I Made It!

Isn't there a gospel song out with this title? I maaaade it! This week has really been something else. The weekend was alright. Knitting, cleaning, lounging. I love rainy days because they give me an excuse to stay in the house all weekend. However, I am ready for Spring. There was some nice weather this week and this was very helpful. I'll tell you why later.

Thank you all for helping me narrow down the dress choices. I asked ya'll which ONE I should choose. How come couldn't hardly nobody just choose one? After tallying all choices, dresses No. 2 and No. 4 tied (scroll down to see dresses). I can work with that. I may not even be able to find the dresses in the stores if I don't move quickly. She's never worn an all red dress. At first I was like, not for Resurrection Sunday. But then again, we are there to be reminded that we're covered by the blood of Jesus.

I'm almost done with Cycling Aran.


I don't feel like weaving in ends and sewing a zipper. I used double stranded worsted weight because I liked the idea of the cables being super chunky. I have to block it. I'm so very lazy that I didn't knit a test swatch and I think it might bite me in the butt this time. I tried it on a co worker. The length was perfect though. The colors are mixed gray light and mixed gray dark. The light gray was supposed to be a vest and the color was discontinued. So, I got dark gray for the back. I think it added a little old school flair.

With my left over yarn I'm making a Brother In Law hat. Kamika paired this up with her Cycling Aran. The hat was for one of the kids (Little Man thinks it looks dorky), but I may send it to Big Bro anyway. Now for the drama. I was leaving for work Monday morning and the car wouldn't start. I stayed home that day, bummed a ride from a reluctant BD2 on Tuesday (and was therefore late), and used public transportation on Wednesday. On weekdays, it takes me an hour to get to work with one stop. I left my house at 7:20 and didn't get to work till 10:00. The bus/light rail dance was seamless. It was the fact that I had to get off a stop and walk a 30 min round trip to drop Teddy Bear to school mixed with the fact that the last light rail stop is 3 miles away from my job. I had to call one of my co-workers to come pick me up. Combine all this with cramps so fierce they had me breaking out into a sweat.

A different co-worker volunteered to get me the day before. Of course he could not be reached. He felt really bad and convinced me to stop what I was doing that very moment to drive the long distance back to my house, jump start my ailing vehicle (battery wouldn't hold a charge and the check engine light was on), recommended a place for me to take it, followed me there, took me back to work, and back to pick up my child and my repaired car at the end of the day. This guy normally irks me a lot for his entertainment. He is now totally redeemed. I will have no problems knitting him a gift since he's been asking me for a hat. It will be the best hat ever. My co-worker who kept giving me rides is getting something too. I'm thinking about Noro fingerless mitts for her. Her favorite color is turquoise. On top of that, I'm actually happy my repairs were only $225 since I thought that I had catastrophic engine failure.

The goodness doesn't stop there. Remember how crappy my week all started? Well, yesterday I turned 35 and this didn't help. Funny since sometimes I still feel like a little girl. My brother even had the audacity to call to wish me a happy almost 40 birthday. I try to avoid cursing on my blog, so we'll leave that there. Well, being single, there's normally no one around to honor me on such days. My parents are JW's, and I've never had anyone love me enough to gift me on Valentine's day or even Mother's day for that mater. I once planned my own Mother's day and demanded that BD2 execute it all. Bad idea. And, I've had friends invite me to brunch with their families, even though I'd be paying for myself (WTF?). I stopped going after a while.

This has always bothered Little Man. He sees how the world dotes over moms and lovers during these times and doesn't understand why his own Mama can't have this doting, not even on her birthday. It's not like I be crying or depressed on these days. I've gotten used to it really. Well, yesterday he just couldn't take it anymore and made me the best cake I've ever had in my life. I ate it until I couldn't eat it anymore. See how really happy I am? I love these kids.

I showed him all the cake decorating stuff I had. I didn't know he planned to use it all.

I'm very happy.

There was another cool picture he took of me and Teddy Bear blowing out candles, but I didn't want to pay any more to have it emailed to myself, and I wanted to show you all how really happy I was. I can't figure out how to get the pictures off my phone any other way.

Resurrection Sunday

You know, I just realized that this very special day is quickly coming upon us. I love this time to really reflect upon the sacrifice that that man Jesus made for us. It's hard to explain how believing in this man can bring so much power to your life. It's just something that you have to try for yourself.

Another thing that I like about this day (and don't act like you don't too), is the opportunity to dress up Teddy Bear!! Woohoo!

I really love the fact that church attire has become so relaxed these days. But, that makes dressing up even more fun. Some days I just gotta kick plain Jane out the door and do it big. After all, this is why I had a girl. Yes, I willed those chromosomes into that fetus.

Here's a few ideas I have so far. Can you help me choose a look?

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4
No. 5

No. 6 I don't like any of these, keep looking!

I'm not stuck on sleeveless, I think I'm just drawn to it because it gives me a chance to add my own hand made embellishments. These styles are pretty mild and I may find something a lot more busy in one of those discount stores. I like the busy dresses, the ones with way too many spring like details embroidered in, because we can use them later for art in her room. Yes, there are dresses on her walls as art. The range in size from 3 months to 18 months, and it's time for a couple of new ones. The Christmas dress is going up there, but I just need to get some more complementing hooks.

