Um...Ok then...

So, last nite, I walked into a door. Now, I know that that is the steriotypical excuse for women who are being abused, but for anyone who knows me...ya, I actualy did walk into a door. I have a cut over one of my eyes from my glasses. I need a better excuse than the door. I remember the time I walked into a brick wall, and I really don't want to repeat that.
I am a klutz. I go hiking and fall down mountains. I walk into walls and doors. I trip over shadows. And the even sadder thing is, I am a very accomplished martial artist and played basketball, softball, vollyball, and track until I blew out my knees (was on the varcity teams my freshman year). But take me out of a sports areana, and watch me trip.

You might wonder why, if I am such a klutz, did I take up a hobby (lol, "hobby". It toaly stopped being just a "hobby" years ago, but I digress) that includes long pointy metal things. Most people asked that to when Fergie started teaching me to knit (this was at a time when I was attending college in MO. I fell up stairs. I fell down stairs. My school administration threatened dire consequences for anyone who took me sleding. The dishmachine tried to eat me on several occasions), but she did anyway. And I will always be grateful for that.

Though, in my knitting carreer, I have knit multiple holes in my fingers, stabbed myself with needles, and the less said about the set of DPN's that resulted in a tetnus shot, the better.

And the moral of the story is...if you want a good laugh, follow me around for a day. If you feel sorry for me, come up with a better story that makes me look like a little less of a dork for the next time I walk into a door. oh yes, there will be a next time

WIPs

OK, I have decided that I will not start a new project until I finish several old ones (hey, stop that laughing). I am confident that this can be done. Kinda. Maybe. We'll see.

My WIPs that I will finish before starting new ones...
I think these are all on the sidebar anyway...

cable scarf

Bri's shawl

my shawl

the blanket

my socks

OK, the socks have actualy been ripped out again, so they aren't technicaly a WIP, but I still want to do them, so we are going to pretend that they are.

Some day, I will actualy pull out all the WIPs that have been relegated to the bottom of my stash box, and do a real inventory. But that might make me cry. So for all intents and purposes for not, these are the only things I have on my needles. yes, I only have 4 WIPs. Aren't you all proud of me? noone look in my closet

Edit @ 11am on Thursday
Should it worry me that yesterday in Criminology, I mentioned my plan of finishing projects and Jen, a girl I do not really know outside of class, laughed? She doesn't even know me outside of the several PA classes we have taken together, and she doesn't have any confidence that I can stick to my finishing projects plan!
I know all the peole who read this blog(yes, all 3 of you) have more faith in me! Right?

Book Run...

I went to Border's last nite and got the new Yarn Harlot book . I am very excited. I haven't gotten very far in it yet, but so far it is very good. Will keep you updated.

I also got The Zombie Survival Guide and The Government Manual for New Superheros. I saw that and figured I needed it for when I embark on my carreer as a supervillan. Now all I need is a good supervillian name and emblem.

ROFL

You all know and love The Yarn Harlot. Well, now, she has a surprise up!! What is it? Just the greatest thing in the free world!!! Go to your phone, call 877-SOS-KNIT (toll free in USA and Canada). Then go to her blog, and thank her yet again for being her. And tell her to come to Tucson.

Fall

Theoreticaly, it is fall. But then, whoever came up with seasons never visited southern AZ. We do have 4 seasons though: hot, really hot, OM-the-streets-are-melting-it-is-so-friggin'-hot, and wow-I-need-to-put-on-socks-and-find-a-jacket-to-wear-this-mornging-even-though-it-will-be-hot-this-afternoon.
I want to live somewhere that will give me incentives to knit sweaters and mittens and stuff. And by incentive, I mean more than between 9pm-7am when it get's a bit chilly.

Though, sitting in the computer lab waiting for my criminology class (I really hate my MWF schedule. 3 hour break! Not enough time to go home, but to much time to just hang out. There is only so much studdying I can do. So I post a rambling message on my blog. Well, as long as we all know what is going on. Hehe, I am still in the parenthasis.), they have turned up the A/C, and I am looking feeling in my toes. My nose is cold, and I think the only reason my alergies have quieted is becuase my sinuses are frozen.

So maybe it isn't fall/winter I need to knit sweaters for, but summer. Yes, I can see that. While it might be 91 degrees out according to the AZ Daily Star (probobly the only newspaper in the country that has a special section of Wild Fire updates), it is colder than a...well, this is a family blog...let's just say that the brass monkeies have gone outside and are hanging out on Alumni Hill. After all, if the school spent umpteenthougsands of dollars on that instead of finishing construction on other half finished buildings or hiring professors, someone should get some use out of it!

The Sky is Falling!!

