... he called me Nurse Ratched!

Total Knee Replacement

My father is currently working his way through his fourth week of recovery from his total knee replacement.  Working being the operative word, since for him to get the most out of his surgery he needs to be in a constant rotation of walking, physical therapy, and icing the joint to keep the swelling down.

The surgery and hospital stay occurred at Kaiser Permanente's Sand Canyon facility in Irvine.  Despite replacing parts of his femur and tibia, they had him walk away from the operating table.  No rest for the wicked, eh?  Due to some complications that came as a result from an anti-nausea medication he stayed in the hospital a few days longer than originally anticipated.  I have no idea why, but dear old dad was in a lather to get back home.  When I visited him in the hospital, he had his own room.  Everyone that came in was warm and friendly, even the woman who maintained the cleanliness of the room.  While I was there he had a visit from a Golden Retriever named Meggie.

Hospital Harpist?

If that weren't enough later on soft music began drifting into the room.  I glanced out into the hallway from his room and said "Dad, there's a harpist in the hallway."  Not a sentence you anticipate hearing, let alone in a hospital.  My father felt the same way, replying with, "You're kidding."  I think that he, even like me, didn't quite believe his eyes.  The lovely harpist even nodded a consent to let me photograph her.  When she had finished her song my father thanked her, and she replied quietly and shyly that Kaiser had asked people from the local symphony to come volunteer and play for people in intensive care.  Again... why he was in such a hurry to get home I'll never know.

Where'd they put that 3"?

Unlike most patients, my father was replacing his knee not due to constant pervasive pain in the joint, but rather because he had so little range of motion.  This is largely a result of a motorcycle accident he was involved in during 1997 ( I remember it was April-ish of my Sophomore year), where they placed some serious hardware in his knee.  The total knee replacement made the hardware unnecessary, but don't worry, the pops has maintained it as a souvenir/trophy.

Nurse Shirley on duty

Once he was home my Dad and I had some serious bonding time; aided by Doc Martin on Netflix and some gnarly pain killers they prescribed to him.  With the pain killers being on a four hour rotation, my father's physical therapy two to three times a day, and the required elevation of his leg and icing; for the first two weeks my dad and I were busy most of the day everyday with his recovery.  Oh!  Great tip:   make your own gel-ice bags with a gallon ziploc and 3 parts water to 1 part rubbing alcohol.  So, due to my nagging ways, my father sometimes called me his Jiminy Cricket or Nurse Ratched; depending on his mood.  Of course I maintain that the negative comments were caused solely by the pain killers wearing off; and never by my own poking and prodding.

Back in Chicago

Here I am, my first full day back in Illinois and it's about time for me to catch up on my blogging.  Seems like an ideal time to blather about one of the major reasons as to why I went home in the first place.

Fall color just before I left

Originally I had a vague notion about wanting to be home for my 30th birthday.  Then, while trying to nail down the dates with my mother; she mentioned that the end of October and the end of November were going to be a little busy for her.  It's not unusual for my mother to be stressed out in early November, since she works with Los Angeles County and one of her responsibilities has to do with making sure all voters have requested materials and know their polling place.  On top of all of this, my father had scheduled his total knee replacement for October 24th, which required a caregiver for the first week or so after he got out of the hospital.  My silly mother.  She had been wringing her hands and wondering how she was going to pull everything off, and didn't want to impose by asking her daughter to come home early to help.  I swear, this woman makes Atlas look like a pansy.

November Nudes

Anyway, I offered, and got to spend nearly a month at home.  Part of it was spent finally being able to turn the tables a little bit and help my folks out.  Unfortunately, being at home and without my computer didn't exactly lend itself to being able to blog on a regular basis.  So, in an effort to get back into the swing of things I'll be posting multiple times this week.  Must say, it's great to be back with the boyfriend here in Illinois; but he did something terrible to the trees around here, they're all naked now!

Vacation at home



Playing tourist in a place where I've spent more than 98% of my life (after doing the math, I've only lived approximately 1.67% of my life outside of California) is a little odd.

