Kiss My Knits!

This meteorologist made me think of my dad. I’m not sure why.

I had a meeting with Em’s “special area” teacher this morning. It was a regularly scheduled meeting, just to talk about Em a little bit and get the ball rolling for her re-evaluation, which is standard moving into the 6th grade.

When I arrived, Em’s class happened to be in the hall near the lobby. Her friends were happy to see me (you may recall that I knitted little purses for them) and Em waved as well. I greeted her and she said, “I will try to do better in math.” I told her I was happy to hear that and proud of her for trying, and that I was going to meet with her special area teacher.

Turns out she had a bad morning in math, upset because she couldn’t perfectly draw the rectangles they were dividing into fractions. I guess she thought I’d been called up to the school because of it. Poor kiddo. Victim of a coincidence. Hope it doesn’t mess up her day.

ETA: I did leave a little “I <3 U" note on her desk, which I hope will brighten her day.

Got up, rolled out of bed… and confronted with a horrifying stench, immediately cleaned the catbox. Well, the rest of my birthday had nowhere to go but up!

And indeed it has. Birthday gifts from Dad: Horatio Hornblower DVD box set and 2000 Year Old Man CD set by Carl Reiner and Mel Books. I’ve had my eye on these for a while, so they’re very welcome.

Birthday gifts from Mom: the same birthday cake I’ve gotten every single year since I was about five years old. And I LOVE IT. Not pictured is the wonderful combo birthday/Christmas gift she got me this year which needs its own post.

I have had a raging headache all day long, but it is not dampening my spirits. All I can think is how fortunate I am to have my family so close, in every sense of the word.

I leave you with an audio clip of the 2000 Year Old Man and my permission to take today off in honor of my birthday, which is (or should be) a national holiday. Many happy returns of the day!

This is what was cooking in Big Tina the other day.
I couldn’t find a nice rich red in a yarn soft enough for my purposes, so I dyed up my own.
One hank Aslan Trends “Invernal.” 50% angora, 25% wool, 25% polyamide.
The actual hank is a little darker than it appears here, but this is close enough.
I’m really liking this “twice dyed” technique I’m working out.

Picked up a couple of things at the Sleepy Poet Antique Mall on Saturday, including the Oct 1950 Gourmet magazine.
Ah, vintage ads, how I love you.

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty
Yarn: Dalegarn Falk handdyed, Encore DK for stripe
Needles: #3 (3.25mm) heel and toe, #4 (3.5mm) for main foot and leg

Notes: I did an eye of partridge heel instead of the slip stitch heel called for. (I think an actual partridge approves – note bird tracks near sock in pic.) Also, I did 48 stitches instead of the suggested 44. The yarn was handdyed by me but I was concerned there wouldn’t be quite enough of it, so I added some stripes in the only yarn I had that was the appropriate weight and texture – Encore DK. It’s not 100% wool, but both the Dale and the Encore are machine washable, which is important to me in gift socks.

These were for my father for his birthday. He enjoyed his Charlie Brown socks so much last year that I thought he might appreciate another pair, albeit thicker and not quite as flashy. I wasn’t able to get out and see him on his actual birthday because of the weather, so he didn’t get them until last night. He really liked them. He’s such a gratifying person to knit for.

Happy belated birthday, Dad. Here’s hoping this is as close to snow as these socks ever get!

GM Vaschon: ok! When last we left our band of misfits… Your party returned to the spot where the lift was supposed to be
GM Vaschon: But appears not to be!
GM Vaschon: Palin, the beardless Dwarf is still under the effects of a mortal wound
GM Vaschon: You are at the intersection of a corridor. There is a passage leading North, East and South.

Since we’re not where we think we should be, we try to get our bearings.
Cats, zombies, thieves, behind the cut!

When I see a stranger wearing what is obviously a handknit scarf, I compliment them. I even do this for the most hideous of basic handknit scarves. You know the ones. The ones that look like someone skinned a clown and then tried to paste them back together with glitter glue? Those.

I do this because I know this person is wearing it for one of two reasons.

Number one: it’s this person’s first scarf and they’re wearing it because they’re very proud, and they’ll enjoy telling me about it.

Number two: it was a gift from someone who made it for them, and they love that person and will be happy to brag about their handmade gift.

Regardless, nobody deliberately wears a scarf like that unless wearing it makes them feel really good above and beyond just having a snazzy scarf to wear.

Complimenting them is and is not a lie. It is a lie because chances are, I hate the way their scarf looks. But it’s not a lie because I love the fact that they’re wearing it, and what wearing it says about them. Commenting on it makes me feel good and it makes them feel good.

Do you tell any little white lies because you know they’ll give a boost to the recipient?