Pssst....hey, do you remember this?
Oh yeah, it's all coming back to you now...the friends, the fun, the yarn...
Well...it's that time again!!!! Knitterpalooza 2008 will be Saturday, September 13th! Here's the Ravelry information page...go join! And get ready to have FUN!
So while I was in Kentucky, my dad (who I respect pretty much above all other men) informed me that I really needed to get my office into shape, get Julip Bags contained in there, and give JP his kitchen back. Those of you who have been over know what I mean.
So galvanized by my dad's mini-scolding, and inspired by this book (and yes, you will be ill from all the stark-artsy-modern-gorgeousness-within-an-inch-of-its-life if you peruse it cover-to-cover), I started hacking away at the Office of Doom. I do have my pride, though, so I hauled out the stacks of overflowing boxes that prevented you from actually walking IN the room before taking these pics. First off, we have the mess from the door:
Starting from the right, my computer desk/dumping ground central, then designer purse central to the left of that, and spinning central to the left of that.
My sad attempt at weaving on a rigid heddle loom was obviously a failure, so I turned it into a raggedy objet d'art in a fit of inspiration/trying to utilize vertical space:
The opposite wall...the two bookcases SHOULD contain all my fabrics, if it weren't for the fact that they're exploded all over the kitchen like a quilt store ground zero. And please note the lovely (stopped) Lexapro clock, giving away the fact that I work for a community mental health where drug reps truck in such goodies along with lunch every Friday.
And the "accent" wall (with the door reassuringly nearby)...actually I love this shot of color and just need to decorate a bit better. When I was shooting weddings it functioned as a photo album and displayed engagement/wedding pictures of people I have no connection to any longer (hmm, still does, actually)...
I've already made some decent progress on it, but I'm hoping to really have the room whipped into shape this weekend. JP is extremely excited about the idea of having half his kitchen back and has promised to make a special dinner to celebrate. I may even have to conduct tours through here like a Lowell textile mill after Julip Bags gets really big...."And here on the left, ladies and gentlemen, we have the founder herself passed out and drooling into the serger!"
Just got back from a nice extended holiday weekend at my parents' home in Kentucky...I knit a lot, chilled a lot, and JP fished a lot. The Russells were Russells a lot. I'll share more in the days to come, but first and foremost...
Anice is finally finished!!! Not blocked yet since the humidity would mean a three-day drying time, but I'll probably do it later this week or this weekend, and then there will be lovely pics!
The seven-and-a-half hour drive back was the most eventful we've had in a while...first, after leaving my parents', we witnessed a car bursting into flames while driving into Lexington (meaning, the flaming car was driving too. Scary!) Then a semi truck's tire exploded in front of us in between Cincinnati and Dayton.
North of Sydney (about midway through Ohio on I-75) we started noticing that the skies were getting ominously black off to our left (west). I sped up a little, figuring we could outrun an ugly-looking rainstorm. JP kept eyeballing it, until finally he said "Um, I think we need to get out of here." I asked why, and he said "Because there's a funnel cloud over there."
And sure enough, there was.
No, I did not take pics for the blog. I was too busy zipping up the windows and flooring the stealth hybrid, stubbornly joining a semi convoy while all the other cars pulled over. We managed to outrun a potential tornado (and yes I'm from the school that refuses to "pull over and hide in a ditch") but had another three hours of storm to swim through. So I'm a bit tuckered.
Now I'm relaxing in front of the laptop, catching up on e-mails, blog comments, and Julip Bags orders. Hopefully I'll have replied to everyone by this time tomorrow!!!
I'm still sick, but back at it!
Following a link from Ravelry, I found this fabulous YouTube video on how to Navajo ply...if you're a fan of Lime & Violet you'll really like her sense of humor. She's got a whole list of spinning/knitting video how-to's here, and my personal favorite, a tutorial on backward knitting. Enjoy!
I was right on track to finish Anice this afternoon...knit knit knit all yesterday afternoon, until I was just thirty rows and then the ends away from finishing the darn thing. And yeah my throat was sore and yeah I was sneezing, but I attributed that to inhaling a large amount of Kid Silk Haze mohair filaments while knitting in 90% humidity. I finally put it down around 8pm after JP pointed out that my nose was swelling up significantly and my eyes were becoming an unattractive shade of red.
