Sing, Sing a Song

I have been knitting on the EZ Fair Isle on and off all week, but honestly, does anyone really want to read about 13 inches of stockinette? No? Didn't think so! I love the yarn, the color is sublime, and the pattern couldn't be easier - note to all: haven't reached the Fair Isle yet - but it is boring. Grace is progressing nicely, but I've already chatted about how I hate the yarn and the pattern is straight forward yet confusing at the same time. What more is there to say until it is done?

Somewhere, back in the fall, I suggested to Lola that we use song titles for our posts. There were two reasons for this: I am not that creative when it comes to titles and Degrassi: The Next Generation does it. Truly, there is a third reason: I love music almost as much as I love knitting. Every once and a while, I will sit down to list my ten favorite songs of all times, so here is that list. Nothing is in a particular order and one of Lola's is in there for good measure.

1. "I'm A Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears. Say what you want about my girl Brit, but I love this song, as does Lola. There is something about it that makes me want to dance - which I can't - and pretend to be Britney. I, however, would know when to flash the photographers and when to keep my legs closed. This is my ring tone for Lola, by the way. If you ever hear a vaguely porno-esque cellphone ring, chances are it's me.

2. "Into the Sun" by Joseph Arthur. If you haven't heard this song, go out and get it! It plays during the scene in Saved when all the characters are searching their souls; if you haven't seen the movie, get it, too. I like the basic premise of the song that whatever you do, the person singing wishes you peace and love.

3. "Yellow" by Coldplay. When this song came out, we were taking our first trip to England. The girls and I stayed in a little coastal village in Scotland called Ayr for three days. The brochure showed pictures of folks frolicking in the surf and having a gay old time. Silly me, I packed their bathing suits. Ummm . . . Scotland in July requires a coat. The video for "Yellow" has Chris Martin singing on a beach which looks surprisingly like Ayr - classic love song which I love.

4. "Breathe Me" by Sia. This is one that Lola introduced me to. Sia's voice is beautiful and haunting. It is impossible for me to break away from this song once it begins: in movie trailers, bad television shows, stupid commercials, Barnes and Noble.

5. "Fancy" by Reba McEntire. My sister made me do it! Lola's favorite song is "Fancy," oh she of poor white trash fame. She had it played at her wedding reception and performed a lovely choreographed dance to it. At least she didn't ask me to list "Pussy Control" by Prince.

6. "If God Will Send His Angels" or "Stay (Far Away, So Close)" or "All I Want Is You" by U2. I am a huge U2 fan, always have been and always will be. It is hard to pick a favorite song by U2, but it would have to be any one of these three. There are a few more, but it is something about the pacing and the lyrics for these songs. The Flyer says I am nuts because I think that The Joshua Tree is vastly over-rated, but he did let me name one of the girls after a member of U2's child. Sick, I know.

7. "Thorn In My Side" by the Eurythmics. Lola and MR had "At Last" as their wedding song; quite classy if you ask me. The Flyer and I chose "Thorn In My Side." It fits our sense of humor, we love Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (better together than separate, if you ask me), and it makes for a good story.

8. "Feeling Good" by any artist who sings it. Bring it on Nina Simone, Michael Buble, Muse . . . it's all good. The beat is mighty fine for a little classy bump-n-grind and it is easy to sing along with it as long as you convince yourself that you are Nina Simone and not Michael Buble. Besides, Lola and I have a weird fascination with strippers and this definitely fits the bill.

9. "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Yes, Otis Reading has a great version and Taylor Hicks sang a near-perfect version for his American Idol audition last season, but Sam Cooke is the artist I prefer. I nearly weep when I hear this song; play it at my funeral or I will haunt you, Lola.

10. "You'll Never Find A Love As Good As Mine" by Lou Rawls. Remember when Lou Rawls did a guest spot on General Hospital? No? Well, he was the choir leader at the funeral for Justice's mother. I was waiting patiently for him to break into "You'll Never Find," but alas, it was at a funeral. Hey, Lola, play this one too! Same goes for the haunting!

Knitting content is coming . . . as is a potential switch to another site! Stay tuned.

PS - Since one was Lola's, my official ten would include "Hallelujah" by just about anyone, but preferrably by Rufus Wainwright. The girls don't like it by Leonard Cohen but even his version has a lovely quality to it.

The Moment I Said It

Winter has finally hit the East Coast. Sure, we have dabbled in attempts for the past few weeks, but I think that it is here to stay no matter what Punxsutawney Phil or that ground hog from Staten Island has to say about it. It was 11 freaking degrees this morning on the way to church and only warmed up by about a degree in the ensuing 45 minutes.

Veronica kindly modeled the class hat even though Betty has claimed it

We had parent teacher conferences this week, which can only mean one thing: heartache. The conferences in February are the gut wrenching ones; we only ask for them if the student is in danger of failing the year so they are never truly happy conferences. I believe that I heard the following statements way too often: I don’t know what to do with him/her and I am not making excuses but (fill in the blank). You get the picture. I told the Flyer that if I had a dollar for every time I said that, I could book another trip to England post haste. Luckily I had my EZ Fair Isle sweater with me. There was a lot of down time in this conference, so I knit while waiting. In a few long conferences, I even picked it up and knit under the table.

Having a relatively simple pattern has come in handy recently. I knit the whole way through Pan’s Labyrinth last night which was probably for the best. Guillermo del Toro is truly a gifted filmmaker, but if you don’t know anything about him, I can understand why you walk out of the film thinking, “That was a little violent.” He is a horror film director, folks. The fact that he could turn out something relatively sedate for him speaks volumes. And, truthfully, the original Grimm’s fairy tales weren’t happy-go-lucky . . . we have Disney to thank for that.



