Hermes

More to come. Just a portrait today. He was kind enough to pose for me, while staring out the window at his girlfriend (a little stray calico that he has been told in no uncertain terms will NOT be coming in the house).

Typecast and Drawing

Short tonight. Not feeling overly talkative at the moment.

New Hair

I got a couple of gift certificates to the local beauty school for Christmas, but I haven't had time to make use of them until recently. I knew that I wanted to do something a bit different with my hair, but I wasn't sure what. Then I got sick of my hair (which tends to get rather triangular looking when it's about shoulder length) looking like a Lady Gaga wig and decided that Now. Was. The. Time.

After having Normal Hair for about a year, I decided it was time to go back to something funky and picked out a layered style that will still grow out easily (since that is the ultimate goal) and decided I wanted it to be two-toned in some way. Red. Bright, firey red. So when I talked to the girl (a lovely senior from not to far from where I live) we settled on this:

I'm quite pleased with it, though it takes some getting used to. It also means I have to re-evaluate my wardrobe a little, since it clashes with most of the dark red, all of the pinks, and about half of the purples in my closet. So it looks like I'm going to be wearing mostly black and blue for the foreseeable future (gah, black and blue and red on top? I'm going to look like a scraped knee. But a very fashionable scraped knee).

I can't post any pictures of my knitting right now, because it's part of a Top Secret Mission for Nerd Wars, and the hem of the sweater I'm working on isn't all that fascinating (yay, 2 1/2 inches of 2x1 ribbing. Joy). I did manage to have a spinning mishap that resulted in the loss of about 1/4 ounce of tussah silk. I still weep for it.

I've been accomplishing very little in the world of writing this week, but I hope to rectify that tomorrow or possibly later tonight, depending on how long it takes me to finish up stuff online. I have been hampered slightly in my productivity by the rain, which has flooded both our internet and phone lines meaning that I don't have access half the time to the numbers I need to call and the other half I simply can't call them (because if I'm going to be on hold for an hour, there's no way I'm using my cell). So since I don't have any other concrete accomplishments to show you, I will distract you with another shiney picture of me and my new 'do:



Also, don't forget about the Japan Relief Drawing, which is still open to anyone who donates to any organization providing aide over there. I'm going to keep blogging as usual, but remember that you can still enter by leaving a comment on that post. There's also a helpful little link in the upper left hand corner of this page, right next to the post title.

I promise I've been doing stuff. Really.

So I haven't opened a single story file since November started (I'm doing really well on that goal, aren't I?). As a little motivation for myself, I've begun posting the story on fictionpress.com. You can read it here (you might need an account to read it).

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The camera is still AWOL, but I finished the sweater back and I'm almost done with the second pocket lining. I'm sure that will be much more exciting once I actually have pictures I can post with this, but I didn't think you guys would a appreciate a webcam shot considering how terrible I am with a normal camera.

I do have scans of some artwork up on devart. Those will also be in the next issue of the CFM.

And now I am off to do homework and see if I can figure out Twitter...

The Eyes Have It.

Conjunctivitis, that is. My poor baby had to go to the vet today. His eye has been runny all week. I knew he’d have to go to the vet, but was trying to put it off until I had a paycheck in my hand. Then this afternoon I noticed that it was swollen. No more procrastination. My vet is a saint and took a post-dated check.

It has been a Week here at chez KnotMagick. I’ve been picking up hours at the Discount Retailer, even though I wasn’t set to officially start back until Sunday. I ended up calling in sick though, because on Saturday night I had an allergic reaction to a granola bar I brought as a snack for my break. Why do all health food companies find it necessary to add soy to all of their products?

Anyway, my throat swelled up--not enough to merit a trip to the ER, thankfully, but I ended up staying in bed until 1 the next afternoon. I’m pretty much back to normal now, but I had a moment of panic when the vet gave Hermes his antibiotic, then handed me the box and told me to give it to him twice a day for a week. If you’ve never given a cat meds before, then let me tell you, it’s a very messy process involving claws and teeth. It took me, a vet tech, and the vet to hold Hermes down so that ointment could be applied to his eye (another fun chore I get for the next seven days). But the antibiotic he gave me was amoxicillin--along with it’s sister med, penicillin, these are the two things I am most allergic to. I informed the vet of this, and he swapped it out for Liquid Gold, which is what we call penicillin substitutes around here, since a one week supply for a human runs upwards of $80. Thankfully, both prescriptions plus the office visit only came in at $55, which, ironically, is the cheapest vet bill I’ve had since I got him.

