Regularly scheduled Fast-Topic-Changing-Friday has been postponed until next week so we can bring you…umm…this. Instead.

Video, video, video! Shooting knitting videos. I’m normally a person with very set routines and a very tidy house, but all of that has been pushed aside for this production. No complaints, trust me. It is a great project, I’m learning so much, and having a lot of fun.

We’re working long days, but always making time to catch up on baseball over lunch, and to enjoy a cold beer in the afternoon. Good times.

	I started the week waiting for the a/c repairman to get here. Triple-digit temps and 1000-watt lights do not mix.
	Then it was back to work.
	I’m not only in front of the camera, but I’m learning to be a production assistant as well. I can change a gel, raise a camera stand, set my microphone transmitter frequency, and bring coffee to the director.
	Parker, the director.
	I’m really proud of the dogs for staying out of the way, mostly. They’re carefully stepping over cords and keeping away from the hot lights.
	…and doing a lot of this.
	It’s a really fun project and something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Results soon. Have a great holiday weekend!

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Fast-Topic-Changing Friday. Holding, holding, holding.

	Oh, Austin. You’re making it very difficult for me to stay in love with you. It was ONE-HUNDRED-SEVEN degrees yesterday.
	And this old beast of an air conditioner is barely hanging on. I’m on hold now with my home warranty company. Replacing this old girl will cost me a flat fee of $60, not thousands. Whew. So glad I have a home warranty. Next…!
	There will be knitting instruction videos on verypink, verysoon. Veryexciting. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. Next…!
	Just off the needles – Hogwarts’ double-knit bookscarves. These are for a class I’m teaching in July. Yes, Ravenclaw is shorter than the others. Whoops. Next…!
	I’m still on hold with the home warranty company. I really want to get the a/c fixed ASAP. Poor Ike is finally showing his age this summer, and the heat is getting to him. I’ll stay on hold all day if that’s what it takes. Next…!
	Lazy dogs. Still on hold. Have a great weekend!

Pulling the anchor on a Fast-Topic-Changing-Friday.

First up, I’ll get the title of this post explained. I’m a fan of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, a show about crab fishing off the coast of Alaska. I like it because I grew up around that stuff in Kodiak. As dangerous and crazy as crab fishing is, the whole thing is very familiar to me. And every now and then I’ll see someone who I’m pretty sure I remember.

There is a new captain on the show, named Big Daddy, who is from Kodiak.

	Here the captains are sitting around talking about why the crews always want weekends off when they’re docked in Kodiak. “There are girls in Kodiak!” Ha! I think I blew coffee out my nose when I heard that. Well, I’m not there anymore, so there is one less girl in Kodiak…
	…but I suppose I’ve been replaced. My niece, Molly Renee, almost two years old. I’m sure she’ll have a future of making crab fishermen want to stay ashore in 20 years or so. Currently, she’s too busy smearing yogurt everywhere. Next…!
	A plug for my friend Stephanie’s online store. She is dyeing up a merino JUST LIKE Malabrigo lace weight. Since Malabrigo is almost impossible to get, and everyone wants to make a Featherweight Cardi, this can be considered a public service announcement. Next…!
	I had the idea to get Tippy to pose for a photo with this little knit dog on his head. It is a Pile-able Pup, after all.
	He had other ideas for what to do with the little dog. His ideas included disembowelment. Next…!
	Do I have the world’s laziest Basenjis? It usually looks like I’m running an opium den. Have a great weekend!

It’s Friday morning and I’m trying to combat grogginess with coffee. Mother Nature has been doing a smack-up job of keeping me from sleeping soundly through the night lately. Storms, possums, crochet. (Does Mother Nature crochet?) Whatev.

We had tornado warnings here in Austin last night, and I had the craziest dream about how my house got swept up in a tornado (very Dorthy Gale-ish-ly), and landed in another neighborhood. I went outside the house to find out where I was. I asked a group of high school girls who were walking down the street, and one of them said, “You’re on the border between Texas and Indiana”. Ah. Oz.

Brewing up a Fast-Topic-Changing-Friday. Strong, but never bitter.

	Yes, crochet. As my friend Stephanie said, “Hell has frozen over.” I’m just dabbling in crochet. I’m not switching crafts….
	…and clearly I’m not taking it very seriously. Trust me. I’m still a Knitter-with-a-Capital-K. Next…!
	Why are my dogs going crazy?
	Why is Abe trying to grow cat claws so he can scale the fence?
	RAWWRRRRR! I AM AN EVIL POSSUM COME TO RUIN YOUR EVENING WITH MY PRESENCE. YOU WILL HAVE NO PEACE AS LONG AS I STAND HERE. MWAHAHAHAHA. Creepy bastard.
	I like this photo. It looks like Tippy has given up hunting and decided that posing next to the possum with a sad face is enough for now. They had been “hunting” this guy for about an hour when I pulled out the camera. Next…!
	Franklin Habit is going to be back in Austin this weekend at The Knitting Nest. We’re doing a live radio broadcast from the store today from noon to 2pm. Stop by if you’re around. Have a great weekend!

