Molly Bee's Attic

My brand, new car, Preston, has 780 miles on him. I know it flies in the face of convention to give a car a male name but y’all know me, I FLIES IN CONVENTION’S BIG OL’ FAT FACE ALLA TIME! Take THAT convention, I say! Ahem…anyway. Preston. 780 miles. Just a baby, really, and I’ve already crunched him. I am not a responsible car Mommie apparently. I had a fender bender in the gas station parking lot last Friday evening. Crap. Yet another thing that ain’t goin’ my way these days. It wasn’t my fault and it didn’t do major damage but Geez Louise, will someone please get me out of this G***D*** whale! It smells really fishy in here, I have a shrimp allergy and Jonah's constant humming is really working on my last nerve. Anyway, I go to the auto place today for an estimate. My insurance company set up the appointment for me. I check in with the receptionist. Pretty soon ‘the guy’ comes out with his clipboard of doom and gloom. I’m the only one in the miniscule ‘waiting area’. He looks ri...

Red hat, blue hat. The biggest skein of yarn in the world had yielded six completed hats, one on the needles and quite possibly one more before it finally dies. It was 11 oz of puff so I expected several hats from it, but not quite this many several! It's hard to tell the size in the photo but they'll fit elementary school kids. They are for the Sow's Ear charity thingie so maybe there are a set of septuplets (possibly octuplets ) who widdle noggins are cold! Went down to The Ear for Charity night knitting and potluck. What a great bunch of talented ladies. They always make me laugh and feel human for at least a couple of hours. They have no idea how much that means to me these days. I cleaned out my stash last weekend. I have one plastic tote full of kits and bags with a specific pattern and the yarn I bought for it together (so essentially a 'kit' made by me), one tote full of lace and worsted weights that I thought were pretty but have no projects in m...

Been grooving on the Charity Knitting initiative for The Sow's Ear. The hats and other knit goods are going to various charities including the good folks over in Cedar Rapids who were flooded out this spring. Makes me feel good to be doing something for other and the mindless repetition of going roundandroundandroundandround for kids' hats is about all I can handle right now! I found various skeins of acrylics in all different weights in my stash. Good way to use it all up. Off to start # 3-a purple fuzzy one!

Have been knitting a bit but forgot to take pictures before I gave the projects away. I made a kid’s black hat with multicolored stripes for the Sow’s Ear Charity endeavor. I also have the Hat from Heck worked up on straight needles, I just have to seam it tonight at Knit Night and I started another black hat which I can hopefully finish tonight too. That is if I don’t punk out too early like last time. (8:45. Peh , it was disgraceful!) I’m emotionally drained and overly distraught these days and it all seems to make me way more physically tired than normal but I am determined to say until at least 8:55 tonight. Building up my stamina. I made a dish cloth at Dishcloth Night at The Ear on Tuesday. It’s pretty cool. It’s only knit and purl stitches, all one color. The knit stitches are the background and the purl stitches make the Olympic Rings symbol with ‘2008’ underneath. I have a few more balls of dishcloth cotton in my stash and the Olympic one went so fast that I’ ve decided ...

I finally finished my blanket (except for the blocking) for Project Linus. It was 3/4 done and languishing in the basement. All of this Charity Knitting for the Sow's Ear made me remember it again. I really like the pattern. It's crocheted. I've made a couple others as baby gifts for friends. I'll take this one to the Fitchburg Fire Department. They are the drop off for Project Linus. If any of you are local to Madison, WI and love quilting, I just posted my entire Quilting Magazine collection over on Craig's List ( http://madison.craigslist.org/art/790652497.html ). I won't have room for them in my new place. Thousands of patterns and ideas if you are a quilting addict! And it's a really good deal too! Go on over and look! I've had pretty good luck selling stuff, that I can't take with me, locally on Craig's List. It's stuff that's a little too nice to put in a garage sale, like my piano keyboard and violin. I've met some real...

Bulletproof Baby Blanket I finally finished the hat from heck, and laced the leftover granny squares I had lying around together for a baby blanket or lap robe. Those buggers made one industrial strength blanket, let me tell you. I'm showing it all spread out because it literally won't bend. It's one solid sheet like plywood. Red Heart- bleck . I, as a Yarn Snob, snub thee. I know, I can't believe it myself, but I am making another hat out of the stuff. This time I am doing it on straight needles like the pattern tells you to instead of in the round. I call the purple hat the "Biblical Hat' because it seemed like it took 40 days and 40 nights to finish. (I used to call it that Damn Voodoo Hat, as some of you at The Sow's Ear can attest, but I changed it.) I got 6 inches done in 2.5 hours with the new variegated one I started last night. Same pattern...same Red Heart....only using straights instead of circs . Somebody call Ripley's because I don't...

