Stitch 'n Bitch Stitch 'n Bitch Stitch 'n Bitch

That there title is a big FU to the morons at Sew Fast Sew Easy. You may have heard about this because it's been raising quite a ruckus out here in cyberspace. SFSE is claiming they trademarked the phrase "Stitch and Bitch" in 1998 and is forcing groups using any variation on that name to change it. In reality, they own the service mark "Stitch and Bitch Cafe" which they've used for their discussion board. They have no claim on Stitch and Bitch.

Our local Yahoo group was affected by this. Affected so much that it actually disappeared last week. Luckily we had a little heads-up from Debbie Stoller and were able to snag the mailing list before it went. The new group is here for anyone who wants to join us. Notice we went from Stitchnbitch-Phoenix to SNBAZ which is actually catchier so the change wasn't all bad. (silver lining, silver lining, must find the silver lining.)

You can read all about this at the new Boycott Sew Fast Sew Easy site. You can also help a bit money-wise by going here and buying something.

I tried to do my little part yesterday at the bookstore. In the craft section they had two SFSE books which are now residing spine-side in. If it lets just one crafter miss them and buy something else, it's worth it. [The shelf is crowded and the staff doesn't seem to be much on the store straightening, so they may stay that way for a long time.]

As you might be able to tell, this is pissing me off. I hope it pisses you off too. Spread the word, post the button, let the world know that Stitchers (and Bitcher) are not to be messed with.

Misty Watercolored Memories

Remember those text-adventure games?

Check this one out.

Oval Office
You are standing inside a White House, having just been elected to the presidency of the United States. You knew Scalia would pull through for you.

There is a large desk here, along with a few chairs and couches. The presidential seal is in the middle of the room and there is a full-length mirror upon the wall.

What do you want to do now?

> INVADE IRAQ
You are not able to do that, yet.

> LOOK MIRROR
Self-reflection is not your strong suit.

> PET SEAL
It's not that kind of seal.

Found thru Pop Culture Junk Mail.

Blog for Choice

Today is the 33rd anniversary of Roe v Wade and today is Blog for Choice day. It's beginning to look like American society treats their older court decision like they treat their older women; by ignoring them, cheating on them and disrespecting them.

Don't worry Choice. I don't think you're over the hill or out of touch with the public. I still love you and I know there are lots of others who love you too. Hang in there.

Books

1. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson. Stephenson is now 2 for 3. I liked this one and finished it. It's set in the future and often in cyberspace, I think he need to have at least some computers involved for me to get into it. Or something.

2. By A Spider's Thread - Laura Lippman. Another in the Tess Monaghan series. You know how, when books are in a series, the author often refers to previous books, giving enough details to explain if you haven't actually read that one? Lippman does that, frequently, but for some reason I can't ever remember the thing she's referring to even though I've read all the books. So when I read a new one I always feel like I should re-read the rest. I managed to restrain myself this time.

3. Don't Think About Monkeys - Edited by Adam Ward Seligman and John S Hilkevich. Essays written by people with Tourette Syndrome or their family. It's a fascinating subject and I really learned a lot from it. Technically this was a book for school but since I already owned it I thought I could count it as part of the regular 50.

4. Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay. Dexter is a forensic lab tech who just happens to also be a sociopath and a killer. But it's ok, he only kills people who deserve it, child murderers, homicidal nurses, things like that. Surprisingly funny, Lindsay has a way with words, especially when Dexter is trying to "pass for human" and he doesn't understand what the people around him are doing. I just got the second Dexter book from the library and since it had been a few years since I read this one I decided to start from the beginning.

Wiped

I'm wiped out. This working thing is harder than it looks. Or maybe it's the school? Or the ever-present brown cloud of pollution that hovers over the valley and continually gives me a stuffy head, runny nose and general "about to get a cold" feeling. Or maybe I'm getting a cold.

I'm basically in a good mood; I just don't feel like I'm accomplishing much. However, I've caught the bus at the time I wanted to (it's hard to actually miss since one leaves every 10 minutes). I brought my lunch all three days. I'm up-to-date on my assignments. Those are the important things.

Things like dishes and laundry and getting the dog fresh air and grocery shopping and returning pants and cleaning and catching up on Bloglines...all those can wait. At least until something dramatic happens, like the Department of Health closing my bathroom down or the like.

