STUFFY NOSE, FLAT FEET

Stashes are a great thing! I've been working fervently on my lace scarf and I'm really surprised that I'm enjoying it as much as I am. I have three and a half stars completed. The pattern calls for nine stars, so I'm well on my way. Of course, the nice comments help, so thank you! However, I have not felt great the last couple of days. I have a terrible cold and here is what my diet has consisted of for the last two days:




There's nothing like Sudafed, fruit juice and throat lozenges for breakfast. Blech! But I'm getting better. Anyhoo, with my head feeling like someone had stuffed it with goose down, I wasn't really in the best state of mind to follow a chart to work on my lace scarf. Believe me, I tried....but the symbols kept switching places with each other.

But I couldn't spend the day not knitting, right? Right. So I went digging through my stash, because I wasn't up to going to the yarn shop either. And I found the Flat Feet that I had wanted to try knitting a long time ago but never got around to. I like knitting socks; it's fairly mindless until you get to the heel, so that's what I started tonight.

Here's what it starts off as:


I personally think it's kind of neat that it's already knit up and I get to unravel is as I go along, watching my surprise sock unfurl. My knitting friends weren't impressed. They thought it was kind of dumb to undo something that was already knit up. Thank goodness it's my sock!! Hehehe!





And here is the sock cuff (it's all I was able to do....apparently I knit a lot slower when I'm sick too).

Isn't that pretty, though? I'm excited to see the whole sock done! I'm going to try to knit a few more rows, then it's more Sudafed and I'm off to bed.

~T

Knitting Lace Like the Alaskans Do

I've been ogling my friend's hand knit lace wonders, and finally decided that I wanted to tackle lace weight yarn. I have worked some lace patterns before, but I was using a worsted weight cotton. After perusing my LYS I found a very pretty, almost navy lace weight alpaca, which I of course squished to my face for several minutes before I purchased it.

I have two lace books on their way to me via UPS (A Gathering of Lace and Knitted Lace of Estonia), so I figured that I was well stocked with patterns, since I didn't want to go too crazy. What if I don't like knitting lace? Of course, my eyes fell on a lace book, my hands snatch it, I read the first few pages, and now I own it. It is called Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas, and it is a wonderful compilation of patterns and stories of the knitters of Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative and their signature laces.



Here is the scarf that I would like to make:

Here's my first attempt (and by first I mean third......it's funny how things don't work out when you read the chart incorrectly - hehehe):


With my gauge on a size three needle, the scarf was a little wider than I wanted, so I am just knitting the center star without the border diamonds. And,who knew......I like knitting lace. Looks like I might need a bigger bookcase.

~T

Fiddler On the Roof, High as A Kite!!

I can honestly say that I have reached a new level of happy! Oh my gosh! Tonight my friend Sarah and I went to go see Topol (the original Tevye in the movie The Fiddler on the Roof) on stage in providence, in the play version of Fiddler on the Roof.

OK, I've always been a musical junkie. If a movie had sung dialogue, I was all about it. Watching live shows always made me giddy.....but I had NO IDEA how exciting this experience would be for me.

The first time I saw the movie I was five years old, and even at that age, I was mesmerized by the humor and the imminent sadness that was woven throughout the film. As I got older, it was one of those movies that I had to watch at least four or five times a year. When I met my husband who is a movie fanatic, I found myself not only watching that movie all the time, but it would be in my DVD player every night as I fell asleep to the music. Granted, some people would say it was an obsession.........alas, I am comfortable with obsession.

Needless to say, even though I knew I would be in this state of amazement once the show started, I did not expect the tears. I literally cried when Topol stepped out onto the stage. I can't explain it. I really can't. This man's voice is such a remarkable instrument and he is sooooo awesome, I don't understand how he doesn't kiss himself repeatedly.

The play was better than I could have ever imagined. So of course, before I left the house, Jeff hands me a Sharpie just in case I need to get an autograph from Topol. I was a bit irritated because why would Topol sign anything for me? Why would he wait around on a Sunday night for Whacky McQuacky me to get an autograph? So I put it in my purse to appease him, and went to the play.

