less bitchin', mo stitchin'

(But maybe a kvetch or two.)

Let's get down to brass tacks and take a look at some things I've knitted. Yes, the photos are crappy. I used a disposable, excuse me, one time use, camera. And then there was Lacoste the aforementioned surly photo boy at Walgreens. I like to call him Lacoste the Insolent, as in Ivan the Terrible. He put all the pics on my disc upside down, twice, and told me I could just turn them around on my computer at home. Well, yeah, of course I can. Or, you can do your job and put them on the disc the right way. Anyhow, surly people who look at you like you're pitiful when you try to assert your right to a decent existence scare me. Even if they're only 17. So he won. Which means I lost some of what little resolution I had because I had to reorient the pics. So bear with me.

This little lovely is a feather and fan shawl that I did for my friend Andi's mom. Her mom's name is Flavia, which I find cause enough to bestow a handmade gift, and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met. Salt of the Earth. And funny. Last year she began a heartbreaking battle with a rare form of lung cancer (she's a non-smoker). I'd just learned to knit and figured maybe I could give a bit of comfort, so I offered to make a shawl. All I knew how to do was knit and purl, so off I went to Stitch Cafe to try to find a pattern. The owner, Lisi Grinstein, was making a little feather and fan dealydo herself. Bless her, she took the time to sit down and show me how to do it. I bought the yarn from her store, the wondrous Premiere from Classic Elite, 50/50 pima cotton and tencel (I don't know what tencel is but it knits so nice I could eat it). I chose red because it's happy, and Flavia approved because she is of Chinese descent and we all know that's a culture with enough good sense to deem red a lucky color. The Flavia Shawl turned out beautiful, with a mistake or two here and there, which I've also heard is lucky. Like the incredible person she is, Flavia wrote me a thank-you card so kind and thoughtful that it almost made me cry. I'm happy to be able to say that today she is doing well.

Another view. This photo was provided by my good friend Ellen (aka LA El).







Here, me modeling (picture a woman of style, like Flavia, instead of a chick in twisty pants).













Moving along to birthdays, I tried to cover maybe one too many last year, but I managed to hit a few with my sanity intact. One of them was my good friend Carol's (I know, everybody's a "good friend," but what can I tell you? I know a lot of fantabulous people). Her birthday was in August. It was a landmark birthday that I'm not sure she'd want me blabbing all over the Internet but then that right there probably tells you she didn't turn 21 (Hi, Carol!). For this birthday of a friend I've known and loved for 10 years, I chose silk. Fiesta Yarns' La Luz in Wild Oak. Oh, the pleasure of fondling this stuff. Carol wanted light blue and at first I picked Blue Sky Alpacas' Alpaca Silk in Ice (pale blue). Perfect name because it left me cold. It's a fine and upstanding yarn but not landmark birthday caliber. Plus few colors bore me more than pale blue. Nice to knit with something else, but on its own? I'm sorry but it ain't real excitin'. I tried to knit it in their free Opera Scarf pattern but found it a lot of work with very little payoff. I frogged it and stashed the yarn for another day. Then I found this Fiesta stuff. It reminded me of the ocean surrounding my favorite place on the planet, Barbados. Ahhh. I hoped it would ferry Carol back to happy times in her native home, Jamaica. I used a simple eyelet lace stitch and size 13 needles for a quick 'n dirty knit. Bellissimo! Here it is:

All that beauty. I gave it to Carol on her birthday (I like to sign birthday cards: This gift would've been on time, but it's from me!). She loved it. Wore it proudly. Then something HORRIBLE happened to it, which I will photograph and show you in the near future. Make sure to have a box of tissues handy.

This here's a friendly duo I made for Mr. Stevens, just because. I'd already done the set you see the Bubba wearing several posts ago and since they're two of my favorite menfolk, I like to dress them alike to mark them as my minions. The color of Steven's set isn't as reminiscent of a trip to the twa-lay (French for toilet) as it appears to be. It's Cascade Pastaza and I've got it in a different color to make a third set for a fella who shall remain nameless until I get it done. It'll be a minute because I'm fried on the 2x2 ribbing right now.

This is what happened the night I decided I am an artiste. But doesn't a candle in a photo say "I have vision"? And check the rocks. I collect rocks. By that I mean I pick them up and bring them home from all over the place. Don't ask me why. As an artiste, I thought it would be very powerful to pose two of my favorite things, rocks and knitting. I call it, "Still Life With Rocks." I'll leave you to your admiration.