Amy tagged me for that seven random things about you meme, which is quite fortunate for me as I have no new knitting to talk about and no one to pinch hit for me.

Hmmm…this is hard. Don’t you people know EVERYTHING about me already? I always feel like I’m an open book. Forgive me if I’m repeating stuff.

1) A few people have sent me this link to tell me that Springsteen’s The River is No. 25 on The 25 Most Equisitely Sad Songs in the Whole World list. While I will agree that The River is a sad sad song and one that I very recently sat in the car and listened to about ten times while crying my eyes out, it’s not the saddest of Springsteen songs at ALL and it’s not my sad song of choice usually. Downbound Train is pretty freaking sad, if you ask me. Damn sad:

I had a job, I had a girl
I had something going mister in this world
I got laid off down at the lumber yard
Our love went bad, times got hard
Now I work down at the carwash
Where all it ever does is rain
Don’t you feel like you’re a rider on a downbound train

It only gets worse from there. Anyway, most of Bruce’s songs are tinged with sadness, that’s what makes them so good, but still and all, when I want my most sad song – the song I’ve reached for time and time again at the height of my depressiveness – it’s always Nik Kershaw’s Wouldn’t It Be Good.

I mean, c’mon!

I got it bad
You don’t know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don’t know when you got it good
It’s getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I’m sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fibre
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
Don’t wanna be here no more

Now THAT’S a sad song!

2) Grumperina was talking the other day about how she doesn’t like the number 4. I think she was specifically talking about the number 4 in terms of knitting repeats, but I kind of understood. I have a problem with odd numbers myself. I don’t like things to be odd. And I’m weird about odd primes (although don’t all primes have to be odd – well – except the number two?) I’ll add up numbers anyway I can to get me to a number where I feel comfortable. It’s not something I think about all the time, but it’s there. Weirdness abounds.

3) Whenever the clock hits all the same numbers (11:11, 5:55, 3:33, etc.) and I see it, I make a wish. It’s usually always the same wish, sometimes with different stuff added on to the end, but basically it’s the same. What?! I’m not going to tell you! Then it won’t come true.

4) I don’t cook very often, but when I do, stuffed shells is probably the best thing I make. It’s kind of funny because I just follow the recipe that’s on the box of pasta shells and I always use jar sauce, but it comes out SO GOOD. Much better than if you bought shells already stuffed. I HATE to stuff Manicotti though even though it’s the same recipe and everything. Something about getting that cheese evenly distributed in the pasta tube makes me NUTS.

5) I am the epitome of the saying: If you want something done, ask a busy man. I can procrastinate with the best of them when I’m not that busy. Give me a lot of work to do and I’m a machine. It kind of sucks because a lot of the time I’m not that busy (my work is pretty cyclical) and I sit around doing nothing. Then I get all kinds of crazy and I’m like a tornado. I’d love to be able to harness my energy better and maybe focus a bit more. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a lot done when I’m not working so hard (KNITTING LIKE A FIEND) but my house suffers and other stuff suffers and I should be better at being more even about work stuff. Not as much fun, for sure, but I won’t live in squalor probably.

6) I’ve got monkey feet (which maybe explains why I like the socks so much.) Seriously, I have very dexterous toes. I’ve never tried to write with my feet, but I bet you I could. I also have pretty perfect feet. No corns, no bumps, no bunions. No weird errant toe longer than the rest of them. Very pretty feet.

I love my feet.

7) The pool at my building is about to open next weekend but I will probably only go in once or twice the entire season. Not because I don’t like to swim – I LOVE to swim! But because the water is too cold. I’m very very particular about water temperature. It needs to be pretty comfortable for me to get in. I need to be able to walk right in without any shocks to the system. The only people that can get me in a cold pool are my niece and nephews and maybe, once a year, Georgie. He goes in the ocean when it’s FREEZING. He’s like a polar bear. Me, I’m like a jelly fish. 😉

Hope that wasn’t too boring. Thanks Amy! Oh yeah – anyone who wants to do this – go ahead! I’m probably like the last person in the world to do this so you’re probably all like wah! Another one of these stupid things? So go ahead – knock yourself out!

