Kiss My Knits!

Just pulled this out of my purse.

Nuts.

My yarn from yesterday’s dyeing session is still drying, so I can’t show it yet. Instead, here’s some art from Emily. I think I’m going to start showing more of her art. As her mother, this no doubt interests me more than you, but that’s why God gave us index fingers – to be able to click past such things. Of course, you can always use that same ability to click for a larger picture. Just sayin’.

This picture cracks me up because of the shocked looks of the mother and father compared with giggly expression of the girl on the right, who is probably a big sister. Em gets pretty expressive, considering she mainly makes stick figures using ball point pen as her medium.

As for me, I’m about to take some Benadryl, lie down, and wonder if it’s possible to die of pollen.

The reason my fingers were kind of yellow in the picture in the previous post is because we’d been cooking something with turmeric in it. This is an absolutely delicious chicken recipe that we had at a friend’s house in 1998. The recipe doesn’t say to use strips, but we think you’re probably supposed to (what with “satay” in the title of the recipe). This went well with asparagus last night. I lost track of the rice and burned it, but obviously that would go well too.

Chicken Satay Singapore Style

3T peanut oil
1T soy sauce
1t honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1T minced peeled fresh ginger
1T curry powder
1t ground coriander
1t ground turmeric
1t ground cumin
1 small dried chili, finely crumbled (can substitute red pepper flakes)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 pounds skinless chicken breasts

Marinate covered at room temperature for 2 hours (we do it in the fridge for food safety reasons).
Grill.

If using chicken pieces with skin, omit the peanut oil, peel back the skin while marinating.

Eat and enjoy!

Take one vintage 1966 Kenner flatbed knitting machine…

Add accessories.

Subtract directions.

ADD RECENT TETANUS SHOT!

Subtract fun.

Add frustration.

And voila! A tiny laddery piece of crap!

Remember, kids, “It’s Kenner – It’s Fun!”

They know me pretty well at my local post office, as you might expect after 900 or so packages mailed. I also know my postal clerks pretty well. And with the exception of the jackass who hit me on the head, I like all of them. (Incidentally, I never saw the head hitter again after that incident, so I never got to take him to task. Hopefully he’s somewhere far away from the general public now.)

There’s guy A who always laughs and jokes around, and there’s guy B who always has a smile and a lollipop for my daughter… and then there’s guy C. I’m gonna call him Luigi.
More about Luigi, and unrequired kindness.

Return with me now to the 70’s…

Pattern: Bunny Tail from “itty-bitty hats” by Susan B. Anderson
Yarn: About 2/3 ball of Sublime Kid Mohair Blend
Needles: #5
Size: 6-12 mos

I was inspired by the super-cute one that the owner of Charlotte Yarn did as a shop model. This was a tolerably quick knit – the mohair was a bit “sticky” even on my addi turbos. I’d do this again. It’s just an adorable pattern.


It did, however, lead to this rather horrifying conversation with Turtlegirl76. I brought the hat in to Charlotte Yarn and showed it to her during the shop’s Mother’s Day event yesterday. Turtlegirl76 had loaned me the #5 DPNs I needed to finish off the ears.

Her: That turned out really cute.
Me: Thanks!
Her: What yarn did you use? Is it the same as Remy used for her bunny hat?
Me: Yep!
Her: Am I handling mohair right now?
Me: …
Her: …
Me: Oops.

Ack! I forgot you were allergic to mohair, Turtlegirl! Sorry sorry sorry! I hope your hands didn’t itch too much for the rest of the day! I owe you something nice.

• skated with the Ice Capades for a newspaper story
• traveled to Russia, France, Mexico, Japan, England, and more
• had several concussions as a result of pursuing her hobbies
• made shoes last longer with cardboard stuffed in the soles as a child
• carried a knife as protection when rescuing kids from a dangerous situation
• yelled expletives at a newsroom co-worker during a plane crash crisis
• randomly broken into a fake foreign language at the airport on several occasions
• faced a life-threatening illness with dignity, grace, and good humor
• taught adults to read
• taken in teenage siblings when she was a young newlywed
• ridden along with the police
• never broken a promise to her child

I cannot imagine a better role model or a more loving mother.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You’re a fantastic person and I’m so lucky to have you.

Mom rides the zip line at Em’s birthday party, 2005.

Ah, non-Jayne hat orders. I love you so.

This is the first time I’ve steam-blocked a hat. I’ve wet-blocked before, but this was new. I just wanted to even out the fair isle a bit. Mmm… steamy sheep smell.

This is about ready to go out. More Jayne hat yarn should arrive today or tomorrow.

Well, I put out an e-mail asking for other parents to run the meeting, but nobody stepped up. My husband got back in town late last night, and I’ve got a big headache, but I don’t want to cancel the meeting. So I’m going to do the next best thing: work on a badge that makes them run around like maniacs so I don’t have too much work to do. So:

“Greetings, Brownie parents! Just a reminder that we DO have a meeting at 4:30 today. It’s a gorgeous day outside, so we’ll be doing the “Playing Around the World” try-it. Depending on time, we may play “Red Light, Green Light” from America, “Sardines” from Germany, “Da Ga” (boa constrictor) from Ghana, “Banyoka” (the snakes) from Zambia, “What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf” from Australia, and “Ram Ram Rip” from Malaysia. If our girls have other ideas, we can definitely explore those, too!”

As for me, I’m gonna take an aspirin. Or five.