Knit Addictions

Go Go A Go!

First off....
Thank you for all of your helpful, generous and funny comments! Thanks for all the nice advice as always and very nice comments. mwah!
***I am glad to know that so far, everyone who reads this bloody well knows who Keith Richards is.
Thank Gawd for that!

Here is a painting I did of Keef for commission for some friends in England...

What the heck does Keef have to do with knitting?

Nothing.
Except..........the sweater du jour is verrrrrrry Keith-esque if I do say so myself. That Bam is so uber hip when it comes to design. I really need to credit him all the way.

Speaking of THAT sweater...I'm making serious headway on it. Pics soon. Hopefully I will finish the back tonight and start the front as well. My problem is that I'm at the point where I really have to commit as to just how I'm making the shoulders....and well........seein' as how I don't have a fucking clue as to what I'm doing and am consulting every pattern imaginable.....my head is spinning from the possiblities. But I think I've narrowed it down just cuz of numbers. See, 13 is Bam's favorite number for a lot of reasons. And I started working on a method of shoulder shaping and when I figured out the stitches for the shoulders ....it was 13 per side. That's enough of a sign from the universe for me to decide that THAT is the method. So...facts and logic be damned. I am going to shape it based on a belief in the power of coincidence! ha!

In other news..........

DARKNESS DESCENDS AND MAKES THE FUTURE OF ROCK VERY BRIGHT
The Darkness have landed in America and even if you don't like 'em, get 'em, care about 'em....they are changing the face of rock music in the industry and opening the black leather creeky doors once again.
ROCK IS BACK. (where did it ever go? oh.....Clear Channel. Right. They hated it, didn't they?)...(note: for those of you who don't know Clear Channel decides the playlist of around 95% of all radio in America)
The Wildhearts are on a worldwide tour with The Darkness (if you don't know who they are yet...you will. and yes, you are living in a cave.) Bam was the original drummer in the Wildhearts and we're very happy for our mates to be doing such a massively humongous tour. (how do you spell humongous?)

Oh, but Share........aren't you envious?

Yes. 1000%.
As we sit here struggling with day jobs and just trying to get our album mixed, our ole pal is out on a tour bus with the biggest problem of which alcohol to consume. Or perhaps, trying to stay on the wagon. Or just wondering how many folks will be at the next show. (this tour is completely sold out) Or, oh gee. Look at all those fans waiting for us at the hotel. Gee, what a bummer to have to stand in the rain and sign autographs! HA HA!

Yes. I want that life BACK!
damn straight.

But The Wildhearts are a brilliant band and Ginger is an excellent songwriter. So if anyone is gonna open for the Darkness, all that much better that it's our mates than some loser heavy durge metal band from Orange County who just recently got new haircuts and then shagged all the secretaries at Capitol Records. Know what I mean? Good on ya, Ginge!

Plus, Ginger surprised us and came thru with passes for the San Diego show so I'm glad about that.

BUBBLE RECORD
We were supposed to go mix again tonight but we got postponed. I swear, this record will get mixed eventually! I swear it will!!!!

COOL NEWS
One of my day job pals called and asked me to knit a scarf for her daughter! I'm thrilled. She is willing to actually pay me for it! And I have another friend who requested this same service and I really need to get on the ball here!!!!

Mood: too fucking worn out to have one outside of wishing the days were about 36 hours long.

Confession: I'm hungry!

Movies: Just can't get over The Triplets of Belleville and have to get the soundtrack now.

Seaming Is Not So Seamy!

After my recent failed attempt at finishing...I have bravely completed a wristband and as per everyone's advice, I checked out a Vogue book, (borrowed) and was able to get it this time.

It is still not perfect but much much better. I had a little trouble with the ribbed area but I'm still happy.
Here is the finished thing being worn by moi!

I have started the fingerless gloves for my pal again. This time with one size down in needles and also a lesser cast on. Hopefully, they will turn out okay.

Somewhere along the way, Bam was wearing his f-gloves so much, that I forgot to ever post a pic! Here they are: (pattern courtesy Karen)

The weirdest thing I have made so far was this dishcloth. It was a good experiment for following ssk and all those kinds of sk2p instructions! It is a housewarming prezzie for our best friends who have purchased their first home. Being a lifelong renter, I can only imagine their happiness! But this dishcloth....well, I thought of it in Minnesota and it just feels Minnesotan. But I hope they like it anyway!

Alright. Over and out ........it's a monday and lots to do today.

Rock on.
Knit on.
Take over the planet and show 'em how it's done.

Mood: Ambitious.

