Extravayarnza

I'm joining the Encyclopedia of Me Meme
Each day in August I'm going to give a letter of the alphabet and tell you guys a little about myself in a way that relates to that letter. I didn't do that ABC along last year, so this is my super condensed way to play a little catch up (and maybe kick my butt into posting more often again).
So....

A is for Animals
A is for Agility
This one was easy. A is so obviously for animals.

I've always lived with animals. From growing up in the country with my cats (and the lady next door with a petting zoo...), to horse back riding camp, to birds, spiders, snakes, small rodents, and now my puppy.
They offer comfort, compassion, a listening ear, a good reason to exercise, a warm spot on my bed in the dead of winter, and most simply love.
I don't really know what I would do without Trent & Robin. I've recently had to say goodbye to Aspen, my Dad's dog, who I spent my summers with through High School & College. That was one of the hardest things to do ever!
Since getting Robin I've also lost weight. I don't have a scale, but people tell me they can see it in my face. That's really wonderful to me.

Also, Robin & I both really enjoy agility. Since knitting sometimes begins to seem more like my job & less like my hobby. Agility has filled that need for a hobby/sport that isn't knitting. I find it endlessly amazing how Robin can learn so much & how intelligent dogs seem to be. At times it almost seems like he completely understands what I'm saying.
I've also learned that he's very good at playing dumb & finds that game quite amusing.

B is for Baseball

Despite my complete inability to play baseball I have a deep love for the sport.
I was born the year before the Tigers last won the World Series. I've been told that I was just a "babe in arms" when I went to my first game. I don't remember watching many games on the television growing up, but I remember working in the fields (planting trees) with the Tigers blasting on my dad's old red radio (the same radio he has now & I think it saw better days well before the 80s). I also remember my brother & I catching balls during batting practice and pretty much ruling the bleachers at old Tiger's Stadium. My glove, the balls we caught, and my baseball cards were prized possessions.


That love has followed me my whole life. I may have cooled on the whole baseball card thing, but I never lost faith in my Tigers. Eventually Tigers Stadium went away, Comerica Park rose up, and the Tigers went from the worst team in baseball practically ever (only one game short of the record most losses) to the world series in just a few short years. Sqee!
All I can say is I'm wearing my lucky socks this post season...

Okay, now for something completely different.
I'm finding my knitting mojo again. My Sockapalooza socks are finished and winging their way to their new home.

The Pegasus Shawl is slowly gaining momentum again & will be finished up before you know it.

I rediscover my love for a pattern I wrote a few years ago. In my now wiser state I'm revamping the pattern. I know so much more about afterthought heels & making them fit now that I just need to fix this pattern up. Plus I found that perfect yarn that alluded me when I knit this pattern up for Magknits.

This pattern was originally designed for a yarn SWTC was going to come out with that eventually sort of turned into Tofutsies. The stripes in the JoJoLand look so much like what I intended the pattern to look like. I'm happy!

I also am once again working on the socks I was designing before Wicked took my attention away. This is the third sock & once I'm done the pattern will be completely proofed and ready for sale. I'm not showing the cool part of the pattern in this photo, but just look at how lovely this yarn is!

Yes, there is still more...
My reward for finishing up my Sockapalooza socks in time was to dig into my precious Sea Wool. I can't say enough lovely things about this yarn. It maybe the best sock yarn I've ever knit. However, as much as I like Sea Wool, and as much as I like the Mad Color Weave Socks, together they just don't rock my boat. This attempt will be ripped, but I'm determined to find the right pattern quickly. I'm thinking Potomus maybe (yes I know it's spelled wrong)

However this big box may make it difficult not to start any more socks this weekend.

Over 200 skeins of STR, need I say more?

These may have followed me home last night...

As well as these...

C is for Contradance

I love Contradance. It's just amazingly fun, energetic, and it's free from the many rules and constraints that most dances have. You don't need to bring a partner, in fact if you do bring one you'll only dance with them a few times in the night.
In Lansing we have a contradance roughly 2 times a month.
The first Saturday is hosted by Ten Pound Fiddle
The third Saturday is hosted by Looking Glass Arts Both of those sites have good articles explaining what exactly contradance is. However the best way to find out is just to go!
The next Lansing Contradance is the 3rd Saturday in September.
I also found a video from a dance this spring, I'm not in it, but Lynn is!

D is for Dog Friendly

I've become a big proponent of Dog Friendly Spaces. I suppose my new position as a dog owner is part of that. Robin is a very social puppy & gets along so well with other dogs. He also loves it when we can find wide open spaces where he can go romp around. I think that's a big part of why he really excels at agility.
He's become a very well behaved dog who I can trust completely as long as there are no bikes or cars near by. He comes when called, breaks off play when I ask him to, and when off leash he generally stays at my side better than when he's on leash.

In the next 2 months we will have 2 dog parks opening up near my house. The big cool dog park should finally (fingers crossed) open up this month. I'm really really eager to bring Robin down to this park. We've met many of the other member's dogs & those play sessions have gone really well!
East Lansing also announced yesterday that a smaller dog park will be opening just a mile down the bike path from my house! This is someplace that Robin & I walk past every week. So convenient. Plus they say they'll have it open by October.

