FTEL: Tunafish is the devil's handiwork

Friendly Tip For Everyday Living #25

Do not eat any tunafish salad that you did not make yourself. Premade tunafish is the devil's handiwork and you are taking your life into your own hands. The odds are stacked against and the outcome will not be good.


This FTEL moment was brought to you by the letters F, P, and G.
F & P stand for "food poisioning" and the G stands for Gatorade (my new best friend).


I wasn't able to accomplish much knitting this weekend. I did get one sock finished which is now being dubbed "The Everlasting Gobstopper". I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.

And despite my futile efforts, I have been sucked into the world that is Facebook. ( I have to thank Ms. Complexity for introducing me to the darkside .) If you have a Facebook account, let me know, and I'll add you as a friend.

mid-week report

You ladies and your pirates! Thanks for making me feel less like a weirdo. Movie magic is really a wonder.

I've been working away on the Billie Jacket.



I was fearful that I didn't have enough yarn. The cables and wraps really eat up the yardage. My LYS was out of the color (What should I expect when I bought the yarn in October). I ordered another ball for kpixie . Eventhough I had no hopes of getting the same dyelot I was in luck. Now I can finish. I have one sleeve let and then the collar and cuffs.

And since I couldn't see paying shipping for one ball of yarn, I added some Habu to the order.

I hope to finish the Billie Jacket so I can dig into this stuff.

F is for facial hair

I'm gonna start this thing off with a little confession. I'm not sure why I feel compelled to share this but I do, so I am. I'm not sure if it's because I need a man in my life, or if it was the 3 beers I had to celebrate my bit of Irish heritage for St. Patrick's Day, but Saturday I came to a strange realization while watching The Departed on Saturday. For the first time in life I found this man attractive....


But here is the really odd part. I only found him appealing because of the hair cut and facial hair. Titanic...absolutely nothing. Saw him on the Oscars w/long hair...nothing. In the beginning he was clean cut... nothing. He got a little facial hair and it was a total different ballgame. I just feel like a weirdo for realizing I can be swayed by facial hair.


Before I started my evening of beers, college basketball games, and Mr. DiCaprio, I did get out of the house to run some errands. My major purchase were these two ladies...



Meet "Meedee" and "Smay-all". I like simple names. Remember "Jay-etta the Jetta" and My man Serta. (That's my car and bed for those that don't know.)

Nik was telling me about the dress form that she bought, so I set out to get some of my own. They aren't really made for sewing purposes but they will do well for displaying and checking size fit. The are used but looked practically new for half the price.

This is what Liz made me at Knit Nite Thursday.

It's a pretty stitch marker. She had a pair of earring similar to this made with pearls and Swarovski crystals. I'll be sure to show you my pair after I convince her to make me some. I even offered to pay.

I wanted to thank everyone for the contest ideas. I think I might go with a scavengar hunt. It was what I was originally thinking and you all seem to have the same idea. I like Carrie's idea of having a "design for the people, by the people" project. I don't think I'll do that for the contest but it is something I might do in May.

Looking for ideas.

Here's the thing.....My 3rd blogiversary is coming up next month and I want to do something fun for the occasion. Last year I did a give away but now I want to do something more than that. I want to do something interactive. Something that gets everyone more involved than just drawing a name from a hat. A real contest or something. So I need your help. Do you have any ideas for a fun contest? I have a few ideas but I want to see what you all think since you'll be the ones playing.

Smore to love

I finished the Smores pattern last week.



(You'll have to excuse quality of the pic. This isn't the shirt I plan to wear it with but I didn't feel like ironing it just to take the pic.)

Pattern: Smores
Designer: Nikki at knitensity
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted - color: Amoroso - 3 skeins
Size: Bust 35"


Something about this pattern grabbed me when I saw it. I didn't buy it at first glance but for some reason it plagued my thoughts for a few days, so I went back and bought it. It's something in the lace panel, cables, and Malabrigo that did it for me.

I only made a few minor changes to the pattern. I made the waistband ribbing instead of seed stitch. I just wanted ribbing since the armholes would be ribbing. I also went with a standard neckline instead of the turtleneck. I think I'll get more wear if I can pair it with a collared shirt as well as the collar-less shirt like the one in the pic above. I can wear it to work with the collared blouse but I can forsee wearing this with a long-sleeve black shirt and dark jeans too.

Good times, good times!

I had great fun this weekend!

First stop was to see my friend and god-son.


He's bionic and he even does his own stunts. He has mastered the art of beating you with his fists, grabbing your clothes, mouth, or hair with his amazing death-grip, and sliding out of his car seat. He's almost crawling and I suspect the next time I see him, he'll be walking. He already gets frustrated that he can't crawl like he wants. I assume he'll just bypass crawling and start walking. It was also good to see my friend who I suspect hasn't had much social adult interaction since the baby was born.


