A Lace Shawl and a Horse

Just checking in real quick, a little micro blog to detail the awesome thing that happened to me today.

I met a horse!
It was so awesome, I was walking to class from lunch and there was a horse cop in a little cafe(I could tell by his fabulous boots) and I saw the horse and asked him I could take a picture, and there I am. It was a super nice horse though, really friendly.

As you can also see I am wearing a bright blue lace shawl. In fact it is my Blue Omlet shawl that I knitted back in March. It was really interesting wearing a lace shawl, but I got a ton of compliments. I regret none of knit wear. It is also super soft and kind of wonderful.

I also just happened to finish a pair of socks just a few minutes ago, and I know what pair I will be wearing tomorrow.

Stay fierce and fabulous

Thanks-Knitting Weekend

Thanksgiving is a pretty fun holiday. I don't have an unusually large family, or at least one that my parents chose to acknowledge. So any celebration is limited to the parents, my brother and me, and sometimes the grandmothers. This year we decided to celebrate this food filled holiday by going to Disney World in Orlando with my God-family(that is basically the family friends that are practically family). So started on the three hour drive on Thursday morning and we got there around 12, and ate some lunch. It is on that three hour drive that I got a ton of knitting done.

So I haven't really written about my knitting in a while, partly because I wasn't really doing anything interesting in my opinion, but now I some interesting things to share.
I finished the front of my Southeast Village Sweater today and seamed my first sleeve to it, so now I have a sweater with one sleeve and no neck treatment blocking on the blocking mat on the murphy bed downstairs. It is kind of awesome seeing it pull together. This is the longest a sweater has taken me. If you can remember or read in the archives), I started this sweater in June! That is kind of a long time ago.

I also happened to finish the second sleeve of my sweater two hours ago, and it looks pretty good. There is an in-progress shot.

I also got some knitting done on a sock that has been in progress for a while, but it is pretty nice. As a whole I got a fair amount of knitting on several pairs of socks that I kind of need to get off the needles so I can wear them. I need some more socks, I am getting bored of the 15 pairs I already have.

That is some regia sock yarn, just one of a billion colour ways. It is pretty though.

I also got some work on my annual pair of "Birthday Sox", a shameless pun that started last year with birthday sox. It is out of dream in colour smooshy with cashmere. It is pretty soft and nice, hopefully I will finish them faster than the last pair, but as of now, that is doubtful.

I also worked on these for like ten minutes, but I don't think that really counts.

I also got some work on my circle blanket done. It is almost finished, I basically have three rounds left and I can not wait to finish it, and snuggle with Cheyenne in it during class. I also have a little anecdote about it from this week. I was sitting in my English class working on it, and the really cute boy who sits behind me who always ogles over my knitting and crocheting said that it looks like mermaid hair. I just thought I would share that.

Continuing on the theme of anecdotes, I was snuggling with my best friend on the train under my gay blanket, which brings a fair amount of attention to me on a usual basis. As we were getting ready to get off the train, the lady sitting on the seat opposite us asked me where I bought it, and I told her that I had made it, and she complimented me saying how pretty it was. And I thanked and said with a straight face, "oh it is for gay pride" and she nodded and smiled and said that was nice. It might have been a miscommunication  we were at our stop and about to get off, and not the most opportune time to talk about the intricacies of granny square blankets. It made a great story to tell all of my GSA members.

This is a picture of my locker and how it looks on a daily basis. It is quite a fun sight to see, but my jellyfish is squished behind it and that always makes my day.

Stay fierce and fabulous people,
Comrade Yarnman

Cheesy Thanksgiving Post

I am inspired today by a mountain of very sweet youtube videos talking about what they are thankful for this holiday. They are all really cute and very endearing. It just makes me extremely happy to see that people can slow down for a little bit and remind themselves of why they should be happy. I'll try to have as few cliches as I can.

I decided I am going to organize this post very haphazardly, just how I like it.

Let's start with the women in my life that I am thankful for, I love these amazing women so much I made a collage and put it on instagram. That is precisely how to tell how sincere a teenager is, just look at that social network.

