I Scream at the Top of my Lungs, What's Going On

Well, if this isn't coming along just swimmingly...

Yes, it is very roll-y on the bottom, and no, I don't have any idea how to remedy that, as I have proven before, seeing as BFF's birthday scarf is still very, very curly.

I made a little tiny sample of BFF's scarf so that I could experiment on the rolliness without ruining the actual thing. I blocked it... and nothing happened. So Shelly decided to iron it.

If you'll notice, it is still a little curly, and the stitches look smooshed and have lost all definition and stretchiness. Shelly, however, can't understand why I don't want the actual scarf to suffer the same fate as the poor innocent swatch.

I guess that's why the label specifically specifies not to iron the crappy acrylic. Ooohh.....

I think it's a better idea for the scarf to roll up into itself than it is for it to fall at the hand of Shelly's iron. At least this way I can say, "Oh, BFF, it's supposed to look like that. It's a skinny scarf. And I'm pretty offended that you didn't know that!"

Yes. That is obviously the best solution.

And in other breaking news... Boyfriend is gone for the weekend. And you know what that means! A whole weekend of booze, drugs, and new man meat.

Ew. I tried to make a funny, and it ended up just being gross. I am so not that person. I would clearly make a terrible hippie. My weekend is going to consist of homework, Summertime Tunic, and blowing up football shaped balloons for Super Bowl Party go-ers.

But you know what? That sounds so much better than all the hippie stuff.

Oh, and do you like my new ducks?

I got them on account of they look just like Boyfriend and me. Except for the part where we're not actually ducks, or yellow, or have beaks. And also he doesn't play a guitar yet, and if he did, it would be acoustic because I told him that would be hotter. And also I'm clearly not as good of a hippie as this duck is. This duck is probably wing-deep in LSD. I am elbow-deep in Berroco Comfort DK. I think I got the better end of that deal.

Song of the Day:

"And so I wake in the morning and I step outside and I take a deep breath and I get real high and I scream at the top of my lungs, what's going on?" - 4 Non-Blondes, "What's Up"

The other day, my friend had a stroke. He is one of the nicest, happiest, funniest people you will ever meet, and he doesn't deserve this. It's not fair that this happened to him, especially since he's so young. I know from my brand spanky new site meter that not many people read this blog, but for anyone who does, if you could please keep Spencer in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated.

Elope with Me

Lookit!

It's a Gorillapod. Pharmacy Pete got it for me because he's very into cameras, and bought a diesel one for his diesel camera. But mine's better because it's prettier and pink.

It looks like a regular tripod, but it's not because it can do this.

And this.

Also, it looks better with a camera on it, but I only have one camera, and it was otherwise occupied taking pictures of it's own tripod.

Oh, and the Summertime Tunic? Plaguing me. It took me two more tries to find the right needle size, and then when I finally got it, the whole thing got twisted on the circular needles, so I had to start over anyway.

Grrrrrrrr.

It almost seems pointless anyway to be knitting a top that's for summer, when it's snowing out right now.

Yes it is snowing. I don't why I'm surprised because that is what it does here. The only part that kills me is that it's not even the good kind of snow that sticks around. It's the annoying messy kind that won't give me a snow day tomorrow, but that will prevent me and Boyfriend from going bowling tonight with my party store co-workers.

But I'm going to knity it anyway. And I'm going to smile through the whole thing because that's what I do. I knit, and I'm damn happy about it!

And plus the yarn is just oh-so-pretty!

Song of the Day:

"Elope with me Miss Private and we’ll sail around the world. I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl." -Belle and Sebastian, "Piazza, New York Catcher"

The Heart of a Woman Can Never Be Found in the Arms of a Man

So, today was a pretty exciting day all around.

To start with, Knitty put out their bonus patterns, none of which I really like, but it's exciting just the same. Just like every month, I head on over to MagKnits, even though I know that I'm probably not going to like any of the patterns. It's just fun to see what's new, on the off chance that something might spark my interest.

In other news, I started my Summertime Tunic.

Turns out, blocking the swatch made my gauge 23 stitches, which is better than 24, but still not 22. But I so don't feel like doing another swatch, so I'm using a bigger needle. If it doesn't work I'll just frog it and cry for a few hours.