Not really. But The Yarn Harlot mentioned a new blog (or at least new to me), Sandy's Knitting, and I went there. I highly recomend it. Anyway, back to the point... She wants to see pics of the sky, and who am I to stand in her way. This is the sky from some cliff dwellings I went to up near Rosevelt Lake in Arizona. We drove up there to go kayaking, but it was raining, so we decided to go here instead. I fell down the mountain. I do that alot.


Rosevelt

I would take a pic of the sky now, but it is boring. Blue, no clouds, and hot. Eh, I'll do it anyway...


sky

See what I mean? Boring. Hmm...if I remember, and if the sunset is any good, I'll take one later tonight. Tucson's sunsets are world famous. Last nites was pretty, lots of pink and purple and just a little fusia.

Here is another one. It is from my frount porch, and is a bit more interesting. Houses, buildings, trees, and the mountains in the background are the Catalina's. Mt. Lemmon is up there to. The whole mountain range caught on fire last year. Well, every year, but last years was pretty bad. But it is nice up there. In the foothills is Sabino Canyon, which I love. When I was a kid we would go hiking there all the time, and there is a little stream that has runoff that they damned up...good times.


sky

And a couple of clouds. Really, 360 days a year, this is what our sky's look like. It's a rough life, I know.

OK People, Listen Up!

OK, for once and for all, since it seems to be something in question...Martha Stewart IS NOT COOL!! Stop trying to be like her! Going to prison because you are stupid is not something you should be made famous for, outside of a Letterman monologue, and only that as a joke inbetween Michael Jackson's court apperences. And comming out of prison in a badly made ugly poncho(that was crocheted no less) should generate scorne, not this:



Thank you You Knit What?? for keeping the public up to date on the horrors that we would otherwise be unknowingly subjected to.

Tagged

I got this from The Knitting Libran
I feel special that she wanted me to do this too :)

Ten years ago:
I was 12 years old. I think I was in 8th Grade and St. Joseph's Parochial School. I played basketball, track (I was still recovering from tearing my sholder the year before throwing the Shot Put). But I was 12, so there wasn't really much of interest in my life.

Five years ago:
I graduated from Amphitheater High School. Yay. Or, since it is September, I was planning to graduate the comming May. I got talked into playing tennis, and tore my ACL and Miniscus on my first match of the season (and was winning too!). Or was tennis later in the year? Ya, it was. The second simester. First simester, I played for my schools golf team.

One year ago:
I had learned to knit 3 years before, and was fast approaching obsession. I was elected to the Board of DIrectors for a local 501(c)3 organization. I was taking some good classes at school, and finished up most of my major requierments.

Five snacks:
Um....Red Vines, chocolate(but not to much), chips, sunflower seeds, granola bars

Five songs I know all the words to:
Umm...anything Inkubus/Sukkubus, most of Loreena McKennit(I totaly didn't spell that right), most of Clannad, The Lady's Brasle, Lord of the Dance

Five things I would do with $100 million:
Pay off my school loans. Pay off all my dad's debt. Buy my parents houses. Set up education trust funds for my neices and nephews. Go on that Knitting Tour of Ireland thing. Or maybe buy GreenPeace a nuclear warhead. I really think the environmental movement would be taken a lot more seriously if they were a nuclear power.

Five places to run away to:
Ireland. The Carabean(never been, but love scuba diving). The Great Barrier Reef. A deserted island somewhere. Morocco(never been, but always have wanted to go.)

Five things I would never wear:
Most of the stuff I see sorority girls at school wear. The shirt/dresses that look like a bathrobe. The shirt/dresses that look like langere. The Mud/Mugg/whatever boots in August in Tucson. A thong.

Five favorite TV shows:
Babylon 5, M*A*S*H, Farscape, Buck Rogers, Law & Order

Five biggest joys: My nephews (Braydon, Casper, Monkey Boy), my neices (Domonique, Brianna), my knitting, kayaking, books

Five favorite toys:
My knitting needles, my yarn, my knitting books, my knitting accessories, my kayak

Five people to pass this on to:
Oooh, I am going to have to think about that one. Though, anyone who feel like stealing it, mention in the comments, and I will add your name here. Yay, free advertising for your blog!

What Kind of Yarn Are You?

You are Merino Wool.
You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Apperintly, I am a yarn that I have never used. I like wool, but never used Merino. I've heard good things though. Except, I want to be Shetland Wool! "you are widely respected and even revered." I want to be revered!! That would be cool. OK, that would be a lot of pressure, but since I am going into my first Criminology test today, and I have no clue whatsoever about how it is going to go, except multiple choice (I hate multiple choice. Even if I know a subject inside and out, I never do as well with a test if it is multiple choice), I feel the need for a little ego boost!! So I want to be revered!! Worship Me, People!!! Woah, sorry about that, down, ego. Hehe, wish me luck.

F.O.!!!

