Knit Addictions

Knitting With Tears.

In the total opposite of Zimmerman's book, I knit through my tears all day yesterday. My landlord took the doggie away to a friends farm up north and I just could not stop bawling all day. Worrying that she would be missing me and looking for me. I feel like such a jerk. But on the other hand, I know we can't keep her as we travel way too much and tend to pick up and leave quite frequently. *sigh.

Anyway, thanks to my sorrow, I am about 70% done with the back piece of the little toddler sweater. It is going to fit this cute little pixie named Louise but we all call her Lulu. She is my step grandgirl! Knitting something for this sweetie's birthday is enough to cheer anyone!

In rock news, we changed the cover of the album to use a much more insane pic of me in the layout with the guys. Very very Alice Cooper. And.....we picked up the gear for the mixing and that all starts tomorrow night. In the meantime, Bam has been in there for hours wiring everything and testing it to make sure it works properly. Trying to get rid of as much 'hiss' as possible but damn, our studio is just noisy. ah well. Turn up the guitars! ha!

Mood: emotionally traumitized over the loss of the doggie. The bags under my eyes would put Louis Vitton out of business. A very sleepless night.

Confession: feel guilty that I'm also relieved she is gone and I have my life back.

Movies knitted to: Philadelphia. Like I needed any help with my misery last night? Followed this with The Man Who Knew Too Little. I love Bill Murray. Laughter and knitting are good medicine.

Sweaters make it Better.

Oy vay! What a week! The stray dog, the rain, the sinking living room floor and then discovering the swamp under the house...I sure was glad to wake up to sunshine today. Whew.

The toddler sweater is coming along...slowly but surely. My eyes are healing and I'm getting my speed back at knitting. It sort of affected it simply because my eyes would get tired quickly after the laser surgery. But now.....everything is groovy. I start shaping at 25 cm and I'm at 18 cm now. The yarn is cute denim Rowan stuff. Last night, we started to watch a film and I managed to get up and go to the bathroom WITH empty knitting needle in hand. When I returned to the couch to pick up my knitting...I couldn't find the damn needle. (duh?) I ended up searching everywhere for over an hour and finally remembered to look in the loo. Ha! One would think I'd been knitting in there. Egads!

Anyway, still desperately searching for a home for the doggie. I called the lady who said her family would check her out today and still have not heard back from her.

We start the remix of our album on Monday night. After picking up all the extra equipment last night, we realized we didn't have the right sort of cables to connect it all to our gear. So Bam has been on the phone all morning tracking down cables. It's gonna end up costing a bundle just to buy the cables and connectors but what else can we do? Ahhhhh.........the hidden costs of running your own studio. It's all those little things that add up so quickly! Sure am glad we wrote that Jesse Camp album like a million years ago cuz we wouldn't have the studio if it weren't for that publishing money. wow.

It just feels like a rambling Saturday ...sunny, relaxed, mellow.....hmmmm...more coffeeeeee.

I think I will start another scarf for the multitude of bday recipients coming up!

Onwards fellow fiber freaks of fanatical proportions.

Mood: relaxed.

Confession: I'm a little embarassed over my CHAOS posting. I hate it when I over react.

Movies knitted to: I tried to watch several and they all just totally sucked! Shape of Things to Come. These people should get over themselves. College age boring passionless crap. When I was that age I was out seeing the world and playing gigs and drinking and shagging like a maniac! Then we tried a movie with the same name as our stray: Lucky. This was nothing short of dreadful. Just cuz it's indie doesn't make it good. Then we put in Pulp Fiction. Ahhhhhhhh. Finally. This one we own. I mean, gangsters sit around and talk about whether or not a foot massage with another man's girlfriend is crossing the line of etiquette. Later, when John Travolta is buying heroin, he and drug dealer talk about how wrong it is that someone 'keyed' John's car. I mean, what is the world coming to? The dialogue in this classic is just unbelievably perfect. I think Quentin may be a somewhat of a dick, but he certainly turned the movie world on its head with this masterpiece. Not to mention, the soundtrack is superb. Yeah. I knitted up a storm. Which seemed somehow appropriate!

