A couple of FO's

When ponchos were all the rage last year, I knit one for S and for C. C's didn't have any fringe (a point I still hear about and may eventually have to rectify), so I include a photo here for your perusal. We've had so many compliments on it lately and, of course, because it's over a year old, I have the "that old thing?" attitude about it. But, it was easy. A Berroco pattern with their Lullaby yarn (which is kind of a PIA to work with, though not as irritating as the Cotton Twist I am using right now--the yarn that thinks its job is to split while I am knitting). I made one as an auction item for C's school also.

And the second item, and clearly more adorable due to the model, is the Umbilical Cord hat from the Stitch N Bitch book. I can't remember the specific yarn name, but I know it was a Lorna's Laces. And the great thing about the pattern and yarn to me was that due to the fact she has such a nicely shaped head and the yarn is elastic, she has gotten more than 6 months out of wearing it. How many baby hats can attest to that! The hat knits up super fast which is always a bonus when you are behind, yet again, on a new baby project.

Homework

I haven't had homework in forever. And here I am doing homework for my class on Saturday!

I have to have four swatches ready for Saturday. So, I figured I need to swatch up the Berroco Cotton Twist for the dresses for C and S, so I might as well do one of the swatches in that. And there was that Chunky Cable Purse from Knit Picks(in Wild Rose), that I ordered yarn for a bazillion years ago, so let's wind that up and swatch that (more on the winding later). And then there's some of my Brooklyn Handspun that I want to see knit up so that will be on the list and finally, I need to re-swatch (re-gauge) the yarn for the boxers from Knit Wit.

I managed (in between two of the fussiest children ever; C has had three early dismissals this week and I swear the change in schedule has made her like a hibernating bear that woke up hungry and pissed off) to get half of the Cotton Twist swatch finished and two balls of yarn wound.

The winding from hell that was my swift/ball winder experience today. I'm sure it wasn't the yarn's fault. Really, is it ever? I got the Knit Picks yarn wound no problem. Managed to even get it done while I was on the phone with my mother but before the children noticed I was no longer in the room with them.

And then I got to my fab sock yarn from Brooklyn (and, again, not the yarn's fault) and all hell broke loose. I think I picked the wrong end to lead from the swift to the ball winder (not exactly un uncommon occurrence, but usually less frustrating). I realize this as I am beginning to wind, so I take the yarn off the winder, ball it up without making any knots, and try to tuck it into the yarn on the swift for safe keeping, thinking, of course, it's not going to go anywhere. I put the other end on the ball winder and we're off. That is until all of a sudden I realize (because by now the kids have walked in and everyone wants to be so helpful by winding themselves) that crap, the reason it's gotten so tight is because the yarn is stuck up under the bottom part of the swift's pole (this ends up happening several times, which I wasn't going to mention because of how incredibly daft it makes me look, but there it is). Come on people, there aren't that many working parts right? So I manage to get it reasonably situated with both my hands working (STOP winding, I can't fix my mistakes while you are winding sweetheart) , one holding one end and the other trying to wind and the part of the winder that holds the yarn just pops off. Yes, I know you are supposed to twist it down and lock it, which I did, but again, my helpful children seemed to loosen it just enough for it to pop off. At this point, I don't have very much yarn wound so no big deal, I stick it back on lock it in place and I'm off again.

Wrong. Because now, the little doohickey on the ball winder (the metal curlicue) that holds the yarn, well, it's no longer holding the yarn (phone rings, my mother again; C on computer, needs help; S still trying to wind as I am trying to get the yarn back into the curlicue). Kill me now.

All in all, a great afternoon of fun with the swift. Now, I think I may have misinterpreted the comment of the women at the yarn store when I bought it. Her, "Why would you buy a yarn swift (and yes, I sometimes call it a swifter, because the domestic goddess in me can't keep straight the swiffer and the swift) when they wind it for you at the store?" Me, "Because so much yarn comes in hanks, and I order some from the Internet and I can't exactly ask my LYS to wind yarn I didn't buy there. Oh, and by the way, Jodi at the yarn store is awesome and often offers to wind it, but with the amount of yarn I buy I don't think it's fair for her to end up with one arm looking like Ahhhhnold."

What I really think she meant to say was, "Why in the hell would you ever want to tackle winding your own yarn? You look like a reasonably sane person who would like to keep her sanity . . . do not complete your purchase and don't ever wind your own yarn."

Back to my swatches (and no more parentheses).

I get my news from Boston Legal

You know when you are watching TV, and there's a story line that you think might possibly be rooted in the truth, and as you are watching your inner skeptic says, "Come on, even American can't be that crazy!"

Well, in fact, watching Boston Legal last night did that for me. And yes, we are that crazy.

Case in point. The Global Gag Rule. As usual, I am late to the party on this one, but I am enraged, yet again, at the absolute arrogance with which we often choose to deal with the rest of the world.

For those of you not familiar with the gag rule, "The Global Gag Rule was reinstated by President George W. Bush on his first day in office in January 2001. Officially termed the Mexico City Policy, these restrictions mandate that no U.S. family planning assistance can be provided to foreign NGOs that use funding from any other source to: perform abortions in cases other than a threat to the womanÂ’s life, rape or incest; provide counseling and referral for abortion; or lobby to make abortion legal or more available in their country." Because, you know, the third world doesn't have enough problems without Boy (wonder) George getting his hands in there and mucking around.

Naturally, this policy will be easily misinterpreted and the "deciders" who are checking on these local clinics aren't going to be the sharpest tools in the shed. And I'm sure that if they see ANY abortions getting performed, regardless of reason, they're going to yank the funding. Which means these women aren't going to get even basic medical care because they are already stigmatized.

What's so great about this rule is that research is showing that it is not reducing the number of abortions but rather eroding family planning and reproductive health services in developing countries (FYI--all these quotations are coming from Global Gag Rule). Fabulous.

As usual, when it comes to affecting portions of the world, Africa is the hardest hit by this policy. Because, when they should "just" be focusing on starvation and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, it's really great to have to decide not to perform an abortion on a rape or incest victim because if you do, the United States won't give you money for food and drugs. Boy, we're really showing the boys and girls abroad the true meaning of Democracy. I can't imagine why everyone thinks we're arrogant and difficult to deal with.

Did I mention that we impeached Clinton over a blow job but we're keeping the village idiot in office while he does absolutely nothing for anyone who doesn't act and think like him? That W is really starting to look like a swastika to me.

We interrupt this blog . . .

Actually, I feel I've interrupted the blog. The past few days have been crazy. The Walk Against Hunger on Sunday was great. Perfect weather! And I am so proud of my team...together we raised over $6300 and we had 11 team members. You can still donate by clicking on the link in the right column. No donation too small!

I got a little sick Sunday night and had a migraine for the majority of yesterday afternoon and evening, so that limited my functionality a bit! And today it's been doctor's appointments and early dismissal, parent conference and gymnastics! Where does the time go?

I'm putting together a video slideshow for C's school so that's going to take more of my time in the next week than I would like (only because I would rather be knitting).

I'm psyched because I am attending the Candace Eisner Strick workshop this Saturday at Sit-N-Knit . It's six hours of Tips and Tricks of the Trade. . . and as we know, I can use all the help I can get! The class is sold out and I am looking forward to meeting some new knitters while I am there.

The Walk is today!

I'm so excited, Walk Against Hunger Day is finally here! I'm very close to my goal of $2,000. I'm at about $1700 right now. (Doesn't that make you want to donate? :) But, the best news of all is, my team has collected well over the $5,000 mark and that was our goal. Very cool. The weather here today is awesome which makes for a nice walk. CDD is very excited to be participating, though I know she won't walk very much since I am bringing the stroller. I'm up in the air about whether or not to bring SED, some of that depends on if DH is going to go with us or not.

My mama, the yarn pusher

This isn't the greatest picture of the fab yarn that mom brought back from Frankfurt. Just over $7 a ball for Rainforest Opal? I must bow down and kiss her feet. I'm psyched too because when Opal comes out with the new line of Rainforest Yarn, I hope to send her back for that as well. The colorways are Chameleon, Flamingo, Parrot (Toucan?), and Ladybug. Really interesting colorways. They're getting me inspired to dye my sock yarn for the Dye-o-rama!

Last night

I've been in a knitting funk over the past few days. This happens to me periodically where I go through really manic and highly productive periods of knitting and then usually get caught up in a really good book and I go through a period of a couple of days of zero knitting. I actually can feel my agitation if I go more than a few days without knitting, great book or not.

I think part of it is because I have been unable to go to my LYS Sit N Knit for the past few weeks because either Allen has been out of town or we have to make plans. Like tonight, is parent night at school so no knitting for me.

