WIP Promise

Right now, I have a bunch of WIPs on tap, and I have made a promise to myself to complete at least ONE of them by the end of this month.  When you see them, and see what needs to be done to finish each one, you will probably laugh your ass off when you get to a particular one.

Let's get started with pictures I took 10 days ago (proof of what a slacker I am).

Jolly Roger Shawl:



I cast on for this on September 19, on Talk Like a Pirate Day.  I've done a handful more rows since that (I can really only manage one a night between dinner and bedtime).  I would have loved to have had this for Halloween, but I would need much more time to work on it.  Since there is NO WAY IN HELL it can't be done by the end of October, I'm hoping to at least be done by Thanksgiving.  Twenty-six and a half rows to go!!!!!!

Sleep Knitting Socks:



I cast on for these on September 10, because I needed something to knit on my commute that wasn't too taxing, and also to take on the trails with me when we hike.   I also managed to used my project as a prop for my catches on the trail:





(Disclaimer: if anyone is going to wank at me for having photos of a snake on my blog, just hit the back button right fucking now, because I don't give a shit about your phobias.  It's a goddamn photo of a harmless garter snake, for fuck's sake.)

Hopefully I'll have these done very, very soon.  If not by the end of this month, the beginning of November.

I'm Picking Out a Thermis:



Originally started on January 15.  STOP LAUGHING.  I had finished it pretty quickly, wore it a few times, and it was FUCKING HUGE and flopped around so it sat in a drawer since around March, waiting to be frogged.  I don't remember when I re-knit it, but I re-knit it and right now all it needs is to have the ends woven in and have buttons sewn on.  Sounds simple, but I've been too lazy to go all the way up to the third floor to get my sewing needles and rummage through my hatbox of thread to find the one that matches the buttons.  Okay, you can laugh now.

I'm hoping to do this last piddling bit by the end of October.

Lilah's Blanket:



Started on April 5, I finished the knitting part of it some time in August and just have to finish sewing the ruffle onto the blanket for my stepgranddaughter, who was born July 30.

I'm the worst go-go ever.

Thankfully, she has two other blankets that nicer people than I made for her.  They are crocheted, though.

I'm hoping to have this done by Thanksgiving.

Love Bytes:



Started January 6, I finished the first mitten in about 3 weeks (thanks to shitty weather and the first season of TREME).  I'm a decent way through the second mitten (it looks as though I have already put aside stitches for the thumb -- yes, it has been that long that I don't remember), but haven't picked these up in months.  I should have these done by the winter, if not the end of the year.

I'm only allowed to cast on something else IF I finish the socks (a/k/a my commuting project, and yes, I just almost wrote "cocks" because I am that LSG), and that new project has to also be a project I can do on my commute, AND I can only work on that project while commuting, being a passenger on a car, or otherwise somewhere where I require a small, easily transported project (i.e. on the trail).

That's it for now!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I finished my Mardi Gras socks with more than a week to spare:





I've even worn them a few times, and guess what? They don't stay up. I suppose I need to thread some thin elastic through the tops (the question is, how do I attach said elastic? I don't think I can very well tie a knot in it, so I guess I'd have to sew it on.)

I'm wearing them today, along with some Mardi Gras beads that I caught at one of the parades in 1994 or 1995. No, I didn't show for them. ;) That doesn't happen as much as the media wants you to believe, although you will see many boobies along Bourbon Street. I never saw them Uptown, and don't really think that would fly.

Anyway, back to the socks -- I will forever love Dorchester Farms (sorry, I can't find a link for them!) for offering sock yarns in Mardi Gras colors - purple represents justice; green, faith; and gold, power.

I'll leave you with a little song:

Angry Scotsman

My friends Kate and Snag converted a room in their basement to a bar, which they call The Angry Scotsman. It's a helluva great place to hang out, watch some movies, and drink.

During the fall, we were there with our friends Lisa and Lou, and I was wearing an old pair of fingerless gloves that I had made years ago with my first handspun. Lou thought they were the coolest thing EVER, and I made a mental note.

Lou's birthday was at the beginning of February. Guess what he got?





The pattern is called Manhandlers (blog link) and the Ravelry link is here. The yarn is the now-discontinued Filature Di Crosa 127 Print, which I've had in my stash for a few years. The pattern was super-simple, and the yarn awesome to work with. I'd probably buy more if it weren't, you know, discontinued.

