Tricks and Manners

Vacation Scrapbook: New York 2010

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Trying to Knit Even One Sock

Really I am just a beginner knitter and shouldn't have even have been attempting socks at all. I had only a few seaman's scarves and a doll sweater under my belt, so to speak. But then I managed to finish this baby hat, a fancy lacy one, for which I'd had to learn every version of a yarn over there is. And it turned out so amazingly perfect that an idea insinuated itself that I was actually an Intermediate. Intermediates can knit socks.

Yren 2 164

Why did I even want to knit socks? Because on the Knitmoregirls podcast I listen to constantly, Gigi knits socks. And I am impressionable. Jasmin knits socks too, but it was Gigi, with her determination to knit every sock in The Little Box of Socks ("except two that don't make my heart sing") who captured my imagination. I have made every wall hanging in Mary Hickey's Pioneer Storybook Quilts except the ones that didn't make my heart sing, so Gigi is my kind of crafter. I wanted to own Little Box of Socks and I wanted to knit socks too.

I didn't own any double pointed needles (dpns) small enough to work on socks, so I went way out to Portage (in local vernacular, the actual expression is "way the h**l out to Portage) and spent $8 on wooden size 2's and went to work on some Plymouth self-striping sock yarn. I didn't own Box yet, but I did own a book by the same author, Charlene Schurch, and made her class sock for learning purposes. I even knitted a swatch first and made gauge!

But whew, didn't that first sock come out huge, as I worked down the ribbing and the leg, made the heel flap and turned the heel. But I kept a-going, figuring to soldier on no matter what, and then see if the second sock came out better-- I could, after all, always wear them as bed socks and no one would know they didn't match. And since the self-stripes were turning out to be very w-i-i-i-i-ide self stripes, they weren't going to match much no how.

But this plan was going to radically change. This sock was going to be ruthlessly ripped out. Why? Because I went to a knit in public with a local yarnie group... and a good time was had by all, I apparently am Not Ready For Prime Time knitting, because that sock came home FULL of mistakes!  Decrease rounds in the foot part hadn't seem so dangerous to K-I-P with, but Oh I dropped stitches left and right, the needles fell out, I lost my crochet hook--and for the rest I just knitted wrong.

When I evaluated this sock objectively, even its good parts weren't that good. I'd picked a garter rib pattern for its simplicity--but it was TOO simple! It was so simple I couldn't remember where I was! Had to tink stitches practically every new row, because I'd knit when I should have knat.

Yren 2 162

Well. I am stubborn. I wanted to make those socks. So I went all the way back to Portage and spent $28 on two pairs of circular needles, Addi turbos, size two's with 24 inch cables. That's what the Cat Bordhi videos recommended, and I studied them for technique--the technique I was SURE was going to produce perfect socks like the samples in the yarn store.

Okay, that didn't work either. The Addi Turbos are so BLUNT that I couldn't perform the A-Number-One sock stitch, a knit-two-together to join the round. It took four or five cast-ons before I finally gave up. I couldn't knit with those blunt points, and anyway, size two's were feeling definitely too big for that yarn and my stitches were more loopy than lacy.

On to Plan C: smaller dpns.  I might have gone a-a-a-aa--a-alll the way back to Portage for smaller circs, but I already knew they were out of Addi Turbo Lace needles (which are pointier) so there was no point (hah hah). Maybe I should have gone back for wood dpns size ones, but I just happened to already own size zero's in metal and was just stubborn enough to try them, having already invested $40 on desolately empty needles.

I made a swatch and it came out peentsy. ("Peentsy" is way smaller than "tiny.") But the first sock was so big I soldiered on some more and cast on the same number of stithches... Ah, if it had only been as easy as that sounds! I had to cast on about ten times before I could get the rounds going good.

But the good news is, after maybe 10 rows (about 3/4 inch) my ribbing looks good, it looks like it will fit my foot, and I'm hoping for a good rest-of-the-sock result. There's a long way to go.... and another sock to make after that!

When I'm finished, will I be an Intermediate?

Can I have a merit badge?

One thing is for sure: when I have finished them, I won't have to illustrate my Sock Story posts with pictures of baby hats.

Excellent Reasons to Knit a Shawl

From Martha Waterman's Introduction to her book Traditional Knitted and Lace Shawls. (Actually, this is the introduction to her book!)

Excellent Shawl Book

"There is nothing else knitted that I like to dream up, plan, knit, finish, wear, use or give as a gift so much as a shawl. To me there is an endless fascination in the various shapes, stitch patterns, colors, and fabrics that make shawls my favorite knitting. As much as I love a good sweater, the fun of them is sometimes clouded by anxiety about fit, and besides that, they're finished much too soon. Sometimes the heavier weights of yarn make my hands ache, too.

