In Case You Missed It

Lots going on this week, so I just wanted to do a quick recap for anyone who might have missed out.

• I'm entering a contest to win $5,000 for my business. To see what exactly that would mean for me, click here. Please vote for me and share the link, since the person with the most votes wins and at last count I only had 18! (By comparison, the person I discovered the contest through has 400+.)
  
• After many years, I've finally given Yahoo! the boot. My new email is KnotMagickKnitter AT gmail DOT com. I'll be phasing out the old address over the next several months. 
  
• If you've been paying attention to the top of the page, you might have noticed a new tab--classes. I'm now offering a selection of knitting classes. For more info, you can email me at my new address
  
• Another tab up there has changed as well: If you click on the "Patterns" tab you'll see that I've got a new pattern for sale! Charlotte is an entrelac cowl pattern, suitable for those new to the technique or those with more experience. The pattern is available both through my blog and through Ravelry.
  
• Lastly, that same old poll is still going in the sidebar. I'd really like to hear from more than two people, so take a moment to click a box!

I think that's everything. See you Monday!

CFM Steampunk Issue

Well, in case you missed the memo, the second issue of Contemporary Fantasy Magazine is now live. You can download a free sample here, and it's available on Etsy for purchase (only $4!). The next issue is Monsters and Mayhem, and we are already taking submissions. For more information, check out the CFM Blog.

Buh.

The newly revamped etsy store is now live at www.knotmagick.etsy.com. My stock is kind of slender right now because my Day Job has been interfering with my craft, internet, and writing time.

I'm not in much of a bloggy, chatty mood right now, so I'm going to leave it at that.

Odds and Ends

Has it really been three weeks since I updated this thing? Wow. I've been really busy at work, but my hours were recently cut. I've also been hurrying to get all of my Saci paperwork together, but at this point I'm just waiting on my loans and a new credit card (the loans were an adventure in and of themselves, and considering I won't get my overpayment until I'm actually in Italy, the new card is a necessary evil. I hope to pay it off as soon as I get my check).

I ordered the Blood Ties DVDs, and they are here, but I'm tucking them aside until Italy, when I will be with limited internet access and no TV or radio.

Tonight Alice and I are going to a midnight showing of Harry Potter. I was going to put it off, but we have to go into Hilliard so she can go to the bank anyway, and the theater is right next to the bank, so we might as well save ourselves a trip. I'm tempted to wear my black graduation robes and go in costume, but I'm a geek like that. :)

An update on the ergonomic crochet hooks: They're intended for people with arthritis in their hands, I think, not people with carpal tunnel. I find I actually have to do more work when I use them rather than less, which is a pain. I like the fact that they are interchangeable (I love it, actually), but I think I might have to pass them on to someone else before I leave. I wanted to take them with me, I just think I'm better off taking 4-5 of my normal hooks, since I know how to make them work for me with the least amount of pain.

Yay! No More Pain!

Thanks to my wonderful mother, a former OT, my knee no longer hurts. I guess I've been a bad girl, letting my quads get weak, so my knee cap decided to go for a little walk around the block without me. My mom has the same problem from time to time, so she popped it back into place (really, doesn't hurt as much as it sounds like it would), and told me to ice it and do some exercises, which I'm doing.

Called off work today...er, yesterday...because of the knee. Working nine hours on a bad knee is not something a recommend doing. Feeling up to going in later today, though.

Fixed the first sleeve on the sweater and got a little less than 1/2 done with the body. I've just started the cuff for the second sleeve and am about 15 rows in. No more spinning, though I've really been wanting to get back to that. I was avoiding it yesterday and today, though, because I like to treadle with my left foot (the bad one), and I have to card everything as I go, which is such a pain. No more blending fibers, I'm just going to buy them as I want them from now on. :)

I've started listening to two new podcasts; Brass Needles, which is scifi/knitting themed, and Stitches in Time, which has an excerpt from a turn of the century book for the first half, and then the knitting content of the host. I prefer the books to the knitting content, actually, but I'm still listening to the early episodes so I'm hoping that bit gets more interesting as you go along. Both are free on Itunes.

If you've been following my writing blog (Link in sidebar), I've begun updating it again. Sorry about the long break. Life happened in spades (again/continually) and it was more than I could handle. I had to skim back on a lot of things the last few months. I'm picking up now though: I'm trying to write and craft more, I'm working on the BJD podcast, I'm trying to updated here and on Etsy more (still working on that) and I'm picking up hours at work. It feels so good to be able to do things I enjoy again, I can't even begin to tell you.

Gimp

Does anyone know where I can trade in my body for a slightly newer, more gently used version (and preferably ten pounds lighter? Maybe with better skin and hair that's an actual color)? See, this past week, my allergies attacked with a vengence. The problem with Ohio is that it doesn't have Allergy Season. You just have to keep the meds and the tissue box handy from March until October and hope for the best. My nose is raw, and this evening is the first time in three days I've been able to breathe with my mouth closed. It hasn't been fun, and there's no telling how long it will last.

To top it off, I did something to me knee this afternoon. No idea what, but it feels like it's been twisted or something, and I can hardly put any weight on it (and wouldn't you know it, about five minutes after I settled in with the rice cozy, my boss calls to ask if I could pick up a nine hour shift). Heat, cold, pain killers--none of them are really doing much. I can't see any swelling or anything out of place, it just HURTS.

Anyway. To take my mind off of that, I've been knitting. I got all the way done with the sleeve, was about to cast off--and then I realized that my measurements were way off. So I ripped back six inches and started again. I'm just about to cast off again, hopefully this time it will be right.

I did a little bit of spinning. The house has been topsy turvy from getting the kitchen re-done, so I didn't have anyplace to work. But I cleared a spot for my wheel, and spun a few yards of the silk/bamboo mix I've only been working on since, oh, March? February? Earlier? and am still less than halfway done with.

Did a little sewing but I really need to oil poor Gemma, and my bottle of oil is nowhere in sight. Anyone know of an alternative to sewing machine oil until I find it?

I went to the Asian Festival over the weekend, but a full report on that will have to wait, since it's already almost midnight and I'm not done yet with everything I need to do.

Bullet Points

1. I'm taking a page from Crazy Aunt Purl and doing this list style, because I'm too scatter brained for anything coherent.

2. Vanyel is the new love of my life. I'm working on a three ply right now, and have fiber on five of my six bobbins.

3. My show will officially open in one week, three days, and seventeen hours.

4. My white matter is making a lovely catered BBQ out of my gray matter thanks to #3.

5. Because of #3, everything that doesn't need to be done NOW has been put on hiatus, including the other blog.

6. I had a mental break down on Tuesday. I literally sat in my studio and cried for four hours straight. I am that stressed out.

7. If any of you are going to Santa Clara, CA for Baycon in May, could one of you send me Mercedes Lackey's autograph? I would love you forever. And give you yarn. Hand dyed yarn spun on Vanyel. Cookies?