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September 27, 2006
HARK! The Herald Angel Sings!
This is how much yarn I had left after weaving in all the ends:
This is a taste of what the shawl looks like blocked:
This is what you get to start when the TSA workers leave your knitting alone (even though the woman should've paid me after the body search. Does she think I give that shit away?):
And this is what mother nature does when she is gloriously happy with the way my knitting is progressing:
It's HOT. But in that dry, no humidity, are they fucking kidding me with that shit burn your skin off kind of heat. Yesterday we found a salt water pool which is like swimming in a silk cocoon filled with the salt of a million tears and despite the heat I am very happy. It will take a while for a full Seraphim photo spread and there are no pre-blocked pictures, BUT I'm planning on two very special blog photographers dueling it out at a photoshoot on Friday. Guaranteed to knock your just started Koigu knee highs off your feet.
If anyone of you are half as good as I am then you are FUCKING FANTASTIC! My first handspun handknit is better than I ever could've hoped. Sniff. Sniff. I'm so happy....
PS - The pictures in this post are untouched. I say that because it kind of gives me the heebie jeebies to post untouched photographs. I believe that every single photograph I take SHOULD be touched in some way - Photoshop is my darkroom. You develop film, right? You also develop digital film. This is my belief. So forgive the photographs. I'm not working with all my tools right now.
PPS - And my site STILL looks like crap in IE and Safari. Fuckers.
Posted by Cara at 12:41 PM | Comments (55)
September 24, 2006
Seventy-one
That's how many stitches there are left to bind off. And see that? Right above the shawl? That's how much yarn I have left. Not enough. Go ahead and laugh now Ann. Go right on ahead.
Help me. I did the bind off the pattern calls for - k2, slip the left needle through the two stitches in front of the right, then k2tbl. If I do a regular bind off on a larger needle, think I'll have enough? I guess it's the same difference - or no because with the way it's written I'm knitting each stitch twice, right? Or one and a half times? With a regular bind off I only knit each stitch once. I could work, no? Otherwise I rip two rows out and end the final chart with 8 rows instead of ten. Which will probably work too, but I'd rather not.
CRISIS ABATED!!!!!! I remembered my mini (mini) skein of sample yarn!!! I will spit splice it with the existing yarn and I should have plenty to finish the bind off!!! WHOO HOO! I'll be blocking Serphim on vacation. Packing's just about done - now I need to start a pair of knee highs for the plane. THANK YOU!
ETA 8:13 PM - Bound off last stitch! The spit splice worked! I'll block it tomorrow for sure! Have a great week everyone!!!
Posted by Cara at 07:13 PM | Comments (40)
It's Not Over Until the Phat Haiku Sings.
And DAYUM she done sung. The Haiku contest is now closed. Thanks for playing - and for giving me something to do on my vacation next week. Winners will be announced at some point - maybe during the week, maybe not. We'll see. I have to figure out how many more prizes I can come up with. Seriously though - thanks for all the comments. I was worried for a minute that my blog might actually explode, but all seems okay (except, of course, for the ONGOING style sheet problems that just freaking KILL me.)
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION IF YOU CAN:
If you have flown UNITED AIRLINES domestically within the United States (I'm flying NY to LA), since the whole liquid adventure in London, have you been able to take knitting needles - be specific if you can - on the plane without incident? I have flown American Airlines numerous times (as recently as two weeks ago) and have never had any trouble with my metal Addi Turbos - all sizes - but I've never flown United and I'm worried they will have a different policy. THANK YOU!
ETA: I'm fully aware that the TSA has a list of what can and cannot go on the plane - according to the TSA, knitting needles are allowed. I always print out the list from the website just in case. AIRLINES may decide indescrimately what can and cannot go on their planes, just as an overzealous TSA agent can tell you that you can't take on ABC. I'm looking for information on UNITED only. I've flown a million times with my knitting - as recently as two weeks ago - I just haven't flown United. Also, lately, I've had my bags checked at security and AGAIN at the gate. Primarily I think they're looking for liquids, but you never know. THANKS!
PS - I have 13 rows to go on Seraphim - three more for chart 3 and then the edging. I alternate between enough/not enough yarn about half way through each row. Fun times.
Posted by Cara at 12:24 AM | Comments (36)
September 23, 2006
Hara-kiri Haiku!
And here I thought I was being so damn smart to actually make you people work for the free stuff. Turns out I'm an ass because guess who has to read through all these haikus and pick the best? Thank god it's all subjective!!
THIS IS A REMINDER: for the three people left on the Internet who have NOT entered this contest, your Haikus are due in the comments of the previous entry by 11:59 PM EDT, September 23rd. I will be closing the comments at that time! ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. (If you left more than one, the first will be counted.) FOUR RANDOM WINNERS. Two more winners: one will win because I think it's the best and most creative and one will win because it makes me laugh my ass off - and I may add yet another winner - the one that is just beyond bad. I'm sorry - I praise you all for your creative talents - but some of you should stick with knitting. ;-)
For all of you coming by for the first time - WELCOME! And why thank you, yes, I took all the photographs in the header (and 99.9% of the photographs on the site in general.) And yes, I set up the site and banner myself. Thank you for coming by. Feel free to refresh as much as you'd like. I'm glad to have you!
Our plans have changed. I'm coming home tonight - Saturday - and instead of leaving Sunday for The Hamptons or Cape Cod we're going to California on Monday! HUGE trip change. Very last minute. I will hopefully announce the Haiku winner sometime next week. I won't be back until Sunday and then I'm off to Philly again to atone for my sins. I don't know about you, but I'm tired just thinking about it. (The traveling - not the sins.)
I've got 22 rows left in Seraphim and I'm desperate to finish it - I'm so worried I'm going to run out of yarn. But I don't think I'm going to be able to get it done before we leave. I might just take it with me and block it while I'm away. Maybe a special vacation photoshoot if all works out. No promises though.
I'm closing the comments on this post because I don't want anyone to leave any Haikus here - I'd like to keep them all in one place. I'm glad you're all having so much fun with it! THANK YOU!
Posted by Cara at 12:05 AM
September 19, 2006
Haiku! Bless you.
Feet get cold in Fall.
January One rocks socks.
Play to win YOUR pair!
Heh heh heh. I think I've out done myself with this one. Here it goes:
l to r: Lisa Souza SOCK! Merino in Peacock, Interlacements Toasty Toes color 409, Ellen's Half Pint Farm Merino/Nylon Sock Yarn, Three Waters Farm Superwash Merino in Aunt Maude's Mauve, Spirit Trail Fiberworks Sock Yarn Merino/Nylon, and Lisa Souza SOCK! Merino in Jonquil.
How to win: WRITE A HAIKU. But not just any haiku. YOU MUST USE AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS IN YOUR HAIKU: january, one, rock(s), jet, fall, sheep, wool, feet (or foot), knit, yarn, pirate, fest, dude, fantastic, worm (that is WORM. With an O. My 5.5 yr old nephew gave me that one.) AND EVERY HAIKU MUST USE THE WORD SOCK. (So that means FOUR REQUIRED WORDS.)
