When I became a man, I put away childish things

A bit of a poignant milestone this weekend. We needed to make room in the basement for an electronic drum set, and this necessitates cleaning out the toy cupboards and saying farewell to some well-loved toys. Bionicles, in this case, but there are more. It's always hard to see these go.

 

Even the boy showed a moment of uncharacteristic sentiment.

But all to this end: This was driving us nuts, day after day.  The boy is actually a great drummer, but the sheer volume and duration (drumming is actually an endurance event! ask Neal Peart) was making us crazy and he was restricted to practicing when the rest of us were either out of the house or closeted upstairs with the dooor closed. 

So the idea of an electronic drum set, which can be played with headphones so only the drummer can hear it at volume, sounded better and better all the time. But we needed to make room for it.

He can actually pull it out and have a bit more elbow room, but so far we all think it is pretty sweet. He can wake up at 3:45 in the morning and play it and the rest of us will be none the wiser. Happiness is restored.

While you were sleeping

We've been catching up on sleep, one of the things I love most about being in Langley.

It looks an awful lot like this earlier version. Perhaps, because the features of his face are still so familiar to my eye, I can't help coming up with something very similar. 

 

new marks, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Madeira sketchbook, 279/365

Madeira sketchbook, 279/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Almost too beautiful to despoil with ink, pencil and paint. But I'm going to do it anyway. I'm working on a review of this book, along with the US version of the Habana and Rhodia webnotebook. It's a welcome distraction from work/school, and I am going to have fun with this! Tuesday, Oct 6

surprise, 278/365

surprise, 278/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

I was extremely pleased and excited to come home to find this package of notebooks in my mailbox. They're from Karen Doherty of Exaclair, which distributes Quo Vadis, Rhodia, and Exacompta (among others) in the US. This is my chance to try - and review - some books not available in Canada - or at least, not in this form. Monday, Oct 5.
blogged

Embossed in green, 235/365

Embossed in green, 235/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Embossed leaves socks are apparently in the top 5 of most knitted socks on Ravelry, and now that I've started a pair, I can see why. I know I keep saying that lace and socks just don't make sense (if it's cold enough to wear socks, it's cold enough that you don't want holes in them) but I love knitting lace, and when I finally wound up the skein of Malabrigo Sock I got from my SIL Julie, I really wanted to do something special with it. Sunday, August 23.

Retro rib, 231/476

Retro rib, 231/476, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Finally, I finished the socks I have seemingly been knitting all summer! 

I started them in Lethbridge, dragged them with my to Langley (but hardly worked on them, except to show Julie), and brought them on the plane with me when I went to Winnipeg.

These have showed up previously as socks of resignation but I am now much happier with them. The second skein, and therefore the second sock, is actually quite a bit brighter than the first. This used to drive me crazy about handpainted yarns, but now that I realize you can hardly tell the difference after you've worn and washed them a few times, it doesn't bug me anymore.

They turned out too big for me - I should have known that 64 stitches on 2.75 mm needles probably would. But they fit Stasha perfectly. August 19.

socks of resignation, 179/365

socks of resignation, 179/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Finally, starting to use the sock yarn I got from my sister in law Julie - last summer!

I'd actually knit almost an entire sock from the Socks for Handpainted Yarn book, then realized I absolutely hated them about an inch from the toe. I've tried retro rib before in other yarns and hated it. For some reason (perhaps resignation) this one seems to be working out. By that, I don't mean I really think the pattern suits the yarn - in fact, it's a bit lost. I mean, I don't hate it. I have had sock knitting dysmorphia lately, and this is the closest I've come to being not completely discontent.

