So a former MTV producer, Benjamin Wagner, is currently finishing up a documentary about Mr. Rogers’ impact on his life. I would summarize, but it’s so much better to just read the original story of his brief, but life-altering, interactions with such an extraordinary person.

http://www.benjaminwagner.com/2003/02/27/mister-rogers-me/

The trailer video:

I also sometimes have the following scene pop into my head (pulled from Wikipedia and originally published in Esquire):

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire Magazine’s coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence.”
And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, ‘I’ll watch the time.” There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn’t kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, seven seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, “May God be with you,” to all his vanquished children.

Yes, I did cry when I first read that story.

You can find the remainder of the (very lengthy) article here if you’re so inclined.

Another documentary, “Fred Rogers - America’s Favorite Neighbor,” is now at the top of my Netflix queue. It is classified as “very long wait”, so who knows when it will actually make it. If anyone wants to join me, let me know. Can’t promise I won’t cry, though. I was a basketcase it when I first saw it on TV a few years ago. In a good way.

The past two weekends have been filled with festivals. Some better than others.

Last weekend I went to the Inman Park Festival with Karla and James. That is when the following entered my life:

Completely an impulse buy, but a perfectly reasonable and practical purchase since I wear skirts all the time. (Oh, the rationalization…) It was impossible to resist buying something from the crafting folks at the Supercute! booth. Can’t really say it any better than they have: “SuperCute! is a collaboration between three independent artists who believe that a kinder, happier, sustainable world is possible with just a little optimism and a whole lot of cuteness.” They use recycled/repurposed materials and are wonderfully committed to their cause. The skirt I bought was made by Lorigami. Karla had been to the festival the day before and brought back glowing reviews of “the skirt”, so she took me by the booth on Sunday knowing full well that as soon as I had that puppy in my grubby little hands it would never be leaving them… How I love it. And what a joy it was buying it from the girl that made it. Then out of nowhere came the kicker - she handed me my new skirt in this:

I was floored. What a wonderful thing. In line with their philosophy, they sew these bags from leftover recycled fabric and give them to customers as shopping bags (who are to re-use them) instead of giving out disposable bags that will just be thrown away. I tell you, their plan worked. I think about their mission quite frequently. So the bag already had a dedicated purpose before I left the booth - it is currently holding Amelia’s nearly-finished 2nd birthday present:

So close I can taste it. Just needs the elastic in the bodice, then to knit the straps, and then to pick out the ribbon. (Let’s all bow our heads and say a prayer that the elastic and blocking will fix the crazy rolling at the top from the picot cast-on edge. Otherwise I’ll have to get, um, creative.) FYI, the bottom is supposed to be a tad roll-y.

I think it is also important that you know that Lorigami currently has the following Happy Caterpillar and Mushrooms available at her etsy shop:

Yes, they are made from recycled sweaters in case you were wondering. They take the cuteness to the extreme I tell you. Truly an act of my will to not be purchasing them right now.

I also picked up the following:

I couldn’t even fake a rationalization for this one. But do you see the wire for the spouting water? And the crooked tail? The artist is Mike Norman - unfortunately his business card didn’t have a website. But he’s in Peachtree City, so he’s local. His e-mail is mnorman172@bellsouth.net. Whale is currently living in my bathroom.

So the springtime outing this weekend was to attend the Renaissance Festival. I haven’t been to this festival in 15 years. I think it will be a minimum of 15 years before I return again. Not sure what we were expecting. It was still nice hanging out all day with Karla, James, and Joel. And we did eat turkey legs, which was our primary mission of the day.

I swear every other sign/food item was a pun or a terrible joke. Steak on a Stake. Or maybe:

I swear, if I hear the word “wench” one more time….

First things first: my new knitting bag has been making me really happy.

You can never go wrong with circle trees.

So I was cleaning out a drawer earlier this week when I came across the receipt from the night I bought my first knitting supplies at Michaels. It was one year ago this Sunday.

I purchased a “Learn to Knit” kit which included two pairs of shorter-than-normal knitting needles along with a booklet of extremely unhelpful instructions. I also bought some hideously awful yarn. I knew it was awful, but I was bound and determined to knit THAT NIGHT. Let’s just say one of my selections was an acrylic mohair in a pale blue…

So I rushed home, cancelled my plans for that evening (it was a Friday night…. seriously, bound and determined), and set to work. I can’t say I actually knit that night. Given the ridiculous diagrams in my instructional booklet, I was probably just knotting yarn. Perhaps a curse word or two crossed my lips (is there really any doubt?) I can’t imagine the acrylic mohair helped the situation in the least.

Strange to think that it’s only been a year. So many things have changed. Strange to think I could have just as easily never really gotten around to learning how. Or stopped when I realized how much money it was going to end up costing me (um, yeah…). But I’m so very glad I kept at it. The frustrations when things have gone badly only add to the satisfaction when a project finally works out in the end.