So, when my friend Linda, suggested that I join her at her group last night, I jumped at the chance thinking it would be a great opportunity to get on track. She meets every Wednesday with the Hartford chapter of Stitch and Bitch and once a month they meet up at Creative Fibers in Windsor to knit.

We had a great time, the owner, Laura is a very nice woman and they have a wide selection of yarn. More importantly, I worked a good deal on my top secret project that I have previously alluded to (has to be finished by September at the very latest) and since it involves beads, it is sometimes slow going, but very rewarding as well.

Also, I was able to pick up the Berroco for my sugar bear's dress (my LYS doesn't carry) in a very nice purple. I decided to go with the Victoria pattern (she liked it better) so I am using Cotton Twist. I am thinking though that instead of putting a ribbon on the bottom I will work some beading into the pattern. Very cool.

Now back to my knitting!

Thank You, Stephen Colbert

Unless you are under a rock, you are bound to have noticed this man's name in the news over the last few days. He was on 60 minutes Sunday night and he was the main schtick at the White House Correspondent's Dinner last week. To give you some background, Stephen Colbert started on The Daily Show (well, he did have a life before that, but I don't have time to digress that much today) and now has his own show on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report. It's basically a giant lampoon of FOX news and specifically Bill O'Reilly. He posits himself as not the brightest guy, but definitely an elitist. Lucky him.

Anyway, the past few days he has been a huge subject of discussion among the media: whether or not he was funny, if he went too far, what was he thinking? You have got to see the AWESOME video to believe it. Granted the video is long (About 20 minutes), but he does an excellent job of lampooning the president on some of his biggest goof-ups.

So, you must go watch the video because it rocks. And there's also a very amusing site, Thank You Stephen Colbert.

Let's just hope that he keeps succeeding because it's about time someone said in public what we are all thinking.

Walk Against Hunger this Sunday

Okay folks, here's your last chance to donate or participate. Remember, $5, $10, or even $20 can make a huge difference (every $1 = $10 in food). Bear with me one last time as I point out a few statistics for you:

It may interest you to know that America's Second Harvest recently reported on the results of their latest hunger study (Hunger in America). Among the key findings:

* The national food bank network provides hunger-relief services to an estimated 25 million low-income people each year, or roughly 9% of all Americans

* This represents an 8% increase since the 2001 study (23 million) and an 18% increase since the 1997 study (21 million)

* 9 million of the people served are children under the age of 18

* 2 million of those are young children under the age of 5

* Nearly 3 million of the people served are age 65 and older

* More than one-third (36%) of the households served have one or more adults working

* The majority of adults served are women (60%)

* Single parent households represent more than half (54%)

* 70% of the people served are food insecure,… not always having access to enough food to meet basic needs

* 12% are homeless (a 28% increase since 2001)

* 47% do not have access to a working car

* 41% said they were forced to choose between food and utilities

* 35% said they were forced to choose between food and rent/mortgage

* 32% said they were forced to choose between food and medicine or medical care

Thanks to all of you who have donated or agreed to walk and thanks to all of you who will work in other ways to help alleviate (and eliminate) hunger across America.

Sweet Georgia Yarns

I'm hoping this time I am posting this with enough advance warning that even I might be able to purchase some of this yarn. Sweet Georgia Yarns will be adding sock yarns and fibre (their spelling) as well as laceweight kid mohair yarn. They are putting it up on May 4th at 12 noon PST, so be there, or get no yarn.

My UK sock yarn is here!

Love this, love this, love this. I spent way too much on the Opal, but it is hand-painted. (ah, smell that justification, because you know, I have absolutely no knittable sock yarn in my stash.) I purchased it on eBay from the lovely Catherine. She's got quite the nice stash of sock yarn!

And I know I am a sock yarn tramp of the first order, but I confess, my dad is about to drop off yarn my mom brought back from Frankfurt. Try not to be bitter, I'm sure there is plenty of your yarn I covet as well.

Dyeorama baby!

Well, very exciting news, I just checked my email and low and behold, I have received my secret pal for Dyeorama! She has her own blog, and once she knows who I am at the end of the summer, I'll tell you just what it is! Stay tuned.

And the person who has me as their secret pal contacted me and sounds like the greatest person. Love her and don't even know her. My friend Linda and I are dyeing our yarn together in the next couple of weeks. Must get babysitter so I don't have to deal with Sabrina trying to dye with us! I'm thinking a combination of Paas egg dye and maybe some Rit. I actually have some extra yarn that needs to be dyed, so this could end up very interesting. I know Linda definitely wants to dye self striping, one of her passions with socks, so perhaps I'll piggyback on that and send my pal some self-striping as well.

I can't seen to get the button up yet for Dyeorama so for now, you'll just have to click on the link until the Dyeorama mamas get back to me.

Decisions, decisions

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that I was going to knit Victoria for my little one, Callista. Well, now I see this other jumper Missy and I'm having a hard time deciding which to make. I'm almost thinking that Missy might be a little to juvenile for Callista at five, even though they have sizing up to 6. This is probably a moot discussion with myself because I really do like the Victoria pattern. And I like the colors I found the yarn in. The yarn is different for the Missy dress, and I am not completely sure I love the buttons.

Thoughts anyone?

Crack epidemic

I'm sure I am not the first one to write about this. Hell, it's something I know we are all seeing and trying to turn a blind eye to, but I have just had enough. I write this today as a good Samaritan in the hope that we can all come to terms with the problem and change the world.

Pull up your pants people!

I am just done when it comes to seeing total strangers butt cracks. You're sitting having a perfectly lovely dinner and you look over and the woman at the next table has 2 plus inches of ass hanging out of her pants. I'm driving down the street and there is a guy on a bike, pedaling for all he's worth, crack hanging out. You're at a playground with your kids, and even one of the caregivers has a good inch or two in full view.

But, perhaps the worst and most recent offender was the landscaping man at my local shopping center. It wasn't a particularly warm day and he was working with another person. The second I made a right turn I was confronted by his ass hanging out of his pants. And I say ass because this wasn't just a crack, not a little plumbers leak so to speak. This was a full-on hang-the-moon shot off his posterior. I mention that it was cold because there is no way he could not feel the breeze back there. The person he was working with must have gotten the shot practically in his face at least once. And he was wearing a belt! If you haven't figured out how to use a belt to keep your pants up and your crack invisible, I'm thinking that leaving the house in the morning might not be such a good idea.

I know it used to be that everyone had the baggy pants look. You'd see boxers hanging out of young men's pants much to the chagrin of mothers everywhere. But, I would take seeing anyone's boxers, even a thong, rather than a crack. I know, part of the problem are these low-riders made popular by the rich and famous and typically small-hineyed women. There are underwear available to you should you choose to wear them. But, if you aren't Kate moss, and you plan on wearing them, at least have the decency to hike them up.

People flipped out about Janet Jackson's nipple being visible on television. How can that even be objectionable compared to the wanton ass-crack/cellulite combo? Even Survivor has the sense to blur-over the contestants bare butts. Remember when Jimmy Smits had a full-on butt shot on NYPD Blue? People, hardly any of us have butts that look like that, put the cheeks away!

So, I ask you, please, pull-up your pants and if someone you know is hanging the moon, please ask them to pull up their pants. Together we can nip this crack in the bud.

Three more FO's

I figured since I didn't have that many photos this week, you might want to see some of the items I've recently finished. The first was actually a Christmas present for Callista, the mistake rib scarf with two alternating skeins of Noro Kureyon. Very cool, and the response from her was the best part.

Our second finished object I actually completed a while ago also, but forgot to take a picture of them. The ghetto fab knitted flip-flops. These are on my best friend, Erika's feet. Callista has a matching pair which is fairly amusing. I knit tons of these flip-flops last summer, but I must say, I think this pair came out the best.I think it was fun fur of some sort, but I know I mixed something else in there and can't remember now what it was.

And the third, I actually took off of the needles today. It is a dupe of one that I made for my mom to go with her socks. Perfect color for Erika. So, I finished it up (my distraction project) and gave it to her today. This was fun to knit because it wasn't your typical novelty scarf. It's actually Cotton Classic (love that it's made in Greece) and the other is Crystal Palace (whose name is escaping me, more later).

I've finished about 13 inches on the front of Allen's sweater. It's slow progress, but it's going okay, and I am almost halfway through the Chevron scarf. I hope to have a decent photo of that to post this week. I'm thinking maybe I need to post a progress bar for all the projects that are on my needles.

And fyi folks, Kaleidoscope Yarns has a 30% discount on Berroco chinchilla this week (code chin30). It's kind of in the fug category, but we all need a little fug in our life once in a while. In case, it's what you need, hope you save a bit to spend somewhere else!