Last week I went with my father to the island of Catalina for a day trip.  Definitely worth a day trip, unless you become part of the publicly available (for two bucks) private beach where you can get toasted with booze while you toast your tootsies.  The pops and I went on two tours, one of the island via bus (complete with stomach churning puns) and another one of the famous casino in Avalon (where there has never ever been gambling).  Sadly, we didn't go on the famous zipline, but with my father's knee replacement surgery just a few days away, it will have to wait until another trip post recovery.  Despite being able to see it from Irvine on a clear day, this was the first time I set foot on the island.  And considering the water coming out of Balboa harbor, I was shocked at how crystal clear the water was in Avalon bay (a mere 22 miles away... according to the Catalina Flyer which does the trip twice daily; alas, not as catchy as the song). 

Then Sunday I went with my mother to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  We went to see the exhibit on Tim Burton's work.  I'd show you pictures, however photography and phones were prohibited from being used.  Heck, they didn't even want you to look too hard at some of the art and sculptures.  They covered some of his work from Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, and several of his other movie ventures.  Oh!  Did I mention they're turning Frankenweenie into a full length movie in stop motion animation?  But honestly, does it compare to the charm of the live action short with Shelly Duvall as the mom?  With that heart wrenching scene in the windmill of the mini-golf course?

Smitten

Five minutes after arriving

My have I been remiss.  Last Wednesday I left Illinois for a visit home.  I'm not sure it would qualify as a "vacation" since I'm going to be the primary caregiver for my father after he gets out of the hospital.  The good news is that he's going in for elective surgery; a knee replacement, and will hopefully be happier than ever about four months from now.

Those that know me are probably very much aware of how I've been jonesing for a cat fix over the past five or six months.  Since I moved to the Midwest, I had two brief encounters where I was able to pet a kitty for a few minutes.  Yeesh, the kitty drought is over in a big way.

Grayson going to Mammoth

My first night home I was cuddled by my parent's two cats, Shirley and Katrina.  I figured it was a good fix.  The plan had been to go up to Mammoth on Friday to spend some time with the Storms family where I'd also be able to visit with my former cat Aeris.  Aeris was in theory my cat, until he decided to adopt Kevin.  Since then they've been inseparable.

Not surprisingly, the plan got altered.  Kelli called up on Thursday, saying one of her friends found a young stray kitten, and asked if I could keep him overnight and take him up to the Mammoth area.  He was supposed to go to one of Kevin's mom's friends.

Oh, Thursday night... I met this little gentleman.  He really is a prince. Easily the most considerate and wonderful kitten I've ever had the pleasure of caring for.  He curled up with me the first night and mewed whenever he needed to go use the litter box.  With his wonderful manners, his little gray suit, it seemed like Grayson was a great name for him.  About five weeks old, he only had one little setback on Saturday when he kind of forgot how to eat.  Whoever said weaning was easy?  I think he finally was able to set paws on the floor Sunday when we finally were able to stop cooing over him for about five minutes.  By Friday afternoon we had enough pictures for a twelve month calendar.  By the time we arrived home on Monday, we had almost enough for a 365 desktop one. 

On his way back from Mammoth

Of course the plan has changed again.  He would have had the life of a barn cat with Kevin's mom's friend; but now he's going to the lap of luxury surrounded by a home with three teenage-ish children.  I haven't told him of our impending separation, but knowing this champion, he'll do just fine.  So, while I really want to sing his praises more, I'm going to go downstairs and play with him and a piece of yarn until this afternoon.

Knitting for good

The Mossy Jacket pattern included in the book.

A few weeks ago I picked up a book from the local library.  It was buried in the 746's (Dewey decimal system baby... hey I worked at a library for a few months), with all of the other nonfiction books on the subject of knitting.  Amid all of the stitch-ionaries, teach yourself to knits, baby pattern books, vogue knits, and stitch n' bitches, was this little paperback called "Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change, Stitch by Stitch" authored by Betsy Greer.  So I tucked it into the pile of books I'd be keeping on the nightstand for the next few weeks.  

One of the main reasons I decided to look at this book is due to something my mother pointed out to me. She said that one of the best ways to feel better in your own life is to help someone else.  If anyone would know, it's her.  I swear, there will be an effort to canonize her even though she's not Catholic.  Not surprisingly that's one of the main messages in "Knitting for Good".

