The Flying Pig and the Yarn Menagerie

The flying pig is finished. It's amazing. He is just so amazingly cute and I have lots of pictures of the pig in process. It's great. Chris is taking pictures to make me a flying pig avatar. I'm pretty excited. I think now I'm going to make a polar bear or zebra to add to my little family. The pig couldn't be any cuter. I'm gonna go post my pictures on flickr. More later!

The Yarn Menagerie

It's finished! My elephant is finished! And I've brought pictures! Plus, I spent a little extra time and money and bought some yarn and made my giraffe! So, my little yarn menagerie is up to three animals now. My project for today is a flying pig for one of the ladies at Sarah Jane's. Last night was so much fun. We knit until 2 in the morning and then Chris and I came home and I stayed up till 5 working on my giraffe. His spots are such a pain to sew on. So, he's kind of a spotless giraffe right now. And I'm trying to think of some type of decoration for my elephant so that he doesn't look so plain. The giraffe has spots, and the lion has a sparkly main, so I don't really know how to make the elephant less plain. He is cute, but plain. Chris and I patched things up over dinner. We went out and got wings and talked a lot, and we are both going to try and work a little harder at understanding each other. We needed to have that talk. Things are good now. We had a really good time watching Short Circuit 2, and then the Simpsons. It was a pretty good night. He is really into this whole yarn store idea, and I'm totally behind him on that. It's going to be interesting to watch him develop this. I think that's all for now... I will post my pictures and begin working on my flying pig. I think I'm going to make him a little differently so that he stands on all four feet instead of sitting down like mine are. I just want to make sure you can see the wings alright. After all, what's the point of having a flying pig if you can't see the wings?

Due to some technical issues with blogger, I can't upload my pictures here. I will go make a flickr account and will be back soon and link to my pictures. That will just be easier.

Can't Believe I'm Even Doing This Right Now

Why?
BECAUSE I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO FINISH SOMETHING!!
I just had to mark this momentous occasion with a quick blog post.
More details (and pictures! I have pictures!) later...

Last Post for the Day...I Swear

I feel ridiculous. First off, I'm sitting at my computer crying over something unbelievably stupid for no reason at all. Second, I'm sitting at my computer crying because I'm talking to my boyfriend who is sitting in the next room over because I'm too stupid to just go in and talk to him. Third, I wanted a tattoo. That's just a stupid idea in itself. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk Chris into going. Fourth, I'm beating myself up over the fact that I'm being stupid.
I hate today.

Rain--Again

It's raining. Again. Imagine that.
I should work on finishing my elephant. But I don't want to. I am unhappy. All the life and resilience I felt two hours ago is gone.
Over one word:
Tattoo.
Chris makes me feel like I'm this terrible person sometime because he doesn't care at all about my hobbies. I try so hard to make him feel smart and important. I learned more about Python because he's a programmer. I got into video games because he likes them so much. I really REALLY tried to understand artificial life because he wants so badly to make it work. I even try to read into things even though I absolutely hate reading into books and movies. I do all these things because he wants someone to talk to because his friends abandoned him. His friends abandoned him because of me. So, because I feel awful about that, I try to be his friend. I try to learn the things he knows so he can talk to me. I even took a philosophy class so that he would be able to talk to me about his major. I try so hard to understand him and be an interesting person to talk to. He just thinks my hobbies and my interests are stupid.
I wanted so badly to get a tattoo. He thinks they're stupid. So I don't get one. I love knitting and listening to "angry" music because it makes me feel good. He just thinks knitting is silly because I never finish anything. I like to talk and he hates it that I'm always noisy. Today is one of those days where I wonder if moving in together was a terrible idea or not. I want us to work because I love him so much. I love how he makes me feel most of the time. But when he asked me what I want to do today, I said "get a tattoo", he said "no" and that was the end of the conversation. I'm not even going to tell him what I want to get because he will just tell me that it's a stupid idea. I think the only reason he put up with me getting the last one is because I told him that he was partially the reason I got it in the first place. I have an orange heart on my hip. It's tiny and barely noticeable, but I love it so much because it reminds me of him.
My heart feels so heavy today, even when it started out as such a good day. I have a feeling that I won't end up going to the knit in because Chris won't want to pick me up. I like having friends with the same hobby as me and I wish he could appreciate it as well. I don't want to feel like this today. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to have fun with my boyfriend on what started out as a beautiful day. Now I just want to lay down and sleep and be miserable. I really want to get a tattoo. Maybe I'll just walk to the tattoo place once Chris drops me off. Maybe tonight he would just be happier working from home alone. That way I don't bug him by trying to talk about my day or asking him how work is going.
I am sad again and I hate it.

