There and Back Again: An Abbreviated Tale

Once upon a time a girl got on a plane.  She brought nothing more than an unknit pair of socks and a fun summer novel.  Four days later she stumbled back out into the airport, book nearly read, socks nearly completed, and immediately returned to work exhausted and airsick.  The next week followed in a whirlwind of catch up and late nights and way too little sleep. 

The wedding was an absolute blast.  I do tend to forget that my family can party so hard.  People see how out there I can be and don't always realize that I come by that honestly.  We love hard, and loud, and we take over the entire hotel lobby for breakfast.  Seriously, there was some soccer tournament in town and we boxed them out of all the chairs.  Personally I blame these four ladies.

My mom and her sisters are the current matriarchs of our little clan.  They've all had at least two children, many of whom have children of their own.  And let's not forget their brothers.  It is not often that we all get together in one place, but when we do it is a sight to behold.

And there was some yarn tourism while we were about.  My mom and Aunt Mary Ann made a detour with me to Spin a Yarn in Binghamton, NY.  If you are ever in the area it is definitely worth stopping by.  Nothing spoke to my heart that day, but it wasn't for lack of trying.  It really is a lovely shop.

Oh, and those socks?  More on those later.

Geektastic Thursday: In the Spirit of D-Day

Today is one of the most special of Geektastic Thursdays because today is my brother Josiah's high school graduation.

My brother is probably the most awesome of us all.  Where I was a total nerd in high school reading and studying myself into a stupor while trying to keep well rounded extracurriculars, he started a rock band that has done well enough to make it out of the garage and into the local indie concert circuit.  That's right.  My brother has groupies.  And you know what ladies?  He still has perfect attendance.

But while he might be a rock star now he will always be my kid brother.  I don't care that he has been able to pick me up since I left for college.  That really was not that long ago.  He really cannot be this grown up.  I refuse to admit it.

I refuse to admit that the baby brother I wanted so badly for my birthday is now eighteen and oh so much taller than me.  I refuse to admit that the kid who would get me in trouble while babysitting has a brain that I cannot even begin to comprehend.  I refuse because sometimes it feels I barely know him.  It's like I blinked and he was suddenly all grown up.

When I sat down to write this I could not get past the blinking cursor.  There are so many ways to describe my brother and so many reasons to love him and be very very proud, but one truly encompasses them all -- he is knitworthy.  For Christmas in 2009 I knit everyone in my family a hat.  Josiah wore his so much it fell apart.  So for his birthday I knit him another, and then some mitts, and another hat.  Essentially, the knit wear never goes unloved.  It gets slept in.  It is worn to rock concerts.  It is worn to school and becomes a uniform violation.  That, my friends, is true knitting love.  And what better expresses the character of a person than the love they have for their knitted gifts? 

So I hope you all have a happy Thursday.  Me?  I'll be applying more waterproof mascara than anyone knew existed and hiding behind my stripey sock.  Pay no attention to that streaky puddle of knitting in the corner.  Happy graduation, Josiah!

Exciting Endings

Exciting things are happening around here.  As you would expect with an impending marriage, but other life-stuff is starting to change soon.  I'm going to be all vague here and non-disclosurey because I have to be, but I can promise I'll fill you in as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here's a look at some exciting stuff that has happened in the lives of some people who have made guest appearances on the blog.  Aka, a look at what happened to cause all of that knitting last weekend:

On Saturday Chris, who my brother very affectionately calls "Lawyer Boy", graduated from, well, law school.  Both my parents and his parents drove up and we had a lovely time planning wedding stuff and chit-chatting while we waited for him to cross the stage.

All I have to say is only Chris would take the opportunity to fist-bump the US Attorney General.  Yes, I have video evidence, it's just trapped on my phone.

And then on Sunday my sister graduated with an associates degree in nursing.  If she continues with the program she will graduate next spring with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, meaning she's basically very smart and can stab people with needles really well.

In all seriousness, I am extremely proud of both of them.  The past three years have been a host of struggles and triumphs for all of us and it was great to witness both cross this particular hurdle.  In 2009 we all graduated, Chris and I from college and Eva from high school.  Now they have both managed to achieve a level of success that I know they both sometimes doubted they could reach or even want.  In today's economy a degree is no guarantee of work.  But they both did it any way and I am proud to count them both as my family.

Now if they can just survive their licensing exams this summer.

3KCBW Day 3 -- Knitting Hero

Your Knitting or Crochet Hero
Blog about someone in the fiber crafts who truly inspires you.

