boogaj

Beauty Salon!

Today was Maddie's first trip to the salon and my first trip in over a year.  Just look at the state that our hair was in. . .

Okay, it's difficult to take a good photo of yourself in the mirror, but my hair really does look that bad -- it just grew out like a weed and I did nothing to stop it!  Shame on me.  And we've been trying to grow out Maddie's bangs. . .

and the back has just been growing too. . .

I don't have a good after picture of Maddie's haircut from the front, but look at here's the back:

It looks very stylish!  And mine is *so* much better.  A mirror photo really doesn't do it justice. . .

So now I have a stylist that I like and I'm not afraid to go get my hair cut!  Yeah!  (About 3 years ago I had a very bad haircut that turned me off from going to salons.  I actually broke a sweat when I called to make the appointments for Maddie & I.  Whew.)

About copyright. . .

Hillary says it so well. . .

Maddie Turned 6 (and I went AWOL)

Maddie turned 6 yesterday -- I can hardly believe it.  I feel like I'll be sending her off to college before I know it!  The preparations for her party and a slew of other errands that had to get done kept me *very* busy all last week.  (New cell phones, a visit to my stockbroker -- thank goodness she's my mom!, finally to DSW to get a pair of shoes, off to the bank & grocery -- you get the idea.)

The party was a casual affair -- as I get older, I realize that:  a) I am *not* Martha Stewart.  b)  My family and I have more fun when we have casual get togethers.  c)  Even a simple get together leaves me exhausted and costs a good chunk of change!

So, we had chips and dip and a Sponge Bob cake that I did not make myself.  And we ordered carry out.  My Mom even brought crafts!  And almost eveyone did them -- photographic proof:

That's my Mom, Maddie and her cousin Landon -- Maddie and Landon are only 6 months apart and they play together so well!  Both are only children (and while Heidi plans to have more kids one day, I don't) so it's really nice to have them be so close.

And these are two of my sisters -- Heidi and Amanda and Amanda's husband, Kevin -- yes, he's crafting too!  We like him -- he married my sister and now he's gone and knocked her up!  My other sister and brother-in-law weren't crafting, but they were busy running around after a little one who just started walking recently, so they were quite busy in our non-baby proofed house!

Maddie was very gracious and exclaimed in delight over each gift -- is it the age?  She was very sweet!  And one gift she especially loved was her very own American Girl doll.  Oh my -- she is growing up too quickly, I tell you!  (These dolls are pretty incredible -- I almost want one for myself.  Sometimes I'm so glad that I have a little girly-girl!)

Yesterday was her actual birthday and Pete took the day off from work so that we could do something fun.  Maddie choose the DuPage Children's Museum.  We had actually never been there and I don't know why -- it's not very far and it was so much fun!  If you live in the Chicago area, it's really worth the trip.  (They even had a "wood-shop" area for older kids.) 

They had some really incredible "light" exhibits as well as building, water, air, math and other things.  Really quite fun.

Whew.  So that's where I've been.  I'm working on a new knitting pattern for the next issue of Yarn Forward and having a terrible time -- I've ripped it out 5 times, but I think I have a new plan.  (I also have an article in the current issue!)  And other than that, I've just been trying to find a few minutes to breathe.  Things should settle down after next weekend -- which is going to be insane once again.  I'm just dreaming of November -- November, November, November. . . .

8 minutes

First I saw this on Bonne Marie's site, then Carolyn's and now Cara's.  My resistance is weak. . . (I have 8. . .wait -- now 5 minutes to complete this. . .

1. FIRST NAME? Julie

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Grandpa = Julius

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I don't remember exactly, but I think I teared up during Oprah this morning when she was talking about Darfur.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not particularly -- it's very messy.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Tough question -- I'm mostly vegetarian.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure!

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Um, Boogaj?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope -- had them removed last fall -- yeah!!

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Kashi GoLean Crunch, although they have a new vanilla almond version I found at Target once that was even better, but I haven't seen it again.  Hmmm. . .

