I’ve had the idea in my head for awhile to review some knitting apps for the iPhone & iPod Touch. Currently, I’ve only used a stitch/row counting app, but haven’t been convinced that knitting apps are necessary. Knitting is so pen and paper to me anyway (aside from the thousands of electronic knitting patterns out there, of course!).

Before I delve into my reviews, I wanted to hear from you. Do you use any knitting apps? Have you used any knitting apps in the past? What did you like/dislike about them? Please send me an email at themarioscarf@gmail.com if you want to contribute! I’d love to hear from you.

I make lists all the time. While I was making this one, my best friend called me up, and in the course of the conversation she said lists made her feel bad because she can never complete all her tasks. For me, even if I don’t finish everything, at least I have everything on my mind in one place. List-writing is an important part of my daily experience and I have various notebooks and journals scattered around the house for different types of lists. And I’m happy to say I have several handmade journals purchased on Etsy.

Do you make lists? Are they graphic organizers or plainly written like mine? I love seeing how others organize and plan and how they work through the planning stages of the creative process. Send me pics- I’d love to see your lists.

Today was another sick day for me. I had horrible insomnia last night and woke up late in the day with a slight fever. Most of the day consisted of sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, a huge water bottle, and the cats watching episodes of Clean House. Man, I love that show. Eventually I felt better, enough to actually start tidying the house. Maybe Niecy Nash inspired me to get up and moving or maybe it was the fact that being sick and immobile all day BLOWS. I took care of the usual suspect: dishes, bedroom, bathroom. And then I knew I had to get in the craft after posting the embarrassing pictures. I wanted to prove that I could get it together and I think I did a nice job. I even hung a decorative calendar on the wall.

This colorful calendar is from Jess Gonacha who happens to live in the Atlanta area. Not only is she a fantastic digital artist, she’s also local for me, which made purchasing her calendar all that more enjoyable. We don’t have much art up in the house yet so anything on the walls is exciting and makes the space look fresh. I love it!

And then I got to work on my circular needle binder. For some reason the only clear sleeves I could find at Sam Flax the day I gathered supplies for this binder were photo sleeves divided into quarters. I figured I could make it work, and it sort of did, but when you have two pairs of 60 inch long size US 11 needles to squeeze into a tiny pouch, it isn’t the best fit. When I cleaned out my closet earlier this week I discovered a huge pack of plastic sleeves I had left over from my senior English portfolio. Yay!

So I went from this- with the circular needles stuck in tiny quarter-page pockets-

To a beautifully organized and tabbed binder full of my circs-

I also put my loose paper patterns in sleeves and added them to the back. Now everything is consolidated and easy to find.

I’ve decided to get circular needles to work on my scarf. I knit almost everything with circular needles nowadays and I find straight needles kind of awkward and heavy to handle. If I’m wearing something with long sleeves the ends of the needles get caught up in my sleeves. And with the scarf getting heavier and heavier, any less bulk is a good thing. I may sub tomorrow if I feel better, so I think I’ll reward myself with a trip to Knitch (yay!) if I get a job and make it through the day!

Remember those cardboard boxes in the picture from my last post? Stinky moved into the bottom apartment.

I’ve been on a mission in 2009 to read great books. When I graduated last Spring with my English degree, I was determined not to read anything more in depth than a fashion magazine for awhile and I’m glad I went through that phase, because now I’m ready to get back into some meaty books. I walk through bookstores with desire. With the weather so nice, I took little Harper (baby I nanny for two days a week) into the East Atlanta Village and stopped by Bound to Be Read Books and got two new books.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Trailer Trashed by Hollis Gillespie.

I just started Pi and really love Martel’s philosophical style and world influences. World literature fascinates me and I can’t wait to get deeper into this book. Hollis Gillespie’s new book is the third memoir she’s written and she lives in Atlanta. When I worked at WRAS-FM I had the pleasure of interviewing her and Grant Henry. I was high on Sudafed and a sinus infection and had the best time. I still keep in touch with them a few times during the year, but really I love living in my own city vicariously through her books. If you like David Sedaris, give Hollis Gillespie a shot. You might not get all the references to various locales in Atlanta, but her childhood tales bring the laughter and the tears.

I also picked up Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut at Borders the other day. I’ve read Slaughterhouse-Five, Man Without a Country, and “Fates Worse Than Death” from him and love, love, LOVE me some Vonnegut. I hope I don’t get too impatient and start reading all three of these at once. Geeze, it’ll be just like when I start a zillion knitting projects at once… heh.

I just got a call to sub tomorrow from a friend so it is time to end posting and get to sleep! Have a wonderful week. I have plans to recycle some cardboard mailers I found later this week, maybe start blocking the end of the Mario Scarf, and to drink lots and lots of water! No more being sick!