Life's a Stitch

A fuzzy tam for foggy days

 

 

Pretty, but I can't seem to get it right. This is the tam from Twilley's of Stamford Book 455, made from the real deal, Twilley's Freedom Spirit yarn. The first one I made was too small. The second, from a heavier yarn was too big. I figured this one, with the number of stitches adjusted, would be just right. Wrong. Too large once again. Two choices: five minutes of felting or a gift for someone with a large hat size. Any opinions?

Vancouver, this winter, has spent a significant amount of time with a temperature inversion. This means that the temperature is warmer, and the skies are clearer at higher altitudes. This cap of warm air holds down a blanket of cold fog at sea level. Vancouver, with locations both high and low, looked like this:

It really looked like that.  It was particularly magical at night with different coloured lights from below glowing through the fog, while at the same time the snow banks next to us sparkled like they were scattered with diamonds. I didn't have a camera with me so it will have to stay a picture in my head. The only bad thing about that is that I can't show it to you.

How could she not be a nice person?

She's a knitter, a foodie, a writer and she loves dogs. No, not me, this one's a famous writer. Kate Jacobs read from her sequel to the Friday Night Knitting Club at the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club:

Amazing! At 35 she's sold over a million copies of her first book, was on the New York Times best seller list and sold the story to Universal Pictures for a movie starring Julia Roberts. Originally from tiny Hope, British Columbia, this is a case of small town girl makes good. She very sweetly credited her grade eight English teacher as her inspiration.

And you know what? I wasn't even a fan of the first book, but meeting her, and hearing her story, although the book is not exactly my style, she won me over. She's a seriously nice person:

Finally!

Ever have that feeling about a project? This one's been around - started in Toronto, almost finished in Honduras, finally completed at home in Vancouver when I should have been doing the taxes. Avoidance behaviour at its best:

The wrap-up:

A Mitred Square baby blanket variation made from eight skeins of Needful Yarns Cotton Joy (100% cotton) in the Rainbow colourway.Edges are single crocheted twice all around.It's a little wavy on the sides but I don't want to block the sproinginess out of it. Know what I mean?

 

An exception to the rule

Thirty plus years in the field of mental health/social services has influenced the way I spend by time off. I love my job, but as much as possible, I leave work at work. My family knows that I don't watch movies with social service-y plots - no addiction, child abuse, depressing themes, no loud family dysfunction thinly veiled as comedy. Examples of my kind of quirky movie include Elizabethtown (thank you, Sandy), the British film Room to Rent and Woody (on Prozac) Allen's Everyone Says I Love You. Contrary to usual practice this weekend we watched Thomas McCarthy's the Visitor. Although immigration issues are the central theme, it includes an uplifting story of friendship.

My other exception was a mild deviation from my New Year's resolution to give up table salt. Three weeks past my cold turkey abandonment of my favourite flavour on earth, it's been unexpectedly easy. I splurged, though, with a salty snack:

How do you eat your Chex Mix? I exhibit my best OCD behaviour, saving the best for last, segregating the wheat Chex until the end.

"...to pee like a man."

WARNING: this is a post about a feminine hygiene product. Not the obvious one.

You read it right, can't have too many innocuously titled posts in a row, sometimes you need an attention grabber. There is a story behind the title, so here goes. A few years back I was at a conference talking to a woman, a board member of a nationwide health related charity. She was turning 70. When asked what she wanted for her birthday she explained that she had everything she needed in terms of earthly belongings. What she wanted was totally practical - the ability to pee like a man. Well, little did she know.

Keeping this in mind, my equally practical middle child came up with the ultimate sensible Christmas gift for her middle aged mother, who recently has travelled to toilet challenged climes. She offered me the same ability as described above in the form of pink plastic plumbing in a pouch. There are several devises on the market, developed for climbers, kyakers and those engaged in other sanitarily challenging pursuits. Read on only if you want too much  further information. You may already know of such things and are regarding me much the way my son does - as a behind-the-times maternasaurus.

There are several choices including the Shewee, Frechette or the Magic Cone. Selling points include:

• the motto "Stand up and take control"
• disposability vs being dishwasher safe - eewww.
• a "hydration special" including a water bottle (to drink from), the device, plus an extension tube (for use on a boat or when wearing "lots of clothing"). Interesting combination.
• protection against unsanitary rest rooms, wind, snow, rain, uneven ground, insects, thorns and poison ivy.

Next thing you know, a forthcoming Knitty patten will include a Shewee cozy. I warned you.

UPDATE: After further research, my daughter decided upon the Whiz Easy, not listed above. We've been told it is the product of choice due to its flexibilty. I'm not sure about the others, but it was surprisingly easy to use.She also purchased a pack of P-Mates, disposable devices, but I can't attest to their ease of use,

And how do you illustrate such as post? With a distraction. Gracee with bad bedbeard:

Step away from the knitting

I'm having one of those moments. After a night of fever and chills, and making the always difficult decision to call in sick to work (it really torments me to do that) I envisioned a day in bed with chicken noodle soup and knitting. That blasted knitting. I am on the second to last square of my mitred 64 square baby blanket, and damned if I can't pick up the stitches without leaving a hole in the corner. Four times. I might need to heed the warning on this Honduran airport sign, and forget the "kinitting" needles:

Maybe it's time again to step away from the knitting and break out the crochet hook to tackle the likes of Babette. For today anyway.

UPDATE: I couldn't stay away for too long. Did you know that Alan Dart is selling many of his patterns by download for under $5. Oh, at 8cms tall, I must knit these guys' little brother:

When are they going to do it for yarn?

In my college years, flying between New York and Michigan, I remember airport vending machines that sold life insurance for the duration of your flight, in case of crash. How comforting is that? I know this is reflective of my age but it does comfort me that I still have a memory.

Do you remember outdoor cigarette machines? The life insurance should have been sold next to those. And Chiclet machines in the NY Subway. They came in little tiny cardboard boxes, that held two, like the Halloween sized ones. I think I just learned something new, at least I don't remember that the name Chiclets was derived from the name for the substance from which which gum was originally made.

When are they going to come up with a Koigu or Addi vending machine?

I've promised vacation knitting. This is the progress I've made on my Rosebud Scarf, with the Franklin yarn I won on Erika's blog, Knitting @ Pantheon Acres. Upon completion, you drop the stitches between the buds a la Clapotis. Scroll down to her August 13th post for pictures of her finished product.

The wildlife of Honduras

This could be a post about the antics of certain all inclusive resort attendees who took advantage of the unlimited Nicaraguan rum, Honduran moonshine, beer and vino tinto. But since I didn't partake to the extent that warrants a blog post I'll move on to the the creatures of Honduras. Below are a jelly fish, a hermit crab, booby birds and pelicans.

The more exotic turkey vultures and howler monkeys:

Mari brought home her own Honduran creatures who hitched a ride to Canada in her intestinal tract. Poor girl, when asked what she wanted to eat today, replied "pretzels," how could I resist?

Great recipe.

Honduran knitting content soon, I promise.