Knitiot Savant

Happy New Year!

I don't know about the rest of you, but New Year's Eve makes me sappy. I get really sentimental about the past year and jazzed about what's to come. For me, 2005 will always be a year of lessons learned and all at the knee of the best teacher I know; my beautiful, smart and extremely fabulous Boogie Baby.

I learned that I have more patience than I believed, that sometimes accomplishing one really small task is better than a whole lot of big ones, that a hug and a kiss can cure damn near anything and that I'm married to the most remarkable, supportive and outstanding man in the world. I'm weepy now! See what happens when you combine PMS and New Year's Eve?? Not a pretty picture, is it?

Seriously though. Thank you to everyone who has read or breezed by this blog. It's gone from a pretty lame little endeavor to something I'm pretty pleased with and I hope ya'll will keep on reading me through the new year. I promise to do my best to keep it interesting and funny in the coming year.

Have a wonderful New Year! Take time to get a kiss and hug from someone you love best. See ya in 2006!

FO in the house

I finished Clapotis and it was fun to knit but gave me no gristle for the Knitting Confessional. That's a GOOD thing!

It was so much fun to knit and I have to give a huge shout out to Brooks Farm Yarn. Easily the best yarn in the universe. Just to review, I used "Harmony", composed of 55% Mohair/ 22.5% Wool, 22.5% Silk Blend. I just hope the picture really captures how beautiful this yarn is. We took Boogie to the park this morning and I had Clapotis on, (until my brain realized that I live in Texas and it just ain't cold right now. Vanity never listens to reason.) and Big B was blown away by the colors. Really spectacular.

We had a nice holiday. It was so much fun to see Boogie really confused by the presents, ripping paper and the tricycle that Santa left for her. She loves her trike. Big B pushed her around on it Christmas Day and Boogie kept yelling, "Faster!". I think I have a little daredevil on my hands.

This is a truly uninspired post this evening. I'm feeling tired. My grandmother was hospitalized this week and should be released tomorrow or Saturday. She is 94 years old and treats life like one big adventure. I really admire her spirit. So here's a cute grandma story. (Actually, we call her Ma.) Ma was riding the elevator in her retirement community one day. She was sharing the ride with another elderly lady who was wearing a square dance dress. Ma told her fellow traveler how beautiful she looked in the dress and how pretty the dress itself was. The new friend said, "I think we're about the same size. Come back to my apartment and if they fit, you can have a couple of my dresses." Ma takes her friend up on the offer and walks away with a couple of swanky square dance dresses. She promptly buys matching tights and scarves for these wardrobe additions. Ma loves wearing these dresses to go shopping, eat out, or just chill with her buds in her retirement community. She gets compliments everywhere she goes. The hell with wearing purple when I'm old. I want my very own square dance dress with spiffy tights, beautiful scarf and even a little handbag. We should all be so spunky. I love you, Ma.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Source of inspiration:

Doesn't everybody want to be on T.V.? Here's my 15 seconds of fame. (There are 2 people in this shot. Look very closely!)

Happy Holidays!

The Insane Elfcat and I would like to wish each and everyone of you a wonderful and joyous holiday season. No matter what you're celebrating, enjoy your friends, family and the alcoholic beverage of your choice. (Makes those family gatherings a weensy bit less painful. So I've been told anyway.)

Self Portrait Tuesday

Source of inspiration:

I've played the piano since I was 8 years old. It's a love that, although I haven't always had the time and energy to devote to it, has refused to die. My grand reflects a great deal about my life.

This was shot off the fall board of my grand piano. Yep. The sucker is just that reflective.

I was playing a Beethoven Sonata that I've been struggling with for a few months.

I've got the Clap and the burn is good.

I am completely obsessed with Clapotis. I'm not knitting much of anything else. Well, something small but I don't really count that project. I have one more repeat to go in section 3 then I start the decrease stuff. I'm really excited about how this is turning out. Honestly, the credit goes to the yarn, not my knitting. This picture doesn't begin to do the colors justice but trust me when I tell you that it's just a stunner. My next picture will be a completed Clapotis with the specs.

In other news, the Savant household is completely ready for Christmas. All the shopping is done, wrapping is wrapped up and now we're just waitin' for Santy to make his appearance. This Christmas should be a lot of fun because Boogie is older and sort of gets the whole gift idea. Which reminds me that I just can't talk about Christmas without the obligatory picture of our tree. Yes, Boogie is holding a watering can. She's very concerned about the tree getting enough water. No, the can did not have water in it. She's sort of missing the tree and jamming on the can. Most of the presents under the tree are for Boogie. We worked very hard not to overdo it but in the end we gave in to "new parent buying frenzy". It's frenzy in a fun nobody gets hurt sort of way so that's cool. I hope she likes everything we got for her. I already know that the boxes the stuff comes in will be a big hit! Maybe I should have just saved our money and raided the dumpster at the grocery store for boxes. Hm.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Source of inspiration:

I was washing my face the other night trying to come up with something fun for my next self portrait. I glanced at the faucet and thought:

"Gee. It really sucks to live somewhere where the water is so hard and it leaves spot on everything I bet Martha Stewart doesn't have spots on her faucet and if she did I bet some poor maid has to scrub them off with her very own toothbrush that Martha barely pays her enough to afford and Whoa. I can see myself in there."

