Beth Turner, the morning after..

Heh. Sounds a bit kinky.. Morning after what?

Well.. It's pretty mundane.

She's dry. She's cozy..

And here she is.. I'll post the photo of the "One of a Kind" Cake soon. I thought I wasn't going to like it. But it actually turned out neat.



Right now it is raining. I just finished watching disc one of Burn Notice season 2.. And now I'm watching Equilibrium. A Christian Bale/Sean Bean futuristic movie. Too early to tell if it'll be any good.. but so far they just burned the original Mona Lisa... (oh, and apparently the guy who played Robert the Bruce from Braveheart is in the movie as well)

Today was brutally hot, and muggy in the morning. I'm loving the downpour right now.
I went over to Jes's house and hung out with "The Girls" for a little while. Mostly just to prove that I am still alive.

I realized I should not take the pride and joy of my new work (Beth Turner) with me to show off to people whom.. well.. they don't knit, and thus do not care.
As there was a 2 year old running around, I was not able to work on my stitch markers like I had planned.. I had forgotten that Kasha is growing and growing quickly. So I did some knitting, which I now have to go count a few rows to make sure I'm where I'm supposed to be, as I didn't have a pen to mark my place, and if I don't I'll forget what row I'm on. Luckily, I know at least one spot I've done, so it's just a matter of counting from there.

After that I stopped of at EvilMart to get some groceries as I was passing right bye it. Got myself a real pair of gloves for dyeing. I discovered I didn't like using latex disposable ones, as of course your hands get sweaty and gross on the inside, and also my hands smell of powder for hours afterwards.. no matter how many times I wash them. And also, if you get dye on them, they don't wash very well, and can transfer. So.. real gloves it is, and will also give me a bit more protection from the heat that the disposable ones didn't. Some day I'll upgrade to a pair of Bluettes (like.. THE gloves) And a new bucket for when I'm doing the yarn prepping and rinses.

I really need to buy myself a digital scale so that I can start knowing the shipping cost of something without having to actually go to the post office and have them weigh it for me. Ugh. Evilmart has one for 16.99$ online that I'll prolly get. If I remember correctly it does grams as well, so I should be fine using it for the UK.

Now, I am going to go. Have some stitch markers to make. I will get to the Denver adventures to Jacqueline Carey soon, I promise!

I think I'm going to make some pizza for dinner.. mmmmm Yummy.


Bugs and Hisses!

Oh and on a random note: My Lucien from Fresh from the Cauldron arrived yesterday. Woohoo. More of the yummy werewolf. And a pattern I was hoping to get called Vindication.

Beth Turner.. Welcome to the World.

Alright... Just a quickie as it is well past my bedtime, and I am also running on less than 4 hours of sleep (don't worry, you'll get to hear all about the adventures in Denver and the Jacqueline Carey book signing) And forgive me any of you who have already seen this announcement in other various places.. I'm excited.. and I'm also trying to get my work out there.

This is my very very first yarn dyeing attempt.

Yarn: DK weight 100% Bamboo, chain style
Dyes: Cushing Direct Dyes

Colorway name: Beth Turner - Moonlight



In the photo's she's really dark, but thats because she was still quite wet. As she's drying I've already noticed the color softening. Which I'm fine with because I originally envisioned this colorway to be 'softer'.

I have to admit that the perfectionist in me is slightly disappointed in a few spots of it, but for a first attempt it's certainly not too shabby, there were only a few spots where the purple and the yellow mixed in a not so pretty way or that the color got on a section it wasn't supposed to.
I was very much flying by the seat of my pants doing this, and I learned a lot with each color dipping I did. So I'm keeping my head up and really I'll wait to see what the morning light brings. If nothing else, I'm learning that I can actually get things to translate from the image I see in my head, to the yarn I hold in my hands. (just a matter of perfecting it now)

I'll decide in the morning when she's dry if I'll be selling her or if I'll just be keeping her for personal use.. either way.. I had fun.. I just very much wish I had a larger kitchen! (Thankfully, the Hunny of Mine knows that I will require a large kitchen for when we are house hunting.)

I have realized my problem now though...

I am now completely out of undyed yarn. :-(

I shall have to order some...

100th post, and huge news!

How very lucky am I that I have huge news, and it also happens to be my 100th post on this particular blog. (Meaning, since I jumped over from Myspace... I don't miss it. I haven't even logged into Myspace in most likely, 2 months)

Yesterday started something major for me.
You've seen it coming.

The Asylum for Wayward Yarn is now up and running. It's a little bare at the moment. I'm working on logos and such like that.

I posted my first set of stitch markers.
A set of 4 Doctor Who "Pinstripe 10" themed gems. I already knew there was interest in them prior to posting them for sale. And guess what, they sold immediately. (didn't get the confirmation until after I came into work, simply because I had to go to bed at my normal time, and I don't have time to check my email before I come into work)
I had already had the package ready to go, it just needed the address, the postage, and the envelope to be sealed.
Mother of Mine has kindly added those last few pieces so that it will go out in the post today instead of tomorrow.

I am excited.

