Rolls

No, I did not intend to match my nails and the mittens yesterday, thankyouverymuch.  They were independent decisions, made days apart.

Seriously, I didn't realize they were the same color until I got ready to take the picture.

On the subject of rolls --- tomorrow, you can begin giving me your Knitters' Hunk Classic and Knitters' Chick Classic nominees lists.  The rules here will be the same as the usual KH and KC.  You may nominate up to three people in each category.  The nominees must be well-known people who are no longer alive.  Since this is the first year, there will be no seeds unless someone is nominated more than once.  You have until Friday night, February 2nd, 11:59 PM Eastern time to nominate.  Voting will begin Monday, February 5th.

Back To It

After many, many, many weeks of not being able to polish my nails. . .  TA-DA!

I won't wear polish until all my nails are "long enough."  Vain, and silly, I know.

The mitten there is one of a pair I made with every intention of putting them in my etsy shop.  However, they turned out really nice, and I decided to keep them for myself.  Greedy, I know.  They're made from 100% Icelandic wool, and are pretty scratchy, and may be too thick for much wear here in the sunny South, but I like them.

Something else that's re-entered my life is a bite plate / dental guard thingy.  Over the years, I've had all sorts of devices to treat my TMJ and severe teeth-grinding.  I've had custom-made ones, ones made out of just about any possible material.  I've bitten through every single one.  Tons of money down the drain, I know.  It eventually dawned on me that a plastic mouthguard like football players and boxers wear would probably do the trick, and I started buying them at sporting goods stores for, maybe, 99 cents each.

For some reason, I decided a while back that the guard wasn't necessary.  Jaw, tooth and headache pains followed, and back to Academy Sports and Outdoors I went.  There was never a "break-in" period for the guards with me;  from the first night, I had no problem at all sleeping with them. I'll see if the assorted pains ease now. Optimistic, I know.

A Gift

While thoughts should probably be trained on nominees for the upcoming Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick Classic Edition, last night I watched an excellent movie starring one of my KH nominees last year, and almost certainly another one this year, Chris Evans.

The film is "Gifted," and I recommend it very highly.  The little girl there, McKenna Grace, is a wonder.  She has impossibly luscious eyelashes, is missing her top two teeth, and is ferociously cute.  Look it up if you have a chance.

Hats and Tim

Thursday, I started watching "Tin Star" on Amazon, and during a single episode, I knit a hat.  Granted, it was made with Knit Collage Daisy Chain yarn (thank you, Camille), and knit on 15s, but it was still a complete and finished hat.

Yesterday, I watched a little more "Tin Star," and, during another single episode, made another hat.  Three strands of worsted held together, and done on 13s, but an FO nonetheless.

Today, I finished "Tin Star," but don't have anything finished to speak for it.  I cast on for a scarf in two shades of Noro, alternating the colors between stripes.  I'm also about to cast on for "Sweet Little Nothing,"

using Lion Brand's Heartland Tweed in "Mount Rainier."

This yarn is so soft, and should have a nice drape that will work well with the pattern.  Plus, at the end, I get to find an interesting button to finish it off!

I watched "Tin Star" because I am a fan of Tim Roth.  He's an actor I simply enjoy watching work.  Have you seen "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead"?

Glorious, glorious stuff.  In the Top Five of My Favorite Movies Ever.  

"Tin Star" is raw and brutal and bloody, things that don't usually attract me.  But the story was pretty fascinating, and I'm ready now for Season 2, should there be one.

Is This Thing On?

Remember a couple of months ago when we were discussing a Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick "Classic"* edition?  Are you still good with going ahead with them?  If so, we'll start on February 1st.

After a conversation with a friend yesterday, a fair amount of time today was spent visiting online yarn shops.  The very first one was The Blue Brick, where I found

"Feather"
and

"Kim's Barn."
Now, how am I not going to buy those?  One day. . .

I also found this fantastic guy:

Is he great, or what?  Unfortunately, he's a "handstitching kit," and my skills in that area are severely limited.

My mood has improved slightly.  In part, due to the online shops tour, and also to finally being able to find CoffeeMate Natural Bliss Honey Creamer.  Hannah introduced me to it, and I can practically drink it from the bottle.  The flavor isn't listed on the CoffeeMate webpage, so I wonder if it we're buying up the last of the supply --- at least in Athens.

The socklets are done.

The red of the yarn looks red until you compare it to the red yarn bowl there.  I'm in the mood, I think, to make another pair of these.  Watch this space.





*Yes, some around here are still referring to it as "the dead people contest."  😒

Sour

Visual representation of my attitude toward, well, just about everything right now:

Lies, disrespect, selfishness, incompetence, dodging responsibility, lack of empathy, hopelessness, major (literal and figurative) headaches. . .  Even knitting has been frustrating.

You know how, sometimes, you just have to be mad?  I just have to be mad right now.

Eureka

 Here it is!  I actually found "my" socklet pattern online.  Simple, efficient, fun to make.

My stance on pom-poms should be well-known by now.  As many pairs of these little guys as I've knit, they've never had pom-pom one.  

