Insubordiknit

This won't hurt a bit

Oh merciful Zeus, I'm so ready to have this baby. Come 7:30 am on February the 14th, that's what I'll be doing. Yes, to the shock and dismay of my internal naturalist, I am having a planned C-section, and you know what, I'm a-okay with it.

Little Bit was born via emergency c-section after 59 hours of undrugged, home-birthing, midwife-attended labor. It was hard, hard work - the hardest I've ever done. I haven't even been able to watch the video yet (and not just because of it's epic length). Being pregnant with him was a joy. Labor, while difficult as all get out, was still joyous (and painful and messy). This baby has been an altogether different story -- difficult. But that's not why I'm not even giving it a running shot at dropping out the ole hoohaa, I'm just not able. My wonderful doctor was willing to let me try a VBAC until she saw the x-rays and notes from my previous birth. With that came the news that due to a strangely bent pelvic bone, my birth canal would remain bare and skinny for all eternity. So I'm okay with the planned extraction. No guilt here. No siree. For LB's pregnancy I alleviated my fear by resting on the idea that my body was made for this, now I alleviate my fear by resting on the idea that science was made for this.

I'm ready doc, open me up.

Generosity unbridled

If I've ever in my life doubted kindness, or lost faith in generosity, or just plain gave up on strangers (or those met on the internet), this past 10 days has gone above and beyond full restoration. Really. I'm standing in a circle of swirling leaves, blown away! This is the pile, PILE, of sock yarn that has arrived at my house from various knitters across the country. All counted there are 52 hanks of yarn, making a whopping 34 pairs of socks! 34 pairs! Before, where I was having trouble knitting socks because I didn't want to use my last hank, now I'm having trouble because I just don't know which yarn to choose fist. Should I grab some vespa yarn, some skeintilly clad, some lornas laces, some fleece artist, some lisa souza, some koigu? These are the problems everyone should have, much nicer than the which bill should I pay this month variety. Thanks everyone. Really.

And then there was the box for Little Bit. Lots and lots of playmobil, lego knitghts, lego racecars and toobers! Yep, it was a hard day at land and sea...

And just in case I gave you the impression that my life is about anything but socks right now, here's Scout's Swag that just came in the mail yesterday, along with the wonderful sock blocker which is currently blocking the swag from scout that came last month. The pattern is Monkey from knitty and it's really wonderful! I should have the 2nd one finished today or tomorrow.

Baby (19 days), birthday (11 days), and FO (customer) news upcoming...

Spin. Knit. Sock generosity

What have I been doing all week? Let me give you a glimpse of my life right now. Spin. Knit. Spin. Knit. Spin. Knit. Get super cool sock yarn in the mail from super cool knitters. Spin. Knit.

Yes, that’s right. Ask and you shall receive, at least that’s how it worked this time. I mentioned my sad sock stash and what reared its head? Generosity, kindness, super-cool-osity. Look at my growing stash, look at it! There’s spunky eclectic, sunshine yarns, fleece artist, koigu, lisa souza. And that’s not all that’s coming either. There are several more people sending stuff. Can you believe it? It’s all so beautiful I don’t know what to knit with first. Well, first I suppose I should finish the little beauties below. Remember I said I had exactly one hank of sock yarn left, well, Monkey is taking shape all over scout’s swag. Amazing, aren’t they? The pattern is fun, pretty easy to memorize, and doesn’t that yarn sing with it?

And for the spinning, it’s going great, if not a bit tiring. I’ve got less than 4 weeks until the baby is due to arrive and my board looks like this.

What that reads is 40 custom and shop orders but that doesn’t include my weekly shop updates. Lots of spinning to do, but it’s great and needed and will really help during my whopping 4 hours of maternity leave.

Insubordiknit Bio!

Insubordiknit is a one-woman handspinning operation juggled and struggled on a daily basis by artist and fiber aficionado Jacey Boggs, and headquartered in the greenish Lauraville neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.

