I just got back from Knit Night at the Library! It was the first one and about 20 people showed up! Awesome, I didn't bring the camera because I didn't want to freak people out, but I'll bring it next time, because apparently the fact that I was knitting lace freaked people out. In a good way. But I felt like a show off, which I'm totally not. I spent a good portion of the evening telling people that they too can knit lace, all ya gotta know is yo, ssk, and k2tog and you are hooked up.

(It's actually much farther along than that, I just haven't taken pictures of it recently)

Yesterday was my birthday and guess what I got? I'm totally going to take a picture of it tomorrow because it's too dark to take one now, but . . . .

I got an Obama/Biden yard sign! Yay me! Unfortunately I can't post it in the yard because of stupid association rules, but I put it in the garage window so everyone can see it. People are already giving me the evil eye. I live in the Republican haven of Northeast Michigan. But I refuse to keep my mouth shut or my opinions to myself. So there!

I also got a tee shirt that says "Obama Mama". Lovin' it. Now you all know where I stand, don't hold it against me. I live with a republican and he still likes me most of the time. (Although in this election he's voting with me, first time ever!) So I'm ok. Really.

Oh, and Saturday night? Got my first roadkill. Well, it wasn't technically mine, since I wasn't driving, but it was the first roadkill I've experienced first hand. We were coming around a curve, fairly fast (faster than I would've liked but Joe's boss was driving so who am I to say anything) and the porcupine just sort of walked into the car. Boom. Gone. Then the other passengers spent the rest of the ride looking for eyes. People, this sort of thing does not happen where I come from. Street lights. Miss them.

Oh and I also got invited to be in a book club. Fun! But even the book club in run by a republican, although she is a teacher and she kept herself so neutral that I assumed she was a democrat and totally embarrassed myself expressing my opinions. But the invitation still stood so she musn't have minded too much! Things are looking up in the Northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula. But I still miss home.

It Wasn't Lost

The camera wasn't lost. Savannah was peeking over my shoulder and saw that I thought it was lost and quickly informed me that she knew exactly where it was, in her room! I should have known, little camera hog that she is. It's what she wants for Christmas, a tie blanket and her own digital camera. Hmmm. . .

Anyway, here are some pictures of fluff . . . well it used to be fluff now it's string! Well actually it's the fluff that's left to be spun and the spun fluff too and my gorgeous spindle from Spinsanity. Speaking of . . . my birthday is Sunday and my husband is now in Lansing. I've been asking him every day if he's gotten to ThreadBear yet to buy me a new spindle, because every girl needs more than one you know!I made a good dent in that fluff ball, because I knitted away on the lace last night (that's it sitting behind the fluff and only have 20 more rows or so to finish! So while I was watching America's Next Top Model, I spun!That's the cool sock I was telling you about. It's a pattern called Simple Pleasure from my friend Terry Ross. It's just two rows repeated but with this yarn, I think it looks so cool! The yarn is kind of brownish with hints of green and purple and it's white Panda Silk that the owner of the lys overdyed. Silk apparently doesn't take dye well so the white shows through. The effect of the dye, along with this pattern reminds me of knights in armor! I love it. I wish I was a better photographer so you all could see what I'm talking about.

Well I've got to go to work today. No knitting for me. :(

The Camera Ran Away

Once again, my camera is incognito. Do you notice a trend here? It's a bummer too because I started a cool pair of socks with neato yarn and they aren't beige! I'll take a picture when I find the camera. It's sure to show up.

Today I've promised monogamy to the lace project. It has fallen by the wayside, due to my new love affair with the fluff. I've spun almost 8 oz. of beige fluff. It's all wrapped around coffee cans and coke bottles (one pepsi bottle snuck in there, the traitorous thing!). I think I'm going to google plying today when I can't knit lace any longer and read up before I try it again.

I was gonna go get my haircut, but who wants to do that on your day off when you know you could be knitting? I'm really letting myself go here!

Off to look for the camera.

Huntin' Season

Today I saw a sign that said to me "Welcome to Northern Michigan". It was attached to the local fruit market and it said:

"Complete Deer Processing Done Here" (no of course I don't have a picture, I have not yet learned to keep my camera in my car to take advantage of such bloggable moments)

At first I thought, being the southeast MI girl that I am, now why would the deer need to be processed? It's not like you can OWN a deer like a pet or anything, they don't need licenses . . . oh . . . they mean processed, like bologna. Yikes.