Ah, Berroco

You know, I often look at the Berroco site and think, "what the hell were they thinking?" I'm still on their email list though, and occasionally there is something in there of value. As it was today, there is an adorable dress in there called, Victoria, that would look great on either Callista or Sabrina, so I think that will be my next summer project.

Though I am salivating at the prospect of starting my Hanne, I know me, and I know I will have a hard time keeping at it when it gets hot because of the wool factor. So, this little dress in Cotton Twist will be the perfect quickie distraction.

Quote of the Day

"The administration's central problem is its policies, not its staff. If you're driving in the wrong direction, changing chauffeurs doesn't help." by Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post

The first genocide of the 21st Century

It's going on right now. Words have always been my friends, and right now, they are deserting me in the face of seeing the horrors of Darfur on the news.

The estimate of deaths since 2003 (when open warfare erupted between two loosely-allied rebel groups) is 400,000. 3.5 million people are hungry. 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence. But, the rape of the women is easily the most disturbing thought of all, "Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages. It is assumed that the hundreds of rapes reported and treated grossly underestimate the actual number committed, as victims of rape in Darfur are often too scared or too ashamed to seek help. In a culture where rape draws heavy social disgrace, victims are often ostracised by their own families and communities. These women and children have been forced from their communities and even punished for illegal pregnancy as a result of being raped." (Source: savedarfur.org) The situation is nauseating.

Please consider taking action today. And it doesn't have to be financial. First, go to Save Darfur and send President Bush an electronic postcard, tell him you can't stand it any more, and that's it is time for him to fulfill the promise he made, "Not on my watch." Better yet, call the White House and tell him to get off of his ass--800-224-2084.

And to anyone who says, why do we always have to be the world's policeman? Who else is going to care about children getting raped if we don't?

And if you will be in DC this weekend, there is a March on April 30th. Stand and be counted.

WIP and Hanne colors

Wanted to show you a WIP today, Aden's blanket. This one is slightly slow-going. I'm working on the third of seven strips of garter. The never-ending garter is definitely what is making it slow. I need to set an end-date for this project so that I can finish it before the boy it is intended for ends up going to college (he's only two now). As always, if I would just knit one thing at a time, I would be good to go and finish things faster.

Also wanted to show you some of the yarn from the Hanne kit. If there were more of it, I'd get naked and roll around in it. Now, there would be a real picture of interest (ah, the odor of fresh sarcasm in the morning).

Late to the party

I'm sure I'm probably the last one to know about this, but I was having a rather weak retail moment and I was on Amazon about to purchase some books. And for some reason, I thought, what the hell, go check Overstock.com and see if they have any books on knitting. Well, folks, they have a lot of books on knitting. And they are mostly cheaper than Amazon. This is going to be dangerous. And in direct opposition to the associates program at Amazon.....perhaps Overstock has one?

Ah, the Decision Makers

As if taking away our right to choose, getting us involved in wars no one wants and not doing a damn thing to help control the oil prices weren't enough.....

I'm sure most of us didn't see this, and I'm glad it was brought to our attention by a fellow knitter on the KRF. February first was "Screw the college students and their parents day" in Congress. That was the day that the GOP cut $12 billion in federal student aid programs.

But, no, that's not enough! Let's remember, they also voted against a Democratic measure that would have helped cut interest rates on student loans in half.

If you're appalled and especially if you have a story to tell about paying for college or not being able to pay for college, you can take action by emailing your story to the democrats in Congress.

Right now, Reps. George Miller and Dick Durbin to propose another bill to cut the rates in half.

Momma Socks

Wanted to post a pic of the socks I made my mama for Christmas. There is a matching scarf too, but for now, just thought I would put out the sock pic.


The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill. Love it. Got it on eBay a while back but can't remember from whom. You can get Cherry Tree Hill lots of places, though.

The Diva is here!

My Diva sweater kit arrived today! Woo-hoo. It’s that fabulous Hanne Falkenberg that was on my list and my dream came true. The colorway is awesome.

I cannot get over how fast the shipping was, especially since I purchased on 4/16 and they sent it over from England. I used their eBay site, but their actual site is Cucumber Patch. Will definitely be ordering from them again. I’ll put a permanent link in the sidebar, but go there NOW!

I’m stalking a skein of Opal yarn on eBay right now from another UK seller. I already bought the Regia cotton surf sock yarn from the same person, but I’m trying to get a two-fer on the shipping. Someone outbid me a little while ago, but I am hoping to win it back!

I’m about 3 inches in on the front of Allen’s sweater. He told me we could pretend the back was the front and then just give him something to attach it to, he’ll wear it under a jacket and everyone will think it’s a whole sweater. I knew there was a reason I married him.

And here’s a great FYI. I was on the KRF and saw that there was a link to the Summer issue of Interweave Knits. Nice looking stuff. I especially like the knitted crowns! Might have to make those for my girls.

Blue Sky Cotton

In case any of you are in the market, Kaleidoscope Yarns is selling Blue Sky Cotton at 20% off this week. The code for the sale is BSC20. Happy Shopping!

Arepublican

How I wish I was the genius who came up with this term. But you'll just have to visit M. Kane Jeeves to enjoy the genius for yourself. Rock on Arepublicans! Can we form a real party? Seriously people.....

Shameless Mom Post of the Week

Callista was in her first Opera Friday night, "The Mermaid and the Prince." They call it an opera at her school which is a nice way of saying "glorified musical." Was very cute (especially the penguins and churchbells, those of you in attendance know what I mean!). But, really I only mention it so I can include the following photo of said beautiful daughter: :)

DH's sweater update

Le dos, c'est fini, mes amis! Or, the back is finished my friends. And hajelluah that it is. I managed to shape the shoulders tonight while I waited for a very fussy Sabrina to fall asleep. But, this bodes well because now, I can a) start the front of the sweater (I know I said I was going to do the sleeves first, but I'm waffling on that idea) and b) that means I can do more work on my Chevron scarf without guilt (it's only about 2x as long as it was the last time I posted a picture). I've already decided in my head that Cindy is going to finish this one for me. That way I know it will get done! Hopefully, she will allow me to have her finish it. I know I could do it, but after all this hard work, I want it to look perfect, and that means her work! And FYI, if I ever turn up missing, check this sweater first for a DNA match because I've sewn a wig's-worth of hair into this baby.


Also, wanted to post another FO pic, this one of the cashmere scarf that I made him for Christmas. Once sweater weather appears again, this will look lovely with his sweater. I'm also planning socks in the same navy Cashsoft. He says he will be "too hard" on them, but he doesn't know the resiliency of the hand-knit sock! I love the detail on this mistake rib scarf (pattern logically from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, who else) on the back especially. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't quite do the colors justice, and I probably should have re-blocked as he wore it a lot!


Now, much as I love you all, I must go because someone has to make sure the Easter baskets are filled for Anastasi tomorrow!

What a week!

Isn't this week over yet? I've gotten so little knitting done, I just need the week to end so I can get back on track.

I'm Greek Orthodox, so as I mentioned before, my Easter isn't until this Sunday. Which means this is my Holy Week. So between being in church, relatives coming into town and all the activities. . . it's nuts!

Not to mention the weather was absolutely SPECTACULAR today and so I was out in the garden tending my other children.

Listen, my Walk Against Hunger is two weeks from this Sunday. If any of you out there are interested in joining the team and walking with us, please do so by visiting our Team's Site, Compassionate Soles. And if anyone wants to make a donation, that would be awesome and you can do so by visiting my 2006 Walk Against Hunger site. A $1 donation equals $10 in food, so there really is no donation too small!

Thanks for your support!

And more knitting project photos are on their way!

Some baby knitting

When I first started the blog I mentioned how I was up to my eyeballs in babykknitting. Well, just wanted to show off some of the adorable babies I had the chance to knit for (oh, and the knits too). This cutey pie is Athena, and the hat was a Berrocco pattern knit in Hush and Lullaby.

Hats like this are great for babies who are born with not so much on the hair front (though Athena has a full head of it under hers! Love those Greek babies!) And the Hush is supersoft, so it feels great on their little heads.

Sock yarn FYI

Just so those of you wanting and waiting on either Sweet Georgia Yarns or Brooklyn Handspun. . . Sweet Georgia should be ready on the 4th, including some laceweight mohair. And Brooklyn thinks maybe the end of this week. Links in the side.

Previous knitting

Over the next few days, I thought I would put up a few posts of some of the knitting I've done over the pat couple of years (okay, okay, it's a little showing off, but it's better than all text). The scarf in this pic is one I am especially proud of this one, because I had to rip it out at least three times before I got it just how I wanted it. This pattern for those of you interested is available on Knitty and it's called Loopy and Luscious. I did it in different colors obviously, but I am working on a second one in the colors pictured at Knitty.




