Happy Thanksgiving, and On Snobby Knitting Shops

Today, I am thankful for the friends who have stood by me, even when I was at my craziest (and let's face it, I made batshit look sane), my family for always helping me when I need it (and Lord do I need it), and for having "snobby" knitting shops that are less than an hour's drive away.

Now, I say "snobby" (and yes, I used air quotes while I was thinking out this post), but that's just because saying "Local" isn't always true. In San Jose, there is ONE local yarn shop (lys for short). And the people there are nice, but it is a little scary how much Cascade yarn varieties and colors they have (and now I think I've lost both of the two people who informed me that they actually read this. Crap.)

On the off chance you are still here, I will continue my information sharing. Back to the shop: They do not, however, carry my favorite maker of yarn: the elusive Malabrigo. Anyone who has met Malabrigo knows how amazing it is. If sex were a yarn...okay, that's a bad analogy, I appologise. The problem is, the company is very sporadic as to when it ships yarn out and what it ships to each store. If you find a color you like, buy it now, because there is no guarantee you will EVER find it again.

That was a bit of a tangent, and I appologise, again. So the next closest shop that carries my beloved is in Los Gatos. Not too far away, but to get there, I have to take the 17, and should I miss my exit (which, let's face it, I am more than likely to do) I am stuck on the 17 until I get to...a lot further away than I wanted to go. The shop is smaller than the one in SJ, but the staff is uber friendly and willing to help you find what you need, even if you don't plan to buy it from them just yet.

The next closest, and likely the one I'll go to should I miss my exit to the one in LG, is a small shop in Santa Cruz. I almost never buy from them, because their stash is pretty limited, but I love the atmosphere there so much that I sometimes just go to sit and chat with the store owners. And it is right down the cliff from the wharf, so I can pop in and get myself some chocolate covered bacon and chocolate covered gummy bears when I am done knitting/chatting. Btw - DO NOT KNOCK THE BACON UNTIL YOU"VE TRIED IT! I love it, and I don't actually like pork, or anything that comes off of a pig for that matter.

Now the BEST lys I have gone to is all the way up in SF, in the Mission District. The GOOD part of the district (yes, it does exist. There are many nice houses and cars to prove it.) They have all the Malabrigo a knitter in the bay could ever hope to find in one location. Which is not saying much considering how few Bay lys actually carry any Malabrigo....but I digress. Once again, there is the chatty, friendly atmosphere that has actually led to this long tangent that was supposed to be summed up in one short phrase: Snobby yarn shops actually are not snobby.

I think I will end this now, before I lose what ever audience I might have left. As a parting gift, I will leave you with the links to the shops I discussed above.

San Jose - The Knitting Room
Los Gatos - YarnDogs
Santa Cruz - The Swift Stitch
San Francisco - ImagiKnit

Stuff I've Been Working on (to Prove to You That I'm Still Alive)

This one's going to be short, but I felt a bit guilty that I haven't posted anything in a really long time. Especially not since I got Owen, my new laptop. And that was back in September. Anyway, to prove to you that I have been sort of productive, I thought I'd show a few pictures of things I've been working on. Although, I think anyone reading this has most likely followed a link from Facebook, so you have probably seen these before. Oh well.

The cover for "my band"'s first album. (No, you didn't miss anything big, this was just a random design challenge, and I really liked how it turned out.)
The Picture was from flikr, the title from a random quote, and the band name from a random wikipedia article. The directions may be posted, if enough interest is expressed. I used piknik to edit the picture, and I have to say, it is one of the easiest photo editor I've ever used, and the best part is: it is free. The second best part is: it is online.


That turned out bigger than I expected, and yes, I did select "small" on the image uploader. This is a picture of the most recent update to my room, since not much else has changed. I got the pictures and the frames from Ikea (as you might have expected). I may be replacing some of the wall art in my room in the nearish future, since I got a bad ass poster, and have no place to hang it. (Note: The links are not to the exact products, since the art cards I bought did not show up on the website. The ones on the link are from the same series and are the same dimensions. And I kinda like them, too.)

Okay, getting this up took longer than I thought, and I have a long school day ahead, which I am only mildly prepared for. I'll try to post more soon, and maybe I'll share some of the knitting I've been working on, since those pictures don't make it to Facebook. Feel free to comment, or ask any questions, or anything to let me know SOMEBODY still looks at this :-) Seriously, if people let me know that they look in from time to time, I may be inclined to put the effort in to put up some more entertaining posts, like I used to.

Weird/Awesome Stuff on the Internet

Now, children, despite what Avenue Q teaches us, the Internet is NOT just for porn. It is for finding weird, random, and awesome stuff to share with others. So without further ado, here are some weird and awesome things I found online this morning.

Some of the sites are being weird about pictures, but I will post links for you to check out what tickles your fancy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1GB USB Rubber Bracelet
All | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Pop Culture: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1GB USB Rubber Bracelet"
It's a bracelet, it's a USB stick, it's Ninja Turtles!

Gizmo Mogwai Mascot Charm Strap Accessory
http://cgi.ebay.com/GREMLINS-Gizmo-Mogwai-Mascot-Charm-Strap-Accessory-JPN-/110655167045?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c38fda45
It hangs from your mobile, AND shows the evolution of a Mogwai.

Tetris Epic Fail Shirt
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/PopCulture/Gamer/Tetris-Epic-Fail-TShirt-199311.jsp
Really? NOW I get the 4x1?

Domo Black Heart Fart Pin
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/PopCulture/EverythingElse/ComicsAnimeCartoons/Domo-Black-Heart-Fart-Pin-151760.jsp
Domo+Black+Heart+Fart=Awesome

Star Wars Darth Vader Like A Boss T-Shirt
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/PopCulture/EmpireStrikesBack/Star-Wars-Darth-Vader-Like-A-Boss-TShirt-169517.jsp
"Y'all come to the Darkside and see who the nerfherdin' boss is...Darth Vader!!!"

Scooby-Doo Noms T-Shirt
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/PopCulture/CartoonRetro/ScoobyDoo-Noms-Green-TShirt-147770.jsp
Yes, Shaggy and Scooby, you DO haz Noms.

Cookie Monster Noms T-Shirt
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/PopCulture/CartoonRetro/Cookie-Monster-Nom-Nom-Nom-Girls-TShirt-188422.jsp
And so duz Cookie.

So, no pics tonight, but I will try to post some in the near future. And, if you like this post LET ME KNOW. I might be inclined to find stuff that is even more awesome than this. But not more awesome than that. That is pretty awesome, and it would be really hard to top that.