Monday, February 12, 2007

A little of dis, a little of dat...

Okay, prepare yourselves for a post that's all over the place. I'm going to try putting section headings in bold, just for a little bit of coherency (yes, I know that's not really a word - at least I don't think it is...). I've just got so darn much to say! Who knew that once SAM2 was over, and the threat of sock updates was no longer over my head (the new format is da BOMB, by the way), the floodgates would open.

Knitting for a Good Cause
I've been meaning to post about this for days, but never remembered when I was anywhere near a computer (why is it that all of my best ideas come to me in the car, but leave me as soon as I turn the engine off?). My dear blog friend Sonya and her husband just learned that he has cancer. The wonderful, generous Rebekah immediately started a Blanket of Hope for Sonya & Kevin.



The only requirement is that the pieces be wool. They can be any shape, size, color and don't need to be superwash. Rebekah will take everything we send to her and piece it together into a wonderful work of art. I can't wait to see the finished product! And the no specific shape requirement means that I can dig through my bag of swatches to see if I can find any flat wool pieces to fit in (and knit with any of my stash wool scraps). I am also offering a sock kit up as one of the prizes that Rebekah is giving away to participants.

Boobies for Babies
There is a great link that has been making its way around the blogosphere (although I first received it from a non-blogger friend) about a hospital in the UK that is using knitted boobs to help moms learn how to breastfeed correctly. After the link was sent to the MomMA mailing list, an LC immediately wrote back and said that the Nursing Mother's Counsel could use some knitted breasts to help with their classes. I bet there are plenty of other places who could use some knitted boobs as well.



When I get back from Japan, I'd like to get a charity knitting project going to knit some boobs for babes. Who's with me? Let me know if you'd like to knit OR if you know of any place who might be able to use knitted boobs. My dream is to get the Harlot involved and end up with a mountain of knitted boobs in my living room, just waiting for new & expectant moms to use to help master that magical perfect latch. Of course, we all know that I need another project like I need a hole in the head...

Get a Haircut!
I have this thing about getting my hair cut. It's not that I don't like to do it - it just gets pushed to the very bottom of the priority list. I don't have bangs or layers or terrible split ends, so cutting my hair seems like something that can be put off. Indefinitely. I haven't gotten my hair cut since the fall of 2004, before we moved to Oregon. Until last night.

Before:


After:


The Fallout:


The Result:


(Notice how the kids, who both insisted on being in the picture, are not at all interested in posing nicely...) You can't really tell what it looks like since it's still wet in this pic, but I think it looks great (as does Bill). Guess who my stylist was. Bill! Yup, I let my husband cut my hair off. And he did a darn good job! We were both pretty nervous, but it's not that hard to cut straight across (at least, it's not that hard when you have a cooperative patient who's not squirming and trying to get the scissors away from you). Think of all the money we'll save on haircuts! And if Bill ever loses his job, he'll have a skill to fall back on.

The only bad thing about this new hair length is that I no longer will be able to go to bed with wet hair and wake up with it decent the next morning, but think of all the shampoo I'll save!

Speaking of the kids, they were digging out some old winter gear last night, and look what we found - the world's cutest knitted hat! This is from an old Knitty Gritty episode that featured the faux aviator hat and baby Uggs. The booties have long since been outgrown, but that hat still fits great!



Of course, it's impossible to get a decent picture with the children who are unable to stand still for two seconds.



Sydney insisted in showing off her single mitten for the camera.



She loves seeing herself on camera. I'll take a picture of her, she'll insist on looking at it and then she'll giggle hysterically at herself on the screen. What a ham!

Around the Neighborhood
I took my camera out again today (and managed to remember the memory card this time). Here's the view of the golf course w/ Mt. Tabor in the background. Isn't it gorgeous?



This is the view that the row of houses on the other side of the street has. Aren't they lucky? Of course, I took the photo at just the right angle. The panoramic view is a bit marred by this sign:



As if it wasn't obvious that you aren't supposed to dump your trash off the side of the hill here.

In the spirit of Project Spectrum (since I'm obviously not going to get PS-themed knitting projects done each month), I'm going to try to photograph a uniquely-colored house that matches the PS colors each month. There are a ton of very interestingly painted houses in Portland. Here's my favorite blue one:



Now, I'm much too conservative to ever paint a house that color, but it sure makes for interesting viewing!

A Little Neighborhood Magic
Someone has been putting these little gems up all over our neighborhood:



Yes, that's a tiny toy horse, attached to a ring that's set in the curb. I'm not sure what the rings are for - are they left over from horse-and-buggy days and actually meant to have horses tied to them? Or are they there for some other reason? Regardless, there are tiny horses all over the place in about a five-block radius. I've seen them in other spots around the city as well, but they seem to be particularly concentrated in this little area right near us.

I have to smile every time I drive past one of them - it adds a little magic to what would otherwise be a boring old curb!

In our next post, stay tuned for evidence that this is indeed a knitting blog (even though there is precious little knitting I can actually show you)...

9 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

They are a hold-over from horses.

2:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We must be related - my DH also recently chopped off most of my hair. Just think of all the yarn we can buy now with the shampoo and conditioner savings. LOL

I love the ponies. Sometimes here on hikes I'll notice folks who stack up rocks in various types of sculptures.

2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a huge fan of breast feeding and would love to get involved! If you do end up doing a charity project, let me know if you want any help, I'd love to help you out :)

5:37 PM  
Blogger Tammy said...

Oh man, I recently deleted the bookmark that told all about those horses. I'll have to go look it up again so I can send it to you. It was really neat.

6:20 PM  
Blogger Tammy said...

http://horseproject.home.comcast.net/

6:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yup, those rings are left over from the olden days. I actually heard they were used to tie up police horses, as well. Someone has been putting up those little horses in parts of town for the last couple of years. I love them, too!

3:02 PM  
Blogger Sonya said...

Thanks for mentioning the blanket project, Chrissy. Kevin is so touched by this project.

And I never thought I'd type this, but "nice boobs!" Count me in when you start that project. The haircut looks great too. Do you feel lighter?

4:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow what an interesting post. Firs thanks for mentioning the project. I really appreciate it!

And wow those knit boobs are something else, I think if I knit those my husband would confirm the fact that I actually lost it. But that being said, I'm very tempted. I"'ll be watching for more info.

and of course your kids are so cute!

9:48 AM  
Blogger Debby said...

Count me in on the boobs when you are ready. I love knitting non-traditional items. And, I can't seem to get my hair cut very often either but your cut looks great. mmmmm....maybe my DH can help me out.

Remember, put me on the list for boobs

6:44 PM  

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