A Stitch in Time

Yep, it’s true.

2011-09-18T17:28:00.001-04:00

I think I’ve hit Grandma level 5. I just brewed my tea in my tea pot for while I sit and knit.I won’t level up again unless I knit a cozy for it. I’m ashamed that it has just been decoration for too long. Who wants to come over for a spot of tea and some knitting?

In other news, the kitten gets cuter by the day.

Puttin’ on my game face

2011-09-16T23:26:00.001-04:00

So tomorrow the Yankee Brutals face off with Skyland of New Jersey. Can I tell you how excited I am? So excited that I painted my nails, changed my skate laces, and redid my duct tape. Next I’m packing my gear and whatnot for tomorrow. And based on practice, we are gonna rock! Please wish a day of no traffic for me so I can get to New Jersey in time for the bout. I may have to pull a superman and wear a lot of my uniform under my work clothes.

Cars and I are in a fight

2011-09-15T09:52:00.002-04:00

So we’ve been having a rough time. We just aren’t getting along. They like to cost me mega bucks. I will have a high credit card balance but I will prevail! I will go to NJ for my away bout and I will someday have my jeep again. We shall be extremely frugal for a while now. Maybe even move to a cheaper place. Such is life.
I’ve come to terms with the money flying out the window, but it isn’t easy. I’m knitting again so I must be ok. I found that if I’m not being creative I’m in a slump. At least I still have derby to give me an aggression outlet.
Speaking of knitting, Over at my Tumblr blog I will be doing a 30 Days of knitting thingy. I will post here periodically with the link but if you are a Tumblr kinda person follow me!
Another update! I could be very well doing a craft fair. I need the money anyway :). it will be hosted by the CT Roller Girls. You really should go to it and even join in on the vending.

Labor day vaca for the jeep

2011-09-04T22:30:00.001-04:00

What a weekend. All week the boy has been fighting his car. Then mine felt left out. On the way to my best friends' wedding it overheated, almost making me late for the ceremony. The next day (today) consisted of my cousin's wedding in RI. The quest to have a car was almost complete but the car decided a thermostat wasn't enough to appease her. She had to be greedy and trick us into a temperature gauge too. Tomorrow we test her and see if it continues to overheat. We couldn’t make it to RI for Cait and Ryan’s wedding. The car fixing just couldn’t happen fast enough. I’ve been waiting over 12 years for it too. I’m sorry. Charlie and I send our love.

Can I say though, the wedding my car did allow us to enjoy was magical. They are totally made for each other. I actually don’t go to the farm constantly just for the farm. I’m a bit drawn to this lovely couple and I’m very happy that they are in my life. Also, Bruce makes some awesome peach mead and he is pretty persuasive when your cup is empty. How lovely is this photo that Lenny was able to capture? I was awesome and didn’t charge mine. I will leave you with this view.

My first love Part II

2011-08-31T17:12:00.001-04:00

So as I mentioned in this post I really really really want to play cello. Well today I met a man at work who is an orchestra teacher. As soon as I found that out I started asking questions. Apparently his instrument is the cello. He will be checking out the one I have and I may even take lessons from him. I’m really damn excited. I could totally be fancy like this chick someday.

Things fall into place with time. I can’t wait to get back to my first love. <3

It’s my first ever CATURDAY!

2011-08-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

So some dear friends of mine had a little bit of an oops in their household. Their two unrelated kitties were scheduled to be fixed but they were all slick and negated that plan just before. The end result was a litter of 5 kittens. Woops! After much discussion with the boy it was decided that I get to take one home with me.
After hanging out with them I was set on taking the one nicknamed Moocow home. They live on a farm and she has spots on her back much like the very large four-legged residents of said farm. I went for a twist on this nickname and renamed her Io (pronounced ee’-oh). The mythology can be found here to understand what I mean. Ironically it translates to moon, which is my planet as well. I didn’t know that till I found that link. :)
I know what your saying, get on with the kitten pictures! Of course I will bend to your will!

Wordless Wednesday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

2011-08-24T22:43:00.001-04:00

Three hours = 152 CPBBs.

(Please excuse the camera quality of my phone)

Best vacation ever

2011-08-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

No seriously, it was. I can’t even stress that more. It was jam packed with win. Here’s how it went.
Day 1: Vaca commenced at 3:30 pm when I left work. I hightailed it to Providence to see the PRD vs Montreal Double header. PRD lost but it was such an awesome derby bout to watch. I was so proud of Small Wonder who played her first bout ever and totally got MVP. That girl squeaked through many tight walls. I wish I could post the photo here but instead you’ll have to go to George Ross’s Facebook to see.
Day 2: Drop Zeus off at the babysitters and prep for Maine. Not all that exciting. Very busy day of errands, shopping, and packing.
Days 3 & 4: Drive to ME and enjoy the company of our lovely friends, Mike, Jen, and family. The photo below is a link to the set of photos from our trip.

Days 4 – 6: Canoe the Saco River with the boy and the pup.
Trip Highlights!

Spending time with an amazing family.
Our perfect weather from start to finish.
The little snake that greeted us and led us to our first campsite.
Peaceful rowing along the Saco River.
A group of four beavers that worked hard through our second evening right near our other campsite. They were so cute!
Having to make car repairs that turned out to be only a hose to replace. Found an inexpensive mechanic after duct taping the crack to make it into town.

Day 7: Driving home after the repairs and totally stopping at Bruised Boutique to score a new pair of skates!!! I also had to pick up a pair of socks (with owls on them), two booty shorts, and laces. Then proceeded to the farm to retrieve Zeus and his new sibling Io.
Day 8: The lazy last day. Ok, so it was relatively lazy. We did a bazillion loads of laundry, Charlie harvested a ton from the garden, we made just over 6 jars of half sour pickles, and enjoyed an episode of True Blood before crashing into bed.

This was the best vaca ever. I spent every waking hour with the boy and we didn’t bicker once. I find that to be pretty awesome since we really only get to spend time together on weekends even though we live together. The weather was great for us. We enjoyed the river and everything it showed us. And we truly got our much needed relaxation. Thank you to all and whatever made this possible. *sigh* Can I retire yet?

New skates? Don’t mind if I do!

2011-08-22T21:11:00.002-04:00

Finally it has happened. I have upgraded to a pair of skates that will fit! I invested in a new pair of Vandals. Can I tell you how much I really really want to skate tomorrow. I cleaned my wheels, put on the new laces and even washed my pads. Complete derby maintenance. I skated a bit in the kitchen. It’s amazing to wear skates that fit. When I go up on my toe stops I don’t have to scrunch up my toes to stay in place. Quite the difference the right size makes. Without further ado, here they are! Modeling one of the two skates is Io the kitten. She is an adorable photo bomber.

Our little forest

2011-07-17T12:45:00.001-04:00

This year has been our first real garden and I’m very happy with the results. This morning I got out of bed and when straight out to see what the garden has in store for us today.

I found many more green beans. They will be great with our salmon tonight. I found 2 pickling cucumbers and one squash. Both have more on the way.I picked some more lettuce. They are going to bolt at this point so we probably won’t have it for too much longer unless we plant more. We have harvested at least a week’s worth recently. I also decided to harvest some of our herbs. I bundled up lemon balm, parsley, dill, and stevia. They are happily hanging in our pantry as seen below.

To see an entire set of our garden from start to finish click the following link. I will be adding descriptions here and there :) Our Garden of 2011

Now to get ready for my day. Off to see Harry Potter with Your Mom and then home with the boy for trying to get the tomatoes supported, dinner, and True Blood. Awesome Sunday for me!

A needed surprise

2011-06-13T19:21:00.001-04:00

Today was a rather stressful day at work. I could not wait for 5:30 pm to happen from the moment I walked in the door. As I walked out and checked my text messages, my face lit up. The Boy informed me that a package from the UK was waiting for me. I know only one person from there. My friend Cindy had moved there, among other countries in the past few years, and I miss her dearly. Hopefully I’ll get my act in gear and head there in a few years. She just needs to stick to one country. :)

Anyway, I’m pretty sure I got the best birthday card ever. One of her sons drew me his interpretation of what roller derby is. I think it’s a pretty accurate representation, don’t you?

She also sent me some dried plants from the UK. Seen here are cider flower, bluebells, blackthorn, and hawthorn. I see a shadowbox in their future. The bluebells aren’t really that bright, but I love what my camera did to them.

Also since she knows my love of all things cello she gave me two CD’s. Rasputina: Great American Gingerbread and Christine Gunn: Voice of the tree. I‘m listening to Rasputina first of course. Couldn’t help myself. Before Cindy moved for the first time we went to a Rasputina concert together. We had a wonderful time bonding and she showed me the greatness that is two cellos and a drum kit. Thank you again Cindy <3. Miss you!

Domestic for the day

2011-06-12T20:57:00.002-04:00

The Boy and I had quite the productive day. Made laundry detergent so I could finish laundry. I put clothes away and organized my desk and purse. The house is tidy, a chicken was roasted with potatoes in the oven and was accompanied by broccoli with cheese sauce when it was done. Another was boiled so the Pup can have broth for her strict diet. It was promptly turned into chicken salad with herbs strictly from our garden.
One of the fun projects I did today was dehydrating some ginger. I sliced it all up and laid it out on the trays.

And of course we won’t run the dehydrator without it being full so the Boy and I cut up some apples, dipped them in lemon juice and water so they won’t brown, then sprinkled cinnamon on. They will be some great apple chips.

The Boy also started his sprouts up while we did all this.

The apples are still drying right now but the ginger is all set. I put it all in a jar. I have a plan to make my own Lemon Ginger Tea. Can’t wait to try that out. The crazy part is that we did more than what was listed here. A very accomplished day that will be ended with Game of Thrones. :)

Cuddle Buddy

2011-06-11T15:14:00.002-04:00

Well the power went out and today was pretty chilly. Too chilly for Medusa to be without her heat pad. She was forced to hang out with me. We relaxed and weeded the garden a bit. I found she looks great in Zebra.

A Glorious View

2011-06-10T09:49:00.001-04:00

I’m writing this on Wednesday night so I can post in the morning and because I‘m not tired yet. I had this awesome plan this evening to blog and research a little on the internet. So much for that. Thanks to the epic storm my apartment has been without power since 6:30 pm. I’m glad the rain cooled off the day so we won’t die without air conditioning. My phone is conveniently down to one bar of power. It will last the night at least.

Today while I was at work, we watched the sky get as black as night three hours before nightfall. During the crazy storm we lost power about 4 times. Between bouts of no power we made it a point to balance all our cash tills and the vault. Nothing is worse than settling a bank without technology. One of the tellers that was done for the day couldn’t leave because tornados were touching down in her town. Poor kid. Remind me next time to get photos.

But anyway, what I wanted to blog about was the gorgeous day I had off. Days before I told the Boy that I was hoping to go for a walk in the woods. What’s great about where I live is that there is an awesome place to hike that is about 5 minutes away from our apartment. You really can’t beat that. Last week the Boy went with others to this spot and found an amazing view that he had to show me. I know you’re think, “ Are you on crack? It was over 90F out!” Well, yes, I was. It was a tough hike up. For the Pup’s sake we were just going to head to the water, but there wasn’t really anywhere for her to swim. So we decided to be psycho and head up to the cliff. Before we did that we of course found adorable little amphibians. Check out these little leopard frogs. Don’t you just want to squeeze them?

We also found a millipede. Normally I wouldn't touch one but I let it crawl on my hands. It feels pretty cool.

On the whole way through we were thoroughly harassed by mosquitoes and flies. And if the Pup and I had balls all three of us would have sweat them off and left them on the trail. The top of the trail made up for the tough hike up. Seriously, Look at these photos! The Boy said that last time the hawks were circling below the cliff. That’s how high it is. They weren’t there that day. They aren’t dumb assess like us, out and about in the heat.

I loved our hike. I think the cardio from it really made up for me not skating tonight. Work got out too late for that. It also made me feel in a little bit better shape than I thought I was. Except for the really steep spurts, I really wasn’t winded. It was mainly my legs that were screaming WTF. Despite their screaming I powered through it like a big kid. I will be in way more awesome shape though. Now to stop boring you guys. Night! (Well morning, whatever.)

Weekend Update

2011-05-02T19:46:00.000-04:00

So this weekend was amazing. Saturday was a day of Roller Derby. I drove to Fitchburg, MA for a double header against CMRD. The Brutals may not have won, but they fought hard. Then DQ lost by only 2 points. Nail biting and white knuckles were abound.

I seriously can't wait to be voted in to the league. They should be finishing soon. I was itching to leap on the track while I was watching. I <3 my new Derby League. They really have been fabulous at making me feel welcome.

Then Sunday was a day of brush clearing for Rose. I love how my little community helps each other so much. I love her place and I want to replicate a copy of her office. This is why I need a Star Trek replicator. Stuff shows up for free that way.

Now to eat some dinner and keep knitting!

Wordless Wednesday: Best boyfriend ever!

2011-04-27T22:18:00.000-04:00

Please excuse the phone picture quality. The item makes up for it.

