The one where Debbie recommends a book...

One C and two M's, right? I think that's right; recommends is one of those words that always makes me double-check myself.

Quite a while back, how ever long ago it was that Michael's would let us use their 40% coupons for books, I bought a book about two-at-a-time sock knitting. I didn't get around to trying it, but I did finally get around to trying my hand at sock knitting. After a little group lesson, I made a couple pairs with the double-pointed needles, but I could always tell 'em apart. What I like about the idea of two-at-a-time is that they're more precisely alike because they're made at the same time, instead of making the second one while trying to guess how many rows that was by looking closely at the first one.

I really have come along way though; years ago, the first time I read mention of "double pointed needles," I thought they'd have two points for the business end and a knob at the top like regular needles, ya know, a fork would be like a quadruple-pointed needle. Yeah, that's how my brain worked that out.

So... Along with my grocery bag knitting habit, and after a few pairs of socks; the toddler-size pair from the class, a pair for me, and a pair for my Mom, and a rockin' pair of "Ocean" mittens, I have no problem with the double pointed needles. My Mom's socks are made with real-deal sock yarn in leafy fall colors and she loves 'em. My very first pair of grown-up-size socks are sport-weight acrylic yarn, and the colorway reminds me of strawberry Tootsie Roll pops; but the acrylic yarn is super-duper-hot-hot-hot on my feet. I tried to wear them with regular sneakers and I about burned up; but with these socks, I can wear my Birkenstocks in the cold, so that's how I show 'em off.

Distracted (as I often am), I moved away from knitting socks for a little while. Then, my aunt gave me a copy of Melissa Morgan Oakes' "Toe-Up 2-At-A-Time Socks." It took me way too long to get around to trying it out, partly because the cast-on had me confused. Trying to read and imagine wasn't working for me, but once I got out some needles and yarn so I could read and try it, it was a lot easier than I'd ever thought it would be.

I'm about halfway through the ribbing at the top of my first pair, so the finish line is well in sight. I really like the two-at-a-time part, because knitting a round on one sock and then a round on the other just the same really does make them honestly match; the shaping is the same so the fit is the same for both feet. My two balls of yarn must have been different dye lots though, 'cause my colors don't completely line up. I'm guessing I bought those without checking the dye lot numbers because I figured they'd be close enough since the yarns don't touch each other like they would in a scarf or sweater. Whups. I'm telling myself that's okay though.

My other favorite thing about the two-at-a-time toe-up socks is this: No picking up stitches, and no kitchener stitch! Since they start at the toes, the part that requires Kitchener stitching is already done at the very beginning. And the picking up is eliminated, there are just increases and decreases. My picking up stitches just never has looked right, and my Kitchener stitch was such a mess that every time I tried it, I ended up flipping the socks (and the mittens) inside-out and doing a three needle bind off instead. It works quite well and looks just fine; the only tricky part is the flipping inside-out, because you have to make sure no stitches slip off the needles.

Oh, and that "ugh" feeling of having to start the second sock is gone... For me at the moment, it's been replaced by this overwhelming urge to start another pair with that stunning ball of yarn I got at Mayfest.

_\,,/

No Club.

A month or so ago, one of my highschool friends posted a link on Twitter that made me laugh myself silly, and I haven't looked at my in-box quite the same since.

If you do this in an e-mail...

Go on, check that out, and after you're done hitching and snorting, I'll be here waitin' for you when you get back.

Among my little group of knitters, there are three who are serious e-mail forwarders. It's mildly irritating to know that if I get some sort of forwarded or forwardable e-mail from one of them, I'm going to see it again two more times from the other two even though I (and presumably, they) can see my name and e-mail address in the CC's from the previous forward or forwards. It's so predictable it almost doesn't seem right to call it irritating. Now, whoever it is who's sending out boner pill spam that looks like it's coming from my domain, that's irritating… It's not that I have a problem with forwarded e-mails, I dig jokes and I heart LOLCats as much as the next Crazy Cat Lady, send 'em to me anytime ya want. It's not that I can't stand forwards, it's just that if you saw my name on it where the person who sent it to you also sent it to me, there is no need for you to send it to me again 'cause I already got it the same time you got it, and that whole mess about how you'd better pass it on is still bullshit! But anyway...

My awesome Librarian, who also gets the predictable forwards but almost never sends an e-mail that's not honestly personal, she noticed me checking out knitting books and Elizabeth Zimmerman videos when I first got started knitting. I got my start from books and the internet, and I picked up a thing or two from the videos, but I'd never knitted with other people until my awesome Librarian put a bug in my ear about starting a group at the library.

Another Librarian who worked at a different location came to get us all started. She was a highly experienced knitter, and the socks she had on with her jeans and loafers that day were my first glimpse of real hand-knitted socks and they were stunning. We had quite a crowd that first day, several experienced knitters paired off with the newbies and lots of folks got a start at learning to knit.

That was a little over two years ago; the group hasn't been that big again, but between the knitters and the quilters, there's often a decent group of us in the meeting room and we have a nice time. Occasionally we'll see a few of the faces from the first meeting, a few new knitters have turned up, but there have been several weeks where there were only two or three of us or even just me all alone.

At first, I didn't mind showing up by myself; I figure if I believe in it and want there to be people there, I should at least be there myself -- like Billy Joe Shaver said, "Wouldn't be no Kentucky less you didn't stick to it." I love the knitting, I like friendly people; I was proud to show my hats or socks or baby blankets to strangers who'd ooh and aaah and promise to come back the following week.

After being by myself a couple weeks in a row, I got to thinking about all the e-mails that got passed around. All those Fwd's, even the ones with the threats about how horrible things will happen if you don't forward this, all that e-mail, but nobody could send one out to say "Hey y'all, I'm not gonna be there this week." I mentioned that a time or two while being asked for my cell phone number, "Ya know, you can use e-mail for actual personal communication, it doesn't have to start with "Fwd" every time…" (I just don't want to give my cell phone number to someone who forwards that many e-mails and then end up paying a nickel each for forwarded texts.) I'm still trying to decide what I think about this, but the weekend I was going to be in Missouri for the hearse show, I stopped by to tell my awesome Librarian I'd be gone. That was the one week that someone else besides me got to be the lone knitter -- and she got instantly mad, leaving after about ten minutes, later grumbling to others about burning her gas to get there "all the way from Tulsa." Ehm, how many times did I drive in from Tulsa, or even Mounds to be there alone?

She sent out an e-mail a couple days ago that I just can't get out of my mind. It's not that I'm really touched by that stupid mooning scarecrow with the pumpkins for asscheeks; it was the signature that messed with my head. I encourage you to click this picture so you can see the full splendor of it all -- I blurred the name(s) and phone number(s) out of basic decency. See? I do have a little decency...



