I'll Have the Soup Du Jour of the Day

We have many choices on today's menu, folks. Some of our feature items include:

• Grief over lost pets
  
• Anxiety over family business bankruptcy
  
• Depression because everyone is pregnant except for you
  
• Constipation & nausea simply because Nature hates you

Don't forget that all orders come with a side order of fatigue and your choice of drink.

A List of Change

All the major changes in the past year (since it's been almost one year exactly between my postings):

• Milo J. Poggers, Esq. passed away on February 28^th, 2009.
  
• May: I "officially" graduated with my Bachelor's in English, and I was the commencement speaker.
  
• July: Kim and I bought and moved into a 2-bedroom, 1-bath house.
  
• August: I started graduate school. I also started teaching Freshman Composition at said school.
  
• December 15^th, 2009 marked my and Kim's 2-year anniversary.
  
• January 4^th, 2010 Oliver Maus passed away.

Those, I think, are the major events. I'm also in my second semester as graduate student and graduate teacher. I now teach two sections of Freshman Composition and take two graduate classes. I have also been cast in two shows for the spring -- the first of which opens this weekend. Two appears to be the magic number for 2010. In less than 12 months I have lost two of my babies. Kim and I have been together for two years. I have two feet. Okay the last one, while true, is not new.

Needless to say, there's been a lot of change. And some days it's just hard to keep up with everything. I basically have three jobs: student, teacher, actor. I also was invited to join the Board of Directors for my theatre ensemble, which I delightfully accepted. But that is another commitment to add to the calendar. And now I should go grade some extra credit assignments for my two classes whilst sitting in my two-bedroom house away the 2+ inches of snow we're supposed to get.


Milo J. Poggers, Esq. (1995-2009)


Oliver Maus (2000-2010)

Yet Another New Year

It seems like just one year ago, I was contemplating using this blog as more than just a place to talk about knitting. And then I did nothing. Real Life, as usual, swept in and blogging was put on the back back back burner, second from the left.

Once more, I find myself needing a writing outlet. And hey, I may actually still write about my knitting, too. Lord knows I haven't been doing much of either (writing, knitting, writing about knitting).

Of course, it doesn't help that I know no one really reads this blog. And that makes me sad. :-( But way back when I first started blogging, nearly before the term "blog" had been coined, I didn't think anyone read that either. And I was okay with that. The realization that 1) people read my drivel and 2) that they enjoyed it was both amusing and amazing. But those two points were never my goal in posting writing online. Maybe it's time I remember that fact.

I'm going to let that thought simmer while I get another cup of coffee.

Bunny Taxidermy

Well, Ann of Mochi Mochi Land fame made a Bunny Head Drawer Pull, and I loved it. I especially loved the idea of making the eyes little X's so it looks like he's dead. (Yes, I'm weird; this is not news.) I also have a dear friend, C. Bunny Binx, who (obviously) loves da bunnehs, so I attempted to make a drawer pull for her.

Ta-da!


Here he is, pre-ear-attachment:


Here he is next to a DVD to show scale:


As you can tell, he's a little wonky.
1.) I completely improvised this pattern, which is something I rarely do. I used the basic increases that Ann uses for Bob to get started. I stopped once I had 32 stitches, then I started decreasing. Unfortunately my decreases were not necessarily "planned." I am going to attempt a second bunneh head, in which I will make more precise decreases.

2.) This was my first attempt at intarsia (with the pink inside the ears). When one pulls the yarn too tight across the back of the stitches, the whole thing gets pulled a little wonky (I have since learned). Also, some of the stitches are a little loose. I also put a tiny bit of stuffing inside the ears (which was a major pain in the ass, lemme tell you, because the ears were so small!), which was probably unnecessary. I did write down the entire process I used for each ear, though, for future reference.

I also think one could start the bunneh in pink (since I started the head at the nose), and then switch to white, rather than embroidering pink over the white for the nose (especially since my embroidering skills leave a bit to be desired).

So there ya go. Ann commented on Herr Bunneh Head and said, "Wow, good job!" so I'm still flying high from that comment. w00t!

Decisions, Decisions

So the place which hosted my "regular" blog has bitten the dust. It's been a sad New Year for Journalspacers the world over. And now I need to make a decision -- do I find a new place to host a new blog, start another blog here on Blogspot, or simply integrate my knitting blog with my "regular" blog into one fabulous Kitty blog bundle? I have no idea.

I'd ask my readers to weigh in on the issue, but no one reads this blog.

I Can Has Gauge??

No, apparently I cannot. The sweater (vest) saga continues...

December 17^th: I cast on for the Boogie Vest with yarn I had originally purchased with the intentions of making Jennifer Stafford's Li'l Red Riding Hoodie. But then I got freaked out about the thought of sewing a zipper into knitted stuff, and did I really want to spend that much time/yarn on one project and what the hell am I doing??? So I thought a nice (quick) sweater vest was a good alternative. And those first 2 inches of ribbing do go by fast!

December 30^th: I discovered last night that my gauge was incorrect; it was too big by one whole stitch! Aaack. So I will be ripping this out and trying again on a size 9 needle instead. I guess that’s what I get for bragging that my knitting tension is absolutely in-the-middle average (thereby eliminating the need for gauge swatches).

December 31^st: Sometimes I really am an idiot. My sweater (pre-frog) was one stitch too big in the gauge dept., so I went down one needle size. Bad Kitty, BAD!!! Smaller gauage = MORE stitches per inch and vice-versa for a larger gauge. If I want fewer stitches per inch, I should have gone UP a needle size. The sad thing is, I actually like the way the sweater feels with the tighter gauge; I thought it seemed too big/too loose on the 10’s. I think a 10.5 needle will make the sweater just hang off of me. But what if the size 9 version will be too tight (although I can always block to a bigger size, not to a smaller)?? ‘Tis a puzzlement.

Have Textbooks Lying Around?

Is your semester over? Wondering what to do with your textbooks now that they're rendered useless and you know you'll never get their full value no matter where you try to sell them? Make those heavy textbooks that have been wreaking havoc with your spinal alignment all semester earn their keep by blocking your knitting!



Featured here are the two largest, heaviest books I have had for the past five months: Literary Criticism and Modern Drama. They are currently helping to block my cabled wrist bag:


Ta-da! The pattern for the Bangle Wristlet Purse can be found by clicking the linkie.