The Workbasket

The Workbasket is my favorite magazine. I personally call it The F@#$%ingaroundbasket because the siren song of the insanely 70s projects inside make me postpone all my chores "till tomorrow" on a daily basis. I find this gem regularly in thrift stores. This particular issue was found at the Goodwill in Wood River, Ills. That barrette makes my hair hurt just to think about! The photo of the cute double-knit clad birthday girl was tucked inside. The room she's in looks exactly like my grandma's living room. I bet the carpet is even the same pea soup green "ant tracks" Orlon pile. The green vest is going to become my husband's Christmas present. He'll make it work. Only a toupé could duplicate that hair, though! See that yellow round thing in the superdude's hand? That's not a CD, it's a proportion wheel. To scale images up or down. 85% of 2"x4"=huh? I used one back in the dark ages before personal computers put paste-up artists out of business. Yes, youngsters, there was a time before desktop publishing — and blogging.

Baby's First Socks

Here they are, the first pair of socks I've ever knitted. I'm a proud parent: these are the socks, with the help of books and some Internet guidance, which taught me how to cast on toe-ups, knit two at a time on one Magic Loop, and turn hole-free short-row heels. That all took some doin'! My tongue was sticking out of the corner of my mouth a lot. These are a little snug, which is tough on the lace pattern around the ankle, but they're still cute and wearable. Next time I'll allow more ease. I couldn't have done this a year ago. Cock-A-Doodle Doo! Here's the biggest advantage of this sort of sock knitting: no row counting to make two socks come out exactly the same size! "O, How I Loathe — Counting Rows — I Always Lose Track — And It Shows." The pain and agony of figuring out this unusual method was definitely worth it.

"Holdtite"

Hold on tite to your junk, because someday you'll be dead and then your great-grandnieces once removed will ransack your house for junk to sell at the St. Mary's Antique Mall. And I'll buy it! We just got back from a pleasant time in Giant City State Park, down in Southern Illinois near Carbondale, and I forgot to bring my camera. So instead of beautiful, haunting shots of the sandstone formations that give the park its name, or Americana shots of quaint, historic Maeystown, Illinois, or scary shots of the Escher-like stairs leading up from Bluff Road to Fults Hill Prairie, or furtive shots of our blue chihuahua being smuggled out of the "No Pets Allowed" cabin to go potty, or action shots of our car crossing high water on the ferry from Ste. Genevieve, you'll have to settle for at home shots of some of the choice junk I carted back.

Mushrooming Junk

As if by magic, whenever I write any blog post with the word "mushroom" in it, I'm sure to find something mushroomy on my next junking spree. Today is the first time I've gone junking since May 15's post, and sure enough, I found my mushroom. It's a saltshaker! Of the so-ugly-it's-cute kind. I also found a color-coordinated chalkware book end, and some country stationery of that quintessentially 70s "Apple Basket and Daisy" variety. Can't wait to dash off a letter on it! None of my friends write actual pen-to-paper letters anymore, though. So maybe I'll just send one to my self. She's sure to write back, on a sheet of something even cheesier.

The Mushroom Sweater, RIP

The Mushroom Sweater. A swell idea that died this morning after nine months in the unfinished business bin. Looking at it again last Thursday made me question its whole raison d'etre. In the end I wanted its expensive Rowan Harris Tweed Yarn in "Thatch" more than I wanted a new ugly sweater. And I wasn't thrilled about sewing in those set-in sleeves, much less finishing the armhole shaping. It made me all panicky just to think on it. Plus, I don't even wear sweaters! So RIP. I'll store its recycled yarn like ashes in Mushroom Cookie Jars, and it will then be reincarnated into darling new projects I'll actually enjoy wearing, like capes, shawls, hats, legwarmers, and opera gloves.

Here Lies The Mushroom Sweater
It Got Torn Up
To Make Something Better

Wildlife Stamp Album

Although on my blogger profile I claim to live in St. Louis, Missouri, the true fact is that I now live in what is locally known as "The Metro East." Specifically, Godfrey, Illinois, a lovely area on the River Road just north of Alton. Why do I find that so hard to admit, even to myself? We moved here 8 years ago for my husband's job, and until 2005, kept a small studio pied à terre in South St. Louis, but I haven't actually full time lived in the City of St. Louis since 2000. Ouch. Sure, we're a mere 35 minutes away, but that's not the same as smelling the hops waft over from the brewery on a humid day, or being able to walk through brick bungalow lined streets to the very cemetery where my immigrant ancestors Ermin and Otto lie buried. I love my decrepit native city, and someday we'll move back. But for now I'm enjoying the wonders of nature my present enviroment presents daily, here illustrated by excerpts from a three volume National WIldlife Federation Stamp Album I had the foresight to buy on will call as a broke student in Boston 25 years ago. I saw a bluebird bringing worms to its nest in a bluebird box yesterday while walking my chihuahua through La Vista Park, two more Indian Paintbrushes have sprouted up in the garden, we hear owls having orgies every night, and the Monarch Butterfly's favorite dish, Butterfly Milkweed, is pushing up through the dirt all over the place.

Precious-Point Jewelry Collection

I was rooting around through a box of old sewing notions yesterday and came across these gems. Hot diggety! I love finding cool stuff I forgot I even had. That's the up side of being disorganized. The already crafted, glue-stained Rose Medallion is inspiration to have at the Mushroom Pin-Pendant and Blue Cross Ring. I just pulled The Mushroom Sweater out of the stalled projects bin and gazed upon it this morning. It would look really cool with a matching Pin-Pendant. Perhaps that potential fashion statement will be the impetus I need to get me over my armhole shaping anxieties.

Sock Yarn Purse

I've been avoiding knitting socks for a long time now, but that doesn't mean I can resist their fun yarns! Here's my latest non-sock original creation, done in a Dimple Shale stitch pattern, using two strands of yarn and #5 circulars. It's propped up by the actual sock yarn I plan to use for my first pair of Toe-Up anklets. The red check fabric it rests on is the lining. Cute and summery. But if I tried to sell this on etsy I'd have to charge $1,000, taking labor and priceless vintage buttons into account!

Indian Paintbrush

Here's a picture of a surprise flower I just found in my garden. What a nice May Day present! Castilleja coccinea, Indian Paintbrush, has been one of my favorite wildflowers since I first came across it as a girl on an Ozark gravel bar. I can't remember planting it! The fun thing about native plants is that they pop up whenever they feel like it, sometimes a few years after their seeds hit dirt. I've been gardening like crazy, and my knit-weakened body is going to pay for it! On a back-peddling note, I've decided that quitting knitting cold turkey is just tooooo drastic, so I'm going to limit it till the after 5. Like instead of Cocktail Hour, it will be Knitting Hour. Or both! I think the whole problem was me sitting down with my morning cup of coffee and my yarn. Because who wants to stop knitting once you start???? And since I'm the boss of me, there was no one around to tell me to just step away from the needles. But today I leapt out of the house right away to take the doggie for a walk, and so got a ton done for a change.