I have too been knitting!

I have started reading the blog of the guy who did (does?) Mouseguard (David Petersen). I haven't read any, but I am intrigued and intend to read them at somepoint. Anyways, on his blog I got to the NYT (New York Times) Graphic Novel Best Sellers. The Hardback ones are mostly Batman. The paperback Watchmen has been on the top 10 for 28 weeks! That is a list I would like to keep an eye on.

I have an idea for some gloves. First I will write the pattern as best I can. Then I will knit a pair for me and a pair for Abe and then the pattern should be ready. This one will take a little bit of non-knitting research first, but I think it should be pretty cool. I got Abe's yarn coming in the mail. I kind of went nuts on the Knit Picks site. For Abe's gloves we got the Stroll Tweed Sock Yarn in Blue Ox. I also got the yarn for my sweater and the Tidings of Joy kit. And a bit of surprise that is in preparation for Xmas. Yeah, I know.

Anyways, here is the Ogre Lolita sketch. I will get the watercolor pic up perhaps Monday.

I also finally got a picture of the Penguin Tawashi I made for Abe. Took me long enough. Abe says it is too cute to actually use as a washcloth. Gah. What a waste. Just joking. It is pretty cute. I kind of had to fudge the pattern because I didn't quite get it. But I think it turned out okay. He is just sitting on top of a jar for now. He was on top of Abe's coffee maker, but Abe kept picking him up by the head instead of the wing so he head was always partially concaved, which looked really weird. It was a lot of fudging, but still pretty fun to crochet.

And here's is Abe's Trilobite Hat (on my head). Actually, I got a professional cut and dye the other day and now my hair looks great. I like it a lot. A regular bob with straight bangs.

Here is the detail of the trilobite. You can see there is a lot of ribbing and Abe is really tall, so unless he is sitting no one will really see the pattern. Oh well. Abe likes it. Sorry the pattern is blurry. This was the only picture of the detail without dog hair on it.

And here is what it looks like to the normal person who is just looking at the hat on someone else's head and not hovering over them Almost looks just like a ribbed hat. Oh well. The color in the previous picture is truer to color. And that is totally a poster of Perfect Blue in the background.

Next comes some roving I dyed from the huge lot of wool I bought on Craigslist almost a year ago. I fret so much about running out that I rarely use it. But that should be fixed. I am getting over it. There is always more wool somewhere. So this is a second dip batch. The color was black with a little green. The first yarn came out a lovely grey color. And the second batch came out this great gray green color. I like it a lost. I wish I knew how to make it again, but I think I would have to make the gray first, again. The picture isn't that great, but I think the color is pretty accurate.

And the Monkey Farts! That is seriously the color name for this brown and yellow and white roving. You can see I also spun up a bunch (maybe half?) and I think it is fingering weight. There is a penny in the middle one, which I realize after I opened it on the computer that a penny was probably the wrong choice. Any other coin probably would have worked a lot better. :) This is from Spunky Eclectic and I like it a lot. I think this is the BFL (blue-faced Leicester) roving.

Next is the wonderful Blue Moon roving I got during a break during the one class I took at Madrona Fiber Festival earlier this year. Oh man. This is the softest stuff. I think it is a mix of wool and silk or something equally pleasant. But the fibers are a lot shorter than the Monkey Farts so I keep pulling too far and dropping the spindle. Very annoying. But I think it is spinning up quite lovely. Both of these are a Navajo 3-ply. Which is about all I ever do because it is so fun (and I don't really know how to do anything else and this one guarantees that you won't have leftovers, which I dread.)

On Saturday, Abe wanted to go to Barnes and Noble to get the next in the Recluse series, which he is really enjoying. So I looked around. I almost got a few books, but instead I got a keychain version of Boggle! Which I intended to bring up Saturday night to Outback for dinner with my family, but I forgot it. Plus we were way late so we wouldn't have had time anyways. I looked at a bunch of craft books. I checked out Epstein's Knitting on Top of the World. I was not impressed. It appears that most of the patterns are in various pinks and purples and I am not so into that. Not since early grade school anyways. And the patterns were all very strange. Like strange for the sake of being strange. I want to get teh book Dyer's Garden, but they didn't have it last time and I think I will get it from some other place when I do get it. I totally want to get the book Subersive Cross Stitch. I think I should do one of her free patterns first, though, to see if I like cross stitch. Looks very simple.

