Craftiness

$ cd ~meri > Craftiness

Maryland Sheep and Wool is a (very probable) go.

2013.05.03

I am making preparations to try to tackle Maryland Sheep and Wool tomorrow morning.

  • I’m doing laundry so I have very light, airy clothing.
  • I’ve found and rinsed my hydration pack.
  • I’ve made sure that my comfiest light weight shoes are available.
  • I’m winding more yarn for my current knitting project in case I end up needing to camp in my car to recover for a while, and stashing it in the separate knitting bag that will stay in my car against this need.
  • I’m putting the essentials in my pack (wallet (with only the cash I’m allowed to spend, and one “OMG, the car is on fire” emergency credit card), bandana, medications, witch hazel towelettes (they help a lot in keeping cool), protein bar, an apple).
  • I’ve made sure that my handicap placard is in the car.

Other than running out and buying a cane (and, really, there’s a shortage of places to get a sword cane at 7PM on a Friday night), and getting a good night’s sleep, I think that I’m doing everything I can to promote success. So, unless I wake up in the morning just feeling like crap, I’m going to give this a shot.

(My knee, while not feeling as good as it did yesterday, still feels a hell of a lot better than it did two days ago, so I’m hoping that the whole being able to walk thing will stick around for at least one more day.)

Thank you for the encouragement! I will do my best to not die. 🙂

Craftiness, EMRT, Events, Shopping

Is this a baaaaad idea?

2013.04.29

The end of April approaches. This, in and of itself, is not a thing. However, the end of April (generally) means the beginning of May also approaches, and that is a thing. See, the first full weekend in May reveals people scurrying all along the Eastern seaboard to descend on the little town of West Friendship, Maryland, home of the Howard County Fairgrounds. See, the first full weekend in May and the said fairgrounds are home to Maryland Sheep and Wool.

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Craftiness, EMRT, Shopping

PSA: Free to a home. Preferably local to DC.

2013.03.09

(It doesn’t have to be a good home, mind. Just a home. I’m in the Ashburny area about once a week, and otherwise to be found in Maryland. I will, if given sufficient incentive, ship the damned things, but you have to convince me that you really want them. And pay for postage.)

I have an entire box of defunct (expired, likely dead, of the “oops, not as secure as you think” variety) of SecurID tokens. And, by “entire box,” I mean “around 500 of the things.”

I’ve lost my enthusiasm for my original plan for them (an insecurity blanket), given that said blanket would a) be heavier than I generally prefer for a blanket, and 2) full of corners, and 3) rattling.

If anyone has a use for them, speak up. Otherwise, they will probably go into the trash. Or recycling. Do they count as plastic? Probably not, huh? Hrmph.

And no, they’re not stolen.

Classifieds, Craftiness, Technology

Ask LazyWeb: Calling All Knitters…

2013.03.06

I need input (cue Johnny 5 impression).

I have about 1,000 yards of fingering weight yarn that knits up best on US3 needles. Point me to your favorite shawl or scarf pattern that will help me use up this wonderful yarn.

Craftiness, Layout

A question for the ages…

2013.02.26

I’m going on a short trip soon. (For those who might be interested, I’m heading to Massachusetts for a week. Let me know if you want to meet up!) I will be driving (riding, really) up, staying a week, and flying back (checking a bag, because I am incapable of traveling light).

The question is: how many knitting projects do I need to take with me?

Craftiness, Travel

A class to dye for.

2013.02.02

Yay! The day has finally come! In about half an hour, I’ll be heading off to a yarn dyeing class in Baltimore. As excited as I am, I do have concerns.

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Craftiness, Education, EMRT

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I may not have thought this through…

2013.01.10

I have signed up for a yarn dyeing class in February. While I doubt that I’m going to become one of those amazing people who spins and dyes their own yarn (because, really, that would take time away from the knitting), having a basic idea of what’s involved would be kind of neat. Hence, the class and my enrollment in same.

However, something has just occurred to me. Those of you have known me during the last 10 years or so will know that I spent much of that time chromatically enhanced, mostly in the realm of reds. Though I did have a stint with actual black hair. You might also remember that I had a fairly unfortunate reaction to the hair dye, putting an end to a meri with anything but bog-standard brown hair.

Now, I have to assume that, during the class, we will be wearing gloves, as the goal is to get the dye on the yarn, and not the peoples. But, given my particular flavor of luck, I wonder if I’m tempting fate…

Craftiness, EMRT

Review: Lion Brand 1878 Yarn

2013.01.06

If you’re a knitter (and really, if you’re reading this page, chances are good that you’re a knitter, or are just humoring me), chances are good that you know the anguish of balancing yardage and cost, especially when it comes to lace- or fingering-weight yarns. Lion Brand has come up with a fairly decent solution. Lion Brand 1878 Yarn provides you with 2,045 yards (!) of sock / fingering / baby weight yarn, for a very reasonable price. In my experience, 1878 provides great stitch definition, making it a great choice for lacework, and with the amazing yardage, you’ll probably be able to get through even the most complex shawl pattern without having to switch sources even once. The yarn is machine washable, but should not be machine dried. Hey, for about a penny a yard, you can’t have everything, right?

Available in a few colors from Amazon. (It’s even eligible for Prime, as of this writing!) A few more colors available from Lion Brand directly.

Craftiness, Favorite Things, Reviews

Crisis averted, and back with the ick again.

2013.01.05

The designer of the pattern I referred to in my last post responded to my query very quickly, and it turns out that I was on the right track. So, I’m forging ahead. Of course, I made a mistake in the very first row of the new chart, and pondered forging ahead, but I knew that it would drive me completely insane, knowing that it was there. So I unknitted back to the mistake, and now I’m forging ahead… again.

In a ‘the frogurt is cursed’ sort of way, it looks like I’ll have a good bit of time to be knitting this weekend. The ick that was going around our house, that we thought was on the way out, seems to be making a reappearance. Both G and I are back to feeling crappy. I forge ahead with tea and DayQuil and knitting. Hopefully it will clear up enough for me to make a dent in my to-do list before the weekend is out.

Craftiness, EMRT

Knitting crisis!

2013.01.04

Gak.

I’ve been working on the Glenallen Shawl, and have finally finished Chart 2 (of 6), and am ready to proceed to the next chart… except my stitch markers don’t line up. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be the case, or if my work thus far is completely screwed up. I’ve left a message for the designer, but in the meantime, that project’s kind of stalled.

Hrmph.

Craftiness