Meditations on Round 13

Somebody Anonymous asked for some help on the Buddha pattern. Let's see, round 13 says:

Rnd 13. Now this is the tricky part. Insert hook in Rnd 11 and pull up a loop, sc in same stitch. Continue sc around in Rnd 11. Rnd 12 will be left inside. Join, ch 1.

What you are doing here is making a tuck in his neck so that his head sits on top of his body as if it was sewn on. You've done rows 11 and 12; you are now going BACK to round 11, as if you had never done row 12, and picking up stitches all the way around row 11 to form row 13. Row 12 will now be hidden inside his neck, forming a cute round face. Row 12 is made, then ignored. Row 13 is formed on row 11. Does that help?

Cabled armwarmers, own design.

I've Founded A Stitch 'N Bitch!

I did it! I put in my paperwork at the Student Association, I got a table at my college Activities Night, and EIGHTY people signed up! Six of them were male! I was completely overwhelmed. People would walk by, do a double take at my sign with the giant red ball of yarn on it, and rush squealing over to me, where they gasped,

"Is it okay that I can only knit scarves? Can I still join?"

I must have heard that twenty times; another big one was,

"If I come will you teach me how to -------(insert craft here)?"


Now I've never taught anyone to knit or crochet, but I can give it a shot, and I know there are at least a dozen or so people coming who already know how....the coolest thing is the range of personalities! We have members of the Intervarsity Christian Club, sororities, people with neon hair and piercings, freshman and seniors, every imaginable kind of person....the first guy to sign up apparently does not knit or crochet, but SEWS, and wants to come and sew. Fine with me! I wonder what he sews? All the other guys shuffingly confided that their grandmothers taught them to crochet when they were little. How cute is that?

So this is all very exciting and overwhelming...I think I will have to ask them to bring their own yarn and needles. Duh.

Realistically, they won't all come, what with scheduling conflicts and what not, so it shouldbe pretty manageable. But oh my gosh! EIGHTY people!!!!!

One girl said to me, "I'm not very good..all I make is afghans."

I may never have the courage to attempt an afghan, and she thinks she's not very good!....this is going to be so much fun!

The Truest Friendship

Thank you so much for all the sweet, kind responses about my kitty. You are all dear lovely people. *hug*

I had to post this before I forgot, because it's really funny.

I've had reactions to wool before, hives and stuff, so I thought I'd try tying some Lamb's Pride around my wrist for a few days to see if I got a reaction to it. So I had this piece of pink yarn tied around my wrist, and my boyfriend saw it, and he asked what it was, and I told him I was allergy-testing it. With a totally straight face, he said,

" Oh. I thought maybe your yarn had made you a friendship bracelet, since you two spend so much time together."

Imagine, if you will, your yarn stash coming and standing in a pile in front of you, with a little bracelet perched on top, and a somehow soulful look.

And the funniest part is that it doesn't seem that unlikely, does it?

Oh, dear.

Hanging out.

Cricket as a pin-up girl.

Jiminy Cricket

I haven't been here in awhile, have I? Mostly because I periodically lose my camera cable, and feel like posting without pictures is cheating. However, I might as well just write down some things to get myself back on track.

First thing: I've been in a crafting block...because my cat died.

I wish I could say that she was old, it was her time, or something..but she wasn't even three yet. I don't even know how she died. I was home for the weekend, cooking dinner with my dad, he went outside to light the grill, came back in slowly and said," Shan....something bad happened. I just found Cricket outside, dead." We think she must have gotten into some rat poison somewhere, because there was no visible reason for her to stop living.
I usually console myself when a pet dies by telling myself, "They had a good life." That's not working this time. Yeah, she had a good life...she loved life like no other pet I ever had. She was playful and excitable and full of adventure. And now she's been cheated of nine years of life she should have had.

And so I didn't feel like crafting for weeks, and to be honest, I still don't....I start things and rip them out, over and over and over. I've never really felt like this before--I'm a very materialistic person, I love objects, yarn, possessions....but now I feel like what's the point? What's the point of things when someone you love can just disappear at any time? When life can be lost, what do objects matter? It's a question I'm still struggling with...and I know it's only going to get worse. I have never had a human being who is close to me pass away yet.

I feel like it's disloyal to try not to think about her, to bury my thoughts and move on just for the sake of being cheerful. But I guess we do what we have to do.