That's the brilliance of the Boye circular needle set Boyfriend gave me for my birthday a few months ago. Oh no, that needle size doesn't work! That's okay, I'll just screw on another size and try again. It saves so much money on needles, especially where gauge is concerned. Plus, this pattern calls for me to change needle sizes in the middle of it, but I just have to screw on a new one, instead of trying to balance two circulars. Yeah Boyfriend!

But the biggest news of today is that a very famous director is going to film a movie with very famous actors right here in this very city. I can't tell you who the director is, or who the actors are, or what the movie is called, because Pharmacy Pete and Shelly are skeptical of me having this blog anyway, so that will be a mystery.

The movie takes place in a mental institution. Oh, and with flashbacks to WWII concentration camps. So, naturally, the director thought my town would be the perfect location to stage these horrific scenes.

Yup. Yeah for my city. I can't wait for college, when I will go to the real city, where they, on occasion, film movies that are not about death and torture and pain.

The mayor is especially excited, telling the local paper that this will put our city on the map (which, my friend so graciously pointed out, is already on the map), and that this is something to admire, as the actors involved are at the "top of their field."

And they need 600 local extras. Judging by the persistant buzzing at my school today, most everyone is making the 40 mile trek into the real city to audition. Well, except for the girls who have highlights in their hair. There were no highlights in WWII. It's a sad, sad day for all the bleach blondes.

The newspaper said that they are looking for people who looked emaciated. Just where do they think they are going to find 600 emaciated individuals? This is America. Aren't we notoriously fat?

At any rate, this is the most exciting thing to happen here since the next town over got an IHOP.

Anyway...

Juno was nominated for 4 Oscars! All I can say is that it better win all of them. Also, the soundtrack is the number 3 album in the country. Which it should be, because it totally owns!

Say Anything has always been my favorite movie, but, I must say, as much as I love me some Lloyd Dobler, Diane Court doesn't do much for me. I think she's a weak heroine who just needs a slap in her whiny face because she definitely doesn't deserve Lloyd. In Juno, I love Bleeker almost as much as I love Lloyd, and Juno is totally boss, so she beats Diane by a landslide. Now I don't know what my favorite movie of all time is.

Then again, Say Anything has Peter Gabriel. Juno does not. Hmm...

Song of the Day:

"Things will happen for reasons that she will never understand until she learns that the heart of a woman can never be found in the arms of a man." -Vanessa Carlton, "Rinse"

I'll Just Write This Down

What is the matter with me? I have nothing else to do, and I have an idea all cooked up in my noggin, and yet I can't bring myself to sit down and write the story, due tomorrow mind you, for the lit mag. For my lit mag, no less, as I'm one of the editors.

And also I'm sad because I bound off BFF's birthday scarf, and all that is left to do is weave in the ends and find a way to block it, and I finished the swatch for my Summertime Tunic, so I have nothing to knit until that blocks.

It is a sad day when there is nothing to knit.

My gauge was a little off on my swatch. It was 24 stitches x 36 rounds per 4 in., and it's supposed to by 22 x 30. I don't think the rounds really matter that much though, because the pattern calls for you to knit for a certain number of inches, not a certain number of rounds. And I'm hoping the stitches will even themselves out with some good, old-fashioned blocking. I'm really hoping.

Grrr.... got to go write that damn story.

Song of the Day:
"I'll just write this down in hopes that you'll understand. I will no longer be disciplined by the frustrations of an insecure man." -Maria Mena, "Our Battles"

I Never Liked Your Hair

You know what gets my goat?

The fact that I'm planning on spending over a hundred thousand dollars to learn how to write better because writing is my passion, and the fact that I am one of the three editors-in-chief of my high school's literary magazine, and yet, now that my submission for the lit mag is due in two days, not only have I not even thought about starting it, but I have no idea what to write about.

This is supposed to be what I do. I am supposed to be a writer with some knitting and balloon creations thrown in. And yet...

Maybe it's due to the fact that I spent the better part of the past three months forming an advertisement campaign to convince other people to submit to the lit that I forgot that I'm supposed to submit as well. Or maybe it's that I've gotten so caught up in scarves and summertime tunics that I've lost all interest in anything else for a minute. But I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Little Buddy is in the next room over plucking on a damn guitar that has 35 year old damn strings that need to be damn tuned, and every time I yell at him to stop he gets LOUDER!

No. I'm sure it's not that.

Speaking of gee-tars, Boyfriend keeps talking about getting one and taking lessons, to which I can only say, "Hell-a yes!" I have such a thing for boys with guitars. Oh, and it's good to learn an instrument because it helps you improve in other areas of your life. Or at least that's what the letter the superintendent of our school sent out today said. That, and you're not supposed to watch more than two hours of non-educational television a day.

