Swinebeck

First, thank you so much for all your kind words about Miss Marple. She was such a wonderfully sweet cat and she will be missed tremendously.
The day after I got home from Rhinebeck, I got sick. Turns out, the group of people I hung out with (Completely pointless and arbitrary group group on Ravelry), most of us got the Swine Flu, so we've taking to calling Rhinebeck, Swinebeck. Hence the post title. I'm mostly better, but I still have a cough and I can't do a lot for a while. I've been somewhat drained of energy. But compared to how sick I was, I'm much better. At one point, my fever was so high I thought the seals were after me and the monkeys wanted to eat my brains. Of course, I couldn't find a thermometer till after my fever broke and then, it was about 104. A day or so after it broke, I also passed out. Apparently, eating helps you not pass out. Which, in case you didn't know, really is not good. I had no desire to eat at all and even now, it's hard for me to get up the desire to eat. For some reason, the entire time I was sick, all I wanted was a kiwi. And I still want kiwi's. I get the oddest cravings when I'm sick.
Now, RHINEBECK! My gorgeous Entrelac scarf that I finished in the nick of time and I had a great time. And the scarf even got it's photo taken a few times and was told how lovely and gorgeous and amazing it was (blog post coming soon). I barely took any photos. I blame the wool fumes. Wool fumes tend to make me forget everything. My mother couldn't make it because she is having health problems (she can barely walk, she has such pain in her legs. The doctors have no idea why) so I went up by myself. And I'm so proud of me. I didn't go insane and buy everything in site. I had a plan and I stuck to it. I know, I'm as shocked as you. I wanted to get the cowboy Tsock kit, a spindle, some Ellen's half pint sock yarn, and a fleece. I did really well. Other then fleece. I got 3. Whoops.


Here, we have my haul. The cowboy Tsock kit that I can't wait to make, my spindle with a merino/tencel blend on it, above that is some more merino/tencel. Both are from the Sheep Shed and I just adore them. Then we have the yarn, the red and blackish grey (which I call Vampire yarn) and the blue and yellow (one of her new colors, Santa Fe) are from Ellen's half pint and the other yarn, the mulberry and grey from this little stand in one of the buildings. I thought it was such a great price (about $8 for the two skeins and $4 for the grey) that I couldn't resist. The spindle is from Adam's Woodshop. I got it at the Carolina homespun booth. It's a Lizzie spindle, 16 grams cherry whorl and birch shaft and spins like nothing I've seen before. It's like the energizer bunny. It keeps going and going and going and going....

Close up of the yarn

While I was up there, I was knitting a sock. A few weeks before, I decided to knit my mom a pair of socks since well, because. I finished turning the heel before I got home, and finished the sock while I was sick.

I'm hoping to finish the other one this week so I can get started on *gulp* Christmas Knitting.

I just got home from rhinebeck and found out my cat, Miss Marple passed away.

I'd only had her for about a year and a half, but I loved her so much.

Race against time

Rhinebeck is next week (If anyone knows where summer went, please tell me. I have no idea) and I'm hoping to be able to wear my scarf. Without the needles in it and all the ends wove in would be preferable. I want to be able to wrap it around my neck and it still hang down quite a bit. Right now, it's my height. 5 foot, 2 inches, in case you were wondering.

I'm still on my second ball. Will I have it done it time? Tune in next time for the trails and tribulations of the never-ending Entrelac Scarf!

Triumph over Joy

Finally! This seems like it took forever. It still has to be blocked and the ends woven in, but all the knitting is done.

I love this thing. Insanely so. I spun the yarn, and knitted it. I so rule.

Scones

A while ago, while I was in my knitting slump, I cast on for Toast, hoping to get my mojo back. It didn't work (or if it did, it was a month or so late). But I picked it up yesterday, and fell in love. I finished the first one, and cast on for the second right away. In a few hours, I had Scones. I think the main reason I love it is the yarn. If I could, I would marry this yarn and make babies with it. Of course, it's malabrigo. You know what yarn should make babies with malabrigo? Noro. How amazing would that be? I got the yarn at Stitches um... 2? years ago. It was FREE! The malabrigo people were handing it out so I somehow wound up with 3 skeins of worsted in red and 2 of lace in a tan. One of the red I made into a foliage hat and the other one I'm thinking about making into a cowl.

Size 8 needles and I cast on 38 stitches. I really love this and would make another pair. Mindless knitting at it's best.

This is me trying to do that twilight apple in hand shot. I had no apple, so I used the closest thing. A small dog.



In other news, Rhinebeck is getting closer. So I decided to have my scarf finished by then. I still have 2 more skeins to go. I have also decided I'm insane.

Parade of pink

I love pink. Always have, always will. But lately, it seems that I've been knitting (yes, I've been knitting! A lot really. Shockingly, I got my knitting mojo back when the AC was turned on) more pink then normal. Case in point.
I cast on for this in April according to my Ravelry project page. I just finished it and I have no idea why it took so long. I think it maybe took 2 nights in all to knit it.

Winter'snow more
It's the Urchin pattern in the largest size (I have a big head) by Ysolda. Flipping brilliant pattern. Size 11 needles. And the yarn? That would be my handspun. Thawed Roses .
I didn't do any mods, unless you count the fact the somehow a stitch got lost from the cast on edge, so when I was grafting it, I just grafted 2 together so it would be even.

Melting Sunrise





My own pattern, and my own handspun yarn. Needles are size 9's. I love this so much I can't even begin to say. I cast on, did some 2x2 ribbing and then knit till I had enough left over to do the k2tog decreases.I have no idea why I look so sad in that photo.


I think this has spurred a hat obsession. Because this is what I'm working on now


Belphoebe. My own pattern with a cable pattern I borrowed from Cables Untangled.

Still, I have more pink.

That? Would be a sweater. For me. A pink sweater. I love pink.

Recap

In the past few days, this is what's happened. Thursday, I went to the ER because I could no longer breathe. I spent the next 5 hours there. I had blood drawn, chest x-rays and lots of other stuff. I found out I have (Had?) a very bad case of bronchitis, and that my asthma is out of control. So that's all being taking care of. Saturday, I went and got my hair done. And by done, I mean I got it cut and dyed red with Atomic pink and blue mayhem stripes. The entire underneath back of my head is blue.


I can't begin describe how much I love it. It's my favorite hair ever.

Later that night, I went and had dinner with my dad's family. It's no secret I don't like them, but I was nice and put up with them. I decided to be uber nice and take my cousin (who was visiting with her dad from Seattle) out the next day to a book store and a chocolate shop. Which I did (we won't get into how she never thanked me for buying her books or for her hot chocolate). I took her home and her father said he wanted to have a talk with me. The talk? Was about how fat I am. Not only did he say that, but he went on about how I'm going to be dead before I'm 40, that I need gastric bypass and lipo. For about 5 minutes, he did this. And I listened. I didn't want to cause a fight in the family, but it's too late now. After a few minutes, I stood up and said "I'm fat. and happy" and left (altho I really wish I kneed him in the balls. but I took the high road. He said more, but I think you get the idea. I don't think I'll hear from that family again, which doesn't upset me. More of a relief that I never have to deal with them ever again. This happened yesterday and I'm still upset over it. No one has any right to tell me that. or you. It's your life. You decide to live it the way you want. Yes, I'm fat. So what?