The Feet, They are Fuzzy.

And they fit the husband very well. I have been avoiding the felting because I was worried about what would happen, then I realized how bass ackwards that was and threw them in a pillowcase and went for it. I think they are lovely and with the white stripe on only one of them, the right and left will never be confused. Yeah, ok that's lame, I just didn't like the stripe all that much after the first one so I didn't do it on the second. I let the husband do the shaping because they were his, and although they lack the ocd perfection they would have had if I had exercised my usual control freakiness over that aspect of the project, he likes them just fine and I like that he wears them. All in all this was a very fun KAL.

Tagged? Me?

Four Signs of the Apocalypse

I began knitting

I got a blog

I got comments

I have been tagged for a meme.

That's right, folks, the name of the angel who blows that final trumpet is Melissa from Spoiled Rotten (go see her adorable niece!) who wants the world to know -

20 Things about me

1) I don't eat pork. This is not religious, it is because my husband likes pigs too much and thinks they are too intelligent to eat and I like my husband too much to eat it. However, once a year I have a secret and shameful (and very private) breakdown that usually consists of me frying a whole can of Spam and downing it or making a secret run on a pound of bacon at a breakfast bar while my husband is not around.

2) I became Japanese at 40. Well, not really, I always loved Japan (my Dad went there when he was in the service) and Japanese food, but at 40 I decided to take Japanese language lessons and got hooked on anime and got involved with several Japanese crafts (in a completely unrelated series of coincidences). One day when I finally get to go, I want to be able to read and speak enough Japanese to get by. I just hope I don't sound like a 14 year old when I do.

3) Katrina has affected me more that I will admit. I am from New Orleans, and my family lost their homes, I lost all my childhood (except for the memories) and everyone thinks I'm ok because I keep a happy front and keep a positive spin on it, but I might never be really ok. Nuff said.

4) I supposedly have a plaque in a museum in England with my name on it. And except for the fact that there are name and dedication plaques on every surface in England, it might be more special. No, really, it is quite special to me for several reasons. One is that I had the opportunity to be a part of the project, two is that when the plaque was offered to the gentleman who spearheaded the project he insisted that my name be the one on the plaque because I was the glazier that made the piece used to raise money for the museum. One day I hope to get back there to see it.

5) I am Catholic. I am also French (not Cajun), German and Irish. My mood swings are hell. Then I feel guilty about them.

6) I am in the SCA. For those of you who don't know, that's the Society for Creative Anachronism which I have been a member of since 1980. In the SCA I am a Baroness and a Laurel (peerage for arts and sciences). In real life I am a chickengoddess.

7) I am getting new chickens in the spring. I haven't had chickens in years. Ever since a real fox really broke into our chicken house and killed all my chickens (I live downtown in Atlanta) I haven't been able to bring myself to get more. Now I have a plan. All I need is the spring. Of course I'd love an Eglu, but they don't sell them in the States. I don't think Omlet (the company that maked and sells them) even returns emails from the States Any knit bloggers in England want to swing a deal and ship me an Eglu I'd make it worth your while.

8) I have played guitar in a few bands. Mostly punk bands in the 80's, then a brief but fun swan song in a rock and roll band in the 90's. I got to open for X and Black Flag. It was chaotic and wonderful. Later I played Appalacian dulcimer and mandolin in folk and bluegrass groups. I have played since I was 7, and I have always wished I had the strength in my fingers to play lead, but I don't.

9) I became a pharmacist to pay for my glass habit. OK, that's not the only reason, but when you have hobbies that ain't cheap, it is at least a contributing factor.

10) An inordinate number of people I know have committed suicide. I don't know why, and I can never understand it. I have always understood somehow that suicide is not a viable option. It is really sad that so many people I knew didn't get that.

11) I am a Harry Potter freak. I actually avoided the books till after book three, but once I started I realized how wonderful they were. I even like all the movies (so far, I am going to see GoF tonight so I'll reserve comment on that) even though I don't always feel that the directors share my vision. But the muggles do the best they can, I suppose.

12) I destroyed my right knee in a slam dancing accident. It got better, though. But there's nothing like being in an ER at 4 in the morning wearing a black lace merry widow, midnight blue spandex pants, jack boots, spikes and more black eyeliner than should be legally allowed and hearing the ER doc call his friends on another floor and say "Hey, you gotta get down here, you're not going to believe this..." I still have pictures of the cast. And I had to learn to walk again, which was really really weird.

