the mighty momogus

H is for Hope (thank you, Obama)
A is for the American Voter, who took old cynical me by surprise
P is for Philadelphia Phillies (and also my beloved/hated Pat Burrell, going out in style)
P is for Patrick O'Brian, whose books made 2008 delightfully salty and nautical for me
Y is for Yelling at the Top of Your Lungs When Your Team Wins

T is for Turkey, which I love in all its iterations
H is for Husband (that's right, you old weirdo)
A is for Argyle Socks, which I can buy and never have to knit
N is for North Hills, best neighborhood around
K is for Knitting
S is for Sisters, of which I have the two best
G is for Gus - 'nuff said.
I is for my Ivy-League-loving Dad
V is for Victorino - Shane, that is
I is for Incendiary Righthanded Pitcher Brad Lidge and his 2008 season
N is for a Nice Friend, of whom I'm lucky to have several lovely ones
G is for Good Old Charlie Manuel

Do yourself a favor and forget about the grudges you're wasting your energy holding on to, give your family and friends a hug, take a deep breath and consider the many wonderful things around us. You don't have to be a Phillies fan to feel thankful this holiday season. (But it helps.)

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

I thought I was being so assiduous about posting, but now I see a week has gone by without a post. Nothing much going on - getting ready for Thanksgiving, etc etc.

Here's a little something I whipped up in the last couple of days. Fiber Trends Felted Flock pattern. Pre-felted:


Post-felting (with long-suffering Silly):


Waaaa - look at its itsy-bitsy cutesy-wootsy face!!

Four words and four images from the last two days:

Excited

Losing teeth is still thrilling....and bloody! Yeah!!

Goofy

Nuts in a particularly silly pose.

Doofus!

I just finished these and realized I made two right-hand mittens. DOH.

MVP

In my book at least.

Fasten your seatbelts! It's time for a million pictures! Here's a whirlwind tour of what I've been doing while not driving around Glenside honking my horn or taking out stupid-sherlock-holmes-pipe-smoking lame-o leafblower-wielders:

First of all, we took in this orange gentleman:

It is not Nuts. It is "Mr. Orangey-Pants", who kept showing up in our driveway and was the skinniest, ribbiest, sweetest, friendliest lovebug stray ever. Finally we took him in (much to the chagrin of the 4-in-residence), fattened him up, renamed him "Rudy" (for Seanez), and turned him over to Matthew's ex-wife Marjorie, who was the lucky (and good-natured) recipient of one of Nuts and Caroline's siblings, Tiki, last summer. When she came to visit Rudy for the first time, she said, "Huh. Some ex-wives get alimony or cash settlements. I seem to be getting a stray cat annually." Which is one of the funniest things any ex-wife has ever said. Every time we drive by Marjorie's house now (she lives 2 blocks away), Gus and I shout, "HI RUDY!" We miss him.

Here's some of the stuff I've been knitting lately:

"Grass" from MochiMochiLand:


"Hearts", also by Mochimochiland. I love her patterns. These and the Grass above are supposed to have little beady black eyes, which make them go off the cuteosity meter, but I'm too lazy to embroider right now.


"Wonderful Wallaby" by Cottage Creations. Encore Worsted. This turned out to have 12" of ease, which is humongous, but apparently that makes a garment extremely cool, if you are 8.


"Herringbone Mitts" from Elliphantom Knits. Knit out of Patternworks Meredith Bay yarn. The colors are closer to each other in person, if you know what I mean. I'm all about tonal these days. The orange is darker. These were fun.


"Easy Mosaic Pillow" by Momogus Knits. In Lamb's Pride Bulky. I'm teaching a class in this for the Tangled Web in January. I started a similar pillow in worsted weight when I taught this class in the past, but it was too time-consuming. This took a weekend and I lurved how it turned out.

Front


Back

"Easy Cable Mittens" from Momogus Knits. These were knit out of Malabrigo Chunky as a store sample for Loopy Knits in Chicago.


"Emma Hat" from Hip Knit Hats. Lamb's Pride Bulky. The flowers and leaves are from Nikki Epstein's Knitted Flowers. This is also for a class at the Web in February.


These are the Huggable Hedgehogs from a class I taught at the Web last month. The women in the class and I went out of our minds when they were all done. Mine is on the far left. WAAAAA!!!!


"Koolhaas" from Interweave Holiday Gifts 2007. The hat that a million people have made, in Malabrigo. It was more of an intellectual exercise than a project for something I would wear. I like how it turned out, but it will probably be a gift for someone.


"Double-Trouble Felted Clutch" by me. For a class I'm teaching in January and will also be an upcoming Momogus Knits pattern. Double-knit and needle-felted with Lamb's Pride Bulky. Finished this very afternoon. I like the flower, though that seems to be the extent of my embellishment imagination.


Okay, so you're all up-to-date on my recent knitting and cat projects. I was working on another store sample during the World Series, a Momogus Knits Easy Cable Scarf out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca for Village Yarn Shop in Zionsville, Indiana. What was funny about it was that in an ordinary two-hour knitting session in front of the tv, I'd probably get 3-4" done, but while watching the World Series I think I knit something like 10-12" at a stretch. It made me laugh.

Speaking of baseball, here is the National League Manager of the Year (please note hardware he's carrying - I don't recall Lou Pinella's Cubs advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs.....I know it's for the regular season, but still.):

I've got to get myself organized and do a nice post about knitting and stuff. But that day is not today.

Here's something that always drives me CRAZY this time of year: leaf-blowers. Now I'm not some wild-eyed environmentalist or anything, but when I see perfectly healthy young men using leaf blowers it makes me want to get some dynamite and blow them (the leaf-blowers, not the men) up. I grew up in a house surrounded by a billion trees, and I live in a house now that is surrounded by trees that dump approximately 14,000 leaf bags-worth of leaves every fall. And I rake them up!! If you are over the age of say, 60, then okay. But other than that, pick up a goddamn rake!!! Today I was driving to pick Gus up at school and saw a man smoking a pipe and using a leaf-blower. What?! And it was a kooky Sherlock Holmes-type pipe! I almost drove up on the curb and took him out.

I must go get a cold compress for my head now.

Okay, the knitting's going to have to wait another day.

I don't want to flog you with my political beliefs and I don't care how corny it sounds, but this is a great day for America, and I am proud of this country and its voters. My dear cousin Beth signed off an email to me this morning as "a wonderfully reinvigorated citizen." I think that says it perfectly.

Go America.

It's Election Day! Phew! After the World Series, my old ticker isn't going to be able to stand too much more stress. At least we'll know one way or the other.

Please vote people. If you don't, you know you forfeit the right to complain for the next four years about taxes, gas prices, the environment, women's rights, animal rights, how the Constitution is being eroded, etc etc etc.

Off my bandbox.

Tomorrow I will reveal the 10,000 items I've knitted since the Phillies were in the playoffs (and won the World Series - WOOOOOOO!), and I got blessedly distracted. Plus there's a new addition to the Ker-AZY Kat House!!

Okay, yesterday began what we traditionally refer to as "The Dark Time." Yes, that would be the day after baseball season ends. But you may ask, "Diana, why is this Dark Time different from all other Dark Times?" And I would answer, "Because the Philadelphia Phillies are the WORLD CHAMPIONS, and so the rosy glow emanating from their win will light up the Dark Time until February when pitchers and catchers report and the so-called "Dark Time" will end." Amen.