Spin, Span, Spun

A few years ago I used to spin regularly. I even took a class on novelty yarns. About 11 months ago, I cleaned out most of my fiber stash. I kept my two spinning wheels and some fibers that I just really loved.

I don't know what got into me but I had the strongest desire to spin again! I had a chat about spinning with my friend Annie and with a little encouragement, I dragged out my wheel and decided to go for it.

The roving is combed Merino top from Misty Mountain Farm. This poor roving has seen the dark side of a Rubbermaid tub for a few years now. Okay. I know what you're thinking. You're frightened by the prospect of the World's Worst Knitter attempting to make yarn. As if I don't mangle enough of it without the help of a spinning wheel!

Here's the result. I spun it up on my Joy wheel set at an 8:1 ratio. Probably a little too fast for someone just getting her spinning legs. I found that my treadling was uneven an a little quick. You can see some of the super tight twist on the bobbin. I'm hoping some of that will be dispersed once it's plied. Maybe I'll go back to the 6:1 ratio. Honestly though, I did a whole lot better than I thought I would. More importantly I had a really good time. I missed spinning and now I'm just thrilled to have rekindled that passion. Sort of brings a tear to the eye, don't it?

Now to share another passion wholly unrelated to fiber. I refer to snacks. These may look yucky, but I'm not pregnant and they really are a great treat with cocoa on cold winter nights. Here are the specs:

4 saltine crackers

1 piece of American cheese divided among your 4 crackers

16 marshmallows (or more) divided among your cheesy crackers.

Set under a broiler until the cheese bubbles and the marshmallows turn a golden brown and you've got cheesy/salty goodness. (I like to smash the marshmallows flat before I eat them. This picture was taken in the pre-smashing moment.) My mom used to make these for me when I was a kid. I think they're just "Poor College Kid" snacks but they're pretty darn tasty.

Self Portrait Tuesday

One day while I was eating lunch with my daughter she started doing the strangest thing. She would look at her spoon, point to it and yell her name. Being the absent-minded mother I am I said, "Honey that's a spoon. Not you." (She's only 18 months old. Poor baby. Looks like she might be dipping into that therapy fund I started for her a little early!) When I managed to give her my full attention, I realized she saw her reflection in the spoon. She gave me the idea for today's portrait. Hey, it's better than the overly used reflection in a Christmas tree ornament.

The Knitting Confessional

Welcome to the December edition of The Knitting Confessional. As the World's Worst Knitter, I feel compelled to lay out my screw-ups for ridicule and as an act of contrition. This month's confession addresses the act of frogging or, more accurately, the de-construction of a really crappy garment.

EXHIBIT A: The Garment

I started knitting this vest...hell, I don't remember when. I thought it would be a great first garment project. Here are the specs:
The Pattern: SeaBreeze from "Knitter's Magazine" Spring 2005 edition.
The Needles: Size 13
The Yarn: Knit Picks "Wool of the Andes" in Cranberry.
Let's think about the name of this pattern. SeaBreeze. I smell sea salt and feel the sun. Don't you? Did you believe for one minute that The World's Worst Knitter would make this sucker as suggested? Hell no! Instead, I thought it might make a cute winter vest. The 3 days of cold we get here in South Texas are perfect for a little number like this. Throw it on over a tee, slap on your shit-kickers and you have yourself one hot cowgirl. At the very least you have a cowgirl that looks like she raided Granny's closet. This turned out Granny. Big Granny. Granny with a capital G.
Exhibit B: A comedy of errrorrs.
I did not even make the attempt to check the gauge. How on earth could I retain my title as The World's Worst Knitter if I checked the gauge on every little thing I knit? Especially something as little as a piece of clothing. Notice the lovely eyelet pattern. Cute, huh? Pretty simple, too. I bet that it would have looked really cool and perhaps less Granny if I'd checked the gauge, used better yarn, anything. Nah. On second thought I think this vest would have sucked like a fashionless blackhole no matter what I did.

Exhibit C: I am undone.
This is all that remains of my ugly vest. Well, this giant ball and 2 small skeins of the same yarn. Pretty swell, if you ask me. It's just screaming to be made into a scarf for a niece or nephew. Or maybe I'll let it age in my stash until I'm struck stupid by another idea.

A lesson can be gleaned from every knitting tragedy and as a continuation of penance, here are the lessons I learned:
1. Gauge. Sort of a giant "DUH", don't ya think?
2. I learned the 3 needle bind off. Too bad it didn't stop the sucking/Granny effect.
3. Recycle, reuse. I'm feeling very environmentally friendly since I didn't set fire to the vest.

Anyone else out there feel the need to confess? Come on. The booth is warm and cozy, I've got my nice starched collar on and confession is good for the soul. Join in the fun.