1. Last night, A.'s younger step-sister, H., came over for dinner and to help me figure out the pattern for the knitted titty. I've been "practicing" on a scarf/potholder/thingie for a couple of months now, and felt confident that I could at least cast on, knit, and purl. It is time to knit a boob.
It was a fun--but also frustrating--evening. Surprise! I figured out how to knit an I-cord after many failed attempts and exclamations from both H. and I. of "What the fuck? This can't be right." Then, even after H. showed me repeatedly how to do it, every time I tried to increase a row I ended up with my yarn connected to the ball on my right knitting needle, instead of my left. Of course, I couldn't figure out how to undo what I'd done wrong and ended up having to rip everything out. After my sixth attempt I poured myself a glass of wine and called it a night. (Hey, you knitters! Any tips as to what the hell I am doing wrong?!?!)
However! My first official, completed knitted project is a NIPPLE. So I did feel smug with satisfaction as I sipped my wine. Progress, no matter how small, is progress.
2. I am seriously considering buying Buster a coat for the winter. He doesn't develop as thick an undercoat as Belle and winter is harder on him than her. I thought this one was cute, functional and would serve its purpose. I'd get it in black and remove that absurd hood. A. is convinced I've lost my mind. I think I am being a responsible pet parent. I mean, it's been around 3 degrees in the daytime, without considering the wind chill, for a couple of weeks now. Brrrrrr....
A. is concerned the neighborhood dogs, namely Chewy*, will pick on Buster and tease him.
3. I didn't realize how much food I've been consistently making from scratch (yay!) until I signed up for SparkPeople. Trying to input homemade foods into their nutrition tracker tool is A PAIN IN THE ASS. I am losing interest in the site pretty quickly as a result.
Also, the site seems absurdly packed with links to information. Is anyone else using SparkPeople? Do you find it kind of confusing to use, or is it just me? I tend to shut down if there are too many things competing for my attention, hence my EXTREME HATE for live, professional men's basketball games.
4. A. and I are members of our local food co-op. They've called for submissions for panels for a new mural inside the store. I am considering submitting one. The artist who will compile these will also let me help paint it, too. Murals are not my favorite type of project, but they do lend themselves to direct involvement with communities, and exist in a public life that I find very important. I'd love to be involved with this particular one. A real sense of ownership and responsibility with the co-op has been stirring in me lately. And I think it would do my soul much good to paint again. I would really feel like I was contributing my own particular skills and strengths to the co-op project, you know?
5. Resolutions Update:
- I've flossed daily every day this year! Rock on!
- I did some reading for The Thesis last night. Progress, if very small.
- I brought my darling little red iPod Shuffle with me today so I can go to the gym after work. I am pretty excited about the random song thing. I don't know what is on the Shuffle, and I don't know what I'll hear next. I have over 1,000 songs on my computer that the shuffle randomly loaded from, so I truly have no idea what I'll be listening to. There is so much suspense and anticipation involved. That should keep my mind off of the heaving and trying not to barf.
Happy Friday to you!
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* I've named the chow, who is a pain-in-the-ass, running-free-and-tormenting-my-dogs, Chewy. He's a bastard and I really, really, wish his owner would keep him on her property or behind a fence. He's been aggressive toward my dogs before on walks, and on one occasion I ended up being drug down a dirt road while they all had a scuffle. I returned home with TUMBLEWEEDS in my hair. A. looked at me, stunned, and said, "What the hell happened to you?" I STRONGLY DISLIKE Chewy and Chewy's owners.
Posts
1. I can knit, but apparently not that well because I've never even heard of an I-cord. However, I think it's awesome that you have created a knitted nipple.
ReplyDelete2. I always sort of look at dogs and coats and think that their owners are irresponsible for treating them like dolls. But I've never lived somewhere as cold as where you live. I don't know whether you've lost your mind or not. I wouldn't want my dog to get cold either.
3. Weight Watchers is great for homemade foods--they have a food adder that you can use if you already know how many points it is, a point calculator if you know the nutritional information, and a recipe builder where you tell it all the ingredients and it tells you how many points there are per serving. It's pretty much fantastic. Also, not free. But still, it sounds much better than SparkPeople for that sort of thing.
I strongly dislike Chewy and his owners too, on your behalf!
I love shuffling the iPod. In fact, I get angry if I get two songs in a row by the same artist. NO!
ReplyDeleteJess - that is great the WW has user-friendly tools like that. Some of that can be done with SP, but getting it to accurately calculate my homemade bread is a bitch. Thus, even a simple sandwich is taxing.
ReplyDeleteIt's oddly sweet to me that you hate Chewy. Aaaaaahhh...
Tessie - I am really, ridiculously excited. With the added bonus that I'm not the funny old lady with a discman, and I am chomping at the bit. To get to the gym. This? This is new.
I've been all over the flossing, myself.
ReplyDeleteMy poodle has a coat, but she's a poodle. She shivers outside if she doesn't have her coat on, so I refuse to believe I am treating her like a doll, I am treating her like a living thing that gets cold. However, the fact that she has a wardrobe of coats may be over the line.
ReplyDeleteWe used to belong to a co-op in Billings, and I miss it. I hope you do submit something for the mural and I sure do miss that type of community.
I am so giddy that you are knitting a boob! That is completely awesome and wonderful to me.
ReplyDeleteDid you need help with increasing or doing the I-cord? I might be able to help with the increasing, but the I-cord - I cannot figure out how to do it. And Lord knows I've tried.
If you're a visual learner, you might like the knitting videos on this site: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/increases.
You can even make the video play frame-by-frame, in case you're like me and take awhile to absorb what just happened. Or you can just play the video 457 times in a row (also like me) until you understand it.
Dude, you're way more industrious than I am in the knitting arena. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteMy first project was a scarf. My second project was a scarf. My third project was a scarf. (Are we seeing a pattern here?) I eventually made a hat - very badly. I've mostly stuck to the flat items (SCARVES) since then, with the noteable exception of the wee little baby hats I'm attempting to knit for Bean. We'll see how THAT goes.
This is funny, because Monk's whole belly is now completely bald--all the wrestling, scooting around on the carpet has worn the fur right off his chest and belly. I got him a few things to wear from the thrift store (a dollar hoodie and a dollar vest) and he seems to like it. I guess they're keeping him warmer--his fur is so much thinner and shorter than Cab's. Yay for warm dogs! But don't spend too much at first--there's a possibility he'll rip it to shreds. Or maybe I'm thinking of Cab.
ReplyDeleteWell, OBVIOUSLY, until you can knit a boob, you're not a REAL KNITTER.
ReplyDeleteHAAAA i had not heard of this titty-knitting before! i just read your original post on it, and went to the site.. how fantastic!! i love this. good luck on the rest of the boob :-)
ReplyDeleteawesome about the mural.. let us know what happens there!