Friends

my friend deza has been having loads of issues.....
relatives from hell, problems with hubby's military transfer paperwork.. housing woes....plus her serious health issues and trying to take care of her kids.  basically? she needs a break.

so.... she finally finds an apt for lease she can afford.... its all set to go... and she mentioned to the agent that she had a service dog
suddenly it is "already rented out by another agent"

GGGGGggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
right now i am counting to a thousand and trying to stay calm. it COULD be true.... i mean the other agent part.......but i dont think so.

 if any of you can spare a prayer, or a candle, or a large metal  landlord bat, or a word of encouragement to her..... please do. it was the only available apt in her budget....
(some cash  infusions are never a bad idea either... she wont ask, but i sure will)

so....... i had to put an order in with fiesta yarns, aka seven dimes distributing....
and i have until wednesday to add anything to my order.

so
think carefully about Gift giving to other knitty folks..... as well as your own stash..... and  then browse the fiesta site.
if you order a bag of 4  skeins of one kind, one color.... you get wholesale plus shipping to me. (roughly 50% off)
order two skeins, and you get 25% off retail (plus shipping to me)

you pay actual costs to ship to you, if i need to mail them

and..... i will be at Stierbach Holiday faire..  and Darkover...
we THINK the order may get in in time for Stierbach, it WILL be in in time for Darkover. so if you can pick it up at an event...... you dont need to pay to have it shipped to you!

limited time offer.....because i have to order anything else by mid day wednesday.

you know, these hatchlings should have "gendered" by now....
blink
blink
wow, gendered to grown up in under 15 minutes......i guess i have room on my scroll for a few more eggs....

ummmmmmm
new eggs:

my scroll is HERE

for those who dont play, here are the basic rules:
( and some random blather )

the sweater is laughing at me.... i can hear it.  it knows....
even the beads have been snickering behind my back.

sorry.. ahem. long day
so, having re knit and ripped back the same section about 5 times before i went Du'Oh! and figured out that i was counting my end of lace pattern marker as the shoulder marker (it isnt)
i am a tad cranky at the sweater
other than that? its going ok....

( blah blah sweater, lace patterns, blah blah blah )

ok, i know i started my paticipation in  National Knit a Sweater in the Month of November a bit  late (November 5th. Guy Fawkes day)
and i know i decided to use up the yarn in my stash as a challenge....... and call it "gunpowder" in honor of Guy Fawkes Day.... and then i chose a LACE "V" pattern (you know, V for Vendetta?) to accentuate the design... which was dumb.. yes

but whose @#$%^& idea was it to ADD BEADS as itty accent bits on every other row on each side of the lace motif? i mean i am on a TIME crunch here... and i am adding beads to the #$%^&*& thing?

oh, right.. the entire pattern, including beads, is MY IDEA
god am i stupid
and obsessive
did i mention stupid?

and i had to tink back half a row and drop some stitches because i forgot  some of the beads....
sigh
next time? bulky yarn. stockinette. pullover. one color

these are NOT classic Bento boxes (or even close, really) but many of us Bento fans also like the Laptop Lunchbox system..  AND many of the folks on my Flist have people who need to (or want to) pack lunches, or practice portion control.....
and none of us like spending too much money....

the webpage has a sale going on on the original "Laptop Lunchbox" in a carton of 24 sets. (all one color/type)

now obviously most of us have no need for 24 of the things.... but i was wondering if enough of us have any interest..... we could do a group order and split a case.( avoiding shipping.... ) 

(i personally would like the black ones with teh red interior trays as they look more classicaly Japanese... and more grown up)

i have no financial interest in the company, nor do i usually retail these... i just like them and thought getting them at about half off retail was a good idea... especially as gifts

the numbers of injured continues to climb slowly as reports come out
there has been an urgent call for blood donors in the Ft Hood/ Texas region.

all domestic bases are on high alert, so no... your friends and family likely CANNOT call you to say they are safe, they are on lock down. mis reported...... apparently the bases are not all on high alert as was earlier reported.. most of them are on *increased* alert, but that varies from base to base.

the current news says the chief shooter was a MAJOR posted at the base?! an army major : Major  Malik Nadal Hasan apparently was the gunman. he was killed,  EDITED UPDATE: now they say he is alive and in custody. still reporting him as the same name....        two others have been arrested as accomplices? details still shaky.

The Texas blood supply is likely to be drained, and fast.  this means an urgent need for donors FIRST in Texas, and then all other regions as available blood supplies are re routed.
if you are an eligible donor PLEASE go make an appt to donate.
if you are not eligible, consider helpng someone else to donate by babysitting, or driving them in.

i am eligible, will be trying to schedule for platelets.
dmn   

EDITED TO ADD: details are changing, obviously.  at this point they are saying "lone gunman and alive" earlier they said multiple people with the chief shooter dead, BUT bear in mind the earliest reports were from people who themselves only had partial reports from survivors. or who were not authorized to make any reports..... i expect we wont have most of the information firmed up until tomorrow.

what is NOT in doubt: many people are dead.. many more are injured.  the area hospitals are suddenly dealing with a large number of gunshot victims.  many of these people will need surgery, possibly several surgeries.  blood supplies will be critically low in the region as a result.

and please, pray for the entire base and their families.... this is going to be a mess   

well, having completely forgotten it was November until Guy Fawkes day and the rhyme… i am getting a late start to NaKNiSweMo
(thats National Knit  A Sweater Month, invented by knitgrrl as a  knit along to NaNoWriMo the "write a 50,000 word novel in November insanity)

so i am starting now. i havent even cast on.
BUT
i have……… a cunning plan!
you see, i am starting on Guy Fawkes Day. so i thought i should do a “gunpowder” theme sweater

now for speed, and fit, i usually knit top down raglan  it also means that i can tell if its close to fitting or not as i go.