The Pretty Plucky Julie has plopped the letter P in my path! Thank you Julie! The way this meme works is that you get a letter from someone and then you have to list ten things, themes, theories, etc. in your life that begin with that letter.

PRESTO! IT’S P!

Photography If you had told me a few years ago that my main source of income would be from photography – let alone that I’d have my own business where naive parents have me come to their home and photograph their kids for all posterity – I’d have peeshawed right in your face. No way. Yet, this is my life. And I love it. I love developing my pictures after a shoot and finding that perfect shot. The one I know will bring tears to a parent’s eyes because THIS IS THEIR KID! Not the fancy dress goofy background shot they get at Sears or JC Penney (not that those studios don’t have a place in the world of kid photography – I mean where would we be without those awful pictures to look back on?) This is the picture that captures the essence of a child – who they really are. It’s a moment in time. And I’m thrilled that I can do that for a family. Thrilled.

Prose Just like I try to take photographs that are a moment in time, that’s what I used to like to write. Short Stories. Unlike novels which can span a lifetime, a short story, in my opinion, needs to begin with a single moment – and the story must grow out of that moment. I miss writing stories. I miss telling stories. I do write everyday – or almost everyday – right here on this blog and you know what? That writing DOES COUNT. It does. And I need it in my life. But in my soul I need to be writing fiction. I hope that one day I’ll get back to it. I really really really do. It tortures me that I don’t do it. Writers Block is a particularly pernicious poison in a writer’s soul.

Pickles Right now we have no less than four jars of pickles in our house – five if you count the sweet relish I like to put on my hot dogs – but only boiled or microwave hot dogs – not on bbqed hot dogs. Anyway, back to the pickles. I love pickles – sweet pickles, gherkins, kosher pickles – there really isn’t a pickle I’ve had that I didn’t like. Growing up (and by growing up I mean, like, last week) pickles were the main attraction at any holiday meal. My grandmother – god bless her – is not the greatest cook in the world – so all of the kids – my sisters and brother, my cousins and I – would devour the pickles set out in the pickle dish before the meal. I swear they’d be gone in like five seconds. I’ve never had the pickles we eat at my grandmom’s anywhere BUT at my grandmom’s. I’m not sure why – it’s not like they’re special or anything. Some kind of peculiar kosher blend I guess.

Panic Unfortunately, panic is an everyday part of my life. I’ve learned to live with it, to be sure, but it’s always there, playing possum, waiting to pounce. Sigh. I’ve accepted it as a way of life and every day it gets a little bit better.

Pimple The other day I made Georgie inspect my face for wrinkles. It’s not that I’m particularly vain or anything like that – it’s just that I don’t really have any wrinkles. A fact which amazed G. He had me scrunch up my face then relax it and proclaimed that No! I don’t have wrinkles! You know why? Because I have pimples instead. A dermatologist once told me that because of my large pores and my oily skin I won’t wrinkle badly at all. At that time, this wasn’t that much of a panacea because c’mon – who wants some humongous PIMPLE on their face? But now that I’m aging gracefully, I don’t mind that pimple as much. Makes me look young(er) don’t you know! The only really bad thing about pimples is that I’m a picker. Pimples and Picking go together but when you pick, it can often lead to pockmarks.

Perihelion Today is the day that the Earth is closest to the sun during it’s orbit. I think. At least that’s what perihelion means. But this passage isn’t really about perihelion, it’s about the fact that Georgie reads the paper every morning while I’m on the computer and oftentimes – sometimes daily – he’ll shout out a word to me and ask me what it means. Oftentimes – sometimes daily – I have no idea what it means and I reach for my favorite dictionary: Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary – the red one I bought to take to college. I love when G asks me what a word means. I love looking it up in the dictionary and I love giving him the meaning and I love asking him if that makes sense. It’s just a little thing that we do, but those little things add up to plenty.