13) I have almost no tolerance for bullshit. I think this happened at 40 as well. I just don't have time for it anymore. If it isn't real, don't bother me. By the time I hit 70 (God willing) I am going to be the most crotchety old woman you've ever met.

14) I have smoked since I was 10 years old. Hey, I know this isn't good for me, but the decision that started this whole thing was made by a 10 year old, so what do you expect? I have, however, got it down to about 2 or 3 a day most days, and ultra light at that. That has been my habit for the last 15 years or so, and aside from the occasional weekend splurge of maybe half a pack now and then, that's all. I don't know if the price to give up those last 2 comfort cigarettes (which my doctor tells me is less pollution than breathing the freaking air in Atlanta) is worth the effort. So I go out on my porch and have a few. I don't allow smoking in the house. I don't want to have everything I own smelling bad, and I don't need to make it easy on myself to get those two.

15) I love rollercoasters, especially sky coaster type rides. I would never never bungee jump, though.

16) I am my biggest work in progress. I love the challenge of trying to make myself a better person. I don't always succeed, and the decisions I make about how I live my life don't always make for an easy time, but I have a lot to overcome.

17) My real name is an unfortunate sentence. It is something my sister and I have discussed, as we share this little problem. We foolishly thought that when we grew up and got married it would somehow go away. It got worse, and much worse for me, as my married name is also a euphamism. It makes for interesting ice breaking at parties, though.

18) My parents are my heroes. Here are two people who both decided to break away from the established family mindsets they came from and create a loving and communicative environment for their children. They did not limit our creativity or try to stamp us into pre-conceived molds. They provided strict limits to protect us, they provided consistent discipline to keep us on a good footing. They supported us through every time of our lives. They taught me the very flexibility and problem solving they now employ to gracefully tackle the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives after losing everything to Katrina when they should have been coasting through a well deserved retirement. I just think the world of them.

19) I married the man I loved most of all. I knew him for 12 or 13 years before I even knew he thought as highly of me as I did of him. I know how lucky I am.

20) I am scared of flying. I still fly, but I have never completely gotten over it. This course helps me a lot; I highly recommend it. I am much better since I took it, and I review it before every flight. Last time I flew I actually enjoyed it. I have a touch of vertigo too, which also makes escalators a bit of a challenge for me. I have real problems if they're too long, because I get disoriented and that's pretty scary. But you can't let these fears keep you from having a life, you know?

So, there it is. You asked for, you got it. But thanks for asking all the same. I don't know who else to tag because I know this has been around for a while, but if you are reading this and haven't already done this one, consider yourself tagged.

Fear of Felting

Sunday came and went, and although there was much celebration and much Irish dance, there was no felting. Monday, Tuesday, and then the rest of the week came and went and all of a sudden it is Friday and no felting of the Fuzzy Feet. I'll just admit it - I'm scared of ruining them. I have picked up needles and yarn and gotten all brave and adventurous before, but that was because I have always had the safety net of being able to frog it if I screw it up and start again. But felting, well, that's a one way road, and I just haven't gotten the gumption to go down that road just in case it turns out to be the one way road to hell. OK, I'm probably being a little dramatic, but it really is kind of a big thing for me. Well, I figure Sunday is coming around again and that gives me all of tomorrow to screw my courage to the sticking place, bite the bullet, and engage in any other metaphors I can come up with, and Just do it.

Meanwhile, I have started a new project which deserves its own space. So for now, the Chickengoddess is still chickening out on the felting, and I'll ramble on about the new project as soon as I get some pictures together.

Also, because this keeps me from felting even longer, I did one of those blog things. It is almost spot on except for one thing...

Your Birthdate: November 29

You have the mind of an artist, even if you haven't developed the talent yet. Expressive and aware, you enjoy finding new ways to share your feelings. You often feel like you don't fit in - especially in traditional environments. You have big dreams. The problem is putting those dreams into action. Your strength: Your vivid imagination Your weakness: Fear of failure Your power color: Coral Your power symbol: Oval Your power month: November

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

My power color is coral?

