the Akamai Knitter

I had a weekend full of basketball and shopping. Of all the things I bought, these are the things I love the most.

I found them on my way back to the car from a rather horrible lunch at the Aloha Marketplace. The shop I got them from is called Millennium.  It was great stumbling onto such a fun shop amidst all the tourist traps.  :)

They kind of remind me of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.

At first it was the panda that caught my eye, but when I went into the store the cat grabbed me by the hair and threw me to the floor until I said I’d take it home.

Well. Not really.

But I truly couldn’t resist it. :P

The two of them now have a loving home on my desk, which I won’t be showing you. My desk is currently in a state of creative chaos.

Why?

Partly because I’ve restocked the shop with more Off The Hook Markers!

The desk also won’t be seen because I’ve gotten back into Art Journaling. I doubt I’ll blog about it, but I might take some photos and throw them on my Flickr photostream. It just depends on how confident I’m feeling about what I’m doing.

Frankly? After the type of service I got at the art store I went to on Saturday? I’m not feeling very confident. Can you say condescending?

/sigh

Thank goodness I have such furry love to come home to.

Here’s the final installment of Quincy’s three photo series.

From being peacefully asleep to being unhappily awakened. Poor guy. The things he does for the blog.

*Idea gakked from Cookie.

Megan may call me a bitch all over the interwebs, but the girl shows me the love with the birthday gifties. She sent me a box full of lovelies.

First up is a bag from the ever so talented Acornbud. Megan knows of my bag ho’ tendencies and my addiction to Barb’s bags, y’see.

Inside the bag, was a beautiful skein of gorgeous that Megan dyed herself.

The colors are perfect and they’ll match my wardrobe perfectly. I’m thinking Swallowtail. (Ravel it!) :)

Also in the box was this beautiful mug.

What I haven’t pictured is the nifty French Press that was included. Mainly because it’s dirty. I also didn’t include the bag of coffee. Mainly because it’s nearly gone.

Megan knows my love for coffee.

This was such a thoughtful gift. I love everything in it. Thanks so much, Megan! You can call me a bitch anytime you like!

As to why she called me a bitch? It’s because I cast on a new shawl.

The pattern is the Herbivore by the genius Stephen West. The yarn is Blue Skies Ahead from Hungry For Handspun.

And I am in love.

More on this in days to come.

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!

Even though I told my Joy no presents when I invited her to my small birthday dinner, she gave me this.

It’s Artyarns Ultramerino 4, Color 144 and I plan on making the Simple Yet Effective Shawl with it. My hopes is to knit this up and have it blocked by next week Thursday.

Why?

Because my mother will be out of town for a week. This way I can have a secret present for her on Christmas day. This is the goal.

I’m not sure how realistic it is.

Nothing like a little self-confidence, eh?

Continuing on with the birthday fun, I was thoroughly spoiled by our Jen.

Does she know me or does she know me? I could not stop squealing as I unwrapped everything.

She knows I can never have enough bags. The bag is from Slipped Stitch Studios. She knows I collect fantasy art cards.  The  cards are from Susan Rodio Art.  She knows I have a Hello Kitty thing.

As for the yarn? Take a closer look.

Jen calls it “Black Opal.” Isn’t that awesome? But there’s a small story behind the yarn.

I’ve been wanting to knit Irtfa’a for ages. Only I had a specific yarn in mind. So I custom ordered some from Jen. What she did was hand paint some Jaggerspun Zephyr Merino/Silk to my specifications. Only she didn’t let me pay for it.

Now I can’t wait to start the shawl.

Only I have that Christmas present to knit.

And don’t forget the Damson, the Lyra, or the Oyster Bay Shawl someone *cough*megan*cough*kindly keeps reminding me off.

Then there’s jewelry to be made and cross-stitching to be done.  And I musn’t neglect the spinning wheels even though I have.

Oh and the other presents. There are other presents that need to be made.

Yeah.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.

Remember when I used to show you all finished things? Ha. Haha. Ha.

Happy Wednesday folks!

I’m finally feeling about 90% back to normal. That flu really kicked my ass. I’ve been sick for the past three weeks! Hopefully that’s all behind me and I can just move forward.

All I could really do while I was sick was work on the Damson.

You see all those stitch markers? You see them? I used them to count stitches. And you know what? The stitch count was completely off. Completely. Utterly. Totally. Irreparably. Off.

So.

I frogged that sucker.

I figured it’s only garter stitch and it’s a small shawl. It shouldn’t take me too long to get back to speed.

At least that’s the optimistic point of view.

Another bright spot is the lovely birthday package that came in the mail this week from Cookie.

The pink in the background is the underside of the best part of the package.

Is that not the cutest box ever? I coveted that box back when she used it as a photo prop way back during the Tour de Fleece. She has an amazing memory, our Cookie. Whereas I have the most dismal memory ever since she told me she’d get one for me for my birthday and I completely forgot.

At least it made for a lovely surprise. :)

The yarn in the package is some yummy Pagewood Farms Hand Dyed Sock Yarn in Denim. It’s a Merino Superwash/Bamboo/Nylon blend.

It’s so soft and blue. I love me my blue. I think it might make a pretty Swallowtail Shawl.

You know what else was really great about the package? The birthday card. This card has got to be the best birthday card ever. I adore mermaids. I have a  huge print of a mermaid painting in my bedroom. I also collect mermaid art cards, so this card will probably end up being hung in my room as well.

Isn’t she pretty?

So.

Despite the fact that I’ve had the flu and the fact that I like saying “so” a lot, I’ve had a pretty good week.  I’m on my way back to healthy and I had a great birthday. I’ve never felt more special or loved by friends and family.

So.

Thank you to all of  you out there that took the time to wish me a good one. :)

Have a great weekend!

I’m still recovering from the weekend. Forgive my scattered thoughts.  But do you remember that tangle of yarn vomit? Look at it now!

It arrived yesterday in a box and it wasn’t alone. Look what else the Yarn Angel sent me!

I have all sorts of ideas in my noggin for these beauties.

Meanwhile, I started a bracelet for me over the weekend while I was at a jewelry workshop. The colors I chose are rather surprising for those who know me.

Shocking isn’t it? All that pink!I even bought a pink shirt. I even wore it out.

Yes. I’ve decided to just embrace my inner girly girl.

Also, I’ve listed new earrings in the Etsy  Shop!

and the Artfire Shop!

So far I’ve had zero sales in the Artfire shop.  I’ve decided to give it six months. If nothing comes of it, then I’m moving everything to Etsy.  I figure that I’ll have at least tried something new.

I’ve changed up the blog a bit. I got tired of seeing all the gray. I’m not sure how much I like the red, but I’m going to keep this up for at least a week to see how I like it.

Finally, Quincy has found a new place to nap.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!