I Wanna Choke Him Like Homer on Bart!

This day has been frustrating to say the least. First of all, Teddy Bear goes to a private pre-school that takes way too many days off. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they took Valentines day off, or Yum Kipper, and it's a Christian school. So, even though next Monday is President's day, they still took off for Lincoln's birthday today.

Little Man goes to public school. They take too many days off too. They'll be off this Friday and Next Monday. I know I'm to blame too, but I have a good excuse for getting confused sometimes. It wasn't until the school called asking where my son was that I realized that he did NOT have school off TODAY. He told me there was no school and I did not double check. At first, this was kind of funny because I f$%&ed up so bad. After me yelling a few "What?!", "OMGs", and other explicative language into the phone, Little Man figures out that he'd better run into his room to get out of those big ass footie pajamas he thought he was going to lounge around all day in.

So, he comes out of the room dressed, and I'm still kinda laughing. I'm still frustrated too, so I tell him that he's walking (I'm joking). It's about an 8-10 minute walk. He bursts into tears. "Whaaat?!" This made me mad so I pinched the mess out of him and sent him walking for real. This is the same kid who got an attitude an hour earlier when I informed him he had to share one of three pieces of pizza with his little sister even though he'd just eaten breakfast. The same kid who won't empty the trash unless I tell him, even when we're balancing stuff on top. The same kid who knows he can't go outside until his chores are done right, but won't do them right the first time always thinking I'm not going to notice half-ass jobs.

I swear, I'd hand him over to his dad, but I can't bear the thought of him turning into one of them bitches Patrice was talking about (let me add that his Dad has a good job and goes to work on time, but he was a playa and a dogg and it took him too many years to learn how to respect the mother of his child). Not from my womb, uh-uh! I know that these issues ain't no biggie, but when you add all these microscopic irritants up, you can understand why Ki-ki left the kids and Big Mama's and never came back. I know I will never do this. So, I'm going to hang in there, and be pissed off for a minute, and maybe later, if he gives me some ish again, choke the hell out of him like Homer on Bart.

Gettin' Got At

I'm pretty sure there aren't any men who read my blog besides my brother and daddy sometimes. If there are male lurkers, you ought to give a holla in the comments section sometimes, it may make things a little bit more interesting. I said that because I want to talk about something a tiny bit sensitive. Men trying to talk to me.

Beside the recent account I'm about to share with you all, I do not remember the last time a man has tried to "Get At Me." Dang, I've been using this term so freely for so many years I never realized until just now how inappropriate it sounds. Get At. So dam ghetto. Anyway....

While perusing the isles of Walmart, this Walmart employee says, "Can I help you with that cart?" I just thought he was extending some dumb ass kind of customer service so I smiled at him and gave him a cherry no-thank-you. He follow me and admits that he really just asked me that silly question so that he could lead into the can-i-call-you-sometime question.

Me: Oh, I see. Do you work here?

Him: Yes, why, do you need help finding something?

Me: No, I just saw you engaged in a conversation with an employee a minute ago and was wondering.

Him: So, I didn't see a ring on your finger. Are you taken?

Me: No, not yet. So do you work here?

Him: Yes.

Me: So, what do you do here?

Him: I'm a cashier.

Me: Oh.

I quickly divert my eyes towards the cheap acrylic yarns and patterns. I was really looking for a purse handle for my Fat Bottom bag.

Hey, at least I didn't shut him down right away. It's been so long since I've gotten any kind of action I know I need to consider all suitors. He was gross looking and looked to be a little bit younger than me. I ain't feeling no horney cashiers right now. I say horney cause I know he was trying to holla at that woman right before me, when she shut him down, he moved to me, and he didn't waist any time moving on when I showed no interest.

I once asked a guy that if my friend had not tried to match us up, would he had talked to me if he saw me walking down the street. He said that he would not have because I don't look like I need nothin' or nobody. "So, I have to look needy?" I replied. "No, it's just that blah, blah, blah, ....... But you foine as hell, ain't no doubt about that." This didn't encourage me.

My girlfriend once told me that you'll only get out of it (trying to acquire a date) what you put into it. I don't really know if I agree with her, but this does answer so many questions.

Fat Bottom Bag

I like it! I wish that I was good at sewing so that I could have given it a lining. Very cute but too small for me. It also needs a closure. Maybe a snap closure. Until I work these things out it will be a small project bag. Perfect for these socks I have going on. You've probably already figured out that I never make my bed. I'll try not to take pictures of it in the future I promise.

I really like the shape of the bag. That's why I'm making a market bag for myself. I've always admired those wonderfully colorful felted bags you sometimes see. But, what if one of the food items you put in it leaks, what a tragedy that'd be. So basically, I'd be bagging items to put in my bag. How wasteful.
So, this seemed like the perfect time to start a project I've been wanting to embark on for quite some time. Something with plastic bag yarn. I got the instructions from this site referred to in a Crochet Me article. It's pretty easy, but making yarn for just my little project is taking A LOT of bags. I think that by time I finish the quantity used will be the equivalent to the number that could fit in an overstuffed kitchen bag. Maybe about $300 dollars worth of groceries. My "bisquits" are about 2 inches wide. I wanted a big bag so I'm trying to make chunky yarn and I'm using a size N hook.

