Mysterious bags...

A couple of posts ago, I ended with a picture of a line up of mystery bags...

...and I intended to share the story behind them in my last post, but I forgot, and apparently some people really, really want to know! LOL So, my dear Rav friend, Ohgrumpy, here's my explanation! ;)

If you've read the Yarn Harlot's blog this year, you might know about her self-imposed sock club. It was her way of using some of her sock yarn stash and knitting patterns she's wanted to knit. Seemed like an ingenious idea. I too have a massive sock yarn stash -- enough to fill two large Sterlite bins -- and my Rav queue and pattern stash is full of lovely sock patterns I'd love to try, since I often default to my generic stockinette or ribbed socks.

I've read YH's blog this year, watching the success of her self-imposed sock club, as she's churned out pair after pair of beautiful socks. Granted, she's a fast sock knitter by my usual standards, but still. The idea remained in the middle of my brain (not the front, not the back...middle ;) ). Finally, as I was moving yarn and patterns and all my other knitterly goods up to their new home last month, I decided to follow in YH's footsteps and create my own self-imposed sock club. And that is what is in the bags. One skein of yarn matched with one pattern, the goal of which is to choose one at random each month over the next 12 months and knit a pair of socks.

Since I'm currently working on a pair of socks already -- the gift socks -- I haven't picked a bag for this month. I may wait until October to start, because that would give me time to finish the gift socks as well as the second Norwegian Rose sock. October is also Soctoberfest, so it seems appropriate to begin such an endeavor at that time, right?

So...mystery revealed! :)

Weezer and the anti-knit...

Before this post will make sense (well, as much as possible, anyway), you must first go and watch this Weezer video. Embedding has been disabled on YouTube for this one, so I can't insert it here, but go ahead...go watch it, listen to the lyrics, and then come back. I'll wait.

...Dum de dum de dum...

Ready to continue? Cool.

I heard this song on the radio last week for the first time in eons. I mean, it came out in 1994, so I'm sure I've heard it dozens of times. But...I wasn't a knitter for most of those years. As a knitter, I heard this song with new ears. I have since dubbed it the anti-knitting song, for obvious reasons. Let's review the four main lines of the song...

If you want to destroy my sweater...

What?? Why would someone WANT to destroy his sweater? Is it ugly? Is it some horrible, cheap, acrylic sweater bought on sale at Wal-Mart? Is the person just mean and spiteful? Perhaps did a former girlfriend knit it for him and, being a clueless guy, he doesn't realize he should not wear it around the current girlfriend? Or, is the "sweater" a metaphor for something bigger? Some aspect of his deeper being?

Pull this thread as I walk away...

OK, clearly no one consulted any knitters when these lyrics were being written because typically we do not refer to it as "thread". Unless maybe it was a store-bought, machine-knit cotton sweater. That could indeed look like thread. But really? Sweaters are made of yarn. I suppose "Pull this piece of yarn as I walk away" doesn't sound quite as rhythmic. 

Watch me unravel. 

Unlike cartoon animals whose fur unravels with ease, I don't think this will work with a sweater on a human. Even if the sweater was knit in the round, maybe a raglan, you're only going to be able to pull so far before the freed yarn wraps uncomfortably around him. To truly unravel it, he'd have to be spinning like a top, know what I mean? 

I'll soon be naked...

Naked? Seriously? This can only mean one of two things. One, the wearer is drastically under dressed and could be cited for indecent exposure. Or two, and possibly more likely, it is a hand-knit sweater whose maker failed to check gauge, thus instead of being a traditional sweater, it is more of a sweater dress. Still...he's a guy. Why is he wearing a sweater dress? Not that I'm judging. 

Or, if we go back to the metaphor theory, then perhaps the unraveling of the sweater is meaningful in some other way. It could represent the ripping away of some dysfunctional part of his psyche, leaving his soul bare and naked to be reborn into something new and beautiful. 

Or maybe he's just into being naked on the ground.

...lying on the floor. I've come undone.

The person who is truly going to come undone is the poor knitter who put all that time and energy into that sweater! Sure hope she doesn't find out, know what I mean? 

I thought perhaps watching the video would give me some incredible insight into the meaning of this song. But no. No insights. Near as I could tell, none of those guys was even WEARING a sweater! And what was with the dogs? That was just random.

P.S. A spinning update: I have indeed been spinning every day of the Tour de Fleece so far. I'm nearing the end of my first batch of fiber and cannot wait to begin plying. I'll post more soon with pictures!

Weekend on the couch...

The folks at the Berroco blog have a fun little set of "weekend on the couch" questions up right now, answered by Cirilia, Norah and Margie. Readers are encouraged to answer too, and so I am because you know I can't resist these things. Besides, with the snow coming down right now, it's fun to think about curling up on the couch and just relaxing and staying warm.

Favorite escapist movie: Lord of the Rings (any or all)

Favorite libation or wintery beverage: Coffee

A guilty pleasure snack or comfort food recipe: cheese bread (bread with cheddar cheese melted on it in the toaster oven...my dad used to make this for me when I was a kid...mmm...)

Who or what surrounds you on the couch: Well, I don't sit on the couch much but in my comfy arm chair, where I am surrounded on the right by my WIP yarn basket, in front by my ottoman with my laptop and usually at least one WIP, and on the left by a box containing the yarn for an ongoing afghan project.

How do you unwind and shut out the world at the end of the work week: I don't work outside the home right now, but after homeschooling and other tasks keep me busy, so by week's end, I'm always looking forward to having a laid-back Saturday to do what I want...usually reading, knitting, catching up on DVRed shows and maybe going out to dinner with friends.

The last question was specific to the knitting "glitterati"...and since I do not fall into that category I won't bother answering, but I will say that when I just need mindless knitting to chill with, I usually work on my charity hats...simple, in-the-round knitting.

On other fronts...

Twilight comes out tomorrow! We are excited! We've got our tickets for the 1:30 showing! Can! Not! Wait! 

Also, I'm nearly done with Breaking Dawn...my hope was to finish it tonight, but that might depend on how late the Steelers game goes and how awake I am by then. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm tired.

Lastly, a picture from dinner the other night...pictured from left to right are me, Will and Peggy. Carole outright refused to be in the picture because she hates having her picture taken. We love her anyway. (And I want to know WHY my hair looks so normal to me in the mirror at home, yet when I see it in a picture, it looks weird? What was I thinking, pulling it off my forehead like that? Good grief.)

Where did Monday go?

Seriously? It is now 1:47 a.m. Tuesday. Didn't I just blog about having three days until I leave on my trip? That three day period included Monday. A whole Monday. A whole Monday during which I planned to get a lot of pre-trip things done. And now, that Monday is gone...it is bleeding over into Tuesday...and I still have a lot of pre-trip things to get done. A lot.

Perhaps I should now go to bed and get some sleep in the hope that I will be able to get up and function and be productive during my Tuesday. Because sitting here staring at this computer screen, trying to figure out what the heck I accomplished in the past 18 hours is really not very helpful.