Blast Fair Isle to Hell (and bring it back quickly, because I'm awfully interested to hear how the trip went!)

Damn it all. I have been rifling through some blogs, sites, books and magazines looking for something easy to stretch my fair isle legs with. I've never tried it before, and I'm fully regretting that now. I've been knitting for far too long to not have tried simple things like cables and fair isle. I just need to suck it up and try. It can't be that hard, right? I mean, I'm sure it's confusing at first, but with a little practice I'm sure I will be able to pick it right up. And it's probably a pretty cool yarn-saving trick. I don't know, but now I have all these new ideas on hand to try fair isle and intarsia (or are they the same thing...?) and I still HAVEN'T FINISHED MY OTHER PROJECTS!! Chris is getting sick of seeing my random yarn bursts around the house and I really am trying to get things finished. I'll finish my elephant when I get home from school
(did I mention I started and am extremely close to finishing my elephant? Well, if I didn't, I am now. It's almost done. It needs one more arm, stuffed and some ears. It will be done before the knit in tonight. Maybe I'll take him with me as a mascot.)
and then look into some more complex projects to work on tonight. I really wanted to make that scarf, and it would have been a really cool project to show off. I grabbed some extra cash at the ATM over lunch, so maybe I will just give in and buy something soft and pretty to make a new hat out of or something. Maybe I can talk Chris into going to Wal-Mart and I can buy some cheap yellow and brown cotton to make a giraffe out of like I wanted to so long ago.
The problem with making a polar bear or giraffe is that they are crocheted. I don't want to go to a knit in where everyone is knitting and I'm just the weird girl who crochets. Hmm.
Chris keeps proposing that my blog turn into a yarn haven where I can open up my own shop. This idea sounds unbelievable in so many ways. One: It's what I would love to do with myself. I want to open either a yarn shop or a Ritter's. Two: He's actually serious about it!
Oh my god. I know what I want to do tonight. I want to get inked! I think I am going web hunting for a picture of needles to get inked tonight. I'll post a picture if I find a good one!

A Mild Addiction

Is this blog becoming a slight addiction for me? Yes, I believe it is. I post in the morning, several times an evening, and even at school. Yes, this could become a serious problem for me.
However, maybe tonight will fix that for me. There is a knit-in tonight at Sarah Jane's and I'm really excited to go. I need to get paid first because I will probably want to buy stuff. But this pay check needs to cover most of my rent, so I can't spend that much. Let's see, I need to save about $200 on this check, just to make sure my check next week will cover it. Actually, I only need to save about $150 because I get paid next week from Dan, where I will save about $100, and then another $100 on my check the following week from Ritter's. I think I might actually be able to pay for part of Chris's rent this month. It's kinda nice having money.
But it sucks not having a car. I really should start looking into getting one. And fixing my credit. God I hope my paycheck can cover my credit card payment.
Gotta get ready for school. Ew.

Rainy Days Suck

I've had an ample amount of time to knit today and what have I done?
Nothing.
I've got about five stripes done on my illusion scarf, which equals about 2 inches, if I'm lucky. I am feeling uninspired right now. It could be that I'm pms-y, or that this scarf is turning out to be much harder than I had imagined. Either way, I'm frustrated and I'm not sure what to do next. I could just give up and turn this beautiful yarn into something worthwhile, or I could go back to my cabled hat using a real needle this time as opposed to that damn crochet hook. I could go back to making my blanket, or even making that elephant like I wanted to weeks ago. I don't know. I will probably just go to my faithful friend, the internet, and find a new pattern to fight and struggle with and eventually never finish.
I really liked the idea of my junkie scarf. I thought it would be interesting. Looking back, it would have looked even better with black and lime green, or lemon yellow. I don't know what to do now. I'm angry.
Chris is playing Mario Galaxy and I'm having a pretty good time just sitting back and watching him. It's helping me relax a bit. He's trying to help me get inspired. What a great guy...So very much in love with him. I'm gonna go watch him some more and maybe give him a little lovin' of his own.

