Knitiot Savant

Shlumpy Knitting

I've engaged in a little shlumpy knitting this week.  I know all of ya'll, at one time or another have engaged in shlumpy knitting.  Don't know what that is?  Let me 'esplain.  Shlumpy knitting is when you work away on a project just 'cause you've got to get it done.  The notion of process vs. product goes right out the window in favor of "Just get me through this!".  Shlumpy knitting is especially painful if the object you've shlumped is not for someone else but one you chose because you simply had to have it.  I offer my shlumpies for your examination:

On the left we have the almost completed body of a stuffed cat.  Or maybe a rabbit.  I haven't really decided.  Anyway, all I have to do is knit the back of it's head and voila,  stuffed animal goodness.  This project is a Christmas gift and, even though it is for someone else it's still shlumpy.  Why you may ask?  Because it's chenille on DPNs.  Chenille on DPNs.  Ugh.  It's really a very easy little pattern and it's going to be cute as a button but I'd like to give it to my dogs as a chewy right about now.  The item on the right?  Well that truly fits the shlumpy mold.

I saw a cute little bag in "Hip to Knit" by Judith L. Swartz and decided I had to make it.  Screw knitting for Christmas!  I'm treatin' myself to this little bag.  I usually carry a diaper bag everywhere I go so I wanted something a little cuter to whip out when I'm buyin' my Goldfish crackers and apple juice.  (Okay.  Just so you know, my diaper bag is way cool.  It's a Chinese silk print.  Seriously.  It rocks.) I had 2 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold "Silky Tweed" in my stash and the appropriate needles.  I just had to get started. 

I used a double strand to make it a little more durable but did the i-cord in a single strand because it looked icky doubled.  I didn't have a button but figured I pick one out once the bag was done.  Well it's done and sits button-less waiting for me to love it.  I just don't.  The yarn is really pretty and the little faux cable on the flap is cute but it just doesn't do justice to such a nice yarn.  I think the lesson here is don't shlump with nice yarn.  That way leads to madness and chapped lips.

To combat shlumpy knitting I'm shifting my focus to the charted scarves I have going and the fact that my Mom and Dad are thrilled that I can knit socks.  They really are!  That's what they want for Christmas.  How cool is that?  I'm marshaling my sock yarns and patterns and plan on spending lots of my knitting time on socks.  Hope ya'll don't get too bored!

The Knit Blair Witch Project

Sunday the humble little knitting group that I chill with met for our weekly drinkcoffeewinewhatever and knit.  Usually it's only 3-4 of us "regulars".  Sunday was different.  Sunday we had tons of people show up.  (Okay, maybe only 15.  But that's tons for us.)  It was weird and cool.  Conversations were flying everywhere.  Some of us were loud and bawdy, others quiet as a church mice.  (I was in the quiet group...without the church. ;-) )  In the midst of all this coolness, we had a "strange occurrence".

This creepy symbol appeared out of nowhere on the floor of the coffee house.  What could it mean?  What possibly ill omen did it portend?  The end of the world or just an end to the use of bad yarns for projects that deserve better?  The symbol appeared familiar to some, but for most it elicited a deep and very primitive sense of fear.

Lots of fear.  Big screaming my nose is running on the camera fear.  Who was twisted enough to use DPNs to form such a thing?  And bright yellow DPNs no less!  Perhaps they were needles in search of a home/project.  Or maybe it was a warning of things to come for our little knitting group; more members, bigger meetings all of which can only lead to one thing:

THE MAKING OF NEW KNITTING FRIENDS!  EEEEEKKKKKK! 

Saturday Sky

I ran into this over at Margene's and followed her links to Sandy.  This is a neat little idea so here we go:

I took this around 8:00 pm from my driveway.  I think the temp was in the 90s, (that's a pretty fair guess almost any time of year down here!) but I'm not sure.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Running behind and not really catching up

I've run off and on for years.  To look at me you'd certainly never know that.  I'm still overweight, still a back-of-the-pack runner and still can't stand those tiny running shorts 'cause they chafe so damn much.  Still, I get out on the road at least 3 times a week and hit the gym another 3 times.  I really, truly, hate every minute of it.  Really!  I enjoyed yoga more but, because I'm fat and flexible, (that's a truly frightening combo) it didn't make me sweat the way running does.

I read a study once that claimed daughters of mothers who regularly work out are less prone to all sorts of nasty behavior.  I don't know if that's true or not but after Boogie was born, I biked or ran as much as my body could stand.  Now that she's older she rides along in the jogging stroller.  I'll tell her, "Mommy is gonna run!  Get ready!" and she'll stick her bare feet out and yell "Faster!"  Some days, it's all I can do to walk but my baby will yell "Run Mommy!  Run!"  Who can say no to that?

