Alpaca with a Twist!

Alpaca with a Twist is a yarn company based in Indy, and I used some of their yarn in the weaving class I took with Mom.  Their yarn is delightful.  I've been keeping up with them on Ravelry and wondering when they were going to post that they were seeking to employ a knit-obsessed individual with a couple degrees in religious studies and some random knowledge about IT, accounting, HR, and grant-writing.*

Although they have yet to post this job opening, they did post a monthly contest on their forum.  Simply post a picture of a project you made (or are making) with their yarn, and they'll randomly pick someone at the end of the month to get something awesome.

Today I received a box of gloriousness from them as the October winner.

Happy knitting, indeed.  This is four beautiful skeins of soft alpaca goodness.

The pictures don't do it justice, but it's late and the light is crap.

I'm going to make something awesome with this. 

It was really nice to come home and find the box.  Andrew and I both worked late, then went to the grocery and didn't get home until nearly 10:00.  I was tired and cranky, and we all know that yarn is an excellent way to combat tired and cranky.

Go buy some Alpaca with a Twist yarn.  They need to sell yarn so they can hire me.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to sit on the couch and pet my new yarn.

*I'm still waiting, but am confident it is only a matter of time.

Conversation with a Colleague

Him:  Hey, B, I have a finance question for you.  (Stops short and stares at me)  You're wearing the Ubiquitous Sweater!

Me:  (quickly evaluates the likelihood of getting out of this conversation and realizes it is hopeless) Pardon?

Him:  The Ubiquitous Sweater!  When I was in Israel, someone was making fun of someone else for buying an argyle sweater.  They said it was horribly out of date.  Nobody wears argyle anymore.  I told them that lots of people were wearing argyle and I bet we would see it all over the place.  We all started looking for it, and it was everywhere!  Argyle sweaters, argyle hats, argyle socks.  We started calling an argyle sweater the Ubiquitous Sweater.

Me:  (blink, blink, and pause)   I have no idea where to go with this conversation.

I still maintain we should be able to say, "Insert appropriate response here" when stuck in these type of non sequitur conversations.  When I rule the world, things will be different.

Surprise Knitting

Tis the season of knitting gifts for the holidays, so while there are lots of things happening, I can't tell you about any of them.

For example, I knit this:

I can't even tell you what to picture because I don't want to give anything away.  You'll just have to think of green yarn and imagine some possibilities.

Then I knit this:

There's a charmingly amusing story that references Super Mario Brothers hooked to this project, but again, I can't tell you.*

If you're on Ravelry, you can see the projects here and here.

Now I'm contemplating what other projects I want to knit for the holidays.  I think these are next.


Image from Skacel, the nice people who made the pattern available for free


They use scrap sock yarn, which is handy since I have more scrap sock yarn than any one person should admit to possessing.

I'm feeling very optimistic about the holiday knitting this year.  I think that's because I'm doing a lot fewer projects than last year.  I have accepted that there is a limit for handknit gifts for most recipients.

Then again, maybe around mid-December I'll crack and start knitting roller skates.**

*Isn't this the best blog post ever?  You can't teach this sort of riveting writing.  You either have it or you don't.


**After you watch this, go to Franklin's store and buy everything.  He's brilliant and deserves to be wealthy.

Another afternoon at the IMA

I'm trying to soak it all in before winter comes.

Wordless Wednesday

Holly's Hederas

Over the weekend, we got together with friends to celebrate Holly's birthday.  Holly lives in Germany, so it was fantastic to have her in the States for her birthday.  Andrew and I gave her a CD she wanted, and I knit her a pair of socks.

Hedera pattern, Gemstones sock yarn in Sapphire colorway

We ate at one of my favorite breakfast places--the sort of place where you get two giant pancakes as a side item to whatever else you're eating--and then went to a special showing of.... wait for it....

Back to the Future

Not only did we see the movie on the big screen in all its '80s glory, but they also gave away posters at the end of the show.  I had seen the movie, but not in a long time so I didn't remember much at all.  A couple of my friends dressed up in '80s gear in honor of the film, legwarmers and frosty lip gloss and so forth.  Andrew and I could compete in an International Introvert Contest (except that no one would come because introverts don't do that sort of thing), so all we were willing to do was wear appropriate t-shirts: Mr. Yuk for me and an Oregon Trail one for Andrew.

It was a really fun way to spend a Saturday.

Startling Things I've Learned

Wednesday night's Master Gardening class was on vegetable gardening.  It was the session I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint.  Here are a few tidbits I learned:

1.  Soil temperature matters a lot.  Putting black plastic over your garden soil will help raise the soil temperature, which is good.  Using organic compost will lower it.  I'm certainly not willing to give up the organic compost, but next year I'll put down the plastic to help counteract its cooling properties.  You can cut holes in the plastic for the plants and leave the plastic in place the whole season.

2.  My squash couldn't have cross-pollinated.  I had no spacorn.  I still don't understand the spaghetti squash that the plant produced--it was nothing like spaghetti squash I've eaten before--but it couldn't have been a cross.  I'm deeply humiliated by this.  I took Genetics in college.  I spent an entire semester in the lab crossing fruitflies and counting the progeny.  (Fruitflies with vestigal wings tend to have a high mortality rate.  They drown in their own food.  It's a sad way to die, and it wreaks havoc on your results.)  I know that a cross would produce seeds that were a cross, but the parent wouldn't be affected.

I'm so embarrassed.

3.  Peppers should be planted two weeks after tomato plants.  Peppers are very sensitive to cool soil temperature.

4.  Tomatoes can be picked at the breaker stage, the stage at which there is a hint of color, and allowed to ripen indoors.  They will taste just as good as if they ripened fully on the vine.

5.  I don't fertilize nearly enough.  When the garden is planted, 1 c. of mixed water soluble fertilizer should be used for each plant.  Then it shouldn't be fertilized again until tomatoes are about golf-ball sized to avoid the plant producing tons of foliage at the expense of tomatoes.  Fertilize again two weeks after the first tomato is ripe, and again four weeks later.  If you're using granular fertilizer, you should "sidedress" plants by applying it a few inches away from the plants so the plants don't get burned by the fertilizer.

6.  For gardens and the lawn, water more deeply and less often.  Water so the garden gets very wet, then let it dry out completely.  Lawns, at least bluegrass lawns, can make it 4-6 weeks without significant moisture before there's damage.  In a drought like we're experiencing this year, you should water your yard very deeply once a month.  We, of course, didn't do that, so it will be interesting to see what happens next spring.

Hope springs eternal.  Even though the garden was a failure this year, at least in my opinion, I believe that armed with new knowledge I shall produce wonders next year.  This is why we garden.

And this is why gardening companies stay in business.