But shawls are of lovely, light-weight yarn, their patterns are fun to knit (especially with a lot of yarn-overs), and they can be any size; they don't have to fit.

Shawls have enjoyed a central place in women's wardrobes many times in fashion history--in the Napoleanic era, in Victorian times, and then again briefly in the late '60s/early '70s during the craze for "granny" and "peasant" looks. Recently, paisley print shawls have made a comeback as a bright accessory over conservative winter coats and blazers.

Even when out of fashion, shawls have remained a staple clothing item amongst women who cared little for fashion's dictates: country-women and elderly women. Attracted by their warmth, usefulness, and practicality, these wise women kept a shawl on a nail by the back door, or over the back of their favorite chair. I know my Irish/Welsh great-grandmother did this; we have her shawl to this day (althought it is a woven one). My mother recalls that Great-Grandma snatched up her shawl on the way to the henhouse, throwing most of it over herself and using a spare corner in which to collect the eggs.

The beauty of shawl wearing is in its flexibility. A shawl can cover any chilly part of your body--head, feet, knees, shoulders. Wool in particular holds in body heat. We know that simply covering the head and shoulders makes one feel instantly warmer. A shawl can do this quickly and easily, while a sweater leaves your head bare. When you're warm enough, it takes only a second to throw off a shawl. In a suitcase, a shawl takes up no more room than a sweater, but on a plane, or in the car, which would you rather take a nap under?

A shawl can also serve as a pillow, picnic cloth, umbrella (of sorts), carrying bag, or seat cushion. In a pinch, a shawl can be mosquito netting, an evening wrap, and a dressing gown (even a dressing room!) all on the same trip!

If knitted shawls are a pleasure to wear and use, they are equally rewarding as a showcase for your knitting skills. Stitch patterns, yarns, and colors can range from the simple and charming to the very elaborate and elegant. Few who value quality handcrafts can can resist the beauties of a well-knitted shawl. If praise and admiration please you, you can expect your fair share as a shawl knitter.

A handknit shawl also makes a splendid gift. A new baby and its mother, a child in the hospital, a friend moving away, even a bachelor brother-in-law can find wamth and comfort in such a gift, especially if made to suit the tastes of each recipient. Such shawls may be treasured as heirlooms providing a sense of continuity and security that no machine-made object can match.

All this in a simple knitted shawl? Try one now, and see for yourself."

 

 

Birthday Time Again!

Except it's thunderstorming, for heaven's sake! Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May! Good thing I didn't take the day off work. Might as well work as dodge lightning bolts.

If the weather clears, I think I shall toddle over to the local bookstore and buy the latest Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery by Laurie R. King.  That will make an admirable birthday book... Come to think of it, that's what I bought myself last year for a birthday book too!

Later: well, it was too stormy to drive out and get my book, but that can wait. The exciting thing is, when I got home from work, there was a party waiting for me with my wonderful husband and darling son! And cards and phone calls from my sisters! And a birthday box from my amazing daughter! And there were lots of lovely birthday greetings for me on Facebook and on the ED forum!

There was a cake and cards and hooray a gift card to Barnes and Noble! And here is the box full of birthday surprises that Emily sent me.

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You can see the madeleines, the book and the magazine okay (she renewed my subscription to New Yorker!) The pink thing that looks like a book is a set of two Moleskines--one light pink and one dark pink, my favorite color! And the floral cube there in front is a notepaper cube from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love notepaper blocks but I never buy them because I always choose to spend money on things that won't get used up. So this is a perfect present for someone else to buy me: I get to have all the fun of using it and none of the guilt! Over on the lower right is a packet of lipsticks for Yren, but they are so pretty I think she might have to share them with me.

You can't quite see the whole title of the book. Here it is: Lists: To-Dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Smithsonian 's Archives of American Art. Inside there are reproductions from artists' journals and their letters, plus explanatory notes. It's wonderful fun! And I'd never even heard of it! And Emily found it for me! And she sent it in this great birthday box!

I love birthdays. I don't care how old I get, I mean never to be sad that May 7 is coming or is here. Even if it doesn't always bring boxes of presents or cakes with candles, I like the infinite procession of reminders that I was born, was young, was loved; that life springs from life springs from life; and that I travel steadily and calmly into old age and on into eternity... and if there is no marking of time in eternity, then every day can be May 7--I'll just make up my mind that way.

