Wow I have been BUSY! let’s see what has happened since I last posted here, well I got married and went on a fabulous honeymoon(I have pictures somehwere!!!) I’ve been knitting a lot… and oh yeah I started a yarn dyeing business Grrrl Shaped Yarns overall life has been good to me.

It’s weird looking back now it seems like so much has been happening i don’t know where to begin or what I should talk about, maybe I’ve gotten a bit rusty as blogger, I feel rusty.

I can’t believe it’s 2010, 10 years since I was in high school come thus June,  8 years since I transitioned come this July, 2.5 years since I moved to New Zealand to live with my husband. I still remember the feeling of being unsure of where I was going, getting lost often, and in general being confused about my surroundings.  Wellington is so big that there are still parts of it I have never seen and parts that confuse me, unlike the relatively small San Francisco I used to live in.  Still doesn’t feel like home, and I still miss San Francisco at times, but things will change. A New year, a new decade, it seems like just last year we were all panicking about Y2K, or in shock over 9-11. It’s amazing looking back at how much I have changed in these past 10 years.

One thing that new years always bring along with them are resolutions, I haven’t made any resolutions so much as a few goals. and in the effort to help me stick to them I guess I shall share them with you.

1. become a bit more fit and healthy(if this helps me lose weight than so be it)

2. Expand my business to the best of my potential

3. Finish at least 12 items this year(after realizing last year I completed one super simple scarf and shawl and that’s it ALL year)

That’s it just a few simple goals, nothing to earth shattering. I like to think I’m doing good I’m eating healthier and participating in the Couch 2 5k challenge even though i am a bit stuck right now… I’m plotting and scheming business plans. I have finished one item already this year that’s my wedding shawl( yes it was 3.5 months late what you wanna make of it?)

In general I think life is good, and although I am busy it’s a good busy I’m enjoying it! I have so many plans for the next year I hope some of them pan out. and with those thoughts I would like at say, I’m thinking of starting an online crafting magazine, if you are at all interested in submitting a project  or article or review please let me know via email Zine AT brooklynnemichelle DOT com

I hate flying, no I really really do. My general fear of height doesn’t even factor in here. It’s not because I’m afraid of a big metal object full of people and freight suddenly realising it has no business being up thousand of miles in the sky. It’s not even about the really horrible new scanners that will let the secruity people know exactly what is under my clothes. I hate flying because of the room.

As a self professed FAT chick(that’s Fabulous And Thick  Chick incase your curious)and tall person (5′11 and 2/3rds exactly) flying means actual physical pain. to start with i’m shoved into a tiny space with my elbow viaing for the 2.3 inches on armrest shared with the guy next to me, and my knees have been foled up to my chin due having on 5inch infron of me and I ALWAYS get stuck with the guy who reclines soon as the seatbelt light goes out. Things seem to have gotten out of hand about this whole issue with most people pointing their bony fingers at the zaftig flyers, and now even the airlines are joining the pointing.

No one has seemed to stop and think maybe the problem isn’t the fat people, maybe it’s the face that the airlines have JAMMED US IN LIKE BLOODY SARDINES! It seems every year the seats get smaller(for the record I have not changed in boddy mass or size in 8 years when I lost 75 pounds) soon a toddler is going to find themselves cramped on an airplane. If these airlines REALLY cared about their customers they would expand the seats to alow you atleast breath your own  BLOODY air. So I say to you is it us big boned gals faults that the airlines have determined that nicole richie is an average sized human?

NO

* all uses of fat here are used in a size positive and reclaimed sense, yes i am fat and if you don’t like it don’t stay…

This rant has been brought to you by midnight ramblings and winegums!

The longer I seem to have this blog the more I can see ways I can improve it. and so thus I have decided to start adding various features and will listen to requests.

Current Features:

Moved Blog – I moved my blog to the main url and am working on a redirect of the old url please if you have me on your links page please update these. and part of this move I have changed my blogs name to simply “Brooklynne Michelle”. The rest of my pages should be up soon too. P.S. this means you also need to update your feed please do that.

Patterns – I have been doing a lot of knitting over the years and I would say that over the past three years 92% of my projects have been of my own design. I like to think that these designs are rather cool and nifty so I have started offering my patterns online right now there is only one sock pattern and it’s for sale but in the future I will also include free patterns. If you have any questions please let me know via the new contact me button.

