out with the old, in with the

happy 2007! may it bring peace to us all!

Here it is, already after Christmas

can you believe it? 2006 has flown by, and so much has happened. the gist of it being: i am now living on an island (surrounded by water) 13 miles out to sea with two cats and one large-sized man. that, my friends, makes 2006 a doozy.
one more set of facts: i have been at my new job for 21 weeks now, we'll say that i haven't been in the office (including holidays and working from home) 9 times. that means that since 10 august 2006, i have taken a boat on 96 days, with an approximate hours-on-the-boat total of 220.8 hours. can you believe that? that is 9.2 full days of boat time. holy crap. no wonder i'm not getting anything done.
anyhoo, i had a swell holiday. much fun and festivities, but i am so relieved to be done. and, for the first time ever, i am fully committed to doing nothing for new years eve. fantastic. i'm going to watch movies and cure myself of exhaustion. and, i am oh-so happy that christmas is another year away.
there is no news on the crafting front, unfortunately. i have been way too swamped with work and holidays and crippling tendinitis to make stuff. boo to that. i did make some holiday truffles, as i do every year, with a new mystery flavor. i'm only going to say that it was delish.
see you!

bugger.

so, as stated before, i am the worst blogger ever. but, as d.cripple says, you can only do what you can only do.
on the cripple front, i went to the massage therapist for a little pick-me-up, turns out that i've got tons of things happening and i needed some fixin', but, i've had all this pain in my arms and shoulders and neck. turns out? tendonitis. what did i do? knit. and type. so much that i injured myself.
can you believe it? i knit so much that i hurt myself. and now doing things like opening a jar is a monumentous task.
ick.
for the last two nights we've had holiday chorus concert. it went pretty well, way better on night #2. my dad, the conductor, had this deal where he made me sing my own part. that is some pressure, friends. pressure.
i'm sure that there's a video of it somewhere, so maybe i'll post it. you'll all weep from laughter, i'm sure.
as piggy is burrowing under my blanket to demand attention, i'm gonna run.
see you!

anniemade, TW

hello hello. i am officially the worst blogger ever. it turns out that when there is actually enough work to do at work, then i don't have enough time to post. funny how that works, eh?
anyhoo, tons has happened since my last post.
1. i am officially 26, which means (as the big gq likes to emphasize) that i need to round up to thirty. hats off to that!
2. thanksgiving, for you miss meggy, happened at my dad's house. 20 people? i'm not sure. the day before i had a stomach virus. can you believe it? so, the thanksgiving meal was extra-delicious due to my near-starvation status. unfortunately, grammie couldn't come due to needing to go to the hospital. she is ok, but fell and hurt her hip. here's a good grammie story: she has been noticing that there are lots of oak leaves in her pond. like, lots of oak leaves. so, she has figured out that someone must be putting all of their oak leaves into her pond. this is something that she does not support. so, how does she solve this problem? well, call the cops, of course! oh, grammie. (i'm sure that you sane people out there realize that no one is putting leaves in her pond, and that she is just a bit, well, less-than-sane sometimes.)
3. secret pal. i've been awful at this. turns out that the end of the calendar year is incredibly busy in a non-profit. so, my attention has been there. i'm sorry to disappoint you all. i feel the necessary amounts of guilt, don't worry.
4. next week i am doing a craft fair in portland, me, if anyone's around. happy hour and crafts at una martini bar, 5-8 o'clock on the 11th of december. come one, come all! cosmos and 1970s style wrist cuffs... need i say more?
5. my job is still iffy. turns out, i've got a little too much brain to be running this particular operation. like, i am not all that great at monotony. and, this job will have some great opportunities to be creative and smart, once i pan off the mundane stuff on another employee. watch out! i am aiming to be back in new york in 12 or 13 months. who can tell, though?
6. the littles. charming as always, but bingo is itchy. this frontline business is not working so well. i'm going to get him a cone, another photo to watch for. ha. bingo in a cone.
7. in tres sad news, marmar's "orange man", seymour, aka mr. pants had to be put down. she is distraught, of course. which is another reason to come have a cocktail at una next week!
8. and, christmas is almost here! wowza. i've gotta do some planning, eh?

