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Spill Guts Here. It's gotta go somewhere, know what I mean? Can you stand it?
purls before swine
Geek Knitting
West Indian Parade
West Indian Parade
Dog/Cat Wrestling
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7.28.2005
{I owe a bunch of you email, hope to get to it tonight or tommorrow am}
Cables combined with the shaping ratio of the red one in yesterday's post. Also, freehand slip stitch "plaid", not steamed, will look better then. Next on the development list is a 3-d knit fabric structure based on self-made squid "flanges". Have been mildly exploring that one for about 4 years, going to expand it this year. Below is the basic construction.    7.27.2005
Four very quick scans of cap top shaping, it's too hot to set up my knitting machines, so I'm handknitting wool and alpaca in 98 degree weather. Nuts. Retail demands I prepare for Fall now. Sucks. Considering taking the dogs into work with me for some AC, it's just too fucking hot in my top floor place to leave them home today. Penny is recovering very well, but I'm carrying her up and down the stairs. She could use a little ac this afternoon.
Most of these are men's toques, obviously not the fuschia one. :-> There is a wedgewood dessert plate in there to make them scan flat, these are not berets.     7.26.2005
Knit-A-Way knitting shop is having their First Anniversary Sale, everything in the shop is on sale. yarn is 20% off. All of it. I got as much as I could fit on my bike and in my knapsack for a few hundred bucks. Mostly alpaca and merino. Highly recommended. It ends July 31st. I think she does mail orders as well, if you're not in Brooklyn.
7.25.2005
I'm spending the afternoon unpacking and re-setting up the studio, and stopped when I got to the books, there are 15 large boxes of them...unpack? leave packed and live with it? So I went across the street to talk to our new landlord and find out what he has in mind for the building:
I not only don't have to move, but my rent remains the same! This is thrillllinng news! The building needs extensive renovation, if he decides to gut my apartment at some point, I'll be relocated to an even larger place just a block over that was gut renovated a few months ago, which is fine with me! Oh thank you, thank you, {grandpa}, for making this one huge thing work out so well.. What a huge fucking relief. Also, the disgusting bodega guys downstairs only have 1.5 years left on their lease, not another 8, they lied, so they're out of here when that's done! Our backyard is filled with cigarette butts and junk food wrappers because they hang out there every day and night, it's so gross, Glad to see them go! Decided to unpack the books. Have made a move to look in my reference books a few times recently, and had to stop, realizing they're inaccessable.. Picking Penny up at 5:30, she came through the surgery well, and we can't wait to get her home. When my little ice cream maker gets here Wednesday, I'll be one happy little camper.
OH, little Penny went in this am to get spayed, and I feel bad about it. It had to be done, but she's 4 years old, and just 8 lbs, and it's upsetting. She was in heat when I rescued her a few months ago, and is just beginning to go into it AGAIN, I can't take it. Her little hoo-hoo gets very puffed up and I feel like I'm walking a vagina on a leash. Non-stop licking. Yuck. She's not having any puppies in my house, so...
Murphy is very depressed that she's not here today, he's freaked out and quiet. They've really bonded, and can't tolerate being separated. I went and bought her a new bed to come home to. My poor tiny chichi. Even Kitty is looking around for her. Hot again. Sad today. Shows aren't until next week, I was mistaken, so I can take it a bit easy and work on the apt today and tommorrow go into town. Floor bump in the shop is definitely slowly receding, I'm going to nail gun it down when it pops back down all the way. Screw every person that told me I had to cut the floor up and spend hundreds of dollars fixing it. One of my wonderful customers told me that happened to her, and it spontaneously fixed itself when the wood dried out, you just have to wait. So I will. 7.22.2005
This is a bit of a shitty summer so far. The wood floor in the shop now has a buckle in it, a "speed bump", due to the heat and humidity, and mostly incompetent installation. Thanks Jose'! Got a $300. estimate to repair it yesterday, been running the air conditioner daily to try and cool it down, if I can get it to retract, we'll nail gun the offending section and take out pieces at the ends instead of the middle of the floor, at my convenience, rather than now. It needs room to expand, and currently has none. Getting a neighborhood guy, Alex, to put in my built-ins in August, also painting one wall of the shop pale turquoise, since it'll be dismantled anyway. Alex is a sound engineer by trade, and wields a mean screwgun. I love his wife and big, longlegged blond dog, Cameron, who dressed up as Big Bird last Halloween, with striped leggings. This is a great neighborhood.
