Yes, it sure does go in a lot of directions

Let's see, what have I been doing this past week instead of blogging? Well, I joined the Greys Anatomy KAL as previously mentioned(2nd episode of the new season is on tonight!) and got started on my a multidirectional diagonal scarf. I was moving right along with no problems on Thursday and brought my knitting (of course) along to a friend's house for dinner and a movie on Friday. So I'm knitting and chatting with Chris, who has begun knitting recently and is taking to it like a duck to water. Anyway, there I am knitting along when I look down at my work. Hmmm. Somethings not quite right, but what is it? I pick it up and try leaning it to the left and then to the right "Chris, am I knitting off to the side?"

We decide that it's fine and I must just be going crossed eyed from all the diagonals. But no such luck. I must have missed one row of work causing me to start the next short row section on the wrong side... thus creating a 45 degree angle.



OK, so I guess I should look at my work a little more often huh? Rip, rip, rip and we're back on track.



Last night I finished the scarf against my right hands advice. I did something to my right ring finger apparently. Can you even get Knitters Finger? I noticed toward the end of the night on Tuesday (knitting group night) that it was a little sore where the needle was resting but I just figured I over-did it and all would be well after a little rest. Well of course I couldn't just leave well enough alone and give myself a couple days off from knitting, I was having way too much fun watching all of the colors progress (Noro Silk Garden - mmmmmm).

Well, by last night as I was finishing up the last little bit, I was in some serious pain (just 10 more decrease rows, their decreases for God's sake!). The pain isn't constant, just a random zing of "owww oww OMG OWWWW" when you least expect it. But I'm no quitter, I wrapped a piece of the scarf around my finger for a cushion and finished her off.

While I'm not normally a fringe person it seemed to need a little something so I caved. We'll see how long I keep it on there. Tonight, washing and blocking!




Yesterday, I also got half of my new spinning booty in the mail!


And since I have this from ye olde ren faire...

I can try spinning tonight instead of knitting and give my hand a break.

See, the fiber gods are always watching out!

Oh, did I not mention the spinning thing? Yeah, umm, I bought some roving (top?) on ebay because I wanted to play with some colors and try plying them together and all that good stuff. I know I shouldn't start down this path because knitting is a gateway drug. Knitting, turns into spinning, which leads to weaving and before you know it you've got a llama and a sheep roaming your back yard. I vow to try and cut myself off somewhere around a wheel, is that fair?

Prime Time... for knitting that is

Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!!!

Grey's Anatomy is back on tonight which means I get to watch one of my favorite shows ever while just selfishly knitting myself a multidirectional diagonal scarf

(Yes, you're right Jana, the name is lacking something.)

Oh me, oh my all in one night I get; Grey's Anatomy, ER, My Name is Earl, and The Office (also interested in checking out Six Degrees). Time to whip out the video tapes so I can tape one channel while watching the other - -yes, I think I am the only person who doesn't have TiVo yet. Yet.

(had to remove the video of Meredith knitting in the bar because it messed up my layout. If I can figure out how to fix it, I will repost or at the very least give you the link)

**** In my search for a picture of the G.A. gal's knitting, I came across a picture of a button for the Grey's Anatomy knitalong. How happy I was at the find! I haven't yet been added to their list but I am going to be a bit presumptuous and assume that my FBI report comes back clear for joining the knitalong. Therefore I will be posting the button claiming to be a member, even though, technically it's not true yet. I know, I do live on the edge don't I?****

It's just like stepping back in time

This weekend I went to the local Renaissance Faire with two fair maidens, Jana & Natalie. I won't bore you with how we ended up going to this mini-ren faire, but let me just say, the Lion's Club really knows how to throw an alcohol free bash!

From the first moment of entering the faire you know you are some place truly special. As we crossed the grounds we were instantly greeted by an authentic angel-man who graciously presented my bosom to all who passed by. When the website said "come leer at the buxom maidens" I hadn't realized it was an audience participation event.


Then as we toured the grounds we came upon this knight who took time from rescuing fair princesses from deadly dragons to snap a few photo's with us...

My apologies to Jana for making her pose with the knight, I didn't realized how terrifying the experience would be (seriously, it was creepy)...



We also managed to make time for Ye Olde fried mac & cheese, Ye Olde funnel cake, Ye Olde butterfly fries, and Ye Olde quesadella. See the pattern? If you just preface it with "Ye Olde" it really helps you feel like you've traveled through a portal in time doesn't it?

Next we took in a show. And what a show it was! I present to you Ye Olde Belly Dancers...







While they may not be in the best shape ever, they did give a good show and much fodder for laughter. The one with the sword on her head was really quite good, but I do wish we had asked her if she was really balancing the sword on her head or if she had a magnet system going on in her headband. I like to think that at least that was real at this faire.

Then we watched a few minutes of Daniel Greendragon (Was that his name?) do a magic show (pictures aren't uploading, I'll have to come back to that)
Later we saw this woman spinning and I got a bit over-excited and like a child said to Jana "Oh, I want to do that, I always wanted to learn how to do that!" I all but jumped up and down while tugging at her sleeve.