Now I'm not getting on a soap box or anything, because I like meat just as much as the next carnivore, although I prefer to get my meat all nicely packaged and anonymous from grocery store. I'm just not a hunter. And here I am in the middle of hunting land. My husband keeps warning me that soon I will see dead bambis adorning the roofs of people's cars. I honestly don't know how I will deal with that.

And it's not just bambis. Some guy from my husband's work, got a bear license and killed himself a bear. He says they make pretty good jerky. Although he just got a little bear, supposedly the big ones are better meat. Surreal.
By the way, did you know if you google images of bears you get the most interesting content? Why? I don't understand. I've never called it a bear!

The Spanish Award for Spreading Friendship

Holly gave me an award! For spreading friendship around the world! How sweet! Even though so far I've only spread it mostly around Michigan, Oklahoma and Canada, I still think this whole blogging thing is really cool.

So I've got to send this award to other people who I think are doing the same. I'm new, so I don't know if I can think of the required eight people but here are a few who fit the bill for me.

Kristinknits - she introduced me to this whole blogging thing, love her!

Megbean - she of the awesome spinning and knitting, my Alpena Library buddy

Terry Ross - Oh awesome designer of socks, my first friend in Alpena, met her on Rav

Ok, I also would like to give an extra shout out to FatCat, Spinsanity, Amy and Kristina whom Holly also awarded with this award! That makes seven. I'm still searching for number 8!

Fluff Turns to String - Who Knew?

Here's what's left of my fluff

Here is what it became!
I had 8oz. of fluff, I wonder how much yarn it will make? I'm thinking if I ply it, it will be between dk and fingering weight. Yes, it is still suffering from a slight thick/thin problem, but I'm getting more control every time I pick up the spindle. I love it!

It's so nice to be back in the library. You wouldn't believe the things you miss. Like the smell of a drunk. It's not so much on the breath, but an odor of alcohol that just wafts off the body!

Or people returning books that smell like smoke and have cat hair stuck to them with some unknown substance.

Or realizing that the entire juvenile picture book section is just as messed up at this library as it is everywhere else.

It's like home! (Not really, because the Blair Memorial Library will always be my library home and nothing can compare. It's the best library ever, I swear. All that stuff I mentioned above? You only experience that if you work in a library. Patrons of the BML only see the good stuff. Promise! If you ever visit Clawson, stop in and ask for Kristin or Elizabeth and tell them I sent you. Really.)

Feelin' Kinda . . . Eggshell?

Everything I'm working on today is eggshell. Maybe. It's that off white color that can't be described . . . or can be described, like, a thousand ways, you know, like Eskimos and snow.For example, above, you will see my first official big ball of fluff, from one of the LYS's. The owner said it drafts easily, and she was right. It's just like the fluff Spinsanity sent me, it drafts awesome! So awesome, I'm not even really spinning the thick/thin sort of yarn, just the slubby kind!
Now, I have a lace horror story. Those of you who are faint of heart should probably stop here. It was ugly. I don't have very good photographic documentation, but I think I can accurately describe it. See the largish hole below?
Well, I was happily knitting along, having pretty much memorized the repeat, watching some awesome episode of one of my tv shows (this was so traumatic I've forgotten which one) when a largish puppy running at full throttle lunged across my lap ripping the needles right out of my hands!

I sat there, with my hands in mid air, in total shock. I was desperately afraid to look at the yarn. I took a very deep breath and picked it up. And entire repeat plus had slid off the needles. And no, I did not have a life line. I think I stopped breathing. And then I started swearing. I probably called the puppy some names he really didn't deserve. And then , as if the lace were my own baby, my momma instinct kicked in. I became calm. I grabbed an extra needle and picked up what I thought looked like stitches and to the best of my ability, I counted the stitches before and after and managed to figure out where in the repeat the horror began, and restitched it! While it's not perfect, I think when blocked maybe the person it's being made for won't even see it. She's not a knitter so it's ok.
Lace pictures look like crap until you block the stuff. I've got five more repeats plus one more smallish chart and I'll be done! Then I'll get the good stuff for you!

Now I should really go make the lemon bars I promised my children. I promised them last night only to realize I had no eggs. I had a small revolt on my hands. I promised after school the lemon bars would be waiting for them, and I fear for my life if they are not on the counter. If you don't hear from me soon, maybe someone should call Alpena and check! :0