Give me your web address, url or whatever it's called!

Arrg. I just took a look for the first time at the person's blog who has the url (is that what it's called?) I wish I had. I was attempting to link to my blog and I accidentally put in fightorflight.blogspot.com and I finally saw the blog that uses that address. Mine is THEfightorflight.blogspot.com, because what I wanted was already taken. She hasn't posted anything to this blog and it hasn't been active since 2002. That doesn't sound that long ago, but how cow, it's seven years! I wish there was a way to get it from her, but I can't bear the thought of redoing my widgets anyway, so I guess it wasn't meant to be. It's too bad that inactive blogs with zero posts don't go back into the system at some point. Say, after six years.

New yarn...YUM

I went to the Kraemer Yarn Store today! Always fun! I love to shop there since they are so knowledgeable and helpful and always polite to newbies. I have never felt put off or intimidated to ask questions there. They have a clean, bright, well organized store, with an amazing discount bin of off-weight skeins! The purpose of my mission was to pick up a skein of Tatamy Tweed DK, in the taupe colorway. I am making Kathleen the One Skein Scarf from the Stitch 'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker book. The pattern is also available free from the Jo-Ann's website, so go forth and make one-skein scarves! It is the best pattern evar!

So I picked up a nice skein of the taupe color but soon noticed a discount bin calling my name. I saw that it was a full bin of the very yarn I was holding! The discount bin holds yarn that doesn't weigh quite what it should, either too little or...too much! Typically the Tatamy Tweed costs about $6, but the sale priced balls are $3.49! I found a sale priced skein of the exact color I needed and when I took it home it actually weighed in at 115 grams, or 1.15 skeins! For less than what I would have paid for 1 skein. Awesome!

Here is said yarn:

Tatamy Tweed DK, Taupe
(Look Kathleen, I got you one with a LABEL. Fancy!)

But of course I couldn't stop there.

Tatamy Tweed DK, It's a girl, $3.49

Weighing in at another amazing 110 grams or 1.1 skeins!

These next two balls came together:

Tatamy Tweed worsted, Navy Tweed

Weighing in at 71 grams, .71 of a skein!

Tatamy Tweed worsted, Flannel Tweed

This ball weighs in at 100 grams or a full skein!

This and the navy ball were $3.49 TOGETHER!

And I couldn't resist more of the black colorway, of which I already have some stashed:

Tatamy Tweed worsted, Black Tweed

Weighing in at 157 grams or over a skein and a half!

Did I mention it cost $3.49?

Ok, so I saved the best for last. Sitting all alone in the sale bin was this beautiful ball of Fountain Hill Brushed Mohair. Are you ready to hear what it cost? ONE DOLLAR. I took it home and weighed it and I was shocked. It was the deal of the day. A full skein of this yarn costs either $10 or $12 dollars and weighs 100 grams. This ball weighs 93 grams! For a DOLLAR.

Fountain Hill Brushed Mohair, Surf's Up!
93 grams!

I love new yarn! Sure it'd be nice to buy whatever I wanted at full price, but I got all that yarn for $14! The Tatamy Tweed is a dream to work with, it feels so cool and soft moving through your fingers. I like to make small things, too, so for me it works to have small quantities of stuff on hand. However, they also have beautiful bags of "sweater quantity" in the discount bin too, also for rediculous prices. Thank you Kraemer Yarns! I love you!

Stash bags, con't.

Remember a few posts back when I mentioned I was going to take the stash bags down to the tobacco store to see if they wanted to sell them? No dice. The guy was polite, but clearly not interested. He obviously liked them, because I could see him reacting as I was pulling them out of my bag. He seemed to like the rasta one the best as it warranted a smile.


Maybe he was feelin' irie. Then again, maybe not, since he basically told me where I could put them.

I'm a 21st century digital girl!

I got my laptop! Whoo-hoo! I had no clue how to use it for the first few days and my husband has been consumed by his new software for burning dvd's and making new covers for them, since apparently our new computer (or something in it) lets you take screen shots from the movie you are watching. He is starting up a little cottage industry where he will be distributing rare horror and punk concert movies and he is thrilled to be able to make jazzy new covers. When he is ready to go public, I'll post a lot more info. But anyway...I'm back!

I also got a new banner and button! The button is so cool you should put it on your blog! (How did you say? Just copy my code on the sidebar!) My always fantastic friend Kathleen from Katydid and Kid made them both for me and she can make you one too! She will make them for cash or reasonable trade, so if you want your blog to look rad like mine (I know, I know, I get a new button and my head swells) head on over and ask her to hook you up!

Thanks Kathleen!

Computer go boom.

