Kung Fu Knitting

Deee-lovely Holly over at Hollyarns tagged me the other day with the 5 Little-Known Things About Me Meme. 5 Things You Probably Didn't Know about Me 1. I never dot my i's when writing in cursive. 2. I have a rock collection, mostly ones that I have collected. 3. I have a certain set of books that I reread most every year: Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Enders Game, Harry Potter 1 and 4, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure, Return of the Native, The Desert Smells Like Rain, Red Mars, Neuromancer, All Quiet on the Western Front, Animal Dreams. 4. I own more than 10 coats. 5. Out of all the patterns in all the knitting books I own, I have only knit one pair of fingerless mitts. (Well, I knitted a kitty hat from the original S'N B, but my gauge was totally different and so I had to completely redo the pattern. So I don't think this counts.) Who should I tag? Well if you want to participate, then consider yourself it!

Lately there seems to be a running theme in my life: the idea of presence. It's manifest itself in a couple of ways (you know if you've read my blog entries recently), but the most recent was from the wrapper of a Dove chocolate piece that one of the barristas randomly gave me at the coffee shop during last week's Stitch'N Bitch: Your presence is often the best present. How crazy is that? But it came at a time when I was kind of wondering about something and acted as a sort of reinforcement; a little present from the universe at large (if you believe in that kind of thing). And speaking of Stitch'N Bitch, one of our lovely members has been bringing along her holiday presents for the benefit of all the group: This action shot depicts 667 yards of fingering weight merino/silk being wound for me! Yes!!!! What shall it be? I want it to be something lacey, but hadn't really given it serious thought because the thought of winding it made me shudder. I'd like to m...

Happy New Year to all y'all! I'm betting that most bloggers have already done some sort of review of the year by now. I've been hedging a little bit on this one. I didn't get a lot of knitting done in 2006. And much of the year was filled with strife, hurt and difficulty for me. So I am really not going go over it again. Except I want say that many of you in blogland and the knitworld have been great friends and sources of light for me. I can't thank you enough. And there have been some wonderful friends here in Ithaca as well. You know who you are. Thanks for the hugs and calls and all the moral support. Good bye, 2006! So the plan for this year: things are going to get better in 2007 (repeat to self 100 times daily for month of January). No, it's true: things are looking up. For one, I had a great interview for graduate school before leaving for Atlanta. Most likely you'll find me back in school come the Fall of 2007. Second, I should be having my first fi...

Well it's my Hobbit name! May Overhill of Nobottle I bet you'd like one, too I found this quote yesterday: The only gift is a portion of thyself. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) It's rather apropos for this time of the year, don't you think? But I'd ammend it to say, "The best gift is a portion of thyself." When someone is really there with you, when they give of their time, when they obviously have done something for you that took a lot of thought and energy or when they have truly shared a part of who they are with you, it makes life so sweet and meaningful. And that is truly a gift.

I finished 1, countem 1, freaking sock this year. (But boy has it been stinky year!) So let me show it off in its unblocked glory: This little guy has been sitting around for some time now just waiting for a toe. I finished it the other night at Stitch'N Bitch, and I have to say that I'm a little proud of this sock. I really like the way my yarn turned out with my pattern. There are a couple of variations I'd like to try, meaning that my interest is still piqued. So hopefully the second won't take another year to knit.

I made this one for my mom for her birthday. It's not quite how I envisioned it when I started, but I think that particular vision would be great for a child's hat. This one is whimsical enough for an adult, don'tcha think? Details: US 7, 16" circular needle, Knit Pick's WOTA and Andean Silk (left over KSH and Merino Sock! for the flower, WOTA for the felted leaf). Picot hem that was knitted together as I knit the hat up from the bottom. It looks a little shinier in the picture than in real life ( I adjusted to color so that it showed more true to life).

Just when I am feeling the worst and am looking for something positive to cheer me up, the kids at work seem to pick up on it. (they are so amazing!) Today was one of those days but I ended up playing, I Love You! It's a tag game we made up, but you run around hugging the players while saying I love you when you catch them. How nice is that? Everyone you are playing with wants you to hug them. In fact, although they are running away from you, in reality they are all vying for your affection. :sigh: It's so simple, real and practically artless. I mean there's really only one level of duplicity involved and it's all mutually agreed upon. Not only was I treated to this lovely game, but there was just what I needed: much close and quiet story reading. I mean remember when you were little, what was one of the most reassuring, comforting activities? I remember lying in bed with my father and all my siblings and having him read or tell us wonderful stories. I remember feeling ...