After the play, Sarah and I waited in the lobby for Jeff to bring the car around, and since we're in the middle of Providence, there's traffic up the wazoo, so it's taking a while. Sarah and I get antsy, so we decide that we are going to walk the few blocks to meet up with him. After walking a block and a half, we see a group of about fifteen people huddling on the street corner and the entire road is barricaded with police cars and trucks. At first I thought someone had gotten into an accident.....so I ask the police officer, "What's going on here?"

His response was a nugget of gold: "If you want to see him, you have to get in the back of the line because these folks were here first". Seriously.........seriously. So you know I jumped in that line, grabbed my Sharpie, put my phone on picture mode, and thought I was going to pee from excitement.

Eight minutes later, my friend and I were ushered into Topol's dressing room, and it took everything in my power to stop myself from jumping on this very pleasant, smiling man. I walk up to him and I whisper as I hand him my playbill, "I have loved you since I was five years old." And then I did my happy dance. He laughed, signed my book, (turns out he had his own Sharpie) and said "Come close, get close to me" and with one arm around each of us, we got the picture I never thought I would ever get in my whole life.

I just laid my head on this man's shoulder like it was meant to be there from day one. He laughed at my enthusiasm, told me it was nice to meet me, thanked me for going to see him (ummmm.....yeah, NO!!! Thank YOU, Topol!) and we were on our way. I giggled and sighed happily all the way home.

I am still giggling and sighing....................

~T

SO MANY MEDIUMS, SO LITTLE TIME!

When one door slams in your face, another door opens, right? Right! And the door I opened happened to be hiding all of the hobbies and passions I have picked up over the years..... and I'm about neck deep in all of it! Hehehe. It's amazing how many things I forgot I loved to do....it's a bit scary, actually. But exciting.

I checked out one of my friend's blogs today and it only confirmed what I have known for a long time...artists are very rarely only good at one thing. This friend is someone I met through our love of knitting, and of course I know we are multi-faceted just because of the fact that we are human beings, but it was still great to be reminded that there is always more. Always more. Looking at her self designed, hand made dolls and reading about a few of the things she is interested in, it made me happy that I am actually in a place where I can embrace the other things in my life that make me complete. I thanked her for inspiring me the other day. I guess I'll have to thank her again. Hehehe.

For the last few days I have been working on a very beautiful project that had originally aspired to be an afghan, but as I continue to work on it, I truly feel that with me, it will be much happier in the form of a scarf. And I asked myself if it was a laziness thing (because after all I can get a bit overwhelmed and dread the idea of having to work on a project long term) but it turns out that I have a stronger desire to make the Great American Aran Afghan, which is something that I have wanted to do for at least the last year and a half. So, I think another two feet and the scarf will be a done deal....and then onward and upward.

My sewing machine is out and oiled and I have been making lined upholstered bags with my mother in law. She grew up in Pennsylvania and apparently lived next door to a seamstress who taught her all these nifty little tricks to make the sewing experience a fun one. Imagine that! So, I'm learning as we listen and hum to Gershwin show tunes...

Speaking of show tunes, my friend Sarah and I are actually going to see the Fiddler On The Roof (which is one of my FAVORITE musical movies) and get this: Topol (who is the original Tevya in the movie) is reclaiming his place as the original and the best. TOPOL!!!

I'm super, super, super excited, although I can't help but laugh at the reaction of both my mother and father in law when they found out Topol was still acting. "WHAT?!! HE"S STILL ALIVE?!!" Hehehe. Poor Topol. No matter; I think he'll be awesome just because.

Anyway, I'm sitting here waiting for my hubs to get back with a lightbox. We are going to spend the next couple of hours taking pictures of the jewelry that I've been making. With a lot of pushing and nudging from the nice lady who owns the bead shop down the road from where I live, I have finally decided to sell some of them online.

Etsy will be my first place to try them out, and then Jeff is working on a personal website for me so that I can really explore and continue to venture in all of the neat things I like to do while sharing it with others. So, the next few months will be busy, I think. I would like to get some of my small quilted things up, my jewelry, the cool bags I've been designing, of course interesting knitted goodies, and maybe one or two of my smaller oil paintings (although, I get a bit shy about my paintings and drawings).

