It only stands to reason that when you spend multiple nights in a row getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep, you will eventually crash. This weekend I could have won the Sleep Olympics.

So, lots of sleep (good), little time doing much else (bad). I was hoping to finish the Cleite Shawl. I am close, but no cigar.

I have 4 rows (very long rows!) plus the bind-off left to do.

If my hands will allow me, I’ll try to finish it today, but I’ve got other things I need to accomplish too. apart from the inevitable nap that is.

Lucy doesn’t understand the problem with taking multiple naps every day. It is a lifestyle she embraces!

Random Thing 1

Check out this purse organizer.

I purchased this from Purse Pleaser. This is the best organizer that I’ve come across — at least for my purposes. It comes in three different sizes and is sort of like those acrylic cosmetic organizers with all the compartments. One of the cool things about it is that it is adjustable. I like also that it is sturdy and has a flat base. It doesn’t flop over like the fabric organizers do.

I recently incorporated my small wallet, credit card case, and checkbook into one big-*ss wallet.

While this wallet does not fit in any of the compartments of the purse organizer, there is plenty of room in my purse to slip it along-side the organizer in my purse. (The wallet is made by Lodis, by the way, and is the best multi-function wallet I’ve ever had. It manages to hold a whole boatload of stuff while maintaining a slim profile.)

Random Thing 2

Mia commented about the Cleite shawl pattern:

. . . before I go and buy the pattern.. can you rate the difficulty level? And the other all important question, is it ONLY chart instructions?

I would say the difficulty level is advanced beginner or intermediate. This is not a tough pattern, and it is very clearly written. And for those of you who do not like charts, it is also written out line by line! What’s not to like?

While I think it is a fairly easy-to-knit pattern, I am not finding it boring. It’s quite an enjoyable knit, and the resulting lace is so pretty that adds to the enjoyment!

Slowly she grows, millimeter by millimeter . . . 

Random Thing 3

While Lucy would like you to think that she is missing her cardboard box and would like you to pity her, don’t believe her. She spent a blissful half-hour playing in the box and then suddenly turned against it and for the next 24 hours pretended it did not exist. After 24 hours, I threw it away. She does not seem to have noticed.

And here we have . . . 

Kitty lips!

These pictures are for a certain pink-obsessed knitter in Stockholm, who requested close-up photos of my Cleite shawl. You want extreme, morbidly close-up photos?

You got ‘em, baby.

I’m getting to the point on the shawl where I’m thinking about how many more repeats of the pattern to do. I think I’ll do one more, then take some measurements, stretching it out as I go. The recipient is not terribly tall and I’d hate for her to be swallowed up by her shawl.

Other Things

A couple of you asked what my current phone is.

I’ve got an LG Voyager.

I like it very much and it serves its purpose very well. I’d love to get an iPhone, but as long as they are only offered through AT&T I won’t. My wireless provider, Verizon, is the only one that works in the Washington DC subways system. As long as that is the case, I’m sticking with Verizon!

Shibori Knits

The winner of Shibori Knits is The Knitting Harpy, chosen by the impartial random number generator. You should check out her blog, if you haven’t already — lots of good information there. Thank you to everyone who left a comment.

Why is Lucy So Pensive?

Her mean momma threw out her cardboard playhouse.

Poor, abused little kitty.

I always thought the cell phone graveyard was a fictional place where, legend says, cell phones gather in their old age. Then they die there alone, far from the rest of the cell phones.

When doing some decluttering I came across the cell phone graveyard:

I think I’ll find a good place to donate them, now that I’ve discovered the graveyard.

It’s been a long day and I don’t have much to say. I have, however, made a wee bit of progress on my shawl-in-progress:

I’ve been doing a couple of rows a day. Slow and steady, yada yada yada.

When all else fails, post a picture of Lucy.

Then post a picture of Lucy’s paw fluff!

For you I have
Two reviews.
A review of a book,
and a movie too.

The Movie

The movie first. Friday night the KOARC and I watched the movie “In Bruges,” starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. The main action takes place (not surprisingly) in Bruges, Belgium.

Hitmen Farrell and Gleeson are sent by boss Fiennes to the lovely medieval city of Bruges to cool their heels after a bungled hit. And of course, hijinks ensue.

This film features a lot of graphic violence but a lot of very dark comedy as well, and the story becomes more and more surreal as the plot unfolds. I’m not a fan of blood and gore films, but while this one was, as I said, pretty graphic, it was filmed (dare I say) tastefully, so that while you knew full well what was happening, and in most cases saw it, it was not a sickening gratuitous blood and gore-fest.

Did that make any sense?

If you are a fan of the slightly absurd, are not turned off by hitmen doing what they do best, and want to see Colin Farrell put in an incredible performance, check this one out. It’s available on DVD.

The Book

The other day I received a review copy of Shibori Knits: The Art of Exquisite Felted Knits, by Gina Wilde. This book’s publication date is next week, I believe.

(Apologies for the seriously sucky photo.)

According to Wikipedia, Shibori is a Japanese term for several methods of dyeing cloth with a pattern by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, or compressing it. Some of these methods are known in the West as tie-dye. Western civilization does not have an exact word equivalent that encompasses all the techniques of shibori.

According to the description of the book on Amazon.com, Shibori Knits highlights the intersection between shibori and knitting, offering 20 patterns that utilize this transformative technique. Internationally acclaimed knitwear designer Gina Wilde guides knitters through three dynamic ways to add shibori to knitting. The first method uses physical resists (marbles or corks) that prevent specific areas of knitting from felting; where there are no resists, the garment does felt, creating unique fabric with bobbles and dimensionality. Another method uses nonfelting fibers as resists—for instance, a silk yarn knit with a wool yarn—to create windowpane effects or even mimic woven strips of fabric when felted. The third method creates ruffles and spirals when the fibers are worked in more than one direction; when felted, the work will shrink differently in the alternate directions. The textures created from each method offer a unique way to redefine felting and bring the beautiful and unexpected world of shibori to the knitter.

There are 20 projects in this book: hats, scarves, wraps, bags, a couple of baby things, sweaters, a belt and hand warmers. All the yarns used in this book are from Alchemy Yarns. When I figured out that the author is co-founder of Alchemy Yarns, that made sense. (See how quickly I grasp things like that?) There is, however, a guide to help you sub different yarns.

Here are a couple of my favorite projects. A hat:

And a wrap:

While it is a lovely book, it is not really my “thing.” So I’d rather someone else enjoyed it.

Would you like my review copy? Leave a comment to this blog entry (one comment per person, please) and I’ll randomly pick the recipient Wednesday (August 20) afternoon.

Lucy Sez:

“I can haz new playhouse.”