I May Be Crazy But I'm Not Stupid

Best Quote I Heard All Day

I thought she was a Method Actress. Afterwards somebody informed me that she was merely a manic-depressive.--Elsa Lanchester

Slip-sliding away. That's what's been going on. I've not been in a good place lately but I'm battling it with all the stubborness that a typical Taurean hefts with authority. Work is doing a number on me, and as I wrote this morning in Swing Time, that's going to destroy me if I don't take care of me. I've been sucked into the workaholic vortex and I don't like it.

Yes, I've been knitting and spinning, the knitting mostly on the train, in airports, and on the plane. It's not enough.

Years ago, when I worked as a psychiatric technician on the short-term, crisis-intervention ward(yeah, the blind leading the blind), I had a wonderful patient, a manic depressive sculptor named Mark. Mark would become so agitated that he was a human Mexican jumping bean. The only time I ever saw him sit down was when he was eating. I dearly loved Mark, though, because he was funnier than shit and we'd laugh our asses off every day, usually at the absurd.

But Mark put me in my place one day, when we were decorating the ward for Christmas. He was so bouncy that he couldn't get the crepe paper up with tape so that it was straight. When I offered some suggestions as to how to drape the stuff, he turned to me and said, "I may be crazy but I'm NOT stupid." That shut my mouth. And I never forgot it, either.

So I'm slamming my foot down on the work insanity. I too may be crazy but I'm not stupid either. This blog, my design work, my friends and family, music, and so many other things, are being neglected because of the job. The things I love the most. And which have been tossed to the wayside for the freneticism of a dumb job. As of this coming week, I'm going to be having a serious discussion with my boss. Because she's my friend too and is well aware of my disorder, she'll listen. And hopefully work with me to make my life more palatable.

A Bloomin' Miracle

Not bad for a Home Depot orchid. This is my first one, which I bought several months ago, with only one blossom that has since died, and I know absolutely nothing about the care of orchids. But I'm publishing this picture because the orchid gives me so much pleasure. How I managed to grow six blossoms, I'm sure I don't know.

Cobweb Crepe Shawl
This has become one of my travel projects, along with socks from the book (working on the Purple Haze prototype now). There are, in the directions, three 24-round repeats of this Old Shale pattern. I will do an extra repeat because I like larger shawls.

The tiers of the Old Shale border remind me of a cake, for some weird reason. I do wish I had added a pattern stitch to the center diamond, as the garter stitch looks juvenile with the lace border and upcoming lace edging. Lesson learned for the next shawl.

It dawned on me the other day that for the past two years, I've been doing lace almost exclusively. I'm tellin' ya, I have an addictive personality and making those fucking holes is addictive. One of these days I'm really going to start Sharon Miller's Wedding Ring shawl. In fact, that might be a good thing to mess around with this Memorial Day weekend. I did a swatch in the past but it would be smart to redo it now.

It's strange, sure it's strange. You've got to pick up every stitch.
Come on, all Chuck's Children. Singer and author of this chorus lyric.

Love this song and used to be able to play it on the guitar. I think there may be a Martin in my future. I need to get back into music.

Anyway, Loopy the Enabler (character from Chaucer, perhaps?) got me interested in KnitPick's $25 deal for six of their laceweights grouped into a color family. Yeah, I bit on that one, price notwithstanding. Bought the Sea View sampler and ordered the Wine Tasting sampler earlier today, along with Carol's new book (which, if you haven't yet bought it, get off yer ass, please, and support my dear Sissyboo Deux fine design efforts).

From the left, skeins 1, 2, and 4 will be grouped into one shawl, with the brighter aquas into another. I prefer the first colorway to the second, and may in fact gift Mumsy with those three.

I'm not much for bright aquas, unless they're blended with tonalities of purple. Violet, royal purple, that sort of thing, some of which come in the Wine Tasting sampler. They also have two other sampler collections, one of which is Riverside Cafe, neutrals, and the other Sunset Picnic, which has reds and orange-reds, very pretty both.

Saturday Continues with Mr. Bonehead
While Neal is napping, having just gotten back from a week-long job in DC last night totally exhausted, I may sit and do a bit of spinning before we head out to do our weekly grocery shopping. And let people assume that we're an old married couple, while we argue over which toilet paper brand has the most sheets for the cheapest price. That's Neal, not me. He takes comparison shopping from the sublime to the truly ridiculous. And then after I've told him how absurd he is, we end up buying his choice anyway.

However, he is a rare and handy friend, my bestest, bestest friend, as we say. And if Neal's reading this (he's not much of a reader of anything, being a visual person), thanks for being my support, Mr. Bonehead. Love you muchly.

Just Shut the Fuck Up, Already

Best Quote I Heard All Day
Jesus! Where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to be President? —Hunter S. Thompson

As always, the Duke is the best source for a pithy comment. Whatever happened to gonzo journalism? That was writing that teetered on the edge, always radical, always insightful, if you dared to accept it. Now it’s nothing but talking heads. And talking, bickering candidates of the Democratic Party persuasion.