Partridge Or more specifically, the Eye of Partridge heel. I decided to use this heel on my new pair of socks. So far I like it! Usually I’m a slip 1 knit 1 kind of girl, but it’s nice to mix things up a bit. The Eye of Patridge heel is simple and the directions can be found here. You have to pay a little bit more attention, but that’s okay. I’ve had a couple of questions about doing socks on two circulars and I wanted to give you a couple of links. I first learned how to do socks on two circulars here. The whole site is actually a great resource and I especially like this page. There are no hard and fast rules with knitting. I do my socks on two circulars, yes, but when I get to the gusset I move things around on double points and shift the knitting so that half the gusset and half the instep are on one circular and the rest on the other. When I’m done with the gusset decreases, I shift the stitches back to the way I started. That’s what works for me. You do what works for you, of course. And two socks on two circulars? I cast on each sock separately and join them in the round – THEN I move both pairs together. There’s a way to cast them on at the same time – or on the same set of circulars, but I couldn’t figure it out. You can find all of this information by doing a simple google search.

Philadelphia Born and Raised. I’ve actually lived outside of Philadelphia about three years longer than I ever lived there, but I still feel the connection. I’m a Philly Girl no doubt about
it. Ask me something about the city, though, and I probably don’t know the answer. I grew up about 45 minutes from Center City (still in Philly) and pretty much all my family is still there but I never really explore the city – save for the trips we took as kids. (I’ll never forget the itty bitty stairs in the Besty Ross House.) Most of the time when I go, I’m visiting the family and sometimes we venture out with the kids, but mostly it’s close to home stuff. I know all the good yarn stores though. For sure.

Perfectionism Ahhh. The double edged sword of perfectionism. Knitting helps me – sometimes. One of the things I love about knitting is that I can go back and fix my mistakes and it can almost be perfect. I love too that I can have a vision and many times translate that vision into a knit. I can make the yarn do what I want. I can’t say that about my other creative endeavors. Perfectionism is a sickness, no doubt, but like the panic I list above (of which pefectionism is a contributing factor – it’s all about CONTROL baby!) I’ve grown to live with it and love it for what it is in my life. I try not to let it get me too crazy.

Passion Did you see these awards? Did you see the one I got? Most Enthusiastic! Thanks girls! I take that as a high compliment. Everyone should have passion in their life. And not just the romantic kind, but every kind. I thoroughly believe in loving something – hard and deep and with verve! Why not? I find it very hard to believe that when I’m on my deathbed I’ll regret being head over heels about something – geez. I wish I loved that knitting a little less. I’m passionate about being passionate, sure, but who can blame me? There is so much to be sad about in this life – so much pain and life is very difficult. I feel it all the time. So why not balance it out with as much passion as possible? One of the best things I heard this end of the year was on The McLaughlin Group. Georgie likes to watch the Sunday morning news shows, and I like to sit by him, so I’ve taken to watching them as well (even though they have me frothing at the mouth half the time.) The year-end awards on TMG are always fun and the last weekend of the year Mr. McLaughlin asked for everyone’s resolution then he gave his own:

MR. MCLAUGHLIN: More mirth in my new year. That’s my New Year resolution. Mirth is underrated and so is unadulterated exuberance. Laughter is healthy and needed, so I’m going to seek more.

Unadulterated Exuberance. I couldn’t agree more, Mr. M. Couldn’t agree more.

So there are my Ps. Would you like your own letter? Ask me in the comments and I’ll try to get one to you asap. This was kind of fun. Thanks Julie!