Grace is progressing nicely. I finished the other front and have begun the back. Unfortunately, it is a pattern that requires some attention, so I am only working on it when I don’t have something else to pay attention to. There are several things going on in the photo: Grace (fronts complete), the doctor’s bag from Knit 2 Together, my hat from the Fair Isle class, and the beginning of the EZ Fair Isle sweater (now about 12 inches in).

Thank you all for the kind words on the post about Clark. This might have been the first year that I really didn’t have a total break down probably because it was the first year that I confessed the willingness to trade away parts of my life just for a cup of coffee. On other brother news, our bro who is 25 has finally set a graduation date of June. Lola wasn’t too happy with the June decision because it conflicts with a family wedding. Truthfully, I would rather be at the wedding, but I am really looking forward to holding up signs spelling out “FINALLY” for the family Christmas card picture.

Ava

PS – Go Bears!

Grace

Today, began in a most spectacular was. I truly had high hopes for it as I awoke to snow - SNOW - in the Poconos. A two-hour delay? I'll take that. What? A closure? In my district and not Betty and Veronica's? Damn, I was a good girl. And then it all unraveled.



Not that I am a perfectionist, but I do strive for it. A teensy, tiny little mis-cross about six rows back was bugging the shit out of me. I should have fixed it as soon as I saw it, but I honestly thought it wasn't anything major. Finally, it got the better of me, probably because I was obsessing about it and because I found another mis-cross just like it down a further 12 rows. I thought to myself, "Damn, Ava, you really don't have a clue what you are doing?" Just to prove myself wrong, I attempted to fix it.

Before I go on, those of you not related to me by blood should know the following: the sweater is being knit for Beaner, the daughter of the other sister. Beaner was born in England (a country whose spell I have fallen under - and yes, I know that grammar was abhorrent) and I bought the yarn at Liberty on my last visit. The other sister doesn't knit even though Lola and I have tried several times to teach her. In addition, Beaner looks a whole lot like her Aunt Ava, I title I don't like but the other sister insists on it. I know when to admit defeat. Anyway, the fact that this sweater has not been frogged defies logic. Partially, I feel like I am knitting a bit of home into for Beaner. In reality, I am a masochist and don't know what the hell I would do with the yarn that I now have grown to despise. I hate this yarn. Sure, it is softer than soft and the pink is my kind of thing, but I can't stand knitting with it. It looks like yarn that is spun on a drop spindle (not that there is anything wrong with that - just giving you an idea of what it looks like) and it catches on my uber-dry skin. This is definitely my candidate for January's UFO; otherwise, it is a DUFO (Destined UnFinished Object).



Here is what a little patience will do for you. I am not even going to tell you how many needles I used at one time (okay, it was five, including the crochet hook and it counts) or what an ass I looked like trying to fix the stitches. In the end, am I happy with the results? Sure. Am I thrilled? Not a chance. To fix those other two errors, however, I am going to go the duplicate stitch route. Beaner will never know.

Ava

PS - Grace is the name of the pattern from Rowan for Soft Baby (the yarn of my nightmares), what I needed to fix those six rows, and a great song by the late Jeff Buckley . . . but I didn't need to tell you that one.

Pink Cadillac

What the hell, Lola? Seriously, give me a chance to blog . . . three posts in as many days. Work must not be that busy, eh?



Anyway, we have been firing on less than all cylinders in our house, probably due to the lack of food in the fridge. It was so bare that I had to take a quick photo. Time was at a premium last week and shopping for grub was the least of my concerns. Lest any of you think that we are in dire need of assistance, please note that we have the necessities: beer, cheap wine, and salsa. Anything else would be overkill. The Flyer and I did go grocery shopping and it looks much more normal now.

As the title of the post suggests, I am truly in a pink mood. Just about everything that I knit these days has a ring of pink to it. Beaner's sweater is one fifth of the way done (holler) and I can't say that I am loving this yarn. Sure it is softer than soft and the color is sublime, but I don't like the texture. It feels the way that roving might feel if I had any inclination to knit with it. If you look closely, you can see the flub that I made in the diamond pattern. Why do pattern writers insist on making the directions challenging? I envision them sitting in a smoke filled room saying things like, "I know that SSK would be simpler, but hehe let's say this and see how many knitters cry!" I do love cabling without a needle for this, though I did have to find a way to remember where to put the needle to travel the stitches the correct way. Believe it or not, I had to quote Kevin Costner's "Back and to the left" line from JFK to get the stitches going the right way.



Cara was giving away skeins of STR to all virgins of the fabled yarn. I decided to give up my own Jaywalker virginity and give the pattern a chance. Yes, I own a pair, but Lola knit them so they don't "technically" count. The outcome has been outstanding. Even though I didn't pick a striping yarn, I like how the pattern is knitting up with the herringbone pattern. If they fit the Flyer, I may give the Trekking XXL a whirl in this pattern for him. The other pink WIP is the fair isle hat that I have in progress for my class. I am thinking green and lavender for the contrasting colors . . . what do you think?

Hope you enjoyed your weekend of freedom. I loved, absolutely loved, talking to Gus on the phone. Mom put him on several times and each time I got a "Hi" and "I mama." Sweetie pie!

Ava



PS - do you have a baby sling I could borrow? Gilly has become a severe nuisance when knitting. She looks for anyone - and everyone - to pounce upon. That's the Betster working on the Central Park Hoodie. Veronica is making an EZ raglan out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino SuperChunky.