Oh, the Horror! (see pic below)

Note: This post may not be appropriate for young children...or for Fun-Fur-yarn-lovers.


How I loathe thee, trendy Fun Fur!
Hideous, slippery plastic threads,
tangled mass of petroleum wasted
in a pompous novelty yarn of horror.

Like "slicker-binders" required in 5th grade,
with no inherent advantage, no noble goals,
except those of intrigue and slipperiness,
looking funky, and refusing to stay put.

A swift trap for needles and hooks alike
drawing innocent beginners
with artificial lushness, yelling colors,
and seeming luxury of shade and texture.

The one "fiber" in the basket
which refuses to stay wound
slinking out at night to play,
winding confusion around sleeping wools

The slick yarn beguiles trusty knitters
turning hours of work on well-designed patterns
into messy webs of fur and string
proclaiming themselves "modern."

A cold tangle of cheap knots
in flustered hands expecting more...
...more warmth, more agility, more comfort
than spun-plastic Fun Fur can bestow.

Guaranteed to Brighten Any Monday!

If you want to see the absolute cutest little girl EVER, click on the picture below. It is a video of my niece Kathryne singing Twinkle, Twinkle to me. She learns these songs in preschool, and then usually sings them to me on the phone. Sarah (K's other aunt) told her she was making a video for Aunt Bethany, so what she says at the end (as she reaches for the camera) is, "Bethany sing it," telling me it's my turn, like we do on the phone. This video is guaranteed to brighten any ole' Monday. : )

P.S.--Pray for this little girl. Her paternal side of the family has decided to contest the abandonment charges we filed. You can see how cute she is, but she needs to be securely in the custody of someone who will love her and take care of her, even in her ever-so-slightly-less-than-cute moments. Custody does not need to be given to someone who seems to care about her only from time to time, and even then only as a posession to be shown off.

The Perfect Tote...and Pants

It is clear that el tote bag-o is not going to be finished this week. Which is ok with me. I have decided I'd rather make it perfect than to make it by Friday. And, in addition to my perfectionist tendencies, I also need to average about 11 hours of work each day this week (except for Friday, when I'll be catching a plane). Yesterday I got 11...today I got 10:15. But I had a book group to go to tonight, and reading to do before I went, so tomorrow I'll make up for it. (Yes, I'll be skipping Wed. night church, but the book group I went to tonight is a church thing, so I think it'll be ok with God.) ; )

Anywho, I feel very grown-up today because I left my house by 7:11 this morning, went to Walmart and filled up with gas (ok, i put $10 in) before I got to the office at 7:45am. I also (later in the morning) took my new black pants to the dry cleaners, was fitted, and left them to be hemmed. Now, before anyone goes jumping down my throat about how easy it is to do simple hemming on unlined pants, let me just say: (a) please note that I have no sewing machine, (b) I'm not even sure if you use a sewing machine to do a whole hem (i've only ever repaired parts of a hem...which i did by hand), and (c) please also note the 11 hours of work per day, with hopefully a couple hours of eating/sleeping in between. And I know, I'm bound to have a willing friend who could do it. But maybe I wanted to have them done. Maybe I just like the idea of paying only slightly more than 1 hr's wages to save me a load of worrying and frustration...or trying to make schedules work out, and trying not to pressure a friend but to encourage them to get them done for me in less 3 days, or being unhappy if they're not what I pictured. And it makes me feel grown-up. So there.

And now for that sleeping part....

Questions for my Knitting Friends:

Does anyone know where to get nice (affordable) handles for a tote bag (finished size 11x14 inches)? All I can find in stores are tiny little evening-bag-sized handles. The icords in the pattern are supposed to end up 22-25 inches long.

The pattern for this tote bag uses handles of i-cord. Problems:
(A) I'm a relatively new knitter, and I've heard i-cord is less than fun.
(B) I'd like to have this bag done in time to take it on a trip this coming Friday!
(C) Somewhere in my moving, I've LOST a ball of yarn! Therefore, I have a lighter celery-shade of green, which I'm using for the part of the bag with the novelty yarn...but I'm not sure if I'd have enough of the dark green for i-cord handles. I don't think the lighter color would work for handles--I think it would look awkward and forced.

Does it take more yarn to knit icord than to do regular knitting? Could I regular-knit handles? Could I crochet them?

Patterns, patterns, everywhere

I think you know you've been doing too much crocheting/knitting in the last 36 hrs or so when...

...in browsing a mass-market clothing brand's website, your breath catches to see a category titled "Patterns." But you feel sadly disappointed (and slightly Laura-Ingalls-come-to-town) when you realize that they only mean *patterned* sweaters, not *patterns for* their pretty sweaters.

I promise a longer post perhaps tomorrow...or later today, really...

Things for which I am grateful (a substantial, but not all-inclusive list)...

1) My grandma who lives in Florida is better. She was released from the hospital exactly one hour before her 90th birthday party, but she made it, and so did my mother and her two brothers, and about 55 other people! : )

2) The lovely red rug which I found on clearance for no apparent reason. (see picture below)

3) The new throw pillows for the couch, which I made myself for less than $3.82 each! More pics/story to come on those...as soon as I finish stuffing the 2nd one.

4) My new apartment, which (after removing 2.5 million stacked boxes) feels luxuriously spacious for a single girl like me. : )

5) The friends in my church Lifegroup (who will hopefully come to my new apartment this Sunday).

6) Yummy candles and coupons for free Pumpkin Pie Lotion at one of my favorite stores!

7) Department store Bonus Time exactly the week I run out of both moisturizer and makeup! I know it sounds silly, but I feel I can't afford to pay that much for such non-necessities...unless it comes with twice as much make up for free!

8) Online scrabble. Should have a surgeon general's warning about addiction.

9) Lunch with my roomie's fiance, and a couple hours spent reminiscing about the past, and discussing plans for the future. There's nothing like catching up with good friends.

10) A long phone call with another good friend, who sends me lovely samplers of tea and stationery, and catches me up on all the newest marriages, books, and other fun stuff from A-town. ; )

11) My adorable niece. I've been sorting though pictures to frame today, and I am constantly amazed at how she can continue to get steadily cuter by the day. (see pic below)

12) My dependable, Texas-plated car Anabelle. Last night I accidentally left my purse in my car and didn't realize it until it was late enough I was afraid to go out and get it. Then, I had two separate nightmares about someone seeing the purse in plain sight, and breaking the back window glass of my car to get in and steal it (along with my credit cards, ipod, and identity inside). My first thought when I woke up was, "Oh drat, that was a dream! I'll have to call and cancel those stolen credit cards all over again!" Then I remembered that it might or might not have actually happened, so I threw on some clothes, ran outside with my keys, and... Anabelle was sitting happily in the shade, all windows intact, and my purse still on the seat.

And I am thankful. : )