There's something kind of wonderful about putting purpose and meaning into the little things you do and the things we take for granted.  Most of us are wearing clothes where we have no idea where it came from.  Sadly, most of the time it's from a sweat shop in an impoverished nation.  Just a second... yeah, the t-shirt I'm wearing?  It was made in Haiti... (bought pre-earthquake) which according to wikipedia "is the poorest country in the Americas as per the Human Development Index."  Probably would have been a better idea to go get something through American Apparel.  The author of "Knitting for Good", Betsy Greer, encourages us to make more of an effort to look at our consumerism and the effects it has.

Along with these messages, the book also has a number of patterns of things that can be used as donation items, from pet blankets to hats for the homeless. Though I must say that my favorite feature of the book was the small vignettes from numerous contributors on their experiences with donation knits.

What? Were you expecting?

 As so many things happen, it all started innocently enough.  My mother expressed some casual interest in my knitting as we chatted over the phone one morning.  A mistake on her part, but hopefully she won't learn from it.  With no further encouragement required I started yammering on about a few sets of Converse style baby booties I've been knitting up for Kelli to give to her friends.  All too soon for me (coffee makes me chatty), my mother had to return to her work duties.  Fortunately, due to the wonders of the internet I was able to continue trumpeting my knitting accomplishments by sending her pictures of the booties.

Apparently she was taken with them as well, and forwarded the links of the pictures to my Aunt Jan along with my verbose description of the booties as "what I've been up to".  Not surprisingly, Jan quickly responded with her usual warmth and encouragement as well as piqued curiosity:

Wow, Dania, those long fingerless gloves are beaut-i-ful!  And the booties, so little and perfect - - - any announcements forthcoming?

Oops.  Perhaps in the future I should put a better description for baby items that I've knitted.  Anyway, I did write back immediately with the following:

Ummm... announcements forthcoming?
Well actually yes!  I'm kind of expecting at the moment.  I plan to give birth to another hat pattern within the next few weeks.  Oh!  And I'm gonna be home to visit my folks in about two weeks.  And that's about it on the forthcoming announcements.  Just recently however, the boyfriend and I both survived yet another bout of my PMS.

In the meantime, for those with the inclination, with or without kiddos of your own or on the way, I highly recommend getting out those straight needles and knitting up some of these Baby Chucks.  Click here for my post on the first time I made 'em.

Stings, doesn't it?

The beekeeper's quilt 

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that a pattern called "The Beekeeper's Quilt" comes with sweet honey and some stings as well.

The backstory:  In July a pattern showed up on Ravelry from Tiny Owl Knits.  Despite the pattern costing $5.50, as of today, there are over 1,600 projects currently completed or in progress on Ravelry.  So, why are they so popular?  Well, it could be nearly insane cuteness and cavity inducing sweetness of the creator, Stephanie Dosen (emphasis on insane, I was mesmerized  by her v-log found here; very entertaining even for non-knitters), or it could be the nature of the project (it's very portable, quick to create, requires a minimum of concentration, uses up scrap yarn, is rather different from the usual knit blankets).  

Click for link to the about page

However, despite the warm and fuzzy statement on Stephanie Dosen's about page that says "it seemed the only thing left to do was to write down all of the patterns so that everyone could join in & knit along," it rings a bit hollow when you consider that 'everyone' is in reality those with $5.50 to shell out on a pattern for a tiny hexagonal pillow aka "hexapuff".  

But hey, if it's a relatively simple concept I can just make my own right?  Maybe even post my version for free; after all, it's not like I'm reverse engineering one that was made.  Still, give credit where credit's due and mention the source of the inspiration; afterall, certainly kudos goes to the originator right?  Oh no.  Turns out.

Purloined's Honeycomb and her cat Butters

September 28th and 29th:  Earlier this week I saw a pattern called Honeycomb by purl-oined; which from the description was a free version of a hexagon puffed pillow inspired by Tiny Owl Knits.  Now, I had seen the original pattern when it came out and dismissed it, not only due to the extravagant price tag (I'm still able to afford the high cost of living and therefore in no position to be buying patterns), but also to because of the fact that it uses sock yarn (I have yet to make a pair of socks, I like worsted weight yarn personally).  Since this one was free, and cited that you could use whatever yarn weight desired, I was intrigued enough to invest the time it took to click on the blog link, have it load, and peruse the pattern.  