So why am I all rambly about running?  I have a crazy idea and I'm hoping that by making a public commitment to it, I'll reach my goal.  Six years ago I ran in the 5K Mayor's Fitness Challenge as part of the larger San Antonio Marathon.  I finished third from the end and Big B ran it every step of the way.  He's a much stronger runner and takes much larger strides but he stayed with me.  I remember crossing the finish line and this little boy clapping and waving at all of us.  I started to cry and gasp for air and it was one of the proudest moments of my life.  I want to do it again this year with my daughter. 

Yeah.  I'm older, out of shape, and have a busted knee but what the hell.  I'll absolute positively never know if I can do it again if I don't try.  Besides, how can I fail when I'll have Boogie there yelling "Run Mommy!  Run!"

Gifties

Gifties come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Sometimes it's that long awaited promotion.  Sometimes an event happens that makes you just a bit more grateful for the people you have in your life.  That's sort of how this weekend was for all of us at Casa Savant.  A little up, a little down but pretty balanced by the end.  Leave it to me to skew the balance by actually completing a project.

These socks are my Mom's birthday present.  Her birthday is tomorrow and I got them in the mail tonight.  Yes, they will be a bit late but I finished them!  Worlds collide, folks.  Hang on to yer britches!

Here are the specs:

Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes in Sea Blue.  This yarn was a gift from my SP5 spoiler.  My Mom told me that she wore mostly blue and black to work and I actually had something in my stash that would work.  Once again, the earth trembles!

Needles:  Size 2 Bryspun.  I've learned that I'm a loose sock knitter.  Anything else and I'm usually on gauge but not socks.  I guess it's the fear of bonking that makes me knit tighter.

Pattern:  The one on the label.  Really.  I taught myself how to knit socks using "Folk Socks" by Nancy Bush.  This book was my constant companion for my first couple of pairs and I wanted to knit without a net so to speak.  I hid the book and just read the label.  Voila!  Socky-goodness!

This little label is not my idea.  It's courtesy of Carole who credits a couple of other knitters as doing it and it's just the niftiest little thing.  Don't the socks look all cozy and ready for their long trip?  Happy socks equal happy feet and happy a knitter.

Since this post is concerned with gifties I've sort of reworked my ideas for knitted Christmas gifts.  They're all going to be knit but I think I'm going to do socks.  I can knit them quickly, (I know.  That's tough to believe.) and I think my family will like them.  That means I now have more than one scarf started with no home.  Hey, that just means I'll have stuff to work on if I bonk and that's always a good thing.

A Summer Meme

I'm not a huge fan of the meme but my friend J.P. started this one and I think it's really sweet.  It spoke to the mood I've been in this weekend and Big B and I had a great time talking about it.  Here it is:

Is there a song that you hear on the radio or from an old CD that immediately carts you off to a summer of your past, either way far away or pretty recent?  One where you can hear the first few notes and feel the emotions you felt on the day the memory was happening?  Then post an account of the memory along with the song's lyrics.

It's not just a song but an entire album for me.  The album is "So" by Peter Gabriel.  It was 1986 and Big B and I were living in Monterey, CA while he attended D.L.I.  We'd been married for just over a year and it was the farthest from home either of us had ever been.  We were like kids let loose to play in the big grown-up world.  We had our very own apartment, our first credit card and I'd been in a Macy's department store for the very first time.  ( I was also legal to drink.  Let the games begin!)

While Big B worked his ass off at D.L.I., I worked at a little gift shop in Pacific Grove.  I drove our beat-up Mustang to work everyday while Big B usually walked to his classes.  We spent our evenings hanging out with friends, going to movies, or just enjoying the fact that we were together.  It really was one of those "poor but happy" sort of situations.

"So" was one of the first tapes we bought for the really cheap stereo system we picked up at the PX.  That tape was with us on every move we made after Monterey and we still have it as well as the CD.  I can't name one song that strikes me because the whole album meant, and continues to mean, so much to both of us. 

So I'm gonna tag three of you and, if you aren't tagged, go ahead and pass it along anyway.  I think it's a really neat little summer meme.  Janna, Chris, and Rhelynn, your turn!  Thanks J.P.!  That was awesome!

In which I discover the knitting podcast

When I received my iPod for my birthday, I was thrilled at the prospect of filling it with music.  Lots and lots and tons of stuff that I can jam to while I knit or while I'm sweatin' it out at the gym.  In the back of my head was also the idea that I could try out a knitting podcast or three.  (Yes, I know I can listen to them at my computer but who wants to sit in front of a compute for upwards of an hour just to listen to someone talk about their livestock.)