I owe my brother a hand made birthday gift. It's really pathetic because his birthday was in August. Well, he wanted a vest with a little intarsia in the front. Boring. I couldn't do it. I ripped it off the needles several times. Finally, I took a stand (not directly to my brother yet). I will not start on another mile long stockinette project! He will get the Cycling Aran and love it. It's pretty fun and easy so far.

Just Try It, For A Season

I wanted to post about the completion of my Fat Bottom Bag, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

While reading the latest post of an old college friend I realized something that I've known for some time even more profoundly today. Our struggle is great. Now, when I use the word struggle, I'm trying to encompass ALL facets of our existence. Basically, whatever it was that clutched your heart when you read the word struggle, that's what I'm talking about.

Today I want to remind you that God has a plan, and that he has everything under control.

This fact however does not mean that we do not or should not try to take responsibility for making this world a better place even though things are just going to get worse and worse. You may think that I just contradicted myself, but wrap your mind around these things. Jesus spoke of his second coming in Matthew 24, but at verse 36 he said "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." I grew up in a house where to position yourself to take action against atrocities and to position yourself for success in the secular world was futile. "This system of things is coming to an end" is what I was taught. I believe this, but does this mean give up? I think not.

Everyone recognizes the signs of the times talked about in the bible, but many people refuse to believe God's resolution to all these things.

About 8 years ago I was sitting in the living room of one of my best friend's parents. They live in this seriously fly house in the Blackhawk division of Danville. Needless to say, this was a chill spot we frequented. We were watching CNN who was reporting on some goings on in the Middle East. Without words, my friend and I turned and slowly looked at each other up and down. We were pretty much dressed the exact same way as these girls in the Middle East who were about our same age. They were doing the same thing we were doing too, cooking, enjoying one another's company, etc. Only difference was, outside of their little plain apartment were bombs going off, gunfire, screaming, rockets landing. Those girls were really trying hard to find some normalcy in the confines of the thin walls of that fragile apartment.

My girlfriend and I reacted to this realization differently. I'll not discuss her reaction here, but it's almost like I turned into Sarah Conner that day. Although I've continued to lavish my son with the fortunes of his environment, I stopped trying to shield him from the realities of this world. I wanted him to know that we walk a thin line and that should some of the disturbing images discussed in my old friend's post should touch our front door, he shouldn't be surprised. He was two then and what this way of child rearing has yielded is quite phenomenal.

I took my son to work with me and advised him not to talk to anyone. I know this seems extreme, but it was really just a buffer that I'd implanted to keep him cognizant of every word that emerged from his lips. I work for the feds at one of the facilities listed in the top ten at risk for a terrorist attack. Somehow, my then 9 year old son found the guy there who is the boss of everyone (so many words in his title I can't remember), and engaged in conversation with him without an invitation. "Are you my mama's boss?" I distinctly told that boy to stay in the conference room, yet a few hours later he had the Deputy Chief of Operation's So and So playing some race car game on the PSP. At the end of the day that old white man told me what I already knew. "That young man is very intelligent, very confident, very well spoken...." My son also loves learning about God and His love, helping people, and recognizes injustices in our community quite easily. Don't utter the words imminent domain around him unless you want to go a few rounds.

I think that this is because I try to tell my son the truth about everything, even the evil truth, and never try to shield him from the fact that it exists. However the battles that I try to prepare him for are not physical like those of Sarah Conner's son, but spiritual.

There are so many great minds out there, and I so wish that all their hearts belonged to Christ. The impact that they would then have on this world's critical situations would literally be miraculous. I don't want to offend anyone or single them out for not being bible thumpers. I just believe in God's power and that he uses men to do his will and that if you, great minded people would believe this too......Ahhhhhhhh, sookie-sookie now!

Now, I know everyone has their various reasons for not believing enough in the bible to apply the words in this book to their lives. But if you believe in God and that he has control, then just try for a season to come closer to Him. During this season forget about your intellect (what you think you know about the history of Christianity as compared to other religions), your church experience, that pastor you know, your overbearing grandma or auntie. Forget about whatever reason you have for not submitting to Him (forget about your past experiences) and talk to him on your knees tonight about the things deepest in your heart. Commit to this communication to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for just a season, just to see how your heart feels at the end of Spring as compared to the end of Winter.

My hope is that you'll at least have the peace that you need to look forward to the future. Let me know how it turns out.

My First Lorna's Laces Socks

I've noticed that I've been wearing these socks a lot this winter.



I made these before I started blogging. I think it's been about two years now. These socks still look new. I got the pattern from this book called Stocking Feet published by AnniesAttic.com. I just used single crochet for the foot.