Fran's non copyright infringing Sack-boy

So with passing interest, I went to the blog where this pattern was posted.  I perused the pictures and pretty much dismissed it as not my thing.  My interest really peaked when I got down to the comments.  A comment from 'Fran' (please see pic to the right) had been deleted by the blog/pattern author 'Purl'.  Purl responded with:

"If you'd like to leave a comment, please remember:That being a bitch is just going to get your comment deleted. Nobody forced you to come here, so don't be rude. This isn't the original pattern, but it is a version based on it, as I mentioned. If you don't like it, that's fine. You don't need to broadcast hate on a blog that is about sharing and love."

I kind of figured I'd encounter at most comment or two from people who were fanatical about the "beekeeper's" original pattern and the cutesy wootsie creator as well as well as some comments from those grateful for a free version.  Ok, that's a lie, I didn't expect very many comments at all, considering it had been posted for at most few mere hours before I saw it.  Being who I am (and grateful that we live in a world where inspiration and innovation can cause amazing things to happen), I immediately had to post my comment... about her cat, and lightly teasing people who were undoubtedly going to freaking out and start talking about calling lawyers, and "there should be a law!" and whatnot concerning vague copyright violation threats.  

I was looking in the WRONG direction.  Comments on her blog?  A few people did I guess; but the real venom is found in the comments section of the Ravelry post.  It makes conversations about politics and religion look tame.  At the start it seemed people were pissed about Purl's lack of mention of the designer of the original inspiration and accused the anonymous Purloined as trying to take credit for the design.  Her nearly immediate response was: 

Nope, I never claimed this was original.
Ever.
Everybody should calm down. I realize you all have as much of a right to be annoyed as I have a right to make my own version, but you’re getting a little worked up.
You are all right. It is a great original; it’s fantastic.
So I made myself one like it. And a lot of people I know liked it, so I posted it here.
Nobody is telling you not to use the original pattern.
Use it! It’s lovely. I don’t have the original pattern. I have this one.
So be angry if it makes you happy, get totally inflamed. This pattern is different.
To the several people who pointed out that mine isn’t as symmetrical or has a different number of stitches-- please understand that is the point. This is not her pattern. I didn’t try to write her pattern. I did, however, try to write one based on the photos and inspired by her pattern.
So lighten up. If I’d wanted to try to claim credit for this idea, I would certainly not have posted a free pattern. Nor would I have used an anonymous user. 

And Now:  Purloined has actually removed the text citing the name of the pattern she was inspired by. This is apparently after getting contacted by Stephanie Dosen with the request to not mention her pattern's name. Also, to those in the Tiny Owl Knits group got a message from her.  A comment from Maddie cites that:

This was posted by Stephanie in the TOK group. I agree: purl-oined’s words were mean-spirited, but it doesn’t take back anything said for us to bring out the torches and the tar and have a witch hunt. Over a hexagon. Let’s all move on with our lives, K?

Things seem to be settling down since the original outburst, however this does bring up the endlessly debatable topic of Copyright and copyright infringement.  Apparently "Honeycomb" is not an exact replica of "the beekeeper's quilt", according to some of those who have seen both patterns.  My pathetic vague recollection of something someone might have casually mentioned once about copyright law is that something has to be approximately 10% different from the original.  Then again, if you want a more intelligent discussion of copyright violation, let us consider Regretsy's take on the subject.

Personally, I'm kinda torn.  I'd like to be able to charge something for some of the patterns I design (hey, I can daydream of being able to support myself).  However, there's something so warm and fuzzy about sharing something you created with the world; for people to customize as they see fit.  Besides?  Who am to call a pattern "mine" when the combination of stitches I'm using has almost certainly been conceived of before, even if it's not in EXACTLY the same way.

Wait? How can "Regretsy" be a warm fuzzy?

In the crafting community, if you're moderately computer savvy, and want to try and make a go of attempting to fund your chosen addiction by trying to sell the finished product, you've probably got an Etsy store.  That way, people who appreciate handcrafted goodies, can put their money where their mouth is.  Of course, Etsy makes my idea of what is a warm fuzzy feeling look like a Brillo pad.  They're so concerned with hurting the feelings of sellers (or perhaps their profits), they are willing to overlook their founding principle, namely to have a place where people can sell handcrafted or vintage items.

