Tightrope KAL Week 2: What Progress!

It's amazing to me how quickly I can complete a project if I don't let myself get distracted by anything else. To wit, I've already finished the first Tightrope sock for the KAL! On Friday night I ended up watching a bunch of Home Movies (the show, not actual home movies) while Tyler recorded a new song. When he emerged from his studio, he had most of the song recorded and I had finished a sock! Yes, it's a wild life we lead...

Actually, this last week has been pretty eventful:

Instagram: Socks-in-progress

Tyler gave his two weeks' notice at his crappy job; several places are now hiring that would be a much better fit for him - and closer to home, too, so it seems like a good time to take the plunge.
We got good news from our tax preparer - we'll be getting a refund from the feds that will help us buy a second computer! This means that Tyler can pick up sidework with the transcription place he sometimes works for, as well as website design work (he recently re-designed our band's website - check it out!)
I found out that I get to attend the famed Designer Dinner that Marly Bird hosts every year at TNNA in Columbus - something I've been hoping would happen!
I had a few technology-related meltdowns, the worst one being that Firefox decided to completely spazz out and delete all of our bookmarks. Something is seriously wrong with it, but I don't have time to mess around with it to figure out just what - I just switched to Google Chrome finally. The meltdown occurred as we finally switched to a wifi network at home (we'd previously had a usb thingy). Awesome, yes, but of course the setup was a little dicey. All in all, I spent way too much time on the phone with Clear this week, but at least the end result is worth the inconvenience.
Instagram finally made an app for the Android platform. Great day in the morning! In general, I don't find myself pining away for an iPhone or specific apps, but Instagram always seemed like it would be fun to play around with, and now I finally get to. One of my first photos was of my KAL socks-in-progress, naturally.
Friday night we had vegan banh mi for dinner! Perhaps I need to get out more, but I think this counts as newsworthy. There's an awesome place off the beaten path (read: a hike from the blue line stop) called Bon Bon that makes the most delicious Tofu Lemongrass banh mi. They also have non-vegan items - actually a pretty extensive menu - and besides being super-tasty, they are also reasonably priced.
We ended up buying Pitchfork tickets again this year - just to go on Sunday, when pretty much all of our favorite bands are playing (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Beach House...). Man oh man, I hope it's not 100+ degrees like last year, that was brutal.

Oh yes, back to the socks - they are flying off my needles! I will probably have them done by the end of next weekend, if you can believe it. Which is great, because then I can finish my second Trilobite sock (more on that later this week) and get ready for the two KALs I'll be participating in for May (more on those later, too!). Is there a KAL 12-step program? I think I'm addicted!

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b

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