Jettisoning a sweater's worth of yarn on ebay...

I've got 19 balls of Lily Chin Manhattan yarn up for grabs on ebay, all matching color/dyelot. Auction is here.

HI-larious

Since my blog is on life-support for the immediate future, I might as well take the chance to direct you to something that is actually entertaining:
Stuff White People Like
Yes, we're hypocrital and lame, and it never stops being funny. Except when we declare wars and conduct genocide and stuff.

Again, I apologize for being out of the loop.

I've kept having the technological impediments to blogging, although hopefully the time is approaching when I will finally be able to do something about that, but at least it hasn't stopped me from knitting. In fact, I have enjoyed increased output over the last several weeks, and I just realized that I need to update my tickers!
I haven't been quite as diligent about photographing all of my FOs, but I will have to work on that as well. I finally blocked my Swallowtail Shawl of Sea Silk for my grandmother and got it to her for Christmas, but I didn't get a decent pic before I mailed the package. That kind of stuff.
Oooh - and I actually finished two pairs of socks this month! That's a first.
My yarn inventory is off again, too, so that needs updating as well. I am going to have to reset the kitty, though, and start over. Just like a diet, although hopefully the Stashbust can be more successful this year than diets have been.

MIA

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. My computer has all the functionality of a warm dog turd, so posting to the blog is quite an ordeal.
When it was still under warranty, it developed this issue with the power supply. When you plug the AC adapter into the back, it only senses it when the cord is resting in certain positions. As a result, the screen flickers like a candle flame as it constantly switches between AC and battery power. Not only does this make me want to throw the computer out of a window on the top floor of a tall building, it also means that the computer only picks up on about 1 out of 3 keystrokes.
Never buy a Dell. The three-year service contract sounds really good, but when the service people play dumb (or blind, as my particular case demands) whenever you take the computer in to them, the warranty doesn't really mean anything. I took the damn computer in several times, and each time the service people claimed they "didn't see anything wrong with the display" or suggested that the problem might be with the power cord-- which was not under warranty, of course. So, I would go back home, plug in the new power adapter, and the screen would start flickering like crazy.
The only way I can use it even occasionally is to fiddle around with the plug in the back, find a sweet spot where the computer detects the AC power, then hold it absolutely still with my left hand while I peck on the keyboard with my right.
This does not exactly entice me to spend some quality time on Blogger.
So, I've been knitting and everything, I am on my third sample, and I am knitting some socks to relieve the tedium of the nonstop stockinette I am doing on the sample. I turned the heel at lunch today, which was nice because I forgot to bring my lunch -- I had lots of time.
I do miss coming on here, though. As soon as I get my tax refund, I'm getting a new computer, and as soon as I get a new computer, I'm updating everything, including the stashbust challenge and getting a photo gallery going of my FOs.
I won't even get started on how little use I've gotten out of my Ravelry invite.

Hey -- I've been "tagged". Color me "embarrassed".

I got tagged. It would kind of be exciting, since this is my first time being tagged, except for the subject of the tag:

Open the book you're currently reading to page 161 and copy the fifth sentence on the page, then tag 5 bloggers.

Dammit, Kristina, you're exposing my intellectual deficiencies. *blush* The only books I am reading right now are knitting books. So, I decided to take a page count of the books currently in rotation:
98 pages....no.
146 pages....no.
122 pages....no.
159 pages...damn! So close.

I finally found one book that I have read within the last three days that reaches page 161--
"Note: One-liter plastic soda bottles can be used to shape the bag."

Book: Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick, which I highly recommend if you don't already have it-- it's one of those books where you want to knit every project in it. Great collection of designers...including my idol Annie Modesitt...and btw, I finally got Romantic Hand Knits this weekend. Incredible. That woman is so friggin' inventive. She is the Stravinsky of knitting.

Ok, so now I have to tag five more people. Don't get mad at me if I tag you. Just start reading an actual book, quick.

