March 10, 2004
Reality, Shmeality
Perhaps it’s time for The Mysterious K and me to stop playing (or, in my case, watching the playing of) so many video games. In “Maximo,” TMK's current virtual adventure, she has to collect gold coins and diamonds to buy armor, various and sundry weapons, and “life power.” To make things interesting, our hero Maximo is occasionally attacked by a crow that steals the treasure he has so industriously collected. The attacks are preceded by long moments of overly dramatic cawing so no one is really surprised when the crow swoops in and steals the treasure. Which explains why, when I walked to my car yesterday and heard the cawing of the crows that haunt my neighborhood, I clutched all my belongings tighter to me and hurried to the car in order not to lose any gold or diamonds. And then I realized that (a) I don’t have any gold or diamonds, (b) I was being an idiot, (c) I was losing my grasp of reality, and (d) we had played just a wee bit too much Maximo this weekend.
Knitting Knews
Here is the chemo cap which I finished last week, sitting on the plastic container which I used to block it—if one can wash and block acrylic anymore than one can wash and block a plastic bag. Indeed, the hat looked just the same after vashing und blocking it as it did before, although perhaps the brim curled itself into a slightly tighter, slightly more punctiliously perfect roll.
This was my first hat, and was a real pleasure to knit, physically and emotionally, since it’s for a Very Good Cause. This is also the first pattern I’ve used that didn’t have a picture, so knitting it was a complete and utter adventure. I was particularly surprised and enthralled by watching the swirl on the top develop. Who knew?
Last night’s Feral Knitters was another hit, with a good 15 knitters in attendance, many of whom brought beautiful Fair Isle tam o'shanters for show and tell. For a detailed description of the event, hop on over to FiberRavenSoiree. To Sheila's description, however, I would like to add a personal note. About halfway through the evening, I looked around at the table where I was sitting, which was occupied primarily by me and Dear Readers, and it struck me that I was surrounded by people who know me, who know about my lifestyle, who know about TMK—and didn’t care one whit, in a veryvery good way. When you have had good friends refuse to speak to you when they find out you’re gay, when you live every day with the tell/don’t tell question hanging over your head, when you have to worry about losing your job if anyone finds out about your orientation, when people have yelled ugly things at you in the street, those special moments when you are surrounded by warm and accepting and unquestioning people—who yet refuse to allow you to take yourself too seriously—are very precious indeed. Thank you to my Dear Reader Feral Knitters. You know who you are!
The hat's splendid Ryan - really nice looking! Lovely work, girl :)
Posted by: Robbyn on March 10, 2004 11:22 AMThank you, Robbyn!! A lot of credit, oddly enough, goes to the crapyarn I used, the cheapo TLC. It really knits up well and is very soft.
This pattern, which I found online, is definitely a keeper.
Posted by: Ryan on March 10, 2004 11:24 AMNice hat, Ryan. I've committed to Kool-Aid dyeing some wool in the microwave with a little girl on March 18th. I downloaded the instructions at www.knitty.com Anything else I need to know?
With all of the press around the country lately about gay couples getting married, I keep thinking of this phrase, "Love is in the Air." My son had a gay teacher last year(5th grade) who brought her toddler in and talked to the kids about her life and her partner. My boy wanted to know why it was a big deal:-) "Why would somebody be mean to Laura?" I'm a happy Mom.
i usually finish reading your blog and find myself chuckling, snickering, cackling (select any disgusting sound of amusement here) OR going 'awww' when you write about frankie- today i found myself thinking how i hope we can all live someday in a place where relationships are respected because they are sincere-
cap looks lovely- and just think, NO acrylics had to sacrificed or even annoyed in the production of the fiber-
knit on-
Posted by: barb in texas on March 10, 2004 01:46 PMIt is very gratifying for TMK and me to have our little "army" of supportive Dear Readers out there, encouraging us and wishing us the best in our day-to-day lives. Thank you, Debra and Barb!
I am glad everyone is enjoying the pictures of the hat. I am already tempted to knit another one, especially since I suspect this hat may, when all is said and done, prove to be too small for the recipient.
Posted by: Ryan on March 10, 2004 02:02 PMRyan, I'm glad the Chicken Lady Story made you laugh. She's a hoot! I'll be at next week's guild meeting! Fun!
Posted by: Rebecca on March 10, 2004 02:50 PMThe hat is very, very nice indeed. I especially like the swirly bits.
