I'm Weird.

It's never been a secret. I'm Weird, and so is Mike.



Three hours after I last posted to this blog, I had finished the hat. It took me a couple of days, lazy ass that I am, to take some photos of it. It took me over a WEEK to post that I had finished the ferkin' thing.



MySpace-type self-portrait:



It's a little big, but fits well enough. It was a fun adventure in intarsia. I made the chart using KnitPro, a free web application that can turn images into charts.

The hat was to celebrate Mike's forthcoming book, The Weird World of Eerie Publications. It's with the publisher now! The logo is one of the logos used in the comics.

I used Dale of Norway Hauk yarn, and size 3 needles. The yarn feels still when you first knit with it, but once it's washed it softens up nicely. Plus, it's machine washable -- but I told Mike to always hand wash it! I'm afraid of some of the ends that I had to weave it coming loose from the agitation of the washing machine.

I'm glad to have tried this; I'm not always one to take risks (not that there's much to risk -- just time and yarn). It was an idea that came into my head the day before a trip to WEBS, where I purchased the yarn. It took less than two months for me to start the project -- possibly a record for me, since I usually have several ideas bouncing around in my head that never see the light of day (what was that zombie book I was going to write again?).

I'll say it loud: I'm Weird, and I'm Proud.

Knit-A-Thon!

Last weekend was the finale of the Pine Street Inn Knit-A-Thon! I made a total of 12 squares, and was feeling very proud of myself for doing so, and then I saw women coming in with garbage bags full of squares and knew that I will need to do better next year.

Personally, I raised $380.00. As a whole, the Knit-a-Thon raised $35,000 for the Pine Street Inn!

It was fun!!! I helped put together a blanket with some of the other South End Knitters and we even had time to pose for a photo:



I had to leave at around 2:30-ish (I got there at 11 a.m.) so that Mike and I could spend some time in the great outdoors while it was a nice day (we went to nearby Allandale Woods, and found a salamander, but haven't updated our other blog yet.)

I brought home a "blanket to go", so I could put together a blanket at home and deliver it to the Pine Street Inn when it's finished. My first step was to lay the blankets out on the futon so I could assign each square a place. It seems like I had plenty of help with this:





Mike also helped with the arranging and color-coordinating, but he stayed off the squares while he did that. Why do cats like to sit on whatever it is you are doing?

Luciano also tried to claim the bags the squares came in as his own:



I was having none of that, and the squares are back in the bag, in their assigned order (with numbers pinned to each one, just in case). I've been working on that periodically, along with the other projects I've mentioned in recent posts.

I'm sick today, and have been most of this weekend. During the week, I was blowing my nose a ton every other day, and sneezing but otherwise felt fine. I had a crappy night's sleep on Wednesday, and felt really tired on Thursday and Friday (but still, not entirely sick, although I did have a sore throat for a while on Friday). Here it is, Sunday, and my #1 symptom is still being tired. Sure, I have blown my nose quite a bit today, but I don't feel too bad other than being really tired. I don't have a fever, or any other H1N1 symptoms like chest discomfort, so I don't think it's that. I think it's just a cold with a nice added bonus of malaise.

I've been working on Mike's orange socks today, and have two whole pattern repeats of the leg done. One more to go, and I can start the heel flap! The more I knit it, the easier it gets.

I still haven't woven in the ends on the other side of the Weird hat. I guess the 90 minutes it took me to weave in the other side has turned me off to it. What sucks it that doing that and turning up the hem is ALL I have to do on this, and then I'm DONE!! I feel like a bit of a turd for not doing that tiny bit that's left. Hopefully I can finish that today while sitting on my ass and watching more movies.

I haven't spun since the last time I posted about spinning, nor have I blown the dust off the Swallowtail Shawl yet. I have had one request for a hat for Xmas, but otherwise I am hoping to only work on finishing the projects I have on my needles for the rest of 2009. I'll cast on something new on January 1, 2010, but nothing new unless I finish everything I have on the needles before then! Can I do that?

Now I just need to figure out what to put in the DVD player when I return to sitting on my ass and knitting. I already watched "Prison a Go Go" (which I recommend, since it's hilarious!) and all of the extras. I finished my current disc of "Beverly Hills, 90210" from Netflix yesterday. Now I need another great, trashy, funny film to watch - zombies optional.

It's all about yarn. And cats.

Yup, that's what it's all about. Yarn -- making yarn, making things with yarn, hoarding yarn until your yarn hutch pops open by itself. That's what it's all about, whatever that it is.

First up, making yarn:



Feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum, feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum. . .



I started back up on spinning the 8 oz of blue fiber I got in last year's Halloweenie swap on the knittyboard. It's a blend of domestic wool, and really gorgeous. I know the Mister covets the colorway (called "Moody Blues").

Speaking of my honey, his Sam socks are coming along:





I love the color. It's more carrot that hunter cap.

check out this mess of spaghetti:



That's the backside of the secret project I alluded to in my last post. Since taking that photo, I've woven in the ends on one side of it and actually finished the knitting part. Now I have to weave in the rest of the ends and hem it.

Here's the front:



It's a little puckery -- changing colors and keeping things looking nice is hard! The Weird logo is one of the logos used in the comic books that Mike's upcoming book is about. I'm really surprised at how fast I knit this -- I started right before Rhinebeck. Usually a new-to-me technique takes a while. I used the KnitPro application at MicroRevolt to make the chart (I LOVE that application!).

Since I have no more knitting photos for you, I thought I'd post some sleeping cats photos.

Here's Luciano looking much like Marmaduke as he sleeps inside the scratching post:



He loves that thing -- I don't know what he'll do when he no longer fits in it. You can pick it up and turn it sideways, looking in at him, and he purrs. That thing has great acoustics.

He also likes to lay on his back with his feet in the air:



Sometimes he does the classic curled up kitty pose:



Meanwhile, Ellie's most favorite place in the world is on the new sheepskin we bought for her at Rhinebeck:



She's definitely claimed it as her own, and makes bread on it every chance she gets. I did sit on it on the couch one chilly day, and it does help generate heat.



It's been a long time since she fit in the cat scratcher. This photo was taken a month after we adopted her:



She was definitely MUCH younger than the 1.3 years the MSPCA said she was. I wonder how old she was when she had her kittens?

I have a bit of a busy weekend coming up. On Sunday, I'm getting together with several other knitters to put together the blanket squares for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon I talked about in my last post! This should be exciting!

I don't know when I'll have time to make more progress on my current projects. Maybe tonight, after the gym.