that's all for now. i'm going to be better about this starting next week, i hope. the job will slow back to its normal pace, and i'll be able to keep my wits about me.
see you!

they say it's your birthday,

ode to muriel, aka, lard makes the best crust

y'all, you've got to read this. i've included the beginnings to inspire readings:

Heaven in a Pie Pan: The Perfect Crust
By MELISSA CLARK
Published: November 15, 2006

A FEW years ago, I achieved perfection in a pie crust and it smelled like pig.

Not in a muddy, barnyard way, but with a very subtly meaty, nutty aroma.

Carefully confected with part butter and part freshly rendered lard, this pie pastry was everything baking-book authors and bloggers wax poetic about: a golden-brown-around-the-edges epiphany richly flavored and just salty enough to contrast with the sweet apple filling, the texture as flaky as a croissant but still crisp. It shattered when you bit it, then melted instantly on the tongue.

The only problem with my masterpiece, I told my guests as they licked the crumbs off their plates, was that I was never, ever going to make it again.

again with the forgetting

so, sandra and elisha had their baby, jack. to visit him on the web, go see misses d.
he is pretty good looking, and gets to wear those fancy green (see below) booties that i made! welcome, jack!

The Results are in

so, there were no huge upsets in the election. snowe, baldacci, most incumbents back in office. (surprise? nah.)
however, we did have two referendums on the ballot, TABOR and a constitutional ammendment. the results are, according to mainetoday.com:

TABOR CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE
No	270309	54.08%
Yes	229502	45.92%
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Yes	251910	54.03%
No	214296	45.97%

this is kind of interesting to me, as the anti-TABOR folks were pro-AMENDMENT. what does that mean? well, that the people of Maine didn't like that the TABOR people got their issue on the ballot through the lax-attitude of the court system, and we don't like TABOR, either. (for those who don't know, the court let them submit their signatures after the deadline because they had them all gathered and dated from before the deadline. they thought that it was in the spirit of initiative and referendum to allow them the flexibility to be on the ballot even though they missed the deadline.) and, it means that almost the same amount of people who don't like the strictness of TABOR don't like the looseness of the court. funny, but somehow logical. (we don't like that this got on our ballot through those loosey-goosey judges, and we don't want it anyway sort of thing.)
interesting, no?

ooops. i forgot the littles.

bingo little.

piggy little.

heavy with photos

cake!

isn't it pretty?

upside down trees at massmoca.

mass-moca. (from our trip to see dylan in august.)

cupcakes. yum.

booties for baby jack. twice.

the big gq and me.

sorry, i can't figure out how to rotate the pictures.

well my goodness

this person lived in maine! and, i think she might've lived on an island! at least, sometimes! plus, she is making a killer sweater for her man (aka mr. cable, or something like that) and the big gq has been after me for sweater attempt #2. i'm ready, i think.
still no pictures, sorry. i'm heading home tonight, leaving my country-club lifestyle behind me. yesterday i went swimming and into the hot tub and sauna, it really is the life. oh, and early this week i had a hot stone massage, which is pretty much the best thing in the whole world. all you doubters, schedule yourself one (ask for kristy) and be ready for the best hour of your life. for reals.

why hello there: a wee update

1. i am currently living in a country club. it's where people get married and golf and go to corporate retreats. it is where the big gq's family vacations every year, and happens to be able to relieve me of 2+ hours of ferry time every day. this means that two people who have spent their entire adult lives living on north haven, vacation 15 miles away. every year for more than 20. wowza. anyhoo, it's great for me. miss sandra is joining me for a swim tonight.
2. my first SP9 package arrived at its destination. i am so pleased that my recipient liked it. kind of relieved, too. i haven't been knitting because of this pain in my left hand, so i'm pretty much sticking to other sorts of presents. hopefully i'll get back on it soon.
3. when you don't live on the island, you get to go out for dinner. and cocktails. it is a very nice change.
   
