I've been driven out of retirement!

Ok, so I haven't posted in like a year and a half, but my friend dragonflyducky (http://www.freewebs.com/dragonflyducky/myblog.htm) has asked me to do this little thingie, and because she is awesome (and my crafty hero!) I will oblige!

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?:
Ten years ago I had just completed my first year of college, I was a philosphy major. I drank a lot of coffee. I worked at Subway.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?:
finish knitting my current project (can't say too much about this because its for a swap, but it is a baby project that has so far used 2 skeins of sock yarn---200g)
get groceries
dye a whole bunch of cotton stuff (I have to seperate cotton dyeing day from wool/silk dyeing day)
iron stuff :(
post pics of fab swap loot on craftster.org

3) Snacks I enjoy:
right now I am trying to be healthy, so I will say:
cherries
applesauce
granola bars
fudgcicles

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
buy a house/farm/studio/bunch of land in the mountains in North Carolina.
get some yarn
immediately go to Peru...then Egypt...then Istanbul (I just typed Constantinople, and had to run through the song to see which one it is now)...then Ireland
give a crapload of money to Michigan Public Radio. I mean a crapload.
get another doggie or four
get a compost-tumbler
eat a lot of sushi

5) Places I have lived:
Bowling Green, OH
Toledo, OH
Grand Rapids, MI
Lansing/East Lansing, MI
Detroit, MI
Bloomfeild Hills, MI
Royal Oak, MI

6) Jobs I have had:
burger flipper
sandwich artist
hotel maid
pot scrubber
janitor
sandwich artist again
pizza delivery guy
gas station attendant
coffee maker
coffee maker
baker/pastry chef
coffee maker
produce inspector
mom
pseudo-artist

7) People I want to know more about:

AsphaltQueenhttp://asphaltqueen.blogspot.com/
Becksterhttp://www.myspace.com/57896444
SevsOnlyGirlhttp://www.myspace.com/sevsonlygirl
mimiwhttp://www.smilingoctopus.com/

So, I just remembered that I took pictures of my "craftroom" and some of my stash, to show people just how sick I really am....so I thought that I would just go ahead and show the rest of cyberspace as well, because.....what the heck.....

Here is the craftroom...which is really the furnace closet...right behind my chair is the furnace. I built a bunch of shelves in it, and there is a floor to ceiling stack of milk crates in the corner that you can't see in the picture. Next to the furnace I have 4 giant rubbermaid tubs of assorted fabric, and in front of that, almost blocking the door, is 4 tubs of papercrafting stuff!

My yarn doesn't fit in here, only the giant balls of acrylic that have somehow accumulated...sooo......there is the hallway:

and the living room.....

and some of these hanging yarn dispensers in the office!

I hope that you notice my giant map of the United states, where I mark with stickers all the places that I send swap packages to....the fatal flaw with this is when I send out of the country...

We are looking in to buying a house this summer, so when we begin to pack, I will get alllllll the yarn out and take pictures of it together. There is alot more than in these pictures....A LOT.....there are all the baskets holding yarn under the sideboard, and the giant flower pot that used to hold a tree, but now it holds yarn.....and the cookie jar that the superhubby bought me.....that doesn't ever have cookies in it, because there is no room with all that yarn in there....

We are looking for a house with an extra bedroom in it so I can have a "STUDIO"! Before you think that I am greedy, Superhubby has already claimed the basement as "man space", so he can put his weight bench and a couch and a tv and a trillion video games. I found a house that I REALLY like....it has 3 bedrooms, giant windows, all hardwood floors, a kitchen that is a passthrough, so you can wash dishes or cook, and still see/interact with the rest of the house, and it also has a full basement, and a three car garage with a workshop that has heat and electricity!!!!!! It also looks really kooky from the outside, which makes me love it...I don't like average looking houses...

Anyway...maybe my yarn babies will have places to live by the end of the summer....cross your fingers!

