Pride

It was amazing.

There were a ton of people.

In the background, you can see one of the light-post banners.

There were lots of raffle items, and lots of people entering.

The art display was amazing.

A great time was had by all.

Seriously, everything went remarkably smoothly. The crowd was big but not unruly, there were kids and dogs and families of all descriptions. I met two men who had flown to Lexington specifically for the festival--one, originally from Lexington, had flown in from LA ("Well, I had vacation time anyway..." he explained), and the other, a University of Kentucky alumnus, had come from Florida. Festival attendees, catching sight of my "Organizer" badge, thanked me for helping make it happen and told me how glad they were that we were downtown, and what a great time they were having. We raised over $9,000.

Next year's festival is going to be even more amazing.

Glutton for Punishment

I was considering this morning what project I should bring with me to the Pride Festival, in case of a slow moment, and I realized that I don't have anything appropriate on the needles--the only sock I'm working on is nearing the heel, and I don't want to mess with a short-row heel (a technique I am not very practiced at) when I'll likely be interrupted. The solution? As soon as I finish writing this I am, once again, going to cast on the Charade Socks. In the Cursed Red Sockotta. This time, with a clear purpose in mind, I'm really hoping it goes better.

Wish me luck!

I also wanted to mention that a few weeks ago I devised a new system for Stash Storage and Management. I got myself some Space Bags, made a spreadsheet, and got to organizing and inventorying. I realized then, and had the point driven home to me this morning when I retrieved my yarn, that sock yarn does count as Stash.

Seriously. That's a lot of yarn. I don't even want to think about how much money is sitting there in that extra-large Space Bag. I need to knit some damn socks, and fast.


I'm about to go seriously off-topic, and I'm sorry about that--this is supposed to be my crafting blog, and what follows isn't going to be about crafting at all. I try hard to keep my personal life out of this blog, but this is really important to me, so I'm going to Go There. After this weekend we should be back to our regularly scheduled knitting.

I'm completely excited about the festival today. I continue to be amazed that we've done so much in such a short time. (As a friend told me last night, I could be easily forgiven for straying into "smug" territory--I think she's right. Call me smug!) Even if no more people show up to this than have attended the Shame Picnic in previous years, it will be a success.

On that note, it has been suggested to me that I am Extremely Weird for hoping that this event, that we've all worked so hard to put on, is protested. Let me explain: It has been amply demonstrated over the last few weeks that there is a need for this festival. Certain very vocal members of the Lexington community object to the fact that Pride is going to be a public event this year. This, in a city that The Advocate recently named as one of the 10 best places in the U.S. for members of the LGBT community to live! Clearly, in order to end (or at least silence) the hatred, members and supporters of the LGBT community need to be more visible and, frankly, show the nay-sayers that we walk among them every day and function as productive, valuable members of society--without committing sodomy in the streets, without recruiting their children, without doing any of the things they're so afraid of. These people--the ones who are filled with hatred and fear--exist in this city. I want them to be paying attention. We may not change any minds today, but I want them to see how well this event is going to go. I want them to see the people who attend it and maybe start to think that we're actually pretty normal--just in the backs of their minds. And to me, if no one shows up to protest, it doesn't say that we've been accepted--it says that our festival is insignificant. And that's one thing I don't want it to be.

In my heart of hearts, idealist that I am, I hope that local protesters show up, and that a few of them are looking into the crowd of revelers and see someone they know--someone they consider a friend. I hope that seeing that friend on the other side of their signs (the ones that say "Got AIDS Yet?" and "AIDS Cures Fags") makes them reconsider their attitudes just a tiny bit. See, I'm not hoping for a confrontation or a fight. All I want is to change the world--one closed mind at a time.

I Still Remember *EDIT

This blog has been sadly short on knitting content lately. I do seem to have taken a little break from knitting--but my momentum is picking back up.

First, I grabbed the second Oriole Socklet to work on during pride planning meetings and breaks. Speaking of Pride, I think it's already a success, even though the festival isn't until Saturday--we're on the picket schedule for the Westboro Baptist Church! Bring it on, Fred Phelps--this community is ready.

Anyway, my socklet:

Serious progress has been made. I'm nearing the heel. Hooray!

I've also been working on my lace.

I inserted the bottom lifeline after I messed up the first time and had to frog back to a point a few rows below that. When I was sure I had it right, I put in the lifeline. Then I knit a few more rows and realized my stitch count was off--the error was in the row immediately after the lifeline. I'm awesome. But after I fixed that, things just flew along. I finished Chart A and did the first two rows of Chart B. I'm feeling good. I'm so amazed that I'm knitting lace!

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure I'll spend some more time on my lace tomorrow night. I'll be selling tickets at the Pride Festival on Saturday from 10:30 to noon; Lexingtonians and those within driving distance should stop by to say hello to me and wave to the hate-mongers! From a respectful distance, of course.

EDIT: Westboro Baptist has canceled. Damn! I guess it's good news--they're famous for causing trouble, after all--but I can't help but be disappointed.

Success!

Check it out--I did it!