Interestingly enough there are a bunch of similar patterns in the Mason-Dixonbook. So, if you are interested, there are a ton of variations to try.

I call it lazy girl's lace, cause you get the idea of lace without doing lace. It's all knit and purl on really big needles with two vastly different yarns. Pretty cool and fun.

DH's sweater

I finally picked up Allen's sweater tonight. I thought that I was already at the shaping portion of the back, but no. So, on I knit. It's a simple rib pattern and so it goes along pretty fast. I am not going to work on the socks now because I am hell-bent on just finishing the back of this project. I'm using my Denise needles at least it's faster than some of the other circulars I have (I wish that I had started the Chevron on a pair of Addi's, I'd be going along a lot quicker). I used to think it was crap about the needles making you knit faster. I was so young. Such an amateur :0

So, I have about half an inch to an inch left before I start shaping. Which means, my butt needs to go back upstairs and get to it! I'll try to post a pic tomorrow and give you the name of the yarn because my brain has a horrible case of flatulence right now.

I'll just have the water, thanks

I'm reading this week's issue of US News & World Report and there's a Democratic Opinion analyst quoted as saying, "People used to see him as the kids of guy they'd like to have a beer with. They don't see him that way anymore. It used to be that while they didn't necessarily agree with his policies, they felt he talked straight and they could trust him."

Apparently, in the middle of all the scandal surrounding the Bush administration (the him the analyst spoke of), someone forgot to make the Kool-Aid these people have been drinking since just before he got elected.

Have a beer with him? That would mean hanging out with him. Spending time with him. This guy is the freaking President of the United States. The last guy I want to get the "have a beer with him" impression about is the leader of the free world.

I admit, I spent a lot of time at various fraternities while I was in college. And I can't think of a single guy I would want from one of them to run this country. And, personally, frat guy has always been the impression this smug, village idiot has always given off.

I can't seem to figure out why now people are finally getting the idea, that gee, this ignoramus, the man who can only think of one adjective at a time to use per speech that's off the cuff, might not be the best man for the job. What could it be? Hmmm....the intelligence leak? Nah, that's probably just Dick Cheney's fault, right? Cause we all know, he's the one really running the country anyway.

Could it be all of our boys and girls (check the average ages people) dying and getting injured over in Iraq? Nah, cause no one gets to see or hear about those poor folks unless you actively seek out the information and most Americans are just too lazy (busy) for that.

maybe it's the concern over the fact that if his lips are moving, he's not telling the truth. As in, "No, we're not planning an airstrike on Iran." If I was Iranian, I'd start planning a duck and CYA right now.

For those of you just arriving at the party, Bush is lying, has been lying and will continue to lie. How about a glass of water?

Lily Chin and Stitchcraft

Thanks to Holly in CT for keeping me in the loop on this: Lily Chin has a pilot show on Oxygen that is re-airing.

The dates are as follows: Friday, May 19th at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 20th at 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, May 21st at 2:30 p.m.

The more people watch, the more likely they will keep the show, and we all want that!

She's also going to be on Knitty Gritty at some point in the future. You can check the DIY site for more information.

The Chevron scarf

I am loving this scarf. First of all, the Koigu rocks. And this pattern is just great. I think I mentioned before I got it out of my bible, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. And I had bought the yarn last summer I think from someone who was de-stashing. And, finally I am working on it, and it's perfect timing because it is all the spring colors you could just die for. It's still on the needles, but I finally blocked it a little and here it is:



Allen is out tonight so that means extra knitting for me. I'm thinking of whipping out his sweater so I can at least get re-motivated. And I can work on the scarf when I get bored with the sweater. It's sort of a scarf-headband kind of thing if you saw the picture in the book. Very cool for summer, and just the right weight.

Now, I'm off to do my chores so I don't have to waste valuable kids-asleep time tonight!

Happy Holidays/Exciting News

Well, first, a big Happy Holidays to everyone whatever you might be celebrating over the next week or so. Easter today, Passover the past few days, and for those of us who are Orthodox Christians, Easter next week. This photo pretty much sums up my whole day:



And as for the exciting news: A few weeks ago, I officially purchased the domain, Holy Knit Batman!. Now wait! Don't got there yet. I'm not entirely ready over there. Still working on links and such so don't go getting all excited and running over there with some idea of a quckie with good blog.

I promise to let you know just as soon as we look and feel better! I'm just finding my way along. It's not quite as easy over there as it is here at Blogspot, but once I get my geek on, I should be good to go.

Customer Service Appreciation

I was having an off and online conversation with Donna about our sometime frustration with customer service at knitting establishments (both LYS and online stores). I suppose I do suffer from "customer entitlement," but that's because I was raised by a flight attendant who has had to swallow a lot of sh$$ in the name of "customer service." That and working in the restaurant industry for 6 + years. Everyone should have to work in the restaurant industry at least once because it makes you that much more appreciative of good customer service.

So, Donna recommended to me a wonderful online store that has been extraordinarily helpful and I did add them to the links, but wanted to mention them here as well. They are Knitty-Noddy and if Donna gives them kudos, I'm sure we can all have a great experience there.

See, when you do something good for a knitter, they want to tell EVERYONE about it.......

and it works when you do something bad, too :)-

In other news, I am going to be knitting a corset for myself that is just too delicious to even talk about! But, of course, I will. You can see it at Annie Modesitt's Site and I plan on doing it in an amazingly bright and beautiful yarn of orange and reds. Thanks to Dale for the idea! If I hadn't seen her knitting it, I probably would not have thought of it!!!! And thanks to Jodi for winding and helping me pick out the colors.....I know, I know, enough with the pink.

Now, when will I be getting to this. Well, I'm in the middle of the scarf I keep promising to photograph. I'm actually going to have to slightly block it on the needles so you can see the chevron pattern. But, it's going really fast so....

After I finish one more strip of Aden's blanket (I have 5 squares left in this strip), then I can start the corset.

The top secret project was going along swimmingly until I had to pick up and knit together across 60 stitches, but that's what I have Cindy for.

And, after talking to Jodi today DH Allen will be getting his sweater by his birthday, September 12th (OF THIS YEAR!). I'm going to check out what's left on the back and finish it. And then set some timelines for the other three pieces. And hopefully, you guys will help keep me honest!

One skein Secret Pal exchange

On to a much lighter topic today.....Interweave Press that published the One-Skein book, is hosting a One-Skein secret pal exchange. Sounds like fun, probably because I haven't done it before (ha ha ha) so I am signing up and encouraging you guys to join me in the fun. If you are interested you can visit One Skein Secret Pal to sign-up. Hopefully, we'll all get some really interesting skeins out of it, and maybe a new friend or two!

Just a moment

My apologies in advance that this isn't a knitting post and it isn't light-hearted.

Since the television media no longer seems to give a damn (did they ever) about the men and women dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, I just wanted to point out some statistics of today:

2300 fatalities in Iraq, 274 in Afghanistan.

Not to mention 16,000 (yes that's thousand) + who are injured.

I'm not sure how many of you know this so I'm going to tell you. Casualty care has come a long way since Korea and Nam. Used to be that when you were a medic doing triage in the field, you just checked to see who was going to make it back to a MASH unit. Most of the guys with head injuries were considered already dead whether they were or not. And sometimes, amputations weren't really an option either, so those guys bled out.

But, now, they are able to do so many things in the field and near the field that our vet hospitals are going to be full of what Senator Inouye of Hawaii once called, "vegetables." And A WHOLE LOT of amputees. And he would know, he lost his arm in war. And he spends time at these hospitals. A place where cameras aren't going.

I guess it's too much for them to show us the guys and gals in the hospitals who have come back broken. I mean, they won't even show us the caskets with flags draped on them. Can't actually remind the public that our people are dying (don't get me started on the number of Iraqi civilians).

I mean really, didn't Barbara Bush say it best on GMA, "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? Oh, I mean, it'’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"” Uh, yeah. I'm so much clearer on Jr. now.

So, I invite you to learn more. The Washington Post has done a project called Faces of the Fallen.

Just so you know, regarding my comments above about previous wars vs. now, I used to write for a Military Medical publication. So, I do know from what I speak. And Mr. Inouye made that comment to me.

Blah blah blah

Don't have a lot to say today. Kids have drained me of brainpower! Wanted to point out though that when I posted the Pink lyrics yesterday, I didn't have a link to hear the song. So, I went out and found one and put it in yesterday's post. So, if you are interested, you can go have a listen.

Clarifying my post of yesterday regarding my sweater-finishing issues. Sweater #1: I completed all of the pieces. I even sewed together (with Cindy's help), the front and back. The problem with that one is I have to pick up over 100 stitches along the front to do some edge, so maybe my real issue is that I don't love picking up. But, I think that can eventually be overcome, I mean, hey I use DPNs all the time (well, when I have to otherwise I use 2 circs, let's be honest, now).

