Represent

Gotta reclaim the good mojo... I'm still recovering from the sock ordeal, so I will go back to Friday and relay the awesome events of YarnHarlot "Represent" Tour...


Travelling to Toronto is always a big deal for me... I grew up in the country... I love the country... I love the wildlife, the grass under my feet, the space... that's not to say that I'm a redneck, but I have saltwater in my veins and a zealous appreciation for Creation (and the Creator). Anyways, Toronto makes me hyperventilate... too many people, pushing and shoving, weird smells... I generally feel like I have to shower when I get home. All that being said, it was quite an adventure trying to get to Indigo for Friday night, navigating the (non-wheelchair friendly) Go train, Union Station, and the subway during rush hour. Ugh... only for the Harlot would I dare such a feat.

The anticipation was killing me and I just about burst as I walked in the door. I couldn't believe how many people were there!!! It was incredible!!! It was wonderful to be part of such a large fellowship of knitters, but I was also really glad for the YarnHarlot. What a victory for her - a great turnout for her hometown. I wanted her to be blessed... and indeed, she was... who could stand in the midst of so many affirming, beautiful knitters and not be??? I know I was! And I was in the peanut gallery!


Her humour was unforgettable! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! I loved her explanation of CHOKE - Cultural Humilation of Knitters Everywhere... how we struggle against so many stereotypes and judgements. As I was standing close to the store entrance, it was pretty freaky to witness people's reactions as they came in, responding in very a CHOKE-like manner, oblivious that they were the visual aids! It was worth a good snicker amongst those of us stuck on the balcony.


Indigo was completely overwhelmed. YarnHarlot has posted repeatedly how bookstores never believe many people will come. In Toronto, two celebrities from HGTV were presenting the night before and that was supposed to be a big deal... She wanted to see if she could at least beat out those guys. I heard that they ended up with just 30 and she had about 300!!!! Indeed! 300 supporters crammed into every nook and cranny of the store! The staff were scrambling for chairs... velvet rope to section of areas... it was chaos for them! And most of us were snickering on the inside... some on the outside... :) I loved how the staff kept coming over and telling the group of us that we weren't allowed to sit on the stairs... it was a fire hazard. I love it!! Knitters are a fire hazard!! That's amazing.


From my vantage point, this was all I could see between the slats of the railing...

























Nice, eh? Well, I could hear her and that was most important. I took a peak around to try to capture the scope of knitters....



the place was crawling with them! It was filthy with knitters!



While waiting to have our book signed, we noticed Swatchy and had to introduce ourselves. (there's a pic of me and the kids! Jaden is seriously debating taking Swatchy home!) Swatchy is not just unbelievably cute... but Swatchy has a good heart... someone Swatchy loves very much suffers from CFS and so Swatchy goes out into the world, and then carries back the tales of the adventures had. I love that. I mean it... I really love it. Having a hubby with MD has opened my eyes to many things that I have never thought of... such as the sinking pit he feels everytime he is faced with a flight of stairs, little things like having to bend over to pick up a dropped coin or put on shoes... What Swatchy represents - kindness, sharing with one another, carrying one another's burdens - that's pretty cool. And being a cutie doesn't hurt either. ;)


Noricum was Swatchy's chaperon for the night. She's a ray of sunshine. Gotta like anyone who wears a frog shirt. She's holding on to her hat to donate for StreetKnits... part of YarnHarlot's plan in the Represent Tour. Not just show up en force... but make a difference in the process. btw... love noricum's hat... fun pompom action going on there.

Oh... Hannah and I brought hats too, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Rats. You can see them on YarnHarlot's site. One is 4th from the bottom left - a cream colour chunky 2x2 rib, and the other is a little to the right and up from centre - it's pink and fuscia. Ok... I admit... I was using up my stash. The rib hat was intentionally using up some yarn I picked up at a yard sale, started knitting with it, but hated it. However, using 4 strands together gave it this awesome spongy texture. Didn't hurt that it used up 4 of the 10 balls I have! Regardless... May whomever wears these hats know that there is a knitter praying for them, that their hearts would find their true home.