Today Robyn came down for yarn shopping and I purchased the yarn for my next project. Future skirt:

Robyn also helped me go jeans shopping, for which I’m eternally grateful. (My favorite pair died out a while ago, and I’ve been wearing stepchild pairs for way too long.) Robyn kept me from having a total meltdown until we finally found “the one”. I have to say… toward the end there I was all the sudden willing to pay whatever it took to get an ever-loving pair of jeans that fit me correctly. Obscene amounts. Too ashamed to even put down the number that came out of my mouth as my “final threshold.” Luckily, it never came to that. God bless Citizens of Humanity.

Last weekend was Amelia’s princess-themed 2nd birthday party.

Brushing Pop’s hair. No joke, she’s cute.

Princess dresses were worn, cupcakes were eaten, sparkly pink gifts were opened. A glorious time.

Lark changed several times during the course of the three hour party. I adore that. I wonder if anyone would notice if I did that at the party tonight? Part of me wants to try it now just because… well, look at her.

1. Currently available for purchase at Target:

A girl can dream.

2. Confounding results in a recently published UC Berkeley study:

Rap Music Glorifying Drug Use

TUESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) — Rap music is glamorizing drug use, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, who found a sixfold increase in drug references in songs over the past two decades.

“Positive portrayals of drug use have increased over time, and drug references increased overall,” study author Denise Herd, associate dean of students at the School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement.

She and her colleagues analyzed 341 lyrics from the most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1997. During that time, references to drugs increased sixfold, and there was an increase in songs featuring positive attitudes toward drugs and the consequences of drug use, and an increase in references of drug use to signify glamour, wealth and sociability.

Of the 38 most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1984, only four (11 percent) contained drug references. By the late 1980s, that increased to 19 percent and by 1993, to 69 percent.

These findings indicate “a shift from cautionary songs, such as those that emphasized the dangers of cocaine and crack, to songs that glorify the use of marijuana and other drugs as part of a desirable hip-hop lifestyle,” Herd said. “This is alarming, because young children are exposed to these messages. I don’t think this is a story we as a society want them to absorb.”

“Rap music is like CNN for black teens. But much of what is discussed in rap is in code. The kids understand, but parents don’t,” said Herd, who recommended parents monitor their children’s music and learn about the terms used in popular songs.

Earlier research by Herd found that alcohol use is increasingly glorified in rap music.

I think this Denise Herd is onto something…

Oh, and I’m seriously considering having the statement “Rap music is like CNN for black teens” tattooed somewhere on my body.

(more…)

No tangible updates right now on my own knitting. The two projects I started out recently (Katharine Vest by Eunny Jang in the most recent Interweave Knits and the free Jellyfish by Iris G at MagKnits) are going less-than-swimmingly.

Let’s just say it’s a bad sign when I can’t stay focused enough to correctly follow the lace pattern during the SWATCHING phase of the Katharine Vest. I don’t think I’ve completed one successful 4×4-inch section of the darn thing yet. After a few attempts I’ve decided to supress my stubborn tendency and just let it go for a while… Need to get my hands on some stockinette. I’m completely distracted by my job right now because of the crazy long hours I’ve been working lately. However, convert my overtime into a more tangible (yarn) form and suddenly I don’t feel so worn out.

My latest lust: Hand Maiden Silk Maiden in the colorways Peridot and/or Smoke - 50% silk 50% wool, $29 for a 300 yard skein.

There is also the Handmaiden Sea Silk which is 70% silk and 30% seacell, a cellulose fiber made from seaweed. Intriguing! Here it is, also in the Peridot (but, curiously, very different tones than the top Peridot example…)

I WILL own this yarn.

So here’s something you need to know about:

Sweaters for Penguins.

Made for penguins rescued from oil spills. I checked it out on Snopes, and it’s the real deal.

Purpose (besides being cute): 1) When their feathers become coated in oil the penguins lose their ability to retain heat and be waterproof 2) Prevents the penguins from trying to clean their feathers & ingesting the oil, which is of course toxic.

The request for the public to knit the [cute] sweaters was initially sent out because of a real oil spill that occurred in Melbourne, Australia in 2000. And it wasn’t just an effort to rescue any old penguin species- oh, no. It was to rescue the Little penguin (Eudyptula minor - I kid you not), the smallest penguin breed in the world. The call went out, and knitters answered. They hoped to collect 100 [cute] sweaters, and according to the Tasmanian Conservation Trust website they now have a stockpile of 15,000, ready for future disasters.

My question is: why are the world’s penguins not CURRENTLY wearing these [cute] sweaters? I mean, really. Need I point out the stripes??? And why stop at penguins? I believe I’ve seen a giraffe or two wearing a turtleneck sweater in picture books.

