Xmas comes but once a year...

This year I've decided to take the Handmade Pledge for holiday gift giving. I started this a few months back, as I'm doing a lot of knitting and need to give myself plenty of lead time.

My game plan? I've started out with writing a list of everyone to whom I'm planning to give presents. For small and basic gifts, I'm going to do a lot of knit wash cloths. They're quick and a great way to try out new stitch patterns. I'll be doing both wash cloths out of coarser cotton. These will be used more for household activities... doing dishes, wiping down surfaces, etc. For face and body wash cloths, I did buy a lot of KnitPicks CotLin in an assortment of colors. This is a Tanguis cotton and linen blend which they say is perfect for wash cloths and spa-type gifts. With these wash cloths, I plan to buy an assortment of handmade soaps from Etsy or a local artisan and package them together. To the right is a picture of a wash cloth in progress. This is the CotLin in Island Coral.

For the most part, I'm trying to tailor my gifts to the individual so they will be used and loved. It is ruining the surprise a bit but I've been talking to people about it so I can gauge who wants what. My dad? He mentioned that he'd like a scarf that is a little on the luxe side without being too flashy. My brother? He was really enthusiastic about getting a pair of fingerless gloves to wear while he's doing outdoor work in the winter. My sister-in-law wanted a wrap, which is also doubling as my Ravelry Knitting Olympics project. My mom? She said she'd be happy with anything I made her. She asks for so little that I wanted to so something really special so she's getting a Clapotis in Handmaiden Sea Silk. She loved the idea.

I am also building a small cache of gifty type items that I can pull out and give if I'm in a pinch. Most of them are projects that I just wanted to work on. Scarves, hats, etc.

Most of my friends and family have been really receptive to the idea. I've been really fortunate to have people in my life who really appreciate the things that I do for them. The wildcard is my boss. He's so funny about what he likes and what he doesn't. Handmade items are fine and dandy in some respects. As an example, I've done a lot of sewing for him. But he's got no use for handknits and doesn't like 'crafty' things in general. I might offer to cook him a dinner with a menu of his choosing.

I need to buckle down and get cracking on everything. I have my bigger projects ahead of me and it is already August. Lots of knitting and sewing to do!

Financial Terrorism

Around 10 years ago, I was the victim of identity theft. Someone who I sort-of dated took my social security number and opened a few accounts with it. I didn't find out until 2 or 3 years later when the debt collection agencies came calling. Long story short, I provided the necessary documentation to have the debts against me dismissed. It took nearly two years to clear all the bad debts.

AND THEN... this weekend I got a letter from one of the agencies stating that they hadn't heard from me about the debt and that they would consider it valid if I didn't respond within 30 days. 5 years and 2 moves later. I called and they claimed that I never filed anything with them and that the debt was never dismissed, despite the fact that I have received correspondence from them stating such 5 years ago. So here we go again.

I googled this and it turns out this isn't an uncommon thing. I found a few news stories from reputable sources about certain collection agencies reopening closed accounts and trying to bully consumers into to paying debts that are either invalid, dismissed or paid off.

If anything like this ever happens to you, I would urge you to read up on your rights as provided in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. A few things I learned during all this:

1. You can get a free annual credit report by visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't make any assumptions about your credit, even if you pay everything on time. You can also contact the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) directly for reports.
2. File a local police report. I was living in a small Midwestern town and the police tried to shush me away. The officer who took my report didn't know what to do about it. At first he told me that I needed to travel to the towns where the various accounts had been opened. Then he told me that I had probably given permission for my SSN to be used and just didn't remember. Bottom line: they just didn't know what to do and didn't want to deal with it.
   
3. File an affidavit at http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
   
4. If you suspect you've been the victim of ID theft, you can put a Fraud Alert on your credit reports by calling one of the reporting agencies. (I've been told that you only need to contact one.) This will warn creditors that they need to follow certain procedures when granting credit in your name.
   
5. There are statutes of limitations to debt collection. If a few years have passed since the account in question was active, check to see if the statues of limitations have passed. (Note: you can restart the statute of limitations by promising to pay, making a payment, entering a payment agreement or making a charge against the account. That restarts the clock to zero.) In this case, the fraudulent debt occurred in Oklahoma and the statute of limitations is 3 years for open ended accounts. I was living in Kansas at the time and the SoL there is also 3 years. I'm currently living in Florida, which is 4 years. In any event, I'm covered.
   
6. Protect your personal information!

Personal note to K. Kuhlemeier, in case you ever stumble across this: I don't believe that you did what you did out of malevolence but rather desperation. I understand that you were going through a rough time. I'm not unsympathetic to that. But, whatever wrongs I've done, I didn't deserve that. You wrecked major havoc on my life and caused me years of serious financial problems. You owe me an apology.

Birthday Assaults on Supa Cindy 3000

Ah, mischief. I get so little opportunity to create it that I savor it all the more when I do. My current project? I'm beginning my birthday assault on Supa Cindy 3000, a yarny friend I met on Ravelry. Weeellll... more appropriately, I'm in the middle of my assault. I've been dropping hints and being happily obnoxious about it for weeks now.

My latest fun? Behold... the Shenannygoat, who likes to go travelling around with a nanny cam. (Shenannigans + Goat!) The Shenannygoat is part of my overall theme, which is 'George Clooney Love and Goats'. Does that seem a little disjointed? Umm... yeah. I'm still working on that.

Here, we see that the Shenannygoat has made friends with two very cute little girls.

Little Felix? Not so nice! He tried to gnaw off some bits.

But the Shenannygoat came with me to Stitch n' Bitch last night where she met Bella the bulldog, who was much friendlier.


Take a moment to admire the Shenannygoat with my fellow SnB'ers' lovely projects: a sock, a cowl neck sweater and a baby surprise jacket.

Hoo Boy

My spidey sense is telling me that today is going to be one of those days that I wish I had just stayed home to knit!