Current FOs and Current Reading/Listening

These were added to the afghans for Afghans box yesterday. Most have been hanging around for some time, waiting for me to finish them.

Philadelphia Chickens - this speaks for itself.

Friday Shopping

Gift certificates in hand, I schlepped to Southside. Free yarn is the only thing that will lure me to a yarn store I don't like. Arriving at the opening time, I found the door locked, the lights out. Hmm, maybe my watch was fast. I sat in my car for 5 or so minutes, then returned to see someone vacuuming, the door still locked, the wall clock showing it was past time for the door to be open and cold potential customers to be granted access.

The bead store next door was clearly being run by a non-slacker, so I browsed there and warmed up. Some little bell-like doodads caught my eye, and the shop lady helped me pick out the rings I needed to put together my own stitch markers. Small, light, easily seen. Rings were 50 cents each, bells were a dime each. (Barbie glasses included for scale.)

Back at the yarn store, I stocked up on Lamb's Pride. It was the only thing they had that I like.

WTF Wednesday

And patient of the day.

Slow Hand

It's a little-known fact that Eric Clapton got that nickname from the rate at which he produced knitted FOs.

I'm even slower.

Last Wednesday afternoon I read Brooklyn Tweed's Blog entry about a baby hat that he knitted in a couple of hours as a de-stressing exercise. It was the top down Hello Bonnet from Hello Yarn. The task seemed strange and simple. An odd cone-end skein of Louet Gems, procured at MS&W, was in one hand; my new rosewood Lantern Moon 5" Sox Stix in the other. The figure-8 cast on almost defeated me, especially after knitting the first round, when the instructions say Join in the Round. That had me stumped for awhile. After contemplation, I decided it was one a-them zen koan thangs, and kept on going. A most pleasant experience. My favorite part was the back of the head, where decreases allow the hat to hug the head and nape of the neck. I did seed stitch instead of garter for the border.

It was completed yesterday. Monday. Five days after beginning. Another offering for Cate's afghans for Afghans collection.

Eye Candy Friday

Here's Cracker's nose.

Walk in the Country

Once again, we dodged the worst of the latest winter storm. Still, it is February, the shortest, longest, most miserable month. So I cheer myself up with photos from my vacation this past October.

afghans for Afghans : a sweater

I loved knitting this sweater.

It's the Orphans for Orphans sweater in Knitting for Peace. The one in the book was done in Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair, just about my favorite yarn. The front and back panels are knitted first, then stitches are picked up and knitted for the sides and sleeves. I opted for the 3-needle bind off for the side seams, and did the sleeves and cuffs in the round. Stripes on the sleeves made it easy to count decreases. Attempts were made to finish the neck edge as the pattern directed : one row single crochet, one row backward crochet. It looked pretty lame, and the photo in the book was suspiciously unenlightening. So I kept the row of single crochet, added a row of knitpurl, then did a sewn bind off. Cuffs and bottom edge were done in seed stitch, because it pleases me more than garter stitch.

This one is destined for Cate's afghans for Afghans effort, and I can hardly wait to start another one, in different colors, maybe a little fair isle or knitpurl pattern here and there, hmmm...

Flashback : 1964

Emerging from my usual winter grumpslump, I want to give you whippersnappers a taste of what you missed by not being around in the sixties.

On this day 43 years ago, a lovely blizzard moved up the east coast. Schoolchildren stayed home and listened to the radio. Before the snow hit New York, the Beatles arrived at JFK, and Cousin Brucie on WABC talked about it all day long. "It's ten Beatle minutes after the hour and outside it's thirty-two Beatle degrees." They were driven to the Plaza in a Wells Fargo truck (I used to know the number) and the next day they took the train to Washington D.C. for a concert, then back to New York for the Ed Sullivan Show Sunday night.

Seven months later, I went to their concert at the Baltimore Civic Center. A modestly-sized venue, it held about 3500 people. You could see them; and hear them, if faintly. Tickets cost three dollars. My ticket stub is framed, and hangs on my kitchen wall.

Today I wore the pins pictured above, on my scrub top. One co-worker recognized them. The remainder of the folks I work with are illiterate Philistines. Being born after Lennon died is no excuse.