Secret Pal Info.
Ice Storm = No Internet
Well, we got a big ol' day or two of freezing rain in these parts, leading to my lack of internet this weekend, and therefore lack of blogging. Luckily we only have one downed tree and it's draped over our fence and didn't really damage anything.
Here's a view from our back deck the day of the storm:
This is in Georgia, mind you. Yucky.
And now, for something completely different...
Now, I seem to have the stomach flu and feel fairly awful, so I'm so sorry I will not have a great post today.
There's always so so much I want to show everybody, so much more than I can actually blog about. I am just loving knitting! I promise some good updates next time.
Hey Secret Pal!
So, in lieu of more pics, click here to read my "secret pal questionaire" answers. For those other than my secret pal who don't give a rat's butt about these questions, I'll see you soon. ;-)
"Are you knitting 'the scarves?'"
Thanks!
Once again, thanks to everyone who played in the recent "I'm a child of pop culture" quiz here at HEK. It was a lotta fun. We'll do it again soon.
What's up with the title?
So today I was at a local chain craftstore, and was looking at yarn (Yes, I know I have enough yarn. But that hardly seems a fair argument, don't you agree?). Anyway, this lady came up to me and asked, "Are you knitting 'the scarves?'"
Hmmm. The Scarves? Of the Long Island Scarves? Is this a band? What in the hell is she talking about?
Me: "Uh, I knit lots of things."
Our Lady of the Scarves: Looks blank. Blinks.
Me: "You know, sweaters, socks, hats, and yes, some scarves."
OL of the S: Some comprehension. But not much.
OL of the S: "I made an afghan a long time ago. I think I crochetted it."
Me (in my head): Well, that would be two different things, then, wouldn't it.
Me (out loud): "Oh."
OL of the S: "Do you think I could learn to knit with one of these kits?"
Me (inside head): Knock yourself out.
Me (out loud): "Sure. Also there's a knitting store in town that offers classes, and online help." (etc.)
OL of the S (standing under a sign that says "Join our knitting classes and learn to knit!"): "I'll just get this book."
Me (inside): You do that. And for God's sake, don't hurt yourself.
Me (outside): "Good luck."
This issue of the popularity of novelty scarves has been blogged about, and I never really cared much about it. Each to his/her own. And I knit scarves too, I knit three of them at least this winter. I am a big fan of fun yarns to wrap around your neck. I'm NO scarf snob. And I love helping new knitters, I like to think I do it every week at our SNB.
So why did this lady make me want to strangle her?
It's something in me I guess, that was irked that she was so clueless. I should be applauding her desire to learn to knit. But I wanted to grab the stuff from her, and say, "This is not for you. THIS is sacred, and you don't see that."
What's that anger about???? Hmm. One for the therapist.
Yin and Yang
On the flip side, at the car wash I was working on dad's "killing me softly" socks:
A very sweet elderly lady there asked about them, and said she's making socks for her husband whose feet swell and "store-socks" are too tight. She's been knitting for 40 years. She fondled the yarn I was using, and turned the sock inside out to look at the seams. She oohed and aahed. So there you go.
What's the point of that diatribe, HEJ?
I don't know. Draw your own conclusions.
More knitting more knitting more knitting...
So the COOLEST THING is that the socks I made for my super friend Jess went to EGYPT. Those are well travelled socks baby. She says they held up well. To Egypt! How cool is that???
She had to stand on a ledge for this shot.
And I leave you with a SCARF I made for my mom while she was here at Christmas. One of "the scarves"? I don't know. Maybe.
Hi Mom. Isn't she cute? I made the hat too.
Scarf yarn: Landscapes by Lion Brand. Pattern is "Embossed Check Stitch" from July 6th of 365 Knitting Stitches a Year.
Hat: Lion Brand Homespun. My design. Same pattern as scarf.
No whammys no whammys....
[jazzy snazzy game show entrance music]
Hello everyone! It's time for the contest answers and winners from last week's High Energy Knits! entry!
But first...
No but first. Make with the answers.
OK! The official answers were...
1) "Up all night (sleep all day)" is a song by the rock (and I use that term loosely) band Slaughter.
2) "From the home office in Athens, GA" refers to The Late Show with David Letterman.
