow.

Full weekend

Yes it was quite busy. My love turned 30 on Saturday. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE) and he was rather depressed about it. Its hard to get him out of moods like that. Even taking him to his favorite tool store and telling him to pick out whatever he wanted and I would buy it (am i a good wife or what) didn't seem to work. I got a touch irritated for it seemed as if he was trying to make it a horrible birthday. He loosened up a bit later at our friends wedding. CONGRATS AMY AND WAYNE! Sunday he seemed over the shadow of 30 and much more himself.

As far as projects I am totally kicking some major ass here. The room is all primed. That's the best shot of it I could get. It's a small room. There is something inherintly beautiful about a perfectly primed room. Like a untouched canvas, I am in awe of it and had to sit and stare for a while. There are just moments in art that are extremely zen to me...a newly starched drop, a freshly stretched canvas, a primed room, an untouched gloss black floor. They are so beautiful and sexy and ...mystical. It's like the zen idea of the uncarved block. It has the potential to be everything and yet is nothing. Its hard to explain but I find these moments to be extremely spiritually profound. It is also very terrifying. Sometimes I just stare at the blankness scared to start. Afraid that whatever I may do to that particular canvas, be it a theatre flat or a canvas, a piece of watercolor paper or a wall in my house, that whatever mark I make on it will totally screw it up. I find the perfect potental of it very intimidating. That whatever I may do it it will fall short of what it truely could be.
I have a frame over my mantle that very few understand. Its a beautiful frame and there's nothing in it. I get a lot of jokes but I find the absence of art in it to be the same as the uncarved block. It is an opportunity to use one's imagination. I don't think I am explaining all this very well, but then again I don't have to.

But we DID pick colors for the room (I'm already second guessing the ceiling color now that the first coat is up) but here they are. Prepare to be shocked.
Ceiling:Pale Vista
Trim:White
Walls: Potpourri Green/Stem Green
I know the colors are very light and bright, but there is a reason. The room is small and tends to be very dark. We are getting good sun now, but once the leaves pop on all the trees around us that disappears. This room will be the guestroom and the nursery should I become pregnant. Plus I'm in this weird lime green phase and those were the best compromise.

*sick* day

I took a sick day today. Its not so much that I am physically ill (though I don't feel so fabulous) it is more of a mental health day. My scenic professor in college taught me about these. We were give three mental health days per class per semester. We could walk into class (or call) and say we were taking a mental health day. It was a way to miss class without being penalized. I remember walking into class one day, he took one look at me and told me that I was taking a mental health day. I think I had slept in the theatre the night before. So...I'm on a mental health day.
I was going to blog earlier but I was faced with this:
I'm such a sucker I can't move her when she is like this (plus she tends to weigh about 5,000 pounds when she's like this. I should know, I'm the one she sleeps on).


So instead I hit the library and grabbed a few books:

• The Procrastinator's Handbook by Rita Emmet (Do I really need to say why?)
• Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire (the sequel to Wicked)
• The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates (for the library's First Tuesday's book club. I've never done a book club before but I figured what the hell. Especially since I'd really like to get hired by this library, so it can't hurt to join in a bit)
• The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee (I missed her visit to the spinning guild and was completely bummed. I was so excited to see our library had this book. Chris swears by it. I can't wait to get into it)

hit the Goodwill:

• 2 pairs of Gap jeans (This is my dilemma. I HATE the Gap and all they stand for. Unfortuantely their jeans fit me just shy of perfectly and I have a hell of a time finding pants that fit. I resolve all this by only buying them from thrift stores. So if you see any Gap size 6, snag them for me and I will pay you cost plus cookies. I'm wearing them out faster than I can find them.)
• The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (who doesn't love great literature at $.59)
• Carrie by Stephen King (if you don't know why scroll down through my posts. You'll know the picture when you get to it.)
• The Tale of a Body Thief by Anne Rice (the one we are missing from my vampire collection. )
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (to replace the one I left on the plane on our honeymoon. A book I would read about once a year or so.)

and the grocery store:

• pizza dough
• shredded cheese
• milk (for the boy. I don't drink the stuff)
• Wheaties (to go with the milk)
• sour cream (for his birthday cheesecake. he's 30 tomorrow hehehe)