Movies knitted to: Got in to the Jeeves and Wooster series on DVD. Pretty funny Brit stuff. Light but cute. On the amazing movie side.........we went to Les Triplettes De Belleville yesterday in Pasadena. (here is the site in english) AMAZING! SUPERB! Best film I've seen in ages. Tres magnifique. Genius. And uplifting to boot. WOW. It is rare to see a movie with this much imagination and NO DIALOGUE! The dog is nothing short of hilarious and Granny with her club foot...well, you just have to see it. Nice to know there are still brilliant film makers out there. Very un-Hollywood indeed!

The Knittocratic Oath!

I don't watch television but I do have this strange love of the occassional gossip story online. So I had to click on the Tom/Penelope break-up story to read the gory details. Now, it's true, I don't pay much attention to star's lives and such, but I was shocked to discover that good ole Tom is a Scientologist. When I read that, I could't help an "ewwwwwwwwwwwww" escaping from my mouth!

Him and John Travolta. Pushing the new era of 'beliefs' built by a science fiction writer who made a bet that he could start a religion and become a millionaire from it. He succeeded.

Then I got to thinking....maybe, if I was really desperate to be famous, I could become a scientologist and just use all those connections. Sort of like the Masons. Add going to AA meetings and my success is undeniable. A sure thing.

But no.

I cannot join a group I don't believe in.
I don't drink but I don't like AA either.
I certainly am not in to Scientology but think if you are, that's cool. Just don't push it on me.

So, I belong to Stitch n Bitch.
Knitters.
Yeah.
Maybe we will become the Masons of the future. We can develop a secret handshake, meet in buildings shaped like pyramids and create knit patterns so amazing, so cutting edge, that they can only be verbally passed on. Generation after generation.

The Knittocratic Oath
Principles of Knitting Ethics

1. A knitter shall be dedicated to creating beautiful knitwear, with compassion and respect for yarn and needles.
2. A knitter shall uphold the standards of professionalism, be honest in all quality assessments, and will frog any deficient garments while striving to be helpful to other knitters with respect for their abilities.
3. A knitter shall respect the pattern and also recognize a responsibility to customize and improve the patterns where contrary to the best interests of the knitter.
4. A knitter shall respect the requests of colleagues and other family members, and shall only make knitwear promises after guaranteeing the recipient understands the full amount of effort required by the knitter to create the garment.
5. A knitter shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, maintain a commitment to fiber education, make relevant information available to other knitters, colleagues, and the public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other fiber professionals when indicated.
6. A knitter shall, except in emergencies, be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the yarn with which to knit.
7. A knitter shall recognize a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the improvement of the community and offer knitwear items for donation at least once a year.
8. A knitter shall, while creating a garment, regard responsibility to the garment as paramount.
9. A knitter shall support access to fiber arts education for all people.

Now all we need is that secret handshake and Bob is your father's brother.

Or some such nonsense!

Mood: Playful!

Report Card - Knitting: A ::: Finishing: F

So there we were. Hangin' out at our friend's house while he diligently mixes our record into sonic heaven. (can you tell we're happy with the noises?) Anyway, I had promised the first mixing pal a pair of fingerless gloves. So I ordered the cotton/acrylic yarn on Elann and was so happy when it arrived. I brought the box, needles and all instruments of evil knitting construction along with us to mix house central.

With our own music blasting away, I set out to knit glove numero uno. Now, let me state, the first and only other pair of gloves I made were from a cashmere blend and they are nothing short of wonderful. Granted, the finishing on those is pretty sucky too but the fit? Perfect.

I ribbed.
I stockinetted.
I checked the size on his hand.
It all seemed groovy.

Then........
(enter the evil violin music of doom)
I finished.

Ya see? This is why I practically got an F in Home Ec. I just can't sew worth shit. Straight seams?
Fohgeddaboudit.

I promptly ruined a perfectly well knit glove into something that looked VERY homemade and ....
to make matters worse, I discovered the cotton/acrylic stuff knits up much looser than the cashmere/wool blend. eeeeeeeeeee. So I gave him the glove and then took it back in embarrasment. He swore he wants the other one and he was happy to have them. But I know what will happen. He'll be out wearing them and he will show them off to people saying, "Look. Share knit these for me. You know, my friend, Share from Bubble." And these people will sneer and see the bad lumpy, horribly uneven seams and laugh while commenting, "good thing she can play rock n roll cuz her knitting sucks!"

No.
I cannot have these gloves in public.
ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

So........
I will try again with a lesser cast on AND smaller needles. (it said size 5 mm but we were in a hurry and I picked up the 5.5mm)
But ........
one of you pro knitters suggested using embroidery yarn to finish.
It seems that if I did that, the yarn would just pull right thru the holes?