So Very Angry

I am beyond furious at my attempts to chart an "illusion" scarf last night. I worked out six separate charts (one for each letter in the word "junkie") and I hate them. Plus, the site I am using as a basis for my work makes no sense. There are no set directions to follow, so I can't even get started even if I wanted to make the stupid "knitster" scarf that is readily available. I have all day to work on it, so hopefully I can get some pictures up and running of my scarf in process. I hope. We will see.
For now, I have to actually put some hours in at work, so off I go to type type type. Ew. Maybe I should take knitting breaks instead of smoking breaks. Every hour, 5 minutes. Or something like that. And after each break I will take a picture and maybe by the end of the day I will have some semblance of a photo montage.
Speaking of montages, I need to start a Flickr account so that I can do slideshows and such of my already finished projects, and projects I have started but will never finish.

(Like that cabled hat...)

With that being said, I really am going this time before anymore incriminating evidence can sneak its way in here.

Shadow Knitting and an Over Abundance of Partenthesis and Quotation Marks

On Knitty Gritty (the oh-so popular TV show hosted by Vicki Powell that I have yet to actually watch, but I am absolutely addicted to the web site), there is a pattern for an "illusion scarf" (that scarf I was ranting about earlier). I went out and bought yarn, so I am excited to start charting and casting on. I have decided to try charting my course on here. It's slightly more permanent than creating a document on say, Microsoft Excel, because I usually tend to misname those files and loose them shortly after creation. (Hence the lack of papers turned in at school...)
I have considered typing the chart somewhere else and pasting it, but that's just WAAAAY too much work.
I have also gotten some new yarn. I am now in love with Berroco's "Comfort." It comes in great shades, is cheap with great yardage, and is suprisingly soft for being a simple acrylic/nylon blend. I have two skeins in awfully pretty colors and I am excited to be starting this scarf. But first I need to decide what to "shadow."
I could do hearts, stars, or my boyfriend's name. But those all sound so cheesy when place in the colorway I have chosen. I have black as my main color and a stormy-blue color as my contrast. My scarf will be black with a blue "hologram." Needless to say, I'm awfully excited. Now to come up with something bold, beautiful and witty to add into this breakthrough project. How about "Save the Whales," or "R.I.P. Fred Jones"? (An inside reference to a student who was accidentally killed this past weekend from my school. He is another reason why I hate guns. Blue ribbons all around.) I need to meditate on this. This could be the most important decision I make in my knitting life! It needs to be clever and funny, but at the same time sweet and caring.
I've got it! My scarf should say "we all scream for ice cream". No, that's too long. I will think of something. Maybe just "Mastadons". It's simple and to the point. That makes sense, right? How about "Janet?"
Junkie. My scarf will say "junkie" with no capital letters or punctuation. That's perfect. Junkie it is.

April Scarves Bring December Presents

Ok, I can't help it. I NEED to make this scarf. It's so amazing. I am going yarn hunting today. I need new yarn to make this absolutely fabulous scarf. It's all holographic and stuff. I can do anything.
I'm going to explode. Seriously. I need to shop.
Maybe I'll just go to Hobby Lobby and buy some cheap easy yarn to start with, that way I don't waste good yarn on a terrible project. I hate following charts, so I can't possibly see how this is going to work out well. But I need to try. Must make new scarf.
It's April. Have I lost my mind? Who the hell starts making scarves in April? Wait! Maybe I can start making them in April and have them all finished in December for Christmas! Woo hoo! I could get a head start on presents.
I say that every year and it never happens. Maybe I will change it up this year. Chris can keep me from getting distracted. I've got so many projects started right now... Maybe it's time for me to actually pick one and stick with it. You think?
I have to go give a tour to a couple high school kids. More on yarn later.

Alone Again

So, here I am again. At home. Alone. Because I have no car. It's been a whole week now since my car has died. And it blows. I have so many things I want to do but can't because I'm stranded here. Even if Chris was home right now, I would feel awful if I asked Chris to drive me anywhere. He has to get up an hour early every morning.... I feel like a terrible girlfriend now.
Hmm. I want to knit and crochet, but I feel bad now. This sucks.

Elephants, Elephants, Everywhere...

I need to start working on my elephant. I've decided that I wanted to use a different yarn for my elephant. I was using Cascade 220, but I've changed my mind. It's an elephant, right? So, it should be big and bulky, also right? I have some kinda cheap gray yarn that I kinda like, and I probably won't use it for anything else. It's soft, but it's just cheap acrylic.
I also need to finish up dishes. Ug. Boring day ahead of me.