Oh- and while logging onto Blogger tonight, I found what may well become my favorite blog of all time:

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks

Not only is this a HUGE pet peeve of mine (being one of those unreasonable, demanding people that expect high school graduates to possess mastery over the basics of English grammar, spelling and punctuation) it's also funny because I used to have a landlord that did this in all the notices he'd post for the tenants -- "Make sure to 'pick up' after your 'guests' this 'holiday season' and to observe the 'noise rules'. Tenants causing a disturbance 'after hours' will be pestered with more 'superfluous and unwarranted' use of quotation marks. And don't forget the exclamation points!!" (This guy also overused exclamation points, often in multiples.)

His notes had absolutely no effect on my compliance with the terms of the lease, but they amused me no end. I left my cigarette "butts" on the patio anyway!!!

The exclamation points thing (and the general topic of sensitivity to punctuation use) reminds me of two of my favorite Seinfeld episodes: 1) the one where Elaine breaks up with her boyfriend for not using an exclamation point in a phone message he took down for her and 2) the one where Elaine goes into business with her old boss in the muffin top store: "Top of the Muffin TO YOU!"

For the record-- I took the boyfriend's side in that exclamation point dispute and Elaine's side in the muffin top store dispute. Not that I don't understand the importance of appropriate punctuation; if I was in a relationship and discovered that the partner in question was a serial "superfluous quotation mark user" it could possibly be a deal-breaker.

OK, It is officially time for me to get some "sleep" now. Off to bed!!!

Squeeeeeeravelry!

I got my Ravelry invite!!!!

Not to sound like a cheesy 80's Valley Girl, but I am, like, totally so psyched. I guess I'll have to wait until the work day is over before I start building my notebook, though.

At least I already have my entire stash in Excel format, though! That ought to cut down a bit on the import time if I can cut-and-paste.

In my time of dyeing

I did my first dye job today! Well, on yarn, anyway. This was my September project for the Do Something New knitalong (clickable button is in the right-hand sidebar).
Originally, I picked this project for the following very practical reasons: 1) I already had the stuff because I planned to do this three years ago and didn't, and 2) I knew it was going to be a really hectic month and I might not have time to finish a knitted item. As it turned out, I wouldn't have. Pretty much all the time I have found for knitting has gone into the Professional Project, and in the meantime I've been working and going on job interviews, which is just draining.
However, it ended up being really fun and I know I'm going to do it again soon. I may or may not have gotten the bug; we'll see.
I dyed some white baby alpaca yarn that I had frogged from my first attempt at a hat not too long after I taught myself to knit. I didn't do a gauge swatch, so the hat ended up big enough for two people to wear at once. Anyway, it was my first good yarn that I bought at a yarn store (as opposed to a craft store or a fabric store) so I hung onto it. I also wanted to dye a bit of this Morehouse Merino lace--


I got this as a shawl kit in one of the hand-dyed colorways, and boy was it ever a disappointment. In the picture of this colorway that is used both on the website and on the pattern, the colors are much, much brighter and there is a lot more pink in relation to the other colors. This looks really washed out and dull, like it was soaked in dirty water and then shoved in a dusty attic for a dozen years. It doesn't look any better knit up. I thought that it might be usable if I overdyed it a dark color, as the merino wool itself is very good (and I don't want to just throw out a $50 hank of yarn).
Here's the alpaca and the bit of merino lace on the scale...


The Kool Aid guy looks really happy knowing that he is going into a hot tub with a bunch of Alpaca, doesn't he?


...and here it is presoaking. I wouldn't normally use a $30 Mason Cash mixing bowl, which I guard with my life, to soak yarn but it was the only bowl I had that was big enough. Doesn't it look pretty?


Here's the yarn cooking on the stove, next to my curly fries (blush) and Quorn nuggets. (Do you think that eating the fake meat might offset the fried potatoes?) I wouldn't have believed it when I started, but that sucked up the dye like crazy, and quick, and the water really did end up clear! It was cool.


This is what the water looked like after only about 10 minutes on the stove-- almost all the dye is gone.


Purple spaghetti! The water was totally clear by this time--the yarn caught every little bit of the dye. The merino came out quite a bit darker than the alpaca, but that was to be expected; it was already dyed. Also, I was pleased how much of the dye the alpaca trapped given that I started with white (which was not necessarily natural white-- but I didn't keep the labels so I don't know.)


