Ballots closing

Last day to vote on Stalkee gear, folks! If you don't vote, you can't complain about the outcome. Or something. Anyway, tomorrow we will have the tally with graphs and percentages and which camp won and what kind of fun activity the Stalker has planned for her stalkees. I guarantee it will be worth some thought.

See you guys tomorrow!

Oh, because the question was asked, the dress from the previous post was purchased from Igigi and if you are...well, round, then you will love this site. All of the dresses are very feminine and just gorgeous. Affordable too. I think I love this site. Toodles!

Pretties!

Short post today. Yes and no post yesterday, for those of you who are observant. Work has just been really hectic and home life has all been about working those work frustrations out on the kitchen floor, bathroom floors, carpets...But hey, clean is good, I suppose. If you're into that sort of thing.

How was your Thanksgiving? My wasn't too bad. Not my favorite holiday, but everyday can't be my favorite. I am, however looking forward to the next few weeks. I'm not decorating for Christmas this year but I am going to my annual viewing of The Nutcracker in Houston. This year we decided to go all out in finery and I found a very lovely dress. Wanna see? Yay!



I am hoping to look half as decent in it. There will be photos of me in the dress. Hopefully, this will be a smidge more flattering than the overstuffed doll outfit from Halloween. *groan* Shoes? Why of course I'll show you the shoes! I got them in yesterday and they are a perfect fit for my tiny fat feet. So elegant.....and sparkly. I will probably fall down a lot from trying to watch my feet as I walk.

I am very excited about getting to dress up. I'm even going to wear makeup and do something to my hair. Maybe. Let's not be hasty. I do need a pedicure before then, though. Ugh.

Anywho, tomorrow is the last day to vote! Check the sidebar. Throw me a vote. Let me know your thoughts. Tell me your deepest secrets. Oh. Sorry. It's that stalker thing. Hehe

Hope everyone has a great day!

Is it Turkey Day yet?

So yeah. A post. Hmmm....I do have tons to post about. Yarn aquisitions, exciting family things found....but they all deserve pictures that I don't yet have. Because I'm lazy, that's why. Well it's a lot of work to lay it all out, get a picture in focus....I'm a Crocheter, not a photographer. Then when I lay it all out there are pooches in the house who think they need to get right in the middle of everything and sniff everything and get right into the photos. No, of course I don't mind posting pictures of them but this isn't a dog blog. Besides. It's Thanksgiving this week. I want a holiday. And I will pout. I will. I have one hella bottom lip you could use as an ashtray when I pout.

In all seriousness, I will spend the week taking pictures for blog fodder and I have a very heart warming story to share when we return to our regularly scheduled (stop laughing at me) blog. Besides, I have to decide what project is going to what house for each individual turkey feast (I have 3 to attend) or if I just want to pack up my 2 current WIPs and the yarn for a 3rd and decide on the project when I get there. So much to do! But then, that too is a story for a future blog post.

So Monday there will be a post, with pictures. Bring tissue if you'd like. Some of you get teary eyed at the drop of a hat, I swear. In the meantime, delurk and say hi! Go vote on the sidebar! Go get some extra cranberry sauce! You know you ran out last year. Hehe

Happy Thanksgiving, my Dear Stalkees!!!!

We have socks, people!!

Ok, we have one sock. And it's not done yet. But I got pretty far in the limited time I have to do the essentials like playing with yarn. But first off, I got the book!



This book rules so far. It really does. You have to know the basics of crochet to be able to follow it, but that's ok. Cuz I just happen to know the basics. Heee! What I like is that it states up front that this book does not cover those basics. If you don't know basic stitches, they are easy enough to look up on the internet, or it's really inexpensive to get the basics books.

What I really like is it's basics I know, but I have already learned 2 new stitches and I'm just to the heel. Once you read through the first basic pattern, you get a grasp of the sock structure and how to make it work with crochet. This one is a top down sock, but there is a pattern for a toe up sock that has me really eager to get to. With a toe up sock, once you get past the heel and into the leg, it is sooooo easy to incorporate some really fun stitches. Not to mention the gorgeous crochet border that will be available to place at the top.

