a simple yarn

Indulging my ‘walk down memory lane’ of archived favorites.

Favorite Architectural Image
Exterior of Selfridges, Birmingham, England

Favorite Irish Street Scene
Which town?  Can’t remember, but frankly, they all look fairly similar…

Favorite Flower Image
Either Holly’s extraordinary orchid growing or from the National Botanical Garden in Dublin.

Favorite Farmyard Image
Irish-Neighbor-Sean-And-Mary’s laughing newborn lamb.

Favorite Food Image
All the important food groups—chocolate, raspberries and freshly whipped cream.

Favorite Carefree Moments
One cape, one camera, two children, lots of space.

Favorite Yarnstorm-esque Image
Because doesn’t every knitted item need some sugar alongside?

Favorite Image Composition
Vegetable hawking on Moore Street in Dublin, so very Agnes Brown.

Favorite Knitted Image
The young rebel in his knuckle-busters at the schoolyard…looking a little incarcerated.

Favorite Son Image
Family Christmas pictures a la 2001.  When enough is enough.

Favorite Daughter Image
With Hannah, a girl’s best friend.

Favorite Sibling Image
Before they learned to bicker.

Oldies but goodies…sniff.

‘To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.’

I guess I’m not that modern…nor intellectual.

I had tossed back copious amounts of caffeine and girded my proverbial loins, as it were, for the task ahead—using the recently woven houndstooth cotton in creating a cushion cover.  But neither the scissors nor the cutting caused me profuse angst.

Those infernal corners!  That pudgy piping trim!  These pesky buttonholes!  The sewing nearly caused a cranial explosion.

Midway through the project I realized this would never go into the Etsy shop…never…ever…nope.

And yet, I love the fabrics.  And the trim.  And the buttons.  And the feather pillow.

So knowing all the gaffs and glitches and mistakes in the construction of this piece, I’ve given it a new home on my desk chair.

Rats.

Don’t hate me, but could we postpone spring for just a bit?  Following distractions and diversions and complications, I’ve finally completed the great-for-dead-of-winter-extra-thick-and-wooly-generic-cabled-knee-socks but my perpetually cold tootsies are sweating at the mere thought of them right now.

So, if we can’t postpone spring, would you begrudge me an early cold snap later in the year?

but it comes a close second, don’tcha think?

So, as Hollywood gathers to present their awards, the family gathered in our living room to vote for our favorite panda and prairie dog captions.  It took 2 elimination rounds before the final hand-raising voting round for each photo.

The kids erupted into regular giggles, although we occasionally had to explain a few things…like who Rodney Dangerfield was and why it’s significant when someone’s water breaks.  Yup……….anyway, thanks to all for making our Sunday afternoon an enjoyable one!

Panda

‘The log is mine, alllll mine.  I’m gonna hug it and squeeze it and call it george.’

Submitted by Jiva
Cuz gee, we’re suckers for Looney Tunes.

Panda Honorable Mention For Use Of The Word ‘Schlump’
‘Same old schedule:  10AM:  look perky, entertain the visitors.  12 Noon:  schlump fashionably over the same old tree.  4 PM:  sleep.  Repeat tomorrow.’
Submited by knnuki

Prairie Dog

‘I was born goofy-looking!  What’s your excuse?’

Submitted by JulieT
Short, to the point and full of elementary-schooled-aged humor.

Congratulations to the winners and really, thanks again to everyone for sharing their wit!

Now what about the prizes?

The family is…

Apologies:  A Quick European vs. American Grammatical Diversion
I was going to write ‘The family is getting ready to look at all the witty captions left by clever readers.’  And then a residual echo of living of Ireland stormed through my brain in thinking it more appropriate to say ‘The family are getting ready to…’

So which is it?  Is it a universally accepted grammatical law?  Or is it cultural?  Hmmm….

Anyway, the family is/are getting ready to look at all the witty captions left by clever readers.  Sunday’s the day…and the deadline for entries.  The winning entry for each photo will receive a 100gram skein of Irish Kilcarra yarn and a felted coaster.  But then I thought…what if the winner isn’t a knitter…doesn’t know a knitter…doesn’t care about knitting?  Gasp.

Undyed Blue Faced Leister, Buttery Yellow, Tomato Red, Teal, Apple Green, Charcoal Grey or Berry Burgundy (in photo below)

So, to be totally fair, I’m going to open the prize chest and say that the winning entry for each photo will receive a felted coaster AND a choice of one of the following…either 100gram skein of Irish Kilcarra yarn (I’ve tossed a scrumptious skein of soft Blue Faced Leister in the mix too!) OR a handknit Tudora neckwarmer listed in the sidebar Etsy shop.

Whew, this contest stuff is demanding…and we haven’t even begun voting yet!

Unless you count the 494th post as something to celebrate…

So what d’ya do when:
a) the family goes to the National Zoo for the first time and
b) Husband-Will takes a few snaps and
c) the results absolutely crack me up

You have a ‘caption contest,’ of course!

So consider this to be:
a) a shameless reason for posting these pics cuz
b) I belly-laugh out loud each time I see them and
c) there’s no accounting for taste

Rules are simple.  Leave a comment with a funny caption for one or both of the photos.  Please preface your caption with either ‘PANDA’ or ‘PRAIRIE DOG’ so we know which photo the caption is for.  We’ll be accepting captions through the week until 8:00am (EST) on Sunday morning, 22 February.  Then the family—Husband-Will, the Kiddies and I—will spend our Sunday afternoon laughing and then voting on the best caption for each photo.  Our Kiddies are aged 12 and 9, so let’s keep the humor ‘G’ or ‘PG’.

