Pack Up the Tomato Box

God bless MDK. Really. I was starting to read various knitting blogs, and they were on ALL the blog rolls -- so they couldn't be any good, right, if everyone liked them? Well, they are good. And fun. I am slowly working my way through all the archives. The bookmobile post was enough to yank out all of their lurkers.

The bookmobile was such a stressful event. God help you if you left a due book at home, outside the big sturdy box we used for our three-reader supply. It was only a 7minute drive to the next stop, but my mom viewed it as a huge imposition. Once inside the bus I had to be yanked out. I always checked out my books to the sound of the engine revving up.

I was fascinated by the black woman who worked on the bus. My school was all white and I think the librarian was the first woman of color that I saw working at any job -- and a job that was so idolized! I was six and I thought she was so cool and distinguished behind the little gate.

That bookmobile may have had more books than my elementary school library, which was shoe-box-sized. I quickly rebelled against the grades 1-3 books and was allowed to take out the bigger books. We were only allowed to take out books every other week, but they let me do it every week -- a big stack from my hands to my chin (this was before tinies had backpacks).

disclaimers: this is my book, but that is the porch bench afghan, which is not of my issue or choosing! The dark circles under my eyes are totally there and not a camera shot issue. It was a bad day and i just read a 200p book in an hour and a half. You would be too!

Red in Tooth and Claw

Other blogs have their book tours and their babies, now I bring you my own circle of life.

This morning I left the house for work to find Porch Kitty trotting forward with a whole dead chipmunk in his mouth. He was only out for 2 hours that morning and I've never seen a chippie in my neighborhood: the squirrels dominate. Also, both front paws were declawed by previous owner. So, the rodent had a better chance than usual. I was pleased as any mother at a dance recital. I petted my cat while he had a corpse in his mouth and told him how proud and impressed I was. Mighty Hunter!

Though there was nary a slice of compunction pie at the grisly scene, I did draw the line at running upstairs to get the camera. Who will admit to being the target audience for dead chipmunk photos? Even totally precious action shots of proud killer kitty with prey al dente?

The dead still adorned the porch at my return, so chipmunk salvage was quickly carried out.

This is the preying mantis that was standing near the body. Puzzling since I hadn't thought that they were carnivorous, but soon realized that the mantis was staking out the corpse flies and having quite the nice supper. Chillin like the old guy at the college club. The mantis got quite perturbed when I leaned in, and started to book it towards the plants, but was determined to enjoy his fly To Go.

At least someone feasted.

Joan, I'm on your tailgate

A while back I found the Kauni cardigan along with untold hordes of other knitters. It looked addictive to knit, but surnuf some of the color sequencing got a little dicey for some folks. Some examples looked like the yarn got away from them. THEN I saw the glorious Damask Kauni here and I was sold on the yarn's possibilities.

One small problem: no way in Hades could I ever follow that pattern for more than a handkerchief. So I looked in vain for another pattern. Classic Fair Isle didn't seem a perfect fit. I wanted something with the vertical sweep of Damask, but much easier to follow and a bit more geometric. Starmore was consulted; I looked at old needlepoint journals; I marvelled that I didn't have nearly as many knitting books or magazines as I thought I did, since clearly they were insufficient to present need. Then one day i saw a photo on a blog: Joan, right after the Bohus sweaters, in exactly the type of pattern I wanted, in the same yarn. Well, easy as pie! I would go to her website or find her on ravelry, right? No. I hunted. A lot. All I found was another small photo. ARRghghhGHH.

Joan!

So, I got out the good graph paper, and I did bunch of heavy squinting, and I have a chart to work from.

Just to be sure, I did try a pattern from Poetry in Stitches, but the floats were too long for comfort, and it didn't use the colors at the same rate, an important factor. And yes, that's a mistake on my swatch: I was watching the Indiana Jones movies, prepping for the new release, and apparently it got too tense for me.

A Busride Too Short to Knit

Guys (by which i mean Me),


I'm trying to get digital. One Hamilton's worth of cheapo camera at a time. The first one needed all the light of an atomic explosion to show anything but deep darkness, but it was $10. To be expected. Catomine found a slightly less no-name, but extremely similar item for same price that yielded visible objects. now to upload . . . ohgod, ohgod.

Aha! soon, i may be powerful enough to remove blemishes -- or at least strong enough not to have caffeine or chocolate, which causes them.

Please note my Winter Scarf 2007, which everyone is tired of seeing on me. Daily bus riders (78C) surely have scarf fatigue. it was knitted several years ago from a forgotten thick and thin unspun yarn, and i didn't wear it for a loong time because i was so tickled that i had used the complete amount of yarn with only a 3inch tail on either end. with no frogging at all. of course the decrease gets a little funky as i raced against the shrinking yarn length, but i made it work out so nicely with no waste (EZ would be proud) that i couldn't bear to weave in the two tiny ends that i was so proud of. so the scarf lived in a box until i resurrected it and wore it one winter day, darning in the ends as i rode on the bus. how's that for procrastinating? and seed stitch, who can get enough? It even matches my storebought cashmere hat.

What I really want to know is: Who made the sci-fi reader's scarf? I would try to sneak a photo, but it will be too warm next week for him to wear it. It is the size of a table runner for the 40-foot state-dinner table in a movie. I believe each stripe is an entire ball of yarn. It appears to be over twice the length of his body and over a foot wide. If it happens to be his first and only attempt at knitting, i applaud his gusto for knitting and his aplomb in wearing it. If it was a gift, however, i suppose i must respect his loyalty to the donor. But really, it's like a knitting machine went crazy while he slept, and then he tripped into it on the way out the door. I want to like it, but it puts him in danger of tripping.

Dark Lace

Almanac of projects: March
I have received shipment of hemp, nettle and camel yarns from nearseanaturals.com and have used my boyfriend as an umbrella swift. the hemp and nettle is going to be a farmer's market bag in Azalea lace. Cannot tell whether plan of doing 5 reps instead of 6 will cause dome shape instead of flat circular. and my selected xerox does not reveal exactly what a M.3 is, so i'm doing my own blind equivalency.
my stash closet is looking very well organized. the crochet cotton has been firmly segregated, and the wools protected.

i need homes for beading supplies (seed beads mostly) and aluminum knitting needles.

Remember, if you get a pattern or two you like from a library book, don't forget the abbrev. page!