Thursday, September 30, 2010

Flight of Fancy

Introducing the Flight of Fancy... a scarf that's more than a swatch.
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When I was in Napa, I was introduced to the lovely concept of tasting flights – a carefully selected sampling of wines. Sometimes they are thematic, and sometimes they’re just a chance to try different types.
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With all the yarn samples, yarn tastings, and yarn leftovers in my life, I realized I wanted something similar; something to evaluate the yarns and how they behave in a few basic stitch configurations. I developed this so that it can be knit for an infinite length with an infinite number of yarns – whether you have just enough handspun to make a muffler, or you have an entire smorgasbord of yarns to make a long, striped scarf.
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Whatever you call your finished project, you’ll have something that shows you how stockinette, reverse stockinette, seed stitch, and cables look in your chosen yarns. And as part of the process, you get to wind all your wee bits of yarn into one big, fun ball - it's like a magic trick!
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As I mentioned, I've designed it for Bess & Make 1's fall retreat; if you're lucky enough to be going, you'll be getting a copy. It's also available now for $2.oo USD.
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I'm finding it amazingly compelling to be able to compare the different yarns as the stripes get knit out of the ball!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Most Dangerous Drawer

You know, in the middle of the night last night, I mentally composed a lovely post about parenthood, and how I really feel about it, and how it's making me a better person.
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But, it was the middle of the night. And Eleni woke up again... and again... and again, for good (or at least the morning) at 4:47. The man looked surprised when he got downstairs at 6:20 and found us watching Sex & the City reruns.
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Any rate. Here is a picture of the single most dangerous drawer in my house instead of a poetic, moving, coherent post.

Contrary to what you may think, it is organized. It's in my sewing desk, and the danger factor comes in when you calculate how many scissors, seam rippers, rotary cutter blades, and pointy things in general are in there and multiply it by my propensity to rummage through wildly, looking for scissors, seam rippers, rotary cutter blades, and pointy things in general.
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(I'll post about finished projects one of these days. Promise.)

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Wait, Maybe It's Not So Bad...

Well, several hours later & things have improved; most notably, my mood. My back is still painful, but the man & Am are out gardening, and I'm watching El demolish some sweet potatoes. We're headed out once the sweet potatoes are totally decimated; I'm aiming to peel the small apples from our tree & try & talk Eleni out of eating any rocks.
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Oh, and also? Amoryn is barefoot.
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(Sadly, that won't be an option once winter comes along...)

Bad Mother Thought Of The Day, Or The Post I Maybe Shouldn't

"I am so sick of her."
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Now really, I know that that's totally inappropriate to say or think. And it's more like, I'm so sick of all the screaming & melodrama & histrionics that she throws at me. When I've surfed the angry high tide of 'NoooOOOOO!!!" more than a dozen times in the first three hours of the day, I just get tired and honestly, I can only go into my personal well of quiet and calm so many times before that sucker runs dry. Then I'm left with no personal reserve, and nothing to offer my other child, my husband, or anyone else in the world.
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I've tried being calm. I've tried being rational. I've tried hugging, and spending a lot more quality time - just one on one - with her. I've tried everything I can think of, and most of what I've read. And honestly, I'm just tired of it. I understand that she's small, and still learning how to control her emotions, and she can't always articulate whats going on in her head. I'm trying to teach her words to use, and methods to calm down, and honestly, I'm at the point where I think I should maybe just teach her how to bottle all of her feelings inside and smile all the time, because this? This is wearing me out.
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I also can't help but wonder - at what point am I creating a monster? I read the Harlot's post the other day, & I totally agree that babies don't cry for attention, to be controlling. They're not logical enough. But maybe three year olds do? And really, is asking someone to put on their socks such a terrible thing?
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The sock thing, incidentally, I'm having a hard time with. I clearly recall being screamed at to "LET ME DO IT MY SELF", so the sudden reversion to "HEEEELLLLP MEEE I CAAAAAN'T DOOOO IT!" is jarring. And something that I have not allowed time for, in the somewhat epic quest to Get Out The Door.
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And really, should I be making her do it herself? Should I help with the socks? Is it backsliding, and potentially very bad to help her put on her socks, or is it only bad if she's screaming about it? I can't think with all the screaming in here!
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Maybe we need to play outside more. But to go outside, we need socks! Agh! Vicious circle strikes again!
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I have nothing else to say, and honestly, not much left to offer today. And it's not even noon. I'm going to inhale deeply, try to get us outside, and try not to lose my sh*t in the process of trying to teach my children how to keep a grip on theirs*. Wish me luck.
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(Helpful hints are welcome in the comments. I'm in the process of reading "How To Raise Your Spirited Child". And my sacrum locked up on Thursday, so once that's recovered, I'll have more to offer.)
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*I feel compelled to note that that's figurative sh*t, by the way.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Sometimes Unexepected News Is Bad

