I'm on Vacation

WOOT!!!!

Piccies of FOs coming soon. . .

A Couple of Drawings

I made these a while ago, when I was bored at work.



I made sure to get all of the white freckles on her upper lip. Pretty cute, huh? I'm wondering how this will look, beefed up, as a tattoo.



I don't know if you recall, but Solvie lost her right canine last November when she decided she had had quite enough at the vet, thankyouverymuch.

So, should I try to redo these in pen and ink? Should I get a Hello Zelia tattoo?

Which are you?

Your Score: Modern, Cool Nerd

52 % Nerd, 60% Geek, 30% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.

Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!

Congratulations! THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Secret Pal Spoilage

I got a secret pal package the other day!







The fiber is Ashland Bay Colonial Wool. I'm not familiar with it, but it's very, very soft, and I hear it spins nicely. The subtle strands of color in it should look really nice. I need to figure out how to make the most of the colors.

Speaking of colors, it's a little similar to that of the cashmere I bought a few weeks ago:





I bought a bike today. I haven't had one since I was a little kid with training wheels, living on a steep hill. Then my sister and her friend Natalie went riding down the hill on their bikes, Natalie fell off hers and fell against a fire hydrant and broke her arm. I pussed out on riding my bike after that and never got around to getting one. Until today. It was $10 at a yard sale. It's an old red Puch in good, rideable condition (ZMrK tested it out, even though it's a little small for him). I'll let y'all know if I break my arm.

Spinning. . .

I've been doing some spinning lately, trying to work with some of the merino/tencel ZMrK bought for me from The Sheep Shed.







I'm still overtwisting a bit, and I'm still not always certain I know what the heck I'm doing. My plan is to spin this thin and then ply it. I don't know how to ply but I'll figure it out. Then I'll make myself some socks.

I'm having fun learning. I can read and read all I want about it, but it never clicks until I start doing. That happens with knitting too. Once it clicks, it clicks forever.

I got some yarn today from the Mind's Eye Yarns sock club:



The colors match one of ZMrK's Ben Sherman shirts. You know what I am going to do, right?





Meanwhile, remember the nesting ball I bought at NH Sheep and Wool?

This is what it looks like today:




I don't know if the elements made it fuzzy, or if the birds have been picking off it, but it's still cool when you take a macro shot of the insides:


Meanwhile, ZMrK just says "eff you!" to blorange cats:



She's been laying some real stinkbombs in the cat box lately! I guess it wasn't just Zelia's tendency to not burying making the place stinky.

One more thing. . .

A couple of people asked about the needles I am using to knit these socks.

They're Pony Pearl needles (3rd from the end on the link), and they rock!

Sheep and Wool Fest, and Secret Pal, Goodies!!!

I finally took some pictures of the fiber I purchased at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend!

I took these indoors, because we lost our sun and I thought it was going to storm. Lo and behold, now the sun is out, but I've already showered and am in my PJs (which are summer PJs, and therefore not suitable to wear out on one's front lawn unless one would really like to get the neighbors' attention!).

Here goes!!!



This is 2 oz. "mohair with some sparkle". Purchased at MA Sheep and Wool, 2007, I think from Fantom Farm. This photo shows the purple accurately.



Here is another 2 oz. "mohair with some sparkle" (black/copper sparkle instead of white/silver). The purple is this is not as accurate.



500 yards laceweight cashmere from Just Our Yarn. I'll tell you; photos do not do this yarn justice! For one, you can't touch it (which is what sold me). I really need to figure out what I'm going to do with this. It will definitely be something that goes next to me skin -- like a really special scarf or shawl.



I couldn't get good macro shots today. Sorry!



Again with the crappy macros! This is Spunky Eclectic Super Nova yarn in Diet Coke. I don't care how much he protests, this is going to be socks for ZMrK.



It's only his favorite drink in the whole wide world.

I also bought some really soft organic cotton to play with:



I have found many cotton yarns to be really stiff to work with. This fiber is super super super soft! I'm curious to see if it stiffens up when it's spun.

That is it! Really! Last year, I went nuts at the sheep and wool fests, buying tons of stuff. It's been brought to my attention by someone that there seems to be more yarn coming in than there are finished objects being posted. And now my stash hutch is filled to capacity, which means I'd best get my little fingers moving!

But! I do have an enabler!

Check out the Secret Pal package I received in the mail yesterday!



Oh yeah!!!! That's some Pirate bandages, 2.5 mm double pointed needles, a sweet card for ZMrK and me, some dark chocolate with orange, and two skeins of Regia sock yarn!

Yarnus Regius:



Not to be confused with Python regius.

(Warning: snake photo ahead).

That is. . .

Yarnus Regius,



not Python Regius:



(Oh, and I realize people have expressed concern about the pictures of Sunny with the cats. . . the cats aren't in danger, really. First of all, they are too big for her to eat; second, they are very well supervised when she's out of her very secure tank. I just want to clear that up, in case anyone thinks I'm putting either of my pets in danger. They're safe.)

7 Random Things About Me

I was going to call this post "I Got Tagged By Poops", which, really, would have been hilarious, but decided on the more generic title. But Poops did tag me with this meme.

1. I have never ridden a bike without training wheels. I'm trying to rectify that and have been looking for bikes on Craigslist. Of course, I live on a hill so I don't know how much I'll ride it.

2. Like Penny Karma, I can fit my whole fist into my mouth. I can also pull my lower lip in and out of my mouth really fast, and make an obscene looking face that we call "octopus face". I hope to post a video of me doing all of this one of these days. I'd do it now, but I have no makeup on and have bed head, and I would like to look proper when I make ridiculous faces.

3. I am an incredibly secretive person, even when I don't need to be. If someone walks into the room when I'm on the computer, I have the urge to minimize the window. I also used to hide my drawings, stories, and other artwork from my family. I think I have a fear of criticism. It's amazing that I am able to post my FOs.

4. I used to work at an animal shelter, and at a veterinary hospital. In the early 90s, I considered studying to be a veterinarian. Eight to twelve years of schooling and a comparatively low starting salary nipped that in the bud.

5. I swear I can gain weight by just *looking* at food. Imagine what happens when I eat it, and eat LOTS of it.

6. I can sort of play the drums. Note I said sort of. I haven't played in a while, and never got really *good* at it, but have the potential of being good if I practice.

7. I have written up the seven random things about me a few times on my way to/from work, but once I sit down at the computer, I forget them! I do that often.

I'm not going to tag anyone. Just take this meme if you want it.

LOLCATS

Quick post while I'm bored at work and made these:





I clearly have gone mad.