Recovering from Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was wonderful, as usual. I got to see Holly and Robin's new, 52 inch TV, and it's wonderful, but we actually had Thanksgiving dinner in the new bar behind their house.

A while ago, Robin bought a Chinese dragon kite, and he wanted it for decoration. Here's a photo of it on the ceiling in the bar.

And here it is close up:

Here are Holly and Robin behind the bar:

A photo of Robin getting ready to answer a question, it looks like:

And a couple of photos of Holly:

I finally gave up and went home after 1:30 am.

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Before I forget to tell you, Vickie Howell is having her annual book giveaway! Today is the last day to enter, so get right over there!

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For all you knitters out there who need/want a yarn winder, here are instructions for making one of your own for a low cost.

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The ABC Family channel was running the "coundown" to 25 Days of Christmas, but gave up on that for Thanksgiving and Saturday. They're back with some Christmas movies, if anyone cares. I have to admit it, I'm a sucker for those gooey Christmas movies.

BBC in America told the people who put up the digital TV guide that they were going to show the Doctor Who episode, Utopia yesterday, but they really showed Turn Left. I hope they show the two episodes that come after Turn Left (The Stolen Earth and Journey's End). The other two are considered to be a whole story, but I think that Turn Left should be included as part of that story, and it should be a three-parter.

I just looked it up, and they're not showing Doctor Who next Saturday. In that time slot they're showing Torchwood, and they haven't put up any info on which episode yet.

By the way, SyFy is now rerunning Doctor Who on Friday mornings, very early, again, at least for a few more weeks. Next week will be Fires of Pompei. On Christmas Eve (Christmas day) and New Year's Day, they will not be showing Doctor Who. Hopefully, he'll be back in January.

Heroes will be the only new SF programming on Monday. Of course, SyFy will have it's usual reruns of Ghost Whisperer, and there will be reruns of The Big Bang Theory, and Castle. I know Castle isn't SF, but I like Nathan Fillion so much from Firefly.

I have to get going now. I promised John I'd get some more done on the back cover of Volume 3 of the Steve Canyon DVDs over the weekend, and yesterday went in a completely different direction from what I intended, and I didn't get anything done then, so I have to make it up now.

I hope you've all been having a great extended holiday weekend!

Happy Day-After-Earthday (and a contest)

Nothing special is happening today. The most memorable thing about today (so far) is that Earth Day was yesterday. Therefore, I had no snappy title for today's post.

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Vicki Howell is running another contest for one of her new books! Get on over there and enter! She's also got some interesting projects pictured from the book. I Googled the answer, but you don't have to. All of the people who answered so far are right, so read the first one, and you'll know the correct answer. Read down a bit and you'll find the reason for the answer.

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I intended to have all the lace yarn wound into balls today and have a photo to show you, but decided that I should really vacuum, dust mop, and wet mop all the hard floors in the apartment, so I wanted to do that early, while I still had some energy. I'll recuperate in a bit and go on to wind the yarn. At about a mile of yarn, it'll be time-consuming, if nothing else. I'm really glad I have a ball winder! Otherwise, I'd go crazy. I want to get it all wound first because it's kind of a big chore, and I don't want to have to stop knitting to wind another ball of yarn. I expect to finish this later in the day, and have a photo tomorrow.

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There's a brand new Supernatural on tonight!

It's not brand new, but the SciFi Channel will be rerunning four episodes of Eureka tonight and next week, starting at 7:00 pm here. There are a lot of episodes that will be rerun by them in the near future, so keep an eye out for them. I'm hoping that it portends a new year of episodes starting soon.

Oh, and don't forget that there will be another Doctor Who episode on late tonight (early tomorrow morning). This week, it's Partners in Crime, the first episode of the fourth season!

Have a great evening!

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Addition:

I found an interesting website that teaches how to do Nalbinding. The instructions are confusing to me, but then I've always been confused by  Nalbinding, even though I've made several stabs at doing it.

For those of you who are interested in fiberarts by the Vikings or in the Middle Ages, this could be a good site to learn a new fiber craft.

Good luck!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Vicki Howell has a great post up on her blog today about recycling for Earth Day.

I found a very entertaining post from Franklin on his blog today, too. It's not about Earth Day, but it is about lace, which I'm about to begin.

Here's a photo of the lace yarn that I got yesterday, along with the beads that I plan to use with it.

This is Knit Picks Gloss lace yarn in Pinot, It's actually a little darker and a slightly warmer color than it appears here. As you can see, my first task will be to  wind all of this into balls so it's useable rather than a big tangle. There's a total of 1,760 yards there, so just winding it all will be time consuming. That's nearly a yard, folks!

It's going to be pretty, though. Or it will be frogged and reknit.