Need to know HOW to write a Haiku? Check here and here.
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. LEAVE YOUR HAIKU IN THE COMMENTS. COMMENTS WILL CLOSE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th 23rd at 11:59 EDT. Winner will be announced sometime the following week.
There will be six winners. FOUR will be chosen at random from the entire group of entrants. TWO will be chosen by me - one because I think it's the best, most creative Haiku, and one because it makes Ann and I laugh for like a half an hour straight and we have to call each other a million times to laugh about it some more and then I tell my sister about it and we laugh our asses off and basically my day is made because you wrote a haiku. That one DEFINITELY wins. Each winner will receive one of the above sock yarns - enough yarn for a pair of socks - and an orange chibi. And maybe some candy for Halloween. If I'm feeling good that day.
Remember, you've got to be in it to win it! PLAY BALL!
PS - You guys are all nuts. I LOVE IT!!!!!
Posted by Cara at 05:38 PM | Comments (439)
Teaser
I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?
Okay - the bad news is that starting tomorrow I'm going to be scarce for the next week and a half. I go to Philly tomorrow for Rosh Hashanah at the end of the week and then G and I are taking a little vacation and then I'm back to Philly for Yom Kippur. So I have no idea when and if I'll be posting during that time. I know. You are so so sad. ;-)
BUT!! Here's the good news!! To kick off the New Year, the New Season and the New Socktoberfest, I'm going to hold a nice big CONTEST! SOCK YARN FOR EVERYONE!!! (Well, not everyone, maybe like three or four of you? Gotta check the stash.)
Look for the contest - and it will be a good one - I'm trying to think of ways to make you work for this - sometime between today and tomorrow. Mwahahahahahaha!
Posted by Cara at 09:27 AM | Comments (26)
September 18, 2006
A Woman's Touch
Remember how, the other day, I was talking about what makes a real knitter? Chickies I've got the answer. I AM A REAL KNITTER. Want to know why? Because, dudes, I've got freaking CALLUSES!!!!
The left hand callus comes from pushing the needle down with almost every stitch. It's just one of those things I do. When people talk about wanting pointier Addis, I cringe a little bit. My god I'd draw blood! The right hand callus is also from pushing the needle into my finger - I think I use my finger to anchor the needle when I'm moving stitches around. As much as I'd love soft, never worked a day in her life hands, the calluses are good because sometimes I actually hurt myself. This SO makes me a real knitter. Not that designing stuff or changing patterns on the fly. Calluses. I've declared it right here, right now. (Oh and whatever you do don't google callus. Very very disgusting.)
What's giving me such noble well-worn hands? Seraphim. I can't put the damn thing down.
What's that I see? Could it be? I think it IS! It's LACE!!!
Let me just say this: knitting with your own handspun is incredibly challenging and absolutely satisfying. Or maybe that's just the case when your handpsun isn't that great? Or maybe, actually, that's the POINT of handspun? I'm not sure - I'm still learning about all this. Anyway, I started knitting the shawl and tried a bunch of different needle sizes. I settled on 7s and all was good. Then, the first skein ran out. (At the perfect spot no less - I had one purl row left before I started the first lace chart.) I started knitting with the second skein on the 7s and quickly found it wasn't working. You could FEEL the difference in the fabric - you didn't even have to look at it. You might remember that there were definite differences between the skeins. There were some desperate phone calls to MY MASTER and I switched to 6s. I'm not sure why I think this is a big deal. I mean where's the rule that says you can't switch needles mid pattern (I'm not talking about a smaller size for ribbing or something) and even if there is rules schmules. Right? Anyway, I switched to 6s and things got A LOT better. I could barely feel a difference in the fabric - and I don't think you can see anything either.
Can you tell? I've looked at it about a million times and I can see a difference, but then again I KNOW it's there.
That crisis over, now all I have to worry about is running out of yarn. I've got 42 rows to go and 2.5 oz of yarn. I should make it.
Yesterday I went to the Knit Out in NYC - my first one. It was great to see old friends and some new ones! I finally got to meet Margaux and her friend Dana in person! And we had to go to the other side of the Hudson to do it! The best part of Knit Out was looking into a sea of people - all of them there for the fiber arts! INCREDIBLE! Trendy, not trendy - who cares? It's something I LOVE to do (I've got CALLUSES people) and it's just nice to share it with so many others. And the new knitters - you can't even imagine what's coming! :-)
Posted by Cara at 02:23 PM | Comments (35)
September 15, 2006
The Wind Beneath My Wings
Way to make a girl feel better. Sheesh. I throw myself a pity party fully expecting no one to show and then you all come and I didn't clean the house, laundry every where and I didn't have SNACKS. How can you throw a party without snacks? I'm a terrible hostess.
Seriously, though, thank you all for your comments. It's all a matter of self-judgement and rationally I know that I will never be able to attain the heights I set for myself. I know I'm good. I'm just not GOOD ENOUGH. Over the years I've tried and tried to be nicer to myself and for the most part I'm succeeding. I'm much gentler than I was, say, ten years ago. But it's hard to recode the DNA. The whole families like me - some worse than others - but still it's there.
A couple of friends and I were talking about blogging the other day too and what kind of boundaries we set on the blog. How sometimes we can meet someone who reads the blog and they can ask us a question and we're sort of taken aback because WHOA! How do you know abou that? Kind of personal no? Even though we know full well we talked about it on the blog. The things I talk about on my blog are things you'd here me talk about anywhere. I find it very hard to hold back in my personal life and see no reason why that would be the case on the blog. I'm an open book. It makes me FEEL better to talk about stuff - get it out of my head. Always out of my head. So anyway, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, but yesterday's little tantrum wasn't meant to illicit comments on how great I am or anything (that's what I have Ann for honestly) but more as an expression of how I'm feeling at any particular time. Think of me as your favorite two year old. If I'm feeling it, chances are you're hearing it. Lucky for my husband he has a day job. ;-)
Things improved RADICALLY as the day progressed yesterday. First off, I made myself the most awesome bowl of oatmeal EVER. G eats oatmeal a lot and I sometimes partake but after a desperate phone call on how to make it his way (half cup oats, one cup water) I played around a bit and came up with my fabulously spectacular recipe: half a cup of oats (McCann's Irish), half a cup water, half a cup 2% milk. Microwave for 2 minutes. Put a TON of honey on the top. Taste. Put more honey in there. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. YUMMMMMMMM! It was so damn good.
Then I got some work done. Then I knit a bit to take a break. Then my sister called and told me how ridiculously cute my niece was at her first day of dance class. Then I was hungry again and I went into the kitchen. I eyed the box of Microwave popcorn. Nah. I wasn't into the kernels stuck in my teeth. Then I opened the freezer to find out what kind of processed goodness we had hiding in there. Frozen corn. Hmmmm. Could I eat a box of frozen corn for lunch? Corn was obviously calling to me for some reason. Then I opened the cupboard and looked through the canned goods and lo and behold - a can of CORN FREAKING CHOWDER?! How the hell did that get there? I can't remember EVER eating Corn Chowder and G doesn't really like soup or only eats lentil and I have no idea how long the can was there but my sister said it was still good as long as the can looked okay - like no dents or bloating - so I had Corn Chowder for lunch. Dudes. I licked the bowl. PERFECTION!