 

 

 

 

A Good Birthday-Week Morning

I had the who-o--oo-ole morning off today. And since I will have to work on Friday, my birthday, plus travel out of town for Mother's Day during the weekend, I decided a modest private celebration was in order for this morning.

The first business of the morning was to see to my amazing son Benjamin, who makes every day a celebration, and get him to school. Then I spent a little time with the computer, buying a mp3 download from Amazon because it does such a slick job putting just what I want right into iTunes for me--it's really less fuss than buying from iTunes itself! What did I buy? A little bit of nostalgia---an album I used to listen to on our big stereo at home when I was a girl. It was 101 Strings' "Symphony for Lovers," which Amazon was willing to let me have for a mere $6.23.

Wee Warmies

First thing after that, I got my hair cut by my very fun and wonderful stylist, Jenn. Then I picked up a few groceries, including my *favorite* toothpaste! (You may not think toothpaste rises to the level of birthday treat, but this one does: I don't buy it often enough to cease appreciating its extraordinary qualities.)

There was just enough sunshine left, before the rain clouds moved in, to take pictures of my Enchanted Doll with the lilacs in the backyard. We've been waiting for this day for several weeks! I was afraid the lilacs would depart before the rain did.

Then I drove out to a knitting shop that I have never been to, and what a great spot that was! I bought four patterns and some wooden needles, and I'm definitely going back soon!  One of the patterns was for a summer sweater for me, and the others were doll-size. Specifcally, American Girl doll size, but I'm not planning to knit for the American Girls in the house. I'm planning to knit them for Penelope, one of my Colette Wolff cloth dolls, who has put in an appearance on this blog before. She's a little taller and slimmer than American Girl dolls, but I think I can make the patterns work.

Well then. I finished up in the store in time for lunch, and what was facing me across the square but a lovely bistro? So in I went, and the lunch at that place was very nice. I ordered one of the specials, a pulled pork sandwich with white cheddar and chips and salsa (for Cinco de Mayo Day, don't you know). And oh, it was on the most divine bread I ever ate. I'd go there just to order bread, if they served it that way.

So all in all, a lovely antipenultimate birthday morning!

Remind me to write more about the democratic qualities of household-music-listening we have lost since the 1970s. It's a problem.

 

 

 

 

Favorite Painting Photofunia-tised

A friend just showed me a really wonderful site that lets you do amazing things with your favorite pictures. It's Photofunia--check it out!

Here's a picture done with the "Chalkboard" effect. There's a print of this painting that I've always loved hanging up in my sewing room. It was on sale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so I bought it for a souvenir even though this lady's original does not reside at the Met. Maybe she paid it a visit for a season or something.

PhotoFunia-1

Here is a Photofunia-tised picture of my Enchante Doll, Yren....

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Finding this site sure has brought some fun to a grey, rainy weekend. For some reason I feel like I have been extremely creative, even though all I did was click a few buttons!

Flashes and Specks

Sometimes in life you meet people who are gifted. Most often you just hear of them because they become famous for their gifts.

This is my one and only gift: thinking up things I would love to do if only I had time. Oh man, I am *so* amazing at this, you can't imagine. I can mentally combine my interests, my passions, my minor talents, passable skills, and procurable supplies into an airy gossamer perfection of a plan quicker than smack.

During periods of unemployment, the shining gold coin that is my gift flips tails up and becomes, for the duration, an equally formidable gift of "thinking up things I would love to do if only I had money." And when at last I retire, if I am so lucky, and am at leisure and my investments are finally, we hope, paying their dividends, no doubt my gift will transmute, as if re-struck, into "thinking up things I would love to do if only we weren't traveling so much," or, ultimately, "if only I were well."

Are there any practical effects or tangible results of this fugitive gift, you ask? Why yes. My house is full of stuff. It's full. Because while I don't have time to actually carry out a plan, I do have time to buy books and materials and supplies for it. Oh dear yes. The ideal might seem to be alternating periods of employment and unemployment, so I can prepare for the one during the other, and then have ample time to carry out these plans. Unfortunately, life tends not to work like that, as Richard Bolles pointed out in "The Three Boxes of Life." And even if it did, you see, plans change, don't they? They arrive on a high tide of thought and just as often recede with it. If you don't catch the wave and ride it when it arrives, it leaves without you; there are more waves but they are different waves, different experiences, and thus the plan and the metaphor break down both at once.

One needs a uber-passion, an organizing passion. In pursuing it all other needs and priorities will find their own places... Yes, that is what I need. Mostly it's my Enchanted Doll, because she leads me into art and needlework and beading and many other things I love... But there is a whispering in my ears...what about poetry? what about reading? what about seeing the world? what about knitting a scarf? The voice was whispering way back in 2006 when I wrote this post...

