Knit PH at Freddy's: Dec. 16, 07

Monday: I just paid off $20 in late library fines again. Similar to how Sub-prime Mortgages prey upon desperate first-time home buyers, the Public Library preys on the absent minded. As I walked back around Grand Army Plaza I was smacked by a bone-chilling gust of wind that blew through my thermals right into my marrow.

The DDDB Christmas party just ended as I set up the swift. We had a small attendance for Knit PH at Freddy's this past Sunday. Many folks went to the Sit'n'Knit New York holiday party that evening. But mostly it was just un-Godly cold! Each time I stepped out to smoke I had to carefully peel my lips from my cigarette. Some new folks showed up, all PH locals who live in walking distance. Randy brought a sock pattern, tiny needles, and sock-weight yarn. Hanna was making the mate for her skull and cross-bones mitten. She lives in manhattan, but showed up with her boyfriend Nathan who lives around the corner. He was making another watchman's cap since he lost the last one.

Tracey started a scarf from "One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet" by Leigh Radford (Interweave Press). I like this book, it has solid short-term projects for the train and it easily fits in a bag. I wound 8 skeins of Debbie Bliss silk and a few other loose skeins of wool. Conversation was good as usual. Tracey works in the field of Library Science. Hannah is getting her Docterate in the field of medicine from Mt. Sinai (Microbiology?), her studies involve mapping the migration of cells within tissue. Randy does web design at an ad agency. I forget what Nathan does. Knitters are generally interesting people I find.

I stuck around afterwards to listen to Jessica Bates and Mauricio Alexander but ended up playing sound man, which meant making Jessica louder and attending to a mic stand that was afflicted with erectile disfunction. It was a stripped down set of original music — piano, guitar, soft voices, a very nice way to end the evening.

Meanwhile... Are More Men Knitting?


From the Knitters Protection Program: Me, Bhindi the cat, and Mark

Last Sunday I had lunch with Eleanor and Mark. He made these excellent steamed spring rolls with cabbage and ginger, Eleanor made a cous cous dish, I brought grapes and a Corean Apple for desert. I also brought some yarn and needles along for Mark, he wanted to learn to knit. Mark works in construction, he's got a great sense of detail and accuracy. He did well picking up the long tail cast-on, knit, and purl in about 20 minutes without any prior experience. That cat scarf will be ready in no time. Back in June a producer from CBS called about men's knitting circles. She asked me "on average how many men knit?" I'm not the expert. "Well, there's me, Doug, Frank, the other Frank, some guy named Tom... that makes five so far." But Maxcine tells me that more men stop into her yarn shop. I hope this isn't one of those hipster yarn collecting fads.