Here are the envelopes ready to go:


I had stopped off at Hobby Lobby on the way home and picked up some more fixings, also so as to pick up some envelope blanks, so that I could decorate them and of course get things shipped out.

Here are the fronts of the notecards:



New set of markers I made last night: and you can also see the inside of the notecards




Beth Turner, and some more Pinstripe 10


Tonight I must work on more of the skeins. If I get time, I will make more stitch markers, but first comes the skeins.
I still haven't gotten my dye pot. I hope it arrives today.
The knitting is going slowly, as the past few nights I've been focusing on *ahem* other things.

The next set of stitch markers, shall be Mick St. John. I look forward to him.
I also plan on having in my shop a "Mix and Match" option, so that, say if people want some of Beth and some of Mick, they can have it.

Alright. Time for me to get cracking at work.

I'm just very excited.

Oh. Quicky book review:
Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris
Finished last night. I can see why some people are starting to feel that CH is kind of loosing the steam when it comes to the Sookie verse.
I don't quite know how to explain it. But whenever something major was happening, it reminded me of my first notes. It didn't actually show much of the violence (thinking of a big scene towards the end). It was written in the "I didn't think they would cut me. They did." type style. That style was how I would do my quick shorthand notes. Not the finished product. I don't know. I really don't know how to describe it. I don't know if I'm happy about what happened to a certain Vamp. Actually wait.. that really bugged me. This certain person had silver capped teeth. This person bit a vampire. That vampire was supposedly then poisoned. WTF? how would being bitten by silver be any different than having a silver chain cut into their flesh? Why then did they not get silver poisoning then? Totally a cop-out methinks. And also, CH forgot her own rules. Bill entered a house without permission (or no permission that we were aware of).

Alright I'm done for now as I really must get back to work.

Bugs and Hisses people.

Interest in Wicked things..

Alright, so there has been some interest in my Kiamo Ko stitch markers.

Unfortunately, the beads were ones Mother of Mine got on clearance, and I've had them for a while now, and the tag has mysteriously vanished. (umm my bad. I prolly threw it away the day I got the beads)

So, I haven't a clue where the beads originally came from.

Also, the wire I used, I believe I also got on clearance, and knowing my luck, they will be all gone before I get get my tocks over to the shop.
This, is not a big deal. As, well as neat as those are.. they were a pain in the tocks to work with, and I am not 100% pleased with the result. So I shall find a different set of wire to use, that is just as Ozian.

But my question dear reader, is if you think these beads I have just found, are a suitable replacement for the beads I know I will not be able to find again.

Here are the Kiamo Ko markers I made:



Here are the beads that I hope will be a suitable replacement: Now obviously, it doesn't have the awesome sun glow action going on, but they seem to be reasonably the same size, and I imagine the just might do the same glow as my originals.





Alright, I'll be posting a poll, so please go vote.

Bugs and Hisses peeps.

Ramblings and Poor Customer service: Part 2

Alright. I've been meaning to post this for a few days now. But at this point, I couldn't care really, as I still stand by my first impression of the company.

I did finally get my answer.

It took 2 more emails after the ones you have already seen in the previous post.

Apparently he completely didn't realize (in the 4 emails, where I mentioned it) that I was in the US. What a freaking moron.

So I finally got the prices, and the answer.
No, I do not need to have a wholesale license, only a wholesale amount to be purchased on the first purchase.
As the wholesale amount is a tad high for my budget while living in the US, I will not venture down that avenue at this time.

Now, as far as the British company whom the Idiot over at Crystal Palace Yarns kept foisting me to...
Well, their response was short and basically said "yes you need a license but we will not talk to you about anything until you are here in the UK and are official." (paraphrasing, but that captured the tone and the gist of the email.)

Mother of Mine is being helpful in speaking with the LYS (Local Yarn Shop for those who aren't in the know) about getting the yarn from them as they do business with the main company in question and "understand completely what I'm trying to accomplish."
This could be quite beneficial actually, because if I do get my non wool yarn from them, and they like my colorways.. we might be able to come to some arrangement about them having them in their shop. - Ha no pressure on me to make some freaking awesome colors. It will of course make me have to change some of the names a bit more, as I don't think I could get away with some of the Pop Culture TV references... *shrugs* Who knows. As long as I don't get sued, I don't much care. (Already have started coming up with Alternate names for the Disney inspired colorways- eeep! did I give away a little secret there? *shifty eyes* No.. never... *whistles innocently* )

But all of this is dependent on talking with "Mom" over at the shop. (Mother of Mine had discussed it with the Daughter of the shop.)

I admit that I'm starting to get rather nervous about my ability to create what I see in my head. It's a very artistic process, and does very much have the potential to just turn out horribly. There are also so many different methods that my head is spinning. I think I have decided as of right now, I'm gonna go with the first way I had decided I was going to dye the yarn.

Meaning, my method will be mostly "immersion" dyeing, and not the sprinkle kettle method.

And for further clarification, that means I'll be making a dye bath of the color, and then putting my yarn in. Not putting my yarn in and sprinkling the color on the yarn. I'm not adventurous yet enough to do that method, also I want to see how this dye is going to work. not to many dyers have used this dye (at least not that I have found), so it is a bit of foreign territory for me.