The lightbox is here, so off I go. Maybe I'll be able to get some of my pics up tonight. Then again, maybe not.

~T

Settled and Happy

I know, I know....it's January 16th and this is when I am talking about the New Year. Fine, it has taken me a couple of weeks to settle into 2009, but I'm here, and I'm settled.

Being Thursday night, I spent the evening with my knitting family at the shop where I spend most of my time, and I had the pleasure of meeting my friend Karrie's brand new baby. What a darling, little package of cuteness drizzled in honey! Even though I am no way ready to fulfill my hubby's all time dream of having six children, (even one for that matter) I can't help but oooh and aaah when I see newborns.

It's not just the cuteness and the awesome baby sounds. It's more about the moment that I get to look into the eyes of a human being whose viewpoint of the world is not yet tainted, and I feel hopeful for them, for me, for all. It's weird, because really, how the hell do I know what a baby is thinking about, but I know that I am hopeful. I have decided that I can probably watch a mother cradle her baby for a very long time and not be even a wee bit bored with it.

It also reminded me to be so thankful for my own mother who raised her family as a single mom, working her butt off to make sure that there was always food on our table, but always made sure that she was there to be the nurturer as well as the provider. She showed me how intelligent and powerful women can be, and she taught me that it needed to be done with no apologies. I,as an adult with a mere handful of responsibilities, am in awe of the dedication of this woman who worked a full time job during the day and taught college courses at night, who combed my hair, and chased me through the sprinkler on hot summer days; who baked four different kinds of cakes every Saturday morning and composed classical lullabies with a Caribbean beat on the piano to lull us to sleep; who encouraged each and everyone of her children and made us believe that we could do whatever we wanted to do, but she wanted us to be humble in our successes and accomplishments. I am in awe oh her. So now that her six children are grown, I hope that she can be proud of the people that we are, as well as take credit for the good things that come from us.

So, I called my mother when I got in the car to go home. It was about half past 11 at night but I wanted to tell her how awesome I think she is. I got the response I thought I would. "Oh, Tatoue, you're crazy. I love you, but you're crazy". And then she laughed. Ahhhhh....music to my ears. What more could I want?

Ummmm.......sleep perhaps?

~T

Happy Me!

I just have to say that I had the most awesome birthday today! I want to write so much about it but I am so tired, I will save the details for tomorrow. But I am so blessed to have such awesome family and friends. And I mean AWESOME! Everyone went out of their way to make me feel so special through their words and their actions. I smiled all day! Tomorrow, when I am awake and can portray a cohesive thought, I will sit and write to share all of the wonderful events of my birthday!

Oh....and I'm lucky that my Jeffie believes in celebrating a birthday week, so I can't even imagine how awesome the next six days are going to be. I love my people!

~ T

Rationalizing Yoda

I wonder why I thought shopping for stocking stuffers was synonymous to actually Christmas shopping. I had this cunning plan this year that I would do everything in advance. All of my purchases would be made online so that my claustrophobic self wouldn't have to deal with the pushy, no-eye-contact-making, "I shall stampede you to death", idiots who are racing to make sure little Dick and Jane have lots of gifts under the tree this year.

I'm not being mean. It's just that I can't ignore that I now live in an era where people actually are killed because they unknowingly got in the way of a purchase. Anyhoo, I digress. So, as you may have guessed, I waited until the last minute to actually get any of my real shopping done. I have been working furiously, getting all of my knitting projects done for my family. I have this strange desire to make sure that they all have something handmade from me. (that might have something to do with the fact that I love them more than life, but call it a hunch)

So, I have two and 3/4 children's sweaters done, 1 1/2 scarves, an awesome hat, some bookmarks and a Bible cover. I'm kind of freaking out because I'm not really sure that my nephew is going to appreciate wearing a sweater that has no neck. But I could be wrong. Kids are weird that way.

Jeff and I finally decided to hunker down and just shop. SO, that's what we did. For four hours we walked around shops debating over who wanted what. As I strolled (and I strolled because I don't walk fast for anybody), I found myself reminiscing to the days when Christmas was stress free. You know, when I was six, when all I had to do was stick some uncooked noodles on a piece of construction paper, title it "Best Mommy And Daddy" and suddenly I was the new Degas.