Sweater #2: This would be the husband sweater. I don't know why it's so daunting. But, it's one of those projects, I just have no desire to pick back up. Love him to death, just not dying to pick it back up. I'm thinking if I switch to working on a sleeve it might get me motivated to get back on the sweater roll.

I have no problem blocking, that's no biggie. But, yeah, I don't love the putting together. And Cindy won't let me give stuff to her for finishing!!!! She wants me to learn it and I know she's right, but come on mom!!!!

Mission Accomplished (Pink and the Indigo GIrls)

***To hear the song, you can see it at Rosie's Pink Movie***


Ironic that I was just talking about my girls the Indigo Girls the other day....because they have quite an amazing duet out with Pink right now (thanks, Linda for bringing this to my attention). The song can be found on Pink's new album, I'm Not Dead. The words are self-explanatory and cover every base I've mentioned the past few weeks:

Dear Mr President

Dear Mr. President, come take a walk with me
Let's pretend, we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions, if we can speak honestly

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do ou dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye and tell me why?

Dear Mr. President, were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say, "no child is left behind"?
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she was gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage and a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box

You don't know nothing about hard work

The first step . . .

of any problem is to acknowledge the problem. For the first time ever, I admitted it out loud, to someone who occasionally knits (now there's something I don't understand):

I HAVE SWEATER-FINISHING ISSUES.

The lie has gone on long enough. I am coming out. I do not like to finish sweaters. I haven't completed one yet in two years. I have a sweater for Callista that has minimal finishing left on it and yet, I have not finished it, and if I don't finish it soon, it won't fit Sabrina either.

Then there is the aforementioned Allen (husband) sweater. The back is almost done . . .

This has nothing to do with completion. I complete projects all the time. I mean, I pushed my way through that damn yoga bag didn't I? Scarves, flip-flops, ponchos, socks, booties, blankets. I've finished all of them, gifted many of them. But sweaters, ah, there's the rub.

What's the big deal? It's just a sweater. But, clearly, if I can't finish a kid's sweater, it's not looking good for the husband.

So, I turn to you, the knitting public for help. What's a girl to do?

Spring Knitty is Up

For any of you who aren't on the email list, the Spring Knitty is up. Some interesting patterns. Some that I wonder how much time I would have to have on my hands before I thought about knitting them (nautilus shells? Seriously?). I'm sure those things are going to end up on the You Knit What site. Cause for real people. No slight to the designer. Someday when I am designing patterns for Mastiff dog socks, you can remind me of the shells. Go see the Knitty site, there's a neat beaded shawl on there. I've got to go knit something before you knitters take my membership card away.

KnittingHelp site

I can't believe I forgot to mention this site before, but as I was checking something out myself today, I thought I would pass it along, especially for beginning knitters or anyone who needs a little refresher Knitting Help.com is a great site to visit for clear, concise video on how to knit. From really basic techniques to slightly harder stuff, this is a great site for ya! It's also over in the links column if you ever need it.

Immigration, the Indigo Girls, and yes, knitting

Was listening to the Indigo Girls, "Shame on You," and it made me think about the demonstrations today by illegal immigrants.
For those of you not familiar with the song, there's a line that says "We're looking for illegal immigrants/Can we check you car?/I said "It's funny I think we were on the same boat/Back in 1694" (or there approximately)" I say, you want to work, you want a better life for your kids, this is the place. (Can't believe I'm sort of on Bush's side on this one, but that's only because he's leaning left in an attempt to appease the Latino vote that the other Republicans are alienating).

And I'm rocking out to this song with Callista who LOVES the Indigo Girls. And as I am singing, there's a line with the F-word and it's almost out of my mouth when I realize my audience. Crap. These are the times when I forget the mothering part of the introducing your children to cool music motto. I was so gratified the other day when Callista identified Elton John on the radio ("Benny and the Jets"), but I won't be playing "The Bitch is Back" for her anytime soon.

Beautiful day here today! Got the lettuces AND the broccoli planted. Can't imagine why I haven't gotten any knitting done yet.

But, thanks to my knitting guru, Linda, I get what they mean by kf&B. I've had to knit in the front. I've had to knit in the back. I just never had to knit both ways. I'm making a scarf from (shock!) Last Minute Knitted Gifts for me in Koigu purple and variations thereof. Great for Spring. Will post a pic when I have a little more on the needles.

And I think I have figured out my stopping point issue on TSP (Top Secret Project. More on that later.

Spring is everywhere!

After my snowy post of earlier in the week, I thought I would share some final signs of spring. First, crocuses in the garden:




And, SPRING YARN from Brooklyn Hand Dyed!:



Now, really, I need to go knit something!

Secret Agent Knitting

I started my top secret knitting project on Thursday night. Only the women at my LYS knows what it is and we can't talk about it specifically on here because the recipient reads the blog. Let's just say that it's complicated, time-consuming and I only have a few months to complete it. I know, that sounds like a lot of time, but for those of us who can't just knit one project at a time....this is not a lot of time.

That and it's a project that my children are dying to help with. I think by the time I am finished, they won't have any nerve-endings left in their hands from getting bopped. Let's just say there are beads, and beads are very temtping to the small. Sabrina keeps saying, Mommy I like your beads in this really creepy way.

I've also got a baby blanket going and I want to start this other really awesome lace scarf. Very exciting.

And my sock yarn came today from Brooklyn Hand-Dyed. Will have to post the picture tomorrow when there is some natural light about. The colors are awesome and it's mighty soft. I know one colorway is Orchid, and I'm blanking on the other one, but will post with correct color tomorrow.

Plus there are the socks I started on the plane a couple of weeks ago....

And Allen's sweater that he's begging for.....

And the sweater my grandmother picked out....

This is going to be a long summer :)

I'm not making this up

Sabrina: "I pooped."

Mommy: "In your pants?"

Sabrina: "Yes."

Mommy: "Go tell Daddy."

Callista: "Wait. Say cheese."

Sabrina: As she cheeses for the camera, "Cheese."

Callista loves her Polaroid camera more than I can articulate.

And, certainly more than her sister getting her butt cleaned first.

Good news in the Choice wars!

I received and email from NARAL today that a bill will be introduced in Congress called the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). Please, please, please visit NARAL online and tell your congressperson today that you want to keep choice available to women forever. The bill was introduced by Sen Barbara Boxer and Rep. Jerrold Nadler.

As you know, the stats are staggering:

87 percent of counties in the U.S. have no abortion provider.
South Dakota has passed an abortion ban - and 12 other states have considered passing bans of their own this legislative session.

The Supreme Court will soon decide on the Bush administration's Federal Abortion Ban, which could ban abortion as early as 12 weeks and has no exception to protect women's health.

Millions of women could be denied access to abortion care altogether if the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade.

WE have to act now because this is no longer a theoretical possibility that we will lose our right to choose. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

"Kata" Felicity Scarf

This is the famous 6.5 month late birthday scarf. I LOVE how it came out. This was my first lace, so naturally I am very proud. I love the way it drapes in the frenchy knot. The pattern is from the book "Mindful Knitting," which does not have a ton of patterns. But, if you are interested in the idea of using knitting as a meditative activity, it's really interesting.





Funny enough that the scarf was so late. Funnier still that the recipient, Robin, got it at all. Why you ask? Well, Tuesday I was so proud of myself that I had the right address (on the second attempt), had it in a priority mail envelope, and took it to the actual post office instead of mailing it from my mailbox that I couldn't even fathom until TWO DAYS LATER that I placed no postage on the envelope. How did I know that? Easy. Sabrina was pulling apart my wallet yesterday and there were four priority mail envelope stamps instead of three.

The irony is that it arrived in Virginia yesterday, without any postage, and without any postage due. Her Christmas card was one digit off on the zip code and it didn't arrive until the week of St. Patrick's Day. I'm not kidding. I'm apparently incapable of mailing anything to her without some sort of drama. Go figure.

And one last aside, you know you want to knit way too much when you are in the eye doctor's office, eyes FULLY DILATED and you are still knitting away on the blanket you so desperately need to finish. So bear with me on my typing and spelling today because four-and-a-half hours later, I still look high as a kite.

The Bush Tour Stopped Here

Lucky us, yesterday was Junior's day to bring his "Healthcare Agenda" to Connecticut. Of course, there were protesters, kept at least a block away, but thankfully they haven't taken away that right yet. I digress.

