December 2006 Archives

To you and yours, I wish everyone the merriest, happiest holiday. Whatever you celebrate. May everyone have peace, love, happiness, and plenty of laughter.

There should always be laughter.

If there is no laughter, try to breathe. Breathe in peace and love and try to share that with others.

I've failed so far, but I'm still trying...

While my boyfriend plays Bob Rivers and Twisted Radio's "I Am Santa Claus" rendition of "Grahbe Yahbalz" like Michael Jackson...

It's all about the laughter, my friends. It's all about the laughter.

It lightens the heart.

Have fun and love and lots of good times!

If all else fails, there's always the egg nog...

:-)

Love ya'll!

I can't do hats.

Seriously. I've had six tries and four patterns and a moment where I considered setting fire to my DPNs.

The yarn is laughing me as we speak and as I email Lara to bring her plastic hoop thing to the Stitch tomorrow to help me tame it into something that resmebles a hat and not a coaster/leg warmer/hoola hoop/freak-of-of-nature-only-demons-could-love.

The socks are done, as I've said. I started another pair for my mom. That yarn is cooperating. It's lovely, all orange and yellow and rose and red. In fact, it's way more cooperative than the blue yarn...

Which is kind of interesting considering the hat yarn is blue...

Oh...oh! I think I've stumbled on the secret!

Beware the blue yarn! Beware! It's the Rebel Yarn! It's the Hell's Angels of wool! It will sit all innocent in a ball of fluffy love and bat its eyes at you to take it home only to turn into a mess of unworkable fiber when you try to knit/crochet it! It's the blue yarn! The blue yarn is made of evil! Evil!




Don't look at me like that. It's totally feasible.

I'm telling you, if my boyfriend liked red yarn it wouldn't be like this. It's the blue, I tell you. The blue.


You should knit green. Green is pretty and has a better sense of humor.


I'm going to bed now.








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Big Old P.S.

I'd like to send an official apology to Julie. I said I would try to put up something that resembles the pattern I'm using for my socks this last weekend, but I didn't. I've been dealing with a lot of stress and work problems and I totally forgot. I'm sorry. I will try to put it up soon. I have been punished by unreasonable blue hat yarn. I have been humbled. hangs head in shame

I'll try again this weekend.

The socks are done.

More socks to be made.

The hat...I think I'm losing that argument...

I work with a Stupid Person who is making my life miserable for No Good Reason.

Still more Christmas shopping.

I'm not allowed to hit people with sticks.

It must be Christmas.

I might be addicted to socks.

I have made me a pair of green wool socks that have quickly become my favorite pieces of clothing.

I'm working on those lovely socks with that lovely blue wool for Lara.

It's official now. I love socks. I only want to do socks.

This is not surprising since I learned to knit so I could knit socks. There is just something warm and comforting about a hand knit sock. They fit into so many aspects of my life. They're portable, quick, snuggly, colorful, fun, and absolutely fitting for the SCA since knitting stockings and such are absolutely period. Even better is that they don't require much yarn so you can knit them out of these small balls of the most amazing yarn. And, quite frankly, I agree with the Sock Maven at the yarn shop that any yarn can become sock yarn if you use your imagination.

The problem is now I don't want to do anything else. Everything else is just so BLAH.

The shawl that belongs to my sister-in-law and was supposed to be her birthday present a month ago? Still unfinished. I bring it with me to the Stitch because it's just rude to knit Lara's socks in front of her, but I hate crocheting on the shawl now. It's lovely earth tones because she wanted a Native American look like the one I made for Freddi. It's beiges and browns and will have blues and reds and is completely boring! I can't bear to pick the thing up!

Being acrylic yarn doesn't help. I chose this because she seems to be allergic to wool and because she has two little ones. Being able to throw it into the washer is a Good Thing. The acrylic is for a good cause but having to manipulate it while there is lovely soft wool in my basket is killing me!

The colors really are lovely, but they do nothing. They just sit there. I have to make them blend and do fun things. The blue wool moves and dances and stripes and blobs and has all these colors while still being blue. I feel like I'm betraying it somehow for something so much more inferior.