I see some sock design in my future. I cannot tell you how exciting and frightening that is. Exciting because I love making stuff up in crochet. There is such a variety of things you can do once you learn the basics. Frightening because I'm the one who stated on just about every blog I stalk that I did not do socks, nor would I ever do socks. Oops. Anyway, onto the sock so far.

The first is a picture of the back side of the sock to give you an idea of how the yarn is patterning out. I'm not sure I like the colorway. In other pictures, this sock yarn was all bright greens, pinks and turquoise. That's how it looks in real life. There is a butt load of oranges and browns in this yarn once you work with it. Very not me. No bother, I know who they can be a gift for and they'll be perfect for her. No, it's not a stalkee. Nobody needs to panic about finding these bright ass socks in their mailbox.

The next picture is of the short leg of the sock. Check the cuff, people. Yeah, that's crocheted. Can 't tell can ya. Oh sure, once you click on it for the bigger pic you can, but pretty damn nifty just the same. Can ya tell I am loving this sock despite the colorway?


Last, but not least, we have the heel. Yeah. Beauty. I'm ready to start the decrease now for the turn then I get to go for the foot.


Woohoo!!! Feel the excitement folks! I am hoping to have some extra time this next week during the holidays to get more crocheting done. Oh hell, who am I kidding. I wanna play with my sock.

Have a great day!!

Just FYI

There will be a real post later this evening my Dear Stalkees. I didn't get a chance to photo the crocheted sock and the book yet but I am finished with the leg (Shorter than the pattern because I either want a freakishly long sock or a tiny one. Cannot abide by a mid-calf sock.) and the heel flap and I'm ready to start the decreasing for the heel turn. So exciting! Anyway, more on that later this evening when I have the pictures to share.

In the meantime, go vote in the sidebar! Delurk and say Howdy! What is everyone's plans for the upcoming Holidays? How far along are you with Christmas shopping/knitting/crocheting/crafting? Who else gets tired of the stress of gift giving some years and wants to call off that portion of Christmas?

Who else wants to go home, make 2 turkeys for Thanksgiving, a vat of stuffing and just open your doors to whomever stops by? I am going to do that one year. Make 2 huge turkeys, get a couple of long folding tables and chairs, make a bunch of stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes and invite my family, T's family, all our friends and our neighbors to stop by if they want. Maybe bring a side dish or a pie. Easy for everyone, plenty of seating, use paper plates and such for easy clean-up. Thanksgiving done, very little travel done, and nobody has to stress over who is being left out. Heh.

Go vote! Delurk! Have a great afternoon! See you this evening for the real post. :)

Hump Day Anyone?

Happy Wednesday, my Dear Stalkees! First off, I did get the book. A sock has been started. I'm already half done with the leg. I am learning new stitches and this makes for a very happy stalker. There is much glee at Casa de la Stalker.

A request has been placed from a Dear Stalkee who shall remain nameless (See Christina? I can keep my mouth shut.) that I create a Cafe Press store of Stalkee gear. I have a poll on the sidebar to get a guage of what everyone thinks of the idea. If there is a favorable response, there will be a contest for Stalkees to submit a design. The winner would get a prize of...uumm.....well let's just see how it goes. It would be a kick ass prize, though. More info on what the submission would entail once I see how the response goes.

The poll will remain up until the 30th of November.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Brought To You By The Letter F

F is for Finished objects.

I thought I'd show off a couple of objects finished before I ever started the blog and have nothing to do with afghans. Shocker, I know. One of them you can't really see and I hate trying to photograph anything black. You just can't seem to get any details. Anywho, the first object finished is a scarf I made for T. It's exceedingly long and looks just the right length on him, the tall freak. (Love ya Dear.hehe)


You cannot tell it, but this scarf is actually knit. I taught myself to knit before I ever thought of crocheting. Scary, ain't it. It's done in a simple basket weave pattern that I just fell in love with. It's the whole reason I taught myself to knit. I never knew at the time that there was so much more out there. Anyway, it's k4p4 for 4 rows, p4k4 for 4 rows the alternate. That's all folks. Then fringe away and ya have a scarf. He seems to really love it. He's had it for 3 years now. Also we have a pic of Alex, our Lhasa Apso male, modeling the scarf in such a way as to suggest that even cold, wet and miserable from having just come back inside, one can be macho in a scarf.