Prior It Tease
…are becoming skewed, slivered, and fricasséed. At this point in time, it would appear that my life’s list is as follows:

1. Work—write endlessly boring text about how to click buttons, track vehicles, run reports. And becoming an expert on DOT regulations for “motor carriers.” Trucks. Of all shapes and sizes.A thrill of a learning experience.

2. Sleep and food, the latter generally provided by Neal, the former by medication.

3. Knitting and spinning

4. My family and friends

5. My blogs

One month since I posted. Sheesh. Work is sucking the life blood out of me and that’s going to come to a screeching halt. I need this job, especially with the recession enveloping us, but they need me more, in a way, than I need them. So I’ve decided what my priorities will be and make sure all of them get equal attention.

Traveling Mar
Yeah, it’s going to be one of those months—just spent two days in Uncasville/Taftville, CT, working with a new client. However, I stayed at Mohegan Sun, a place glitzy enough to cause epileptic seizures. Staying there was the idea of our high-roller VP of Sales, who got us all rooms on the cheap. I played the slots for approximately a half hour and lost $30. That was more than enough. God, what a mindless activity.

Off to Newburgh, NY, then Indy. That’s April. In May, off to Russellville, Arkansas. Bleah. But that may do it for the travel until next fall. I hope. I’d druther stay home these days.

Technology Roolz or Droolz, Take Yer Pick
Kinda. For the first time, I’m using Word 2007 to publish my blog entry. Think about that. Blogs have so proliferated that Billy Gates figured he should add a blog publishing feature in the latest version of Word. You connect Word with your blog account—Word gives you a number of blog publishing choices—and then you can click “Publish” when you’re finished and up it goes. We’ll see. This could be a good thing.

Obligatory Knitting Shit
I finished the Icelandic Lace Shawl. My one comment on this freebie shawl is that I would have decreased the crocheted chains on the edging by 25%. Too many—they should have been spaced more equably. The pattern itself is somewhat on the odd side, constructionwise. It was not terribly straightforward, with a center stitch that disappeared in one stitch pattern, resurfacing in the next.

I’m busy working out the sock designs for the book—Chantilly Lace is charted and I’m proving it out. Born in the USA’s prototype is done. Two down, 16 to go.

I also finished the Las Vegas Brights silk, plyed it, and skeined it up. From 4 ounces, I got 853 yards of laceweight. Not enough for a shawl, too much for a scarf. So maybe it will do for two scarves. And yes, Sissy Scrappy, I might give you one.

As soon as the LVB was off the bobbins, I started spinning some black alpaca I bought from Mel and David at Rhinebeck. Now of this, I have 14 ounces, more than enough for a shawl. Yes, I know. Knitting lace in black is a bitch. And your point would be? It’s too HARD, as Junior Bush has said? I can handle it. Although I may whine about it at some point, once I start knitting lace with it.

Thoughts on Lace
It dawned on me the other day that of late, meaning the past two years, I’ve only really been interested in lace. Hence the newest train knitting project, the Cobweb Crepe shawl from Sharon Miller’s book Heirloom Knitting. This is constructed in the center square/diamond-border-edging method, one that I like very much. This is done in Helen’s Lace by Lorna’s Laces, quite nice to knit with. It does look like a bag one might buy in the Salvation Army store.

Sharon offers different ways of working this construction—you can pick up around the edges of the center for the border, then knit on the lace edging. Or you can work the damned thing flat, with seams to sew. Supposedly working this in the round is HARD, or at least for “experienced” knitters. Nonsense. In my mind, working something in the round and eliminating seams, particularly in lace, is far easier than fucking around with flat pieces. It is truly not at all hard, as long as you pay attention, work the edge stitches of the center properly so that they can be used in the border pick-up, and remember that garter stitch in the round is knit one round, purl one round. No big deal.

So here’s the “bag” so far. The border is a simple Old Shale derivative, the edging Clematis. This is a construction that is relatively easy to design with. I worked the center diamond as written, in garter stitch, but a scattered eyelet pattern would be nice. I wish I had thought about doing that before I started. I particularly like what I call “columnar” edgings, ones that are vertical rather than horizontal. I think that the symmetry found in these types of borders lends itself well to the mitering of the shawl’s corners. Just my opinion, for what it’s worth.

Mags
Well, I bought the new Vague. About the only design I found appealing was Kaffe’s cardigan. Other than that, it was the usual snoozer. However, you spinners out there—buy this issue of Spin-Off. It’s one of the best they’ve published in a while. With most of the other fiber magazines thudding along, Spin-Off has pulled itself together with the new layout, new editor, and it’s well worth buying. I highly recommend Abby Franquemont’s article on plying. I found it extraordinarily good and enlightening. The article on making cabled yarn was the one that intrigued me the most, although it’s rather a belabored process.

