FemiKnitMafia

Bistro A-go-go
Originally uploaded by The Feminist Mafia.

Senor Bistro and I are truckin’ along on the front. Perhaps later today I’ll be able to start the cap sleeves and split neck. Wish me luck.

Bistro corner
Originally uploaded by The Feminist Mafia.

Senor Bistro has one slight modification. Instead of a slip stitch rib, I did a 2″ garter waist-band. Back in the early days of my relationship with Senor Bistro, there was rolling and bitching and more rolling. So we agreed to disagree, and the garter waist-band was born.

Bistro back
Originally uploaded by The Feminist Mafia.

After much bitching and frogging and bitching and frogging, I am officially done with the back of my Bistro Shirt. The Mission Falls 1824 cotton has a wonderful drape. You can see the cap sleeves here too.

Elephant Finger Puppet
Originally uploaded by The Feminist Mafia.

Yes, I have figured out how to post photos on my blog. Hooray! Here is my Elephant Finger Puppet, loosely based on Kerrie’s Cutie Finger Puppets. A co-worker taught me the Magic Loop technique and it looked a lot like a finger puppet. So I picked up some stitches and added ears, picked up a couple more and added a trunk. Thankfully I recently learned how to weave in the ends appropriately, cuz this little guy had a lot of loose ends. He and I are very happy together now.

I went to a new yarn shop today and walked out empty handed. Am I sane? Feeling sick? Frugal? Being a responsible Mommy? Probably none of the above. I have a stash problem. It’s spilling out of the designated baskets and becoming a cherished toy for the baby and the cat. Yarn is too precious for ill treatment at the hands/paws of the innocents. Only those of us with a sufficient obsession should dare chew the skeins.

So yes, I must embark on some serious stash busting. In the midst of struggling with my boredom-inducing Bistro Shirt, I must find small projects that will keep my interest and plow through the piles. That aching desire to start the Rogue Hoodie, the baby Anouk, or the Fiesta Tea Set will have to take a back seat to the stash.

What does a girl make with 10-year-old hand-me-down acrylics?

Bought the pattern a year ago. Found the yarn a couple months after that. After cutting my teeth on a few baby sweaters, this was to be my first adult sweater. I cast on, diligently knit according to the pattern, and after about 4 inches, I put it down. Unlike the picture on the pattern, my Oat Couture Bistro Shirt starting the damned stockinette roll. There it sat for many many moons. About a month ago, I started to cringe at the thought of $50 worth of Mission Falls 1824 cotton sitting in a basket, so I picked it up again. Thus began my first experience with the knit-frog-knit-frog-knit-frog. Many swatches to establish the correct gauge. Many stupid mistakes ripped out. Many stupid mistakes that I’ll ignore. In typical fashion, I started to stray from the pattern, thinking I had it all figured out. Needless to say, I was wrong. Sometimes it’s OK to just follow the directions like a good girl. So after finishing the entire back, I realized it was much too long. So I ripped out 4-5 inches and made a new wasteband. My poor Mission Falls 1824 cotton has been through hell, and is starting to look the part. But alas, the back is finished and I’ve cast on the front. Of course, I had to cast on twice. But this is the nature of Senor Bistro Shirt. At the end of the day, I hope it fits. Stay tuned…

Riding the bus this morning, happily reading my book. Totally immersed in gender bending and the AIDS crisis and selfish demanding 50-something mothers and lesbian incestuous drama (all this in the first 45 pages, I might add…). I look at the woman sitting next to me, making that peripheral glance at her book. Its the Bible! It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen someone under the age of 75 reading the Bible in public. I was immediately uncomfortable. Did she do the peripheral glance at my book, realize she was sitting next to a heathen, and dive into the Bible for some solace? Or was she re-reading the psalms as a reminder to be a good person throughout her day? Perhaps she has a deep desire to stab her boss with a ball point pen, and this bit of Bible-reading is keeping her from committing the act? In the midst of my swirling paranoia, I noticed her offer her seat to another person, apologize for nudging someone’s leg, and offer to let me into the aisle once I started packing up my bag for departure. With all the insensitivity on public transportation, this young woman with her Bible was an oddly refreshing partner. If only she knew the evil that lurked so near.

abortion

Anti-abortion ideologues beware: I’m promoting objective, factual information on:

• Roe v. Wade
• abortion

You can too. Join me in Bombing for Choice.

Working on a elephant finger puppet for my son. Made with Patons sock yarn in grey. Used it to learn the magic loop technique (a shout out to my co-worker who taught me this excellent little trick). No more DPNs! Yeah. So the elephant came about when I started making a practice swatch to learn this magic loop trick. Knitting along on my new size 2 Addis, and realized that this little loop looked a lot like a glove finger, or a finger puppet. Click - it’s grey. Click - it’s an elephant. Just had to pick up a few stitches on either side of the top, play with some increases and decreases, and the ears were born. Then I stuck an i-cord on the front and called it a trunk. Next stop is eyes (probably tonight) and I’m done. Final question — will my son like it? And — what does an elephant say anyway??