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes, but only my workout shoes have ties.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Sure.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Like Cara, I enjoy the vanilla base -- and Ben & Jerry's is prob my fav brand.

14. SHOE SIZE? 9 1/2

15. RED OR PINK? Pink (don't hate me Bono!)

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Clinical Depression

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dad

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? What?  What does this even mean?

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black work out pants and a orchid sports bra (just finished work out -- thus short on time -- need to shower!)

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? See cereal question -- oh, with flaxseed & skim milk

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Maddie chatting downstairs.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? red-orange (no idea why)

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Origins ginger scented stuff

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Pete

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Things they say -- ideas

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Heck yeah!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? COFFEE!

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Um,  I don't really like the sporting events.

29. EYE COLOR? Blue

30. HAT SIZE? huh?

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope.  glasses when I read

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate, noodles, baked goods

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Neither -- dramas maybe?

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? winter

36. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocolate

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ??

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ??

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? See yesterday's post

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? my mouse (duh)

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? not much -- new Nintendo DS game -- Harvest Moon DS!

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? ??

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?France

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? ??

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?  A college town in IL

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? See above. Out of time. .  .

Brrrrr. . . . Book Reviews

First of all, let me just say that it's gotten very chilly here.  I'm sitting in my office with a blanket on my lap because I'm so cold.  It's dark and drizzling and a rather blustery day as Pooh would say.  A good day for getting under the covers and reading, if you ask me.  And that's exactly what I've been doing lately.  So without further ado -- here are my latest book reviews. . .

War Trash by Ha Jin seemed like a sure thing -- after all, I absolutely loved Waiting.  I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint.  I'm not one for novels about war, so I was a little worried but to tell you the truth, this is mostly about the main character's time spent in a POW camp -- not about combat per se (although there is plenty of fighting in the prison camp).

There is something about Ha Jin's style of writing that sucks me in and makes me get so involved with the characters.  I could hardly put this book down and while it was not as good as Waiting (which is such an incredible book, I can't imagine him writing another book to match it!) I would definitly recommend this book based on the writing alone.  Then add to that the insight that you are given into the life of the Chinese POW's during the Korean war -- something which I knew nothing about before reading this book -- and this becomes a must read.

On a completely different note, I devoured Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book 1) by Lian Hearn this past weekend (I do mean devoured -- reading it in just over 24 hours.)  Now I didn't remember hearing about this book before, but it turns out that Amy recommended it to me way back in January.  So let me tell you how I found out about this book (again) first.  We (Pete & I) had the good fortune of having Pete's Mom (Dot -- after whom I have named the Dorothy Bag, BTW) watch Maddie this past weekend.  So what do you think Pete & I did?  We went up to Chicago and went to a book store, of course!  A wonderful, little, independent bookstore called the Book Cellar.  They have lots of reviews written about books and I immediately realized that "Katie" and I had similar tastes, so I walked around the shop reading all the cards that she wrote her reviews on and this was one of them.  When we went to check out, I mentioned to the woman sitting at the register how I loved Katie's reviews, blah, blah, blah and she smiled and said "I'm Katie!"  So thank you again, Katie!  You were right about this book.  (Now go find your local bookshop!)

Okay, on to the review.  So Across the Nightingale Floor was in the "Science Fiction" section, but it is what you would call fantasy, I suppose.  There aren't any dragons, or magical creatures and it's not set in middle earth -- it's somewhat different from other fantasy and sci-fi that I've read before.  The setting is feudal Japan and and the characters are nicely developed.  There are warring clans and murder, plots & plans, assassins and secret love affairs.  It's great stuff, really.  I'm looking forward to reading the second book -- Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2) -- which is already out.  (One of the joys of reading a series after it's already been out for awhile -- no waiting around for the next book -- yipee!)

I also bought a few other books at Book Cellar and will probably start on one of those next, although I'm also reading Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, which is Haruki Murakami's new collection of short stories -- strange, but interesting.  If you enjoy his novels, I suggest picking up a copy!

