Sunday, March 30, 2008

Still waiting.....


I still await my computer's return to it's usual spot so when all else fails, meme right? Plus I have an important announcement to make at the end of this post :)

I've seen this meme on lots of blogs but it appears not many bloggers love the movies I do so I thought I'd give you the Chez FKD version....

The rules:

  • Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
  • Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
  • Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
  • Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
  • Looking them up is cheating. Please don’t.
1- I won't love you for the rest of your life, I'll love you for the rest of mine - Phenomenon - Katy delurks to answer this one

2- If you don't tell me what's on your mind, I'm afraid I'll have to smother you with a pillow - The Green Mile - good job, Stephanie

3- What do we do now? It'll come to us - Meet Joe Black - spot on danagirl

4- Something's happened to me since I met you that I wasn't expecting... And I wasn't... expecting -- heh, repetition of 'expecting' I must buy a thesaurus-- anyway... - Sliding Doors - Jana got this one and I'm totally impressed :)

5- Do you believe in pre-marital sax? - St. Elmo's Fire - way to go becky c

6- Yo Osama. Plan the Jihad on your own time. - Crash - yay! Kelley got it!

7- Miguel....I'm ready... - Philadelphia - Jana got this one too!

8- The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return - Moulin Rouge - icesk8ie knows her musicals! (mmm Ewan!)

9- You once wrote, there comes a time when all the cosmic tumblers have clicked into place and the universe opens it’s self up for a few seconds to show you what’s possible - from Field of Dreams - Desert Rat got it!

10- Don't bark at me! I didn't name you! - As Good As It Gets - I can't believe this one took so long but Melanie finally got it!

Have fun!!

Y'all yelled at me last year for not alerting you in advance so this year I'm giving y'all two weeks notice.....

April 14 is once again WORLD GRITS DAY!!!

So get you some butter, some cheese, some salt and pepper, a bit of tabasco (I like mine green!), even some red eye gravy if you're so inclined and have yourself a big, yummy bowl of grits!

And once again Kris of The Knitting Wannabe and Sonny and Shear is sponsoring her annual Sticks -n- Grits event! Woo Hoo!!!

Just whip up a bowl of the good stuff, let it pose with your sticks and whatever WIP you've got on em, take a pic and post it to your blog....then let Kris know by leaving a comment on her blog and you could win some groovy prizes!


Pumpkin says, you've been officially notified!

I'll be back in a few days with a finished pair of socks that are really wonderful, vest progress and whatever new socks I start and a fixed computer, I hope!....see ya soon!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Better late than never!



Did you know that tomorrow night at 8pm is


EARTH HOUR?


The P-Man and I will be doing our part, won't you join us please?

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

F is for Friendship v2

Sometimes you find special, forever friends when you least expect it. The ones that, if given our "usual" parameters of what draws us to another, are completely off the radar. And aren't those the ones we cherish all the more for the unexpected windfall their friendship brings?

Something else I often ponder is the paradox of the knitting "community". I mean, here is a hobby that many of us execute in the evening, in front of the TV or computer, silent or with the occasional remark from the S.O. thats often met with, "shhhh, I'm counting!" Yet all we want to do is share our hobby!

We seek out other knitters wherever we go. We form groups, and clubs and social networks. We look for our fellow knitters at festivals. We glance at shoppers at the mall and wonder if that stunning shell is from the new IK and we might approach this fellow knitter to share our craft for even a few passing moments. We plan our vacations to coincide with the local knitting group's schedule and we make stops at local yarn shops part of the itinerary. We blog because it let's us "talk" to other knitters and share what we've wrought with our sticks and string. Hell, we go to movies cause we've heard Matt Damon is wearing some dishy knitware!

Yes, despite the fact that knitting can be a very solitary, self contained craft, all we want to do is share with other knitters and be part of that community.

