Arrrghh..blaaah...reeeeoooowwww...

Okay, no sweaters or pretty crafts today.  Today I'm royally pissed.  As those of you who read my blog often know, my first book came out three weeks ago.

The journey has been a lot more uhhh...arduous than I thought it would be.  But I am grateful, so very grateful that I got a book published and that I have written almost four in the series.

That being said, I got a review today that was so mean, so totally shitty that I can't focus on anything else.  I have had a couple of bad reviews but the vast majority of them have been incredibly, amazing awesome.  But this woman, this "reviewer" from the Times-Colonist, my HOMETOWN newspaper is truly a piece of work.

She got several of the facts of the book wrong.  She said it was full of cliches but her headline read "Amy Foster-Songwriter, Attempts to Write Book- Should Keep Her Day Job".  OMG, is that not a total cliche?  She then accuses me of being a terrible writer, a mysandrist (man hater) not very bright and somehow, a racist.  She can't believe my character would say a line like "We are women, if we have a problem, we talk about it, we talk through it.  We aren't men, keeping everything inside."  I don't know who this women hangs out with, but the guys in my life don't share or communicate like women.  They are different.  They are men.

I'm venting on my craft blog because many of you spend many hours crafting things you are proud of and feel are beautiful.  And I have found almost without exception, that crafters are kind, generous people who understand what it's like to dedicate yourself to something and therefore are not quick to judge.  Or if they have something not so positive to contribute they try to do so constructively.  I'm open to criticsm, but I hate that I have to sit back and let someone crap all over my work because their p.h.d. in english doesn't feel it's clever enough.  

Anyhow, I felt awful.  Then I remembered.  The Internets!  The Googles!!  I googled this woman, whose name, no joke, is Candace Fertile.  And lo and behold she is a professor at Camoson Community College.  She has a profile at rate my professor.com.  And almost everyone said something negative about her.  They called her rude, offensive, elitist, panders to favorites, self centered, abused her position to use her own work in the class and many said she was the worst teacher they ever had.  After that I felt much better.  Petty, I realize, but true.

I have to wonder if this person has the nerve to read HER OWN reviews.  I doubt it.  But if she has, I can take comfort in knowing that she is such an egomaniac that she doesn't believe that the voice of her students counts for anything.  If I was a teacher and read what 116 of my students thought of me, most of it bad, I would have no choice but to re-evaluate my style and approach.  

So Thank You, knitters and crafters, you good people you.  Being part of this community is always a comfort.

Sweater Lurve Vol. 8

Recently this sweater was featured on the news!  That's right peeps.  I was on the island doing an interview for A TV and my mom told them that I knit.  She then presented the interviewer guy (Adam) with this sweater. Why did she have it you may ask?  Because it seems that almost everything I knit goes to my mom!

I love this sweater- I really do.  I love the shape and the color.  The yarn is Arucania Azapia and the pattern comes from Classic Elite Yarns book 2.  The problem with this gorgeous number is that my shoulders are too big!

My mom, god bless her, has unnaturally small shoulders.  The sweater looked far better on her than it ever did me.  So, she got it.  That's always the way.

Tomorrow is Haloween.  My fave holiday, but Iv'e been so busy with the book that I haven't had a chance to even process the great day!  We carved pumpkins tonight but it's raining so hard we had to put them in the window. I hope it doesn't rain for trick or treating.

I am off to my bed, I was up at four am doing radio until noon.  My brain feels like it's going to explode! Happy Halloween everyone!

Second Anniversary Gift

Sorry!  I usually post every Friday.  But the book tour has me on the run.  I finally have a couple days off before starting up again on tuesday.

Meanwhile, I thought I would put up some sewing stuff.  Finally- I got to do some sewing! I used my handy embroidery machine attachment too.  

My not-husband Matt is a bitt of an old fashioned guy.  Well, we both are in many ways actually.  One thing we have in common is that we dont dig tissue.  It's not a eco thing.  It's just that on a sore nose, nothing feels better than a hankercheif.

But Matt doesn't use the dainty ones.  He runs hot.  Im fairly sure his body temperature is normally like, 100 degrees.  He carries a bandana around with him everywhere, so he can dab his forehead.  What I'm trying to say is that he's a sweater.  Ha! funny.  Obviously he's not an actual sweater...you get it.  Anyhow.  The second anniversary is the cotton anniversary.  So I chose a light cotton fabric and sewed up a few of these bandanas for him.  Then I put his initials on

In turn, Matt got me cotton paper stationary with my initials on it! So that was cool.  Now I am going to go enjoy my day off with the fam and do some knitting.

Already?

I was so proud when I moved and got rid of most of my stash.  Two garbage bags full, stuff I had been holding onto for years.  I gave all of it to a friend that is going to design school and trying to raise two boys.  And it was a relief to not be bringing all that stuff with me to Vancouver.  A clean slate.  

So here we are, a mere two months later and LOOK AT THIS!  A suitcase full of yarn.  Already!  What is my problem?  I just can't say no.  I have projects lined up for the next year and a half I'm sure.  I justify this by saying well, yarn is my luxury item (i conveniently leave out the clothes and the bags and the shoes.) Like somehow because I don't own a ferrari or a yacht it's okay that I buy whatever skein strikes my fancy.  I must stop this ridiculousness.  Even though as I write I am waiting on a huge shipment from Purl of Spud and Chloe.

It could be worse.  The children aren't starving or anything.  No one is going without because of my yarn issues.  But looking at my stash fills me with mixed emotions.  Sometimes I'm just so happy, it looks so pretty and soft.  Then sometimes I look at it and it feels (gulp) like unfinished work.  I hate that feeling.  

I have made a solemn vow- no more buying yarn.  For at least a month.  No, two months.  Two months, no yarn.  After that, well...I know I'm not alone out there.  Yarnaholics unite! 

Sweater lurve vol. 8

So it looks pretty good huh?  This sweater is a case of wishful thinking, or bad swatching which ever you prefer.  When I was in Portland last Christmas, I bought this yarn.  This divine Catherine Lowe Couture Merino.  It is so divine, that EACH SKEIN comes in its own plastic little box.  Now the instructions on swatching and what not are so complicated that you need a phd to figure them out.  So I swatched and looked and measured and hoped.

This is from a pattern in Vogue Winter 2008 and it's your basic shawl collared cardi.  But I really liked the detail on the sides and front.  Basic, with a little twist.  The thing is, I should have made it two sizes bigger.  I simply couldn't tell because the yarn stretched and folded and rolled how big (or small) and I really couldn't tell as I was working on it exactly what the hell was going on.  Yes the yarn is lovely, but it is soooo lovely that it seemed to morph into any shape you wanted it to.  I can wear it, but I can't wear anything but a cami underneath and it can't be a fat day. 

Clearly one of the nicest things I've ever knitted but sadly I rarely wear it because I'm finding that many days lately are fat days. 

Note to self, and other knitters, if the instructions for dealing with your yarn are longer than your actual pattern, step away from the shelf people!