Demon Spawn?

I found these barrettes in Berkeley today. Are they not just about the best barrettes in the whole world?? It's coincidence that Thing 2 was wearing red today, and that she had spent the whole day hanging with Dad, thus her generally disheveled appearance.

The new Magknits is up, with a children's theme. I find one of the patterns especially appealing, for reasons that will become obvious.

Another Strange Knitted Thing

Knitted electrical cord, to wear as a scarf.

New Reviews

I updated my Yarn Store Review page today; I added several new reviews and re-organized a bit.

Knitted Zombies

at Craftster. And, by the same artist, knitted Shaun of the Dead.

Old New Sweater

Long before my kids were conceived, I knitted a bunch of stuff for my potential children-to-be. Most of it was baby stuff, and the real kids have now long since outgrown them. But a few were in larger sizes. This sweater was one of them, and it now fits Thing One nicely. The bright colors suit her, too. I have a new hoody for her on the needles now, made from the yarn we Kool-Aid dyed, but I still have a way to go on that one. So she'll have to be content with this sweater for a while.

Oh, and that's Ruthie eating breakfast in the background. And a changing table, which I am soooo looking forward to getting rid of, but Thing Two isn't quite ready to give up diapers yet.

Just one reason I will never live in LA

This picture was taken on I-5, right around the southern end of the LA city limits, at about 11am on a Thursday. Okay, it was the Thursday between Christmas and New Years, but still.

Note that traffic is backed up in both directions. It was backed up basically from Irvine to Valencia. Ick.

I'd like to also comment that this is not the most scenic stretch of freeway in the world, especially at 2 MPH.

New Yarn Store Record

We are currently wrapping up our visit with the in-laws in San Diego. Happily for me, hubby's Aunt T knits, and also happily, hubby and Grandma were content to hang with the kids while Aunt T and I yarn shopped. We visited five stores yesterday, a personal record. I bought stuff at four out of the five. Hey, the kids got Legoland and the zoo, hubby got hours of football on tv, I get yarn. Fair enough.

And I like the zoo, too.

Hmmm.....

Today I found myself wondering what sorts of visitors they normally get in Encinitas.

Sweet

This afternoon I was waiting to pick up Thing 1 at school. The first graders spend part of the day on "rotation," which means they go to another teacher's class. Because all the classrooms open directly to the outside, the kids have to walk outside to return to their regular classroom. So as I was waiting, a bunch of kids came out of Thing 1's room. A couple of boys started running, and suddenly one of them lost his shoe. He fell, and dozens of papers scattered from the notebook he was holding. Without missing a beat, the girl behind him picked up his shoe and brought it to him. Then while he stood there looking helpless, she carefully gathered up his papers and handed them back to him.

Knit this!

You wouldn't think anything could top the knitted womb from Knitty, but here ya go: an entire knitted digestive system, all the way from tongue to anus! I doubt I'll be knitting this one myself anytime soon, but you gotta admire the effort. At this rate, eventually one could knit an entire anatomically correct human being. Elsewhere on Matie Trewe's web pages, she has a knitted donut and a shrug with lacey skulls.

Moebius Basket

Felted Moebius Basket from Cat Bordhi's Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. It took me several tries to get the moebius cast-on correct, during which I did not lose my patience, because casting on incorrectly multiple times is still more fun than grading papers. I like this cute little guy because:

1. Once I figured out the cast-on, it was a very quick project
2. It used a single skein of variegated Manos that I couldn't not buy (oh, I do love Manos), but which I had no use for
3. It's felted. I love felting--it's like magic
4. It's a moebius, which is just kinda cool
5. I can put stuff in it
   

Knitting Needle Cases

I sewed these using the pattern in Stitch 'n Bitch. They're easy to make; well within the reach of my extremely limited sewing talents. The one on the right is my own, which I've been using for over a year. I just finished the one on the left as a Christmas gift for a pink-loving family member. I really like using these--they've saved me much time searching for needles, and everything stays nice and neat, no matter how chaotic the rest of my life becomes.

Winter Is Here

This morning the grass was frosty. Allison and I agreed that when Ruthie was outside for her morning potty, her breath vapor made her look like a furry dragon. And all my students are bundled up this morning in parkas and scarves. This is as close as it gets to winter here.

And the Winter Knitty is up, and it's a particularly big edition. I am positive that some Pocket Creatures are in my near knitting future; probably Marley as well. But first I need to figure out how to do Cat Bordhi's Mobius cast-on. It's not that I can't figure it out; it's just that every time I try, I end up with a different number of stitches, none of which resemble the actual number of stitches I'm supposed to have.

Vegan Fox

Allison is modeling the Vegan Fox, from Knitty. Unfortunately, between the black yarn I chose and my crappy photography skills, it's impossible in these pictures to see the detail on its face. You'll just have to believe me that it's cute. At least Allison and I think so. Dennis said, "What the hell is THAT?"

There's a special irony for me with this piece, because one of my grandfathers was a furrier (and I'm not vegan, but I don't eat mammals).

Al's shirt, BTW, is from Baby Wit, which is also where we got Quinn's "I already know more than the President" shirt.

As If I Had the Time...

the new MagKnits is up. All bags this issue. I have an extra skein of Daria that may become the corded bag, someday.

Mixed feelings

The girls discovered the spider this morning when they came downstairs for breakfast (I'd left it on the kitchen table). Quinn laughed and said, "How cute!" and then proceeded to chase her sister around the kitchen with it. Allison pretended to scream.

I don't know whether to be disappointed that they didn't freak out, or proud that they've inherited my taste for creepy-crawly things.

I Am a Bad Mom

This creative use of yarn ends didn't take much in the way of skill to execute. However, its strategic placement should result in some satisfying reactions from the girls in the morning.

Heh heh.

New Model

My hubby is the type who wears shorts and t-shirts year-round, which makes for limited knitting opportunities. However, ski season is approaching, and I had some yummy chocolate-colored alpaca. Voila, a scarf for skiing, made to his exact specs (not too long, not too frou-frou, no fringes). The alpaca was only sport weight, so I added a strand of Araucania wool, black in parts and variegated blue in others. Not very exciting knitting (just seed stitch) but at least he'll actually wear it.

PS--Yes, that's a pile of laundry in the background, waiting to be folded. I have my priorities straight.

Fashions I Could Live without

I though about this while I was walking across campus the other day. If I were the fashion police (highly unlikely as that may be) I would issue tickets for the following:

1. Girls in low-cut jeans and tight, belly-baring t-shirts. Is there some sort of tragic fabric shortage?
2. Suburban white boys in really baggy pants that are worn low and beltless.
3. Girls in spandex pants with writing across the butt. Your ass is not a billboard.
4. Boys in baseball caps, especially if worn backwards.
5. Girls wearing pajama bottoms to class. Is this a fashion statement, or were they too damn lazy to get dressed that morning?
6. Boys in dyed mohawks. I thought it was kinda cool when I was in high school a long long time ago.
7. Girls with long fingernails that have fancy art on them. Because (1) these girls can barely function with such long nails and (2) they never seem to have time to study, and yet have hours to get their nails done.

On Safari

Friends and I spent the weekend at Safari West. Here are a couple of the animals we met. The giraffe was, obviously, close enough to touch. Looks like he's blowing his coat. The cranky looking cow-thing is a Cape Buffalo. And that ostrich was just a pest.