Now that I am fed and the cheesecake is in the oven, here I sit...forgetting everything I had meant to say.

oh I was going to show the paintings that I did and are finally getting around to mailing to my nephews... (and I would if they would show up....uploaded them twice...where the hell are they??!!?!?!?!) grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

randomness and photoshop

These were intended to grace my blog title but it seems that won't support an image or two. *sigh*

Oh my god...it's contagious!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The boy's geekiness is rubbing off on me. I just realize that I have spent the last hour making an Excel spread sheet to figure out who has the best price on some Zephyr. I've figured out the price per ounce, per pound, and amount needed for the intended shawl for each company selling it. I am such a geek. You have to understand, my love is the type of person who has a ton of charts and graphs relating to our finances. Frankly I don't have any desire to see a graph of our mortgage until we are paying more principle than interest. It just depresses me. He just loves that stuff...what a sicko!
Me, I became and artist so I wouldn't have to do math. Yeah, that worked out real well for me. Why didn't they use knitting to teach me math? I'm doing all sorts of addition, multiplication, division not to mention geometry and algebra. I still haven't figured out how knitting could have helped me pass chemistry.
So back to my Zephyr dilemma. Can I justify buying a whole pound because the price per ounce (and therefore the shawl) will be cheaper than buying just what I need for the project? I think we all know the answer to that, but I still need to convince that little practical beast inside of me.

Speaking of beasts...here's a few pictures of mine. Aren't they cute little demons. Isis is the black one and Loki is the grey.

E Bag

The E bag is done!!!! I did the zipper and it really wasn't so bad. Here it is:


I'm not completely pleased with it. The piping is a little wonky. The opening should have been a little short as well to avoid that peaked look on top. But it was my first attempt at this pattern and my second felting overall. The second bag shaped up better...but I actually knit the opening based on the pieces knit and not the measured instructions. This pattern really is a learning process in felting. You have stockinette, garter and an I-cord and they all felt a little differently...not to mention the intarsia. Overall I am pleased and will continue to tweak it to my knitting style.

*sigh*

I was psycho-ADD girl today. I could not focus at work at all, and it doesn't help that I hate my friggin job. I hate my job so much and I am totally ashamed of working there. I am a talented artist (or so I am told. I am very self critical) and I shouldn't be stuck in some sucky retail job. And the only reason I am there is for the health insurance. If the boy got a job that had coverage to include me that wouldn't cost us $600 a month I would be so out of there. I don't know how much more I can take it. If I can do this:







And this:




Then why am I stuck dealing with horrible people who can't make a decision, read a simple sign, or brush their teeth? (Seriously I'm really going to stop waiting on people with bad breath and who haven't showered. I should NOT smell you coming from two aisles away!!! Come on people!!!)

*sigh* Ok I'm done venting. I'm just horribly depressed about my work situation. I need to go draw or knit or something involving creativity and a glass of wine.

***********TIME PASSES***********

Sorry about that (sorta...not enough to delete it). I hate my job and I really miss painting. I miss it like a drug...I really do....and I just don't know what the fuck to do about it.

Day off...

It was a rather productive day off. I slept in, went grocery shopping, made soup, froze all the meat I bought, had lunch, sanded the back room, showered, made sushi for dinner and then went to stitch and bitch. Not bad for one day.

The soup I made was this fantastic "New York Deli" Borcht. I know everyone is thinking "Ewwwwwwwww.....borcht" but this recipe is wonderful. Unlike traditional Polish borcht it doesn't include game or any meat at all. The only ingrediants are beets, water, carrots, lemon juice, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Its light and tangy. It is also this electric fuchsia color that just feels like spring.

I worked more on Kyoto at snb. I'm nearly done with the back...less than an inch then the shoulder shaping. Then there is the right front to finish. I won't let myself start anything else until I finish this, even though I am itching to do about a dozen other pieces. I NEED to complete something for myself. The only real issue that lies before me is that I have nowhere to block it. I ususally block on the extra twin beds in the back room...but those are dismantled in the garage until the room is done. *sigh*

Speaking of the room it is coming along nicely. I did the last big sand today. I circled a few spots that need a bit more JC and then I hope to prime the first coat Friday night. I'm going to send the boy (yes that's my name for my love) in to circle anything he sees. Then I'm done. I tend to get psychotically anal about the smoothness of the walls. The inside corners drive me nuts, but since any children I may have will probably spend a lot of time staring at them, I think they should look halfway decent. We are narrowing in on colors. Some nice soft greengs. We also ordered the floor on Saturday. Much lighter oak than I prefer but the room tends to be very dark and the wood will darken with age. I'll post the colors when we make the final decisions. I can't post pictures of the room unpainted because it will give me one more thing to scrutinize.

