Monday, April 30

Alma mater

I'm back from the alma mater now, having spent the weekend in the usual schmoozefest that happens when they have alumni gatherings. Not to say it wasn't fun, because it really was. The concert Friday night was standard fare for the end-of-year first-year choir concerts: lots of songs, and boys with rather dorky but fun choreography. We stopped at La Rana (which is Spanish for "The Rana", of course) on both Friday and Saturday nights. We drank ourselves quite drunkly, I must say. ($67 table tab in one night? Yes please!) After church and an 88-piece sushi platter at Cho Sun, we parted ways with the usual, "Oh, let's get together this summer!" (Which, unfortunately, doesn't always work out.)

Our lodgings for the weekend were pretty interesting; we stayed at a friend's house. She was out for the weekend photographing someone's wedding, and we were left to our own devices with an empty house and a horse in dog's clothing Shuba the giant schnoodle, which seems to be a cross between a giant schnauzer and a poodle. (Emphasis on giant.)

I had a very fun time, friends. Can't wait to get together again.



The AC has been going nonstop all day here at work due to most of the women in the other end of the office going through menopause (or it was hot today), and the return vent is about five feet from my desk. It's like being next to a jet plane when it takes off, or like driving for hours in a car with a muffler that's going out. I feel rather deaf, so I'm going to call it a day.

Oh, and before I forget ... I received my final package from Monster Pal just before I left for the Bulbous Nose of Iowa. It was fantastical, filled with four skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted, a book on felted knitting that I haven't really gotten to peruse, and chocolates. Woo! I scored big. And I figured out who my SP is, thanks to a little unscrambly game she made: Mrs_P! What a rockstar.

Actually, everyone's a rockstar lately; I got my Gaiman angel package from zkitten last week, too. Sister Berte brought it into the office for me on Wed.

Oh, and remind me to tell you sometime about the house suddenly being sans roommates. Yep, they're moving out. Random, right? Right.

Peace out.

Monday, April 23

Hey, look. A window!

We have a new window in our office now, a huge picture window. It doesn't feel so much like a cave anymore, which I appreciate. I'm thinking I'm going to need some matchstick blinds here pretty soon, as it almost lets in too much light. (It's washing out the display on my monitor a bit.)

I managed to finish up the package for mint for The End of Harry Potter swap. I sent it off this morning, and I'm starting to feel a bit of anxiety. I very much hope she likes everything. (I can't imagine she'd hate it, but you never know.) I haven't gotten the last swap package together for the SP8 swap yet. I feel like a bad partner, but I should be able to get it finished soon.

Taming of the Shrew this weekend was fantastic; my brother is a rock star as Petruchio. It was an interesting experience seeing Shrew done in modern dress, but I really enjoyed it. Oh, and speaking of my brother the rock star, he's thinking quite seriously of going to Dorian. He even wants to send in an audition for musical theater. How cool is that?

Fyberduck has some potential dental work coming up, so of course we here at CM wish her the best of luck. Wisdom teeth are never fun.

Tuesday, April 17

It's Tuesday, and I've been trying to type this post for hours

Too bad you just get a measly two paragraphs.

I got mail today from the venerable Mrs. Magnificat for the alumni choir. I'm pretty excited. While I can't remember the name of either of the pieces right now, I know one was familiar. (I think it was from Dorian last year.)

And I found a fun pattern for a Wee Tiny Sock, which may come in handy.

That is all.

No, actually that is not all. I want to share this really rather scary picture of a "clock spider". If you're a big arachnophobe, I don't suggest clicking that link, lest you run screaming from the room to find a shoe to smash your computer with. Great. Now from clicking that link I'm going to have to keep looking to make sure a giant huntsman spider is not crawling on me. Yikes. Blast you, natural living, for having those links on a post about getting spiders the fuck away. (By the way, I've never been one to be afraid of spiders, but those give me the willies.)

Cheers.

Friday, April 13

Don't worry, I'm here!

Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of "Crimson's Been A Very Bad Blogger"!

As today is the infamously known and insidious Friday the 13th, I thought it would be a good day to post something other than a meme. (Really, although I like memes to a point, posting two in a row is quite unnecessary.)

Firstly, the forsythia (aka Giant Shrub Of Doom) in all its yellow splendor. It has since passed the flowering stage; all the flowers are brown and leaves are slowly beginning to bud. Really, it looks like it died. But it didn't.



Secondly the stash, which fit rather neatly on a twin size inflatable mattress (you might recognize this, Dustro, as I crashed on the very same mattress for the NYE bash). I put it in front of the forsythia on the lawn, but all you could see were the trimmings, so I went with this shot instead. I took it on April 2, the day after the official Flash Your Stash day, but I didn't think many would care.



And lastly, hats.



The description attached to the pattern for this first one said "makes baby look like tree elf" or something. I thought it would be a cute little hat for baby T. Baby T and momma D are coming up in May for a bit of a visit.