Not being the kind that looks ahead too much, I've discovered that I need to get a very small container that will sit steadily on a flat surface, and that I can put a lid on. In other words, I should have bought some of those screw-together containers at the craft store while I was there. Those long tubes of beads are fine until you need to set the open tube somewhere so that the beads will be available to scoop one up when you get to the point in the knitting that needs it.

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It's Wednesday, which means a new episode of Lost will be on tonight! It will be preceded by a brand new Better Off Ted.

Have a great evening, and check out this link that my sister sent me to reminisce about the '60s! It's worth it for the music alone.

Hi! It's Friday!

I have lots to do today, so this will be a short post.

First of all, before I forget, here's the post from Vicki Howell about another contest she's having on her blog. If you're a crocheter, get on over there and enter!

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Here's where I am on the first of two Christmas stockings I'm knitting on a commission.

I'm about to switch to knitting in the round for the foot. It will eventually (when I've finished the foot) need a seam up the back of the leg.

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I have to go over to Comcast to pay my bill and yell at them once again. I yelled last month, but I started keeping a journal of stuff that's been messed up on TV because of them, and I've got two pages almost completely filled already. I plan to make an "I Hate Comcast" sandwich board to wear over there. They drive me crazy!

This is going to keep me pretty busy for the rest of the day, considering that I have to take two buses to get there, so it's a three or four hour round trip. I'm considering stopping at JoAnn Fabrics as a reward on the way back.

I also need to pay a flurry of other bills before I leave to do that.

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I watched a bit of the British version (the original) of Life on Mars before I watched the US version. I was less impressed with the original than most people seemed to be, but persevered through the first four or five US episodes. I'd read where some people were annoyed that the US version was so different, but the main difference I found in the first few episodes was that they called Sam's phone a "wireless" in the original, and a "cell" in the US versions. I didn't really see much difference between the two. They even had the woman policeman (Annie) in a knock-off of a British police uniform which is something I've never seen on a US cop anywhere.

After the first few episodes, I gave up on it, lost interest. But then I heard rumors that Sam kills himself in order to get back to 2008 in the original, and when the season finale came up last week, I watched it.

Wow! It was good. And Sam didn't kill himself. The ending was neat, though. I won't say any more except watch the reruns (if they ever show the series again).

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Tru Calling is on the SciFi daytime rotation today.

Tonight, we have a new episode of Dollhouse, and a rerun of Ghost Whisperer. 

On SciFi, a rerun of last week's Ark of Truth followed by the premier of Continuum this evening in the Stargate universe. If you have a problem watching Dollhouse and Continuum, the latter will be rerun next Friday.

I have to get running if I hope to do all I need to do today.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, and since it's a bill-paying day, I thought you would enjoy this:

Vicki Howell Left a Comment on My Blog!

Yes, you read that right. Vicki Howell left a comment on my blog! You can see the post here. You have to scroll down for the comment.

If you read the comment, you know that she has another contest today for several copies of her new book, Pop Goes Crochet, so get on over there and enter! Read the directions and send out cards to friends today!

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One of the books I got from the library is driving me crazy, and threatening to change my whole life! It's called Freeform Knitting and Crochet, and you can see from the cover what has grabbed my interest.

I read through one project in this, and mentally think up seven other projects to do with the same techniques. All I can say is Wow!

For instance: to make freeform knitting to the correct size and shape (for projects that need that, such as a yoke for a sweater) she recommends cutting a pattern from fabric that you can place the knitting on top of as a quick reference to what shape has to be made where so that it comes out the right size and shape. Sometimes she knits or crochets separate motifs, and pieces them together to fit. There's a sweater that's mostly plain shown in the book that has a freeform yoke, and it's beautiful! 

But I read it and think about going to the craft/yarn store and buying a plain bag to use for a knitting bag and using it as a template for some freeform knitting that I can then sew directly to the bag, thereby strengthening the knitting, and automatically creating a sturdy lining!

There's a sequel to this book called Freeformations: Design and Projects in Knitting and Crochet. I haven't seen this book in person yet, but the reviewers at Amazon liked it better than the first book, and Ravelry shows some impressive designs from this book, so I think I'll get both of them eventually. I feel like my brain is about to explode into the third dimension after reading part of the first book!

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I'm about to do a Crazy Aunt Purl, only for science fiction fans rather than knitters. Sadly, I did not take the photo, and have been unable to take photos like this since I lost my car (unless I'm walking past a parked car). This came from io9, so if you like it, go over there and read some stuff. They're great!



Be sure not to miss the sticker above the license plate that says "Laura Roslin is my president." I love that plate, but I also enjoy the frame on the plate.

