Tuesday, February 24, 2009

*tap tap* Is this thing on?

Is this not the cutest face?

Mumbles impersonates Mom after a long night working the phones.

I've been remiss in updating, but I have a good reason! I've been working my happy little ass off in an effort to both pay my bills (current and upcoming) AND to start feeding my yarn addiction again.

Miss Andrea is tempting me like whoa and that squeaky sound you're hearing is me over here wringing my hands in wanton lust at some of the most beautiful fibers I've seen yet. Here...let me show you. First up? The ones I'm dying to beg her to add to my stash...seriously:
Pressed Roses (Hemp)
Is this not one of the most lovely dusty rose colors you've ever seen?

Depression Glass (Tencel)
Something about this color just calls to me. I don't know if it's the darkness, or if it's the way the darkness is made light with the shiny nature of the tencel...either way, it's gorgeous and I covet it.

Wallpaper in Old Rooms (Shetland)
I..uh...have this thing about purple yarns. And, I know I already have too many skeins of purple yarn but frankly? I don't care. I love this one.


Black Cherries (BFL)
See above. But this one? This one is special. This one, provided no one else snags it? This one I am definitely going to beg Andrea for because omg. I seriously adore this like whoa.


And then, we have the ones that ARE in my stash right now:
Blood Ties (BFL)
This color is so decadent. I already know what I'm going to use it on. And I can't wait!!

Learning to Climb (Hemp)
I don't think words can adequately express how much I adore hemp yarn. No really. This lovely skein is already slated to become a fabulous hat that I am almost guaranteed to wear everywhere.


Dark Opal (tencel)
Along with my adoration of hemp comes my utter love for tencel, courtesy of the delicious Andrea herself. I also have an obsession with black opals...and this just combines the best of both worlds for me.


Sam's Eyes (Tencel)
This is the commissioned yarn I asked for. The color is absolutely perfect for what I asked for and it will be turned into a fabulous shawl that I swear to All will be worn at every available opportunity.


Dragon's Tail (Tussah Silk)
This one is for my Dragon. I saw it and immediately thought of him. Plus, it'll be my first foray into knitting with silk. I can't wait!


On Cat's Paws (Merino/Tencel)
One of my favorite poems from childhood, and again with the grey/blue prettiness that is quickly starting to rival purple as my favorite colorway.

Amethyst (Hemp)
Again. With the purple. And the hemp. How predictable am I?


So there you have it. The pretty pretties that I'm totally looking forward to in the coming month. I've been suffering yarn withdrawal due to fundage issues, but with the new job literally swinging along? That won't be a problem anymore. I'm sure my Dragon will be SO pleased. {/sarcasm} But...if I can keep him indulging his comics/collectables addictions, then he can wholeheartedly support my yarn/oils addictions and we'll just be happy as two peas in a pod!

On the work front, things are really great. I've had a rough go of it only with getting my body back into the "work all night, sleep/work all day" routine, but I think I've finally finagled a solution. I cannot even express how thankful I am to have gotten this second job because it is, head and shoulders, a step above any other phone work I've done. It's a well oiled machine (pardon the pun) and every single thing they've achieved is fabulous. I feel like I'm a part of a community who actively WANTS me to succeed. Of course, this means less time to blog here because now I have to keep up a blog for them AND chat with callers AND keep up with SC work...it's exhausting, but I'm still trying to make sure I carve out time every night to do a little knit/crochet.

I may bitch, but lordy, I am blessed. This month has been especially rough on both of us, but I'm overjoyed that there's a light at the end of the tunnel...and it ISN'T another oncoming train.

Add to that these two little morsels of happiness: My brother IS actually engaged to be married, so there's a trip to Florida sometime next year for that. And the second morsel? My mom told me that she and dad are coming to visit this July! *dances* Now, the only down side (which, theoretically SHOULDN'T be) is that somehow *coughDADcough* my grandmother got wind of their plan...and it has now become a family affair. I guess it's going to be my folks, my grandmother, AND my aunt n' uncle along for the ride. So let's just say that July is going to be quite...interesting.

*yawns* Okay, my bebes! I need to get some sleep. My dragon should be puttering around now getting ready for work. I'm super proud of him for keeping a 93% on his numbers at work! Today he's bringing home GS cookies in celebration. *dances* I may not need them for my hips, but my tummy really digs this time of year.

Until later, dumplings!

XOXO
Bella

Monday, February 16, 2009

Busy busy day!

Passed out Puss (Blade)

I was going to upload some photos today but I got sidetracked.

By my new job.

And I'm utterly in love with my coworkers:)

I'll most likely do more updating later this evening when I sign back in for the night, but for now, suffice it to say, I do think this is going to be an amazing (and lucrative) experience for me!

XOXO
~Bella

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Question...

I'm curious, because I have a little problem. Well, 4 of them actually, but one of them is more problematic than the others.

Kratos doesn't understand why yarn =/= kitty toy!

Kratos has a thing for my yarn. More of an obsessive streak, really, when I think about it. He will go to great lengths to get his paws on anything I'm working on and I'm running out of ideas for ways to deter/stop him from having that opportunity. Yes, this cat will UNZIP a bag to get to the yarn. I don't know how he does it, but he does. Probably some little known kitty osmosis technique.

I need something that will keep him away from my work. I'm tired of having to reconnect severed yarn (and worrying about the damned cat because he's ingested some of it) to continue my projects.

Does anyone have any suggestions? What do you use to store your works in progress? Am I the only one with kitties who don't understand that this yarn is not for play?

Monday, February 9, 2009

Finally, an update!

The view coming home from dropping Dragon off at work this morning. Sno!

It's been pretty slow around here since my last update. Most of the concerns have all been related to the economy and how I'm being impacted, financially, by losing one job and starting over at another one. Unfortunately, it's a significant reduction in income for us that I'm quite unhappy with. So, when the going gets tough, I get out there and try to find something else. I've had 3 interviews so far with one particular company and there's really no reason why I wouldn't get the job, I'm just going to keep most of it under wraps until I hear yay or nay.

So in lieu of boring wah-wah-meer-meer complaints, I'm going to give you pictures!

Mumbles approves of this post.

We went to see Abney Park this past Friday as a way to blow off some steam (haha!) and in celebration, I finally pulled out the Lumina yarn (from a few posts back) and crocheted up some skluv gloves! (By Copperscale Dragon on Etsy) I had bought the pattern a while back and was just fiddling with it, trying to figure out what yarn to use and how I wanted them to look. I finally decided on Friday that I was going to use the loverly red/black glittery Lumina I'd gotten back in January. I think they worked out pretty well:
I love the little skull pattern, and the buttons are some that I picked up from JoAnn's Fabric up the road just a few hours prior to the show. I'm glad I made this yarn into gloves, but my only beef with it is that it's quite scratchy. Definitely an accent yarn more than a garment yarn, in my opinion.

Speaking of the show, it was as amazing as the first time we saw them last year. And! Because I have a tall husband who can reach ON stage, I managed to get one of Finn's keys! (They were coming off her skirt as she danced):

Biggest and BEST concert memorabilia I have:) She's so beautiful to watch, not just being physically attractive, but also because she's an AMAZING dancer with a beautiful voice.

And because you can never have enough cat photos, my Dragon caught the Doom Brothers snuggling the other day. It was utterly adorable because, while they love on each other quite often, it's very rare to catch them completely passed out in a cat pile.
Mumbles and Kratos.

The Doom Brothers in a moment of brotherly love.

Nothing to see here, move along.

That's all for now!

XOXO
~Bella