FemiKnitMafia

What kind of postmodernist are you!?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are a Gender Nazi. Your boundary-crossing
lifestyle inspires awe in your friends and
colleagues. Or maybe they’re just scared you
will kick their asses for using gender-specific
language. Either way, the wife-beater ribbed white tank top* helps.

*Don’t even get me started on what a classist elitist misogynist term “wife-beater” is. I hatehatehate it, and I’ll be sharing this opinion with the folks at Quizilla.

**thanks to Pinko Feminist Hellcat for supplying this hilarious quiz.

What 20th Century Theorist are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are Michel Foucault! You wrote groundbreaking
histories of prisons, hospitals, asylums, and
sex. Interestingly, you thought basically the
same thing about all of them. Your historical
accuracy is a bit dodgy, but that was never
really the point. You were very obsessed with
power roles - so obsessed that you frequented
gay S&M clubs, and died of AIDS in 1984.

**thanks to Engineers Anonymous for this quiz.

Someone sent this picture via email. I think it’s funny.

The Ponchette is nearly done. I bound off. It needs a good strong blocking and one small seam, so I expect to finish mid-week. Hooray!

Over the next couple days, please expect many photos of the cutest Little Man in history. Trick or Treating in our neighborhood happened on Saturday night, so there was a mad dash on Saturday morning to complete the costume. There was a little bitching and complaining about the hood (on his part and mine), and the rain put a little damper on the event. But ultimately Little Man had a great time. He traipsed around happily smiling and greeting our new neighbors (i.e. proving that lesbian families are not inherently evil). He sat on our porch and handed out pretzel packets (yeah, we’re those kinda dykes). He jumped and ribbited and otherwise acted like a 2 year old frog. It was precious.

And we’ll be doing it again tonight. At 4pm, Little Man will arrive at MIT in costume. Many co-workers will rejoice. At 5pm, Little Man will be trolling the streets of Brookline Village. His Aunties and Pepere will rejoice. At 7:30pm, Little Man will collapse into a carseat slumber. Mommies will rejoice. Within a couple days, I will post pictures. The universe will rejoice.

My thoughts on last night’s Martha Stewart’s Apprentice — will someone please tell Alexis that turtlenecks don’t look good on her? Just sayin’. But the legs, nice.

The BFF requested that I post the following picture. She thinks Martha is hot. I am indulgent.

Life has been wonderful, but busy, so I’m dashing off a quickie post.

Last weekend: great time with Roo, who wasn’t feeling the sewing love, but endured through two pairs of fleece PJ bottoms for each child. They’re cute. The kids LOVE them. And when I say LOVE, I mean neither child has worn real pants since Saturday. Two year olds are fickle creatures, so I count this as a big success.

Great time with Alison, who helped me figure out sizing for the Ponchette, shared tales of famous knitwear designers, let me fondle one of her KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (it was much softer than I expected!) blocks for the Great American Aran Afghan (which is stunning!), and endured the monumental increase in household energy when Little Man woke from his much-needed nap and Wifey walked into the house with her two little sisters (aged 13 & 16, and easily two of my favorite people in spite of their age).

Some sewing on the frog Halloween costume. I must hurry up and finish this. There will be Trick or Treating in our neighborhood on Saturday night and more ToTing in Pepere & Auntiesneighborhood on Monday night.

And finally, the thing you’ve been waiting for — a 90% finished Ponchette (next to Interweave Knits for scale)!

And a close-up:

I confess to a misguided notion that I was finished after 6 repeats, as opposed to the recommended 8 and binding off and blocking on Sunday night. But alas, I was wrong. Once again smacked down by my knitting. So I put it back on the needles and committed to another repeat. Oh yes, there was this little misunderstanding involving:
1) Mafia being entirely unclear as to what an “around the outside of the arms/shoulder” measurement is
2) two cell phones in different states
3) the intended recipient, who I will not name BFF&ExGF#2for the purpose of maintaining her dignity,
4) a tape measure
5) an around-the-shoulder measurement of 32″
6) Mafia scratching her head for two weeks about the ability of any human woman to be 32″ all the way around when her own left thigh is 29″ (yes, I measured)
7) several assurances from “someone” that 32″ was the correct shoulder measurement, even after confirming that 32″ was also her bra size
Mafia being simultaneously skeptical and impressed and “someone” could defy laws of physics/math
9) two more cell phones in different states
10) a removal of 1 head from 1 ass
11) a re-measurement, and
12) a logical 39″ (which is still pretty small when compared to my left thigh.

