So now that I'm... a.) Going to a cold climate and b.) Not running a roller derby league, I'm getting back to my craftiness. I hadn't knitted or embroidered in FOREVER it seemed. I actually got rid of my entire stash of yarn in my last move since I hadn't touched any of it in about a year and a half. Of course, once I rid myself of something, I decide to get back into it. But whatever.

So I knitted myself a seed stitch scarf with the only ball of yarn I did save from the move. I did this mostly just to get my knitting rhythm back and figure out what the hell I was doing.

Then I knitted the Everyone's Doing It Shrug with this yummy purple Debby Bliss cotton I got at Knitorious in St. Louis during my trip. I have to take a picture of it still. I'll post it on here and on Craftster when I do. I've been wearing it for 2 days. It only took me a few hours to knit up. Very basic lace pattern and it's done on 10 1/2 size in a wrosted weight, so it knit up super easy. I'm going to do a more complicated shrug for my mom's birthday in June.

I also just made up a little pattern to knit a little Bichon for my Mom, which is supposed to look like Gabby (my Mom's Bichon that I'm rehoming with me- a whole nother story in and of itself). When she's sad and missing Gabby, she can pet the Gabby dolls instead. I knit that with some fuzzy Joanne's Angel yarn.

On some little Size 2 needles I am knitting Snowflake from The Knitted Teddybear book (LOVE that book). I'm not making her with the recommedned Mohair, but just some beige Heart and Soul yarn I found at Joanne's. I was just excited to find some fine yarn because I wanted Snowflake to be tiny.

I also started making April a hat on some circular needles I have. I never learned to knit on circulars and DPNs so that's what I'm doing. Over the next month or two, I'm going to teach myself all of the skills that I was either afraid to learn or just never got around to:

1.) Cables

2.) Intarsia

3.) Lace Work

4.) Circulars

5.) DPNs

6.) Customizing a pattern

The problem is that I tend to be impatient and I'm a slow knitter. So I try not to take on any projects that will take me more than a few days to complete. Like the chances of me every knitting an adult sweater are pretty slim. But you never know....

Widdling Yarn

So now that I'm moving to a place that actually has SEASONS, I can knit again!!! Before, there wasn't much to knit, living in the tropics and such. But now there will be a winter in St Louis, so I've already started knitting stuff in preparation!

Of course, I had to kind of reteach myself to knit. And then I realized is I really never evolved from basic stitches.

So, in true Me fashion, I made a list of knitting skills I am going to learn:

1.) Lace
2.) Cable
3.) Knitting in the round (just started a hat for April on circulars!)
4.) Knitting on dpns
5.) Knitting actual wearable stuff
6.) Adapting patterns

So far in the past two weeks, I've knitted a seed stitch scarf, started on a hat for April, made a mini Gabby for my mom, and now I'm starting on the Everyone's Doing It Shrug. I'm making it for my mom for her birthday at the end of the month.

I'll post pics of my work soon.

Domme's Complete Derby Gear Profile

I am a gear nerd. It's true. And I have very strong brand loyalty because I buy stuff I've done alot of research on and they are products I rest my most vulnerable body parts on. I don't take that lightly. So I've decided to review the stuff I wear, for your reading pleasure! I've also converted April to wearing most of this same stuff, so she can back me up that this is good quality stuff right here :)

Skates- Reidell 265 Wickeds- We should start with the most important part of skating- the actual skates. When I first started skating, I bought some old RS1000s off of ebay. They did the trick for that time but then I realized they needed alot of work to keep up with the skating progress I was making. So I took my butt down to Fritz's Skate Shop in South Beach got my Wickeds! These skates have the old retro style double stripes, which I love. They come stock with PowerDyne DynaPro Aluminum plates, which do the job, especially as a bigger girl (I skated on them at 350 lbs with no issue). At Fritz's, they're geared towards outdoor skating, so they came with some Radar Pures (I'll go into these later) but usually they come with Radar Tuners (which in my opinion, are shit, but to each her own).