Part of The Resistance

This is Carla, a friend of mine since we were in high school.  I'm proud and honored to say she wore that hat to the Nashville Women's March today, and I knit it for her.  It brought me to tears when she sent me this photo.

March On!

Sorta Hangin' Around

The first socklet is done.  This is a pattern I have had forever;  I don't know where it came from.  It's on pages torn from a book, but that's not very helpful.  I always have to remember to go down a couple of needle sizes from what's called for in the pattern, unless the socks are going to be worn by someone with bigger feet than my 9s.  The pattern's simple, and the end results have never let me down.

There's still snow around town. This house faces almost due north, so there's always snow / ice on part of the front yard, on the sidewalk, and on the front of the roof a couple of days after it's gone everywhere else.  There's also always a patch of frozen stuff right in front of the garage;  I've fishtailed backing out of there more than once in all the years I've been here.

Haircut tomorrow, then grocery store, then to see "Star Wars" with Daughter.  I can take or leave seeing it, but she's seen it once and is really eager to see it again.  It's an opportunity to spend some time with her, which must be grabbed.  They don't come along too often.

Know What?

I realized that I got so caught up in the sorting of yarn that I completely forgot to store some on shelves.  Which is what took me into sorting in the first place.

There is now a spray Aquaphor.  It is wonderful.

It snowed in Athens.

Chewy Influencer, January, Part Food --- I Mean, Part Two

In the months since my pets and I have been Chewy Influencers, lots of food has been tasted and approved.  This weekend, I placed my first order for some of the food the cats liked.

This is the Variety Pack of Weruva food: two "flavors" with chicken, one with lamb, one with salmon.  Can cats smack their lips?  Because I think I hear them smacking their lips when they eat these.

The Lamb Burger is pretty standard cat fare in texture and smell.  Funk in the Trunk is a combination of chicken and pumpkin, and I was interested in the cats' reactions, because they've never had pumpkin.  The chicken Frick 'A Zee looks and smells delicious.  Really.  Kitty Gone Wild is salmon au jus, and may be the producer of most of the smacking.  As for me, I find the odor very loud and very strong, and the pieces of salmon have to be broken up into small bites for my girls.  But they do love it.

As part of the Influencer program, Chewy.com allows me to request products for in-home trial each month.  No money changes hands.  I promise to give my honest reviews of the products in exchange for being part of the program.

Homebound

As the hours since finding that my car wouldn't start have passed, it's become a lighter and lighter and lighter burden.  It's like when you can't use your phone or your computer.  You panic initially, but then realize that you won't be bothered by beeps and tones and rings for a while.  There's a kind of freedom in it.

I'll call a towing company in the morning and have the car taken to the dealership.  'Til then --- and, honestly, after then for an unspecified amount of time --- I'll knit.

This yarn is "Live Long and Prosper" by Lorna's Laces.  I gave it to Hannah --- a very serious Trekkie --- a couple of Christmases ago, telling her I'd use it to make whatever she wanted.  She's never claimed it --- she probably doesn't even remember it --- so it's going to be used for a pair of socklets for me.  Wrapping it up, I realized it looks like one of those rubber band balls.  Not especially Trek-ish, but, there you are.

Explained?

My mother and father always, always told me that, in life, things just happen as and when they are supposed to.  We might not be able to see it, but, "Everything's gonna work out."

Last night, I went back and forth on whether to have some groceries delivered to me today, rather than getting dressed and going to the store myself.  Ultimately, the Lazy Option won, and I put in an order to be delivered between Noon and 1 today.

When I woke up this morning, I could barely breathe through my nose, my throat was scratchy, and my head was pounding from my sinuses down through my jaw.  Cold if I didn't bundle up, burning up if I did.  So the grocery thing was looking like a brilliant strategic maneuver.

Along the way, Hannah texted me, asking if I could take her to work at Starbucks.  Sure --- I didn't have to get spruced up or dressed up to go pick her up, then drop her off and come back home.  The groceries get put away, I get a pair of shoes on and go out into the garage and. . .

the car won't start.

I've tried my electric charger, to no avail.  Which means I'll have to have the car towed somewhere, and, of course, no one will be able to look at it until Monday.  So, no rides to or from work for Hannah for the foreseeable future.  (She doesn't drive.  Getting her to and from work is split between me and her boyfriend, and his schedule and hers don't always neatly align.)

It's a good thing I got groceries delivered, otherwise, I'd've run out of some staples.

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to stay home for a day or two, but, evidently, I am.  I'll try to make the most of it.

This Is One of Those Things

You start at one point, innocently, then, a significant amount of time later, find yourself at another point.  Trying to trace your way back to the starting point, to figure out how you got where you are, you get peeled off into a different direction.  Again.

This is one of those things.  One of those first things.

BFF Shari shared this photo with me on Facebook:

She shared it as I was contemplating how to rearrange the den furniture after the Christmas tree left.

Which is what led me to look around the den and imagine where something like the Wall of Yarn could go.

"Wait.  Isn't there an empty shelving unit in the garage?'  Go into the garage.