A road of the past

2011-04-25T21:04:00.003-04:00

Finally I got to adventure through the rest of the yard at my apartment. It had been raining when I've had free time so I had not had the chance to fully explore where I live. Well, today was beautiful after work and I had to take advantage of that.

The fenced in part of the yard is huge, but I'm more in love with what is past the fence. To give you an idea of what you see below, a local to the area told us a little about the valley we live in. There is a path beside the house that leads down to the beauty featured below. I have to say that location-wise, we seriously lucked out.

This path was actually a road at one time that lead to the bridge that you would cross the river on and through to the other side. The whole area was only a few farms but of course later generations ruined it. They parted up the land for developments. Yes, I'm glad I get to live here, but I wish greed didn't ruin country land. But anyway, I'm told the river is clean. I do see fish under that bridge. Now I'll stop babbling. Enjoy the photos below. :)

Smells like spring

2011-04-24T12:03:00.000-04:00

First of all, to all that celebrate, Happy Easter!

Today is just gorgeous out. I've been up since 9ish sitting in my porch enjoying the view. The place we live in has a huge back yard with a small river running in the back. There are trees everywhere and they are starting to bud. All I can hear all day is the water running and the birds singing. The spring smells wonderful. The smell of new life. You really can't beat this.

Last night I tried to get my sewing done but the machine is going excessively slow. I'll have to figure it out. It may just need oil. I'll have to pick some up this week. From where? I don't know. What I did finish was my hair barrettes. They are adorable knit bows. I plan to make more in the near future. Below is a basic photo of how they came out.

Now we are getting ready to head to the boy's mother's house. It will be a nice day to hang with family. The nephews are big enough to enjoy the holiday so I'm sure they will have sugar coursing through their veins as they hunt for eggs. Enjoy your time whether it's with family or in your garden. Today would have been perfect but oh well. There are more days of spring to enjoy. Mmmmm....spring.

Rain rain, go away...

2011-04-23T12:19:00.000-04:00

So it's a rainy day here in Kensington, CT. A lot has happened and not a lot has been blogged. *Kafail!*

I went to Niantic for the Rooney Annual Sanity Sabbatical. That means crazy times with some awesome ladies and a constant view of the ocean that looks like this:

I also sewed a napkin and totally need to sew the rest of them. That could very well happen today since I also have a curtain to sew. The reason behind one curtain is that we live in an in-law apartment. Between the landlords and their daughter there are roughly 6 dogs that they own. Two of them are, in my opinion, an equivalent to rodents. They yip and yip forever. The moment we step into our porch they come running and stand at our porch door yapping. A curtain may deter them a bit. If not, I'm putting up a baby gate so they can't stand in front of our door. Charlie tried giving them treats and inviting them into the porch. Nothing has worked. Cross your fingers.
The seedlings are doing fabulous and starting to look like the plants they aspire to be. Squash and cucumbers sprout huge! They are going to take over. We have the dirt and manure ready to be put in the beds as soon as it stops raining. Charlie set up the compost since we finally got the chicken wire. We had to keep it in a bucket till we got that done. That was fine in the cold weather but of course not now.
My knitting project that needs to be finished is the hair barrettes that I made. I knit it all but have not put it together. It's one of my bad habits. I also have a gift to finish and mail. My To Do list is growing. I guess I should get working on it. Toodleloo!

Seedlings update!

2011-04-10T20:10:00.000-04:00

So the little plants are doing well. After all this time I only have one lemon balm so we will have to take very good care of it. I will probably pick up one or two plants at a nursery or farm so I have more. I really love lemon tea.

This coming weekend we will be setting up our raised beds. We scored lumber for free since it was the warped and unsellable stuff. We are going to get topsoil from a farm down the road, and finally some fertilizer from Shreiber's Farm in Oxford. I'm very happy to be getting stuff locally rather than from the big chain hardware stores. It will be a lot of work but totally worth it. I hope to be able to make it to the CT Rollergirls bout on Saturday as well. Another busy weekend from me.

Now on to plant photos. Of course you can click to enlarge.

Yay for spring!

My First Real Garden

2011-03-15T21:14:00.000-04:00

Well it's about time. I get to have a garden! No potted garden that gets eaten by aphids. No teeny tiny garden that has limited sun. This time it's the real deal. At first, the boy listed the various scary expensive stuff we needed to do. It was an intimidating thought. But each hurtle has been jumped so far with savings and new knowledge.

At our place the landlords are letting us use the land at the end of the driveway. It will be quite a bit of work but I think we can pull it off. We have gravel and weed blocking plastic to remove, but we're hardcore. That is something that will be done soon. Right now though we got to start the new life.

The first expense that we were fretting was the fact that we may need a grow light. The apartment has very little light. If we didn't have the screen porch I would really dread the lack of sun in the summer. Thankfully I have a boy that labors over things that bug him and comes up with a great solutions. This nice high metal shelf that we had stashed away from the move takes advantage of our ONLY south facing window. It's in the bathroom and fits just right where it doesn't block the towel rack or get in the way, keeps them far from the cat, and gives our little seeds the grow-the-f-up notice with plenty of sun.

We also saved money by using newspaper for our starter pots. Not only are they pretty much free if you get the paper from your newspaper obsessed father, but they also bio-degrade safely in the garden so you don't have to mess with the root systems. The $10 of bricks of soil we got also expanded a ton and filled all the pots we needed. We still have extra.

Aren't they cute?

I'd like to thank my friend Bruce for saving us from starting way to early and possibly before the last frost. I have no sense of that since RI is all coastal and warmer. The middle of CT is a little different. I also <3 the farm and Bruce again for making it easy and inexpensive to get loam for the garden. Saves a ton of effort and money. I'm really excited to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Well now to get back to knitting. I'm hoping this loofah design works out. Night everyone!

A good year

2011-03-14T20:49:00.000-04:00

So my life will soon have the stability I've been craving. You might have noticed that I haven't been around. Well I've been lacking in creativity and the drive to blog since my life has been very chaotic. I stayed at my parents during the week so I could work in RI and then I would go home to my apartment in CT over the weekend. Lots of driving and not enough time spent with the boyfriend, friends, and my pets. Well the waiting has paid off. The week before last I was offered a job in CT. I will be working for another financial institution that is close to my new home and full time! This week is my last week at my current job. It's been a good 6 years and now to move on.

This weekend was a fun one. Dusk turned 14 and we had friends over. Our dear friends Jess and Bruce gave us the best house warming gift ever. It stems from how we really wanted an apartment on the farm we love and frequent. Sadly it would not be doable on our budget but we are only 40 minutes away at our new place. Well they decided to bring the farm to us.

You probably can't see this unless you check out the larger photo on Flickr. We have EPIC birds for our farm. The geese are as big as cows. You can't see it all but there is a plant there and then to the right of the plant is zombies. We decided that the angry large geese are the anti-zombie militia of the window sill. I should have taken a close up shot. I will if you demand it.
So once I finally live in CT all the time you will see more blog posts, knitting, and general happiness. I love change and I thrive in it. Especially this kind.

A little sidetracked

2011-02-10T21:31:00.002-05:00

The Word Play of the week will be late this week. Normally, I post it tonight after working on it yesterday on my day off. Yesterday I was in a blah mood. I wasn't feeling creative in the least and today I'm just tired. I will catch up! You know those days when everything you've been dealing with just hits you all at once? My life isn't too bad right now. It's just some stuff that takes time to resolve. Till it does I have to be patient. No biggie. And when it does resolve you will hear about it. :)

You know what did make me feel better though? Dreaming of the tattoo I hope to get with my tax return. The tattoo I want is actually something I've wanted since high school. I think that is more than long enough to feel that I will like it forever. My plan is to have wings. I've decided to have wings like this guy below.

Click the image to see the blog source Beautiful Flying Objects

This guy is a snowy owl. I have a lot of reasons to choose these wings. I chose wings first of all because in all my dreams i can fly and very often its with wings. I have very vivid dreams, almost like a novel. I chose owls since they are pretty awesome. They are graceful and silent as they fly. It really is quite beautiful watching them. I also love them for their symbolism of wisdom, hence why they are paired with the goddess Athena. Heres hoping some of that rubs off on me. Finally, I enjoy them for their pairing with the moon and night time. Astrology-wise my planet is the moon. Even before I knew this, I was pretty infactuated with the moon as a little girl.

I have quite a few artist recommendations that I'm looking into. I think a realisticly inclined artist would be best for what I want. One of many perks of being part of the derby world, a lot of friends have tattoos and know who to go to. The boy considered the world of tattoo for a time, so he has an eye of what to look for as well. I love being surrounded by artistic people. If you have any artist suggestions feel free to comment with them. Wish me luck! Can't wait to make the 'I got my first tattoo' blog entry!

My first love

2011-02-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

In high school I wasn't really popular. I was friendly with most people, but that's as far as it went. I squeaked by with B's and C's. I passed without ever writing a paper.* Thank goodness for testing well. I just wasn't an over achiever and I was a true procrastinator. Some things never change, though I've gotten better about the procrastination part.

I may not look fondly on my years in school, but there is one aspect I will always love. Music. I started with the violin for a year and then quickly moved on to the trumpet. I pretty much wanted to be like my big brother and that was the instrument he chose. I didn't put it down for a total of 8 years. I would probably still play it here and there if I didn't have to give back the awesome trumpet to the school. I was a total band geek and miss it.

Ever since high school I still get cravings to play an instrument. Lately I've been almost second guessing what I played as a kid. I kind of wish I played a string instrument. I think I would have excelled. When I hear music that involves violins and cellos I wish I could do that. Take Rasputina for example. I wish I could be badass like them. I saw them live with a dear friend of mine.

Another band I <3 Project! Seeing a theme here?

Yeah, I'm in love with the cello. If I ever get the time to learn an instrument again, I think this is the one. I really think I'd do well. Anyone have one laying around? :) Sadly, not a cheap instrument but would totally be worth paying someone to teach me.

So I really haven't gotten over my first love. How could you fall out of love with music? Once a band geek, always a band geek. Le sigh...
*Kids, don't try this at home .Writing papers is good for you. I was lucky.

Word Play Week #3

2011-02-07T17:53:00.000-05:00

Week #3 of Word Play

Perambulate

Not sure what this is about go here -> WordPlay

Good luck :) Can't wait to see what you come up with on Thursday!

Flickr Group

Word Play Week #2 Done!

2011-02-03T20:05:00.002-05:00

Another wordplay done. It's a bit late in the day, but art takes time. So here is the definition I went by for my art.

Edit: Ugh, I totally just realized that I spelled my own word wrong. FAIL. :)
sur·rep·ti·tious (sûrp-tshs)
adj.

1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means.

2. Acting with or marked by stealth.

Of course when thinking of stealth the first thing that comes to my mind is ninjas:

(please excuse the crap angle. It was the only way I could avoid the glare. Then it wasn't square to crop. Oh well.)

Word Play Week #2

2011-01-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

Week #2 of Word Play:

Surreptitious

Not sure what this is about go here -> WordPlay

Good luck :) Can't wait to see what you come up with on Thursday!

Flickr Group

Featured Artisan: RememberWynn

2011-01-30T16:16:00.000-05:00

This featured Artisan is a special one. I actually made a purchase from. So I'm reporting to you as a satisfied customer! Click her avatar below to see her awesome products. I'm sure I'll be getting labels from her eventually.

So what does she do? She specializes in customizing your handmade goods. She laser engraves and cuts her various mediums for advertising, labeling, decorating, and making your stuff look unique. If you look at her Karma there is nothing but good things said about the work she does. I was happy to add to it.

I recall a while back that someone recommended her to the forum of artisans. After that recommendation, I saw many people posting a lot of nice things about her. I asked her a few questions without a purchase ready and she quickly responded, eager to help me.

A while later I was thinking how much I wanted unique buttons. I would go to antique stores and come up empty handed. Then I happened upon her store again and saw her great wooden buttons. What better than a unique button that also advertises the maker? They look so nice. So I ordered the item and she immediately got back to me asking for specifications. I was given the first prototype. I wasn't completely satisfied with how it looked. I asked for some slight changes and she had a new prototype for me within a day or two. The second one was perfect! She shipped ASAP. If there wasn't a string of three snow storms I'm sure it would have gotten to me pretty quick.

Thank you again to RememberWynn! Thanks for your fast replies and great customer service :) I can't way to use my buttons!

Without further ado, here is her work:

She packages them so nicely!

Zeus tried to help me with the photos.

A new look on the shop front!

2011-01-30T15:08:00.000-05:00

So my shop was due for a face-lift. I threw together a banner a while back to just take up space. Well, apparently I have the best boyfriend ever. He offered to make me a new one. With his 733t skills he came up with what is now on the top of the blog and my artfire store.

You really should go to my artfire store and take a look. -> A Stitch in Time

Thank you so much, Charlie!! Btw, tomorrow is also our 1 year anniversary. Wow, time flies and I'm so glad to have spent it with him.

K, I'll stop making you want to vomit and get on to writing my review on a fellow artisan.

Seriously though, isn't he great?

Word Play Week #1 Done!

