Give It Up
May 9, 2007
This post has been in draft mode for at least four weeks, and in addition to the WordPress issues I’ve been fighting with (does anyone know if there’s a limit to the number of photos you can include in one post?) I have to confess: I’ve also been avoiding it. It’s long. It’s mushy. It’s gushy. It’s braggy. And while bragging is oh-so-necessary in this case, it’s also kinda unpalatable. I don’t like reading braggy posts on other blogs, so I’m reluctant to write one. But, good goddamn, I had the most incredibly brag-alicious blog break in the history of all blog breaks. And yesterday, I got the icing on this multi-layered chocolate mousse cake from a dear friend. Friend. It’s a simple word. Sweet. True.
***********
CLAPOTIS, from the incredibly generous Kimberly
Wifey: You got something in the mail. Should I open it?
Mafia: Hell yeah.
Wifey: It’s yarn. Wait … no, it’s a scarf or something.
Mafia: Is is green and blue with dropped stitch panels on the bias?
Wifey: Um, yes. How did you know that?
Mafia: Oh. My. God!! [jumps up and down on the street corner] I was hoping it was for me!
Wifey: Seriously … how many of these women are you sleeping with?
Mafia: Um, none.
Wifey: Well hell, I sleep with you, and I don’t get handknits in the mail.
ENTER BUBBLES, stage left
The next day, Suzanne had her own dilemma: only after completing this stunning shawl, “Bubbles,” she discovered that she’s allergic to mohair. She asked me if Wifey would like it. Suzanne was very impressed that Wifey was a surrogate and thought that deserved some recognition. She dropped Bubbles into a box and sent it northward. It arrived. Wifey was thrilled. [and I was temporarily off the hook. thanks suzanne!] Wifey’s too shy to pose for photos, so the above pic is the best I could do. Go see the incredible photos that Suzanne took too. Here are a couple more of mine:
Amazing color changes
Amazing halo
Amazing present for me too. What do you think? Hat? Mittens?
MONKEYS
I made these for Danielle because one day I’m on the train and I’m ready to graft the toe, but I can’t remember how. I call Danielle on her cell. While driving through Boston traffic, she’s able to walk me through grafting a toe.
The real reasons that Danielle needs these socks:
1) she just bought her first house, for which she’s been saving and planning for years.
2) one night when I was teaching, she picked Wifey up from the hospital and drove her home.
3) she risks her professional reputation by admitting to people at work that she likes me.
4) that emergency ‘how do i graft a toe’ call results in my best toe ever:
BEIGE STOLE
Martha is a 70 year old semi-retired woman who works on part-time special projects in our office. One day she walks up to me, tells me that she has a gift for me, and hands me a carefully wrapped tissue paper bundle. Inside was this beautiful wool stole that her aunt made at least 30 years ago. The aunt was a rabble rouser who lived in Greenwich Village from the beat days until the 60s. In her youth she married a middle eastern man and was therefore shunned by her family. Within a couple years, she was a widow. The shawl has been packed in tissue paper for most of those 30 years, but Martha wants it to be worn by someone who will appreciate it. It stays on my office chair and snuggles me when I’m cold at work.
SOPHIE’S TOES
For my birthday last November, Suzanne showed up to our MIT Stitch and Bitch unexpectedly with a gift for me. Froggy from Sophie’s Toes. The colorway I’d been ogling, but determined not to buy any more yarn, I resisted. Then it disappeared from Etsy, as all good Etsy finds are wont to do. Apparently Danielle and Suzanne had this planned, and I was none the wiser. I nearly jumped up and down when I saw the Froggy, my dear Froggy, that nearly slipped from my grasp. Now, dear Froggy is sliding through my fingers and I love it. Love.
This is true meaning of friendship. I love y’all.
Entry Filed under: Give It Up, Knitting, Peeps. .
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1.
Kimberly from Some Bunny's Love | May 9, 2007 at 12:46 pm
And to think I was thinking of frogging the Clappy because I thought it was too small! (shudder). Thanks for showing the Monkeys because I have 3 hanks of the Handpainted Stripes I scooped when a yarn shop left the business. Now I know what I’m going to make! (HUGS to you, Wifey, and Little Man!)
=:8
2.
Kathode Ray Tube | May 9, 2007 at 1:07 pm
What goes around, comes around. Great stories! Great you!
3.
Beth S. | May 9, 2007 at 1:23 pm
OK, I knew about all of that except for the beige stole (which: OMG! What a score! Beautiful knitting with some serious history in it) and I have to agree that, yeah, you’ve got some really good friends.
Any chance we can get you to model Bubbles, since Wifey has stage fright?
It’d be nice to see the proportions, etc…
4.
Chris Q | May 9, 2007 at 1:43 pm
it’s nice of you to be so modest, but it sounds like you earned some good karma, and are appropriately appreciative. go Mafia!
5.
Elinor | May 9, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Awwww, you have some great friends!!! I love your narrative too. Heh. You always make me laugh out loud!!!!
6.
Jill | May 9, 2007 at 2:08 pm
You (and Wifey) are truly blessed with wonderful, loving, obviously devoted people surrounding you.
And just so you know, there is nothing braggy about your post. It is filled with gratitude and love. The day you write a braggy post will be the day the whole ends. ;o)
7.
Danielle | May 9, 2007 at 2:08 pm
I can’t wait to get my Monkeys! (hint, hint!)
8.
Ashley | May 9, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Braggy? Nah. I love that we all get to celebrate having such great friends. And I hope, when i post posts like this, that it’s clear that they’re completely about the generosity and kindness of others, rather than anything to do with me.
You will all note, I hope, that Ms Mafia is conveniently leaving out the fact that the needle sizer I sent her was a mere drop in the thank you bucket, as she up and bought me a pro account on Flickr just out of sheer niceness–no reason at all.
9.
Rhonda the Stitchingnut | May 9, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I kept looking for the bragging … and couldn’t find it. Just some beautiful knits and great karma headed your way. BTW, I like you also, but don’t know if that’s any risk to my professional rep … haha, even if I have one. Hugs to you and the family.
10.
Dorothy B | May 9, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Never a bad thing to show off the love. You have some really good friends and a very beautiful shawl for work. What a great story.
11.
Kat with a K | May 9, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Awww.
12.
Lisa | May 9, 2007 at 4:04 pm
It is never bragging to inform your readers that you and your family have such wonderful and caring friends in your lives. When your inner circles line up you radiate that love back out to all those that you touch, so it is excellent karma that those that you have touched radiate back to the source.
Keep up the excellent posts and the amazing knitting. We need the inspiration….
13.
pamela wynne | May 9, 2007 at 4:24 pm
People are awesome. I forget that a lot of the time. Thanks for the reminder.
14.
Ruth | May 9, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Good friends like that don’t happen by accident, you know. You have to be one to get one.
Lovely things, all of them.
15.
Emily | May 9, 2007 at 11:01 pm
You deserve it all, you are one fantastic human being.
16.
Suzanne | May 10, 2007 at 5:35 am
That’s a whole lotta love, honey! I know Danielle had chops, but wow. The beige stole has an amazing history. What a gift! The clapotis is really something. I’ve seen them before, but this one is a very lovely rendering. BTW, Mike, PeachPit and I are planning to be at NH Sheep and Wool when the gates open Sunday morning.
17.
roro | May 10, 2007 at 3:45 pm
You are hilarious and lovely. How can a mushy, gushy post be wrong when it feels so right?? Bask in the love, I say! What a wonderful collection of yarny gifts and accomplishments. I’m so inspired!!