31 October, 2008

Halloween Episode! For Reals!



















I am happy I was able to read a little story to you.

Please enjoy "Our Lady of Red Lips" by Aimée Crocker Gouraud from Moon-Madness & Other Fantasies

Listen to the Episode

By the way - Stitches in Time is also available in I-tunes.

Topics:

The Devil-voice!

Addi Turbo warranty

My Halloween Socks, finished! (see above:-)

My sweater, washed, dried and wearing well

Art Yarns Ultra-merino 4


Hiya Hiya needles

go visit Jo!

And please see my previous post for lots of good Halloweeny recommendations!

Happy Halloween!

29 October, 2008

Halloween Episode! - Bloodsuckers

Sadly, I have a cold. I am not going to put you through my sniffles and stuffed-up-ed-ness! One person having to do so is enough. However, I did want to share some Halloweenyness with you, so enjoy these links! Perhaps if I'm lucky, I will be able to entice a guest reader for a Halloween story. In the meantime...

Recommended viewing:

The Lost Boys - it just doesn't get any better than this old vampire movie, 80s style. Of course the effects are totally obvious to eyes of the new millennium, but this story has heart and soul, like no other vampire movie since. Besides, it's just cool, and there's some awesome music. Bonus - if you like Keifer Sutherland, you get to see him in all his baby-fat glory! Who knew fangs could be so hot?!

For something a little creepier - check out Bram Stoker's Dracula. Winona Ryder is beautiful, they twist it up with an interesting love story, and if you're alone at home and the light is right, it might creep you out quite a bit.

For the little ones, don't forget It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! This is a fabulous classic that I wouldn't mind watching again myself. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Halloween - need I say more?

And for kids a bit older, it may be time to break out The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's suitably creepy at times, with more mature themes and ideas, but still fun! 15 years later and it's time for a whole new generation to enjoy it!

Of course, Buffy, Angel, and the Anne Rice books make good viewing or reading any time! And, I haven't yet read them, but as The Twilight Series is about vampires - who can resist?

I must recommend this Etsy shop to you - Loopy Boopy specializes in what she calls "creepy art dolls." And aren't they creepy?! I love them, and maybe you will too. Doesn't everyone need a little vampire or zombie on her shelf?




















If you need some self-striping sock yarn for the season, there is Vesper Yarn, as I have mentioned approximately 5 million times previous, but check out Kavatar0 on Etsy. You might find what you're looking for! I believe she also takes custom orders.

Speaking of knitting - for those of you on Ravelry who need a creepy sock - check out the new sock pattern by the Bay Area's own Chewyknits! The Gardener will freak you out if you've got arachnophobia like I do, and will give you hours of knitting pleasure. Bonus, it's free!

And even more hours of knitting are in this shawl - Dracula's Bride is huge and very goth-making. Make sure to check out the inspiring projects on Ravelry!

If you need stitch markers, Etsy is the place to go! Pumpkins, skulls, witches and candy corn, oh my! I find that nothing gets me in the mood quite like candy corn stitch markers.

Hallowig is a great way to make your own Halloween costume, and check out The Anti-craft for always creepsome desgins - knitting, crochet, cooking, beading; they've got it all out there. It may really pay off to visit their back issues too.

Something a little more cute than creepy to check out for you crocheters - Creepy Cute Crochet.

Don't forget to read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker - wow, what a master of horror he was! My boyfriend read the first chapter aloud to me, and really, if ever a book was meant to be read aloud, this is it. Perhaps you can get some friends together one dark and stormy night and scare the pants off each other! I myself have never read the whole book through, it scared me too much. Perhaps I'll get through it this time?

And there's nothing to get you into the mood like music! Check out the soundtrack from Queen of the Damned for your sexy nouveau vampire self, or the Doomed station on Somafm - as they note, it is the perfect music for tortured souls. (By the way, please consider a donation to Somafm, no matter how small. They're in the hole, as they depend entirely upon donations for their funding, and if you value commercial-free radio, it's something to consider. More info on that here. It is an amazing, free station, you can listen to it anywhere in the world, at any time, day or night, 365 days a year. I (personally) think that deserves a buck!)

And what else is Halloween about, if not the gateway of abundance and good food? For some fabulous Fall recipes, check out the latest edition of Cook's Illustrated. I have recently fallen in love with this magazine - I adore how they take a recipe and make it as perfect as they possibly can!

I hope you have a safe, fun, and fabulous Halloween! Also, please remember to be safe crossing streets with your trick or treaters, and if you have pets, please keep them securely inside on Halloween night. Strange noises and tricksters may abound, and it's better to have a restless pet for one night than a disappeared pet in the morning.




















*Photos from Loop Boopy shop on Etsy.

26 October, 2008

Episode 3 - Almost Finished!