2011-01-27T19:01:00.001-05:00

So the snow has fallen and we've broken our backs to move it around. Life in RI goes on. :)

The word for this week was Blithe. I had fun with this one and I can't wait to see what you have to show me.
This was the definition that inspired me:

blithe [blaɪð]

adj

1. very happy or cheerful

2. heedless; casual and indifferent

When I thought about happy or cheerful, I went with what I've been thinking about a lot lately. Nature. I'm missing the greens but also appreciating the white and grays. I can't wait for spring, but as I mentioned in my last blog, I enjoy the peace. So without further ado here is my drawing that is a bit more than a doodle. Nature with a bit of make-believe makes me happy and cheerful so I have a blithe spirit because of it.
I added this to the Flickr Group. Hope to see yours either here in the comments or in the group, or both! :)

Medium: prisma colored pencils, prisma black marker.

Let it snow...

2011-01-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

Yeah, there is a lot of it in RI. You have to inch out of side streets slowly since the mountains on either side obstruct your view.

I really do love the snow though.

I may whine and complain here and there about the inconvenience, but nothing beats the silence of the streets and your yard because of the way the snow muffles the chaos.

Its a beautiful and peaceful silence that you usually can't get in the city and suburbia.

I cherish it.

Word Play Week #1

2011-01-24T08:00:00.013-05:00

Note: I just wanted to apologize, I'm new to scheduled posts. It didn't work this morning. Darn Blog! Here it is now.

Week #1 of Word Play:

Blithe

Not sure what this is about go here -> WordPlay

Good luck :) Can't wait to see what you come up with on Thursday!

Flickr Group

Word Play - A Weekly Art Project

2011-01-23T11:31:00.000-05:00

So as I mentioned I want to start doing a weekly art thingy. Here's the deal. I will be posting the word of inspiration on Monday. From that word you can come up with anything. It could have nothing to do with that word at all. It can be done by those of all ages. Involve the kids if you'd like.

Then of course you're wondering what you should do. Well whatever you want. It could be a simple doodle, a masterpiece, something with colored pencils, a mixed media art journal entry, or whatever your heart desires. I heard macaroni art is all the rage now.

After all that is done, you can then post it on my Flickr group or share at your own venue. If you share elsewhere, leave a comment for all to see. I'd like to see what you come up with. Thursday is the day I'll post mine and share some of yours. Really though, there is no deadline. I'm giving myself one to keep on task.

Charlie named this "Word Play." What do you think of that? So tomorrow, watch for the first word of the project.

Note: This was inspired by Dawn's NaNoJouMo. I will still participate in that, but I want to make a weekly habit.

2011 Goals

2011-01-18T07:30:00.002-05:00

I know most people do resolutions, but I have more long term plans rather just one little event. I decided to set goals for the year. I might change my mind or decide that it's not something I'm interested in anymore. We shall see how the year goes. Now on to the list. They are in no particular order.

Work on my physical fitness/Improve in roller derby.

Improve stamina in order to get less tired in a jam. Running and sprints!
Improve footwork and hitting.
Go to the gym at least a couple times a week. Bring the workout of the day from Roller Derby Workouts.

Make artwork a regular part of my life.

Start up a weekly word for artjournaling/drawing/doodleing. Make a Flickr group so friends can share in this. Who's in?
Post word on Monday and work on Thursday, along with friend's submissions.

Improve my Artfire store

Increase my inventory!
Have a nicer banner designed.
Make and/or Order labels

Garden: Preserve and dry the results
Become more eco-friendly

Making my own laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent soon.
Find more ways to impact less.

Make my life more stable

Live in one state.

So I think six goals is just fine for the year. They are multifaceted and long term. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Nothing too daunting, I don't think. Tomorrow I start going to the gym, next week I'd like to post the first word, various things are in the works for artfire, garden is being planned, and six is in progress. What are your goals this year?

Catching up!

2011-01-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for holidays. I needed another day added onto my vacation. If the boyfriends mom didn't mention the holiday I would have totally went to work this morning. If I had realized earlier that I had today off I would have taken another vacation day for tomorrow and not worked till Thursday. Oh well. Life goes on.

I'm sitting here on the couch with a huge fluffy kitten curled up next to me. The boyfriend is playing a video game on the computer that is pretty much a hack and slash. I believe he gets to be War (one of the 4 horseman). What a peaceful morning ;)....I mean afternoon at this point.

This week was a great vacation and for the past few days I've been trying to make my online business presence known again. I'm back on Twitter when I can be, I'm checking out blogs again, and I'm connecting with other businesses on Facebook. It's a good feeling.

On the knitting front, I finished knitting the laptop cover for the lovely Joni. I just have to add snaps and some character. I hope she'll love it. I get one of her lovely Goddess Dolls in exchange. After I finished knitting that I also started some wrist warmers like these ones, but in blue. I can't have empty needles. It just feels.....wrong. As soon as I meet up with Rhoda Perdition I can begin our trade. She will be getting a kittyville hat of red and white. I will be getting Surprise Arts from her. I know some pretty talented people. Expect blog features when the trades are finished. I hope to have both finished before the month's end. then I will work solely on shop inventory. Can't wait :)

I think that's all for now in my little corner of the world. A bit more cuddling with the kitten then I guess I have stuff to do. Ew. Till next time, happy creating.

Holy Crap! A new year!

2011-01-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

So my life has been overly hectic but in such a good way. Once one more step of it is over I can share all of it.

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday this year. Mine was busy but thoroughly enjoyed. Now I'm trying to finally finish my art trades so I can close down commissions for a while. I feel like I've been trying to get to that point forever. My goal is before this month is over. I think it's doable. Then my neglected store can fill up.

I hope everyone has been well. I just wanted to check in. Hopefully you'll see more updates from me. :)

Featured Artisan: UBrickIt

2010-12-09T21:30:00.001-05:00

I'd like to start something new in my blog that will happen from time to time. It's called Featured Artisan. Here is my first entry into my new feature :)

Who doesn’t love Legos? I was a bit of a tomboy so I loved the space station sets. When I had money, that’s usually what I would go for. As soon as I got home I’d break open the box and build. As a challenge to myself I would usually just look at the picture on the front and put it together that way. The directions were usually tossed aside and forgotten.

That brings me to this unique seller. UBrickIt has taken an interesting approach to jewelry design. He casts the metal to fit Lego pieces on them. This ring is my favorite.

He also decorates the actual plastic pieces with crystals.

What geek wouldn’t love these as a gift for the holidays? So check out his shop and maybe you’ll find something that really suits a dear friend or significant other. Or hell, shop for you!

A Stitch in Time update

2010-12-08T18:08:00.003-05:00

Last week was a week to dance. Why you ask? Well you know that little spot on the internet where I can sell my adorable knit items? I made my first sale through it! I had to say goodbye to my little monster wallet and ship it out to be enjoyed.

Also during this week, the guild I am part of was promoting me like crazy. The Stalkers Guild is pretty awesome. They made my stats climb faster every day as they shared my goods with everyone through Facebook, their blogs, Twitter, and many other venues. Thank you to my fellow guild members!!

I also added a new item to the shop. I added an adorable octopus pin cushion.

I’ve already sold one to a friend so I quickly knit up 2 more. They just need some buttons, to be put together, and then photographed. I have so many ideas for store items. It’s exciting! Some to expect are hair barrettes, new mug cozies, and maybe different pin cushions. Nothing like a sale to really boost your enthusiasm.

I ended my great week with a post Thanksgiving feast with my dear friends in CT. We had lots of food, some yummy libations, crafting fun, and many laughs. They really are an awesome group. The ones that couldn’t make it were sorely missed. *hugs*

Now off to some English muffin pizzas for dinner :)

Happy holiday and a new project

2010-11-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

Before I get into the reason for this post, I just wanted to say a belated Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great time with friends and family. I showed off my 733t hand turkey skills for that day's journal post. The word of the day was Gratitude :)

But any way, as I've been doing NaNoJouMo (National Nonstop Journaling Month) I've found that the one word really inspires me to fill a journal page with something creative. I just don't think I could do it every day of the year. It's just not in the cards, though I will continue to do NaNoJouMo with Dawn every November. Hopefully you will join me too. What I could do though, is one entry every week. What do you guys think? Would you want to do this with me? I would post a word probably every wednesday, and then everyone could post their photos on comments here or I could make a flickr group. No deadlines or anything, but hopefully you'd get it done before the end of the week.

It's just a thought and this won't happen till after NaNoJouMo is over. That's her thing that I love and wouldn't want to take away from. But definately let me know. I mostly knit and it's nice to take a breather from that and go back to my original creative love. You know?

Anywho, today I go to see Harry Potter with my dad. It's been a long time since we have seen a movie together so it will be nice. Then off to the art supply store to get myself some clear gesso. I really want to try it out. I've been constantly thinking, "I would love to go over this but still have it show. I wish I had clear gesso." So this has to be done. We'll see what things I come up with it.

Till next time, happy creating :)

Friday Favorites: Fruits of our labor

2010-11-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

I haven't done this in a while. I decided to post another Friday Favorites. Please enjoy these colorful picks from the artisans of Artfre. :)

The fruits of our labor

Curated By: astitchintime

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

Wordless Wednesday: Who lives in my bird feeder?

2010-11-17T18:48:00.001-05:00

Oh! Lord Zedd does! Or at least his evil side does. I have no idea where he came from. :)

The beauty of a Fall day

2010-11-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Charlie and I set out to enjoy a gorgeous day. We stayed close to home because parking at his place was scarce. The park right by him was our destination. We couldn't ask for a more perfect day. It was a warm day in the sun and there was no wind to chill us. Only the shade would remind you it wasn't summer anymore. Above us was a perfectly blue sky.

The pup rolled happily in the leaves.

A boy and his dog relaxed together.

I finished the journal page from the day before.

And then did the entry of that day.

It was really the perfect way to spend a gorgeous fall day.

NaNoJouMo: Days 10-12

2010-11-14T09:00:00.011-05:00

My entries for the National Nonstop Journaling Month.

Day X

Day XI

Day XII

NaNoJouMo: Days 7-9

2010-11-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

More entries for National Nonstop Journaling Month.

Day VII

Day VIII

Day IX

Motivation!

2010-11-10T11:16:00.002-05:00

OK, this is the psyche myself up and motivate myself post. I have today and tomorrow off and I want to be accomplished damn it! I feel like a slug due to being a woman this week. Blech. So this means it takes extra motivation. Too icky for skating but not too icky to be productive and slightly social.

Totally awesome To Do List for today
~~Laundry and put clothes away~~
~~Art journaling~~
~~Knit like woah~~
~~Grocery shop (farm and store)~~
Start organizing craft stuff
~~Then hang out with a friend for the evening~~

Totally awesome To Do List for tomorrow
~~Hopefully finish organizing craft junk~~
Retake all my listing photos for Artfire so I can have more items!
Gut a pumpkin so I can cook seeds
~~Knit even more like woah~~
~~Art journal everyday!~~

Ok after I post this I HAVE to get off the internet and get moving. This is the super charge for the day. Jenna I think I found my motivation. It's called making a damn list, turning off the internet, and getting up off your ass. Annnnnnd BREAK!

Edit: Got most of it done! This post helped. Posting meant I had to try get it going or else I'd be lying to my readers :)

NaNoJouMo: Days 4-6

2010-11-06T16:20:00.000-04:00

My next few journal entries for the National Nonstop Journaling Month.

Day IV

Day V

Day VI

NaNoJouMo: Days 1-3

2010-11-03T23:42:00.000-04:00

What is NaNoJouMo? Well I'm sure you've heard of NaNoWriMo. It's that but with a daily art journal. It was started by Dawn at D'blogala. She inspires us by posting a word a day to help you get going with your art journaling. You can do anything, a simple doodle or a full page entry. So far it's been really helpful. I tried journaling a while back but I feel this way inspires me more. Hopefully I'll keep it up after November.

For a journal you can use whatever. A lot of people I know use a moleskin journal, a regular journal, or even a notebook they have laying around. I, with the inspiration of my friend Rose, use an old book. I gesso each page so I can safely use whatever medium I want on the pages. It's nice because it's cheap, or free, and it has a ton more pages than a sketchbook. Thanks Rose!

On all three pages my mediums consisted of gesso on the pages, pen, pencil, watercolor pencil, some mod podge, and a prisma black marker. I'll post these every few days. :)

Day I: Inception

Day II: Choice

Day III: Fortune

Wonderful Chaos

2010-10-25T21:05:00.001-04:00

Wow, before derby I never had quite this busy of a life. Oh derby how you take over.

Monday I helped out a fellow roller derby girl with a humanities benefit. Three of us were on skates selling raffle tickets. The top winner got a 1/2k diamond. I had a good time chit chatting with everyone. I fell on my butt once, but I have to say, those floors were horrible. Uneven cement floors with holes are tough to skate on. It went well and we raised quite a bit of money. We missed most of the raffling. We were too busy enjoying great food after we were done selling. :)

Tuesday was practice. Then off to visit the boy since if I didn't we would have waited 3 weeks. Ew. We had a relaxing time together filled with him making me a great dinner. When I got back to RI it was straight to work, followed by two derby meetings. Friday was a double header party night. I got to wear my Tank girl costume that night and also celebrated the birthday of a fabulous teammate.

Saturday was a baby shower and the Zombie Pub Crawl led by Rev Al. I had a good time at both and wings I made for the shower were a hit. There were over 300 Zombies at the crawl. I loved the surprised looks on the people that were innocently enjoying a beer. Nothing like going out and having the bar being filled with random walking dead.

Sunday was the icing on the cake. The Mob Squad scrimmaged the ZomBSquad of Hudson Valley. NY. The Mob won 178-52! It was an awesome bout. We were happy to have them come on by for the scrimmage. We all hit hard and worked our butts off. Thanks again ladies! I hope we see them again soon.

This evening is going to be the start of a hermitful week. I need to recuperate.

One down, one to go

2010-10-09T11:54:00.000-04:00

Another week by and another commission knocked off my list. Yesterday morning I went for breakfast at Brickway in Providence to meet up with the lovely Myles. By the way, their pumpkin pancakes are awesome!! Sadly I didn't see my fellow derby girl that works there but I did see 2 PRD hoodies. I digress... Myles asked me for a set of booties and hats for future twin girls that her friend is having. These sets inspired the collection I made last friday in my Friday Favorites: Little monsters post. I made Monster Baby Booties and hats to match them. The hats were based loosly on a basic baby hat pattern and I added horns in the bootie accent color. After all the work she was happy. I love seeing a smiling customer. I can't wait to see baby pictures later. Without further ado, here they are!!

After this I have just one commissioned hat and one trade to do then I'm free! There won't be any commissions for a while after that. This weekend I'm actually knitting something for me for once. I was starting to feel neglected when I was remembering the days when it was all for me. You have to treat yourself here and there. Don't get me wrong, I like knitting for others still. I just want to be selfish for a moment. What are you creating for yourself or for others?

Photography fun

2010-10-08T12:54:00.001-04:00

When taking photos for my Artfire items I kept running into dilemmas. My house is too dark. The window placement doesn't provide good lighting. I also would barely be home or have time to be outside during the best natural lighting. When I could be outside it was raining or it was starting to get darker sooner. Natural lighting was just fighting me. I came to a conclusion: Time to make a light tent/box.

I googled around and came up with this link: How to make an inexpensive light tent. I really liked it's instructions so I decided this was the way to go. I ended up buying a box since the ones laying around weren't the right size for me. It only cost 88 cents so no biggie. I also picked up some white fabric and masking tape. Once I had all this I went to work.

First I had to measure the margins and cut all the sides and the top out.

The next step was to cover the sides and top with fabric. I used masking tape like they suggested in case I want to change it up in the future.

Now it says to put a pice of paper or posterboard in for the background. I chose to use fabric. In order to make it changable I used binder clips to hold the fabric up. I put two slits in the top, one for each clip.

So here is my temporary setup. It worked out alright but the lighting is kind of yellowed. I know editing will help but I would like to get a better bulb anyway. I think it will cost me around $10 in total. Not a bad deal at all. So now to edit and list more items. :)

Very sore, but worth it

2010-10-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

What a weekend I had. Saturday was stressful and exciting. I finally got to skate with my Mobsters. We didn't win our bout but we worked so damn hard. The final score was 111 to 136 with the Rats going to the championship. We were neck and neck most of the night. I landed on my butt pretty good on the polished cement. I feel like an old lady when I get up, but I'm a badass old lady! :) I didn't get home till 2am from the after party. I love spending time with the PRD ladies.

Yesterday was a lot more relaxed. I only left the house once to get my ingredients for dinner. I spent the whole day knitting for my commission project and only stopped to cook. Zeus stayed loyally at my side, waiting for attention and keeping me warm. He is so sweet. He's helping me build my light box right now.

For dinner I made a broccoli and cheese calzone. It was sooooo good. It was my first calzone ever. I'm a big kid now! I based it on a simple recipe that I found online.

Broccoli and Cheese Calzone
1 clove garlic
1 head of Broccoli
Romano cheese
Mozzerella cheese
Olive oil
Pizza dough

I chopped up the garlic and threw it in the pan with enough olive oil to spread across the pan. Then I added the broccoli. I sauteed it all till the broccoli was tender. Preheat the oven to whatever your pizza dough says. I put mine at 450. Once that was done, I set the broccoli aside and rolled out the pizza dough. Once I got it to about 12 inches across I laid it out on a cookie sheet. I added a bit of romano and then a bunch of mozzarella to the broccoli. Sorry I eyeballed it, not measured it. After that was mixed well I just plopped it all on the pizza dough and folded the dough over the filling. A few pinches on the edge and it was ready to cook. I left it to cook for 15 min on the timer and checked every 5 min or so to see if it was golden brown enough for me.

Such a good dinner with a minimal amount of work and a great way to end the weekend. Back to working on what will be my next blog post. :)

Friday Favorites: Little Monsters

2010-10-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

Welcome to another edition of Friday Favorites! For the holiday season and for my own love for monsters, I have created this collection. I hope you enjoy my Little Monsters collection!

Little Monsters

Curated By: astitchintime

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

Summer Love

2010-09-30T11:07:00.004-04:00

This year has been full of weddings and people getting engaged. so much love around me. One wedding in particular was very special. My brother Eric married the love of his life, Kendra. It took 26 years, but I finally have a sister. I got to be in the wedding party and she chose a great dress for us that we can wear again. Thank you!

Now on to some pictures.
Here is the garter that I knit for her. Eventually I will have a finished photo but I was too distracted that week with preparations.

The day before the ladies of the wedding party went to the spa. I had a body scrub, which felt great. My skin was so soft afterwards!

There was minimal prepartion to make her into a lovely bride :)

There was a cermony (that I don't have photos of since I was in it), the cake was cut! That cake was one of the best cakes I've ever tasted!

Then we all danced till we dropped.

We had a toast of Bailey's to welcome her to the Rooney Women!

And they Lived Happily Ever After.The End.

New home!

2010-09-28T13:59:00.001-04:00

I know it's a bit plain right now but it's a layout I want and it's free. That's what matters. I can also change it at will. So change your bookmarks. I'm staying here now. :) You will see more changes as I move along and get it to be just how I want. I'm glad I found a way to import all my posts from Wordpress.

Zombie's vs. Robots!

2010-09-21T06:02:00.001-04:00

So I edited a lot of photos that have been sitting on my computer and in my camera so you will finally see some updates!

This summer we had a fun bout for the Indie Arts fest. It was an absolute blast. We were running low on players for the event but we made do with what we had. In each jam there were only 3 blockers instead of 4 to make up for the lack of players. Boy did it make us tired but it was worth it. It was also my first scrimmage since my knee injury. I was definately running low on stamina but I made it through.

Anyway, It was a very close bout. Harpie couldn't attend, but she made us some awesome zombie panties for the bout. the pivot stripe was made of brains and the jammer star had an eye. She is so creative. =) The robots were beautifully shiny. We all played hard and it led to a score of 60 to 61, with the Robots winning. It was a close game and the fans had a blast. It really was a fun time.

Afterwards the merch table was swamped, we got to talk to a lot of new derby fans, and I felt honored to be in some pictures with them. It was my first public bout and it felt great. I headed home before Waterfire but the rest of the girls from our league got to lead the torch lighting procession. They looked awesome doing it. Thanks to everyone that showed up and thanks to Sis Boom Bonnie for organizing an amazing time!

Can I also tell you how entertaining it was to see animals come out to dance?

I only posted some photos but if you go to the following link you can see the rest at my flickr account. Zombies vs. Robots

Busy busy bee

2010-09-15T18:06:00.000-04:00

So, I've been MIA and will be till after sunday. What's the reason you ask?

My brother is getting married!!!!

I'm in the wedding. So it's chaos this weekend and I'm also knitting the wedding garter. Must finish!!

So once this is all over I have pictures to post like woah, probably wedding photos, and I'm sure there is more. I promise :)

Toodleloo!

Going natural, one step at a time

2010-09-09T03:57:00.001-04:00

I was a tired kid after 2 hours of league practice and then one hour of Mob time. <3 But I still managed to be productive when I got home. After doing some of the dishes (there was a lot) I got ready to try out some natural stuff.

First I had to make another batch of toothpaste. I need to have pretty teeth of course. I love how it whips up so fast. The recipe is here in a previous post: Better than Martha. After that I decided I needed to try out a new recipe in hair care.

For body wash and shampoo I picked up some Dr. Bronner's Peppermint castile soap. It's so refreshing to have the scent fill the whole shower. I pretty much love it. But for conditioner I found an interesting recipe on this site here. As conditioner I now used an apple cider vinegar rinse.

I tried it out last night and it's great. My hair felt practically as good as when you use the chemically stuff from the store. Plus it's a million times cheaper. Well I now know what my conditioner will be from now on. Oh and in case you were wondering the vinegar smell goes away after your hair dries. I just need a better container for it. I was thinking of getting one of those plastic vinegar squeeze bottles to make it easier to apply. Seriously guys. I recommend this. The site says it helps with some dandruff. We'll see how that goes in the winter.

A couple more chemicals knocked out of my everyday life. :)

Friday favorites: Tea Time!

2010-08-27T04:48:00.000-04:00

Here we are with our second edition of Friday Favorites. This time I was inspired by the cool weather we had as of late. It made me think of fall and curling up with a hot cup of tea on the couch. I really can't wait for the cooler weather. I know there are people out there cursing me because they don't want to see summer go. Oh well, don't listen to me. :)

With out further ado....

Tea Time!

Curated By: astitchintime

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Paintings

Still alive

2010-08-24T05:44:00.000-04:00

I've been absent due to being busy. Derby has picked up again for me since my knee is healed. It's awesome to be able to fully participate again.

I've also been knitting like crazy. I'm working on a gift for a friend, another wedding garter (this one for my future sister-in-law), and some items for the store. I'm stuck on how to end the work on the store items. I was trying to be fancy and I think I've found that that's silly. Actually I think I have a good idea in my head right now how to finish them simply. Where is my knitting when I need it?! Yes....I have an addiction. And yes, I did just really think of the idea as I was typing.

Other than the gifts and store items I took on two commissions against my better judgement. Money is tight, and they are adorable and easy projects. things I know I can get done in a timely manner. Some people have confronted me about commissions and I knew I just couldn't do it. These are well spaced out so I shouldn't be cramming to get it done as long as I manage my time right. The little time that I have left, that is.

I should really do some photo posts. You will see them soon. I have farm photos, outdoor Dusk photos, and derby photos. Expect of few blogs of what's been going on this summer. Till then, toodles!

Friday Favorites: I <3 Owls

2010-08-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting for the Artfire collections feature to come out so I could start doing this on my blog. Friday Favorites will probably appear every 2 weeks at most.

So the first collection I put together is I <3 Owls. Who doesn't love owls? Those big curious eyes looking out at night for their meal. I love being out in the woods at night and hearing their call, or seeing them pass over the sky. I hope to live in the country one day so I can run into them more often. My mom collected a lot of owl items throughout the years and I always loved them. She even painted a ceramic one. Hopefully she'll pass them on to me. I already kinda of permanently borrowed owl earrings from her. ;)

Also, because I couldn't resist, I purchased a pendant from an artisan seen below. My first Artfire purchase! Maybe you'll see it in photos in the future. Enjoy the collection! Be sure to check out their studios. You never know what you will find and love.

I <3 Owls

Curated By: astitchintime

ArtFire.com

Vintage Fashion

I won!

2010-08-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

For once I really did win. It was unexpected. I commented on Ms. Bella constrictor's blog because I found her post interesting. I totally didn't read the instructions, but I'm glad I won. Bella, or Tabitha to you non derby folks, went to a cute store called Rehab and put together a necklace with the items she found there. The post I'm talking about is here. Her blog is really cute and fun so you should go there all the time like I do. Even if she is a Rat and not a Mobster she's still A-OK in my book. ;)

Anyway, pictured below and on her blog is the cute necklace I received. Thanks again Bella!!

Mmm pickles...

2010-08-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

If you live in RI then you may have eaten at Gregg's Restaurant. If you have eaten there then you may love their pickles. I know I do. When I'd eat there we'd go through multiple dishes of pickles. They were soooo good. What is really cool is that Gregg's actually posted the recipe in the Providence Journal. I got the recipe years ago and only just this year tried to make them. I have to say, it is so easy and quick. The best part is, you only have to wait 7 days for them to be ready. Win!

It's really just a matter of washing and slicing the cucumbers, mixing the ingredients, and packing them in. I went to the local farm for my pickling cucumbers. I was happy to find them there. Now I know where to get some good local ones to continue my new obsession. This batch came out great!

Half-Sour Pickles
Aka: Greggs pickles

Washed pickling size cucumbers, cut into spears or 1/4-inch slices

1 ½ tablespoons pickling salt

1 ½ teaspoons pickling spices (I found mine at the supermarket.)