I hear you asking me about weekends. Do I ever accomplish anything on weekends? Yes, mercifully, I do--the shorter, easier-to-carry-out plans, I occasionally do. But weekends are so short, and they tend to fill up with duties, such as housekeeping, that I ignored the rest of the week. And often I have to spend my available time cleaning the sewing room and organizing it before I can actually start anything. (Gracious! What my worktable looks like right now!)

Also I am distracted easily. Like right now, I'm writing this post instead of reviewing the three short stories we'll be talking about in class today, or going through more of the Walt Whitman poems we'll be discussing Thursday night. The Whitman, BTW, is where the title of this post came from. My dreams and efforts amount to just flashes and specks.

So now we see I have written myself into a hopeless corner--is that where I want to be? No. I believe in "doing what you can, where you are, with what you have." All that's required is to make a choice among equally attractive options for what I can do and all the stuff I have. A gift for choosing wisely is out of the question, but I could flip a coin.... Say, wouldn't it be fun to design coins to flip??? I could design a series of them and make them out of polymer clay or--oh wow--- out of precious metal clay!! Wouldn't that be awesome? But my ceramic kiln won't work for metal clay--I'll need a table top kiln....

For Tim Burton Regarding His "Alice" Movie

Dude, get this right: the monster is called a Jabberwock!  No "Y" !  A character should yell "Help! The Jabberwocky is coming!" only if a giant, whiffling, burbling POEM is menacing him. That's just the way it is.

"Alone in the House with the Bleu Cheese" Salad

Here and now today I give you the Platonic ideal of a salad, the Salad in its pure, most appealing, most aromatic form, the Tricks and Manners "Alone in the House with the Bleu Cheese" Salad.  I may not have actually invented it, but I did painstakingly adapt it--craft it--from all the most glorious salads around.

Pilgrim, remember this on your journey to Sublime Saladom: No Bacon. You can bacon your other salads, (yum, the soft crumbly real kind, not orthodontia-shattering baco-blivets) but not this salad. For cheese, no Asiago, no cheddar, no white mozzarella, no American, no monterey jack. Stay with me, hold fast, today you do not want those cheeses.

Follow these procedures minutely and precisely and with utter devotion. Get your 2-quart mixing bowl down out of the cupboard because a salad bowl is not going to be big enough and a soup bowl is not going to be big enough and even your 1.5 quart mixing bowl is not going to be big enough. Do not cramp the salad.

This is what you put in the bowl, in no particular order, and in no particular quantity--have all you want. Have a lot. A lot. You will not want this salad to end.

Walnuts, chopped. (Usually I like pecans best, but considering what's coming walnuts hold up their end of the flavor spectrum best.)
Dried cranberries or dried cherries, depending on how much hair you have on your chest. Or want to have.
Croutons, garlic-flavored. If you don't care so much for garlic flavor I would never insist, but really, dear friend, garlic is good for you and good for the croutons and good for the salad.
Chicken breast, sliced. Ah!  What makes this do-able is that we can now buy it from the grocery store all cooked and sliced and packaged and ready to pop into the T&M salad. "John Soules Foods" makes the kind I buy; it's near the lunch meat section.
*Bleu cheese*..... Ah, so pure, wonderful, delicately veined, palate-tingling, nectar of the gods, heady, steady, ready Freddy bleu cheese. It's what you want. It's what you need. You are alone in the house with the bleu cheese. Make it happen, baby.
Dressing: Happy dollups of Creamy Poppyseed. The best I've found is Kraft Creamy Poppyseed dressing.

If you've come this far, lettuce is freakin' optional.

But let's say you put some in. Tear it up nice and skinny so it stays on the fork. Toss it all together, make sure the poppyseed dressing gets all over everything.

To drink, ice water is recommended. Good heavens, don't put any lemon in it, do you want to explode?

Lock the doors.

Give thanks.

Eat.

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"Take time to thrive, my rose of hope,
in the garden of Dromore.
Take heed, young eaglet, till thy wings
are feathered fit to soar.
A little rest, and then the world
is full of much to do.
Sing hush-a-bye lula, lula long,
Sing hush-a-bye lula long."

--Irish Folksong
"The Castle of Dromore"

 

Teaser Tuesday 2

Once again on Wednesday. Can I remember to do it on Tuesday? No I cannot. But I like it and don't want to miss out.

 "I am a widow, I am short, ugly, and plump, I have bunions on my feet and, if I am to credit certain early mornings of selfinflicted disgust, the breath of a mammoth. I did not go to college, I have always been poor, discreet, and insignificant."

From The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!