We hate your ideas; however, we will give them proper consideration.

Oh, cripes....I have been remiss....yet again....

I have been crafting...a lot....but I keep forgetting to take pictures of my stuff before I send it out!
Here are some pictures of a few of the things I have made in the past couple of weeks.

the hat for my dad, being modeled by Superhubby!

A
A chunky knit scarf for "farfromthegarden" in the wishlist swap.....

A hoodie that I made for my personal swap with sassysword....

and some ribbon lace-up arms for her too....

Here is the jewelry box I made for sassysword...

And here is the journal I made for sassysword....

I am sure that I will post again pretty soon....if you want to see what else I've been doing, and forgetting to photograph, take a look at the packages I made for the crafty detective swap, my first four ATCs in the Pick a theme ATC swap, and all the wishes I am granting in the March 2007 Wishlist swap!

I'm also running 2 swaps of my own right now....the Fill a Flat Rate Box Swap, and The Gothic Swap! Sign ups for the Gothic Swap are up right now, so go and sign up....now!

The lower she sank, the better she felt.

I sent out my Craft Detective swap package today! I, of course, forgot to take pictures of the stuff in it, so you will just have to believe me when I tell you that the stuff rocked the house and then set it to rights once more.

I also recieved from my Hogwarts Houses swap, and from the Not so Kitschy Kitchen swap! Giant package day at the superhousehold. Craftster is down until 11:00 PM, because it wants me to go insane. I now have to work at breakneck speed on the personal swappiness. I got my main supply today for it, so I will actually be able to work on it now.

I have had the superflu all weekend. I caught it from that damned superkid....him and that....breathing.....and spreading germs....I want to spray him down with lysol every time he walks into the room. I swear that kid is a germ magnet.

I've got a bunch of projects coming up, after I finish these two last swaps. I'm going to start on the sweater for the superhubby, and I'm going to knit my Slytherin scarf for the movie. I'd also like to knit a sweater for the superkid, and knock out a Brea bag. So, like, a lot of stuff.... you know.....

So, until I must type some more!

"You uxorious lummox!" the woman bellowed in response to his muffled pleas.

I sent out my Hogwarts houses swap package yesterday, and MissTee2 already recieved it, so I can post my pictures now! She is a Gryffindor. I made her a pincushion:




a calorimetry and a pair of mittens for those cold days watching quidditch!



A tote bag, and some stuff for the common room!

I also made her some jewelry and a little purse for the Yule Ball, and some soap and bath potions for relaxing after class. I made her a photo album too, so she can keep track of all her friends over the summer! How's that for house co-operation?

I'm trying to finish up my package for the Crafty Detective swap this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to post that one on Monday or Tuesday, depending on if I need to do some last minute spoiling!

Oh, and my yarn arrived! WOOOOOOO! I've been looking through all my patterns all day thinking of all the awesome crap I'm going to (eventually) make.

In which I realize I have a lot of yarn.

I forgot to write this:

I will now make my confession to cyberspace. I bought $300 worth of yarn on sunday. I have no excuse. This is the first time I have ever been embarassed by my yarn obsession. I think I will have to fast for a while. In my defense, a lot of the price was the yarn for two sweaters I'm going to make for Superhubby. (now you know I love him, because I capitalized him)

Before you judge, you should get your brand new credit card in the mail and be forced to activate it, and then wander over to the Webs website. See if you can get out of there with less than 300 bucks of yarn. Try it, I dare you!

Who's taking money at the door? And how shall I dress to not seem real?

Ok, I sent out all four of my ATCs yesterday, so my end of my swap is done. I really hope my partners like them. I had to make a cow, an elephant, an owl, and a Jane Eyre card. My favorite was the owl one. I'll be recieving 4 cards about knitting. I'm creative. I later thought I should have done day of the dead, but I had allready put down a subject.

I finished the bag for Aunt Beckie (finally). It nearly killed my hands. My parents are coming over tonight, and my mom is going to bring the bag to my aunt, so I don't have to ship it.