4. i miss the littles.
   
5. i went to portland last week and got new shoes. plus, i got to hang out with a few good friends. such a very nice thing. one is in beauty school and is going to give me a bitchin hair cut for my birthday.
   
6. my secret pal told me she is mailing my first package soon. i am tres excited.
7. i hosted a stampin up party, which was a raging success. i have a new favorite activity: embossing. my goal was to make $30 for free stuff, you know, from the sales?, but i made, well, an obscene amount. like, over $200. so, i'll i can say is, i will have enough embossing powder to coat my house from roof-to-crawl-space. friends, i am going to emboss the walls. watch out! *the demonstrator, though, got stuck on island for two nights. she literally wept with happiness when she got off the ferry on the mainland. she was so awesome and such a trooper. it was a great experience overall.*
8. oh, and last weekend, we lost power for a whole bunch of time and i read by lamp-light. this is another grand thing.
9. i think i might make these for thanksgiving. gobble.
10. i finally have some pictures on my computer to upload, but i keep not using my computer. so, soon there will be a picture heavy post to show you all some recent projects and some funny stuff that's been a-happening. okie.
    

origami pumpkin, my meagre attempt at halloween

check out ben folds!

here he is singing one of everyone's favorite songs! neat.

four things

Four jobs I’ve had:

*Lotion sales-person a la the mall
*House Chair
*stage manager for the worst person ever
*costume coordinator for two Oren Shai films

Four movies I can watch over and over:

* Dirty Dancing
* The Royal Tenenbaums
* The Thin Man
* even though it's not all that great, Almost Famous

Four places I have lived:

* Portland, ME
* Pacifica, CA
* Bennington, VT
* Brooklyn, NY

Four television shows I love to watch:

* CSI (only las vegas. the rest suck.)
* Veronica Mars
* Weeds
* Jakers! the adventures of piggly winks

Four places I have been on vacation:

* Route 66
* Glasgow, Scotland
* Montreal, Canada
* San Francisco, CA

Four of my favorite dishes:

*Macncheese. real, no boxes here.
* winter squash.
* the big gq's mom's crab dip. holy crap.
* ooo. chowder! and cupcakes! ach! i can't choose!

Four websites I visit daily:

* knit and tonic
* google
* nytimesr> * um. let's say, fig and plum?

Four places I would rather be right now:

* home in bed with some tea and my book.
* magnolia bakery getting a cupcake and a capp. or, balthazar getting a croissant.
*making crafts (utilizing my vast rubber stamp collection.)
* morrocco or spain or nicaragua. (places i'd like to visit next, now that i have a passport.)

(at this point, i'm supposed to tag some people. but, i don't know about that. it makes me feel like those chain emails where you have to pass it on to get the joke or jesus' blessing, or that guilt you get from not passing it on, where they might do something terrible to you (they know who i am.). i don't know, i clearly have some sort of pass-it-on-or-else fear here. so, if you want to participate, please do. no guilt from me, friends. none.)

he floats through the air with the greatest of ease this daring young man on the flying trapeze

ah-one
ah-two

the life ferry

so, last night when i went to get on the ferry, (after much insanity with the big gq and miss L to get groceries. this business about buying and transporting your food via ferry boat turns out to be a bit, well, complicated.) the little man who is a deck hand came over to our car and asked if we knew about the boat switch. and we're all, wait, what? and he's all, yeah, they're switching your boat out with vinalhaven's stinky old boat because the lobstermen over there are mad that they can't get two tractor trailers of lobbies off at a time. so, they made such a stink that we have this crappy ferry because our boat (the governor burgess) can carry multiple tractor trailers. this boat we have now is slower and ugly on the inside. plus, the women's bathroom is covered in less-than-nice comments about some lady name "loopy linda." sucks to be her, friends. so, i am now destined to a month of alternative ferry riding. oh well. it could be worse. (of course, all the north haven people are starting to make a big stink of their own to the ferry people, and the crew is, too. the design of this boat doesn't work as well with our dock. anyhoo, tempers are flaring.)
oh, yeah. SO, we get to the boat all sweaty and hyped up and the guy says, oh yeah, it's not leaving for another hour. for real. so, of course, we went to get cocktails and pub-fare to remove some of the shock. fantastic.
oh, congratulate me. i sent my first package off for SP9. ole!

