Flint Knits

So … I’ve got a lot going on right now. Like … a lot. I’m physically healthy for the most part, which is good, but other than that, things are … well, pretty fucking crappy. And very, very busy, with no sign of letting up any time soon.

This is why I haven’t been reading, or commenting on, your blogs, or looking at your Flickr photos. Which, in turn, is why I haven’t been posting much here. It hardly seems fair to expect you kind folks to take time to read my blog when I haven’t been reading yours.

And I thought that would be cool. I thought, “hey, the knitblog community is totally rad, and they’re generous and understanding enough to get that sometimes shit’s just hard and that, even though the knitblogosphere is something that can totally sustain you in those times, it also tends to be one of the first things to get sacrificed.”

And I know this to be the case with most of ya’ll readers and friends. Because you’re awesome. But DAMN, were my feelings hurt when I got this anonymous comment:

“Your blog used to be a lot better. You never used to abandon it for months with no new knitting… and only a creepy diorama of an obscure X-Files episode. You should either commit or delete, my friend.”

Seriously? I mean, I thought that diorama was gonna hold folks over for a while. It’s pretty fucking sweet, after all.

But, now that I’ve dropped enough f-bombs to make me feel a bit less cranky, I guess I’ve been shamed/disciplined into providing knit-related content.

Please to enjoy these hats. I love you all.

Except whoever left that comment. That person can get bent.

for: Britney (gifted in December)
pattern: Koolhaas, by Jared Flood
yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool in “Real Teal”
needles: US #7

for: Kate (the pretty lady in the picture)
pattern: Beret Gaufre, by Veronik Avery
yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool in “Real Teal”
needles: US #3

by HandmadeDetroit.com!

I was very, very lazy with the blog world this summer. I mean, I didn’t even read — I made you do it for me.

But that ends today. My last bit of catching-up is to thank the three awesome women who have nominated me as a “Rockin’ Girl Blogger.”

Knittymama, Jillian, and Crystal are super rockin’ themselves, so the virtual love is much appreciated. Thank you!!

Sadly, my summer of actual rocking has also ended. When I got home in August, I had a bit of post-tour malaise — it was strange to wake up in the same bed every day, with familiar and mundane tasks (dishes, for instance. god, I hate doing dishes.) stretched out before me, instead of the adventure and surprises of the road.**

And now it’s back to teaching classes and trying very hard to get work done on the dissertation. The last gasp of my rock star summer took place over Labor Day weekend, when we shot a super-low-tech-low-budget music video. And I got to knit in one scene!

See that? It’s the back of my tweed sweater, which by now is almost done — just one sleeve to go!

But I was also irritated to see, yet again, Minnesota food and culture being only and always thought of as Scandinavian. Dude, they were in the Twin Cities, home to the largest Somali and Hmong communities in the U.S., along with a heap ton of Latinos and Native folks. And they chose, again, to feature effing ludefisk and smorgasbord?

And then, when that smorgasbord included a great big dish of native wild rice, they dismissed it as simply “Minnesotan,” instead of focusing on it as a food with a long and complex history, politics and culture (including current legislation! I mean, when was the last time a law got passed about ludefisk?). Maybe the Food Network should send a nutritional anthropologist along next season.

UPDATE: I’m clearly still getting the hang of the Haloscan — I just deleted 20 comments from this post. Oops!

Aw, you guys make me feel all better! Just to clarify, it’s not that I was going to go out and buy all that stuff tomorrow — just that I *could* have for the same $ my car sucked up. But I’m over it, and happy to have a working car, and so will speak of it no more. But be on the lookout for some de-stashing here in the very near future.

I’m switching to Haloscan for comments. I’m tired of getting awesome comments and not being able to properly respond to folks. (Case in point: CAROLYN! WHO ARE YOU, WHO WAS AT THE MORRISSEY SHOW ON TUESDAY AND LEFT THE CLEVER COMMENT ABOUT MOZZ-GIRLS??)

Finally, Ms. Bockstark tagged me for the newest version of the “weird things” meme. I in turn tag you all (or any of you who wants to take it up). Here are my weird things, some knitting-related, some not.

(1) I was a flute performance major in college, but ended up getting a degree in feminist studies instead.

(2) I am a medical marvel. Well, not really, but a friend called me that once and it stuck. I’ve had cancer (leukemia) twice, and was expected to die a bunch of times. I didn’t, which is pretty cool.

My bones are kind of wonky from all the chemo, though, so I don’t get to run or jump or skip or wear high heels, except under water or on the moon (well, the latter is only in theory — I haven’t gotten to test it out yet).

(3) I don’t mind sewn cast-offs, seaming, kitchenering, grafting, etc. In fact, I kind of love them. Very satisfying.

(4) I dislike milk chocolate, no matter how fancy or fine. But I’ll still eat it if it’s sitting in front of me.

(5) I am a karaoke fiend.

(6) I use washable cotton menstrual pads instead of disposable ones. I just ordered some new ones from my friend and neighbor Kitty Litter Creations, who also makes fabulous vegan bags, pouches, and wallets. Tell her I sent you.

(7) I knit English style (taught by my British grandmother, after whom I’m named), and I am a gripper and a thrower.

(8) I like to make cheese.