A Knitter's Rant

The other day, my eyes caught something on TV that really bugged me. I was reminded of a major pet peeve of mine. The movie was of low production quality circa 1975, and there was some insane lady sitting in a rocking chair, who was supposed to be knitting. Yes, she was supposed to be knitting, but it looked more like she was ineffectively digging a hole in a tangle of yarn. There weren't even stitches on the needles. She was holding a pair of needles much too large for her project, and was plucking and poking like her life depended on it. Would it have been so difficult for either her or the director to do a teensiest bit of research on how to hold knitting needles?

These fake knitters pop up everywhere. I love getting craft ads in the mail (especially my Knit Picks catalog), and scan over every little detail for good deals, inspiration, and eye candy. Not too long ago, I received an ad for a craft store (who shall remain anonymous to protect the innocent), that contained a picture of a joyous mother and teenage daughter who were bonding while supposedly knitting. They couldn't have looked any more awkward. Yes folks, even the craft stores can't quite get it right.

Yes, I do understand the saying "there is no wrong way to knit". Left handed, right handed, pickers, throwers, Tunisian, Portuguese... there are many ways to to hold your needles, and many variances on how to craft stitches. But sometimes it's quite plain when the person has no idea what they are doing. No, I am far from a perfect knitter, and I pass no judgment on other knitters (regardless of their skill level). Maybe I just feel like the intelligence of me and my fellow knitters is being insulted. Or maybe this is just one of those silly, pointless pet peeves. Or maybe I'm just paying too close attention to something so trivial. Hopefully I don't come off to rant-y (yes, I just made up the word "ranty"), because I don't mean to. Well... not really. :)

Inconveniently, I was unable to find a picture of a fake knitter. Go figure. This lady however, really DID knit with these ginormous needles, making the Guinness books with these big 'uns. What are those, like size 80 needles? And rope for yarn? Amazing.

Pixels in Bloom

I've been wanting to change the name of our blog for quite some time now. "Two Dogs and a Baby" doesn't quite work anymore. Harper is no longer a baby, and we had to change it from "Three Dogs" to "Two Dogs" when Noodle left our family. After several failed attempts at brainstorming, we finally have our new title (which I adore). Don't worry, I won't break everyone's links by changing the URL.

Now... let's just see if we can post more often.

My Little Cuddly Bear

Good news: Harper's cast was removed this past Tuesday. We were so glad to get it off, but came home from the doctor's office with some antibiotics and a 103 degree fever. I noticed that morning that he was feeling warm, so we had the doc check him out while we were there. Turns out he had a double ear infection. By the way, I'd recommend blocking your toddler's view of their cast being removed. Whew! Cast removal was no fun at all, especially since Harper is already wary of pretty much everyone.

Harper is starting to feel better, with little thanks to the amoxicillin that he's mostly spit out. We finally found a sneaky way to get him to take it (fake jello cups are my new best friend... Why fake? We don't eat gelatin so found a commercial generic without it). His leg is improving, and seems to be fully mended. He's still limping a bit, but his confidence is increasing. The only appreciated side effect of these last few weeks is that Harper has become my little cuddly bear. He loves to quietly cuddle against me all the time now. I cherish this peaceful time with just the two of us, and will miss it when he inevitably grows out of it. Yes, he is doing it right now while I blog from my phone.

Craft A.D.D.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I have major craft A.D.D.! I suppose it's not so bad of a thing because once I get bored or uninspired with one thing, I can move on to the next. The only problem is that it leaves lots of unfinished projects. Right now I'm working on a quilt that has been hibernating for close to a year. I remember why I originally shelved it... my fabric choices weren't the best, but who says the color scheme needs to make any sense? I suppose it will just be a crazy quilt... but hopefully a cozy one. We'll see how far I get with it this time. With my limited endurance for long-term projects, I wonder why I chose a pattern with such teeny pieces?

So I'm super excited because I won a granny square giveaway on a blog I love to stalk, Hoot-n-Annie. I love her blog because it is everything I wish my blog could be (funny but true)! So... time to pick up that crochet hook again. I've always wanted a granny square blanket of my own, but have procrastinated since I'm a much better knitter than crocheter. So this will be my head start! I'll try to be better about blogging so you all can see its progress once I get working on it.

In other news, Harper is doing really well with the cast. He isn't walking on it, but he is crawling and climbing like nobody's business. We told him it's his "cool cast", so once in awhile he'll point down and say "coooool". It's pretty darn cute. He's still playing and having a blast, and I can't really ask for more from the situation.

Ouch!

Harper twisted his ankle on Monday evening when we went down a slide together at the neighborhood park. The tears started before we made it to the bottom. He wasn't able to walk on it, so we knew something was wrong.

After plenty of tears, two visits to the doctor, and a round of x-rays, he now has a "walking cast" on his right leg. He has a minor fracture of his distal fibia, but he's not letting it slow him down. He's a brave little guy, and we're just glad it wasn't anything worse. We'll hopefully keep him busy with his new coloring books & crayons, creative fun around the house, and his new book with an Elmo puppet in it that he's been eyeing at the store for weeks. He's getting around on all fours again, but we'll see if he dares to walk on it.

Thankfully, the cast comes off in three weeks & we hope he won't need another. Again, I'm just glad it isn't worse... because I know that it could be. We're so fortunate to share our life with this precious, hilarious, clever, adorable, brave, tenacious little dude.

Race for the Cure

I love to do charity walks, but it's been awhile since I participated in one. The iconic Susan G. Komen organization is having a Race For The Cure on May 8, 2010. Not only is it my younger brother's birthday and the day before Mother's Day, but it commemorates exactly one year since my last day of employment before making the big change of becoming a stay-at-home mom. I formed a team with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and we'll be walking for the cure.

Walking at this kind of event isn't just a nice thing to do anymore. It's personal for me now, since my mother-in-law is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She fought the fight, and I can't even begin to explain how fortunate we all are that she won that fight twice. (Carol - thanks for passing that strength on to Jeff, too.) I love her dearly, admire her greatly, and am proud that she is my mother-in-law. I know times are tough, but if you can donate to help other people fight breast cancer, you would be doing a service to all of those affected by breast cancer, including me.

Please visit our team page where you can learn more about our team or even join us by either running, walking, volunteering, or donating.

http://komenslc.org/team/gunnellgals