Well, I woke up this morning with a major miserable head cold kicking my butt, so I guess I can't blame it on the KSH. Even the thought of knitting Anice makes me want to weep, so instead I made Yankee Chicken PotPie in the CrockPot, and then chilled the rest of the day, swearing by my neti pot that I WILL finish Anice tomorrow or the next day.
Tonight we watched the movie "The Mist," based on the Stephen King novella. Now, first let me say I haven't read the story yet, but if you are planning on renting it...
AND SPOILERS BE HERE, TO QUOTE IMBD...
...stick with it through the end. Yeah, the beginning is cheesy and I was whining by the first half-hour, but it gets better. The second hour was definitely better, and the end is, well, seriously messed up. Like one of those hard left turns where you're thinking "Oh, they're getting out, it'll be ok!" and then WHAMMO! Oh, and if you're squeamish about spiders and critters and such, I'd suggest having a husband or a dog to squeeze for the freakier parts. Consider yourself warned!
I know I've only mentioned this eighty bazillion times on this blog, but I used to be a professional photographer, and I seriously miss it sometimes. So much so that I've decided to go all Real Simple and have a monthly-themed new photo for the homepage of JulipBags.com. Here's July's...
Red, white, and blue yarn cake!
And JP having a helluva time lighting the stupid sparkler, finally resorting to lighting it with his cigarette like some kind of uber-patriotic pyromaniac chain-smoker...
At one point the conversation went like this:
Amby: "Where's the bucket of water?"
JP: "For what?"
Amby: "Just in case the sparkler ignites the picnic basket which in turn burns down the garage."
JP: "Oh for the love of..."
(In case you can't tell I have anxiety issues. Of course I worry that I will burn down the garage with a piddly little sparkler from ten feet away.)
Anice is sooooo close to being done...so close I can taste it. As a matter of fact, I'm going to go pick it up now and go watch "I Love the New Millennium 2006-2007" on Vh1...I do love me a good countdown!
Something very strange and horrible happened tonight.
After a fairly busy day, involving cleaning our gutters, tidying up the house, and sucking three Dyson canisters' worth of Russell hair out of the carpets, JP and I were ready to chill tonight. He settled down to watch some awful Adam Sandler movie on TV, and I found myself...
Restless? Agitated? Twitchy?
No, I was bored. I don't even remember the last time I was bored (barring times when I didn't have control over the circumstances, such as boring meetings at work). I could knit, I could spin, I could sew, I could read...but I didn't want to do any of those things. I didn't want to clean any more. I'd already napped, we'd played with the Russells, I'd pruned my roses, all my Julip Bags shipping was up-to-date...I had nothing to do that I WANTED to do.
I'm very rarely bored/un-busy. I've always got something to do. I'm one of those Type-A's that can't just chill and sit on the couch, I start feeling guilty unless I'm doing something. Then I remembered what my doctor had said last time I saw him...what it boiled down to was I needed to find a happy place. A place to chill, a place to relax, a place to FORCE myself to admit that it's okay to not always be "DOING." He recommended laying down in a quiet bedroom for fifteen minutes after I get home from work (not feasible due to Russells scratching/howling at the door and a husband asking me repeatedly what I want for dinner). Or perhaps sitting quietly in a park before going home (not feasible since after an hour of commuting I really DO just want to get home).
So in a moment of rare clarity a few days ago, I remembered something that used to bring me joy, brought me peace, brought me a great deal of happiness (and yeah, some associated stress and exhaustion, since I'm honest)...
Here is where we begin another "Thing You May Not Have Known About Me." I started playing flute in 6th grade (after playing piano and cello before that). I was in "real" marching band from 6th through 12th grade, concert band 6th through my senior year of college, and pep band all through college. A music scholarship based on my flute-y skill paid for a bulk of my college tuition. My high school graduation present from my parents was my beloved Gemeinhardt (above) and then I studied under Sonny Burnette at Georgetown.
