Bee Girl

Twinkle, twinkle, little yarn...

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:07:02 GMT

Handspun, merino/silk, approx 18-19 wpi, spun on a drop spindle. Spiffy!

Ok, so I took a 4 oz bump of fiber and split it into two lengths. The first length I split in half again, and spun after predrafting, then plied the two halves together letting the colors randomly do their thing. 19-20 wpi before setting the twist.

The second length I split, this time putting all the white and very pale colors into one pile and the vivid colors into a second. Spun those and then plied them against each other. Spun from the fold, no predrafting. 17-18 wpi before setting the twist.

They are two very different yarns in feel, color, everything. The second batch is very squishy and lofty. The first batch is smoother and not as squishy. They're totally complimentary though, so will go nicely into the shawl I am planning. It will either be a Revontuli or a feather and fan not sure.

Boosting the signal

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:33:40 GMT

Excerpting from porcinea's post:

charlottezweb's house burned last night. Everyone is fine, but they have lost *everything*. The Red Cross has set them up in a hotel for 2 nights, and given them vouchers for food banks & the Salvation Army (and teddy bears for the kids!).

She has her laptop, and the clothes on their backs, a change of clothes, shoes, a diaper bag, their wallets, a cellphone, chargers, the wedding album and their car.
[...]
She wears a 22 (18 on top) bra size: 40DD-ish, her husband wears XLs on top, 40" waist (30" inseam), the younger boy is in 6-9 mos. and the older boy in 4T. Loves trains, puzzles, art, dress up, trucks & blocks.

Anything you can imagine a geeky family might need and you have to spare would be *GREATLY* appreciated. If you have anything you can spare, please check the post linked above and the comments for mailing addresses and a Paypal address if desired.

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:25:55 GMT

Today's culinary academy bounty. NOM.

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:55:23 GMT

I've been pishposhing at people saying "Oh, don't predraft your fiber, just spin it and it'll be more even." (referring to fiber that's nicely prepped and not compacted, that is) and also a little afraid of spinning from teh fold which looked difficult and not like what I'm used to at all... and I just gave both a try at once and holy shit, if I didn't get the most evenly spun, perfectly drafted single I've ever done in 3 years of spinning, which then plied up into the most perfect 2 ply sock yarn.

And of course, I have no idea HOW because I just sorta.... went ahead and did it.

This is how I learn everything. I do it, have some quantum leap with my hands figuring it out first, and then I have to go figure it out with my brain and backwards engineer what I did.

I am supposed to be cleaning the refrigerator, not having inspirational spinning distractions.

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:19:54 GMT

Sweet Peas. It was these or a cauliflower.

Who says one must be practical all the time?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:56:36 GMT

I love watching the kittens react to the horses that clop up and down our street. They always RUSH to the window and stare, as if to say "OMG. WTF???" every single time like they've never seen it before. It cracks me up. :-)

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:47:32 GMT

South Pasadena Farmer's Market.

WIN.

Nice to get up out of my funk and get out in the sun around people for a while. I dragged Sorcha out with me too, though Em refused to budge. I feel better for it.

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:44:00 GMT

I am sure everyone has watched a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY">Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent</a> already but I'm sticking it here in case one person in particular hasn't. The look on Simon's face, hell the look on all those smuggy smugerson's faces is just... priceless. I must've watched it 5 or 6 times and I still tear up every time.

WIN

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:25:39 GMT

This was in my box at Dreamwidth this morning: "We are still in our closed beta deployment phase -- this is why invite codes are so scarce, why there are so few journal style options, and why some things are missing or not yet finished. We have a lot of people working on the last details, so hang tight and things will get fixed. We're adding more people in a controlled fashion to test our hardware load, which so far (*knocks wood*) has been looking pretty impressive."

I haven't got any codes, I guess I signed up after they gave them out to beta testers, but I saw that several folks asked in my last post and if I get 'em, they're yours. But, you know if you can find one elsewhere first, I'd jump on it.

If you want to check it out in a read-only mode (you can actually leave comments) you can log in under your LJ url username.livejournal.com and explore.

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:55:38 GMT

Oh, hey, some random person on Dreamwidth in the knitting comm gave me a code! I'm in. As soon as I get some codes, I'll ask who wants one. I checked, I haven't got any yet, but I'll totally pass it forward when I do ok?

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:41:00 GMT

Apparently I am not one of the cool kids either. I have no Dreamwidth code. Though, admittedly, had no idea what Dreamwidth was until this morning.

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:36:51 GMT

In light of this, I will be moving my wish list over to Powells.com and I will not be shopping at Amazon until they reverse the policy to one that doesn't discriminate against the GLBT community.

Please don't buy me anything from Amazon.com. I don't want to give them money, even indirectly.

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:58:52 GMT

Everyone Deserves A Roof, or EDAR. I think a lot of opportunities to pay it forward come across our laps every day and I just found this one. This is COOL.

It isn't a home with a foundation, it isn't a solution to homelessness, it doesn't get people off the streets. But it gets people off the cold pavement and out of the rain, it is an improvement over a shopping cart, it is a little something. It is a warm blanket in the meantime.