Then I did some more work and got a LOT accomplished (imagine that) and finally went back to my shawl. Somehow someway I managed to get myself 20 ROWS shy of the first lace pattern. Right now I have 207 stitches and I need 247 before I start lace chart 1! WHOOHOO!
The most boring progress picture in the world! But who cares?!
The 7s really are lucky - the fabric is nice I think - a good drape, but solid still and I'm loving knitting with the yarn. Not too many anomalies at all and it's pretty damn even. Excellent work spinner girl! But you want to know what I love the BEST about the shawl. The way it smells. I swear to god I'd be done with it already if I didn't stop every five minutes to bury my nose in it. I'm not exactly sure what it smells like - maybe a little like G to be honest. I made him smell it last night and he appeased me, but oooh! It smells good. When I rinsed the yarn after I spun it I used some dishwashing liquid (Dawn Apple Blossom) but only a little bit. I don't know what it is but I LOVE it. I hope I don't lose the smell when I have to block it because I'm going to LOVE wearing this wrapped around me. It's soft AND it smells good.
And to prove that I'm in SUCH a good mood today (even though it's still MISERABLE out) I'm going to put up the sidebar sign-ups for RHINEBECK!! Kim P mentioned in the comments that it's only 36 days until the big sheep out and you know how I feel about the number 36 so today's the DAY!!! (Yeah, yeah it's early. But I've had my freaking hotel reservation for six months already and it can't get here soon enough!)
Meet-UP!
Saturday, October 21st, 1:00 PM
Outside Building E
(Which conveniently houses the Wine Tasting, the American Cheese Society,
Specialty Foods and an ATM. HUZZAH!)
I am aware that there is a Charka Demonstration with Jonathan Bosworth scheduled at 1PM as well - but it's in Building E, so maybe you can do both?
And don't forget BLOGGER BINGO!!! The Meet-Up is a perfect place to fill in your squares!
Leave me your name in the comments and I'll add you to the list in the sidebar! Tell your friends!
Have a great weekend!
L, C
PS - The sheep picture above was taken from the Sheep and Wool website. For more information about it, go to the website The artist is Jodie Rae Plaut.
Posted by Cara at 12:11 PM | Comments (85)
September 14, 2006
Lucky Number 7
Run, my friends, run for the hills for I am in a VERY SHITTY mood today. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Oh look! Look how pretty my Seraphim looks! Maybe two more rows since the last time you saw it? You'd think I did NOTHING to it, but au contraire mon petit amis. Au contraire. What you see here is the FOURTH start to this project. That's right. FOUR FREAKING STARTS. Something wasn't right about my original start to Seraphim. I started off with Addi US #5s and after a desperate call to my knitting sensei yesterday afternoon (I only caught about every third word of the conversation so I hope she told me to go up a needle size) I found a pair of 6s and started AGAIN with those. I was humming along, feeling okay, but not great and I talked to this one and she said, oh so flippantly, try 7s. I resisted for a bit but then pulled out a pair of #7s and started knitting from the other end of the ball. I went back and forth, back and forth between the 6s and 7s and there were more phone calls and Ann told me go for the fabric you like rather than the needle size. FORGET NEEDLE SIZE. It's not the size of the needle but the drape of the fabric or some such double entendre that only a knitter who spent the afternoon watching The Libertine could think up.
Anyway. I started yet again on the 7s and damnit I liked the fabric. So much so I ripped out the start on the 6s and went to dig out a pair of 8s. At this point I didn't really even want to knit the damn shawl anymore because when I want to start something I just want to freaking start it not try eighteen different needles. But I persevered. I tried the 8s. I knit and knit and in the end I didn't like it. Lucky #7s it is. And if it doesn't work out - fuck it. No Rhinebeck shawl for me.
See, I think something like this separates me from being a truly good knitter. I'm not patient enough with these things. I don't want to swatch. I don't want to do the homework necessary to get to the ultimate finishing spot. I'm not intuitive enough to change patterns on the sly, to intrinsically know what's working and what's not working. My skills as a knitter end with the knit and the purl. I can make some damn pretty stitches. But that's about it. Otherwise I'm just following the crowd. That bothers me a little bit, but I'm not sure how to change it. For one, I hate math. HATE IT. And all this figuring things out on the sly shit is all about math. I'll never like math. My brain gets all muddled and my head starts to hurt and I get frustrated and I don't like to feel frustrated and then I stomp around and pout and whatever. Not worth it. Although it really is and I wish I was better about this stuff.
So I'm feeling kind of inadequate and down on myself and I take a break to read some blogs and the lovely Margaux pops up on the list with an update (did you know she's going to her first Rhinebeck? YAY!) She links to Brooklyn Tweed. You probably already read him because seriously no one tells me anything - but OH MY GOD! It'd be one thing if he was just a fantastic knitter. I could handle that - I mean we're all fantastic knitters in our own way and some of us are more fantastic than others, but that's not a big deal. (Although I started out feeling a little bad about my knitting.) And it would STILL be acceptable that he picked up a copy of the EZ classic Knitting Without Tears without knowing that it was freaking signed by EZ herself. BUT the photographs. My god the photographs. All of you people that come here for the pictures - forget it. Go there instead. I give up.
How's that for self-pity?
Jealousy sucks but I happen to believe it's as common as breathing. If I've learned anything from the envy I've felt as I took in someone else's breathtaking photograph or genius short story or fantastically knit sweater or perfectly spun yarn, it's that for everyone who's better than me at something, there's equally someone who's not as good a photographer, writer, knitter, spinner as me. I'm just in the middle. And sometimes, to my perfectionist soul that god help me wants to be the BEST at everything - damn that feels pretty shitty.
Yeah. You all have a good day too. ;-)
Posted by Cara at 10:00 AM | Comments (52)
September 13, 2006
Random Knits
because it's Wednesday.
Thanks for indulging me the last couple of days. It feels good to get all that stuff off my chest and you can't know how much I appreciate the audience. I'm pretty sure Ann wishes I never went to New Orleans, even if she is the only one who got a souvenir gift.
Want to see what I bought while I was there?
Koigu, P852 and 2340
Six skeins of Koigu from the Garden District Needlework Shop. This yarn is destined for knee highs - see how the EXACT same shade of the semi solid green shows up in the variegated? DUDE! There's your ribbing, heel and toe right there. It's taking everything in my power not to cast on for these RIGHT THIS SECOND. Sad really.
And, more Koigu:
Koigu, P706 and P516
This time from The Quarterstitch. Destined for socks, I guess. Too pretty to pass up and look how they wrapped up my yarn!