Starting from the left, that is me and my beautiful friend Cheyenne. My favorite junior probably ever. I couldn't tell you how awesome she is. It would end being a fifteen page proof with lots of diagrams. Maybe I will end up writing my doctoral dissertation on how absolutely awesome she is. For one through a billion, she is beautiful. For a billion and two, she loves sweaters just like me. For a billion and three, she is the sweetest person in existence. I am super thankful for her being my friend in first period and fangirling with me

Then starting from the top, that is my best straight best friend(since I have the designation of her best gay best friend). She has been with me since the beginning, like eighth grade. She is super awesome, and I can't wait to continue being best best friends. I am super thankful to her for doing all those duets with me and dealing with my indifference and general angry sassyness.

Next is Amanda, my extra spectacular friend. Thanks for dealing with my drama and staying my friend all through it all, and making one of my friends so happy.

And last of that photoset is my Mommy. She is kind of the most perfect human being ever. She deals with my irritability and loves me anyway. She also accepted me for who I am when a lot of people even nowadays would not. She also keeps me in line when I say ridiculous things. She lets me experiment in my thought with her and listens to my crazy thoughts when I just brain fart to her. I am so thankful that she wakes me up in the morning and drives me to school and that means so much.

I am lastly super grateful for my new kitty, pumpkin. She is so cutely and lovely. I never really thought I would be a cat person, but maybe I am. Or maybe I just really like my cat and that is it. I think I would feel the same way about having children. Granted I really don't like children, so probably not, plus a cat is really different than a human child.

Alas, those are a few things I am thankful for this thanksgiving. I really feel like I should sign these off somehow to have a sense of closure for these posts. ok let's try...

Stay fierce and fabulous people,
Comrade

NEW FAMILY MEMBER!

Hey guys! Meet my new family member, Pumpkin!

She is a cat my parents found in a tree. We rescued her and she is actually pretty nice. Most cats don't like my mom, but this one does. So when my parents brought her home, I was a little skeptical, but it turns out she is extremely affectionate. I fell in love at first purrrrrr!

She seems pretty young and relatively healthy, so my parents were worried that she has an owner that is looking for her, so they decided to visit out Vet and see if she is chipped. It turns out she is, and the chip is linked to an unregistered number. Which is fantastic because everyone in my family loves her.

And she really likes my dog Sparkle. My family really likes seasonal names for our pets. We got Sparkle in July of 2003, so I was like 6 and it is a better name than Lucky. That is my excuse and I am sticking with it

They have such similar colouring, they were meant to be!

She is already geeking out with me watching Star Trek: Next Generation.
My dad is saying that she fell out of the sky and fell into the tree. Of course this is ludicrous, but I still really like her and do think that it was a wonderful happenstance. We are so happy to have you in our family Pumpkin!

BOOK FAIR!

So yesterday was the Miami Book Fair International. Because I go to the most awesome high school ever, and I mean EVUH because I am a teenager who likes exaggerating, I get to have an extended lunch and I get to shop around the book fair because it is right on the Wolfson Campus. It is the most fun, not just for the books but the delicious food, as well as the excellent people watching opportunities. So I assure you I had some some delicious fair food, like some turkey leg and I also had a delicious arepa.

There is always an inordinate amount of free crap, I mean stuff, that is given out at fair things in Downtown. I am sure this isn't unique to Miami. Either way there were about five stations sponsored by target within the 3 square blocks that made up the book fair that were handing out free makeup bags with a ton of cosmetic things that just continue to oppress women telling them that their natural skin will never be good enough and that the only way they will be pretty is if they use that stuff. Either way I got three of those. They were also handing out moist toilets to random people, I was sure cleanse my face of the oil and sweat from the 80 degree weather.

I also got to hit up some used book shops and it was pretty awesome. Most of my friends aren't big readers and neither am I, but there are some things that I tend to fan girl over, and those are science fiction and regular old science books. I saw a good amount of Kurt Vonnegut and I had to get some, he is one of my favorites. Plus some Tolstoy, I thought I should be a little more educated.