I’ve had kitty on the brain lately. If I wasn’t living with my parents and their dogs, I’d be tempted to get him a sibling (actually, I’m still tempted, but I like my head on my shoulders and I’m pretty sure my dad would kill me). Alice and my friend T keep telling me I need to make a Hermes comic strip, so while I was sick that was exactly what I did. He’s just such a character, I’m surprised it took me this long. I’m looking forward to spending time with him this summer. I’ve missed the furry little demon.

Click for the big version.



On my ipod: You Can't Always Get What You Want--Glee Cast
On the night stand: Death du Jour--Kathy Reichs
On the needles: random crochet hat and Mystery Project #1. Little to no progress on either.

Ooh, shiney!

Mom, Dad and I went to the Good Guys car show in Columbus today. 4,000+ classic cars. Squee! A lot of people think I'm pretty girly, because I like to knit and crochet and make frothy, foamy girly dresses, but I'm also a bit of a tomboy. I love cars, especially Chevys from 1958-73. The Impala is my favorite (1960 model, to be exact), but I don't discriminate (except against Ford).

The Good Guys show is one of the largest in the country, and attracts people from all around. I saw license plates from Texas, Ontario, and...Hawaii? Somehow, I don't think they drove all the way to the show.

The weather was good, but we did get about an hour of storms and afterwards it was pretty muggy, especially in the main area of the show, which was all paved with no trees or anything to provide shade.


While we where there, I was introduced to a few new car models that I'd never seen before, like this 1965 Belair. It was for sale for such an awesome price too. I did my best to talk my dad into buying it for me for Christmas/Graduation/Birthday (for the next three years!) but he didn't bite even though he was drooling over it too. I didn't even know that they made Belairs that late--I was only familiar with the boat-like version form the 50's that my dad drools over.

There was also a 1963 version that I think was even nicer (I'm a sucker for the fins; I like the line) and was for sale/"interesting trade." He didn't bite on that one, either. Shucks.

Sadly, this is the only car I got to take home. It's a '68 Corvette. Mom and I sat behind it while we took our rest break around noon, and I started sketching it. Not bad, considering I've hardly drawn so much as a stick figure in the past year (Who me, an art student? What are you talking about?).

Maybe I am a girly-girl after all. Do you know what I bought? Earings. Pewter earings shaped like tape measures with a thimble, a pair of scissors, and a button hanging from them.

Strange things happen at 3am

Remember that cold that I had back in Edinburgh? The one I thought I’d left behind? Well, I guess it got lonely. It started with a runny nose, then a sore throat, and then this morning around 2am my right ear decided to join the party. I don’t know why I have such bad travel karma. I get sick in Edinburgh and then high off of Dutch cold medicine, then there was the fiasco with the train, the trip to London that never really happened, arriving in Italy a day early and scrambling to find a hotel or hostel that spoke English. Not to mention all of the other random crap that has happened. This is even worse than when I was in Canada—My flight out was canceled because of the FAA computer crash, then my luggage was lost, I developed pityrisasis rosea, which completely freaked out my pregnant co worker. She refused to work with me for a couple of days, then wouldn’t go within 20 feet of me until it went away. We got two flat tires, then I had 12 hours of delays on the way back. Why do I have such bad luck when I travel? Who did I piss off and what do I have to give them to make it better?

So anyway, I was up at two am because I was both wide awake and exhausted. What do you think I did for an hour and a half to tire myself out?



This is a Turkish rib, and it will eventually be part of a tank top. For some reason, I can manage a right side row of p1, k2, and a wrong side row of p3, k1, but I kept screwing up the k2 p2 for the mistake rib/Medusa scarf. But hey, it’s called a Mistake Rib for a reason, right? I figure it adds character. The knitting part of that is finished, by the way, I just need to weave in some ends and then I can post the finished piece.