At one point while I was purchasing the yarn I ran out to catch a Second Line going by - and when I came back she had unwrapped all the yarn that she had already wrapped up. I said, oh did you think I wasn't coming back? And she said no - I did a crappy job so I wanted to do it over. A girl after my own heart!!
I also got a Rebuild T-shirt which I've finally taken off for the first time in three days so I could photograph it for you. And a DESIRE NOLA magnet.
Lest you think it's all been bleeding hearts around here, I have been knitting. I finished the first Koigu Knee Sock!
I love the way it looks, but the fit is off a bit from the STR knee highs - even though I kept adding rounds and adding rounds. The stitch gauge is about the same, but the row gauge seems to be way off. I'm going to have to recalculate for the NOLA knee highs, but for the next purple one I'll do the same thing. They fit fine - they just sink a little bit. Not fall down, just sink. Does that make sense? I want them to STAND AT ATTENTION! Anyway, Koigu is just so much different than STR and I still prefer STR over just about anything, but it's nice to mix things up a bit. Couple more shots of the sock:
Now, I hate to disappoint all you log cabin lovers (and haters - because really - if I'm not knitting log cabins - what will you hate? ;-) ) but I'm putting my ONLY (and this just doesn't seem possible) size 5 addis to work on something else.
It's SERAPHIM. Knit in none other than MY OWN FREAKING HANDSPUN!!!!!! I'm almost positive I will have enough yarn for the shawl as written, but Mim has given instructions for increasing or decreasing if need be. It's really weird to be knitting with your own yarn. You have no one to curse out but yourself when the yarn is a pain in the ass. BUT I'm LOVING IT! Look at the nubly wonky weird stitches! Aren't they precious?
I declare on THIS DAY, September 13, 2006, that this shawl is MY RHINEBECK PROJECT. I will finish it before Rhinebeck. And I will WEAR it at Rhinebeck. I was going to do the Top Down BW sweater for Rhinebeck but it's just not calling out to me AT THIS MOMENT (you know what a fickle bitch I am.) The hardest part of getting this done in time will be NOT casting on for the NOLA knee highs. NO KNEE HIGHS. NONE. KNEE HIGHS BAD. Handspun Lace project good.
Posted by Cara at 10:23 AM | Comments (42)
September 12, 2006
RENew Orleans
READ THIS FIRST: This is a very long post - over 3,000 words. It doesn't have any pictures, except for one at the very end, and it doesn't talk about knitting, unless you count the fact that I mention two yarn stores. This post is about emotions and opinions and I know that a lot of people don't read knitting blogs for emotions and opinions. They read them for knitting and I completely understand and respect that. Tomorrow's post will be all about knitting and yarn. But I was a writer long before I was a knitter or photographer. Writing is my blood and what I felt while I was visiting New Orleans needed to be written down. I'm extraordinarily lucky that there are many of you that keep coming back to read my blog and I'm full well taking advantage of that fact to share my feelings and opinions and my writings on New Orleans with you. I'm putting it out there. You can choose to read, or you can choose not to read. Read some of it. Read all of it. But I'm putting it out there. I thought about closing the comments for this post, but I'd like to hear your feelings about NOLA. Have you been there before? Have you been there since the Hurricane and subsequent flooding? Are you from there? I had never been before last weekend but I will be back. Mark my words, I WILL BE BACK. Thank you for your thoughtful, RESPECTFUL comments. I greatly appreciate your reading.
Cara Davis
September 12, 2006
We flew into Louis Armstrong Airport Thursday night after connecting in Chicago. On the second leg of the trip we watched a decent amount of the last two acts of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke. It was awfully strange getting off the plane, tired and a bit disoriented as you always are landing in a new city, and recognizing everything. We had seen body after body lining the floor of the airport on TV – dead bodies, hurt bodies, misplaced bodies. We had heard about people begging to be put on planes out of the hell they had lived through only to end up with a one way ticket and no idea of their destination. The airport was quiet. And empty. But the pain echoed in the corridors. We saw the Jazz Greats mural on one side of the large waiting room, and on the other we found the haunting specter of Icarus, hanging over the room. It was quite scary.
Our ride to the airport was no less eerie, taking us along the highway in the dark, peering through the bus windows wondering what devastation was out there to behold. And then we passed by the Superdome. It was all I could do not to cry.
I have to admit I was reticent about going to New Orleans. I hate flying and I didn’t want to get on a plane. And the recent news coming out of NOLA hasn’t been the best – bullets, crime, the stagnation of rebuilding taking its toll on the people. But a part of me thought it was our responsibility to go. To be a WITNESS. And I’m so glad we went.
On Friday morning I woke up and looked forward to a morning on my own. Amanda had emailed me a list of yarn stores to check out and I figured I would start with the farthest from where I was staying. I called down to the concierge and asked her the best way to get to the Garden District Needlework Shop on Magazine Street. She told me I could take a cab, that would cost about $15 or I could take the #11 bus. I don’t know, but $15 seemed like a lot to me to go about 2 miles (probably the same as NYC) so I took the bus. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but for me it was HUGE. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken public transportation – by myself – in a strange city. But there I was waiting on the corner of Canal and Magazine for the #11. At every opportunity I tried to engage the people around me. I looked them in the eye and I smiled constantly. I was full of positive energy. This is NOT my usual demeanor. I’ve lived in the NYC area for nineteen years and I’ve perfected indifference – on the bus, the subway, at the post office. Wherever, whenever. But in New Orleans I felt like I wanted these people to know that I cared what happened to them. I wasn’t afraid of the badness that had touched them. They were real to me and I wanted to be real to them.
As I road the #11 down (up?) Magazine, I looked out the windows and once again was forced to imagine the suffering that went on behind closed doors. Had these homes been flooded? Were the houses empty waiting for their families to come home? Had children been separated from their parents? Everything seemed okay, if not a bit shabby and yet there was an emptiness to the streets. There were maybe six people on the bus with me and I was by far the only tourist. When I got off at the 2100 block of Magazine, I stood and looked around – not sure where I was and where I was going. I had forgotten the piece of paper with the address of the Garden District Needle Shop so I stopped into a store along Magazine. The concierge had told me that the neighborhood was one of an eclectic mix of shops – you could buy a Louis XVI chair at an antique store and then have it tattooed on your arm at the shop next door. The store I ended up sold lots of kitschy toys and clothes for kids and adults and I asked the young woman at the counter if she knew where the yarn store was – she told me it was across the street, but I felt like I needed to look around her store before I left.
I asked her if the neighborhood had flooded. She told me no, but that they had had some hurricane damage and that after the floods looters had come. I told her that I had seen the Spike Lee film before I left and she asked me what I thought of it. She, a white woman, told me she was nervous to see it because she had heard it was really very biased. I told her that I thought it was about as balanced as Spike could get – but that in the hands of someone like Michael Moore it could’ve been a lot worse. We talked some more about what had happened and how it had played out and she was the first white person, but not the last, to tell me that what happened in New Orleans was a class issue, not a race issue. It was about poverty, not the color of your skin.