It was summarized best at adorablog:

PENGUINS = CUTE
SWEATERS = CUTE
PENGUINS = TINY

By the substitution and transitive properties of adorableness,

PENGUINS + SWEATERS + TINY = CUTE X 3

CUTE!!!! (factorial factorial factorial factorial)

If you need to make your own [cute] sweater, directions can be found here. Know that I will not judge you if you choose to make an object that for all practical purposes will almost certainly never be worn by an actual penguin.

I wonder if the people I work with truly understand the extent of my weirdness… It does seem to be never ending.

Just a quick post to show my most recently finished item.

A close-up of the bodice.

I finished it just in time for my sister’s birthday on Sunday. Started blocking it Saturday morning and had it hoisted up over an oil spaceheater with fans blowing on it all day. Let’s just say it was a tropical paradise in my apartment through the day and on into the evening - practically a sauna with the humidity level. I kept finding excuses to leave for extended periods.

It is the Romantic Cable and Lace Vest by SweaterBabe. Used the recommended yarn (Brown Sheep Company’s Lamb’s Pride Worsted) in cream and size 10.5 needles. Super fun to knit, a nice chunky lace pattern that keeps you from pulling your hair out. Had to add a crochet edge at the bottom because it seemed like it might still curl under after blocking.

It has been so hectic lately - last Monday I had a work-related trip come up which meant leaving on Tuesday and returning Friday. Longer trips like that mean lots of knitting time - this one had a 4-hour flight, so that’s 8 hours of uninterruped knitting right there. Am I the only one that gets giddy about that? Will be going for another short onsite at the end of this week, so there will be plenty of car time.

Left my camera behind during my trip last week (one of many casualties in the carry-on luggage war). Kicked myself the entire time since I just had NO idea how amazing the mountains would be in Salt Lake City. “What in the world would I take a picture of on a business trip?” I thought. Perhaps this?

Oh, THAT’S Salt Lake City. Oh right, people SKI there. It made me miss Switzerland so very much. I like to think that nearly all of Katy’s sweater was knit in such a setting - seems so very appropriate.

My weekend was filled with many delightful things.

Melissa came to visit, which is wonderful enough.

On Saturday morning she & Merritt & I went to the High Museum. Right now they continue to rotate the much-hyped Louvre exhibit (eh…), however I’m often more captivated by the other exhibits. Surprisingly, the works that stuck with me from this past visit were from the “Street Life: American Photographs from the 1960s and 70s” collection, Susan Meiselas’s photographs in particular.

In the early 70’s she did a series on traveling carnival strippers. She had the following to say in the introduction to her book: “The recognition of this world is not the invention of it. I wanted to present an account of the girl show that portrayed what I saw and revealed how the people involved felt about what they were doing. …If the viewer is appalled by what follows, that reaction is not so different from the alienation of those who participate in the shows.”

I think her photographs hit this dead on. So many perspectives are examined, from the individual girls, the audience members, potential ticket purchasers, managers, pre-teen boys & girls passing by the tent.

If you live in Fulton County, residents get free admission to the High on the first Saturday of every month before 11:00 a.m. Normal adult admission is $18… I’m just saying.

So then we went and had lunch at the Flying Biscuit and visited the Lake Claire Land Trust, a community garden in Chandler Park. It is truly one of Atlanta’s greatest hidden treasures assuming you can see through all the peace signs & yard art.

Saturday evening I started this while we watched The Graduate:

The Endless Loop Scarf (the name does bother me a bit… endless loop… what other kinds are there?)

Finished it up Sunday evening. It has randomly placed rows consisting of k2tog/yo holes, which I adore even though no one will ever notice them but me. I used Suss Yarn’s Crunch, currently discontinued and on sale in Knitch Atlanta’s online store. Made M listen to me drone on and on for two days about the prettiness of the yarn. I have two more skeins of this stuff left now - what to do!?

Sunday afternoon we went up for my niece Miss Lark’s birthday - a glorious 3 years. She received several dresses, which she rotated throughout the party. How fashionable.

I gave her a set of My Little Ponies (reproductions of the 1982 versions, thank you very much.) I was a little too pleased to see her and Miss Amelia walking around with them.

On a completely unrelated note, I’m not sure if you know it, but aside from the Peony, the Ranunculus is the most wonderful flower in existence. This is indisputable.

Also indisputable:

Katy’s Rowan is one of the cutest babies ever. Please do not try to argue this fact. You’ll just end up looking foolish.

So I knit this little dear over the weekend for a friend/co-worker’s little girl Zoe.

Purple is her absolute favorite color (she fights daily to wear her favorite purple pants…), and she loves her own cats so very much (in the traditional toddler way, sometimes a little too much), so I knew it would go over well. She apparently totally gets it that hat=kitty, which makes me so happy. Toddlers are great people.

