A little bit, and a little late

Yes, yes, I know that my knit blogging has been woefully neglected in recent weeks. Okay months. Unfortunately, what I have to show now is not all that I had intended to show....




Question: What do you do when you realize that half the knitting pics you tried to download to your blog file never made it, just vanished into the ether? Scream? With my daughter cornering the market on that extracurricular activity, it wouldn't even be noticed. Cry? I'm tempted, merely from losing documentation of one project in particular that I'd worked *so* hard on. But, you know, my brother just got his car stolen, with his *laptop* inside. I think I'd feel a bit frivolous crying, comparing mine to *that* loss (he's doing fine, BTW).

So, I guess I'll tell you about the things I can't show you, and I'll show you the rest. I'll get over it :).

First up, the item whose lost pic nearly brought me to tears: the Wrap Around Cardigan for my gig wtih Schaefer Yarns. I don't really like wrap-arounds, but this ended up being really cute (you'll have to trust me on this, because I can't even find a pic on their site). It's made with Schaefer's Judith yarn, which is 100% alpaca, in the colorway Rosa Parks. The yarn was easy to work with, but the construction took a bit of time, as it includes a front band that is worked separately and sewn in, then has four i-cords that attach to the fronts and sides for fastening. You know, for the wrapping part. I gotta say, I was very proud of that sweater :).



Next, the London Beanie for a friend, with no pic of my own to show :(. It was my first adult-sized hat and came out really nicely. I was told that it fit, too, which is a bonus :). Made with one skein of Cotton Ease in the Violet colorway (not my pic, either),




but I eliminated the stripey parts of the pattern. She really liked it :).

Now, my daughter's socks that I thought I'd never finish. If you remember, in November, they looked like this:

And in early March, they looked like this:








Kind of a problem, considering I wanted them for the spring. So I put all else aside and worked on these exclusively, finishing them just in time for Easter:








These were made with one skein (much less, actually) of Marks and Katten's Clown yarn, which is 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool and 15% nylon. I used the Child's Lovely Lace sock pattern from a slightly aged Paton's book, Happy Feet. The yarn is a bit stiffer than I'd like, and it doesn't give much on her foot, as you would expect from many cottons. I do still like the idea of cotton or cotton blend socks for kids, and I'm pretty sure I can find a cotton that gives a bit more. I want to try this again. My daughter likes them, but I think the stiffness gets to her as well, and they don't really fit into her shoes :(. That's a bit of a problem, since you kind of need shoes to go out. So, since Easter, they've been really fancy house socks.




Next, my latest work for Schaefer, the Winter Bag made with Schaefer's Laurel. This is a 100% mercerized pima cotton, in the colorway Frida Kahlo. I had lots of trouble with pooling on this bag in the beginning:







and I ended up splitting the one skein I had into two and working with two balls, switching off on random rows. All in all, it turned out pretty well:









with much less going on in the pooling department, and frankly, aside from the pooling, it was a fun knit. I also really love working with mercerized pima cotton, even more than any wool or wool blend, so this was a treat. Hmmmm, mercerized pima cotton kids' socks? Maybe?








Finally, something I am actually working on right now! Progress on the much-talked-about-and-finally-begun Moderne Log Cabin blanket, which used to look like this:
and now is starting to look like this:









I was a doofus and forgot to place something in the pic for scale, but I can tell you that the measurements in this pic were about 39 inches long and 38 inches wide...that would be a bit bigger than a baby blanket so far. And maybe in the next pic I'll actually get the stray yarn ends out of the way, who knows?



So, I thought I had more to show, but this will have to do til I finish that blanket, whose endless garter stitch rows fill every waking hour these days. I'm not kidding. Really. I'm not (help me!). I'll *try* to remember to take more progress pics as I get further along. Hey, I hear you laughing out there...don't misunderestimate me, I blogged twice in two weeks!!!