June 28

bleeding hearts, 144/365

bleeding hearts, 144/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

I have always loved these. May 24

also, am loving the DOF on my new camera. This is with the shorter 18-55mm lens, and I'm pretty pleased with it so far.

sand cherry, 143/365

sand cherry, 143/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Finally, things are starting to flower in Alberta! May 23

also, the first day of using my new camera, a Nikon D60 DSLR. There's a considerable learning curve on this, despite years of having used an SLR and fiddling around on the settings of my current point-and-shoot digital camera. I'm nowhere near touching the capabilities of even this entry level camera, yet.

firestones, 134/365

firestones, 134/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Glass bead necklace, rediscovered in a drawer, late on Thursday evening. I made this several years ago. May 14

Sadly, it doesn't fit as well as I remember it fitting when I made it in 2003. It feels tighter. I can't really imagine that I've developed significant neck fat, so I'm not sure what's going on. My traps are pretty built up, which doesn't mean I'm stronger, unfortunately, just more tense.

on the draw

While talking to Mom, I mentioned that I've started doodling/drawing again, probably as a by-product of being a student again. It's the restless pen syndrome - I don't actually need to start doing anything productive with my hands, particularly, but the pen wants to move around.

In addition, I'm limping along with a variety of injuries - I hurt my knee in judo in mid-March, and just before finals landed on my tailbone while rushing around in the morning trying to get ready for school. In my morbid curiousity, I feel the need to draw my injury sites. Behold!
(These are all pretty tiny - so click on them if you want to see larger size)

and my tailbone, looking like an alien symbiont:

I said to Mom that I'd like to practice drawing a bit more, because really I still draw exactly the same way I did twenty-five years ago. For instance, if I rummaged through old notes (probably moldy in Mom and Dad's basement) I'd find this exact same imaginary guy:

Speaking of being a student - the sentiments in April tend to be the same:

I'm really trying to get past my childhood/young adult habits, though, so I'm practicing the exercises in the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and The Natural Way to Draw.  They seem sort of helpful. Anyway, it doesn't matter if I get any better or not. It's fun to do, and an excuse to buy more colored pencils. I always did love school supplies.

Weekend iPod top 10, and a pair of hats

Jazz will Eat Itself - Vanessa Mae, the Violin Player
Knit Cast 06 - Marie Irshad
Jai Ma - Wah!, Planet Yoga
Long Long Time - Linda Ronstadt, Greatest Hits
Alice Blue Gown - Kate and Anna McGarrigle, The McGarrigle Hour
The Far Side of the World - Iva Davies, Master and Commander
It Is You (I have loved) - Dana Glover, Shrek soundtrack
track 1, guided relaxation - Fr. Joe Pereira, Silence of the Spirit
This Honorable Fame - Richard Souther, Vision
V2010 Coaches Notes - Sean O'Malley, Cardio Coach vol. 2

Hmmm. Is it really fair to include all the yoga and knitting and
cardio tracks? They're not exactly music, but they do give fair
disclosure of the overall dork factor.

And,  more winter hats for the kids! As you can see, Theo doesn't think it's a winter hat so much as a battle helmet.

  Pair of hats 
  Originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

a post for Mom

  technicolor dream shawl 
  Originally uploaded by <sunshyne>.

I found a picture of this shawl at one of the groups at Flickr. I know Mom's looking for a good yarn to make a poncho out of, and I thought this looked really nice, PLUS it's easily available at Michael's. It's called Lion Brand Homespun in the colour Quartz.

Lion Brand is also really good for free patterns, including tons of easy ponchos

The hat, sock, and comment, challenge!

You all know I've been a knitting fiend in the last few months. I've always knit, of course, but haven't done it in quite a while. I've slowly picked it up again with Stasha's request for a coat of many colours like Cris has, and got myself back into the swing of things with simple things like scarves. But knitting is the perfect hobby for me right now - I spend so much time at the pool, dance studio, or dojo that knitting is a great portable craft. I still sew, for instance, but can't take that stuff around with me. (plus, it keeps me from pulling out my hair - literally)

So - here's my challenge, sort of!

If you comment on this post with your child(ren)'s head circumference, I will do my darned best to crank out a cute hat for your child by Christmas. Now, note that I am not promising to MAIL it to you in time for Christmas, but I will have it done some time during Advent and Ukrainian new year!

Alternatively, if you comment with your kid's foot measurements - socks or slippers are a possibility.

Here's a few I've done so far - but there's lots of different possibilities.

You've seen the couture, now the cuisine

Don't ask me what made Theo put together mini-skewers of mandarin orange, grapes, and polish sausage.

Doesn't his face just prove how delicious it is?

In further domestica, I finished the DNA cable scarf for Tim, just in time for his trip to Ottawa! I'm pretty sure the double helix is even spinning in the right direction: