Archive for February, 2007
Back Home!!
Thursday, February 8th, 2007
Ever had one of those streaks where no matter what happens, you’re tired, cranky, feeling old and sort of useless? (No? Ok. I hate you now.) Well. I was having kind of a long one…and today I somehow managed to snap myself out of it. Was it being at home alone and downing the whole French Pressfull of espresso myself?? Was it doing spring cleaning (we have a houseguest coming tomorrow and I had to do something)? Was it the weather finally turning nice again?? (we’ve got temps in the 70s and SUN today!) I have no idea, but am really glad it finally happened. I’m home now for a few weeks, it looks like!! SO…everyone who is waiting for stuff from me…LOOK OUT!!
There will torrents of bits from me in your inboxes AND snailmail boxes.
Did you notice in the address bar up there? I have a favicon!! A cute little crown!! Next stop…Margins! Comments! LOOK OUT!!
It was awesome to be back in DC for a few days. I forgot how much I like the greater Baltimore-DC metro area!! I wish Nate was with me. I didn’t do too much wandering around, I was there on a conference for work. No time for Knit-Togethers, either, which was too bad. I did have dinner with Sarah, which was really nice. Authentic Maryland crabcakes. I made it to Chinatown one afternoon. I was looking for the big Chinese Grocery store that used to be there…on one level was the Tschotchkies and the other was all the food…but it’s GONE. Now there’s a Benetton and an Urban Outfitter…very weird. Oh well, places evolve and change like people do…no point in mourning the loss too much. I eventually found what I was really looking for.
I have an incredible affinity for Asian ramen noodles. It’s the most bizarre thing, I know. I love the really spicy ones, and the ones with rice noodles that have lime and are also really spicy. I can’t stand the normal grocery store ones, but those that come actually from abroad are so GOOD.
I got hooked on them working in the lab as an undergrad. This Korean guy would go to NYC Chinatown to get the authentic superhot ones, and share them with me and Aimee…YUM. We also had a really cool Indian labmate who would bring in saffron rice and all sorts of awesome homemade food. I miss New York as much as I miss DC and B-more! DANG!! Why did I have to go and get all food-sentimental??
HMM…ok…I have to give a talk tomorrow, so I’d better make sure I have my stuff together.
TTYL, ppl.
PS: Amazon says the book is shipping. I’m so completely, utterly, shitting my pants-ed-ly nervous to hear what you guys think of it. Pretty much all of my designing for the last year has gone into the book, rather than onto the site, which is why there hasn’t been a new TDR pattern for like, um, a year.
I’m glad you guys are still with me, even though I’ve been holding out on you for so long! I really do have a few thins just on the verge of coming out. Finding the energy to get things going was hard for a while there, but I feel really energized…so hopefully SOON.
OK, TTYL for realz, BFFs.
Posted in just chit chat | No Comments »
Blogalicious. ACTUAL NEWS. (beep da da beep da da beep beep) …newswire from the 40s
Sunday, February 4th, 2007
Blog. To the a-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. It’s blog. To the lish. Glam-a-lish-ious.
I’ve been up in the gym just a-workin’ on my knitness…he’s my witness.
(Ok. You KNOW this is me mocking one of the most laughable songs ever on the radio. “check it out…”)I’m working on some designs for the Vickie Howell line from Southwest Trading Company. I just got a fabulous package in the mail from Kat and Jonelle…full of brightly-colored, interestingly blended Vickie yarns. Please ignore my ‘manicure’…I’m still recovering from a rather horrifying run-in with some acrylic nails. Never get them. Or, I should say, never get what they call a “fill” because they sand your own nails down to the quick. Which so far has taken three months to grow about halfway out. Doesn’t help my nailbiting any. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Anyway. Oh, and, I had the camera on manual and forgot to do the white balance…thus the blue man group hue on the fings.
This is “Craft” which is a cotton/milk fiber blend. It’s really soft and pliable. You know how cotton can be totally non-stretchy, make your elbows hurt, and just be awful in general. Somehow milk fiber (which I’d love to see on its own) acts like the antidote to that. I’ll let you know how a garment does…but so far…my BELT is awesome. Look for updates on “Love” and “Rock” as well.
Posted in yarn reviews | 1 Comment »
Back from CHA.
Friday, February 2nd, 2007
I’m back to “normal” life after the big whirlwind of the Craft and Hobby Association convention. They were billing it as the World’s Fair of Craft. I did hear lots of different accents. I didn’t meet Martha Stewart, who gave the Keynote Address. People had expected her to give tips about business and marketing, but I guess she pretty much just talked about her new craft line. Which is also interesting, I guess.
I found it *really* interesting to meet everyone who works at my publisher. I met the president of the books division at F&W, the Marketing Director, Editorial Director, PR guru, all the sales reps…it was fascinating. Amazon says the book is shipping…so all the wheels are in motion. I’m anxious to hear what people think of it. Really freaking terrified, actually.
I have a LOT to do right now. I’m just going over my big list of To Dos, and some are fun, some are totally lame. Taxes. Hire accountant. Take cats to vet. Consolidate Student Loans. New patterns for the site. New kits for the site. CRAFT podcast pattern (if you’re a reader, you’ve seen the free pattern that I’m doing before.) And (as usual) other knitting stuff that either isn’t finalized into bloggability yet or is just on a wait-and-see timeframe.
I think I’m just so tired that everything today seems like a big TASK. Even the fun stuff is overwhelming me today. I just want a loooooooong nap.
I’ve been trying to drink less coffee…I’m sure that contributes to this tiredness in a big way. Instead, I’ve been drinking tea. Even black tea is less strong than the way I make coffee. I found (through my mom via my sister) the Adagio Teas website recently. They have the yummiest stuff. I love their black tea with ginger. It has actual ginger root pieces in it. I also really like the Christmas one. I brought a little hot pot with me to work, so I can drink yummy tea all day.
I’m in town today and tomorrow, then Sunday fly out again to DC. This time for work. Until Wednesday. SIGH. I never thought that I would ever ever be tired of traveling! I think I just need a few weeks at home, then I’ll be all rested up and it’ll sound better.
Tonight, I’m going to a couple of art openings with Nate and my parents, then we’re going to Mom and Dad’s for dinner.