Then, just as we were leaving, my heart skipped a beat as I spotted out of the corner of my eye a knitting tent! And look, they had make your own drop spindle supplies! While I could easily find all the supplies needed to make one of these at Home Depot, let's be real, I'd never actually get around to doing it. Was it worth the dollar for the spindle and a dollar for the roving, hell yeah it was!

I am sorry to say that somehow Natalie managed to dodge my camera all day, even when I asked her to be in the picture with me and the knight-- which if memory serves she did agree to do at first. But, as we all recapped the days events on the ride home she did mention wanting to go to the real Ren Faire (my original destination) in full costume! Trust me, when that day comes there will be nowhere for her to hide.
Aside from the faire being totally lame for it's lack of authenticity, it was a blast. Next time though, I say we pre-game with a flask of mead in the parking lot!

(Please also visit Jana's blog for more details and pics on all the days happenings.)

Funky Enough?

The other night I finished one of my two attempts at a funky scarf. It still needs to be washed and blocked but you get the general idea. I don't want to reveal too much information about my pal in case she's cruising blogs, but the two scarves below are my best attempts at suiting her likes and needs.

I like the second scarf because it's lighter and shinier, I think the ribbon yarn just has more personality. But I love the funky shape of the first scarf and the gradual color changes, even so, it seems a bit bland to me. I'm thinking it may just need some small beads to catch the light or some gold thread weaved through. Errr, I wish I could share my pals details so I could get a better idea of what to do, but I have faith. Eventually the right one will reveal itself, I guess it'll just be a fun surprise for me as well!






What does this picture have to do with my dilemma? Nothing at all, I just happened to spot a bee and a spider sharing some space on one of the blooming fall flowers and thought I'd share the moment with you.

RAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few months ago I heard my name called out over the radio and won myself a pair of tickets to see Aerosmith and Motley Crue (hell yeah!). Thursday night was finally magic night!

JJ & I had a bit of trouble getting in at first - - our tickets scanned as "refund", bad barcode apparently-- and we had to visit the box office and explain ourselves to a few different folks before we could get in. Eventually though, they allowed our entry and from there it was nothing but a fanfriggintastic time.

I won't bore you with all the details of us singing along and reminiscing about past road trips, ex-boyfriends and mix tapes. All you need to know is, no matter how old the guys in these bands may be, they are still some of the sexiest, bad-ass rockers you'll ever see!

Farewell Erin!

Tuesday night was sadly Erin's last night with the group because today (Friday) she heads off to Spain for a year!

Chris made her that kick-ass yarn cake to give her one last good old fashioned American sugar rush before she boards the plane.

It's sad to see her go but I know she'll have an amazing time and I can't wait to start seeing pictures and hearing about all of her adventures abroad.

Once again, best wishes Erin and much love from you're knitting group, we'll miss you!

It's a bird, it's a plane.....

Yup, it's planes.
Sunday afternoon beach time and there they are practicing to look like a flock of birds. Sometimes it's pretty darn interesting to live near the forts.



The water was pretty but the air was chilly. Summer is over :-(



My parents took me out for lunch the weekend of the storms to Max's after we all started reminiscing about all the places we used to play skee ball and eat hot dogs etc. on the board walk in Asbury and Long Branch when I was little. Max's had been right on the beach when I was a kid, but having burnt down numerous times (these are the pit-falls of owning a restaurant on a pile of dry wood) they decided to move in-land a few blocks instead of rebuilding yet again. I went for the fish sandwich since I am the only person in Jersey apparently who doesn't like crunchy hot-dog skin, but jus the same it was great to be there. Sometimes you have to take a moment to wander down memory lane no matter how small the memory.

Somehow I missed all the happenings just a couple of towns away. I knew that they tore down a bunch of houses and beach clubs etc. and started putting up condo's all along our shoreline thanks to Eminent Domain but what I didn't know was that one of the condo complexes was turned into a mini self-sustaining town.

So after our lunch outing my folks took me over to see this super creepy sudo city. It's all the stores that you've come to love in your local mall, only now you get to live above them! I don't know, maybe it's just me but I thought it was a yuppie version of Dawn of the Dead. But who am I to judge, maybe 20 years down the line these families will be reminiscing about when they used to live above Starbucks. Anything is possible.






~~~next blog will be all things knitty I promise~~~

"I'll strike down upon thee with great vengeance..."

Two weekends ago (I know, I'm behind on my blogging) we had quite a few stormy days thanks to Tropical Storm Ernesto. When we got up on Saturday morning this was lodged in the yard....

Yup, a branch broke off and came straight down and hard enough to lodge itself vertically in the front lawn. I just thought it was really cool that God smitted our lawn. Sadly, it fell over later in the day due to more winds and rain.


(Ya know what else is interesting? I started this post just a few days after taking the pictures and yet somehow I managed to drag the simple process of finishing the post out for almost a week before getting it submitted. Today is actually 9/12. Dopey girl!)