We also got 2 cds while at BnN. Abe got the new Ingrid Michaelson CD, Be OK, which is pretty good, but so much softer than her last one which was very rock (which is great). And we got Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Murder Ballads. It appears this CD was recorded over a period of years, which explains why his vocals vary so much. Sometimes they are pretty bad (can't hit a note in the first try) but some are pretty good. There are a couple ladies who sing in a couple different songs. Those are really pretty. The lady singers are better than he is, but the sound great together.

Also on Saturday, Village Yarn and Tea was having a huge moving sale (they are moving to an awesome new location, thought it would be had to have a location as bad as the one they have now). I am really excited. They are going to be in the same lot as a great book store, so I think I will go there a lot more because Abe will want to go to the book store. Anyways, I got this great yellow tea pot for only $5. How awesome is that!? It holds about 3 cups (mug versions, not tea cups). I have the same or similar teapot in brown too. That brings me up to 6 tea pots. Abe says I have a problem...

I also got this Peony Tear Drop tea from their clearance and now I am really sad because I think they will not be carrying it any more and it is amazing. This is the tea I have been looking for. But they have another Peony tea that I will try - White Peony Tea.

While at the sale, I also got the yarn to make some felted slippers from the book Knit 2 Together, which is a great book. I love the pattens in this book. Anyways, the yarn is Manos Del Uruguay in gray and yellow. (The colors I used are not on that site...) I knit the slippers in under 4 hours. (I think I mention this above, too.) Anyways, the are currently sitting on top of the oven, which is on, so they will dry because they are all felted. To felt them, I got them wet and put them in the dryer with a pair of jeans. Works pretty well. Just check them every 15 minutes or so. I think these are going to be nice and warm. I wish they were dry already because my toes are cold and I want to wear them now. I think I may make another similar pair for deeper in the winter that come further up my foot. Perhaps even a few inches up my ankle. These are really just slip ons. Though they will work fine with socks.

I also got this great yarn. Cashmere lace weight. Maybe even cobweb. I have no idea what to make with it. It was so on sale, I had to buy at least one skein. 1500 yards. Not bad. Perhaps a cowl, but that will barely touch the yardage. I was thinking perhaps Ice Queen from Knitty. That is the kind of cowl I want to make, one that slides down around your neck or extends up over your head.

But seriously, this is how good the price was. Only $10.70. Regulary around $20, so 50% off. Who can complain about that. And 100% Cashmere!! And I just love this color.

Finally, I also got (well, Abe bought it really) this Claudia Hand painted fingering weight yarn in Eat Your Veggies for another Abe hat. I know I just made him one, but I suck at making his hats. They all slip off his pointy little head. This time, I am going to make the Ganomy hat. I think this will be great. I might even add little buttons and loops on the ear points so he can flip up the ears so he can hear. I am going to make a similar hat for myself with some handspun I bought at the Bellingham Farmer's Market. Mine will be pointy and Abe's will be fitted. I am really excited to make this very popular Elizabeth Zimmerman hat.

So after all the wonderful shopping, I frantically tried to get the September Phat Fiber kit. At 5:00 (7cst), I crazily clicked through all the purchasing steps and I got it! At 5:01, I was back on the Etsy site and they were all sold out!! There were 37 of the option I chose, so I can't even imagine. That is crazy. Less than 60 seconds to sell out. Anyways, I am super excited. I have three things coming in the mail now. The Knit Picks order, this fiber box, which is a random box of spinning and knitting stuff, and some buttons for the Girl Friday sweater. These buttons are awesome. She may become my main source of buttons (which isn't saying much because I don't often buy buttons.

And Saturday night, after a very quick and nearly cold meal at Outback in Burlington, we went to 9. This was a great movie to watch, but the story was missing something. I wish Tim Burton had directed it or helped write the script because it was a dark, twisted movie that just needed that extra little push from Burton to make it a great movie. It had a lot of potential, but never really got to that great point I was hoping for. Ah well. I am really glad I saw it on the big screen because it is wonderful to look at. Maybe Burton could do a sequel. I think that is possible and it left potential for continuation of the story. But the next one needs a little something extra.

And now Abe and I are both sick. The cold appears to be going around both our work places (perhaps even the flu at his place). Ah well. We'll live. I just have a hard time drawing, especially when I am sick. I need to do something, but I can't think of anything. Last night I came up with an Arthur and Georgie script with a joke I have wanted to do for a really long time, so perhaps I will do that tonight. And I will drink my Gypsy Cold Care tea and feel better.

--Angela