Bulky weight yarn has its advantages...

I never seem to quit when it comes to Christmas. I do up a list of things to make and get, and when I get close to being finished, I always think that there should be more. My brother's kids are a perfect example. They pretty much want gift cards. I appreciate the honesty, but I can't just do the envelope. (And trust me, it's not just an envelope - I have a wee obsession with gift wrapping.) The card will be in a box with rocks or jingle bells or something to throw them off. Crazy? Obsessive? Who, me? Anyway, I wanted more, but I'm running out of available time. I stop by Needles and Knits for inspiration. Enter Bulky Weight Misti Alpaca. I wish computers had feel-o-vision - this stuff is decadent. Squooshy and soft and wonderful. And the perfect colours for two nephews who play hockey in the Marlies organization. These were done during the TSN Curling Skins game on Sunday, and the second pair is now complete as well.

I also have this bulky weight in a beautiful blue-green handpainted version, and since they take so little time, I may just make two more pairs for some co-workers that I really like.

yummy, yes? Look at it up close...

There is a time in my frenetic life for bulky yarn and big needles. And that time is mid to late December...

the last of the beads (for this year)...

Okay, here's the last pictures of the beaded necklaces. There's only so many times I can show them...

A modeled shot of the bronze coloured loop necklace:

I've put an adjustable chain on this so it will fit anyone. This is for one SIL who will love it. I know her so well - we met when we dated then married brothers, and have become great friends beyond that. We have kids the same age who are the best of friends. She appreciates the hand made stuff even though she doesn't do it herself.

For another SIL, I went brighter. She loves blue and green and bright colours.

I didn't follow any colour pattern with this - it's just multicoloured glass seed and bugle beads in a random colourway. I'm enamoured of this pattern. It's another Brenda Franklin, not from her book, but bought as a separate pattern at the Kitchener Fair. I've got seed and bugle beads in a copper, bronze, pewter and gold mix, and I'm definitely making this again. For me.And to show how easy this is - here's the back. Simple garter stitch. The front just has loops of beads. Seriously, it's that easy.The clasp couldn't be easier. (But taking a picture of it was obviously hard, as I didn't...) I was in Walmart and checked the bead section. They had silver chain link bracelets with a lobster claw clasp. Hmmm, snip a chain link in the middle, and sew the ends to each end of the knitted piece. Voila! finished chain link closure. Sometimes I amaze myself...

Averted

I love my boy. I would, as most parents would, do anything for him. But how do I handle this? He's wearing his alien hat that we designed together and I knit last year. He loves it. A friend commented on it, and my Son turns and says to friend "What do you want on a hat? My Mom can knit ANYTHING".

At first, I puffed with pride - not only does my son love my knitting, he's PROUD of me! I'm not an embarrassment (yet) to him! How cool is that?

Wait... if he keeps this up, I could end up knitting a menagerie of hats for the entire third grade. No! My knitting time is precious, and while I can be a bitch towards co-workers and sundry other adults about selfish knitting, how can I disappoint 8 year olds? I've got to head this off... Damn! he wore his Spider sweater to school! How many of them saw it, and how many did he offer that I would knit for them? What if the girls requested princess sweaters?? Oh Man! that's INTARSIA! I can't do it, I have no time! I'm too selfish!

Wait! What did the friend say?


"No thanks. My gramma knits me hats. They itch, but I'm not allowed to tell her".



Charging the camera batteries - pictures to come...

Comment Q and A

I don't get that many questions or comments, so when I do, I like to answer them.

My Aurora lurker asked:

"Where do you get your thread? I started with a kit from earthfaire, but would like to buy locally if I could. "

I also started with earthfaire (they are responsible for setting me off on this path...) Now I buy my beads wherever I find them - Michael's usually, but I have been know to find some in Wal-Mart. Threads are another issue - I havent yet been able ot find good threads at either of these places. There are bead stores near me, but their hours and mine never seem to mesh. (They are often closed on Sundays, which seems to be the easiest day for me to get out.)

However, I need to get to one soon, because I want to stock up on some silk threads. Right now I usually use Cotton Perle #8, which works just fine. I had a stash of this (I have NO IDEA why), but I have also bought some at a yarn store near me. However, they are discontinuing it, and have very little left. Any place that sells embroidery supplies should be able to help.

