Coming in From the Cold

I've been missing in action, burying my face in CSPAN programming watching everything and anything associated with the new White House trying to convince myself that while the economic sky is falling it is way better than listening to those clowns from the former administration f%$#up the country. Now, with that said, and to keep from indulging in a full on pity party, this is some of what I've been up to.

went to visit son #1 in North Carolina to hear him sing with the North Carolina Symphony


This is a partial sound recording of the Carmina Burana. Not my favorite choral piece, sort of reminds me of a scary movie but it was my chile singing so...




Got caught in the historic nor' easter snow storm. Tried to get out of town before it hit and the lady at the airline checkin said, "honey, if anybody in North Carolina thinks it's gonna snow, we close down the city! Better find you a hotel and sleep in." Well, after I checked out of my very nice hotel with a great wine list and midnight cheese and fruit platter room service -


I found myself thankful for any room at the airport hotel. Even the crows were confused.

Made this gorgeous Radiating Star Blanket as a baby gift (pattern found on Ravelry).

Tried to follow the Harlot's advice with the stash...

FAILED

Why did I keep these??

There were months that brought me little or no joy - except for this occasional backyard visitor.

My pal Phyllis tried hard to lift the gloom, we explored yarn stores and old fashioned soda fountains. I had my first vanilla ice cream soda in many years!




She even baked me a cake and brought me some noro sock yarn and those cool square needles!

I pulled myself together long enough to host one of those local Obama house meetings.

There were a few of them around my town. My friend Arlene, a professional chef, did one with desserts and champagne!

Went to hear a Cornel West lecture with my boys. That was a really good day.

Attended my town's library's author luncheon. Guess who?

I auctioned off several baskets with baby hats. And, the poster below from the Democratic Convention's Women's Caucus that Michelle Obama presided over.

So, hope still remains and is perhaps all that is left when we succumb to our darkest worries and can't seem to see the light. Thanks to all of you who have written to encourage me to write again and to report on my whereabouts. I'm sorry I've been gone so long.

P.S. if you would like one of these historic posters, I have another that I would like to share so, just comment here with your name and I'll do one of those random selection thingies and send one to you, sorry, it is not signed and I won't be able to frame it.

Let 'em eat cake

All of this talk about money and the economy is making me grouchy. I don't like being grouchy, it is not my nature. But now, it has been suggested that my talents as a knitter don't transcend into my general domestic skill set. Unfortunately for us domestic workers, our jobs can't be outsourced. Talk about a budget crisis. Imagine if every man had to bring in private contractors to tend to all of their needs?? Yes it is true, some of them do privatize some aspects of their lives (see Elliot Spitzer and a zillion other politicians). We know how expensive that becomes for just one measly (well maybe not so measly) outsourced job!

At a recent budget conference, it was suggested that I review ways that I could cut back. Hmmmmm. Immediately, ideas came to mind. I could stop buying diamonds but DeBeers would probably go bankrupt which wouldn't be a bad thing except I haven't bought diamonds since I learned what happens to miners who work to get those lovelies out of the ground.

It was suggested that I not buy too many clothes. While I don't sew my clothes, I wonder just how much longer I could stretch my size 8 clothes into my growing, perimenopausal size 10 frame? Which brings me to groceries. Cutting back on groceries was seriously reviewed. If I didn't eat so much and encouraged others to do the same, we could save a mint (I used to grow mint but nobody really noticed). I am a bad domestic engineer it has been determined. I pay too much for food. I reluctantly had to agree this point due to the recent Whole Foods beef recall. I've been buying Whole Foods beef forevah thinking that the 50% markup helped ensure that I wasn't eating diseased, penned up and barely- alive- stock. So yeah, I could save with groceries by cutting out those nice juicy steaks and organic burgers. Did somebody say dollar menu?

Let's see, what else. Oh, right, the yarn. Which my shrink (if I had one) would probably say is the real source of the conflict. I could stop buying yarn. And by extension, I'd have more time to clean and cook and launder and contemplate "reclaiming the home". I contemplated drugs instead...


Then, the existential in me wondered, WWJD?

After close reflection, I realized that for twenty five years, I had been getting it all wrong. My one indulgence

could have been solved by just saying no. Who knew that Nancy Reagan was right afterall...

Anyway, is it obvious I'm in a funk? My Pal Phyllis came to the rescue. She brought some yummy wild blueberry muffins that she picked and baked...

Brought tears to my eyes...

And, Phyllis and I have been doing this sock KAL. Yes the yarn cost $11 bucks (a 20% sale at her LYS). Where else in America can you get great friendship, and stuff to do for 11 bucks and end up with a pair socks in the process?

Simply Lace Socks, Interweave, '06

My first attempt at the pattern was done totally wrong. When you are blind with rage, I guess lace charts can be misinterpreted. I had to frog it. Here is the improved version...