One cannot (so it would seem) turn to face the damn light at least once. Any attempt to turn Mr. Macho towards the light resulted in getting growled at and a slightly toothy grin. He and I need to have a talk about his place in the blogosphere. I won't have this attitude, even from a top model. It's unseemly.

Moving on, Dear Stalkee Jeanie has the cutest little bears on her site(she's also starting a Sexy Knitters Club. You guys so need to go check it out.), so I thought I'd share the one I made (The bear. Not a sexy knitter. I don't make those.). He's done in a variegated lavender thread and stands all of 2 inches tall. He has crocheted eyelids and even has little thumbs on his arms. I say it's a he because do you see that nose? Looks broken in a fight to me. I never said I could embroider. He has teeny tiny eyes and eye brows. My next one will have beaded eyes I think.



F is for Ferf*cksake!!!!

I did not have my book this weekend that I ordered. There were no crocheting of socks going on. I am slightly miffed at this. Only slightly because all of my rage is over the fact that it sat in Houston for the entire weekend. One damned hour away! One shitty hour! Arrggghhh!!!

On the plus side, according to the website, it was delivered to Casa de la Stalker at 2:18 pm, CST today. It will be on my front porch today. Hopefully, there will be sock making going on tonight and tomorrow. We'll see. Don't make me drive down there. Grrrr.

Hope you guys have a great day!

Fun Stuff Friday #2....Ok, it's mostly weird, but still fun.

Look! It's Friday! And I'm Posting! Not that it's going to be a very long post, but hey, it's something. You people are so picky.

So the first fun thing I have, is an awesome site for a guy that is oh so artistic and skillful. Yeah, it reeks a bit of Halloween, but pumpkins are for Fall so go here and enjoy the pumpkins. They rock.

What the hell is this?? This is just truly frightening. I mean, even I could knit the yarn equivalent of a particularly nasty hair ball, felt it and then sell it for way more than it's worth. Am I missing something? Can someone explain the appeal to me? Are they just luxury cat toys? The Fancy Feast of yarn toys.

Speaking of hairballs....*ahem*......why???? This stuff is all over the internet as "young and hip." This is not "young and hip." This is crap yarn made from what used to be wonderful fiber. I have never spun a day in my life and I could do better. Norma Dear, if you ever complain about your yarn being uneven again, I shall buy something like this, fly to Vermont and beat you silly with it. This yarn seriously pisses me off. I would rather have acrylic yarn anyday over that.

I am hoping that by the time I get home, this will be on my front porch and I will be able to lose myself in it over the weekend. Maybe I'll be able to forget that "yarn" and the hairball toys.

What I did on my blog vacation.

Hi, my name is Stalker Angie and I'm a Happy Hooker. *giggle* Thanks for that, Erin/Pinkerbell. Cracked me right the hell up, that did. I really do have the bestest Stalkees in the world. Supportive, unassuming, non-judgmental and funny as all get out. No, I don't know what that phrase means any more than any other Southerner, but we've always used it and are too stubborn to stop.

So, me and knitting. I guess I'm just stubborn because I really love how knit stitches turn out better than I like most crochet stitches. It's the process that isn't me. I guess I am an instant gratification person. Well, no that's not true either. Not when I took an entire year to make a bedspread for my mom. I don't know what the deal is. I'll start off fine, then I start to get tense, my stitches get tighter and then I get frustrated at how tight the knitting is and so I get more tense.....This is not a relaxing past time for me.

Now, when I made the Sophie purse, I was relaxed through the whole thing. First time color changes, working in the round for the first time, picking up stitches for the first time, and felting for the first time. Not. One. Tense. Moment. Anything else I cast on turns to shit in no time flat. So I hide it away and avoid it. I might even stick it in our front bedroom and avoid the room all together. Somewhere in my house is 4 or 5 cast on knitting projects that I need to find, rip back and save the poor yarn that's crying out to be used for a finished product.

