I'm Back

Comcast internet was down for a while around here. My internet service with them has been bad for a long time, but this is the first time my internet service has been completely gone!

Since my landline phone connects to the world through the internet, it wasn't working, either. My cell phone insisted that wifi wasn't working and quit, too. It came back when I turned off wifi, when it switched to being an actual phone.

So, I called Comcast on my cell, and got an out-of-order notice. Their phone service was gone. Their website was down, too.

I got an email from them this morning that said they were experiencing "widespread involuntary maintenance." I got the impression that nature played a nasty trick on them.

I wouldn't be upset with them if this was the only time there had been a problem, but my TV service has been an ongoing problem for 4 years, and internet doesn't work too good, either.

If it was possible to get service from anyone else, I would.

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Holly went to Michigan and (among other things) gave Malaia and Johnny their Christmas presents.

Here they are with their presents:

Johnny got a hat, mitts, and a hood. Malaia is wearing the hood in this photo. Malaia got socks, which she is wearing on her hands for the photo.

Johnny's presents are made with Classic Worsted Tapestry in Loden, which I showed a photo of a few posts back, while they were still balls of yarn. He wore the hat and mitts over the weekend when he went skeet shooting. I hadn't thought about it, but this yarn is not only handsome (Holly described it as "very manly"), but is an effective outdoor camouflage for this time of year.

The hood is from my wimple and hood pattern, and the mitts are from my long, short and easy mitts pattern. The hat is from the Watch Cap pattern available free by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Malaia's socks are made from Red Heart Heart & Sole sock yarn in toasted almond. She wanted socks last year, and this year she's gotten them. I made three pair of them for me and liked them so much I wanted three more pair, but when I started knitting the second set of three, the more I looked at them, the more I kept thinking they looked like they should belong to Malaia. So, she got three pair of socks.

I'm working on a new line of patterns, and the pattern for the comfy socks will be one of the new ones. I designed these socks to be similar to some socks that were created for an made for diabetics. Holly doesn't have diabetes, but someone recommended them to her and she said they were the most comfortable socks she's ever worn, so I made similar socks with modifications for hand knitting.

Well, that's two presents down, and it means that I can show a lot of what I'm making for Christmas on my blog because Malaia was the one who was reading my blog and was certain that anything I made was for her.

While we're on the subject of knitting patterns, the free Santa Hat pattern is still up on my blog.

This is a quick and easy knit that will keep your head warm and look festive for the holidays. You can make it in more traditional colors (like red), too. I made one last year for Robin in his favorite color, all black. I like mine in navy blue, though. It blends with my coat and other clothes, and still manages to look Christmassy.

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If you're interested in buying a tablet computer, either for yourself or as a Christmas present, I put together a page where you can find many of the current contenders. These are not always the best deals, but they not only have the specs for each computer, but also reviews from customers who have bought and used them. Hope this helps.

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There's a new Chuck on tonight, along with a new The Event and Hawaii Five-O! Chuck and The Event are really dynamite!

Busy Saturday

I've been busy making Christmas presents!

I'm getting to the end of the yarn I have on hand, and projects keep shifting under my feet. I started one project for me, and as I was knitting it, I looked carefully, and the project was saying "I belong to Malaia." Just whispering it quietly, but I couldn't ignore it.

I ordered several things, and there was one I was hoping would arrive yesterday, but it didn't. That was the one with the Bernat Mosaic yarn (color swatch below), the Addi lace needle, and some sparkly, furry yarn for Christmas stockings.

I was originally thinking of the Mosaic yarn for a Christmas present, but then it occurred to me that it would make perfect accessories for the Celtic sweater I still haven't finished knitting, and would go well with my jean jacket, too, so I'm going to do a hat, mitts, and something to go around my neck with it. That's another project that's changed ownership! I haven't really made up my mind exactly what, but I'm suddenly in love with self-striping or self-patterning yarn, and think that they would look great in patchwork!

The Addi lace needle is one I want to use to finish my Celtic sweater. So I really wanted it ASAP! The weather is getting just right for a sweater like that. I'd like to get the stuff for me done now so that I can use them right away and get on with the Christmas projects. But they're coming UPS, and I'm not sure if UPS delivers on Saturday or on Columbus Day, so there may not be a chance of actually getting all this until Tuesday. I keep checking outside my door in case the UPS person knocks and I don't hear it!

