tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70307932008-03-06T21:31:00.998-06:00amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-74559590792095606982008-03-02T11:07:00.007-06:002008-03-02T12:00:36.545-06:00

Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff winged its way to me in February, thanks to some very talented and generous Gocco-ers who were part of the Mid-Winter Gocco Swap. I was more excited about this than I was about the pen pals I had in elementary school, and for good reason: (from upper left): 1. From the UK, Beth sent a very happy, innocent image of a girl in the snow and some delicious tea (also, Beth?

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-28306530777653974112008-03-02T11:05:00.004-06:002008-03-02T11:20:41.346-06:00

Last month, I participated in Sarah's very brilliant Mid-Winter Gocco Swap. This inspiration for my contribution was a lonely scene from a park near my house, an empty playground that has been covered in snow since late January. It's printed on two different cards. The first is a gravely gray that gives the image a melancholy feel and the second is a pool blue that reflects happier

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-42063501773526100202008-01-27T11:40:00.001-06:002008-01-27T11:41:53.047-06:00

The Recipe For amandamonkey 3 parts Difance 2 parts Understanding 1 part Devilry Splash of Creativity Finish off with a little umbrella and straw What's the Recipe for Your Personality? Thanks, Jaichan

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-7234978510034597852008-01-19T17:29:00.000-06:002008-01-19T17:39:31.757-06:00

I'm head-over-heels for my new Gocco. What better way to honor this fleeting stage than to make a series of Valentines? It's -2˚ here in Chicagoland. The photos were taken on our relatively sultry porch, whose temperature reads 15˚.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-45412877964839468582007-12-30T20:18:00.000-06:002007-12-30T20:22:07.848-06:00

Don't fall for the yummy-looking Peppermint Patty Pie trick at Burger King. This 'promotional pie' tastes like ass.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-66706854637425820532007-12-27T10:51:00.001-06:002007-12-27T19:40:13.377-06:00

Rock Star and I met up with some good friends yesterday at Bob and John's La Hacienda in Buffalo, NY. The blue cheese pizza and the chicken wings were delish - as was the conversation. We then took a trip to the AmVets for some cheap fabric hunting. I found three shirts that, once washed and cut up into little bits, will work well together in a project or two from Denyse Schmidt Quilts. All

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-45987547659869858712007-12-25T17:23:00.001-06:002007-12-25T17:27:10.463-06:00

Here's hoping all your wishes and dreams come true...Just like Barley's did.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-20147658015783559322007-12-22T15:47:00.000-06:002007-12-22T16:26:06.003-06:00

Materials: All kinds of bits and baubles from Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Pattern: 'Robot' from Wee Wonderfuls Recipient: My 3-year-old neighbor, who has been known to wear his robot pjs under his Halloween costume. Thoughts: Super-fun (and fast!) to make, though it did take me a while to stuff those tiny claws. Mods: None, really. I loved the one on the pattern book so much that I even kept

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-72274989791325093752007-11-28T19:48:00.000-06:002007-11-28T20:06:18.977-06:00

Rock Star and I packed up the monkey house and headed south for Thanksgiving. Barley, of course, was all about the turkey... ...but my aunt and uncle were having none of it and did an excellent job implementing the Turkey Block. Fortunately for him, though, Bad Grandma was there and she knew she would be allowed to break the rules without consequence. Despite being surrounded by fowl

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-60044449672371769672007-09-17T20:47:00.000-05:002007-09-17T20:54:19.586-05:00

So my friend and I are going to the Beastie Boys next week. It's 'Dress to Impress'. The only problem is, um, WTF does that MEAN?! Please help!!!!

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-20645867495893486562007-09-15T09:35:00.000-05:002007-09-15T09:53:29.546-05:00

Don't hate me because I can't use all this gorgeous stuff... Latest Rockin' Sock Club yarn shipment From left to right: 1 Uncut Yard of Alexander Henry 'mini calaveras' fabric, 2 Yards of KUMIKO FUJITA 'Kitchen World' fabric, 2 Uncut Yards of ROBERT KAUFMAN 'Melrose' fabric, and 10 Amy Butler BELLE Fat Quarters in 'Sun Glow'. Just thought you'd like to know. I will get back into this blog

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-66903520370296343992007-08-15T20:26:00.000-05:002007-08-15T20:34:22.154-05:00

RS: ...so look at this blueprint! Even if you're standing *here*, you can't even look out the window! PLUS, they took actual LIMESTONE and scored it to LOOK LIKE CEMENT! AM: Ugh. That's just another data point proving that stuff from the '60s was crap. RS: Hey! I'm a product of the 60's! _______________________________________________________ RS: Did you set the timer for the pizza?

