FemiKnitMafia

For all the parents out there, please be aware of recent events over at Little Birds. For the last couple years, Stephanie Barnes has been sharing photos of her crafts and her adorable kids. But she shut down her blog this weekend after learning that photos of her children were copied and used in inappropriate ways. She’s not providing details, and doesn’t wish to discuss the matter any further.

But we don’t need any additional information; this is a warning bell. Our blogs are public. Truly public. I sometimes hear craft/knit/crochet/quilt/etc bloggers say that we’re somehow safer because ‘outsiders’ aren’t interested in our niche blogs. But … we’re also more likely to post family photos, so I believe, that makes us more vulnerable.

We live in a scary world. Be careful.

Alright, who’s the a-hole who bought my Fall Mums and Froggy skeins? Damn it. Not that I’ll have the cash to buy them, because …

I’ll probably* be a home-owner!

The inspection went well. After the inspection, Wifey and I flopped on the couch and contemplated the findings. We made this mental list (paper? why, that would be so organized):

Expensive + Expert
- Replace the waste pipe
- Fix leak in the chimney flashing on the roof
- Replace several clapboards near the back porch
- Fiddle with the wiring in the circuit box

Mafia + Trial&Error + Swearing
- Add an additional 6″ of insulation in the attic
- Cement a hole in the hot water heater exhaust
- Apply cement to the basement section of the chimney
- Strengthen front porch handrail with big ass spikes
- Re-wire negatively polarized outlet in the kitchen
- Replace dead bolt on front door
- Install ankles and feet on downspouts
- Fill sink hole with stone and soil to keep water out of basement
- Rebuild the walk-in bulkhead/shed
- Install new sheet rock where strange holes appear
- Add several outlets to the 2nd floor

Our final negotiation strategy is this: get them to fix several items on the Expensive + Expert list, and learn how to do the rest. In addition, there’s a laundry list of aesthetic issues, but those are window dressing. Well, except the lead paint. That’s causing some anxiety dreams. And we’re moving along…

POEM
I heard this beautiful poem called “Another Life” by Deborah Cummins on NPR yesterday, and it reminded me of the post about my Mom. Mom’s leaving for Ireland today, and I’m incredibly thrilled that she’s finally able to explore the world.

HAPPY COLD WEATHER
In honor of last night’s dreamy temperatures, this is my cold weather dance, complete with head-to-toe wool. Bring on the wool!

*financing is still pending

For some reason, I never blogged about one of my favorite knitterly gifts of all time. Several months ago, Emily’s computer had a stroke and I offered to have the MIT IT-folks take a look at it. To ensure proper Chicago-Cambridge shipping, the hard drive requested a nice soft pillow. So Emily tucked a skein of her new line of hand-dyed sock yarn, Sophie’s Toes, into the envelope. The hard drive wasn’t lonely and the Mafia was delighted. And when I say delighted, I don’t mean that ‘oh, it was so nice of so-and-so to send me this collection of vintage bottle caps, they’re exactly what I wanted and I’ll treasure them forever and toss them after posting the blog photo‘. No, Emily took the time to look through my Finished Objects page, realized I like blue, and picked her favorite colorway for me. Her.favorite. That’s love. And how do I repay such love? I forget to blog about it. Bad Mafia.

But, when faced with the recent Socks for Sanity need, I dove into the sock yarn stash, and made the difficult decision to temporarily ignore the Claudia’s Handpainted (from my amazing Sockapaloooza pal, blogless Jean) and the beautiful Mountain Colors Bearfoot (won from Ashley) and a couple of recently-promised pairs. You’ll probably understand once you look at this photo:

Because Emily’s been dying fabric for her art quilts for many years, it was a natural evolution to yarn. And her experience shows. Don’t ya think? I cast on last night, and I’m delighted. The timing is good too, because Emily just today added a batch of Sophie’s Toes to her Etsy shop. Go look. And don’t buy the Fall Mums or Froggy! I want those — once I’ve paid off my mortgage.

Speaking of — please expect a house-related panic attack later tonight. The home inspection is scheduled for 3pm, so I’ll be a complete lunatic by 7pm. Joy.

With life rolling along such as it is, I should not be looking at new knitting projects. However, I got an email from Loop this morning with this photo in it.

Meow! … pant, pant, pant …

I LOVE that blanket. Love it! My first thought was “if my brother ever gets married, that will be his wedding gift.” Then I thought, “hell, I could make that for myself!” I’ve been ogling the Great American Aran Afghan for a long time, especially because I have the privilege of fondling Alison’s squares in person. Even though it feels like blasphemy, I think I like the Cables Untangled blanket better. We’re talking serious lust here. I need this book. Bad.

In celebration of her 50th birthday, my Mom booked a trip to Ireland. My tough as nails Mom — who birthed me at the ripe old age of 18, kicked male-ass-wipe #1 to the curb, went to college as a single Mom, met another man and fell in love, married him, had another baby, went to graduate school, graduated with straight A’s, renovated a few houses for the profits, kicked male-ass-face #2 to the curb when it became oh-so-necessary, bought her own house, renovated it, and bought another to flip it, all while working full-time — has never traveled outside the U.S. and has been dreaming of this trip to Ireland for as long as I can remember. She’s leaving on Friday, and I’m SO excited for her.

But I’m also selfishly delighted by the gift possibilities, and Mom invited me to submit a wish list. What should I list? A kelly green rugby jersey for Little Man? A jersey for me? 1600 yards (1460 meters) of dk or aran weight wool from Blarney Woolen Mills or any ol’ farmer she meets along the way? A woven shawl, exactly like the one I bought for Mom at the Aran Sweater Market in Kilronan, which would match my most deeply adored scarf? Perhaps a kit to make a clan sweater in my mother’s ancestral name? Help! I need ideas.

The LiuVee Vest (named after the parton saint of inexpensive Jo Sharp yarn, Christine) is finished, but I need to rip out the ribbed neckline and fix a stupid mistake in the Ve section. [why do I always make stupid mistakes?] Then … blocking. However, I have a blocking problem. I have no space for it. Every square inch of our apartment is used. Must design an alternative. Once we’re in the new house, we’ll have plenty of unused/non-cat/closed door spaces. But for now, hrumpf and a wee argh.

Thanks to Rose-Kim Knits, via The Purloined Letter, I have a fancy new calculator to tell me exactly how little I’ve accomplished in my Icarus quest. I’ve completed 39% of it. 39%??!! How can this be? Granted, it’s been sitting in the corner for a couple weeks, but before that, I was knitting and knitting and knitting on the damned thing. After picking it up again yesterday, I started repeat 5 of chart 1. This morning, as I was bearing down on that feathery lace section, I was feeling so accomplished. Even after considering if it needs another repeat for additional length, I still felt good about it. But now I’m feeling every bit of the 61% left to go! And let’s not even discuss how much work I’d add with another repeat (69%!). Perhaps it needs to go back into the time-out corner.

Remember those Socks for Sanity? Yeah, it’s time. The amazing sock yarn in my stash is calling to me.