secret pal-secret pal!

hee hee! secret pal is underway. i have both MADE and RECEIVED contact with the spoilee and spoiler. ha. this is fantastic. i have to send my package internationally, so i'm going to drop something in the mail today. gotta make sure my spoilee gets some presents asap.
my spoiler, is that right?, asked me a few maine-type questions. today is the coldest its been so far, but it is so nice and fally. the big gq and i went collecting apples from all sorts of trees this weekend. it was great, he'd shake the branch and it would rain apples. i made delicious apple sauce and froze 5 pints. (get this, i also gave away 4 pints, and we delivered a serving bowl for dinner with the big gq's folks last night. tons o' sauce, my friends, tons.) once i get the pictures off the camera, then i'll put them up here!
i do like halloween, of course, but i more like the making of things happening than the participating. i'm kind of a facilitator-type. i am hoping to help make a really scary house this year and carve some pumpkins. near halloween this year, miss L, who's wedding pictures are below, is hosting a murder-mystery dinner. it is going to be hysterical. the big gq is stressed out because he has to dress as a mummy. for reals.
oh, and guess what? my spoiler is from texas, which i love. just so she knows, i've even been to the big texan and watched someone win that free meat. and swum in a swimming pool shaped like texas. and, you know what else?, they really do have tumbleweed there. fantastic.

three things

1. i still haven't received my secret pal assignment, and i have pretty much expired from holding my breath. what i mean is, i'm so excited, so why can't the 15th come any sooner?
and, 2. check out this thing from rock-paper-scissors. it is great.
oh, and 3. um, yeah.

ok, back to politics

(you know you're in maine when...)

i just found this interesting AP article. maine has now changed its rules so that for each referendum, there are going to be three voices for and three voices against. they are not going to edit or change the comments in any way and it's a first come, first serve basis. the comments will be printed in our voter guide. kind of interesting, no? oh, i forgot, it costs $500.00.
so, i decided that i'd try to look at the voter guide. when i googled maine voter guide 2006, i got this. as we can tell, this is not an un-prejudiced source, now is it? interesting, though.
the only voter guide available on the maine state website is how to register, which doesn't really count.
anyhoo, that's all for now. i am still trying to find some good information on referendum question 2, which is lost in the shadow of TABOR. i saw an article in one of the smaller newspapers, but am still tracking down an electronic copy.

and there were more

the happy couple

and all four of us at J.O. Brown's boatyard.

first photo from the wedding. by misses d, of course.

to die for

my goodness do i want this! (think: sea grass.) imagine the mittens!
also, i forgot to announce that i now have insurance! yahoo!