"That box looks like it would hold that stack of things of Briton's. . ."  Back into the house.  Pack up Briton's things.

"Now that that's done, I'll straighten up in here.  Maybe start a Goodwill box."

Start Goodwill box.

In and out of every room for several days, looking every time for more things to put in the Goodwill box.

"Oh, look!  There are a couple of empty spaces in the den now where I can put yarn."

Reach into store of tote bags, looking for the one you remember had some odd leftover skeins and hanks in it.  

Realize the tote bags need some serious thinning out.

Thin tote bags out.

Take the yarn from the original tote bag, stack it in one of the den's empty spaces.

Wait to see if the cats are going to bother the yarn.

Realize the composition of the yarn on the shelves just isn't doing it for you, decide to store by color.

"Color" isn't very practical (original photo notwithstanding), decide to store by weight.

Sort yarn by weight:

Be thankful cats are more interested in their play tunnel there than the boxes of string.

Which brings you to today.  Only three boxes left to sort.  If there are no distractions, or more pressing issues.

Chewy Influencer, January, Part One

I have not been following the Chewy.com Influencer blogging rules, and for that I apologize.  I am supposed to post one entry for each product I try.  Here, then, is the first review of 2018.

I must start with a hearty thank you to my FedEx driver.  This was 40 pounds of litter packed along with a case of canned cat food.  That box was very, very, very heavy.

I like this litter.  While it doesn't seem to control odor any better than other litters we have used in this house, it is easier to scoop.  (The "lumps" don't cling to the sides of the litter box.)  It is also helpful that, despite being difficult to move around, the litter comes in a 40 pound bag.  Having three cats, we go through a lot of litter here, and having this much around the house keeps me from having to go buy smaller boxes or bags every few days.

So, thumbs up to Frisco litter.  As part of the Influencer program, I request and receive products to review monthly.  No money is exchanged at all between myself and Chewy.  The products are sent to me on the promise that I will provide honest reviews of my experiences with them.

Postgame Report

Well, Athens is a sullen, shell-shocked, sort of silent town today.  Frankly, with the exception of Vanderbilt teams in any sport, my loyalty is always to a good game.  The National Championship was a good game.  Congratulations to one of my almas mater, the University of Alabama.

I've been updating my Etsy shop most of the day.  I have a very bad habit of finishing something I intend for the store, then sort of toss it into my shop container without taking a photo of it.  Hopefully, all of this work will bring the site truly up to date.

Have any of you seen this?

This is Jupiter.  We sent a ship with a camera to Jupiter, and it sent pictures all the way back.  Astounding.  Here's a time-lapse of the images it returned to us:

Goings-On

I don't know how many of you use, or even know about, Meetup.  A couple of months ago, I discovered a group called "Athens Crafternoons," and decided to give it a shot.  There was a get-together this afternoon, with a scrapbooker, a cross-stitcher, a zentangler, a crocheter and three knitters.  There was lots of cross-talk, and not everyone there is my cup of tea, but I sat next to the zentangler and was mesmerized by her work.  She said she liked drawing in the company of other creative people, because it kept her from thinking too much about what she was doing.  She enjoyed watching others work, which kept her from thinking too much.  She could draw from her gut.  As amazed as I am by the products of people's gifts, I'm just as often interested in how they experience their process.

As you can imagine, everything here right now is the National Championship game on Monday.  This is a deep, deep, DEEP football town any time of any day, but it is insane here right now.  The Rose Bowl was carried in the theater where Briton works, but he wasn't on that night.  The championship game is also going to be there, and he doesn't work again, for which he is immensely grateful.  People are rabid as it is, and there's a bar at the theater, so. . . 

Walk A Mile --- Well, 8 1/2 Feet --- With My Scarf

Yep.  She is done.

91 inches long, 7 inches wide.

Just in time for The Cold.  Just in time for the Crafternoon meeting tomorrow.

Excuse me while I research different ways to tie a long rectangular scarf. . .

Viridian Wrap

The latest Willow Yarns catalog arrived today, and inside the front cover was this:

My immediate reaction was, "Cool!"  Anything out of the ordinary, off the axis, different from "regular" always appeals to me.  The more I looked at it, though, it lost almost all its appeal.  First of all, it would be the devil to get on.  You can't use your left arm much because the whole thing would hike up.  Your right arm, reaching over, would pull up on that side.  And, let's face it, not that many of us have, or want to call, someone to help us dress.

Then, though, its biggest drawback hit me.  What if you wanted to take it off when you got wherever it is you're going?  I don't see getting out of it smoothly and suavely.  Tug on it to get it "unlaced," figure out how to drape it elegantly across your chair, only to realize you'll have to put it on all over again.  The other option is to never take it off, meaning you're trapped in this cocoon with very little mobility, especially your arms.  Not only do you have to have someone help you dress, someone will have to feed you, too!

Soooooo, not so cool after all.

Because I Think This Photo is Wonderful

Just because not having an entry on New Year's Day seems odd, I'll leave this here

and call it a post.