3) "Killing me softly" refers to that song by Roberta Flack. (Credit was given for Lauren Hill, of course ;-))
4) "Why must you be such an angry young man" is a line from "Fooling Yourself (the Angry Young Man)" by Styx. Look out, Styx plays "I am the Walrus" when you click on that page [shudder and cringe].
All the folks who got all four had their names placed in a bag...
...and a name drawn randomly by the hubbie
And the winner is...
Lee Ann! [yeah! fanfare! falling confetti! those annoying horns! glow stix!]
Congrats! This cool Lorna's laces is coming to CA to play with you!
But Wait! There's More!!!
Barbara caught a 5th reference and I was so pleased I am sending this:
She said, "'Where's that at? What's going on there?' sounds awfully Karen-esque" from Will and Grace, and she is so right. Probably my favorite TV show. Tied with Sex and the City.
More about socks.
I have to run, as we are leaving tonight to celebrate our 10 year Wedding Anniversary. We are just going away for the weekend, but should be fun.
I leave you with some pics of sock-related goodies:
 |  |  |
Left: My new Sockapalooza yarn. OOOOH. Somebody's gettin' lucky...
Center: Cool Sock kit from the Red Cross.
Right: My friend Alex's BEAUTIFUL socks, made with the three needle bind off instead of grafting, because she hates grafting. Turned out great!
And a super big THANK YOU! to my fluffalicious friend, who sent me THIS. Thanks so much Becky! I love it!
Contest!
Well, there's a first time for everything.
Ok, people, let's have a contest. I was just realizing that in my previous post I made not one but four references to popular culture (TV, music). Do-you-want-to-play-a-game?
For the person who can tell me what those four were, I'll send out sock yarn from my stash. I have a lot of cool sock yarn.
Give us an example.
So, e.g., the above comment "do you want to play a game?" is from the movie Wargames from back in the day with Matthew Broderick. Or as in a previous post, "vacation, all I ever wanted" is from "Vacation" by the Go-gos.
Got it? Send me an email with your guesses, and if more than one person gets all four I'll draw the winner out of a hat. Or a hat-equivalent. Maybe a bowl, I haven't decided. If you only think of two or three answers, send those guesses also. We'll see what folks come up with.
Ok, all you lurkers, time to come out wherever you are! (Non lurkers of course should play too). You have until 1/20/05. Go!
*Employees of HEK and their families or households are ineligible to enter/win. You do not have to be present to win. Void where prohibited by law.*
Up all night, sleep all day.
From the home office in Athens, GA, it's LATE NIGHT with HEK!
After my last post about quality, I have become excited again about knitting. I'm really enjoying the projects I'm working on, and not starting new ones.
Well, maybe just one new one...
For my Dad, for his birthday, I'm working on some socks he can wear hiking. Now I must tell you, my dad is an engineer. Ok, a retired engineer, but you can't take the man out of the HP calculator, if you know what I mean. And his socks follow: practical, simple, no-nonsense.
BORING. See for yourself.
Killing me softly with his socks...
However, I love my dad, so boring it is. I really did try to get him to let me jazz 'em up. He was having none of it.
Hey, whatever happened to...
Remember this ribbed sweater from Vintage Knits that I started a while back? Where's that at? What's going on there?
Er, we're sorry we asked.
Here's the thing, this is the FOURTH time I've ripped it and started over. A number of things were so wrong with it, and I am tweaking the pattern a bit (no offense to Ms. Dallas). First, I have shifted the ribbing so instead of k2, p2, etc. k2, it goes k3, p2, k2, etc., end k1. Why? Because the increases will fit neatly into the pattern this way, and when sewn the ribbing pattern stays intact.
Also, I learned a new way to do increases, thanks to Montse Stanley, who rocks. It's the kind where you use the stitch below as part of the increase. Check out her book, it is the best.
Lastly, this is a slippery yarn and gave me the same trouble as my vogue sweater. So, I have learned a new way to deal with that frisky edge. All pics are forth coming.
Construction Zone
Put on your hardhat, because we are sawing and drilling and paintin' around here. The "finished objects" link is finally becoming a true gallery. It looks like sh*t right now, but soon it will be glorious. Or at least navigable. I'll update you soon. I have learned a lot about how to use two different MT blogs together, and so although it doesn't look like much a lot is happening behind the scenes. Stay tuned!
And, am I the only one who thinks those "Men with Equipment: 500 feet" road signs are way hilarious?
