PippiKneeSocks.com

What is worse than knitting 3 feet of I-cord?
Knitting 4 or 5 feet of it, yes…

It seems 5 can’t hold onto things. (Last week, she lost her snow pants at skool, HUGE bummer! I’m really hoping they turn up soon.) So, knitting all that I-cord seems like a time saver compared to knitting a whole new set of mitts.
The self striping yarn (in some of my favorite colors) came from my Dye-O-Rama swap partner, Monica. (& embroidery done with the same yarn….)
Knit on US 1s & 3s
I plan to line them with some fleece, as soon as I can convince Matt to get my 400lb sewing machine out of storage.
I’ve been patiently waiting for some things in the mail.
Yesterday when I went to the box, I pulled out a heavy parcel. In the short time it took me to see it in the box and pull it out, I had convinced myself that it contained a pipe bomb (heavy, thick, hard, odd shape… paranoid much?) Living on the edge like I do, I decided to pull it out anyhow… Then I recognized the return address to be Anna’s. (And I was pretty dern sure she wouldn’t send a pipe bomb to me.) Therefore, safe to tear into.
Much to my glee and amusement, it was packed, and I do mean packed (!) with post-it notes, memo pads & small notebooks of all shapes and sizes.
This is what 4 pounds of notepads look like (less what the kids made off with.)

Thank you Anna!
I’m so shocked when people actually read this here blog. Let alone pay attention to what I ramble about.
So, on that note, anyone have one of these sitting ’round? (I’ll pay postage!)

Now that you are asleep, or have clicked away it’s time for a bit of political spew.
As many a US citizen is aware, tonight is the megalomaniac’s State of the Union Address. I won’t be watching. (Or perhaps I will, if I want my BP to shoot thru the roof.) Watching the resident megalomaniac is like rubbernecking a train wreck. But, I wanted to make a declaration. For the past few years (since 2000) I have referred to that person (?) as the resident (I don’t quite get the whole respect the office thing….) For seven years that person (?) has tried my patience and compassion. It is insurmountably difficult for me to have compassion for him. Anyway, from this day forward I will no longer be referring to that war monger as the resident, he will be referred to as the squatter.
ITMFA, m’kay? Ahh, I feel better that is off my chest. (Thank Maude that this bill got shit canned.)

That’s all I got.
Oh, wait, I lied! I can see my laundry room floor!! (Aren’t you all proud?)
And aside from trying my best to keep up with housework these days, I’m going to do my best to get my yarn wound for an update this week. It has been at the top of my list for a few days now, right underneath take a shower and take my vitamins. (Guess which one I’ve also been neglecting?)

♥

monday and rain. apropos, really. the weekend was sun-sun-sunny; and warm. a few degrees warmer than i would like, but hell, that is what oak trees and Ac’s are for. i feel fortunate. on thursday, the last time i looked at the weather; ‘they’ (yes, the weather folx are some of “them”) called for rain the next ten days. it seems we were in a pocket of beautiful weather; as my neighbors to the east had rain, and my neighbors to the south did as well. now we are playing catch up. the garden can use a good watering, tho, right? let’s just hope it doesn’t last a week, or i’ll be flirting with being mental again. (*cough*)
all in all, a good weekend. to spite some PMS outbursts. (*cough*) i got a small amount of fiber stuffs done.
more processing my churro fleece. i carded and dyed some up.

to the right is some mohair that i also processed this week, the churro is to the left.
looks really pretty close up too!

it was intended to be part of my project spectrum, june blue but, i’m running way out of time for what i had in mind. maybe i should start on purple NOW.

the weekend was also ripe with church tag sales.
i scored a metric but-ton of broadcloth, some notions, and some old skool fisher price accessories. (!!!)
a ethernet hub. (which, sadly, i can’t use because it has an in-line for cable, and not dsl.. and i can’t hook it up to either or my modems.)
we did have to scale down our normal weekend tag sale rituals; lately finchly the younger has been, how do i put this, very unhappy at said events. he has taken to biting me and leaving big bruises. bells the elder never really bit, so, i just don’t know how to deal. but that shit hurts. i swear i thought he was going to take a chunk out of me a few weeks ago.

last night as i was out doing the dusk garden cruise; examining my baby peppers,encouraging my ‘maters, pulling out offending weeds, etc. i thought it would be a good idea to check the mailbox, since i didn’t do it since thursday… i’m so HAPPY that i did! inside was a bounty!
my dye-o-rama swap.

my dyer was Monica from Two Left Needles. Sher really did her homework, to the left, pink + black sock yarn!! (she calls it pink panther… go see how she made it!)! i feel so lucky, she really put ALOT into my yarn. i hope i can get some new kicks made soon. she also sent some freaking lovely silk roving from interlacements (!!!) and further proof she really did her homework; bunny note cards!
soon, i hope to spoil my swappee just the same. i ordered some new dyes on thursday, and kicked for the fast shipping.. so hopefully today.
thank maude my swappee is understanding; or else i would feel like an even bigger heal.

i took so long typing and taking coffee breaks that the kids are now awake, and in full force. whoopee!

happy monday!
♥

it’s an illness this week, and i couldn’t stop myself even if i tried.
i’m on such a tear with the carder. (not that it is really a bad thing, but i have other things i should do. like my dye-o-rama yarn… but i’m so incredibly low on dyes i would hate to mess it up and waste dyes & yarn. anyway, DoR pal, you are not forgotten; i just want to make you happy….)
anyway, i worked late into the night last night, on blending up some unicorn breath batts.
what an odd name, you say?! well i can’t take credit for it…i sent one to linda of stoneleafmoon and this is what she had to say about it!!!. her remarks totally made me blush, but truth be told, they are very special batts. (OH! and here it is spun up! go look!!!)
so, i made up 5 of them, then put them by the “fire place” (never you mind that dust there!)

and placed an apple, sweet potato, black bean, chipolte burrito next to them, in hopes of luring the unicorn in, to breathe on them. (it has been confirmed that apple, sweet potato, black bean, chipolte burritos are a favorite snack of the northern glitter tail unicorn)
i think it worked.

unicorn breath

• hemp
• vermont alpaca
• silk sari
• nylon

these are so incredibly intense to make; not to mention messy.
i doubt they will find their way to pippi.
i might spin them up, or they might wind up in your mail box. you just never know, i’m tricky like that.

lucky for me, the kids are well, and dare i say quiet they are sucked into a josie and the pussycats video. (does anyone have VHS anymore? yes, this coming from the last person on the planet without an ipod… haha)
thanks everyone for your well wishes for bells the other day! she is doing better, but, now we have run into some other difficulties.
such is life with youngins!!

♥