Jacey has an insatiable appetite for knitting. Insubordiknit yarns are spun with knitters in mind – even the wildest of art yarns is constructed with attention to stability and durability.

Jacey is an animal-hugging vegan. Insubordiknit animal-fiber yarns are spun from humane, farm sanctuary fibers. All are handpainted using acid color/light fast dyes.

Jacey employs only quality apparatus. Insubordiknit yarns are spun on a folding Lendrom and/or an Ashford Traditional, with batts carded on a Strauch Petite.

Sometimes Jacey needs a hand. Insubordiknit yarns are sometimes wound, weighed, packed, invoiced, labeled, counted, and otherwise fondled by either or both of the following: Jacey’s he-man partner, a strapping, bearded, tattooed rocker with a quick wit and rippling musculature (okay, he’s writing this), and Jacey’s young son, a tow-headed boy genius with an iron will and the face of a dewy baby fairy.

Insubordiknit yarns have been featured in Bust Magazine (3 xs), Knitscene, and Yarn Market News, as well as the silver tongues of spinners and knitters nationwide.

The entire Insubordiknit operation (such as we are) loves to have you around! You can visit Jacey and her willing helpers at www.insubordiknit.com, hear the Insubordiknit Podcast or drop Jacey a line. In fact, when you create something marvelous with Insubordiknit yarns, please send along some pictures for the gallery!

On the heels...

I know that I said before that my favorite heel construction was the heel flap, gusset etc. I said it, there’s no denying it. But I left that baby behind last week when I finished these! The yarn is, of course, Scout’s swag, the pattern, nothing special, just a deep rib and stockinette, however, the real deal is the heel! Yep, I ventured, I risked, and baby, I WON! The afterthought heel is the one for me. Although afterthought is a bit of misnomer, is it not? I mean, I thought and thought, I even got online and looked up directions – with pictures! These heels were well thought about. Just look at that construction -- perfect. So lovely, so easy, so freakin' comfortable.

And I said that I left that heel flap behind last week when I finished these (well-thought-out) afterthought heels, but the truth is, I left those dirty rotten heel flaps behind 2 weeks ago when while innocently treadling along on wormy the wonder wheel, I felt a sudden chill in my left heel. Yep, a blow out, in new-ish socks, the slipped sanity slip stich socks that were finished so proudly only a few months ago. Argh. I mean, I did wear them often, 2-3 times a week, trying to wear only handknit socks when I only have 4 pairs, but still…

So on the blown out heel of those came these beauties. Now I’m hooked. I’ve only got one single hank of sock yarn left in my stash, I’m partial to the hand-painted stuff, you see. One hank left. What pattern should I do? I want something noticeable different but not super hard as I’m also about to start Rogue for Project Spectrum and it’s a pay attention knit. I’m also planning on starting a folk shawl for my mom sometime soon. So, any suggestions on a cool but not too engaging sock pattern that would make a hand painted (but not striping) sock yarn shine? Tell me!

Also, if there’s anyone out there that has huge piles of sock yarn and suddenly finds themselves without needles or you know, feet, I’m open to large donations. Heh. Or of course, a trade? I’ve got handspun, I’ve got monster hats kits, and soon I’ll be posting my new junkyard scarf kit (they’ve been waiting for their photo shoot for months!) Let me know socksters!