So, when I finally come to my senses and drag my rotting corpse to where I store my crochet hooks, what's the first thing I cast on for? An afghan. I love making the damn things. I love the variety of stitches you can incorporate, the play on colors and the fact that there are no rules. You can take a finished size, chop it up into piecemeal squares and make a bunch of squares in varying size, shape, color and texture. It's just fascinating to me. You end up with something that looks very like a stain glass window, or a painting. Or you can go simpler and end up with something that belongs on the back of the sofa meant to keep you warm on chilly nights. It's something you would have found at your grandmother's house or something she might have given you as a wedding/first house gift. It's home. It's simple. *Ahem* Which is how I'm beginning to sound so we shall move on.

I'm making this afghan for my oldest brother's wife. She is an absolute sweetie but doesn't take crap from anybody. She loves pink and is one of the perkiest people I know. But she's not....froo froo. She's just good people. I honestly wish I knew her better, but they live near Sacramento, California. It's a bit of a drive for a weekend visit. So anyway, I think these colors suit her perfectly.

I need 40 squares and they will be set on a diagonal so that I have a nice funky edge that will have (dear God, no! Not the fringe!) tassels on the points. Lovely thick multi colored tassels. I am not fringing an afghan and it's tacky and when you try to snuggle, fringe tickles. Blah. Here's a close up of one of the squares. Tangy, no?


Now, during my mind's hiatus, there was some serious stash enhancing going on. More that what I already showed you. Not my fault! A yarn store opened here and I have to avoid it like the plague lest I get sucked into it's yarny goodness and come home with a super duper brown bag (already happened once) that you could tote a small child around in. If, ya know, you were into toting small children around in brown bags. Weirdos.

So what came home with me? Well some of what I already had, but I also snagged this.


Mmmmmm....Wool. This lovely stuff was going to become another Sophie bag with black and silver handles. The mind has been changed. It shall now become this. Sooo pretty. I see a black ribbon with white or silver polka dots. Or a solid silver ribbon. Or so many other fun things. Hell, maybe a pink ribbon with black polka dots. I could go wild!!

I also made the mistake of discovering Elann.com. No seriously, bad mistake. Do you see these?

Those are cotton yarns. I have 8 skeins of the sage green and 10 of the cobalt blue. The sage (Pakucho organic cotton) for my mom and her olive skin tone, the cobalt blue (you can read the label) for me and my pasty pale complexion. So divine. And speaking of divine, I also got the following from Elann.


I have 8 skeins of that crack yarn and it is pure alpaca, baby. Worship the softness. Write songs in it's honor and then weep when you sing them for you are unworthy to praise the softness. I really like this yarn.

And now, my dear Stalkees, it is confession time. I am afraid I have deceived you. I have done something I swore never to do. I had lost my fiber way. I...I was desperate. I needed something to fill this void I had. I know it doesn't mean much, but I was miserable the whole time. It's a fiasco.

*sigh* I cast on a sock.


This is as far as I got. Those DPNs really are torture. And here, in all it's glory, the yarn I am was using and it's evil counterpart.


And that's not even the full depth of my shame. There's more. I went on a sock yarn binge. I thought, maybe if I could make a sock I would like knitting. Here, I lay bare my soul and my stash to you.


I know you are asking what the hell I plan to do with 4 skeins of sock yarn. Never fear, Christina comes to the rescue yet again. She has found me sock patterns in crochet! A book was ordered. This book. And then she found me this pattern that just cries out to be made. I will have these socks.

Yes Virginia, there is a Yarn Diety. (Update: a Diety is a Deity for crocheters who cannot spell and/or type. Shut it. hehe)

Hope everyone has a great day!.