So, do mass produced non-vintage items make it onto the site?  Oh, like you wouldn't believe.  While you can voice your opinions about re-sellers on the Etsy forums, it's lacking something.  I don't know about you, but there's something that makes my heart pitter-patter at the thought of a person hand crafting something and sending it to someone who genuinely appreciates the fact that it is unique and not made in a sweat shop.  It's like the re-sellers have taken my warm fuzzy feeling and used it like a dog would use a fire hydrant.  I want vindication.

For this and so many other reasons, I have a special spot in my heart for Regretsy.  I love how they call out re-sellers, you can check those out under the banner 'Not Remotely Handmade'.  Side by side comparisons with the original product, nearly always using the same picture, it lets you see how much you would have saved.  Also this site does a great job of pointing out some items which are answers to questions that no one asked.  Aside from holding up a mirror for Etsy to see what it is advertising, Regretsy and the followers (April's Army) passionately support at least one charitable purpose each month (click here for examples).  Oh, I also forgot to mention how much unholy glee I feel reading the hilarious posts.

A girl and her knits... I mean fed

Lexi recipient of most of the things I knit, and constant giver of warm fuzzies, has done it yet again.  One of her constant haunts of the internet is "A girl and her Fed" webcomic.  Personally, I imagines she wants a burly man’s man (who could sell Old Spice without trying), to be a Fed of her very own.  And honestly, who wouldn’t love a gun totin’ marsupial ironically named Speedy?  

A girl and her fed is a comic all about your civil rights. And, you know, an undead pixie army. But mostly civil rights. No really! I couldn't possibly sum up the entire plot of this comic, it's that awesomely complicated. But what I can tell you is that it's well written, well drawn, and funny enough that I often find myself with various liquids coming out of my nose because I'm laughing so hard.

Oh, right.  I suppose you’re asking yourself why there should be a post about a webcomic in a blog largely based around knitting?  This is where Lexi comes in.  She’s the head cheerleader when it comes to my knitting, and decided to write to the author of AGAHF, in an effort to bring together two of her favorite things (whether this is like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate or chainsaws and personal grooming has yet to be seen).

Yesterday morning I noticed the traffic to the blog trended away from those in search of free knitting patterns.  Instead leaning to those who would understand the other side of my personality!  Those who would look at and appreciate a Valkyrie or Viking hat, a tissuebox cover that looks like a NES controller, maybe even the R2D2 beanie, or perhaps even the Horde hat.  Anyway, to those of you visiting from AGAHF, thank you, you rule, may the ghosts of historical figures keep you company!  And dear author/Otter, you madame, rule.

Vintage and Valkyries

I'd pillage for these!

This past weekend has been a little hectic.  I've been spending most of my time buried in skeins and skeins of yarn.  I finished off another of the Secretive Storms berets, and began to knit up a Valkyrie hat (thank you again, Chile Con Yarne for this awesome pattern) for Lacey, my brother's girlfriend.  I'm hoping to eventually get a picture of them together, him while wearing his balaclava and her wearing this little number I finished late last night.  Her birthday is today, and I should really hustle over and mail this baby.  

Two horns and one Thumbs up!

If you're wondering what I've got in the picture, it's some amazing mini-magazines called "The Workbasket".  Totally unexpected, my mother's childhood friend, Debbie sent these to me.  Ranging in dates from September 1962, up to March of 1989, these are gems.  Not only do they have vintage sewing, knitting and crochet patterns; they also have the most enticing ads in them! First off, the Sept. '62 edition?  It cost 15 cents.  On page 62 there's an ad from "Speedwriting" that promises to teach you shorthand in 6 weeks with "no strange symbols; no machines; uses ABC's".  Also there's an ad for an "Electric Bug Killer for $2.95".  And can I still get the "Compresso Belt"?  The "amazing invention flattens abdomen up to 4 inches"... it's only $3.98 for the regular or $4.98 for the panty... AND ONLY 50 CENTS FOR EACH EXTRA CROTCH!  I cannot tell you how sorry I am that I don't have a scanner so you guys can see these amazing drawings!  Seriously, it looks like some brutally militant undies from a 1950's space alien flick.

