insert unscheduled project here...

Yesterday I experienced the most extreme parental bliss known to moms everywhere.
A small bit of free time. Should I -
Rush home and clean the house? nope.
Frog 3 rows of the traveling rib scarf I goobered up? nope.
Take a nap? Tempting - but nope. I'm sure to oversleep, be forever labeled as the bad mom by all the other moms, and scar my daughter for life.

Nope. An occasion this special calls for a bit of retail therapy. For me, this usually involves either yarn or clothes. Since I didn't have the budget for either - I hit the thrift store. (I love thrift stores - a topic which deserves a long and poetic homily another time. In part I love the challenge. Anyone can walk into a Nordstrom and walk out with a great pair of black heels, but it takes a special kind of optimism to walk into a thrift store and walk out with something great. Maybe the universe wants you to have those black heels, but maybe instead it wants you to have a pair of Robert Cavalli jeans that happen to be EXACTLY your size and only 4$.(*true story*)You need to be open to any possibility. )

Yesterday, I wanted sweaters that I could felt into a Zig-zag blanket from Alterknits. Evidentially, the universe wanted this too, because $20 and six 100% wool sweaters later, I had the kind of project zen that only exists before you've actually started the project.

Like a mutant virus, this small bit of free time gobbled up every other scheduled task. The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning felted wool balls out of my washing machine, fighting with my sewing machine, (tension really is important in sewing. If your machine isn't tense enough it WILL make you tense) and trying to keep all of this crazy creative energy from harming nearby pets and family members. However, the felted sweaters actually pieced together easily. Unlike normal fabric quilts, precision wasn't necessary, because wool is stretchy and very forgiving. The best part is this project was that it was QUICK - was- past tense - as in done. In one weekend!!!!!!
Ok yes there are disclaimers - the blanket is not perfect. My seams are way-way-wonky. I need to trim a lot of threads and steam the heck out the whole piece.

But it looks good in my son's room. It will keep him warm. Best of all - he likes it. He really likes it and if he's feeling warm and fuzzy than I am too.

A family that knits together...

...has a really good excuse to buy more yarn.

Lucky lucky me!

This week I recieved proof that owning too many shoes, having secret chocolate stashes and saying nasty words to some of the other less-than-courteous drivers on the road does not affect one's karma...

Otherwise - how could I possibly have been blessed with this?

My Funky Scarf Swap scarf ala Bev arrived Friday... I like it. I really really like it.
The scarf is:
1. A perfect match to my vintage-new ski-bunny coat
2. A study in contrasts- fire & icy!
3. Made with yummy soft yarns - mmmmmcashmerinommmmm & alchemy
4. The perfect length
5. Done with a lovely needlework pattern down the center
- something I can't and probably won't ever do myself!
6.Like a fiesty fiesta around my neck with the hand-dyed orangey-red alchemy yarn !
7.Slightly subversive. When warn with blk Ann Taylor blazor to work says-
"I am a much more
interesting person than this job would lead you to
believe."
8.Liked by my daughter. (But she can't have it)
9.The reason I got to exchange notes with Bev - and discovered an lovely creative, inspired spirit
10. The source of spontaneous goofy giddy poses of
gratitude....

But wait- there's more! She also sent me a notepad she got in Rome, which makes me feel a little more worldly just carrying it in my purse...

But that's not all, not only did Bev manage to make a truly funky scarf, but she also set up a swap that rocked. Look at all the happy smiley people!! Here's hoping a lot of good karma floats her way...

DAM its good...

One of the many untold advantages of being a knitter is that I no longer mind waiting in lines for long periods of time. Yesterday at 7:00 in the morning, I was eagerly one of the first people in line for free tickets to the grand opening of the new wing of the Denver Art Museum. As we waited for the doors to open I looked at the sun gleaming off the titanium prow jutting into the bright October sky and got a little teary. When we make things and see things that others have made its makes us better people. As a society we need support, cheer, dance and sing all creative efforts. The building made me giddy, but also the crowds of people that came out to celebrate it.

Go see the museum... see what Liebeskind made, see what the artists inside made, and keep on making things yourself...creativity is crucial.