CHAOS!

Life is mad at the moment.

We had tons of rain here in LA. Which SHOULD be no big deal if you hail from the Midwest or England like we do. But the houses are just not built for it. So in the meantime, our living room has been sinking and our landlord had to come over and rip up the hardwood flooring and lo and behold.........there is a swamp under our house! Lovely. And what an odor. Oh MY! Well, the other dudes turned up to fix the gaping hole and didn't bother to cover our living room with any sort of plastic so now we're dealing with the lovely lacquer smell instead of the bog-like scent and EVERYTHING is covered in a most engaging tan layer of dust. How nice!

Add the noise of that sanding machine along with whatever else they used and try to be on the phone! Very fun.

Then there's the stray dog. She's sweet. She's great. But I can't work with her in my office all day. She is just too needy for me to work. Plus I'm stressed beyond belief from the noise and smell of today. Not to mention, the swamp of a backyard because there aren't any gutters on our house and you open the door and a waterfall dumps on your head. Most charming.

So knitting?

I got like 4 rows done on the sweater today in between stressy phone calls.

Mood: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Confession: Too pissed off to admit any wrongdoing on my part for anything ever! ha! I want it all and I want it NOW!

Movies: The one in my head is far better than any I've rented in a while. Involves Bam and I stealing the all powerful, ancient 'Jewel of the Universe' and escaping the evil, greedy bastard who wants it and then having to move far far away. Never to return to this capitalist, corporate strip mall country again.

Lucky Day!

We have named the stray doggie, Lucky. I know it's not exactly original, but her whole name is:
"Lucky I didn't get left behind in the hood where you stopped to say hello to me".
That was too long so she is now just Lucky. :-)

We are desperately seeking a home for this housebroken, lovable, non-chewing puppy. She loves people AND other dogs, too! If you're in Los Angeles and want to have your heart melted, she is the one to do it. Plus, she sleeps all night. Basically, sleeps until you wake up!

In knitting news.........I have started the sweater. My first sweater and it's with lovely Rowan yarn. So far so good but I have only gotten like 2 inches or less done. egads.

THAT is supposed to turn into THIS......

Wish me luck fellow knitters!

In rock n roll news, our pal is coming over this weekend with his rack of gear to help Bam remix the album. Whew. Finally, we will get this sucker going! Here is the tentative album cover:

Called Rock n Roll Hell and it is 10 tracks of pure 'rawk'. I can't wait to unleash it upon the world! grrrrr.

Mood: happy but concerned about finding the dog a home.

Confession: duh? I secretly wish we could keep the dog. Duh?

Movies knitted to: Well, I was too tired to knit but we watched an interesting flick called the "STONE READER". If you like books and you like indie flicks, this is a must see. Very interesting.

I Can See!

My eye surgery was successful and I can already see 20/20! It may improve to 20/15 as I was very close to that in the doctor's office this morning.

My up close vision is a little weirded out right now so I'm not knitting as of yet..........but soon.

I plan to kick off the Rowan sweater this week! It is so tiny, that hopefully, I'll finish it quickly.

To Karen: thank you for the tips on seaming. I had no idea that it's easier to use embroidery thread!? Even on the gloves???? So much to learn.

eeeeeeeeehhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I'm just so flipped out to be seeing. WOWSA!

Mood: visionary.

Confession: I wish I would've done this surgery sooner. HA!

Movies: Couldn't knit due to this eye business, but I watched this really goofy sci-fi series on DVD: Firefly and got pretty into it. Since I don't have telly so to speak, it's commercial free. I dig the production designer's look of everything with that cool Mad Max/Blade Runner urban vibe. The chick named Zoe on the show wears an AWESOME leather vest. With laces up the sides,....just too wicked.

For the Love of Yarn and Dogs!

Part of the fun of having a blog is seeing who reads this and then go reading the secrets and tales on their blog. I found great joy in this page on the wool festival bloggers site....... Ya see? I don't have such a terrible yarn stash when I look at someone else's. No. I have envy! I want a yarn stash that magnificent. Nay. I NEED a yarn stash like that.

