Letter to the Editor

It's been a little over 3 months since my brother died. As little as I talk about it here or elsewhere, it's always on my mind. My mom has posted a letter to the editor in the local paper, fully disclosing the details of his death. And while I know them all, it makes it hard to see. Not so much because I've been reliving his death this week, but because it makes me sad that this has become my parents' new crusade - a crusade against suicide.

Sigh.

Good thoughts

I've posted about Evan before - but keep him and his family in your thoughts today. Evan went in for surgery this morning - you can read more about him on Allison's blog.

Stitch markers?

I've been making alot of stitch makers lately - you can see pictures of them here. I've been toying around with the idea of opening an etsy store, but since I'm so new to making them I'd like to test them out some. Anyone interested in being a test knitter? You'd get a set to knit with and would only have to provide me feedback on what you think. Drop me an email if you're interested!

Looking for a doula?

For anyone in the Los Angeles area, my friend Peggy has recently started a doula business. I met Peggy when I first moved to LA, and while I can't speak to her doula techniques, she's an amazingly compassionate and supportive person with a great sense of humor. Peggy is passionate about what she does - go check out her website here to read more about why she decided to become a doula and what her philosophy is.

Oh, and in case you needed more convincing - in addition to being a doula, Peggy's also a great knitter. :)

Little League Baseball

Thanks for all of your comments - in the end my friend Teresa is taking 4 of the skeins in a partial trade and I managed to resell the other 2 on the Destash blog. There's some discussion on the Ravelry board about the subs - some people were emailed asking their preferences, some had their order cancelled, others knew ahead of time and included options in their order. I did email the owner asking to return them and she said that was fine, which I was glad to hear.

Not much to report on the knitting front. I'm out of town this weekend, taking a mini-break from work (always a good plan when they announce layoffs I'm sure) and going to a friend's engagement party. I've actually never gotten to meet him in person (we were introduced via a mutual friend), so it's a little weird to be going to his engagement party :)

Oh, and apparently there's a world series in little league baseball....who knew? It's been on since we got here and is totally holding M's attention. At least I have my sock to work on :)

:(

Last week I ordered 5 colorways of Lorna's Laces through an online clearance sale. It came today, but not what I'd expected.....

Turns out after I placed my order, the homepage of the store noted that yarn is going fast and subsitutions will be made if the ordered colorway is out of stock.

And that's what happened to 3 of the 5 colors I ordered. I wasn't notified, and when I emailed the owner she replied that there's a note on the website saying substitutions will be made. And suggested I see if any of my friends would be interested in trading.

I understand that she's one woman running a store - and a store in the middle of a huge sale. But I'm frustrated she didn't email me or just exclude the yarn I ordered that she doesn't have. Instead she's using a statement later posted on the storefront to explain why I'm holding on to 6 skeins of yarn I don't want. I'm considering either trying to trade them or emailing her again and asking her to take them and refund me the money.

/rant

Shout outs

Gradschoolknitter is having a contest for her 100th post - check it out!

Allison (of Supercrafty.com), who I've blogged about before, has some somewhat good news - Evan's surgery for his brain tumor has been bumped up to 2 weeks from now. This change is unfortunately because Evan is showing some decline - so please send some good thoughts their way. And maybe even buy some yarn :)

I'm relieved it's Thursday - it's been a week of minimal sleep so far. And even though I went to bed early, I was woken up by an earthquake this morning. Bringing my grand total of earthquakes felt to 3 :)

Final answer

In this world of amazing conveniences, somehow it takes longer to do things. I received a new credit card last week, and called the 1-800 number to activate it. It used to be, and still is for some cards, that all you had to do was call the number and enter some information. But now they try and sign you up for all sorts of programs. My call was no exception - payment protection, credit monitoring, the works. And they never ask you if you want to sign up, they just tell you they're mailing you the information packet and you can cancel later.

I had to tell the woman signing me up I didn't want it. I knew I was going to get a lecture on how great it was. "But I'm an American consumer, and making uniformed ill-advised decisions is my right," was what I wanted to say. Instead, I settled on some Millionaire lingo "...and that's my final decision."

Somehow, she knew not to argue.

On a more serious note, kmkat posted a link to this blog with images from the bridge collapse. Absolutely amazing to see the extent of damage - it's hard to even imagine.

Weekend update

I've been somewhat remiss in updating lately, so here's a stash enhancement, WIP, and misc. update :)

• Stash enhancement

A gift from Molly, Sundara Yarn. Spunky Eclectic yarn, a prize from Claudia's MS Ride Raffle. STR Lagoon, a purchase off the new Destash blog. Yarns from Handpaintedyarn.com for hats. Bought from Lotus Yarns, who has great names for colorways :) Bought from Paradise Fibers (who were really great to deal with)

• WIP

Manly sock, still going strong. Swallowtail shawl, intended to be worn at a wedding that's already occured (oops!). Generic ribbed hat, can never have too many. Lady Eleanor stole, a prayer shawl of sorts started in May.

• Misc.

My newfound interest in making stitch markers


A new mixer, with which to make more pies (and other things too I'm sure)


Anyone want a one person tea set?

Have a good weekend all!!