Coping

Ok, yeah I missed the post on Friday. I mostly lost track of time throughout the day due to how busy I was. I also think a part of me really hates seeing that picture of me on the blog. It's a horrid picture and completely unflattering. It also makes me really come to terms with my roundness. Now, you would think this wouldn't be a shock. I knew the clothes were getting bigger. I knew I was having a harder and harder time being active. You just have to understand the last real photo I had taken was at my wedding seven years ago. Seeing anything current is...well...Shocking.

According to this article, I have the equivalent of 2 medium size turkeys (Potentially deadly turkeys. Who knew??) hanging on my chest. If that's the case, I have an entire cow hanging off my hips and a decent sized goose on each thigh. I'm a fucking barnyard. I think it's time to start killing us some chickens, Maw. Yes, I have a plan for doing something about it, but more on that later. This isn't a diet and exercise blog. Although it might become one and I don't blame you for running as fast as you can from the crazy lady I will become.

On the yarn front, I've had to do some serious rethinking. I know that some of you may go into some sort of apoplectic seizure so I am warning you, this is not for the faint of heart.

I don't think I like knitting.

I'll give you a moment.

Yes, I know how to knit. I am not a Knitter. Hell, I'm not even a knitter. I'm a Crocheter who knows how to knit. I have begun avoiding my projects because they are all cast on needles. Not a hook in sight. I picked up a crochet hook on Friday evening to test a theory. I grabbed some acrylic (Hang in there guys, just take deep breaths. I know this is a lot thrown at you at once.) from the stash and went to town. It's the most relaxed I've been in months. It's the most at peace I have felt in months. I wanted to cry it felt so good to have that hook in my hand. I've already completed 1/8th of an afghan for my brother's wife. I found myself being torn between Guild Wars and yarn for the first time in a long time.

I am having fun with my yarn again.

This was not an easy conclusion to come to. I have even been hiding projects from my Dear Stalkees. It's time to come clean to the blogging world and I will do so. Next post. Besides, I have to quit giving Christina things to hold over me and beat me with when I don't post on time. Hehe

Next post: What the Stalker has been doing behind (almost) everyone's blog backs.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Halloween: The Aftermath

Ok, First rule is no scrolling down to see the pictures. Stop that! You have to read all the garbage first. And yes, this post does actually include a picture of the elusive Stalker. I said no scrolling! Cheaters. Yes, Ye Olde Stalker is short as shit and round, but not as round as that costume makes me look. Sheesh. I look like an overstuffed Holly Hobbie. Of course, this costume does contain about 1,000 yards of fabric. It was meant to be full. It was not meant to make me look full. But, I still look cute as hell. Heee. This post also contains pics of the Mary Jane shoes I made for the costume and this blog is turning into a playground for someone with a foot fetish. Yikes.

So, without further ado, here's....Wait! I have something else to show first. *Insert evil laugh here* Dear Stalkee Christina sent me a lovely gifty in the mail. I got an adorable card with a picture of the famous Daisy on it. Isn't she adorable??




On the back of the card is the story of Daisy and how her mother came to be at the shelter....Daisy is a very lucky girl. It's a sweet story with a happy ending for a very rotten pooch. :)

Inside the card was an even better gift. Christina sent me a tatted bookmark. It's beautiful and I envy her tatting abilities. Someday I get to teach her to crochet and she gets to teach me to tat. It will happen. Oh yeah, here's the bookmark in all it's, if a bit blurry, glory. I never claimed to be a photographer.



I am a lucky Stalker indeed. Now we shall get to the shoes. Luckily I wrote down what I did because the original pattern I found was obviously for people with very skinny feet. The pattern can be found here. Oh and I used an I hook instead of a K for a tighter finish. First the top view.

And then a side view of both of them. No I am not really that pale. I was still in costume. :P



I am really proud of how these turned out. And don't tell all of the die hard Knitters out there, but I really missed crocheting.

So gang, I guess that's about it. Time to wrap up....Huh? No no no you don't wanna see that silly picture of me. It's really not worth it. Imagination is so much better. Wouldn't you rather discuss butt boils? No? Fine. Here. *grumble grumble*

Next post, Fun stuff Friday. Maybe. We'll see. I'm so lazy unpredictable.

Hope everyone has a great day!