As far as apt. crap is concerned, found out last night, by chance, {talk to your neighbors!} that Pedro, who owns the Brooklyn Sub and Liquor stores across the street, is buying the building I live in. This is good news. He takes excellent care of his buildings. If and how much he raises my rent remains to be seen, but I think he's a reasonable guy. We'll see. My current slumlord got exactly half his absurd asking price. Haha. Sayonara, tackymare. Maybe Pedro can do something about the 40/50 Bangladeshi men always hanging out in front and also in the back yard of the building, looking into our windows at night and staring at Anna, Merry and I when we come and go. One of them is a tiny midget, who's actually pretty nice. He's the only one who hasn't asked if I'm married or have a boyfriend, although I think that's just because he doesn't speak english. *sigh* My life resembles a Fellini movie sometimes. Thanks so much for all the cranberry advice and good wishes, dear longtime readers! I appreciate it. I do definitely need to start taking better care of myself. Knitting merino hats based on the number 4, playing with top shaping, but not doing too much of it, it's brutally hot, and I hate to knit when my hands are sweaty. Been too hot to get the studio put together again, I HATE TO FUCKING SWEAT!!! Yes, that was a scream. Drenched in it numerous times a day, can't wait for this heat wave to break. Dogs are suffering as well, poor things. No trips to the park, too hot. Murph desperately needs a swim at dog beach. Penny goes in Monday to get spayed. I bought an ice cream maker last night on Ebay, the Cuisinart ICE20, cheaper there than anywhere else. My cake obsession has morphed into an ice cream obsession, but it's too freaking fatty to indulge in too often. I'm going to make frozen yogurt and ice milk with fresh fruit instead, and eat as much as I want. My friend who's having twins is doing well, and it's been fun, because I'm the only person who knows about it right now, except for her boyfriend. Very honored. The menswear trade show I went to was great! There were dj's, beer, slushies, and a very relaxed atmosphere, which is diametrically opposed to the women's shows, which are next week. I ordered some awesome things for my new men's department. The show was in two locations in Manhattan, about 20 blocks apart, and there was a freezing limosine bus to take you between them. The women's shows are quiet, highly stressful, 90% crappy clothing, and desperate salespeople grabbing you as you walk down the aisle. No beer or slushies, just water or coffee 7.17.2005
I have {had} a kidney infection. This is more than a little scary, as my father was on dialysis for years before he died, had kidney problems. Will be making sure to drink cranberry daily and pee frequently from now on. Strangely, a friend of mine has the same thing right now, we've been comparing notes. At least it's getting treated, Shit.
Going to be expanding into men's shirts and accessories, also getting the shop renovated some more with built-ins rather than movable racks. Started knitting merino wool beanies for men for fall. Pix after a few of them are finished. Men's clothing is so easy. The variations are so subtle, really enjoying that, whereas women can and do wear anything. 7.15.2005
Feel better. Making more time this summer to do nothing, taking the last week in August off. I love Vanderbilt Ave., where the new shop is, we have a core of business owners that work together to make the street look better, be busier and safer, it's alot of fun. I spent 4 years at the original location without that comraderie.