I read a review of that book that everyone's raving about, The Last Lecture , and it says that everyday you can choose to be either a Tigger or an Eeyore. I have had way too many Eeyore days lately ( like Monday when I had to put my 8-year old bunny girl, Sneakers to sleep-talk about an Eeyore Day! Oy Vey !) , so decided that for the rest of the day I was going to be a Tigger ; optimistic , happy and filled with energy. And I was for the most part. I had a couple of tiny Eeyore moments but they didn't amount to much and I was able to transport myself back to Tiggerdom quickly and without the aid of medication. Has my situation changed? No. But my attitude is slowly changing; making it easier for me to make the upcoming transition to being on my own. From now on I'm choosing Tigger days every day. Tiggerish Things That Happened Today Finished and washed the charity baby blanket (photos tomorrow when it's dry) Finished the charity hat (and started another one-...

Went to Knit Night last night. I had to go back up on the porch because I just couldn't run with the big dogs. I pooped out at about 9:15 and wussed back home to go to bed. It was a pretty quiet knit night (except for me...of course). The Hat From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks I was working on a child's hat for the Sow's Ear Charity initiative . Sounded easy. Cast on 73 and knit (K1/P1) ribbing for 10.5 inches and then there are 7 decrease rows. Simple, yes? I was knitting on size 9 circs with Red Heart Acrylic [Which I used to love when that's all there was, and is infinitely the best choice for a sturdy, practically bullet-proof hat but now is icky because I have become a natural fiber yarn snob. But I digress]. I discovered that either the pattern, the needles, the yarn, or my tape measure (you know who my first suspect is, RH) is possessed by Satan. I knit and I knit and I knit and I knit (repeat this phrase about twenty-hundred more times) and when I measured and ...

My friends have the greatest sense of humor. I told Friend-Gail, who works in a church in North Carolina, about the new car I bought. I told her that it wasn't exactly the one I wanted because it has a sunroof and I didn't want one. She told me, tongue in cheek, that I HAD to have one and that all the folks down south call them "The Rapture Roof". I LOVE that! The Rapture Roof comes in handy when the Rapture comes and God sucks you back up to Heaven. It will be a smoother transition than beating your head against your car roof like a moth at the screen door I reckon. I thought that that was so cute, that I told the story to Friend-Jen. She thought it was funny too but then explained that she wouldn't need one. She has been honing her skills for the Post Apocalypse Communes that are bound to spring up. She knows how to knit and spin. Now she's set her sights on canning garden veggies! With credentials like that, she'll be a shoe-in for the Commune of her ...

Today was a good day for me. They aren't always at this stage in the game, but it seems that every time I go to a knitting group I feel a little more human. Today's group was Last Saturday Knitting at Victor Allen's. I still had to fight to get myself out the door but 2 minutes after I got there, I felt fine. Elizabeth , Jen-with the Beeb in tow , Cindy , Linda , Laura (whom I haven't seen in a crow's age) and a new friend that I hadn't previously met, Faith, were all working on wonderfully inspiring projects while I just went round and round on my simple sock because that's all my brain can handle these days. Good iced coffee drinks and great conversation...it does a body good. I was telling them that The Sow's Ear is doing a new thing on the 4 th Monday of the month. From 6:00 p.m. to closing, you bring your needles, and they will supply the yarn and patterns to knit things for charity. I think I'll head down that way on Monday after work. S...

Taking a cue from Crazy Aunt Purl, I am using my knitting these days to cope with a breakup. Yup. Mr. Bee and I are splitting up after 18 years. Shocked and awed? Yeah, me too. And devastated ... etc. etc. etc. So as soon as I could get out of the fetal position and stop crying long enough to see the needles, I started to knit socks like a woman possessed. I must be doing better 'cause for a while there I couldn't do any knitting. I was kind of walking comatose but now I'm back in the swing of things. This first pair is knit from "Opal" that I got at the ' Sow's Ear's 25% off anything with purple in it' a while back. Talk about my kinda sale! And this is the first sock from some Socketta (that stu ff made with chitin , the antibacterial protein from seafood shells) I got at the same sale. You have to look close but there is purple in there. My lighting isn't so great tonight. Sock #2 gets cast on tonight whilst I spend the evening with the p...

Life has been pretty sad around here lately. We had to put our 18 year old cat down yesterday. He's been our baby since we were first married. There will never be another like him. Sebastian, you will be so, so, so, so, misssed. Other things have been going south around here too, so I'm going to take a break until I can get things straightened out. I appreciate all of the questions regarding where I am and why I'm not posting. Just need some breathing room for a while. Nothing around here is amusing these days. I promise I'll be back once everying gets back to normal in whatever form that takes. You all are the best. Molly Bee

I got my big honkin' bandages off today. After dragging them around and stewing in the for two weeks, I almost brushed the nurse with her little cuticle scissors away and ripped them all off in one swell foop. I can't describe the feeling of fresh, air-conditioned air on my leg and tootsies. Ahhhhh! Doc K. came in and took one look and said that it was healing beautifully. I think there was about 10-12 stitches which they took out and replaced with butterflies. He said that he took photos of the tendon when it was opened up and used them for a lecture down at the UW. Let's hope he just got my heel in the shot and not by butt hanging out of my lovely revealing gown. Least I had my best undies on....as far as I know. I checked and they were there before anesthesia and were on when I got home so I'm fairly confident that there isn't some website called 'www dot mollybees tookus' out there somewhere. So now, I am back in my aircast, complete with fishy-st...