There are many things that I admire about Stephanie, one being she's a doula as well. In chatting with her during the signing, it was so cool to connect with her on that level... show off my homebirthed babies. You know how it is, when you share one thing about yourself and it fills in a lot of blanks. One word speaks volumes. "Doula" is one of those things... it speaks of the joy of (home)birthing, babies, breastfeeding, embracing who we were created to be... tack on being knitters, and the connection is that much cooler.

When it was time for signing, she announced that those "with babies in their bodies, or outside their bodies and with them" could jump the line. That was very cool. And not just because I got to jump the line. ;) When I asked for a photo, she said "Sure! Got your sock?" Out came Grumperina! They look lovely together.



I'm sure I could ramble on about the evening... it was just so incredible. I'm still "full" a week later. But I better call it a night... tomorrow is our Family Vacation Day! Woo Hoo!

My little lost sock

I am on the verge of despair.

I went to pick up my nearly finished Grumperina sock... and it was gone. GONE! Gone I say! It has completely disappeared! Vanished! Il a disparu! Zut alors!

I have torn the house apart trying to find it. I'm feeling a little like Yosemite Sam..."Come back here you friggin fraggin yugnnn hrmfff..." I cannot find that sock anywhere!!!

I know I had it last night when Mark and I were watching the hilarious I.T. Crowd (a comedy from UK... very very funny... but that's beside the point...) When we were finished, I set my knitting down on the hockey table in the rec room... but now it's gone!! I'm so frazzled. And I was almost done dagnamit!!!

I found a very suspicious looking dpn hanging around the dining room floor... but there's no sign of the other 3... nor the sock attached to them! Ackkkk!!

The cats are usually to blame for ferreting away my yarn, but they usually leave a messy trail tangled thru the legs of every chair in the process. They didn't look guilty enough when I questioned them.

Hannah seemed innocent enough. Although Jordan couldn't keep a straight face when I asked him what he did with my sock... but I think it had more to with the fact his mother was losing touch with reality than a guilty conscience.

Mark... the muggle hubby... when I questioned him, he replied that he "might have" tidied up a bit and put in one of my knitting baskets. He was not helpful at all. He was very muggle-ish. In fact, he made such comments as "It's just a sock." Do you know what I think??? I think he has done away with it, because he's tired of me making socks for everyone else, but not him. Well... that little plan has backfired! To the back of the bus you go, Pal! No socks for you until you tell me what you did with Grumperina!!!

Ha!!

Full

HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe how long it's been... I'm so so sorry, my poor neglected blog. Wow... when BoozerBabes asked me to start blogging for her, I loved the idea, but I 've gotta figure out a way to not be so neglectful.... but that's not to say that I haven't been knitting! Woo-hoo!!!

Ok, enough with the chitchat... I just got home from seeing the YarnHarlot... live... in person... travelling sock and all! It was one of the most wonderful nights of my life! Does that seem strange? I don't care if it does... I was overwhelmed completely, and felt this outpouring of joy to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. We arrived later than planned (figuring out TTC when you're non-Torontonian & toting a nursing baby, Hannah, and a slow-walking MD hubby... but that's another story...) and I stood on the balcony with Mr. Babeez while Daddy took Hannah shopping for books. The view was not great... but we could still hear and the vibes were flowing all the way to the balcony. It was soooo cool. There was a prego mama from Kingston sitting on the steps beside me... a couple of young ladies in front of me... a beautiful smiley woman who kept playing peek-a-boo with you-know-who... two Italian mama mia's behind me who asked me why I liked knitting socks, and I got to tell them it was all about my Nan. And you know, I felt so... so... so... full. Does that make sense? My heart was full.

I'll write more about on the weekend, I promise... I just had to put to words this glorious feeling I have inside right now, before the day comes to an end.

I can't wait to show you pictures, and tell you about meeting Swatchy.

:)

Socks x 2

Ok... a few quickies before Jaden wakes up...