A Franklin Extravaganza, with Hot Wolverinas Attending

My darling gay son will be in Philly in a week. (I'm stealing from his lovely mother, and Franklin is the same age as my daughter Corinne, so he could be her gay twin brother--except that she's blonde.) Read all about his shoot at Wool Gathering in Kennett Square, PA. And if you live within driving range, getcher ass there. It's Saturday the 19th. I'll be there, as will Carol Sulcoski, maybe Joe, maybe some other Wolverinas, although Liza can't make it.

I don't recall ever hearing of any other knitting gaggle (or is it a murder of knitters?) quite like the Wolvies. And who are the Wolvies? I will give big kudos (such an oily word) to any reader who can name all 8 members of the Wolverinas. You've got 4 already if you read carefully. Now, come up with the other four. I bet ya can't do it

Anyway, kids, my lunch hour is well over. But it’s Friday, so fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke. I’m glad to have had a few minutes to write something that means more to me than any other prose that leaks from my electronic pen. Here’s some close personal Hoboken friends, who greet me every morning as I walk towards the Light Rail that takes me to Jersey City.

Some rare and handy birds, although they shit all over the place. But my Oma always told me that bird crap on your head means you’ll be lucky. I can do without luck in that instance.

Best Quote I Heard All Day

I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society, except that which makes the road safer, the beer stronger, the old men and women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer—Brendan Behan

Haven’t really had much in the way of writin’ words in my brain this week. It happens. Perhaps I need to look into Behan’s approach. As he said, “Actually, I’m a drinker with writing problems.”

I’d rather write nothing than just toss up three lines or so. Perhaps it’s time for a blog vacation. Although I do need to do Part Deux of Finishing.

The few days I had off last week were spent mostly in the water, along with some knitting, a social event that included unbelievably good seafood cakes sans filler, and otherwise torpid behavior.

Blue Diamonds
Waiting for the Cotton Glace for Jenn’s Campanula made me itchy. Socks on the needles but no interest. Finished a piece for a surprise gift for a friend. And then I remembered: I have a bunch of Sharon Miller’s patterns and some Kidsilk Haze for one of them, Blue Diamonds.

Except that this is Magenta Diamonds. No blue. So here’s the start of it. As of this writing, I now have six motifs across.

Despite this appearing to be a fairly simple design, this is not for a beginning lace enthusiast. For one thing, you must have a solid handle on lace stitch formation when using a mohair blend such as Kidsilk. The self-edging is 16 rows, the diamond motif 14, so you need to keep careful track of where you are.

And because you work three of the edging points first before picking up along their edge to start the body, there’s a bit of fadoodling to start. If you look closely, you can see a slightly heavier ridge at the beginning of the body that is the picked-up edge.

As with all of Sharon’s directions, this one is wonderfully notated. However, for those of you who absolutely won’t or can’t use charts, you’re shit out of luck, even though she does give you the first 14 rows of the shawl body written out. You still need the chart, trust me.

Open Mic Thursday
I had another topic already written up but while I was working on the Magenta Diamonds tonight, half-listening to the TV, I thought of another one I liked a bit better.

It seems to me that the men who have meant anything to me in my life had their own passion for a particular interest. Indeed, if they have passion for an interest, they generally had passion for me too. Passion being what it is. It's the mutual understanding of each other's interest that I have found particularly important in a relationship.

Let's face it--one of the first things a guy notices about me, other than my tits and perhaps my winning smile, is that I am passionate about what I do, be it writing or fiberwork. If he has his own passionate interests, then he generally gets me. So here we go with this week's topic:

How important is it for you to have a significant other who has passion for their own interests?

And please, let it not be a justification for spending more money on yarn, eh?

Upcoming Events
I keep thinking about Fibrefest North, where I’ll be doing some impromptu finishing and spinning clinics, Rhinebeck and, yes, possibly Stitches East.

Graylagran posed this question in the Comments (note that I didn’t edit it):

let's say, that stitches east was just a few miles down the road from you (and you had hours of freetime, and lots of money burning a hole in your pocket) ... would yo go to the market (inspite of how you feel about the xrx "design team")?

Sure I’d go to the Market. What has that got to do with the XRX Design Team? OK, so I put $7 in the X-men’s pocket. I bought the Spring issue of Knitter’s, so I gave them some bucks for that too.

The reason I have not gone to SE the past two years is because I had no interest in going to Baltimore at that time and because I really felt more like spending money at Rhinebeck. The Market had gotten to be a bit stale, in my opinion. Tons of shops with booths selling the same crap. However, it is an excellent place to look at books you haven’t seen, and there are a few vendors who have wonderful wares.

So this year, I may in fact take a jaunt down I95 to B’more. I can do it in a day and if I want to stay overnight, I can find somewhere away from Inner Harbor.

Of course, in order not to be recognized, I may have to wear some fugly sweater and carry that damned Shaun hot-water bottle holder that my sister gave me for my birthday. That way, I’ll be most rare and handy in my incognito attire.