I looked around the store desperate to spend some money before I left to go to the yarn shop, and ended up with a Desire New Orleans magnet. It wasn’t much, but they were very grateful that I had come.
Before I left the woman at the store told me about Vera, who had lived in the neighborhood and had been hit by a car when people were running out of town. Her body had been left to rot for many days, until finally the community came together to bury her where she had died. The grave is at the corner of Magazine and Jackson, where I stood and waited for the bus to go home.
The Garden District Needle Shop doesn’t look like much from the front door, but I was a bit shocked when I walked in to see how far back it went. It’s got something of a warehouse feel – white walls and low shelving in aisles on the floor. There were only a few people in the store – it was hard for me to tell who worked there and who was a customer. I wandered around, a silly smile plastered to my face and I listened as the women talked about coming home and the state of their houses and the damage and it was clear that what happened during Katrina is still VERY fresh a year later. People are just now coming back.
I browsed and browsed – determined to spend money – and after I had found some Koigu I went up to the counter to buy it. The sales woman asked me if I had ever shopped there before. I told her this was the first time I had ever been to New Orleans. She asked me why I had come, and I told her, and then we talked about the storm and the flood. She lived close to the store, so had no flood damage, just a bit from the hurricane, but she pointed to another woman working in the store, she lost her house. I told them I had seen the Spike Lee movie (I don’t know why I kept bringing this up – because it was so fresh in my mind? I wanted to be controversial?) and the original clerk – who I think might have been the owner – told me that more white people died or had catastrophic injuries during the storm and floods than black people. Again I was told it was a class issue – not race. We talked a bit more and she thanked me for coming to visit. She told me to go home and tell people that there’s nothing dangerous about New Orleans. The only people being killed are young men trying to reestablish or establish their drug turfs. I told her I thought that if that’s what you were trying to do – it probably wasn’t safe for you anywhere.
I told her I was very happy to be in New Orleans and hoped to come back to visit soon.
I went out to catch the bus back to the hotel – I didn’t have a lot of time to walk around as I had to meet George fairly soon – but I tried to talk to people – ask for help. Where do I get the bus? Do you know when it comes? Just a little bit. It made me feel better. While I was on the bus there was a white man talking to two black women across the aisle. The man had a long bushy beard and seemed not to have many teeth and he had a cane. He was overweight and in the heat he seemed to be struggling a bit. I listened to him tell the women that he had walked twelve hours trying to get out of the storm? Flood? I’m not sure. But he said that when they picked him up they asked him where he was going and he told them Baton Rouge. I think it had taken him twelve hours to walk a fairly short distance. Whoever picked him up took him to a shelter.
All around the bus were signs about evacuating. Do you have a plan? they asked. Have you remembered your friends and family in that plan? MAKE A PLAN! Don’t wait to have a plan in place.
A man got on the bus and needed a quarter. I jumped up to offer him one – just a measly quarter – and he sat across from me and started to talking to me. “Hot enough for you?” I smiled and said yes – it was hot – and it had just started to get cool where I’m from. “Where are you from?” he asked. I said New Jersey and he asked if I lived in New Orleans now. I told him no. I was just visiting.
When he got off at the next stop I understood again that this wound is very very fresh. And then I thought about how a year had passed and how a year is really nothing in terms of time and that how even five years later I can still sit with friends and tell the story of what my 9/11 was like. And they can share with me and that for the people of New Orleans their 9/11 is ongoing and seemingly never ending.
When I got back to the hotel and met up with George, I was so absolutely PROUD of myself. Proud that I had taken the bus, proud that I had talked to people about what had happened. I felt like I had made a connection. Maybe pride isn’t the right word for how I felt. I was a little bit giddy about it. I think, really, that somehow, someway, on the #11 bus that Friday morning, I fell in love with New Orleans.
Later on that afternoon we took a walk to the French Quarter. We were wandering around aimlessly really with no destination in mind and I commented to George that the streets felt incredibly empty. It was Friday afternoon around 4:30 and we were walking on Chartres in the direction of Jackson Square. Completely by accident I came upon The Quarterstitch, one of the other yarn stores Amanda had told me about. We went in and I started looking around – the young woman behind the counter was listening to NPR and when she turned around she seemed surprised to see us. Once again, we talked for a bit while I shopped for yarn – was there flooding? Where did she live? Was she from New Orleans? In the middle of our talk George had left the store to take a phone call and suddenly he came running back in to get me. We had seen a band strolling around before, but they were too far away and turned a corner before we could catch them, but here they were again. I told the clerk I’d be right back – I still wanted the yarn (more Koigu) as I ran after the band. I caught the tail end of it – apparently it was a Second Line, often associated with a funeral – with maybe ten people dancing behind the small band, waving white handkerchiefs in their hands.
When I got back to the store I asked the sales clerk and another woman who had come in if the streets were normally as empty as they were. They told me that it was still summer, so things were pretty quiet, but that it was much more quiet than usual. Eerily quiet, the young woman said.
The next morning I woke up to sheets of rain falling outside the hotel window. My first thought was that the people here must hate when it rains. The children must be terrified.
Later on that day the rain had stopped and we took a tour of the city. Lunch was at Deanie’s Seafood in Metairie about two blocks from Lake Pontchartrain. From there we headed to the 17th Street Canal Levee, which was breached during Hurricane Katrina, and onto the neighborhood of Lakeview, which I think is in Jefferson Parish, right outside of New Orleans. Home after home was gutted and empty. Through the missing windows and doors you could see black walls leading out to the light at the other end of the house. Mattresses, chairs, refrigerators, insulation piled up in the front yard. And then there were the spray painted door markings left by the search and rescue crews. Every time a house was searched, the party spray painted an X on the front door or wall. The number at the 12:00 point of the X was the date the home was searched, at 9:00 the crew that did the searching, 3:00 any hazards in the house, and finally, at 6:00 the number of bodies discovered. Thankfully, I didn’t see any homes with number other than 0 at 6:00, but there are stories that the crews didn’t check well enough, or couldn’t check well enough and many people returned to their homes to find 0s on the door and bodies inside.
Those markings are chilling. I kept taking out my camera and I kept putting it away. I didn’t feel like I could take a picture of those doors. I don’t know if I felt like I couldn’t do it justice, or it wasn’t something I wanted evidence of – I don’t know. The memory of those doors will stay with me longer than any photograph ever could.
Along the streets of Lakeview we saw homes already rebuilt. We saw homes being cleaned out, FEMA trailers in the front yard, but most of all we saw the empty shells of homes. Where had the people gone? Were the families together? Safe? Secure?
Would they, COULD they come back?
From Lakeview we traveled back to New Orleans. Along the way were orange Xs and water lines as far as the eye could see. Some people have chosen to paint over the Xs and the water lines, but it seemed like most were keeping them there. A testament perhaps. Or maybe they just never came back. Occasionally, of the side of the highway, we’d come upon a large group of FEMA trailers. The modern day tent city.