Okay, and for those of you foodies out there -- here’s this week’s vegan menu:

Mains –
potato leek gratin
tofu loaf
smothered collards and beans
pasta with swiss chard and caramelized balsamic onions
Simmered one pot tempeh
broccoli mushroom soup
maple butternut squash
Mac n cheese casserole

Sides –
potato leek gratin leftovers
glazed turnips
boiled cabbage (not a word! I adore this stuff
various veggies

Desserts –
chocolate chip brownies
lemon coconut rice pudding
muffins, of course

Secrets of a successful birthday

One of my biggest fears as a parent, hell, as an adult, has been kid birthday parties. Yep, I’ve seen and heard the horror stories, screaming grumpy kids, traumatized kids, kids hopped up on white icing and store bought sheet cakes, faces smeared with stickiness and stuck in a kind of screaming scowl. I know the truth, man. And so Little Bit has gone a full 5 years without a party to speak of. I mean, we’ve had special dinners, grandparents, homemade presents, etc. But never ever a party complete with, you know, other kids and stuff. Until this year…

He’s five, and awesome. Seriously, I don’t think I talk enough about how super cool my kid is. How I'm so lucky to get to be around such a rockstar kid. He’s truly marvelous, and one of the reasons I waited so long to have another, I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could, I didn’t want to share him with a sibling, and honestly, I just didn’t think another kid could live up to him. He’s that cool, and funny, and compassionate, and smart. So this amazing child, who walked and talked at 10 months, could read anything by 4.5 years, can dance, sing, and tell a joke like no other, he finally got to have a birthday party. And let me tell you, it rocked!

I was expecting him to want it to be pirate-y or wizard-y, both things he’s been a bit into lately, but now, he wanted a unicorn party. A unicorn party, there was no doubt, that’s what he wanted.

I asked him to help with all the preparations, so he drew a unicorn for the invitations. Is it not the most awesome unicorn ever (that pic at the top is a copy of the original made into a necklace)? Oh geez, I’ve turned into one of those parents haven’t I? Deal with it for one post, okay? Be thankful you don’t know me in person; most people have to deal with it constantly. But really, the unicorn, it kicks ass, right? Bill scanned it and wrote the party info on the body, printed them on construction paper and we sent them out. To our surprise, all most all of the kids/parents LB invited consented to come! He was so excited. We spent a few days making up little party bags for his guests. Which by the end we called our choking hazard bags because they contained so many tiny trinkets. Each of the 10 bags included a super cool marble, a capsule that expands into a sponge bug when put in water, a sparkly poof ball that someone gave mea bunch of for spinning and which I’ll never use for spinning, LB’s unicorn made into a shrinky-dink and hung on a hemp cord for a necklace (and no, I haven’t taken mine off since the party), and a homemade foam unicorn horn-party-hat.

Little Bit handed the bags out as the kids/parents arrived and again, to my surprise, everyone was happy to wear their necklace and unicorn horn.

Oh, and did I mention that it had been raining and chilly for days before and after but the day of his party was 70 and sunny! Yep, we had all the windows open, and the kids played out back on the trampoline and trees.

And the kids, they were fun and gracious, not a single scramble or skirmish. The played and ran and when the cake came out (carrot cake by me, decorations by Bill), they all sat at the table, sang, and polished off that cake! LB beamed. He’s very used to being the center of attention with adults, because he’s around so many all the time, but to be the center of attention of all his friends made him glow. I was so happy for him.

Of course there were presents, but they were thoughtful and creative as well, nothing over the top, no junk, really cool stuff. He got a 100 color sampler pack of fimo clay, which we use often and were almost out of, some super cool books on things he likes, dinosaurs, unicorns, and my favorite – tree houses! a flower press, some playmobil (which is currently his favorite set of toys), a gobbling game, and lots and lots of kid-made art (which is my favorite). There wasn’t’ even any fighting or grabbing during the unwrapping, they did it themselves, handing LB the packages and passing around the presents afterward. Did I mention how cool it was?

Yeah, it pretty much rocked my socks. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that the parents of LB’s friends are as cool as his friends. I had such a great time standing around and chatting with everyone. My good friends came down from NJ with their 3 kids, and it was amazing, as always, to hang with them. We really are so lucky to have such cool people and kids around us, it almost makes up for the ones we love and miss.

So there you have it – the perfect kid party. The secret – cool kids, progressive parents, unicorns, carrot cake, no organized games, and a 70 degree day in the middle of winter.