And even though you didn't ask, someone at my Guild did - needles may be tougher to find locally. I'm very lucky - my husband owns a manufacturing business, and works with a lot of stainless steel. He even has it in lengths of 1.0mm and 1.5mm rods. Cut down to size, sharpened at one end and beads glued on to the other - voila! bead knitting needles. He's so pleased with them, he got a little annoyed when he saw my sock needles. "You bought thouse? Why? I can make them!" Yes dear you can. And don't worry - you will be...

Tracy mentioned that she's baffled by the beaded necklaces. No worries, a lot of people are, especially when I say they are knitted. Even knitters looke at them and can't really see the "knitting" part. But they are. Really. And easy. Really. If they interest you go to Brenda Franklin's site and get one of her patterns or kits. The instructions are really well written, and if you follow them, you will be amazed. Really. I was. I never thought I'd be making these. And look at me now!

knitting done and to do

Some beaded knitting is done and in progress:

This is a looped knitted choker for a SIL. The pattern is from Brenda Franklin's first book, and contrary to how it looks - it's very easy to do, and quite quick!

upclose, I hope you can see the beads - they are a bronzy colour, and i used champagne coloured perle cotton. The cotton shows a little - if I made this again, I'd search out silk thread in a colour that matches the beads a bit better, but I'm happy with this, and SIL will be too.
Another SIL likes a little more colour, so she is getting the bugle bead choker using some multicolour seed and bugle beads I had hanging around. (Knit from stash! I love it!)

I got to do a little knitting on our vacation. The toe of the first sock was done before we left, and I got the foot knitted while sitting at the airport from 4:30am to 6:00am when we boarded - the heel and leg were knitted on the plane from Toronto to Orlando, and the ribbing is the sum of 4 nights of knitting at Disney World. (an indication of just how tired I was!) The second sock toe was cast on and done at my Mom's, and the I got to the heel at her place and on the plane. Not as much knitting time, as I spent a lot of time cajoling Son into doing his homework that he was studiously ignoring. (Yarn is Austermann Step with aloe and jojoba - picked from the stash by Son himself).
I also got most of another handwarmer done - just need a thumb and another for the pair - destined for a Christmas gift for one niece or another. Fleece Artist Kid/silk blend, also from stash.

I took stock of what I have done, and what I have left to do, and surprisingly, I'm not in bad shape. I got a lot of holiday knitting done ahead of time, I guess. I thought I had more to do, but I have severely cut back this year - it was getting ridiculous. The kids (nieces and and nephews) were getting a little presumptuous with their requests - there's no way I'm buying my 13 year old nephew a laptop - nice try. and the girls! Very specific in their demands. And you know what? That's what they are - demands. No more nice little lists, once they hit the teen years. So each is getting one gift, and one gift card. The girls are getting something handknit (hand warmers, maybe a bracelet), and the guys - something small they want (I've been told posters of "hot girls" will work. Now I have to find out if he wants Jessica Alba hot, or Jessica Simpson hot. I'm hoping for Alba.) And then it's I-tunes gift cards for all!

So once I finish the above, I have one more (maybe two) pairs of handwarmers, and some bracelets to finish. (and these already have the beads strung). I think I can do this. I hope.

a caution I take to heart...

We spent the first half of last week at Disney, then went to my Mom's for some recovery time. Hubby and I relaxed, read, swam, and I shopped and knit. Young Son was appropriated by his Nanny (my Mom) to be shown off around her park. (She has a house in a senior's park - they're all prefab homes). He swam in the pool, rode a "giant tricycle" (they all seem to ride these big three wheeled bikes down there), and discovered that when they post signs near the pond, they really mean it:

(that's as close as I was getting...)

I also did some knitting. I finished one sock for my son in the airport and on the plane flying down, and got half of the second one done on the way back. I didn't have as much time on the way back to knit as I was helping Son with his homework that had been basically ignored all week! I also got some handwarmers done, but realy, for a week off, knitting time was sorely lacking.

I'm starting to surface again - I've dug my way out of most of the paper at work, Son has been to swimming lessons and basketball practice, I've been to a Guild meeting, Hubby has been to poker... Now I have time to get some groceries in the house and face the Mount Everest of laundry. Oh Joy. I've also started to realize that we are in December - I'm not sure how that snuck up on me - and now I have to face the fact that I am woefully behind. I need some time to shop for a few things, knit a few things, wrap a few things... I won't even get into the family issues that are arising right now - I've already made my stance pretty clear within the family, and I'm not going to take the crap that is potentially going to be dished out. Not going to happen. I don't have time for drama. I think I need a Lene...

Disney recap

Wow. All I can say is the people at Disney World really know customer service. There wasn't anything we needed that wasn't looked after. A really, really great time. And one thing we noticed - when we asked at booking when the "quieter" time was at DW, we were told "there is no slow time - Disney World is always busy". Well. I can tell ya, go right after American Thanksgiving - it definitely slows down somewhat. We arrived on Saturday, and went to Epcot for the afternoon. It was BUSY! We couldn't get on the rides we wanted to try, and they weren't even allowing Fast Passes. Sunday we hit the Magic Kingdom early, hoping to beat the crowds, but there weren't the crowds we expected. It was busy, but not BUSY. We used Fast Passes for some rides, but others didn't need it. Same thing at Animal Kingdom on Monday and MGM Studios on Tuesday. (We detoured back to Epcot before getting to Animal Kingdom - we had to go on the Soarin' Ride, and it was well worth it.) The hotel was great, and the three of us had a fabulous time. There's a lot of walking, I tell ya! Things to do, places to go, and everywhere, something to see. All in all, a great time.

Some of the highlights:

The picture millions have taken before me, and millions will take after:

Seeing this as you enter the Magic Kingdom just screams DISNEY!

We are a Donald Duck family. Nothing against Mickey - I love the Mouse, but my husband can actually talk like Donald Duck, (to the delight of all kids) so it's all about the Duck. We have family pictures posed with Donald and Daisy, but I don't have permission of husband or son to post them recognizably, so here's Donald at one of the parades:

We have pictures of each of the park symbols - Cinderella's Castle for the Magic Kingdom, The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom, the Sorcerer's Apprentice hat at MGM and the golf ball at Epcot. (Is there a name for that thing?) Unfortunately, they all seem to have one of us in them - sorry!

There were so many highlights - each day brought something memorable, but this one stands out:

How many parents get to watch their kid defeat Darth Vader?

Son was chosen out of the audience to be one of 16 Jedi-in-Training, and have a chance to fight Darth Vader. They learned proper light saber techniques and well, it was so cool! It pays to dress your kid in bright orange! Even at the parades, the characters seemed to find him and high-five him. And the bright colour was so that I could find him in a crowd - who knew it would also help the Jedi Master pick him?

I'm back, but...

Our return flight was delayed - got in late last night - desk piled to the heavens...

Let me find the camera cord and well, actually, find myself amidst the paper and I'll be back. Give me a day or two, ok, Nancy?

And yes, the trip was wonderful, fabulous and everything we wanted it to be!

M...I...C...

See you real soon!

Back in a week or so...

(and the stash is safe - the neighbours are house sitting. Always good to make friends with the guy who works at home, knows EVERYTHING that goes on on the street, and whose kids are always looking for extra cash, earned by getting mail, feeding fish, turning lights on and off...)

And, how cool is this?

Driving in to work today, I saw the coolest rainbow arcing around the sun. Unfortunately, it didn't photograph nearly as nice as it appeared in real life, but it was a hell of a birthday gift.

can't stay away from the beads!

I try. Really I do. I have lots of lovely wool to knit, using reasonably sized needles, with nicely formed tips - sharp, but not lethal.

But these keep worming their way back into the rotation...

They and their friends keep grabbing my attention, and force me to do things like this:

(the colour doesn't show very well here - think gloriously bronzy beads, on champagne coloured perle cotton..) Both of these are destined to become chokers for some SIL's that will love them.

And the needles are like this:

sharp (really sharp), and small. Small enough that my age is starting to show, and I am looking ABOVE my glasses to see this stuff close up. My husband keeps using the "B" word (bi-focals), but I'm resisting. I mean, why should I, when just taking off my glasses works just fine...

Added note - people, we're Canadian. Snow should not be a surprise to us. But judging from some of the people on the road this morning, they've never seen the white stuff before, and they certainly don't know how to drive in it...

And to my American Friends - I hope you have a wonderfully Thankful day. I know I have a lot to be thankful for, and many of you are part of it. Enjoy.

lots of little things

I've been knitting - I'm trying to get things organized to go away, and that means a lot of starts, but not a lot of finishes. (yes, I plan my travel knitting before all else, what of it?)

