No frills just yet, but soon.

Very soon.

I'd give an evil laugh, but I might cough myself out, so. Imagine one here.

Anyway, here's where I am on the shawl:

For them as what's keeping score at home, that's the point where I'm going to put the ruffle on. I've picked up stitches along the top of the shawl and put the base stitch markers in and am ready to count stitches and figure out where the ruffles go.

Since I'm pantsing this particular ruffle, it's going to get interesting from here on in.

In other news, however, I have some super cool stitch markers:

Despite the fact that I detest them, I have donut stitch markers. I detest donuts, that is, not the stitch markers in question. I'm rather fond of them. They got given me by a member of The Coven, who was apparently feeling her clay-molding skillz one day. I've got a regular donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles and a strawberry donut with pink icing and sprinkles. They're adorable.

And that's all the knitting news fit to blog, really. It took me a blue age getting those last few rows done. Everyone and their brother told me, 'oh, those last few rows really eat the yarn', but for me they didn't. It felt like it took forever to get to the end of that second skein. Then I tied on (yes, I made knots in my yarn; sue me, it's Lion Brand, I think it can handle it) the third skein and it did, at that point, seem to suck yarn. But not until then, and I didn't tie on the new skein until I did the bottom eyelet row (my shawl has eyelets across the top where you do YOs to add stitches so I did a row of eyelets to make the bottom two edges match).

Still, don't care. I've got some free time tomorrow -- not much, but some -- so I'm going to count stitches and plan out ruffles. And take a nap. I read an article that said that taking naps 2-5 times per week is associated with an up to 30% lower risk of heart disease.

For a woman who, a mere four years ago, had cholesterol that was ticking slowly upward (it's started going down again, never fear), this is a not-inconsiderable thing.

So I'm going to take more naps next month, through the NaNoWriMo phases, and take my other cardiovascular tonics:

red wine and dark chocolate.

Sigh. It's soooo hard looking out for my health. But I will do it!

Ok, so, not so difficult.

I guess I overestimated how tough it would be to pick the next project to work on, because I was knitting on this:

before the fluffy scarf was even dry. It's my modified Milk Run Shawl, in process. I'm not doing too badly, actually. I'm almost at the end of the second skein, which is the point at which I (arbitrarily) decided to start on the ruffle. I've got two skeins for the bottom ruffle and one for the top ruffle.

Of course, I might also just do the ruffle in the round. Three skeins for one super long ruffle. That might actually work best.

I am also prepping for this year's NaNoWriMo. I do this every year (save last) and each year I feel worse about myself for not finishing. But this year I have a secret weapon: The nanowriter forums on Ravelry. I don't have to feel bad for not hanging out on the NaNo boards (which are clunky and uncomfortable, after the warm internet bath that is Ravelry). I hate guilt.

And maybe having people to whine to about word counts, lack of caffeine (because I gave it up for my palpitation reasons) and how the plot has gone all wonky will help. I really want to make it to 50,000 words this year. Even crap words, frankly, I just want to make it.

To prep, I think I need to a) plot out my story a little more than I typically do and b) choose my "music to write to". Thanks to the episode of CSI that's on television right now, I'm thinking...Bach's cello concertos.

Thanks, CSI. Thanks a lot. I use those albums to get to sleep at night, now I'm going to have to multi-task it!

Finally! It's done!

Done, dusted and drying:

The sister in law scarf is done. I've even put the little dangly-bobs on the bottom:

for a little of the old razzle-dazzle. Actually the pattern calls for them, so.....

But the colors coordinate nicely, don't you think?

It's hanging on a hanger on my closet door to dry. My blocking pads are occupied elsewhere (I need to get more, frankly) so I had to just use the hanger to dry it.

I suppose that, technically, I didn't need to wet and dry it, but I wanted to wash any incidental lunch crumbs out of the fluff before I gave it to her. As well as get rid of the major loose fun fur particles. Trimming the tassels at the bottom of the curly bits (below the beads; you can't really see them) was an exercise in making glitter. All over my suede chair.