When I gave them to Lou he got really excited and said, "BEST FINGERLESS MITTS EVER!!!!" If you knew Lou, you would laugh, because it is so what he would say.

This Beer's For Kara

Should I even post this? I haven't sent it to her yet.

My niece, Kara, really liked Mike's Frilly Pink Beer Cozy so much that she asked me to make one for her, in red (her favorite color). I finished this a while ago (January 12, to be exact), and it's been sitting at home, waiting to be mailed to Virginia for her beer-cozying pleasure.



I used Berroco Weekend, which is a decent acrylic/cotton blend. The frill is a little fidgeting to start out with, but once you get that knit it's really, really easy.

Sunday Swing Socks

I finished these in the beginning of January, having started them right before Christmas:



The pattern is the Sunday Swing Socks from the Summer 2009 issue of Knitty. I noticed that I average about a year behind on Knitty patterns; I think that's because it's near impossible to get on there due to traffic when a new issue is out, and then I simply forget to check it after a while. About a month later, I think to check it out, and glance at the patterns, say, "Oooh, that's nice", and get back to what I am knitting.



These were fun to knit. I've had the yarn, Opal Krokodil (a/k/a Crocodile) in my stash FOREVA (FOREVA meaning since about 2006) and decided it's high time I use it. I looked around on Ravelry for projects made with it, and didn't really like what I saw as far as the pooling goes. I'm glad the colorway I have is black and gray/white, as looks a little bit better. I still think the pattern is rather obscured by the yarn, but overall I like the socks. They are warm and the yarn appears to be quite strong (I've heard that Opal wears like iron).

So, it's been about 2 months since I finished these socks and it was still only 12 degrees when I left for work this morning. I was forced to keep sexy alive by bundling up:



I feel pretty.

A WIP and some FOs for the Head

Well, I had some good intentions, right? Now it's been three weeks since my last blog post, and although I HAVE things to post, I haven't gotten off my ass and done so.

I guess I'll WIP it out before I flash some FOs:



Okay, so this is a crappy cell phone photo but it's better than nothing, right? The pattern is called Cross Stitch Cable Beanie and it' a free Ravelry download. I'm almost done with it, so I'll take some good detailed photos of it when I am.

It's for Mike. The yarn is Interlacement Toasty Toes and it's been in my stash since December of 2006. It's about time I use it, right?

I also have some FOs to show. These ones go back to October of 2010, so you can see how lazy I have been.

I have a stack of hats:



I also do not have a good detailed photo of this hat:



It's the Horseshoe Cap from the Summer 2010 Spin-Off. I appear to be the only person on Rav who made it, or, at least when I uploaded it the pattern wasn't in Rav's database yet. The yarn is from a local vendor, Hamden Hills Alpacas, who sets up at the Farmer's Market outside of my building. She also sets up at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool, and at Rhinebeck.

I also made another Foliage hat, this time in chunky yarn (Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky, from WEBS). It's fun for a girl



or a boy!



I also have something else that garnered me quite a bit of attention in late October: BOOB HATS.



Can you tell which one is meant to be the Lotus Boob hat? (Note: if you have never seen the Lotus Boob, you may want to think twice about doing a search for it. The first time I saw it, I had no clue what it was. My first impression was a boob with road rash, and I think I screamed and closed the window. My second impression -- yes, I looked again -- was a boob with beebees shot in it, which is as bad as a boob with road rash. It's neither. It's a photoshop job of a boob with a lotus pod - complete with seeds -- cropped over it. Even after knowing what it is, I don't need to see it again.

The funniest part about these hats is that I made them specifically for Rhinebeck. Mike and I presented them at the Rubberneckers meetup, and minkeswim's baby took the bait when presented with the Lotus Boob, as you can see on my Ravelry projects page. (I made that page public-access, so you don't need a Rav account to see it. I should do that with all of my projects, unless they are SOOPER SEKRIT).

Oh, and I made those with some Red Heart Super Saver that I got at a yard sale a few years ago, and I could only get black Pony Beads in packs of 1,000. I may give both to charity, because the RHSS killed my hands. That's never happened before; I think it's because it's older yarn and thus not as soft as the acrylics of today (I very charitably say).