Yeah!

Risa has stepped in to take over the ring -- Thank you, Risa!! She already has a co-host and is working on putting together her team. Whew! I'm so glad to know that the ring will continue & I'm very happy that Risa, who has been one of my ring checkers, has taken it over. I'm very relieved!

To those who want to host the Knitting Blogs Web Ring. . .

Okay. . . more info. . . 

First of all, Risa had a great idea -- joint hosting.  There are already a bunch of ring checkers.  But I think it would be great if 2 (or 3 or 4) of you decided to host the ring together.  It takes a lot of time and it's big enough to break up.  You could each concentrate on a section -- like one person could take sites 1-500 and another could take 500-1000 and one could be in charge of new applicants maybe? 

I've never really logged my time, but here's how it would go if things went smoothly:

There are about 1000 sites in the ring at any given time.  That’s 20 sections of 50 sites.  So your ring checkers will ideally be sending you a ring check about every 2 weeks.  Usually a ring check has between 1 and 10 problem sites listed (average of 5 maybe?  I've never kept track).  I would say it takes about an hour for me to go through each ring check -- email each person, move each site to the queue or do whatever else I need to do -- so that would be about 5-10 hours a week right there. 

Now if the ring is open, you have new sites to check.  I usually don’t check sites every day because I just don’t have the time!  But it takes about an hour for 5-10 sites, depending on if they have the code up and meet the requirements.  (You also have to go through and delete spam now -- and sites that join when the ring is closed, etc. . . )

In addition, there are emails pretty much every day.  This is variable, but increases a lot when the ring is open, or just after it has been open.  It can eat up a lot of time. 

So as you can see, even with all my helpers, it takes several hours each week -- so I think it would be great if several of you got together and took this on as a group thing.  I'm going to stay on until January 1st, so I'll be happy to help you out and get you started!  Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves in the comments.

Who wants to be ring mom?

I'm announcing it here and now, so that I can't change my mind. . . or come up with some way to justify keeping it. . . but there is no way.  If you listen to Confessions of a Work at Home Mom, you may already know that I am overwhelmed.  Make that Overwhelmed!  I am so busy that I don't have time to enjoy the things that I like to do anymore.  And I know what that means -- it is time to simplify.  So I'm turning over control of the ring to a willing soul on January 1st.  Who wants it?

(I hate giving up control of the ring.  But what can I do?  I'm exhausted and depressed.  I need time to play with Maddie and hang out with Pete and do some crafts -- maybe even read a book.   Something must give.  Maddie wants time to play more card games -- I cannot resist her.)

Spin to Knit

I was planning to have an interview with Shannon Okey, the author of Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn on my blog today, but she's traveling on her book signing tour and we weren't able to connect.  So, I thought I would give you my usual book review as a consolation prize  :)

First let me say that I think there are not nearly enough spinning books out there.  (I've talked a little bit about some of the available books on episode 4 of my podcast.)  So when I first heard about Shannon's book, I was pretty excited.  And it does not disappoint! 

The first part of the book is filled with lots of good information on spinning and includes tons of photos -- yeah!  I think this would be incredibly useful to any new spinner and I wish that I had this book when I was getting started.  It covers both spindle and wheel spinning -- which I also liked.

Then there are the projects.  There is quite a bit of variety -- from small to large projects using everything from lace to bulky weight yarns.  Shannon has also visited quite a few spinners and people in the spinning business and highlights them in the book -- sometimes including patterns from them which adds to the variety. 

So I guess you can tell that I am really enjoying this book.  I've actually picked it up and looked through it several times -- always finding something new (just noticed dishwasher dyeing!)

If you want to hear more, take a look at the other stops on the Spin to Knit blog tour! 

*** Update ***
Shannon & I were able to get in touch this morning and I am happy to bring you the interview. . .

How long have you been a knitter?  How about a spinner?

