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April 13, 2007
Friday Shuffle - The Lazy Writer/Mediocre Photo Blogger Who Crafts Edition
This is bothering me a little. Not enough to make me stop, but bothering me nonetheless. I've always fancied myself a writer. I've been paid to write. These days, my blog is my primary form of writing, which is fine with me. Problem is, I'm getting so lazy, thanks to my camera.
Take yesterday. I could have described the pretty pink roses the Trader Joe's wine manager dumped into my shopping back. Instead, I took a half-assed, poorly-lit photo of it and effectively said, "I don't feel like coming up with a cool way to tell you how the pink fades into creamy white. Here. Just look at the damn picture. I've got an ass to sit on and a brain to rot."
Since I spent four hours in the car with B. and Clara Jane today, thus nearly completing my brain-rotting process, I'm going to burden you with more pictures and less description.
Tempe complained about my lack of knitting content, despite the fact that I've never claimed to be a knitting blog, but I'm also going to satisfy my knitting requirements.
In the past few months I've alluded to a super-secret knitting project. The project's finally in the hands of its rightful owner, so I can post about it.
I did a variation on Wild Stripes for Sal's new son. It combines knitting and quilting and gave me panic attacks.
I finished my first Tropicana sock last night. Even though it's pretty, I'm not happy with it.
I tried to increase the top to fit my chubby calf, but I'm not skilled enough to know when and how to decrease it to fit my rather normal-sized ankles. The result: pretty sock that gives me cankles. I think I'll be redoing it after I read Sensational Knitted Socks.
In more competant crafting news, I've scored another super-cool quilt made by my granny and great-granny. The backstory: My great-grandma died in 1980. Her daughter, Granny Viv, never throws anything away. I'm not certain, but I think she recently hit a stash of Great-Granny Velma's unfinished quilt tops in her attic, and she's been finishing them. I stole one of these creations from my mom a few months ago. Not that I deserved my own quilt, thief that I am, but Granny Viv gave me another of her beyond-the-grave quilt collaborations:
You know that line in Peggy Lee's "I'm a Woman" that goes, "I can make a dress out of a feedsack and I can make a man out of you?" Well, I don't know how many men my granny and great-granny made, nor do I ever, ever, ever want to know such a thing, but they sure can make pretty things out of feedsacks. That's where the fabrics in this quilt came from. You know the story behind gals making things out of feedsacks, right? You should.
And finally, some disturbing crafty news. Remember a few days ago when I mentioned that Clara Jane was going to take a yoga class? She did, and it was fun. Well, I thought it was fun. She was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. At the end of the class, the teacher, who - I kid you not - is a licensed joyologist - brought out the fingerpaints and asked the kids to paint their yoga experience. Clara Jane bypassed the multiple neon shades and this is what she painted:
Then she told me that she wasn't feeling very Zen, and could she, please, go home, sit in her closet, and listen to her Morrissey CDs?
As we were leaving, the joyologist asked me if Clara Jane is always so "cerebral". Yes. Yes, she is. Except when she shuffles to the barbeque joint without her pants:
1. I'm Going Upside Your Head - Jimmy Reed
2. Green Green Rocky Road - Kate & Anna McGarrigle
3. Dream Baby - Roy Orbison
4. Orange Blossom Special - Johnny Cash
5. Monday - Wilco
6. Things Get Better - Eddie Floyd
7. Shadow in the Way - Tift Merritt
8. You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse
9. Parakeet - REM
10. I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
Posted by Robin at April 13, 2007 08:45 PM
Comments
i'm working on the wild stripes blanket right now too, for my sister's offspring, and actually using the exact recommended yarn, colors and whatnot for the first time in my life. It is destined for my sister's gestating offspring, and like a dope i thought "gee, so many people are procreating these days i'll just knit TWO at once on a long circular" i thought it would be awesome, because i'd have a back up present when one of the ten or so of my friends who are trying to get knocked up are successful, but instead it is just bogging me down. i feel doom when i look at it. i FEAR trying to get the cloth lining done, but luckily it looks like i'll never finish, so i won't have to attempt it.
anyway- what i actually meant to say was, your blanket is awesome and inspiring. i love it!
Posted by: suzie at April 13, 2007 11:22 PM
And Toby loves it - he's on it as I type...can't find the frickin camera....but will get a pic up as soon as i can....you're a star and my son is very grateful. He distinctly gurgled thank you!
Posted by: Sally Edwards at April 14, 2007 01:00 PM
Damn! I wish I was a crafty type -- I love the blanket, the socks and quilt.
Posted by: Katya at April 14, 2007 01:51 PM
No wonder Sally (and Toby) love that blanket so much. It's wonderful!
I've made socks where I've decreased at the ankle. All I did was measure how far it was from the top of the sock to where it would hit my ankle and decreased a few stitches on either side. Say I cast on 76 stitches for the calf and I want 70 stitches at the ankle - I'd just k2tog on either side for three rows and make the decrease one stitch after (or before depending on which side you're doing it on) the needle change. I can't swear it's correct but it's how I did it - let me know if you find a better way to shape the ankle!
That's one fabulous quilt! I loved the feed sack story too.
Posted by: Dixie at April 14, 2007 02:51 PM
I remember seeing the close-up of that yellow yarn and wondering what it would be! It's just adorable!! I haven't tried anything that big yet -- I can imagine a mom somewhere saying "Debbie gave my kid a gob of yarn with some needles sticking out of it..." ;)
Posted by: Debbie at April 14, 2007 05:04 PM
what she didn't ask to go listen to the cure? there are certain bands for certain black painting moments and the cure is without a question the "after a yoga class and i don't feel very zen, i have no connection with the greater world" go-to band.
ps i'm putting together one of those 'hideous fire tables that everyone has now and i am embarrassed to say i love' today and have peeps ready for the event - thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by: exposed at April 15, 2007 09:26 AM
I'm sorry that blanket gave you panic attacks, but it is seriously awesome.
What board licenses joyologists?
Posted by: Lunasea at April 15, 2007 04:07 PM
I've heard a lot of stories from my mom about having their bloomers/underdrawers sewn from feed sacks. Apparently their mom also made a new outfit for their dolly each year at Christmas. They had to turn in their dolly so that santa could custom make clothes for her. How my Grandma found time with 5 kids in five years and a sixth 5 years later, I'll never know!
Posted by: Amy in StL at April 16, 2007 01:15 PM
One of our volunteers for the charity crafting group that I run is 100 years old. A few years ago when I was thinking about getting a spinning wheel, I stopped by her place to pick up her latest donations and she had an old, well used/well loved wheel. She said that she used to make all of her families clothing and she would spin all her wool from scratch. When I commented on how much work that must have been, she just shrugged and smiled and said "It's better than going naked".
Posted by: Tina at April 17, 2007 06:39 AM