Warning:  Additional Humor Disclaimer Ahead
a) humor is a rather subjective thing and
b) our family can have a goofy sense of it and
c) again, there’s no accounting for taste

The results will be posted on Monday, 23 February and each winner will receive a 100gram skein of Irish Kilcarra wool—photo of color choices to be posted later, and a handknit/handfelted/handsewn wool coil coaster to slip under his/her favorite beverage.

Right so, here are the photos… (I can’t wait until Sunday!)

PANDA (and that IS his back paw to the left)

PRAIRIE DOG

18th Century ‘Hottie’

Warning:  President’s Day Disclaimer
Yep, I know today is President’s Day in the US.  And yep, I know Martha wasn’t a president of the US.  But today it’s about the shoes and I just don’t think George’s silver-buckled, black leather pumps can compete, okay?

C’mon really, would I want the physique of my retirement years to dictate the solitary image people had of me?  Ack, no!  Poor Martha Washington…frankly, she’s had a bad rap.  Stuffy.  Dowdy.  Frumpy.  All based upon images from her latter years.  But, historians are attempting to change that and forensic anthropologists have age-regressed her portrait, which reveals a rather stylish woman.  A woman who, on her wedding day, wore a golden damask gown, deeply trimmed in lace with dark purple silk high heels studded with silver sequins.  That’s moxie!

They haven’t been seen in decades and won’t be seen again for years, but Martha’s shoes are on display at Mount Vernon to celebrate the 250th anniversary of her wedding day.  How could I not go and see the footwear of this plucky woman?  Pimp those heels, baby!

Quite cunning…disguising oneself as another holiday.

It was the reduced-price packaging that threw me off the trail.

They looked so festive…and if I listened carefully, I thought I heard tiny voices singing Christmas carols.

But as I stared at the holly-berry-red and tannenbaum-ever-green nuggets, a pattern started to emerge.

‘Why, these aren’t Christmas chips!’ I exclaimed, ‘They’re St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day chips!’

Leave it to dearly departed saints to craft such shrewd subterfuge.

But they didn’t get the better of me—St. Valentine’s chips went into a chocolatey cookie dough recipe.

Now who has the last laugh…!

…the dog can tell time.

At 2.30 every single afternoon, Dog-Rocket reminds me that it’s nearly time to collect the Kiddies at school.

Some would say that dogs have a biological clock in their brain and while we’ve come to rely upon external clocks, dogs instinctively know what time of day it is.  I’ll just stick with the ‘he’s gifted and brilliant’ notion.

And I’ve got it bad.

I don’t recall having a fear of scissors before.  Truly, the only issue I ever had with scissors was in kindergarten when…

Warning: Unsavory Childhood Memory Ahead
I, a naturally left-handed person, couldn’t manage left-handed scissors.  Maddening, I tell you!  The daft things would never, never, ever cut.  I think it was a plot, frankly, to change all left-handed cutters into right-handed ones because, of course, all right-handed scissors worked beautifully.  Ultimately they won.  Out of necessity, I have swung the other way…scissor-wise that is.

Anyway, other than that incident, I’ve never considered the use of such cutting implements to be a scary proposition until now.  It comes with the thought of cutting this…

Houndstooth in lovely coral and cappuccino cottony shades.  It’s sitting on my loom, wanting to be a cushion cover.  But to become such a winsome household item, it needs to be sewn.  And for it to be sewn, it needs to be cut.  And for it to be cut, I need to pick up those scissors.  I know I’ve done it before and love the result…

But still, it will take a bit of talking myself down from the ledge of hysteria to get the thing done.

I certainly appreciate each of you taking the time to weigh in with your opinion.  If I had made it for me, I’d have probably gone with the spotty button.  Shows what I know!  While preferences were mixed between Option 1 (shell) and Option 3 (wood), favor was weighted somewhat toward No. 3.  So, it was completed, posted on Etsy, and purchased…all in one day.

Here was the final result…

I’m a fairly decisive person…after a bit of dithering, that is.

Perhaps it’s a gender thing.  Husband-Will…he’s purposeful, intentional.  Me?  I need data…input…information…opinions.  And then there are those times when there’s no clear ‘best’ option and it comes down to preference.  Such is the case here.

Decided to put one more Tudora on the Etsy site.  Yellow.  Such a bright and cheery color!  Knitting the button band demands a decision on the button and buttonhole size.  But which button shall I choose?  Can’t decide.  Time for a survey.  So here are the options in no particular order of preference.

Option 1 – Light shell to brighten it up

Option 2 -Antique option

Option 3 – Weightier with more contrast

Which would you choose?

A Bit Of This
For some reason, Tudora has struck a chord with the French speaking population.  Their naturally good taste, right?  Thankfully, Carole, a French-Canadian knitter with foresight translated the pattern ages ago, which can be found on Helene’s blog…just in case you’re French…and knit…and happened upon this blog…and can read enough English to know to click the link…for a French version of the pattern…in case you don’t read English.

Anyway, now the Germans have asked to be represented.  And they sought permission.  And they want to avoid any copyright infringements.  And they want to give full credit where it’s due.  Gotta love the Germans.  Thanks Bea!  Link to be announced…

And A Bit Of That
Etsy’s got competition.  Perhaps you already know this, especially if you live in the UK.  I stumbled across this website…folksy.com.  Cute stuff!  If you’re an Etsy reader the layout will look quite familiar.  And the name rhymes…how convenient!  Sadly, they only cater to UK-based sellers in their Beta phase, but certainly watch that space!