Sunday, April 27, 2014

83 and Counting

Bone production proceeds apace.

Sitting almost all day lends itself to watching lots of DVDs and online streaming.  It also lends itself to thinking, which can be, as you no doubt realize, a mixed bag.

For one, I miss reading.  Quite a lot.  Would that there were some way to rig up a bookstand with automatic page turner.  I've been reading the Dalai Lama's autobiography, which is just as interesting, engaging and charming as the man himself.  It's hard not to keep up with a book you're thoroughly enjoying.  Too, Son, Daughter and I had a day-long adventure at Mall of Georgia last week, spending a prodigious amount of time in Barnes & Noble.  We all left with many, many new pages.  Mine are calling to me, especially The Empire Striketh Back.  Because, who can resist Master Yoda in an Elizabethan collar?

While at MoG, we ate at Genghis Grill, where Daughter and Son had one of their remarkable conversations:
Never had a sibling chat myself, of course, but theirs always seem wonderful.

The Hunk and Chick contests have been on my mind, too.  The collection of prizes has already begun.  I'm trying to come up with some twist on the nominating, or voting, or something.  Any input would be much appreciated!

Watching the news coverage of the sunken ferry off South Korea has been heartbreaking, of course.  I honestly think that if one of my children were still lost, I'd ask that (s)he be left alone.  Understanding that the rescue divers don't pick and choose who is recovered, I don't think I'd be able to endure that wait.  Let them rest.





Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Whilst Working in the Boneyard

Random Thoughts

Even if you don't knit, you should own a pair of long metal knitting needles.  They are excellent back-scratchers.

There are few things more aggravating than a slipping bra strap.




Sunday, April 20, 2014

Six Words

I'm still working on the bones.

My therapist told me "You look like you've lost weight."  Which made me think of other 6-word sentences that would be good to hear.

Your children will always be happy.
Get all the boots you want.
The beach house is yours.
You have an unlimited yarn budget.
Yes, you can be left-handed.
Mr. Laurie says come right in.

Thank you for being my friend.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Shoulder to the Wheel

The announcement that I alluded to a couple of days ago is this: hand eye crafts is going to be partnering with Big Lick Barkery!

I've been asked to make dog toys to be included in Big Lick's subscription boxes.  When there's a firm date for my shipment, I'll let you know.  For now, I'm knitting "bones."  Lots and lots of "bones."  Nothing but "bones."  And since my tagline is "guaranteed one-of-a-kind" knits, there can't be any duplication of yarn combinations, so the process is slowed quite a bit.

  The 25 balls of cotton yarn I bought are for them;  as of this morning, I've made 36 --- aiming for 100 before I deliver the first box.

Needless to say, I'm very excited about this.  hand eye will be listed as a vendor on the Big Lick website, with links to my etsy shop.  It's potentially a really good sales source, so the monotony of the pattern is easy to endure.

And you can all say you knew me when. . .





Sunday, April 13, 2014

Puzzles

I don't remember exactly when I discovered Sherlock Holmes, but it seems like he's been part of my life forever.  One of the tiny little happy-making things when I would visit my parents was seeing my boxed set of Sherlock books sort of standing out on their bookshelves (they have white spines.)

My husband loved the Basil Rathbone Holmes movies --- it would be impossible to count the number of times he and I watched those.

While my son has never fallen victim, my daughter was bitten by the Holmes bug very early.  She is the one who got all three of us watching the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch (who I first saw as Hugh Laurie's son in "Fortysomething"*) and Martin Freeman (whom we all love.)
It's also worth noting that Laurie's House was loosely based on Holmes.

Daughter is the one who urged me to watch the newest incarnation of Holmes --- CBS' "Elementary."  I am hooked.  If you've known me for more than 15 minutes, you know that I'm crazy about Lucy Liu.  She plays Dr. Joan Watson.  Holmes is played by Jonny Lee Miller, whom I've come to genuinely appreciate.  If you haven't watched the show, and you like Sherlock Holmes, I highly and sincerely recommend it.  There is a brilliant twist regarding one of the most famous characters in the stories.