I know there are some folks on my flist doing the Decrease Worldsuck thing, so maybe this is something you would want to check out.

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:51:26 GMT

Both of my parents emailed me with great glee to inform me that they had pork chops for dinner.

SO when G-d asks, I know who I am blaming.

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:39:10 GMT

Obviously, because Sorcha is in a 3 week BREAD UNIT*, we are NOT observing the no bread aspect of Passover this year. Not that we really ever do. I am not too observant in general and once again, Pesach snuck up on me. And, uh, I have BLTs planned for dinner tomorrow, night #2.

I am Captain Fail of the Good Ship FAILboat, as far as Jewishness is concerned.

It did not sneak up on Obama though. He's hosting a White House seder. The new prez, he is cool.

*what TIMING!

Just in case you were thinking about it...

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:44:42 GMT

simplykimberly has a fresh out of the mama cat batch of bottle babies.

In about 8 weeks, she will be trying to find them all good homes.

Kimberly kittens are kind of one of those things that, if you ask me, ought to be a household staple.

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:39:35 GMT

Happiness is finding a reason to mention startle poo on your child's Facebook wall.

No. Wait.

That's revenge.

happiness is revenge.

::AUCTION::

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:45:38 GMT

My friend Ben is doing the Aids Ride in just over 2 months and he's fundraising. I know I've put that up before. Well I'd like to help him fundraise, so, to that end, I am offering a pair of handknit socks to the highest bidder.

Fiber: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - colorway - you can choose from my stash and I have a LARGE stash.
Pattern: we'll figure that out, you can tell me what you like (lace, solid, cables, etc) and I'll pick a pattern from there based on your measure, the yarn you pick and preferences.

This would make a great gift for someone, or a great treat for yourself. Yes, you can purchase socks at Target for way less than this, but that's not the point, the point is, you'll be supporting the AIDS Ride and Team Midnight Ridazz and my pal Ben. And your feet will look swell.

Bidding starts at $20.00 - leave bids in comments.

High bidder, upon close of bidding (I guess I'll let this run through till Friday night, 4/3, 5pm PST) needs to donate their winning amount via Ben's actual AIDS Ride page. Then we can talk socks.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Pimp this out, will ya? I'd love to help him get to his goal and he's got a lot left to raise!

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 08:09:07 GMT

Fat cat is fat. THere was a terrible ruckus in the kitchen this evening and I went in only to discover that Mittens had pried the lid off the catfood bin and was sitting IN the catfood bin, eating.

Thumbs? He don't need no steenkin thumbs.

Bleah.

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:16:53 GMT

*head*

*desk*

Because leaving your purple sharpie marker inking pen in the pocket of your uni is GREAT for getting your chef's jackets all nice and pristinely white. And tie died purple.

Srsly hoping bleach works because otherwise? Someone's spending her own money on new uniform chef coats.

It is not all crazy here, Chez Fabulous.

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:00:09 GMT

I learned to do something nifty this morning. Ply as you go. That's right, you spin the single, then N-ply it back, then spin more single, then N-ply it back... brilliant. Seems like slower going but at the same time, when you're done, you're done. No plying left to do. Just wash, thwack and hang.

I still gotta wash and hang my sample, but I think this may be my default spindling/N-ply technique from now on.

Hacks are sexy.

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:05:55 GMT

The sky has gone from bright blue with puffy white clouds and a bit of breeze to this ominous, dark grey and the wind is whipping leaves all about. Lovely... I am feeling so cosy inside!

It is most definitely a night for soup, scratch rolls and a big salad.

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:54:18 GMT

God I wish I'd taken Spanish in school. I'm so tired of finding great 'face jobs' listed on CL and elsewhere that specify "bilingual mandatory". Because I'm a really good receptionist/phone person, and some of these jobs are perfect for me in terms of hours, and I can't even apply.

I am regretting my lack of long term thinking when I chose not to study Spanish in high school. That was really, really, really dumb.

Maybe I should invest in Rosetta Stone.

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:40:06 GMT

Therapy.

So I don't, ya know, run down the street naked on fire yelling about bees.

top is a BMFA Sheep 2 Shoe kit. Wheelspun singles, and am chain plying with a Hi-Lo drop spindle. I like wheel spinning and then spindle plying. It isn't as fast or efficient but I get a better product and am usually happier with the yarn overall. My plying is still not perfect, but it is getting better.

bottom is a 2 ply combo - first miniskein is from Funky Carolina and is superwash merino that I plied against itself. The second miniskein is a blend of two Funky bumps, the singles from the first plied against a light green silk/merino blend. Plan is to spin up the rest of the silk/merino and ply that off against what is left from the original bump. I will have some silk/merino leftover and so that will be plied against itself and then I'll combine the 3 yarns into something. Possibly Knitty's Justify.

I can haz Joy Of Cooking nao? Oh hai! Yes u kan!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:34:01 GMT

Oh my gosh!

ashbet, thank you so much! That was so sweet of you and I'm so enjoying it! Or, I'm sure I will when Sorcha returns it because she ran off with it making high pitched inarticulate squeeing noises as soon as I opened the box. :-)