At the end of this month, I will have lived in this house for a year and a half. For the most part, I have the house looking the way I want – at least in the more public rooms. But my office. Oy.

When I was a kid, we would go to visit my Great-Great Aunt Ida (the one who taught me to knit) in Oak Harbor, Washington. On the way into town from her house, we would pass this outdoor factory. This place was about three stories high, and a mess of dirty machinery, pipes, and wheels. It was like a steampunk nightmare. One time I asked Aunt Ida why it looked so bad, and she said, “Well, it’s just how it needs to be so that it works properly.”

You get where this is headed?

My office has been like that steampunk factory nightmare. It hasn’t been decorated at all, but the elements of “design” came together as function dictated. And it was ugly. The walls were a dingy baby chicken yellow. Furniture that didn’t fit anywhere else ended up in here. I couldn’t leave the door open, because there was always something interesting within a dog’s reach, since I hadn’t really thought about storage.

This is supposed to be my creative space!

	Before: Yellow walls. Cluttery.
	Stuff shoved wherever it would fit.
	My computer desk was mostly functional, except for the fact that I had things stored near my desk that I didn’t regularly need. Facing the window seems like a nice idea, but it is pretty hard on the eyes when you’re staring at a computer screen.
	First up, empty the room. I moved my desk and computer to the spare bedroom. The dogs were totally happy with that. Also, five million books were lugged to the garage.
	Next, scrape off the horrible popcorn ceiling. Whoever invented popcorn ceiling was lazy (it covers a lot of building sins) and an idiot (it holds dust and stink).
	Here’s the floor once the popcorn snowed down on the terra cotta tiles. I drew a heart to sort of show the real floor color under there.
	Next, repair walls and test wall colors. Spackle. Spackle. That’s an awesome word. Spackle.
	Edge and paint. In this shot you can see where the edges are dry, and show the true color.
	Abe stole my drop cloth at one point, and carefully spread it over his dog bed. What? These dogs are so freaking weird.
	Fresh white paint for the closet doors. Much better than before. What would be the paint color name for the old color? “Dashing Dinge”? “Bountiful Blah”?
	Tippy had to make do with the fact that there were no dog beds in the room while I was working. This photo was taken at about 10pm, because I’m a crazy person who works on projects for 12 hours straight.
	Ta-da! So. Much. Better. The color theme to compliment the turquoise walls is black/white/gray with accents of red. I still need to reshelf the books, and replace the dated light fixture with a small ceiling fan.
	There is suddenly a ton of space in here. I’d like to find a piece of soft furniture for this spot. I’m picturing a large red ottoman; or vintage, armless chair. All in due time.
	I’ve left one giant wall blank so that I can use this color as a backdrop for photos. I’m really happy with the results of The Great Office Makeover. Can I just say this? Budget for this project was $36. One gallon of paint. I was lucky that the previous owners of this house left me a can of high-gloss white, which I used for the closet doors and trim.
	I just took this shot a couple of minutes ago. Tippy’s the only one in the photo, but you can see Ike, Abe, and me in shadows. Have a great weekend!

Several months ago, I put together a post where I showed some of the outtakes from my daily photo project. I’m ready to do it again, but this time with a theme.

I end up rejecting about 80% of the photos I take of myself due to unwanted facial expressions, what I’m calling “bitchface” and “goofyface”. One would think that after nearly 18 months of self-portraits, I would be better at controlling this. I am not.

I have learned this much. Two things that make me look angry are the sun, and concentration. Goofyface happens when I start getting bored with a photoshoot.

	Outtake of this photo. Reason: bitchface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: goofyface + tongue.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: bitchface, and this was just a test shot before I’m even wearing the sweater.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: goofyface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: bitchface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: goofyface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: bitchface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: dogs are cute, but not supposed to be in the shot, plus goofyface.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: I don’t even know what to call this face.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: goofyface + tongue again.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: not angry enough for a zombie.
	Outtake of this photo. Reason: even Tippy can have bitchface.

I’m here! I don’t have Swine Flu! I still have a computer!

Many thanks for all of the sweetly-worded hate mails, because they worked. Lookit! I’m updating!

Pardon me while I bitch for a moment. Verypink has been under a nearly constant barrage of hacker attacks. My WordPress style sheets have been full of European drug website ads that I’ve been deleting as I find them. The biggest problem is that this hacking has somehow changed the font you see next to the photos, making it bigger. I already had a very limited amount of space for text, and now it’s even less. Ugh. Still trying to find a way to fix this.

Fast-Topic-Changing Friday, ready for takeoff.

