Shall we talk about Unfair?
Unfair is when you're visiting Ireland and go with your mother-in-law to the local DIY store. I think this one is B & Q. You discover there are TWO ENTIRE AISLES of wallpaper. Wallpaper as far as the eye can see.
And yet when you visit your local American DIY, you're lucky to come away with contact paper fashioned with brown roosters on a gingham background with matching valances for the kitchen window.
The sun is actually shining today and I thought I'd prove it by doing a big "no no" and taking a photo in direct sunlight. It feels great to have sun on top of two feet of snow! This is a sweater that I designed for Junior and finally finished during the storm.
Both Junior and sister wanted a real knitted tail sewn onto it. I can imagine the first wearing of it: She grabs it as he's running away with her Easy Bake Oven, he face plants down the stairs, the oven flies out the window, and we end up in the ED with 14 staples in his head and a shattered window. Better off with kids like Junior to just sew the tails right into the sweater - i.e. stripes. With motherhood comes wisdom.
It actually happened. I finally finished painting the rest of my knitting room! I've had a vision for a while but it took a while to execute it. First, the mirror. This is the huge resin baroque mirror that I've hidden for months behind my desk so Husband wouldn't be scared. It's taller than Junior, and was discovered on Craigslist, last July along with this amazing coffee table. An English interior designer moving home to England, how lucky could one be?
See the Before? I wanted to enter the room and be able to stare into rose colored glass via the mirror which would reflect the deeper pink wall on the opposite side. You can just stare into the most beautiful color in the world and it seems to go on forever.
I love that Mark, my friend and painter, gets this and gives me his two cents. I feel like a collaborative effort is often more rewarding than a lone attempt. He doesn't even laugh at painting a room pink (and Husband can't complain since he's left me alone all week, including during the storm that has just begun!) Mark paints with soft classical guitar strumming in the background, as he's also a guitarist and cellist, and husband to my dear friend, Cary. We're really lucky that they live just down the road! They even appreciate Husband's post-prandial Ministry of Silly Walks imitation as much as I do.
My desk is in the corner and I love to do my knitting design here. Since I know the light in that room well and how it changes over the day, I chose a very pale pink for the remaining three walls. I didn't test out the color, though, as only the very brave can do. I admit this was a stupid move and was worried when I saw how light it was. But always remember, if you think it's too light, it probably isn't. Good to have such important anxieties in these times.
Mark also put the second coat over the fireplace wall for me (here after my first coat.) The darker pink is Valspar Pink Flutter. As the light changes, the darker pink reflects and blends onto the lighter pink, Valspar Pixie Dust, giving an ombre effect. No amount of faux treatment could have achieved this!
Now, to segue to winter storm Nemo. The pink room has been a great distraction, for sure. Husband is soon to be stuck in Baltimore, in the air now from New Orleans (Providence airport is closed.) I'm dreading trying to shovel us out of 2 feet of snow by myself. I really appreciate the number of emails you guys have sent in support of my kvetching about single motherhood during a storm. You are all great and I can't tell you how much that means to me.
My temporarily lesbian cat is acting like a complete idiot, rolling around and following me while I take pictures. I'm constantly removing her from photos. Nothing is easy! The kitties know a storm is brewing and of course I'd be the only person alive to have a kitten in heat during the Blizzard of the Century. Now, I have to leave you and get some things done before being buried alive with no electricity. And in case you think Junior has been too boring lately, I just heard a crash/bang, bang, bang, bang/OW from the down the hall. Investigation revealed that he tested his sled out straight down the stairs. It's going to be a long ol' storm; I'm so glad I know First Aid. In case you don't hear from me again I hope I've left you with some good pink inspiration. Godspeed, friends!
This is a cowl I designed called Speedy. It's done in linen stitch and looks like a racetrack.
Now, onto non-knitting issues. When Husband skips town for warmer pastures, you can bet we'll get a storm. Has he ever been here for inclement weather? We're going to get 25 feet of snow or something tomorrow when he's supposed to fly home from New Orleans. "I'm not getting you a snow blower for Christmas" are words you should REGRET when speaking to a wife in New England, especially one who agreeably flies to Lapland to meet Santa. Wash your mouth out with soap, Husband.
Then, apparently also stocking the larder, the cats left me a dead mouse at the foot of the bed this morning. I don't do dead animals. I'm practically a vegan (minus the fried egg sandwiches.) After the mouse discovery, I heard screaming from downstairs. "Get this maniac away from meeeeeeee!!!" It was Junior, absolutely shrieking at his sister.
She punched him in return and the screams escalated. The problem? I bought Lunchables (the fake meat and cheese gross snack things) because I'm trying to drug them into submission with junk food which makes single mothering easier. It seemed, however, that Junior stole his sister's Lunchable because it contained an Oreo instead of a chocolate chip cookie. Ingrate. Think of us all tomorrow night, marooned in Casapinka, fighting over a dead mouse and a can of Spam, a lone snow shovel our only way out.
A chilling but sunny morning with frost on Casapinka's stone walls. Unrelated but trivially newsworthy, I used mousse on my hair this morning for the first time since the eighties. Everything old is, oh never mind.
A new baby blanket design called Riabh. The name came from my weekend experience where crocheting this really calmed my nerves as my normally heterosexual kitten (no judgement here) started yowling and hitting on our 8 year old cat. Poor thing, you can see her look at us as if to say, "Did you really have to get a lesbian kitten? Is Junior not enough for me to endure?"
We were waiting another month to spay her (mistake), preferring to travel to Lapland and all over creation first. Anyway, It's a "striped" blanket and a tabby cat is "striped" and the Irish for tabby cat is "Cat Riabhach." So, it's called Riabh.
Unintentionally, it's a rainbow sorts. I should have named it the Gay Cat Pride Baby Blanket. That would have been a great marketing tool. Find it on Ravelry here.
(Houston, we have a problem.)
Honey, how should I know? Maybe one of those altruistic-type thieves broke in and left them in exchange for your Monty Python video set.
Anyone want to test knit a baby cardigan? It's done in DK or sport weight on a US size 4 needle. It's made to go with a little dress that is being tested right now. Please email me if you'd like to give it a go. It's made from the top down and is seamless. I'll also send you the matching dress pattern when it's ready to go.
I have to say that I'm very happy with our new coat rack. I looked around for a long time. It needed a number of hooks and had to be very strong, as I knew Junior would try and horshoe toss his backpack onto it when I wasn't looking. . Also, it couldn't be too or the kids couldn't reach it. Now, coats and backpacks have a single place. Of course, it belongs in the currently very dark entry way, not the living room where it's pictured. Oh, and the design is great. Assembly, which is intuitive and fun (you can choose the order of hook sizes and colors) really makes one appreciate good design. The base is heavy and it doesn't wobble at all. Kudos to designers A Huldén/S Dahlman for this, probably the best $20 Ikea purchase I've made!