One of the reason I'm getting nervous, is that my new pot and next set of dye shall be arriving either today or tomorrow.
I will most likely wait until the weekend to dye though, as I will have the house to myself (well, I would have done it on the weekend no matter if Mother of Mine was home or not) and because I have a feeling I'll just be exhausted this week.

I still need to cake off the last bit of yarn.
I still need to cut my niddy noddy down - i'm not happy with how "long" my skeins were, so I need to shorten the length of the center bar. (they wouldn't fit on my swift... which means that will be inconvient for anyone else, and might result in tangled mess- like mine did.)
I still need to then skein my cakes (using the niddy noddy)

Also, Thursday I'll be driving to Denver to 1) Drop Mother of Mine off in Boulder, and 2) Go see Jacqueline Carey for a book signing. Woohoo. So yeah.. not able to dye that night.

Then I'll be able to start dyeing.

Time for me get back to work.

Bugs and Hisses

A busy weekend

So today I was productive. I was also productive yesterday, but that is a different story.

Today I made some stitch markers.

These, were made for two girls on Ravelry whom did me a huge favor. Of course, since I had all the pieces parts, I decided to make a couple of more. (The girls will get 1 each)
I haven't decided if I'll save them for when I'm doing yarnie stuff, or if I should perhaps put them up for sale on Etsy... The are made from Swarovski crystal.
Of course, these are of Doctor Who, and specifically my loverly Pinstripe wearing Ten.




This little penguin was made for myself, but I have decided to gift him to my swap victim, as I had mostly buttons for her and not many stitch markers. But, I can get another of him, so I'll be making another for myself.



And lastly..
Mother of Mine found these "emeralds" for me, they are absolutely gorgeous, and are very OZ like. When I was getting my other materials for the other stitch markers, I found these pins.. They also reminded me of OZ.
So these, which are only for myself (as the pins were a bitch to work with and fought me every step of the way, which is why one of them is a little more bent then it should) and I am calling them Kiamo Ko.




Oh, and the random Button one in there, was actually a set of earrings that Dot made me. I was of course highly allergic to the earrings, so I never wore them and so I decided to make them into stitch markers and send them off in the Button and Stitch Marker swap. Very appropriate if I do say so myself.

Now, my victim for the swap.. I have to say is getting damned spoiled. As all buttons were 50% off, so she is getting a freaking lot. I most likely will not be as lucky, as well.. thats how it goes.

I said yesterday was productive as well. We completely rearranged the house. Okay, it wasn't that drastic, but it involved shuffling things around the entire house because our house isn't that big.
The main thing, was the couch. But moving a couch is so much more involved then most people would think. It meant moving 2 other chairs, and also cleaning cleaning cleaning, making room in the room that the couch was going up into and so on and so forth.
Both our backs are sore, and we ended the day exhausted, and cranky, and broken. My leg was hurt during the process, but it's doing better. The cat is slowly accepting the new arrangement, but he was quite freaked out by the entire thing.

After the move, we also decided to go through the leather trunk of mine that is full of fabric. Quite seriously, it is a huge steamer type trunk that was chock full of fabric. We put it all in one of those space saver bags, and it now is only taking up about a fourth of the entire trunk. I gotta say, I am entirely impressed with it, and will definitely be using those bags on ALLLLLLL my stuff for the big move.

Alright. I'm done babbling. I need a brownie.

Next post, or at least one in the near future, shall be talking about my Playful Bites sock. There shall be pictures even. I'm kicking ass on this sock.

Oh, and PS:
Just came up with a few more colorways. But I want to get permission first. Then I'll talk about it.

Sneaky Sneaking Sneakers

Isn't it funny how little things can sneak up on you?
I mean, it's the same as buying a Starbucks drink every day, you don't think about it. It's just a few dollars.
It's only when you see the large amount of how much those drinks cost you for the year, that your heart starts skipping a beat.

I'm sure some of you are thinking "What the heck is she talking about? She doesn't drink coffee, and I know she dislikes Starbucks"
Well, it was an analogy.

Since January.. no make that February of this year... I have been slowly buying things for my future business. Though, I did not know that is what I was doing.
My first yarn purchase was for a different project, and when that fell through I decided "I can dye this myself... but I'll wait till after I move."
And then the idea got started that... "Hmmm maybe I could start a yarn dyeing business someday.."
I was not planning on using the Bamboo yarn I had bought, as that was still for me..
But now, it's caked up, ready to be skein'd.. and then ready to be dyed.

Today I feel official, as I did a spreadsheet of my costs etc of all this.
Now, most of the items I have spent money on, are not things I would have to replace anytime soon, so this cost analysis is pretty much all start up base cost.

But I must admit that my heart did a pitter patter when I realized I have now spent $207.00 (And a skosh of change)

Really? WOW.

Okay, also in my defense, 60$ of that was today buying the perfect pot, and another set of dyes so that when my pot gets here, I'll be ready to go dye crazy.

I feel official, because I know exactly what I have to do to recover my costs, and it's not that insane a situation. Actually, my prices will be quite modest compared to what I've seen out there for 100% Hand Dyed Bamboo.