I decided to cut this short RIGHT HERE, because I realized that I have two more FOs for 2010, and three FOs for 2011 - wait, four!!! FOUR FOs! Can you tell it's been a harsh winter so far? I need to get my bearings, and not write a teal deer post, so I'll do a different post for my 2010 FOs for the feet, and then my 2011 FOs.

Four? Really? And here I was, being an underachiever and only joining the 1 for 2011 group rather than the 11 for 2011 group on Ravelry. . .

Whooooooooose Beer is This?

I went through a short spurt of knitting beer cozies this summer, as you can see by my last couple of posts. I wasn't done with Mike's frilly pink beer cozy (which, I see, has gone over well), and had yet another stroke of genius:



Yup, that's an Owl. I decided to knit an Owl Beer Cozy. I wasn't satisfied with just one, either -- I had to knit another so I could write up the pattern:





I'm not sure how much of it I can claim as "mine". The owl cable chart has been around for a while, and the one I used is from Penguin Purl's Who? Hat. She's the first person I know of who has converted it to the round (and she did tell me it's okay to post this pattern, as long as I give her credit).


Owl Cozy

Yarn: I used Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria for both cozies (it takes probably under 50 yards)
Needles: US Size 3 (3.25mm) Clover Bamboo DPNs

Using a preliminary cast-on, cast on 33 stitches. Divide evenly among three DPNs.

Knit 20 rounds.
Knit the Owl Cable Pattern from the Who? Pattern.
K2, P2 ribbing for the next 5 rounds.
Bind off.

Unzip the preliminary cast-on and pick up all 33 stitches.
Round 1: K2, K2tog (all around)
Round 2: K2tog, K1
Round 3: K1, K2tog
Round 4: K1
Round 5: K2tog
Round 6: K2tog

Bind off, put it on a nice cold bottle of beer, open said bottle of beer, and enjoy!!!!

Disclaimer: The notes I typed this from are about 2 months old. If you notice any errors in this, please let me know and I will fix it! Thanks!

Mike's Frilly Pink Beer Cozy

I thought this deserved its own post:





Pattern: This Beer's For Her by Kate Korotky (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Ummm . . . Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, I think. Yes, it's the same yarn I used for his hat, which I made for his birthday.
Needles: Size 3 Bamboo DPNs.

I don't think I modified this pattern at all (except for the yarn used -- I think the pattern calls for 100% cotton, but I used a cotton/acrylic blend, which is a little more stretchy).

After I had finished my beer cozy, I asked Mike if he wanted one. He said yes. I said, "Do you want one like mine, or do you want a frilly one?" He gave me a "DUH!" look and said, "A frilly one, of course!".

So, I offer up photos of my 6'3" husband with a pink hat, bowling shirt with "Sandra" embroidered on it, drinking non-alcoholic beer from a pink frilly beer cozy, with his pinky extended, because he's fancy like that. Enjoy!

Hey there!

Long time no post. In fact, it's been about a month.

Well, we're in our new place, as of June 19, and what a fun trip it's been! I may have to gather my thoughts to put the whole big fun-time of the move into another post, but here's a good recap:

- Due to a scheduling fiasco with U-Haul, we ended up picking up the truck at 6 a.m. instead of my requested 11 a.m. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the temperature hit 90 degrees that day. We were done by about 1 p.m.

- We did most of the move ourselves. I found out that I am much, much stronger than I give myself credit for. Our friend Jason, bless him and we are forever indebted to him, helped out us on the new house end.

- My legs looked like a week-old banana from all of the boxes and furniture hitting them. I have a photo of them, but haven't uploaded it yet.

- We did not have Comcast (internet, phone and cable) installed until June 29, even though our first appointment with them was the 20th. The fourth time was the charm. It took many phone calls, and we finally got it done, but despite everything they said and despite being in the same city, we had to have a new phone number. (So, if you are reading this and you have recently tried to call us and couldn't, let me know via comment or email at zelia_and_george at yahoo dot com or zantimissknit at gmail dot com. Yes I have more than one email account -- in fact, I have four or five, including my work one.)

- The washer shit the bed the first time we tried to use it. It wouldn't go into a spin cycle, and thus, would not drain, so we had to get a new one. I bailed out the old one by hand. That was fun. We'll probably get a new dryer soon, because even though the one we have does work, it squeaks. It sounds like a giant hamster on a giant wheel.