Moments after publishing my last post, my computer apparently broke. I went out to buy printer paper, which I haven't bought in what seems like years and I came home to my computer making a horrible noise. It was fine that morning while I was writing the post, but I guess things often seem fine until the minute they break. Since I obviously have no resources to get my computer fixed or buy a new one, I figured this was the end of computing pour moi. Amazingly, my awesome mother offered to buy me a new computer for my birthday, which is actually months away. I try to be extremely self sufficient, but sometimes I let myself take a handout. I picked out a laptop, which should be here tomorrow! (I am writing this from work- shame, shame.) So if you tried to email me or reach me via computer somehow, I should be back up tomorrow.

Some finished Stash Bags

The one in the back didn't photograph well, but it is the black "felted" bag from the post below. The tan one is my fav and I'm still working on the rasta one.

We'll see if this is lucrative.

Felting-sort of.

I took a bunch of pictures as I was making my first crocheted-then-felted project, but somehow they aren't on my camera. In lieu of the photos, I'll give you the blow by blow.

I started out with Jo-Ann's Sensations Kashmira yarn, 100% wool. I needed to hold two strands together, but I hate working from either end of a skein, so I decided to make some center-pull balls. I did take pictures of this, but just use your imagination.

How to make a center pull yarn ball:
Take the tail end of your yarn, about 6 inches or so and make sort of a fist around it with the four fingers on your left hand so the tail hangs out the bottom near your pinkie and the other end is coming out the top above your index finger. You really just want to keep the tail end out of the way. Next take the "working end" of the yarn, the end that is coming out of your fist near the index finger and begin wrapping it around over the top of your thumb, keeping the wraps loose enough that you'll be able to get your thumb back out. You are also still holding the tail end in your "fist". Now just keep wrap, wrap, wrapping until you look like Little Jack Horner. You can pull your thumb out if you want, but just keep your thumb sort of in the hole, so you don't wrap over the hole where your tail is going to come out. Amazing!

Now that I had my two balls wound, I started off with a simple pattern for making a "stash bag". I just chained 13 with my H hook, did my first row of sc, sc into the "butts" of all base chain stitches and kept spiraling around until it was as long as I wanted. Then I chained like 12 or so to make the little loop and sl st to finish. I will add a button for the loop as soon as it is dry. Unfortunately there is now no picture of the bag pre-felting. Wahhhh....

Then I took it into the bathroom and filled the sink with hot soapy water (I used plain old dish soap) and rubbed rubbed rubbed until I could see the stitch definition getting fuzzier and the holes between my stitches had fused together. I didn't want total stitch definition annihilation, so I stopped there, but I can see how rad this would be with a washing machine.

Submitted for your approval:

Ok, now that I uploaded this picture, I'm a little disappointed. It looks pretty normal and un-felty. I swear the stitches were all big and open before and now they've closed up. Whatever. Don't believe me.

I was thinking about making these and taking them to the store down the street that sells glass "tobacco" pipes to see if they want to sell them so the potheads don't break their bowls. I mean, "tobacco heads". If I could sell them one for like 5 bucks and they could maybe sell it for 10 bucks, that would be sweet. I can make one in like an hour, so that's about what I'm used to getting paid.

Superstar!

I was tagged by Kathleen over at Katydid and Kid to be a part of the Rock star club.

Here's how it rolls:

1) Go to Wikipedia and hit the random link on the left sidebar, under the navigation heading. The first article you get is the name of your band.

2) Go to the website The Quotations Page. The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your album.

3) Go to Flicker's Randomizer feature. The third picture, no matter what it is, is your album cover.

4) Use Photoshop or another photo editing software to create your album cover.

5) Post your album cover on your blog, along with this text. Be sure to nominate at least 5 friends (by leaving comments on their blogs with a link to your post), and tag me, Fight or Flight, by leaving a comment so that I can see what you've created.

Drum roll please....

For those of you wondering what PARD6B is:
Par-6 partitioning defective 6 homolog beta (C. elegans), also known as PARD6B, is a human gene. And I know I was only supposed to use the last 4 or 5 words of my quote, but I couldn't do that to Kurt Vonnegut. I am quite please with my new band. I play the cowbell. I've got a fever, you know, and the only prescription is more cowbell.

My rock stars:

Amoena @ It's About Me, Amoena (as usual! I can't help it, I frakking love her blog!)
Karrie @ Knit Purl Gurl
Laura @ I am a refined young lady!
Victoria @ suffering from nostalgia (as usual!)
and in an attempt to help a friend revive her blog which she hasn't been posting to lately...tsk, tsk
Rebecca @ youer than you

Have fun!