Why must he be such an angry young man?
This person had a vet visit yesterday.
So very very mad at me. I'm the worst mommy.
Send kisses Fisher's way. He got shots and flea meds, and new food. It's just not fair.
Danger Will Robinson.
Could be a mess.
Howdy all. I have been needing to transfer my site to a new host for some time. That time is now.
The new host is installing MT 3 for me and will transfer my site for me. Hopefully all will not be lost, and I have backups on my computer at home as well as my previous host.
I will let you know how things are at the new host and with the transfer, for those who care about such matters, when it's done.
The bottom line, please.
So at some point in the near future, the site will go down until they have transferred it, and the domain will be redirected. But as Jeff Tweedy says, "be not so nervous, be not so frail." I imagine it will all work out. ;-)
UPDATE. It's all done. Just like that. I love my new hosts (LivingDot). Some of the picture comments are not aligned, but I will fix it eventually. I'm just happy it was so easy! Carrie and AM, sorry your comments are gone. ;-(
The Unexamined Sock is Not Worth Knitting.
Warning: Boring long-winded post ahead.
So I generally don't make Resolutions, although I do try to think about my life at the end of the year. I have decided, however, that for this year I do have a knitting resolution.
DISCLAIMER: The following thoughts apply only to how I feel about my knitting, and in no way should be construed as judgment about anybody else. END OF DISCLAIMER.
Frequently, I knit very fast, and frenetically. My husband says I'm my own sweat shop. And while there are times when that's appropriate for me, often I just feel manic and burned out.
Sometimes I have completely forgotten that I knit something. Or I will hate a project the whole time but finish it out of some need for accomplishment.
And, I often knit crazily for lots of reasons: 1) the true desire to start something new and "fun", 2) the desire to try a new technique, 3) the guilt about my stash, and/or 4) the avoidance of something (stress, fear, loneliness, chores, etc.)
Some of those are good things, but some are not. And I have been thinking lately about quality, like Pirsig talks about in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
I have been knitting long enough (25 years!) now that I feel I should always knit in a quality way. Not production, not perfection, but the very act of knitting for me should be a quality activity in itself. I have lost this sense, and in 2005, I want it back.
I get by with a little help from my friends.
Becky, Julia, and Alison come to mind when I think about this issue (and they are three of MANY). I admire that they are so careful with construction of their projects, and will rip out or change something to improve them. Not for perfection, but for quality.
And I admire how they plan out how to change a pattern ahead of time, thinking ahead to the finished garment and using a new technique. (Often I presume I know what to do just because of my experience, so I don't look up a new way, a way that could be better.)
Also, I aspire to the creativity of folks like Kate, Stephanie, and Rock Chick. I have realized that it takes time for the creative process to happen, and so in 2005 I want to have more patience while knitting.
All my new local knitting friends have really inspired me, because of the joy they take in their projects:
--Steph finished a huge baby blanket, and she and Anne Marie are making their first socks!
--Carrie just did the same, and is finishing a fancy Phildar sweater for her man with all kinds of crazy shaping (you should have seen the math involved!).
--Jenny made a beautiful scarf with the nuttiest novelty yarn - it would have killed me.
--MJ went from learning to knit 6 months ago to working on a fabulous sweater, and Jenna started her first lace project and finished an awesome scarf in less than two weeks!
I have lost touch with how fun all that is.
Bring it home, sister.
So, long-winded post short, in 2005 I want to decrease the number of projects I have going at one time, and really focus on the ones I choose. It doesn't mean one-at-a-time, but it does mean more start-to-finish completion of the one's I'm working on, and it means really being a part of the process of each. And I want to choose my projects much more wisely too.
If I think to myself, "Oh, I'll just whip that out real quick," I am to stop the madness before it starts and step away from the yarn.
Adieu.
I leave you this time with a picture of a garment that fulfilled these ideas. This sweater was for my friend Richard. The first colors I chose were awful, so after 8 inches I started over. Next, I took great care with the fair isle and redid some parts of it when they didn't look right. And last, the bottom band was too wide, and I knit a new one and grafted it to the sweater. All this was done with love for our dear friend, and a sense of quality, and I enjoyed all of it. And our friend Richard tells me he loves it, and that makes it all worth it.
Thanks to my cutie pie hubbie for modeling.
Next time: A little less conversation, a little more action.