frustration

There I was, sitting on the deck, enjoying an idyllic afternoon of no obligations, knitting away on little tiny needles, when the cruel hand of knitting mischief swept down and knocked one needle out of my hand, sending it flying between two slats of the deck and into the murky abyss below.

I calmly assessed the situation (when you think of 'calmly' you should think of Darth Vader at the end of Attack of the Clones. Noooooooooooooo!). Almost immediately I came up with a plan that was almost immediately thereafter thwarted by the position in which the needle had fallen (that may be the cruelest part of all, that I can see the needle but I can't get the needle). At that point I decided to petition my mother for help. After all, for what did she obtain a degree in engineering if not to help me recover my knitting needles? It was fate, I tell you. Fate.

Um, except that her clever idea involved a magnet, and my needle is plastic.

I guess I'm going to the yarn shop...

so maybe he has a little leverage

I walk into the computer room, where my brother is sitting reading something online.

Me: "So what are you reading?"

Brother: (after a mad scramble to change windows) "Nothing! Nothing!! Go away!"

(too late)

Me: "Oh, Harry Potter fan fiction? So what? Sometimes I read Harry Potter fan fiction."

Brother: "Well I don't!"

Me: "You were clearly just reading it."

Brother: "I was not!!"

Me: "Wait till I tell all your friends."

Brother: "Wait till I light all your yarn on fire!"

backwards

Last night I started knitting the Coupling socks from the Summer 2007 issue of Knitty. These socks are knit toe-up, and for some reason I am wary of toe-up socks, but these socks are cute so I decided to get over my completely irrational prejudice. Now, I've seen a lot of toe-up socks with a short row heel, but these socks incorporate a gusset and heel flap, done in reverse, of course. And for whatever reason, knitting a gusset and heel flap in reverse is really tripping me out. Like, I stare at my knitting and think "How can this be?!" and feel like I'm cheating on my old reliable top-down heel flap construction.

The yarn I'm using is some crazy old stuff called Lady Galt Kroy that I picked up at Value Village last spring. Now, I've googled this a few times, and generally all I can find are people selling it, or people similarly unable to find its origins. The most I can come up with is that it isn't made anymore, which is really a pity because it's a nice sock yarn. It's not a luxury yarn by any means, but it's reasonably soft and pleasant to knit. Actually, it feels a lot like the old Paton's Kroy (not the new Kroy Socks stuff, that stuff is significantly less soft). But hey, if you're reading this and you happen to know the full history of Lady Galt Kroy, encompassing its inception and eventual demise, let me know.

pfft, title, whatever

Blogger didn't remember me today. I guess it's been a little while. Still, it kind of hurts. But I suppose the unfaithfulness is on both sides, no? Dear Blogger, let's start over. I'll promise to post more if you promise not to make me type in my password every time I want to be with you, ok? Just a little trust, Blogger darling. That's all I'm asking.

This past week was my very last spring break EVER, and I had an enjoyable if fairly quiet week of lounging around my parents' house knitting and watching Law and Order. Actually, what I want to know is, does USA air anything other than Law and Order in the evenings? Because every time I wanted to watch it, it was on, and I'm definitely not complaining about that because I can't get enough of the Special Victims Unit, but still. It seemed a little...odd.

Last weekend my mother and I trekked down to Detroit to visit John K. King Used and Rare Books, and if you like books then you need to go there. I would have set up camp and never left if they had let me. The main store is four floors full of books...think of your average sized Chapters or Barnes and Noble, and then think of a store with about ten times as many books. That's what it was like. The only thing I could have complained about was that there were only five knitting books in the entire store. FIVE. But, I overheard one of the people working there telling another lady (about five minutes after I'd seen the knitting section and been disappointed) that tons of people call about knitting books and they hardly ever get them in. It does kind of make sense, though. Would you give up any of your knitting books? Even in my wildest decluttering moments, the knitting books are sacred.

the dresser of my dreams

And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats...

found it at Apartment Therapy.

I buy lots of things in bags, why?

without preamble or any sort of context

my friend, Adam: Do you buy milk regularly?

Me: Fairly often, I suppose, why?

Adam: Okay. Do you buy it in... a bag?

(I started laughing a lot right about here.)

Adam: You live in Canada, so I must know.



I don't, in fact. I can't drink that much milk by myself before it expires.

future poet laureate

It always gives a little thrill
To learn a brand new knitting skill,
But to not say this would be fibbing:
I greatly dislike corrugated ribbing.