My brain has been acting funny lately. We'll ignore the fact that I'm making multiple lists every day, including ones that have two items or less on them so I'm not even sure they can be called a list proper. We'll ignore the fact that I forgot a friend's birthday on Saturday even though I had remembered it on Thursday. And we'll definitely ignore the fact that I have a whole gank load of memes to do and for some reason they are frightening me to the point of immobility.

What really concerns me is that, on at least 3 occasions in the past two weeks, I have forgotten where I am. Not in the "why did I walk into the kitchen" sense...I'm used to that. I mean forgot like "what city am I in?" I keep thinking I'm in Pittsburgh. This makes sense on one level because I used to take the bus all the time at Pitt but I never worked in a skyscraper there, or ate in a lunchroom or drove to the Park n Ride. There have been other moments too, strong, little deja vu moments that have no basis in my history. I know the theory that deja vu is just random brain impulses hitting old memories but why so much lately? Have my brain impulses forgot where they are as well?

And when I get home I don't want to think so much so I've slowly been reducing this:



to its component parts. Remember the sweaters I got for christmas? Goodwill had their 50% off sale last week and I picked up a bunch more. I'm looking at it as a form of therapy. OCD encouraging therapy.

Here are my christmas presents that arrived in the mail last week. The left side of the picture holds the best items. The pillow was made by my mom and has a lot of straps on it to hold a book open. That way you can read and crochet at the same time. Not that I've had the brain power available to attempt it. The other object is in the top left. Hands-free soap dispenser, baby! I don't know why that makes me so happy but it does. Maybe because of the whole OCD thing?



There are also lime flavored tennis balls for Lucy (?!?), a squeaky Issac Mizrahi shoe for Lu, a fancy-pants flash light, a Hershey Kiss candle and a T-shirt that requires an explanation. The pandas at the National Zoo had a baby last July. When he was born he was described as being "the size of a stick of butter" and the obsessed panda watching community took to calling him Butterstick. He was formally named Tai Shan but the obsessed ones still call him Butterstick and are very vocal about it. At least that what my sister told me. She spent her 10 minutes (appointment required) looking at the baby and then bought me a shirt. I may have to print all this out onto the back of the shirt.

Ok, this post length is past the bounds of decency so I'll end it here. More later. If I remember where the computer is.

Funny Funny

As an almost-blonde I can get away with this, right?

Funniest blonde joke ever.

Ok, if you don't find that one funny, try these two.

I *heart* the bus

The Valley Metro I10 East Rapid bus is going to be my savior, I can already tell. The Park and Ride is ridiculously easy for me to get to and I get dropped off an easy walk from my skyscraper. There are pick-ups every 10 minutes. And best of all, it's free. The bus is my new imaginary boyfriend.

The job is doable. I need to get on top of things and stay there and at that point it should be kinda on auto-pilot. There's a lot to be organized and unfortunately the girl who held the position before was not entirely fluent in English and made quite a few little mistakes (Heath and Safety Plan, Noted instead of Notes). So, between the backlog, my "I'm-just-learning-the-system" mistakes and the correction of those and the ones already in the system, I have to keep on my toes but I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This week's challenge was The Bus (and getting up on time). Thanks to Eva and Nancy for answering all my Stupid Bus Questions. Besides trying to feed my ticket into the change slot and getting off a block further away then I needed to, everything went smoothly.

Next week's challenge will be Lunches (and getting up on time). I can't, in good conscience, drop almost an hour's worth of pay each day just to sustain myself.

I picked up a hook for the first time in a week last night and everything worked just fine. Yay! Now I just need to find time to actually make something...

I've eaten about a half pound of grapes since I started this post. I am taking that as a sign that I need to go make some dinner.

First, thanks for the concern about my wrist. It's feeling much better now, so I'm going to give it a few more days off and then jump right back too it.

What have I been doing with my down time, you may ask? Well, I managed to turn this:





into this:



That right there, is the stash to end all stashes, baby. Imagine what it would look like if I hadn't been almost 100% committed to the yarn diet this year. Actually, don't. It will probably just make you dizzy and maybe a little nauseous.

It's kinda, sorta organized by yarn type now. One bin of so-so acrylic, one of better acrylics, one of cotton and assorted large lots for single projects, one of recycled silk and assorted lots, an under-the-couch bin of just novelty, fluffy stuff, and one with the big projects that didn't fit in the other 2. The Underground bag is all wool. The suitcase has the makings for one complete sweater. The apple basket contains an afghan and some pretty yarns for display and the knitting stand has the current WIPs. The book shelf contains books, magazines, loose patterns, notions, fabric, knitting needles, crochet hooks and other assorted crap. Tucked behind the bookcase is a large selection of knitting bags. The sock monkey will eventually have clothes even though he may not want them, having been naked for well over a year now.

