Now where was I...

Ah yes! Before life interrupted I was talking about the Knitty cruise. Once again, it was great fun. As soon as I remember to upload my photos, I'll post a few. Basically I just took pictures of the scenery. I'm weird like that.

Knitting news: I finished ChildHood (or NoHood, as it turned out). It turned out really well, and The Boyfriend's sister was pleased with it. Hopefully I'll get to see the kid wearing it over Thanksgiving weekend. We'll see. I did take some pictures before I sent it off, but once again haven't gotten around to uploading. So you'll just have to wait. Muhaha!

Over Labor Day, I started Branching Out in the KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud (as seen below) that the lovely Jane sent me. It's such a yummy yarn, even if laceweight is a bit fiddly to knit with. I just want to pet it constantly. The pattern itself is a good intro to lace knitting. It's a bit exhausting, truthfully. I knit 2-3 repeats, but then I have to put it down and pick up something I can do without paying too much attention. And it's out of the question for knitting in my awful CLE classes (two nights a week for five weeks, plus homework).

For CLE, I'm working on Voodoo wristwarmers. I have one finished, and I'm about 10 rows into the second one. I'm using a beautiful merino/silk blend in dark purple...maybe eggplant? My current SP sent it in my first package, and hopefully it'll be just enough for the wristwarmers. It's started getting chilly here now, so I'll have to wear them soon.

I have to get to work on some Christmas gifties. Here's my current lineup:

• cigar gloves for The Boyfriend's parents, which shall be packaged up with some pricey cigars


• socks for Sephora Lady, more commonly known as Mom; haven't decided on a pattern yet, but the elann toe-ups worked out pretty well


• something soft and lacey also for Sephora Lady, since she saw me working on Branching Out and declared "I'll have that if you don't want it." Yeah Mom, that's why I'm making it, because I don't want it.

Not too bad a list, I think. I'm sure I'll find more things that I want to make for people before the holiday. I know my grandmother would love this, but I am soooo not into knitting giant intarsia designs. Maybe I'll just buy her the pattern and she can knit it herself. No...nevermind...she'd probably knit it and then give it to me. :gasp:

Crazy daze...

Things have been nuts for the past few days. Saturday, I went to the dentist for the first time in years. I knew I'd have to have some work done, because one tooth had been bothering me. I have to get a freaking root canal! Yikes! I should mention that I hate dentists, and have ever since I was young and had one that wouldn't put the numbing gel on your gums before injecting the novocaine. And they always found something that needed drilling and filling. Well, now I've got the mother of all cavities that is lurking below the gumline, so they've got to do the root canal and cap it this coming Saturday. Oh boy, two Saturdays in a row spent in the dentist chair. My new dentist is actually very nice, and he promised it won't hurt. I wonder if I can demand my $3,000 back if it does hurt? And can you believe I have to pay them $3,000 to drill at my teeth? Isn't that sort of thing fun for dentists? Shouldn't they pay me for it instead?

Luckily, going on the Knitty cruise on Sunday made up for the traumatic dental visit. I got to meet Amy, who was pleased that I brought my Blythe, Sedona, dressed in her Knitty t-shirt. And I got to hang out with Karen, Tamara, Jen, Maryann (marymac), Valerie (alerievay), and Jane (who was my fabulous SP from Round 4).

More on my crazy life later. I have to go to the most ridonkulous continuing education class ever. >:[

The Copyright Morass

So, recently I've noticed a lot of posts on message boards about copyright as it relates to crafting. It's being talked about on Knitty and in the forums on Etsy, my latest place for obsessive shopping. As an attorney who decided to specialize in copyright and trademark law while in law school (not that anyone will hire me to practice in those areas, but that's another issue entirely), I'm sort of appalled at the confusion that exists. There are many people in the crafting community who think they know about copyright, and there are many who admit to ignorance in the area. But, I am suddenly curious about the actual "rules" (if the Copyright Act can be said to truly have hard and fast rules). It occurred to me that there really needs to be a good resource for crafters to head to when these questions come up, and that resource should be created by an attorney who knows how to locate and interpret legislation. And since I'm not really doing anything requiring a surplus of brain cells at the moment, I might just be able to put together such a resource.

So, what I'm planning to do is get started on assembling clear-cut answers to those questions that seem to keep popping up on the web. It's going to take a while (since I do actually have a job to go to and also some knitting to get done), but I'm hoping to eventually be able to create a website or at least a downloadable document with the information. And I might find enough debate out there to warrant writing a law journal article, which would be great because I'd love to publish something. Maybe there's even a book in there somewhere.

If you're interested, stay tuned to this space. I'll post some of my findings as I go along.

Oh, and ChildHood is almost finished. Just have to sew on the snaps, which I could have done last night if The Boyfriend hadn't distracted me. Pictures this weekend!