Travel knitting to me is little things that work up easily. No sweaters, probably no beads, (although it's hard to leave them behind...), nothing that requires lots of chart referrals, etc. So we're talking socks and hand warmers for the most part. I've cast on a couple of toes, and got them to the point of off the two circs, and on to my beloved dpns. A pair for my hubby in Rabbitch's Toe Jam, Black Watch Colourway:
I've told you the history of this - Hubby's grandfather was in the Black Watch, and it has a special place in Hubby's heart, as well as historical significance. Good on ya, Rabbitch. These are on metal dpns, so will not make it into the cabin of the plane with me. I know that, by law, I am ALLOWED to bring knitting needles on the plane, and I have successfully done so in the past, but we have a 6:30am flight, and it's young son's first time in a jet (he's flown in Cessnas, both wheeled and float, but not anything bigger - talk about doing things backwards...). Anyhoo, I figure this will be the one time I get a crankypants bag checker who will freak at sharp metal sticks, and cause us all kinds of problems that I will not be able to deal with in the middle of the night with (probably) very little caffeine. Hence, a pair for my son - Austemann Step with Aloe, on bamboo dpns. Should pass muster:
I also have a pair of handwarmers on bamboo ready to go, because as we all know, I have KADD (Knitter's Attention Deficit Disorder), and can't be limited to just one project. Plus, there's always that hope that I will warp the Time-Space Continuum, and whip off 2 full socks, and still have flight time left, and THEN WHAT WOULD I DO? The Need Factor for a back up project is there.
That's just what's going in the carry on. (Well, the Black Watch isn't, but anyway). I'm still deciding what goes in the checked bag. I'm thinking some Fleece Artist Silk/Kid in a beautiful red/pink, as well as some other worsted for handwarmers, and an extra ball of sock yarn. And beads on fine thread. (You know, in case that Time-Space thing happens...)
I've got the knitting planned, now I must see about clothes and such...

I iz not two smart...

I stole this from Carol:


She is genius level. I'm not quite there...

Edited to add...
Thanks Wannietta! I think my husband agrees with you...

I think my problem is I hang out with too many elementary school level people. And I'm talking about work, not my Grade Three age son...

RU

The above title applies to Ravelry. It could mean a Ravelry Update (which this is), but actually, it stands for Ravelry Underachievers. A group I happily embraced! Of course, once I did that, I actually started adding things to Ravelry - my profile, some of my books.. It takes joining an underachievers group to actually get me to start achieving things...
However, I still haven't set up a Flickr account, so I guess I am an underachiever.

If you are on Ravelry, and I haven't added you to my friends list (I'm workin' on it...) let me know, and I'll get on that.

Posting may be a bit boring this week - I'm a little busy, and my knitting is well, boring. Small things, finishing up things. I hope to have some more bead necklaces to show one of these days...

fall down, go boom...

I kinda fell the other day. Metaphorically, I should add, not physically. The only thing I hurt was my credit card balance.

You see, I was reading Rabbitch, and she was mentioning some yarns she had for sale over at the Sweet Sheep, and how one of them was her favourite. So I hopped (hopped! get it? Rabbitch... maybe it's just me.) over to the Sweet Sheep to take a gander (I have an animal thing going here, I think) .

Rabbitch's fave was "Anthem" which is lovely, but I kept looking and found "Black Watch". Whoa. Hubby's grandfather was in the Black Watch, Hubby has his regimental tie, and well, it's an important part of his heritage. So I had to get it. And then it looked so lonely in the shopping cart, I just had to add to it.

I ordered on Monday (?) I think, and it was waiting for me when we got home. My son gets to the door first, and sees the package. He picks it up, gives it a squeeze, and says "It must be for you Mom, it's yarn." My Boy! I've got him trained so well, he can tell yarn through plastic Canada Post packaging.

How's this for customer service? Not only does it arrive fast, it arrives all packaged up so pretty:

Pink tissue, label and a handwritten thank you card. "Candy for your Stash" - you got that right!

Rabbitworks Toe Jam - "Black Watch"
C*EYE*BER Fiber - Gregory
Dream in Colour Smooshy - Good Luck Jade

The black Watch is perfect - black and just the right shade of green. Hubby approves, and has asked that they go to the top of the queue. It's wound and ready.

Mama E's C*EYE*BER Fiber is lovely. The perfect brown/blue combination that I am in love with. This may go to the top of my queue...

And the Smooshy. Swoon. Green is my favourite colour, and this is really, really nice.

I also bought the Tulip baby sweater pattern. (See Steph? Your influence again...) I have no babies on the horizon. None. The only person I know that's even getting married will not be baby making. (It's Hubby's 85 year old uncle, and we are thrilled for him and his bride-to-be).

Be warned - a visit to the Sweet Sheep can be dangerous. Fun, fulfilling and a joy, but dangerous to credit cards...