I was so excited that I was able to "self correct" and catch up with my buddy, I took the one sock out to the pool, and in solidarity with the USA's swim team's successes we took a dip -



Don't try this at home, the pool hasn't been chlorinated in days due to budget constraints so there was no real danger of bleaching out these lovely Louet Gems Opel orange tones.

Phyllis then suggested we go on a really cheap adventure to a local flea market to just enjoy looking at all of the old stuff...

Imagine having to wash clothes in one of these buckets? Talk about domestic servitude??

I bought a bag of buttons for a buck and two mason jars for two bucks! You see, I am good at this economics thing.

To shake off all of these worries, I've decided to throw myself into Ravelry's Olympics. Lots of knitting without buying new yarn, lots of hours watching some of the best physiques in the world and I'll get lots of finished garments in the bargain. So, stay tuned to my progress and what I hope to finish before China's closing CG ceremony. Sometimes virtual ain't so bad.

LYS chatter

I have the best abbreviated conversations at my LYS. This week, after surviving a marathon week of too many school volunteer activities, I stopped in to just hang out and unwind. Phyllis was there talking about an upcoming dinner party she was hosting with her extended family. Another woman was there telling us about her successes with the cupcake hat. Check out the pom pom cherry, it is my humble contribution.

We got to talking about families and the their different occupations. One family member was in China during that dreadful earthquake. Another person was sharing the statistics of how many trees it takes to make chopsticks. I suggested that while it is true that losing so many trees to a table setting was not very earth friendly, I'd like to meet the guy who came up with the idea of using depleted uranium to make knives and forks. It was meant to be a mumble but another woman giggled. I forgot that she was a former engineer brainiac who knew all about weapons systems. Seriously though, you all should really be aware of the metals that are being used today. Buttons, jewelry, zippers, pots and pans, there is an entire industry that uses spent weapons metal and some people have shown to be allergic or dead but I digress...

We talked about the science of pom poms and pom pom makers and how many skeins of Cascade 220 it takes to make that Noni Medallion bag.


And speaking of bags, I've been making a bunch. It started one evening when I was visiting a friend who just closed her restaurant, Jezebel's

She's now semi retired. Because so many of us can't live without her food, she decided to open a small take out service instead. You should see the lines! Her restaurant is in the theatre district and on any given night you'll see all kinds of starving actors, bus drivers and wanna be rappers lined up to get potato salad and fried chicken!


Seriously, her restaurant attracted all kinds of people, Denzel, Stevie Wonder, DeNiro... I had been a client of hers for over 25 years. When I was working in New York, I was at her restaurant almost everyday after work.


As we were talking about old times she noticed my felted purse and asked me to make one for her. That began a marathon purse making phase trying to find a style that I could make over and over with some variations.

There's the Sophie bag, a cute idea but too small. There's the Clutch You'll Never Give Up - my new favorite - fast and functional. Booga bags, hobo bags, bucket bags, I've tried a bunch but so far, I prefer the clutch.

Felted pink Sophie

Prefelted

This striped bag started out as "My Constant Companion" but I somehow decided to change it - didn't keep any notes so I have no clue what I did.

This was supposed to be the Deco-Ribbon bag, an unfelted purse done in seed stitch. I used a felted handle. I found the vintage button at a craft fair.

Another bag that I knit from my stash. I think I used Plymouth's Boku for this one. It started out as a Booga bag and well, I went off somewhere.


I finally settled on a pattern that Berta K. of Karabella once wrote out for me. It is ginormous to knit but one of my favorite bags


I'll let you all know how it turns out!

Politics, knitting and banking - oh my!

During this campaign season, I'm getting a lot of knitting done. I used to be a political maniac until 8 years ago, when the political landscaped changed to a totally unsurveyable cesspool of partisanship. That's when I picked up my needles again. I decided then that I was going to knit my way through all of the confusion. I read Greg Palast's, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. I learned that our voting rights ain't all that it is cracked up to be and that campaigns will probably go the way of that American Idle tv show.

Enough about that except after the crazy New Hampshire primary, my manic knitting has begun again...

Do you think if I cried, I'd be able to get out of Jaywalker purgatory?
I'm not allowed to move on to a different sock pattern until I master this one.

Which candidate is the most photogenic?
I finished this hat at one of my son's marathon basketball games (he plays Varsity and JV) 3 hours of basketball = 3 hours of knitting!

I gussied up the hats I made for my son's coach's new baby.
Do candidates kiss babies anymore?

These cute buttons are from Modern Yarn in Montclair, NJ.
Now that those pesky FDA regulations have been removed, it just might be healthier to eat these!

Look!

My pal Phyllis gave me this fun gag gift. It's a bank for me to save up for yarn! This will seriously come in handy with the recession looming. I wonder what Neil Bush thinks about the mortgage crisis?

Don't you just love this!