The Decorator Crab

Odds and Ends

I've been knitting more than blogging lately, but even the knitting has been sparse. I've been traveling for work/school, and now I've come down with a head cold. I don't trust myself to knit while I've got mucous on the brain. Before falling ill to demon, non-resident bacteria, I finished another miter block for the Mitered Square Blanket ('miter' as in a block of four corners knit seamlessly). I've verified that I can get two miters  out of one hank of STR, with a little left over. Good to know. At this rate a finished blanket, sized according to the pattern, will cost over $200.  A-hem.  Well.  Gulp!  Maybe I can fudge a smaller one! You may remember from my conceptual drawing that I did plan on having fewer squares than the pattern, but maybe I should think even *smaller*. (BTW: That's STR heavyweight in colorway Carbon Dating, not Carbon, which is a different color combo).

Another issue: I don't know if I'm all that wild about the blocks.  Seriously.  I love the yarn, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if I am crazy about the blocks. I think I would like them better if I could mix in a coordinating semi-solid, instead of having the whole block in one colorway.  I have to buy more yarn to finish the blanket anyway, so maybe it's not a big deal to rip back a couple of blocks for the better of the project as a whole. Any thoughts on that? This has been a lingering concern since I bought the yarn - the shop didn't have any semi-solids in stock at the time, and I was fiending for some STR.  You can't blame a girl for that, am I right?! 

So, the MSB is in a holding pattern until I can get over to the yarn shop and look over my options.  I've knit up a couple of small hats in the mean time, but failed to get any photos, of course. I've also been working on a super cool scarf pattern that Sky found, but it's kind of slow-going.  A free pattern for the Woven Cables Scarf can be found at Knitty Gritty Thoughts. I'm using some spare Knit Picks Elegance that I had in the stash, and this will be one soft, fluffy scarf when it's done.  Who knows when that will be?!

I've been in a sort of knitters Purgatory for the past week or so. You know, in between projects, not quite sure how to proceed.  Inspiration struck in the form of an instant message from Sky about Camellia, one of Glampyre's newer patterns.  I haven't seen it on the web much, but it's unusual and I have some yarn that will work for it in the stash (didn't you notice my "Knit from your stash '07" button?!). There is a knitalong on Craftster for the pattern, but there hasn't been very much action on the thread, yet. Mostly trying to figure out which yarn to use and what the hell the schematics mean (I wondered the same until I read the pattern). I was a little confused by the sizing, so I am taking it on faith that she sized the pattern by bust size, as usual. 

This has the potential to come out like a granny sweater, but if I get the sizing right it could be really cute. I'm going to swatch with Knit Picks Sierra tonight (during Survivor and Grey's!) - it should work.  Stay tuned...

25 signs you have grown up

In lieu of knitting content, a bit of humor.

25 SIGNS THAT YOU HAVE GROWN UP
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good shit."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh shit, what the hell happened?"

>>>>> Bonus:
26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass.

My husband added this to the list:
27. "Hangin' with the boys" means watching Discovery Channel on a Friday night with two cats and a Chihuahua on your lap.

Don't know about you, but more than a few of those applied to me...

Best. Quote. Ever!

I'm returning to normal life after my trip down to Oregon, so bear with me while I get my ass back into gear. Instead of giving you knitting content, I give props to Rabbitch for what might be the most hilarious quote that I have ever read with regard to yarn. "Dudes, this is string made from sheephair, it's not the handspun pubes of Jesus." Bwah-hahahahahh!!!!  I laugh out loud every time I read it!  For the whole story, be sure to see her post...