Okay. So what I need is more money to buy more yarn with.

Sick. But I know my fellow bloggers relate.

After making Bam's cool punky big needle scarf (see pics entry sometime in JAN)...well, I had bought two hanks of the Tagliatelli stuff and only used one. Then I bought another in a dirty Blade Runner colorway, "Castagna". (You BR fans know what I mean.) I just love stuff that does not look new! Anyway, those are calling me but it means winding them in to balls. THAT part of knitting drives me nuts.

Anyway, I checked my bank account this morning and there is no yarn shopping in my near future. WAaaahhhhhhh! But honestly, I do have enough to start some good stuff and thanks to the comments, I will plan a sweater with my Lamb's Pride Bulky stash and actually get that off the ground. Even though I'm terrified of the 'finishing' aspect.

Re: Finishing....my seams ability is really and truly sucking! The seam on the hats I've made and the single fingerless glove is just so crap it's laughable. I've tried the mattress seam. I've tried just blaggin' it and I swear, it ruins everything I beautifully knit. (like I'm that good, right?) So any seam comments to make it all better....please post. Cuz I'm gettin' pissed off about it.

As you can see....we have a cute freeloader on our hands. A stray pitbull followed my hubby and stepson home and has been living in our tiny backyard. We are going to take pics and build her a website because words don't do her justice and she deserves a nice home. Forget everything you thought you knew about pitbulls as most of it is hearsay and myth. This chocolate doggie is a lover not a fighter and is the sweetest little thing to melt your heart. But we cannot keep her. So we are the foster home for now and I'm gonna post a link after she has her very own site complete with video to make you fall in love with her and want to adopt her.

Mood: dog-tired.

Confession: I had a crush on Donny Osmond. (puppy love) I even have a polaroid of me and him when we met in a hotel somewhere back in the Vixen days. LOL!

Movies knitted to: Went to an actual theatre with Max last night to see "Catch That Kid" It is in a word...cute. Bank robbery, go carts and ...put it this way, if you're into Pulp Fiction, Lock Stock and Reservoir Dogs, bring a pillow to fall asleep. (my hubby brought a bucket for the puke factor.) If you have kids, they'll love this flick.

I Slept with Elizabeth AND Debbie!

Yes. It's true. I slept with both of them. Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman and Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller. These have become my bedside companions and when Bam stays up late working, I am reading and re-reading all of their tips on knitting. I swear, one week I read a section and the next week I read it again and actually 'get it'. Slowly, things are starting to make sense and I am eager to receive my Rowan Denim Yarn for the Hero sweater today. (it's scheduled for delivery today!)

I am going in for my big eye exam today and the surgery is on Friday. Over the weekend I made one fingerless glove for Bam out of a gorgeous cashmere blend. Ooh-la-la. Before Friday, I want to make the other one so he has a pair! ha!

I have enough Lamb's Pride Bulky in black to make a cool sweater but am afraid that it is too itchy. If anyone can suggest any thin carry along yarns to make it softer, that would be great! Plus, because it is so bulky, how well does it look as a sweater???? So many questions! ha!

It's raining in LA today. I shouldn't complain coming from Minnesota. But dammit. It's so gloomy outside! I just want to curl up on the couch and knit all day!

Mood: too sleepy to have one.

Confession: I talk waaaaaaaaay too much about knitting.

Movies knitted to: Spellbound. Indie flick about the National Spelling Bee. Sounds kinda weird but it was quite interesting ....I mean can you spell ecclesiastic in front of a room full of people at the age of like...12? One kid's parents had paid 1000 people to chant for him to win and had also vowed to feed 5000 people in India if he won. Imagine the pressure? Geez. And I used to stress out over choir concerts and volleyball games. ***NOTE: they also have a website with a goofy hangman game: SPELLBOUND SITE

Scarf Mania!

