Love is in the air.... or is it?

I mean come on. We all have been watching CNN and network news. Lines all over the airports. People waiting hours to get on the planes.

wow.

Don't get me wrong. I am ALL for safety and security. I don't really mind. I usually thank our friends running the checkpoint for keeping the air safe.

So here I am, knitting. Watching CNN. Thinking 'Hey - I have a work trip coming up - I better take note.'

As I was watching, I was thinking - not too bad. Even if I have to get to the airport a few hours early.

REALLY. I don't mind.

Nope.

Actually, it's not that bad. It really gives me a few hours where I can sit and uh... oh no.

Admit it my sisters and brother (or two) in knitterdom. You just went there. Admit it. Yep. Just like I did. I actually dropped a few stitches on the WIP in my hands. Holy Sheep Shearing Scary Scenario! Hours at the airport. With NO KNITTING.

This is not the time to panic.

Pick up those dropped stitches. Secure the WIP so the feline cannot nest in it. Get the pc logged on. Why does it seem it is takin friggen forever. (pardon my language - I am on a mission here people!)

OK - I get google up and find the security website. Find the section on the updated list. Click the link.

tap. tap. come on....

The list comes up. The first section is Makeup and Personal Items. What is more personal than knitting? I start to scan the list.

Body Cream. Ok - I can pack my L'Occitaine lavender lotion in my checked bag. sigh. (see the 5 by 5 meme a few posts ago.)

Not to be deterred - I keep reading. A few items catch my eye. Mosquito repellent. Bubble bath. uh...ok. no problems here.

Hand sanitizer - sure I like keeping my hands germ free...but I can deal.

Mascara. Lip Gloss. Foundation. Hair spray. Gel Deodorant. Nail polish, mouthwash, hairspray, hair gels, perfumes, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner. Still ok. ...Hey wait. All of a sudden, I get this weird feeling of deja vu. Remember the first Tim Burton Batman film (1989)? Where the Joker puts different chemicals into grooming products, that when used together in different combinations people laugh to death. Next thing you know, the inhabitants of Gotham city stop using their personal hygeine products - with the expected results - less pretty people...and some really funny movie moments. Hmmm...could this be the new terrorist plot?

Focus. ok - I don't see anything about knitting here. Scroll down through food and others - nothing.

There has to be something somewhere. Finally I spy something that says - full list of prohibited items

Paydirt.

And there it is. In black and white. Lo and behold. You can all breathe a little easier.

Bottom left corner of page two. Knitting and Crochet needles. Carryon - Yes. Checked - Yes.

I can almost hear the sigh of relief. Echoing my own.

Yes - get past the 'crochet needles' reference. Hooks.

At least for now, the air is safe. Possibly a little less fresh and pretty maybe... but safe. AND so is our airport knitting time.

The Best Little 'Harlot-House' in Texas?

Yep - you guessed it - I finally got my post together and decided to finally share about the AMAZING time had by all last Saturday in Austin, TX.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) was in Austin - a mere hour or so drive from San Antonio. The event was hosted (and hosted well - more later on that) by Hill Country Weavers (HCW) - at the Baptist church across the parking lot from the store. (Here she is taking a pic of us with her sock - check out her blog)

That's right - you heard me right. The Harlot. Speaking in a Church. Ya gotta just shake your head at the irony of the Harlot speaking in a house of worship. yup. You got it.
True - you are saying to yourself (and to me - and I can hear you...) 'But isn't knitting a form of prayer, meditation, worship even?' Yes dear friends it is.

Even better....I discovered - yet again - WE ARE NOT ALONE. I feel like Fox Mulder - with his 'The truth is out there' poster - When reading the essay 'Archeology' in The Secret Life of Knitters, I was saying to myself - FINALLY - I know I am not alone - well it happened again at the church that Saturday morning - look at all these KNITTERS!!!! dang!

