I've got a List

I was tired last night and not sleeping so I decided to do a 30 by 30 list. I'm 27 now and starting to feel a teeeny bit grown up so I'll do a grown up thing and make a list of goals. They have their specs though:

1. Cannot be something that is controlled by outside forces
a) such as 'having my own classroom' because while I would give anything to have that I can't control it as such and if I don't have my own classroom by 30 believe me I'll be cranky enough that I don't need a list to remind me of the suck.
b) some things controllable by other people are okay if they involve me actively guilt tripping them or playing them in order to get my way

2. Items are subject to change with good reason
a) the reason being I say so
b) but I'll let you know why and put it in ETA and such

As of right now I think I only have around 17. Suggestions are appreciated as I'm out of ideas.

30 BY 30

1. Design and knit my perfect cardigan out of hand-spun hand-dyed yarn
2. Get a spinning wheel
3. Make a really awesome bookshelf (like these or something)
4. Crochet a bedspread with one of my Grandmother Hazel's crochet hooks and laceweight (use to be 'get a passport' but was opted out due to easy-ness and plain common-sense of just having a passport and because Yarn Piggy told me to)
   
5. Go on a real vacation
   
6. Bike around one of the islands
   
7. Get another tattoo (sorry Mom)
8. Pay off bank student loan
   
9. Visit my friends in Gimli
10. Get really good at the violin- like stellar
11. Publish one of my poems (and not self-published)
12. Become an Aunt again (see 1.b)
13. Keep my blog (or still have a blog- maybe a cooler design)
14. Pick up some kind of activity or sport thingie
15. Learn how to be awesome at chess and play a game with those really serious russians downtown
16. Be a bridesmaid again cause it is fun (again- 1.b)
    
17. Use my 5' by 7' canvas for a painting
18. (stolen from Annika):Get another family portrait with all the new people in our family (Dad will finally not be the only male in the picture)
19. (stolen from Annika)(again):Organize a serious charity knitting project
20. Get involved with a Feminist organization (prompted by my current reading- The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape)
21. Go swimming in the Atlantic Ocean with my friends on the East coast (suggestion via Facebook from an East coast friend)
    
22. Participate in a charity marathon even if I just briskly stroll the whole thing (suggestion via facebook from Jubbers) DONE!!!! June 7th, 2009- Childrun for BC Childrens' Hospital fight against cancer. 205 dollars raised.
    
23. Do the European coastline trip with Julia (oddly enough- suggested by Julia! Something we wanted to do for a long time :)
    
24. Hike the West Coast Trail (Thanks Beentsy!)
25. Scuba or snorkel
26. Garden- no matter how small
27. Write and illustrate a picture book
28. Adopt another kitten
29. Make a life list
30. Design and sew a dress that is spectacular
    

Okay- help a girl out here- what's next? Oh, and are things like purchases cheating? I think that making things is good but are things like 'buy a wheel' and 'get passport' too easy?

Spike wants you to know how much he loves the laundry basket. Oh he loves it so.

Camera's Working Again

Woo! I nearly did buy a new one but I held off. Sometimes when I turn my camera on the screen is black and I just have to turn if off for a bit and try it again. That's good to know. It still takes fuzzy and unfocused pictures but hey... it's a camera. So yeah, knitting!

This is my bridesmaid shawl that I start about ten days ago. You may look at this picture and think... really? Firstly it's ugly and secondly it's not that much but I assure you...

Just wait till this one is blocked. It's not as lacey as I wanted but it's one of those things where once you make the decision to knit a shawl six weeks before a wedding when you have a part time and a full time job you have to stick with that decision.
It's Lilac Leaf (rav link) from Knitted Lace of Estonia in Dream in Colour Smooshy which technology cannot even express the loveliness of it (if you scroll down the DIC link it's the semisolids black pearl colour).
Oh and that garish orange is the conditional cast on yarn so I can pick those stitches back up after I decide on a border.


And the Mom socks are done! It's amazing! I started these only about.. um... I want to say late February? Beentsy help a girl out- when did we buy the hiyahiya needles? Anyhoo- regardless these are record breaker socks for me. I never finish socks under six months or something. It could be the needles, it could be the stupid amount of time I spend on buses... whatever. They are done.

So at first glance they look pretty similar, a little difference in length (just a tad) but upon further inspect one of these things is not like the other....
Sock 2: I decided to put a cute little cable going down the back of the socks that disappears into the heel... isn't it cute?
Sock 1: I left too much space on this cable and lo and behold- no cute cable... just stretched stitches (this was the first sock I did- it's very special).
Sock 2: On the first sock I made this really pretty decrease to compensate for the additional stitches on the top of the sock because of the braid. This one I tried to do from memory while on the bus because I didn't write down what I did to the first sock and didn't have it for reference. So does this hot mess look anything like...
Sock 1: This very pretty (vagina) decrease? I don't think so.
And the heels! Oh goodness the heels. Sock 1 to the right there has the most drastic heel ever because I forgot how to turn heels so once again, while on the bus, decided I could remember and make the decreases waaaay too often. Mom tried it on and it still fits. Sock 2 on the left is a proper nice heel.
So Mom they are in the mail! Well, they will be when I leave for the soccer game tonight. I won four free tickets to the Whitecaps game tonight and am very excited! Mini doughnuts!

I also had some photos on my camera from way back. Here is Spike preparing to mow down on the flowers Erica brought to Thursday night knitting group (I so did not plan on making that reference there!). I ended up putting one in my hair for school the next day and gave the rest away to people on transit. I had to put them in the closet for the evening before so Spike would not gorge himself.
Up next: the ugliest knitted DS case ever!

Huh

So I would have told you, as of five minutes ago, that one of the many perks of apartment living was that you wouldn't get bothered by, you know, pesky groups of people wanting to deliver you to Jesus so that they have a better chance of the limited seats in heaven, or what have you.

Turns out they just buzz your apartment and start preaching over the line. I will admit it's a lot easier to say 'I'm all good- but thanks!' to a phone than a person.

And a few weeks back Angela asked if she could reverse engineer my starsockers in which I say but of course! And here is the star pattern I made up as well. It's probably the same as another one out there but that's the thing about stars and curling- there's not much to say about them one way or another.

Hope your socks come along faster than mine!

My Camera is Broken

...which totally sucks because I have so much knitting to show! I finished my cable socks (seriously, that's a pair of socks in under two months- unheard of!) and am about ten inches into my bridesmaid shawl that I started a week ago today, AND I am 3/5 done my traveling bag which is on hold till I finish the shawl cause my friend's wedding is on the 16th of May. I even started working on my ancient knee high socks that I don't know if I like anymore but oh well. Been working on those since... well... 2005 I think. Maybe 2006. They were my first expensive yarn purchase project. When they are done I'll get your opinion.

I'm still alive. All is good. I just don't feel I can blog without photos. It's weird.

My straight hair is bloody amazing. I get so many compliments on it and I just love playing with it. Completely rejuvenated my relationship with my hair. I figure I've shaved my head, dyed it every colour under the sun- it was about time to straighten it!

And I cannot beat boss #4 on Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass for DS. CANNOT!!! Sucks.