I made a swimsuit! It even fits me. If I make this pattern again, I'll shorten the torso by one to two inches, but this works just fine.

Observe the lovely details:

Bust lining, delicate shoulder straps, a clasp in the back--there's a whole lot of elastic in this thing. I'm so pleased with myself for pulling this off! It's taken me a week, but I managed it.

Now I can get back to knitting!

Join, Being Careful Not To Twist

First up, a long-overdue picture of lace.

I'm a little bit farther than that now, but not much. In all honesty, I've been distracted.

See, I inherited the Crazy Scheme Gene from my father. So when I saw swimsuits in Target for $35 and decided I wasn't in the mood to try on swimsuits, let alone pay for one, despite my need for a new swimsuit, it seemed perfectly logical to me that my next thought was, "I should sew myself a swimsuit." I won't say that no doubts entered my mind--I am aware, for instance, that "making it yourself" is often the same as "paying twice as much," and I'm also aware that it's probably been a decade since I last sewed a garment--plus, swimsuits aren't exactly simple. They're not the most complicated things ever, but they're definitely not as easy as, say, a straight skirt with an elastic waistband.

Did I let these doubts stop me? Hell, no!

So I went to the fabric store, carried along by memories of searching through pattern books with my mom, finding the right one in the big pattern files, and checking fabric and notion requirements carefully. I remembered to check the fabric width, found lining and elastic, grabbed a pair of nice fabric scissors and some sewing machine needles designed for stretch fabrics. I paid the nice lady $63 (which, you will note, is more than $35--even with tax), and set off to start my sewing adventure.

I cut out my pieces while watching So I Married an Axe Murderer, and managed not to screw up. I discovered the stretch stitch on my sewing machine, and practiced on a swatch. (I only broke one needle in this step! But another trip to the fabric store did cost me $20--I picked up a few other things--bringing the total up to $83.) Then I got started. I sewed the two halves of the back together--easy-peasy! I attached narrow elastic at the top of the back; trickier, but I got it. I sewed the front to the back at the crotch, and got the crotch lining in. (Isn't "crotch" just an awful word?) With a stumble or two, I sewed the special back pieces and their linings together, and put the elastic where it should be.

There will eventually be a clasp in the center back.

I made delicate little gathers at the sides of the bust, and then--yay!--I sewed the side seams.

Thrilled that my swimsuit now looked like an actual swimsuit, and bursting with pride, I decided to turn it right-side out to admire my progress. And stopped short.

The highly observant among you will notice that the fabric on the left is a different color than the fabric on the right. That's because the fabric on the right side of the seam is inside-out.

When I pinned the sides together, the crotch was twisted.

I'm a freaking genius.

Laughing hysterically, I called my mother to tell her about my sewing prowess. She informed that her grandmother would say that this was my punishment for sewing on a Sunday. (Apparently, great-grandma Stephens used to say that any stitch you sewed on a Sunday, you would pick out in hell. She sounds warm and fuzzy, doesn't she?) I protested that sewing doesn't really count as work anymore, unless you're a tailor. But it seems that the universe hasn't quite caught up with the times.

My seam-ripper is at the ready. I shall not sleep until my crotch is untwisted and my sides are re-sewn!

Concentration

The cure for the "I didn't get the job" blues?

Lace knitting.

I'm about 12 rows into it, and so far things are going well. Winding the yarn into a ball almost killed me, though--I need to check my mad money level and see how close I am to buying a swift. It didn't help that the yarn was slightly felted in places in the hank. I ended up doing way more work with my left arm than I would have liked to.

Anyway, I'm using the laceweight I picked up in the last SnB free-for-all. It's shades of russet with a little bit of silvery grey. I'm hoping that the color changes aren't so drastic that the pattern gets lost. It's looking fine so far--phew!

I don't have pictures today; maybe tomorrow.

Ta-Da!

I give you... The Pride Afghan!




I'm a tiny bit concerned about the wavy edges, but I'm sure they'll block out. If not, I might have enough black yarn left to give it another stabilizing edging round.

This thing looks even cooler in person. It's awesome. Now I just need to con the knitters into helping me weave in the ends, and it'll be all set!

Urban Gardening

I was hoping to have some lovely pictures today of the sewing-up party: knitters helping each other out, finishing a charity afghan, maybe getting a little raucous. But... NO ONE SHOWED UP. Bums. Heather and I heroically sewed our little fingers to the bone, snacking on semi-fancy cheese and amazing cake, sipping a tasty riesling. We got surprisingly far, but didn't finish. That's okay; I'll try to get it done tomorrow. Thank you, Heather!

In other news, I took a look at my windowsill garden this morning.

I have cat grass, sweet basil, and mint. The plants have been a little droopy lately. In fact, the mint is looking downright ragged.

I looked more closely, and noticed that I have bugs!

My camera doesn't have a macro setting, so I pointed out the bug with a red arrow.

In fact, I have lots of bugs.

Perhaps that's why my plants are droopy!

