Word of the Day

Banteer (n.) - (Archaic) A lusty and raucous old ballad sung after a particularly spectacular araglin (q.v.) has been pulled off.

Araglin (n.) - (Archaic) The medieval practical joke played by young squires on a knight aspirant the afternoon he is due to start his vigil. As the knight arrives at the castle the squires suddenly attempt to raise the drawbridge as the knight and his charger step on it.

Bealings (pl.n.) - (Archaic) The unsavoury parts of a moat which a knight has to pour out of his armour after being the victim of an araglin (q.v.). In medieval Flanders, soup made from bealings was a very slightly sought-after delicacy.

Word of the Day

Banff (adj.) - Pertaining to, or descriptive of, that kind of facial expression which is impossible to achieve except when having a passport photograph taken, which results in happas (q.v.).

Happas (q.v.) - The amusement caused by passport photos.

This One's for Sandra

Assholian(s) (n.) - of the people born and raised in Assholia.
Assholia - An island found in the Pacific Ocean near the Marianas Trench.
Geology - Many layers of unconformities producing sharp, puckered foothills.
Climate - the island is warm, muggy, and windy year round due to a vuggy thermal underlayer that was formed during the JurASSic period. These vugs (small to medium cavities) hold large quantities of methane gas which are expelled through cracks in the earth crust when pressure builds. (Assholians are said to have no sense of smell. Tourists to the island are encouraged to visit the local tourist and information stops for complementary pairs of nose plugs.)
Vegetation & Forestry - Only 3 types of trees and one type of bush grow on this island - Patmore Green Assh, Asspen, Hoopsii Spruce, and the Compact Burning Bush. Found mostly ringing the island they help to break the wind. These windbreakers also reduce noise and prevent soil erosion and moisture loss. A windbreak can provide protection as far downwind as 15 times it's height. A 10ft. windbreak would give you protection up to 150 ft. (Please see Lois Hole's 'Favorite Trees & Shrubs' for more information).
National Sports - The Flatuosity Games held at Mount Oflatus, held every two years. Games include: Ballooning (athletes must provide their own hot air), inner tube water polo, underwater hockey, air borne soccer (similar to ultimate Frisbee), Cornish wrestling (thought to have been brought over by a lost ship of drunken Celts from Cornwell), and Mini-trampolining.

Few Assholians ever leave the island. If you do see or experience one of these displaced Assholes, please consult your local authority or experienced physician.

For more information on the rise of Assholia and it's people please see the DarHOLEian Theory of Assolution.

Word of the Day

Balemartine (n.) - The look which says, 'Stop talking to that woman at once.' ('The Meaning of Liff')
(Also the look Amy gives Sandra to tell her to stop singing or else because she already has a bad headache)

Ack! Another Frog

Sigh! This was to be the 'Split-Neckline, cap-sleeved tee' from 'Fitted Knits'. WAY too big.
Thank goodness for ball-winders, they sure make the frogging go quickly. Like ripping off a band-aid.
No worries, I'll just start again. :)

Word of the Day

Babworth (n.) - Something which justifies having a really good cry.
(Please see above post for example)

Word of the Day

Anantnag (vb.) - (Eskimo term) To bang your thumbs between the oars when rowing.

Word of the Day

Ainderby Quernhow (n.) - One who continually bemoans the 'loss' of the word 'gay' to the English language, even though they had never used the word in any context at all until they started complaining that they couldn't use it any more.
("The Meaning of Liff" by Douglas Adams & John Lloyd)

Word of the Day

Ampus (n.) - A lurid bruise which you can't remember getting.

To Frog or not to Frog

There seems to be two very distinct camps on this subject - people who HATE to unravel their work (and cringe with just the talk of it) and people who see it as just another part of the process. I am of the latter.


This is (was) an almost completed sweater for my husband. I guess I hadn't been paying much attention because it turned into a big sack. HUGE. So what did I do? I frogged the entire thing.


Apparently Pippin is of the former camp. He doesn't like frogging either. He had to give a good kneading before he could say goodbye. It was his favorite sweater (evident by all the bits of cat hair 'woven' into the yarn).


This was my first ever attempt at a "self" design. It is/was/will be a pullover shrug, but the neck opening was just too small which made it quite difficult to put on. I'm re-designing and re-knitting it now.