Okay, so we have had a few little issues with the move and the new place. How about the good? The good is, we do love it. The cats love it (despite some of the first day freakouts and all of the stranger danger from all of the various Comcast technicians and appliance delivery folks coming in). The cats really really really love air conditioning (and I didn't realize how much I did until ours shit the bed last week while the temperatures were in the high 90s and the repair cost $2600. But I'm going to the positive points of the house, so I digress). We were on vacation last week (but it was a "staycation"), and did a few nature walks and did lots of work around the house. Lots and lots of work, but it's still not done. I have been taking photos, but they aren't on Flickr yet, so I will wait and post them another time.

I also set out to finish up the socks I've been working on during my vacation time, and I did:





Pattern: Express Lane by Diane Mulholland (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Purple Fleece Hand Painted Wool/Nylon Sock Yarn. Purple Fleece is a yarn shop in Maine. I got the yarn at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival at the end of April, and cast on at the beginning of May.
Needle size: US0. I used circular needles, and from the photos, it looks like I used KnitPicks.

This would have been a much faster knit had I not been in the middle of a move. The pattern is super-easy, but never boring. The socks are knit from the toe up. I, of course, have not worn them yet besides for this photo shoot, because it's been over 90 degrees for pretty much all of July so far.

I needed a quick and dirty project afterward, so I made myself a beer cozy:



And I, of course, had to test drive it:



Pattern: Bier Hugguz by f.l. ward
Yarn: Sugar n Creme 100% cotton in a burgundy color
Needles: US6 DPNs (I think).

I knit this in maybe a day. The pattern, as written, does not have a bottom on it so I decreased until I had one. I guess that means that mine is upside down. I don't like having beer bottles sweating all over the place, so I needed the bottom to it to work as a coaster. Sure, I could use a coaster (and I do, often), but I tend to bring my beer all over the house with me, and I don't have coasters everywhere.

I've since made one for Mike, using a different pattern, and I'll post that one when I get the photos up. You'll giggle.

It's put me on a beer-cozy kick. I think there will be more in my future. Of course, I have all kinds of ideas bouncing around in my head, and they're bouncing around NOW that I'm back at work and have less time to execute them.

The only other project I have now, on the needles, is my Swallowtail Shawl. I kept saying I would work on it during vacation, but I didn't. If I have time tonight, I'll work on it. I am going to the gym tonight -- for the first time in over a month, I think -- so I may not have time. I also have many many photos to upload so I can give you another house tour.

Well, This Took Longer Than Expected

It took much longer than expected, but I finally put the finishing touches on my Aurora Shawl Collar Cardigan!



I started this the day after I purchased the yarn, so that would be February 7, 2010.



It languished for a while ("for a while" = "about 3-4 weeks") because I wasn't sure if the circular needle I had would be long enough to handle all of the stitches on the collar (it was, but it was a bit tricky for a while).

Then I was lazy about blocking it, because that would require moving some stuff around in the back room to make space to block it.



Then I only had the button loop and the button to put on it, but I was pretty lazy about doing that, too.



(Speaking of. . . that button loop looks a little bit stressed. I think my epic boobage is putting that to the test, or the loop itself is trying to tell me "Fuck You, Fattie!")

Now that's it's done, I can jump up and down like a monkey:



(Yes, I was doing a monkey imitation there. I don't think I can ever stand for photos without doing something goofy.)

And I can hold a fat cat:



Mike pointed out that it's the first photo of me holding Ellie. I hadn't realized that. I suppose I usually only hold her briefly, because as soon as I pick her up she says, "MRRRRAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!", which, I don't think is her saying, "Don't pick me up!" usually because she's quite a chatty cat, but it does often make me put her down. Plus, she's, um, kinda chubby. You may have noticed that.

So, back to the knitting. I was hoping to have this sweater finished within a month, and I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids!!! Oh, wait. I'm not pretending to be a ghost. The only reason I didn't finish within a month is because of the excuses I listed above. But I'm not complaining. It's still cool enough to warrant wearing such a sweater; it was, in fact, 33 degrees when I woke up this morning and our heat was on. That's something to complain about. And I would complain if it wasn't expected to creep up into the high 70s by this weekend.