	If I look different, it’s because I’m OLDER. It was a month ago now that I had my 41st birthday. Surprisingly, 41 feels a lot like 40, which felt a lot like 22. Next…!
	This ittybitty bit of yarn…
	Knits up as lightly as an underweight feather…
	To make an entire sweater to fit a grown-ass woman.It’s the Featherweight Cardigan, and it is currently my very favorite sweater. Ravelry deets. Next…!
	Abe and Tippy have recently become evil partners in crime. They don’t copy each other’s good behavior, just the bad. Pull all the towels off the rack? Let’s do it together! Shred toilet paper? We’re a team! Next…!
	I’m working on a new sock design. No. I’m re-working a sock I designed a couple of years ago, because I didn’t bother to write it down as I designed it the first time. Free pattern available soon. Next…!
	Another new design. Still a big secret. Next…!
	Baseball season in a city with no MLB team. Instead, I can go to UT games, or frequent sports bars that have the MLB cable package. (The only problem with the sports bar is the amount of pub grub and beers I accidentally consume while I watch these games.) Next…!
	The futon mattress ended up on the floor when I removed the cover to wash it. It suddenly became THE COOLEST PLACE IN THE HOUSE, according to my little partners in crime. Next…!
	Had to sneak in a photo of Ike. Have a great holiday weekend!

Fast-Topic-Changing-Friday, First Spring Edition. This is the post where I make a big deal about springtime and spring colors, as if winter in Austin was something difficult to endure. As a former Alaskan, I assure you – I survived the winter unscathed. Regardless, springtime and I are total BFFs.

And here we go…

	A big kiss for WillieMcGee. To everyone who thought I couldn’t do it, I SUCCESSFULLY FOSTERED A DOG WITHOUT ADOPTING HIM! Yay, me! He went to his forever home last week with Chris (my ex). I’ll still get to dogsit him when Chris travels. Basenji Rescue. Next…!
	New design – Socks for Mary Janes. I designed these girls’ socks to be a free pattern for The Knitting Nest’s April newsletter, but I’ll be releasing it to the public on March 31. Ravelry details. Next…!
	Fair Isle Easter Eggs! Not my pattern, but something I knit up for a class. Ravelry details. Next…!
	I’ll start bitching and whining about the heat in the next few months, but I am terrifically in love with Austin right now. Every day is a perfect, windows-open, short-sleeve, bare-legs day. And the city is transforming leafy green lusciousness. Love. Next…!
	Current work-in-progress, Leaf Tie Cardi in a fluffy pink angora blend. I don’t think I’ve ever used the exact yarn, exact color twice before this, but this yarn is that awesome. With Socrates. Next…!
	Tippy is both photogenic, and really expressive with his face. It looks like he’s saying something here…I just can’t think of a good caption. Can you?

Sticking with the springtime/new beginnings theme – another video to share with you. Trust me, it’s eight minutes you’ll be glad you spent. Have a great weekend!

Faster, faster, faster, faster!

Don’t miss the video at the end of this post. You might want to go ahead and empty your bladder now, so you don’t pee your pants laughing.

Fast-Topic-Changing-Friday, as scheduled.

	As I write this post, I’m wearing wool socks and a bathrobe that looks like an arctic sleeping bag…and I couldn’t be happier. The brutal Texas summer has been delayed by a few more days. A few more days of wearing handknits and NOT sweating. Hello, Clapotis! Next…!
	God gum? I found this at the checkstand at Hobby Lobby. I’m guessing it’s not a joke, because it’s Hobby Lobby and all – but it reminds me of this product…
	“Believe in God Instantly Breath Spray”. This is available on amazon.com, and IS a joke. The packaging says “Miraculously Minty Faith-Enhancing Breath Spray”. Next…!
	February Lady Sweater. I made this for the other Stacy’s daughter, and it’s currently on display at The Knitting Nest. Such a great pattern, and a really friendly introduction to sweater knitting for new knitters. So, I’m offering this pattern as a class this month. Next…!
	I made this little man, too. He’s a felted Fiber Trends pattern, and really fun to knit. I swear, he’s cuter in person than he is here, because he is NOT photogenic. I took a bajillion bad photos of him before I got this one. Next…!
	Here is a silhouette of WillieMcGee, after he rearranged the sofa cushions while hunting. His prey? A confused housefly. One last thing –

Crafty people need to watch this video. I’ve been singing this song for two days because I love it that much.

Have a great weekend!

Do you remember the old Triscuit cracker commercial sung to the tune of “A Tisket a Tasket”? I do. A Triscuit, a Triscuit! Delicious whole wheat Triscuit!

I probably just aged myself. Anyway.

Just a quick pattern update…

	I’ve just updated this Felted Easter Basket pattern to include…
	Instructions for this gingham design. The pattern is available on my patterns page. If you have already purchased this pattern, I will happily send you instructions for the gingham version, free of charge.
	Of course, everything I do at home raises the curiosity of the dogs…see Ike’s nose here? This photo was taken right before he sent my whole display crashing to the ground…eggs, teacup, basket – and I had jewelry in the teacup.
	Fortunately for him, he is cute. Have a great day!