Six years ago when I returned to knitting after an almost 15 year hiatus, I too was hungry for companionship for the hobby I could (and did) so easily perform alone. Unfortunately, Florida isn't the most knitter friendly state....sure we knit wool for relatives "up north" but it's kinda hard to get jazzed about kntting a wool sweater when it's 97 degrees with 100% humidity and it's May!

Ever vigilant for that elusive companionship, I got my "fix" from reading blogs. After all, virtual meet-ups were better than no meet-ups at all. Plus when reading the comments, there was the occasional Florida reader and I held out hope someday one would be from South Florida!

I know "that" day should be infamous but it was a day like any other. I was perusing the comments of a very popular blog and I noticed a comment from a fellow Floridian, woot!

I sent an email and we got to chatting and had so much in common....different knitting styles but we both had much we could learn from the other. There was such a strong connection, it didn't matter that my new friend was in northern Florida, we could be on line friends for now and maybe meet someday soon.

We chatted for hours, day after day...got to know each other but really only in a knitterly way...it didn't matter which of us was blond or brunette, tall or short, what education we had, our a/s/l (remember that annoyance!)....it mattered what cast- on we liked best and where the cheapest source for addi turbos was to be found :)

But that's the thing about stereotypes, no matter how evolved and enlightened you think yourself to be, they can sneak up on ya....cause my new friend had the kind of name that could be feminine or masculine and because I met my wonderful new knitting friend on a knitting blog and because "she" was such an avid and talented teacher and pupil I just assumed I had been chatting with another woman. But you my readers can guess the punchline here....I had been chatting for well over a month with a man....well actually even that's kind of a stretch cause despite his being wise and talented far beyond his years, I had been chatting with a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD BOY. Yeah, I was as shocked as you are now!

I told him we couldn't chat any more, it just wasn't seemly for a 30 something year old woman to be chatting with a 14 year old boy even if it was about something as benign as how to do the German Twisted Cast on.

Well my sweet,YOUNG friend made a very good argument - we did have a lot of knitting in common, we both longed for a "local" knitting buddy, we did enjoy each other's company, why should his gender or age matter -- um, good arguments all but IT MATTERED... but then he asked if I spoke with his parents and it was ok with them, could we still be friends?

And reluctantly, I agreed. I spoke with both his Mom and Dad and they realized their son was quite precocious and much more comfortable with people much older than himself. They told me they felt I was good for their son and they gave their blessing to our friendship....altho had we lived any closer together than a 6-7 hour drive I'm quite sure our friendship would have become just a memory :)

But as astounding as it seemed to me, both then and now, our friendship bloomed. Of course our primary interest was that ole knitting community but we got to know each other as so much more than knitters.

We've shared lots of laughs, almost as many tears and been thru some hairy times together and finally, after six somewhat interesting and volatile years, last week we met.

Meet the man who I'm proud to call my friend......meet my Austin

My favorite pic of the visit, so spontaneous and so Austin :)

One Dude knits, one Dude sleeps

We knit ginormous slippers together

He also cooked a fabulous dinner for us and brought me too many boxes of the first Girl Scout cookies I've had in years! The man so knows how to be a guest, doesn't he?

Mugging for the camera - bonus points if you can name the movie that's on the TV!

Gangsta Austin from the block, hee!



Look at those strong, expressive knitting hands! Knitter doesn't play, he's knitting Bayerische folks - now that's serious knitting ! I'm so very proud, my grasshoppa :)

He's also an extremely talented musician, playing the oboe, french horn and piano. In the next few months he'll either be attending a prestigious musical conservatory or going to culinary school in New York and Italy - ah youth (and talent!)

I leave you with a pic of my two best boys.....


I never expected a boy who became a man to be so very special to me but you've made my life so much richer cause you're in it, knitting dude...thanks for always loving me, warts and all, and letting me love you back even tho you're such a brat! I'm proud to call you friend, APC, and always will be!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sweet Swap Success!