I'm still working on the Bacon and Lattice socks - I have about 1.5 pattern repeats and the toes, and then I'm done! Done, baby!!!

I switched my progress of the Swallowtail Shawl to "hibernating" on Ravelry, because I don't anticipate getting to work on it any time soon. I'm anticipating being a bit preoccupied for the next month or so (I'll disclose the reason for that as soon as is practical, but I can't yet).

We went to the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend, and I did take photos - they just aren't on Flickr yet. I also purchased a few things, but haven't taken those photos yet (which I should do, because I got just a small amount of yarn, but it's beautiful yarn). I'm hoping we can get to the NH Sheep and Wool as well as the MA Sheep and Wool, but I can't make a solid date of it yet.

Oh! I also want a close up of the button on my sweater! It's quite pretty -- it was in my collection of old, dusty (and, in the case of one jar, stomach-turningly stinky, but a soak in pine cleaner helped out with that) vintage buttons. It was painted black, and lots of the paint was chipped off and just didn't look good. I used some nail polish remover to clean it up, revealing a lovely faux-tortoise shell button underneath! I'll upload that photo soon as well (gotta take it first).

I got something for ya

No drama this time, honest!

I have some WIPs!

First off, my Aurora Shawl Cardigan is coming along nicely. My progress on it has seemingly slowed down, since it's too bulky to take along with me to knitting groups. I really hoped to be done by this weekend, since tomorrow will mark a month since cast-on. Alas, my dreams of finishing a sweater in a month are now shattered.

It's getting close, though:





I can't wait to start the collar, which will add an inch or so to each side of the front and keep the damn thing from curling! The collar is all in garter stitch, and hopefully will go by quickly. I don't have a button for it, though -- I guess I should think about that soon, eh?

Since I lost the portability of the cardigan, I needed a project to take on the go. One of my Christmas gifts had been some Holiday Yarns sock yarn in the Bacon colorway. I had initially cast on for the Wasabi Pea socks from the current Interweave Knits, and had gotten just past the cuff (which is a folded cuff, something I had only done before on a hat). Once I started the pattern (which, admittedly, I hadn't read beforehand), I realized that it was full of something I would rather gouge my eyes out than do - p3tog. Slick Addis needles, slick sock yarn, and purl 3 together. Um, no. Just no.

So, I went looking through some of my sock pattern books for something else. As I was searching, the name of one stitch pattern caught my eye. I am now working on some . . .

Bacon and Lattice (Hold the Tomato) Socks







The worst thing about knitting with this yarn? It makes me hungry for bacon! I'm not even one of those crazy bacon fanatics who does things like buy bacon flavored lollipops (yes, they exist - maple bacon flavored! Personally, I find the lollipop part grosser than the maple bacon part, because the thought of my teeth touching a soggy lollipop stick makes me shudder. I have my hangups.) Bacon on a cheeseburger, in a turkey club, or with eggs, though - oh yes! I don't even know the first thing about cooking bacon at home. It's a restaurant food to me, like fish and deep fried stuff - things I couldn't be arsed to cook at home.

As I was here typing, a mail truck came by and dropped something off. A big box from KnitPicks!!! While they were on sale, I couldn't resist ordering both the Town and the Country slipper kits. At the price it's at now, the yarn alone comes out to a little over a dollar a skein. I haven't used much of KnitPicks' yarn, so I figured I'd give their felting yarn a shot. I know a few people who'd probably love some cool felted slippers like these (who WOULDN'T want cowboy boots or Chuck Taylor felted slippers? Really!) I threw a few circular needles on my order to get the free shipping. The best part? I ordered these Thursday morning. Today's Saturday. Wow!

Luciano let me hold him for a little bit today (I think he was hoping to be fed), and Mike was able to get a good one:



He looks put upon because he IS. He's not a big fan of being held, or forced love in general. When HE wants it, it's a different story.

He got to enjoy some open window time, since it was in the 50s and sunny today:



Ellie let me know what she thinks of it all:



Did I mention it was in the 50s today? Even though it's going to be written up on another blog, I can share a few photos that I took on our first hike of 2010, at Allendale Woods:





Blue skies, but it obviously wasn't warm enough:



Either Mike or I will blog at the other place about this walk. I'm hoping to not be as lazy about blogging this year as I got to be last year. I feel as though I shouldn't blog without photos, as if my words aren't enough. I also spend more time typing my one-line snarky comments on Ravelry. I should put some of that snark into my blog, shouldn't I?