Since I last posted, I've finished two scarves for the chilluns. One is the stripey ribbed number for Max. Since he is a very healthy skate boarding 11 year old boy, dare I say I don't think he was terribly impressed? But it still made me happy to give it to him and hopefully, at some point, it will come in handy. I do understand........hmmmm...more Yu-gi-oh cards or a scarf? Not a tough choice, really!

I also blasted out a pure white scarf for one of my step girls in England. She is a very fair red head with stunning eyes and perfect pouty pink mouth so I thought the winter white would suit her. The yarn is simply Lion Brand Wool Ease but this particular one has a silver thread running through it to give it a shimmer. I did the ends by adding Lion Brand Fun Fur in white so it looks very hip.

Mood: Happy!

Confession: I love being happy and being a knitter!

Movies Knitted to: I'm so deliriously sleepy I can't remember. !!!

Bring it On, Baby.

I am eagerly, no, impatiently waiting the arrival of my fabulous Rowan yarn. It is the Rowan Denim yarn required to make this oh-so-rocknroll-star sweater: HERO. Hello? Yes, I want one, too. But first, I gotta start with this miniature sweater to get into the whole concept of it not being an easy rectangle. Hats are one thing. This is altogether different for my simple guitar-driven brain.

I will post up here as I progress for those of you who want to help or laugh depending on how it goes. ;-)

On my needles now: a red and black striped ribbed scarf for my step son, Max. I realized all the step chilluns b-days are comin up along with my brother in law so now I'm frantically trying to get their scarves ready for shipping in time. (most are in England). But the Lion Brand Chunky stuff is flying off the needles. So ....provided I like each scarf as I start it........(this one took 3 starts before I was happy) then all b-days will be tended to with lovely scarves in perfect colors for each recipient. whew!

Oh! speaking of B-days...........I've met with an eye doctor and through a very nice b-day present (early), I've got the funding and financing arranged to have my vision fixed. If you've ever waved to me across the room in a smoky nightclub and I totally ignored you or sort of stared blankly at you.........I couldn't see who the hell you were! My eyesight is not so bad really. I mean, I can drive without glasses.....illegally, but I can do it. Let's face it, I'm a vain Aries rocker type. I don't do glasses well. Contacts bug the hell outta me. So I've been waiting for about 5 years to have this done. Needless to say .......I'M EXCITED!

So getting to the facts.............one week from today.....February 20, I will seeeeeeeeeee. My doctor was recommended by a very good friend and after meeting with him, I feel very confident in his abilities and my candidacy for this procedure.

Bandwise........just still deciding about the mixes for the new record. Should we remix? Should we use one set of the existing mixes? Will anyone notice the difference except us? Are we anal? Damn. Okay. Yes, we are obsessive. But I don't think the anal quality applies to Bam and Share.

Sorry about no pics for a bit. The batteries on my digital camera went flat when I left it plugged in to the USB port. (who knew?) I'm all geared up again and will start snapping. I'm sure the overly big baby hat will get some laughs. I actually wore it to Trader Joes one night and felt very Silver Lake uber trendy babe. All I needed was a pair of thick black rim glasses to really set off the look and I woulda been happenin'.

EDITORIAL DELETION RIGHT: I deleted a post that was just a self pity night. I got too many emails from friends/fans who think I might be losing it. FOLKS.........I am a passionate being. when I go down, I go way down. But DO NOT WORRY. I am not the suicidal type. Merely a dramatic writer of feelings. I bounce back up very very very very very fast. So...........that post is removed and I will not post my little depressions on here anymore cuz I can't stand being pitied! YUK! ICK! GROSS! okay? I will always be either happy or pissed off on here. Those seem to be my two main ping pongs of existence, anyway.

Mood: pissed off and happy at once. ha!

Confession: I bought a Snickers Crunchy bar last night. ....and ate the whole thing with a very guilty feeling. (back to no sugar now.)

