merry go round

my poor little blog, i have been neglecting you. it's been so busy lately i feel like i have barely enough time to get everything done. and hot. did i mention that it was HOT in the valley? my apt normally gets a bit warm in hot weather but it's been so hot that in the evenings when i got to bed at midnight, it's still 80 degrees in the apt. i shower at least twice a day now. i mean, my hair's squeaky clean but i really want some cool breezes to blow in soon. it's so hot that the thought of knitting with hot wool just makes my cringe. there's knitting news but let's get through the other stuff first.

last weekend (or maybe 2 weekends ago) i went down to san diego for comicon. every year it gets bigger and bigger and every year it just seems like i am never prepared for it. this year was no different and my roommate and i headed down there on friday to just wing it. luckily our friend jared was a superstar and let us stay at his place for the weekend. one of these years, we'll have enough money and forethought to book something a little nicer. i'd love to go all four days one year. there's just so much stuff and cramming it all in one weekend never seems like enough.

sadly, we were still in line to get into hall h when bryan singer was on. the usual suspects is one of my favorite movies and i really wanted to see him. poo. luckily we were able to get in later and snagged some awesome seats for the kevin smith talk. he was hilarious and brilliant, as usual. i can't wait for an evening with kevin smith 2: evening harder. ha! and he also introduced richard kelly, director of donnie darko and southland tales (which smith will be acting in.



and i was got my roomie hooked on firefly, so we were both stoked to see the serenity panel. the footage for the new film looks great. i can't wait to see it. the only cast member who wasn't there was alan tudyk, who was on broadway doing spamelot, but the cast and joss whedon were funny and smart and just seemed like a fun group of people. here are a couple of shots from that panel:


they play brother and sister on the show


captain, my captain

we also went to the chronicles of narnia panel, which looks really amazing. must remember to read the book again before the film comes out. and here is just a variety of shots from the weekend:


nice display case of blythe dolls. i have a thing for dolls on display. i find them so creepy- i just have to take a picture.


this was drawn in front of my very eyes by the talented aaron renier, whose book, spiral bound, i bought.


and of course, the obligatory storm trooper.

i was going to go into knitting but i find that this post is way too long as is and my room is way too warm. knit content to come soon!

beauty and the geek

i am not sure why i titled my post that but the beauty and the geek reunion was on last night and i saw part of it. my roommate got me to watch some of the show, and it was somewhat entertaining, even if i think that the premise is pretty horrible. but i haven't posted a real post in so long. i've just been too lazy, that's the truth of the matter. but now it's like so much time has passed i don't even know if it's worth talking about some of the stuff i wanted to.

let's see, last sunday i volunteered for an organization called boarding house mentors, that teams up kids with "mentors" at my work. i don't have a mentee yet, as i started here too late to sign up, but there was a surfing workshop and i asked if i could just come help, and they said yes! let me just say that i am not athletic, coordinated, or even in shape but for some reason i thought this sounded like a good idea. it was a lot of fun and i swallowed so much salt water, and it was scary, too. but no sting rays or sharks got to me and i made it out in one piece. but i did get sunburned in weird places (like me knees) and was so sore the next day that i could not lift my arms above my shoulders. it was horrible, but i am doing much better.

not much knitting has been going on. it's just been so hot lately that i don't want to pull out the wool. i want to finish my vintage velvet scarf but the extra yarn i ordered hasn't come in and my emails to the store have gone unanswered. this worries me. (note- i just called the store i ordered it online from - in june - and "someone will get back to me.") normally i wouldn't worry, but this color is discontinued and i was just happy that they had it. looks like a might be sol.


i started tblue ribbed sleeve yet again, this time with a selvedge, so hopefully i will be able to do my increased and not have it come out looking like crap. only time will tell.


and this is a swatch that i made for a vest i plan on knitting my dad. it's in dale of norway falk, which i got on sale at kaleidoscope yarns. the yarn is washable wool and softens up quite a bit after washing. it's nice. but the vest i was planning on making is from the best of knitters arans and celtics book (sorry no pic of it). but if you have the book, it's the wall street cables vest. but i am not sure if it might be too busy for my dad. it's cabled all over and i don't know if he's an all over cable kinda guy. if anyone's seen this pattern and has a comment, let me know.


and this is some recycled silk that i got this week in the mail. sorry the pic is kind of blurry but you know how those nighttime photo shoots can go. i am not sure what i plan on making from this. either an unbiased bag or a different sling type bag. but the colors on this are really gorgeous. i like to just look at it and pet it.

this seems to be the slowest day at work right now. half of the office is out and it's so quiet. after work tonight my roomie and i are driving down to san diego for the fun fest known as comic-con. it's going to be good this year. we're planning on seeing kevin smith, the serenity panel, and bryan singer! i'll probably also end up picking up some good books from top shelf comics and other goodies.

i'll try to take some good pictures to show you all next week. have a fun weekend!

finally i belong

i got an email from rowan today, telling me that i needed to sign up for a subscription, and i did it! i've been wanting to do it for awhile now but just haven't for some reason. but the free gift right now is make from the gorgeous kidsilk haze so i couldn't resist. i chose trance, a lovely pale blue shade for my gift. all the fall magazines are starting to come out and i am going a bit crazy. i want to knit them all, but i am still knitting things from last year. i'll never catch up, geez.

i promise to write a more detailed post soon. things have been a little crazy lately with little knitting going on. have a great day!

ps

stuff posted on the swap/sale page. :)

tragedy

my heart goes out to everyone in london right now. i have friends who live in london that i haven't heard from yet. my thoughts are with you all.

ps- and can the u.s. news please stop for just one second and think about the people who were attacked instead of if we might be attacked next? sheesh.

on the road again

well i am hitting the road yet again after work today. my parents were initially supposed to come down to see me, but they couldn't find anyone to take care of our dog so i am coming up instead. i packed a bunch of knitting (does anyone else pack way too much knitting when they go on vacation?) and will be gone until tuesday.

have a fun and safe holiday!