Remind me to tell you about the absolutely hilarious experience I once had in the dressing room at The Gap. Let’s just say that it involved trying on a pair of stretch jeans in a size 0 and discovering that my left thigh is a Gap size 0. I am clearly obsessed with my left thigh.

BUT our illustrious Ms. Yarn Harlot could buy a house with …

Thanks to Pinko Feminist Hellcat for sharing this fun game.

My fellow MIT SnBer Christine has a wonderful piece on the web that’s techically a class assignment for her graduate program at the MIT Media Lab. But it’s totally fascinating outside of the academic context. It gives new meaning to recycling a sweater, and to the way that fashion and fiber creates interactions between strangers and with the built world. Its humorous and anxiety provoking. I wonder if the Subway Knitter has seen it yet? Go check it out. In addition to the photos on the main page, click on the videos at the top. I especially liked videos 5 & 8. Enjoy!

And I’ll say it again — I’m totally lusting over Alexis Stewart! Take a look at this picture and try to convince me that this woman is not a dyke. Go ahead, try…

Yes, I’m being totally stereotypical here, and yes, you may bitch about it in my comments and I won’t delete anything. But seriously folks, this woman is a dyke. Did you watch Martha’s Apprentice last night? At one point, Wifey and I gave each other the raised eyebrow due to AS’s excellent lesbo-stylin’. I tried to find a picture online, but couldn’t. Short black jacket, black pants, chunky shoes, button-down with collar over the jacket collar, dykey hair (as usual), etc. Is this correct, or I am just remembering it that way in my mind?

Even if she’s not a big queer, the marketing people at NBC are working really hard to capture my little (teeny) crafty lesbo demographic. Or perhaps they’re trying to start some rumors to get more viewers. If that’s the case, it seems to be working. At least based on the number of hits I get from people looking for “Alexis Stewart” + “lesbian”. Just sayin’.

Either way, she’s wicked hot.

I am blatantly copying Andrea over at Mellow Trouble in setting up a visual geographic tracker of my last 20 hits. So fun! Go see.

Here are the finished Ms. CJSR socks (collective awww…)

The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the “bright spring pattern” color. Girly enough to please our fairly mainstream next door neighbors (who are getting the second set of these), and gender-neutral enough to please the lovely funky hipmamas of Ms. CJSR.

Here’s a WIP photo of the BFF&ExGF#2 ponchette from Poncho Loco:

That’s one complete 32 row repeat, thankyaverymuch. I love the pattern. It’s a great lace pattern that’s easy to memorize zen knitting — just difficult enough to keep me focused, but not so hard that I want to cry. Hooray! And I LOVE the yarn. Karabella Yarn’s Aurora 8 might be my new favorite flavor. Yummy.

*thanks (again!) to Danielle lugging her digital camera around all the time, for taking numerous pictures for me, for providing an excellent backdrop-shawl and for volunteering her blocking-pin-hands to hold the ponchette.

Here’s a progress photo of the first of two pairs of socks for two adorable little babies I know.

One pair for the brand new girl next door, and the other overdue pair for Sassy baby of Sassy Moms (CJSR). If Ms. CJSR’s feet haven’t grown too much, she’ll be getting them. Otherwise, Baby Sophie will get these and Ms. CJSR will get a new (slightly larger) pair.

In this project I learned how to knit two socks on one circular needle with the Magic Loop method. I love it. I also learned that pulling one end from the middle of the yarn ball and the other end from the outside will result in slightly mismatched stripes. Close, but no (proverbial) cigar.