I am so screwed. I love Ariann so much I can’t knit anything else. I’ve got tons of half finished socks laying around – not interested. A beautiful shawl which I’m knitting in beautiful yarn – nah. I printed out a couple new patterns yesterday – Eunny’s Anemoi Mittens and The Mason Dixon Perfect Sweater and neither one does it for me. It’s like when you finish a fantastic book and you want to be reading another book RIGHT AWAY but really what you want is to be STILL reading that fantastic book. That’s how I feel. I want to STILL be knitting Ariann, but also wearing the Ariann I finished. And that doesn’t mean I want to just start knitting another one – you know? I think this also has something to do with what G & I just went through this whirlwind last month. I mean talk about highs and low! My gosh! I don’t want the lows back but Ariann has reached mythical proportions. I finished it – was WEARING it – when I found out G was okay. You can’t get any more special than that. This sweater is IN me now.

So my question to you is to help me find something new to knit. I want to knit another sweater. Last night I went through every freaking magazine and book I have and I didn’t find anytihng. I thought I wanted to knit it from stash but the only yarn I have enough of in stash is Jo Sharp DK Silkroad Tweed and Aran Silkroad Tweed and Aran Silkroad and for some reason I can’t find anything to knit with that. I decided, out of desperation, that I will buy new yarn if I need to – after all – I have a birthday coming up. I don’t really feel like designing my own sweater, per se, but I will if that’s my only option. Which I can’t believe it is with all the talent out there. I think I’d like a cardigan again, but it doesn’t have to be. If it’s a pullover I need to make it a v-neck because I don’t like crew necks. (Besides, the girls look better with a bit of skin showing.) And I want it to be INTERESTING. No plain stockinette thank you very much. Maybe some cables. Or lace. Or both. Something infectious. What’s your favorite sweater pattern? The one that made you want to knit it all over again as soon as you were finished? PLEASE help me. I’m desperate here.

I was tagged again for the weird things meme – so I’ll do it. (First by Wendy and now by Jeanne.) But I’m not sure about this whole weird thing. I mean, I’ve always thought of myself as a little bit different or weird, however you might like to slice it, but I’m not sure there are specific things that make me weird. I asked G what was weird about me and he said, didn’t you just ask me this? So maybe it’s weird that I keep asking what’s weird about me?

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I am currently seeing two therapists. This may not actually make me weird, just insane. But seriously, one I’ve been seeing for FOREVER (actually off and on since the incident I spoke about in this post) and the other one I recently started seeing in attempts to figure out what to do with my fertility or lack thereof. It’s been working pretty well (and NO I am not pregnant.) Obviously I believe in therapy. Which either makes me very weird or Woody Allen. Probably like one and the same.

2. I’ve got lots and lots of phobias. For instance, currently I’m not driving certain distances on highways alone. Put someone else in the car with me and I’ll drive forever. Alone, not so much. I think I can go about 1/2 hour away. I used to be worse, then better, then worse. Maybe I should address this in therapy? Hmmmm…. I also hate to fly and won’t get on a plane without Xanax in my system. And no amount of Xanax would get me on a propellar plane. Or a helicopter. Or a hot air balloon.

3. I know you all probably know this one, but it’s still kind of sort of strange: I still sleep with my baby blanket. Every night. Recently I left it at my sister’s house (where my nephew slept with it to keep it safe) and I was leaving for vacation the next day and I refused to have it FedEx’d to me lest it get lost in the mail so I had to go away without it. I slept with a t-shirt of G’s every night because I needed something between my chest and my chin – you know – in that crook? Or else I couldn’t sleep.

4. I have a Bachelors Degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy, a Masters in Library Science, and a Masters in Fine Arts with a concentration in Creative Writing (Fiction) and yet my current profession is Photographer – for which I have never taken a class. Ever.

5. I bite my fingernails. But only for grooming purposes not for nervous purposes. For some reason I can’t cut them with a fingernail clipper. Which, by the way, I can’t watch other people do – like on the subway or some other public place. TOTALLY grosses me out. For nervous purposes I pick anything and everything on my skin. I’m a scab’s worst enemy. Zits? Watch out! And oh my god the ingrown hair. It’s like orgasmic to me. Gross, but orgasmic.