Sponsors – I have added a sponsors page. This is a page where I will link to people who are rather rad and sponsor this blog in some way. I though about this for a long time and decided that I wanted to make a seperate page for these instead of putting this on the front page. If you want be a sponsor for this blog please contact me.

Theme – I have changed the theme a lot these past few days looking for the right theme. I’m not sure I have found the theme I’m looking for so please bear with me while I continue to find the one I find perfect.

Future Features:

Made Mondays - I am going to start a weekly feature where I review handmade/indie craft and other things along those lines. I plan on starting it this next monday. I hope you like it and if your somone who thinks that a product of yours would fit this section feel free to yet again contact me!

Handspun – I have been spinning a lot recently and part of this means that I have ben spinning things that aren’t quiet my thing thus in the future there will be some of my handspun yarn for sale.

So those are the things that are coming up over here at chez Brooklynne I hope your as excited as I am.

As you may have noticed I have been doing a lot of spinning lately, mostly on my Ashford Traditional wheel which is really something new for me and I’m really enjoying it. It does mean tho that I am getting flooded with all this new information, and fibres and techniques. As I was trying to remember how each item felt as I spun it, what I thought of the finished yarn, how I plyed it, and how it knit I realised I really need start keeping track of all. So I dug through my box of journals and journalling material and found the perfect journal.. only it wasn’t a journal. It was a hardback copy of Diana Diamond’s Good Sister which I picked up slightly damaged at a local library for 20 cents.  So I got down to work and dug through my Art Journal/Altered Books supplies and came up with the supllies I needed.

I removed the dust cover and saved that for later art projectsand decided that this great three dimensional cardboard “dream” sticker that is meant for a wedding page was perfect for the cover. Using some other accents from the same pack to add some zing to cover. Next I wanted to cover the previous title along the binding, so i dug throgh all of my book binders tapes almost went with the black until I saw a tape that had been trwon in the box by accident it was silver and shiney. It was Duct Tape.

I knew that once this journal started getting big I was going to need a way to keep it closed, after a few thoughts I got out my drill. Using a 2mm drill bit (in retrospect  I should have maybe went with a 3mm) I drilled a hole through the front cover  and using a vintage shank button and a medium four holed button from and old shirt and elastic thread I attached the button.  On the oustide and on the back of the book in the same place using a 6mm drill bit made a hole atthe same height but a bit further in and attached a piece of leather thonging with a bit of glue. I made the leather long enough to wrap arounde the whole book once and a half. Closure done.

Next came the title page/ splash page of when you first open the book. Using two differnt but coordinating scarpbooking papers I  I went to covering the existing pages. I then wanted to put some kind of title page digging through some of my random free graphic I got from Smashing Magazine and fun fonts from Dafont I made this simple image in GIMP(free equivilant to photoshop).

Then last thing to do was start the actual journalling so I dug out the left overs from my first handspun and start the entry for that. I had decided that there were a few things I was going to write about for at least each yarn I could write about more if need be. I also needed to cover the old writeing so I used some more of my scrap book papers also to combat with growing thickness I ripped out three pages after this one then glued those two pages together. That is that and my spinning journal.

I owe you guys at least three posts but for now I’ll give you this meme.  Now I don’t usually do memes unless they tell you more about me this one is a bit of an exception because it’s specifically a knitting meme.

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once,
with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn(I want to spin the Camel first..yummmmm)
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (I have no idea what this is)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles( almost predominantly)
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers (I want to knit those clogs that everyone is always on about)
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book(was working on the Mosh Knit Book but then we had a flood of punk pattern books so maybe not anymore)
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money (not recommended involves lots of knitting very little money)
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding (well I am starting soon on my wedding shawl)
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting (I was a total failure at that…. not enough time)
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO ( and HATED IT!)
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows (um WHY?)
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair (ewwwww)
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Wow I have done a lot of things when it comes to knitting but then again I have been knitting for 15 years now :-p That was courtesy of Bear over at Bull and Bear.

Briefly I also started a wedding blog at which me and Ryan will document the months leading up and after our wedding; you can find it over at www.brooklynneandryan.com

Hope you are all well and are having a great 2009 and hope to be back sooner than later