Really? You show up once every couple months at best, you've been here a total of, oh, what, five, maybe six times and you're thinkin' that's something you need to show the world in your e-mail signature? Pretentious, much?

I'm the only one, besides the Librarian, who was there for the very first time there were any knitters in that meeting room. I've been there since the very beginning. I stood up to the mean one. I invited people who peeked in from the lobby to come on in and knit with us.

Ya know what's in my e-mail signature?

Nothing.

I don't have one.

I think I'll put "Lone Wolf Knitter" in there…

A First Experience, Or Two, and Somethin' Blue!

Saturday evening, on the way to dinner at El Charro (I'm pretty sure that's Spanish for "Always Excellent."), we stopped at a certain big store to check out the toy department. I'm not afraid to admit, there have been occasions where I've stood in the Hotwheels aisle and sent Clay back to the front of the store to bring me a shoppin' cart. On this last trip, I took it kinda easy; I ended up with seven little cars in my hand and that was it.

While we were waiting for the person ahead of us to finish up with the "self check-out," the cashier in charge of watching the area caught my attention and offered to check us out at her stand. I'm not kidding, she seriously asked, "are y'all buyin' for the grandkids?"

I didn't know what to say, so I just kinda patted Clay and said "Oh, there are no kids here."

What the hell? I'm thirty-fucking-two. What the hell?

But... I've probably stewed and bitched enough over the weekend, so instead of making this post all ranty/bitchy, lemme show ya somethin' I made!!



That's the "environment friendly grocery bag" that I was workin' on at the Hearse Show -- the knitting that appeared in more pictures than I did. I left it in my chair for a while, and while I was gone, there were several pictures taken of the other people sitting in the chairs near mine.

The first Christmas that I was knitting, almost everybody got a scarf. I've thought about knitting these bags for everybody, but I had a hard time finding a pattern that I really liked. I made a couple bags from a yarn company's pattern; they knitted up pretty quick due to the big needles, but it's hard to sew a decent seam into something that's knitted with such big stitches. I checked out a couple other online patterns, but the one I really liked the looks of required a stitched-on fabric strap; I wanted something that had it's straps or handles knitted on -- I guess I have a thing about continuity.

I finally found a pattern that looked interesting; through that same yarn company, so I gave it a try. It started with a rectangular base and had an interesting lacy pattern that probably would've been pretty cool if I hadn't messed it up so many times. When it came time to knit the handle, I messed up my stitch count again, but where I'd wrecked the lacy pattern, it looked kinda cool.

So that's how I decided to try this... I started with a square instead of a rectangle, and instead of using a four-row pattern of lace, I repeated two rows for diagonals instead of round holes. I also went with stockinette handles instead of continuing the lace pattern.



There it is with a few random pantry items tossed in for the photo. I've yet to actually use any of my knitted bags at a store because they're always occupied with other stuff. I've been carrying my knitting stuff to the library in that messed-up one, one of my others is hangin' on the back of my car seat to catch clutter, and a few others are hangin' around different places with balls of yarn in 'em.

I think I've found a way to knit up some of the cotton in my stash...

;) More later. _\,,/

On getting me to wear a coat...

Knitting in or with a group is a totally new thing for me, and I'm not sure if I would've been willing to just walk right into any group and sit down amongst people I didn't already know. That's the main reason I got so excited when my Librarian called to tell me that there was going to be a start-up at the library -- I've known her for a while, so it would be less like walking into a room full of strangers. I was also thankful to have my very own friend there with me for that first day, and we had a lovely time. I had fun with the girls from the library, and I met a few new people too.

I love the knitting... I just love it, it's everything I'd hoped it would be a few years back when I got the bug to want to learn how to do it. I get a big kick out of the "I made that!" phenomenon, and handing a hand-knitted gift to someone is a warm-fuzzy feeling that's hard to beat. I'm as proud as I can be every time I see My Mom wear either one of her scarves, the loom-knitted one or the hand-knitted one, and she wears 'em with or without a coat; something I've never really felt like I could pull off.

The Boobie Scarf came from an auction for Breast Cancer Awareness, and it is the first hand-knit item I have ever owned; which means I'll always think of Robin as my mentor in the world of knitting. That scarf is one factor that convinces me to wear my coat, because I'm not a real big fan of wearing my heavier coats and it just doesn't seem like a scarf goes with a nylon joggin' jacket or polar fleece pullover. My orange Boobie Scarf usually stays laced under the hood or tucked into the sleeve of my Tulsa Speedway top ten coat from 2004, which is almost always in the back seat of whatever I'm driving. I don't like to drive with it on because I feel all bound-up like my arms don't move like they should; if I'm in the shotgun seat, I'll still take it off and just cover up with it. It's that amazing scarf that makes me put the coat back on to get out of the car -- possibly partly due to the fact that it's got shocking little Boobies all over it, and mostly because it's a real, hand-knitted, fuzzy, real-wool scarf.

I learned what I know about knitting from books and the internet. I've never really had another person sit down with me and show me anything about knitting, but I've learned a LOT from videos on the 'net. It took me several re-readings of the pattern to finally decide I could do it, but I've knit three of those scarves now. A white one just to prove to myself that I could, a raisin-y purple-ish one that went to a Physical Therapist who works in a Cancer Center, and a deep red variegated one that was a special request. I actually got to watch the deep red go from the gift bag to the new owner's neck, and if that don't make ya wanna go knit some more, I don't know what will!

I finished that last Boobie Scarf just a little while before this little Knitting Group got started.

This past Saturday, it was cold, so I pulled that coat out of the back seat and put it on before I made my way across the parking lot and into the library.

What better place to show off the lovely hand-knitted item that made me oh-so-desperately want to learn to knit?

Eh, what better place to watch a little more of how some people work...

Our awesome Librarian was out of town, so there were only three of us there.

It was the same one who asked me what a lightsaber was. The same one who told me that tying knots was uncouth under any circumstances. The one who really, really reminds me of a guy I used to spend a little time with but just had to get away from.

She says it's Obscene.

I'm not about to try and argue about it with her, it'd be too strange -- so just like I did with that guy she reminds me so much of, I'll just listen politely and hold my own ground and that'll be that. I stood my ground with him until he threatened to get out of the truck and take off walkin'. I'm not hiding my scarf for anyone.

Obscene? My already raging fire appreciates her gift of a lit match.

I just might have to abandon flannel and wear sleeveless shirts in the cold just so I can keep wearing that coat every chance I get.

My oldest brother says he wants a sweater with Boobies all over it. He's a fireman, and he participates in the Relay For Life every year with a whole group of firemen who all wear Kilts.

I need to track down some bright red yarn so maybe I can get started on a Boobie Sweater next weekend. Heh.

More later... _\,,/

Fifth Grade.

That know-it-all guy was just here, and yes, he did ask me what I thought about the election.

I told him what I thought about a carhop gettin' pissy with me about it and I told him I wasn't discussing it.