Oh no! I'm it!

The fabulous Urbanpagan has tagged me for a meme, so here go the answers!

ten years ago: I was 16, just entering my junior year of high school and itching to learn how to drive. I grew up in NJ, so I couldn't get my learner's permit until I was 16 and a half and couldn't get my license until I was 17. But, I was young for my year, so some of my friends were already driving. That was my first real year of adulthood, I suppose, since I was more independent than ever before.

five years ago: I was 21, and was entering my senior year at Penn State. That year, I moved into an apartment with 5 other people, 2 girls and 3 guys. I only knew two of the guys, and not all that well, but I had a huge crush on one of them. He's now my boyfriend of four years and we live together.

one year ago: I had graduated from law school and had taken the bar exam but was still waiting for the results. I was unemployed (and I still don't have a "real job") and pretty bitter about that fact.

five snacks:

• chocolate


• Cheez-Its


• jalapeno poppers


• banana and peanut butter


• black and white cookie

five songs I know all the words to: (there's a lot more than five, but here are the first ones that pop into my head)

• "Only the Good Die Young," Billy Joel


• "Desperado," the Eagles


• "I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor


• "Let it Be," the Beatles


• "Freya, Shakti," Gaia Consort

five things I would do with $100 million:

• pay off my loans


• buy a house


• buy a horse


• invest a few million so that I can stop working


• give the rest away to charity

five places to run away to:

• the beach


• the mall


• Central Park


• the zoo


• my parents' house

five things I would never wear:

• hotpants (unless I lost about 40 pounds)


• a micromini (unless I lost about 40 pounds)


• wool underwear


• anything with the Boston Red Sox logo


• fur

five favorite tv shows:

• Seinfeld


• The O.C. (guilty pleasure #1)


• Laguna Beach (guilty pleasure #2)


• Will and Grace


• ER

five biggest joys:

• snuggling into the covers on a snowy day when I don't have to be anywhere


• kitties, puppies, birdies, and anything else you can think of that isn't an insect


• horseback riding


• Disney World


• the first day of vacation

favorite toys:

• my two Blythe dolls, Lirienne and Sedona


• the computer (complete with high speed internet and City of Heroes)


• my iPod


• my sewing machine (even though it doesn't work half the time)


• my digital camera

five people to pass this on to:

• yarnyogi, because she was my downstream SP for SP4


• sparkli, because she's my age and she seems really cool


• cBear, mostly because I like the name of her blog


• A Knitter in Queens, because New Yorkers are the best


• Linz, because she's a Penn Stater!

And, on to knitting content. No pics today because I'm lazy. Oh, okay. I'm making Branching Out in this:

It's so soft and pink and snuggly! If only I had more patience with lace. Actually, it's my first lace project. It's going fairly quickly, but I know I've made some mistakes. It really is impossible to undo mistakes in lace without a lifeline, but for something this small I can't be bothered to do the lifeline thing. Luckily, I'm not one of those perfectionists who can't stand to have a little mistake here and there in her knitting. If I was, I'd never finish anything.

ChildHood is almost finished. I just have to seam it up and sew on the buttons and snaps. I'm hoping the snaps I got are an appropriate size. Never take a boyfriend to the fabric store, for you will be rushed into decisions that should not be rushed. Sigh...

Toe-up socks are finished, except for weaving-in-of-ends. I finished them at my parents' house this weekend, and only narrowly managed to wrestle them away from my sock-loving mother. She admitted they were a tad too small for her, and I managed to add that they were mostly wool, so they might itch her delicate tootsies. Heh. Mine, they're all mine! I will make my mother some socks for Christmas that she can wear without itch and that she can toss in the washing machine.

Okay, this whole meme thing has taken way too much time, so I'm off to bed.

Hurricane Katrina disaster relief

I'm so shocked and saddened by the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that an entire major US city is essentially under water. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your home, your possessions, and to have to basically start over again.

Instead of trying to figure out something that is probably beyond the comprehension of most humans, I've decided I want to do something. There are loads of charities that are helping the victims of Katrina, and I urge you all to donate what you can. Even if you only have a few extra dollars, every little bit helps.

As a confirmed animal lover, I will be donating to the Humane Society Disaster Relief Fund. The HSUS has dispatched teams to the disaster area to rescue any stranded companion animals and to help reunite them with their owners.

Please do your part to help the victims. Once you've donated, be sure to log your donation at The Truth Laid Bear. TTLB will be tracking your contributions, and I'll update this blog to let everyone know how much we've raised.

As an added incentive (not that you needed one, right?), if you make a donation to the Humane Society, and you forward the confirmation email you get from HSUS to me (hbrogan@gmail.com) along with your mailing address I will send you a little gift. (Hint: most likely beaded stitch markers).

flood aid
hurricane katrina