Any other ideas?
What am I missing here?

Now it is with great fear and trepidation that I proceed forward with the Lulu sweater and the BAM13 sweater. How will I ever sew those seams together??????????

911 to the finishing experts.
I'm desperate.
tips, advice, online finishing lessons, how do you choose where to put the damn yarn through all those holes? Man, I just cannot get it right. I've consulted my SnB book, my Knitting Without Tears bible, ...I've looked online but something just isn't clicking when it comes time for me to do the task.

Mood: frustrated!

Knights Who Say Nicht

Knit. Knit. Knit.
I am the knight who says Knit!

Yesterday just sucked and that was that.
But I have passed the troll under the bridge who asked my favorite color.
I replied 'Pink'.
He scolded me, "WRONG".
I stabbed him with my steely knife. (I know, the references are shifting....hotel california.)
Then I entered the forest and made it past the Knights Who Say Nicht.
I have ...well, you get the idea.

Yesterday was full of obstacles. Some self imposed. Some outside my control.

And if you don't recognize those references....watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Speaking of Knights who say KNIT.

I worked a little bit on our friends housewarming prezzie. It does look very nice. But still very granny lookin'. I have developed a strong love for cotton. Between the Rowan Denim yarn for Lulu's sweater and now this little dishcloth project. I am starting to worship cotton.
Show me the Rowan Denim!

Pics coming soon. !

And NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
I've been using this face cream by "Purist" that's skin repair with alpha hydroxy and lighteners. It is supposed to make my skin look more evenly toned etc. Well, so far, it's making my skin look very happy and it feels softer and smoother! The cream has a website listed: www.aiibeauty.com but that doesn't list this cream anywhere!

And for hair, my niece who is in beauty school got us hooked on Redken Anti-Snap. I use it almost everyday on my ends and my hair is getting happier too. (and longer!)

Those are my beauty tips of the day.

Some of you noticed I turned 95 this week. How do I look closer to 80 you may ask?
Swedish skin tip:
When removing makeup, ALWAYS use a cotton washcloth. Avoid paper products like kleenex or qtips around the eyes especially. Paper products scratch your skin. I remove mascara by using a little Jojoba Oil and gently rubbing it in to the eye area. Then I take my washcloth with cold water and gently remove the black mess. Follow up with a gentle non-greasy cleanser and use warm water and the washcloth.

Of course, if you really want to go whole hog, you should be resting your pretty face upon the highest thread count pillow cases you can afford.

One step further?
Don't ever sleep on your side.

But c'mon. Do people really get that carried away? I mean.....I have to sleep right? I can't be propped up on 500 thread count pillows and just lay there, not moving my face or mashing it into the pillows. I guess the really beautiful people don't wake up with those funny sleep marks all over their faces!

There you have it.

Nonsense, Knitsense, Beau-sense, Sleepsense.

I've faced it. I have no sense at all.

Mood: Zombie.

Confession: I think I wore myself out yesterday with my bad mood. He he. That ought to do it for bad moods for a while. At least, I hope so?

Movies knitted to: The dreaded CAT IN THE HAT. It was a mixup of intentions and I thought Mike Myers was not his usual self. The plot moved at an odd pace. But the look of it was truly surreal and I laughed a bit here and there. Overall, a yawn but good to knit to! ha!

Boom Boom, Out goes the Kid!

I woke up with a start! "what the hell was that?" I thought it was an earthquake without the shake. But no. It was MAX! My step son had fallen out of his bed in the living room. Our house is a tiny one bedroom so we just have a rollaway single size bed in the living room between the couch and tv/stereo. Poor kid! Egads. Thank god he was okay.

The other rough part of that BOOM BOOM was last night was Bam's and my first night of REAL sleep in about ....two weeks? So when Max fell and hit the floor at 3 am, it was a looooooooooooong time before we drifted back to slumber land.

THE FEAR

Have you ever smoked pot so much you got THE FEAR?
Ya know, where you start thinking really off balance weird shit? Like paranoid beyond belief?
Where you're sure you're a giant loser and nobody has bothered to tell you?
Where you're sure your friends are just putting up with you?
Where you're sure that everything in your life that is wrong is due to some CURSE that you have.
This curse follows you around. Dazzling you with its promises while it ruins everything you touch.
You start to imagine every worst case scenario possible.
It is a very downward spiral.

Well, I am not in to the pot thing, but I am definitely struck down with THE FEAR today.