I should be knitting right now. I've got a deadline, and I've got yarn & needles, but I'm feeling sad. So perhaps telling you, the intarweb about it, will help.
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A beautiful woman died yesterday. She would have been forty or so next month, and we haven't been in touch in forever. I knew she'd been having health troubles, but didn't realize that they were that extreme.
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She was my first babysitter; or at least, our first regular babysitter. I understand now how tricky it can be to find a sitter who meshes with your children... so who know how many sitters didn't mesh, or care for a repeat engagement.
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I was a very awkward, dreamy, little kid. She was the first person who ever made me feel cool. She let me stay up late - after my brothers went to bed, even! - and we would watch movies together. I particularly remember a movie about a teenage glamor queen who got mad at her parents (or some kind of authority) and cut her hair short & spiked it & the only reason the hero recognized her is because she was wearing knickers that said "I (heart) YOU".
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Anyways. Staying up late watching movies with her was the first time that I ever felt cool. And that was such a gift for my self-confidence - to have someone - a sophisticated girl with a driver's license! - laugh at my jokes, let me stay up late.
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I realize now that it wasn't so much that I felt cool, but that I felt accepted for myself. I wasn't a great fit in small-town Saskatchewan. Being accepted for myself was a great gift that she gave me. (And I have to note here: I have a terrific family, with lots of support and love. But when you're nine, or eleven, or fourteen, your mother's support & approval just isn't, well, very cool. Even when you have a cool mom. Because you know, mom's are supposed to say nice things to you & love you & junk. So, for a while, it's almost like that doesn't count.)
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I'm sad because I didn't realize what an impact she had on my life until she was gone. I never had a chance to hug her - adult to adult - and say "thanks". I'm sad that I won't be able to make it to her funeral & try to give some comfort to her family.
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And I'm mostly sad for her family - because if she meant that much to me, how much more did she mean to them?

Monday, September 20, 2010

Mistaken Mistake!

One small error has been found - on page three, in Section III: Edging, row 11 should read:
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R11: K1FB, *P3, K3* until 4 st before M, P4, slM, P1, K3, P1, slM, P4, *K3, P3* until 1 st before end of row, K1FB (inc2)
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The error is now fixed, but if you downloaded the pattern prior to Sept 20, 2010, please make a note!
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It's still free on Ravelry though! And let's face it, winter is coming, and a nice, thick, cushy shawl is something we could all use.
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download now
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PS: Thanks to T____ for her vigilant reading of the pattern!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Just So You Know.

This isn't even a sticky note day; sticky notes days are more organized.
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First, please note that proper attire for knit designers includes but is not limited to a pair of sparkly star antennae.
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And they need penguin assistants.
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That's what the princess tells me, anyways.
(That's her "SMILE" face. She's going to Cuba once she's done her phone call. If only she could get decent coverage! Can you hear me now?) (She's also not having afternoon naps anymore.)
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If you've every watched Eleni eat, and wondered where such a dainty little thing puts it all, I have the answer.
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THERE is where she puts it.
(And in her high chair. And the floor. And there was a cheerio in her pantsthe other day...)
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I'm very tempted to put this image on the Xmas card. The guacamole, the spaghetti sauce; the red and the green. Very festive, no?
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Okay, no. But I do want my wrestler name to be "Macaroni Octagon" pronounced MACK-aroni OCK-tagon.
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It is wrong that there is something in this world that tastes like celery & smells like maple syrup. Thankfully, I'm not taking a lot of fenugreek.
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And damn you, Stieg Larsson! Your books are eating up my life. I blame it on the summertime lull of fresh CSI's episodes & the fact that your main character went shopping at Ikea & got an Odvar, an Outgang, and three Billy bookcases. Way to make her universal. Who cares is she lives on Smallagravelinginjbjorn Street, and makes 28,000 kronor? She's got Billy. We've all got Billy.
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You know what else I have? Deadlines. Back to the grind. Thanks for letting me share, Intarweb. Deadlines seem to increase the number of random things swirling about me, and I always feel better & more able to focus if I can get them out, somehow.
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Okay, penguin. So, I'm thinking that a YO, K2tog pairing....