Now, on to where I was going with the fifth graders...

What the hell did I just type there?? I am not going anywhere with fifth graders, but I did have a fascinating moment last night that made me smile. That's where I'm going, to the Northeast corner of the store.

Last night we went to Hobby Lobby in Owasso, and just as planned, I was checkin' out a basket of clearance sale yarn. I stumbled onto some that was labeled "stripes," as opposed to "variegated" like the yarn right next to it... It was a brand I've yet to knit with, but it fascinated me 'cause it was super-soft, burgundy with bits of green and smaller bits of white so it was Christmas-ish without being too red/white/green/garish. It wasn't glittery, but it had a hint of a shiny look to it. The coolest part: it was only a $1.67 a ball.

Over my shoulder, at a distance, I heard someone ask, "Do you knit?" As I looked that direction, I saw a lady on her cell phone walking through the fabric department headed toward the yarn. "Oh, so you don't knit, you crochet, okay, well, she's gotta have knitting stuff, I'll call ya later."

When she was close enough, she asked me if I knit. I was so proud to say yes, but I still worry if I'm good enough to be an "ambassador."

She told me her daughter was in fifth grade and needed to take needles and yarn to school the next day because they were all going to learn to knit!

I think she may have been a little surprised by my squeal of glee...

I hope I did okay; I told her what I knew about beginning knitters -- what I'd found as a beginner myself, anyway. Smooth, non-bumpy yarn is easiest to work with, and needles that are a little bigger than you might expect are great for learning how it all needs to go.

She picked some soft pale pink yarn and a pair of translucent needles from right there by the clearance basket, patted my shoulder, thanked me oh-so-sweetly, and hurried away.

Somewhere today, probably Owasso, there's a whole classroom full of fifth grade kids who are learning to knit!

A whole bunch of brand-new knitters!!

I'm so proud I could play a tiny part in that!!!

Back.

Last night I got the most amazing night's sleep, and I woke up thinkin' I'd write about what a fascinating dream I'd had... But... I guess turning the TV on was a bad idea, 'cause now my mind is a bit polluted from Comedy Central and that wonderful dream is sooooooooo far away.

The 4th was nice, we had a great time with the folks and nobody called anybody stupid this time. Heh heh. We had a lovely, quiet hotel room with an excellent shower and a crummy bed, but isn't that always how it is? It seems like I never sleep the first night anywhere, which means if there's only one night, well, that's what ya get. By the time we got home, I was achy and sore, but it made for a great nap.

The three-hundred-dollar car got about twenty-and-a-half miles a gallon, as figured when Clay filled it up to head home. When we got back to the house, it showed a hundred and fifty-some miles and was only down a quarter of a tank. A hundred and fifty miles on the top quarter of a tank -- if it'd get six hundred miles on a tank, I'd be so happy I wouldn't know what to do.

Still waiting for the silver Matchbox Hearses to turn up, we managed to visit two Wal-Marts on this trip. I know that sounds crazy, but hey, there's other stuff we need there -- like Diet Dr Pepper, Chex Mix and cheesy popcorn. Oh, and also a remnant of fur that looks a bit like deep-pile shag carpet, and a bit like really long possum fur.

Since we were that far from home, what's another half hour... We went to Hobby Lobby in Springdale, and I was quite pleasantly surprised! The Hobby Lobby in Springdale carries a little different stock from what's on the shelves here at home in Tulsa -- I bought my first real-deal ball of sock yarn, which I grabbed even though I didn't have a coupon, I was willing to pay full-price because it was the first time I'd seen sock yarn in a store. Just as soon as I round up some US2 needles, I'll be givin' that a shot, 'cause Robin said it'd be real easy if I'd just give it a try -- so, I'll knit my first pair with this "Cotton Candy" colored yarn from Hobby Lobby, and then once I'm sure I can do it and do it right, then I'll knit a pair with that lovely soft hand-spun, hand-dyed beautiful yarn from Robin's last Boob-Ha-Ha Auction. I am so not worthy of that yarn, it's so pretty, I don't even want to unwind it from its fluffy ball.

I really shouldn't be trying to write while the TV is on...

What else was I going to say?

Oh well... It'll come back to me... Maybe.

More later. _\,,/

Disjointed?

I know, I know, it's been a while. There just hasn't been much of anything to write about, I guess.

--

The McD's just North of here finally got some English-speakers on staff, but apparently they can't count to three.

--

Yesterday I took a call asking if we "took cars." When I asked where it was, she answered "It's out here at my house." Since I was trying to stifle the laughter, I handed the phone off and it turned out she really didn't know her address, and attempted to describe it with phrases like "out that long straight road."

--

The Mark 8 is making a "first road trip" of sorts for Independence Day; if you can call an hour and a half an actual road trip. Since last year's Fourth was blog-worthy, maybe this one will be amusing as well -- since it's billed to feature the same cast of characters. Heh.

--

My "stressful situation not to be mentioned in the blog" has calmed down considerably, and I think I'm seeing that relief-of-stress extreme-spurt-of-hair-growth much like I saw after getting away from "that college experience not to be mentioned on the 'net." It's kinda nice; being relieved and havin' my hair suddenly grow out a bit -- but I'm probably still in need of a trim.

--

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine announced a pregnancy via a MySpac3 bulletin, so I pulled some yarn out of the "stash" and started knitting that very night. Don't look at me like that -- I knew both parents in-person before I had a MySpac3. This is my first knitted baby gift that is not a sweater -- but it is the same brand/type of yarn that I used for the pink & black sweater, the one that got mailed to Corpus Christie. Come to think of it, maybe a sweater isn't the best of ideas for the Corpus Christie Bay area, but I'm told it was a hit anyway.

This blanket is from a pattern I found on the 'net, and it's my first. I'm thinkin' it might be turning out a little bit thick and stiff, but that'll be alright -- if it's too heavy for a blanket, it'll make a nice playtime mat, don't ya think?



--

I guess that's all I've got... Maybe it's the heat...

--

More later. _\,,/

Something You Can Do With Your Finger.

Yip, I ripped off a TV show title there. I only did that because it kinda makes me grin considering what's on my mind today and how I don't want to just let it out. I can't remember who said it, but I heard that "As humans, we make our own drama and we're responsible for our own stress." That phrase really stayed with me, and that's what I'm seein' around here today. In short, what you did with your finger a couple years back just might bite you on the ass when it gets a chance. Yeah, ain't it terrible.

--

That, and hey, when it comes to bein' stressed-out, it's not me this time. It's good to be calm, it really is.

--

Speaking of stress-and-me, the new health insurance company still hasn't pulled the first payment out of my account yet, but since the cards say "Effective March 15th," maybe that's when the draft goes through. I'm calm about that, in spite of being stressed-out earlier. It's still a little less money than the previous company, and though I haven't had any experience with using it yet, I'd say it's fair to guess that it'll be better coverage too.

