Matters of Great Import

1. The Llama Song
I am going to be singing this in my head all day today. And now, so are you. Because the orange slayed the rake. Think about that one.

2. The Walker Treasury Project Hosts a Contest
Yes, friends and neighbors, a contest! Head over to The Walker Treasury Project and check out the contest page. You can win fabulous prizes just for commenting! Or for swatching up a pattern from one of the treasuries and posting for the first time during the month of April! Or for taking a really good picture! The possibilities are almost endless. I’m donating a bunch of MOHAIR yarn as prizes (it’s good stuff, it just isn’t my scene, man), and Karrie is donating some world-famous moustache buttons (god, I love them!). You need to enter the contest.

3. This Is What Spring Looks Like Where I Am

Yes, my town still has its Christmas tree up. I took this picture last week, when it was still March, but still — it was March, and Christmas had been over for three whole months. ‘Tis no longer the season, and we’re not a town known for its year-round jollitude. Let’s just put it away.

4. Work Gives Me Nightmares
I sort of woke up this morning freaking out (but slowly, in that half-asleep way that seems all fast-paced in your head but is really just you drooling on your pillow and twitching) about the software switchover going on this week at work. I’m so delighted to discover I’m this immersed in my job.

5. I’m going to see the Harlot tonight!
I’ve planned my knitting, plotted my route, and taken the day off work (in the midst of software switchovers, we are in life). I’m going to purchase a few necessities, pack a lunch/dinner/meal thingy, and get to Oak Brook by 5pm (at the latest). Stephanie’s not scheduled to start talking until 7:30, but Borders is only setting out 100 chairs. Foolish muggles *shakes head*. When will they learn? And don’t these people research anything about their speakers?

I’ll report back tomorrow(-ish) with pictures from the Dada camera (hopefully it’ll take a few decent shots, what with the event being indoors at night — its favorite environment) and tales of my exploits. Ah yes, the exploits.

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Birthday Round-up, many days late

Yes, it’s been a while since last I posted. I am a bad blogger, and I deserve no cookie. I have a list of excuses, though:

1. It’s been cold. It was -14 here (without the windchill) on Sunday night, and yesterday was the same and when it is cold I apparently cannot blog. (I realize that -14 might seem downright balmy to those in more northern (read: arctic) climes, but it’s a big deal here in Northern Illinois) And now it is snowing.

(you can click the picture to bigginate, but I don’t know why you would. It’s just all white and snowy. I could have saved bandwidth by just leaving a gap in the prose and saying “this is an entirely accurate depiction of what it looks like outside my window this morning.”)

2. The debacle on Sunday. I have been weeping. Let us speak no more of this.

3. I wanted my post about the Walker Treasury Project to stay up for a few more days so everyone (all 9 of you) could see it.

4. Work has eaten my brain the last week or so. I’m working on two big projects that are coming up next week and next month, all the windows in the building are being replaced, the plaster is being repaired, and the fire alarms keep going off several times a day. I have developed a mean twitch over my right eye, and haven’t felt much like sitting down at the computer after sitting down at a computer all day at work.

Okay, those are my excuses for not posting, and here is my Birthday Round-up:

Friday the 26th saw me at my lady-parts-doctor’s office (except I see a nurse practitioner, but “nurse’s office” doesn’t sound the same as “doctor’s office.” hm.) and I got weighed, which was a sobering experience (I am now extra-committed to going to the gym every day for the rest of my life), then got asked questions about my lifestyle, habits, concerns. And they let me keep knitting. I love them, even though I did have to endure The Speculum of Doom.

After my appointment Nick picked me up and gave me a present that was not at all birthday related

(not all gone, see above re: weight)
Three kinds of dark chocolate, not for my birthday, but because I had to endure The Speculum of Doom, and because he knows I need a little comfort after that. This man is amazing.

After I cried a little (which made him say, “Honey, it’s just chocolate!”) we went to the Yarn Sellar (website-less, sadly) where I spent my entire gift certificate on a Nifty Swift!

(I also bought a ball winder, but through the mail. I got it yesterday. I am in yarn heaven.)

I love this swift. I love that it sits on a table and does not need clamping. I love that it’s made entirely of birch. I love that it’s cute. I loff it, in fact. And with its new friend, Windey von Ball-Winder, I finally put up my Wedding Day yarn:

It looks like I took the picture through a veil or something, doesn’t it? I didn’t, my camera is just being an ass.

Okay, so after the Yarn Sellar we went to the India House (and if you’re ever in Rockford, let me know so I can take you to the India House) and it was amazing. Then we went to Best Buy and I bought an iPod with my birthday money. And this thing is damn cute, let me tell you.

I had to kiss it when I took it out of the packaging, it was so precious. I’m so happy about this little buddy and its magical ability to make my workouts more fun and enticing and also to make the workday go by faster. (Oh, and the book underneath? My own gift to me — the Second Treasury by Barbara Walker.)

The next day we had dinner with my family (as my sister Laura’s natal day is six days before mine, we try to combine forces) and my mom gave me an Ott-Lite!

And it is like natural daylight indoors! It’s made my knitting life a little easier on my eyeballs.

And I don’t have a picture of it, (see above, re: camera acting like ass) but Margaret sent me a sweet bookmark in the shape of a frog made from recycled Thai telephone directories. I loff it.

This concludes our Birthday Round-up. Thank you for playing, please see the secretary on the way out for your prize. Next time I’ll talk about the bechamel sauce that tasted like a sugar cookie, and why that is never good.

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We Interrupt This Blog!

For a special News Update! [important newscaster voice]

There’s a new community knitting project in the Knitblogville! Every knitter knows that Barbara Walker’s Treasuries are indispensable. We use them constantly for designing, for help with a difficult pattern, and for pure inspiration. Sometimes, though, the mostly black-and-white and small pictures keep us from seeing the full potential of a pattern. That’s where the Walker Treasury Project comes in. We’re gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books and putting them on the internet as a visual aide to this wonderful collection. Help your fellow knitter by choosing a pattern from a particular book, working up a nice big swatch in a light-colored yarn, and posting it to our blog. We can help you label and categorize everything. Also, keep in mind that we’re not posting the pattern (no violations of copyright here), just the picture!

This was all Nicole‘s idea (kudos, girl!), but it’s up to the rest of the commuknitty (ha! that has never been used before!) to make it work. Nicole, Alison, and I are moderators (and we could use a few more if anyone is interested) and we can steer you through the process if you should need steering. Check out the About page and the FAQ page and help knitters ’round the world get a better look at the Walker Treasuries.

Want to contact us? Email walkertreasuryproject ATTYatATTY gmail DOTTYdotDOTTY com.

(Next time: Birthday present run-down!)

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