You don't want to know what I had to go through to make my chair stop shimmering like a vampire in full-on PNW sunlight.

I'm very glad I'm done, to tell truth. Now I get to go through my project bag and pull out something for myself again. Not sure what I want to work on next, to be honest, but I'm sure going to have fun choosing.

It's not done, but the secret's out anyway

So I can unveil the latest thing on my needles:

Yes, it's another Phoenix Tears Scarf from Charmed Knits.  If you'll recall, back in the dark ages of this blog, I made one for the Nieceling. When she was very short and adorable, unlike now when she's tall and beautiful. Ah, youth.

I typically don't repeat myself with patterns, and beyond that I prefer not to knit for others, but my sister in law actually requested a scarf like Nieceling's. As in, asked politely, offered to buy the yarn (although I got the yarn as her birthday gift) and even said please.

Shockingly rare, according to my siblings in the Selfish Knitters group on Ravelry, to get a polite request. I wouldn't know from personal experience, because people rarely assume I'm nice enough to request I make something for them in rude fashion. Apparently, I'm really scary when I knit in public. Or maybe just all the time.

Anyway, here's a close-up shot of the "flames": 

It's the Hobby Lobby version of fun fur.

And a close up of the "feathers":

Yes, more Hobby Lobby yarn. Kitten soft and supremely smooshable, but a pain in the ass to knit. I've seriously remembered why I hated knitting the first one. The fur-type yarns are beautiful and easy to wear (being as they are filthy soft), but seeing the center strand to get your needles through? Yeah, not easy. I've been reduced to knitting on this only during daylight hours and for only a few rows at a time. It's taken quite a while to get this far (2/3 of the way through), and it's just a narrow garter stitch scarf.

Sigh. She asked. And she asked politely. It's hard to say no.

Until I get this thing done and dusted (hopefully tomorrow) it is my only project. The fifty gabillion other baggies in my work bag do not exist at all.

Which is very sad, as everything else in my knitting work bag is destined for me, me, and only me. I want a new knit thing, too!

Pouty face.

Stuff I can't show you (yet)

Yes, I've spent a lot of time alone with my caramel, chocolate and Avengers blu-ray. I'm a single woman, do you blame me for any of it?

Seriously, why did they market that movie to men? There were 6+ totally hot guys in lycra with asses you could bounce quarters on and ONE hot chick that got any sort of screen time at all. And this is a dude movie?

Yeah. Sorta like 300 was totally hetero, too. Hey, I don't judge, if a guy wants to ogle the buttocks of another guy, say, Chris Evans, I'm totally there with him. Boy works out, and work that hard (or merely squeezably firm and taut) deserves to be ogled and admired. But don't pretend to me you paid $10 to see just Scarlett Johansson and maybe the other chick, Cobie Whatserface (sorry, Cobie, I can't remember your name just now) because I'm not sure I believe you. And I know women aren't the only ones who go to movies for a little side dish of eye-candy with their 'splody-explosions.  

Just sayin'.

Anywho, I've got a new project on the needles I can't show you because it's a birthday gift for someone. It's pretty, but I'm remembering very quickly why I don't knit with novelty yarns. Eyelash yarn is fun to wear and soft as kittens, but a total beyatch to work with. I don't knit with mohair for much the same reason -- I guess I don't like yarn that floofs out like that. But the colors are beautiful, and this is a thing that someone actually asked me to make for them, so I will power on.

I'll show pictures later, once it's been given.

In other knitting news, progress remains slow on the projects currently on the needles. I've got cast-on-fever and not enough episodes of Criminal Minds on my DVR to power through everything I've started lately. And serious guilt about working on my newest writing project, which just...popped up one day. You'll note I'm here, writing on my blog right now instead of the next chapter of the project. I will, however, blame my extreme Chocolate Time-ness -- the story is a comedy, and I noticed the last two chapters got really dark. They will need to be rewritten, but I haven't got the comedy juice to write with today, either. So I'm saving myself re-write time later and working on the birthday gift and reading a book I found today that strikes the light tone I'm trying to get into my story.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be in better writing mood.