I've known how to knit since I was a teenager. However, knowing how and actually doing, let alone doing well, are two different things! I started knitting again in 2001, knitting seriously in 2002 and spinning in 2002. By "knitting seriously," I mean finishing an actual project -- the first thing I ever tried to knit was a scarf and it bored me so much I ripped it out a million times. That yarn's still in my stash, actually.

What made you decide to write this book?

Interweave asked me if I'd be interested while we were discussing another book I wanted to do, and I jumped at the chance. I love everything they do!

What’s your favorite project from the book?

The Laurabelle Swedish Heart shrug, which is named after my (Swedish) grandmother. Although I think the next time I knit one, I'm going to make the body yarn something lighter-weight, maybe even a Cascade 220 or Tahki Donegal Tweed...or, the Elsbeth Lavold Silky Tweed I just bought this week...gorgeous stuff!

What’s your favorite fiber to spin?

Wool, hands down. It's so versatile!

What is your best piece of advice for a knitter who wants to start spinning?

Just do it! If you start with a spindle, the investment is minimal, and if you end up loving it, you can always branch out with more equipment, etc. Don't worry about what's coming off the wheel or spindle at first, because the learning curve is a lot less steep than with knitting, in my opinion. I noticed that I picked up spinning much, much faster than knitting, because if you sit down and think about just what exactly you're trying to do, it makes a lot of sense. Broken down, it's: pull the fiber into a thinner strand that can be twisted and wound onto the spinning implement until there's enough of it to ply or knit! Simpler than all the needle-in-yarn-around-needle-through-pull-it-off-ing you need to master just for knitting stockinette, no?

Can I be an honorary member?

Things have been so crazy busy here for. . . well, for quite a while I suppose.  So much so, that I completely forgot to sign up for Socktoberfest (is it too late?  Can I still sign up?)  I have finished a pair of socks though, so I'm hoping that I can be an honorary member anyway!

These socks are for Pete and are knit with Socks that Rock heavyweight.  There's more info about them back here.

I'm afraid that's all I have for today -- busy, busy!  But come back tomorrow -- I'll have an interview with Shannon Okey about her new book Spin to Knit!

***Update***  I guess it's not too late to sign up for Socktoberfest!!  I just did it and I'm on the list!  (I'm #793 right now -- there's like almost 2000 people signed up!  wow!)

Mailorder #3 -- book arts

I am so behind! I just received mailorder #4 and realized that mailorder #3 still was unfinished. (In fact, so are #1 & #2 -- shhhh. . . . ) So in an effort to get things going, I pulled out all my back issues and cut out all the recipes and put them together -- then I decided to get down to work on this adorable needlestitch booklet.

I love book arts! In fact, I'm contemplating taking some classes at Columbia College's Center for Book & Paper Arts in the near future. So this project was right up my alley. I had never sewn a signature together with my sewing machine before, but it was quick and easy and worked out quite well. Amy is such a genius! I love mailorder!

Vest -- Done!

You may remember that I was starting a vest a while back despite my sweater knitting phobia (malaise?)  It was for a good cause though and while I haven't shown any progress pics, I have been working away on it! 

Now knitting for yourself or your family is a different beast than charity knitting.  There were times when I really thought of stuffing this thing in a bag and throwing it in a closet, but I persevered!  The crochet edging nearly did me in, I tell you.  But the buttons were actually fun -- I mean, they actually lined up on the first try and buttoned and everything!

When I finished last night as Pete was reading Maddie her bedtime story, I did feel a sense of accomplishment.  I went and tried it on Maddie and Pete said it looked cute and that he could actually see Maddie wearing a vest like it.  This made me so happy!  Why?  Because if he liked it -- then some other parent out there would like it too and would feel good having their child wear it.  I hope it makes some child a little warmer and I only wish I had more confidence and time so that I could have made a sweater with sleeves.  Ah well, maybe next time. . .

• afghans for Afghans -- 900 sweaters project
• In-VEST for Peace pattern

Pincushion Challenge Gallery is up and so is the swap info!

Go take a look at the recycled pincushion gallery! Very cool stuff there. I've also put up all the swap info too!