Getting better at Scrabble every day, learning the unspoken rules of the game, and many, many new words. The chat thing, quitter thing, the endurance to see the game through to the end if you're losing, impatience, patience, the beauty of playing with no emotional attachment to your opponent, just pure gamesmanship, due to the completely anonymous userid you're playing against, the art of choosing a worthy opponent based on accumulated score and username dissection. Sometimes it's possible to volley related words, questions and answers, call and response. You silently enjoy it, and wonder if your opponent is doing the same. There's no bickering, if there is and you don't want to deal with it, you pull the plug. I love it. I love to play in real life too, but have never had the chance to play against this highly skilled level of players before, anytime I want. Rarely play games otherwise. 7.14.2005
Test results are inconclusive, except that it's definitely not appendicitis. Mildly anemic, no surprise there. Tender abdomen today, won't be doing any running around except to go to work, and hopefully drugs will knock out whatever the hell is wrong with me, doctor suspects viral, not bacterial. If it gets worse, I'm to go to the emergency room. *sigh* I need this like another hole in my head. I can weather it, though, no prob. Things have definitely been worse. My cuts and bruises are healing really quickly, like they usually do.
Summer Sale starts today at the shop. 7.13.2005
Hard to believe, but Missoni's been caught redhanded blatantly copying: Check the July 13th post. Scandalous. Can't their inhouse designers just be *inspired* by an artist's work, and then make it their own? It warms my heart that the artist is calling them out on it.
Personal crap: Had pretty bad lower right abdominal pain on Saturday, but had to work, so toughed it out. Felt a bit better Sunday, then spent all Monday and Tuesday lifting heavy boxes and moving furniture around. Woke up in big pain again this am. Saw two doctors today, the first of whom allayed my fear of appendicitis and the resulting surgery. The second confirmed that it's probably "female trouble", brought on, most likely by exhaustion, heat, whatever. I'm sure hefting furniture for two days didn't help. I'm supposed to rest as much as possible and take {prescribed}drugs and not ride my bike or move anything for a week. Getting additional test results tommorrow. I got the entire apartment deep-cleaned and rearranged EXCEPT for the studio, which was the most important, damn it! Planned on moving dozens of contractor bags of yarn, machinery, tables and heavy shelving around over the next few days, that's going to have to wait. Had a good cry in the doctors office, which I've been needing for a long time, I guess. Super fuckin' glad there's no surgery involved. Have to figure out what the hell "rest" is, and how to fit it in my day. :->
Gratuitous Cuteness: Little Samson, looking at his master for the next move last night at the concert in Prospect Park. Yes, that is a glow stick around his belly.
 7.11.2005
A long dormant cleaning, purging and organizing urge is still manifesting itself {oh, so rare}, between games of {reward} scrabble. Just finished the storage room {mouse playhouse}. Continuing: getting rid of old stuff. Started at 3am last night. Rearranging/trashing furniture and consolidating alike objects. I have to function more efficiently if I'm going to stay in this apt for a while. I'd imagined doing it in another place, but..not right now, apparently.
Switching over to nocturnal, this neighborhood is loud at night. I'm desperate to get back to work. Needed a period of rest and {knitting}inactivity. Had it. Have to work now, when this is done. Making some knits for a few other, select shops this fall, want to get started on those designs. Have scrapes, bruises and bandaids all over, not used to it. Little body is getting a beating this summer. A close friend is having twins! Knitting matching cashmere somethings for her. Not decided what yet. 7.09.2005
Weird, unsettling week...started off by getting doored while on my bike on Tuesday. Now have huge purple and yellow bruises on my leg and arm to prove it. If there had been a car behind me, I would now be showing the effects of being thrown under it's wheels. So feel quite lucky, if a bit uglier. Pedestrians were very supportive, and I thought the jerk that doored me was going to get into trouble, he was loudly yelled at by them and it was getting heated. Since nothing was broken, I went on my way and ended it. Hurt a bit now, though. First time in 26 years of regular bike riding in this town that's happened.
Taking hiatus from apt. hunting, can stay here as long as I like, so have decided to rearrange entire apt for the next few months and look again in the fall. Not unpacking everything. I found out this is prime "moving season", bad for many reasons, so will lay low until Sept., and resume looking. Have discovered Scrabble online at Games.com, and have been getting my ass regularly kicked, not in practice, that's for sure, but I'm no word slouch. This is dangerous. Learning new words by the bucketful. Excellent escape. Rained heavily all day yesterday, and I played scrabble, I mean hooky instead of opening up. Nice to have a day OFF. Also got hives, for some reason. Itchy. Took oatmeal bath and antihistimines. *sigh* |
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