¼ teaspoon hot pepper seed or flaked red pepper

8 small gloves garlic

1 half-gallon glass jar with cover (I split mine amongst 4 pint jars)

Fill jars with washed cucumbers. Pack them in tightly. Mix salt, garlic, pickling spices and pepper in a bowl with about 2 cups of hot water; stir until the salt is dissolved. Add some cold water until the liquid feels comfortable to the touch, not hot. Add to the cucumbers. Add more water (warm) if necessary to fill the jar. Let stand on counter, loosely covered, for about 1 hour. After 1 hour cover tightly and refrigerate for 7 days. Taste on the 7^th day.

Indie Arts Fest!!

2010-07-29T07:02:00.000-04:00

Guess what. Providence Roller Derby is skating in a free bout on Saturday for the Indie Arts Fest. Our bout starts at 5:30. Click the flyer below to go to the site and see the whole schedule.

It's Zombies Vs. Robots and I'm totally skating on the Zombie team! Be there to cheer us on and see some awesome roller derby!

Crafts abound

2010-07-24T05:41:00.000-04:00

I love being creative. I love making things for me and I love making things for other people who truly appreciate the work. It feels good.

For me first. I was a turtle for one very amusing derby evening. If your friends with me on facebook, or were present at the event, you saw the chaos that happened. It was a great party, but that always seems to be the case with PRD.

For the shell, I found a cheap round pillow and some green fabric. I handsewed the fabric around the shell in a way that formed the ridge found on a turtle shell. Afterwards, I painted the outline of the plates on the shell. I made them too small the first time so I actually had to sew on another piece of fabric before repainting. Darn fabric paint just doesn't come off easily. Oh well. The second time came out great. I sewed on straps to make it fit like a backpack. After that I power knit a hat in about three hours. I finished with time to spare. It's great as a pillow, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it into a real backpack. =)

As for knit items for other people, I've been working on store inventory. And by store I mean I opened an Artfire shop finally! I really like the site. I'm probably going to go pro soon. It's A stitch in time of course. Took me long enough. The banner is still a work in progress but it suits me for now. The knitting is more important. Below is a sneak peek at the next two items.

and

I added the details by needle felting wool on. The yellow guy is going to be a case of some sort. I'm so excited to continue him because now I have a SEWING MACHINE! Thursday night I met up with Joni and Vicky for a craft night. Joni was awesome enough to pass on a working sewing machine to me. I had a blast with the ladies. We crafted to my first episodes of Dr. Who. "Blink and your dead!"

An intro and a LOL moment

2010-07-16T08:13:00.002-04:00

Last night was a fun night. Marsha got to the house for our playdate and snake adoption night. We hauled the very large 55 gallon tank into the house and found a makeshift temporary tank stand. Does anyone have a tank stand they'd like to get rid of? Or would like to trade for a 30 or 40 gallon breeder with a stand? Anyway, we set up Medusa's house in the dining room. She looks quite lovely there. The tank is stable. And I have since spruced things up in there. She has more bedding and I intend to put another temporary hide in there till I get her other one that was forgotten at home.

Anywho, she is a lovely and quiet new roommate who seems ok to put up with stuff. Even annoying cats. Of course Zeus tried going on top of the tank, but he was stopped many times. Bobo (Joel's cat) is more adventurous though. He was on the table while Joel, Marsha and I were chatting. He was looking at the tank from the table like any curious cat would. It then looked as if he was going to jump down to the floor. No big deal, right? Well, he jump down, but apparently his goal was to go in the tank by means of THROUGH the glass. He jumped right off the table and into the side of the tank with his face. There was a *THUNK* and he composed himself all cat like and went to see his father. There was no damage to the cat face.

Marsha and I were laughing so hard we were crying I got a serious workout in the ab region. I can't even look at him without giggling. Bobo is a bit special. I'll never let him live it down

Medusa didn't bat an eyelash. She was warming up in her cave. She really is a lovely and relaxed snake. This morning I disturbed her to tidy up and add more bedding to the tank. She never really got irked. I picked her up so I could finish with the bedding. She's a beefy girl, nothing like the cornsnake* I had. I think she is well mannered and we are going to get a lot of knitting done together. Marsha is going to have to visit a lot since I'm sure Medusa misses her already. Welcome to the family, Medusa! Now to change Bobo's name. Only Greek pet names aloud! ;)

*The cornsnake and leopard gecko that I had had to be adopted out because at my last apartment the landlord wouldn't fix a window frame, that was practically falling out in the winter, till spring. In the meantime the thermostat was in the room with the leaky window causing the heating bill to go through the roof. My reptiles were too cold to want to eat. =( Jerk.

Wordless Wednesday: Cricket Visitor

2010-07-14T17:34:00.000-04:00

AKA: Jiminy Cricket?

Things I can't wait for

2010-07-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

I can't wait...

...for my Gregg's pickles to be done. They will be soon!

...to get my shop all ready. I hope I can get through that this week.

...to see my awesome boyfriend again. Life likes to get in the way of our spending time together.

...to have a fully healed knee so that I can skate full force again.

...to have a snake again. Medusa will be here thursday!

...to start some new ideas in knitting patterns.

...for a good time at my family reunion.

...to have the house and yard just how I want it.

...to have another Forest Folk gathering. I love those guys!

This summer is full of I-can't-waits. <3

Productivity!

2010-07-10T04:39:00.000-04:00

Between daily things I've been trying to catch up with household stuff. Nothing like spurts of getting shit done!

Yesterday after work I got home and cleaned out my car. It was getting a little overrun with stuff. After that, I finished weeding around my tomatoes and basil. They are much happier, I'm sure. My first two tomatoes are ripening as I type. Then it was off to Phury's work for some sushi and a pomegranate margarita with some derby people. When I got home I did a bit of organizing then crashed.

I woke up at about 6:30 this morning and proceeded with the things to do. I cleaned the litter box and used a pet odor spray on the cat carrier finally. It has been hosed down. I finishing putting mulch in the garden, I harvested some herbs, and got my stuff together for a sleepover tonight.

Tonight is a big night. Providing the rain gods are polite and hold off till we're done, there will be the second Providence Roller Derby home-team bout at the Bank of America track. Please cross your fingers for us and hope for the best. Worse comes to worse we have the bout indoors at the rink in Narragansett Ocean Club tomorrow but that's not allowed. My team, the Mob Squad is playing but my knee isn't quite healed so I can't play. Big =( face. They have to beat those Old Money Honeys so that I can play two bouts this year. =) But yeah, doors are at 6 and the bout is at 7! Be there!

Ocean life and the undead

2010-07-08T08:12:00.000-04:00

Over the 4th of July weekend I had a wonderful wedding to go to. There will be pictures later. But anyway, the wedding was for two of my lovely friends Lenny and Kristen. They looked amazing.

Kristin loves all things ocean and Lenny is a pretty big fan of zombies. So of course I figured out something to include these themes in my knitting.

For Kristin I chose three awesome patterns to make her some sea creatures. First up is Nautie:

I really like how he came out and I found him really easy to knit. The increases are even neatly hidden in the coiling of the shell. There were some felt cutout eyes to make but I like buttons for my knit creatures. I recommend this pattern to any Nautiloid lover.

Next up was an Octopus:

The octopus was by far the easiest to make. The head took no time at all. The limbs crocheted up pretty quick too. I like crocheting every now and then so I don't forget the basics. I really like how it turned out. Octopi are so cute.

Last of the trio was the Sea Nettle:

This was the toughest to knit. Now I don't mean that in difficulty unless you are new to charts and color change. The head was pretty easy. What made this tough was the damn arms. They knit up so tight it hurt my fingers. It was totally worth it though. It came out so pretty.

After the sea creatures I moved onto the undead. This was going to be fun since it took a lot of creativity on my part, rather than just picking the colors. The base pattern was a children's doll set that I decided to creepify. After the bodies were knit and sewn together I had a blast. I embroidered blood, guts, falling off limbs and parts, and some bones.

Zombie girl:

Zombie boy:

Zombunni:

Zombear:

I knit almost a whole week straight through to get it all done. It was totally worth it when I saw their reactions to the gift. Nothing better than creating something for people you know will appreciate all your work. Love you Lenny and Kristin!

After all the work I swore I would take the weekend off from knitting. I felt I needed it. I think I may have an addiction because every moment I had downtime I was thinking, 'I wish I had my knitting.' I refuse to go to rehab. =)

97° is not okay

2010-07-05T08:17:00.000-04:00

Happy belated July 4th! Today Hartford is too hot so we will hide away in the air-conditioned apartment until we go to live jazz in the park this evening.

I was all excited to start the 30 day journal challenge but apparently I picked the worst week to start ever! I had to power knit the entire week to finish an awesome wedding gift. I will be posting that when I get home. But pretty much every night, after work and practice, I was knitting my life away. It was totally worth it though. Lenny and Kristen loved it. I will try again to start the journal challenge. Expect that soon.

Currently I'm on the boyfriend's couch waiting while he cooks us some amazing french toast for brunch. We took our sweet time getting out of bed since we crashed late after being with lovely people for the 4th.

I leave you with this video. This band is great and I currently am loving them. This isn't really kid-safe. A bit gory and vulgar but they are great!

Better than Martha Part 3: Cleaning stuff

2010-06-29T20:18:00.000-04:00

Here's the final part of the Better than Martha series. In the other posts I told you that I've been making my own stuff. I've been doing this for two reasons. 1) To waste less and to contribute less to the landfill. Seriously, that thing needs to be less gross. 2) So that I know the ingredients in my everyday items. I like knowing there aren't chemicals in what I use. I'm slowly replacing things in my life to be more green and me-friendly.

So on to the items that I made/am making.

First item is my Swiffer mop cover. It's on hold because I am working on a time sensitive project. As soon as that's all set, back to this one. But anywho, this will make it so I don't have to keep buying the wasteful cloths that cover it. It will be nice to just have to wash it. I'm using cotton to knit it so probably won't machine dry it. I found the pattern at the Knittnfool ->MD Swiffer Mop Cover. Below is my version in progress.

The other cleaning item I made is a homemade disinfectant. Not only is it nice to know what is in the spray bottle, but it's also a cheaper alternative. I put together a simple recipe that was based on others online. I filled the bottle with 1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar, then added the following: a squirt of castile soap and 1/4 tsp of each: tea tree and lavender essential oil. I know essential oils can be pricey but they last a long time and can be used for so many different things. The nice things is that when it dries the vinegar smell goes away and you are left with the smell of the oils.

That's it for the Better than Martha entries. As you can see it would have been way too much for one entry. How are you guys being more green? I know that Joni rocks at that with her cloth diapers and everything. She's pretty hardcore. I'll slowly get there, but minus the babies for now. =)

Better than Martha Part 2: Health care

2010-06-27T06:35:00.000-04:00

Now for part two. Below are the items that I made which were evidently for roller derby injuries. It's good that I took the herbal classes last year. Funny thing is that till recently I never really got hurt, or even sick for that matter so any remedies I did make were not for me.

Because of my many derby bruises I felt it was about time I make use of my herbal apprenticeship and make myself an Arnica salve. I also added some Chamomile for skin care. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it goes. I made the base oil from grapeseed oil a while ago and finally got around to making the salve. I liked that it didn't leave my skin super greasy. The recipe made a perfect amount for this container. I didn't add an essential oil or any thing since I'm not turned off by the scent it has. I plan on stashing it in my gear bag.

Another new derby staple of life is my heating pad. I had rice around and a sock that didn't fit around my now muscular calves. Little did I know, till I googled, that was all I needed to make a heating pad. I microwaved it for a couple of minutes and sat back and relaxed while my knee was warmed up for healing. In the future I'll add some herbs or oils to make it smell pretty.

I'm sure as I continue with derby I'll be making more. The next entry will be about cleaning stuff.

Better than Martha

2010-06-25T08:39:00.000-04:00

I'm better than Martha because I'm not obnoxious like her. =)

I've been on a homemade kick. I like finding ways to not be wasteful in my everyday life and I like knowing the ingredients in things. I've cut out paper plates from my life, try to use washcloths instead of sponges for dishes, less paper towels and napkins, recycling like crazy, starting to compost, and probably more. I hate that we waste so much in the US, or the world for that matter.

So that I know the ingredients in things I use, I made my own lip balm, arnica salve, and household disinfectant. I will continue to find more natural alternatives as I think of things I need in life. It makes me feel more self sufficient too. The next couple of entries will be the things I made as of late, otherwise I think it would just be one ginormous post.

First up are the personal care items:

Yesterday I made my own lip balm. I got the recipe from my friend Joni (aka: The Kitchen Witch Momma). It's a simple recipe, and if she doesn't mind, it can be posted by her or I. It was so easy to make and I won't be buying store lip balm ever again. It's peppermint. Next time I hope to use some of my own herbs from my garden. Chocolate mint maybe?

I really like the oils used and after it has set for a bit you can really smell the peppermint. I've been dying for some and most of mine got washed in the machine, but I had the ingredients and would not break down and buy some store ones.

Another item I made is my own toothpaste. It is a Tammy's Kitchen recipe that can be found here. It gets a bit melted in this weather but it's still paste-like and usable. I just give it a quick mix with my toothbrush before brushing. It's salty at first because of the baking soda but the essential oil leaves a refreshing aftertaste. You get used to the saltiness that quickly goes away. I did not use the sweetener she suggests. I felt it was unnecessary and I don't want to use a processed stevia. Maybe after I dry my own stevia I can powder it and mix it in. What is nice is that I won't have to buy a tube for a long time. Sorry no photo because mine is a bit melted, but mine looked like hers before it did. Thanks a lot New England Summer. =)

The next part of the series will be my first aid items I made. Till then, enjoy the beautiful weather!