And yes, isn't it wonderful to be accepted for who you are? I have people in my life who are just wonderful, fabulous people, and without whom my life would be much the poorer, and they just happen to be gay too (and so what?). A family member came out of the closet at a late stage and it's great to see this person blossom at last.
I've never knit anything without a picture! It would be like doing a jigsaw puzzle without a picture! Perhaps a challenge I'll take up someday...
Your last bit made me tear up Ryan, I know just how you feel. With all this media blitz about gay marriage there is a lot of tension in this area...and because I don't fit some people's stereotype of a lesbian, they simply assume I agree with them. It is good to have friends (both local and cyber) who care for and accept me exactly as I am. L
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon on March 11, 2004 08:29 AMThe hat turned out lovely - I especially like the slightly flattened swirly top -
Since it's an online find (free pattern?) you could give us the link without fear of alerting the copyrite police -
I'm very proud of you for working up something without a picture guide - fun, isn't it? Watching it develop -
Knit on.
Posted by: childe on March 11, 2004 09:25 AMYou mean you're a what??? Dang. I knew we shoulda set up membership bylaws...
It's sad that simple fellowship should be remarkable, and yet I know that you are right: all too often exclusion and fear are the rule.
Love the hat and love the fact that you are trying out new technique, new yarn, new patterns all the time. The yarn does have a great sheen. Let us know how the recipient likes it--over and over again I hear the question "what yarn is best for chemo hats?" so it would be nice to have a straight-forward answer.
Posted by: Janine on March 11, 2004 10:16 AMThe beginning of Janine's comment--a good example of how my new-found friends refuse to let me wallow in gay self-pity. You're a silly girl, Janine!
Wow, lots of comments to respond to (thank you!), so I'll just work my way through them.
Debra, I forgot to address your Kool-Aid dyeing question. I couldn't find the specific instructions on knitty that you mentioned but Kool-Aid dyeing is very easy and straightforward. There are a lot of other "Kool-Aid dyeing how-to" sites on the net, if you feel you need more info. The main question that people seem to disagree on is whether you need to add vinegar or not. I didn't. It's really fun and worth it, especially since you never REALLY know what colors you're going to get, and because you're going to do the microwave version instead of the stovetop version, you'll be able to keep your young friend's interest!
Rebecca--cool that you're going to be at Guild! I'll try to remember to wear my nametag so I'll be easy to spot.
Lisa, it was a big step for me to knit something without a picture but it was actually a lot of fun. Have you ever visited the Magical Mystery Tour at the socknitters site? That's where they've posted pictures specifically of socks that were knit from patterns that had no pictures. (BTW, I totally understand what you mean about "not fitting the mold," trust me!)
Childe, here is the URL to the pattern: http://www.chemocaps.com/pat_eyeroll_dk.htm. I did the medium size (104 stitches) but I used size 7 needles instead of size 5.
Thank you everyone for your warm and kind responses to my borderline sloppily sentimental entry, but it was really important to let you know that your acceptance and support makes a difference!
Posted by: Ryan on March 11, 2004 10:59 AMI absolutely love reading your blog and your hat is fabu...as a new knitter and fellow human being, I'd like to say you're an inspiration. ROCK ON RYAN!
Posted by: Carine on March 11, 2004 05:09 PMHi, Carine! Welcome to world of knitting and welcome to the blog! But be careful--that kind of enthusiasm and appreciation could go to a blogger's head! ;-)
Posted by: Ryan on March 12, 2004 08:14 AMKnitters are so accepting, ain't they? I've often thought this, and really don't know to what to attribute it. But it's true, and carine's right, YOU ROCK! There, let it go to your head. Oh, and the crow story? I've had some Myst-like encounters in my life to the extent that I start looking around for the magic handle that I know I should pull.....
Posted by: Rachael on March 12, 2004 12:29 PMAnd...on the game front, I had a similar experience the other night when I was watching a TV show and fully expected the actor in the movie to do a double-jump-flip to step into a boat. Imagine my surprise when he simply stepped into the boat!
Posted by: The Mysterious K on March 12, 2004 01:29 PMThanks for the welcome :-)...or if you play Obsidian and watch Brazil back to back then go to the DMV or some other bureaucratic nightmare your imagination can very well have it's way with you, okay that never happened to me but it might have dang nabbit. Yes, knitters are a wonderful lot. I feel lucky to have fallen into such a delicious & useful obsession.
Posted by: Carine on March 12, 2004 04:13 PM