I was very proud of them then and still am now. I ran out of yarn on the left foot and could never find the same colorway again. Even though the fabric resembles that of a fishnet, they are still very warm and comfy.

Tough Titty! Knitting Content, I Swear

I often have children running towards me at full speed for one reason or the other. Therefore I've honed skills of sneaking around the house or always remember to lock the door behind me (depending upon what I'm doing) even though they've started picking locks. I was walking toward the children this time. Four to be exact since there were visitors last weekend. I was cradling a precious project in my arms as usual along with size 2.5 circular needles, when I was blessed with a full speed running hug accompanied by the beloved song "Mooooommmmy."

This drove one of my needles right into my areola. I screamed and looked down for blood but found none.

The other night, I noticed that said boob was sore. It had probably been sore for quite some time and I hadn't noticed. If you can't understand how I couldn't notice such a thing, ask any currently nursing mother. It's a feeling you grow accustomed to after a while so it may take a while to realize unusual boob tenderness, even years later. Breast feeding is beautiful but it's the worst pain you'll ever feel. Teddy Bear was breastfed exclusively.

I felt myself up and noticed that there was a scab. The knitting needle had actually punctured my tit. Ain't that a...

FO's, Hair, Politics

I was finally able to squeeze some pictures out of my tired camera. So, I'll post some fiber content first.

I told ya'll I got a Stitch N' Bitch Happy Hooker book for Christmas. Seems likes the projects have been flying off of the pages right into my lap, yes Ma'm.

First it was the Bunny Slippers. Done here in a yarn that's NOT meant for walking around on the floor with. So glad I didn't bother to sew eyes and nose on. I sure ain't buying the fancy stuff the book recommends. By mistake, on the first slipper I used the slipper insole for the bottom sole. I like this mistake because it looks better and fits my size 8 foot more snuggly.

Then the One Skein Scarf which happened in just a couple of hours cause I found this acrylic yarn I liked. I got some in camaflouge colors too. Maybe I'll make something for Little Man after all. I love this scarf, I really do. I swear this girl has to be in every picture. I hear her in there being bossy right now.

And finally, Fat Bottom Bag, which only took a couple of days, and which I was able to use yarn from my stash that was gifted to me about 2 years ago and which I am completely delighted with. I'm so glad I waited for the right project for this yarn. My co-workers gave it to me along with a patterns book of some tacky shrugs. I wish I could see them now to show them what perfect yarn they chose for the Fat Bottom bag. Bless their hearts. I only have to find handles and a brooch now.

I'm working on the Jolly Rancher too, but it's giving me problems because I don't like scull and cross bones and am trying to substitute a dirt bike silhouette. Therefore, I can't waste my precious camera energy on it.

This weekend, I tried to color my hair with a "rinse" or as the bottle says, temporary color. I rarely, rarely colored my hair when it was processed, and I've never used a rinse before. The bottle said "Vibrant Color." I didn't want it to be a vibrant Dark Cherry, just a hint of a dark cherry. So, I didn't leave it in there for the full 30 minutes and I rinsed as much as I could out. Most of my linens are white, and I didn't want that stuff on my sheets. I guess that's why there's not one hint of Dark Cherry Jazzing left in my hair. It's like I did nothing. Should I try again?

Today at work I took it upon myself to remind everyone that if they wanted to vote in the Presidential Primaries that in California it is the last day to register to vote. There's one Black employee on our campus. He's from Detroit but has traveled around the country with his family in pursuit of career advancement. He doesn't vote. He didn't admit it to me, but I can tell. He told me that letting everyone know what my political preferences were (voting for the Black candidate) may prevent me from getting promoted as quickly so I should "keep it on da unda."

It went like this:

Me: This is your last day to register to vote if you plan on voting in the California Presidential Primaries.

Him: I'ma register, I'ma register (I've been trying to get him to do this for the last two weeks.)

Me: Well, today is your LAST chance, just do it.

Him: Guurl, you don't need to be tellin' errbody who you wanna vote for. You need to keep it on da unda. That might keep you from gettin yo lil promotion.

Me: If there ever was a time that we need to make it known who and what we stand for, it's now. And, maybe one day soon we won't need to keep it on da unda. Boy, I gotta get that Detroit outta you (I shouldn't have said this).

Him: Oh, errbody in Detroit is fo Barack. They all Black out der, so you know they makin' it known who they wanna vote for.

Me: Ok, so you need to make it known too and just be less....less, what is the term I'm searching for?

Him: You searchin' for the term Uncle Tom.

Me: Is that what I'm trying to say? Is that how you refer to yourself???!!!! You refer to yourself as an Uncle Tom?!

Him: Yeah, you just ack like you not sho whodda vote fo. And den ack like it just seem like most of the best points go twads yo guy.

At this point my eyes start scanning my office, I don't know what I'm looking for. I find it. It's about a 4 foot stick Engineers use for marking gas lines, phone lines, etc. I pick it up. He realizes what I'm about to do and makes a run for it. Thank God there weren't any witnesses. Don't worry, I couldn't get a decent swing because the long stick was too awkward to maneuver in the narrow hallway and he got away. Do you think I over reacted? What's wrong with our people? I really wanted to beat some sense into him.

