PiCk uP sTiX

SO I did manage to pick up the stix this week a bit, and made some progress on my knitting, but it is very boring progress indeed (straight stockinette up the body now since I finished my decreases--knit in the round for that matter so I do not even need to complete a dreaded purl, just monotonous knit stitches, one after the other). One place I did knit was in the CAR on the way to our REALTOR's office. We made it through the home inspection--all systems are go!

This weekend we went to Home Depot to scope out some stuff we need/want for the house (pending everything continuing as planned and we close...). I have never looked at toilets in my life before but did so with great zest and zeal recently. This home ownership thing may have me becoming an adult after all.

My lost rune also came home to me in the mail this week--check out msotherdenartglass.com Molly sent my Ehwaz, which was missing at the time I purchased the set. They are handmade glass runes in the loveliest green shades. If you go back a few posts, you can also see her earrings and yes, stitchmarkers as modeled by my lovely assistant, Sittin' Grampa. You can also see my current project in the background.

My only other news is sort of sad. A whole day smearing henna into the old mop and no one even noticed! Henna is a nightmare, kids. It's the consistancy and color of goose poop (not exaggerating here either), it is hard to coat every strand of hari, you must sit in it for hours with your head wrapped in plastic, and it leaves your hair smelling of hay for days. Plus, in order to help cover the gray, I added some vinegar and fresh brewed coffe to the henna. Just imagine the smell of that one! When you rinse it out, millions and billions of fine leaf particles hit the shower head and spray over the shower walls, floor, shower curtains and shampoo bottles, necessitating an intense and thorough cleaning to prevent perma-stain. Your hands if unprotected also turn a fine shade of pea green. My guy told me my hair looked very shiney that evening though. Shiney is not worth the trouble though! So back to gray for me, seems to be where I belong.

I am most certainly not dead...

...but I am pretty hot right now. Now I know TONS of people flock to this site daily to see what exciting knitting adventures I am embarking on and all of you must be sick with worry about me. It's been a while. Let me explain. I am BUYING MY FIRST HOUSE!

After months of searching we are on the cusp of home ownership. The inspection takes place tomorrow AM, I am excited and scared and anxious and relieved all at once. We got as far as this once with another house in March but the inspection revealed about 5 areas of structural damage. Please keep your fingers crossed and think a positive thought for me tomorrow AM!

Needless to say, I've not been knitting. It's so hot here and I sit lifeless and dream up what I plan to do with my house. You're right, I could still dream away as I knit but I'm just in a weird slump. I did finish beading the CD cabinet my guy made for me. It was half-beaded for months and this week I finally completed it. Maybe it was the waning moon. Maybe it was the thought of how cute it would be finished in our new place. It's hard to say. The important thing is, it's done. You can also see the kitty condo my guy made in the background. That's a very wilty Quandary helping out as usual, holding the condo down for us.

I also purchased the book, Generation T, 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, by Megan Nicolay. I turned my classic John Lennon in New York t-shirt from a frumpy too-big shirt that I never wore into a sleek-fitting tee that also has yet to be worn. It has some cute ideas though, I have been pulling out my old t-shirts from the bottoms of drawers and have grand designs for all of them...

I have also given in on the hair. I will be dyeing my hair with henna this weekend. After we signed our contract for the house, my guy and I stopped into our local watering hole to celebrate. The female bartender asked for ID, then stated mine was not required but my guy looked very young. I am exactly 9 months older than him. That did it, I give in, American advertisers, I will dye my hair.

Hopefully I will have some knitterly goodness to blog about soon! Maybe a new Knitting Room in my new place?

Love that July!

I am so in love with July. It's smack dab in the middle of my fave season, summer. Cherries and peaches and strawberries are in full force, not to mention the blackberries. Kay's birthday, lightning bugs and Independence Day. And my favorite crafty festival, the one, the only, Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, set in the lovely Twin Lakes State Park. I spent Sunday the 2nd out there with Kay and my sister and even dodged the storm that blew through in the late afternoon. I managed to find myself some presents--behold:

The blue stitch markers, set of 5, are on the left and a pair of earrings with red oak leaves are on the right. These were made by M. Sotherden. I also bought a beautiful set of runes from her as well, blogger will not let me post any more pics right now so I will post more pics later. The stitch markers and earrings are being modeled by my smoker, Sitting Grandpa. You insert an incense cone in his body and the smoke comes out his mouth. I have wanted one of these for a while and happened to find him a few months ago at a discount store for $7. They retail for around $50 at Krys Krindelmardt around the holidays.


I love to purchase things created by someone else. I love to pick up the item and touch it and imagine what the person was thinking, where they were when they made it, how long it took. I really needed these things in the end to help soothe my spirit a bit as a woman by the llama exhibit asked if my sister was my daughter. I am exactly 13 months older than her. OUCH!! My ego is still feeling bruised four days later but I will not relent and dye my hair--it's staying the way it is. Take that, evil beauty industry! This is one chica who will not be swayed by your pressure to conform! It also frees up some more cash for yarn stash...

I managed to catch the fireworks at the point, my first time ever. They were FANTASTIC, the best I have ever seen! Even better than the last four summers on the beach. I can't wait to do it all again next year!

So finally, my recent project. This one has not been coming along easily for me, I had to frog it twice already (1st time too big, 2nd time I somehow twisted the cast on edge when I joined the round). It will be a sleeveless sweater, knit in the round to the armholes. I will then seperate front and back and finish her off. It really shouldn't take too long but then again I can be a pokey knitter.
Here's a picture with Madison Penelope inspecting it for errors. Her full report will be posted once it is completed. She likes to keep a running tab on it all.
Now get out there and enjoy yourself some summer, cause it's going way too fast