Secret-Pal-Survey-Anwers

Here are my answers, posted in record time. I'm so excited!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love anything natural, no acrylics here. I like fuzzy and soft things, but not so much with the variegations. I have used self-striping yarn once and thought it was divine. Generally, I knit pretty chunky, with size 6 needles and above, but recently I have made both my first sock and a set of booties, both on #1s, so I’m open to anything at this point.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? A plastic cowboy boot that I got a beverage in at the Big Texan in Amarillo. It’s not ideal as the beasts tend to knock it down and gnaw on the needles for some extra fiber. 3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since the winter of, let’s see, 2000. I am very much a beginner, I think, but I’m also adventurous. I learned to knit from someone who had taught herself and was a leftie, so, I knit kind of funny. I need to relearn, methinks. I do know all sorts of things, like, increasing and decreasing, knitting in the round, how to follow a pattern… but I usually just kind of jump in and sort it out as it goes. 4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No. 5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I’m pretty sensitive about fragrance. I usually have things like lavender and naturally fragranced soaps and things.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Of course! I love baked goods. I love chocolate. Oddly enough, I also really like gum.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I love arty quilts and making them, and I use rubber-stamping as much as possible. I have a new-ish addiction to them, about a year, and I have an extensive collection already. I am also hosting a Stampin’ Up party on 28 October. It’s going to be fantastic.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Oh, I like most music. I like Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Postal Service, but have recently been into things like Al Green and James Brown. I also really like bluegrassy folk and adore the new Bruce Springsteen album. Oh, and that new Dylan album is pretty killer. I have a computer and an iPod, so I can listen to digital music or CD-style.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I don’t much like purple. Besides that, I like ‘em all. 10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have two cats: Piggy and Bingo Little. They are fantastic, but they’re a handful. 11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Ix-nay on the onchos-pay. I cannot handle the poncho. They are just so wrong, I can’t even pontificate about them. All other knit goods are right up my alley, though. 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Hats, scarves. Mittens. 13. What are you knitting right now? I just finished up two projects, so, I’m on the quest for a new project. I just made myself a fall-hat, which didn’t come out exactly right, and some booties for a friend’s baby on-the-way.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Um, hell yeah!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Either straight or circular, bamboo or aluminum. 16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No. 17. How old is your oldest UFO? At least 4 years. 18. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving. I love pie. 19. Is there anything that you collect? oooooo. Fiesta ware. Rubber stamps. Mess. 20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I am painfully out of touch with publications right now; this move to the island has done me in. I would love a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting, or anything else that is inspirational. I don’t even own any E. Zimmerman books! And I call myself a knitter! 21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Knitting “properly” (although, I’ll probably just ignore that), cables and bobbles. Writing really clear and concise directions. 22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Well, I have technically knit a sock. But, just one up to now. So, no, not really. I’d like to be, and am working on it! I wear a size 6.5 shoe, I don’t have the measurements with me.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

17 November! Yahoo! The big 2-6, baby.

should you read this book?

no. not really. it is pretty embarrassing that i've read this all. it was bathtub reading for just about 10 months, it was that riveting. i direct all blame for purchase (money was exchanged for this thing) to my mother. not only is the mystery not very mysterious, but the knitting is rudimentary and boring. awe over knitting in the round? i think not. eyelash yarn problems? so passe. this is a resounding two thumbs down. well, at least one and a half thumbs down. however, that business about the skull made of yarn in the basket is pretty sweet, y'all.

election 2006

so, while i was living in new york city, i was highly involved with politics. i recently re-registered in maine and realized that i had no idea what was on the ballot. i searched and i searched, but couldn't get anywhere. i figure that i could put together a little summary for those other mainers in a similar situation. (many thanks to my state representative hannah pingree for the info.) without further ado, i give you:

maine ballot summary 2006!

referendum
1. Citizen Initiative

"Do you want to limit increases in state and local government spending to the rate of inflation plus population growth and to require voter approval for all tax and fee increases?"

remember? this is also know as the Tax Payer's Bill of Rights, TABOR. There are all those commercials about it? With people from the west dragging brief cases?

• pro TABOR resource

• anti TABOR resource
  

2. Constitutional Amendment

"Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to state that a citizens' initiative or people's veto petition must be submitted to local or state officials by the constitutional deadline in order to be certified and, in the case of a citizens' initiative, must be filed with the Secretary of State within 18 months?"

personally, i don't know anything about this. when i googled it, i got this link. really, making people file on time is alright with me. the 18 month thing i don't understand. more research forthcoming.

then, we have the candidates to United States Senate:
Incumbent: Olympia Snowe, Republican.
Challengers: William H. Slavick, Undeclared.
Jean Hay Bright, Democrat.

and gubernatorial candidates:
Incumbent: John Baldacci, Democrat.
Challengers: Patricia LaMarche, Green.
Barbara Merrill, Undeclared.
Philip Morris Napier, Undeclared.
Chandler Woodcock, Republican.
so, that's it for state-wide issues. here's a link to all the other local candidates. (the list is offered in a few different forms, click one of the links at the top.)
hope this information helps you!