The super amazing thing about book fair is the children's section. It is really awesome seeing all the little kids being bused in and how excited they looked. Plus they have a lot of the classic characters of really awesome books out there taking pictures. For example:

Clifford the Big Red Dog(and some of my best friends, including that turkey leg)

Bernstein Bear and my long-time fake girlfriend
And my most favorite of all:

Curious George, because he is so amazing, and we are basically twins. Excluding the fact that I look awful in red.

Super Amazing Week

So this was one of my favorite weeks ever. I suppose I should detail the whole week, but according to FCAT essay writing styles I should provide an overview of my week in my introduction. But I am rebel. So it basically started with a birthday and ended with a birthday, both of two very important people in my life.

So what I am calling my "Phantasmagorical Week of Epicness" started on last Saturday with the celebration of my godbrothers birthday. He is essentially family and he is currently going to college in Tampa. We ate at this super awesome(and expensive) Japanese place called Samurai. It is really cool, they have the chef's prepare the food in front of you on a heated stove, it probably isn't real Japanese food, but it is still really delicious.

Here is a little message to my readers made out of fried rice. Yum.
After that I saw wreck-it Ralph, and it was super amazing, one of my favorite animated movies of this year. I have to say Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman are both perfect people.

Monday was an excellent day, school was very relaxed and since I have election day off, I went out to the movies and I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which was absolutely amazing. I really cannot handle how amazing it is. It is raw and emotional and touching. It really hits you at your core, and discusses teen issues refreshingly and clearly without being cliche. After that I got some amazing frozen yogurt, and it was absolutely amazing.

Tuesday was quite a day. I guess I should stop talking about politics, it is just kind of hard when so much is riding on this election. I usually am not very partisan, but when it comes to our President I am in full support because he is the first president to openly support equality for the LGBT community. Of course that isn't the only reason. I am also a very hard leftist when it comes to economics, and to be honest, President Obama hasn't been far enough to the left. But this is another issue that I don't think my blog that is mainly about knitting is appropriate to discuss.

Speaking of inappropriately discussing politics, one of my conservatives friends was complaining about how she feels scared to post her beliefs on Facebook for fear of people attacking them, because most of my high school is very liberal. Since when has the internet been a good place to have thoughtful discussions, especially Facebook when it is filling with hyperbolizing and melodramatic teenagers, and this is coming from one of the most dramatic of them all. Now that the election is over I can finally relax.

Not to mention...WE WON...the liberals won some things, like marriage equality in two states and legalized marijuana in Colorado. Plus we have the largest number of women in the Senate in all time. All of this is awesome, so I am pretty damn excited for me. But now that the election is over I can talk about my knitting and crocheting.

So finished a sleeve two weeks ago for my Southeast Village sweater, and I started on seaming up the sides, and as I was nearing the end of the right seam on the body, I realized I did one less repeat on the front than I did on the back so I ripped it out and now I finished the body I am working on the armhole shaping.

So I started working on a scarf a while back, and by started, I mean I cast it on and knitted two rows. I decided that I wanted a really masculine longish scarf. So I thought the most masculine would be a grey tweedy scarf in garter stitch, and thus I created the Hetero-Scarfual, I haven't taken any pictures of it finished, but it is for sure done, and it is super warm. When I was watching Perks, the theater got super cold and I needed something to keep be warm, and lucky for me I had my scarf.

The real fun starts with the afghan I started this week. After I finished my pride afghan, which absolutely everyone loves. I actually brought it to school the day after the election in celebration of Maine and Maryland legalizing same-sex marriage. But anyway, after I had finished it I felt a little lost without a blanket on the hooks, so I headed over to Joanns and picked out yarn for my Circley Blanket of Wonderfulness

It is basically a stripey circle of double crochet increasing 12 stitches every round. I am using Lionbrand homespun because I like sharing my blankets with my friends and acrylics are the best for that in case of wool allergies.