Yup. Break out the Bill Nye.

Also, I feel as though having a guitar-playing boyfriend will help to complete my transformation into hippie-dom. Because, honestly, I think I would have made a good hippie if I was born a few dozen years earlier. I like peace, not a big fan of war, I'm becoming increasingly interested in making my own clothes, and I believe that if my curls were manageable, they'd be boring, which has to fall into the hippie philosophy somewhere.

I'm not so hopped up about the idea of drugs, and free love, and not showering, and communes. But other than that I could totally be a hippie.

Oh, and hemp. I'm not a fan of hemp.

Maybe the word I'm looking for is Democrat. But I'm too much of a hippie to believe in labels.

Song of the Day:
"And I never liked your hair, or those people that you lie with, but I'm not satisfied until I hold you tight." - The Killers, "Leave Your Bourbon on the Shelf"

You Know the Movie Song

I have never been so overwhelmed in my life.

And no, not because I spent an inordinate of time blowing up an inordinate amout of balloons this weekend. Even though I did.

Boyfriend took me to my real live LYS today.

!!!!!

As I've mentioned here before, I'm not a highway driver. There are too many crazy drivers doing crazy things, and I am just not up for that. I take defensive driving very seriously. As a result, I rock the craft store acrylic.

But I really wanted to make that pretty tank top, and the acrylic and wool that I would have gotten at Michael's would a) be too warm, and b) not hold up very well. It's okay for a scarf or a hat or something that I'm not going to wash every time I use it (not good, but okay), but not for this.

I told Boyfriend, and he took me. He volunteered to take me. I didn't even have to ask him. I have to keep him around.

Of course, the yarn isn't the only reason why I have to keep him around. Just one of them.

So we go there, and we were greeted by this extremely nice woman who was so full of energy that she made her little converted barn seem so much bigger than it really was.

The shop was a barn behind her house, that was every inch of wall space was covered with shelves and shelves of yarn. There was even yarn hanging down from the ceiling. And it was all so pretty.

I showed her the pattern, and she showed me three yarns that would work well with it within five minutes of me walking in the door.

I never would have thought to pick out those yarns on my own. She was so knowledgable, and so friendly, and so helpful, that I want to keep going back there. She even told me that if I ever had a problem with a pattern, I could come and she would help me with it.

I might love her.

And all the yarn. I didn't know yarn like this existed. She had Debbie Bliss, and Berroco, and Manos de Uruguay, and I think some Rowan, but I could be wrong about that. She knew just how much of it I had to buy, too. Including enough for a swatch for gauge.

Then, she took me around and had me feel all of the diffent kinds of yarn. I had no idea that alpaca and merino yarns were soft. Like, really soft. Like, Caron Simply Soft soft. The merino that the craft stores have is kind of scratchy, and I'm not even sure they have any alpaca.

I am a changed knitter. I have an LYS.

This is what I bought:

Isn't it pretty?!?!?!?!

As soon as I finish BFF's birthday scarf (which is almost done), I'm going to start working on the top until I find a coupon to Michael's so that I can buy yarn for my grandpa's hat.

I still don't know what I'm going to do about blocking the scarf, because it's so so curly on the edges, but I don't want to wet it or steam it and have the teal and purple bleed into the grey. Sounds like a job for Vogue Knitting!!!

And in college news, I talked to Shelly about the scholarship that I got to Second Choice, and about how I didn't want to just throw it away. But she thinks that, for what I want to do, Dream School is really the only place for me, and that she'd hate to see me not go there.

It's good to know that Shelly and Pharmacy Pete won't get mad if I have to take out loans that I'll have to pay back until I'm dead.

If I don't go to Dream School, I'm so afraid that I'll never be able to get published. And if I can't published, how can I save the world? Writing is the only thing I know how to do that can influence and inspire people. I want to help people, and save them in anyway that I can. I want to inspire them to do great things, and I want to save the world from all of the hate and crap that goes on.

I have a while to decide, anyway. But I think I know what I'm doing.

I bet my LYS lady would know what to tell me.

Song of the day:

"Juliet, when we made love you used to cry. You said, 'I love you like the stars above, I'll love you till I die'. There's a place for us, you know the movie song. When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?" - Dire Straits, "Romeo and Juliet"