I'm back!

2010-06-22T08:50:00.000-04:00

So I was on a bit of a hiatus. I went on vaca and when I returned I discovered that I had to move. That was a big WTF moment but it turned out for the better.

Old place: 3rd floor, peeling plaster/paint, annoying second floor and basement neighbors, no yard, uneven and old gas stove and nowhere for me to park my car in the driveway. It did have some pros like location and huge room with a huge closet but it wasn't ideal.

New place: Cute little bedroom with a water view, the bay is literally down the road, there is a cute village down the road with a cafe and ice cream, it has a nice oven, farm with fresh eggs and local goods, a nice porch, garage, yard, a place for an herb garden, and a cat that tolerates my cat. Cons: the closet situation is not as amazing as the last but all the rest makes up for it. =)

So the last had many cons obviously. The new place wins. My roommate is nice and helpful. I don't feel like I have to do everything. He even waters my garden. It's a cute little garden. That and I have cat grass in the porch.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="180" caption="Chocolate mint, parsley, lemon balm, yarrow, basil, and tomatoes. "][/caption]

For Zeus it was a bit traumatic of a move. He's can't read so I feel I can safely tell you his embarrassing story without backlash. Wednesday I was supposed to pick him up but I twisted my knee at practice so that was a no go. I went the next night to rescue him from Providence. I loaded him up in the car and headed home. Well, he really didn't like being in the carrier. He was meowing a sad meow, rolling around, and clawing at the door of it. While stressing out he also peed in the carrier. My poor baby was so upset with himself.

After the horrible ride in the car, we got home and went straight to the bathroom. With the door closed I let him out and he laid on his back completely content with me cleaning him up. This is probably the only cat that I have ever met that will let you clean his loins and everything. He had a sad look that said, "Mommy, fix it!"

His last obstacle was the roommate's cat Bobo. Bobo liked that he had his own house and felt the need to hiss and growl but never fighting at least. Zeus, the mama's boy that he is, sat behind my legs. He thought Bobo was crazy and felt that behind me and under the bed were great places to be. After a bit he would just chirp at Bobo while he got hissed at. Probably saying, "What's wrong?"

At this point they are doing well. Zeus is a cuddle slut and cuddles with the roommate as soon as I leave for work. Bobo has gotten used to him and they almost play a little. Zeus even went up to Bobo and licked and nuzzled his head. Sweetest. cat. ever. Things are going well. I'm really happy to be where I am now. Now to catch up on knitting and blogging as I settle in.

The cycle of my life: Chaos, Vacation, Chaos

2010-05-28T12:44:00.000-04:00

Life was so busy before I went camping. There was chocolate peanut butter balls to make, a squid to felt and sew a pocket on, a Derbytaunt Ball to attend and packing to do. Needless to say, I needed my camping weekend after all the chaos.

Here's the remaining chocolate peanut butter balls that I had saved for the boy. =)

Below is the lovely Squid (click to see larger photo). The felting was a little off but I think he came out great. There is a pocket inside but I failed to take a photo of it. I love this guy though, and Val was so excited to receive it. I love reactions like her's. Before she goes to India I will be reciving an adorable crop top hoodie.

I had a blast at the ball, but I still don't have a working digital camera so I don't have any good photos from the event. There was fabulous music and everyone looked great. I love the PRD girls. I really need to get that manual camera out. Cindy gave it to me, but I fear wasting film and lack photo skills. We'll see. Maybe there will be camera adventure posts.

My time at Forest Folk was amazing. Charlie and I got there Tuesday but it was raining too much to set up. That led us to a cozy and dry evening at the lovely house of Bruce and Jess. We all hung out, enjoyed stew made by Cate and made notes on the registration. We had to make sure that the important procedures like strip searches were not forgotten for certain attendees. =)

The rest of the week went by with maybe a sprinkle here and there. The weather was beautiful, the music never stopped, everyone was full of great food, they were cooled off by the frigid water, and warmed up by the roaring fire in the hearth. It really doesn't get any better than that. My stressed melted away when I was there. It was exactly what I, and many others, needed.

I'm glad I had a beautiful time there since now my life is about to become chaos for a short time. I arrived home finding out that I will have to move out by July 1st. My roommate can't stay anymore and I refuse to let another stranger in my place to F-up my finances. I don't need that kind of bull so off we go. We'll see where my new home will be. The fun never ends.

Ewwwww heat

2010-05-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I will be updating this thing. The heat is not my friend the past few days and has kept me from doing anything at all. I will fix this asap. I have at least two posts to throw on here. :)

Ok, now to go fend off the doom.

Somebody having a case of the Mondays?

2010-05-09T18:16:00.000-04:00

It feels like the weekend just goes way too fast. I think I already have a case of the Mondays. I've been pretty creative and busy this week. Probably going to hibernate before the Derbytaunt ball and my camping trip.

I updated my derby helmet to have my name and my number.

I got to be undead.

I baked about 10 dozen oatmeal raisin cookies for Forest Folk.

I spent some time with my new niece Gretchen while I caught my runaway tent on this blustery day.

And I gessoed (if that's a word) a couple of pages. I plan on having some ready for when I'm camping in case the mood strikes me, which it tends to when I'm surrounded by creative people.

I ended my weekend with finally seeing Practical Magic and starting to watch True Blood. I'm glad Charlie showed me where the local video store is on the east side. Sadly though, my computer won't play any DVDs and I don't feel like fiddling with it. I have plenty more creative things coming up during my hybernation. :) Now I sleep.

Let the right one in.

2010-05-07T05:27:00.000-04:00

Last night was interesting. I got home to find the downstairs door open. I hate when they do that. I closed it and made my way up the stairs to my apartment. I live on the third floor so my sore roller derby legs are mad every time. I trudged my way up and got my keys out in case the roomie wasn't home. Just as I got just a couple of stairs away from the top there was huge fast movement and skittering!

There a young squirrel right on the top step! I of course let out a "Holy shit!" It was a bit freaked out because it was cornered. I was really glad that it didn't find my face to be an awesome escape route. It ran past me down the stairs. I calmly walked down to let the poor little guy out. The roommate opened the door to find out what was up. She quickly closed it to not let the squirrel in our place. Of course when I got to the bottom the squirrel was now trapped by the door down there. Ugh. I had to walk over to open the door and the squirrel promptly went back up the stairs.

I called my roommate's cell to tell her to walk down the stairs slowly so it will run out. During this, the landlord's brother comes up from his basement apartment with his pants barely on to see what was happening. Double Ugh. I told him what happened and I said to close his door so the squirrel will run by. He gets all creepy excited and said "Let me kill it!!" I was so pissed. Thankfully, the big oaf got out of the way and the squirrel ran over my foot to freedom.

The bastard said something rude to me and I just went up the stairs annoyed. Who the hell wants to do that? It was probably a young squirrel of the this year's litter. If it's been destroying things like he said, they probably let what ever it was get to enough disrepair to allow them toget in and do so. I hate some people.

Too bad the squirrel didn't become my best friend and bring all his other friends over. I could have been squirrel girl and had an amazing army to take out icky basement guys!

Sun, I remember you!

2010-05-02T08:02:00.000-04:00

So the sun tagged me for the first time. While I was driving to Hartford yesterday, I got my first sunburn of the year. It's not horrible but It's not fair that I get one from just driving. I need to pack sunscreen next time. At least I pretty much go right back to white so I won't have annoying uneven shoulders.

It was a great day though. We hid from the sun for a bit (the sun and I were in a fight) and I got to watch the 13th Warrior for the first time. While watching that fun movie I finished knitting for my art trade with Val. I just have to felt the project. No photos yet. I can't show it off and have her see too early. I think it will come out cool. I just hope my math was right.

I have a lot of projects in mind that I can't type here since they are gifts. I have a lot of knitting designs in mind right now. I really can't wait to raid my yarn stash and get started. :)

On a sad note, I heard that Joanns is going to go out of business and I hope it's not true. I liked having a cheap resource for knitting needles and some basic yarns. I love supporting local shops but I can't always afford their prices or their needle selection. Ugh. I'll just have to watch out for the going out of business sale.

On an awesome note, Derby practice is possibly going to be outside in Providence on Wednesday. Yay for a 5 second commute! It's also not until 7 so I won't burn. =)

Well back to enjoying this lovely day and to counting down till time on the farm. :)

Cat + Yarn = Sad Sarah

2010-04-28T08:21:00.000-04:00

Well the lovely Zeus discovered yarn and the joy of decorating with it. I missed the results since my roommate picked up the yarn entrails left all over the apartment. Below is what I found on my bed. (Still yucky phone photos.)

He is so lucky that the yarn is still good for the art trade item it is becoming as of last night. After i'm done knitting with it I'll rewind the remains into a nice ball. When I'm not knitting the project is now safely tucked in my WIP purse. Seriously though, how could anyone stay mad at this ginormous ball of fluff?

I can't wait to see how the project comes out. Cross your fingers that it felts right.

Besides that the monster case is finished. My netbook now has a cozy and safe place to sleep, WHEN HE EATS IT!

Another fabulous weekend

2010-04-23T12:29:00.000-04:00

(This was written yesterday. I fail) =)

I had a fabulous weekend that I'm just now able to tell you about since I got back yesterday (yay vacation days!) and went straight to practice.

Saturday, Charlie and I went to a bike shop in on Broadway in Providence. it's called Dash Bicycle shop. There were having a party for their one year anniversary and we could see why they were doing great. The staff was so nice. I thought I needed a new rim since my tube had a weird valve and the rim was bent, but the employee offered otherwise. He offered to true (straighten) the rim and drill the hole to make it bigger and fit the more common tube for about $20 less. Awesome! I will be going there in the future.

On Sunday Providence Roller Derby had it's first international bout. The Riveters played their asses off against London Brawling. Riveters tried their hardest to show them what's up but London had an amazing defense and some great jammers. Maybe we could have psyched them out if we burned the Gaspee beforehand. Give them a little biological flashback so they remember what RI is made of. For the halftime show we had the Extraordinary Rendition Band. They sounded great and were so energetic. If I wasn't in roller derby I would totally pick up my trumpet again or learn a new instrument. There are rumors that we may have seated over 1000 fans that night. We are still waiting on the final number. That is an all time record for PRD. Lets hope we keep getting awesome crowds this big.

Afterwards we all headed to the 201 on Westminster Street for our afterparty. I had a blast! I think it was ok that we didn't practice because I definately worked up a sweat on the dance floor. What I love about roller derby is no matter what the outcome we all party together afterwards. The band showed up and we had a great private show from them. The DJ also picked some great music to dance to from The Safety Dance to Bad Romance. Big Nazo also made an appearance. I have never seen them before that night but it was great that they came by and crashed the party. I know London got a kick out of them as well as PRD.

London may have won but we still had a great time. How often do you get to play against another country, learn from them, and then party hard with them?

BTW: London brawling is still trapped in the US thanks to the Volcano. Check out their site and donate to help offset costs of staying longer. Click here! =)

The fun continues

2010-04-15T11:55:00.000-04:00

Before I show you the awesome bruise from my bike ride, I just wanted to let you know I'm on THE MOB SQUAD! That's my home team for this season. We found out this week and I was so excited. My team is full of awesome people that I can't wait to win the 2010 home team championship with. ;)

Practice this week was fun but I was sad that I couldn't play to my fullest with my knees as all messed up from the bike incedent. No knee falls right now. Last night I started up my salve that has arnica and chammomile. It's skin soothing and it reduces bruising. I have a feeling I'm going to need it quite a bit this year. evidence of this is below. =)

Just eat it.

2010-04-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

This weekend was going along fabulous. I'm at Charlie's and last night we had Lenny, Kristen, and Farley over for a lovely dinner and quality time. I love seeing the Forest Folk and their puppies. The food was awesome and the company was even better.

Today was going to be a short day since I had derby scrimmage tonight. Well it kind of got foiled. We had a nice breakfast and got our bikes ready so we could head to the local cafe. My tire was flat but we easily fixed that. The smoothie and the sunny patio was wonderful. The ride home was a different story...

We had to stop at the gas station on the way home. We crossed when there wasn't traffic and had to get on the sidewalk since we were going against the flow. Well, my skinny tires did not agree with this maneuver and my bike pitched sideways sending me to the cement as I exclaimed a choice word. If it was derby I did a perfect four point fall, but sadly I didn't have all the awesome padding that comes with derby.

One nice thing is Charlie is an EMT so I had my own personal emergency medicine guy. My knees took most of it and my chin has a small scrape that gave up enough blood to make me think it was a lot worse. My hands braced me a bit but they are fine. As I was sitting there all I could think of was "Please don't let me puke up that $4 smoothie." Yeah I totally had my priorities straight. Once I was done being nauseous and he felt he could leave me alone for 10 minutes I took a seat in some shade while he got the car.