I'm still a little irritated about The Salesman, but screw it, I've already ranted about him.

--

I finished Baby Sweater #4 and placed it in the hands of a new-mommy-to-be; it was my first actual project from that massive quantity of dollar yarn that I carried home a while back and I like how it turned out even if it did take me a little time to get used to working with that type of yarn. It's fuzzy-fuzzy-fuzzy, and even just layin' in my lap while I was knitting on it, it's very, very warm. I almost worry about the warmth-factor since the baby is due in April, but I'm sure it's too big, so maybe she'll be able to "grow into it" in time for the Fall. I really want to try my hand at grown-up size sweaters, if I can just find a pattern that doesn't make me wonder if I forgot how to read.

--

Also, Boobie Scarf #2 (the raisin-ish colored one that doesn't show crud near as bad as the white one) is still on hold because I got the bug to turn out one of those scarves with pockets; if it comes quick enough, maybe I can turn out several and send 'em with Mom. That might be a "competitive" kinda thing... We'll figure it out later.

--

Apparently the phrase "We can get Chinese for around three bucks a person," was not what they wanted to hear when they asked me if I had any ideas for lunch. Whups. Oh well...

--

A little more amusement, The Motor Guy is here. He wants a rev limiter for the new motor. Now, I've had some motors come apart on me, but in all these years, I've never caused it by lettin' one over-tach itself. If it breaks 'em loose, ya let out a little bit and keep it under control, 'cause if ya don't, you'll be spun and into a wall, soon to have twenty-some other cars piled on top of ya.

Do those asphalt racers he runs with just keep it on the floor when it starts to spin the tires??

I didn't think so.

--

Last night I dismantled the keyboard from my first iMac and scrubbed each individual key (and the parts underneath), and then put it back together just to see if I could. (Oh, hello OCD, what a surprise seeing you here!) I figured that since it's ten years old and the computer it came with is long since dead, there wasn't much to lose -- so if I ruined it, I could just toss it in the garbage and forget it. After finding that I don't know that keyboard as well as I thought I did (I know the letters, had to double-check for punctuation and home/help/page-up), I got it all back together and brought it to work with me so I could try it, and it still works! I was almost shocked to find that all that Ch1orox-Wipe juice didn't short it out. It works, but the shift keys and the spacebar don't seem to feel quite right, I think I may have goofed somethin' up with the tiny metal parts that were underneath them.

Anyhow, it's good to know there's a spare around, even if it's not quiiiiiiiite right.

--

Mmmm... Snickerdoodles... So good...

--

Disjointedly Distractable, yip, that's me!

More later. _\,,/

Maybe I'm Loopy.

I hate to say I'm giving in because it feels a little like giving up, but I don't think I'm going to knit all my Christmas gifts this year because the pressure kinda takes the fun out of it. Mom is definitely getting a scarf (unless I end up going way further than intended and making it into a throw), but there may be only one or two other knitted gifts from my needles this year. Maybe I should've tried for an earlier start... But even with keeping Mom's scarf project in the car and only knitting when I'm not at home, I'm getting pretty close to scarf-width:



Since I still get the urge to knit even when I'm at home hangin' out with Mom, I grabbed some clearance-aisle yarn in a couple different colors and I keep that in my chair at the house. I finally remembered to take my flash drive with me to the library and print that Boobie Scarf Pattern, and I've finally read it through enough times to feel like I could take a shot at it.



Last night I ripped out my second try at The Boobie Scarf. The first time, I was doing great 'til I started on Boobie #2 and discovered I only had six stitches where the pattern called for seventeen. I didn't even have to go back for another read-repeat-read-repeat to figure out where I'd miscounted. Last night on that second try, I ended up with a very visible hole right beside the first nipple and when I thought I might just keep knitting and see what happened on the next one, I noticed that what I'd knit so far wasn't hanging straight off the needle -- read, puzzle, re-read... Apparently I'd left out a single line of the pattern. Whups. Re-rip, try again...

Tonight, one way or another, I will knit Boobies. Maybe I'll switch to a different ball of yarn, maybe I'll go up a size and use short needles, maybe I'll turn off the damn TV and sit under a lamp; but tonight, I will knit Boobies.

Unless I screw it up again...

More later. _\,,/

(Yeah, howdy Go0gle, I said Boobies!)

Disjointed Thursday!

Well, I had this nice long post in the works about how awesome it is to have friends who'll crawl under your car to try to give ya a hand even when there's a storm coming; and how great it is to have friends who'll get ya some dinner or give ya a ride somewhere; and also how great it is to have friends who'll call to see if you need to borrow a car to get home & get to work the next day. It's also great to think somebody cares enough to make that offer even when that car is a schweet little hotrod Miata... It's good to have friends like that, it really is.

Also part of that potential post was a rant about a family member who'd drank so much that same night that he barely knew who I was on the phone, and had no idea what I was talking about when I asked where to look for the plug to reconnect the wire that had fallen off (hence me & a friend being under the Windstar), he actually asked "What van?"

--

I was kinda in the middle of that potential post when an interesting thing happened... Three guys in a big Chevy Van showed up Tuesday afternoon and looked over a few of the cars out front. They asked if we had anything else out back, and after they'd checked out one in the back building, they noticed the ol' Velvetteen Rabbit Windstar sittin' under the awning. Amazingly enough, before I could "drive the last of the transmission out of it" and think about partin' it out, it sold. They bought five cars all together, handed over cash, and started puzzlin' over how to get 'em back to Dallas. All three guys were totally busy like a well-oiled machine, unloading chains and parts and tools out of the back of the Chevy while I was stackin' my crap out of the Windstar, and lemme tell ya, I was very glad I'd hung onto that blue plastic storage bin... Once I'd made sure I didn't leave anything in there (except the frog), they loaded it onto a tow dolly behind the big Chevy -- they bolted tow bars onto two of the others, chained 'em up in pairs, and the three guys took off with their two cars, two trucks, and two vans. It was quite a sight.

--

I mailed off my AAA Registration anyway though; still never know what I might end up runnin' around in.

--

The fun part: we just finished fixin' this fire-engine-red Mustang, it's got that bodyshop smell and it's perrrrrrrty. So when Dad said "So, how you gettin' home?" I couldn't resist. It's nice (for a 6-cylinder), and I like it, even in red. I'm holdin' out for a V-8 in black or blue or green or maybe silver. Manual or automatic, you can surprise me... It's a good feelin' car though, I think I'll add "V-8 Mustang" to the list -- whichever I find a good deal on first, New Hemi Challenger, Powerstroke Excursion, or V-8 Mustang. But I'm still keepin' the SHO. ;)

--

Last night I finished the last of the knitting on Little Miss Caroline's stripedy sweater. I really like the way it works with the stripes, it takes the guesswork out of knowing when it's long enough and it's time to stop -- it's soooooo much easier to count the stripes and match 'em up instead of trying to figure out if I've made too many rows or if I stretched it a little bit when I was measuring. Button hole placement is very easy with the stripes as well -- four stripes then make a hole is a lot easier to line up than worrying if I stretched it a bit too. The Stripes make for a lot of ends to weave in, but they're totally worth it, I like the looks of it, I'm real happy with how it turned out. So tonight, I'll be stitching seams and weaving in ends and hopefully gettin' it ready to mail!