A WIP, a FO, and something extra

Early this month, ZMrK and I went to a meetup for the New England LSGers at WEBS. WEBS itself was a bit of a whirlwind, which is a good thing, considering that I did put myself on a yarn diet this year. I went in, got what I wanted (I was allowed to break said yarn diet considering this trek was right before my birthday, or at least that is how I justified it), paid, and went off to lunch at the Northampton Brewery. It took a while to get there because I stupidly didn't do any sort of mapping to the Brewery, and the folks we followed (who had used MapQuest) weren't familiar with the area, so we were a bit late getting there. It turns out that we knew exactly where it was - duh - if only we had been told that it's near the parking garage! Once there, it was the typical LSG fun:





(You should have seen this by the time we were ALL done with it!)



I'm wearing my Sinful Dickinson Pullover (more on THAT later!)

I'm telling you about this trip to set up that fact that I got the yarn and pattern for the Aurora Shawl Collar Cardigan there (designed by WEBS' own Kristen Hipsky). Something about this pattern called out to me -- it may have to do with it being the middle of winter, and the pattern being for a warm, soft, sweater done with a warm, soft yarn.

Anyway, the damnedest thing has happened. Every time I take a progress shot of it, I'm too lazy to do a blog post. So I'll give both progress shots here:



I took this photo on February 17, in the morning. I had called in sick that day, with an awful head cold (my nose was so stuffed up that taking a drink was a struggle. I've since recovered from it, but passed it along to ZMrK, who has been sick all week and is now recovering, although still coughing).

I was completely finished with the body by the end of that day (knitting while watching zombie movies = WIN), and had a good start on the sleeve by the weekend:



Now, I am completely done with the left sleeve, and have about 25 rounds on the right sleeve done, but I'm too lazy right now to take a photo and upload it.

You may have noticed that it is in the same color as the pattern image, and the sample knit in WEBS. Some may call me unoriginal for that (I have, believe it or not, seen threads on Ravelry where people have deemed those that use the suggested yarn in the color the designer knit in "unoriginal". Seriously. But, any of us who have spent time on Ravelry know that there are some dipshits on there who feel the need to judge what others are doing. Oh, more on that later.). I originally went there to get the yarn in the "gold heather" colorway of Northampton Bulky, but I found the color to be more of a golden tan than the mustardy gold that I prefer. Since the light green heather is a perfect color on me, I decided to go with that (although I have to say, the ocean heather is also gorgeous in person!).

So that's where I stand with that. The pattern is easy -- super, super easy -- but at this point it's not transportable so I only work on it at home. I also need to keep it hidden in the back room, because a small black cat who shall remain nameless really likes that yarn and likes the DPNs even more -- so much that one day he chewed on one and pulled it off the stitches (which I was luckily able to get back onto the needles without trauma).

I did a bit of sewing last weekend. I have some low-nap zebra upholstery type fabric that I got at a yard sale a few years back, as well as some purse handles that I had purchased for an ill-fated project. Put them together and I've got this:



TA DA!! It hasn't left the house yet, of course, because I usually carry one of those big ol' purses that I seem to keep my life in. I plan to use it some night I'm out for fun. I didn't line it -- I fully intended to, but then the fabric I was using for lining was being a $$^&*@$# (seriously, a word that I won't even say!), so I decided not to line it. The zebra fabric doesn't shred at all, so I'm safe with it.

Okay, now I'm at the "something extra" part. I was the center of a bit of controversy on Ravelry this week. Yes, me. Now, I know that I blogged well over a year ago when I finished my Dickinson Pullover. There was no controversy there. Well, at the beginning of this year, ZMrK and I had a fun photoshoot involving me wearing said pullover with nothing else. I was too chicken to post the photos to Flickr at the time, but uploaded them straight to Ravelry just so I can have a cheeky little thread on Rubberneckers not Rubbernecking about them. They're cute photos, and were within the Ravelry Terms of Service, and the only one that may have been a little questionable was put down at the bottom (ahem!) of my project page. I forgot about them, and didn't see a thing wrong about it.