I am finished with the stuff for the Hogwarts Houses swap, so I'll probably send that out on Thursday or Friday. I didn't send it today, because I want to show my mom all the cool stuff I made. I'll post my pictures when Miss_tee2 recieves it. I also finished my biggest project for the Crafty Detective swap. This is the stalking swap of my dreams! I'm really excited to send the packages for these swaps.

I bought some more soap base last night. I sent most of my soap stuff out with my DIY kits, so I had to replenish. I think I might make some soap tonight. Maybe.

Superkid has some kind of flu-iness. He threw up all over everything possible on Monday night. I mean it. It was uncanny. He hit everything in the bathroom except the toilet. I had to wash his sheets 4 times to get the yuck out. Since then he has just had a bad cough and a really runny nose, so I have no idea what is actually wrong with him. Right now he is in a nyquil induced sleep.

The kid keeps seeing all the swappy stuff, and he really likes to steal peices of it, so I decided to start a kid stuff swap. This will be the first one I'm organizing, so I'm a bit nervous, but I'm pretty sure I'll be ok. The point of the swap is to make a cool kid package, not clothes, or boring stuff, but fun stuff....crazy toys and weirdness. I'm not going to start sign ups until the beginning/middle of March.
I think that I'm going to start mostly doing only less intense swaps, like supply swaps or single item swaps. However, I really do want to be in the handspun/handcraft swap, because I really want some of that great craftster handspun.

In any case, its good to see that you are still not here and still not reading. Great not seeing you one more time......

crappy post

I recieved my yarn from my yarn swap! I got two giant envelopes of awesome yarn. Hurrah.
My partners have recieved in my DIY kit swap, so I am just waiting for my packages to arrive.
My partner sent out for my knitting swap, and the package should be here today or tomorrow!

I still can't post any pictures of what I've been working on, because it is all for swaps.

I also joined a swap for ATC's. I have to make 4 of them. Hopefully I don't suck at it.
I am now in a personal swap for strange and unusual stuff.
I don't really feel like posting right now, but I have to post at least once a week for the craftster webring, so I thought I should throw something up, just in case.

OK, that's all.

She led a complicated and secret quotidian existence of matinees and intrigues and regrets.

Cyberspace, you are a fickle mistress.

I see that my nonlegion of nonadoring nonfans are at it again with the not commenting. They have shown me how much they care by taking the not-reading of my blog to new heights.

In any case, I shall not be discouraged by the crushing weight of my blog's non-readability. I shall forge on, and create more posts for no one to read. Take that, cruel...people who...don't...care....

I sent out all of my DIY kits for the craftster swap. I also got my partner for the detective/stalking swap. This swap is supersweet, because I can make what I want to, just based on my partner's taste, so I don't have to try to do something I don't want to do....because they don't know who I am! Ha HA!

I am almost done with my Hogwarts Houses swap. I mostly am waiting for the post to bring me the stuff I need to finish 2 of my projects. Since I have to wait, though, I decided to start another thing to go in the package. If my partner doesn't like the stuff, it will be suicide-o-rama in the superhouse.

It is pretty cool, because I am expecting 10 packages in the mail right now! The suspense is terrible....I hope it lasts.....

I do in fact prefer raucous company but am delighted to be here nevertheless.

So, I entered the knitting contest on craftster, and I am not winning.

I made this sweater for my niece, Emma. It is made with chenille yarn, so it is soft and fuzzy.

the point of the contest was to design something that used the chosen stitch, which was garter lace stitch. This was my first sweater design and my first lace knitting, so I don't think it is too bad. I actually made a gauge swatch for this, so it was pretty serious.

I've been making lace scarves too. I've made 3 feather and fan scarves so far. I am a little bit burnt out on them right now, so it may be a while until there is a fourth.

This weekend I'll be making my first effort at polymer clay jewelry. I hope it goes well, because it looks like you can do some really kick ass stuff.