But I will give you one of a past knitting project. This came about when a friend complained about the lack of WonderWoman fabric. She made a Spiderman quilt for her husband, but couldn't do anything WonderWoman for herself. So I created this:










The pattern is all my own and my first real foray in intarsia. I do need to make one for myself one of these days. Especially since I own adult WonderWoman underwear, have a WonderWoman purse, and still possess my orginal Underoos.

So there you go...I do actually finish some things.

Vive la Revolution!!

Check out all the back story here; they explain it better than I ever could. You don't piss off knitters...its like pissing off librarians.

Well the crap with SFSE is starting to hit home. We are awaiting the latest round of bull from them about the term Stitch and Bitch. Some how they are starting to now lash out at anyone who uses the initals, SnB....they are FUCKING INITALS. If they want to be that way then fine...I am going to trademark the letters T, H, and E. Try to write your stupid cease and desist orders now.

I suggest we just keep our initials and call ourselves pSychotic kNitting Bitches. I mean the "p" and the "k" are silent so we wouldn't use those letters. Its like promoting the guy who shows up and looks like he's working but he's talking into a phone that isn't plugged in.

I spent much of my day not sanding the 2nd bedroom and reading up on all of this.Here's another good site for it. Oh and I did a little update/organization of the sidebar.

Weekend Update

I know...I know...I'm a bad little blogger. I should have posted many a time this weekend but didn't. It was a rather eventful weekend.

Friday:
I was off from work and spent most of the day catching up on things. Unfortunately it wasn't most of the things I should have been dealing with. However I did get around to felting the bags. As you can see it didn't go quite as planned.

How did this happen??!!?? because I was lazy. When knitting the 'm' I didn't see the need to bobbin for each of the legs of the letter. It was getting felted so why bother. Then I pulled the yarn a tad to tight in between runs. I wasn't sure how this would felt so I cut the yarns and tied them off and wove them in. It was partly sucessful because the center leg turned out just fine. I'll just sew it down and spot felt those areas. I certainly learned my lesson that time. I hope.

Saturday:
Knitter's Breakfast at Fabric Place. A well attended trunkshow and sale at a fabulous store plus a lite breakfast. Fantastic selection of fabric and above average yarn selection for a chain. Met up with the SnB group for a touch of tailgating before going in. Bailey's coffee and mimosas. I, as usual, was running late. It was rather enjoyable but zooish. Part of the joy of going, I have to admit, is feeling a bit superior to some of the knitting crowd. Not to be mean but there is a lot of bad taste out there expressing itself with yarn...usually furry yarn. I know I shouldn't be a snob about it, but there is so much more to the craft. Ok off the soapbox before I start a rant. Big crowds of people tend to set me in frenzy mode, so a bit of it was spent hanging on the sidelines till it thinned out. It was nice having the Cascade rep there but too bad we could hardly hear her.
I did behave myself shopping though. I got some more Foliage in a lovely blue for more boot socks. (this is what my first pair of socks was made in mere months ago), a skein of Malabrigo pure merino in Purple Mystery, and a set of Brittanys to replace the needles sacrificed at the hockey game. I also bought some tulle for my best friends bridal veil, and some calico I've been eyeing (and thought they were out of). Overall not a bad trip, though there was some unpleasantness regarding a return, but that's a story for another time.
From there it was home for a bit of cleaning and then off to the Home Show. We got a few good ideas there and a lot of expensive ones as well. This was the first year it was at the new convention center. Most of my drool was on the hardwood flooring and jaccuzzi tubs.
After that it was off to David's Bridal to order my bridesmaid's dress and up to the mall for a bite. Then we came home and painted on our Warhammer minatures. That's when I spilled the gold paint on my favorite down lap blanket. With some magical skill, WD40, and Fels-Naptha soap all was not lost, but I was done for the night.