Now do you understand why I'm not going to the Fiber Factory Sale today?

In other news - I am now employed. I'll be organizing and maintaining the files for an environmental engineering company. I believe my official title is "glorified file clerk who will endure many paper cuts." Part time but with health insurance so no more COBRA bills, thank god. And I may be taking the bus to work, you know, just to avoid the 20 minute drive to downtown that takes 75 during rush hour. I'm looking at it as 2 hours to study and/or crochet in peace, i.e. without having to get up every 10 minutes to let the dog out.

This is going to be an adjustment, both for me and for Lucy. But I'm sure we will both survive and, even more importantly, be able to continue eating without having to put the stash on ebay.

An Ounce

Last night at our Changing Hands SnB meeting, an unwelcome truth was pounded into my head. My wrist hurts. It started before Christmas, but I blamed the yarn and the hook and the sock and the sweater and figured it would pass when those projects were done. It didn't. Last night it was actually hard to find a position for my hand that would a) no make my wrist hurt and b) allow me to sleep without feeling like a contortionist.

So I think I need to take a little break from the crochet. And it's going to be harder then I thought. It's automatic behavior to grab a project when I'm watching tv and I watch a lot of tv. And then there are the twice weekly get-togethers. But I'll think of something. Those recycle-able sweaters should get here soon. I could ball yarn from skeins. Hell, I could even just sit and chat without any yarn related accoutrements at all. Imagine that!

* AN ASIDE Shouldn't "twice weekly" be synonymous with "bi-weekly" instead of "bi-weekly" meaning every other week. That's "bi-monthly," right? This has always bugged me.

Hopefully this will just be a few days. If it's not...well, I'll deal with that then.

Alternate blog assignments:
1. Lori tagged me for a meme that's going to require some thinking.
2. I still need to blog the holiday.
3. Librarygrrl is blogging her life from A to Z and I'm thinking of stealing the idea from her (just the idea, I'll use my own life).

And those three right there should last me a while.

What'cha been up to?

Dad's Mittens, pre-thumb


Dad's Mittens, post-thumb


Yarn -Lion Brand Wool-Ease Sportweight in Black
Pattern - not really

Sister's Blanket, Little Bit of Sister's Head and Christmas Tree


Yarn - Lion Brand Homespun - many different colors
Pattern - many little granny squares arranged in somewhat random order.

Mom's Socks, Modeled by Me and Guarded by Lucy


Yarn - Sockotta for body, Plymouth Yarn's Wildflower DK for Toes and Heels
Pattern - nope

Mom's New Scarf to Replace Poodle with Mange Scarf from last year.


Yarn - Lion Brand Fun Fur and some type of white baby yarn with sparkly stuff.
Pattern - a rectangle

My Mobius Scarf arranged with Glass Swirly Buttons from Sis


Yarn - some fancy-pants wool that I lost the label for. Eva may remember, since I got it from her at the SnB party.
Pattern - rectangle with twist and seam

Another Earflap Hat, this one for the Tester/Back-up Recipient of the Previous Earflap Hat and a Camera Case for my Aunt. Pre-felting.


Hat
Yarn - SWTC Karaoke, Paton's Classic Wool in Orange and Brown
Pattern - Extreme Earflap Hat, Tiffany Reynolds in Interweave Knits Crochet Fall 2005

Camera Case
Yarn - The Never-Ending Cone of SWTC Karaoke
Pattern - rectangle with fold, seams and buttonhole

Hat and Case after Felting, with button. Anika sweater. Replacement Hat for cousin.


Sweater
Yarn - SWTC Beyond, I call the color Sage Green but it could almost be Dusty Miller.
Pattern - Anika Sweater from Cool Crochet by Melissa Leapman (plus a few inches at the bottom).

Replacement Hat (made to make amends for this hat, from last year)
Yarn - Wool-Ease? in Black doubled, Lamb's Pride Bulky in Orange You Glad, Cotton-Ease in Pineapple doubled (i.e. Harley Davidson colors, or at least as close as I could get with the existing stash.)
Pattern - nyet.

Sister, Cousin and Me (in Anika)


He had to grow the beard and hair for work. He's at a desk job now so he should be looking a bit better groomed by now.

And that was how I spent my Christmas vacation.