Yarn Nirvana

Yes, we made another trip to look at yarn we don't need and buy things we hadn't planned to! This time it was the CT Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival, and it was lovely. It isn't Rhinebeck, but I don't think it's really trying to be. It's just a modest, contained celebration of the fiber arts (of course with plenty of opportunities to purchase!), including music, food, border collie trials and real live alpaca! And the obligatory sheep and angora rabbits, of course :).


I took the trip with KnelleyKnits, WifeMomKnitter, CostumeChick, Yankee Lagniappe and blogless Pat. As expected, it was as much, if not more fun, traveling to and from the festival as was the event itself! As with Rhinebeck, my friends made the trip so much more than just another adventure in capitalism. Thanks, guys, I had a blast!


And, as expected, I didn't bring a camera :(. But I do have pics of my own modest take!


First, can't forget the family. I surprised them with this:



Maple cream from Just a Mere Tree Farm in Worthington, Massachusetts. If you haven't had it, you don't know what you are missing. It's a spread made from maple sugar, kind of like a Nutella for the maple crowd. In previous trips to Canada, this was a highlight of the trip, my partner being Canadian and having grown up on the stuff. I must say this made quite a hit at home.


Less popular, but still missing half its contents a mere two days post purchase:



Maple sugar, from the same farm. Great on toast or virtually anything you might want to put sugar on for sweetening.


And these for the kids:



Alpaca pops! Actually I loved them more than the kids, which is kind of dangerous for my waistline. Glad they are almost gone!


And lastly, these:


Raku-fired earrings from Keith O'Connor Pottery of Exeter, New Hampshire. So beautiful, I couldn't decide on which color to buy so I bought them both.


Yes, you read right, no yarn whatsoever in this haul. No knitting books, no tools. So boring, sorry y'all. I'm kind of feeling okay in that department and don't find myself longing for more yarn or more toys at this moment. Nevertheless, I still managed to spend more than I'd intended at the festival. As expected :).

My knitting is suffering from severe underblogging. Will catch up in the coming days, I promise! Well, I promise to try! Well, I promise to have every intention to blog and then apologize profusely when I don't ;).

Six-Word Memoir

Tagged again! Thank you, Nutmeg Knitter! I was tagged to do a six-word memoir. Sum up life in six words...this is *very* challenging.

Here's my best effort so far, with alternates at the bottom - because I think that life is just too big to be captured in six words!

It was never about the money.


Here's the NPR story that describes the concept and gives examples of six-word memoirs from writers and non-writers alike.

Here are the guidelines, should you choose to participate in this yourself:

Write your own six word memoir. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere. Tag five more blogs with links.

My alternates follow:

It is true. Knitting changes lives.
Four kids...what were we thinking?

Well, it's not perfect, but I still like my first the best. OK, I'll tag four...Once Upon a Cookie, The Original Test Dummy, Wife, Mom, Knitter and Passimenterie.

An Alphabet Meme

Yes, I know....it's taken me forever to pick up my tag and do this :). Sorry, guys! Tagged by Wife, Mom, Knitter for a new meme! Here we go!

Here is what you do. Use the 1st letter of your middle name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names,things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person you took this from had the same 1st initial.You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. Middle name letter: A

2. Famous artist/band/musician: Alison Moyet

3. 4-letter word: Arse (thanks, Yarn Harlot!)

4. U.S state: Alabama

5. Boy name: Andy

6. Girl name: Arabella

7. Animal: Abyssinian

8. Something in the kitchen: Armfuls of Easter candy

9. Reason for being late? Ate on the run

10. Body Part? Ankle

11. Drink? Appletini

12. Something you shout: Ask your mother!

13. Something you eat? Acorn squash

14. A movie you've seen? About A Boy

OK, I tag Nutmeg Knitter, Once Upon a Cookie and The Original Test Dummy! Have fun!

Undecided

I'm embarrassed. I know there is a war on. I know we have Americans (and even *more* Iraqis) dying or injured daily. I know our economy is tanking, and I know more and more of us are having trouble holding onto our very homes. I know our Constitutional rights are being stripped, one by one, or even two by two, on a regular basis and it makes me sick. Rachel Maddow tells me that she is a war issues voter, that this is her priority in the 2008 election. I feel so narrow and one-track, so much less evolved, when I think of this.

