Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Dude!

Episode 2 is available! Anddddddd I figured out Itunes! Holy crap they don't make any of this stuff easy!

Download here for Mypodcast.com
And according to Itunes (which I'm not trusting) it's available here from Itunes

The sounds quality is pretty horrible. I'm sorry. I researched and the pops and crackles were likely from a usb interference problem with the separate Mic, so we used the mic built into my computer which picked up a hard drive whine (am I repeating myself? Do I really care anyway?) So I ran it through filters repeatedly to fix the whine and it didn't fix, but improved a tiny bit.

I'm so sorry! We're going to go back to the external mic and do all we can to remove the clicks

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Whew! I have been SO BUSY!

With the knitting, perhaps not so much, but with life.

I did start The Secret of the Stole III and completed Clue 1. I know, I know. It was a little bit late, but I had to dye my yarn ya'll!
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It looks solid blue, but it's actually blue, teal, green and purple with sparkly teal beads. I'll get a better photo after clue 2. Like I said, just stinkin' busy.

I also dyed up the yarn for MS4. I haven't picked beads for it yet, but I'm actually thinking of maybe gold. I guess I won't know for sure until I start putting them on.

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I finished one BFF sock, I'll show those when the whole pair is done. Oh and I am almost finished spinning up the Shetland. Tonight I'm picking up a commission spin so let's hope she didn't get me corriedale (which I don't enjoy spinning), but oh well. When you get paid, you make do right?

And whew the podcast thing! Getting started is a big job. After feedback from our first podcast, I figured out how to fix pops and crackles and now I have a whine in episode 2! I've run bajillion filters and stuff on it. Next time we'll make sure it's not present in the original recording (I have a pretty darn good idea where it's coming from). See the pops and crackles were coming from USB interface problems (I think), so when we switched to laptop mic to avoid using the USB, we got a whine from the spinning hard drive.

Damn!

Anywho I have improved, but not fixed the original track. Next time will be better with the whine (however I anticipate a new problem. No biggie! Newbies should expect to work this kind of stuff out right?)

Episode 2 will be available tomorrow likely. Hope you come and listen. Coggie went to Stitches and reports back!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Hey Guess What!

One of the secret projects I've been working on is a new Podcast I'm Co-Hosting.

It's called the High Fiber Diet and you can download it here!

Show notes will be up later today and located here.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Cheering up

First, is it weird to send a much loved blogger a gift when you don't really know them? I know this is not me, but I think sometimes you sort of hear a little voice inside you that tells you to give something. Maybe just best to do and not think so much huh?

I am feeling weird. I had a really good day and made progress on something new that's going on here, but I am feeling sad about grown women who act like sixth graders. I haven't slept much the last two nights, so maybe it's making me maudlin. I love Ravelry, but childish people can ruin even the best things. How can you be part of a group who is way more interested in what other groups are doing than in making their own group awesome and making it grow creatively? Do people seriously spend all this time playing victim instead of doing something on their own? Get with the program people and look what you can do with yourself instead of tearing down others!

Oh well, I love Ravelry and childish mentality will live forever, so I guess it's best to remember that I am oblivious (and give thanks for that).

I was gonna wait to blog about these later because my secret project is interrupting me from starting anything new. These were going to be along as soon as I cast on a new pair of socks to show, but they cheered me up. Last week I mentioned a cute little sock bag designed by CoggieTM. My mom made me TWO of them! You know, just in case I ever have more than one sock on the needle.

I am so worth it.

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And what a good cheer up (she brought them last weekend) from my mom!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Quickie

Well I sold four skeins tonight, and got orders for two more (one is the big skein for a shawl) AND my first wholesale client people! My yarns are going to be in a real, honest to goodness SHOP!

Better get some while it's still hot!

www.carpedyeem.blogspot.com

Sometimes God just throws ya a bone, huh?

Stuff

The situation with my dad continues to get more surreal. He threatened me this morning with some vague "I am saving these emails in case I need to print them out later." Heck I have nothing to hide. If I thought anybody else wanted to bother to read them, I would be fine posting it all here, but really.

I almost cried about it this morning while the Chief and I were discussing it, but not quite. I wonder what that means that it can't even make me cry anymore. It's probably not good huh?

In more fun news. I've got a secret project which i can't post here. It's a holiday gift for someone who reads my blog so you won't see it until January!

I also Cast On for Ice Queen for another holiday gift, but I don't believe the recipient reads my blog.

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And I've nearly finished a scarf for my MIL which will also be a Christmas gift. She doesn't know about "the blog" either.

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And there's a story there.