Plain Vanilla Pattern

I got out today! That's right! Molly Bee went mobile and took it on the road! It took a little doing and kind of felt like a bad prison break movie, but galldernit, I wheeled myself around the library and Target! I even washed and dried my hair and put on makeup....just like a real person! Just that much wiped me out though so I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the wonderful view (see right) and recouping. But it was worth it! Especially since I scored a boatload of knitting mags at the library! Today starts Socks of Summer 2008. I broke out a skein of Nuro and started knitting away. Our neighbor brought us over his "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" DVD's and we've been watching those. There are 144 episodes! That's a lot of socks! And they (the episodes and the socks) are a lot less scary now that I'm off the heavy drugs! Our neighbors and friends have been great. The neighbors down on the corner had a big graduation party for the teenage daughter...

I know I should wait a few days and get some perspective on this whole thing, but instead I've decided to throw myself a pity party of epic proportions. And ya'll are invited, you lucky ducks! If you RSVP 'No Thanks', best click out now as the whining is about to commence! [Hello ( echo...echo...echo ...) Anyone still here? ( Crickets chirping ) Oh, Hi Mum! Thanks for staying...] Now I know that there are lots of pros as well as cons to this whole thing, but right now the cons won't bet their big butts out of the way so I can see the pros so I thought maybe a Pro/Con list is in order to clear things up for myself. Cons It Sucks! It Sucks! It Really, Really Sucks! I thought I had prepared myself for being disabled. In reality, I never imagined it would be this difficult. It's such a helpless, hopeless, trapped feeling. Gimping all the way for the couch to the bathroom is an epic journey that has to be contemplated and worked up to. Yup! Major suckage . Ch...

Went to the Sow's Ear on Saturday morning to participate in International 'Knit in Public' day. We, at The Ear, took it one step further and sat outside and knit. I took one for the International 'Knit In Public' team early on by getting stung by a hornet right above my concrete boot! Knitting in Public is dangerous! [Actually knitting in private is dangerous for the likes of me as well. Just last week I stabbed myself in the collarbone with a #2 straight whilst knitting 4" garter stitch squares. Honestly I need a keeper!] At any rate, it was worth it. Mad City Mike dropped by to introduce himself. I have been reading his blog for a while now. He is an accomplished knitter and weaver who just started spinning as well! He's doing amazingly well. Scoot over there and look. Go ahead! I'll wait!....................What didja think? Really cool right!?! I know! And he's just as charming, sweet and handsome in person! Shirley was there and so was Jen al...

Put together a pizza lunch at work today for my kids and a colleague who’s visiting from Spain. Called the local pizza joint and ordered 5 large pizzas and soda. Told him I needed it at noon. He asked me how 11:30 worked for me? I told him that my meeting was at noon and that I didn ’t want the pies sitting around getting cold for 30 minutes before lunch. I had called plenty early and I’d need it between 11:50 and noon. He told me that he understood and that he’d take care of it. At 11:30, the Front Desk called and said that the pizza guy was here and wanted to talk to me. I went down and found out that he was delivering pizza to someone else in the building at 11:30 and had my order in the car. He said, and I quote, “Dude, do you just want yer pizza now? Or I can, like, drive around with it for 20 minutes or so and bring it back….” Heavy sigh…. I told him that I would accept the order. He gave me 4 pizzas and asked me to sign the slip. I asked where the other pizza was and he said tha...

Knit Night was a blast on Friday and I got my pink socks finished: I did the heel a little differently: But otherwise they are just plain old white bread socks. I just loved the color so much I didn't want to gum up the works with a fancy- schmancy pattern: (Click on the photos to biggify) Amy D. was there which is always a blast and a whole group of us worked on an especially vicious New York Times crossword puzzle. It took 4 hours and about a million IQ points to finish, but we finally got it. The last clue was:"What a crossword editor says to puzzle solvers". The answer was "Try Googling This". Since we had had to Google a good portion of the puzzle on Amy's Blackberry (which as everyone knows is actually a Purpleberry ) we all felt likeWill Shorts had caught us all cheating. His name was cursed. Repeatedly. I just wasn't in the mood to spin this weekend. I couldn't calm down and sit still enough.The weather scared the bejeepers out of me al...

To make up for a kinda crappy week (Mr. Bee has a cold and ear infection and I'm in De Nile Knee Deep that I'm coming down with it too. I DO NOT want to postpone my surgery !) the Yarn Gods have shown fit to smile upon me to compensate! This is pure, goat, mohair pencil roving that one of our field reps sent from her hobby farm on the West Coast. She sent 4 spirals, two for me and two for one of my kids who spins ( waaaaaay better than me). She said if we liked it she'd cut us a deal on future orders. You cannot imagine how soft this stuff is. I just want to throw it on the floor and roll in it. Bentley does too! Should I dye it before I spin, after I spin or leave it natural? Oh the glorious decisions! I also raked in a haul from Knit Picks. I decided that I was gonna get me a set of Harmony #2's, what with all the sock knitting coming up and all. Don't need them but they are so beautiful I couldn't deny myself one little set of double points..... After all, ...