Earlier this week, there was a thread in LSG asking which if your projects were favorited the most. I posted that project, as well as my Weird hat, both of which had been favorited 13 times. I went on with my day, la la la. That night, I go to see what's what on Ravelry, and I have a comment on that project. It reads "You are gross!". I thank the person for commenting, and point it out to a couple of people I'm friends with, thinking it's funny. I get a few positive comments from my friends to negate the person who thinks I'm gross. I later get another comment (which has since been deleted by the author) that reads "Congratulation. [sic] You got the attention you wanted." I'm like, Um, okay. . . maybe the earlier commenter clutched her pearls and sent it to her friend, much like I sent the earlier comment to my friends.

Then, a couple of people give me the "heads up" that my pullover has become a topic of discussion in another group, where the photos are called "obscene" "very inappropriate" and of "private parts". For reals? By the time I saw the thread, other people had found it and had come to my defense. I was willing to just let it roll off my back until I saw a post that read, "Actually the cellulose on those thighs is what I didn’t want to look at". OH NO SHE DI'NT! Putting aside the hilarity of the thought of me growing plant fibers on my thighs (does that make then spinnable?), I had to go and defend myself. Here's my response to the thread (Rav Users names have been redacted so as to not cause further drama):

Hello! Since I’m the person being talked about here, I figured I would chime in.

As far as I can tell, my photos do not violate the Ravelry Terms of Use any more than the projects of thongs and pasties that [redacted] linked to do. Just to cover my own butt (heh, heh), I did use the drop-down menu when uploading said photos that tags them as “Mature Content”. I’m not sure how the Mature Content filter works, but I would suggest that people do utilize that feature.

That being said, I think that calling the photos “obscene” is a little over the line. I personally do not find the human body in its natural state obscene at all, and further, I’m not naked in the photos. A Victoria’s Secret ad shown on television during prime time shows more.

As far as the “cellulose” (sic) on my thighs goes that [redacted] so kindly pointed out, well, I do what I can with diet and exercise, but the reality is that all women get it at some point. I’d rather that than have to live with a mean-spirited soul festering inside me that has nothing better to do than snark at someone else’s physical shape.

The moderator of that thread chose to lock and archive the thread, since there were some pretty inappropriate things said there. I'm really glad that I was able to defend myself before she did, though. I was fucking shaking like a leaf as I wrote it! I'm not terribly good at confrontation, even when it's not in person, but I was so glad to have friends to back me up on this. Very glad.

What I find VERY curious is that the thread, as well as the comments, started within an hour of me posting a link to the project in an LSG thread (all by people who are not members of LSG). There is talk that people read LSG just looking for things to be offended by (LSG means "Lazy, Stupid, and Godless", and the group was started after a thread called "Is swearing allowed on Ravelry?" went kablooey, so that those of us with potty-mouths can hang out together and not offend others). I do believe that the whole controversy started because someone was looking for things to get offended by in LSG. It's too much of a coincidence otherwise.

I did have a conversation with TPTB of Ravelry (which I initiated) about whether my photos violated the Terms of Service or not. One of the photos did show a bit of my buttcheek, and was considered "borderline", but TPTB never deemed it inappropriate but recommended that I might want to take it down. I thought about it, because if it causes drama once it may cause drama again, but decided to reach a compromise that should please everybody except for those who are offended by a bit of cellulite (and those people can bite me):



For those who aren't on Ravelry, who may want to see the rest of the photos, here they are in all their obscene inappropriateness:











So. . . what's the verdict? Am I a filthy slattern? Should I be ashamed and hide my cottage cheese? I "get" that the one that showed my buttcheek was a little more risque than the others, but I don't think that's the only one that people objected to! From what people were saying, you'd think I was flashing some beaver or nipple in the pics.

Good things came out of it: I got a good story to tell, I discovered that I have many people on Ravelry willing to come to my defense, and I made a few new friends, as some of those people who defended me were folks I hadn't had contact with before. It also gave me some good ideas for Flash Your Stash day (Muahahaahahaha!) that may offend a few pearl-clutchers yet not violate any rules.

So, let me know -- AM I a filthy slattern or just a girl who is not ashamed of her body? Don't make me write this big ol' post for nothing (I know I haven't been the best blogger lately, so I want to get the lurkers to come out and comment).