Blog Stalking, and I found my VW bus!

Does everyone out there blog stalk? I mean, really, seriously, start to identify with writers and then feel creeptastic? I am currently reading all the archives from the last several years of Crazy Aunt Purl's blog (omg, best blog ever, I looooooove her and her cat stories). As I work my way through the archives like its a book (they really do unfold like a book!), I wonder....am I the only one who is that massive of a blog stalker? Instantly, I know that I am not, cause Kristina does it too :) Great minds, friend, great minds. But are we the only ones? Does everyone else find blogs more intriguing than the news paper? I amoff newspapers right now. I blame them for my panicky over reaction to the markets plunging (I miiiiight have stocked up on canned goods. You know, just in case.)

In any case, many blogs read and unfold like books. Reality TV has shown us that real life drama is way juicier than the fake. I think its because you are reading about a real person, and looking at their pictures. Its only natural to start to empathize. I think its really rewarding to read from the beginning and watch bloggers develop in their craft and in life. Its when I chuckle to myself thinking about crazy aunt purl's cats or her hilarious SNB stories, or the Harlot's "falling downs" in yarn stores that result in massive purchases, that I feel like a MEGA stalker, who has stolen a glimpse into the life of another. Those of you with blogs thinking "she can't mean me," THINK AGAIN. There is a good chance I or Kristina has perused those archives.

I found my VW bus! I would like to blame my hippie obsession on where I grew up, the glorious heart of hippietastic California...Sonoma county! Cows and hippies! Also, great local music and shops, but you know, lots o birkenstalks (i love your birks, mom <3)

I saw this charmer outside the Embarcadero center back in January and couldn't help taking about 40 pictures.

Happy weekends!

where is my VW bus, man?

I cast on for a pair of slipper socks last night-- swatching during the debate, and casting on to a little HP and the Goblet of Fire (nerd that I am, I have the DVD on Netflix and the audio book on my ipod. ipod for commute, dvd for rollicking evening fun.) I forgot how much more intense and un-Dumbledorey the second actor is. Sadness. He is way to LOTR for the HP world.

Anywho. The yarn I am using for these socks was hand-painted by yours truly. Hand-painted is a fancy, glorified, artsy term for "used Easter egg dye to color yarn while simultaneously making our apartment reek of rotten eggs for a week."

This was my first attempt at dyeing yarn, and I did it back in May. Having stocked up on 50 cent packs of dye after Easter, I used Kathryn Ivy's Yarn Dyeing Tutorial.


I was most excited about combining a few of my favorite colors--purple, blue and green for a spectacular iris garden effect. I am thinking Van Gogh glory. Vibrant and lush. These pictures are misleadingly iris gardeny. In reality, the colorway resembles a grateful dead t-shirt that is faded from years of hard use hitchhiking from show to show. Thus, I call this yarn my Wavy Gravy yarn after every one's favorite Ben and Jerry's Flavor summer camp running Hippie.


The yarn was a bare super wash chunky yarn from elann.com. Pictures of the dyeing process can be found on my ravelry page, here. I think its the 30 minutes of steaming wool soaked in vinegar that produced that lovely, lingering aroma in my apartment for several days. It would have dispersed immediately if I had a porch or garage or somewhere other than my bathroom to dry the yarn. Nothing like some stanky wet wool for potpourri!
Above is a pic of my first swatch, before I switched to a smaller needle size. I am just working a 1x1 rib all the way down to create a dense, woolly fabric to keep my feet toasty all winter.

I was digging about in one of my stash bins (ok, its the only bin. the rest is in tote bags.) and thought I would snap a quick pic of part of my stash for show and tell. I can see Knit Picks lace gloss in sterling and sun kissed, elann.com lace in aubergine, some elizabeth lavold chunky al, my beloved dream in color smooshy in happy forest, more wavy gravy, some natural cotton for a purse, and some leftover rowan natural silk. Welcome to part of my stash!



rosa