I am one of a breed of knitter who seems to be unique to the internet age.  Or at least that's the impression I get when I meet people.  I taught myself how to knit with pattern kits and dusty library books.  I can't remember the name of the book I actually used, but it taught me how to bind off -- after a year of attempts can you imagine how magical that was?  There are many people who were lucky enough to be taught by a family member.  A grandmother, an aunt, a cousin, their mother.  I had no such concept of a knitting heritage.  Until my mother gave me this.

Taken in California in the late sixties/early seventies, this is a snapshot of my grandmother.  Knitting.  Evidently when my mom was a kid my grandmother was always knitting, in the same way that I am now knitting in every spare moment.  I have vague memories of my grandmother before she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease that slowly took her memories of who we were.  Put into context, these are memories from when my sister was learning to walk -- she's now turning 21 on Friday (do not get me started, I can't handle it).  But after she died I started to learn more and more about the crafting legacy that I unknowingly inherited.

For example, my grandmother was a very thrifty lady.  After she had made the year's woolies, she would take her leftovers to make mittens.  My mom talks about them every year  and she was thrilled when I made my Sparkly Skid (above) and told her it was knit from shawl leftovers.  Evidently I am fitting into a pattern I did not realize existed.  Like a fairytale character who cannot figure out why she is so different until she finds out that she is a princess and had been living with the kind woodcutter's wife all this time to keep her safe.

I do not have any of my grandmother's knitting, but I do have a scarf knitted by my mom.  Turns out that she was the only one of the four daughters to refuse to knit.  But a few years ago she asked me  to teach her.  And she's not the only one returning to her knitting roots.  All three of her sisters have once again picked up needles and hooks.  My aunt, who made the bag below, described it as a way to connect with their mother who is now gone.  She might have left us several years ago, but they find tactile ways to remember her -- and the sense memories are strong.

They might not have returned to knitting until later in life, but the women of my family -- even those who do not knit -- are a crafty lot.  My one aunt was an artistic quilter, the other two create beaded jewelry that sells in craft shows in the North East.  Even my sister and several cousins have caught the bug.

Even though I barely knew her, I do think my grandmother inspired this legacy of creation.  I keep this photo in the center of my inspiration board so that I'll always connect back to my roots.  Because even in this internet age of self-taught knitters there is still heritage -- you just have to look.

Find other knitting and crochet heroes by searching 3KCBWDay3 in Google.

A New Kind of Love

You guys, I have a confession to make.  I'm in love.  Again.  I bill myself as not a romantic, but I tend to fall in love often.  Don't worry, Chris is aware and open to adding some outside cuddling to our relationship.  The gentleman who has stolen my affection is a little on the chubby side, a little young, and has some serious whiskers.

Meet Cogsworth,  the newest member of the Chic Geek household.  Last night Andrea and I went out to dinner and got to talking about pets and how empty the apartment has felt without Martin.  Next thing I know, I find myself standing in the pet store talking about rats and parakeets and holding a sweet little guinea pig.  It was love at first sweater snag.

I seriously did not intend to buy a pet.  It's only been a month since Martin died and I was not sure I wanted a new animal this soon.  But as soon as Cogsworth gave the pet shop guy attitude, I knew he was destined to live with us.  He pooped in my hand while I was holding him in the shop, which is evidently very unusual for guinea pigs.  I like to think that it was his way of saying that he wanted to live with me.

So today we're hanging out and bonding.  I brought his cage into my room and am holding him every once in a while so that he will grow accustomed to my voice and scent.  He has already climbed into the hood of my Star Wars hoodie to hide out while I was knitting, so I think we're off to a good start.

WIP Wednesday: Memories

For more WIP Wednesday madness, visit Tami's blog.

It's ironic that I wrote about my Kristi socks last week because they are basically the only knitting I've done in the past week.  It seems that lately every time something happens in the family I'm working on a cabled sock.  When my aunt died I knit my Cabled Highway Socks on the drive to the funeral.

On Monday my grandfather was admitted to the hospital.  We had brought him over for lunch earlier in the day and had a really great time.  He doesn't recognize most of us anymore, but he knows we are important and likes to spend time with us.  My sister, who is studying to be a nurse, gave him a manicure which had to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Monday night I did a lot of knitting waiting to see how he was.  It was a rough night, which meant that I got a lot of knitting done.  Tuesday brought better news and we had a really good day with him in the hospital.  He is really sick, but he was mentally engaged and kept watching me knit.  I sat next to him watching the World Cup and he found me way more entertaining than the television.  At one point I let him look at it and he would not give it back for a full five minutes.  It was a great moment.