Unfortunately, I have determined I do not have enough yarn in this go round to fully recoup my costs... But.. I have a plan.
Actually, I have Mother Of Mine to thank for the plan.
And no, I'm not just jacking up the price.

No, Mother of Mine is working on learning how to hand spin yarn (she used to know how, but it's been a long time)
I, a few years ago gave our friend (And ex house mate and Renscot) Darla a HUGE amount of raw wool.
It was given to me, because I was learning how to spin.
When I was going through all my highschool to post highschool transition and homelessness, I gave the wool to Darla to be used for demonstrations in during the Renscot events. I mean, Darla and Mark gave me a roof over my head.. a huge box of wool was the least I could give them..
Well, Mother of Mine will be re-learning to spin with this wool. She has offered to give me the result, as she doesn't know what she would do with it.
So, I shall be dyeing that up as well, to cover the "amount I need" to recoup my cost of this little adventure.
Heck, after the next batch of yarn gets dyed and sold.. I might even have some profit. I look forward to that, but mostly I look forward to just breaking even. That way, if I decide I can't do this.. I won't be out any money.. Just my time.
I highly doubt that I will walk away from this, because I just have far too many ideas. tee hee.

Alright, enough talk about my budding business, because if I don't stop now, I'll just keep babbling. I'm excited. When I'm excited, I babble. I really want my new pot to arrive so that I can dye!

Today I had to pick up a bunch of things at the craft store.
A bunch of buttons to send to my swap partner...
I am totally spoiling my swap partner.. Jo-Ann's had all buttons 50% off, so my 20-25$ limit ... heh.. well you can see where that was going.
Though, she's not really getting many Stitch markers, she's getting a few, but I totally went out on the buttons, so it's all good.

Also picked up another 2 skeins of yarn for Marissa's project. Which I will be working on once I finish the stitch markers I need to make this weekend.

Also I will be working on The Great Batsby, which my project name for him is "On the Wings of Steam"
I picked up the copper wire I wanted. Yes, I am using Copper not Brass.. oh what a bad Steampunker am I!
Well, they didn't have the size wire I needed in the Brass, and to be frank.. I'm a Copper girl, not a Brass girl. And the Copper will stand out better amongst the other yarn.

Speaking of things sneaking up..
Today is the 19th.
The 19th of June!!!!
It is also the monthly Anniversary of meself and Guy. One month closer on the full count.
Just a week left on the official count for the month to be over. - it's complicated.

Oh... Did I mention that my first batch of yarn... shall be Vampire related? Oh yes.
And no... I shall not be posting the name of it yet.
But there shall be photos, and an official vote. (I'll be dyeing the colorway 5 different ways, and ya'll will get to vote on which one gets the official tag for all subsequent dyeing.- This is how it will be for pretty much all my colorways, unless I decide during dyeing that my first one is the one I want to go with.. but I doubt it.)- alright.. seriously.. I'm done talking about it.

Currently reading:
Club Dead - Charlaine Harris (Book 3)
Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (Book 9) And yes, it is odd reading both book 3 and book 9 at the same time, but the library decided to send me book 9 before I finished rereading the whole series.

Currently on the TV:
MacGyver season 2


Tomorrow, other than making stitch markers, and knitting.. and dreaming of other colorways.. we shall be making a drastic change to the house.
The couch, that has been afflicted with the "curse of the painfully sleeping 'tocks*" shall be shuffled upstairs into the loft. To be used when we have company. (okay.. thats the plan.. but seriously.. we really haven't had company in this house.. ever.. )
And in it's place shall be a chair that Mother of Mine found for me, and a chair that she finds most comfortable for herself.
Pan, the ever vocal shall protest the change, but will succumb when he realizes that the couch shall soon become his entirely. Yes, this shall happen. He is always distraught when we make him get off the couch so that we can sit on it. Heaven forbid!

*in case you are not aware of what "tocks" are, and lack the imagination.. here is a good definition.
Personally, I would recommend scrolling through all the Archives, and specifically looking at entries for "Tocktober"


Methinks I am done for now. Bugs and Hisses peeps.

Poor Customer Service: Crystal Palace Yarns

I am feeling cranky, as I have now had to send 3 emails to get a question answered, and it has still not been answered. Thus to me.. that is poor customer service, and they will most likely loose my sale.

Hello,
I am inquiring about the Panda Cotton yarn you have for sale.
I realize that it's "Wholesale quantities" only, but I'm curious if you will sell to someone who does not (yet) have their wholesale license.

The reason I ask is because I have come across some companies that will only sell if you have the license, but there are some who will sell without it, but just require the wholesale amount, and the notice on your website did not address that.

I do not have my wholesale license yet, because I am moving to the United Kingdom in less than 12 months, and I was planning on officially starting my business then, under their rules and obligations. But if I can start ordering from you and building my stock now in the US, it will make my transition easier next year.

Thank you,

Erin Gallagher

His reply:

Hello Erin,

In the UK our products are available from

[information removed by me, as I don't want to post it on my blog]

Sincerely, Andy

Sigh. This does not answer my question.
So, thinking it was just I hadn't made my question clear enough.. I sent a response..
I chose to be a little more direct.