Secretive Storms

I can't tell you how relieved I am to finally get this secret out.  Literally.  After seeing the number of views to my blog skyrocket from posting Stalwart Staghorn, I've been stitching my little heart out at a fevered pitch just trying to finish up this pattern in time for Friday's post.

Kelli, Kevin's sister (yes, it's the same Kevin from this post), celebrated her annual 29th birthday this week.  Now, I had wanted to send her one of these hats, but (selfishly) I've been too busy trying to hammer out this pattern.  I'm hoping to make it up to her by sending her the prototypes that I came up with, and naming the hat pattern after the Storms family.

Ok, so I know it's free, and I'd probably make more money posting it for sale and selling three copies, but I can't tell you how much I've appreciated having free patterns available to me.  While I'm in no position to donate to those designers, I'm hoping to pay it forward a bit by contributing a few of my own.  That being said, I'm delighted that due to ad clicks from people visiting, my blog has earned 75 cents in the past week.  No, I'm not being sarcastic when I say delighted; seriously, anything helps when you're unemployed and have been for as long as I have been.  Blah!  Enough of pesky reality which is certainly NOT warm and fuzzy.  Anyway, thank you folks for visiting, and here's my second pattern "Secretive Storms"*.  Oh!  Again, if you notice any issues, or mistakes (such as the one Ms. Morris let me know about in my other pattern), please email me at daniaerickson@gmail.com.

Oh!  And about the pattern... don't be intimidated (easier said than done in my case, as evidenced by this post).  I swear, if it's your first time with some of the techniques... I'll be gentle darling.  And you know what?  You will walk away with some good experience and a lovely showing of your talent and dedication.

*All rights to the design and pattern "Secretive Storms" are protected by copyright.  Dania Erickson 2011.

Pan Handling

Kevin and his bro at Knott's

Oh such an appropriate title for the post considering my wanton advertisement at the top of this blog.  Yes, that's right, I am offering up my services (well, where knitting and crocheting is concerned).  Thus far, dear Kevin (if you want to see him modeling butterball's fugly hat, click here), has been the biggest supporter (enabler) of my efforts to do commission projects.  He hired my needles for three sets of fingerless gloves.  Three cheers for this good man!

Wait, where was I?  Oh yes!  Pan-handling.   Well, speaking of begging, my boyfriend was practically on his knees entreating me to make something that would keep his delicate fingers safe while he was slaving away in the kitchen.  Yes, I like that version far better than the boring truth:  namely, that he casually mentioned that it might be nice to have something that would go around the handle of the skillet, and I immediately became a blur as I rushed for my cotton yarn and crochet hooks.

might fit more than just the boyfriend's skillet handle...

Though I made this months ago, the reason it came up this evening was because it was taco night.  As I stitched away (I'm working on a new hat pattern), Daniel was in the kitchen making us dinner (he does it right too... tortillas heated up in the oven, covered in a damp dishcloth so they don't get dried out 'n everything!). We kind of have this unspoken thing, where one person makes dinner, and the other person does the dishes.  So, after our meal I got up to do my duty... and what do I find?  My dear boyfriend has once again been using the handle cozy I made for the skillet.  He has no idea how happy this makes me; the idea that someone actually uses something I made because they genuinely like it, not just because they love me.  I squealed with delight after finding it saying "Awww, you used the thingie I made!"  I like how he just looked over at me with this 'duh' look on his face and responded, "yeah.  I don't like burning my hands."  Who said romance is dead?

Celebration and a civilizing influence

Need a napkin after greasy Chinese take out?

Words cannot describe how giddy I felt at watching the reaction after posting my "Stalwart Staghorn" pattern onto Ravelry.  Let's just put it this way, I took a screenshot of how many people "favorite"-ed the pattern and sent it to my mother.  I don't know if she's going to print it out to hang in the gallery (the gallery referring of course to the refrigerator door).  However, she did make time to forward my email full of glee onto her sisters.

This evening when Daniel got home (and after he learned that I thawed some fish for dinner), he suggested we celebrate by ordering in.  That may not sound like a big thing, but for us it is a rare occurrence (like less than 10% of the time).  We finally decided to try the Chinese place nearby that delivers.  As we sat down, it occurred to me that another of my "nesting" projects was here on the table, namely a napkin holder.  Don't knock it!  Up until I crocheted this little bugger, we were daintily blotting our mouths with paper towels.  Hey, I count myself lucky, not only was he aware of napkins, but he was using a substitute on a regular basis.  Sorry ladies, he's taken.