As we got closer and closer to the French Quarter, the visible damage was less and less. But people are getting tired. From what we were told, in the months after Katrina – when the proverbial dust had settled – people were energized. They wanted their city back! They were willing to fight. But bureaucracy and politics and honestly, ineptness and ignorance, are taking their toll on the community. They are exhausted fighting for their homes. The one thing all people can agree on – whether they are black or white or rich or poor – is that the devastation in New Orleans was not caused by a natural disaster. It was MAN-MADE. The Army Corps of Engineers has taken responsibility for what happened to the Levees. For instance, the 17th Street Canal Levee – the flood wall was supposed to be built 17’ into the ground. It was built 10’ feet into the ground. From what I understand, the water didn’t just go over those walls – it went UNDER the walls – picking them up and splitting them into little pieces.
The people of New Orleans are angry. And rightly so. They’re angry at FEMA and they’re angry at the Army Corps of Engineers and they’re angry at their government - at EVERY level. Someone on our tour asked the guide whey they voted in Ray Nagin again if everyone hates him so much. He told us that he voted for Nagin because the other guy was saying the SAME EXACT THING. They felt that the devil they knew was better than the devil they didn’t.
I don’t know, honestly, where class stops being an issue and race takes over. In my limited experience there doesn’t seem to be that much difference. Maybe because of where I’ve lived – I don’t know. I also don’t know if there were more poor black people in New Orleans than there were white, but it would seem that way. And while the floodwaters didn’t discriminate, housing does and the poorer areas are lower and closer to the water. We didn’t go to the Ninth Ward – the tour buses aren’t allowed in anymore and I think many of the homes have been bulldozed anyway. The area of Lakeview we did go into was middle class – and I think predominantly white. Everyone lost something those tragic days in New Orleans. Everyone in this whole wide world lost something.
I’m sure some parts of New Orleans have survived relatively physically unscathed. We had beignets at Café Du Monde and they were fantastic. We ate Bananas Foster at Brennan’s and I can imagine it was as good as it ever was. Bourbon Street is as gross as I had heard. I ask those that have been there before – were the sex clubs lining the streets always so raunchy? I’m by no means a prude, but these clubs were really awful. Most of the street was like one big bar, but there was a really desperate seedy element as well. Was that always there? George was at the casino one night and he was told that the city is teeming with single men – the men that have come back to fix their homes while the family stays away – or men that have come looking for construction jobs. I found this really interesting – from a sociological perspective. How will the city change without the influence of women? (Of course, women are still there – but if the men out number the women by such a large margin, things are bound to change.)
Anyway. This has turned out to be far longer than I thought it would be but I felt like I needed to bear witness to what I saw and experienced. As I said early on, I fell in love with New Orleans. THIS New Orleans – battered and sad and overwhelmed and still standing. I have nothing else to compare it to, I know nothing of the character of the city before Katrina, but I left a piece of my heart there nonetheless.
Thank you for reading.
RENEW ORLEANS is a non-profit group helping to save the music of New Orleans. Buy a T-Shirt.
Posted by Cara at 04:24 PM | Comments (59)
September 11, 2006
The BBC
Visiting New Orleans was one of the most profound events of my life. Flying home into NYC, directly over Lower Manhattan, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11, made the emotions brought about by our trip all the more intense.
Given the day, I thought I would share a story I wrote. It's about the nature of tragedy and it's both funny, absurd and very sad.
"The BBC," Fourteen Hills, Spring/Summer 2002, pgs. 36-40.
© 2002 by Cara Davis
(I couldn't get it all in one pdf document. The Fabulous Bookish Girl merged the documents together for me! Thanks Wendy! I hope you don't have any trouble reading it. You will need Adobe Reader to view it. Thank you.)
Posted by Cara at 12:09 AM | Comments (22)
September 07, 2006
Walking To New Orleans
This time, I'm walking to New Orleans.
I'm walking to New Orleans.
I'm gonna need two pair of shoes,
When I get through walking these blues,
When I get back to New Orleans.
I've got my suitcase in my hand.
Now, ain't that a shame?
I'm leaving here today,
Yes, I'm going back home to stay.
Yes, I'm walking to New Orleans.
You used to be my honey
Til you spent all my money.
No use for you to cry,
I'll see you by and by.
Cause I'm walking to New Orleans.
I've got no time for talking.
I've got to keep on walking.
New Orleans is my home.
That's the reason why I'm goin.'
Yes, I'm walking to New Orleans.
I'm walking to New Orleans.
Georgie's been singing this for weeks. Fats Domino. Listen to a clip here.
See you next week. Have a great weekend.
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:55 AM | Comments (17)
September 06, 2006
WTF?! It's Wednesday!
Time to get random....
See this boy? Is he not the cutest boy in the universe? Today this sweet boy had tubes put in his ears. He's on his way home now, everything went fine, but think good thoughts for one of my favorite kids in the whole wide world. THANK YOU!
The inaugural YARNIVAL is here!!!
Eve did a FANTASTIC job with the first issue - I encourage you all to head over and read it. Really nicely done. AND she's accepting submissions for issue 2. So see what you've got and SUBMIT!
Crazy Stitchy not only has a new crazy book, but she's come up with BLOGGER BINGO!!!
Are you going to Rhinebeck? Then you NEED to know about this. And what better way to fill up your squares then at the BLOGGER MEET-UP! That's right. I'll be organizing my now infamous (move to the other side of the grass damnit!) blogger meet up. Same time, same place as last year. Details to come, but keep it in mind. Saturday. 1ish. Side of the main barn.
I played tennis again with G and kicked his ass. Okay, really only on like two or three points but they were legitimate winners. REAL WINNERS. Not him half-assed running to the ball and saying "good shot babe." He ran to the ball and tried to get it back and couldn't. There was cursing. DUDES. I was FORCING ERRORS. I also twisted the same goddamn ankle again, but it's okay and we won't be playing at all this weekend. Although there will still be tennis: we're going to the Open tonight. Oh and boo hoo hoo Gagassi. Never ever liked him. I'm a Pistol Pete girl. (C'mon! It's well known I've got a thing for Greeks!) I've seen Agassi play a million times. Been thisclose to him when he was practicing at the hotel I was staying at out in Palm Springs. Eh. I don't know who we're seeing tonight, but I know I'll be wishing I was playing instead of watching. Kind of new for me.
Remember those movies when the rats or bunnies or hamsters would mutate and become giants and take over the world? I SAW ONE OF THESE MUTANT RATS IN PERSON!
This picture doesn't do it justice. We were at a small local zoo with the kids last week and we turned a corner and THERE WAS THIS GIANT FREAKING RAT! Scared the hell out of me. My nephew said look at the cute giant hamster, but this baby had RAT written all over it. It was one of those things that fascinates and terrifies all at the same time - you know? It's technically called a Capybara and it's the largest rodent in the world. They can get up to 175 pounds!!!!! Giving me nightmares.