Before I get to the swag, there's some good news and bad news....the good news is the Gateway Dude showed up. The bad news is the motherboard is "DOA" and a new one is being sent, scheduled to be installed next week. I can't wait. The good news is I still have my much loved old laptop with the bouncing cursor. The bad news is it only takes me about four hours to type and retype and retype and retype yet again each post :)

So don't expect lots of posts but I'm trying - I know the P-Man fans need an occasional fix!

On to the knitting and the swag!!

My longtime readers know I haven't had much success with swaps and secret pals and such - either I got a box full of re-gifted dreck or I got nothing at all. And of course who can forget the world's most expensive skein of sock yarn? So I was a bit reluctant to join any more swaps as you might imagine.

About a year ago I met Kimberly - somehow I linked to her blog or she to mine but we had a lot in common, hit it off and became friends.

Kim's an ex-pat living in Berlin, teaching Spanish (the irony of that never fails to crack me up!) and so we got to chatting about her missing some American goodies and me wanting to be introduced to some German goodies, especially of the Wollmeise kind! Plus her experiences with swaps weren't so hot either.

So we decided a swap with someone we already knew (and liked a lot!) couldn't fail and boy were we right! That Kim sure does know her swag.....have a peek.....

(as always, click to embiggen)

The bag in the back is a typical Berlin "tourist" bag and has pics of the city's sights on it. Inside were an adorable green zippered bag Kim made for me (she's a sewing goddess!) a wooden shawl pin with a kitty carved on top, a lavender sachet, a sheep cookie cutter, a vintage German crochet mag (so cool!!) some adorable stitch markers she and her sweet daughter Alida made for me (there's a beer stein and a hamburger in there, hee!), a sheepy game, a postcard of a typical Berlin curry shop (what is it with Europeans and curry??) 2 beautiful skeins of Trekking that a special visitor snatched immediately and last but surely not least, a beautiful skein of Wollmeise!

You can see what I sent to Kim here

Thank you so much Kimberly, you have restored my faith in swaps, at least with you :)

Now if that wasn't enough, look what else came in the mail.....

I've never been to any type of yarn, sheep or wool festival but lucky for me, my knitting friends got my back!

My sweet buddy Agnes always thinks of me when she goes to Stitches West. Look what goodies just arrived....


Yep, those are Cookie A's brilliant new sock patterns!! They are all stunning but Stricken (right) is calling my name very loudly! (the new patterns aren't on her site yet but should be soon) Plus she sent that oh so soft and beautiful skein of Lisa Souza Merino in the Goldilocks colorway because she said it reminded her of Pumpkin! It's a huge skein so rather than socks, I'm thinking shawl...oh the possibilities - I am such a lucky woman! Thank you again Agnes, you're the best knitting "connection" a girl could have :)

For some actual knitting, I finished my *best sock yarn* socks (snark)



Specs:

pattern: Pretty Comfy Sock by Debbi Young

2 skeins Cascade Fixation, Burgundy

Magic Loop, 32" addi turbo size US #3 (3.25 mm)

Mods: I changed the wrapped short row heel as specified in the pattern to my usual yo short row heel but because of the stretch in the yarn, I omitted the mini flap and gusset.

Cascade is hardly the "it" yarn for socks as my cousin was led to believe but it does have it's place. The socks are very soft and stretchy and they knit up into a very cute sock that i'm sure my cousin will love.

Y'all know me, one sock finished, another one begun....the March SKA challenge is an Ann Budd sock or entrelac. Guess which I chose :)



This is the Annetrelac sock from IK in some delicious Bearfoot.

Also note the perfectly coordinated knails! The mani is done with OPI "Red-y to Help", a lacquer developed to help the American Red Cross with a percentage of the sales going to support this very worthy charity. Now that's my kinda mani - beautiful knails and doing a good deed too! :)

I didn't touch my Mom's vest since my last post - I was busy with a very special visitor last week but I'll tell you all about that next time.

Til then the P-Man will keep you smiling....

Doesn't he look like he just heard a really funny joke?


Keep on knitting lots and I'll be back when I can, Gateway willing!



Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Excuses, excuses, E is for EXCUSES


Hi everyone, remember me? I'm the girl from Florida with the really cute cat who used to post regularly.....does it ring a bell? :)

I really do have a good excuse tho.

As tired as I am of dancing this dance yet again I'm still having those pesky lil computer problems....it's no biggie really, I'm just awaiting the third motherboard replacement in a 15 month old computer!!! Good old Gateway - I guess I was lucky to have a 9 month reprieve from their shenanigans.

So my beloved old Bessie (my 8 year old laptop) and I are limping along but she has this little flaw that makes typing up a post a long and arduous task......her cursor jumps all over without warning and deletes entire sentences paragraphs posts just as fast as I can type them! It's a nightmare!

So that's my Excuse and I'm stickin' to it!

I have been knitting so I'll muddle thru to fill you in on what's doing here at Chez Fluffy...

First up.....Socks - shocking, I know :)


I call these my Remembering Gigi socks


Some of you might know that the knitting community lost one of it's own a few weeks ago. Gigi Silva, aka Momma Monkey sadly lost her battle with Lupus.

Gigi was a generous, talented and prolific sock knitter and shared many beautiful sock patterns thru her Socktopia site. As a tribute to this wonderful women the Sock Knitters Anonymous Group on Ravelry added her patterns for our February Sockdown Challenge.

I chose to honor Gigi's memory by knitting her Fawkes pattern in her favorite color, orange.

Specs:

pattern: Fawkes by Gigi Silva

yarn: 2 skeins Claudia's Handpainted in Blue Terra Cotta

Magic Loop, 32" Harmony Circ, US#1.5 (2.5 mm)

Mods: The February Sockdown Challenge was to knit a heel that was "new to me". This sock had a band heel which was new to me but in addition I carried the pattern down the heel flap so the sock will look extra snazzy with clogs!

These were a fun yet bittersweet knit. I highly recommend any of Gigi's patterns but haven't linked to them because while her family grieves for their enormous loss, they have shut down her website. They are working with some of Gigi's friends to make all her patterns available at no cost to the knitters Gigi loved so look for that in the future...and knit an orange (or purple, the color for Lupus support) sock and raise a needle for Gigi.

And now for something completely different - orange socks!!

Posh Monkeys with Garter Stitch Heel


A few years back, this amazing yarn was a gift all the way from England from my sweet friend Emma. My Mom happened to be visiting when the package arrived and claimed this stunning yarn for her own! Who could blame her? It's a rich, juicy coral, orange and red with a touch of violet and it's cashmere!

Specs:

pattern: Monkeys by Cookie A.

yarn: Posh Lucia in the Enchanting colorway

Magic Loop, 32" US #0 (2.0mm) nickel circ

mods: The cashmere in the yarn made for less stretch and memory than plain merino so I opted for a 2x2 rib rather than the twisted rib suggested in the pattern. I had always wanted to try a garter stitch heel and the time finally arrived. Here's the close-up complete with previously unnoticed giant Pumpkin hair!


I added my standard mini-flap and gusset and the heel was so fun to do. Plus it makes a very cushy fabric. The yarn bloomed wonderfully when washed and is so so soft.

In truth, I gave these to my Mom yesterday cause she's off to visit the bro in chilly San Francisco and she says these are the best fitting socks she's ever had - woot!

I've been working on the Teal Lindissima Vest and it's coming out really pretty but I'll save that for next time, plus I need y'all to help me choose some buttons!

I of course, started some new socks....

The tried and true, old standby Pretty Comfy Socks


My non-knitter cousin went into her LYS and asked for "sock yarn" as a gift for me and the owner handed her 2 balls of Cascade Fixation and told her "this is the most popular sock yarn, everyone is using it!" Um, really?? So I'm knitting my cousin some socks from this most popular sock yarn*snark* They are kinda cute tho :)

Speaking of cute, how's this....


Is that the look of pure bliss or what? :)


Now I'm not making Excuses but I have an appt. for the mother board installation next Wednesday so I'll be back as soon as I can.

Til then, knit on!