Below, you will see my handspun Swallowtail. When that yarn was all spun and plied, I used my swift (which I love) to hank it. My lovely swift is set up so I can hank, or unhank various sizes of skein/hanks or whatever. It goes all the way up to a 72" hank. (sorry if you use the metric system. What's that like just a little bit under 2 metres right? I'm not a good converter). Anywho, so I count as I wind ONTO my swift and then double the number for the yardage. Perfect plan right? Well I think I screwed up my counting, like by A LOT! I thought I only had 750 yds. So I picked the Swallowtail which needs like 658 or something like that (can't remember). I thought it would be perfect and I'd still have nearly 20% more just in case. (Cause you know, I like to call it close and live on the edge). Well, I finished the swallowtail and had a bunch of yarn left, so I weighed the rest of the cake.

The rest of the cake weight 1.7 oz, and I had started out with 4. WTH!!?? Somehow I was way way off! Anywho, so I had a lot leftover and I figured the MIL would love a scarf. She seems to enjoy the knitted items and has received a pair of handspun, hand dyed socks that she liked. She has wee, tiny feet so it's so easy to knit her socks!

The Michigan Fibre Fest is this weekend, and I am getting excited! I'm meeting with the local West Michigan Group for lunch and a bit of spinning. Hope to see you all there! I'll be wearing a black shirt and a blue plaid skirt.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Lots of pictures

This was the first laceweight yarn that I spun myself. When i posted it on Ravelry (because I was so very proud), someone said I shouldn't worry about the unevenness. It kind of deflated my excitement. I thought it was pretty even. Maybe I'm not doing it right, but I always just go for staying in the RANGE of the appropriate weight. Now that I've finished my Swallowtail Shawl from it, i don't feel deflated anymore
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(sorry about the glare. I thought the black would be good as a background with this project, but it's shiny)

I also finished the Suffolk. It is a little bit nubby but only because it is roving, but not top, well that and I felted it a little bit when I dyed it, but thats just between you and me.

If you zoom in on it, you can even see a little piece of hay I apparently didn't get out during the spinning process. Whoops
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Here's another spin I've been working on. It's merino blended with firestar and it's going to become my new ice queen. I threw some beads that I'm going to use into the photo too.
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And to top off the Tuesday of Tons of Pictures with the new spin I'm working on.
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It's Shetland handdyed by 00 (she doesn't remember though) and will be sock yarn.

Gotta go and work on the panda wool socks. They are almost all done yay!

Monday, August 4, 2008

My life can be surreal

So we are home like two hours from the hospital and the Darling Hub is sort of in and out on the couch full of vicodin (not the couch, the hub). Anyway, I go down to the basement to block my swallowtail shawl and I hear a knock on the front door. Of course I don't want the Chief to get up and answer it, so i run up the stairs and just as I get near the top, I hear the FRONT DOOR OPENING. WTF???!!!

It's my dad. The same dad who I told that he could come for one visit (two days) a month, has decided that I do not answer his voicemails or emails on a timely basis, so he will drive two and a half hours uninvited, nay UNANNOUNCED EVEN! and show up while I have a bleeding from the nose and in pain husband fresh home from the hospital.

I was so upset my vision actually went black for a split second. What's that about huh? I didn't get exactly angry because it was so surreal! I did tell him that I had the Chief fresh home from the hospital and he said "I didn't know that"

Well how the fuck could you know if you don't CALL before you show up?

So I had a twinge of guilt that he had to turn around and drive back home immediately, but how can I reward him showing up like that? If someone doesn't return your emailsor phone calls when YOU think they should, you cannot just show up at their home and force them to. BOUNDARIES PEOPLE!

I know I'm ranting but OMG. I might have big news in a week or two. As usual, I am hatching an evil plan, and I have just enlisted Cogs you should visit there and check outher new (and very popular) little crocheted sock bag. It is adorable and you can just hang it over your arm as you knit a sock just any old place!

Quickies (Gotta Love 'Em)

I am just in really fast today. The Chief had an outpatient surgery this morning so we were hanging out at Holland Hospital today. So now he is nice and Viked up, on the couch with a mustache bandage on. I have not really been in THAT many hospitals, but a few between my sister and the rest of my family. Holland Hospital does a GREAT job. They never treat you badly, and the nurses are nice and funny (and a bunch of knitters). I got lots of questions and comments about the handdyed socks I'm working on and two crocheters who were also in the waiting room said something too.

I had podcasts on my MP3 player so I just waited, listened, knit and waited.

I will have a finished picture of my swallowtail and maybe some socks tomorrow.