6. I will NOT eat chicken on a bone. It completely and utterly grosses me out. I will eat chicken breast to my hearts content. I’m a red meat girl ALL THE WAY. Ribs? Send them my way. Lambchops? YUMMMMM! But put a drumstick or a wing or some other sinewy gross foul fowl thing in from of me and I will puke. So don’t invite me out for wings okay? God I can’t even think about it without feeling ill….

So there’s my weirdness. I’m sure there’s TONS I forgot. If you feel like talking about how weird you are, go to it. And don’t forget to leave me your favorite sweater pattern! I’m not kidding! I NEED HELP!

If I don’t get a chance to tell you before the weekend – have a GREAT HOLIDAY – whatever you’re celebrating!

self-portrait with baby blanket

All work and no play makes Cara freaking CRAZY. So today I decided I wanted to do a meme, but I haven’t really been enamored with the meme’s I’ve seen people playing these days so I went and wasted time looking for something I hadn’t seen before. This is the MY LIFE. MY BLOG. meme taken from those American Express ads. You know the ones that feature someone famous filling out a form? Well, here’s the form. Download it. Fill it out (the handwriting is what makes it cool.) Then scan it or take a picture of it. Be sure to include a picture of yourself as well.

Credit where credit is due: I found the meme and the form here and here. Thanks!

Now go off and meme. And let me know when you post it so I can waste time looking at your memes.

Okay. Back to work. Two more days. Two more days. Two more days….

ETA: There are no secret hidden messages in this blog post. The memory refers to the phone call I made to my grandfather when my oldest nephew was born. I told him, “Grandpop! It’s a BOY!” and he started to cry on the phone. I’ve always felt incredibly lucky that I was the one that told him Max was born. He died the following Summer. The baby blanket in the picture is MY baby blanket. The one I sleep with every night. Sometimes I wear it like a scarf during the day if it’s cold or I’m feeling crazy and want to smell it. Yes. I’m a freak. And, finally, becoming a mother continues to be the biggest challenge I have ever faced.

The first time I took this quiz – when it saw over at my Philly pal’s – I was a Midland accent – but my highest percentage was Philly. I was just over at Sandra’s laughing at her because she’s horrified that she came out with a Philly accent and I decided I’d take it again. DUDE! The questions were different this time for sure, but the outcome is all CHEESESTEAK!

The truth is no one outside of the area can pronounce my name the way it’s really meant to pronounced, i.e the way my mother always yelled it – with a glorified Philly A!

Break over. Back to work….

For Ann:

Thank god for Bonne Marie!

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Cara

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Charles and Dora Zeenberg, my maternal grandfather’s parents. The real naming was in hebrew. My hebrew name is Chaya Devorah, after Chaim (Charles) and Devorah (Dora.)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I am the ultimate cryer, but I actually can’t remember a true crying experience in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been feeling really good lately. Must have been watching a TV show – but that kind of crying almost doesn’t count because it happens so frequently. Like peeing.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Why, yes, yes I do. But it’s not as nice as it used to be. Georgie’s handwriting is as bad as it gets, so I’m always writing stuff for him.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Um, where I’m from we call it Deli and my favorite is corned beef.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely. I am incredibly loyal and generous. Just ask all my friends. Hey – where ya all going?!?

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? blogblogblog

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Indeed I do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely not.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Organic Frosted Mini-Wheats. I actually think they’re sweeter than the regular Frosted Mini-Wheats. All though I rarely eat breakfast and I’ve given over cereal for Greek yogurt.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No – but then again I rarely wear shoes with ties.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong in heart? Strong in spirit? Strong in brain? I wouldn’t say I’m weak, but you could probably kick my ass.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? ohmygod this is the hardest question ever because I love ice cream so much. Whatever it is – it’s vanilla based. Cherry Garcia. Vanilla fudge. Chocolate chip. But ALWAYS plain vanilla milkshakes. ALWAYS.