Funky Scarf FO

Funky scarf is Finito. Hope my midwestern pal likes it. I think the green will be gorgeous on her with what I can see of her autumnish coloring from her blog.

Sisterhood of the knitted pants

I start my Mondays with the best of intentions. At the start of every week, I tell myself that:
I will manage to conjure up a home cooked dinner - or at the very least be home for one or two.
I will keep up all the frenzied weekend pseudo cleaning.
I will set out my clothes the night before AND iron them so I'm not running around at 7:48 am looking for the one of six green sweaters I know I own, and to use that as a excuse to buy yet one more green sweater on the way home from work.
I will pack something for breakfast and not spend $3.50 everyday on breakfast burritos from Yolanda the coffee lady.
I will pack my gym clothes so I have to make up a REALLY good excuse not to workout over lunch.

As you can imagine - actively blowing off all of these weekday goals takes a lot of time.

Therefore, most of my knitting gets done on the weekends, but by Wednesday, I'm going through a bit of withdrawl - and by Friday, I find myself trying to sneak in a row or two in the parking garage of my office building before I head up to face the day.

Today was one of those frantic mornings when I knew I didn't even have time to pet and say nice things to the hanks of 4-ply cashmere sitting in one of my stash baskets. But then- just before the top of the hour on NPR there was an interview on NPR with Tracey Ulman promoting her new book. It made me giddy. Not the book so much. (I've seen it and while its fun, I don't feel the need to knit aprons or pants for me, my husband or anyone else) Yet, hearing Tracey's love and passion for knitting and knowing that at that moment hundreds of thousands of other knitters were feeling giddy too - made me love the community as much as the craft.
(In celebration - I knit a few stitches at the long stop light on the way to work.)

Sticks and stones

In the spirit of the holiday weekend, I left work a bit early Friday and checked out, Fancy Tiger a new craft-i-nista store on Broadway. Their yarn selection was meager, but they did have packs of lovely vintage buttons...which found new life as this:

On other fronts - I have been joking with my husband that I will *never-ever-for-any reason* knit him a sweater. My brother, mother, son, daughter, friends, babies I know, babies I don't know, nephew, breast cancer survivors and Moi have all been beneficiaries of my needle-mania. But DH has not even gotten a dishcloth. So for our anniversary I knit him my very first sock ever. Just one. Red. Sock. Size 13.
See - when we got married, he lost just one, red, size 13 Chuck Taylor high top. They were his lucky shoes and there was angst. For our anniversary several years ago I gave him another red, size 13 Chuck Taylor high top. The story was that this year, he got a sock to go with it. Actually I had planned - two weeks ago - on knitting a complete pair, but damn fingering yarn, knit up slower than it takes to actually conceive and give birth to the sheep that it came from. So with three days left, I made a secret trip to LYS (aren't they all somewhat covert??) and bought thick chunky yarn and started new sock. Stayed up past midnight both nights to finish, despite his confusion in my sudden interest in "Extra, Extra" on late night TV. Presented the sock today and he was pleased. I think. After 13 years of marriage he knows me well enough not to hold his breath for the second one....

best creative streak ever...

There are times when you become painfully reminded of the private exquisite beauty of your children. When the some little detail about your kids makes your heart swells so that you feel that it will literally pop out through your eyelids, but you know that no one else can ever see them the way that you do.

It is one of those feelings that people try to tell you about when you are pregnant, but is really beyond words. Those who have kids understand what I mean...

I had one of those eyelid busting moments tonight at the tiny indoor pool at the Hampton Inn by the side of the turnpike. While chatting with my in-laws (who were staying at the Inn) - the kids swam. As I watched them, the talk about cattle prices, real estate, new cars faded - and I saw my kids long lean white bodies sliding through the water. They were (of course) completely unaware of us - but so goofy, so loud and in their own world. I know that as a mom of a 13 year old and a 9 year old, I am to the point when very very soon they will eat the apple and become self-conscious. But for at least tonight - they were still safe in the garden and I know that I am blessed.

in the interest of full-disclosure

So I joined the Funky Scarf Swap ..... this is one of the things that spurred my return to bonogmamablogland. I realized I don't have a good place to catalog stuff I've knitted and stuff I want to knit.