God, and the shawl is taking FOREVER. I'm not sure why. I think it's because in comparison the sock is moving at blinding speed. A couple of hours and I see actual growth on the sock. A couple of hours on the shawl...well...there is more instant gratification on the sock.

While the sock may have given me some trouble the other day, it's just plain wonderful to work with, and now I look at all my yarn and think, "Will it make a good sock?" I want to start another pair. And, another. And, another. I want to burn the shawl and give her three pairs of socks instead.

I'm a little aghast by this because I love making shawls. They are kind of my speciality. But, this year, for some reason, it's socks. I want to make socks.

Lara's will be finished by the weekend. I will start a pair for my mother. After the shawl, the beautiful silver alpaca I got from Gulf Wars will become a pair of lovely warm stockings for me...which is just a longer sock.

I want to make socks. All kinds of socks. Things to keep the tootsies warm or to make them colorful. I will learn toe socks.

I. Love. Socks.

I...I...think I may have a problem...

Is there a Sock Knitters Anonymous?

So, Todd mentioned he could use a hat when I asked him if he wanted me to knit him something. You see, during the winter months, especially when we're camping at SCA events and ice is forming on the tent in the middle of the night, his head and ears get cold.

This poses a problem for me.

Definitely not because I don't want to make him a hat. I'd love to. You see the problem is the last four times I attempted a hat it became a coaster. I'm not sure how this happened. The patterns (crochet) seemed respectable enough. But, as stitches were made, I became painfully aware that what I was making was not a hat, but a coaster...or a yarmulke. Not that there's anything wrong with yarmulkes, but when you start off with a hat and it ends up a frisbee, for the fourth time, it tends to make you question your ability as a fiber artist.

Now, I've found a nice knitted pattern that's simple and starts from the rim up rather than the top down, which I think was the problem (They, those who said start from the top down, were on crack much like the paper mache people who said that the piece would totally release from the mold if you use a layer of paper towels to start with...) and it seems to be rather quick to knit up. I've reminded Todd of this problem I have with hats randomly becoming coasters and that he might soon become a victim, but he seemed okay with it. This worried me. I mean, what if it's my fate that all hats become a coaster. I could make a lovely hat for him, warm and cozy and fits just right. I could wrap it up in pretty paper, and on Christmas, he could open it and comment on what a lovely...um...coaster I made...thanks, sweetie...

I also remarked that it's possible that the reason all my hats become coasters is because the yarn hates me, and it's very possible that it might become homicidal for turning it into a coaster and try to kill me in the night.

We decided "Homicidal Coasters" would be a good band name.

But, seriously, I will attempt this hat because my Todd wants it, but what if it becomes a coaster? What if it's like that sock that suddenly becomes a tampon cozy when you next pull it out of your yarn basket? What if I'm doomed to a destiny of hats that turn in to coasters?

I shudder to think of the consequences. Christmases and birthdays everywhere ruined. An over-abundance of coasters such that all liquid is soaked up and the Earth dries up and DIES!


But, still, "Homicidal Coasters" would still make a great band name.

So, you're a sock now...well, you're a toe of a sock, but I'm glad you saw things my way. I'm sure the way my cats were eyeing you changed your mind. Good thing, too. I would have really hated to resort to the scalding water...

Okay, look, yarn, you are a sock. You may think because you're lovely, blue merino wool that you are something else, perhaps something you think better, but you are a sock. There's no use in arguing. The mighty sticks will tame you, and you will be a sock. Just because I've had to rip you out seven, eight, times doesn't mean you can get cocky. I will win this fight. Remember that other ball of yarn? Yeah, it's a sock. And, despite your best efforts to thwart my plans, you will be a sock, too. Now, we can do this two ways, my way or the Other Way. The Other Way is not what you want. You want my way. It's easier. Trust me. I'm sure you don't want me to toss you into some scalding water and throw you in the drier until you are a big ball of felt for my cats to knock around the house. I'm sure you really don't want that. If that isn't such a threat to you, I have a lovely fire burning in the fireplace...

Now, let's try this again...