I had practically no break in-period, which was WONDERFUL, as I've seen sooo many girls act like they had torture devices strapped to them when they first got their skates. The toe stops never budge, they are easy to adjust, they do what I tell them to, and I like that they're a little heavier than something with a nylon plate...I feel more grounded that way.

Problems that I've had- The counter on this skate goes over the foot, which caused me alot of pain for while and I know has given other skaters problems. Losening my laces and cutting out the elastic tongue holder thing seemed to help as well. If a skater has this problem, Reidell will fix it for free. Just email them and they'll get your skate back to you in a week. Luckily the pain finally went away as the counter softened a bit over time.

This is a leather good, which I try not to buy in my daily life. Reidell has now come out with a 265 Divine, which is supposed to be 100% vegan. I don't know anyone who's skated on these, as they're pretty new and rather high priced for a non-leather good, in my opinion.

Indoor Wheels- Blue Cannibals, Black Mojos- I train during the week on Black Mojos, which are a Hybrid Indoor/Outdoor wheel. It's really hard to get any momentum on our grippy floor so I'm using them as resistance training. Then a few days before a bout, I'll br throwing on my Blue Cannibals. Blue Cannibals are WONDERFUL. They're grippy but not too grippy. I've skating on them on outdoor painted concrete, on slick and grippy wood, and on convention center polished concrete and they've been awesome on all of thos. They also have an aluminmum hub which ensures a purer roll. They're worth the high price tag. They make a cheaper, non aluminum hub, Witch Doctors if you're budget concious. I've also used the yellow cannibals and they are great jammer wheels or great for bigger girls (I wore them when I was heavier) who worry about grippy wheels slowing them down too much.

Insoles- Superfeet (Green)- I am always shocked when I hear how many derby girls are skating 6-10 hours a week with the insoles that came with their skates. Ladies- these are just filler insoles. You NEED to buy a good quality pair of insoles. Don't abuse your feet more than you have to.

I believe in firm support, not the jelly kind that you buy at your local Walgreens. Superfeet are pretty decent over the counter orthotics around 40-50 bucks. They have different colors to accomodate different types of pronation.

Stores that carry Superfeet have sample so bring your skates with you and try the samples on skates, especially doing left turns. I recommend green but some people like gray.

Socks- Skater Socks - Socks can make all the difference in your foot comfort level and in whether or not your get blisters. Some people say that thin socks are better. Some say that thick socks are. I find that Skater Socks are the best socks for me to skate with. They are thick and they don't allow my foot to move as much within the skate, causing me less blisters.

Knee Pads- 187's- *DON'T F AROUND WITH YOUR KNEES!* Again, I'm amazed when I see the crap ass knee pads people play with. This is a very tough contact sport where you purposely and accidentally fall on your knees over and over and over again. These are the only knee pads I recommend, although I hear Fatboys are good too. These suckers have very thick memory foam, they stay in place, and when you fall, it's like falling on clouds. Seriously. Everyone who I've convinced to transition from crap knee pads to 187s will be a bran whore for life. If you want a little extra support, throw some Gladiator Knee Gaskets under them. Same thing if your knee pads slip due to excessive sweat. Even if you're Fresh Meat and aren't sure if you'll stick with the sport, spring for the good knee pads. DON'T F AROUND!

Wristguards- Triple 8 Hired Hands - I believe in having the most protection possible. When I wear any other wrist guards, I am super scared to fall. The minute I put my Hired Hands on, I have no fear. The break in period was a little annoying because they're stiff but after a few practices, they're nicely broken in. I also had to cut the fingers down a little bit because they were too long. But that was no big deal and I haven't had any fraying or anything from the cutting. Wristguards are a tricky thing. They say that the purpose of them is not to prevent breakage but to prevent breakage in the actual wrist... it is supposed to transfer the trauma up to your arm, which is much easier to heal than in your wrist, where there are a ton of tiny and hard to heal bones. April wears these and they recently protected her from a bad wrist break... I wouldn't wear anything else.