Speaking of nightmares, last night G and I watched the first two acts of Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke. You should all see it if you can. It's heartbreaking and shameful. And so far I don't feel an agenda being played out. Only once has Spike made his presence known and it was actually kind of funny. I'm not a big Spike Lee fan, but this is very well done - honest, stark, brutal. G and I are going to New Orleans tomorrow night for a three day weekend. I feel like I want to DO SOMETHING while I'm there, but I'm afraid being a tourist may be all I can do. Very scary stuff.
Thanks to everyone who purchased yarn yesterday in my stash sale!! I'm going to leave the few items left up for the day - if they don't sell by tomorrow I'm taking them down and I'll rethink the kit. If anyone is interested in any part of what's left - send me an email (address at bottom of this page) and I'll figure something out with you. THANK YOU!
Have a GREAT day!
PS - My site STILL looks like crap in IE. Anyone know a whole lot about CSS and IE compatibility? I tried changing the font codes to px instead of small, x-small, which I have now and it helped with the font size, but IE is still not recognizing the padding on my img borders and it messes up the fonts regardless when it appears after the image. Any and all help is appreciated. I generally use Firefox to view my site, but it bothers me to no end to know that it's out there not looking how I wanted it to look. THANKS!
Posted by Cara at 10:24 AM | Comments (42)
September 05, 2006
Stash Sale!!!
This is my first ever stash sale, so fingers crossed nothing goes wrong.
ALL YARN HAS BEEN STORED IN PLASTIC BAGS IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS IN A SMOKE FREE, PET FREE, LOVING ENVIRONMENT.
PAYMENT THROUGH PAYPAL ONLY.
FREE SHIPPING TO ADDRESSES IN THE US, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED. ALL ITEMS SHIPPED OUTSIDE OF THE US WILL BE CHARGED AN EXTRA $5.00.
I've tried to be as explicit in my descriptions of the yarn as I can be. What you see is what you get. Right now I'm not splitting anything up - but we'll see if there's anything left. THANK YOU!
JO SHARP DESERT GARDEN
Jo Sharp Desert Garden
65% Cotton, 35% Microfibre
Each ball is approximately 60 yds, 50g
Color: 238 Dandelion (light khaki green) / Dyelot 100
SOLD
Brown Sheep Cotton Fine
Brown Sheep Cotton Fine
80% Cotton, 20% Merino Wool
Each skein is approximately 222 yds, 50g
Color: CF-800 Prairie Lupine (light purple) / Dyelot 014
I used Cotton Fine to make my Flower Basket Shawl.
SOLD
Rowan All Seasons Cotton
Rowan All Seasons Cotton
60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic
Each skein is approximately 98 yds, 50g
Color: SH172 Tapestry (antique yellow) / Dyelot 27C2
Perfect for a gender neutral baby sweater!
SOLD
Brooks Farm Four Play
Brooks Farm Four Play
50% Fine Wool, 50% Silk
Each skein is approximately 270 yds, 4oz
Color: Hand Dyed mixture of reds, browns, golds, purple and gray
Perfect for Clapotis!
SOLD
Felted Flower Basket Bag Kit
I bought all of these materials to make the Felted Flower Basket Bag, which appeared in the Winter 2004/2005 issue of Vogue Knitting. The pattern is by Nicky Epstein. I'm putting everything together as a kit:
Cascade Magnum
100% Pure Wool
Each skein is approximately 123 yds, 8.82 oz
Color: 0050 Black / Dyelot 6682 THREE SKEINS
Color: 9431 Red / Dyelot 7011 TWO SKEINS
Color: 9430 Green / Dyelot 7014 TWO SKEINS
Color: 9415 Dark Green / Dyelot 6773 ONE SKEIN
TOTAL: EIGHT SKEINS
Addi Turbo Circular Needle Size US #19, 32" cord
(Never been used.)
Very Fine Copy of Winter 2004/2005 Vogue Knitting with Felted Flower Bag Pattern
COMPLETE KIT: $160.00
$5.00 HANDLING CHARGE INCLUDED IN PRICE.
Brooks Farm Duet
Brooks Farm Duet
55% Kid Mohair, 45% Fine Wool
Each skein is approximately 500 yds, 8oz
Color: Hand Dyed mixture of greens and browns
SOLD
Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks
Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks
50% Tussah, 50% Merino
Each skein is approximately 280 yds
Color: Mary's colorway - hand dyed teals, golds, pinks, orange, yellow
One skein is already wound and the other two skeins were purchased separately. The two unwound skeins seem a little darker to me than the one that's wound. They were dyed separately. Perfect for Clapotis.
SOLD
Regia/Lanna Grossa Sock Yarn
Six Skeins of Sock Yarn - SOLD TOGETHER AS A SET
Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel
80% New Wool, 20% Polyamid
One skein is approximately 420m, 100g
Color: 5050 (black, white, gray stripes) / Dyelot 46183
One skein makes at least a pair of socks.
Regia Cotton Surf
41% New Wool, 34% Cotton, 25% Polyamid
One skein is approximately 400m, 100g
Colors: 5417 (lightish blues and white stripes) / Dyelot 50382
5412 (purple, orange and yellow stripes) / Dyelot 50377
5413 (teal, gold and green stripes) / Dyelot 50378
5414 (purple, blue and orange stripes) / Dyelot 50379
5411 (red, purple and orange stripes) / Dyelot 50376
One skein makes at least a pair of socks.
SOLD
THANK YOU! ENJOY YOUR DAY!
Posted by Cara at 01:00 PM | Comments (11)
September 04, 2006
What A Racquet!
School's in session. And while some people have clearly got a thing for wood shop (what?! Is the teacher a cute Alan Alda type or something?), I've joined the tennis team.
I've said it a million times on this here blog that my darling boy is an ATHLETE. He was on the tennis team and basketball team in high school and college and once was recruited to play bball in Greece. Sadly, he's given up basketball these last few years and concentrates mainly on tennis - bad hips and all. His hips are back to being really really bad lately so he can't play the tennis he's used to. Want to know how hurt he is? He's begun playing with ME.
Back in the day, a long long long time ago, when G and I were dating, I used to travel out to Jersey (I was living in NYC at the time - still in school) on the weekends to the park where G played tennis. I would lay out in my little bikini while he played (oh my god I was so very young) and then we'd hang out after he was finished. One day, he asked if I wanted to hit a tennis ball with a bat. I said okay because I was madly in love and would've said yes to anything (well, almost anything - nah - really anything.) He got out the bat and the ball (because he has a sporting goods store in the trunk of the car) and started throwing the ball to me. It literally took me 20 MINUTES to make any kind of contact at all. AT ALL. The slightest of foul tips. I think on the next bat I got lucky and hit a nice line drive but by that time the damage was pretty much done. I could see the disappointment on his face growing deeper and deeper. He confessed to me later that he honestly considered whether or not to continue the relationship given my lack of hand eye coordination.
Lucky for him, I'm MUCH better at tennis.