--

It got awful freakin' cold around here, awful freakin' fast.

--

The Gourds are playin' in Tulsa this Friday (eh, I just realized that's tomorrow), and I can't wait to see 'em!!

--

The Crab is gettin' married Saturday, and I think I've finally found something to wear... I didn't want to wear "that one dress" because it's been seen way too much at other dressy events; so I spent a good part of the weekend dragging Clay (and eventually draggin' my own tracks out as well) from store to store in hopes of finding something that wasn't "totally not me." I didn't have much luck. Really, it shouldn't be that hard, I just want something dressy-ish that isn't black and doesn't look like Grandpa's pajama top. Why is everything hangin' in the stores so hurtfully ugly lately?? I tried on one dress but niether one of us liked it much at all... Finally, Monday after class I ended up at "Fashion Bug" (a store I'd never set foot in before) and I found a nifty little blue & white skirt that should look okay with a white top -- so I'm

--

Wait, I just moved my freakin' purse so you wouldn't spray gas on it while you were testing that fuel pump over there by the power converter, so why the hell are you dangling a drippy fucking fuel pump over here on top of the CPU where I moved my gawdamn purse to keep it from getting gas on it? Move it, bitch, NOW!

--

Where was I? Oh yeah, "Fashion Bug." They had quite a few pieces of the hurtfully ugly stuff like the other stores, but they also had some cute stuff too -- and a big, big clearance rack, so I picked up a handful of three dollar tops for next summer along with my new skirt; which would go with any of those tops, if only it wasn't so damn cold and I wasn't so damn pale right now.

--

We finally tried Sperry's newest dining establishment, so far I'm impressed; and it's not just the Wi-Fi that wins my vote. I'm sure there are noses wrinkling at this, but the Fried Green Beans are excellent, so excellent I didn't even touch the Ranch "dipping sauce."

--

More later... Is it time to go home yet??

_\,,/

Helena '07

What we do when it's not Racing Season...

The annual Helena Weekend was quite nice, I'm glad I got to go this year -- especially considering that I skipped last year. I was also quite stunned when I got out of the car and the lady who runs the hotel remembered me immediately. I had a nice time at the festival; and I also got a huge laugh out of hearing the "Preacher" tellin' about the "Evils of it all" on the radio Sunday Morning as we were leaving. Yes, I capitalized "Evils" there, because that's how important this guy made it all sound...

The weather was much, much warmer than anybody had figured, and I was very glad we'd planned for rain -- a pair of umbrellas is also quite handy for extreme sun, and I was glad to have 'em. Saturday afternoon, I held my "Fairy Umbrella" up to shade the top of me, and wedged my little-tiny-fits-in-tote-bag umbrella into the center of my chair frame so that it shaded my legs to keep me free of sunburn, and also shaded my bag to keep my granola bars from melting. I got to thinkin', in all these years, the "Fairy Umbrella" has probably only been out of the trunk of my car maybe three or four times in the ten years or so that I've had it. It's a little grubby, but it's not really showin' any wear. What the hell is a "Fairy Umbrella," you ask? Well, it's a reasonably large blue & white traditional umbrella (it doesn't fold up small), and I picked it up in my driveway several years ago -- probably right around the time the SHO was new -- and it was just layin' right in the center of the driveway right about where you'd expect to find the newspaper. We live on a dead-end street in an older neighborhood where each house sits on 2.5 or more acres, so we're not really close to anybody; it's not like finding something in a Subway Train or on a Metro Bus. I picked it up out of the middle of my own driveway, and I live in relative-country-nowhere -- so I figure The Umbrella Fairy must've left it for me.

My un-cropped, un-zoomed view of the stage, from under my Fairy Umbrella.

In the earlier parts of the day, when I wasn't trying to balance two umbrellas, I wedged the smaller one into the back of my chair so I could knit.



A little past halfway into my third knit of this particular pattern (my first two were solid, this is my first stripedy one), this festival was the first time I've pulled out my knitting bag in the midst of a huuuuge crowd. I've done a little knitting at the Hockey games, but I only get it out during intermission and most everybody's gone then. This weekend was my first experience with "actual public knitting," and it was pretty cool. I met a knitter who told me about an afghan she was working on, and I also met a Librarian from Texas who was a crocheter and seamstress.

I'm getting closer and closer to finishing this hot pink & black sweater; so then I can flip a coin to decide if I'm going to learn more about socks and shop for Christmas gifts, or put off socks (again) and start knittin' for Christmas...

The Yellow One...

I already have a couple more in the works, but here's the "official" picture of my first finished baby sweater:



Yes, that's a Doll, ya didn't think I'd give the first one to an actual Baby did ya? It might be itchy, it might be too tight around the neck, it might be allergy-inducing, it might be itchy!

My first-ever baby sweater went to Misty's baby Hunter, the one & only little boy who'll never spill anything on it, never snag it on anything, never outgrow it, and most importantly, it won't make him itch and scratch and itch and scratch.

No word yet on whether or not anybody's makin' fun of him for wearing it in July & August.

As an admitted "Crazy Yarn Lady," I'm seriously considering knitting something for that (crazy) expensive baby doll that I bought when I was in PTA School...

More later. _\,,/

What Kind Of Noise?

What sort of sound does a Kiwi make? Do they honk or sing or tweet or squawk or what??

Here's mine, sittin' on the dash of The Short Bus right before I left for work this morning.



The pattern for this birdy is from BitterSweet, where there's also lots of other cute & fun stuff you might want to take a look at. I've finished my first one; I've started on a second one and maybe I'll be able to avoid my goof-up's this time. There's this odd little hole in the back of Kiwi #1's neck, it's only visible if ya really know right where to look, but I always look and wonder if that's some mistake I made. I also want to do a little something different when it comes to putting the eyes on the next one; my buttons & thread (totally against the designer's instructions, I apologize) just aren't quite like I wanted 'em to be.

As noted by the wire hanging out of the stock cassette deck, we're checkin' out Smodcast on the iPod; I'm a little behind and trying to catch up, I think I was just finishing up the one about Helen Keller -- which, by-the-way, I found quite interesting.