Andy,
That actually didn't answer my question.
I am inquiring about ordering Panda Cotton now, if it does not require a wholesale license.

Now, again my question is this : Do you require a wholesale license, or do you just require a wholesale quantity to be purchased.

Next question:
How much is the cost of the Panda Cotton?


In regards to the UK sale, I will tackle that in 12 months when I move. But I still need to know the answers to the above questions.

Erin.

His response:

Erin,

Sorry, but [name of company] handles all sales in the UK.

I think it is their policy to sell only to those with wholesale license. I think that eventually they will answer your question.

Good luck.

SErioUSLY?

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
I just said, I do not need to know about the UK sales AT THIS DAMN TIME.

Alright, lets try this again.

Short, quick, because frankly.. I'm loosing my patience. It's a simple question.

Andy,
My question is related to sales in the US, not the UK yet. (Like I said in my previous email, I will deal with purchasing in the UK, 12 months from now. Not now.)

Didn't even sign my name, because at this point they are about to loose a damn sale.

If it weren't for the fact that they are the only ones who have undyed Bamboo/Cotton/Elastic sock yarn for sale... I would no longer be dealing with them.

So far, I am not impressed with Crystal Palace Yarns. And as of right now, I am one unhappy consumer. BIG MISTAKE ANDY. Big damn mistake.

If it was just that they required a wholesale quantity to be purchased. Which, the confusion started because the website says "Wholesale Quantity Only" It does not say "Wholesale License required" and there is a very big difference between the two.

Why does this need to be so damn complicated?

I'm tempted to call, and speak to anyone other than Andy, and preferably his boss. Because Andy is loosing them customers. And in this economy, that is not something you want to do.

Now, if he continues to not answer my question.. I will get downright bitchy, and I will voice my opinion on Ravelry. I can ruin their business quite easily, just by voicing my opinion.

At this point, I honestly think that I will rather do business with the UK shop, which means they won't get any of my money for OVER 12 months. Tisk tisk.. Thats not fiscally responsible of them now is it...

So proud of myself.

I completely forgot!

I am quite proud of myself. Much more beyond my amazing zen like patience on that tangled mess of yarn.. But for the fact that I taught myself how to do Magic Loop!

Now, for those of you who have done Magic Loop before, this is no big deal, and you scoff in amusement at my country bumpkin ways..

But to be honest, Magic Loop scared me. Why? Because i hadn't actually seen any photos of how it was done.

So I pulled out my "How to Knit Socks: 3 methods made easy" and flipped over to the Magic Loop section.

Now I was not working on socks, I was instead working on The Great Batsby. Whom I might say, is mostly finished. I just need to do his wings.






Batsby before I shaped his ears.


My yardage meter. One of the rubber band bracelets is Cancer Awareness, and the other is Katrina Relief. Both of the bracelets are thanks to mother of mine, as mine are hidden away somewhere upstairs.

But isn't it pretty? I made it meself.

Best laid plans..

Alright, so Mother of Mine and I had a plan. Friday was supposed to be a double header of our local AAA baseball team. Saturday was supposed to be opening day of Faire.

Well turns out there was a snafu with the tickets for baseball (basically someone got the wrong info. Not only was the game on Saturday, not Friday, but the tickets were also completely sold out, but there was the possibility of two tickets for us.)

We had decided that we could miss opening day of Faire.. as frankly.. it's no big deal to me anymore. I don't know about Mother of Mine, but I'm not rushing out to faire.

So Friday, we spent chilling at home waiting to find out if we'd have tickets for the game on Saturday.
Late that evening we found out that there were not any tickets.

No biggie.

Friday (I think... I can't recall.. the weekend has blurred) I spent the day washing and rewinding my tragic Bamboo. Yes, this is that bamboo yarn from months ago that arrived damaged. Figured I should get it washed since I was going to have dye arriving soon.

Oh, Friday I also stopped at Home Depot and picked up the final supplies for my Yardage Meter, and a PVC Niddy Noddy.

Got it washed. Got it skeined into two very large skeins.

Saturday, I decided I was going to deskein it into mini skeins. And when I say mini.. I mean 450 yards as opposed to 2 skeins consisting of 1800 yards.

Well, everything is an experience, and one learns from those experiences.. Lets just say, I have learned a lot.

I made the mistake of thinking I corral the yarn, having it draped on my wooden staff, while I slowly pull the yarn, run it through the meter, and put it onto my swift.

Simple plan right?

BIG mistake.

Thankfully, it was the smaller skein of the two that I had been working with..
But yes, the half entire mess slid off the staff at one point and now is a pool of tangled bamboo yarn.
I spent all of Saturday night, including staying up past midnight working on untangling bits.

I also spent most of Sunday doing the same.

What do I have to show for over 10 hours of untangling? Oh.. about 300yards. Thats about it. And that poor skein has so many joins in it. Thank goodness I wasn't planning on selling it.