Race and Politics

What is it about the tears of a white woman that make men faint? I really thought that when Hilary put on her little performance that would be the deal breaker. I think that this country is ready for a woman president, however it is not ready for one that openly shows emotion. I started to wonder how she was able to maintain composure in the public eye when her husband’s freaky deaky little Monica interludes were the main topic but couldn’t now. It wasn’t until the next day and the photo finish in New Hampshire that I realized her plan. It’s said that it is because of her “composure” that the American people can’t really relate to her. They said that the fact that she didn’t provide a question and answer session in Iowa added to her this ice woman persona. Therefore, I think that she was willing to do whatever it took to take first place in New Hampshire. I bet you we don’t ever see her cry again (at least not soon).

Now, she has to bring some race bullshit into the picture by saying “I’m not a racist, I have friends who are black.” Ok, she didn’t say that, but she might as well have because to me all of her responses to being criticized for racially tainted remarks were equally as stupid. Now that Barak has squashed the whole deal by reminding her to stay on point, her campaign has started whining about the goings on in Las Vegas. Barak is simply talking to and listening to people in industries that presidential campaigns don’t usually care about. “Ok, while the others are lying to a bunch of people in states with a dying car manufacturing industry (you can’t stop progress), I’m going to go talk to people who will be working for ever and ever (cause last I checked those robotic servants on the Jetson’s and Shaggy and Scooby are a long time coming).” This is what I imagine Barak’s campaign was thinking. Hilary’s camp is probably wondering what even to say to this “type” of people. She can’t cry again so soon, so they’re taking other avenues.

My cousin married a non U.S. citizen. Their love was genuine, and through this relationship we met a lot of his single foreign friends. My cousins and I became notorious for advising his friends to avoid getting into relationships with white women. They didn’t listen to us. We are also notorious for saying “I told you so” when the relationships went bad but ridiculously in the woman’s favor. My cousin even told something like "I told you so" to an ex-Ambassador who got swept by a white woman.

I’m going out on a limb here and risking making some of you angry because I’m hoping that some of my readers are ones who have never voted before. I’ve voted since I was 18, but I admit that most of the campaigning process and politics in general had been confusing and intimidating to me. Therefore, I often voted not because I thought my candidate would be the best one to deal with the most important issues (I can’t determine what those are for you), but because of what type of person I thought he was. I still use this as a measure, although now I have a much better understanding of the whole political process. I have a feeling (and really hope) that this year, you’re going to vote. So, when faced with choosing between a white woman who wants to manipulate with tears as opposed to a black man who wants to hear what I have to say so badly that he’s willing to come to my job to listen. Guess who I’m gonna pick?

Obama for change!

Long Meetings

Just how long should a business meeting be? I’m taking a break from and 8 hour meeting now. Good thing I like all of the people in this meeting. Shouldn’t you be able to get some real work accomplished between one to two hours?

This is how my last couple of weeks have been, just a series of looooong meetings. You see, we schedule these meetings to make up for the fact that the system we operate in doesn’t work. But, all anyone wants to talk about in the meetings are how the system doesn’t work. Here’s a bright idea, why don’t we just schedule some meetings to talk about how to re-vamp the system, but for now, can you update me with the information that I need to move forward with my many projects?!

Yesterday, while in a three hour meeting that went all bad for my office, I wished that I had a tazer. There’s this new guy who was hired to deal with the issues of this certain office who aren’t nearly producing the way they need to. Only thing is, he wants to get into everyone else’s business too. I could have tazed his ass over, and over again. It felt so good this morning to, with the permission of my boss, block his access and all the access of his underlings from our digital records. I bet his dumb ass thought he had a right to our database. Sike!

When’s the last time you’ve been trapped in a room together with people for hours? After a while, peoples’ Right Guard start turning left, they lose the ability to fight flatulence, and their hunger pangs start to affect their attitudes. My dad has always had the ability to make floors tremble whenever he farted. He used to say to us, “That was the floor cracking.” I used to think this was just so gross. But now I know that my poor daddy had to hold his farts all day long because he was around people all day long. This is why I try to be patient with people who in long meetings decide that they absolutely have to fart that ghost. Boooooooohoooooo! We’re all human.

Now my boss is trying to convince me to go to yet another meeting with the promise that after it ends at 3:00 pm I can go home. Deal or no deal?

Gift Knitting

My hobby is exactly that, mine. I use it to deal with a lot of stuff in my life , a lot. I think this is why it's so hard for me to make gifts for people. Now, I know there are some out there who pretty much gift their projects exclusively. I applaud you for that, I really do. But for some reason, I just can't let mine go that often. Now last year I wanted to create a scarf that I thought was beautiful, the Forbe's Forrest from Scarf Style. It contained intricate detail but was masculine at the same time. "This would like nice on my brother," I thought. And therefore, he became my muse. As soon as I was done blocking I shipped it off to him and he loved it. And then a few years back there were these chunky chenille boas that I couldn't stop crocheting. They were soooooo easy, I thought that all of the ladies that I love should have one. They loved them. My step mother even kept making requests for me to make them for her friends. This got old. My mom called me the other day and asked me if I could make a scarf for her. "What kind of scarf?", I asked. "Oh, just something basic", she said. "You could probably go right over to Target to find something pretty basic for less time and expense", I replied. There's other examples that I could share, but I'm sure with these few you get the point.