Sunday:
Ah Sunday...I finally made it to the back room to sand and put up another coat of joint compound. That took most of the day. Then dinner at home and off to the Oscar party. Thank you again Audrey for a wonderful time. It was formal or come dressed in a movie themed costume. There were many a cowboy there. I ended up in my slinky black dress because my love wouldn't let me go in my Carrie costume. He never lets me have any fun. Here's a pic of me in it.

Yes, that's him in red dress. It was a friend's Seven Deadly Sins party (come as your favorite sin) I was Highschool and he was Bad Drag/Worst Blind Date Ever. There is still red dye all over my house.

so that is where I have been.

The Gnomes are back

You know...gnomes...those pesky little critters that move stuff around your house. Well they are back. I wish they would at least dust while moving things or at least slap up some joint compound. Sheesh. Their latest victim is my felting bag. Its just a zippered bag I felt everything in. I've looked in all the usual places and a few unusual ones as well, but it seems to be well hidden. I've grabbed another pillow protector to felt for today. Its not really such a big deal that it is missing, but then again it is. It irritates me when my 'tools' are missing. I have a habit of living in organized choas, but I like my work areas VERY organized. I tend to be psychotic about it. When I am in the throws of a creative moment I don't want to be looking for that critical tool that will make or break my stride. Espcially when I am painting and the paint has its own ideas counter to my own. I want to run to where what I need is and grab it, not search frantically, swearing a blue streak while the fuckup dries on me. *sigh*

Wow that was really random, wasn't it.

Obviously I'm going to be doing some felting today. I should be putting up more joint compound but frankly I don't feel like it. I will tomorrow, AFTER my love hooks up the heat duct to that room. It makes it just a wee bit more comfortable working. Felting bags...woo hoo....but the joy will be short lived. For once they are felted and dried, then comes the dreaded zipper. Kyoto is coming along slowly. Boring stockinette at the moment. Boring boring boring. Even though the olympics are officially over I am however going to keep to my goal of finishing these projects before I start new ones. And yes, it has me climbing the walls. I suppose I should throw up some compound while up there.

When will it end?

I've been absent lately, kinda. So the day of my last post we found out my MIL had a bit of an accident. She was out walking the dog, was pulled off balance by the pup and bounced her head off the asphalt. She just got out of the hospital yesterday. Pretty nasty but I won't go into details right now. My love went out there (about 400 miles away) on Saturday, so I've been alone since then. After we found out, I called my own mother and asked her when all the many bad things happening lately would end. Her answer was "when we die, honey." Not exactly the comfort I was looking for. It really sucks being a grown up.

So here I am alone in my creepy house. The house itself isn't creepy, it just becomes so alone in the dark. I can thank my older brother for my fear of the dark. I'm 29 and sometimes I will have full out panic attacks walking down a dark hall. I can't sleep with the closet door open either (plus I put my love between me and it). I think the closet thing is due to seeing Poltergeist as a kid. I know a bunch of people my age with the same problem.

I have no clue why I am writing all this. I'm tired, I'm lonely, I'm frustrated that I can't be of any help from this distance. I haven't knit much the last few days. It is so cold and my hands don't do so well in the cold. Sunday I did paint my minatures some.

I better go. Maybe tomorrow the brain and fingers will collaborate enough to write something worth reading.

When I should have been sleeping

Its a bit rough, but its late and i'm tired.

And now for something about knitting...maybe

So its been a bit. The weekend did not turn out the way I had planned, which being a Capricorn, irritates the hell out of me. My in-laws showed up several days early. Instead of Monday night they came Saturday afternoon. Mind you, they had an excellent reason, but it still screwed me up. I had to drop everything and clean like crazy. I couldn't work on the drywall in the back room, or (more importantly) my knitting. I saw my olympic dreams dashed.