I flipped on the television yesterday somewhere in the middle of his spiel about healthcare savings accounts and the cost of healthcare. He made some rather vague analogy to when lasik surgery was new how it wasn't covered and now it is (would love to know what the actual statistics on that are....a friend had it done in the late 90's and it was totally covered). But the INTERESTING part of the approximately three minutes I made it through was how many times he used the word INTERESTING. I counted 5 times in about a minute and a half.

But, wait, it gets more INTERESTING. You could see him struggling with his words, trying to come up with something other than INTERESTING, but no, the hamster in the brain can only turn that wheel so fast, and so he stuck with INTERESTING.

At this point, I was so frightened I turned the television off. Couldn't even switch channels. The one thought that wouldn't leave my brain was "This man is representing Americans all over the world. And we wonder why they think we are stupid??!!" It would have been easier to listen to him uh, oh, or ah. Or even watch some of those famous facial ticks of his.

(Come on, Eleni, he's our President, cut him some slack.) Yeah, no.

I'm so over him. And I cannot believe we're going to have to listen to this drivel for another two and a half freaking years. Really closer to three, but I'm trying to not depress myself.

But, there are positives. DeLay is out. Add misogynist to my list of complaints about him. There's a great piece of audio at The Huffington Post where he actually says, "There's nothing worse than a know it all woman."

And then today, the link between the President and the CIA operative name leaking scandal.

Remind me again.....because it came up tonight at the knitting group....they voted to impeach Clinton over a blowjob?

But, out and out crimes, these are non-impeachable offenses?

Wake me in three years.....as long as some wack-job right winger isn't living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Ta da! Just can't wait any longer

To show you guys the finished product. This is, by far, the largest item I have ever made. Not necessarily the most time consuming, but size-wise, it takes the cake. It isn't 100% dry (forgive me in advance when I show up at knitting tonight, it doesn't smell quite as bad as it did when it was SOAKING wet), but it was dry enough to re-jam in the mat and hang it on the chair for viewing. The Manos really did felt beautifully.

Sweet Georgia Yarns

Not sure if I mentioned these guys before or not, but in my ever-expanding quest for great yarn, they were recommended to me by I think Donna. Anywho, they are Sweet Georgia Yarns and they are literally just about to update their site with new yarn Superwash Sock, Speed Demon (who wouldn't want to knit with THAT?) and Handpainted Sock. The update was supposed to be noon PST, but I think they are a little behind due to the new website. Hit it girls!

***FYI--they do take special orders for previous colorways and specific yarn. You can find out about it on their site. And they don't even charge some exorbitant price for it. Go to their site and check out their blog. Really awesome projects in process.

The bag is finished!

I'm not ready to post the pic yet as the yoga bag is still drying, but it is felted and fabulous! Love it! My hubby arrived home to the smell of wet wool and after first accusing the dog, followed his nose to the laundry room where low and behold, the long-discussed bag lay flat to dry!

A note on the felting: I am so glad the fabulous lady who put together Last Minute Knitted Gifts (she's the one who owns Purl) mentioned how fast the Manos yarn felts. Because in 10 minutes of agitation, the bag was completely felted. I've felted other items that were obviously 100% wool and yet, they took a while to felt. This was definitely a "set the timer on your microwave or else" project. ****If I hadn't been an ass, and first checked the purl site for book corrections the following would not have been a big deal, silly me.******

Also a note on the pattern, unless I've smoked too much crack recently, the amounts for the colors you need are slightly off. So, if you plan on knitting this, you should definitely take a look at that. I ended up changing the stripes on the pattern to accommodate.

This book is great. I've knitted a BUNCH of gifts from it including the baby booties, several scarves, and now I am at work on the baby blanket (one of the more time consuming products). The book is great because it is divided up (very accurately, I think) into the length of time it would take an average knitter (such as myself) to complete the project. Very cool. I've got a link in the sidebar if you are interested in purchasing.

I'll have the finished product pic up soon, promise. And I am definitely taking it to knitting nite!

To give you an idea

My daughter Callista is around 43 or 44 inches tall. This picture is her lying in the yoga bag. She wouldn't let me pull it up any further, but my guess is, it would have come up to her forehead at least. I've got an inch left on the strap and then I am sewing together!

Book Review

Mason-Dixon Knitting is a sweet little book (visit these girls at Mason-Dixon Knitting. Sweet because it evolved out of the friendship of two knitters living on oppostie ends of the planet, I mean, opposite ends of the Mason-Dixon line. Same difference.

I really like this book. Mostly because it has knitted stuff in it. By stuff, I mean things other than scarves, socks, hats, and shawls. Things like lacy curtains, seat covers, clever little bowls. I like the idea of knitting this stuff, even if I don't ever get around to it. And it has some really interesting blanket patterns that as an amateur knitter I wasn't really aware of. Plus, they tell their cute little story in and around the book and introduce us to some other cool knitters. Very satisfying.

This may be one of those books that I don't use a ton, but I enjoy bringing out to look at all the pretty pictures, read a few of the anecdotes and just enjoy.

And I really like the fact it all evolved out of a blog......

Are you kidding me?

I'm not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. Which is why when I woke up this morning, stumbled out of bed and saw snow, I had to rub my eyes, rub them again, and check myself for signs of full-blown dementia. Because when you see this:



and it's April, you think you've lost your mind. Now, I've been in Connecticut for almost 7 years. Seven rather long years of
sh$$ like this. I've told you all before, that first year, when it snowed on May 3rd, I thought, "Where the hell did he bring me?" (The he, of course, being Allen). But, it NEVER fails to surprise and irritate me when I wake up in April and see snow falling. Especially when they call it a "wintry mix," when clearly it is not mixed with anything, unless it's mixed with my absolute irritation. I was gardening Saturday! And tomorrow it's going to be 50 degrees.

This is why nature is superior to me. Because though my plants will be slightly confused, they will rebound much faster than my attitude will. And they ask me why I knit . . .

And bear with me because the spell checker is apparently frozen.

Silent Vigil for Rape Victims

This post is along the same lines of my conscientious objector post of a few days ago, but just wanted to pass this information along as I will be unable to attend, but some of you may want to.

Emergency Contraception
Rape Victims Can't Wait!

Last month lawmakers let the clock run out on rape victims.

With the defeat of a bill that would have required that all publicly funded hospitals offer emergency contraception (EC or the "morning-after" pill) to rape victims, dozens of women will not get the standard care they need to prevent an unintended pregnancy from rape.

Let elected officials know that rape victims can't wait!

We must work to make sure our elected officials understand the devastating realities that rape victims face in crisis, and why they need EC without delay and without judgment.

Join us for: Silent Vigil
Dates: April 11 & April 18
Time: 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
Location: State Capitol

Help keep our message alive through our silent vigils. We'll stand in solidarity for Connecticut's women and pass out information at the State Capitol.

Contact us now! Please email info@pro-choicect.org or call 860-524-1086 to sign up and find out where to meet.

Let's Raise that Minimum Wage

Just a little FYI, friend to friend, sent to me by one of my fave dem's Robin:

So far, almost 90,000 people across the country have signed on as citizen co-sponsors to increase the minimum wage. Your name can put the number of Americans demanding a better minimum wage over 100,000 -- and 100,000 Americans demanding specific legislation is something that even the most out of touch Republican leaders cannot ignore.

If you sign on, we're that much closer to making it a full one hundred thousand:

Support the Fair Minimum Wage Act

Here are some facts:

* Someone on minimum wage earns just $10,700 a year. A single mom with two kids who works full-time for the minimum wage is about $6,000 below the poverty line.

* The minimum wage has been the same since 1997. Since then, Republican leaders have raised the salaries of Senators seven times. Salaries of lawmakers have gone up by $31,600 -- almost three times the entire yearly income of someone on minimum wage.

* The real value of the minimum wage is more than $3.00 below than it was a generation ago. To have the same purchasing power the minimum wage had 40 years ago, it would have to be $8.50 per hour.

* The minimum wage is the lowest it has been in over 50 years relative to the average wage.

* Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour would mean an additional $4,370 for a minimum-wage worker. That adds up to more than one year of groceries, over 9 months of rent, a year and a half of heat and electricity, or full tuition for a community college degree.

Support the Fair Minimum Wage Act

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/fairwage/fugesb

The beginning of the end of the yoga mat bag

I can't believe I've actually made it this far. This thing is a behemoth. I think it would fit an elephant trunk at least. But I am so pleased with how the bottom turned out (pre-felting) that I just had to share. Boy were they right about alternating the k2tog in the front and back of the stitches to make it look more even. It's almost too pretty to felt. And now I have already started to work on the strap. My color issues of this bag (Because the pattern had listed incorrectly the number of skeins I needed for each color) has gone from me and now I can just enjoy the near-finished project. The colors are not as accurately represented as I would like, but I had to take the picture with a flash due to lighting conditions.