Now, when I tell someone I'm going to make them something, I keep my word. But, I do not like people taking away from my crafting time for their own selfish gain. Or, like Little Man, and I think maybe my Mom just trying to take my crafting time, period even though you don't really want or need it. Little Man is notorious for this. I'll make him something and he'll rarely wear it claiming some strange imperfection when he really wants to say that he prefers store-bought. Then why the hell did you ask me to make it for you?! Just so you know, I did offer to make my mom something more unique and less basic. Her other suggestion was a mohair sweater with a flop in the front. I think she used to own something like this back in the day. Imagine her shock when I told her one big hand full of mohair was about $9. My mom is like a size 22/24.

So, maybe all this is why when I made a genuine attempt to knit up some socks to fulfill my secret Santa obligations it all went horribly wrong. Now, these socks were supposed to be for a man who I estimate must wear about a 10 1/2 shoe. I used the Universal Toe-Up formula and determined that the socks should be worked over 64 stitches with 12 unwrapped at the toe and heel. Why, pray tell, did I then get something like the following?
Yep, they're turning out nicely, but that is my foot people, and I don't ever wear anything larger than I woman's 8 1/2. I tried to knit some socks for someone else, and ended up with some for myself. Oooops. ;-) Maybe it was that shot of Remi in my coffee.

But then, after Christmas, I started feeling guilty. Of course, the new babies are getting bigger, and after reading Shameka's gifting progress. Ughhh! I really want to finish their sweaters by New Year's day, but then my one and only gift, the one from my from my secret Santa is the Stitch N' Bitch Happy Hookers book. Oh, a wonderful publication indeed. Those bunny slippers are looking soooooo good right now. And little man would probably enjoy that Jolly Roger sweater if I could convert that skull and cross bones to an Oakland Raider. What to do, what to do.

I must decide quickly. Teddy Bear has just excused herself from the queue by objecting to these adorable ballet slippers I thought would be perfect for running around the house in. "Mommy, can you please take these off me. I don't like them." Huh, then why am I waisting my knitting energy on you then? Hmmm, I think I'll use this yarn for my Fat Bottom Bag.
Any advice?

FO's, FO's Everywhere

Ok, just a couple of FO's. First let me start off by saying that I must cherish every moment left of blogging with images as my camera is failing fast.

This is me giving it a good talking to on the way to Teddy Bear's Christmas program.


You'd better not piss out on me now. You better not.

Second, I've been finished with the Mini Anthropologie for a while now. When I finally got in the groove it only took like a day. I'm using a studded hair pin to hold in closed. I would have preferred a brooch, but I couldn't find one proportionate to Teddy Bear's size. This worked well too because I could pin it to the dress without poking through the fabric and therefore keep everything in place.

Teddy Bear was supposed to have a semi-solo (her and two other kids) but chickened out at the last milisecond. When she got up to the mic she just turned right back around and went to her teacher. Darn. She then played this game of hear no evil, see no evil. Oh well.

Oh, and I love my up do. I am well pleased, can't you tell? I've tried to capture every angle for your viewing pleasure. I know there may be naturalists out there who'd like to criticize my meticulously groomed locks. So sorry to disappoint. You WILL be seeing more of these creative endeavors.

The gathered pullover is a wrap. When I first saw it I thought that it would be perfect for a recycling project. I was right. It looks good on, but I must say that the sleeves look a little wonky when laying flat. Imagine my anguish when realizing that the sleeves may be too small for the sleeve holes (I know there's a technical name for this but I just can't think of it right now). The designer should have put a little note saying something like "Warning, the sleeves may look too small but they are not. You will have to work carefully with them but they will fit. We recommend crocheting them in with a slip stitch." I always crochet my sleeves in, but this method was especially useful this time. By the way, Banana Republic sews all their seams with a crochet slip stitch. Just a little interesting tid bit of knowledge. I just like the rolled edge look in general and it seems like everything store bought with this feature is a little pricey. I wonder why? I also like my sleeves long, so I didn't adjust them.

Almost Done!

Listen while you read...

One more sleeve to go of the Gathered Pullover. I'm unraveling the body of the BR sweater to finish up. I thought that this piece would yield two large balls of yarn, but not so. Maybe I nicked the strands while unraveling. Darn it.
I like the way it fits so far.

And, since I'm ever so guilty of lurking on natural hair blogs but never posting about my natural hair, I thought that I should share. After realizing some time ago that the blogosphere had such a large collection of natural hair journey journals, I decided to jump right in. Because I never viewed my current hair style as a journey as much as I do a destination I think it's been hard for me to keep up with hair posts. I mean, how much can you talk about a hairstyle that rarely changes. It's probably just me. I'm posting now because on Friday I'll be getting my first professional up-do. A style that I found on Renaissance Hairtopia. I can't wait until I have enough hair for a wedding bun. Wish me luck!