I'm almost done with the leg on the first sock.  Which is a big deal for me not only because they're Cookie A socks, but because I'm not a cuff-down sock knitter.  But I'm loving these, and I'm knitting in hopeful and happy vibes into them in the hopes that I can wear them next time I go visit my grandfather.

A Very Green Fourth

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday yesterday.  If you don't live in the US I hope you had a great day anyway.  I managed to get three days off in a row so I got to come home to visit my family.  For the past several years I have been various other places, typically working, and have not been home to enjoy any festivities.  While we could not make it to fireworks due to weather and a few family emergencies, we did manage to have quite a good time.

Mom has always grown herbs and this year the basil is taking over so we made pesto, a traditional summer treat at our house.

Basil, parsley, walnuts, and parmesan.  All ready for the liquefy setting.  It turned out great!

So good. And patriotic too!

Why yes, I am wearing my Featherwight.  See, it all comes back to knitting.

FO: Fiana

Today is my little sister's birthday.   She's twenty and I am still having trouble accepting that.  I had a hard time accepting when she got her drivers license or graduated from high school.  Now she's twenty and halfway through college.  It's just too weird.

Eva's always been the fashionable one in the family.  She's an expert with eye makeup and always wants to look well put together.  For her birthday this year I was at a loss, because I did not have a ton of time or money to put into a present, but I wanted it to be special.  I've made the unfortunate mistake of gifting handknits frequently to various family members.  Now I know.  Don't ever give anyone anything handmade ever.  Then you won't feel the need to live up to it again.  I had about 40 yards of Malabrigo sock in black leftover from a Christmas present, so I decided to knit a headband.  After much deliberation I decided on Fiana by Connie Stults (rav link, sorry), a great customizable pattern in fingering weight.

As you can see, Eva's hair is perfect for headbands.  She has both bangs and long hair, so a headband adds a little whimsy in all the right ways.

I picked up the buttons at Joann's (the closest thing I have ever found to an actual button shop in our area).  The little swirls and hearts are classic Eva.

I know she liked it because she tolerated me dragging her outside and posing her by a palm frond-esque bush.

Happy birthday, Eva!

Contentment

I notoriously hate the beach.  I'm not big on sand, or deep water, or sunburns.  I absolutely detest wearing a bathing suit no matter how cute you may think it is.  My family comes to the beach where I live (yes, I hate the beach and I live by it. I'm aware of how crazy that sounds) every year for Easter and I spend most of my time working at the table or on the front porch.

But every once in a while I trick my brain into forgetting all of this.  And forgetting all about the grading and the studying.

And sometimes, just sometimes, this becomes my idea of a perfect moment.

Happy Easter!
He is risen.  He is risen indeed.

And This is Why We Wear Wool

I hope you all have had a fun and peaceful holiday.  I know we have.  It's been a pretty hopping time here on the east coast.  Now I know that New England is getting a lot more weather than we had here in North Carolina, but in our defense, this is our first white Christmas since the sixties and snow is rare in our area.  So five inches?  That was enough to keep everyone indoors for a few days.

But it was fun.  After a leisurely Christmas morning with seven (SEVEN!) people in the house (all of whom loved their stressed-out handknit gifts) we walked to a nearby golf course to go sledding.  Remember, we don't have a lot of practice sledding.  But my mom bought us three sleds earlier in the week, so my parents, brother, Chris, and I all trudged off to sled down every hill we could find.  We had a blast.  I found one hill that was really good and had a space of flat ground before the pond, so there was enough time to bail out before one ends up in the pond.  Or so we thought.

I hit the hill with no problem the first time.  And then things got ugly.  I went back up for my second run, hit the tracks perfectly . . . and ended up in the pond.  My dad says I was going twice as fast, which I think is why I could not get out of the sled in time.  I honestly don't remember much.  I was in deeper than I could stand (I think my foot touched a barrel that rolled away. At least that's what I'm telling myself it was) and it was freezing cold.  When I finally got out my entire body was soaked from under my arms down (As far as I can tell from the bruising I managed to grab the side as I went in)  On the way back (all uphill for over half a mile) I kept myself distracted by telling mom all about why it was a blessing that I was wearing a wool sweater.  One of my Christmas presents was The Knitter's Book of Wool so I'm sure I'll have a lot of material to draw from when eighty and still telling this story.

But our Christmas excitement did not end there.  The next day Chris and I went for a walk in the snow ostensibly so that I could get some nice snowy pics and take some photos of the scarf my mom finished for me.

Isn't it pretty?  It's my first handknit scarf that anyone has made for me (Brooks Farm Four Play) and it goes with everything!

But evidentially Chris had other ideas.

There are no definitive plans yet (not that this has stopped people from asking).  Though I am in need of ideas for wedding shawls if you have any.