Finally after giving up about 3:30 in the afternoon (seriously, after having worked on it since 8 am) I felt like I could fall asleep right then and there. I was so exhausted. I forgot to mention my back, neck and knees throughout this entire process were on fire. After dinner (about 4:30) I finally decided that I couldnt' just give up for the night entirely. I had put away the tangled mess so that we weren't tripping on it, but I took down the much larger skein. The one that I was originally afraid of tangling lol.
I put it on my swift.
I then slowly ran off 450 yards worth through my meter and onto my ball winder.

Took me about 15 minutes. And the reason it took that long, was because the skein was so big on the swift, I couldn't just pull the yarn and make it move. I had to pull a section off slowly, and then run it through and cake it (put it on the winder). Then repeat the process.

I'm just going to cake up the entire amount, and then after that I'll use my niddy noddy to skein it for dyeing.

And then.. then and only then will I go back to working on the other skein of tangled mess.

I have to admit.. Other than my back hurting to the point of tears... I am quite proud of myself when it comes to this fiasco.. I didn't get frustrated, I didn't scream and yell.. I just sat there with a zen like concentration untangling the mess and watching movies.
By the by.. on to movies.

The Unit season 3- very good season.. Sad that it was cut short due to the writers strike. But loved it.

Battlestar Galactica season 3- also a good season. I admit I was very confused by the first episode. But then everything started making sense.

Doom- Yup. Finally watched it. I needed a Karl Urban fix. It was a fun movie. Brought back memories, as I remember playing Doom when I was kid. It was the only video game that was at our friend Grace and David's house.. so guess what I played? yup. I sucked at the game. But the movie was amusing.

Mulberry- a British show from.. well I have no idea when it was done. The music for the opening credits and the closing credits are HORRIBLE. But otherwise the show was amusing. It was about a mysterious man who was sent to deal wtih a horrible cranky old lady. turns out, he's a grim reaper sent by death. The show was cute.

Primeval - I really liked this show. Not much to say about it other than I'd really love to have my own little Rex.

Umm.. I think thats it for now...

I'm flipping exhausted by the by.

Oh and I'm reading Dead and Gone the newest Sookie Stackhouse book. I am once again slightly sad that I do not have HBO as the new season of True Blood is starting. Well.. haven't seen season 1 yet fully so it's not a big deal but everyone loves to chat about it online. Sigh.

Okay, I guess it's back to work for me. I'm less freaked out now by work than I was on Friday.

Bugs and Hisses

It happened.

My life is about get 100% worse.

No, I'm not being melodramatic.

As of July 31st, my desk is gone.

The irony of this.. is that tomorrow marks my 2 year anniversary on this desk.

They offered me a position on the Department of Education desk. Which is a nightmare for me. But I would have been stupid not to accept it.

If I didn't accept it, I wouldn't have gotten unemployment. So, you can see why I needed to accept it.

But this is going to be life altering, because for over 9 months now, I've worked through my lunches and left early on Fridays.
This started due my unfortunate almost like clockwork, migraine showing up on Thursday. I would work through my lunches, so that if I had to leave early on Thursday, I wouldn't miss any pay, and also wouldn't then have to work nearly a 12 hour day on Friday.

I do not know if they will let me do this on the new desk.
The new desk scares me.
They fire people over there.
And they have mandatory down time during the summer. Meaning, your still employed, but not working. This, is not quite as scary for me, as when I'll be moving over there, is past the Down Time period, and as I am moving at the beginning of the summer next year, I don't think I'll end up being affected by the MDT.

But also I shall have the stress of a brand new desk. To me, it's a brand new job. It's just at the same building.
Also, I will be a regular agent again. That means inbound calls, and no control over what I get.

That means, my stress level is going to go through the roof.

I honestly want to cry.

Really cool peeps.

I did it.
I just sent the email to order my first set of Dyes.
only 4 colors, which is perfect for the starting point I need.

This morning while I was brushing my teeth I decided on another colorway I want to add to my eventual list.

But mostly I started this post to talk about the amazing people.

Reni, a friend on Ravelry sent me a little something something. It wasn't anything special in her words, but when she saw it, she thought of me.
Now, she has no idea just what she did.
It was a bookmark of The Wicked Witch of the West and it was green and sparkly and awesome (there shall be photos soon.. ) and it says .. ack I'm not awake enough to remember it word for word. But it basically says "You say Wicked like it's a bad thing"
Now, this basic sentence is what got me my nickname of Wicked all those years ago.
I was having a discussion with my friend Katie (Katie not Katte), and she looked up at me after I said that I didn't think Wicked was a negative word, and she said "Thats your name" and without missing a beat I said "your right." then we continued the rest of the discussion.
So it was just a little thing that Reni did, but it had a big impact as she didn't know anything about that little story. She knew I had a nickname of Wicked (as my ravelry ID is BewitchedWicked) but she had no idea where it came from.

Now also a buddy on Ravelry.. Spud's bud to be exact, sent me a package of herbs from his garden. that was freaking awesome.
Last night we had NY Strip Steaks (hey, they were on sale) with fresh Thyme on it. YUM.
Tonight, shall be salmon cakes with some of the fresh Dill.