Stephanie talked about so many things - she is just as well-spoken as she is an amazingly funny writer. She talked about knitting as a sport - the Knitting Olympics were initiated by her. Stephanie also talked about how non-knitters just would not get it - people sitting in a church listening to someone who writes about knitting (she calls them muggles [think Harry Potter] - funny huh? it made me laugh out loud); about how she tries to explain what she does to people at parties - man - she was FUNNY! If you ever get a chance - GO! Drop what you are doing and GO - you gotta learn about 'Make Your Own Fun Mondays' and 'Find Your Own Food Friday'.

I won't spoil any more of the details - but as promised earlier - lemme tell ya - HCW were the hosts with the most. They organized the book signing so people could attend in shifts - making it easier for you to buzz into the front of the store and shop. BUT WAIT. There were pecan pralines, brownies....AND BEER! Yep. That's right. BEER. Yarn shopping WITH beer. Harder to fondle the yarn, yet so much easier to pull out the plastic to pay. - pictures of the results of my afternoon's fiscal irresponsibility later.

First - a little about my NONI KAL progress. The flowers are felted and awaiting their creator to get a needle that will fit through the stinkin beads I wanna use on them. Here is the body of the bag, pre-felting - with the only money I had left after the trip to Austin as a size gauge. I love the ruffle - I am wishing now that I had made it wider - buy the extra yarn and a 2nd circular needle and do the extra rows mentioned in the pattern.
and here it is after felting. Again - with that same, lone sawbuck as a reference point. Some of you are wondering - 'how the heck is that darn bag floating upside down? And how did she manage to get it so perfectly shaped? Crumpled paper and bags don't work that well for me?'

OK. I confess. The little lambz donated some of their favorite movie time treats to the cause. Here is my secret weapon. Pupcorn. The container is PERFECT for drying your bag - the right size and height..well almost the right height. Add one of the wells from a McDonald's coffee carrier under the pupcorn and you got it. (note - it is behind the pupcorn in the picture - lt gray. Anyhoo- I still have to find some fun material for the innerds, and something to keep the sides upright after adding the flowers and the handle. Oh yeah - the handle I got seems too small, so I gotta find a bigger handle. So I still have some work to do - AND I wanna start some socks or my Picovoli that I got some BEAUTIFUL silky wool for at HCW. Some of our local SA knitters are doing our own KAL for the picovoli - so I will have to gather up my courage to have one of my buds help me ...ugh...get my measurements.

more later - more pics of Austin and the stash to follow - plus pics of the pin for my friend Janna's birthday...

until then - ttfn - and lets all - Keep Austin Weird

Here's a story...'bout a gnome named Grimmy...

My friend Josie gave me a cute little gnome earlier this year - b/c she knows how much I LOVE gnomes! Well - Grimmy was sitting on my desk, keeping me company each day - helping me with my managerial decisions. Well - one day, one of the trainers on my team decided to STEAL Grimmy! The NOIVE. Anyhoo - my manager was visiting and saw the 'wanted' posters and shared with me that the stealing of gnomes is what they are all about - next thing I know - Grimmy has gone 'a-wandering' and I started receiving photos of him roaming across the country as he visited all the different call centers my company has. Anyway - the first picture here is from his first wanderings - Unfortunately, Grimmy fell in with a bad crowd who influenced him to start smoking....eek! (The title of this picture when it was anonymously sent to me was 'Gnome gone bad'










next, we have Grimmy recreating with some new friends, playing air hockey...










Most recently - Grimmy had come home and was back to helping make some pretty hefty corporate decisions - it was GREAT having him back helping me each day - well - we hosted a group of facilitators from across the North American Continent (people from as far away as Surrey, BC- near Vancouver) and someone asked about the gnome - so Grimmy decided to come down and visit the group. Later that day - Grimmy had decided to indulge his wanderlust again - and today I received a few pics!! He is definitely feeling very pretty in the first pic. He is so secure in his masculinity - I would not be surprised to see him in a utilikilt soon!!!










And this last picture is the most disconcerting - the title was simply 'LUNCH'. I hope to see some new pictures soon that indicate he has escaped from this perilous situation!