So we've been playing a bunch and every time we go out I get better and better. I'm hitting harder and deeper and yet I'm still in control of the ball. Especially when I keep my eyes on it. Seriously. Who knew that when they tell you to watch the ball it actually works!!?! I think he's been enjoying himself - watching me get better and put his lessons into action. But last night, well last night I've never seen my husband prouder. I was in the zone - working my low to high swing, watching the ball, grunting through the swing (he's been trying to get me to grunt more), hustling to catch that ball no matter where he put it on the court. I chased down a hard forehand, and ripped it cross court landing it way in the back corner pinning G to the baseline. IN! And then I promptly turned my ankle and fell hard on my ass. G was so excited I think he would've jumped the net if it wouldn't have landed him in the hospital afterward. He's cheering at me that was my best shot yet! Way to hustle! The torsion knocked me on my ass! AWESOME!!!
Dude! I so need a pedicure!
Today, as much as I'd like to play, I think I'll stick to more knitterly pursuits.
The Koigu knee high. From the stash! The solid color at the ribbing (which will also be used for the heel and toe) is color 1160 and the first sock yarn I ever bought. I was out with Cassie one day last year and she insisted that I could knit socks, so I bought this rather dark and tame Koigu. I got about this far and gave up. It was the dpns.
The handpainted Koigu in the delicious purple is colorway P214. I don't remember when I bought it but I really like the purply goodness. It's been in the stash for a bit and every now and again I take it out and play with it and wonder what it will become. When I decided I needed another pair of knee highs I remembered the original yarn. I thought, huh. These two might look really good together.
HEJ was here when I started them (actually the second pair I started while she was here - the first pair did NOT work out) and she agreed that the colors worked well, so off I went. I LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. I added an extra five rows of ribbing because I was a tad concerned as to how much yarn I had with the purple (I have three skeins for two socks - and a bunch of the dark color) but I really shouldn't have been worried. I've got plenty of the first purple skein left and I'm done the decreases. I've got about fifteen rounds to go and then I start the heel. No problem. I'll probably have to just break into the third skein for a bit on the foot. Beautious!!
STASH SALE TOMORROW! 8AM EDT! 1PM EDT!!!!
BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!
Posted by Cara at 12:51 PM | Comments (38)
September 03, 2006
Everyone is so untrue.
The kids and my sister are gone. HEJ's been home for a few days now. It's just G and me. It's GREAT having company, but it's also nice to be alone. ;-)
First of all, DAYUM that's a lot of lurker love!!! Where the hell are all you people on the boring days, like when I'm not giving away free stuff? Right here and right now I'm declaring that each and every one of you lurkers must choose a day of the week to DELURK. Pick Monday. Or WTF Wednesday. I don't care but ONCE a week you MUST make yourself known. Seriously. Don't be a stranger. I want to know everything there is to know about you. In a good way.
Okay. Here's the lowdown on the LIES. Honestly, I'm a terrible liar. I've got like Truth Disease or something because when I try to lie I get all fidgety and twitchy and start dancing around like a have to pee. It's the truth. I swear.
1) Once upon a time, we were invited to spend July 4th weekend in London, England. The trip included flying there and back on the Concorde (DUDE I saw SPACE!) and seeing The Three Tenors at Wembley Stadium. We had crappy seats at Wembley (although they ended up being good when it started to pour half way through the show and we were under the tin roof) and the sound was totally off so the Tenors sang and we heard it a week later. On the way back to the hotel from the Stadium, we were sort of car jacked. A man walked up to the car and opened the back door (I was in the middle between G and a woman who worked for British Airways) and the man tried to take her purse. I screamed at G to get out of the car get out of the car but he couldn't figure out how to open the door. Meanwhile the woman sitting next to me was totally fighting with the would be robber and managed to save her purse at the expense of her Rolex. Her husband, who was sitting in the front seat with the driver, ran after the theif. G ran after the husband. I stood in the middle of the road in a foreign country screaming, "Come back. Come back."
ALL TRUE. First and only time I've been to London. The Concorde was COOL as SHIT but loud. Very loud. You do get a five course meal though so it kind of makes up for it. And they give you swag. Lots of swag with like a certificate signed by the pilot that says YO! I flew the CONCORDE. Otherwise the trip kind of sucked in a not so funny I freak out anytime anyone walks up to my car even ten years later kind of way. Scary shit. It's always been my theory that the car service driver was totally in on the whole thing. He was a little too reluctant to take us to the bobby stand. (WHOA! First time I ever wanted a cop to have a gun. I so did NOT feel safe.)
2) G won an all expense paid trip to Maui, first class - super deluxe suite at the Four Seasons - by winning a tennis tournament for travel managers. I woke up the morning of our flight with a killer sore throat and ended up being sick pretty much the whole trip. Which was fine with me because hallucinating in paradise is kind of fun. The first two days I barely got out of bed, watching the birds chirp along the lanai trailing rainbows behind their feathered asses. The room, if you could call it that, had two separate entrances, two bathrooms, two kitchens and a wrap around balcony bigger than my apartment. When I finally ventured out of the hotel I ran into David Spade at the restaurant near the pool. It was all I could do to keep my breakfast down.
ALL TRUE. I was sick as a dog and the "room" was bigger than my own apartment, which is pretty big. And I didn't hang out with David Spade who I think is kind of gross and squirrley and not really funny at all, but he did sit at the table next to us at breakfast and we did see him around the resort while we were there.
3) One of the first trips G and I ever took was to the Balearic Islands in Spain. We hit Mallorca and then Ibiza - land of house music - and had a fabulous European vacation. That was until I decided to go topless and ended up with a hideous ITCHFEST all across my chest. The hostel we were staying in had no air conditioning and I was in agony, begging to cut the vacation short.
ALL TRUE. I was so totally in Ibiza - one of the most beautiful, crazy, fascinating places I've ever been and I would go back in a heartbeat. And I totally layed out topless (I was 21 and had the bod for it) and would do it again in a heartbeat (only this time with A TON of 45 sunscreen.) And I got an awful rash and begged to go home. And that's where the truth ends and the truthiness begins.
There was no well intentioned stranger in the pharmacy. We did head up to visit Hotel Hacienda and witness the GINORMOUS shrimp they had at the buffett, but alas we didn't stay there. Although we've always said we'd go back. There was actual talk of getting married there. We went with Vermont instead.
So, all you smarty pants that picked number 3, you were in the pot to win this:
That's a black sheep tape measure from Lantern Moon, an Orange Chibi with my beloved SMALL bent tip needles and a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wild Rasberry. And the winner is:
Thank you all for playing!!!
I've got some extremely exciting stuff coming up for you this week. A new pair of KNEE HIGHS!!!! Now before you get all oh my god she's crazy with the freaking knee highs - I swear to you this is the prettiest pair of knee highs you've ever seen. One word: Koigu. AND!!!! I can barely contain my excitement. MY FIRST STASH SALE!!! Coming in a couple of days. I promise to give fair warning when it comes. I'm putting up some really beautiful stuff that sadly I just know I will never ever knit. Something for everyone.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.
Posted by Cara at 02:44 PM | Comments (35)