Bam's shoulder injury is very very very very bad.
I'm freaked out.
I'm worried.
I'm scared.
I feel helpless.
No health insurance.
Barely enough dough to cover rent and food so seeing a surgeon seems impossible.
He is suffering horrible pain and doing his best to be brave.
But I know it is wearing him out now.

It's hard for him to sleep.
It's hard to him to be awake.

These are the thoughts crowding my brain.

I wish his shoulder would just heal itself and we could call it a miracle.

*sigh.

KNITWISE:

I must say, knitting a dishcloth is probably the goofiest thing I've ever done! It feels very "not Share" but I want to give it to our friends as a housewarming present. Everyone will probably laugh and I wish I would've chosen something more elegant now. Maybe it was leftover Minnesotaness? Ah well. At least I will not be making a tuna casserole anytime in the near future. Blech!

In any event, the very granny like activity of dishcloth knitting has spurred me towards getting Bam's sweater further along. Of course, that's just in my mind as I am working right now and am just on hold while I'm typing. Maybe I can knit it some more later today.

A BREAK
I think this is a moaning, complaining post.
I just can't write about the knitting stuff today.
I am gettin' real with y'all.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

More of THE FEAR. (said in a voice that narrates scary movies in black and white.)

I hate it when I'm worried about money.
It affects my work, my rock n roll, my faith, my knitting,.....well, just me.

I can't help but think it's all a lie. And we must suck. My faith lives in a little rowboat these days that seems to have a lot of holes in it. I keep repairing the holes with socks and when they get soaked, my faith rowboat starts to sink again.

I don't want to complain cuz I think there are lots of people worse off than me. I am not stupid. I know that. But let's fact it, thinking of people worse off than oneself doesn't make one's misery disappear, does it? And so it is with awareness of my "FEARFUL" state that I wonder.....Is our band just great in our delusional heads?

*sigh.

Well, forgive me.

This has been a manic broadcast.
Over and out.

Birfday!

In the words of Keith Richards, Happy Birfday to me.

It was fuckin' brill!

And before you ask, I am 95 years old and don't I look great for my age? he he.

Seriously, my Bam took me out goofin' off and we ended up at a book shop and I got that Suss Cousins book. Killer stuff. Then we wandered into Michaels and I picked up some Sugar n Cream cotton for dishcloths so I could learn some of that fancy stitchin' stuff and still finish an item quickly.

I found some cool free knit patterns here: Knitaddicted
I had to go look at their stuff since the name is so close to my blog!
The site I actually used the pattern for the dishcloth seems to be down today, but here is the link if it will work! Dishcloths.

Other Babble Nonsense:
I try to avoid shoulds and should nots.
Waste of time and only cause regret and sorrow.

Another great trick is to try speaking/writing without using any forms of "to be". This is called "E-Prime".
How does that work and why would anyone bother you may ask?
Well, supposedly it limits us by stating what we are or are not. Rather than saying, "I'm a knitter." You could say "I knit." See how it changes the meaning immediately?
It gets hard when you try to say, "Hello. My name is...." You have to change it to "Hello. I call myself Share." It's pretty weird.
oops.
I mean, it feels weird.
You may find the passages here quite useful. The writer has posted some more links, too.

Check it out. It opens up some strange doors of creative thinking.

Anyway, if you want to try the limitless wonders of that wordage....try it for 10 minutes in your writings/speaking and feel the difference.

BUT I DIGRESS!

Back to knitting.
I knit.

On the sticks: dishcloth with houses on it I'm making for a housewarming present for our best friends who are buying their very first home! I'm so excited for them. We are miles from buying a house and I can't imagine the feeling. I hope the silly little dishcloth lets them know I care.

I dream of knitting really screwed up stuff. I want to start my own line of knits with really offensive sayings on them. ha! Stuff your granny would NEVER knit.

Ahh. But first, I have to get that good at knitting. So many yarns. So little time.

In ROCK N ROLL........
This friend of ours has stepped up to the plate. Full on. He has worked with MAJOR names and is now mixing our record at HIS studio. We hope to pay him back with a crunchy tasty record deal at which point he would get more than just seeing his name on the mix credit line on our album artwork! So far, it sounds unbelievably amazing. Just amazing. And, I have to say, it's cool to have someone else believe in us that much.

Mood: Kinda happy. Kinda worried. Choppers have been circling for over an hour.

Confession: I just wanna rock n roll.

Homeward Bound!

I spent all last night hanging out with the folks and having a lot of laughs. Reminiscing and teasing each other. What a great visit.