I'm in a DIY kit swap, and I have to make 2 melt and pour soap kits and one sewing kit. In return I'll be getting a kit for hemp jewelry, bookbinding, and decoupage. I can't wait!

We went to see "Night at the Museum" last weekend. It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. Superkid was delighted. Of course, it doesn't take much to delight him, because he thinks anything is funny.

I bought a bunch of awesome handspun yarn from a couple of Etsy shops. I've been really happy with Etsy. I would recommend shopping through Etsy to anyone who hasn't tried it yet. I like the idea behind it.

I must go now. I am not being witty at all. I cannot even concentrate because I am watching "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". And so I will say Aloha, Mr. Hand.....

His words skidded across the living room floor and landed in her lap.

Hey there cyberspace!

I sent out for the knitting swap, and I have pictures! These are things I made for my partner, who wanted mostly knitting related gear...a knitting bag....

and the inside...

and a knitting hoodie!

and these are the flip-top mittens I made...

and now this post is getting ridiculous to add to, so I will put more pictures in the next post!

My partner liked her stuff, I think, and now I am awaiting her package!

I signed up for some new swaps, and at the moment I am all filled up, all 5 spots! some of them are going to be really quick, though, so more swapiness can come soon.

We got new cages for the hamstrosities last night. My two hamsters hate each other, and they have broken all the toys in their cage, so now they are bored and hateful, so we got them seperate quarters...we hope they don't start cussing at each other from across the room.

ok...more posting in a bit...

I heart short posts!

Hello there, intrepid readers. Tis I, your crafty host. Again.

I am really digging this new version of blogger that they have. I can now add neato things to the blogginess. I have no idea about HTML or any of that crap, so my craftiness has always been plain jane, but now it is misterfancypants. I hope you are impressed.

Hold on, I'll post again in a sec.

The last time I'd seen him (how long had that been?) he was a fugitive in a sea-blue bus.

Wow. This blog has not seen the light of day in many....days....

Lets you and me just pretend that there isn't a huge gap since the last post and go ahead and dive in....you know how to pretend don't you? Just rub your brain together and blow...

My Harry Potter swap went famously (I'll post pictures later, I can't face that sort of trial this early in the morning.) and I got fabulous treats from Scandinavia.

Now I am registered for two more swaps on craftster.org. One is a knitting swap, for knitters, by knitters. I have a great partner who is very communicative. I really like this. I am not joking. Because she is so cool I am sort of hoping to make her some really cool things. Of course, I cannot divulge here what those things would be, because you would tell her. I know you would, you saucy minx. Don't deny it.
The other swap is a DIY kit swap. I'm really excited about this one, because I get to learn new stuff. I have to make kits of things I know how to do, like crochet and knitting and soap making and crap like that, and then other people make me awesome kits about doing other things.

I have executed my first forrays into the knitting of lace (a sweater and *ahem* 3 feather and fan scarves) and I suppose I am fairly proud of that.
I feel as though I have had an almost productive January.
Here is my list of January FOs (to date, I will certainly have more before the month has through with me):
Ribbed RedWings scarf and hat
another Gryffindor hat
hot colors F&F scarf
cool color F&F scarf
first mittens
Asymmetrical cables hat
Garter lace suede sweater

So that's it for now. The sweater I made for the knitting challenge on craftster. (this is your subconscious speaking. You will go to craftster.org on Feb. 1 and vote for superhooker's sweater in the knitting challenge. If you do this, you will get cookies and people will send you flowers. If you don't, you may die. it is the truth.)

I have also been reading a bit, which is nice. This year so far I have read :
At knits end by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
Yarn Harlot by " " "
Survivor by Chuck Palhaniuk ( or however you spell that.)
Hoot by Carl Hiassen

I am currently reading 2 books, and I can't write their names, because that would be bad luck.

