Viral Knits

The term "viral knits" is a new one to me. Viral knits are the ones that suddenly everyone is knitting, and the ones that get knit over and over again.

For me, the only ones that have been viral are some of the ones that I've written for myself. Those include:

The Simple Triangular Shawl, which is a good pattern for new knitters to use to learn to design their own triangular shawls, as well as a simple pattern for experienced knitters for the times when you want to keep your hands busy, but want to actually devote your attention to the scenery going past the bus you're on or that brand new DVD you just got, and still turn out a work of art in any weight yarn!

Wimple and Hood, which is a great pattern for making Christmas presents. It can be made in any weight yarn, fits anyone, and is something most people don't have, but would love! My granddaughter says that whenever she wears one of hers, somebody tries to buy it from her! What could be better than that?

Long, Short, and Easy Mitts, which is a pattern similar to the one shown on the "Viral Knits" post for the mitts. This pattern, however, can be knit in just about any weight yarn, and, if you follow the instructions, you'll get mitts that really fit. And, as if that wasn't good enough, you can make these to match a hood or wimple for a really super Christmas present!

And for you non-knitters out there, I have a shawl and an afghan also available in my Etsy shop.

I think I discovered a whole new kind of viral knit project. I've been using leftover sock yarn to knit a bag for a very small Christmas present I plan to buy (or possibly make) for someone. I'm only on the first one, but it feels addictive already.

I hope you guys are having a great Labor Day weekend!

I Love Etsy!

I made my first sale on Etsy today! I was beginning to think that actually selling things on Etsy was a myth. Anyway, one of my wimple and hood patterns was ordered.

I'll be meeting the woman who is commissioning me to knit Christmas stockings for her tonight. She'll have a sample stocking, pattern(s) and money. I can't wait to get started so I can finish and have some extra money for Christmas (if I can finish it all by then).

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In knitting news, I've gotten up to the neck on John M's hood, and am about to start the face opening. Not much to see, there, just a little longer than it was yesterday. It'll start looking different tomorrow.

I have lots of ends to darn in on various projects, so, hopefully, I'll get a lot of that finished today.

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The project for today is moving my computer and a table, etc., and getting my new printer a place to live and getting everything all hooked up successfully.

I need to get off the computer so I can start disconnecting things and moving them. I just moved, and my back wasn't happy with it. Maybe not today. I'll try for it, though.

The rest of the week will be busy. Tomorrow, I have some heavy-duty shopping to do. My once-a-month-stock-up-for-the-whole-month trip to WalMart. It should be fun but exhausting.

On Thursday, I have a dental appointment. He's going to do everything on the left side of my mouth (while ignoring the most pressing work, which he plans to do last). He'll be removing a number of fillings and replacing them with "composite material." He won't be replacing all the amalgam, but that side of my mouth should look less like a silver mine. It may, ultimately, help with some of my health problems, too. At least I'll have less mercury leaking into my mouth all the time.

I'm never happy about going to the dentist, but he'll be working in the spot that other dentists haven't been able to get numb, so there's a high probability that he'll be drilling on my teeth with no anaesthetic. That's what happened before and it was so much fun!

So, the rest of the day may be spent in bed sleeping it off.

There are so many things I want to do on Friday that I just can't decide at this point, but unless I feel a lot worse than I expect (from the dentist visit), I'll be busy then, too. Unless I ask Holly to come do something with me and do it all on Friday instead. Then again, I may do stuff on Friday and ask Holly for help.

I pointed out that she could do some Christmas shopping while we were out, and she said she's doing all her Christmas shopping on line and having stuff shipped directly to the people she's getting them for. 

What a simple approach to Christmas shopping!

And why didn't I think of that?

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Holly said my Christmas presents that she sent to Kyle had arrived. She described on the phone the conversation she had with Kyle when it arrived. Kyle didn't think the green and black scarf was anything special. Holly told her to put it on and look down, and it blew her mind when she could see the dark mark! She got all excited, and started yelling for Bob to come and see it! It's always nice when you can amaze your granddaughter.

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We have a new Fringe tonight and a new The Mentalist, followed by a new Eli Stone.

I stumbled across a show I've never heard of before on Saturday, and it will be on again this Saturday. The episode I saw was good, but it remains to be seen if it will be one of the great ones. It's sword and sorcery, and seems good for that genre. It's called Legend of the Seeker, and is on at 7:30 on the CW (here). Check local listings and check it out.

TNT is having a new show on, Leverage, starting Saturday. It's sort of a modern-day, high tech Robin Hood story. The trailers look good. Check listings.

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Yesterday was one of the few days we've had in a long while that was sunny and beautiful. I got a chance to walk around for a while, and went over to MacDonalds to redeem one of the coupons they sent me. I got a "Southern Chicken Sandwich" and a senior Coke for 37 cents!

It was fun walking around in the sun for a change.

Here's a pretty photo of the area I was walking in for you.

This was taken on an overcast day last week, but it's still a pretty area to walk in.

Have a great Tuesday!

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.