In the meantime, an order I placed the day after the one I described above was delivered by UPS yesterday! There's only one thing in this order: a bag of 10 balls of overstock self-patterning yarn.

They sent me an email full of self-patterning yarns, and I took one look at the swatch of this light worsted weight yarn knitted up, and it said "I belong to Jeff." My brother, Jeff, that is. I can safely write about it here because Jeff has severe dyslexia, and avoids reading whenever possible.

I wanted to make a hood, watch cap and mitts for him, and I'm picturing it knit in different directions in random patchwork style. And while I was writing that sentence, it suddenly occurred to me that it would look good with a few solid patches in there, too. Maybe the solid patches could be in seed stitch or something. This may generate a new pattern to sell!

I'm planning on knitting it in one piece by picking up stitches from previous patches (so it'll be in one piece), and I want to get a solid chocolate color yarn to do a whip stitch over the joins when it's done so it will look like it was hand sewn together. It should turn out looking very handmade.

I bought some tan yarn to use as trim on another project, and happened to set the bag of yarn down next to it, and it is a perfect mid-tone match for this yarn, so I'll probably use that. There's enough yarn in the bag that I can probably make a set of two hoods, hats and mitts with some left over, and if I mix in a solid color, it might stretch to three. One set for Jeff, one set for another Christmas present, and one set to sell.

Anyway, I got the whole bag of ten balls for $25 plus shipping! A good deal, even if it will leave me broke for the rest of the month!

If you want a custom project knitted to give for Christmas, now would be the time to request it (while I'm broke, and more willing to do almost anything for money).

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There's not much on TV for science fiction fen this weekend. I'm glad I have my DVD player hooked up, and I wish I had all my DVDs back from Holly.

I have had my TiVo record two episodes of House because it was listed as Human Target. The second time was last night, so I checked it out on the internet. Fox dragged it's feet about deciding to pick up Human Target, decided they did want to pick it up (I understand it got great ratings--I certainly enjoyed it), scheduled it for their Fall season, and then said to the people who create it something like "What, we ordered 13 episodes of it last week! You haven't filmed it yet?" So, thanks to the gross incompetence of Fox, it won't be on until later in November (the 17th), not the early October date that they scheduled. At least this was only gross negligence, not deliberate murder, like they did with Firefly and Dollhouse!

Speaking of Dollhouse, Syfy will be rerunning the second season soon. I'll keep you updated, or you can check your local listings.

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Holly is going to her knitting retreat next weekend. There is a contest on for all returning knitters to create a knit-in-the-round cowl starting with some yarn that they supplied.

She hasn't started yet.

She described to me how she wants to knit it, and I described to her how to chart the pattern for it. She's known about this since last year, and got more yarn for it at the Sheep and Wool Festival, but hadn't done anything as of last week. So, last Saturday, I sat down and charted the pattern for her the way she described it. She has to come up with the actual pattern herself, but I think it's OK if she uses a chart that she didn't write. People use stitch pattern dictionaries to design things all the time, and the design still belongs to them.

So, today, she finally decided to start swatching to test the chart I drew, and maybe later in the day, actually start the cowl.

The yarn they gave her was a skein of navy blue wool in a worsted weight (she had her choice of colors), and she's bought some other med/light blue and off white beaded yarns to go with it. I'm excited! I can't wait to see it actually done!

All I can say is she'd better take pictures!

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Most of the things I have to knit are not things that you can knit and watch TV. They're things that require almost complete attention (that's why I've been putting them off), so this weekend is a good time to do them. I'll be spending the rest of the weekend in front of TV watching things that I've seen at least a dozen times (so I can follow them while I pay attention to my knitting) and doing all the stuff that I haven't done because it requires too much attention. You may not hear as much from me as usual for a while.

But I wish you an even better weekend than I'll be having!

Finished Objects 2008 Part Two

Here is a whole collection of things that I made as a set. It includes a hat (you already saw that), a scarf, three mittens and three boot cuffs. The photo only shows one each of the mittens and boot cuffs.

This finished poncho is now up in my Etsy shop.

