Knot on Your Life

That's Why They Call Him...

It's as close as we're going to get to having a pack around here... Fiber Trends Felted bootie pattern used along with Cascade 220 and a little Fixation for the cuffs.

Posted by Mel at 11:02 PM

TMI?

1. FIRST NAME? Melanie, but you can call me "Mel"

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I am aware of. The folk singer was popular after I was born, but my parent are not folkies.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Within the last 2 weeks

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's adequate

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Smoked Turkey

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yes

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I have many. They're scattered all over my house and in my purse. That way, if anyone finds one, they won't get the whole story. (Paranoid much?)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Sure do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? That would be a resolute NO. I get woozy watching other people do it. Not gonna happen, even if my life depends on it. OK, if I was probably going to die anyway, I might do it. Otherwise, no way!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love me some Lucky Charms but they are sort of restricted from my diet. I also like Kashi Go Lean.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Only if I can't get them off the easy way

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Well I can't pull a semi like those Strong Man competition guys do, but I can hold my own.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? I like Chocolate Mint Chip the best

14. SHOE SIZE? Depends. I have wide and pudgy feet. I can be found in shoes from 7 1/2 to 9.

15. RED OR PINK? Aren't they just derivatives of each other? I like them both.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My ability to stick my foot in my mouth.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My beloved "Precious".

18. WHO DO YOU WANT TO FILL THIS OUT? I want everyone to fill this out. Whether that happens is out of my hands. But I'd love to read yours, if you do.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? grey shirt, black pants, boiled wool slippers with variegated blue stripes.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A snack size bag of Microwave popcorn. It was my safe alternative to opening the bags of candy I just bought as treats for my co-workers. I am such a sugar pusher.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Waves crashing on the shore. It's a Navy Seals commercial on TV. Now it's Goldfrapp - Supernatural in a Verizon commercial. On my iPod right now I'm enjoying the new Beck album

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I have always been fond of the cobalt blue crayon and it would go well with my eyes.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Rosemary or Lavender

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Lori

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes, Smile

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Shyuh! Of course I do. Isn't stealing a form of flattery? Oh wait... That's imitation.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? I love the look of a Cosmopolitan in a groovy martini glass, but I think a Malibu and Diet Pepsi with Lime is most tasty.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? To play: Tennis, though I am still not rated and have to play myself on a raquetball court to improve my skills. To watch: Hockey


29. EYE COLOR? Blue

30. HAT SIZE? Medium.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes. I'm just like the lady in the Acuvue Oasys commercial, because those are the type of contacts I now wear.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Currently, coconut

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Ending, all the way.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? winter

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs win on sheer volume

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Yeah, I'm going to pretend that I am picky about what I will put into my body and that I only have one favorite. I'm going with Tiramisu.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO REPOST THIS? I'm not into peer-pressure so I'm pulling a politician manouver.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See number 38.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Caesar's Way, Rebecca

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Mousepads are for sissies!

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? "How I Met Your Mother".

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Beethoven's 9th, acoustic guitar, squeaky puppy noises

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? If I have to pick one, it's the Beatles. But I give the Stones props for their longevity.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Canadian Rockies (if you've never been, you should consider the trip. So beautiful)

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I sing, I have a knack for giving things pun-ny names and I'm a whiz at pop culture trivia.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Madison Heights, Michigan

48. WHERE DID YOU GET THIS SURVEY? Guilted into it by Jazz!

Posted by Mel at 10:49 PM

Queen of Wasting Time

I always thought that if I had the opportunity to be royalty that this would be my title. Because I have this wonderful gift for keeping myself busy, but when I really think about it, I can't give a lot of hard facts about where I've been and what I've been doing. In the past I remember spending hours just wandering around any given retail store looking at stuff and dreaming of the things I could do with the stuff I'd take home, if I had the money to buy it. I remember that, but don't ask me what I did yesterday...

OK, so to the best of my recollection, I'm back in a car-pool where one guy is happy to drive every day and I am more than happy to let him. I just sit in the back seat and knit away. The knitting is sort of a defense mechanism against my desire to be a back seat driver. It's a great solution. So I'm getting some projects done.