I'm not sure if it was because I was raised in a Haitian family, but we never were asked to make Santa a list. My mother asserted that Santa always knew what we wanted. As an adult "strolling" through Target, I now understand that statement to mean "You will be grateful for whatever I get you......and if you're not, get a job". Ahhhh, reality.

Alright, so I'm trying to be a bit more traditional, running through the mental list of items I knew my neice and nephews showed interest in. Alex likes anything having to do with Star Wars and Transformers, Aubrianna has become a musical junkie,....meaning she loves musicals. So she really wanted "Hairspray" the movie, and anything having to do with High School Musical. Okey-Dokey. Ethan is three, so basically he just wants whatever his cousins are playing with at the time. Thank God he's still easy to please.

OK.....toy aisle......Star Wars figurines.......24 dollars. EXCUSE ME?!! I got the shoes I had on my feet on sale for fourteen dollars.....and I wear them every day!!!

Again, I found myself thinking back to my childhood. This time I'm nine, Jenny is seven and Joey is is three and the world has lost its lid over this phenomenon called the Cabbage Patch Kids. Remember them? Yup. 75 dollars apiece for those suckers.

So....here comes Christmas and I think that I should be the spokesperson and I state very sweetly that since we have been glitter dusted angel children all year long, it would be awfully nice if Santa (you know, Mom) would get each of us our very own Cabbage Patch Kid. And oh, make sure they look like us because that's the whole point of having one....they look like your babies. Reasonable request, I thought. I wasn't a very bright kid.

So, Christmas comes, and I know that Santa didn't let me down because I saw three boxes under the tree that looked like the temporary home of the Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls. Jenny and I give each other excited looks, and we tear into the boxes......and we say hello to our new not quite Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I mean, in retrospect, the dolls were really cute, but I don't know......the blonde yarn curly hair and hand painted blue eyes didn't really have us convinced that these were the babies we had requested to look JUST like us.

So, I turned the doll over, hiding my disappointment, and I decided to look for the proof. I pulled the pants down and looked for the authentic "Xavier" signature on the baby's bottom. To my horror, (not really shock), my fears were confirmed. This baby was an imposter!

"Mom!", I pouted. "These aren't real!" She didn't even blink as she said with her smooth Haitian accent, "What's not real about it?" My brain starts screaming, "Don't answer her, it's a trap! TRICK QUESTION, TRICK QUESTION!". My father put his guitar down which was not a good sign. It meant the merriment had officially left the room. "DON'T ANSWER, YOU CRAZY PERSON". Brain. Still talking. Eh....,whatever. I answered.

"This doll does not have the 'Xavier' signature on it's butt and that's the ONLY way we know that it's a real Cabbage Patch Kid Doll". I got her. How could she argue? I got the eyebrow raise (the same one my Jeff gives me at least once a day) and she gets up from the couch without saying a word.

Oh my God, I ruined Christmas! I felt horrible. I was a spoiled brat who wasn't grateful for my gifts and now I had hurt my Mom's feelings and I ruined Christmas for everyone.

I was about to get up to beg for forgiveness when my mother came back into the living room. Sitting back down on the couch, she quietly leans over and snatches my poser doll out of my hands. Oh no......now she was taking it away and I would have NO doll. This was horrible. I tried to apologize for my impertinence but I got the look again, so I just shut my mouth.

Without a word, she pulls the pants down, and with a laundry marker she writes in beautiful cursive letters "Xavier" on the right butt cheek. She blows on it to dry the ink, puts the cap back on the marker, and says softly, "Is that better?" I could only stare. A full minute went by before Jenny couldn't contain herself any longer and just fell over laughing. And then I started laughing. And of course three year old Joey laughed because she was three, for crying out loud.

And then most importantly, my mother let out that great laugh that only she has, and she says "Be happy with what you receive, little girl". And I was, because I then realized that only I knew who the real Xavier was.

So, on that note, I contemplated.... how many signatures was I willing to forge this Christmas? The answer? None. The Star Wars figurines are in the process of being wrapped as I type. And besides, Yoda is kind of cute.

More later.........

~T