Saturday we did go to a lovely dinner and then a hockey game. I learned something new (it never ceases, does it). Even though you can knit on a plane, you can't at a hockey game. Even though it isn't posted ANYWHERE that you can't have knitting needles with you. When the fuck did knitting turn us into potential threats. I feel a need to swipe the skateboarding slogan and start printing items that say "Knitting isn't a Crime". They wouldn't let me in with my needles. My in-laws had already entered the arena and had the car keys, so they ended up going in the trash in a fit of frustration. I was so pissed, I was on the verge of tears but I figured I would dig through the trash for them after. No biggie...I'm not above dumpster diving. Aren't the damn cans gone when the game was over. I should have just palmed them up my coat sleeves. It didn't help that those needles once belonged to my grandmother. Well fuck you Civic Center. I had hoped to plan a knitting hockey night, but obviously you don't want our business. Bastards! At least there were several fights and a fair amount of blood. Oh and my team won.

The second bag is all set to be felted. The Kyoto sweater is coming along nicely. The left front is complete and the back is about 1/3 rd done. Haven't even touched the devil baby pants. So I was a little over ambitious (I did mention I was a Capricorn, didn't I).

Oh, and here is a little something that made me laugh for HOURS today. Yah, so I'm a freak. Deal with it.

One Question...

WHY does my house smell like skunk this morning????!!!???

No really, my house smells like SKUNK. I've counted the cats and we don't have one extra. My husband says it started at about 2:30 am, strong enough that he got out of bed to check and see if one was in here. I looked outside and there are a few signs of digging for grubs in the lawn but no odor. Once I walked back in BAM, skunk right in the face. Maybe we have a ghost skunk.

hrm.

Thankfully I own a boatload of scented candles and incense.

What I learned today

This is what I learned at work today. Grommets, once in, are really, really, REALLY hard to take out.

Tonight was stitch and bitch night. One of my favorite nights of the week. I worked on Kyoto this evening and made fabulous progress. I got to the section splits and most of the way through the left front. I'd take a picture of it but it wouldn't really look like much. But then again it has been sitting in the same state for so long that ANY progress is fabulous. One fellow bitcher asked if my knitting always (ever) fits. My answer was a resounding "HA!". Baby sweaters I can manage. Something to fit an adult...especially me...there's a better chance that my cats will learn english. This sweater will hopefully break that curse.

In our discussions this evening one of my favorite knitting sites came up. This is one of my greatest inspirations when I get frustrated and find myself at the frog pond. This woman deserves an award or something. If she can do that, then my minor setback can be overcome without gasoline and a match. See everything can be fixed with wine and chocolate.

Enough for tonight. Have to be up early to take the stupid car in to be fixed. I bet WonderWoman never had such troubles with her invisible jet.

V-Day

Not quite my most favorite day....actually I hate it. I've been dumped on it twice (and the second one knew about the first time. punk!) But my darling prince did make me smile and cry a bit today. It has been rather loverly.

Anywho...off to knitting.

Many of my fellow knitters are competing in the knitter's olympics. I wanted to but then decided against it. The timing is not the best with a show to finish painting and some in-laws coming to visit...I didn't think I would have a fair shot. Besides, did I really need another project on the go? So I am doing my own (unnamed) version. I have to complete by the time the flame goes out all existing projects sitting on needles. How's that for a challenge! Here is the list as of the opening ceremonies:

• Mitered squares baby blanket
• Kyoto sweater
• Black initial bag
• Blue initial bag
• Baby Devil pants

There it is in all its glory. Actually the baby blanket is now complete. I finished weaving in the thousands of ends. I was going to put a border on it but thought it looked ugly.

The black bag needs a little re-felting to fix the opening and a zipper put in (horrors...i hate zippers!). The blue is needing handles attached and piping knit and attached before in the washer it goes...then another friggin zipper.

Devil pants....um....I have the tail done.

Kyoto is the uber-challenge. The sash is complete. Now I am working on the top. I am attempting to knit the fronts and the back as one, splitting at the armholes and then I will pickup the sleeves and knit them down. Did I mention I don't like seaming. Its right up there with zippers.

So there it is. Can I do it...we shall see...yes *evil grin* we shall see.

And so it begins...

I have been meaning to start this thing for a while. And so here goes. This will mostly my adventures in knitting and art as a freaky little gothchick...and whatever methodical madness I see fit to include.
I beg patience as I work though all the technical aspects of this. I'm not as computer savvy as is my wont, but then again it would help if I could get my husband off of the thing every now and then.

Anywho...here we go.