I don’t know where my brain goes when I’m sick, but it sure is amusing:



“Marienne, where did you get that yarn? You didn’t go robbing the weavers, did you?”

“No, of course not, Robin. Do you remember that hideous surcoat Guy of Gisborn was wearing when we caught him last week?”

“Yes. We sent him home naked because of it.”

“Well, I frogged it. I’m making you a sweater.”

“Oh. Okay. Just don’t do anything too fancy.”

“But I just found a stitch pattern for bows!”

“…”

“It’ll be cute, I promise!”

“What kind of bows are we talking about here?”

I totally want to go home and get my old fiberglass target tips and knit myself a sweater now. If I manage to volunteer at my old shooting camp this summer, maybe I’ll bring it along and do it then. I’m sure everyone will get a kick out of it.

I also spent a lot of time this morning thinking about what music I want to play at the show. I’m going to take some of the lyrics and embroider them on “filler” panels. The music I’ve picked out so far is “One World” and “Someday” by Celtic woman (“The Prayer” might also end up in there too), “Summer Planet no 1” by Two Mix, Kuraki Mai’s “Always Give My Love,” if I can find an MP3 of it, “Size Matters” by Natasha Beddingfield, “Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas, and what I think is a great theme song for this project, “Land of Confusion” by Disturbed.

I know, it seems kind of random, until you listen to the chorus: “This is the world we live in/These are the hands we’re given/Use them and let’s start trying/To make it a place worth living in.” Isn’t that just great for crafting for peace?

If you have any more suggestions on music, drop me a line!

So much to do, so little time

Here we have the Canada scarf, which is what I was working on all through Thanksgiving break. I finished it this afternoon, just in time for the chilly walk from the dorm to the B&E, which might as well be across town, seeing as it is three blocks away and it is cold.

Stats:
Times Frogged: 0
Yarn: some cheap acrylic (think Red Heart) that I inherited when the mother-in-law of one of my dad's friends died (seriously, anyone need crap yarn? I got two trashbags of the stuff, and even I like it, it would qualify me for S.A.B.L.E--Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy). On the bright side, I used up almost two whole skanes on this scarf.
Needles: US 7/5mm steel straights (inhereted from my Canadian grandmother. That was actually not planned...)
The How-To: The way this all started was I had a full, but slopy, skane of red yarn that I wound up on my ball winder. It was one of those big skanes, so I had to make it into two balls. I knit up the first ball, planning to make a time-killer scarf (to later be donated to charity), when I thought, this is going to be awfully short. I should put another color in the middle. Of course, I thought white, because it was the only coordinating color I had enough of in my stash. And when you have red, white, and red, of course you need a maple leaf! I looked a pictures of the Canadian flag I had, and charted out the graphic in Excel. Most of the scarf is garter stitch, but I used stockinette for the maple leafe. The worst part was that I'd drawn the pattern right side up, but I had to knit it sideways. To keep track, I typed a p or a k over each column, to denote whether it was a knit side or purl side for the leaf. Then, as I did each row, I'd fill in the empty space on the computer with v or ^, coinciding with the direction I was working.


The scarf is 26 stitches wide, with a two stitch border on each side of the leaf. It' about six feet long. Maybe seven-ish. I haven't measured, but it's about as long as a twin bed.

It has yet to be blocked, and clashes horribly with my light blue coat, but I adore it anyway (even if it is made out of red heart). Sorry, Salvation Army. You missed out on this one.

I'm planning a hat to go with it that is based on the Quebec flag. ^^

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I've been slow in updating because my computer is in the shop. I expect it back around Wednesday of next week. With no internet to keep me busy, I've been doing a lot of reading, knitting, and drawing.


This is a drawing of one of my avatars from the site GaiaOnline. Nina, as I like to call her, is from the Village Hidden in the Yarn. More artwork concernig her and her adventures (including the battle of the Soul Sucking Scarf of DEWM) are forthcoming.

The drawing is a combination of Micron, Copic, and Sharpie markers on skech paper.

Currently on the needles: the back of the Kimono sweater; top down hat; scented, embroidered, and beaded kerchief;
In storage: Never ending skirt
In planning: European Union scarf, Quebec Hat, Slythern scarf, comic strips