I'd write Kevin Smith an e-mail if I thought it would get read, but I've no doubt he gets a gob of messages every day and some chick from Oklahoma saying "Hey, take a Sign Language Class at that Community College ya mentioned, mine was fascinating," probably wouldn't get read. Even if I also told him how freakin' hot he is, my e-mail probably just wouldn't stand out enough to get noticed. I remember reading a kid-targeted book about Helen Keller when I was real young, but just like they said in the podcast, I didn't really think about it when I was a kid. It's probably quite a task to teach language to someone who niether hears nor sees; but the ASL class that I took really changed my way of thinking language and about communication in general.

Even in the midst of the world's biggest stinker, I don't think there was ever an occasion where a teacher took Helen Keller's hand and spelled out t-h-a-t--w-a-s--a--f-a-r-t; but I'm sure there was some sort of acknowledgement of rippin' one off, even though I'm not entirely sure what that sign would be. As native English speakers, we "think in English," which is where the "t-h-a-t" comes from. One of the profoudly fascinating things we learned in that ASL class was the huge difference between Sign Language and written or spoken English as we know it -- but even as the "wordy person" that I am, I appreciate the beauty of both. I remember an instructor who said "English is wide, ASL is deep." English uses lots of words to convey a concept, while Sign uses lots of expression and doesn't really need to rely on the extras like t-h-a-t.

I have no idea why I waded off into that, but I did, so I'm leavin' it there...

Is it time to go home and knit yet??

More later, _\,,/

Well, Here We Go For Disjointed Friday!

Today was Mom's first day back at the shop -- I used to wonder how she did it; after trying to do my part to keep up with what needed to be done in the back office, I really wonder how she does it. Of course, I'm sure she was probably wondering what to do to try & fix the mess we'd all made in the nearly three weeks she's been gone. Maybe if runnin' the back office was my only job, I could stick with the "system" and keep track of it all; but comin' in in the middle of things made it hard to make sense of what went where.

I'm so glad Mom's back though -- and not just 'cause I don't have to deal with the office anymore.

Apparently there really is something to be said for stress having effects on the body... Yesterday I freaked out enough to give in and call my Dr's office to ask about (ahem) stuff that shouldn't be happening during the top rows of the pill pack. (Go0gling for Yasmin? E-mail me if ya wanna chat about it.) The nurse asked several questions, and after several answers of "no," she asked if I'd been under stress lately. Uh, Yeah. So I guess it's just like my "third dare theory" that I mentioned earlier; I can hold up for so long, and then it starts to show. I kept my shit together most of the time, 'til I lost it that one morning and just about smashed all the glass out of the truck. I was fine for quite a while 'til a friend called to chat and when I told him about what was goin' on, he asked "And how are you doing?" and I lost it, can't tell ya how long I hid to cry.

--

I'm really-really close to finishing that soft green baby sweater; but "start-itis" caught up with me and I got a little distracted. I don't even remember how I stumbled onto BitterSweet, but I got a big kick out of those adorable pictures and just had to take a shot at The Knitted Kiwi. I've learned a couple new "tricks" by knitting the little bird (thanks to the video link she put in the pattern, thank you, thank you, thank you!!), and learning the "wrap-&-turn" is just what I needed; I think I may be able to take a shot at that Boobie Scarf -- just as soon as I finish knitting up a few more Kiwi's. Last night I finished the body, stuffing and all, tonight it's time for the legs & beak! Clay says I'll probably have to knit a whole basket full of 'em; I'm already up to three 'cause I want one, and I know for sure of two people who'll most likely think the Kiwi is a cool gift.

--

Speakin' of Clay... He e-mailed me a website the other day with some pictures of The 2008 SHO Concept, and lemme tell ya, I like it! I like that blue one with the honeycomb grille so much I made it the wallpaper on my MacBook. I know that when it comes right down to it, there's probably no real comparison between that SHO and a new Dodge Challenger -- but those are the two I've got in mind when it comes to replacing this ol' '94 that I love so much. I just really need something that I can love like that though... I need that feeling, that way it makes me smile when I see it across the parking lot, 'cause I'm insanely car-sentimental.

--

Speakin' of car-sentimental... We finally got a transmission in here that's the right year, so I got the Windstar back out for a little while, the one that got turned into an infield party-wagon when we went to that last USAC Silver Crown Race at the fairgrounds. I'm pretty sure I'm still way outside the minivan demographic -- I'm single, I'm totally sans-kids, I don't babysit, I don't deliver flowers -- if anything ever needed a funeral home sign on it, the Windstar does. Heh. I don't mind it so much though, it's comfy enough (and uh, big enough you can throw almost anything in the back) and it's something different; which makes it even nicer when I open the garage back up and get my SHO back out.

Last night when it was time to go get dinner (yeah, we eat a lot of take-out around my house), Dad had parked behind it 'cause the driveway's kinda full; I drove his truck into Owasso for chow. If ya wanna discuss insanely car-sentimental, that's what we took to AR to pick up my race trailer; I'd been drivin' it for a few weeks when it was fresh out of the bodyshop that summer. I really can't believe it's over 100K now, and I really can't believe that 5.4 has taken to gettin' a little hot every now and then 'cause I still see it as a new truck even though it's an '03.

While bored outta-my-mind waitin' at the drive-thru, I popped the center console. I don't know why I opened it, I guess it's just because I was thinkin' about Dad tellin' me to get my stuff outta there...



Holy Crap! I can't imagine... I mean... Geez... I used to keep Altoids and a brush and some hairspray in there, but... Holy Crap!

--

Uh, yeah, I do wanna be just like My Dad. I wanna have enough cash that I don't have to worry about keepin' it all in one place.

--

Hey, maybe this "Disjointed Friday" did kinda tie together, maybe it wasn't so Disjointed after all.

--

I gotta go buy a freakin' Powerball Ticket, so maybe I can toss a gob of cash into my center console. Heh.

--

Oh, and one more thing: We're goin' racin' at Caney tomorrow night!!

--

_\,,/ More Later...

Who's With Whom?

Yesterday, I was (once again) checkin' out a pattern for a very interesting top, and fascinated as I am with the sweater, I still wonder if my knitting skills are up to it, and I also wonder if it would knit up to be something I could actually wear. That's why I've been reading and re-reading the pattern but haven't took a shot at knitting it yet.

In my surfing, I clicked on over to the designer's blog (http://fathomharvill.typepad.com/fathom/), and found this fascinating little paragraph:



Geez, does it get any more true than that? If anybody ever hit a nail right on the head, she did it with that paragraph right there! I can't think of too many things more irritating than those guys who think they're better than everybody, those guys with the "my-shit-don't-stink" attitude, literally and figuratively. I always giggle when I hear people use that phrase, 'cause hey, I dated that guy a few years back, he seriously believed his shit didn't stink, and proceeded to bitch about his ex who stunk up the bathroom all the time. He didn't last long with me -- between my genetic predisposition for layin' logs and the fact that I ain't afraid to tell ya, shit stinks like shit, there just wasn't much comfort to be had between the two of us. I hope I'm not the first to tell ya this, but cake smells like cake, flowers smell like flowers, and shit smells like shit; just spray some air freshener and get over it.

