day 14: still no sign of land

for a long time, in the "what's cooking" column to the right i've had listed as "currently knitting" the Endless Stripey blanket. i started knitting this blanket the first week of january, 2003. i remember the date b/c i've got a quilt on my couch that i started at the same time, and the date is embroidered into the quilt back.

i'd been knitting for less than a year when i started this. i intended it to be a baby size blanket. bad math, and ignorance of how cotton will stretch conspired to make this much bigger. when it out grew portability it languished: for a few years i spent very few nights knitting at home. and it's tough to bring this kind of project on the road. :) the blanket is so wide that each row takes me about 20 min to knit (or one episode of 30 Rock.)

during the writers' strike i started chipping away at all the unfinished projects in my craft closet. this blanket came out of retirement. i've not finished it yet. kind of on the home stretch. i've got one ball of each color left.

currently it's about 4 x 5'. this isn't necessarily an accurate measurement b/c i "measured" it when i spread it out on the couch and laid on it.


YET ANOTHER THING I'M KNITTING

4 or 5 years ago i bought a bunch of yarn at a bag sale down in san diego. i still have most of it in the closet. (last year i sent a full bag of 12 balls of raw silk to a friend in missouri. done!) i was on the verge of sending 20 hanks of this multi-colored, bouclé/slub yarn to the goodwill when my pal (enabler) petra convinced me to use it.

i'm combining the multi yarn with some cheap but nice black mohair looking lion brand yarn i bought at jo anne's. i know, i know. it's acrylic. i'm knitting a blanket, but instead of knitting it as one piece (endless stripey method) i'm knitting this one in one foot wide strips. this way it stays portable. (i got a lot of work done on the second strip while sitting on planes a couple weeks ago.) this blanket is really pretty, but not as soft as wool. it has a great weight to it, though.
it's not photogenic, but in real life it's cute.
i've been working long days for 2 weeks straight. i'm starting to pine for some good knitting and sewing time. [as is evidenced by this post.]

i have tickets for a couple of shows coming up this week. am hopeful that work won't keep me from going. perhaps if i get more work done tonight (ie: wrap up this post) i'll have a better chance of attending those shows...mrh.

omg. wtf. bbq. -- more postcards from kentucky

it's monday, presidents' day. it's snowing heavily and windy outside. i'm set to fly home this afternoon, but i'm starting to feel some doubt about whether that will actually happen. hmm.
i do have to check out of my hotel soon, so i best get this show on the road.

this first card is a pic of the then new, louisville greyhound station, circa 1970. i'm basing the date solely on the rear end of a car that looks like a '68 dodge coronet. i could be way off on this. am sending this to my pal, u. in san francisco:

2.13.10
I'm going to try to recreate something -- i hope this works out...
I just saw this drawn on the wall in the w.c. at the Heine Brothers coffee attached to Carmichael's bookstore in Louisville. Quite possibly the best graffiti i've ever seen. (is there an e in possibly?)
The 3 kids @ the next table just called their mom & begged her to come pick them up. awesome.
Hope you're having a great time up north!

*inset is my rendering of best graffiti: banner reads:
OMG. WTF. BBQ.
inspired comedy. :)*


i love a good window. one of the reasons i keep staying in my hotel so long in the morning: i just sit at the desk watching the snow over the new and very very old buildings here. reminds me a little of downtown san jose in the early 80's (but for the snow). anywhoo, all this window staring and cold weather...put me in a contemplative place.

this card i'm sending to my friends m & b in portland. b writes the blog bags of wind.

2.14.10
Winter! in Kentucky: It's Sunday afternoon. i'm sitting in my fave coffee spot in Louisville (Highland Coffee) with a great view out the window across the small parking lot to homes and falling snow. i was ready to write a letter. About snow, family, my fascination with family photos, my seeming imminent contact w-my long absent dad. My choosing to drop a lot of $ to come to KY by myself rather than visit my brother (who has had an epically shitty 8 mos.) or my mom, who is recovering from hip surgery. I wanted to tell you about the nephew I haven't seen in 16 yrs, who lives in Austin & sings in a Pantera-inspired Heavy Metal band and the photo of my dad I took when i was 10: Him standing in our backyard holding up the 20ft. C.B. antenna he was going to mount on our house, smiling big. But I don't have any paper. so, for now it's just a list. also a Gillian Welch song that reminds me of my dad has been positively haunting me. more soon.
ps. was thinking of B when i bought this card. --> natch. :)