Knit Picks Winter Catalog!

This sock pattern... which can be found on the Knit Picks website for a mere $1.99... will be in the Knit Picks Winter Catalog!

This is very awesome news. I love Knit Picks and their Independent Designer Program, which is an excellent way for new designers to sell patterns.

A special thank you to my friend Toni who talked me into submitting a pattern in the first place. Go download one of her awesome hat patterns:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10002220

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10177220

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10041220

Or her shrug pattern:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10460220

Star Trek Sock Pattern - Updated

I updated the pattern on Ravelry, but there's a lot of confusion about how to get the new version. I also decided to make it available to those who aren't Ravelry members. The new version of the pattern can be downloaded here: [no longer available]

Midwest Bat Working Group Webpage

I created the following webpage for the Midwest Bat Working Group (MWBWG):

http://www.mwbwg.org/

I must say, I am somewhat proud of it...

Puppy's Favorite Chew Toy

Since I don't have anything positive to blog about, I will instead post an old video I took when Hiro was still a puppy. The cat (aka Kitten) actually adores Hiro, in case you can't tell from the video. Sadly, Hiro no longer chews on Kitten thanks to the addition of another cat (Phantom, aka Skull Kitty) to our household. Whenever Hiro chews on Kitten, Phantom comes charging into the room and attacks. In fact, I just played this video with audio on, causing Skull Kitty to come into the room to investigate...

Herald Times Article

For those of you who live in the Bloomington, Indiana area... the Herald-Times just had a story on White Nose Syndrome in their Sunday Outdoors section for which I was interviewed. The article's title is "Deadly disease could infect state’s bats as early as this winter".

It's available online here:
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2010/10/31/outdoors.qp-6778152.sto?1288544610
but... you need a logon to access it. Once I get a copy of the paper, I'll see about scanning and posting it here.

WTIU Episode is Available as a Podcast on iTunes

The episode of "The Weekly Special" with my interview is available to download online, for those of you who want to watch but weren't able to catch it when it aired.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/617-animals-in-need/id163350156?i=88214299#

You need iTunes to download and view the episode.

Weekly Special Interview

Last year I did an interview for "The Weekly Special" (a WTIU program) on White Nose Syndrome. They'll be running the interview again on this week's episode, which airs on Thursday at 8 pm and Friday at 6 pm.

For those of you who aren't familiar with White Nose Syndrome, it is a very serious disease that's been killing off bats in the Northeastern United States. It's spread further North (into Canada) and now as far west as Oklahoma. It has been estimated that over a million bats have died. The ecological consequences of this disease are devastating, and the situation is only getting worse. You can read more about it here:

http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/

For those of you who are interested in donating money to research on White Nose Syndrome (something which is desperately needed right now), I highly recommend the Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation's White Nose Syndrome Fund.

http://www.indstate.edu/biology/centers/batwnsfund.htm

 My roller derby skates are in the photo to the left, and my shiny new wheels are shown below. My previous wheels (which came with the skates) were rainbow (one wheel each of yellow, pink, green and blue). I kind of liked the colors, but I didn't care for how the wheels felt. I upgraded to the Radar Speed Rays, and I love them! The shoelaces had to match, so I lost the rainbow laces that were originally on the skates. My skates almost look dignified now... Many thanks to Rolling Thunder Fun Factory for helping me pick the new wheels out!


Sadly, I was invited to participate in an upcoming exhibition bout (tomorrow), but I'll be at a wedding instead. Phooey! Admittedly, I wouldn't want to miss the wedding, but still... it WOULD have been nice to be able to show off my limited skills in front of people. And actually playing derby is crazy difficult, but a lot of fun. Anyone who thinks women aren't aggressive enough to play contact sports is an idiot!

Socks are Up on Knit Picks!

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Mix_it_Up_Pattern_Socks__D10592220.html

Pattern is only $1.99. The Independent Designer Program at Knit Picks is awesome, because the pattern designers get 100% of the pattern price and retain the rights to our patterns. It works for them, because people are encouraged to buy their yarn.

Adventures of Porch Toad

There is a toad that lives on my front porch. Occasionally I see him hopping around when I'm out there at night. Photographs were necessary.

The cats, they must investigate to see what porch toad is all about...

Yay! Sock Pattern Accepted by Knit Picks!

I received final approval of my sock pattern from Knit Picks today. The pattern should be posted on their website quite soon. I'll let everyone knows when it goes up.

When Aliens Attack

Now that I've started a blog, I need to go back and talk about the really cool project I recently worked on. I was an extra in a Discovery Channel docudrama called "When Aliens Attack", which should air in January or February. During filming, I played several interesting parts - a soldier rescuing people from the rubble, a soldier wearing some crazy gas mask apparatus, a doctor treating people with a virus that caused exploding eyeballs, and a refugee. I've added some of the more interesting photos below.

 

  

Mix It Up Socks

These are another pattern I just finished, called "Mix It Up Socks". The pattern and socks have been submitted to Knit Pick's Independent Designer program, and I'm waiting to hear back from them.

If you've never checked out Knit Picks, you're missing out. They have tons of cool yarns and patterns, all of which are very reasonably priced. I've recently fallen in love with their sock yarns, which are wonderful to work with and come in a fantastic variety of colors.

Their website:
http://www.knitpicks.com

Star Trek Socks!

My first pattern is available now as a free download from Ravelry. Accessing it does require membership, but that is free and well worth it. You will have access to many other very cool patterns.

The Star Trek sock pattern is available here: [no longer available]