And Now For Something Completely Different

Words to live by from the Minister of Silly Walks:

This is just the thing for a day that I began with the following knitting instruction:

"Globules (knit 5):"

Promise me you'll take time to be silly today.

My Summer, So Far (part 1)

Aside from relaunching my website (So happy you found me again!), here's what I've been up to. When last I checked in, there was a bit of drama concerning my favorite pinky (the one I tension the yarn around, when tension is required):  Thanks, Exercise! That's what I get for drinking the Physical Phitness Kool-Aid.

Here's an artistically-enhanced closeup (humor me - it's my first ever broken bone):

I dutifully reported to the Cast Man.  He told me that the good news was I wouldn't need surgery after all.  And the bad news was I would have to wear an unremovable cast for 3 weeks.  Cast Man didn't really see a downside, even after I explained to him that I had 18 knitting classes to teach in the month of June.  That people had signed up for, months in advance.  He was equally unimpressed that I had a book deadline to meet.  Like, right away.  Frankly, I think the whole concept of "I have to work with my hand right now" was eclipsed in Cast Man's world by notions like "Will she be deformed for life?" or some other such nonsense.  Nothing personal, just a case of divergent priorities.  He had no idea that I am already deformed in ways that only Knitters understand.  Politely ignoring my pleas for leniency, Cast Man called in the expert to immobilize me.  Meet Tony:

Look closely into Tony's experienced and unimaginably kind eyes, and you'll know that I found mercy in an otherwise scary dark alley.  Tony and I agreed that he would use his mad castmaking skills to construct for me, the Brazilian Bikini of casts. By which I mean: A cast that covers only the barest of essentials, and leaves nothing to the imagination.  A cast which lets almost everything hang out.  An indecent sort of cast.  And in exchange, I promised to keep the infernal thing on for the prescribed number of days (hours/minutes).

First, Tony fit my digits with (guess what!) some KNITTED tubes of soft stuff that would protect my tender flesh from the ravages of the cast.  Nice tailoring, Tony!

Then, in the wink of a hummingbird's eye, Tony constructed my Brazilian for me.  It's made of heat-malleable poly-somethingorother, with no plaster involved at all.  The uber-stiff parts surrounding the actual broken bone are made of extra layers of poly-whatever-it-is. It's activated by soaking with hot water, then sculpting by (Tony's) hand, to wit:

Tony carefully wrapped my hand in hot water-soaked (KNITTED!) bandage, molding it exactly to the shape he required.  Note the Egyptian-Mummy criscrosses.  Tony is a (possibly reincarnated) Artiste.  Once cool, the outer bandage was removed, leaving a perfectly rigid Knitter-Imobilizer.  Stiff as a board and twice as ugly.

Once I got home, my associates lent their approval.  Bailey, in particular, appreciated Tony's handiwork.  After that, all I had to do was learn how to knit with only three exposed digits of my dominant hand.  What could possibly go wrong?

Redecorating

From time to time everybody needs a change of scenery.  Since beginning the website in 2008, I've left our living room looking pretty much the same way, so you'd feel comfortable in familiar surroundings (and be sure you were visiting the site you hoped for!).  

But now that I'm sure you know where to find me, it seems like a little updating is in order.  Why? You might ask?

• Since I launched my website and blog, more and more of you are visiting from your mobile devices, for which the old site was not optimized.  Now everything I post should look better, no matter how you view it.
• I wanted new features for you, to improve the experience of visiting, such as:
  • Easy-to-find Ravelry links to my patterns
  • A sexy new Gallery page
  • A more comfortable reading experience
  • Organized, searchable blog posts
• Have a look around, and of course, let me know if you have trouble with anything.  I'm still getting comfortable in our new surroundings, too, so bear with me as I work out the inevitable kinks.

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