Excuse my mess.

Dum Heffa!

When I moved an hour and half away from my family, I knew it was the right thing to do. Having lived 10-15 minutes away from all of them for years without any visitors and the escalating housing market made it easier too. I looked for a house for 2 years without success. Finally when a seller tried to fadangle extra money out of me for a house in the hood (by hood I mean it was normal to see shrines and memorials set up on the corner honoring young individuals who'd been murdered) I gave up. I went as far away as possibly practical so that me and my son could have part of the American dream. My 3-year old son and I were living in a one bedroom apartment and paying about $1100 a month rent in San Leandro, California and my baby daddy had been married for a little over a year and was sure by now that he was going to be staying with his wife despite his periodic evening visits to us.

If I described my stay in this far away land as lonely, I wouldn't be giving you a fraction of what my experiences have been. I like to say a lot with only a few words, and that's impossible do here when discussing all that I've experienced. Needless to say, I don't get out much. That's why when I heard that Will Smith was coming out with another movie, I was determined to see it on opening night. Fully realizing that there is not a baby sitter any closer than 1.5 hours West, I mindlessly remarked to my girlfriend that "I'm going to have to scar their little minds this time with a PG-13 movie." Honestly not thinking that I'd be doing any harm.

Now, it could be just me, because I don't like horror movies AT ALL. I know that I Am Legend is probably being classified as a thriller, but damn! I myself had nightmares about living among infected individuals last night. In my dreams they had all been cured but still looked the same and expected to carry on as if there never was a problem in the first place. I didn't sleep well. For some reason Teddy Bear rarely gets affected by these images and Little Man said he only had a tiny nightmare. Nothing that was going to keep him from getting a good night's sleep.

Yes, I am that Dum Heffa in the theater who brought her kids to this un-kid-friendly movie and I'm ashamed of it. I'm normally the one who shakes my head at those mothers who don't care enough about the fragile mentality of their young ones and lets them engage in violent flicks for entertainment. My conscience told me to get up and walk out but the movie was much to enthralling to abandon. And besides, at $23 for the three of us, I knew it would be a long while before we'd be taking another movie adventure. It's just that I'm so tired of waiting the six months for the movie to come out and then another month for it to become available for me to rent on Netflix.

Case and point, I don't believe that I've turned into that Dum Heffa that I used to shake my head at. Damn!

My Christian Walk Summed Up In One Doctor's Visit

Dr: "Well, since she's starting Kindergarten next year they're going to require her to have these four vaccinations. You could just do a couple now, but some schools want them ALL before enrolling a Kindergartener and you'll just have to make another appointment. He just needs a chicken pox booster"

Little Man: "Oh no, I have to get a shot. Aaaaaah. :("

Teddy Bear: "I'm not scared. Just say Hallelujah. I'm going first."

Nurse: "Let's do him first. Now count to ten. Oh, I beat you, are you done counting?"

Little Man: "That didn't even hurt that much. That's two times in a row I didn't cry for a shot now."

Teddy Bear: "Where are my shots?"

Nurse: "Just a minute honey. Nurse, B, I'm going to need your help in here...

When giving multiple injections they like to do two at a time. Teddy Bear rarely cries for shots. I remember her crying once when she was a baby. In walks Nurse B...

Teddy Bear begins to fidget uncontrollably.

Me: "Do you want her to sit in my lap?"

Nurse A: "Yes, and hold down her arms. Okay, now hold her feet between your legs." Nurse A to Nurse B, "Are you ready? 1, 2, ....

Teddy Bear: "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nurse A: "3!

Poke, Poke, Stick, Stick.

Teddy Bear: "Oh my God! Ahhhhhhhw. AhhhhhhhWWWW. Ohhhhhh, noooooooo!.

Me:"I'm soooo sorrry. It's ok, it's ok.

Se went on to scream like this for about 10 minutes.

Me: "Do you want to go to Chipotle?"

Teddy Bear: "Yes."

Me: "Well then you have to calm down because they don't want all that screaming in there."

Teddy Bear: "Ohhhh, my shooooots. Owwwwwww! Hallelujah, Hallelujah."

I was reminded that pain is pain. It's alright to enter the fire afraid. Go in there scared, knowing that God is with you. Keep your eyes on him and not the experiences of others. You may have to call out in agony sometimes, but after you go through it all, you will still come out with the victory. You can't avoid pain entirely. It's coming, but God is still with you you. Hallelujah.

Knitting A.D.D.

It's because of the stress. I've still been working on the gathered pullover. If anyone has ever wondered why Banana Republic's clothes cost so much....
Well, let's just say this is a lot of yarn from one sweater. The yarn is DK weight and so I'm using size 4 needles in order to get my gathered pullover's gather to closely resemble that of the original's. I'm pleased so far and it's fitting quite well.

I can't stop running my fingers across that bumpy thing.

