Coffee with Satan

Hi, Mr...uh...your devilship. Nice of you to meet with me outside of your usual...element. I know that it's an election year & you are busy busy busy, so I appreciate you taking the time. Anyway, the point of this meeting is this: A few years back, I gave birth to a child & I can only assume your wife gave birth to a child around the same time. Gee, this is kind of awkward. Hmmm, how can I say...well, the thing is, I'm pretty sure that our babies got switched & I must have gotten your child in some mix-up. I don't know how it could've happened, but I did take that brief detour through Hell before the drugs kicked in.

So, I'd like to get it straightened out & make sure you get your kid back. Surely the child you've been raising for the past 3 years must be an angel...no offense. He must be perfectly well-behaved. He is? OK, that's my kid. The kid that I've been raising is...hmm...more in line with what I'd expect of your kind.

This is the part where I go into an hour-long monologue on recent incidents, including the way this child goes into the bathroom, bypasses the toilet like it's some kind of decorative urn & then pees in the bathtub; the LOUD PROTESTS against holding my hand in the street, forcing me to pick him up & carry him kicking & screaming--will someone please call the police & have me arrested? Please??; mentally proclaiming it Opposite Day anytime he hears the phrase "Be good."

Read on while I look for the three 6's

I don't want to sound paranoid, but I think his personal hero is Rhoda from The Bad Seed. I'm worried his high school superlative is going to be "Most Likely to Set Your House on Fire (with You in It)." I've spritzed this child with more holy water than you can imagine & nothing helps. There's just no way this is my kid. Anyway, I figured the little hellraiser would be happier back at home with the other...hellions. So what do you say?

Hey, where are you going? Why are you running from me? Wait...WAIT!!! You get back here & GET YOUR KID!!!!!!

Pin It Now!

Experimentation

First, thank you all for the anniversary sentiments. Weedinator & I actually went out to dinner without the children to celebrate. We don't often go out by ourselves because I don't want to inflict the Dimpled One on anyone it's not easy getting a sitter. Then, I planned to blog yesterday, but forgotten I'd volunteered to chaperone a third graders' field trip to the zoo.

I am still recovering.

Anyway, onto knitting...

I very rarely frog projects. If it's the wrong size or I've made a mistake, frogging's easy; I rip back & start over. But to completely frog a project because I don't like how it's turning out? Very rare. I think part of it is because I'm so careful about what I choose to knit--sometimes, it takes me months to decide if a project is right for me. So once I finally start, I'm usually sure to be pleased with the end result.

After months of denial, I finally had to admit that I didn't care for this sock as much as I wanted to. I had more fun knitting it than looking at it. I finally frogged it, but was so intrigued with the Mosaic knitting technique that gives it the not-as-hard-as-you-may-think appearance, that I wanted to incorporate the colors into another Mosaic pattern.

As I've been hinting, I checked out Mosaic Knitting from the library. There are tons of Mosaic patterns in the book. I found one I liked that would work with a sock stitch count & so I started. In addition to the original pale pink/black combo, I added some leftover deep pink yarn for additional interest. Now, the foot.

I had originally planned to continue the Mosaic pattern on the instep--this did not work out. When did I realize this? After I'd already started. Do I want to revisit that painful day? Let's move on.

This is the pinstripe pattern, which is simply 1 stitch black, 1 stitch pink. Like I mentioned last time I did this, I had to figure out how to knit with both hands so that the yarn didn't get tangled. I finally found a rhythm. It took several tries, different positions, some cramped fingers, but I finally found a way to hold the yarn in my left hand that works. This whole sock has been about experimenting. I like it, don't know if I'm going to love the pair, but I'm going to complete the second (with a couple of changes thrown in for good measure). It's not perfect (if you look at the top of the gusset, you'll see that irritating pink stitch that was supposed to be black), but it's OK.

I've already decided that my next pair of socks will be one color, one pattern. Whew.

Edited for clarification: I think this post may have been confusing, when I mentioned frogging "this sock." "This sock" is not the sock pictured--I actually like that sock & it's alive & well. "This sock" takes you to a link to the frogged project.

Pin It Now!

Twelve Years to the Day

Anniversary Portrait

http://media.imeem.com/m/YTWxY4DqPw/aus=false/

Pin It Now!

What I'm Loving Today

The latest Essence cover

I love Don Cheadle. Not only is he an absolutely brilliant actor, he epitomizes class. Don could stand in the middle of a patch of dry grass & say "I'm portraying a bar of soap" & I'd applaud madly.

Pretty pink cupcakes

I hope the picture is self-explanatory. Are they homemade? Well, I made them at home, so...yeah.

New sock WIP

This is what I hinted at last post & I'm not going to take up a lot of time explaining today, but I'm using one of Barbara Walker's mosaic patterns in fashioning these socks. For lack of a name (many of her mosaic patterns aren't named, just numbered), I'm calling them Labyrinthine Shadow socks. Pretty wild, huh?

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Pin It Now!

Return of Mojo & Retro

Pattern: Retro Rib socks, Interweave Favorite Socks
Yarn: Regia Silk
Needles: US size 1 DPNs
Modifications: Added 8 stitches to accomodate larger size

Yeah, baby! Mojo came home with all sorts of goodies, so I couldn't be mad that he ditched me. I finished Weedinator's socks (only 4 months late). While I really love the retro rib (combined with the Regia yarn, the socks are incredibly soft & squishy & warm), while doing the pattern, I always felt awkward starting on a new needle with a purl stitch. I know I could always fiddle with the stitch arrangement so that I'd start with a knit stitch, but then I would have to carry the repeat over to the next needle instead of having it end neatly at the end of each needle. Unless I wanted to do some major fiddling.

Gee, maybe I'm being way too analytic about this knitting thing. I guess I could always Magic Loop to avoid that.

I added 8 stitches to the pattern repeat, but if I knit these for myself, I could follow the pattern exactly as written. Adding stitches meant I had to figure out new numbers for the heel flap as well (if I'd known knitting involved so much math, I probably would've taken up fly fishing instead).

I'd like to knit myself a pair of these socks one day, but that'll have to wait. Even though I didn't want to start another project, I figured I better while Mojo is home & happy. So I cast on for something new. Details to come next time, but here's a hint:

Library. Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting. Oh.my.gosh.

Pin It Now!

The Mystery of the Missing Mojo

So here I am with only the toe of a sock to finish. Just the toe, people; why can't I finish the toe? Because my knitting mojo disappeared, like he does every few months or so. He'll tell me he's going out for a pack of cigarettes & be gone for days, sometimes weeks. I've been calling & calling (Mojo isn't answering his cell phone). I've been going through my stash to entice him back.

Is he with you? Are you canoodling with my Mojo right now? Are projects flying off your needles while I'm just sitting here? Never mind, don't tell me.

Yesterday, this arrived.

I'm loving the Banded Peasant Blouse & Flutter Sleeve Cardigan out of this issue. I think I have yarn in the stash for it; I'll spend the weekend checking. As well as trying to reach my Mojo.

If you see him--if he's sleeping over at your house, even--tell him to come home. I'll forgive him, once again, for stepping out on me. I'll ignore the smell of alpaca on his shirt; I won't ask questions about "the other knitter." I just want my Mojo back.

Pin It Now!