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-27807732689186635652007-07-30T21:07:00.000-05:002007-07-30T21:13:29.639-05:00

Me: ... All I'm saying is that I used to be a waitress, too, so I'm really pretty patient. But, you should provide water as soon as possible and acknowledge your customers within 10 minutes. Even if it's just to say, 'I'm slammed, but I'll be right with you.' Rock Star: Let's get back to what we were just talking about. Smoking things and my birthday.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-74954649016082873382007-07-30T07:58:00.001-05:002007-07-30T08:00:48.561-05:00

... for not posting this weekend. I was involved in assembling what may be the most involved DIY project from IKEA I've ever seen.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-72518074914905603782007-07-27T21:16:00.000-05:002007-07-27T21:33:24.745-05:00

I have had these dreams, ever since I sold my first house, that the next owners did terrible things to it like take out the original Art Deco lights - and that they painted the woodwork. It's so horrible that I dreamed last week that I actually repurchased the house in order to return it to its vintage state. This is only a scratch on the surface of my insanity.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-91863851155121192132007-07-26T16:48:00.000-05:002007-07-26T17:27:43.478-05:00

My self-portrait sock photos always remind me of the self-conscious, grainy webcam photos on the internets of certain men I've ::cough:: heard about - off center, with the dirty room behind them. Yarn: Socks That Rock in 'Monsoon.' I had a little ball of yarn left (~1.5" in diameter) from the one skein that came with the shipment. Pattern: 'Inside Out' (first Rockin' Sock Club pattern for

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-51375781825054572532007-07-25T19:05:00.000-05:002007-07-25T19:55:03.991-05:00

Just now Rock Star asked me if I'd posted yet today. I said no, I don't know what to write right now. He said, "How about Humpty-Dumpty?" Me: "That's a great idea!" RS: "Yeah, with the Lord of Death. They could have some kind of battle!" Me: ... All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again. I was back in Indiana a few weeks ago. Mom had been

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-88137649415645181352007-07-24T18:24:00.000-05:002007-07-24T18:50:04.681-05:00

Whether I've been working all day - or playing - this is my favorite time of day. I especially love to sit on our porch and knit these days. There is usually a dog on the floor, next to that bone. You might have noticed a WIP in that last photo. It's the Heartbreakingly Cute Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I'm using PJ's from Knit One Crochet Too - a polyester fleece-y yarn that is

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-71592998853147751752007-07-23T07:38:00.000-05:002007-07-23T07:44:31.895-05:00

Today, Rock Star and I have been married for 51 days. Photo by our photographer, Jessica Kaminski. Time has really flown for the past three months - I can't believe it's nearly August already. To celebrate everything that's been happening and to get me back to blogging, I will be posting every day for the next month. So you may have to, er, wade through some crap to get to the good stuff.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-7340307504759454922007-05-22T21:32:00.000-05:002007-05-22T21:37:47.725-05:00

I will pretend that I have not been gone for many months and just dive in. I'm in Utah, in training for my new job, which I quite like. I have a walk-out to the pool, where I can see all kinds of kids playing all day. Although I received the second Socks That Rock shipment weeks ago, I am still only on my first sock of the first shipment. I quite like how it is coming together.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-18488217830372818982007-03-13T13:03:00.000-05:002007-03-13T13:05:45.578-05:00

I'm breaking my own rule not to blog from work to bring you this important announcement: Rock Star is being interviewed on Radio Islam tonight. He'll be talking about global warming. You can listen by going here tonight at 6:00pm Central Time.

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-41320440734522530142007-03-03T11:02:00.001-06:002007-03-03T11:07:59.614-06:00

Whee! So as not to spoil it for anyone who still hasn't received their first Rockin' Sock Club shipment, I will distract you with dog-in-snow photos that I took back in December but which I will pretend were taken this week: This is some goooooooood stick! ...but why can't I be with you??? Okay, you've probably seen this on lots of other kintters' blogs, but I LOVE this first colorway!

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-25789535651300028902007-02-25T07:16:00.000-06:002007-02-25T10:30:19.109-06:00

My apologies if you've seen this already, but it is too wonderful not to share on an icy Sunday morning... Thanks, Poppalina!

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-89104094909097440092007-02-24T11:43:00.000-06:002007-02-24T12:01:43.117-06:00

The Metro Blue fat quarter set I ordered from The Fat Quarter Shop came on the same day as The Modern Quilt Workshop and Make Your Own Contemporary Quilts. I will be making the cover Zipper quilt from MQW and I'm so excited! Wanna see the fabric close-up? I am at home today, waiting for the ice storm instead of going to Blogless Amy's 1st birthday party for her dog, Truffle. This is

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030793.post-4553269633025448232007-02-21T21:22:00.000-06:002007-02-21T21:30:16.447-06:00

Rock Star had this brilliant idea. I have over 2300 unread bloglines and was stressing about it tonight and he said, 'it's too bad you can't just declare Blog Bankruptcy.' To which I replied, 'of course I can. I shall do so as soon as we get home.'* * this means I will not have read your past three months of brilliant and thoughtful and creative thoughts but that I *will* do so again....

amandamonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05479876584952683243noreply@blogger.com