Then, probably like many musicians before me, I graduated and got married a year-and-a-half later, and rarely even picked up my flute again. Especially since on the rare occasion that I pulled it out of the closet Mickey would howl along in an angry Russell fury that made me WANT to pack the flute up.
Well, tonight I pulled it out of the closet again and was able to find peace, joy, and happiness in the fact that the rusty connection between my brain and fingers regarding flats and sharps wasn't entirely busted. Mickey howled along for half an hour until he finally gave up, and JP was appropriately appreciative of my efforts. Then after I packed up the flute (since my chops are shot and my lung capacity ain't what it used to be), I found this blog and found inspiration in dragging the HitchHiker out of my office...
Mmm....merino..................
First off, proof that I'm STILL patiently knitting away on Anice...it will be a looooong time before I knit a rectangular shawl again...
Pluses: the rows are short, the pattern is easy enough to follow. Minuses: this bad boy will be about seven feet long when I'm done, so I'm not quite done. Specifically, I just started repeat five of seven (technically eight, but I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to eliminate the last repeat). But it's getting there.
Some of you who know me well may notice that something else got shorter, though...
The coppery color will fade a bit when I'm allowed to wash it tonight, but I'm in love with the cut, and since my dad had bright red hair, the color suits my skin tone and my blue eyes quite well. I have a very unique relationship with my stylist, who I've been faithful to for five years now...she knows what I DON'T like, but otherwise she's got carte blanche to do whatever she wants. I walk into the salon not knowing how I'll walk out...it's fun!
Of course, here's the obligatory picture of JP forced to model the shawl...
Hmm, now how about some Etsy/not necessarily Julip Bags news? I've got good and bad...the bad (I always prefer getting the bad news first) is I've been burned for the first time...I ordered a couple of items from a seller who has decided it's easier to jettison her old shop (and its customers) in favor of her new shop. I was one of the lucky ones that actually GOT her (mediocre) items, but only after a month and complete silence in response to my e-mails. Others weren't as lucky. If you're really interested in knowing who it is, e-mail me because I'm not going to post it publicly here.
The GOOD news...how about a favorite new shop? I found Floaty Dry Goods through the main showcase and fell in love...she specializes in cute affordable pearl jewelry and I immediately had to place an order for three pieces. I'm wearing one of the necklaces and the earrings in the pics above, actually. Very sweet seller, and really excellent pieces...definitely check her out!
Finally, to follow up on news I'd mentioned previously...I haven't heard a squeak from Mt. Bruce Station about my request for a Sheep and Wool Festival vendor application...it could be because I was dumb enough to send in an e-mail request the week before the May Fiber Fest, but I'm starting to think maybe it's a good thing to wait until next year to be a vendor. Since I've never done craft shows, the cash outflow would be HUGE just getting ready for it, so I'm thinking I'll wait until next year and give it a whirl then. In the meantime, I'm doing okey-doke on my own!
So...as I sit here with the local weather man on TV talking about the tornado warning we're under and the tornado sirens going off, I'm BLOGGING as a way of calming my nerves since I have no idea if my husband is still out on a lake with his friends, or if he's tootling along a freeway between here and there. Having grown up in Kentucky, I weathered a few tornadoes, the last (there) while I was at Georgetown and the most memorable when I was a child and slept through it as it passed within a quarter mile of my uncle's house. I take tornado warnings very seriously...right now I've got the Russells penned into the living room with me so I can snatch them up and head for the hall closet (we don't have a basement) at a moment's notice.
Which leads me to the topic at hand...do YOU have an emergency plan for your pets? We do...in case of any emergency (fire, tornado, etc.) I'm responsible for snagging Mickey, JP is responsible for snagging Jerry, and then JP is responsible for making sure we all get out/into the hall closet. Why the hall closet (for a tornado)? I'm counting on the approximately 245 coats and sweaters to protect us from flying debris!
ETA: Per the weatherman, it sounds like a tornado or its first cousin went through White Lake. I hope all my northern Metro Detroit peeps are ok!
How to end on a semi-positive note? This is what we had for dessert last night...decadence in a jar!
