At long last, I'm going to post about the wonderful Stitch N' Pitch game we went to on August 10th. Once again, I apologize for the not such great pictures, but you get the idea.

It was so much fun, even David had a good time!



Here I am knitting away on my sock. The guy in the background got dragged to the Stitch N' Pitch section by a family member, I think, and consistantly covered his face when someone brought out a camera.

Here we are--with many DPNs!


Hooray for Stitch N' Pitch. I can't wait for next year!


You've heard of Snakes on a Plane, right? But what about Cats in a Suitcase? Maybe it could be a sequel. This was the scene as David packed for Missouri last week. Don't they look menacing?



Despite my busy schedule lately, I have had time to create stuff. Take a look at this snazzy bag I made last week at Sugarbutterbex with the help of Jessica. It's an old Nields T-shirt that has lyrics from the song "Gotta Get Over Greta" on the back. Yes, this is how Greta the cat got her name. Anyway, it was pretty easy (easier than the pants--pictured here), and I think I can make presents for lots of people if I ever get my own sewing machine. Hooray!



I have more things to write about, but Blogger's not letting me put up more pictures at the moment.
Just you wait, my pretties!

My Crusoe Sock, Church of Craft

I wanted to get at least one post in before we go to Stitch N' Pitch tonight. I'm not excited about the traffic or the parking or the racing to get there after work, but just sitting with other knitters (and poor David who neither watches sports nor does any needlecrafting, but he's being a good, um, sport about it) for a few hours sounds great. Plus, I've heard we get a cool Dodgers tote with knitting swag out of the deal.

Anyway, I'm still recovering from the horrible mystery illness. I basically feel okay, but now I'm getting comments that I look TOO thin (who would have thought?). But come on, I was bound to lose some weight because of it. Also, I still feel a little dizzy. But luckily I'm able to eat all the good food I want without any adverse reactions now.

Now, I know you're here for Church of Craft pictures from our meeting on Sunday. Here you go!

Here's Marilynn showcasing an awesome scrapbooking stamp.
And Grace working magic with paper. I must say that I have a pretty negative view of scrapbooking being all hearts and flowers, but Marilynn and Grace both went a long way to helping me see that it can be pretty much anything you want it to be.

Here I am working on my sock. Also pictured is the latte I probably shouldn't have gotten because I felt a little sick afterward. Ah well--it sure tasted good.

Here's Lisa (who models some great hats over at Sugarbutterbex's page) working on what she called "mail art." There's Marilynn again, too.

Not pictured: Lorelle (who was knitting up a very fetching ribbon short-sleeved top), Juanita (who was making up some neato crotched bags out of strips of plastic bags--trust me, they were cool!), and Joyce (who was madly cross-stitching a tattoo-like pattern that said "Mom").

All in all, we had a great time, and I can't wait to do it again. If anyone's reading this and isn't already signed up for the announcement list, just email me.

Finally, here's a better picture of one of my current projects that you saw a glimpse of above.

It is from Knitty, the Crusoe sock. As you can see, I'm finished with one and have already turned the heel on the second sock. It's a cool stranded pattern that's easy but not boring. Can I just say that I actually enjoy turning heels? I look forward to it. The only part I don't like is picking up the stitches at the gusset. But that doesn't last that long. The yarn is Sockotta, and I love it. I'm calling these socks Froot Loops because when David saw them, he said he felt a craving for that sugary cereal. Do you see the resemblance?

Posting now. I'll try to give more regular updates.

Poor Little Blog

I have been a slacker blogger, but I have many good excuses. There was a company picnic or two, extreme heat, Comic-Con (which took up a full 5 days including travel time), hectic times at work and a new employee, crunch time with a big "side" editing project, and (most recently) stomach flu. So, as you can see, I've been super busy. Let me just say that if any of you wherever you are get the stomach flu, I feel your pain. I don't remember being that sick in a really long time. It came on Tuesday night about 10:30, and I was just barely starting to feel human yesterday. I guess I'm used to the sinus/cold kind of sickness now. I'd forgotten just what it feels like to have your insides turned inside out and then having to regain all the lost fluids. Ick! Anyway...

On to some pictures. I wanted to be sure to post before the next Church of Craft meeting, which is today. There will be great pictures from that, I think.

Here is one of two baby hats I knit as part of That Yarn Store's 1st birthday party last month (Happy Belated Birthday, guys!). The yarn was from That Yarn Store, and as pink as it was, I had some reservations. But it was a real joy to knit with, and the flecks of color kept it interesting. This hat is going to Niki's co-worker who just had a baby girl. The hat's identical twin went to Stitches from the Heart. (Side note: Yesterday I was in Santa Monica for KCRW volunteer training, so I decided to stop by the Stitches from the Heart store since I'd never been there. Wouldn't you know it? They were having their summer sale. So, I picked up some Patons Classic Merino Wool in that Old Gold color needed for USC and Harry Potter apparel. Now I just need the red for some scarves. Also, I got some cool Plymoth wool that will hopefully felt into something really groovy for Niki. Just wait! Anyway, the Stitches from the Heart store was very cool and friendly. Next time I'm in Santa Monica, I'll probably go back.)

Here is the pre-felted booty held together in temporary red yarn. Seriously, the diagram for putting this thing together was so complicated that I had no clue what to do. Plus, I'm a bit spacially challenged, so that didn't help. So, on That Yarn Store's birthday, David O. once again helped me out and put all the knitted pieces together in a way that resembled a booty. Woo hoo! Thanks, David! I've got to knit the second one now and then felt them both. I'll keep you posted.
Back in July, David (the one pictured below) and I had a busy Saturday when we had a work picnic at the KidSpace Museum near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We had a good time (yummy Mac-n-Cheese!) despite it being for my work. And if Niki ever brings Tiana to LA to visit us, we'll definitely take her to the museum. I can totally see her getting into all the hands-on activities they had there. It was a very hot day, so luckily we moved away from Pasadena toward the beach to ANOTHER work picnic later in the afternoon. This time, it was a reunion of sorts for all the people who went to Japan in March, and it was at the head professor's house. David even ate beef because it was really, really good beef. I got to try BBQd rice balls. Yum! So, it was hot and we decided to go to the beach after the picnic. Ah, Malibu. At sunset. In July. That's why we're smiling. (And my shirt is wet because we got in the water in our clothes.)
The other big event of July was, of course, Comic-Con in San Diego. We went down with Craig and his friend from 'SC, Corey. My favorite things while we were there were the Lost panel, the Fables panel (with autographed copies of Issue 50 for everyone in the audience--how sweet!), the McCloud family panel, the freebies (of course), the amazing panel with Deepok Chopra and Grant Morrison (if any of you were there, you'll know what I mean), and seeing some great TV and movie projects that are on the horizon. Least favorite things: the heat, the smell (all those people, all that heat), the crowds on Saturday, and waiting in the sun for a long time to see Kevin Smith in Hall H only to find out he was stuck in traffic. (He should have taken the 15!)

I'm sorry to say that these next pictures suck ass. I am planning to get a new camera (with the help of Craig's camera research) as soon as I get paid for one of the editing jobs I've done. These are so dark!

Here is Corey, Craig, me, and David on the last day. Wow--that's a bad picture, especially for Corey who seems to be disappearing ala Back to the Future and David who looks peacefully asleep.

You can skip this picture. It's for Niki. See, Niki? Naruto was everywhere!



And here are some great Shaun of the Dead people. They'd pose like this for anyone who wanted to take a picture. Lots of great costumes this year. Maybe next year I'll have knit or sewn something for myself. But don't hold your breath.

More soon--I promise!