And, of course, I finished the covers (back and front) plus the inside covers and two labels for the first volume of the Complete Steve Canyon on TV. You can see the inside cover art here.

I made a glow-in-the-dark Christmas stocking for my Harry Potter school house KAL.

The photo here shows some yarn and one mitt that's finished. I actually finished two more to make a complete set, plus two more out of the black yarn to go with John M's hood.

I know this isn't finished, but here's a glimpse of part of the Celtic sweater I've been working on. There are ends to darn in and blocking before I can sew on the buttons, but it's almost done.

And here is the first of the five stockings I'm doing for a commission (front and back views).

While we're on a Christmas theme, here's the Santa hat I made for myself, and which it turns out I like and have been wearing a lot. I made another one just like it in black for Robin (since that's his favorite color).

And here is the almost finished hood for John M. I neglected to take a photo of it when it was done, but I did finish it in time to give it to him on Christmas.


There are probably a bunch of miscellaneous things that I've knitted but neglected to photograph, too.

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I went to Michaels on the bus yesterday and got to do a lot of walking. Well, it's a lot of walking for me, anyway.

I found some better yarn for the beard and fur on the Christmas stockings, a calendar, and a punch to round corners on paper. Thanks, Malaia and John! But I lost track of time, and left Michaels about the time that I should have been at the bus stop. Since I still had a half mile walk to the bus stop, I didn't make it, and had to wait almost two hours between the two buses (there are far fewer buses on a Saturday). 

This actually turned out to be a good thing because I had time to stop in to Borders and get the Winter issue of Spin Off Magazine.

I left Michaels at 5:30, and got home at about 8:30. 

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I got home and got the news that Malaia had gotten a tattoo. Holly says she has (some of) the words to Amazing Grace tattooed in a spiral around her arm. She also got a rose and a butterfly. She said the rose was for me, and the butterfly was for her mom. I got on Facebook and demanded photos. She wrote back "Photos of what?"

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I hope you all had a chance to see Serenity on the SciFi Channel last night! I love Firefly!

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There is a new post up on the Steve Canyon on DVD blog! Check it out!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Help!

I'm currently undergoing a crisis.

Three actually.

Well, four crises and a lizard.

But there is one that you might be able to help me with, and, as with a lot of crises, it involves money.

I currently need $2,000 to $3,000 worth of dental work desperately, and immediately, with no way to raise the money without help. The universe is currently finding lots of ways to get money away from me without providing any way to get money coming in.

If you wish to help, there is a donate money button in the sidebar. Every little bit helps, even just $5.

But I've thought of some more creative ways to earn some money for me while doing something helpful or useful for people generous enough to donate.

The first is: if you plan to buy something through Amazon, I have an Amazon store, and it might be available through my store. If you want something that's not in the store, let me know and I'll put it there. This will  not change your purchase price, but a small amount will go to me and help with the cause.

I am a fiberartist. I make things out of fiber, including, but not limited to: Hats, mitts, scarves, wimples, hoods, sweaters, shawls, vests, afghans, lap robes, and lots more. Think Christmas presents. 

Items will be done in the order  the requests and payment come in, so order soon for Christmas delivery. Or order a coupon to give at Christmas so that the recipient can design a project of their own. The sooner you order, the sooner you'll get it, though.

I've had custom-made clothing most of my life. My mom made professional grade clothing for my sister and me while we were growing up. Then I learned to sew and made my own clothing.

Then I learned to knit and crochet and made even more clothing.

I realized only a few years ago that most people nowadays have never had something made for them, specifically to their design and specifically to fit them. 

So, here are some ideas for things you might like.

Scadians

Wimples, hoods, mitts, shawls, felted belt pouches.

Here's a hood I made for a friend. It's made of Spelsau wool, which is a sheep breed that was around before the Middle Ages and is still bred today. The wool is very authentic, especially for Viking personas.

I know about Medieval clothing and about fibers and I can make something authentic for you, or something that's practical and can be thrown in the washing machine.

Fans of the Celts and Vikings

I like Celtic Knotwork and can do incredible things with it. I'm currently designing and knitting a sweater for the Ravelympics that has a Saint John's cross (a Viking symbol for happiness) on the back, along with a lot of other knotwork in borders, runes and stand-alone motifs.

