Proof I AM knitting

Pattern: Petal by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: 3 1/2 skeins Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Emporer's Robe
Needles: US 6 for body, 5 for edging
This baby took forever b/c of endless stockinette stitch and the eternal edging, but I really like how this turned out.
I found some darling buttons with cutesy faces on them, but I can't seem to get a decent closeup shot of those.
I am now off to the library to spend hours rummaging through pattern books to find the perfect sweater for some Knitpicks Wool of the Andes I just bought.

If you like fabulousness

Do yourself a favor and watch this amazing performance from this weekend's SNL. The band is "Fleet Foxes," and they blew me and John away. Rocked my socks! Reaffirmed my belief that we are in a magical time in music. Every member of this band sings in perfect harmony with one another, and it is sublime. You have no idea.

Thank you, Mr. President, for including me.

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers.”

I nearly wept at hearing myself, and many wonderful fellow non-believers, included in Barack Obama's inaugural address. Most of the time, we feel overlooked and deemed less than American (for example, George Bush saying that we were "unpatriotic" b/c of our beliefs..or lack thereof I should say). I can't fully express how it warmed my cockles to hear him add us onto the list of all of those who shape this nation. We are your friends, your coworkers, your sisters and brothers. We are the same as anyone else and deserve recognition as Americans, and it's about damn time someone had the courage to say it. Thank you, Mr. President, for adding those simple words that will bring a sense of comfort for many atheists, agnostics, and humanists of this country.

A new edition to the blog

Up to now, this blog has been mostly fluffy knitting stuff and the occasional cutesy kid story. And with all likelihood, the only people that ever read it are my blood relatives. Hi Mom :)
And while creating a new blog to delve into deeper subjects would probably be more appropriate, I'm super lazy, and it's just easier to dump everything into one blog. So from now on, all kinds of crap will be on here. From book, TV, and movie reviews, to my views on religion, morality, politics, and feminism. I'm a fairly well-rounded individual, and I believe that I'm quite capable of mingling my thought-cicles (more 30 Rock ridiculousness) along with the pictures of fluffy sweaters.

So, just to top things off, here's my current favorite quote, via feministing.com from the incomparable Rev Al Sharpton.

"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you. It amazes me," he said, "when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."

I could not agree more.

My love affair with hats continues

I present to you my favorite of the bunch. I've been cranking out hats like a crazy person, and this one is hands down the cat's pajamas.


Side Slip Cloche from "Boutique Knits" I want to make everything from this book and might eventually do just that.
Cascade 220 - less than 1 skein of this gorgeous purple/blue I got from Ana years ago.
US 5 needles
Verdict - to say I love this hat is putting it lightly. In the words of the great Tracy Jordan, "I love it so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant."

Shoe fetish

I have no idea when this started or how or why, but I'm now madly in love with shoes. I think it may have sprung from my lust for the particular brand. T.U.K. which birthed both pairs of my "cat shoes."

The left is a hard leather mary jane with a bit of a heel. The right is a sneaker with a velcro face, and they're totally beat up b/c I wore them daily for 3 years (and all 9 months of pregnancy). T.U.K. shoes will last an eternity and are comfortable from day one.
And here are the ones I just got today in the mail. T.U.K. has a line of "Emily the Strange" shoes. You've probably seen some of her clothing at Hot Topic; it's adorable and slightly disturbing.


I psychotically love these shoes. They're slightly roomy, but with my mom's handknit socks (that she actually made for my hubby, and I stole) they fit like a dream.
Next, 2 pairs of shoes I bought from Payless b/c I'm not made of money, ya know. One day I said to myself, "Self, you need a pair of red mary janes." So I scoured the pre-Christmas sales and found these for less than $15. They are fabulously cutesy. The black ones I bought ages ago, and they aren't the most comfortable shoes around, but I do like that they are shiny and simple.



I will delve into my newfound love for fashion in the next post. This one got a little heavy on the pics, so I ran out of time.
In knitting, I'm almost finished with the side slip cloche from the marvelous book, "Boutique Knits." I want to make virtually everything in that book, but right now am sticking with just all the hats.