And here they are-- the finished hanks. Pretty maids all in a row.
I have a feeling that this yarn will become gloves, but I'm not sure.
The lace still shows different colors through the overdye, but it might look OK-- I'm going to reserve judgment until I have a chance to swatch it.

Out of commission

No, I haven't taken a retail job-- I've just felt like something off a bus station bathroom floor for the last week or so. I'm saving my energy for work, since I can't afford to miss a day and -- mainly -- because the place where I'm working is an awesome nonprofit and I don't want to miss a day.
Anyway, this probably isn't the best way to treat a chronic headache/impending sinus infection/mild stomach bug or whatever it is that I've got, but I discovered a very refreshing drink tonight that I want to share with you. Trust me, this stuff is awesome.

Alco-Seltzer:
About 1.5-2 oz. Absolut Pears
Most of a bottle of Dry Lemongrass soda
fresh lime wedge

Pour the vodka and soda over the rocks in a tall glass, twist the fresh lime juice into the whole shebang, and YUM you got yourself one refreshing, delicious drink.
Seriously, this might be a dangerous one because I could drink this down like iced tea. It's not quite as dangerous as the Blue Asian Pear Martinis that I like at this place downtown (which are mostly alcohol but I swear they go down like juice). Those are so innocuous-tasting that you can knock three of them back before the food reaches the table, which is a really bad idea. I only did it once. The broccoli prawns didn't go down quite as smoothly as the drinks did.

Hanami Progress

I'm too tired to write but I have sneaked (snuck?) in a little bit of time for one of my personal projects -- Hanami-- over the last couple of weeks, although the vast majority of knitting time has been on the Professional Project (I think of it as a proper noun.)

I'm a bit behind the KAL but I expected that-- I'll catch up later. Well, I'll at least finish later if I don't actually catch up. Anyway, I switched to the Addi Lace Turbos tonight and they rock. What a relief to get off the teeny dpns and onto good needles. The lace ones are noticably lighter than the regular turbos-- and the bamboo dpns, believe it or not-- so my project really feels lightweight now.

Random Sharing (a.k.a. Tuesday Show and Tell)

Item #1:

I came home today to two really killer boxes of yarn. It was the Best Christmas Ever.


I'm not going into too much detail except to say that:
1) most of this was the result of a swap. The swap actually went horribly awry (due to theivery/knavery/depravity somewhere on the trip over the Canadian/American border) but the friend with whom I swapped-- who is the sweetest person ever but probably wouldn't admit it-- got me a gift cert to Colorsong Yarn, since much of what went missing in the package was some really swank Kid Aran. The rest is for an afghan, and it is inexpensive yarn, although it is an inexpensive yarn that I am sure I am going to really like: Berroco Comfort. I can already vouch for the fact that it is unbelievably soft for a completely synthetic (and half-acrylic) yarn.
Anyway, the Hand Maiden and Fleece Artist selections are just the sexiest yarns ever. I would marry them if I could, but they know perfectly well that they don't have to marry me because I will put out anyway.
Hey-- doesn't "thievery/knavery/depravity" sound like the sequel to "Love! Valour! Compassion!"?

Item #2:

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

I saw this on Kristina's blog (same friend of the yarn swap mentioned above), and I wasn't too surprised that I also ended up as a Midnight. The description seemed to fit.
Maybe I should start insisting that people call me Midnight...Nah. Too Goth.

Item #3:
After submitting the "Time of Day" questionnaire, I couldn't resist the opportunity offered in the Blogthings sidebar to see who my 80's hunk would be. I was hoping for Judd Nelson ca. The Breakfast Club or (sigh) River Phoenix, so imagine my surprise when I got this result:

Your 80s Hunk Is

Bill Gates

Who's Your 80s Hunk?

After the initial sexual letdown, it dawned on me: hey! I just got an unlimited yarn stash and free lifetime tech support-- although if I had hooked up with Bill Gates I don't think I'd be stuck using the piece of shit I am typing on right now (a.k.a. the $2,000 paperweight).

Anyway-- as far as the stashbust goes, I am keeping myself honest...I posted about the acquisition on here, I am adding the yardage to the total, and I am going into the red on my Finishing Funds...so are you satisfied? Huh?!