And, no, I won't tell you.

Where's the fun in that?


*Also in the cast was Peter Capaldi, the latest Doctor Who.

Friday, April 11, 2014

So Close

If this were a past year, I'd be in Atlanta this weekend, at Stitches South.  Somehow, the date completely slipped up on me this time, so it's Athens for me.  I could go up tomorrow just for the market, but there's plenty of yarn here and there's no shopping/knitting/eating/fashion partner there.   If you ever have a chance to go to a Stitches event, I highly recommend it.  Especially if you have a good friend to share it with.

As for the announcement mentioned here the other day, I could probably go ahead and make it, but I want to be sure all the ducks are in row before I say anything.  I will drop the very fuzzy clue that yesterday at Michaels, 25 balls of Sugar 'n' Cream yarn were purchased.  (And, thankfully --- and pleasantly surprisingly --- they were on sale.)

It's going to be a weekend of needlework and watching golf* for me. You?

*By "golf," I mean mostly
Adam Scott.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday
 Foods That Belong Together*

1.  Cottage cheese and tomatoes.
2.  Meat loaf, mashed potatoes and green beans.
3.  Scrambled eggs and hash browns.
4.  Potato salad and saltine crackers.
5.  Pears and cottage cheese.
6.  Peanut butter and honey.
7.  Spaghetti and chili.
8.  Broccoli and cauliflower (cooked or raw).
9.  Grapes and sharp cheddar.
10.  Cold cut sandwiches and sour cream & onion potato chips (chips ON the sandwich).




*In my opinion, of course.  And leaving out obvious ones like corned beef and cabbage, biscuits and gravy, etc.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

On Sorting

Last Thursday, I woke up with a nosebleed and a headache so intense, it was painful to wear my glasses.  It lasted two days.  As you can imagine, there was no reading, hardly any viewing of any sort, and very little knitting in those two days.  If something was going to mean eye exertion, it was completely off the table.

At some point in those dark, ice pack hours, I decided I should go through my boxes of yarn.  At first, I thought I should sort the yarn by color.  Then, I thought I'd do it by weight.  But yesterday, when I actually began sorting, I realized that I needed to leave everything like it was.  Part of the fun of new projects is going through all your yarn and being reminded of what you have.

Of course, one danger of coming across yarn you forgot you had is wanting to use some of it right now.  So, yeah, I cast on (*number redacted*) new things yesterday.  

Another danger --- at least for me --- is feeling frustrated at how little yarn one has for whole sweaters.  If one had, say, exercised a little self-control and saved all the money one used to buy single skeins at a time, there would have been plenty to buy garment amounts.

Still, socks and scarves and shawls and hats are good, aren't they?

My first "Animal" sock:

There may be some very cool news regarding my little knitting business soon;  fingers crossed!



Saturday, April 5, 2014

The String

Yarn is art.

Yarn is jewelry.

Yarn is Muppet:



Yarn is nature.


Yarn is addicting.




Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Quickly and Efficiently

"Quickly and efficiently" is something I've said to my children all their lives.  Don't know where it came from., but it is definitely a thing here.

HYSTERICAL!  Hope you saw it.  Son came over to watch with me, and we laughed until there was honest-to-goodness pain.

I've been watching "Eli Stone", after being impressed with Jonny Lee Miller in "Elementary" and "Dexter."

Finished knitting projects on Monday: the fingerless mitts and the Foolproof cowl.  I cannot recommend Foolproof enough --- no casting on, no binding off!  (Technically.)

Found some yarn in my stash that is 50% silk, 50% cashmere.  Indescribably fantastic feel.  It splits easily, but who cares?

I made a baby vest yesterday.  Just couple of hours from start to finish:

Still trying to discover the word to describe how Sunday's finale of "The Walking Dead" left me feeling.  Parts of it brought me great joy, though:





48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch"...