Cast me gently into morning, for the night has been unkind

Preface: I should have realized this blog had no prayer of staying "just a knitblog."

My sleep has been a trainwreck the last week and a half or so -- partly because of the 71 page monstrosity and partly because of a fight and partly because of a string of really vivid, distressing dreams. I won't dissect the dreams here (In truth, it always amazes me when people talk about their dreams openly on the internet -- feels a bit like uploading one's unconscious for all to sift through. No thanks.), but the most disturbing one involved my being tied to a huge tree and attacked by an army of poisonous snakes. Oh, font of neverending joy.

So what do you do when you can't sleep and you're hungover from excessive caffeine consumption, writing into the wee hours and feeling frustrated that the one knitting project you want to be working on (Icarus) is feeling impossible? Crank the tunes and cast on a sock, of course! Well, this one was prompted by the epic phone conversation I had with my little sister on Saturday. As sisters are wont to do, she made me feel about 6000% better, so I decided to take she-whose-feet-are-eternally-icy a pair of handknit wool socks as a surprise next month. Enter Broadripple. Isn't this yarn (above) just precious? It's KnitPicks Memories in S'mores, which happen to be one of sis and my most favoritest treats ever. I love this pattern too: slightly lacy, easy to memorize, works up fast. It just works on so many levels. I hope she loves them, but I really wouldn't mind if she doesn't, because I'll just keep them for myself. Bonus on sockknitting for her: our feet are almost exactly the same size (mine are shorter, but hers are narrower). ;)



“Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem.” -- Rollo May

I've really never considered myself to be "crafty." I can't really explain why, but I think I just have a negative association of myself to that word. I think somewhere along the line, someone I respected must have equated "craft" with idleness and wasted energies, and the (preposterous) notion got stuck in my brain that one must avoid such things. But nonetheless, I've always liked to create things. When I was told in the eighth grade that I had to take either a woodshop class (no way) or "personal living skills" (e.g. home ec), I was mad that those were my only options. I wanted to take another science class or maybe drama, but not cooking and sewing! I think I probably scowled for a week straight, but ended up absolutely loving the class. So much so, in fact, that in ninth grade, I took both the advanced cooking and sewing courses. It's funny to me that now, as an adult, those kinds of things are among my favorite things to do.

My friends from undergrad call me MiniMartha (of the Stewart variety) for my knack of pulling together parties "out of nothing" -- like a MacGuyver of Entertaining or some such thing. There's a good reason I've been Maid or Matron of Honor in nine weddings. Well firstly, I have great girlfriends who've really honored me by asking me to stand beside them on their wedding days, but I think they also know that I'll do all the bridal things well. I tend to go all out. So, for whatever reason (most likely offender? the half decade I've spent doing little aside from grad school), I've been flying my Crafty flag a lot lately. It was beyond time to redress the deficit, friends.

Other than knitting, I've also beaded a few things in the last few months. My favorite is the amethyst and pearl fob I made for my embroidery scissors. Now, no matter how far they've slipped to the bottom of my knitting bag, I can dig them out in a snap.



I whipped up a few (dozen) stitchmarkers, too.


Hmmm, maybe I'll find some cool beads and make mi hermana a pair of earrings too. She's worth it.


Before I go back to struggling with Icarus and the ridiculously beautiful, but ridiculously fine yarn I've chosen to work with, I have finished objects that keep slipping my mind to photograph, most likely because they've been on my feet since I finished weaving in all the ends. I present... le fong du moi! Erm, but look past my swollen, allergic toesies and my less than perfect pedicure.



Pattern: Fong! by the inimitable Kathy.
Yarn: Regia Cotton Color #5408
Needles: Size 1 Clover Bamboo DPNs. When I make another pair of these, I'm gonna use 0s I think. My finished Fongi are a little loose, but they work beautifully and I love them to bits.
Mods: I added a single garter stitch on either side of the... flossy part, which I also knit in reverse stockinette so the curl would match the curve of my... toe cleft. Okay, I feel horribly dirty writing about this. Is it just me?



"I will be the answer at the end of the line
I will be there for you while you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty, I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance if you can't look down
If it takes my whole life, I won't break, I won't bend
It will all be worth it, worth it in the end
‘Cause I can only tell you what I know, that I need you in my life
And when the stars have all gone out you'll still be burning so bright
Cast me gently into morning
For the night has been unkind."

-- Sarah McLachlan "Answer" (Afterglow)