I think I have about six projects on needles right now and this is so unlike me. I knited all day on Saturday and didn't make any progress. I must have tried to start the sleeves for the pullover about 4 times. All without success because I kept twisting the stitches when joining in the round. Sooooo, frustrating! My troubles wouldn't let me focus. I switched back and forth from that sleeve to starting a mini Anthropologie all day long. At the end of the day I had nothing. All this, while watching the whole third season of Heroes on Netflix (What do you want your special ability to be? I like the copy cat girl.). Today, all I have left of the Anthropologie is one cuff. Very much a quickie. It wasn't until I was done that I realized the reason that the "designer" worked the yarn-over increases on the purl side. I was certain she was just playing a sadistic little trick on us. This is what slowed me down. After I started increasing on the knit side, it just flew by.

I need this little shrug to go with Teddybear's xmas dress. I don't like my boo-boo to have bare arms. I know this dress doesn't look like all that in the picture, but it was really cute on her and works well with her chocolate skin. She really likes it too, and it's a decent price. There's a tiny bit of gold spark-ly striping, but you can barely see it in real life either. Now it's time to accesorize with some bling. She's going to need a butterfly broach for her shrug, maybe some rhinestone hair accessories. Would a necklace be too much? She wanted that little purse, but I don't like it. There were little glitter shoes too, but those were just as much as the dress. We're doing it big since she's going on stage for her first Christmas program.

Yes, this week has been so @#$%ed up that of course I resorted to dressing up my mini me. Didn't you know she's part of the hobby? She never minds, thank God. But, I hope I'm not creating some sort of twisted co-dependency. I can see her 12 years from now, "Oh, mommy's depressed and stressed. Let me go comfort her. I might get some boots out of it." I thought about just vegging out on Cinnabon and champagne, but for some reason I didn't think that was the right way to go. I was right, I conquered this week and claimed the victory, but there's still a lot of work ahead. This start-itis is over. Within the next two weeks or less, I promise one of these projects is leaving my needles.

Juliets Finished!

Let me not beat around the bush and state that I think the Juliet would have looked better on a thinner person. Another remedy may have been to go down a couple sizes when working the lace repeats. I made the size medium and no matter how many times I snapped the picture, I didn't look any thinner. You might say, "awww, she's having a low self esteem day." That could be it, but no matter what my size, I like to wear flattering clothing, and not just trendy clothing. Maybe I need a new bra. For mine I should have sewn on ribbon for the button loops, there's a lot to hold in! This is still a cute top.

Purely coincidence, I made the size medium for my daughter's with one strand on size 3 needles. Uber cute. I don't know if I've captured it well here, but when she walked around the back of it kept poofing up. So toddler. I started her lace repeats at the breast and I worked a longer garter stitch body for mine. I kept wanting to pick her up and kiss her. The butterflies are trying to get away but they just keep going in circles.

When joining the sleeves, an unsightly gap formed at the arm pit. I couldn't figure out how to remedy it and didn't spend much time since it was after all under the arm. I don't think the designers spent much time on it either since the same thing happed for the adult one.

I used Cascade 220. This yarn is great for the toddler size, but I think a more drapey cotton for the adult version would have solved my issues. For mine I used size 10.5 needles and got a perfect gauge. So, I wonder why I ran out of yarn when the pattern only called for 500 yards. I used what equated to about 660 yards.

For some reason I didn't feel like posting, so I'm going to talk about these other projects so whomever cares will know what I'm up to for the next couple of weeks.

I think I can get addicted to this unraveling. I know this looks like what was a perfectly good sweater. It was a great sweater, but after 10 years, it became boring and unflattering. After looking at this picture, I promised myself that I would never wear it again. Now if only I could make something new out of those darn too comfy drawstring pants. After 10 years of course I've lost count of how many times I've washed it. All I know is that as a general rule of thumb I use cold water to wash non-whites. This sweater is still color rich and the yarn shows NO signs of weakness. On top of that, each side of the sweater (the inside and out) was worked with two different strands of yarn. I got three good sized balls (if you blend the two little ones together) from just one sleeve!
After my gathered pullover I think I'm going to have some left over. The yarn is not as soft as if you were purchasing cotton yarn, but it has some characteristic I can't quite explain that yields its own desirable qualities. Once again, this is a Banana Republic sweater.

I didn't finish the baby sweaters. But, only because my piece of junk Plymouth needles broke. Ugh! Since working my second project on these needles I've had problems. At times they've made me so angry that I've fantasized about taking each point and stabbing the person who made them in the eyeballs. Unfortunately what I've done of the baby cardigan so far shows signs of the snagging caused by these defective needles. Maybe they'll disappear with blocking. Without thinking, I started the gathered pullover with my good pair of size 4's. Ahhhh, Addi Turbos.
I'm also having problems with these Clessidra knee hi socks. I've messed up on the cable chart and broken another needle. I still haven't gotten a replacement yet (maybe because this is my second request). Hopefully I'll get these done before the winter's over.
Following are cute pictures of my kids decorating the Christmas tree while I was cooking second Thanksgiving. The little one is on the big one's shoulders trying to put the star on. The finished product looks funny but I'm leaving it that way.Chiao!