1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans…
—

Re-post this if you believe in legalizing gay marriage

long day at work. went in at 8:00 and didn’t get home until 5:00. that’s ok though, because i am leaving an hour early tomorrow to make up for it. i had to stay because the manager didn’t schedule any cashiers from 4:00 to 5:00! brilliant!

but it’s ok, because i got a package from my SP! woot!

cascade 220! and a soft alpaca boucle. they’re not colors i typically knit with, but i think i need to get a little more variety in my color schemes. i have to remember that i’m not just knitting for me, i’m knitting for other people. most of what i knit goes into my store, or i use for gifts. and not everyone is all about super brights like me! i’m thinking a little purse out of the cascade, and a baby hat for the alpaca. that will make some baby’s head very happy :D

sorry i haven’t been posting very much, things have been slightly crazy. i got my schedule for next week and it looks great! three nights and a day. should give me more time for important things, like warcraft! woot! i’m currently looking to get a tiny emerald whelpling, which can sell for up to 200 gold! i have a tiny crimson whelpling, i’ll be selling that this weekend i hope. they’re more common, and worth about 100 gold. i can definitely use that! most of you probably have no idea what i’m talking about, but that’s ok. just remember i’m a computer geek. smile and nod :)

looking around etsy makes me want to scream and rip my hair out. there are people charging $4 for a handknit pair of mittens. FOUR DOLLARS! did they knit them in 20 minutes? because $4 is worth about 20 minutes of my time. that wouldn’t even cover the cost of the materials! this is why i can’t make a living doing what i love. idiots are out there selling things that should be worth at least $30, for pennies! look, it’s great that you have a hobby and all, but you are screwing the rest of us over, mrs. four dollar mitten lady! it takes me at least an hour to make a pair of booties, add in the cost of materials, and i’m charging $15 a pair because THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE WORTH. dammit people, don’t sell yourself short because you don’t think people are willing to pay it! if everyone charged what things were worth, that would be what people would pay for them! they wouldn’t be able to get it for less, so they would pay. it makes me feel like i should just give up. but what would i do then? work at fucking michaels for the rest of my life?

i think little monsters are the way to go. no one makes them but me, so i set the price.

and the next time some cheap person walks up to my 7′ long seed stitch noro scarf and balks at the price i’m going to scream. it took me over eight hours to knit and it’s got $40 worth of yarn in it, so shut up bitch! (yeah, not the way to keep customers, i know, but it’s not like they’re paying right now anyway).

this is the best thing ever that somehow i must procure:

felted chicks

i want to learn to needle felt, and this is a starter kit of unbelievable cuteness. next time i’ve got $20 laying around…

when you see this, post some poetry you love in your blog/journal

The Infinite One by Pablo Neruda

Do you see these hands? They have measured
the earth, they have seperated
minerals and cereals,
they have made peace and war,
they have demolished the distances
all of the seas and rivers,
and yet,
when they move over you,
little one,
grain of wheat, shallow,
they cannot encompass you,
they are weary seeking
the twin doves
that rest or fly in your breast,
they travel the distances of your legs,
they coil in the light of your waist.
For me you are the treasure more laden
with immensity than the sea and its branches
and you are white and blue and spacious like
the earth at vintage time.
In that territory,
from your feet to your brow,
walking, walking, walking,
I shall spend my life.

it’s been an elf making frenzy here at the gross household (Gross being my last name, for those of you who don’t know, it’s not like it’s icky here or something). these little ones are ornaments, as you can probably see from the little metal loops sticking out of their caps. i did them production line style, making all of the components (18 little heads and white cap toppers looked mighty odd on my desk) then putting them together. i put them together and then put on their eyes and smiles, i might do the eyes and smiles first next time. i also bought some liquid sculpey which works like an adhesive when used before baking. hopefully their little heads won’t fall off now if they’re dropped. it’s not a big deal if they do, since they come apart cleanly and would be easy to glue back together.

why so many dwarves/elves/whatever you want to call them you might ask? i have a craft show next weekend, and with how much work i’ve been doing i can’t knit, my shoulder hurts too much. of course my manager schedules me seven days in a row the week before the craft show! seriously, who the hell works seven days straight without a day off? it’s ridiculous. i don’t care too much anymore, since i talked to my manager and told him i want to go back to part time. the tendonitis in my shoulder has been going crazy lately, and i’m afraid it’s a sign that i’m starting to do some permanent damage. there’s no way a crap ass retail job is worth destroying my joint.

enough whining, the tater tots just came out of the oven. it’s time for the feed!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
yep, i’m a snob. i love wool, it’s my favorite thing. i also like some of the nicer artificial yarns, as long as they’re soft, like berroco’s plush.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
nope, but i would like to get in to needle felting.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
allergic to smoke and perfume, plus i just don’t like them :) i’m technically allergic to pets, but i’m on allergy medicine for that.

4. How long have you been knitting?
i don’t really know anymore. it was after high school, during college. maybe 4 years?

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
yes. if it doesn’t work, let me know.

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
citrus, honey, jasmine. my absolute favorite scent is Flying Fox from Lush. it’s simply divine. i’ve been wanting the Flying Fox temple balm, but i haven’t had the money to place an order.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
yes! i love candy. skittles, butterfingers, nerds, m&ms, lindt truffles, the list goes on. only thing i don’t really like is dark chocolate, it’s too bitter.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
i’ve been getting into clay/sculpey recently. as you can see from my previous entry i make little people.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
my computer can play MP3s, so can my ipod. i don’t actually listen to cds anymore. i love random stuff. the beatles, powderfinger, lamb, travis, classic rock, coldplay, portishead, techno (trance, trip-hop), etc.