I have also found, what shall be my UKBFF. Yes, i did in fact utter the word BFF. But, Jo (another Ravelry person) and I have been just chattin' up a storm, and have discovered that we pretty much love all the same things. Her passions? Knitting and Reading. Hmmm... considering my life goals... I'm alright with these hobbies lol. She and I plan on wearing Dead Fish hats (alright, her's is technically not a Dead Fish.. and mine won't be a dead fish, but instead a Blow Fish...) to the Tower of London. We also have Nights of Drunken Dyeing planned. Followed by Days of Sober Dyeing... tee hee.. methinks the drunken nights will instead just end up being Movie Appreciation nights.
Jo is one awesome lady. She's helping me out so much with my whole Dyeing plan.. I honestly... wouldn't have as much confidence if it weren't for her. She has done some dyeing. She also is an avid knitter. And most importantly, she'll tell me what looks good and what doesn't. This is important. For the past week now I've been bouncing ideas off of her. She has also graciously allowed me to someday steal a colorway that she created. It's freaking awesome, and of course she shall always get credit for it both in acclaim, and monetary format. It's only right. Also according to her, I think outside the yarn box. Which is a good thing, as most dyers find one thing, and stick to it.

I'm babbling because I'm not awake.

Seriously, I need to stop dreaming about yarn. lol.

Alright. I guess back to work for me.

Excited again, and The Great Batsby

So I've been meaning to blog for a little while now.
I've even had things to blog about. But, I just never seemed to have the chance or the brain power to do so.

I am excited.

Oh, lets get through the other stuff first. ;-)
Work = dull right now. Thats alright though.

Saw Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It was quite fun. When I was younger I loved the Air and Space museum, so seeing it in a different light was quite enjoyable. Ben Stiller didn't even annoy me that much. No, the only person in the movie that annoyed me was the "I'm only famous because I'm fat and am slightly a comedian" actor Jonah Hill. I'm sorry, John Candy used up all the "I'm fat and stupid, so that makes me funny" quota. No one has ever come close to being him. Oh, and sadly the Jonas Brothers were in the movie as flying Cherubs. They were annoying.
And yes, it rained on us, so we really did see the movie.

Now on to some more exciting stuff.
Sunday I had a bit of a break through in the writing.
No, I did not add to the chapter I was working on, but I actively got a Chapter Outline started, and it actually helped me get past the place I was stuck. So I am quite excited about that. I allayed my concerns that I had about certain pre-existing correlations, but in the end.. Hey.. those authors had the same process on human friendship as I did. So I'm not going to fret.
Guy was quite helpful in figuring out some of the military stuff, and yes, I have a lot of play in what I actually end up working with, but now I at least have a base to start from.

On to other exciting stuff..
Tomorrow, I am going to purchase my first set of dyes. Yes, yes I will.
I can't recall if I've mentioned it before, but I have just found a supplier of non acid dyes, that work just like Acid dyes.
What does that mean?
Well, all the readily avail dyes out there for the non animal based yarns... suck. The process is "Cold" and so takes FOREVER. And you don't get good vibrant colors either.
Well, the dyes I just found are "Hot" like the regular animal based dyes. The process is the same, the only thing I won't have to worry about is the pH level of the bath. WOOHOO.
I already know exactly which colorway I'm gonna do first. I can't wait. I'm excited. It's odd, because the colors are not something I would normally do for myself. But, this is an experiment, and also it was the only colorway I could do in only 3-4 dyes.

Also, any day now I should have a Rolotape meter arriving, so that I can accurately count off my yardage. Hey, I'm for real on wanting to start a business.. I need to know exactly how many yards are in my skeins.

Also, any day I should be getting Santa Olivia from Amazon.com (i was buying the rolotape, so I figured I could justify the cost of finally getting Santa Olivia)

The reason I am buying Santa Olivia is because June 25th, Jacqueline Carey will be IN Denver for a book signing. Woohoo!
Her new book Naamah's Kiss comes out the DAY before her visit, so I will pick that one up in person instead of running the risk of it not arriving on time for her to sign it.


Saturday mom and I are going to a baseball game.
It is opening day of faire, but mom got the tickets thinking the game was on Friday. No worries. I'm alright with not going to Faire opening day.
I might go closing day.. but who knows.. I'll go if and when I feel like it.

An awesome person on Ravelry gave me a free copy of one of her new patterns, as it was something I had slightly requested her to make. (I asked her to make a gargoyle pattern, and this she made first.. so it's close) The condition of getting the pattern free is that I have to make a SteamPunked Bat. Woohoo I think I can do that.

So I cannot wait to start playing with The Great Batsby




He actually clips on things. Tee hee.

Alright, I guess I'm just trying to kill time.

oh, and I'm bummed because Since JC is coming to town, it means I cannot go to REPO the Genetic Opera in Denver the night after. I just can't justify driving to Denver two nights in a row for no other reasont than to just see a movie and get a book signed. lol

An odd morning for certain.

This morning after I came into work, and did my "first thing in the morning responsibilities", I steeled my reserve, straightened my spine, and walked in to my bosses office.

I didn't immediately shut the door, so for once he didn't get that "Uh Oh." deer in headlights expression. (The reason for not shutting the door was simply because there were only 3 other people in the entire office and they were all at least over 30 feet away. Privacy wasn't really going to be an issue.