At this point I'm cleaned up and relaxing on the couch. No derby tonight. I've been ordered to stay here till the morning so he can wait on my hand and foot and make sure I'm ok. I think I can live with that but I really wanted to scrimmage. See kids, derby is safer than riding a bike....kinda. =) The damage can be seen below.

Roller Derby = Awesome

2010-04-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

So this past Tuesday was an exciting and nerve wracking night. It was our scrimmageable assessment that would earn us our name and also the chance to be on a home team. It went well. We skated with a vet and did all the assists (whips) and took and gave hits. It was quicker than I thought it would be. We went ahead with practice afterwards. Eventually we did the second half of the assessment which consisted of scrimmaging. It went pretty well.

Once that was all done, it was a waiting game. They wanted to tell us that night and in person so we had to entertain ourselves till then. The Killah Bees were practicing so at least we were entertained. It took the coaches almost an hour before they started to call us over. I was so anxious for my turn. I knew I did well but I just get really nervous and I'm bad at waiting.

It was finally my turn. Rhode Kill had a big smile on her face so I was thinking to myself that it may be hopeful. They told me that I made it! There were high-10's all around. I was so damn proud of myself. I just need to be more proactive in the pack. To be honest I get lost when I know they are watching and assessing me during scrimmage. I was told I have a good hip hit. Now I need to be a pain in the ass and use it more often. I think in last nights practice I already played better because I wasn't being tested anymore.

Sadly my camera died so please excuse the phone camera quality.

Speaking of last nights practice, I got to use my new Atom Tracker wheels (and laces) that I bought. It's amazing how much of a difference having grippy wheels makes. I wasn't sliding everywhere so I was more comfortable and I felt I was faster. I still need to break them in so I can plow stop again. It was amusing in the beginning of practice because I earned my new name. I'm now Natasha Fatality. I was so lost when people would yell my name. I had no idea they were talking to me. It's going to be something to get used to. When we were scrimmaging I also scored 2 points in the last jam!

I seriously never thought I would love a sport as much as I <3 Roller Derby.

Smells like spring

2010-04-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

I love how it's now consistently being spring on the east coast, though RI has it's moments. It finally is smelling like spring and I hear the birds outside my window all day. It really wakes me up. I even spent last night skating outside at the outdoor rink in Providence.

This past weekend the two awesome somones and I spent quite a bit of time in the park. It was absolutely gorgeous out. The pup had a blast rolling around under the pine tree. I'll leave you with some photos. =)

Birthday Surprise!

2010-04-04T08:46:00.000-04:00

Here's my account of a lovely Sunday suprise. You should check out the one by the birthday girl over here! She has great pictures up.-->http://jonirae.com/

My friend Joni has an amazing husband who wins at surprises. For a couple of weeks he had secret plans that I got to be included in. It was fun to hang out with her the week before and think secretly to myself "I know something you don't know!"

What were those plans? Well a surprise visit from Vicky and I. We then went off to an undisclosed location for breakfast (the Hearth and Kettle). The whole time we were traveling she had no idea where to. Breakfast was great. We were seated quickly since we beat the church traffic and all our orders came out as hoped.

Next came a trip to the next location, Borders! She had a shopping spree to take care of. I picked up a couple of books for myself. Maybe I'll let you know how they are in the future. They were Men of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong and The Forest House - Marion Zimmer Bradley.

During the shopping spree it was a waiting game. She didn't know it but we had one more surprise for her. Eventually the Huz (as referred to in her blog) asked her to take a seat. The birthday guest strolled up with a smile, a drum, and a guitar. It was one of Joni's favorite local artists, Kelliana! She was to have a private show in borders! Not a bad birthday at all. The show was great. She has a great voice. We only had one guy with major issues. He used a bit of profanity, stormed out with a plate clanging on the counter, and shared a few choice words with the baristas. We were all much happier when he left. Many of the other patrons enjoyed the random show along with us.

After the show we hung out a bit with Kelliana. She is so nice and down to earth. It's great to spend time with musicians like that. I recommend checking out her music. She has a great personality and voice. After a bit of chatting it was time to head back home. It was a wonderful day. I was exhausted and still had practice that night but the whole day was totally worth it.

A small piece of the flood of March 2010

2010-04-02T17:15:00.000-04:00

This weekend is going to be a beautiful weekend that RI needs. It was a devastating week for many. Homes are being pumped and stores are cleaning up. The Warwick mall is out of commission for a long while. The disgusting water of the Pawtuxet River took over Warwick, West Warwick and Cranston. Thankfully my parents are on top of a hill in Warwick, keeping them safe from the river and the end of their street. They also have patched the foundation of the years and have and empty cesspool to collect the rain.

I went to the Pawtuxet River to check out the rapids that are speeding down the river. It was so loud and made me almost kind of want to grab a raft. If only raw sewege wasn't mixed in. The waves looked like they would have been fun, if you don't wack your head on the archways of the bridge. =) I'll leave you with photos of the river. Click them to see a larger version. On a normal day you could sit on these ledges in the corners but the water completely covered them.

I just really like how this last picture came out. I was wondering over by the boat house and there were lots of rusty remains.

New technology and replaced parts

2010-03-31T17:15:00.000-04:00

For a while I've wanted a laptop. After some thought (and a purchase of a bike) I realized I really don't need a laptop. I still have a fully functional desktop and I just wanted mobility for a few activities. I wanted to blog, stay in touch with people when I travel around, and work on the PRD site from anywhere. I didn't really need a laptop for that.

I bought a netbook instead! So far I'm happy even though I've only had it for a few hours. The battery life is great so far. It has well over 6 hours to go. Not bad, but I'm not surprised since its a small little computer. It's an Asus 1005PE. It has way more memory than my desktop, which I find amusing. I thought I would be unhappy with a small monitor but I've grown used to it. I could easily do what I need to do with this. It's even small enough to fit in my purse.

It was funny how much the little cases were for it. After the bracelet I'm knitting is finished, I plan on making a cute case to protect it. I can probably use a spare purse to carry it no problem if mine is full. Can't wait to start it. =)

Now on to the new parts. I ordered new wheels and they are finally going to come in! I ordered them from Bruised Boutique a bit ago and I had to wait for them to get their shipment in. I needed something more grippy so I ordered Trackers. They totally clash with my skate color theme but you gotta do what you gotta do.

And the other new part of the day? Well I got my permanent crown so that means no more wiggly stupid temp crown. Temp crowns are dumb. I got a super cool souvenir though. I totally got the cast of my teeth. It's pretty fun and I think I'll end my post with this...

OMNOMNOM!

Spring means new projects!

2010-03-22T17:17:00.000-04:00

The weekend was amazing. The Forest Folk and I celebrated a special B-day and the first day of spring the only way we know how. A SLEEP OVER! As of late I fail at taking pictures since I have too much fun and forget about my camera. I will show you one picture though that I did post on my FB the other day. I was happily making vegetable pot pies for the event and my oven really sucks. It wasn't crisping up the top at all so after they cooked for a while I decided to try out my broiler. I had it in for the the right amount of time, but just like the rest of the oven it's not even. The oven definitely received much profanity for the turnout shown below. It is totally lucky that everyone loved the pies despite the mishap. I don't even know if it knows how lucky it is.

On to crafty update. Now that my knitting commission is done, and I won't take another for a while, I can now continue to work on stuff for the store I need a banner for. Today was a good night to start since I was winding down after a day of work and an amazing weekend with the lovely folks from CT.

What did I do for the next creative endeavor? Well I made my own yarn...out of a T-shirt! It was pretty fun. It was really easy. I found a tutorial here. I found it to be really simple, but I recommend using some good fabric scissors. I intend to pick up a better pair for this. Today was a test on just a plain white t-shirt. I didn't want to ruin one of the pretty ones I got from Bruce yesterday. I didn't take too many pics since the tutorial has great ones. Below is the chaos as I just started to tug the strip into tubes. It worked so easily. The directions couldn't be any better. It turned out well even while I was watching season 1 of Rome.

After all the tugging I was able to wind it up into a nice ball. I didn't take a size comparison photo, but I can next time.

I can't wait to make more. After some final felting of the swatch for my art trade I will make some with the different colored t-shirts I got. One day I'll learn how to spin but till then I'll recycle for mother earth with some old t-shirts. :) I have a couple of projects in mind, for the cotton yarn, that I'll sell online. I love when the creative juices are flowing!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike

2010-03-18T09:45:00.000-04:00

This week has been absolutely gorgeous and for once I've been taking advantage of it. I recently bought a Trek hybrid bike. Best thing I ever did. I love my bike. I got a rack for it and a set of fenders so I could use it to commute to work.

Tuesday was the first day I rode it to work. I was able to strap my backpack to the rack so I'm not all gross for work. It wasn't bad. There are a lot of hills from Providence to East Providence but I work my way up them no problem. I put both fenders on even though they are clip on. Well the front one is a jerk and became loose while I was riding. It fell off and held up my ride to work since I had to find a place to put it. I ended up being late to work. To top it off I forgot my work keys at home. Which mean I couldn't get to the peanut butter cookies that were in my desk. *pout* Not the best of days but I survived.

Yesterday I rode my bike around Providence on my day off. I headed down to Thayer Street in the afternoon. It was nice to just walk around after easily locking up my bike, instead of circling for a car spot. I checked out the second hand store. If I had the cash I would have picked up a couple of things. They had some really cute spring dresses and tops. So tempting. I definately picked up honey sticks at the candy store. The cinnamon ones are my favorite. For lunch I got a really good falafel wrap at East Side Pockets. Highly recommend them! I got a new pair of tights and socks for Derby too. After some wandering I went to Whole Foods to get some ingredients for the veggie pot pie I'm making for the Spring Fever Party in CT. It was nice to do all this without using any gas.

I rode into work today successfully without being late. I was 18 min early and everything. Had time to change, make a cup of tea, and change the mortgage rates all before 9am. Not bad at all. I plan on keeping this habit for a while. Save money, daily exercise, and polute less. :)

This is how we roll

2010-03-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

A bit of derby news today.

On Sunday, for the Brawl of Justice, Providence Roller Derby raised just over $1000 for the Sojourner House. The bout was really fun. I volunteered that night in the NSO part of the bout. I basically had to relay penalties to the refs that were logging them in the center of the track. It was a fun learning experience. The X-Women won the bout and everyone playing and helping had a blast. I really love hanging with the women of PRD.

Then on Tuesday we had our scrimmage assessment. It went really well but I didn't pass this time. Eight out of eighteen girls passed. I just need to work on hitting harder and more effectively along with improving my assists. The coaching staff said all I need is a bit of one-on-one time and a couple more practices. They will assess us again on March 30th at the latest so we'll will be ready for the season.

During the last practice I had a blast. Since we are more skilled now we do more scrimmaging at practice. I got to be jammer a few times. One jam I actually got at least 4 points. There was one point where the blockers were thoroughly distracted and I snuck past right on the line and sprinted away before they could stop me. It is so exhausting being a jammer. I don't have the stamina yet.

I'm really loving roller derby. This will be something I do for a long time I think, providing I maintain all my limbs. It takes time but it's so fun and the girls are great.

Music and Derby

2010-03-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I saw Shryne. It was their CD release Party and they put on an amazing show. My friend Jon is a the lead singer. They are all very talented musicians. I recommend checking them out sometime. They had a great lineup. They chose all the bands that night which was great because everyone had a different style. It was a high energy show. the only downside was that I now have laryngitis. The combo of dry winter air, not drinking enough water, and having to talk loud ruined me. No skating for me tonight. =(

In the world of roller derby, Providence Roller Derby is holding a fund raiser for a good cause. I will be there volunteering and enjoying the bout. I haven't passed my scrimmage assessment yet. On Sunday March 7th we are having a scrimmage to collect donations for the Sojourner House (www.sojournerri.org). It's a V-Day event (www.vday.org). V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The flyer below has all the details. Hope to see you guys there!

Sheep and Art Journaling Experimentation

2010-02-25T18:07:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned earlier I made some sheep coats for my cousin Julia. I think they came out nice. Hopefully they will fit her sheep properly. So my sheep is modeling them below before they are shipped to Baltimore. :) I have so much to mail to people so this will finally get me to the post office. I always fail at regular mail. (Click photo for larger image.)

Then tonight I figured I try out my art journal finally. My journal is made up of an old poetry book from an antique store. I used gesso to cover the page. The medium I chose was water color pencils and a prisma marker for the outline. Now this is only the second time I have ever used watercolors and the last time was just with the little cheap set from Job Lot, so don't be too hard on me. =) It's really rough but I like it. It is Zeus of course. I looked up and he was the first inspiration in view. I'm happy with my first page. It was a fun experiment. I really can't wait to continue it. (Click photo for larger image.)

Now to finish up the cleaning I was doing. Two very special guests are going to be here tomorrow so I don't want to look like a slob.