 

so digging through my stash i find…. Noro Aurora yarn in three totally different colors. MAYBE enough for a sweater, maybe not.
i mean total
but they dont totally suck together…..
so i figure i will sort of “ombre” it by starting with the three balls of color 2 lot A  (mostly grey) and then switch to the unlabeled balls. then go to color 4 lot A (mostly a rich chestnut brown)
and in the meantime try to find some sort of plain ish yarn to mix in, just in case the balls of yarn here dont “quite” cut it. probably find a soft silver grey to use as cuffs and collar….

so QUESTIONS:
does anyone know anything about Noro Aurora? i have the "whats in it" and the colors for 2 and 4, i mean anyone have any "i have knit with this stuff" advice?

any of you have these in your “single ball stash” that you want to give up?

and can any of you think of a good motif or pattern to suggest “gunpowder” “explosions” or “skyrockets”
(i had contemplated a ruffle bottom and sleeve finish, but dont think it wil work with the yarn?)

7 reported dead, more wounded at ft hood in shooting. details unknown as of yet.
news link HERE
EDIT:
shooters (three?) were soldiers says base commander....
12 killed, 31 wounded
link HERE

remember, remember, the fifth of November..
Gunpowder Treason and Plot....
i know no reason, why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot......

and oh SH@#$%^&* !!! its Nakniswemo time again.... and i forgot!?!
runs for the yarn stash........

the original link HERE this years post HERE
more HERE

maybe i can do one with a gunpowder theme?

in a 4 hour "home show" at my parents (Willow Valley retirement community in Lancaster pa) i made a better income than  i did working most of a week 10am to 9pm at Oxford Valley Mall.

so... anyone have any parents at retirement communities and active senior places that would like to host a jewelry show/open house?
cause i could use a few more shows like THAT.

mom and dad sent out  invites to a few people,  and on the day of the show put out some snacks and drinks, we set up two card tables near the window and a row of TV trays along the back of the sofa  which i covered with burgundy table covers (king sheets pinned to drape nicely) and a few displays on some end tables.

everything got tucked under the card tables or put in the bedroom, along with some of their furniture that would have made it cluttered.
then people wandered in, shopped for Xmas gifts and stuff, chatted, ate some stuff (the pecan tarts were good) and generally had a good time.

i converted a few earrings (i do post/clip/hook conversions all the time) and i also have a few orders to fill... but generally most of it was  "i will take this pile of stuff, do you take checks?"
yup, especially since my parents know what your apt number is... (lol)

in other news:
still recovering from the sleep deprivation that is two back to back mall shows.

will be doing Darkover Con (Thanksgiving Weekend) and Stierbach Holiday Faire in the near future.... 
have one more mall show at the Laurel Mall in Hazelton PA the week up to Xmas (anyone know of any cheap hotels or crash space?) 
and  Non Con at Vassar just got confirmed

Three little kittens all have white mittens
And they begin to cry.

( Read more... )

so... i lived through another mall show.

i get a break for a couple of weeks, and then i do another one...... Laurel Mall in Hazelton PA.  i do that one the week leading up to Xmas, with the option to stay until Xmas eve.
anyone have crash space? even for a couple of days? it would help off set my costs... any any clues about cheap motels?

anyway,i have to drive out to see my parents, because i am doing a "home show" at their place wednesday and i want to see the set up and work on it a bit...
but i really want to go back to bed
really
srsly   

the Montgomery Mall show is being better than the Oxford Valley show (money wise)... which is kind of important.
its still brutally long hours, but at least more of the people buy things.

also, on an odd note:  while at OVM i had some folks drop by.... but they knew i was there ... this time i ran into someone i knew from Darkover and various SCA events... but she had no idea i was there.
we joked that i could be recognized even in mundane clothes since i was in my natural habitat..... behind a merchant table.

beads are selling.. again.  its odd, i didnt really expect beads to sell at a mall show, but they do.

anyway, exhausted... going to bed
and please look at dragons HERE

i think
i could be wrong
sleep deprivation is odd that way.. ...i might be dead....

i like the mall (Montgomery Mall) but i hadnt realized how much i was depending on the nice guy with the antique photos who was next to me at the last mall..... because since we two were next to each other we could spot each other on bathroom breaks.
not here
most of the crafters are downstairs... (sigh)
the TWO jewelry vendors are upstairs (sigh) (not so hot an idea... it might work better if there were MORE jewelry vendors, actually..... i am not sure)

and we are on opposite sides of the area.  one of the open areas where i can look down on the other merchants.. i am next to the elevators...
but even if i wanted to ask her to watch my tables....... she CANT. she is on the other side of the "atrium".

i am developing a distinct aversion to mall shows.  10 am to 9pm without a break starts to get to you.. especially since this one is over an hour commute.

lots of lookie-loos, but not so much with the money... although it  was wednesday and thats not a good shopping day for a mall.
anyway.
not dead... i think.

pls to look at dragons HERE