Fuzzy Pair

There is probably some mystic and eldritch reason that this weekend will see the completion of the Fuzzy Feet. This weekend has become a celebration of all things feet, somehow. Today I started and finished foot number two, tomorrow I will be felting and shaping them, then my darling husband and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary with the late show of Riverdance at the Fox Theater. I don't know what I will be knitting next. I have real tiny scary sock yarn, but I am now armed with special sock knowledge. I also have the stuff to make a Birch shawl. After my first unblogged about and frankly humiliating experience with lace knitting, I am still determined but possibly still unready to try lace so soon. Maybe I'll just pretend all that doesn't exist and go on a finishing binge. I've still got the Clappy and that dratted Fletcher hanging over my head (kinda like the sword of Damocles, only without the fun musical accompaniment of Rocky in his little gold lame bikini undies singing about it). For now, look for finished object photos of the felted feeties tomorrow.

Knittin' Large

I have been knitting for maybe two months now. So far, I've done really well at identifying projects that are too advanced for me, and I have learned to back up. I really need one of those annoying beepers for when I go into reverse and back into a simpler project. I wanted to learn cables so I started with Forbes Forest, which quickly set the little robot in my mind screaming "danger, Will Robinson" and I backed into Coronet, which was a total success. I jumped in to trying Branching Out in Douceur et Soie (that's right, I didn't even blog about that disaster) and learned that I needed to back into wither a simpler lace project or a try at that pattern with a yarn I can actually work with, I haven't decided which yet. I took a break from the endless (but I'm OK with that) Clapotis to back into a totally mindless, skinny and wonderfully fast mistake rib scarf. Again, success, set to the soundtrack of my reverse warning beeps.

So what do I do? I go out and buy "Knitting on the Road" and "Knitting Vintage Socks". I need to have my head examined.

Actually, this is all Lolly's fault, her and her evil Soctoberfest. I really couldn't have cared less about socks till all the cool pics started showing up all over the web, and then it was too late. She even ran away to Hawaii, undoubtedly going into hiding to avoid me giving her looks because she started the sock fire which now burns brightly within me. But yes, now I must knit socks too. I never realized I was that much of a joiner, but I guess I am, and there's no shame in it I suppose. Actually there is plenty of shame, but it rests mostly in my total lack of sock knitting knowledge.

Crazy Aunt Purl to the rescue! This is the second time I have mentioned her in this blog, which is just a baby blog, and I swear if I mention her again I am just going to have to apply to her for adoption. Anyway, thanks to her Fuzzy Feetalong, I will not only be knitting socks, I will be KNITTIN' LARGE (socks). Somehow this reminds me of this strange flash animation. And with that vision firmly in our heads, picture me knitting Fuzzy Feet.

Now picture me knitting the heel according to instructions which just seem wrong and taking it on faith that the kind and generous Theresa wouldn't lie to me - and succeeding!!! I am so stoked over this giant and increasingly sock shaped creature spilling forth from my oversized needles! I feel a little like Dr. Frankenstein creating his monster. I dunno, maybe that's the leftover Halloween candy I washed down with a beer talking. Nothing like knitting giant socks drunk with the sugar high from hell. I recommend it highly (no pun intended).


Here is Samantha with my first heel and gussett. Marvel at the natural splendor of this REALLY BIG SOCK!

***UPDATE***
Well, these are cool, and they're fast! I have finished one already.

On to fuzzy foot Number 2!

Wednesday is for "How the Hell Did This Happen?"

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

OK, Somehow, I am worth a freaking mint. I have no idea how, other than that I must be finally cashing in on the deity thing. Hey, I'll take it any way I can get it. But can I buy more yarn with it?

Three days of slacking and I still finished Coronet!

I am the slack knitter. Right now we are playing host to my parents until they return to N.O. and start the cleanup/rebuilding project. So I started Coronet Friday and worked on it in odd moments over the weekend and still got it finished by last night. I changed up a few things. First, I didn't want to do it with the flip up band, I just knitted it straight. I used a different yarn and had to change needle sizes to get gauge. I didn't wait for Grumperina to post her instructions on picking up the stitches before I forged on ahead, and then I reversed the direction of the knitting to do the hat knit side out. Then I went crazy and put a row of 6 5-stitch i-bobbles a la Annie Modesitt just above the band. This was really interesting because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but I got something bobbley out of it, so I didn't do it completely wrong, which is pretty surprising. So here is yours truly, looking a little Blair Witch, but there you go - oh well, it is the season for it.