And thus, Brawny man rejoiced.

The napkin holder itself is crocheted, and was really easy.  It's increasing two double crochets on each side, with a V stitch at the corners.  This makes a nice square, and since it's only holding napkins, I figured it didn't have to have the same attention to detail as Kate Middleton's wedding dress.  After it was a little wider than the napkins, I did a few rows of singles for a firm edge.

Incidentally, I just want to thank everyone who visited for the warm fuzzy feeling.  Right now, less than eleven hours after posting the pattern, 83 people have labeled it as a "favorite" on ravelry, and 22 people have it in queues.   My little old blog here has received 136 hits.  In this weird way, I feel like a knitting rock star (though I'm probably only a groupie).  So... THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Stalwart Staghorn Cable Fingerless Gloves by me!

I love cables.  Love.  I might consider leaving my boyfriend if it came to him or knitted cables, but fortunately neither one has given me the ultimatum.  Daniel thinks my addiction to knitting and passionate adoration to cables is a little odd, but in a cute way.  Poor man, I don't think he realizes the depth of my affection for these twisting winding stitches.

One of my favorites is the Staghorn cables, with its lovely branches spreading outward.  Since I'm forever knitting things for other people, it's a particularly nice choice since it doesn't shriek "girly".  By not being overly intricate or lacy, even burliest bros in your life aren't threatened by this cable.  Personally, I think that this cable is a wonderful balance between the simplicity men typically desire and something that won't bore you to death while knitting.  Of course, that being said, it's not like the staghorn cable is exclusively in the boy's club.

Putting the stag back in staghorn

So now, may I introduce (drum roll please) my first attempt at writing a pattern (TA-DA!).  After careful perusal, and then a more leisurely glance; I'm pretty sure I've worked out the kinks.  Then again, it is my first attempt, so it probably looks as if I've had ti many martoonis before writing it.  If you happen to find some, or perhaps it makes about as much sense as a mad hatter, send me an email at daniaerickson@gmail.com.  Otherwise, without further ado, here's a link to the pdf for "Stalwart Staghorn*.  (and three cheers to Google docs!)
*All rights to the pattern and design "Stalwart Staghorn" are protected by copyright. Dania Erickson 2011.  Updated on 11/17/2011

Just Coasting

Today hasn't been one of my best days.  It was one of those days where I had a hard time staying out of bed.  Trying to write a blog post has been like a trip to the dentist without Novocaine.  I had a few ideas for things I would talk about, Regretsy and the awesomeness that is April Winchell, or perhaps an update on my WIPS. But for the moment, I'll take a pass and merely coast today.

Actually, this reminds me of another kind of coasting that I did during a stressful time.  In April, after having spent a week with my boyfriend in Illinois, he and I had a rather serious conversation.  We had formed an attachment to each other, but at the same time, we both realized we weren't looking for a long distance relationship.  Slightly inconvenient since I've lived my entire life in Southern California.  What to do?  After hemming and hawing, discussing all the options, both mundane and those that defied physics (my brother was scheduled to have a transporter invented around a decade ago... my mother has reserved the upstairs closet for that express purpose for the past twenty-five years), we decided the best option was for me to go live with him.

After that decision I began my hand wringing in earnest.  Was I doing the right thing?  While I'd practically lived with boyfriends before, I actually hadn't technically moved in with them.  This was definitely something new.  I started to pack, and really freak out.  At that time my own personal therapy involved black cotton yarn.  When I had visited, I noticed that my heathen boyfriend didn't really use coasters.  Of course he had some nice ones featuring vintage bottles for wine glasses (but oddly no wine glasses).  So, when I wasn't packing and was trying to regain my tenuous grasp on sanity, I would sit and stitch these simple check pattern coasters to take with me.  In a silly weird way, it reminded me that we were knitting our lives together.  Just like knitting was uncomfortable when I started, it's become natural and a comfort.  I confess, it's the same living with Daniel (oh, incidentally, we use these coasters all the time, no more halos for the coffee table).