surprise surprise surprise

um, yeah. so, the big gq and i got the mail yesterday. (which, by the way, still involves using a truck, despite it being delivered "to our house" now. ha. across the street, down the bend. get this, they don't deliver to our side of the street, so no matter what our address, our box is across the way. this island is filled with insanity.)
anyhoo, he's all "oh no, you can't see this." which, of course, means that i'm filled with the pushiest of curiosity. after a few minutes of pestering, he says, well, you can see this. and it's an envelope fom jetblue! yahoo! and, he won't tell me anything else. he did ask when i get to take vacation though-- too bad not til march, eh?
isn't that exciting? i made him promise not to tell me anything no matter what i say. now he's saying that he's trying to lead me astray and there's no airfare involved and that he is full of surprises. i mean, c'mon!
for someone who hasn't really ever given me a present, this is tres sophisticated. don't you think?

good-for-you yarn?

like many of you, i visit the hunger site regularly. in their store, i recently found some good conscious yarn, we can get our favorite drug (fiber) and support good causes, too! wahoo! (plus, the picture on the left is from purl soho- of course, they have the best website- a lovely pink angora. to die for!)

why lookee here

the new knitty's up! yahoo! i'm not finding any of the projects all that inspirational, but it still is a great online source. i do like the sweater featured on my right here, it's called ivy.

first day of fall

so, life on the island has been terrible recently. we've had a two deaths and one near-fatal car accident. all this happened in a three day span, last sunday, monday, and tuesday. the morale is really low out there, and it's kind of hard to be a newbie with little connection to the people who have passed or are injured, as it's so much easier for my life to continue on its regular path.
three things that i'm working on:

1. still furiously knitting the green, fuzzy fall hat. as it's officially fall now, i really should be closer to done than i am. i'll knit on the boat today, i promise!
2. claymation. the plans coninue, but will it happen? who can tell?
   
3. furious planning of a stampin-up party at the library on north haven. (because the big gq's mom is the librarian, of course.)

oh, and fingers are crossed on trekking to the common ground. miss L is pretty shaken up, so our plans might be changed. sigh.

this week is inching by

at work we've been sans computers for most of 3 days. the first days was novel and there were things that could be done. this is no longer the situation. and i'd like to print my work so i can MOVE ON, but i can't. so, i'll think nice thoughts and move on to this:
the fantastic, fabulous, common ground fair! yay!
i am going on saturday morning. thus far, the plan is...
1) miss L puts her car on the last ferry on friday. i meet the boat in rockland, and take it off.
2) i return to the island-homestead on the last boat on friday.
3) saturday morning, miss L's dad will take us to rockland before he goes out hauling. this means in the wee hours of the morn and travel across the bay in a swank lobster boat. forget this business with the ferry.
4) we pick up miss L's car, and with the others in tow, we drive for a few hours to the fair grounds, or what-have-you. i'm so excited.
another reason why i'm excited is: blogger is letting me put pictures on again. this week is turning around, it really is.

check it out!

these people are SO cool. ikea pillowcase skirt? i think so.

holy crap

have you seen the new ipod shuffle? it puts even me, the anti-shuffle, in awe. it is so cool! and so tiny! 240 songs that can clip onto your pocket? fantastic.
(for some reason, i can't get a picture to load up on blogger these days. so, click on the holy crap above, and you'll be redirected to the new shuffle's website. wowza.)

commuter by boat

today was my dreaded meeting with the maine state ferry service. for some reason (revenue) they do not offer a commuter rate. this means that i pay huge amounts of money to go to work everyday. this is not good. i went to their advisory board's meeting today where they poo-poo-ed my suggestion and basically flatly refused to look into finding a solution to the commuter's wallet problems.
(they have been using islesboro as their example of why a commuter rate does not work-- islesboro has about 100 people who commute TO the island for work everyday. on north haven, we have none of those, and we have only me who commutes to work on the mainland everyday. i think the situations are a little bit different. really.)
anyhoo, i'm kind of mad. and a little upset that my pleas fell on deaf ears. however, it means that i have to try harder to change north haven's policies, and perhaps that will affect all of penobscot bay's commuters sometime. maybe?
i hope so.
(i forgot to write that one other bad thing happened today: i smell like kerosene. our monitor leaked onto my bag and i was already at the ferry terminal when i realized. but, one good thing happened: i started knitting myself a green, fuzzy, fall beanie. it'll help my commuting blues.)