Ok, I am done for now, but I will be back later, now that I have broken the blogger block that was in my brain, with a more interesting and less listy post. But for now, be happy you got anything at all from my warm living hands........

whoop and whoop again

Here is a picture of my alligator that I made for my nephew...














And this is the cabled bag that I wrote about...It has wooden handles that I covered with Lion Brand Suede, to make them nice and cushy to hold. I didn't have to line the inside, because I stitched really tight, and wove in my ends like a fiend...hoooorraaayyy....














I'm almost done with the stuff for my swap, and I will post the pictures of that stuff when my partner recieves it...ok...must go and craft...life depends upon my success...

The way to her heart is as follows: take a left many times and then go straight.

Hurray for my very first picture on my blog! This is my purse that I made...it was my very first cabling project, and only the third thing that I ever knitted. Here is a picture where you can see the lining....

I think that it is sort of kick ass...

Here is a picture of a bag I crocheted for superhubby's Grandma, who is awesome shit...

As you can see, my favorite dog is in love with the bag as well...If he had thumbs I would make him one too.

I have one more picture...this is the tiniest ninja ever made...

This is what he looks like all the time...he goes to ninja school. He plays laccrosse on weekends.

I am on the phone with my mother in law right now (not super), so I must depart...it is not my choice...she is the devil...

Sit down; I'll make us some coffee and some suspiritions.

Woo hoo
I must first say that I have no feeling in the ring finger on my right hand. That is making it sort of hard to type right now. I am freaking out a little about it at this moment.

In other news, I finished the superhubby hat in one day! I made another one today, for my brother in law. Superhubby took me to the yarn shop in Birmingham. I got the most awesomest stuff ever! I found out that they sell Malabrigo there...sweet...so I got one hank of that, plus, the owner gave me a great deal on this organic cotton, and I love it! I got the yarn for the HP swap stuff, and some yarn for my christmas projects. They also had a really great clearance bin, and I got 3 balls of Elba from Needful yarns and a ball of Vaudeville from Artful Yarns...all for two bucks each! I am very proud of my bargain shopping, but I am also proud that I touched yarn for a half hour, and I only bought things that I actually needed. Ok...I have a plan for most of it....shut up.

So I am hoping to really bust out some progress this weekend. I hope that my hands hold out for a while longer.

I must write about how awesome netflix is for a second. I have been looking for a DVD of Jan Svankmajer's animation for years now, and I could never find any....then I looked it up on netflix, and they have a whole collection of his stuff, including his awesome rendition of Alice in Wonderland. If you are a fan of avant garde animation, or if you like things that are spooky or even gothic, you should totally check him out. Seriously, because he is supersweet. A lot.

I must now retire to fondle my yarn a bit more. I can't really write about what I'm going to do with my new yarn, because there is a chance that someone may, at some point, read this. I know I am fooling myself. Shut up.

Fooled you

Oh, yeah, I forgot to write that I finished the cabled bag....it didnt need a lining. I also finished the alligator, and it turned out better than I hoped it would. Hurrah. I am now spent.

We gave ourselves over to an interregnum of discord, mockery, and delight.

Officially November now, and I still have not done the sleeves of the sweater. I think I'm just not in the mood for sleeving. I knitted a scarf for the superhubby. That took longer than I thought it would. Three days. I'm going to make the matching hat today. I have to go to the yarn store tomorrow...it is only open in the evening on Thursday. My car is being especially recalcitrant lately, so I have to wait until superhubby gets home from work and force him to ferry me to Birmingham for yarn. I discovered yesterday that Knit, Knit, Knit in Bloomfield is out of business. Now, I don't like to see a yarn store fail, but those ladies kind of deserved it. Every time I went in there they were really rude to me. Ok, I only went there twice, but that was why.

I got my swap partner for the Harry Potter swap. Her name is Anna and she lives in Finland. I have already annoyed her with questions about her country. She is the main reason that I am desperate to get to the yarn store soon. Her stuff is due on November 30, so I have to get going on it. I can't write what I'm making yet, because there is a link to this from craftster. However, Superhubby (he got capitalized for this one) figured out how to make the digital camera work, so I can put up pictures soon! Yeehaw!