Here's a photo of the top of the hood:

Here's a photo of the partially-finished cross on the back. Keep in mind that these samples have not been blocked yet. Once they are, they will look much more professional and finished.

Magic Yarn for the Superstitious

Every culture has had myths and legends about magic yarn. It's spun in the opposite direction than yarn is usually spun, and then plied in the opposite direction. While it's being spun, the spinner concentrates on the magic that is wanted: happy thoughts, good wishes, fertility, abundance, etc. I can make magic yarn, and even knit it into items with almost any symbol you might want.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans

The number of knitted items straight out of SF is limited only by your imagination.

In one of the Harry Potter books, Harry gets a blue sweater with a snitch on the front of it. I made one up, and it's available for sale, although I haven't gotten a photo up on Etsy yet. Here's a photo of the snitch on the front.

But the fun doesn't have to stop there. Would you like a copy of Rose's Slouch hat (seen in a publicity photo) with a matching pair of the mitts/wrist warmers that she wore in Doomsday? Or a Doctor Who scarf?

Almost any SF story has something knitted in it somewhere. Always wanted it? Here's your chance!

For Everybody

Here's an afghan that's already up for sale on Etsy. The photo doesn't do it justice. The yarns used in this were chosen not only for their visual effect, but also for the way they feel. Every single yarn in this afghan will cuddle up to you and caress your skin in a different, but luscious way from the others. I hand picked the yarns and knitted the afghan over the space of a year with loving care.

People with Allergies

I can get 100% cotton yarn in colors (a very limited palette) that has not been dyed. 

Think you're allergic to wool? So did I until I found wool that hadn't been dyed or processed. 

It turns out that I'm violently allergic to the mordants they use to dye wool with natural dyes. I can dye wool or other animal fiber for your project with KoolAid (if you're not allergic to it).  I can almost guarantee that I can find something to which you will not be allergic to make into the clothing of your dreams.

Pet Owners

Have a pet with a lot of fur? I can probably spin it into yarn and make a garment for you out of it. This will have to be a small project because I'm allergic to cats and dogs, but I could certainly survive making something small. Or I could make a larger project with your pet's yarn as trim.

Or how about something for your pet? I made a small blanket for a friend's cat last Christmas.

Limitless Ideas

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, but I can give you more ideas if you're interested.

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I've gotten down past the armholes on the Celtic sweater, and am almost to the bottom of the cross. I suddenly got the inspiration to make a small cable on each side below the sleeve and above the waist. Wait until you see it!

It's going much slower now because I've added both fronts to the back plus extra stitches under the armhole, so there's more than twice as many stitches on each row. But it's pretty!

There will be more photos soon.

I hope you're having a great weekend.

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Addition! Yarn now available!

I have added some new stuff for knitters and crocheters to my Amazon store.

There is now YARN!

You can find the yarn I'm using for the Celtic sweater in my shop, along with the 100% silk yarn I wish I'd been able to find for the rune bags I'm making. There's even some beaded yarn available. Wool, silk, alpaca, and other luxury yarns are there.

I also have more knitting accessory stuff up: swifts, ball winders, and much more. And there's a separate page of kits for kids and beginners.

Enjoy!

Knitting a Hood

Doctor Who is on daytime TV on SciFi today! I want to finish this post and get back to it!

I finished up the yarn on the hood, but it's still not finished. I'll have to get out and buy some more to finish it. I thought for sure it'd only need one more skein, but then again the first skein was from stash, so it probably wasn't a full skein. I'm glad I chose no dyelot yarn! The hood I'm working on now is navy, but it'll look like this hood that I made for a friend.



The pattern is available.

So, I'm making a third sock out of the Marionberry Risata. I'll order some more as soon as I can afford it, and make three more, then I'll have three pairs of them.

I have to go. I want to get back to Doctor Who (and get some of the mess the universe has created for me straightened out).

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Addition:

Don't forget to record Charlie Jade tonight/tomorrow morning!

I just got an email from an astrologer that says I'm in line for 3 miracles.

About time!

Yarn Sweepstakes!