14. SHOE SIZE? A friendly and common size 8.

5. RED OR PINK? Both. Last year maybe I would’ve leaned towards pink, this year I’m leaning towards red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My anxiety and panic.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my friend Margo who moved away from me. We’re not as close as we used to be. Sometimes I miss my mother – but I don’t really want to talk about that.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure. Why not. I’ll be out of town for a while….

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? blue sweatpants, blue sweat jacket, white t-shirt and nude shoes. Actually I’m barefoot and in my thank god I don’t have to shower today clothes.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Some joggers from Kris. I LOVE YOU KRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And no, I did not eat them for breakfast – I ate them before bed. But breakfast is a good idea too….)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Georgie in the shower and the typing on the keyboard.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple

23. FAVORITE SMELL? My niece or nephews when they were babies – or my husband. DAYUM he smells good. Those pheromes at work. Whew!

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Probably Ann. Or Georgie. One or the other.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Lips or hands.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Absofuckinglutely.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Root beer.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? I don’t know – tennis? It always seems to be on in the house….

29. EYE COLOR? Brown

30. HAT SIZE? Small. I have a pretty small head.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Glasses. I’ve tried contacts a few times and no go. Astigmatism and dryness make me a four eyes.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? This week it’s greek yogurt, honey and banana. Nectar of the gods.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy fucking weepy endings. I don’t do scary. Enough of that in my own head.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? I hate summer with a passion so by default I chose winter. I’m not really into extreme weather though – but I’d much rather be cold than hot. You can always put more clothes on, but once you’re naked and you’re still freaking hot – you’re shit out of luck.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? All of the above.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? See number 13.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Can’t really say.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Ann

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I Am The Most Pathetic Human Being in The World Because I’m Currently Not Reading A Book, by M. E. Knitsalot

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? A sheep knitting a sock. A gift from G.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Another World and Gilmore Girls. Which is ruined forever, by the way. What the fuck are they doing pairing her up with CHRISTOPHER? She looks like she’s going to cry every time she looks at him and the chemistry is awful. Luke, on the other hand, is as cute as ever.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Eli giggling the other day while I was singing to him on the phone. Anybody laughing really. Except if you have a really bad laugh. You know – the ones that sound like someone’s actually in pain? Not those.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Israel

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Being me. No one else can do it as well. Trust me. They’ve tried. 😉

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Stolen from Bonne Marie, the original ChicKnit!

Okay – your turn. DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT! You know you want to.

And one random item for Wednesday:

– There is nothing more confounding than a yo purl to start a row. It takes me eight tries to get it right EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I’m home. But only for like five minutes. We walked in the door this morning at 7:30AM and I’m getting on a train to go to my sister’s at 4:30. Whoofuckinghoo. I can say that. It’s not Yom Kippur yet.

I am so tired.

I have some stuff to tell you, but I fear that by the time I actually get a chance to get back to blogging and reading blogs I won’t feel like telling you anymore. You know how that goes. But I will say that I SAW STARS while I was in Hollyweird. ACTUAL KNITTING CELEBRITIES. I spent a fantastic day with Julia and MJ at the Getty Center. When I met back up with Georgie he asked about the museum. I told him I never went inside. He asked, did you knit a lot? I told him I never once picked up my needles. Did you go to the knitting stores you talked about? No. What did you do all afternoon? We talked. And talked. And took some goofy and also terrific pictures of me in my shawl and some flowers and then we talked some more. It was the best way to pass an afternoon! Thank you girls!! Thank you for braving LA traffic to spend some time with me!

The one thing I thought a lot about while I was on vacation was Grumperina‘s Ten Knitterly Things About Me That You Might Not Have Known Meme. I wanted to do it the whole time I was away, but I never had a chance, so I’m doing it now.