While my very cool sounding partner has already received this questionaire, here it is for all to see.
+++++++++++
Do you prefer any fibers over others?
I love any fiber with juicy colors and great texture, especially handspun or hand dyed
Here's some of the other stuff I've knit. Not all of it is funky - but it
will give you and idea of the colors I'm drawn to...

Thinking back to Scout’s post about what funky means to you, post an
image of something that you think is funky!
Funky means feeling! Anything slightly outside the norm that expresses the
cool/edgy/ artistic part who you are and brings you joy is funky...
Ani DiFranco = Funky
Little Orphan Annie= notso funky (if only she had a great scarf...)
Spicy tuna rolls = Funky (as long as its not skunky)
Tuna Noodle Casserole = notso funky
James Brown = Funky
James Taylor = notso funky
The Simpsons = Funky
Jessica Simpson = notsofunky

Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern?
Either! Use a yarn you've been wanting to try or a pattern that's been
haunting you. Do whatever moves/grooves you and for goodness sake - have
fun and be a little wild.


What are your favorite colors?
Strong summer or winter colors - Light and Turquoise blue, all shades of
green, blacks, whites, reds

What is your favorite piece of art?
Anything done by my kids... but knit like Jackson Pollock, Gustav Klimt,
Vance Kirkland, Maxfield Parrish

What colors would you never have up close to your pretty
face?
easter colors - yellows, purples, some shades of pink, salmon,
lavender,
also - browns, beiges, grays, harvest gold
(all are ok as accents, just not as a main color)

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl?
Scarf please..

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a
thin/long scarf?
either...
What is the climate like where you live?
Knit for any climate.
I live in Colorado - so if I wait an hour the weather will change...

Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just
to funk-up your wardrobe?
Funk/punk up my wardrobe. Looking for something to make the other PTA moms
look twice and raise their eyebrows and make my 9 year daughter slightly
jealous.

What else would you like your partner to know about you?
Knit and have fun - break rules. Don't obsess over technique or rip out 14
rows because you missed a stitch. Don't worry about scaring me...

back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Yes - there is a YEAR and A HALF between this post and the last.
Maybe I was photographing penguins in Antartica. Maybe I was looking for lost Incan civilizations. Maybe I was teaching Mongolian nomads how to sell wool on ebay.
Maybe I was in Australia on my way back to the US when I crashed on a wierd island with freaky transmitters.

I'll leave all of that up to you dear readers- whats left unsaid is always more interesting than whats said.
Regardless, I've dusted off the blog and will once again record knitting and the things that orbit my knitting, aka kids, family, friends etc. (And NO - I will not demote anyone small, cold or far away to less than planet status...)

Crying in my beer...(but its good beer)

Alias isn't on because of the State of the Union speech - yet another good thing Bush has screwed up.
As if there wasn't enough reason to drink tomorrow night.. My friend Shannon emailed this little game to me.
http://www.drinkinggame.us/

Laugh until you cry or cry until you laugh. Either way its better than apathy.

knitting withing the lines (NOT)

My third cool knitted thing ever was a hat for newly minted baby Elijah.
Mommy/Daddy, Tracey and Tony were much more excited than Eli, who clearly valued sleep over fashion.

I tried to follow a pattern from Weekend Knitting, but the anarchist in me would have none of gauges and counting rows, so I made it up as I went along. While I'm quite pleased with the results, I know that the knitting karma isn't always so kind. Next time will try follow directions, play well with others and not run with scissors.

idle hands are the devils workshop...

My hands have been busy knitting a felted booga bag (thanks to Julie Anderson) for my mom's birthday. I found the Kureyon yarn on-line for $5.79 a skein! Its turning out dreamy - turquoise, royal blue, green, and gold - each row is a surprise. The project has become a bit of an obsession; laundry, cooking, and cleaning are still sitting on my todo list. Truthfully, they are quite used to sitting there - but not for such an extended period.

I love my mother dearly, but that may not be enough to part with with the finished bag...