I hope the last week of 2010 is treating you as well as it is treating me!

Christmas Mouse

I've never been able to sleep well on Christmas Eve.  Even as a kid I would doze off and then wake up in the middle of the night to sneak downstairs to look at the tree like a quiet Christmas mouse.  The house is always so peaceful tonight.  Everyone is asleep in their rooms all cozy and tucked away.  It really has to be my favorite night of the year.

Christmas Eve is not a big to-do at our house.  We do lots of wrapping and hanging out (this year one wrapping job that my sister and I took on started with a box and ended with me holding the paper with my mouth so we could secure it properly).  Oh and knitting.  I did lots of knitting this year.  But I finished my grandfather's last minute hat with time to spare.  I was pretty psyched and everyone else was very relieved that the Christmas knitting craziness has passed for the year.

One tradition we never skip is driving around town after dinner to look at Christmas lights.  It's fun to see neighborhood dynamics evolve over the years.  We sing raucously to Christmas music and assign extra points to houses that employ colored lights.  White lights might look more classy but the colored lights are way more fun.  Eventually my dad will spot Santa in the sky, the signal to go  home and put all the kids to bed.

Now everyone is tucked away, waiting for Santa to come fill the stockings.  Normally we'd be up early anxious to have each other open the presents that we bought, but my grandfather is coming this year so we'll have to wait until close to ten.  I suppose the teenagers won't mind the extra hours of sleep.  And we might get some snow! We're just a tad excited.

Wherever you are and however you celebrate, I hope you've retired your knitting, tucked your children in to bed, and settled down for a content and peaceful night.  Merry Christmas!

Why I Hate My Mother but It's OK

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  I can't believe I missed WIP Wednesday again!  Well, actually, I can.  I've been sick off and on for the past week.  Just when school starts getting beyond the point of insanity.  But you're not reading this to hear me whine about my life, you're wondering what could possibly make me publicly declare that I don't like my dear old mum.

Well I'll tell you.  Two weekends ago, while I was slaving away over school and trying to not be so sick, my mother went to a fiber festival.  My mum.  The one who has only been knitting for a year?  Yeah, that one.  She went to a fiber festival.  While her dear daughter who takes her phone calls about "how to tell when you've accidentally purled instead of knitted" and "can I send you a picture? I don't think this is right", I've never been to one!  I ask you, where is the justice in this world?  How come she gets to go? It's just not fair!

But it's ok.  You know why?

That's why.  Wednesday night a gorgeous teal and green skein of Brook's Farm Four Play showed up in my mailbox.  Along with some gum and a clipping from the funny papers.  But it's Brook's Farm Four Play!  The woman has gone from "what's a purl stitch?" to picking out gorgeous, well crafted yarn in just a year!  I'm so proud.  And that's why it's ok.  A) Because she gave me yarn which automatically placates hostility, but B) also because she used good taste.  She claims it was on sale, but that just wows me more.  My mother sniffed out a wool/silk blend with enough yardage to make a scarf and IT WAS ON SALE!  That's how amazing that is.  I can't wait to knit it.

And yes, that's a Doctor Who novel on the table there.  It's my latest fun book.  You'll hear about it soon, I'm already halfway through and it only arrived last night.  I've already ordered more (thank you Amazon Prime!)

The Big One Six

Today is my little brother's birthday.  Ha! Little... The kid has been able to pick me up since I came home for break my first semester of college.

He's sixteen today and we could not be happier for him.  I gave him his birthday present back on my own birthday but I haven't recieved any pictures of it yet (*cough* Mom, I know you're reading this).  When I do I will do a proper right up, but for now -- Happy birthday Jo, from all of us at Faithfully Geeky headquarters.

Panthers Forever

Yesterday Chris, my parents, and I went to the Carolina Panthers' first home game of the season.  I've mentioned this before, but I am a huge fan.  My parents live about an hour from Charlotte, so we were almost inevitable fans.

We engaged in many of the rituals of football obsession.

Tailgating:

Walking a mile to the stadium because we wanted cheap parking:

And sitting in the upper deck of the stadium (this is where true fans sit, after all):

Unfortunately, Chris was not raised as well as I was, so he's a . . . *shudder* . . . Tampa Bay fan.

We had a great time.  We yelled until we were hoarse, tried not to throw things, and jumped out of our seats so much that I may have re-aggravated my knee (injured, if you'll remember, when I took that celebratory leap into the kitchen wall).  Mostly we just had a good time spending the afternoon together.

And I continued to prove that I will take knitting anywhere, though not much was accomplished.

Who won the game?  You don't want to know.