Rockwell Kent (1882 - 1971)
Workers of the World Unite, 1937
Wood engraving

secret pal 9

hello. i am very excited because today the sign-ups for secret pal 9 open. i've never done one before, but it all seems directly up my alley.
i couldn't think of a good picture for today's SP9 theme, so, i put a frenchie up there. i love them, and would love to have one to call my own. anyhoo, in order to join SP9 i need to have 10 posts on my blog. this is number 9. i hope they let me scooch by. i sure would appreciate it.
i know that you're all waiting on my details from last weekend, but i don't have any pictures yet. i'll share once i do.
happy labor day! power to the worker! hee.

inspiration

look at how beatiful this mitered square blanket is!
i am so inspired by the ladies over at masondixonknitting. i am in awe of this masterpiece of modern design-know-how and old-timey craftiness. a perfect combination, in my book.
anyhoo, this is going to be the big winter project. i'm sure there will be other sorts of things: mittens, hats, socks and the like. but this baby, she's the winner! yahoo! i can't wait to start knitting...
first, i've got to buy their book. then, buy the yarn. then, get going.
thank goodness friday is payday, eh?

lovely

i am eating smarties and it is lovely. i haven't had them in so long, and it turns out that they are just delicious.

a weekend off-the-island?

this weekend the big gq and i are going on an adventure. for some reason, he's really excited. usually he moans about leaving the island, but not this time. this time he's stoaked to be going away. hmm. maybe it's because we're going to see bob dylan. twice. or, maybe it's because we're going to see jimmie vaughan. twice. or maybe it has to do with the fact that we're going to see junior brown. twice. and that he is my dad's first cousin, so there is the possibility (however remote) of us going back stage and hanging out. really. it is a slim hope, but an honest-to-god possibility. and i think that the big gq thinks that they might invite him to jam. which, in all reality, is the remotest of remote of all the possibilities. but one can dream, can't they?
full report to come next week. have a great weekend, y'all, i'm off.
oh! and i might get to drive some because we're using his mom's car, which has these pedals that are adjustable, and therefore i can reach them even with my stubby little legs! unbelievable!

the spinto band

the spinto band is awesome. i know of them because two members went to my alma mater, which i cannot spell right now. anyhoo, they are just grand. go check out their music. you will like it. i promise.

summer blankets

yesterday was the day after my mom's birthday, so she came up to the mid-coast region to hang out for the day. we went a bunch of places, the highlight being: swan's island blankets.

at the swan's island blankets show-room, they show you everything from the sheep to the yarn to the dying room to the loombs. it is unbelievable. the blankets are highly expensive, think baby blankets starting at around $200, but they are beautiful.

some of the wool comes from sheep that live untended on a little island in penobscot bay. it is called nash island and the sheep are its only residents. the owners of SIB travel out with a flock of volunteers to round up the sheep and shear them.

i can't even imagine the hours that go into each blanket. i really want one. all the dyes are natural, so the colors are really simple but lovely. the blankets are designed after blankets that used to be a maine staple, they are woven in a way so that they are the perfect weight for year round use. SIB now also makes winter weight blankets, which are sort of quilt/comforter style, with two individual layers that are woven together regularly to make these, i guess, pockets. anyhoo, check it out. it is amazing.

a little blue

i have been feeling like sad marilyn recently. so, here she is as inspiration! (remember in some like it hot when she plays the ukeulele? it's just so bloody inspirational.)

purl patchwork is up!

check it out! one of the best knitting-shops in new york city (purlsoho, of course) has a fraternal twin, purl patchwork. it's all about quilting and it is fantastic. really. here is just one wee but fantastic sample of what they have to offer. go to visit!

i like to ride in trucks.