In knitting news....I faced a dilemma last night. What am I going to knit on the plane? On planes, I hate to knit anything complex...like the baby sweater, Bam's sweater, the purple/cream scarf requires scissors...so? I started a pink scarf with black hearts last night just to see what it would look like. hmmmmm. It's cool but that is too hard for the flight and I'm also thinkin' I have to frog it, make it wider and do the hearts with purls - some pink, some black to get the look I want. So it looks like a quick trip to Michaels for some easy Lion Brand and a simple yarn. Yeah. I think a fast straight ahead scarf is in order. That baby sweater is giving me brain ache! Plus stressing out over the shape of the Bam13 sweater. eeeeeeeeee.

Yeah. destressify myself baby. Lion Brand rocks for that!

One of my brothers is comin' round today and has a present for me and like a typical lame-ass LA flake, I, of course, have nothing for him. So maybe the airplane scarf will be for him.

Or......maybe it will be a new one for moi?!

Or....maybe I will find some awesome cheapo yarn for fingerless gloves for moi.

I am in need of a knitted item for myself at this moment. I am feeling waaaaaaaay too generous and after all, it is MY birthday tomorrow. He he.

Mood: mischievous

Confession: I feel guilty for being so happy to go home while seeing my parents so sad to have me go. I thought it would get easier with time. It's gotten harder. Ah well. At least, I have nothing but affection for my folks and them for me.

Extra confession: I know my posts have been weird. When I'm in my childhood home....I just don't feel my usual feisty big mouthed self. A kinder, more gentle version of Share's gun appears. The one that shoots blanks. The loaded 9mm version will reappear next week when I'm back in full swing rock n roll lifestyle hell mania.

ps. And yes, I have fired a gun....one of my brothers took me shooting to a target range years ago and we discovered I'm a killer shot with a 9mm. Bizarre.

Oh....hmmmmmm.maybe I should knit a gun holster. That would be different.

he he.
Damn, I really am gettin' my feisty self back.

yeah, baby.

Cravings

Cravings: EVERYTHING: BAM mostly. Followed by our coffee. Trader Joe's. Chocolate. Sunshine.
I AM CRAVING MY WORLD!

It snowed last night and tonight it's raining here in lovely Minnesota. What a change from the 90 degree weather back home in LA.

Anyway, I've gotten a good start on the star sweater for little Lulu. The Rowan denim yarn on 3.5 mm needles is the smallest project I've ever handled and so far, so good. It's quite mesmerizing even though it's slow.

I got this book yesterday: Adorable Knits for Tots.

I got it at the LYS here and perused their selection of yarn. But I'm too broke and nothing jumped out and grabbed me so I resisted buying anything outside of the book and stitch holders.

Mood: mellow. very very mellow.

Confession: I am craving everything from chocolate to cheesecake to licorice.

Movies knitted to: THE DUPLEX. Straight up funny. Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore. Cool thing is I watched it with me mum.

Airplane knitting!

Well, a nice 4 hour plane ride from LA to Minneapolis is a very effective way to knock out a scarf. Only a few inches to go and I will be giving my mom her bday scarf on her actual bday! (March 16)

Her sister phoned me a few days ago and we planned a huge surprise party for her which went off without a snag yesterday. Surprised the heck out of her as 40 friends and family members turned up with pot luck dishes. Amazing. It was super fun and the vibe was great! My dad's best friend turned up too so he was thrilled as well! Talk about a great day. Plus, I saw my cousin who was pretty much like my sister when I grew up. We hadn't seen each other for ten years!
Anyway, here's a pic of me, my mom, my Aunt Evy, and Pam, Evy's daughter. Sisters and cousins!

I found out Pam is a crocheter, too. Good stuff.

On a medical note, my mom's lung cancer is staying at bay. My dad's battle with peripheral neuropathy has improved since he's been using this machine called Anodyne Therapy. It uses infrared light to get your blood flowing and that helps the healing process. It totally got rid of the swelling in my dad's feet. No pills. No shots. No invasive drugs of any kind! If anyone has a parent with diabetes or peripheral neuropathy, get it. It really works! (believe me, he's tried everything.)

***NOTE: I just saw that their website is under construction! Egads. Here is their 800 number:800-521-6664. If you are interested...call them. And no, I don't work for them, I'm just amazed at the results my father has gotten in 3 weeks.

It's chilly here. Still snow on the ground. I've been knitting up a storm already. I've made serious progress on the Lulu baby sweater. I'm almost to the star! Finally! Plus, I've been studying lace stitches to eventually try my hand at using one of those stitches to design another punk sweater. That or learning to crochet. I can see it in my head ....but how to do it. That is the question!

Mood: relaxed. Yah. sure. (in Minnesotan accent)

Confession: I miss my coffeeeeeeeeee! yawn.

Movies: none.