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Not much science fiction on TV tonight, just Supernatural in the fantasy/supernatural category. But it's a new one, about Sam and Dean in a life that doesn't include demons, angels or other supernatural beings. I read some spoilers saying that Ghostfacers will be back soon, and I think this is the episode. If so, it promises to be one of their best ever.

Ghostfacers refers to the episode by that name where a group of nerds get together and try to sell a show about recording encounters with ghosts to a network. They are inept kids who have a lot of technical equipment, and not much sense or brain-power going for them. Of course, they run into Sam and Dean before the ghosts, and totally snarl thing up for them. 

I'm dying to say more, but I don't want to spoil it, and I'm not 100% certain that this is the episode. But nearly certain.

I can't wait for it, though!

Have a great evening, and go enter Vicki's contest!

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Addition:

I was so excited about this yesterday, and I nearly forgot to include it today. For people who love The Middleman, you can sign up in advance for the DVD that will be out this July.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Wow! I just got a case of deja vu. It seems like only 28 days since I last said this.

I hope you're enjoying the second of two Fridays the thirteenth in two months.

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Vicki Howell has a new book coming out, Pop Goes Crochet, and she's got a contest going on over on her blog to win a signed copy of her new book. Check it out!

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I saw this note on FaceBook: "John Ellis is glad things went well last nite..the reception & screening was a BIG hit & John Ellis even interviewed Milton Caniff (!) via some hocus-pocus & razzle-dazzle."

I'm so glad it's going well, and I'm dying to find out how he interviewed Milton!

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Holly called last night. We're going out tomorrow! It'll be so nice to see her again. Ever since the headlights on her car died just before Christmas, I saw her at Christmas and one other time. That's twice in two and a half months. I miss her!

Have a great evening, and don't miss the brand new episode of Dollhouse!

Saint Paddy's Day is Coming

As you all know, St. Patrick's Day is less than a week away.

To celebrate this wonderful event, Vicki Howell has a wonderful, quick pattern up on her blog for shamrocks, and I thought you should know about it.

It's called Knitted & BeJewelled Shamrocks!

Now I have to say that I cringed when I read the word bejewelled, because people use this word (and embellished) as an excuse to overdo things and create something hideous. But Vicki, in her usually impeccable style, has managed to make something wonderful out of it all.

And, in case it's escaped your attention, you could use individual shamrock leaves from this pattern to make beautiful hearts for Valentine's Day, or for anyone that you care about.

Do check it out!

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John and I spent a busy day yesterday putting the final touch on the covers for Steve Canyon, Volume 2. Not that there was much to do on that. Most of yesterday's time was spent on converting the cover of Volume 1 to a 20x30 poster size. This will be made up as a one-off poster, signed by John and raffled (or auctioned) off at the event he's at this week. He'll be in Dayton, Ohio (he's probably arrived by now) for the "Reel Stuff Film Festival." I'm really excited and happy for him. It should be a wonderful experience.

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There's a Lost rerun on tonight. This is actually worthwhile, because there's usually so much packed into each episode of Lost that I usually don't catch it all on the first go-round, and the second time it's shown, each episode has subtext that explains the allusions, and points out back story. Definitely worth a second go.

Have a great evening!

Coraline

I was hoping to get over to Borders yesterday and get my copy of Backup and Coraline, but my feet were all swollen up, and the bones inside hurt as they always do when this happens, so I didn't feel like all the walking that would be needed to do that.

But I read this post by Vicki Howell about the knitting involved in the Coraline movie, and I'm starting to get really excited about it. There's a link there about Althea Crome, which I've duplicated here. She did the knitting for the movie. Where you see Coraline and the others wearing sweaters in the movie, they're real, knitted sweaters.

As anyone who knows me will guess, I'm fascinated with her blue sweater with white stars. I want one! No, not a tiny one. One I can wear. But with pockets. In my opinion, the only clothes that should not have pockets are nightgowns. And some of the ones I've owned had pockets, too.

Then, this morning, I found this link from Knitty.

If you click the Coraline movie link above, you can take a tour of all the handmade stuff. It's beautiful.

I'd like to see the movie, but it wouldn't do much good since I wouldn't be able to hear it. I'd like to buy the DVD just for the beautiful art, though

John Ellis just sent me an AIM message, and we've been chatting about this. John is the producer of the Steve Canyon DVDs.

He said that our friend Kent Burton has been working on it all last year. I knew Kent when he was John's house-mate years ago and from science fiction conventions. He also animated the spiders in New Genesis. If you click that, please note that I had a small part, and it was credited to Johann DesRoches in addition to the work I did as crew (one of my credits was as handweaver!). John sent me this link, too.

The movie opens tomorrow.

I am so excited about this!

Don't forget that Lost will be on tonight!