1. When I find a pair of shoes I like, I buy them in a lot of colors. Same goes with shirts, pants, underwear. I figure why mess with a good thing and who knows when they’ll stop making it (because they always do, trust me – anything good goes away.) I am the SAME WAY with my knitting. If I like a pattern, say, I don’t know, a sock pattern. Or maybe a sock yarn, I will buy it and knit it MANY TIMES OVER. And I see NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS. I find great comfort in familiarity. And I always stop when I get bored. I like to exhaust things.

2. I am a very selfish knitter. You will RARELY see me knit for a charity, a square blanket, a loved one. I’ve made G one vest and one scarf (like the ONLY scarf I’ve ever made) and thankfully he doesn’t like knits because I don’t think I’ll be knitting him anything else anytime soon. I don’t even knit super cute kid stuff for the super cute kids in my life. My poor baby nephew has NOTHING handknit from me. The other kids have hats and a sweater each and blankets. The baby? Nothing. I’m very guilty about this but I still don’t do anything about it. That’s how selfish I am.

3. I have VERY specific preferences when it comes to yarn. Preferences that seem to get worse as my knitting goes on. I hate all hairy yarns: Mohair, Angora, Alpaca – anything that gets a halo. Hate it. I like sproingy very very soft yarns and refuse to knit with anything else. This limits me I know, but you know what? I do just fine with my choices. Basically I want to be able to wear it next to my skin and not know I have it on.

4. I only knit with Addi circular needles. EXCLUSIVELY. I really don’t even own any other needles and straight needles make me almost as crazy as DPNs. DPNs are the worst TO ME. Although I will admit to using Susan Bates DPNs when I move socks around on my two circulars. And they’re good for picking up gussets. I will admit that.

5. Knitting for me has a lot to do with color. Moreso than texture or design – which is why I think I like socks so much. A stockinette sock is all about the yarn. Same thing with a garter stitch log cabin. Although I love cables and the way they look and some knit/purl designs and even mosaics or fair isles, the fiddliness of the knitting turns me off a bit.

6. That said, I’m dying to knit a really complicated sweater. I think I’m going to do the Am Kamin finally. I thought about it A LOT while I was away. A lot. A lot a lot. My next project will definitely be a sweater and while I may finish the Barbara Walker neck down sweater, a very complicated (or at least it will look that way) cardigan will be in the works for me. I hope so, at least.

7. I love a purl back row. LOVE IT. I have no problems purling. I actually think I’m a faster purler, sometimes, than a knitter. BUT I hate ribbing with a passion. And I will avoid purling in socks at all costs. I’m not sure why this is – probably because you’re not working with a lot of stitches so there’s a lot of switching back and forth and what I really like is a purl back row. Just that nice long line of get in the rhythm purl. Goodness.

8. I wish I was better at figuring things out. Like finding a pattern I really like but knowing it’s not quite right for my body shape and being able to manipulate things so that it turns out to be what I really want that looks good and feels good and is perfect. I’m sure this is not beyond the scope of my abilities – I don’t doubt that I could figure these things out – but it seems like for some knitters this is intuitive and for me it’s not intuitive and when I think about the work involved I get really tired and want to pick up a sock.

9. I would really love to be able to design a lace shawl. This is something I’ve never spoken about before and I’ve even thought about collaborating with someone on it – but I’m afraid there’s a lot of math involved to get things all perfect and again – there’s that tired thing. Look at that! I just knit another sock!

10. I am a perfectionist. I will rip things back to get them right. Not saying it’s for everyone, and probably no one would notice a mistake, but I would know it’s there, and that’s just not gonna work for me. If I can fix it, I will.

Oh my god – there’s so much I owe you guys! Haiku winners! Updates to the Rhinebeck Blogger Meet Up List! Pictures of Seraphim! (Julia – the brief look I got at the pictures is GREAT!) Hopefully the meme and a couple Pretty Woman Pictures will suffice until I’m back to blogging all regular like. I miss you all!