Listen to the Episode

In which I read to you from
Wanted ~ A Chaperon by Paul Leicester Ford
pages 57 - 76
















Topics

- Murder of Paul Leicester Ford (pdf) or read the abstract

- Somafm - commercial-free, free internet radio

- Poems of Color, Bohus Knitting, Poems of Color reprint

- My first sweater, finished!

- Knitting From the Top by Barbara G. Walker

- Sweater Design in Plain English

- Online Raglan Tutorial - I highly recommend this tutorial, it helped me immensely!

- Vesper Sock Yarn on Knitterly Things

- My Halloween Socks!

- Vesper yarn destash here

- Amelia Peabody, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

- Sewn Bind Off

* One thing I didn't mention about the sewn bind off is that all the directions I've read direct you to use 2x the circumference of the sock. I have found this is not enough, and always use at least 5x the circumference of the sock to bind off. This ensures a nice loose, open hole, which is the whole point of the bind off.

The Farmer's Market

22 October, 2008

Interlude

It looks like I'll be posting new podcasts either on Fridays or Saturdays. For now, here's a picture to get you in the mood for Autumn! You can also subscribe through I-Tunes, just type in Stitches In Time!


apples!


Oh, I am so excited! I was having trouble getting my info into the I-Tunes database correctly, and today - voila! Everything is as it should be. Now to get a headset that doesn't add static to the audio.

17 October, 2008

Episode 2 - Part the Second

I must apologize - apparently, I didn't plug in the microphone the entire way (who knew!) and so there are popping noises. The next episode will be better, I promise! (Now that I've finally made the mistakes and gotten it all figured out!) (Oh, how embarrassing, you can hear me clicking away on the mouse the whole time. I swear I was just trying to look up what I was talking about!) The podcast should be showing up in I-tunes soon, and I will let you know when it does!

Listen to the Episode

In which I read to you from
Wanted ~ A Chaperon by Paul Leicester Ford
pages 24 - 57
















Topics:

- Lacis

- Bobbin Lace

- Community Dollars - the Humboldt Exchange

- My first sweater in Silky Flamme (Ravelry links) or see Silky Flamme here

- Yarn Boutique (support an lys!)

- test-knitting the Pauline pattern by Knitting Kninja

- Malabrigo Merino Worsted (Ravelry link) or see it here, at home

- Recommended book: The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

- Vesper Sock Yarn at Knitterly Things

- Popsicle Colorway in Colinette Jitterbug (Ravelry link) or check it out here

- Bernat Glow in the Dark Yarn

- Exploring the Family Trunk Project, admiring the Indiana Jones Socks

- The October weather, & joy of all joys, Seasonality!


















Do you have any Halloween traditions you'd like to share? Any UFO stories? (unfinished objects) Please tell!

16 October, 2008

Placeholder

Ok, so my technician has not been available... but the new episode should be up soon! And as I'll be getting him to show me how he does it all, the following episodes should be going up without interruption.

13 October, 2008

Artwork Interlude

Look for another episode on Wednesday!

In the meantime, enjoy this artwork from the book.

























"She threw open the door, letting in ... a flurry of snowflakes."

By Howard Chandler Christy. Click picture to enlarge.

06 October, 2008

Episode 1 - The Beginning

When you click on the link "listen to the episode" it'll give you a list of players to choose from, I recommend Real Player, VLC Media Player, or Quick Time. It will take a few minutes to load at the moment, 5-10 depending on how laden your computer is and your internet speed. Just be patient. When it's ready, the player should pop open and it'll either start playing or it'll let you click "play."

Listen to the Episode

In which I read to you from
Wanted ~ A Chaperon by Paul Leicester Ford
to page 24

















Topics:

- Fairisle knitting

- My current wips

- Crystal of Boll Weaver Yarns

- Harlot Pictures of my Bumble Bee Sock at Copperfield's Books in Santa Rosa

- Shibui Sock Yarn

- My first fleece from the California Wool & Fiber Festival

- Unicorn Power Scour

- How DOES one pronounce a number in a word? Sockpr0n's inspiring fleece post.

- Article Pract

- A Verb for Keeping Warm

- Rock & Weave Sock pattern (see them on Ravelry!) and see mine

(apologies for giggling over my odd pronunciations of Ms. A. Karen Alfke's surname - I am laughing at myself here. I have the tendency to always laugh when I shouldn't - when people fall down, if there is some tragic event - it's just misplaced hysteria and how I manifest being uncomfortable, but it comes off that I'm a mean person. I'm not really. Not too much, anyways.)

- Turn of the Screw on Craftlit

Notes:

If you are going to be around your computer, you should be able to listen to the podcast from your computer. I will be uploading it to I-tunes and doing more with it, but if you feel like listening now, you can!


Artwork by Howard Chandler Christy. Click to enlarge.
























" 'Oh, must you, aunty?' wailed Lydia"