Tada! The spring socks (a la Grumperina) are done. Hannah loves them. Nearly destroyed them the first day she wore them... climbing the side of the crib to play with Jaden... The yarn got caught on the bottom latch and pulled about 4 inches out, but it didn't break... so I pulled it back in, bit by bit, evening out the stitches again. Phew!!! She felt so bad.





Little socks for Jaden... twisted cable pattern. Love it. here's a wee photo of one of the tidiest heels I've ever done. Woohoo! (don't know why I don't have a pic of the whole sock... hmm... Note to self: take pic when they come out of the laundry.) Funny thing about the close-up... I see my grandmother's hands. Weird.








Mr. Funny Face and I are having a blast hanging out this week. I think he should be in a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon... you know, it's time for his Dad to take a picture, and every time, Calvin makes a goofy face...















Gotta run! Someone is waking up!!

Feathered friends

Had a delightful little visitor to the garden this morning. Never have I seen a bird in the wild with blue feathers. Ok... other than a blue jay... I bolted for the camera and tried to get a few pics before he flew off... this is what I managed to come up with... He's an indigo bunting, I believe.












Jordan and Hannah are off to Nanny & Poppy's for a week, so it's just me and Jaden here during the day. I plan on getting a few things done around the house... such as tackle the laudry room, which had a considerable chunk of organizing already done to it by Nana. (btw... thanks so much, Nana!) Also, I'm going to get some sewing done for Hannah's summer wardrobe. I admit, I haven't done much sewing lately, and I'm trying really hard not to be thinking "I wish I were knitting right now..." but I don't think Hannah wants to wear knit shorts all summer long. Besides, I have a wall of fabric ready and waiting.



Here were a few of my selections to begin with.











In looking for a pattern, I realized just how long it's been since I've had the Pfaff out, when I didn't have any patterns the right size. All I have are toddler patterns... so I'm going to fudge it a wee bit and see how it goes. Knowing Hannah, she's just going to park herself out on a mound of dirt somewhere, and pretty, perfectly hemmed pinafores are not her thing. We'll see how much I can get done this week.

I also want to make some time for me... well, me and God is more like it. Rejuv my spirit.

Mark and I are going to snuggle in and watch Heroes together tonight, without interuptions... woohoo! btw... Heroes rocks. Luv it.

Well, off to do some clutter bustin'!

Oodles of News

Last weekend was the OCHEC conference. Usually I come home with my batteries recharged and my passion for homeschooling renewed. This year was a little different... the homeschool aspects of the conference were quite thought-provoking as usual, but I felt personally renewed, beyond just my role as a homeschooling mom. "Raising Maidens of Virtue" and "As Unto the Lord: Keys to Being a Biblical Wife" were two workshops given by Stacy MacDonald, mother of... get this... 10!!! Simply having that many kids makes me want to sit up and listen! But her strong desire to see daughters of the King living pure and passionate lives was overwhelming and I came home changed. Absolutely changed. We live in a culture that is very "me first" but we live an upside down faith - one that seeks the servitude of others first. It was wonderful.

Amanda came with us to attend the youth workshops to develop her mind a wee bit and learn about having a God-centred worldview. It was great to hang with her for the weekend, talk about... you know... stuff. She is wanting more of God... and that is good.

We hit Subway for lunch... time to photo-blog... Mark did a little Mambo Italiano for us...

Gotta love him. He certainly keeps life interesting.

Saw the sights of downtown Hamilton a wee bit before heading back.

I showed the Grumperina sock to the statue of Queen Victoria in downtown Hamilton. It was very impressed.

I think the lion looks very impressed too.

What homage to receive: Queen and Empress, Model Wife and Mother.

How is it we have come so far away from this? Being a wife and mother are no longer considered positions of honour. There are no accolades... little respect... Our society considers women who choose to raise their children and educate them to be just a mom... just a housewife. I am so thankful that I do not rely on the world around me for my sense of value. What I do, day in and day out, is beyond value and the rewards are beyond compare.

I leave you with this bit of graffiti...