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This is not the end it is only a new beginning

PROLOGUE:

I hella updated my real actual website last week. Check it out! There’s actually a couple of new drawings in there too. It’s still futzy and I’m not totally done with it, but considering it took me like an hour and it was offline for three years, that’s just dumb.

NOW:

Friday was my last day at the job that I have both hated and loved over the last several years. Right now, I’m simply burnt out. I will miss most everyone there but… I need a break. I’ve needed one for a long time, actually.

By lunchtime my cube was super empty! Anybody who knows me in real life knows that I am not a very neat person, but dammit those piles had meaning and organization within them! (You should see my house. Even I am noticing the mess, which is saying something. Should I really be admitting my untold slobbery on the internets? Sure, why not. Still, it’s about 100% better than my wee apartment back in Texas… probably since my house is about 3 times as big. Can you imagine all my STUFF in 468 square feet? Me neither and I actually experienced it. Yikes.)

This week I am going to take it easy and enjoy being off work. I filed for unemployment because I don’t have a job lined up yet (still! ugh!) but hopefully will find out about that soon.

I let myself spend a little bit of post-employment monies and what I got myself was the new Vogue Stitchionary #5, for lace knitting. I don’t have any of the other vogue books, but this one is definitely worth it. I also downloaded myself the fabulous Intwined Pattern Studio, which is a pattern writing/charting program. I first saw it at Stitches West, and I really should have gotten it then (especially since I was wishy washy about buying anything there) but it’s only now that I’m ready to start writing my own patterns.

Here’s an example of what you can do with the program. I’ve only had it since Saturday and I already put several charts into it, including the below Barbara Walker, and will soon work on translating some of the charts from my Japanese books, which I will then write into sock patterns.

Nice, huh? The program itself is only $44 and WELL worth the money I would say. There is also an active group on Ravelry where you can report bugs and whatnot and the actual developers are there to help you out. I have not experienced any problems with it, however, so that is pretty nice.

Here’s some pics of what I’m currently working on. Keep in mind I took these photos at 11:30 p.m. and therefore absolve myself of any particular artistic flava.

wipmosaic

Clockwise from top left we have: Alpaca Blob (a v-neck grandpa cardigan I’m making for myself; it will even have pockets for me to hold tissues and chapsticks), Snow Petals Socks in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 Pumpkin colorway (awesome AWESOME pattern, and it’s only $1.99 to boot! You can get it via Ravelry or Knitpicks), The Infamous Rainbow Socks (Knitpicks Felici rainbow self-striping; get it while it’s hot, it’s apparently already on “last chance” and dudes, I just made my order a couple weeks ago), and the last blue cuff thing is a test on the above mentioned chart. I like how the lace looks but not in that yarn so I suspect that’s going to the frog pond sooner rather than later.

EPILOGUE:

Anyway, in news that makes me feel like an old, old, OLD person (countdown to the big 3-0, 34 days and counting), my wee cuz the Bean has received her drivers license today and it seems like only yesterday I was fishing fuzz and spiders out of her wee baby mouth. Kid is practically an adult! She’ll be a senior in high school next year! WHAT.

If I remember I’ll write about the Legacy thrift store next time. A thrift store that only has craft items! You will be amazed at what eight bucks and change can buy you.

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Way Too Much

Hoo boy! I know I haven’t updated this thing since the end of April.  But seriously: SINCE WHEN IS IT PRACTICALLY THE END OF MAY? YES I FEEL THE NEED TO SCREECH IN ALL CAPS.

Since we last spoke, dear blog, I have done the following:

  1. WORKED LIKE A DOG at a job that ends on May 28.
  2. INTERVIEWED at a couple different places; things are promising but not set in stone (I won’t say anything lest I jinx a perfect perfect opportunity that involves me being out of the office most of the time).
  3. MADE SURE MY GRANDPA WASN’T DEAD for 5 days straight.
  4. TOOK SAID GRANDPA to the doctor SANS wheelchair (which was sitting in the spare bedroom in plain sight but I for reals did not see it. It was early, man.)
  5. FLOWN ON AN AIRPLANE to Chicago and from Milwaukee.
  6. GOT RAINED ON in Milwaukee.
  7. CELEBRATED 65 YEARS of my other grandparents’ marriage. Congrats my grandparentals!
  8. CANCELED MY TRIP to Texas (the wedding I was to attend got canceled in a dramatic, heart-breaking fashion in which we can conclude: some men (not all men, come on, but def this one for reals)? Are dogs, straight up.)
  9. BECAME A WEDDING CAKE CONSULTANT for a whole other wedding. I’m having fun checking out local bakeries. My friend lives in Utah and is getting married here so needs some help with that. If the #5 wedding hadn’t been canceled, I wouldn’t have been able to make this particular wedding, so even though that makes me a horrible person, I’m glad I won’t miss this wedding – after all, I’ve been friends with Felicia since we were 6.
  10. FIXED MY CAR to the tune of a broken clutch.  I guess the universe decided to give me a pass on this one because it only set me back like $175.00, including an oil change. BUT STILL. I MEAN COME ON, isn’t the Jobpocalypse enough for this year? Ay carumba.
  11. DEALT WITH RACCOONS living under my house. Raccoons are awful. And noisy. And because I know peeps I got a sweet deal too. Networking! It really does help.

I’m SURE there have been other things going on.  But I am too too tired and fed up to even think about them.

Oh yeah, one thing that has happened that is pretty awesome actually, is that I got my Wii hooked up to Netflix.  They send you a disc that you run when you’re watching something.  I really like it and have added a ridiculous amount of stuff to my streaming queue. Currently I’m watching Farscape, which I missed the first time ’round as we didn’t have the SciFi Channel. I kind of like it but… Muppets/Puppets! Kinda distracting.

I need cake, y’all.

That’ll do nicely.

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Stitches West 2010

Hey! Look at me! Actually blogging about something that happened THE SAME DAY instead of 6 weeks later! Amazing!

I went to Stitches West yesterday and today, and by “went to Stitches West” I mean I went to the market and didn’t take any classes.  I had a budget and LO. I have three whole dollars left and didn’t even get out the credit card.

Here’s what I got:

Stitches Haul 2010

I mostly bought from Miss Babs this year because she had the nice big skeins of worsted weight, of which I only need two skeins to make a sweater out of. I got two skeins of the “Yowza Whatta Skein” in Blue Teal and Sandi’s Red. I also got a skein of her “Yummy” sock in squash blossom.  The other sock yarn I got was from Wabi Sabi and is the colorway Orchid in Glow Sock. I chatted with the lady from Wabi Sabi for a bit; she was really nice. I wish my camera would take a picture of the right color of that yarn because it’s beauuutiful; a deep dark purply orchid color. *love*

My rule re: sock yarn this year, since I have a sick amount of sock yarn, was that I could only buy it in yellow, purple, and red, which are colors I don’t have as much of as the rest. By the time I bought the wabi sabi yarn I had almost run out of money, so I stopped by Chameleon Colorworks and picked up a bottle of the Ravelry-inspired Soak.

Stitches Haul 2010

It smells really good.  Normally I go with the grapefruit Eucalan because it’s way more economical, but I do like Soak and this was with the last of my money for the most part.

After we were done, my mom and I stopped at In N Out Burger with my aunt January. Mmmm, double double/dr pepper!

And now I’m home, watching crime, and about to make some green Thai curry for dinner. Good times!