cosmicpluto knits!

a PSA

I got back from Boston and Rhinebeck today (which was a blast by the way).

I’m usually good about new stuff and reciepts and all that, but I got caught with undeclared stuff after a thorough search. I had to deal with a jerk of a customs officer and now I’m on a blacklist where I’ll be searched coming into the country for the next 7 years (or maybe more).

Don’t do what I did.

I’m gonna go have a drink.

snippets

I decided to knit up ysolda’s snapdragon tam while I was editing the pattern – fun! I finished it in about 24 hours, but still haven’t blocked it (which it really needs). When the cooler weather arrives I’m sure I’ll be a little more motivated!

There’s a certain fibre event coming up next month, that starts with the letter “R”. People knit new things for it. I have blue Koigu on the needles. Now, I’m not saying that these three things are related, but you never know.

Thanks for all the well wishes; I’m feeling much better after a couple days hibernating and a LOT of sleep. And oatmeal raisin cookies!

a return to the needles

Thanks for all the sweet concerned comments! Luckily I didn’t have too bad a reaction, took some Advil and the swelling went down overnight. Today was a rainy day, I stayed in and worked on various things, including the switch/reorganization/weeding out of winter to summer clothes, and did my taxes. Sadly I’m not getting anything, but neither do I owe. So it could be worse! (I am getting the GST credit, though – and that’s over $300!)

The other day I had the crazy idea that I could knit something new for Maryland, and I’m trucking along:

Jo Sharp Silkroad DK tweed – makes a really lovely fabric and is nice and light! I just might need a little something in the morning and evening, the way the forecast is looking.

As for the new wheel, no photos yet – I had a bit of an allergy attack to it due to it coming from a cat home (I never thought I was all that sensitive before, but it might be getting worse) and it’s in a bit of quarantine after a wipe-down. Any ideas for de-allergen-ing a wheel?

my finger hurts now.

So I headed down to the basement to work out – I’ve been doing Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred DVD. As far as the workout goes, it’s great! I’ve done nearly all of levels 1 and 2. You’re supposed to do 10 days of each level (there are three levels). I’m definitely feeling stronger, and there’s a bit of a visual difference as well, although I haven’t really lost any weight or anything. Today was going to be day 10 of level 2!

I picked up my shoes to put them on…and felt something sharp. I thought it was just something sharp in my shoe (I still had to put my orthotics in them) but then the pain increased! I dropped my shoes and saw…a wasp.

I got stung in the finger, an important knitting finger (left pinky; I knit continental) by a wasp hiding in my shoe in my own house.

And now I can’t work out (need hands for pushups and holding weights!) or knit.

This sucks. It also hurts!

home sweet home

Following a crazy airline scheduling thing that had me scrambling to find a flight on Monday (and thinking I might end up staying in Edinburgh a lot longer) I finally flew home yesterday! I have so much still to catch you all up on – all my adventures in India and Scotland, what I knit, and what I bought!

I have lots of photos to go through so it might be a few days of intensive posting, if I can manage it. I’m a homebody at heart and I’m so glad to be back, even though it’s barely changed a bit. Sleeping in my own bed for once was just awesome, with the added side effect of changing time zones so much that I able to sleep for 8 hours and still got up at a reasonable time.

In the meanwhile, take a look at my Errata page – there are a few corrections to the Amelia pattern and a few to Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting as well. And on my Classes and Appearances page, something new: I’ll be speaking at the Downtown Knit Collective guild meeting on March 18!

I guess I’d better start writing something to say! Also, I need to find myself a new project or two – as you can imagine I’m just a little bit sick of the 2 projects I worked on (intermittently) for the last six weeks. Time for a little stash diving.

2008 in review; here comes 2009!

Well I’m a little slow on the uptake, but that’s the way it goes around the holidays! I’ve been working a lot at the store this week, selling tons o’ yarn on our boxing week sale, and then counting everything that was left! Whew.

2008 was a pretty interesting year – tons of awesome stuff happened!

I wrote and published Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting and did all the stuff associated with it, including a business trip to Indianapolis. I also taught my first out of town class, at Shall We Knit in New Hamburg, ON.

I self published a bunch of patterns – the B-Side Cardigan, Simple Yet Effective shawl (version 2.0), Perimeter Skirt, Galileo Mittens, Waffles, a reissue of the Vino Cardigan, and of course, Just Enough Ruffles! Thanks to everyone who has purchased my patterns, I really appreciate it! I also started working on a series of hard-copy basic patterns for lettuce knit, hopefully soon to be expanded and available for wholesale (not for awhile though!).

I bought a new camera, and just now, a new lens! I also started the Flickr 365 self-portrait project on my birthday, August 1, when I turned 24. I spent a lot of time single (as in, not in a relationship).

I traveled to Europe for the first time ever (definitely not the last), my first time flying alone and my first big trip alone – although I wasn’t actually traveling along since I had my good friend Ysolda to go around with!

I think I did a little less knitting this year, but it was pretty productive – working on designs takes a lot longer than knitting someone else’s pattern! I did lots of weaving and a little bit of sewing too. I worked and taught a lot at the store, which continues to grow and be an awesome place to be!

Goals for 2009? Well, I didn’t really think I had all that much until I started writing this! There are lots of things on the menu for this year, including a ton of traveling. My round the world trip of course, for which I leave on January 18! There’s so much to do before then. To recap, I’ll be headed to Japan, China, Malaysia, India, and then a stop in Scotland on the way home when I head back in March. It’s crazy! I’m scared but excited, and everyone is telling me how happy they are that I’m doing this kind of trip. My wallet’s a little sad though!

In May I’m hoping to head down to the NYC and then the Maryland Sheep and Wool (anyone driving from NYC that’s willing to take a few passengers?).

In July I’ll be going to Hawaii for two weeks with my family – which should be interesting, since I haven’t been on vacation with them in a long time! Hopefully my mother will let me do my own thing rather than always doing the touristy things they do – if I’m on vacation, I need to time to chill out!

So what are my goals for all these trips and in between?

Sew more – possibly take a class so I can alleviate a little of my frustration with sewing!
Read more.
Be mindful in my knitting and designing.
Take lots of photographs and improve my photography.
De-clutter – I’ve been doing a lot of this over the holidays, but there’s always more to get rid of!
Design more, publish more. Market myself more.
Cook and eat well.
Move. Both in the physical sense and in the home sense.

There’s so much to do this year – I think I’ll be taking this weekend as one to relax and get ready for everything!

Happy 2009, everyone – let’s make it a good one.