Stayed tuned for more perilous adventures of...
"Knits in Frogland"
(Coming soon to a blog near you)

Word of the Day

Alltami (n.) - The ancient art of being able to balance the hot and cold shower taps.

In the Garden

ClematisSeedHead.jpg, originally uploaded by Knits&Pics.

It has taken a couple of summers and a lot of hard work (mostly by my husband), but our garden has much to show for it. We are very proud of it.
There is nothing better than sitting out on the back deck, in the morning sun, drinking coffee and knitting.
In fact, that is where I am about to head.

Word of the Day

Affcot (n.) - The sort of fart you hope people will talk after.
("The Deeper Meaning of Liff" Douglas Adams & John Lloyd)

Word of the Day

Acklins (pl. n.) - The odd twinges you get in parts of your body when you scratch other parts.

One FO, One UFO (WIP)

Yay, a finished product. My husband would be so proud. I better not tell him though, or he'll start nagging about his own sweater.
This is the One Skein Wonder by Stephanie Japel (I love her work). Done with Classic Elite Yarns, Provence. 100% mercerized egyptian cotton. Colour - Clear Blue Sky (#2607).
This one is for my Mom.
Just a couple of simple changes. I increased the length of the back and sleeves and did rows of single crochet instead of the seed stitch trim.

Guess what this one is - Ummmmm? Is it a WIP? Imagine that. ;)
This is Green Gable from Zephyr Style. I'm using Berroco Cotton Twist. Colour - 8369 (dark teal).
I LOVE the colour. Not sure yet about the feel of the yarn. I hope it will soften up a little after washing.
I'll have to do something about the rolling neck as well. I may need to add a little crochet edge or something.
Changes I will do - added length at the bottom in the lace pattern (provided I have enough yarn).

Word of the Day

Aboyne (vb) - To beat an expert at a game of skill by playing so appallingly that none of his clever tactics or strategies are of any use to him.

The Word of the Day

I was perusing Amy R. Singer's blog on Knitty and enjoyed her words and definitions of the day (from a very old dictionary) so much I thought maybe I would start my own.
Of course, I couldn't just do it the "normal" way, having been cultivated and raised towards a more British sense of humour. So if some of you don't get it and don't find it funny, you'll have to blame my Dad.
My dictionary of choice - Douglas Adams & John Lloyd's "The Deeper Meaning of Liff A Dictionary of Things That There Aren't Any Words for Yet."
First Word of the Day:

Abilene - Descriptive of the pleasing coolness on the reverse side of the pillow.

Enough of the Deep Introspection and on to the Knitting!

It's sunny, it's warm, let's talk WIPs.


This is just one of many knitting projects I have on the go.
It is a simple top-down T of my own design.
I LOVE this yarn. It is Katia, Jamaica. 100% Cotton. Colour 4010. Very easy to work with. The fabulous green in it is what attracted me to the yarn in the first place. I also have absolutely nothing with stripes or patterns in my wardrobe so thought it was time I tried something new.
Now I just have to finish it. Mmh... that always seems to be a serious issue with me. Like my husband asks of my favorite LYS - "Do they offer classes on how to finish projects?". I don't think I need so much as a class as a good therapist. :)


This one is so close. The bear just needs a face and the sweater just needs some buttons.
I won't mention how long they have been like this, it's just too embarrassing.
The bear pattern is "Baby Bobbi Bear" by Blue Sky Alpacas. The sweater is adapted from "Babies Neckdown Cardigan" from Knitting pure & Simple.

I won't be able to blog about all my WIPs in one go (there are just too many of them). Therefore, the blogging of my WIPs will have to be a WIP in itself. :)

Surviving vs Thriving

I was just visiting Indigirl's blog and reading her latest entry. It got me thinking about her life, my life, and what (as a western society) has become a normative "life".
When did it become so acceptable and so common for people to only survive their daily lives? Where do we thrive? How do we thrive? Have we forgotten how?
"She [the Wild Woman] comes to us through sound as well; through music which vibrates the sternum, excites the heart; it comes through the drum, the whistle, the call, and the cry. It comes through the written and the spoken word; sometimes a word, a sentence or a poem or a story, is so resonant, so right, it causes us to remember, at least for an instant, what substance we are really made from, and where is our true home." (Women Who Run With the Wolves. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Pg. 7)
Where is our true home? Is it in the box that surrounds us that we call house/abode/dwelling or is it somewhere inside of ourselves?
We are living lives of scarcity; always looking at what we don't have, not what we do have. We don't have enough time, enough money, enough things...
I have been guilty of all these things and more.
How is the cycle broken? When does scarcity become abundance? Where is the music within my own heart?
I guess these questions I have published outside of myself are not really made to be answered there, but within.