Helmet- TSG Superlight- This is the lightest helmet on the market. I love it. It's like you don't even know it's on. It only comes in Matte Black I believe, no glossy or colors if you're into that. My only complaint is that I swear it makes me look like an egg head. See, I'm an egg head -------->

Mouthguard- Gladiator Custom Mouthgaurd- Ok, so I get made fun of alot because I'm always talking about my wonderful mouthguard. Until you've worn a custom mouthguard, you can't possibly know how wonderful it is. With gladiator, they send you a mold kit... you take an impression of your teeth (it's pretty easy), you send it in. They make a concrete mold, they make your mouthguard, and they send both back to you. Then, if you ever need a replacement, you send in your concrete mold for a half priced replacement. They have a variety of colors and color combos. Mine is clear. You can also get your name, team logo, team colors, whatever. This is the cheapest custom mouthguard that I could find. The beauty of these babies is that you can actually breathe properly, talk, and you can even drink with them in. Try that with your boil-in! Also, they don't seem to melt like the boil ins so when you leave it in your skate bag in your car, it stays in perfect shape! They range about 50 bucks for your first one... 25 each there after. If you want to go crazy (and spend crazy money), you can get awesomely unique mouthguard from guardyagrill.com

Elbow Pads- Boneless- Honestly, I'm not too picky about my elbow pads. As long as you buy a mid range elbow pad with THICK memory foam and good grippiness on your elbows, they should be fine. However, those cheap ass rollerblade pads all you girls are getting from Sports Authority are NOT appropriate once you start contact. Upgrade!

What gear do you wear and love?

What's This Blog All About?

To answer that question- check out some of the topics I'll be rambling about in my blog:

Building, decorating, crafts, cooking, and other hands on stuff. I'll talk about projects that I'm working on, and hopefully throw some tutorials in there somewhere.

Every Friday I will review my week's effort to lesson my carbon footprint. I will then set a goal for the next week. Some will be small and easy. Some will seem like monstrous tasks and may take a while to achieve. But it's time to stop sitting on my ass. I used to be such a good little environmentalist and as I've gotten older of slacked off for convenience sake. But no more! You can also find a list of my ongoing efforts to reduce my footprint on the right rand side of this page. If you have ideas or better ways to do these things, let me know! It's been a while and suggestions are always more than welcomed.

In December of 2007, I weighed about 350 pounds. I have since lost over 150 pounds, and am still losing, thanks to gastric bypass, healthy eating, and lots of exercise. I went from being a food addict to being very health conscious. I love to talk about and learn about health, vegetarianism, fitness. I have a long way to go in this journey and enjoying bettering my body in any way that I can.

In my quest to reduce my environmental impact, I'll be talking about ideas, research, stats, and things I learn as I go.

Dining, Drinks, Bars, Shows- things to do in South Florida or wherever else my travels take me.

I've been told I'm a bit of a b*tch. It's not that I try to be, it just happens. I don't like to beat around the bush, I'm very direct, and I have strong opinions. If you have ovaries, apparently that makes you a b*tch. So, I figure, why suppress it when it's so natural? I like to go on rants. Sorry. Deal with it. But feel free to debate me all you'd like.You'll probably lose.

Reviews on Products, Meds, Movies, Books, Drinks, Food, Music, Websites, Blogs, Products, whatever. If you have something you want me to review, email me!

Most of my life, energy, and free time is dedicated to the greatest sport on earth- roller derby. I'm a co-owner and President of the Broward County Derby Grrls and I am also a player. So I'll talk alot of derby- strategy, BCDG results, other league results, injuries, equipment reviews, news, and derby related subjects I find myself interested in at the moment.

Social Justice- Gay rights, animals rights, democracy, human rights, eracism, etc.