Saturday morning, I met up with Olga and Ava.
First we went to my favorite shop in DC, Stitch DC ,for their Daylight Savings Sale.

I bought some Karabella Vintage Cotton for a camisole, Habu tsumugi silk (My 1st Habu purchase), and some of the new Addi Turbo Lace needles. Hopefully these will improve my attitude towards lace knitting.



Next it was off to Knit Happens.



Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Ava because she refuses to be in pictures (Boooooo Ava Booooooo!) Hopefully next time she's soften up and take a pic.

We sat and mingled around the store for awhile. Nothing really jumped out at me at first. I wanted to get the latest Rebecca pattern book but they stopped carrying them. Instead I opted for the Rowan Studio 2 book, some Rowan Cotton Rope for a summer tank, and some Ella Rae wool and Harrisville Orchid Yarns for swatching.



We then had a late lunch and had the chance to chat about knitting and fashion. It was definitely a good time and I'm glad I got a chance to meet them.

Mailbag

I have been really lax about replying to comments and for that I apologize. I read them at work for a pick-me-up but don't have the time to reply and by the time I get home I'm not up for digging through my mail. I'll try to read them only when I have time to reply.

Thanks for all the nice complements on my coat. I've had the chance to wear it every day this week since the weather has been colder. I didn't think I would get any winter air to wear it in. Gotta love that global warming. It will come through every time.

Gray La Gran asked if I would model the jacket in a pic. I tried doing the old tripod self portrait but black is really horrible to photograph. I'll see what I can do this weekend when I'm out and about in the daylight.

And now for another installment of ......

Dear Saun,
I have umpteen projets on the needles and still suffer heavily from startitis despite this. Can you fix me?
Sincerely,
-Nikki


Dear Nikki,

(Bet you didn't think I would use your comment for this segment but I am. Ha ha! No comment is safe in the land of Chez Saun. *insert sinister laughter here* Bwwaaahaaaa!)

I am sad to say that I may not be the best person to give you advice on this subject.
Exhibit A.....The walk of WIP shame

Rowan Butterfly
Smores
Koigu socks
Billie Jacket

All but one have been on the needles since last November.

If you suffer from ADCD (Attention Deficit Crafting Disorder) such as I do, I regret to inform you that there is no cure for you. (Well at least not until they figure out a way to grow 2-3 more pairs of hands or give humans bionic powers.) You will forever be plagued with the ability to be easily inticed by pretty new fibers, lovely colors, and fashionable patterns. I can say however, that there are ways to keep this disorder under control (and even without the use of pesky medications.)

Here are the ways I keep my ADCD under control.

1. Stay away from stores that have the word "craft, yarn, knit,art,fabric, wool,or fiber", in the name. You will see many pretty things as you read blogs but the key is not to buy. Make a list of the things you see and when you FINISH a project then you can treat yourself to the next thing on your list. This brings me to ....

2. Make a list of things you want to make. If you keep a list instead of buying things first, this will give you time to see if you really want to make the item. If after some time you still want the item, then it's meant for you to make the investment. I revise my list monthly and this has stopped me from buying a whole bunch of yarn that would now be sitting in a pile in my office.

3. Take a look at you WIP list. Do you really still want everything on it? If not, it's okay to rip it out. You can reuse the yarn for a more exciting project.

4. Destash. If you have fallen out of love with a project then set it free. You can post the item on your blog or on the destash blog. The key is to ask for a reasonable price.

I hope these tips help you.
--------------------------------------------------------


I try to keep my WIP list under 4. That is the most manageable for me. Each WIP serves it's purpose.
-The sock is my on-the-go project. Easy to carry.
-Smores is my "other people's pattern" project. I'm not in design mode all the time.
-The Billie Jacket is my own design project.
-Butterfly is my "only at home" project. It's that one pattern that takes complete focus and can't be done in the company of others.

I'm actually doing the Butterfly pattern with Christie. She started and stopped last year and I told her when she was ready to pick it back up, I would work it with her. I knew I wanted to do it and I figured the support would be good for both of us. She's already given my a tip about the hem frill that I'm going to do.

That's it for me this week. I'm off to the VA/DC area to see my God-son, Super Bionic Baby Boy, and do a little yarn shopping with Ava and Olga. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures while I'm there.

New threads

I took a break from all electronics this weekend. I didn't check email/bloglines all weekend. Instead I spent some much needed time with friends. I went to dinner,bowling, and then spent time with one of my best friends....my sewing machine. It's been sooooooo long.





I made the Michael Kors Vogue V2873 pattern using the black wool I bought from Mary Jo's. The pattern was pretty straight forward. The biggest problem I had was finding buttons that I liked. I don't know of a lot of places that sell nice buttons in the size that I want. I went to JoAnn's and eventually found some that would do but I'm not overjoyed about. I'll be in Alexandria this weekend, so maybe I'll find a place with a better selection.

I definitely see more sewing in my future.