In the most pleasant news of this age, my long lost love has returned! i'm not talking about yarn here, just so you know. I don't know if she wants her name in the blog, so I will call her superfriend. i haven't seen her in years, and then suddenly she appears in my inbox! and she is fabulous! I sent her a quote this morning. It has been a long time since I have sent anyone a good quote.

I will now bestow a quote on the non-masses of non-fans:

"The profound thinker always suspects that he is superficial." -Disraeli

and something to lighten the mood:

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." -Wilde

If anyone ever wants a whole cache of depressing quotes about the fruitlessness of life, just drop me a line. You know, everyone needs a hobby. Mine's depression.

As far as I'm concerned, all phone calls are obscene.

well then....I have finally put a link to the superblog from Craftster. I feel incredibly tech-savvy right now.

I am almost finished with the cabled bag...I just need to do the lining and handle. I'm going to the craft store to check out their selection of handles before I decide on the style I want. I still haven't made the arms to the sweater. I started a knitted crocodile for my nephew for x-mas. I had been unsure how I would make it, but I just cast on and thought about it for a while, and I think i've got it figured out. I am starting at the neck and going down to the tip of the tail, then I will pick up stitches for the parts of the head and work some shortrows and whatnot for and open mouth. I'll just make the legs seperately.


I have only 2 more days until I find out who my swap partner is. I can't wait. I think I have some good ideas for what to make, but I will have to see who I get. I hope that my person has a wist.... I need to figure out how to make one of those.

ok. I am nearly spent. I suppose that one day I will have more to report.

She powdered her nose, her body, her alibis, etc., to meet his scrutiny intact.

Hello, non-adoring non-fans (and Jeff),

aparently I have had a surge of crafty power. since the last post I made the two purses and a hat, and I did the shoulder seaming and neck of the sweater (now it just needs arms). I have commenced on one of the november projects, a cabled bag, for superhubby's cousin. I am being a big wuss about the sweater sleeves, because they have intarsia on them, and I have never done two colors in knitting before. I keep being tempted to just do the sleeves plain, and maybe embroider the designs on, but then, that would really be just dancing around the inevitable. I have to do intarsia some time, so why not just plunge in? It's not even a hard pattern. I just hate doing things for the first time.

I have been doing too much knitting without switching to crochet, and now my arms are dead from the shoulder down. THEY really need to find a cure for arthritis soon, or else I will die. Seriously...I am 27, and on some days I cannot write...like I can't control a pencil with my hand. I shudder to think what the days will be like when I am old.

Aside from all that...we bought new fish for our aquarium, and they have eaten almost all of our old fish. I guess they are really mean.

Superkid has the whole week off from school next week. I am not jumping for joy right now.

Oh, and I just watched two horrible movies... In an effort to get into the Halloween spirit, I put scary movies on my netflix list. I saw THE FOG and THE CAVE. They both SUCK. It is hard to find scary-ish movies for me to like nowadays, because I don't like movies that are based on a crazy person. I am not scared of supernatural things like ghosts or monsters, so those movies are ok...and future ones and space ones are good too...however, I am very scared of crazy people, and so I don't like movies where innocent normal people are minding their own business and some crazy person comes to see them. It seems like crazy person movies are very popular now. We saw Silent Hill in the movie theatre and that was pretty good. Especially for a video game movie. I think we need some good religious conspiracy movies. I love movies about Catholics covering up horrible secrets, or plotting something about the antichrist. I don't know why, but I love them...Stigmata, End of Days, The Order, The Omen (ok, haven't seen the movie, but read all 4 books), you know....that kind of thing. This probably makes me shallow and stupid, but really I could care less. I make up for it with watching obscure foriegn films.


Anyway. must make coffee. Must...umm....not type.