Happy "Marvel's The Avengers" on DVD and Blu-Ray Release Day!

It's a holiday in my house, how about yours?

I went out early this morning to get my shopping done. See?


I got my blu-ray and a pack of cards. I collect cards with interesting backs, and I hadn't seen the dragon back version before. Way cool. The candies I will confess I cheated with in the picture -- I got them this past weekend. Dove Caramel and Sea Salt. Mmmm. According to Dove (in the person of these three candies), I have a great laugh, I should believe in myself and the more I praise and celebrate my life, there more there is in my life to celebrate and praise.



Kudos to me, then.

Yes, my blu-ray is still in the wrap. I've been working today. For a change. Some new inspiration came into my life a week ago, and today I was feeling it. Well, I was rather feeling it than the pernicious nerves that have been plaguing me of late, so I worked. Working worked, as I had no palpitations while I was writing, although I will confess to giggling once or twice.

Perhaps I should do that more often.

In knitting news:

The start of my firstiest sweater for me! Isn't it pretty and purple?

To celebrate the dual accomplishments of my week thus far, I made myself Butter Chicken using my favorite sauce-in-a-jar, Sharwood's (oddly enough, Butter Chicken is not listed on their Indian cuisine page; I think it must be listed under a different name) and am noshing as I type this out. God, it's good. I may belch fire later, but for now, I'm content.

And now I will wrap this up so I can move on to the next part of my day -- washing up my pots and dishes, then getting the plastic off my blu-ray case and devouring the movie and extras like dessert.

I needs me a hit of Loki.

Why all the new swanky acrylics?

Never say the big acrylic companies are feeling the pinch, because they've got a massive presence in the market (and I know knitters who only ever knit with acrylic -- although you might see this more in crocheters, because what better to make a granny square with than acrylic?) but I'm seeing a lot of, well, nicer acrylics lately.

The Red Heart boutique lines I noted a couple of weeks ago, regular Red Heart is getting softer, Bernat and Caron...all of them are starting to mill up softer and softer acrylics that wear well and don't pill as much. Knit Picks has a fabulous acrylic in its line-up, a new yarn that's very durable and soft in the hand. We won't even talk about the fabulous that is the Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn! brand.

I'm not complaining, mind, I'm just noticing the trend. I've been knitting for, golly, over 5 years now and I've never seen such a bounty of acrylic. Take these, for instance:

Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Tweeds in Midnight

and Patchwork Gray

I gotta say, this stuff is softer than expected. I've got wool tweeds and I won't make anything for myself out of them due to the scratch quotient, but this stuff...yeah. I want to make myself a striped scarf using both skeins. Both colors appealed to me deeply, but I didn't have enough left on my birthday giftcard to get enough for a long scarf in each, so I thought Stripes! and went with the feeling.

These new acrylics are soft, durable and offer nice economy. Plus, if you use it for a sweater, you don't have to worry about stretch. Well, excess stretch, knit a rib and it will stretch, it just won't start to droop from the weight of the yarn. You know what I meant.

I'm pretty happy about the new direction acrylic seems to be going -- I love my luxury yarns, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'm stymied about dealing with them because I am not a fanatical handwasher of garments. I've been contemplating knitting sweaters, and I will admit that part of my hesitation about casting on was that the yarn I initially bought was wool. As in handwash only wool. Now that I've got a bunch of acrylics lined up for the purpose, part of my hesitation is gone.

Only part. I'm not fool enough to pretend the concepts of gauge and final fit aren't keeping me up at night.

And I'd like to ask every reader (not that there are tons of you, but I figure I can start small and hope it snowballs) to do me a massive favor. When you meet someone new, take a moment and check your assumptions about them. See them, accept them and then chuck them out the window. Take the time to look at the people you meet with Baby Eyes -- eyes that haven't seen a lot of the world and take the new as it comes. Respect them enough to allow them to be unique and different and not as they appear at first glance, and appreciate them for it.

If we'd stop expecting people to act a certain way/be a certain way/think a certain thing based on first appearances, I think humans as a whole would be a lot happier.