Holiday light etiquette - lets discuss...

First off - yesterday's post was a JOKE! I feel the need to explain this to the people that felt the need to leave me a private email instead of a public comment. I am not mad at Stephanie. I like Stephanie. She's been to my house for dinner, we are friends. She makes me buy things (good things, Sheepstrings...) And now she's making me knit things because she shows how beautif ul these things can be. And yes, I still read her blog every day, and her books are still in the place of reading honour in my house - the bathrooms.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...
what is the etiquette of when to put up Holiday lights? As a kid, my Dad always put them up around the second week of December - Epiphany (Janaury 6th) was important to my Mom, so we kept them on until then, but they didn't go up until around December 10th or so. Which is kind of what my husband and I do. Early-mid December and we stop lighting them around New Years. Seems to make sense to me, but maybe I'm warped.
There are at least 10 houses around my neighbourhood already lit up. We're talking about November 10th, when I saw the first one! I'm thinking that sort of dilutes the excitement of the season when you drag it on for almost 2 months, wouldn't you think?

Hubby and I are also in conflict on the type of lights - I'm the single colour, sort of laid back type of decorating. Hubby likes colour and flash that would make a Las Vegas Hotelier weep with envy. But this year, his flashing ribbon multicolour lights have bit the dust. And I was given the task of replacing them. I think I hit the happy medium. LED (because, d'uh, why wouldn't you - better energy use, brighter colours and all that), single strand (my liking) BUT, they change colour from red to green, so it satisfys his need for some flash. I also have some twinkle lights (again, LED) for our crabapple tree near the deck, so he gets that extra flash of colour.

I'm not a Scrooge, I'm really the farthest thing from it. I love Christmas, especially since our son came along - I love giving hand knit gifts, and that something special that no one is expecting. This year, Hubby is getting Guitar Hero 3 - he mentioned a few weeks ago that he played it with some of our Godkids out in Calgary, and how absolutely cool it is. Well. That sealed it - he's getting it. What else do I get him? We don't need a lot of stuff. And when we need it, we go and get it. So Christmas is really to give something that we normally wouldn't get for ourselves. I'm kinda looking forward to some riffs myself...

waiting...

I'm waiting rather (im)patiently for my copy of Selbuvotter to arrive. (I've ordered it from my LYS, Needles and Knits. I try to shop local when I can, and Tove's shop is so great, it's nice to support it). I've got the Shelridge yarns ready and there are mittens (a la Stephanie) in my future.

I may have to stop reading Steph. If she's going to insist on showing cool things to knit, and bringing up the Christmas countdown (41 days! ack!) I'm going to have to smack her with wet wool. Wet wool, fresh off a sheep. Wet wool, fresh off a sheep that hasn't been skirted.

I mean it.

rainbow wristers

I meant to add some details on these wristers yesterday, but I was on a roll with my rant, and it just didn't seem like the right time. I have made these for my niece. Last year, she got a hat out of the rainbow yarn, and loved it. I had yarn left over, so I thought I would whip up some fingerless mitts. I made these very simply - just a tube with a thumb opening, and a picot edge bind off. But they were plain. I stewed for a bit, then found the blue Ovation (kid mohair / silk blend) in my stash, and it matched. I thought about a ruffled trim, but that didn't address the issue of the open thumb. So I thought of maybe a ruffle that covered the thumb for warmth, but still left it open for ease of use. I was also in the midst of one of my beading frenzies, and had these clear beads hanging around - a perfect solution for a very busy yarn like this variegated. I picked up stitches just below the thumb opening, and started knitting. I put in two rows of beads right at the beginning to define the cast on, and I increased around the mid point of the thumb so it wouldn't be too tight, but would still be snug enough for warmth. I continued up to around where the top of the thumb would be, then did two rows of increases to created a ruffly edge. I then cast off, adding a bead to each cast off stitch to add some weight. I love how the beads add a heaviness and swinginess to the ruffle.

When you wear it with a coat, the picot edge of the variegated and the beaded ruffle edge just peek out of the cuff. And if you need to use your hand, the ruffle flips back over the wrist, out of the way. I hope J likes them. She's 13, and such a great kid, that I know she will be very thankful at Christmas, but I just hope she LIKES them, know what I mean?

channeling...

When I was younger, living at home, and I got pissed about something, my Dad always told me the channel my anger into something productive.

Can you tell how mad I was on Friday?