I can't say enough about how nice it is to be done with those guys. It's great to be with someone I can see eye-to-eye with; I ain't sayin' we agree on every little thing, but we're on the same page an overwhelming majority of the time. I have no doubt that each of us sees the other as an equal; even though each of us has skills in different areas. Each of us has understanding of concepts foreign to the other; but niether of us looks down on the other, and I doubt that either of us would ever see any concept as "beyond" the other.

That's why I was so stunned to hear that I was being seen as "The Stupid One" Wednesday afternoon, not once, but twice. Mind you, it wasn't completely specific, but in referring to Clay as "the smart one in this relationship," it implies that there's a not-so-smart one, doesn't it? I can be totally comfortable with being the one who can hand-code html but is not good at math, and I am the one who replaced the faucets in both bathrooms. I have no problem with the fact that Clay's the one who changed the clutch in the S-10 and Clay's the one who climbs the ladder when somebody's gotta get in the attic. He's the one who cleans the birdcages, I'm the one who cleans the catbox. Niether of us is The Stupid One, and niether of us is The Smart One.

It's that comfort, that security of being happy in this relationship that kept me from getting too mad at someone I'd just met who indirectly referred to me as the stupid one. It's knowing that Clay doesn't see it that way that kept me from having a fit and storming away pissed off. The time I have with Clay is so much more important that how anyone else sees the situation -- and believe me, I know the difference, I know what it's like to get mad and not care enough to stick around, I know what it's like to not give a damn and just get in the car and leave. It's not like that now...

I am happy & comfy, I'm not worried about "where it's going," I know that whatever happens, happens; and it'll happen when it's time for it to happen, and nobody else has any say in how that timing works. That comment about "the smart one in this relationship" was in regards to us not being married yet. Hell, I read "Dear Abby," I know that the next thing people will bug us about is havin' kids, and trust me, that ain't happenin', it's just not.

I guess it's my age-old "third time lucky" theory, much like "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," (gawd, I just made a reference to a crummy 80's movie) if he'd managed to bring it up a third time, I might not have been able to stay quiet. After all, it was the third dare that won me a gob of beads at that last ch!l! b0wl before I met Clay.

The more I think about it, the more I wish I'd engaged him in a little deeper, more serious conversation. If a husband who's also a dad of four meets a couple in their second year of dating and sees that guy as "the smart one" for not being married yet, what's that say? What's that say about how he feels about his own situation? Can those four kids sense that he feels this way? Has their Mommy figured it out?

It hurts me to think of how many people see relationships like a trap, and how they seem to seek to spread that vision to others. It hurts me to think of kids growing up in homes like that...

And it makes me thankful for my own situation, where nobody's the dumb one.

More later... _\,,/

Hooray For Disjointed Monday-o-rama!

I haven't written in a while. I know this partly because I didn't ever bitch about "Tulsarama!," and partly because Clay said "Hey, you haven't updated the blog in a while..."

I know it's been long enough I should just "get over it," but I haven't yet. "Tulsarama!" was a disappointment; but not because the vault turned out to be full of water, and not because the "Buried Belvedere" was rusted out and nasty. I was disappointed because they sold the big Friday Night "Unveiling" as the first time anybody got to see it, and it was not. I was pissed off 'cause they'd already had it out and messed around with it and then threw some plastic back over it just to put on a show of all those guys picking pieces off. If the Friday Night Unveiling was supposed to be the first time we all saw it, then why did they mess with it beforehand? Why were there dozens of PhotoBucket sites and YouTube videos of the "preparations" for Friday Night's "ceremonies?" If the whole purpose of gathering everybody at the Convention Center was to unwrap it for the first time, then it should've the first time.

I was also disappointed in the choice of "local celebrities" to put on the show. How the hell did they pick those two rattleboxes to be the people that represented Tulsa in a TV broadcast that recieved worldwide attention? People from all over the planet are going to think everybody around here is a dipshit who keeps talking whether they have anything to say or not. And with the folks from the Historical Society wearing latex gloves and being as gentle as they could, I was just stunned when I saw 'em waving that old newspaper around even though it already had a hole in it, and when Erling went to grab it away from the ol' rattlebox, I didn't know what to think. Snatchin' it right outta her hands, uhm, hey, that's not fragile or anything, is it?? Both of 'em were bare-oily-handed and tossing stuff like they didn't care that there were bits and crumbs flying off it, dropping stuff on the floor as they were scrambling to get the next handful of whatever they could grab out of the capsule just like a bunch of monkeys goin' after a fruit basket. "I grabbed this first!" Yeah, well, you strung several pieces of it all across the stage, smarty. Seriously, we sat in the far end of the upper level, on the opposite end of the building and we could still see the bits flyin' off because of 'em bein' all rough with stuff.

In short, I think it would've been less irritating if someone could've gone after the "Celebrities" with some Duct Tape and Tennis Balls before the "show" started.

--

Friday night was our second trip to Caney Speedway, and I enjoyed it tremendously. I'd almost forgot what a tacky track was like -- it's good, it's so good... It's way more fun when they use the water truck, I ain't kiddin', I love it. I had a great time 'til the car died partway through the feature -- but I really can't complain, sometimes shit happens. Seriously though, the track was beautiful and Saturday Morning was the first time in a long time that I'd been able to pull big chunks of still-damp mud off the car.

--

Saturday Morning was also another turning point, The Triumph is gone now. A sweet little lady from Fort Cobb came up here to bring me a cashier's check and ride it home. She was a real sweetheart and just warm & friendly as she could be; I handled it a lot better than I thought I would -- I'm sure that's part of why I didn't get all weepy, 'cause we had such a nice time chattin' while she was here.

--

I finished knitting my first actual sweater yesterday and it turned out pretty cute. I really really wanna post pictures, but I'm not gonna put 'em here 'til it's with the new owner; and I can't say any more than that just yet 'cause I'm totally surprising a reader with this one and I just bet she'd figure it out 'cause she's the only person I know (besides me) who has a... Well, anyway...

--

I know I had more in mind when I started this "disjointed" entry, but I just can't think of what else there was...

--

More later... _\,,/

Disjointed Friday!

It's raining again. Still not sure if there'll be any races anywhere this weekend.

But The Belvedere is officially out of the hole and I'm leavin' work as early as I can to go see the "official unveiling" tonight. I still remember the first time I ever heard about it, on the field trip in fifth grade. I remember sittin' in the Jury Box right on the end next to Mrs. Reutlinger that day -- but I guess it didn't cross my mind to do the math; I don't remember thinkin' anything about "I'll be thirty when they dig that up..."