I know what you all are thinking..."Why, Cerridwen. I was perusing your site, and I noticed that your list of WIPs has changed. How did this happen?" And the answer is, I have no clue. Sometimes, when we're not looking, our knitting just grows up so fast, and if you aren't paying attention to it, you miss it. One day, you're casting on, and it will fit in your purse and you can carry it around the Botanical Gardens while you are knitting, and before you know it, it has been cast off and you are blocking it. Tears, they grow up so fast.


Shawl 

"Um, but Cerridwen, WTF are you blocking it on?" Well ladies and gentlemen (yes, see, I still have illusions that more than 2 people read this, hense the counter I just installed in the toolbar. Though, how many of thoes counts are going to be me doing stuff? I can still live in my fantasy that I am popular) that is my boat trailer. When it is to hot to go to the lake, and gas is $3/gallon, it doesn't see much boats, so I confiscated it for my blocking adventures.


shawl 

On the back, which was swept good, foam mats from camping were alid down, again cleaned good. I then proceded to soak the shawl, lay it out, and pin the heck out of it. When it dried, the lace pattern came out very nicely, and I was happy.



Shawl 

This is the Lace Peddler's Shawl from my favorite book, Folk Shawls. If you don't own it, you should. This is also one of my favorite patterns in teh book. It is a very easy pattern to make, you increas with YO's. It goes fast, and looks a lot more complicated than it actualy was.


Shawl

I love patterns that make me look more skilled than I really am. Then later I can look at it, or someone else can look at it, and think, "wow, she is a really good knitter!!" And I feel special.

This was knit using Smart by Sanden (I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly, since I don't have the ball band in frount of me) in Dark Olive. I got what I thought was enough (ie-bought their entier stock) at Back Door Beads from teh sale room, the color was picked out by Shea, who will soon be the new owner of this shawl, as well as teh pattern. Then I knit. I would have had this done months ago, but I ran out of yarn near the end. I ended up having to go to a shop in Canada and having it shiped. It seems that Dark Olive isn't realy a popular color. Tears. Because it looks very nice.

Everyone who has seen the shawl has liked it. Though none were knitters. Tuesdeay is SnB, so we will see how other knitters like it. Then Shea comes week after next, and we will see how she likes it.

Spinning

I want to learn how to spin. I really do. Probobly. See, most of the blogs I read also spin, and they are always talking about how much fun it is. Then Shea started using a drop spindle (I wonder how that is working out...). Then, I found this site. And now, I really want to learn how to spin. But I am not sure if it is because I want to make my own yarn, or because of these. Ok, the cat is kinda scary, but the lilly pad one is cool. I also like the tailchaser one, though the dragon is cool too. You see my dilema here. Do I really want to learn to spin, or do I just want cool new toys?

But do I want to learn to spin as much if I look at these? OK, this one is kinda cool, so it doesn't really make my point, but you get the idea. I suppose I will just have to try it and find out.

Now the next question...where in Tucson can I get stuff to spin?

Tragedies...

Katrina hit, though luckily, all my family back in LA are ok. They live just west of New Orleans, and though they got some rain, they were mostly unscathed.

But...ok, this is hard...Cassie's baby died. He, Andreu Carter Gonzalez, was still born last week. The funeral was yesterday. It was hard...
The relevant blog stuff...the blanket that was being made for him, Cassie wants me to finish. She wants me to donate it to some group or agency. His umbilical cord blood went to a baby in the Gulf somewhere, she has info on the baby, and it saved his life, so she is thankful for that. I have already taken booties and hats down to the premie unit at a local hospital, but I am not sure where to take the blanket when it is finished.

One vote has been Casa de los Ninos. That is an orphanage for kids who aren't in foster care.

Another has been Kino, and let them give it to a family who doesn't have anything.

St. Vincent de Paul, a church organizaion who does food and clothes and stuff for poor and homeless people.

So, I am working on the assumption that people actualy read my blog, and I am asking for the imput of other knitters and crocheters. Comment on what you think, what your favorite knitted charity, or your favorite charity in general. Not only will it help me decide who is going to get my nephews blanket, but it will also expand our knowledge of charities and such. There are so many out there, sometimes you don't know who to donate to, and learning others favorites can help spread the word.

Books...

I just got Knitticisms...and Other Pearls of Wisdom yesterday. It was a pretty good book, and I have wanted if for a while. But, I think, I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read it before I read At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit To Much . If you have never read this book, you must!! And I just found out, she has A NEW BOOK comming out. I am very excited. Isn't Amazon great? I rarely actualy buy from them, though I will totaly get the Jack Roller eventuly, but they keep me up to date on books. Unfortunetly, they don't have a release date for it. Oh well, soon. And I am sure that her blog will let us know when it is released. If you aren't a fan of The Yarn Harlot...well, I don't think we can be friends anymore. So go, buy her book, read her blog, and laugh until you drop your knitting and pee your pants!!