Thursday, December 23, 2010

SHE TOOK PURPLE

Looked like she didn't even think about it, just reached into the top of the basket and pulled out a pair of purple ankle-warmers. Or lavender, or periwinkle, there are a lot of names for purple. I made some kind of inane remark about having a lot of K-State friends (and it does seem to me that the purple ankle-warmers go pretty fast) and we both laughed.

At home, finding a pair of purple ankle-warmers I hadn't yet finished sewing together (because the yarn came out so short at the final end that I'm going to have to get out a crochet hook to finish that pair) it belatedly dawned on me that she had chosen purple, not because of K-State, but because of KNOX! K-State doesn't have a monopoly on purple.

Go KNOX!

Friday, December 10, 2010

NO HURT FEELINGS

I had a lot of fun with my basket of ankle-warmers at my writing group Christmas party this week. It's always intersting to note which colors of ankle-warmers (boot toppers) are chosen.

If I offer you a pair of ankle-warmers, don't be afraid you'll hurt my feelings if you refuse. Just don't look back. That look of pity on my face won't be for me, it will be for you, knowing that you have no clue why your feel and ankles are always cold, and why you can't get rid of the cold in your head.

Monday, November 22, 2010

ANOTHER VICTIM GRATEFUL RECIPIENT

I've found another person willing to wear a pair of ankle-warmers -- probably the most unconventional of all my nieces and nephews.

Not only is this person willing to wear a pair of ankle-warmers, he declares he's willing for all the world to see, and may even wear them OUTSIDE his trouser legs.

There's more: He might even be willing to wear OUTSIDE his trouser legs a pair of ankle-warmers with the colors of the local football team -- red and white. So I've knit up some in both colors, AND a special pair with red-and-white stripes.

This nephew lives several hundred miles away, which means I may never know if he makes good on his word, but in the meantime, he's wrapped me around his little finger.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

WAITING IN QUEUE LINES

That's when I get my knitting done -- well, some of it.

I'm not like that dedicated Canadian knitter who carries a sock project with her wherever she goes and once lost a ball of fine blue merino yarn down an elevator shaft, but whenever I'm faced with making a telephone call that is likely to put me in a queue line the first thing I do is pick up a current project.

It's a bit of a trick to tuck the telephone under a shoulder, but once settled it does very little to slow down my pace. Normally, I wouldn't even mention that I'm knitting while I'm talking -- or waiting -- but once I got so angry at the transaction I snapped back at the service representative by telling her that I had already spent so much time explaining my problem to so many people I had been able to knit fourteen rows on a rather complicated shawl.

The last part was a lie -- I don't knit complicated things. The fourteen rows might have been an exaggeration as well, but I heard a little gasp and I knew she had gotten my drift. I regretted later that I had not asked the service representative about her current knitting project.

Maybe even given her my blog address.

Monday, October 25, 2010

CHECK MY LEGS

Well, figuratively speaking, and about ten months out of the year you'll find me wearing ankle warmers.

I HATE cold ankles.

Ankle warmers can be worn discreetly underneath (and virtually undetectable) pants' legs. Remember when Scarlet made herself a promise -- I'll never have cold ankles again?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

DAY KNITTING AND NIGHT KNITTING

How can there be a difference, you ask.

Like most knitters, I often have more than one project going at the same time. Normally, I have one project downstairs next to my comfortable chair, and another upstairs next to my recliner. Never waste a minute.

Recently, in order to have the right size needles, I picked up a pair of metal -- I think it's aluminum -- needles, and rediscovered something I had forgotten since becoming accustomed to wooden needles. Because metal needles create less friction, they are much faster.

They do have a major drawback, regretfully. At night the shiny reflections can cause considerable eye strain, hence as long as I'm using metal needles, I'll be forced to divide my projects into day knitting and night knitting.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A SKEIN A DAY

I've figured out that if I did nothing but knit the entire waking hours of a day, I could knit a skein a day. That means no stopping to eat, drink, read the mail, or take a nap.

Of course, that would mean that no writing would get done, either.