Ivy's Vine is having a sweepstakes with a very unusual premise. You'll have to check it out at http://kehinde.com/blog/?p=597.

Leave a comment on her blog to win a skein of 70% merino, 30% silk yarn, enough for two socks. What are you doing still reading? Check it out! You'll get a marvelous piece of Egyptian lore even if you don't win the sock yarn.

In SF news, there is a new series  starting on Lifetime, called Devil's Diary. I really don't know much about it, but the trailer looks interesting. With any luck it'll be as good as Hex. It's on at the same time as Dragon Sword, though. If you can't watch (or record) both, Dragon Sword will be on again on the second of August at 11:00 pm (my time).

The navy blue Christmas present hood I'm making is up past the neck and the increasing/decreasing part of the hood, and now is a straight shot to the top, with only kitchnering the top, darning in ends and blocking to do until finished.

Have a relaxing and fun Sunday with what's left of it!

Down with IRS!

I was going to write about knitting.

Really, I was.

Then the mail came.

First, it included a letter from the Hospital, charging me about $400 for visiting their emergency room. 

I don't have $400.

But the reason I got the mail so early today rather than checking it later was that I got a call from the front desk at the apartment telling me I had a certified letter I needed to come down and sign for.

My first reaction was to jump to conclusions, and think that the finance company had put their threat into action, and was attempting to get a judgement against me.

They'll probably do that eventually, being the scum that they are, but that wasn't who it was from. The certified mail was from the IRS.

Now, I spoke to them on Monday, and it looked like I probably will owe them (after they take money out of my Social Security this month) about $35.

The little note from them today says that they're levying penalties against me for not filing my 2002 return (which I did file) in the amount of just under $4,000! That's right, four thousand dollars!

They have tripped over their own feet on this one. They're mad at me because they kept sending letters to a place I haven't been in about six years, I didn't get the letters, so I didn't respond. But the only way they could've gotten that address was from my 2002 return.

Right now, I'm too upset and angry to deal with it. If I do something now, I'll probably regret it.

So, I'm going to deal with the dental problem tomorrow, and then with the IRS problem on Friday.

All the things that are happening are so overwhelming that I can't deal with them all at once. So, I'm making a list and trying to get at least one thing done every day. Two, if I can (like yesterday).

And just when I think how bad things are, I read this. It really puts my problems into perspective. Don't read that if you don't want a big dose of sadness. It contains a story of unbelievable courage, though, so in a way it is inspirational. But so sad. The story changes narration viewpoint a few times, and is about an SCA member.

SCA stands for "Society for Creative Anachronism" and is a historical reenactment group that does the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We do everything that was done during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. I know blacksmiths, brewers, vintners, bowyers, fetchers, etc. It's fun!

Friday I'll get back to the knitting, science fiction and photography as usual.

Tomorrow is my day at the dentist, so you may not even get a post.

Just so there is a little knitting content, yesterday, I took some acrylic yarn from my stash and started knitting a hood as a Christmas present for somebody who will remain nameless (for obvious reasons). I picked up another skein of (no dye lot) yarn to match it while I was at WalMart. Mainly, I wanted a carry-around project, and a chance to really try out my new Options #8 needle.

Instead of buying the whole set, I bought one set of size eight tips, and a set of 24 inch connectors to see if I'd like the Options needles. Well, I love them! Someday, if I ever have any money, I want to buy the whole set ($60 which is why I didn't just spring for it in the first place and wanted to see if I liked them).

I had great fun knitting on the bus, and practically hypnotized one of my fellow riders with it. My hood or wimple patterns are great for mindless, take-along knitting projects. And they make very unusual presents. Most non-knitters have never seen anything like them.

My friend, John, went to Arizona for lunch. He met with the person who is working with him on the Steve Canyon project, and the step daughter of Dean Fredericks, the actor who portrayed Steve Canyon on TV. She donated photos from the TV series and from Dean's private life, and they discussed more DVDs. He alerted me to the possibility of more cover art. I can't wait!

See more on Steve Canyon here.

Have a better day than I'm having.

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Addition:

I read another blog which mentioned the Declaration of Independence. It details a long list of wrongs committed by King George against the colonies and declares our independence of British rule.

I was surprised how similar the situation is to our relationship with the current goverment.