I let him know where I was mentally with the state of the desk.
After all, moral kind of took a nose dive after we laid off 3 people, and shifted 2 people away(By all rights, we technically also got at least 2 people back, so we really didn't reduce our numbers.)

I let him know that I was absolutely terrified of being shuffled over to the other main desk we have here. They fire people instead of laying them off, they also have entire weeks (during the summer especially) where they don't lay you off or fire you, they just don't let you work. (Or they only let you work a few hours).
He understood my fear of that desk, and also of the other desk we have- which is not nearly as scary as the first one I mentioned, but it's still scary enough because they also fire, not lay off.

I let him know that I did the math, and by all technical accounts, I can afford to be laid off. (Not fired)
Now before you freak out, he understood that I wasn't lining myself up to be let go in the next round (if we have one). No, he knew I was letting him know, that if it came down to it, and the desk went away... What the best options for me were. Also, karmically, if me being laid off means someone else who desperately needs to be working can keep a job, then I'm okay with that.
The bottom line is, I'm moving. July 2010 come hell or high water, I'm moving. I have nearly half, of my over all "move money goal". Right now, I can move my cat. Or I can move my belongings. Not both.
But, if it comes down to it. The cat can stay a few months longer. The belongings can be put into storage until I can afford for it to be shipped.

I will be one of the last people who ever get let go when it comes down to it. I am one of the very few people who bring revenue into our desk.

The summer is always a slow time for us. It always has been.
Fall through till after Christmas is our really busy time. Then we get slow again till around graduation. Then the cycle repeats.

So I'm not actually worried about loosing my job any time soon. That doesn't mean I'll relax though, because I'll still do the best work that I can do, and continue to make myself indispensable.

I feel better now that I've had the talk with the boss, as in the end, he is the one who decides where I go and what happens to me.
I've always been lucky in the fact that I can openly talk to him.
It so far has never come back to bite me in the bum which is good. He knows where I'm at. I know where the desk is at. I know where I am at with him. And for now, I'm one of the safest people here.

Alright, moving along before I keep rambling.
This morning was an odd morning.
Well, technically it started yesterday.
I came home to Mother of Mine asking how to reboot the internet.
I started walking her through all the steps, that way if it happens when I'm not home, she can do it.
During that process, we discovered that the modem wasn't powering back on. I hadn't looked before I told her to unplug it, if there had been any lights.
I tried turning on the computer that was plugged into the same power strip- no go.
Huh, looks like the power strip finally died. I mean, I'm not surprised.. that one was prolly at least 10 years old, if not more.
Plugged the modem into a different power strip, everything booted up fine, we had the net again.
I didn't think much of it, thinking it was just that power strip.

This morning, I wake up. I go to walk downstairs.
The light above the stairs doesn't come on. huh. interesting... "damnit" I thought, we burned out another bulb. That means it'll be 6 months at least before it gets fixed, because we can't do it. We have to have the leasing company do it.
I make my way downstairs (normally it's not a big deal, but today it was raining so that meant no natural light coming in the house)

I turn on the kitchen light. - nothing.
I look at the stove, the clock is correct. I look at the microwave, the clock is correct.
My bathroom light had turned on when I was upstairs, and my alarm clock had gone off. Thus, it was not power failure.
I turn on the dining room light (which is on the same set of switches as the kitchen light) - nothing.

It's weird, because it's only 2 sets of switches in the entire house that aren't working like they should. And I don't think they are on the same fuse.
Mom is going to check the fuses when there is natural light (the fuse box is outside- i know... BRILLIANT!)

So that's how my morning started.
It's now an hour into my work day. Though I've been up for 2 and a half hours.. and I am only just now being able to eat my brekkie. (Yum, a peanut butter and jelly sammich... sigh.. I must really buy milk so I can have my normal cereal.)

Also.. it is the 3rd of June, and it has rained every day. Or at least been drizzly.
Methinks this shall be an odd summer.

I guess thats all the rambling I'll do for now. Must go make myself indispensable.

Hush, Hush, Off the Record, and on the QT.

Alright. So I'm not going to go into details, because I don't want someone swooping in and doing it before me. Mainly, someone who can afford to play right now.

So, those who already know what I'm talking about.. Keep yer traps shut? mmmkay?

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "So why is she blogging about it, if she doesn't want to talk about it, and doesn't want others to talk about it?"
Well, my dear readers.. the answer to that is:

I'M SO EXCITED!

I just can't hide it. And you know, you know.. I think I like it.

No in all seriousness, I am just practically foaming at the mouth right now with excitement.

If what I'm planning actually works, it will revolutionize a certain little world of mine. And will just be so awesome.
I honestly don't care if no one else is as excited as I am. Because I'm selfish, and I'll just do it for myself lol.

I am thinking, next pay day... I'm going to at least splurge a little, and get a few of the things I need to accomplish this goal. I know.. I know I'm crazy.. but I need to see if it will work before I even try.

Alright, I'm done babbling in my elusive way.


Just.. Squee.


Oh, and on a completely different note.

holy frak. It's June. Officially 13 months to go. Or.. 12.99 depending on how you look at it. ;-)