Movies knitted to: Intolerable Cruelty - This Coen brothers movie is surprisingly good. I was prepared for a more annoying romance/comedy thing and seeing as how I'm not crazy about George Clooney, well, I thought it might just have a few moments and that was it. Plot has a lot of nice twists and turns and the characters like all Coen brothers flicks are quirky enough to be amazingly funny and yet in that weird way, believable. (well except for the Baron)

Oh...the "knitter's movie" .....UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. Starring Diane Lane and set in ...well, where else? Tuscany, Italy. I did read this book and was scared the movie would be a little on the schmalty stinkier side. (hence 2 movie rentals in case one totally sucked ass) The film explores her rebuilding her life and her new villa in Tuscany all at the same time. Beautifully shot and lit and KNITTERS...........the Knitwear in this film is to be noticed. From cardigans, sweaters, scarves and on and on............. and hey, I'm wondering where to get a pattern for that stripey black/white knit dress number Sandra Oh wears when she is preggers. Except, I'd want it for non-pregnant sizes. Any ideas?

Since we don't have TV in the TV sense.....meaning, no cable, no satellite dish, no rabbit ears etc....we have to rent our HBO shows. So I rented CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM even though we have seen a bunch of them courtesy a pal who tapes it. I find myself squirming at Larry David's antics and laughing hysterically at the "LA" qualities this show has down perfect. His lack of tolerance I completely relate to and the bizarre situations he gets embroiled in .........well, it makes me knit very fast because I get so tense watching him! I spoke with a pal who said she used to work for him and that he's totally like that in real life. More shows like this please. Yes, please. NO Jessica Simpson please.

Okay. Just give me my own show already. I'll host and interview the rockstars who have bizarre hobbies. Unpredictable stuff. Stamp collecting? Toy trains. GI Joe collections. Watercolor painters. Knitters. Cooking. Speaking foreign languages. etc etc.

Rockin' and Rollin'

Well, my plans as usual got skewed last night! First, I planned to go to the Santa Monica SnB meeting. But then, my work life got crazed. Then I had to nix my work plans and make ready for our guitarist, Luke to come over and track guitars on our newest song to our new record. Eeeeeeeee! Well, I knew he would finish up late so I ran out the door and went guiltily to Michaels. I've already discovered the ills of knitting with yarn that I don't love so it was with hesitation and doubt that I purchased a bunch of Chunky USA and Homespun skeins to make scarves for all my step kids and brother in laws. EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I rushed home and Luke showed up and we recorded until 10 pm and all was grand. Oddly enough, his guitar was strangely out of tune for half the track so he'll have to come back. My amp is crackling like mad and I'm not sure if it's the amp or the speaker cab. So I have to check that before tonight's rehearsal.

But back to knitting........
I started Max (my 11 year old step son) his red and black scarf last night. Then I frogged it. Started it again. And now, decided it should be ribbed so will frog again and restart! But when?

More good news........I received my first Rowan patterns through email. An AWESOME childs sweater with a wonky cool great big star on it! I ordered the necessary yarn online while I was on hold for travel clients and am looking forward to my first sweater project. I've read the pattern through and am fairly confident I can handle it. (????) I don't own an iron for blocking (hey, I'm a rocker not some priss here!) so maybe I'll have to invest in that. argh. I hate irons.

So.........now I have upped my yarn stash albeit, not with yummy wools but with fairly yummy acrylics for the kids. And some fun fur, too. Now is there a way to up the number of hours in a day?! Have to have time to work for rent, play my Les Paul for the record and rehearse, spend time with BAM and ......KNIT! Damn. Oh, yeah.........I guess sleeping and eating take time, too.

Oops. Gotta go make a cd for tonights' rehearsal and take a travel call.
Cah-razy.

Thank you for the comments on starting a sweater and also avoiding the forums' serious folks! ha!

Film knitted to last night: Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. This flick has pretty much every fave Brit actor in it! If you know Waynetta from Harry Enfield Presents, Robert Carlyle from every UK film ever, and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) Quite funny in that 'real life' sort of British way. But really, it's like any tightly knitted neighborhood. (knitting pun intended) Full of drama and poking your nose in other's life mixed with soap opera style love story.

Mood: up. hopeful.

Confession: I miss my cappuccino machine and am downing my third mug of french press STRRRRONG juice. Damn! bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!