Lansing also has a dog friendly ice cream parlor. How cool is that?! I still haven't made it over there, but I plan to make a trip over to Cones and Bones in the near future.

Another favorite dog friendly romp in Lansing is Gone 2 the Dogs. This is cool little shop in Lansing's Old Town that has kitchy little toys, leashes, home made dog treats, and offers a place to cool down and get some water when Robin & I walk the River Trail. If nothing else I make sure and get Robin a special treat whenever I'm near by.
Oh and how could I forget, they make the coolest pet calender each year. They're called Bark & Buff, no you don't need to get your mind out of the gutter on that one. Check them out here...

Michigan also boasts many dog parks including one of the best in North America. I've also been told of a dog friendly beach near Muskegon.

Even Ravelry is dog friendly! One of my favorite knitting/agility blogs started an agility group on Ravelry.

And I'd be a bad blogger if I didn't send a big Thank You to Rose Mary!
She knit me the most fabulous socks for Sockapalooza. They're RPMs knit in STR Rockstar. My camera doesn't capture they're awsomness at all, but trust me, they rock.

Oh, I'm so excited!!! my letter for the day lined up with my new project, so...
E is for Europe
E is for Embossed SeaWeed Socks

A few years ago I got the chance to go to Europe. The plan was to go to the Cannes Film festival. In the end we were in Cannes, during the film festival, without credentials. However we did get to tour theatres and theatre schools from Amsterdam, to Belgium, to Paris, and down to the Mediterranean. I think I could easily move to southern France. I loved every moment we spent there. The food is amazing! The people are friendly. Life moves at a more reasonable pace.

These photos are from the Roman theatre in Orange & the Oceanographic Institute in Monte Carlo. When ever I'm visiting in a town there are 3 places to look for me, a yarn shop, a museum/historical site, or an aquarium.
My next trip to Europe will be planning completely around my art history classes. I've got 2 text books just riddled with earmarked pages. Plus I need to be sure I arrive in Paris when the museums aren't on strike...

Today I finally found the perfect pattern for my Sea Wool yarn I got in Toronto. I'm knitting the Embossed Leaves socks from Favorite Socks. They're almost as addictive as Monkies.

F is for Fish!

When I was a Sophomore in High School I started breeding Betta Fish. These are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish & are commonly seen in those little bowls above the fish tanks at pet stores. Unlike gold fish which actually need a big tank & lots of filtration, bettas can really live in a little bowl. In the wild they often slither between muddy water buffalo footprints.

Honestly they are just really pretty fish & enjoyed my little row of tanks across my desk.
Eventually my love of bettas lead to a job at our local mom & pop pet store. I really loved working there. I guess fish have always fascinated me. I was also so surprised at how colorful & interesting fresh water fish can be. My favorites came to be a family of fish called Rainbows, they're mostly from Australia & New Zealand. When the males court the females they flash colors down their side, turn a stripe that runs between their eyes bright yellow, and do amazing displays of their finnage. I could (and often did) watch them for hours.

G is for Gardens

One thing I don't think I can live without is a garden. Even with I lived in an upstairs apartment I had a little garden on the back balcony. Granted I mostly managed to grow stinging nettle, but it was there none the less.

Back here at home we've finally gotten a pretty nifty garden together. From April till October or November something is always blooming, from the super early crocus till the ever blooming mums. Plus, with the exception of the morning glories, everything is either a perennial or a bulb, so it's pretty easy maintenance now. I love our garden.

H is for Heels!
H is for Hand Sewing!

I have strong opinions about both heels & toes on socks. I avoid heel flap/gusset heel & the wedge toe. Neither fit my feet particularly well & to be honest I really don't like knitting heel flap or the gusset.

I think this frees me in my sock knitting. I can try all sorts of other toes and heels, I free myself to just be adventurous. My favorite heels are short row heel & afterthought heels. I've learned all sorts of different variations on both of these and they all fit differently.
My embossed leaves sock is sitting waiting patiently for me to choose an afterthought heel to put in. I'm leaning toward a 3 point start heel since the toe is a variation on a star toe. This might give my sock some interesting symmetry.

I decided this weekend that I needed a quilt. Actually I decided Thursday night & am now in the long stage of hand sewing down the binding. I am so totally in love with this quilt. It's the only thing that's making me work through the 340 inches of hand sewing hell.
You see I love sewing, machine sewing that is. I love cutting (goes double if it involves a rotary cutter!), I love using my serger, any of my 4 sewing machines, and I jump any chance where I get to use an industrial sewing machine. However I really don't enjoy the hand sewing part.
Eventually I get my groove on & between watching both 300 and Son of Pink Panther last night and a bit of sewing this morning I'm closing in on the half way point on getting that binding stitched down, but I've got this knot in my shoulder that is quite uncomfortable.
It's all worth it though. Just wait till you guys see this quilt... It's perfect in all it's imperfectness (it ain't about to win a ribbon at the fair), the fabric puckered, the stitch lines aren't straight, the mitered corners well... aren't, but I don't care! It's perfect. See even Trent agrees with me~

He couldn't even wait for the pins to be removed to hunker in and take a nap...