--

I set the DVD-Recorder to catch the news coverage today at noon and tonight for the unveiling, it's only the third time I've actually used it. Apparently, when I ordered the DVD-Recorder, I had momentarily managed to forget how much TV sucked. "Hey, I can record to DVD's and then watch 'em on the MacBook at work or anywhere! Wow, now if only I could tune in something worth watching..."

--

I've come to the conclusion that Racing Season and Knitting Season do overlap. I've chickened out and hit the "pause" button on two separate socks; but as of this week, I've started my first sweater. If it turns out worth a damn at all, it'll make a cute little gift -- I'm itchin' to post pictures, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, and if I said any more than that, she'd totally figure it out. It's in my car and it's calling to my compulsive side, makin' me wonder if I could get away with sneakin' a few rows at work. Wednesday night on my way into Tulsa, I had to wait for a train to cross so I whipped out the needles and finished two rows right there in the driver's seat. I just want to get a little further and see how long it takes before it starts to look like an actual sweater! I'll post pictures after it's done and tried-on by its new owner...

--

Did ya know that if you're several payments behind on a truck, and you run out of gas on your way to work in it, it's not a good idea to leave it in somebody's parkin' lot, even if you leave a note saying you'll "be back at five"?? I guess somebody learned that the hard way yesterday -- heh -- he called us when he found it missing. I'm sure you can guess how hard it was to find a polite way to say "Repo Man Got It" without giggling...

--

Gah, is it time to get outta here yet???

More later... _\,,/

Well Duh!

The internet is the handiest thing since... Since... Well... The handiest thing since the Thesaurus!

Oh my, if that's the best thing I could come up with, maybe I should just log out and try again later.

Anyway, I can guarantee it's better than those rude, grumpy Nigerian Telemarketers; two of whom have hung up on me this morning.

Yesterday morning as soon as I'd finished checking my mail, I Googled for that "pfb" thing, and I found This Lovely Page with nice big pictures of nice hands holding nice big wooden needles and working with nice easy-to-see orange yarn. Amazingly enough, I managed to resist the temptation to hunt up a couple pens and cast-on with some twine just to try it. I was also not distracted during Wednesday Night Group; probably because good teachers are good at holding people's attention, and I had a great time at Church. I didn't really think much about my knitting until I was about halfway home.

I picked it back up as soon as I was back in the house last night, and it was just as easy as it could be. It worked so easy I wondered if I'd just been out of my mind the night before.



I have a little hole toward the edge from where I didn't quite space things evenly when I was picking up stitches along the edge; but I'm not too irritated about it, and I'm not all that concerned about the not-so-wonderful combination of colors there. I'm thinkin' that once I have the techniques down, I'll start another one with colors that actually belong together.

I think I can do this, I think I can make it work...

And now I just want to go home so I can knit some more!!

One More Month...

Racing season starts in a month, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to separate my seasons like I thought I would. I've grown considerably more addicted to the knitting over this nearly-past winter. The weekends that it's not my turn to drive the truck, I'm usually takin' a nap in the back because layin' down and not looking around is the easiest way to avoid that sick-ish feeling from riding down the highway when I can't see out. The knitting addiction has me seriously considering a Dramamine habit so that I can knit during the hour's worth of travel time.

I've read a couple books lately that have made me kinda ballsy; they say that all knitting is composed of only two stitches, the knit and the purl; and if you can do those, you can knit up anything. After alternating my "down time" between actual knitting and reading about knitting, I'd come to the conclusion that I'd about as well take a shot at some fascinating pattern that looked almost out-of-reach. I still really want to try my hand at a Boobie Scarf (like the ones that Robin made), but even with one to look at, I can't quite make sense of the printed pattern just yet. I found another interesting scarf that looked really cool and had a pattern that looked like something I could follow.

Or, well, it looked almost easy enough once I'd finally convinced myself that I don't have the skills to read all the K4, sl1, p3's and picture what the scarf should look like and that I should just get started, follow the directions, and watch it all unfold before my eyes... Yeah, right, like anything is ever that simple.

So, after several read-through's, I decided to cast-on those twenty stitches and see about gettin' started. I ended up casting-on three times all together; which may have been a sign of things to come. The end starts with a triangle pattern; and though I was following the pattern of knit-turn-slip-purl, I lost count once and started all over, then I wasn't sure if I'd lost count or not and couldn't tell how to figure it out, so I started all over again. On the third try, it worked out alright and I have this hangin' on my needles:



Once I'd convinced myself that yes, that was what it was supposed to look like, I moved on to the next section of the pattern, which involved the words "Break Yarn..." Gasp! Seriously? Okay, maybe I am a little up-tight, maybe I do border on OCD; the feeling I got from being told to "Break Yarn" was akin to being told to rip pages out of a book! After reading that I should "be brave" and not worry about making mistakes and to just try it; I cut off the blue-green yarn just like that.

I knew that I'd picked a pattern that took three different colors of yarn; but still, maybe the act of cutting the yarn without tying any knots was what shorted my circuts... The first step in joining in the new strand of the other color was a "pfb." Now, when I was sittin' here at the computer, at work, with no yarn and no needles anywhere nearby and just reading through the pattern, I had a perfect mental picture of how "purl into front and back of stitch" would work. I'd read a little bit about it in one of those books, I had a stitch dictionary where I could take another look, but I really thought it would be no-big-deal once I had the needles in my hands.

That was about nine O'clock.

Shortly after the ten O'clock news had finished up and Letterman had been on a good while, I was still fighting with it. One little increase of a stitch, and it was kickin' my ass. I don't have a clue how many times I tried to make it work; I either ended up with three or four loops on the right instead of two, or dropping the whole thing, or thinkin' I had it and then it would all come apart when I tried to move the needles. I was seriously considering just giving the whole thing over to the cat, since she could thrash up the yarn just the same as me, when I realized it was after eleven and I still had to work the next morning.

When I was finally irritated enough to put it down and go to bed, I had one wore-out loop of blue-green yarn and about six inches of worn-frazzled yellow yarn, and I'd probably screwed up one corner of that triangle I was so happy to have accomplished. I wish I had somebody who could just lean over my chair, rest their arms on my shoulders and "pfb" right in front of my face a few times so I could see how it's supposed to go in real-time; but I don't think I know anyone who'd do that (or anyone who lives close enough, anyway).

I Googled for it this morning as soon as I got to work, and I found a site with some really nice big pictures -- so now I'm itchin' to get home and try it along with the pictures and see if I can make it work now. I'll probably be useless at Church tonight 'cause I can't get it off my mind, and I've thought a time or two about gettin' some twine off the shipping rack and tryin' it with some pens or pencils or somethin'.

That's how bad the knitting addiction is; I guess it's a good thing I never tried any kind of drugs.

And I ain't even gonna mention the hundred-and-sixteen skeins of clearance sale yarn that I've carried home in the last couple weeks; except to say that Clay's the best 'cause he doesn't say a single word about it. ;)

More later... _\,,/