Moving...
Mood:  happy
I've been busy (haven't we all...) anyway, this blog is moving to:

http://cadreamer1988.blogspot.com/

I Haven't Died... (Yet)
Mood:  incredulous
Wow. It's been a while since I've posted here. Not-so-coincidentally, September 5 coincides with the day before I started my new job as a teacher. Now you know why I've been AWOL, if you even care.

The move is also finally happening, next week as it turns out.

In other news... this blog is going to change direction. I've decided that this blog is going to be more "my personal opinion" than an "ongoing list of projects." Frankly, I'm finding writing about my projects kind of mind numbing, mostly because I am not uber-fast craft person and am not able to churn out something in less than a day. It was getting tiresome writing "and now, see how I have added another inch to the sleeve, only 12 more inches to go." Boring to write and I'm sure, boring to read. So, this is going to be a place where I write about whatever comes into my head at the moment. There might be some craft stuff still, but it's not going to be the main topic.

Free Stuff
Mood:  surprised
I posted an ad for Free Stuff on Freecycle. This is a cool place you can go if you want to get rid of some things and you don't want to or don't care about selling them.

So, I posted my list of all this stuff I wanted to get rid of. The post was completed and posted at 6:00 pm on Friday. At 6:02 pm on Friday I received my first call (of MANY) asking about the free stuff.

Then, hordes of people started descending upon my house. Like a plague of locusts, a swarm of ants, a wake of buzzards, they all swirled around for a bit and when they left almost all of the stuff I had to give away was gone. Wow.

I still have a couple of things left, but that's only because certain people said they would come by and get certain things and then did not show up.

I now have nothing to really sit on (no couch) but am feeling good that all the stuff is gone - it was sorta cluttering up my mind and bugging me cause I knew it had to go.

Home Improvement
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: KFOG
First of all, don't expect any knitting content for about a month as all of my yarn is now in boxes and is at my sister's house. I have projects in process, but no time to work on them right now.

If you thought the Big Move was supposed to be complete by now you are correct. The goal was to be out of here by June or at the latest mid July. Missed that deadline. Not only do I have to pack, but I needed to finish a major home improvement project. My dad came down for a week and put in the rest of my new floor (I replaced all the really really really old tile and carpet with Pergo type laminate) but I still need to get the base boards on. By the way, trying to finish a Home Improvement project at the same time you are supposed to be Moving is a Very Bad Idea. Just thought I'd let you know. On the other hand the floor looks great and will certainly increase the rentability of the house.

Losing my Mind
Mood:  rushed
Now Playing: KFOG
Vacation was great. We went to Yellowstone and had a great time. No pics yet, but I'll post some as soon as I get the film developed. I'm now hard at work trying to get ready to move. I have way too much STUFF! My original plan was to be done with this whole thing in June or July, obviously I've missed that deadline!

In other news:
When I was finishing the stole I couldn't find the book with the pattern in it with the pattern instructions. I also couldn't find a couple of other knitting books, I figured they must be together, but where? That was the question. I searched all over, and since then have been looking sporadically for the books. The other day, I found them all.

Where were they you my ask? In some out of the way place? In some dark corner, hiding from the light? NO! They were all nicely put away with my other knitting books on the bookshelf. Apparently, if I actually PUT SOMETHING AWAY it might as well be on the moon.

Vacation
Mood:  lazy
Summer classes for school ended on Friday. I am so happy to be done with all of that for a few weeks. New classes start in September, plus! I actually have a job as a teacher, so starting in September I will probably look fondly back at this summer as a nice, easy, relaxing time. I'll be going to school at night and teaching during the day.

I'm not going to be around for a week - I'm going on vacation. We are going to the parents house and then we're all going to Yellowstone. I can hardly wait, it'll be really good to relax for a week.

Finished!
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: KFOG
Yes, the stole is done, done, done. I can hardly believe it myself. On a somewhat related, but not really relevant note, the Blue Thing is done as well. I finished THAT this morning. So, I have officially finished two items so far this year! Be still my heart, I can hardly stand the excitement.

I'm not going to inflict a picture of the Blue Thing on you, as it is essentially just a umm... large blue square, and is not much to look at. However, here is a pic of the stole after blocking. It doesn't show the length that well, but this should give you an idea at least.

On Pins and Needles
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: KFOG
Yes, the event you have been waiting for, on pins and needles, I'm sure. I've got the Lace Dream Stole blocking! It's almost finished and I can't hardly believe it. It seems like I've been working on this one project for so long. Here it is in the pinned out state.

And, one more pic, this shows the length better.

And yes, I ignored my homework this morning to get this sucker pinned out. Now, after it dries, comes the fun of trying to get all of the 500 million pins out before I find one or more with my feet.

I am glad I finally got this done, and even more that I actually have a bona fide knitting pic for my *cough* knitting blog.

Actual Knitting Content
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: KFOG
No, I have not yet started blocking the stole. Must. Block. Now. Otherwise, I will just have to call myself really lame. New Goal: Get it pinned onto something by Friday so I can officially call it done by the end of this week.

I've pulled out the "Big Blue Thing" and I've been knitting away on this. It's sorta like doing penance. First, it's heavy. I mean, really heavy. When I started it, lo these many years ago, I wanted a very warm, thick afghan. I got my wish. It's made out of Lion Brand Homespun, 2 strands held together on size 13 needles I think.

Second, the needles are a problem. They are interchangable needles (Boye brand I think) which means that you can screw on different needle ends to get different sizes of needles. A great idea you say? Yeah, I reply, but the execution leaves something to be desired as the needle ends don't really want to stay where they are put and have the blasted tendency to unscrew themselves. Constantly. So, the knitting process is actually, knit, knit, knit, screw, screw, screw, repeat ad nauseum.

Third, I wanted a little bit of texture, but not to have to worry about a complicated pattern. So, I cast on some unknown # of stitches (don't even ask me to count them) and started off in a very basic pattern. Row 1, Knit, Row 2, *Knit 1, Knit 1 in row below*, repeat between * till end of row. Pattern: Repeat Row 1 and Row 2. Mindless knitting you say? I wish. I cannot tell you the number of times I have screwed up Row 2. No one will ever know, and I refuse to frog the damned thing because Homespun just does not frog that well.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel in that I am FINALLY on my last two skeins of yarn and so I should be done with this beast shortly.

Maybe I'll even be done with this before I get the stole blocked? Naaahhh...

Weird
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: What The??
So, I come on here tonight to post an update and what do I see? Well, I certainly DON'T see my last entry of July 15. What happened there? Extremely weird. So, I edited the post (it was in the Edit your posts section) and reposted. That was too extremely freaky.

Well, I STILL haven't got the stole blocking. Maybe this weekend. I've been really busy with school. I'm in the middle of three classes right now, all ending by mid-August and so haven't really had time to do more than rush through bunches of homework. Also, still trying to clean/pack. I think I just have way too much to do. Hopefully, I'll have things under better control soon.