I is for Injuries!

Most people who've known me for a while know that I'm quite injury prone. At any given time I most likely have a blister, a bruise, and a cut, plus either my knees or tendinitis is probably bothering me. It's just the way I am.
I'm generally fine with just about any injury I get. I spent weeks working with a broken wrist before I got it x-rayed. I've had quite serious cuts on my feet & have no problem with the blood, but my hands or wrists start bleeding & that's it. I'm gone. The only 3 times I've fainted in my life are from 2 puncture wounds on my fingers (one was actually a Chinchilla bite) and when I stabbed my wrist with an hobby knife. A drop of blood from my fingers and I'll start to get woozy.

But now for something much prettier... my first quilt!

The pattern is from Bend the Rules Sewing.
The pattern in the book is for a lap quilt, but I expanded mine by making my strips twice as long & using twice as many of them (actually I used 17 80" long strips). I also used a total of 12 fabrics, 6 "solid" (small low contrast prints) and 6 "printed" (bolder prints)

The final quilt is about 80"x85" and fits nicely on my Full bed. I just totally love it. Just look at the cute binding!

That was by far my favorite fabric & the first one I picked for the quilt.
I think I may see a few more of these in my future...

J has stumped me a bit...

J is for Jam
I've always had a weakness for Jam (or perhaps more accurately fruit preserves). My favorite for spreading on toast or bagels is simple strawberry, but my most favorite is Peach. Peach is reserved for eating right out of the jar.

J is for Jewelry
I tend to have simple tastes when it comes to jewelry. Silver tones in a small setting. If it goes with everything that's a big plus, because I wear the same pieces every day. I have platinum captured ball hoop earring that I don't remove (I have a selection of glass & stone balls that get changed out once a year or so...). I have a small white gold dragonfly necklace that I got as a birthday present, again that doesn't come off. If I feel like anything else my amber ring & bracelet gets added. That's it. I love the platinum and white gold mainly because they don't tarnish, so less keep up is necessary.

J is for the Jayne Hat
I knit my brother a Jayne Hat for his birthday next month. The Jayne hat is from a tv series call Firefly that he really loves.

On a side note I've started my first sock out of New Pathways for Sock Knitters and have to once again bow down to the greatness that is Cat Bordhi. It takes a bit to get into knitting the first sock & understand the organization of the book, but every step is explained really clearly and I love how she was able to include instructions for dpn's, 2-circs, and magic loop without making the book too cluttered.

However, one thing that's really helpful to have when knitting from the book is stitch markers with letters on them (she labels the markers A-F in the book). I found myself really wishing for a set. So... since the ones that Skacel will be making don't seem to be available yet I searched out super cute little pewter alphabet beads & will be making up sets to coordinate with the book. I'll be placing a few sets on etsy once I get them all made up. I'm planning on making up sets with either A-D and sets with A-F (only 2 designs in the book need markers E & F). All the findings are sterling silver with pewter beads.
4 marker sets (A-D) will be $8
6 marker sets (A-F) will be $12
I'd be happy to reserve sets if anyones interested, or check back next week and I'll let everyone know once they're up on etsy.

Oh the beads aren't the usual cube alphabet beads. They're actually really cute! Here's a picture below~

Well K is for knitting silly!

Knitting really is the most important thing in my life... it's my job, my hobby, my well everything.
I guess it's good that I diversify every once and a while!
But today is about K & K is what I'm going to give you~


That is the first Spiraling Coriolis from Cat's new book!
The spiral across the top of the foot is actually both gussets for the heel, crazy huh?!
They fit really well & were tons of fun to knit.
Now I just need to decide if the second sock will be another Coriolis sock or if I want to try another design from the book.

Okay, this won't be a real entry in the MeMe thing, but still, it has a now familiar ring...

R is for Rae
R is for Robin
R is for Rain
M is for Mudd
P is for Parks

More specifically Dog Parks, even more specifically it's for the quasi-opening day of Lansing's Soldan Dog Park.

Now if you add all those things together you get a few things...
You get muddy shoes (actually if you're shoes get sucked off into the mud you get muddy socks too).

You also get a soaking wet muddy Sheltie

Robin & I sat for a while watching the rain was making rings in the pond.

He seemed really deep in thought watching the pond, I wander what he was thinking...

Since we got home he's pretty much slept. He played, and played, and played... apparently tag is the preferred game when dogs get together. We even ran into another Sheltie!

Those two hardly slowed down. My camera blurs with the slightest movement, so this is the best photo I got!

Anyways, the dog park rocks, wear good shoes (tightly laced!) and you'll have a good time. (I need to note for those in Lansing, right now the park is in 'beta testing'. It's open to members of Friends of Lansing Dog Parks. We're still picking up trash & getting grass to root in the open spaces...It will be open to the general public really soon. )