This last one is one momma D requested: a hat with a skull. I did her one better and put four on it. The skulls are loosely based off Hello Yarn's We Call Them Pirates hat. The skull pictured has an eyepatch, which I saw somewhere else and thought it was entirely too clever. It's a rectangular hat, by the way, with tassels on the top corners. Very adorable. I had my mom iron some interfacing on the strands on the inside so they won't catch on anything. It should keep it safe from puckering, I hope.

The yarn for both hats is Dale of Norway Stork, 100% cotton and very soft. I held it doubled in the skulls hat, as I learned that fingering weight doubled is the same as worsted weight.

I made another black and white hat for baby T, just a simple striped beanie that I haven't photographed yet. I'm working on a pair of black no-slip baby booties in the remainder of the yarn. I might embroider little white skulls on them, if I have a chance. I think momma D will be pleasantly surprised.

I've also been working on more stuff for The End swap, and trying to come up with a really good package for the last SP8 sendoff by the end of this month. I've got some entrelac-in-the-round to start up here pretty soon, so I best get to that. And perhaps read through my feeds, as my Google Reader is full up of interesting stuff to know.

I signed up to go to the 25th anniversary of Pike Kor and Norsemen; I'm waiting to hear back from LC. I'm kind of excited. I hope BS and D(S)O'M were able to sign up, too. It should be fun.

Tuesday, April 10

Knitting meme because I have no life

I know I'm starting to get really lame, posting all of these random memes. I don't ever have the time to write a really good post (or when I do, I'm not near the internets).

So, from the great Fyberduck, a knitting meme. Because I'm like that, I organized it loosely into sections.

Mark with bold the things you have ever done, with italics, the ones you plan to do sometime, asterisk (*) the ones that are WIPs, and leave the rest.

  • Types of items
  • Afghan
    Shawl
    Socks: top-down
    Socks: toe-up
    Mittens: Cuff-up
    Mittens: Tip-down
    Hat
    Sweater -- I'm also planning another soon, larger
    Cardigan
    Toy/doll clothing
    Baby items
    *Slippers
    Scarf
    Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
    Purses/bags
    Jewelry
    Stuffed toys
    *Gloves
    Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
    Pillows
    Rug
    Knitting for pets -- my mom keeps begging for a doggie sweater ...
    Shrug/bolero/poncho
    Hair accessories

  • Types of yarn
  • Knitting with metal wire
    Knitting with camel yarn
    Knitting with silk
    Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
    Knitting with banana fiber yarn
    Knitting with bamboo yarn
    Knitting with soy yarn
    Knitting with dog/cat hair
    Knitting with alpaca
    Knitting with cotton
    Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
    Knitting with wool
    Knitting with beads
    Knitting with self-patterning / self-striping / variegating yarn
    Knitting with cashmere
    Knitting with synthetic yarn
    Knitting with linen

  • Techniques
  • I-cord
    Garter stitch
    Stockinette stitch
    Moebius band knitting
    Drop stitch patterns
    Slip stitch patterns
    Two end knitting -- what exactly is this?
    Domino / modular knitting
    Twisted stitch patterns
    American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
    Button holes
    Continental knitting -- haven't quite got the hang of it yet
    Knitting with circular needles
    Knitting with your own handspun yarn
    Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
    Lace patterns
    Fair Isle / stranded knitting
    Norwegian knitting -- isn't that about the same as FI?
    Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
    Spinning -- I have no excuses not to have done this.
    Knitting with dpns
    Bobbles
    Knitting smocking
    Dyeing yarn
    Steeks
    Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
    Fulling / felting
    Textured knitting
    Kitchener BO
    Swatching -- ugh
    Long Tail CO
    Entrelac
    Knitting and purling backwards
    Knitting on a loom
    Thrummed knitting
    Tubular CO
    Freeform knitting
    Short rows
    Intarsia
    Darning

  • Activities / miscellaneous
  • Participating in a KAL
    Charity knitting
    Knitting in public
    Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
    Publishing a knitting book
    Knitting to make money
    Dyeing with plant colours
    Knitting items for a wedding
    Teaching a child to knit
    Olympic knitting
    Designing knitted garments -- not very big ones, but I have
    Knitting for a living
    Holiday related knitting
    Teaching a male how to knit -- I will get you yet, Dustro!
    Knitting art
    Writing a pattern
    Machine knitting
    Knitting for preemies
    Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
    Knitting a gift

Friday, April 6

Have you seen these movies?

"It's been alleged that if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put an X by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, figure out whether you’ve got a life or not, and post it."

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(X ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story (and Neverending Story 2!)
(X) Blazing Saddles
( ) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
(X) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
(X) Little Black Book (It was showing on the plane on the way back from the Gravy trip. Ugh. Hated it.)
(X) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(X)13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
(X) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(X) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You (Guilty pleasure movie, anyone?)
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number SlevIn
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(X) Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
() Christine
(X) E.T.
(X) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
(X) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( )The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
(X) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(X) Highlander
(X) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
(X) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

Okay, I didn't count them. But there you go. Going out tonight. Really did flash my stash on Monday. I just haven't put pix up yet. More sometime soon. See ya!