10. What’s your favorite color? Or–do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I like bright, deep colors. Pastels are not me. Pretty much anything, but not so much for neutrals, like browns and grays.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
married, coming up on one year this december. no pets yet, we want cats eventually, but not until we’re more financially stable. no kids, ever, thanks.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
i’d like to be my own boss. i run allknitup which has really been taking off lately, especially since i started putting items up at etsy. i’ve also got some other things going for it that i think will really help it along.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
i absolutely love malabrigo yarn, aka handpaintedyarn.com’s pure merino worsted. i don’t know if they’ll ever have it at handpaintedyarn.com again, but i know that threadbear fiber arts is getting it in this fall for much less than yarnzilla has it at. my favorite yarn is super soft wool, single plied and dyed in beautiful colors. easy to please, huh? ;)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
plasticy acrylics

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
felting. i felt pretty much everything. animals, slippers, bags, cell phone cozies, etc.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
baby hats and booties, even though i don’t like kids. doesn’t make sense, i know.

17. What are you knitting right now?
baby booties and matching hats for an upcoming craft show i’m doing; little monster for my previous SP.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
ugh.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
circular. i don’t really use straight needles anymore, unless i don’t have that size in circs. i also knit flat on dpns sometimes, like when i make baby booties.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
milk caesin! i love my swallow dpns! they’re super pretty too. i just wish they could be made in circular form.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
nope. i don’t think i could spend that much time on a project.

22. How did you learn to knit?
a woman i worked with taught me when i said i wanted to make my own harry potter scarf.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
a tank top i started two summers ago. i don’t think it will ever be finished, as it’s in cotton which makes my hands hurt.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
i love cats, and i’m obsessed with koi. i have them on my blog, decorating my computer and as various nicknacks around the house. my favorite is a porcelain tea set i got in china town while honeymooning in vancouver.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
thanksgiving and christmas, they kind of blend together in my mind.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
koi stuff, and yarn of course!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
none

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
i would like a good book on needle felting, but i can’t seem to find any. i have a felting book on my amazon wish list, but it’s hand felting.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven’t bought for one reason or another??
i don’t really use patterns, i make up my own stuff so that i can sell it. very little of what i knit actually stays with me. i either gift it, or sell it.

30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
i wear a six, but i don’t really like to wear socks, probably why i’m not a sock knitter. in the winter i wear fuzzy feet around the house, but that’s about it.

i’ve been messing around with clay, because i was inspired by one of the crafy blogs i read. i can’t remember who made these anymore, i think it might have been my little mochi, not sure. anyway, don’t go thinking i’m that creative! someone else made the little clay dudes first, i just ran with it.

christmas elves! these guys have some trouble standing up, and i’m going to have to figure out some kind of base to put them on. i didn’t smush them to the pan enough when i baked them. they need super flat bottoms, especially with their little hats weighing on them.

hogwarts! omg, this was so much fun! the tiny little ties were a bit of a pain though. and mcgonagle’s glasses! ugh! but i think they turned out great. i need to paint dumbledore’s beard, as he got some purple in it. check out snape’s nose! none of the little dudes have noses except him. sorry, no thumbnail, this one is just too wide to make it worthwhile.

and the last package from my SP arrived! technically the blue and green aren’t mine, but i still get to knit with them! Judy asked me to make her son a little monster, and those are the colors he picked out. the lovely gold and orange on top are for me though! i think i’m going to make myself another pair of fuzzy feet. because, let’s face it, you can never have enough fuzzy feet! judy, i forget when you wanted that by, can you post a comment or email me to remind me?

please go read this, and pass the link along to everyone.

ninth circle

to those of you who read my LJ, sorry for the double post. i think this is important.

i haven’t had much to say about katrina, because my brain has been pretty much overwhelmed by it. it’s almost incomprehensible what is going on down there. the ever eloquent viggo mortensen is going to provide a few words for me. i try not to get political in this blog, because i know there are people reading it with different world views than mine, but dammit, these are his own people he’s killing now. the bastard should pay for it, or at least wipe that fucking grin off of his stupid ape face. take it away Viggo:

In the often and rightly quoted words of Bill Clinton, “There’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America.” We see now how individuals and groups around the country are acting in any way they can to help their fellow citizens in Louisiana, Mississippi and other devastated places near the Gulf of Mexico. They refuse to stand idly by and wait for President Bush and his morally-bankrupt, pirate administration to respond in an appropriately urgent and compassionate manner to the escalating agony and desperation of our fellow citizens. This agony and desperation was caused in large part by a near complete absence of adequate federal government funding, preparedness, and leadership. We the people will continue to help Americans and non-Americans alike, with or without the participation or approval of George W. Bush and his Neo-Conservative cohorts. While it is true that what is most important right now is to rescue, feed, house, and in any way possible care for those immediately affected by the disaster, it is equally true that in the long run those directly responsible for aggravating the tragic situation must be held accountable. The mounting evidence of the Bush administration’s criminal mismanagement of the nation, as well as its consistently arrogant disregard for our planet’s people and natural environments must be confronted immediately. Those who voted for Bush last year, or who have continually supported his outlaw administration in its destructively dishonest conduct, including not only extremist conservatives but also politically-calculating democrats, need not hang their heads or avert their eyes now. What they can and ought to do is join the increasing numbers of Americans who are demanding that presidential impeachment proceedings be initiated as soon as possible. Members of the Bush Administration responsible for the blatant lies and self-serving manipulations that have fanned the flames of disaster from Iraq to New Orleans must be prosecuted as our laws require. We must insist on this. Furthermore, we must not allow these disgracefully unpatriotic public servants to be pardoned by any future president as Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon. Please call or write your government representatives and help get the scoundrels out of government and in prison where they belong. Do not allow the subject to be changed, do not be distracted. The time to act is now. Take back your country.
- Viggo Mortensen