Better Weather and Friends

As all my friends say "Sweater weather is better weather"

As you all know, I live in the swamp at the southern tip of Florida called Miami. Most of the time it is hot and humid. Normally I sweat just walking up the stairs to my first period class. It is well into fall, but only last week did it get cold, and by cold I mean it got below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, so not that cold, but most definitely cold enough for hand knit sweaters. I thought I might share some of these pictures with you, starting with my outfit yesterday.

that is my Turn a Square Hat, and my pretty friend making faces.

Here is earlier in the week with my best friend steph on the train. If you can actually see it, I am wearing my Wash Sweater

Aren't my friends beautiful, especially Cheyenne :) 

My First Rally

Yesterday was my first political rally. As you know from previous posts, and the name of the blog, I tend to be very far left leaning. A lot of people have called me a commie or a socialist(which isn't at all insulting), but it does not really phase me. I know that I am liberal. Granted just because I describe myself doesn't mean I agree with everyone on the left, but that is just what I rational person would think.

So my mom and brother voted on tuesday morning. Not to get on too much of a tangent, but everyone who lives in the United States and is older than 18 needs to vote. Your vote does count, no matter what you think. Even if you don't live in a swing state, and no matter what political party you belong or what you are voting for. Voting is a great privilege and a necessary duty that is beautiful and wonderful, and you need to take advantage. So as I step down from my soap box, I suppose I should continue with my story. So after they waited for two hours to vote, volunteers from the Obama campaign started handing out tickets to go to a rally in downtown Miami with Michelle Obama. My mom texted me on tuesday if I wanted to go to the rally and I couldn't contain my excitement at the prospect of seeing the FLOTUS. So she got three tickets, one for me, one for my dad, and one for her.

So I got signed out from school, I changed into my LGBT for Obama shirt, and my parents and I headed over from New World and to the Knight Center. We ended up getting there around 1:30 and they opened up the doors around 3:30, but it the people around us were really amiable and I definitely made some new friends. I actually met this really amazing volunteer who was trying to get me to be on the rafters behind the First Lady. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful, it was still really cool meeting him, and I got a super awesome spot. I was almost 20 feet away from the podium. Marc Anthony was there too. I didn't realize how skinny he is. Regardless, he is still very attractive. Then Gabrielle Union was there, and she was phenomenal. At first I didn't recognize her, but she was such a great speaker. Plus she is absolutely gorgeous. Second to Michelle was Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is the congresswoman from a little bit north of me. She is absolutely amazing, and one of the best speakers I have heard live in a while.

The amazing finale of the 5 hours of standing that I did was Michelle Obama. It was most definitely well worth it. She is so beautiful and tall and fierce. Beyonce best watch out, because Michelle definitely WERKS!!!! She basically makes her point for voting for her husband very well, and if I could vote I would definitely vote for Barrack.

So this was first political rally. I have to say it was very fun. The energy and optimism is intoxicating. I am usually not one for unquestioning support of something. I like to really think about my positions and do thorough research, but to me, this election is now very personal. For the first time in American history, our President has come out in full support of same-sex marriage and equal rights for transgender. For most people who support Romney it is easy for them to say that this is just a pet cause, and that the economy is much more important, but that just shows how privileged they are. They don't understand what it is like to grow wondering if you will have the same privileges as heterosexual couples. They don't understand what it is like to think what if my partner is in the hospital and I can't see them. Or that tons of loving parents want to adopt kids, but are having an incredibly hard time of it. I was handed a pamphlet at the rally of all Obama's accomplishments for the LGBT community

and I brought it to school and showed it to my friends, and the officers of the GSA and I definitely got a marked different response from the different officers. The straight ones were super supportive and impressed, but when I showed the event coordinator, who is a lesbian, and she read over it, and looked up at me and said "It possible isn't it, it could actually happen, gay marriage could be legal". And she was so ecstatic and in wonderment, it was quite beautiful. I went to the sponsor of the GSA and showed it to her, and hung it up in her room and it will be there to remind students what our president has done for us. To remind me why he is my President, why I am so happy to call him that, and why I want four more years of him. This election is personal.