Flint Knits

The flower photos belong to other Flickr folks. Please click for details.

Stayed up last night to finish these, listening to music and munching on popcorn in bed. Is there anything better?

The pattern was really inspired by the yarn (Fleece Artist merino sock in Saffron), which brought to mind the marigolds in my family’s old garden — as a kid, pulling out the seeds in the Fall (to be planted again the following Spring) was one of my favorite household chores.

I also love that this color evokes both Spring (see above) and Fall (see below),
my two favorite seasons.

And the pattern is on its way — my first sock pattern! Terribly exciting.

Just got a $1700 car repair bill (despair!), but I also just finished grading (euphoria) and am sitting in a cafe in San Francisco (bliss), where I’m visiting to celebrate my oldest and dearest BFF’s 30th birthday (perfect). So things are balancing out. Kind of.

The birthday girl, whom I’ve known since we were wee first-graders, is a fan of smocks. So I made her a birthday smock:

I’ve realized that I really enjoy sewing. In June when I get back to Michigan and have more space for it, I’m going to indulge the quilting bug more thoroughly. How could I not, with inspiration like this and this haunting my Bloglines?

Yesterday afternoon, I had a fabulous meet up with Angela/YaiAnn at Imagiknit where, after much debate, she bought some perfect buttons for her Malabrigo cardigan. Also after much debate, I bought some green Louet Gems for the i-cord edging on the Baby Surprise Jacket.

We then had a few lazy hours of coffee and nonstop chatty conversation — turns out she’s smart and funny and wicked cute besides being a super talented all-around crafter. Thanks for the awesome afternoon, Ange!

Unfortunately, tight schedules and my short visit meant that I couldn’t get to Berkeley to meet up with Desiknitter like we’d planned. Do you know Desiknitter? You should. Besides making gorgeous knitted items and creative patterns, and being a superstar academic to boot, she’s currently rocking my world with her clever, clever chevron eye shade.

Enjoy your weekends!

Susie Bright (*love*) just posted a short but sweet interview with Jack Davis, about fiber arts and the penises he’s been crocheting for 25 years. Check it out.

Also, won’t someone invite me to Ravelry? Because, really, it looks so rad that I’m not above shameless begging.

Re: Marigold sock progress, here’s what my grading reward system got me this week (other than 80 graded essays on Times Square Red, Times Square Blue):

Using the Flicker socks as a carrot worked so well last time, I’m bringing the reward system back. For every paper I grade (there are 80 of them now, and 80 more coming next week) I get to work one round on this sock.**

This is the first pair of socks I’ve made from my own design. I hereby dub them The Marigold Socks, inspired by (duh) the color and shape of marigolds. (In other colors, they could just as easily be the Chrysanthemum, Pansy, or Dogwood socks.)

This is how they looked last night, during a grading session at the coffee shop:

The yarn is Fleece Artist merino sock in Saffron. While I’m not wild about how thin it is (see: Megan’s issues with Lorna’s Laces), the color is so fabulous that I’m willing to overlook the lack of body and sproing.

If I like them well enough, I may write up a pattern after I finish. Quilting? Sock patterns? I’m taking all sorts of crafty leaps these days. And I’m not the only one.

**Other less crafty rewards have included time off to see Grindhouse and Year of the Dog, both excellent. (I *heart* Mike White and Molly Shannon.)

The Flicker socks, they are done!

Still unblocked, but I couldn’t wait to try them on, and the camera was sitting right there…

These were my first socks knit on one long circular, and now I don’t know why I resisted that technique for so long. I never had problems with DPNs, but it’s awfully nice to knit socks on the bus without the threat of impalement haunting every stitch.

Tonight we will put the “fun” in fundraiser with the Revolting Queers, making crafty pants art at the “My Jazzy Crotch” party (Twin Cities folks, click above for details).

If you’re interested in moving progressive queer politics beyond the narrow debates about “marriage equality,” check out this statement (also a link in my sidebar), and this article.