lifelong knitter

B is for

BEADS!

I sprinkled them on the Angora (achoo!)
mentioned here yesterday,
as per the recipe...

BOYBIRD also begins with B
as does the BAD BAD BUDGET BILL
which is being voted on tomorrow.
FEBRUARY FIRST!
(BOO!)
If you have even for a MOMENT enjoyed the adventures of the Boybird,
please call your local representative
and BEG on his BEHALF.

If you don't know what I am talking about,
let me give you the simple BLONDE version.

It is OUR money.
We contribute our hard won tax dollars to the Federal Government.
We are supposed to have representatives
who vote....
yeah, yeah.
I can see your eyes glazing over.
Here's the deal.
If this BILL passes tomorrow,
there will be NO support for Individuals with Disabilities
to live independently.
States will have to scramble to make up
the difference (because the paperwork that mandates
this funding is Federal, and therefore LAW...)
while our Government spends our money
on the War in Iraq and other
Crimes against Humanity.

I'm BEGGING.

Please take a moment to call your local Representative.

If you have more time than that,
read all about it
and be Truly Apalled.

Google Federal Budget Bill
or any of these fine folks:
AARP
NAACP
NC Justice Center
North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute

40 BILLION dollars in cuts.

Won't you Please make that call?

BLESS you.

Sesame street is brought to you today

by the letter A!
A is for ANGORA

which Always makes me
sneeze....
it's for a
Special Birthday
Gift...
stay tuned to see,
oh please?

(with humble apologies to the AMAZING writers
on Sesame Street, who are a HUGE part of my children's
verbal success....)

Happy Chinese New Year!

This is now the year of the DOG...
to which the Poodles say:

we're looking FORWARD
to it!

No More Cork

Why, oh WHY....
Even though I am an early adopter,
it seems to me that the availability of certain Rowan yarns
coincide eerily (and INVERSELY) with my fondness for them,
resulting in many frantic hours on ebay
trying to find enough Kidsoft or Cork to
complete my latest project.
sigh.
While we're on the subject
of Cork....
read THIS:
http://www.deathofthecork.com/
Hope your weekend is HAPPY!

Correction

I saw Joyce at the shop today and she said she had found the *error*
in her Hooded Scarf pattern when it was printed this time...
After you knit the trim section,
this printing says to knit in pattern for 2 inches.
That should be FIVE inches!
The numbers look very much alike,
but the hood won't FIT...
she was so anxious that anyone who ordered one
knew about the errata....

In the Vision Correction department,
(You KNOW I could have titled this post Department of Corrections,
but OH, those Googlers....teehee.)
I saw the Corneal Specialist today.
The GOOD news is that my Highly Irregular Cornea
has not gotten any MORE irregular.
It's just kinda rippley.
Yep, that is the *technical term* we decided to use.
Neither the astigmatism surgery nor lasik
would do any good,
so they are making a custom
gas permeable Hard Contact lens
in the hopes that my optic nerve will then THINK
the surface of the cornea is regular and spherical
and all hunky dory.
sigh.
The retinal detachment has not progressed
and we went over the Emergency Symptoms
yet again.
sigh.
I did get some knitting done,
with my eyes closed,
waiting for the nasty dilation drops
to do their thing.
The staff thought THAT was a riot.
I'm making a class sample of how to do a top down raglan with a
Vee Neck.
I grabbed some Cork out of the sale bin
because, alas,
it has ben Discontinued.
Why?
This stuff is FABULOUS!
Stay tuned tomorrow for my
further thoughts on
Cork, screwed.
giggle.

Mozart Madness

Today is the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday!

Theclassicalstation.org

will be playing all Mozart, all the time today.

Which is a GOOD thing, because my brain will NEED the Mozart effect!

I've decided, after completing the third pattern chart of the Orchid leaf Pi shawl
(the warmup version in Cashsoft....)
that as my Olympic Knitting challenge, I will be
Designing my own Pi Shawl.

Now.....

I know from experience that it is truly a BAD idea to increase the difficulty of your routine
right before a Major Event, but hey, this is the OLYMPICS...
so, in a moment of thoughtless abandon....
I've made up my mind.

Stay tuned, Classical Music fans.....

giggle.

Howler

The wind is HOWLING outside
and the animals are NOT Amused.
I'm making slow but steady progress on the
Orchid leaf Pi shawl....

Had a long talk with an old friend about my eye issues
yesterday and had to giggle
when it was pointed out to me
that I was the only person they knew,
who when faced with losing their eyesight,
insisted on LOOKING at the Bright Side
of Life.

Teehee.

Adventures with the boybird this afternoon
will include the Trying On of Pants.
sigh.
This usually results in
Much gnashing of teeth because
He wants the tags OFF
(completely cut OUT, if possible)
before he is willing to
put them on.
Itchy or scratchy=No Way, Jose!
Since he has grown considerably in the last year,
trying things on
is a necessity.

When he sees a NEW item of clothing,
the first thing he asks for is
*SCISSORS, please*.

The negotiations may include
Bribery with Baked Goods.
Fresh, HOT, Krispy Kreme
Donuts, if necessary.

A mama's gotta do what a mama's
gotta do.

Olympic Knitting Trials

I'm doing a pre Olympic trial
of the Orchid pi shawl.
Here's what I've learned so far...

A) The row counter (ka-CHING) is My Friend!

B) Markers are an absolute MUST

and

C) I am a glutton for punishment.

D) Cashsoft is a LOVELY, lovely yarn to work with.....

The waste yarn is where I shall be adding SLEEVES
as per the pattern in *Ponchos and Wraps* a Knitter's Dozen.

With modifications, as per my usual,
NATCH.

I always tell my beginning students to read through THE WHOLE PATTERN
before you begin the Actual Knitting.

Ahem.

Had I DONE that, I would have noticed that the charts are SPELLED out on the inside
of the pattern insert, on bright WHITE paper.
All the easier for me to read with my temporary magnifying (um, READING) glasses!

I'm going back to the eye doctor on Friday for another Corneal Topography.

Three requests for the original documentation from the surgery....
NADA.

Blue. DEVILS. Indeed.

Gypsy kitty

I LOVE my new blanket....

PURRRRRR.....

Wondering

While everybody is off at TNNA
in Sunny San Diego, my College town...
I'm humming Paul Simon
ta na na, ta na nah
and wondering
about the direction
of Knitting.
Now that I'm teaching in a Knitting Shop
I'm starting to appreciate
the Rigors of RETAIL.
How do you anticipate what people are going to buy
MONTHS from now when they
suddenly become obsessed with
Shawls or Socks or both?
Will we see a return to Wooly Knitting
or has global warming made that a thing of
the past?
Is there a better way to make Knitting
charts Easy to Read
for those of us whose eyes
have seen clearer days?
Why do needles take so long
to be delivered?
sigh.
I should probably go have some coffee
and do my Morning Knitting.
I'm in Training,
dontcha know.