Clockwise from the top centre - Striped slippers (pre felting) made of Soy Wool Stripes from Patons. Dark Blue slippers (pre felting) made from Gjestal Naturgarn. Beaded wristers (1 was done, I finished up the second). Green leg warmers.

(before you think I was really THAT angry, the slippers and the leg warmers were mostly done on the knitting machine). I also washed all the sheets and towels, and hung them outside for awhile to get them nice and fresh, cleaned 2 bathrooms, and organized a few cabinets in my kitchen. On top of my normal weekend stuff...

What gave me the need to channel my anger? My HR department. In the past month while I have had the illness that won't go away, I have taken 2 sick days. (My doctor recommended much more, but I was somewhat functional, so I came in to work). Last week, I sent in the form for the most recent, requesting it as an unpaid sick day. (I've used up my allotment of 4 sick/personal days already) Friday I get an email from HR stating that no, these are not unpaid sick days, they have been taken off my vacation allotment, meaning that I have 3 days left of vacation. "PLEASE ABIDE BY THIS" was capitalized on the email. Right. She has conveniently forgotten that I am off in a couple of weeks to Florida for a family vacation. That can't be changed. Correction - that WON'T be changed. I sent back a lovely little note, apologizing profusely at the oversight, but that I WILL be away for 5 days, and whatever is decided, I will ABIDE by. (i.e., I expect to get a written warning.) This is such crap. If HR spent less time policing the people that already work here, and more time finding people to fill the numerous vacancies, maybe there wouldn't be such turnover. (Have I told you that we have had more than 10 receptionists in the last 2 years? And that for the past 2 months, we haven't even had one? We've all been taking turns helping out at the front.)

So I channeled all that into to above. And by Sunday night, I felt much better. I still can't stand her and her policies, but then again, I don't work in HR so maybe I'm just being a pain. I don't know. What I find funny is that if I get 2 written warnings about absenteeism, I get penalized by... wait for it... 3 days off without pay. I'm thinking I should take another couple of days off, and add the three suspension days for a week off. What do you think?

All this just weeks after getting a "Substantially Above Target" rating on my employee evaluation. I get nailed because my priority is my family. Whose priorities are screwed up here...

fun stuff Friday

First off - I have to thank you for the nice comments on Tubey. Nancy did a great job on the pictures, but you really have to see this in person to appreciate the loveliness of the Sheepstrings yarn I used on the arms. And I'm thrilled at how well the Elann Highland wool matched. I may have to knit myself more sweaters...

I stole this from Wannietta, but made some changes...

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) = Martini Civic (eh, not a banner name...)

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav. ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) = Dulce La Leche Homemade (could work...)

YOUR "FLY GIRL" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of last name) = SRic (boring...)

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) = Green Penguin (sounds rather Marvel Comic-ish...)

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) = Jacqueline Montreal (yeah, could work...)

YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) = Ricsa (no worse than Jar Jar Binks...)

SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink, put "The" first) = The Orange Beer (this I like!)

STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) = Obsession Rockets (look for me, starting a 2 week tour at the Brass Rail... JUST KIDDING!!)

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names) = Pauline Liliane Edward

And, let me add a popular one that I have come across: Here's where we differ - Wanietta has the first street you live on - mine was Mom's maiden name (and since I don't use that for any confidential purposes...)

PORN STAR NAME (name of first pet and name of Mother's maiden name): Martini Martel (and my best friend would be Champagne Kennedy - we have a team!)


ETA: Some people may use this kind of information for nefarious purposes - feel free to alter your answers if they could be clues to your passwords or financial data. But it's still funny!!!

mailbox treats!

Amid all the junk mail, assorted bills and other crap that appears in my mailbox, the other day there was this:

Sorry for the crappy photo - but if you really squint, you can see the return address - Tradewind Knits! Yup! Lucy Neatby's company! And inside...
THe Abracadabra Scarf pattern, and a hank of Celestial Merino Dream. THis stuff is wonderful! Soft, squooshy and totally luxurious. And all for me! No CHristmas gifts will be made from this.
Lucky had this sent to me as a thank you for a circular needle storage thing, and dpn holder I made for her. She's got great taste, and I will gladly do stuff for her if this is the result. She ordered it at the Creativ Festival, directly from Lucy Neatby herself! How cool. The pattern is very interesting, and I think I'm going to get some fabulous red beads to go with the delicious cream Merino yarn. How very Canadian of me...

Thanks Lucky! Any time you want to trade, I'm all for it!