I think I am going to make another one now, the right way, do the flippy cable band, drop the bobbles (I like them for this hat, though) and make it red. Just because.

Pattern: Coronet
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino Aran Color 325702 - 2 50g balls
Needles: Aluminum dp's size 6

W00T! Cable Enabled!

Instead of slogging through a frustrating Forbes Forest scarf, I decided that maybe a single cable project would be a gentler introduction to the world of cables. I chose Coronet from the Knitty site and achieved almost instant success. Instead of aggravation, I have a lovely and addicting pattern going, and I am enjoying it so much that I'm sad it is so short. I started the band last night and I'm nearly done. More than just learning to cable, I also had to learn about a provisional cast on (which I sort of figured out myself and I might not have done it right, but the end product will work just the same so who cares) and I will soon know the joys of grafting and picking up stitches. I await Grumperina's instructions on picking up stitches "the pretty way" so that I can learn the pretty way from the beginning. We'll see how that goes, but so far here is the cable band.


I am using Debbie Bliss Merino Aran instead of the Lambs' Pride the pattern called for and so I have had to switch to size 6 needles to get gauge, but that just means I am already riffing off a pattern which is pretty cool considering how new I am to knitting. I am considering making other changes (get a little confidence and I go wild), so we'll just have to see how this all turns out in the end.

To be continued..........

Mistake Rib Scarf and Yet Another Cat!

So for mental health reasons I skipped out on Forbes Forest and leapt into cloning the awesome scarf I saw at atypicalmom.com. And my strategy worked beautifully. I finished the scarf today (it's a real quick and fun knit, even for a slow-bee like me) and I am ready to tackle cables afresh. I have been working so much I don't have any brain left to be wordy or to attempt cleverness, so in lieu of all that, let me simply present Sophie, another of the Magnificent Eight, modeling the new FO.



Pattern: Mistake Rib Scarf - CO multiple of 4 plus 3, K2P2 to end, K2P1 turn, repeat.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Color 88
Needles: Bamboo size 8

Me and Mr. Noro, we got a thing going on (or the evil Japanese conspiracy)

I am firmly convinced that Japan really is designing exactly what I always wanted solely to force me to buy it. Is that a bit conceited perhaps, that an entire country would be somehow involved in a conspiracy to separate me from my cash by making stuff that makes me want to own it? Well, let me tell you that being saddled with the responsibility of being a chickengoddess was quite enough of a shock, but once you get comfy with the idea of being a deity to poultry, then yeah, it's pretty easy to see a pattern emerge that has me written all over it.

First came the Nissan Murano. OK, it is the coolest car EVER. It looks cool, it drives cool, it has a cool transmission, cool dash panel, cool colors, and is named after the island of Venetian glassworkers, which heaps coolness on an already awesome car (for a glass making poultry deity like me). It was obviously designed for me with me in mind, thankyouverymuch Nissan. I knew the first time I saw it it haaad to be mine in that special way that makes you feel a little worried. So the whole purchasing thing was pretty secondary considering it was all over from the start, and Japan knew that. I know they did.

So about two months ago I thought I'd take a knitting lesson. I needed a stress reliever and a change of pace from my ordinary hobbies, and my LYS had a sign posted in the window advertising knitting lessons, so I drove my awesome Murano over and signed up. One, I had no idea that knitting could be so expensive! Two, I didn't know it at the time, but Japan had once again anticipated me, and this time it was a trap that would probably cost me as much as the Murano given time.........

Noro.

I know I am not the only one who has fallen under the spell. Crazy Aunt Purl has recently waxed rhapsodic about it in a way I understand oh so well. I just want to know what it would be like to actually fill the Murano with Noro and drive it home. And then roll around in it all for a while. Every time I go looking for yarn I find some new perfect yarn, in the perfect color or texture, only to pull it out and see that black label. So out of the 4 WIPs I have going on 3 are Noro, and my FO is Noro, and now I will have to do something with that Transitions. It's an evil Japanese conspiracy, I tell you.

Meanwhile, if I save enough of these labels I should be able to completely cover my dining room table in them. Decoupage, anyone?