It is the Official Kittyville Hat by Kitty Schmidt, sized down from an adult size. I used the remainder of the Malabrigo from the previous hat.

One of my very best friends, M, is coming to visit this weekend from Philly. It’s perfect timing. I’m feeling a bit freaked out this week. I know she will be exactly what I need to feel like myself again. (Isn’t that an odd phrase “I’m not feeling like myself”?)

Tonight I had to say goodbye to an ex-boyfriend who will be moving to New York on Friday morning to study painting. We called off our 2-year relationship right before Thanksgiving on better terms that I thought were ever possible. It was mutual decision based on thoughtful consideration (vs. being caused by some traumatic event.) While we’ve hung out randomly since then, we’ve spent less and less time together as the weeks and months have passed. This was exactly the plan. I barely ever see him at all now, usually just by chance. But now he is leaving for The City. The place that has drawn so many others before. The place where Things happen.

But I am not the best with change. Yes, this is something I am so very happy to have happen for him - after all, he has wanted to move to New York since before we met. It just was never the right time. Then, within a couple weeks after our break-up all the pieces fell into place: 1) the property where he was living was suddenly going to be sold and he would have to move out; 2) his truck was finally reaching the point of breaking down, which is significant since it has been in the process of dying since I’ve known him; 3) he was suddenly forced to work with a new company that had an abundance of projects requiring lots of overtime, giving him an unexpected jolt in savings.

I managed to get out of Octane tonight without a tear, but on the ride home the finality of it all hit me. I know there’s not a reason in the world for this change not to happen, and I would be so sad for him if he never made it up there. But even if I agree wholeheartedly, it is difficult to face a definite end to a stage in my life that was filled with such nice memories. It is hard to move on sometimes, even if it is right & necessary & earnestly desired. My mother always reminds me that I never wanted to leave preschool either.

Who am I going to call now to fix a broken coffee table if drop, say, a mattress or a 1982 television on it?

Last night was Jessica’s birthday. Everyone was supposed to meet at 7:30 for dinner, and this was me at 6:50 at a Starbucks…

Needless to say I was a few minutes late. Oh, the knitting frenzy. But I REALLY wanted to give it to her on her birthday. It is the Le Slouch, a pattern available from Wendy Bernard on her Knit and Tonic blog. Unfortunately there are not actually any photos of the finished hat. Let’s just say I was sewing in the ends at stoplights on the way there….

The yarn used was Malabrigo in the Purple Magic colorway. Jessica mentioned that she’d like a slouchy purple hat of the eggplant persuasion (vs. a more pinky purple), and I’m happy with the ever-so-slightly variegated tones. Just the joy of touching Malabrigo [the softest yarn in the ever-loving world] made every second of this project a pleasure. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE knitting presents. I think about the person I am knitting something for the entire time I’m working on it, so by the time I’m ready to give the knitted item to them I’m just overflowing with appreciation for them. Jessica is certainly no exception - she’s as sweet and giving as they come.

After eating we went over to FunTime Bowl. It’s impossible to have a bad time while wearing these:

Just try. And yes, the glowing laces on my right shoe were, in fact, lucky. Lori’s accuracy shot up after she began the ritual of touching my laces before each turn. Per their website’s claim, the evening was an “exciting high-energy bowling adventure that hits you with full-force action,” and the evening did include “Black Lights, Awesome Music, Glow Lanes, Dancing Lights, and Non-stop fun.” Please note the carpet.

On the way home I saw the following (lifesize) display in front of a house on Briarcliff:

My initial impression while driving by was that this was just too creepy to not stop and take it all in.

Upon further consideration, however, I’ve come to the disturbing realization that it wouldn’t be a stretch for me to construct something like this in my yard one day. I can see myself older, probably in possession of a few knitted gardens, visiting the concrete market to pick up a new addition every month or so. Note to self: must fight urge to end up a weird old lady.

Yesterday Robyn & I made a trip to the yarn store. How I escaped without purchasing this book is beyond my comprehension…

Everything was incredibly intricate. I have no idea what I would DO with a knitted garden if I DID happen to make one. Does it even matter?

There is even a monastery garden complete with monks. Note one has a bird on his arm.

Of COURSE they keep beehives. Of COURSE.

Are you seeing this?

I also found this book online:

I find the existence of these things incredibly necessary. I’ve been a bit fixated over the last day, frankly.

So it’s been a Belle & Sebastian morning. If you’ve never had one of those before, you should. They have put out hours & hours of recordings just for these times. Particularly appropriate for baking scones.

I’ve posted a scanned image of the recipe I use here since it’s no longer available on the America’s Test Kitchen website without a subscription. These have never disappointed - maybe it’s the 10 tablespoons of butter? The page also includes a bonus recipe for Banana Nut Bread, which is equally life-changing.