But I really want to get married. That's all I can think about when I consider our next president.

You see, I’m a lesbian. I can't get married like many, well, like everybody else, can. Oops, sorry, in Massachusetts I could, but I'd have to live there and I kind of like my home now, and my kids have their friends and all that…you know, all that uprooting, ugh. And after all of that, my marriage license would only be good in my state of Massachusetts, and maybe New York. Should we cross the state line into Rhode Island, all of our rights would vanish.

I’ve been with my partner for 21 years. As my son says, we've been together longer than many people have lived (at first I thought he’d heard of some horrible plague overtaking the adolescent community, but eventually I got his meaning). We've been together for 21 years, but we have *none* of the rights that you all marrieds have, well, except for those we've spent oodles of money contracting for with a lawyer. Crazy, ain’t it? Geez, I just want to get married.

But which of the candidates will give me this? None that I can see. Kucinich was my guy, but we all know how that went down. Clinton is a friend to our community, I believe this, but I just keep thinking she'll end up as unable as her husband was to give us what we really need. Obama, well, I worry that he's not truly on board with any of this:

More video from VisibleVote08

See? I think he likes to sidestep that messy marriage debate when it comes to our community. And I really had to dig to find anything even remotely relevant to our needs on his website, a short blurb on enforcing hate crimes legislation. Um, I need a little more, Mr. Obama.

And dig as I might, I couldn’t find anything on Clinton’s site related to my rights, to marry or otherwise. Well, at least Hillary spells out her opposition to marriage loud and clear. Yay?

More video from VisibleVote08

Marriage is what we need, a common term that conveys the same meaning to all about what we have built, my partner and I for 21 years, but so many more of us for even longer. A common language of rights and responsibilities that is understood by police, hospital staff, teachers, town clerks, even the guy at the mini-mart. A word that gives the message to all that we are equals in the eyes of the law. We are waiting, have been waiting, for a long time, and frankly, I’m getting old. I really need this sooner rather than later. But I just don’t see a “sooner” happening.

For now, I guess it’s time to become more evolved. Doesn't mean I'll be satisfied.

Two Socks

And.....done.

My socks, made from Mallika 100% superwash Merino, by Yarn Ahoy. I know there are lots of shadows here...the front room has great sun in the morning, but it's often a bit intense and of course at a low angle, and this is the result. I'd tell you that I'll do better next time, but knowing my photographic skills, I'd say that this is about as good as it gets. Unless I start taking pics on the back deck again, and there is *no* way that's happening until at least March. Maybe April, even.


There was, however, another shadow, off to the left,

which had nothing at all to do with the socks, except that there was a slow determination, little by little,

inch by inch,

to ruin the shot.

It's okay.

She's just trying to get in on some of that solar heating action. Who can blame her, seeing as it's 11 degrees F today (-11 C)? There's enough sun for all of us.

Swoon

Sigh.....my current crush....uh, no, NOT Pat Buchanan, as hot as he *is*. No, it's Rachel Maddow, progressive talk radio host and my personal hero from Air America. I listened to her for years and loved her for her brains, but it was merely a platonic love. It wasn't until she got noticed for the sharp political wonk she is and started making visits to Countdown with Keith Olbermann (oooh, another platonic crush of mine) that I actually saw her and started my present swoon. Hotness, brains, just enough wonkiness to make her sufficiently hip yet not quite geeky, and a little pink lip gloss most assuredly forced upon her by MSNBC makeup... ahhh, it just doesn't get any better than that :).






And yes, my partner knows all about Rachel and suffers through my excited schoolgirl giggles every time the woman shows up on Countdown. And no, we will not talk about the thing *she* (my partner, not Ms. Maddow) has for Aishwarya Rai (except I will say that Bollywood movies are a lot more fun than people here think they are, and, well, Aishwarya Rai is really and truly HOT, as well as half a world away so I'm not worried :) ).