Woman as Archetype

"We are all filled with a longing for the wild. There are few culturally sanctioned antidotes for this yearning. We were taught to feel shame for such a desire. We grew our hair long and used it to hide our feelings. But the shadow of Wild Woman still lurks behind us during our days and in our nights. No matter where we are, the shadow that trots behind us is definitely four-footed."
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PH.D.



"Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, but she is an endangered species. Though the gifts of wildish nature come to us at birth, society's attempt to 'civilize' us into rigid roles has plundered this treasure, and muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own soul. Without Wild Woman, we become over-domesticated, fearful, uncreative, trapped."
(Jacket Cover and intro of "Women Who Run With the Wolves")

I promised to deliver many Works-in-Progress (WIP) so thought this was a fitting, though more personal, start.
You might say that I am on a quest to find my own Wild Woman.

Some FOs

I thought I should start on a more positive note with my knitting and show some FOs. Ok it's only two, but I have to start somewhere.
Don't look away or blink, you might miss them. They are a rare sight.
Fit for Autumn is a nice, simple, quick knit of my own design. When I say design, I mean I knit it from the top down by guessing how many stitches I needed to cast on and went with it. After that it got more technical. I tried it on as I went, frogged when I had to, put shaping where needed, and was surprised when it was done.
[Amy (Indigirl), if you are reading this, I hope you are laughing while you shake your head, not cringing. ;)]
Despite the fact that I have listed it as an FO, I am not fully finished. The yarn is so warm, and thick, and delicious that I need to add sleeves. I have enough skeins left of that wonderful Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes in Rusty Orange that I should be able to add full sleeves to it. I will get much more wear out of it in the winter. I can't wait.

The mini wrap is a variation of Glampyre's Minisweater (a.k.a Boobholder) that I saw on cosmicpluto (thank you for the inspiration). It was fast, fun, and fabulous. I'm making a second one out of the same yarn but reds. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the tags for them and can't remember what yarn it is. I'll have to post that later.

I guess that is it for FOs for now. I hope you enjoyed them because WIPs are next. :0

My First Shrug

MatchingHair&Tartan2.jpg, originally uploaded by Knits&Pics.

This was the first shrug I ever knit, and re-knit, and re-knit, and... You get the picture. It was also the first time I ever threw my knitting across the room. Wow, who knew shrugs could fly.
But, with perseverance and the lace pattern on a spreadsheet, I was able to complete it in time for her nuptials.
BTW Pattern can be found on Knitty. It is Shimmer, by Rebecca Hatcher.
Yarn: Phildar Canasta in Or (Gold)

Mmh? As I was looking for the yarn I used, a funny thing happened, I found a pile of knitted up yarn that looked just like a half finished Shimmer in orange. I have so many WIPs I think they are starting to propagate on their own. :\

A First Look at Cuba

OldHavana1.jpg, originally uploaded by Knits&Pics.

This was our first "real" view of Old Havana in Cuba. I say "real" in quotations because, despite the fact that the buildings are derelict and sad, the people are anything but.
Inside those dark doorways and in the streets are the heart and soul of Cuba, the Cuban people themselves.
I wouldn't have given up the chance to experience the culture shock or the challenge of communication for anything (including Varadero).
I would admit though, having more Spanish would have helped immensely. :)

My Life - A Work in Progress

It seems to me that my life has become a series of never ending WIPs (Works-in-Progress) from my knitting to my photography to my work to my... Now I have added blogger to that list, as anyone who may have stumbled upon this sparse space has probably noticed. :)
I hope, eventually, to make this space a little more inviting and a lot less sparse to whom ever may be looking. Maybe I will even be able to finish some of those WIPs and have many FOs for show instead.
See you again, in blog-land, soon.
SARA (a WIP)