I was skeptical of the knitting podcast.  What on earth could one talk about?  I mean, knitting is sort of a visual art.  Even books about knitting have pictures.  I was also concerned about my ability to listen to someone speak for an extended period of time.  Oh I'm fine in the face-to-face-let's-have-a-conversation mode but the idea of someone just chatting on and on wasn't that appealing to me.  Maybe it has something to do with my life before becoming a SAHM. I'm not a big fan of audio books and I sort of saw podcasts along the same lines.

I have found a couple of podcasts I like and more than a few that set my teeth on edge either because they're a bit dull or the speaker's voice is just not pleasant to listen to.  Listening to knitting podcasts has taught me 3 very important things:

1.)  I'm simply a person who knits, not a knitter.  Knitter's have a greater devotion to this craft than I'll probably ever have.  They seem to really love the little details that go into projects where I'm more of a big picture gal.

2.)  Knitting podcasts over 30 minutes in length are tough to listen to...for me anyway.  If I want to hear someone rattle on for an hour I'll shut off the iPod and listen to my toddler quiz me about everything in the immediate vicinity.  At least she's fun to listen to.

3.)  There's tons more music in knitting podcasts than I'd expected.  Maybe that's why some of them are so long.  Gotta say that I'd rather hear the knitting info.  I'm pretty adept at choosing my own tunes.

As the whole podcasting world gets bigger and bigger I'm sure that tons more knitting podcasts will make an appearance.  I think that's pretty cool especially for the more isolated folks in the knitting world. For now, I'll stick to my blogs and only the occaisional podcast.   

I'm curious though; how many of ya'll listen to podcasts?  What do you like/dislike about them?  If you have a favorite and wouldn't mind, share!  I'd love to know what the rest of you are listening to.

My Fantabulous Weekend

It really was fantabulous!  Saturday we went to the Texas Folklife Festival, an almost orgy-like event celebrating the different cultures that helped settle Texas.  It's full of food, music, dancing, shopping, music, food...and music!  I love it!  Instead of inserting some pictures in this post I made a little photo album that you can go through complete with descriptions of what you're looking at.

My favorite part of the whole event was listening to Zydeco music.  That's a dish best served live, my friends.  I was struck by one band in particular, Cedryl Ballou and the Zydeco Trendsetters.  Holy crap can they play!  Boogie and I danced our butts off while Big B shouted encouragement.  It was tons of fun!  I bought the CD and have been listening to it ever since.

The other cool thing was art by Frenzy Art.  I love el Dia de la Muertos (the Day of the Dead) themed art and Frida Kahlo.  Combine those things and I'm in art heaven.  I snagged a cool mug and t-shirt from Frenzy Art.  Sweet!  If either of my odd interests tweak your curiosity bone check out the websites.  You won't be disappointed!

I do have some knitting foo to write about but I'm going to do that tomorrow.

I know I keep saying it but it's because I'm old and memory loss has set in but thanks again to everyone who sent birthday wishes and/or participated in the contests.  Ya'll are an awesome and wacky group.

Contest Winners!

Okay.  I know you've sweat it out all weekend.  Who will win?  Me?  Her?  Who? 

First contest:  Identify, with as much info as possible, the origin of the quote under my blog title.  The winner is:  Kestrel!  Kestrel my love, send me your info and I'll have your gifties to you in a flash.

Second contest:  A caption for this:

The winner was chosen randomly by the beautiful Boogie.  Gotta say that I'm glad Boogie can't read yet.  The winner:  Shelley!  Send me your info ya little perv and I'll get your gifties to you quick. 

Here's what Shelley wrote:

Ken: Barb, you sure are sexy when you knit with those big sticks. I just love how well you handle them.

Barbie: Knock it off Ken, there's no way in hell I'm putting this down...I've got a headache.

Ken: But Barbie, honey, I could be your yarn slave, I could put this skein right on here like this... see...mmm...look no hands... now I'll just help you pull...mmm...the yarn off..mmmmmm...oh yeah, keep knitting...

Barbie: Um, Ken, you're a real sick puppy...That is just gross. By the way smarty pants, you do remember you are EXTREMELY allergic to wool, don't ya?

Barbie with wry grin (to herself): Gee wiz, I just can't seem to remember where I put that benedryl I just bought...oh, well.

Deeply deviant, no?  Thanks to everyone who participated!  I had a wonderful time reading what you wrote, wondering who got Buffy and picking out prizes.  I may make this a habit!

I have much more stuff to share.  Pictures from our big adventure Saturday and ipod love but I'll get it all written out Monday.  Thanks again to all of you for your participation and wonderful birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I was going to write some deep post about what I've learned as I've gotten older, become a parent...you know, share the wisdom and the love that comes with age.  Instead, I turn to my favorite philosopher Buffy who provides this nugget of wisdom:

"Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead."

Ain't it the truth?

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!  I plan on having a spectacular day!  Have a great weekend!