Spring Cleaning

I spent most of yesterday morning in the garden. I love my garden. I love the feeling of being out where it's warm, clearing away the winter debris, encouraging the tiny shoots of the perennials to come up and play. I love working out the plans of what I am going to add to the garden this year to make it better than the previous year. I love getting a little bit sunburned and sore from the work. I love showing my children the beginning of Spring, the crocus blooms, the tulip and daffodil greenery just peeking out to say hello.

But there are three things I DO NOT love (in no particular order): weeds, chipmunks/skunks/any garden rodentia, and deer. Now on the animal front, I know they were here first. I know that I am the intruder in their word. I also know, that I am still a novice in my gardening life, and especially in this growing Zone. The outdoor life here is definitely different than in VA. HOWEVER, is it too much to ask for them to just stay the hell away from certain plants?

The first year I lived here, my mother brought me bulbs from Amsterdam, literally picked them out over there on one of her trips and brought them back to me. I planted them in the fall and couldn't wait to see them in the spring. And then Spring arrived. Spring with a capital 'S'. And so did the FLB's. For those of you who aren't aware, an FLB is a Furry Little Bastard, my children call them Chip and Dale, but they are and always will be, FLB's. This is why I got a cat: because that first spring, having never cohabitated with chipmunks, I could not figure out where my beautiful crocus blooms were disappearing to. And then I came out of my front door one morning to find that FLB sitting on my stop peeling a crocus bulb like an onion. And now, I have solved for you what the sound was that you heard 5 years ago on a spring morning. Me screaming at the top of my lungs, you little SOB, my mother brought those back from Amsterdam!

And then, there are the deer. I am more sympathetic to them. They don't have their own nickname. And usually I blame myself when I fail to protect a plant from them. As in yesterday. When I was clearing leaves and such from my azaelas, I realized that yes, I should have covered them for the winter because 6 out of 6 azaleas, have NO LEAVES ON THEM, which means no blooms for this year either. Why I am I growing azaleas this far north? Because my Pappou has azaleas, that I used to help him take care of, that still bloom the first week of every May and occasionally in October. And I am not giving up on this bush because I am living in zone 6.

As for the weeds, I know most people think that after a nuclear holocaust the only thing left will be cockroaches, but people, get real, it's going to be the DANDELIONS. Granted, we didn't have the nastiest winter on record, but for the love of God and my own sanity, what is with these things? They will not die and neither will this other weed that I still cannot identify but which shows up everywhere and has roots like a snaggle-toothed tigers teeth. Enough already with the weeds! Don't tell me about black paper you put down or newspaper or whatever. These things are malicious and when they hear me open my back door, they stand a little straighter, a little taller, just to goad me.

And they ask me why I knit......

Connecticut wants you Yarn Harlot!

As I write this, I'm thinking of how many times I giggled out loud reading, At Knit's End (if you haven't bought it or read it, please click on the link to the right as fast as you can!).

And now, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) is back with her Knitting Rules!:The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks.
It's winging it's way to my house as we speak. (also see button to right)

Here's where you come in. We need people to email kind and courteous request letters to said Harlot's "people" so that we can get her to come here (preferably to Sit N Knit). The contact information is as follows: Kelli Kozak, kelli.kozak@storey.com. She is supposed to be in Massachusetss somewhere, but people, we have more money in Connecticut than they do and therefore more buying power. Forget MA, we want her here!

And thanks to Holly for bringing this to all of our attention. Get on those emails girls!

Girls craft night (part two)

Here are the ladies enjoying the evening. I ate like a pig, so I'll be paying for that this week during work-outs! I did find time to knit between bites and I actually worked on THE yoga bag. The picture is not great (I cannot take pictures of ultra long items very well when they are laying down. And this sucker is long because it is a felted project.

Per Jackie's request, the photo of her not knitting has been removed :)-

Here's the pic of said bag. "Do you do yoga?" (Michelle, my favorite quote of the night)



And with 5 photos today I must run! I do have a life outside of this computer you know.......

One of those mothers

This is just shameless bragging on my part as a mother, but aren't they cute? For those of you who don't know them by sight, the little one to the left is Sabrina 2.75). And the bigger one to the right is Callista (5)



No, really this is a knitting blog

Girls craft night (part one)

So, it's finally my turn to host girls craft night, the brainchild of my friend Michelle. I've invited our usual suspects + some of the knitting ladies. And the munchies tonight are from Tastefully Simple (which are awesome). I'm getting ready to open the wine, oh wait! I finished Robin's birthday present (will post pictures next week AFTER she receives it because she will check my blog to see what it is, sneaky, sneaky) but, I have not figured out what I am knitting tonight.

Something easy for tonight I think because on or around that third glass of wine, if it ain't garter, it ain't on the needles.

I know, I know

Yes, I am aware that the name of my blog is holyknitbatman, but for the love of God people have you seen the news?

There's a husband ON STRIKE against his wife in Michigan. Why you ask? She won't kick the kids out of their bed. Now, it really doesn't matter which side of this you come down on because frankly who cares about what other people do or don't do in their own beds?

But, can you imagine, this guy is sitting on his roof with a picket sign. And the best part is the quote, ""I’m speaking on behalf of all of the husbands in this nation that suffer in silence. I plan to be a voice for those husbands that men, we all want that time alone with [our] wives, thatÂ’s extremely important,” Wilson said. This guy has a freaking web site so we, the humble public, can sign it to get his wife to give in.

Wow, that weed in Michigan must be some really good sh$$. Because apparently he's been smoking a whole bunch of it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, get the kids out of the bed. If he really thinks that's why he's not getting laid, he's even dumber than he looks. And people, at this point, he's auditioning for the sequel to Dumb & Dumber.

And a petition? Yeah, I can picture Allen on the roof now. "Oh, honey, I have a petition here that all these men have signed in agreement with me." And my response "Talk to me when I give a damn about any of those men."

As this man's wife said, "He'll live." And if he ever expects to get the children out of his bed, he better get his ass off of the roof and into the house where he can help his wife more, because that's probably the reason those kids are in his bed to begin with. For t'real (that's all you Erika).

I promise, a knitting blog tomorrow, I may even post the yoga bag in progress.

Oh, the misguided military

Don't let my title fool you, I am a big supporter of the military or I should say of the troops. Anyone who is willing to put themselves in harm's way to protect the rights of total strangers is a hero in my book.

But, the bureaucracy of the military is my rant of the day. A piece on the news last night depicted an Army widow who was looking to honor her husband with a memorial plaque. The military was denying her this RIGHT because she wanted to place the symbol of their faith, which happens to be Wiccan, on the plaque. Now why they have a problem with this is BEYOND me because there are many faiths depicted on these plaques including Islam, Christianity, Jewish, and atheist. I mean, really, atheist but not Wiccan? Seriously?

And what an affront to her as a widow? She signed up as a military wife to have her husband shipped off to a war where he was killed defending the rights of Iraqi, not American citizens and their own country is saying, sorry but that's just not an acceptable faith for his MEMORIAL plaque? Is it me?

Just what I need

I think I may have mentioned my sock yarn problem.

Addiction.

And there is just no intervention for this sort of thing.

In any case, though I have not YET ordered from this woman, I had to post her link. LOOK at these fabulous colors of yarn. She has the most adorable yarn names (Hawaii Joy, Secret, Under the Sea--to name a few). She has superwash and handwash. And before you choke me because I haven't given you the link yet, go visit Brooklyn Handspun Yarns. Wow are they pretty, and it looks like she sells out fast, so get thee to the mailing list. I'm not pushing mind you, just a friendly yarnaholic suggestion.

Previous post photo (see March 21st)

So, my friend I was knitting this for JEN :) read my March 21st post and I must now face the fug. Now keep in mind, it's the red yarn that is somewhat gross. The pattern which came from the Knit Wit book (and which I changed the yarn on so that would be my fault) is fine. The red lame (can't find the accent, but really lame works just as well as (l-uh-may) here) is not fun to knit with BUT and this is big, it doesn't feel nearly as bad ON as it does while you are knitting. And I do believe that with a cute black top, this could be a fun-night-out kind of scarf.

Now, if I could just finish it...

Yarn Store nastiness

I'm prefacing the entry today in order to be clear. The following diatribe in no way reflects upon my LYS which absolutely ROCKS. My LYS is filled with kind, caring, enthusiastic and knowledgeable lovelies who would never act as the hypothetical yarn store does because they are also classy and customer-service minded. Shop with these guys and you can't go wrong. (see links for Sit N Knit--go Barbara go!)

HOWEVER, there exist some yarn stores ( a couple who are local to me who shall remain nameless, not to protect them, but to protect ME from THEM) that just do not get it. And we all have stores like this near us, so I am sure you can relate.