The finished product

2010-02-21T12:38:00.000-05:00

Well as you remember from this post I was making a top secret gift for someone awesome. Well it was finished and delivered. He was happy with it and so was I. His brand new beer cozy now keeps his home brews cold and his hand warm and dry. It was personalized with an inside joke ("Who the hell is Bruce?") but that's a story that's too long to tell and it's not for me to share. =) The words were added using needle felting. The great part is that it was my own pattern so I can now make more to sell in my store. I'll get going on that soon. Below is a mediocre photo of it. I forget to get a better one when I gave it to him. Oh well.

When I visited CO last year I went to see my uncle and my two cousins. Well it turns out Julia is a knitter and we thoroughly bonded in this way. We discovered the sheep pattern and quickly fell in love. A yarn store visit was in order and we made sheep together. I've been planning on making coats for a while and finally got my butt in gear. I knit some sheep coats for my cousin to coordinate with this pattern, though I think they may be too small. If they are I'll fit them to my sheep and remake some for her. They are so quick to knit so it won't be an issue to make new ones for her if the measurements are off. Below I added a picture of my sheep to show how tiny they are.

In other crafting news my friend Val and I are doing an art trade. I just can't wait to felt the swatch so I can start knitting. It's going to be pretty cute. She requested a squid like mine but in golden yellow with greenish blue buttons. My camera squid is below and the swatch and buttons found are next. In return I will get a handmade cute crop top that she will upcycle for me. I'm so excited. I love receiving creative things. =) If she ever opens an online store I'll be sure to share it here.

Happy creating!

Valentine's Day weekend

2010-02-19T12:44:00.000-05:00

(Published a little late because I was procrastinating on photos. Enjoy!)

In preparation of the amazing weekend to be had, I made a montrous amount of cookies. I was afraid to count how many till I was done, and it was rightly so. I ended up making 13 dozen adorable heart shaped cookies with royal icing. They were chocolate sugar cookies. The recipe can be found here. I brought 3 dozen to work and the rest were eaten at the lovely party I attended this past weekend. I did the minimum amount of water in the icing but I should have added it more slowly so I would use less and make it easier to draw with. I highly recommend the recipe though. The icing is way more pink than this looks.

I recently went to an antique store and found awesome V-day cards which I failed to bring to my Valentine. Oh well. He did get Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cookies. He's been sick lately too so we don't need to jinx him with these kick ass cards. I love the Curiosities store in Providence. They have such cute and random things there. You can click to enlarge them since I didn't get a chance to crop them. =) They are the front and back of each.

Saturday I met up with my Valentine in Hartford and we headed to Bruce and Jess's house in Oxford. They are lucky enough to rent a house on a beautiful farm in Oxford. This just moved in and it was their housewarming party. We had a cozy party with about 30 people of our Forest Folk Tribe. They all are really great people and our parties are always the best. We had great lasagna, cupcakes, rib roast, peirogies, cookies, quiche, bacon, and alcohol. =) We never are left hungry or thirsty at these events.

Something hilarious happened at about 6am. I was innocently tiptoeing to the bathroom on an important pee mission. It was pitch black in the living room and I was relying on shadows. Well shadows failed me because my toes met up with a dark box with a few bottles on top of it. My silent trip wasn't silent for long. The bottles fell right into a ceramic jug announcing me. I scared the crap out of sleeping innocent bystanders along with myself. Thankfully I made it to the bathroom in time. Sorry to Nici for the Charley Horse you endured afterwards.

The next day we all had breakfast and lounged around. Then Bruce fired up the tractor and we went for a beautiful winter hay ride. There were pheasant and hawk sightings. It was weird seeing the campground we party on all covered in a blanket of snow. It was so peaceful and quiet. I can't wait to return to our site in May. On the way back to the house we stopped and visited sheep with their lambs and pigs of all sizes. Finally back at the house we had a choice of homemade beef or chicken soup. A perfect ending to the weekend. (Again they are thumbnailed. Hover over the photo for a description. Just click to see a medium sized version or go to my flickr page for the largest.)

I couldn't have had a better weekend anywhere else. For now I'll relax here in hartford ill it's back to derby practice and work. Life is good.

A new adventure in creating

2010-02-03T12:54:00.000-05:00

Today I went on a quick adventure. I have a plan for a gift for someone and today I had to test the method. But first I had to locate a book I've been wanting for a long time. I had a borders coupon in my e-mail I could take advantage of so I reserved it at Garden City and ran over. It will help me out in my own designing adventures. It's called "Knit & Purl: 250 Stitches to knit". I'm pretty excited about using it. Along with that book, I bought some yarn today (Paton's Merino and some Caron Simply Soft). One for another baby sweater and four others for felting. The haul of the day below.

But on to the actual adventure of the day. I got to make use of the yarn I bought for felting. I've only felted once before but I had the luxury of a washing machine I didn't have to pay $1.25 for so it was less annoying. I don't want to get halfway done and have the machine stop. Plus it's a waste of money for a small project. I researched online and found a great video: How to felt without a washing machine. You can just use your hands but why do that when you can use a plunger?! I immediately went to Job Lot down the road and picked up a $2 plunger and a bucket. I only have to pay once for these. =) And I have to say it went rather well.

I started with a swatch that was roughly 5" x 5".

And put it through the process. I used the hottest water my tub will give me and added a bit of dish detergent. In between agitation I shocked it a few times with cold water.

After about 45 min of felting I came out with a swatch that was now 5" x 4". It shrunk from top to bottom the most. It doesn't really shrink as much width-wise.

All in all it was a success and I plan on using this method for the project I will be creating. I highly recommend this method, especially to fellow coin-op washing machine saps and even to just save water. Now to start knitting my gift since I know this works. =)

Just a bit gross.

2010-01-29T12:58:00.000-05:00

See this kitty above? Well last night he started to earn his keep and took a step into man-cat-hood. I was peacefully sleeping when I heard a horrible clanking. It was the baseboard heating cover falling off. I look and there's Zeus looking for something and running out of my room. I got up and fixed it so he wouldn't wake me up again. Before I could turn off the light and fall back asleep he runs in with a little gray victim. He was batting around the mouse as it jumped.

I felt bad but I believe in the cycle of life. I know the little guy could smell my cat and really got himself into trouble. As they both left the room I closed the door. There is another escape route behind the toilet so I didn't feel like I set the mouse up for doom. No way was I having a dead gift show up on the end of my bed.

In the morning I slowly crept out of my bedroom and saw nothing. I thought I was free and clear. Boy, was I wrong. Right next to his water bowl was the poor mouse. That is usually the first place I go to in the morning so I'm pretty sure the placing was deliberate. I carefully got him tied up in a bag. At least I could handle it because I had a snake but it's disturbing when you've seen it running around and alive. I had to uncermoniously throw him out. The ground is too frozen for a proper burial. I'm sure the others are elsewhere talking amongst themselves,

"Guys, Frank went out last night and never came back. I think he may have been dumb enough to check out the third floor." They look ominously to each other, "The beast."

In other news, I knit my first sweater. It may be baby-sized but it's still a sweater. I was proud. I used the pattern 'Daisy' from knitty. I'm making two more for my coworker's grandson along with hats to match. After that I work on my store items. I can't wait to get going with that.

The other day I also found a book to be my future art journal. It's a poetry book which may come in handy as mixed media. I feld bad since it's a good author whose name escapes me right now, but there were other copies so I'm not destroying the one and only. I have my glue, gesso, and even some new water color pencils to get going on it. I'm so excited. =)

Rollin out

2010-01-26T06:07:00.000-05:00

Well I did it! One goal down for the year. I’m now a member of Providence Roller Derby. Tonight I have my first practice as a newbie to the league. It’s been quite the process.

Roller skating/blading is something I have been doing ever since I was little so I thought it would be fun to do something that incorporated it.

The whole process started in October. I went to the roller skating rink by myself and not really knowing what to expect. I bought some old skates off of someone for $20 that were too big. Of course, I didn’t know how real skates were supposed to be yet. I didn’t even know the rules yet, or seen a bout. I just knew I wanted to try this.

I was a bit shaky on quad skates, but I knew my muscles would remember how it all worked soon enough. I couldn’t even cross over yet without wobbling. The coaching staff and recruiting staff were so nice and patient with everyone. We skated around learning basics and then got to talk to them about the league. I was hooked the first time I was on that rink in spite of all the foot cramps I got from skating.

I immediately started to volunteer. It was fun to get to know the girls. I also got to see my first bout. The travel teams were going up against CT and MA. The Killah Bees tried hard but they lost. The Riveters did awesome and won the bout! I was waitressing for the VIPs but when everyone was all set I couldn’t keep my eyes off the bout. It’s so fast paced and high energy. I finally got to figure out how it all worked. I winced when the girls got slammed but I didn’t let it scare me away. I left thinking, I can do this. I bought the gear I needed and dove into the sport.

For months we continued with the recruit clinics, fine tuning our basic skills. I went to practices and scrimmages to keep learning. Eventually we had to do our laps. To qualify for the league you have basic skills and then speed/endurance. We have to do 25 laps in 5 minutes. We only did it two times before the assessment and I got 24 both times. That last lap was just dangling there and giving me the finger as I sat huffing and puffing with my throat on fire from the workout. I was pretty damn nervous at the assessment. I knew I improved considerably from all the time at the rink, but I was worried about that one last lap.

Well, I got on the line. When the whistle blew I concentrated on my form and my breathing, hoping I get my final lap. I got that lap and dragged him around another half a lap, giving him the finger this time.

With the assessment passed we had an interview with the coaching staff. They wanted to get to know us and find out how we react to certain situations. Damage control I’m sure. Weed out the drama queens and the overly aggressive. From the girls I knew that were interviewing I knew it was going to be a tough choice. There were some really great girls trying out. The interview was more comfortable than I expected. They just asked about me and ‘what if’ situations. I then had to wait 3 more days till I found out. Just ask anyone who was around me, I was so anxious and checking my e-mail constantly. Finally Bunnicula delivered the good news. I’m a newbie and orientation is the first week of February!

Now to deck my self out. I need new wheels and some toe stops I like. Maybe even some new socks, laces and shorts, too. I can’t wait till I earn my name and I can be out on that track during a real bout. Till then, I work my ass off (and a nice ass it will be).

A knitting survey

2010-01-12T10:40:00.000-05:00

I saw this ’survey’ in this blog. It intersted me since I wanted to think about what I have done and what I'd like to try out. You don't realize how much you've done till you look through a list. I'm happy with myself.

This is a knitting survey……  Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.  
Afghan 
I-cord 
Garter stitch 
Knitting with metal wire 
Shawl 
Stockinette stitch 
Socks: top-down 
Socks: toe-up 
Knitting with camel yarn 
Mittens: Cuff-up 
Mittens: Tip-down 
Hat 
Knitting with silk 
Moebius band knitting 
Participating in a KAL 
Sweater 
Drop stitch patterns 
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn 
Slip stitch patterns 
Knitting with banana fiber yarn 
Domino knitting (=modular knitting) 
Twisted stitch patterns 
Knitting with bamboo yarn 
Two end knitting 
Charity knitting 
Knitting with soy yarn 
Cardigan Toy/doll clothing 
Knitting with circular needles 
Baby items 
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn 
Slippers 
Graffiti knitting 
Continental knitting 
Designing knitted garments 
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran) 
Lace patterns 
Publishing a knitting
Participate in an exchange 
Scarf 
Teaching a child to knit 
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental) 
Knitting to make money 
Buttonholes 
Knitting with alpaca 
Fair Isle knitting 
Norwegian knitting 
Dying with plant colors 
Knitting items for a wedding 
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…) 
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars 
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn 
Knitting with dpns 
Holiday related knitting 
Teaching a male how to knit 
Bobbles 
Knitting for a living 
Knitting with cotton 
Knitting smocking 
Dying yarn 
Steeks 
Knitting art 
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting 
Knitting with wool 
Textured knitting 
Kitchener stitch 
Knitted flowers 
Purses/bags 
Knitting with beads 
Swatching 
Long Tail CO 
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards 
Machine knitting 
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn 
Stuffed toys 
Baby items 
Knitting with cashmere 
Darning 
Jewelry 
Knitting with synthetic yarn 
Writing a pattern 
Gloves 
Intarsia 
Knitting with linen 
Knitting for preemies 
Tubular CO 
Free-form knitting 
Short rows 
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers 
Pillows 
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine 
Rug 
Knitting on a loom 
Thrummed knitting 
Knitting a gift 
Knitting for pets 
Shrug/bolero/poncho 
Knitting with dog/cat hair 
Hair accessories 
Knitting in public

Where does the time go?

2010-01-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

I can't believe we are here in the new year now. I was just thinking about resolutions. I never really do set any, or at least remember any that I set. I remember when I was little I would think of really cool ones like "to have the best handwriting." Yeah, I was a geek then, too. My handwriting is still pretty good. Just don't look at my signature. It looks nothing like my name.

As I sit here I'm actually thinking of some good ones that I do like. I think they are good New Years goals.

Get my Artfire shop going

Pay down my debt

Be more adventurous and enjoy life

Stear clear of drama

Stress out less about the small things

Make exercise more part of every day (walk or bike more)

Be more creative

I think that's a good list of goals. Come next year I'll have to break out this list and see how I did. Wish me luck with it.

Hrmm, I had more to say but oh well. This will do =)