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Well, Lookit That!

No, not really. I want to have a show'n'tell post about what I've knit, spun, sewn, & stashed this summer... but the camera is over there & everything else is all over the place. So that's for another day.
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Today was exciting - Am & I went to our first parent/tot dance class. She's technically old enough to go to a class by herself, but I know my girl, and part of her personality is the desire to observe new activities before she participates. You know, just to make sure she knows what she's getting into.
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I'm hopeful that she'll hold onto that well into her teenage years. I remember one conversation in particular with my mother that started off with her saying "Tell me what you think you did wrong..." and me replying "Well, I just wanted to have a little fun, and ..."
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Anyways. We carefully watched the dance class together, and had a lovely huggle, and subtly wiggled along to the music. I figured that there's no point in pushing her into anything; this is supposed to be fun after all. Then we went for a stroll on 17th. A two & a half loop took about an hour & a half... again, I let Am set the pace. It was nice though; I let go of my agenda & just people watched & sauntered along. I guess you could say we "Am"bled along!
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Now we're back, lunched up, and Eleni is napping. I'm off to the basement to finish some sewing projects - I don't like to sew when El is awake, as the combination of the iron on "HIGH/LINEN", and Eleni crawling around & pulling herself up seems particularly ominous.
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The sewing projects will end up in the show'n'tell post, I promise. One is exceeding my expectations, and one is, well, hm. I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, but it's not going badly, per se. I'm just a little out of practice at that kind of thing.
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Off to the iron - and the ominous project of pressing several yards of bias tape. *wince* Here's hoping that I don't steam scald any of my knitting fingers...

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Thank Heavens That's Over

I got a haircut yesterday. It was a dramatic change - I like my hair long, but I was beginning to feel oppressed by the amount I shed. I mean, everyone sheds, but when the hair is like a foot & a half long...
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And then there was the diaper incident with Eleni. I'm not going to say anymore; but the hair had to get shorter.
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I did my research, chatted with a couple of the people important to me, googled about a zillion pictures, picked my favorite ones (including those with curly hair), sent the pics to my hairdresser, and talked to her about what I did & didn't want.
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It should have been great. G___ has been great in the past; I really thought I had it covered this time. But no. Somewhere along the line, I was misinterpreted.
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I put my glasses on (the real-life version of the big reveal) & thought "errr, no...." I hoped that I was wrong, looked at my watch, realized that I had to go to get Amoryn, and decided to just leave, go get the girl, shower the gunk out of my hair, and see what the cut was really like.
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This was maybe not the best move. Turns out the hair cut was, well, disappointing. The bangs are too short, and the crown was too long. The crown is fixable, but I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit grudging about the bangs. I had like, a foot & a half of hair to work with, people!
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When it was all styled up & I got home, I thought: "I look like Kate Gosselin".
But with shorter bangs. And as C___ pointed out, not even Kate Gosselin looks like Kate Gosselin anymore.
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After I washed it & tried a variety of things, I established that I could look like a weird amalgam of two of the Three Stooges , or like that guy from the Flock Of Seagulls.

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Yes indeed. It was that bad. So I called my hairdresser, and after several conversations, we established that there was maybe an opening for tonite, but no, howzabout Friday? But no, Saskatchewan. Howzabout the 16th? I told her point blank that I couldn't wait that long, & if she couldn't help me, I was going to take matters into my own hands. Still nothing.
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So I did something that I haven't done in about a decade. I took blades to my own hair. (A razor this time, and little thread snips. Scissors aren't so great.) I spent a couple years cutting my own hair when I last had it short, so I knew that I could come up with something that wouldn't be so awful.
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I think it's okay - I'll have to live with it for a couple days & see. I might go shorter yet. Hard to say. I'm pleased with the hair being short - I feel liberated! And taller. And less pain - Eleni is quite a grabby little girl.
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And now, the only question left is... since I'm doing the time warp with my hair, do I want to go all the way, stop by the drugstore, and do *something* to the color of my hair????