I started volunteering at Sun Sounds as a 'substitute reader'. (I consider volunteer opportunities as a good use of my time, btw.) I've been assigned to read USA Today when one of the regular volunteers cannot make it. So far, there have been 3 opportunities. It's a very enjoyable experience and more of a challenge than I thought. Pronouncing 5 syllable last names and then trying to consistently give the same pronunciation can yield hilarious results. There was no training, so I just fly by the seat of my pants and follow the more experienced readers lead.

Mini-melli Bear is on it's way to Detroit
This one is made from Berroco Touche which is a finer gauge yarn than Blue Sky Cotton so I used smaller needles and got a smaller product. I love how soft the yarn is, but I do feel like the softness compromises the stability of the ears and the stuffing is maybe poking out through the stitches in some places. But hopefully these things are virtually un-noticed by a 1 year old.

The State Fair is in full swing and I can't get enough. Went last Saturday to see one of my favorite rock bands . I plan on going again next weekend for the Figure-8 Races. It might be an acquired taste, but I absolutely love this event. Smashed up cars racing on mud in a figure-8 pattern. Oh man, you haven't lived until you've watched one of those bad boys roll over and the driver jump out unharmed. Those crazy guys...

And one more random thought. As I pulled up to my house after work today, I noticed that my neighbor had a mattress set leaning up against on of the bajillion cars in his driveway. There was an air of familiarity. Then I realized that it was the broken box-spring and mattress that I threw away 9 months ago because the cats had decided to make it a pawn in their turf wars. My neighbor stole my smelly dirty mattress. EW.

Posted by Mel at 9:05 PM

As Promised...

The new flooring is a work in progress but I think it looks done enough to shows pictures.
My dapper tuxedo model strikes a nice contrast to the new floor, don't you think?
Here's the Before...
And the After.. I'm so pleased with the way it changed the room. I owe a lot of thanks to my girlfriends that came over to lend a hand. I could not have done it without them. Please don't mind that big mess of stuff in the foreground (that's part of the 'almost' done statement above).



I've been knitting too.

This is the Brainwash bag, made from Peace Fleece. I recommend this yarn for felting. I double-stranded it and got a nice sturdy bag. It's a little scratchy to the touch, though. And I blame the bags hypnotic pattern for the fact that I have become such an airhead lately. Or perhaps I have just inhaled to many fibers lately.

I had some Peace Fleece left over so I decided to incorporate it into my Churro Wool project. I bought a few hanks of this wool because of its interesting back-story from Lisa Takata at the Phoenix Farmers Market and while it is gorgeous, it is just not practical for me to make a garment out of it and I just knew it needed to be made into something special. In honor of the storytelling tradition that I associate with the Navajo, I decided that whatever I make should have some story to tell of it's own. Here is the work in progress.

It's knit in a log cabin style technique. I'll save the stories for the finished product, which will likely be felted. Beyond that, how big it is when I run out of yarn will determine what it becomes. Yeah, I like to live on that spontaneous edge of creation that lets me decide what to do next at the last possible moment. Some call it procrastination but I think "spontaneous edge" sounds so much more appealing, don't you?

Next time, (maybe tomorrow...) I'll share some of the other exciting goings-on around here. I have maybe some more knitting FOs to show as well. Don't want to spill a month's (or two) worth of news on you all at once.

Posted by Mel at 7:17 PM

Yeah, It's Me

You know you're not posting as much as you would like when you feel like you've crawled out of the woodwork every time a post goes up. I've had so many things to blog about, but have a small issue with getting my butt in the office chair. Ok. Enough excuses. Let's get on with the fun stuff. Remember this?

It's going to be given away. First by me to the hosts of my favorite podcast (sorry knitters, this one's got 0 fiber-y goodness, but you will love it anyway). Then, they will be giving it away on their show via a game they play on their show called "Dead or Alive". If you're interested, head on over to their blog and sign up to play. You need a copy of Skype (free) and have a microphone/headphones hookup on your computer to play (over the internet).
(Sorry, that is not true. You can play over the telephone. It's a Q&A game)

Tomorrow, I promise to show you what I've been working on.

Posted by Mel at 9:40 PM