So, following my brother's advice, I cut a blade of bug-infested grass and took it to the garden center in a plastic bag. I was expecting the nice employees to immediately recognize my bugs and direct me in the proper way to save my plants. I walked up to a group of four (4!) garden center employees and threw myself on their mercy. They, um, couldn't help me. They directed me to another guy, who I assumed had the knowledge. Actually, he walked over to the pesticides and started reading packages, glancing doubtfully at the bag from time to time. In the end, I noticed the pesticide that was labeled "for houseplants," and he agreed that that one was probably what I needed. Humph. So much for specialized knowledge!

So, I bought my houseplant pesticide, came home, and sprayed the plants down. I feel a little bad for killing the bugs--they're only doing what comes naturally, and they're not actually a threat to me--but I'm determined to successfully raise some damn houseplants.

Friday Musings

After spending the weekend of David's wedding pretty much wearing nothing but dresses, I decided that I wanted to be the sort of woman who wears dresses a lot. I've been tired of my current wardrobe for a while, and dresses seemed like an excellent solution: different, comfortable, work-appropriate, and cost effective--one garment, rather than a new top and new pants/skirt. Not to mention the fact that swirly skirts bring out the six-year-old girl in me and make me feel like a princess.

So I went and bought half a dozen new dresses, which I've been liberally sprinkling into my wardrobe for the last two weeks. I've gotten a lot of compliments--even (or perhaps especially) on the red dress that someone *coughSamaracough* told me was too much red. So this morning I started wondering: is it that I just look incredibly fabulous in dresses, or were my coworkers as sick of my wardrobe as I was? I mean, I've spent the last four years basically in a uniform: black pants and button-down shirt. I've always thought that was a good look for me. It's professional, it's classic, it's flattering, there's a lot of variation available in button-down shirts. In short, it's safe. Now I'm branching out, and I've noticed a decided difference in my mood. I feel more energetic and more confident. (Two weeks of compliments will do that to a girl.) It feels really nice.


On the crafting front, I haven't been doing a lot. I've done pretty much no knitting since Monday, when I got to the halfway point on my wombat's body. (That sounds kind of gross.) I've been doing some crocheting, though--working on the next hanky (purple variegated crochet thread!) and edging afghan squares. I took a frantic e-mail poll this week, and it looks like all of the squares will be done in time for the sewing-up party tomorrow night. Hooray! I went to Liquor Barn the other night to get snacks and wine, and left with four bottles of wine, three kinds of cheese, and three kinds of cookies. (One of the bottles was for my personal use.) I spent way more money than I meant to, but I'm totally excited. I just hope enough people come to the party to justify the amount of food I bought! If not, I guess there'll just be more cheese for me.

New!

Check out the top of my sidebar--I have a dragon egg! Idea flagrantly stolen from the Den of Chaos. Click on my egg to help my dragon hatch!

Briefly

I finished my fourth hanky! I'm a little afraid that the red will run when I wash it, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Learning about edging things is an interesting process. For example, I was concerned that the edging patterns wouldn't compensate for having to turn corners, and would therefore be too tight and look silly. So far, I'm having the opposite problem: my edgings are looser on the outside than on the inside, so they tend to ruffle a bit. And in the example above, the little picoted arches are far too crowded to lay nicely side by side and display their beauty. Maybe I'm placing my initial stitches too close together--but if I did them farther apart, I would have to deliberately loosen and stretch my stitches, beyond my natural crochet tension. Since a lot of these appear to be designed to be crocheted in a long strip and then sewn on to fabric, it seems to me that a more natural chain should be the way to go.

But then again, I haven't washed any of these yet. It's entirely possible that my cotton thread will shrink, leaving me with the too-tight effect I was worried about initially. I guess we'll see!

What's Goin' On

Well, last week's plans didn't quite go as, er, planned. I finished my afghan square, plus one more. The afghan now looks like this:

Twenty-nine squares of Cascade-y goodness. Thirteen to go. This yarn will be raffled off on June 28--let's hope it looks much more like an afghan by then!

Hanky number three now looks like this:

Pretty! Let's take a closer look.

Ooh! Ahh!

Hanky number 4 looks like this:

What do you mean, you don't remember hanky number 4? Silly people! It's clearly there.

Bellatrix has been frogged. I decided that two at once was too much for this pattern and the way I'm doing it. It stung a little to frog these socks, but their day will come.

The second SKP sock has also been frogged.

The dishcloth, the oriole socks, and the wombat still look exactly the same as they did last week.

In my defense, I lost some knitting time after I accidentally closed my finger in a door. The bottom third of the nail on my left middle finger is now very colorful, from blue-black at the bottom to a very pretty eggplant at the top. It hurts significantly less now, for which I am profoundly grateful. (My doctor offered to drill a hole in my nail to relieve the pressure, as did my friend Aaron [he got a drill press for graduation]. I declined both offers, because... ew.) I also just haven't really felt like knitting this week--odd, after last Sunday's frenzy of enthusiasm. Sometimes I don't make much sense.

So, my knitting goal this week is much more modest: Make some wombat progress. Maybe finish the body. I think I can handle that.