Most of you who know me know that I am a customer service freak. To the point that one truly bad customer service experience not only sets my tongue to wagging, but prevents me from further darkening the establishment's door. And this is the number one problem with a lot of these yarn stores, especially if you are a new knitter.

My knitting obsession is only two years old, so I still have lots of questions. And I find it reasonable to expect that with the amount of money I spend at a pop in a yarn store, there ought to be someone there to answer my questions in a friendly, even encouraging manner.

But you've all been to THAT store. The store where you walk in and just by the greeting (often lack thereof) you know what you are in for. I actually asked a question once of someone at a yarn store about a pattern or stitch (that lobotomy kicks in at the worst of times), and the response was "I knit CON-TIN-EN-TAL so I can't help you." Not, but I will find you someone who will or sorry, but I'm just not sure, but maybe so-and-so employee will know.

Or another friend who went into the same store and had the owner point out her "flaws" on her two-circ socks (flaws that would come out in blocking anyway for goodness sake. And pointed them out looking down her nose at said socks

So here's my message to you knitting store owners: WE ARE THE CUSTOMER AND WE CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU MAKE. Period.

If you want us to spend money in your shops, here are a few hints:

1) Stop treating us like the plague. And furthermore, stop treating our friends like the plague because we all have REALLY REALLY big mouths, and in a small community the word spreads fast that you are not so nice.

2) Hire people who have the stick removed from their butts prior to starting to work at your store. It's not helpful to deal with these fools and you aren't the only game in town anymore. Even the craft stores who used to have crappy yarn are your competitors, and by the way, there's this new thing called the Internet....

3) And speaking of the Internet, this is not where you want to end up as the subject of someone's blog because you have bad service and are uncaring.

I really hope that my readers will comment on this article. Please share your stories. Please forward to your friends to share your stories. Because this is public service time.

When a disembodied voice on a phone line has more personality than the owner of a yarn store, you know you are in trouble. When you have more personal contact with the eBay seller of yarn than your local yarn store employees, you know you are in trouble.

And, if you have a great story about a yarn store, please SEND ME THEIR NAME or website, and I will be more than happy to link them here so that we can all have the BEST possible knitting experience.

Knit hags unite!

Conscientious Objector my ass

I'm on my way home listening to NPR, (the equivalent of pouring gasoline down my throat and lighting a match I get SO fired up) and for the love of God with Walmart's Conscientious Objector policy.

For those of you just tuning in to my pro-Choice rants, see the previous posts. But, bravo Connecticut because they've told Wal-Mart that they will be dropping them from their State Health plan if they don't change their position. Basically, the policy states that if a pharmacist objects to administering (in the loosest sense of the word) the "morning after pill" because of moral or ethical reasons, then he or she has the option to decline filling the prescription. If there is not another pharmacist on duty to fill it then the customer is completely inconvenienced by having to find another pharmacy to fill it. And we're not calling it the morning after pill because we have the luxury of time here.

Blumenthal basically said it's ridiculous to expect a customer to be hauling themselves all over town because of their insane little rule. Though our gov is a repub. at least she is female AND thankfully most of the rest of the state is Dem.

I did it!!!!

Months ago, I ordered dyeable yarn from Knit Picks and FINALLY today, I got around to dyeing it with Callista (while Sabrina slept, naturally). I did the old Kool Aid-microwave method (you can find instructions EVERYWHERE). And I must say, for a first skein, it came out pretty well. Definitely will be posting a picture once it is dry so check back.

Learned a bunch for next time though:

1) Depending on whose instructions you follow, there is a part vinegar, part water mix. I tried it both ways and didn't see much of a difference. (Both ways because I died one half of the skein cherry and the other Grape).

2) I would definitely use more than 1 pack of each color next time for more vibrant colors. These came out more lilac and rose than red and purple.

3) Next time, I may try the stove with a solid color OR I might try painting it on with multiple colors.

4) Though I can't imagine knitting anything YELLOW, I have a sick desire to dye something in a LEMON just to see it. Guess that will be a swatch or something.....maybe a dishcloth?

**THE PHOTO; This was taken with a flash, tried it both ways, but the color seems mostly accurate with the flash. Anyway, it's Knit Picks Merino Wool that I dyed for those of you wondering. I've spent the morning trying to pry it out of Callista's (the five-year-old) hands. She's determined it end up a blanket for her bear. NOT! It will be socks for her and her sister.....when I get to them that is.

Knitting Nite

Glad to finally be back in the fold at Sit N Knit for a Thursday night knit-a-thon. It's bad when you walk in and they all say, "Norm!"

For all my ladies from knitting nite:

It is your job to remind me that I DO NOT need any more sock yarn. That I have enough sock yarn to knit socks for at least half of the free world and that it is unnecessary for me to buy any more sock yarn, especially now that I am in a sock yarn of the month club :) Well, I'm on the waiting list at least. Thanks to my knitting friend/guru Linda, I got onto Blue Moon Fiber Arts and got myself attached to the waiting list for the Rockin Sock club. And then when I jealously witnessed what is in the first package, I began frantically emailing them promising them at least a child in order to get into the club. No, no, really I only emailed them a FEW times begging and pleading to be put in.

The swag is amazing. You too can view the faboo swag at Scout's Knitted Swag and believe me if you like to knit socks, chances are you'll be innundating Blue Moon Fiber Arts with mail of your own.

Just DON'T tell them we sent you.

Walk Against Hunger 2006

Walk Against Hunger Donation form

I've committed to participating in the Walk Against Hunger. And, I've committed to have Center City Churches (whose name is slightly a misnomer because you don't have to be a church or church member to give or receive services) as the designee for my funds. They have an outstanding MANNA program that helps to feed those most in need. For every $1 raised that is equivalent to $10 in food! The above link will hook you into donations, but I hope you will JOIN ME AT THE WALK!!! It's only three miles people!

For more information on the amazing programs at Center City Churches, please visit Center City Churches website

No, I haven't finished the yoga bag

I have no idea what is preventing me. I mean, other than sick kids, good books, exhaustion, and a desire to throw the damn thing out the window.

The bag sits happily unfinished on my needles as I picked up a new and potentially more irritating project today.

I thought it would be great to knit something for my compadres when we all turned thirty last year. I have finished none of the things that I had planned on knitting for them. Something I was knitting for one of them was this hideous Rowan metallic yarn paired with some offspring of fun fur. I had intended to knit her a scarf out of this primarily because she, as a non-knitter, bought me the said crap as a birthday or Christmas present the previous year, and I figured she would want it back as a finished piece. I'm halfway through and I can't bear to pick it back up without getting physically sick. My knitting snob friends have been decidedly nice in not making fun of me for trying in the first place.

So that sits on a stitch holder, probably forever, forcing me to choose something else for that her that will be infinitely better. Her birthday was in December.

Then there was the September baby (now 30) I was knitting for and since I had never knit lace, couldn't quite grasp the concept of the item I picked. I restarted it today, and though I have had to rip it out four times (Because I just learned I should be using a lifeline somewhere in there because it is lace, and probably some stitch markers as well), I am back at it and hope to finish it in time for her 31st birthday. Which, I suppose gives me until December for the other potential project :)

I apologize for speaking in code but as these are my friends and these gifts are supposed to be surprises, I can't exactly tell you the WHAT of what I am knitting. There will be pictures in the end I am sure!

Let's not even mention the Christmas knitting.........

Back on the Ranch posting again

This gorgeous woman is my dear friend Robin Brunstrum who just married her beau Charlie Benatti. I highlight this incredible picture of her because of the STUNNING shawl that their friend Donna Schmidt knit for her. It's a Knitty pattern that totally rocks. They show it in several different colors and variations and just so you know where to look, it's in the archive section under Tie One On. Amazing!

So, it's been a busy two weeks. We went to Disney with the kids. I got absolutely no knitting done, and I need to get out of my knitting rut because my LYS Sit N Knit (see Links) just moved across the street to a larger space which rocks! And Callista has been back on a knitting kick that I want to support.

I've added some Amazon buttons, so if you are ordering, for the love of God man, do it through my site! Help a sistuh out!

The yoga mat bag that never ends

I'm knitting this mat bag for Callista's school Auction. Originally, it was for me, but I decided for several reasons that I wanted to go ahead and donate it and hope I am not disappointed at the price it sells for (!). But, the damn thing never ends. I swear I could knit 20 rows and it feels like it doesn't add anything. Not to mention that the pattern told me to purchase the wrong amounts for the three colors so I am having to wing it. I know, I know, I should be looking at this as an opportunity to let my creativity shine, but frankly, the sucker is getting so long and heavy (due to the felting at the end) that I am over it. Picture to follow.