First again? I feel like a stalker...

I am famous for taking pieces of Knitty patterns and creating my own fabulousness. Right now? Check out the pattern for Coronet. I'm making it in the a Rowan Polar PILLOW. I'll let ya know how that turns out.....

*into, not in the :)

e -- I think I should start making pillows, too. That way I could still stick with the beloved square but I could try some new wacky techniques.

p.s. I brake for stalkers! hee

I did an improvised version of a fingerless glove, by knitting a square (I live on the edge, just like you Laurie) and then doing my own version of crochet (I've never officially learned how to do this, I just pretend and hope it holds things together) to sew up the sides, leaving a hole for my thumb about an inch from the top. I wear them in the winter when I type to keep my fingers from freezing off! :) So I guess they are more like a wrist warmer than a fingerless glove... or maybe it is actually the TRUE fingerless, who knows! But they serve the purpose and required very little thought and certainly no pattern!

I love how the kitties are all snuggled together......awwwww soooo cute :-) I tried knitting a tea cozy for my boyfriend (he's English, and actually requested a tea cozy.....odd I know) - I used a pattern from 1950's and that tea cozy nearly broke me dang-it- I almost tossed the sticks for good!!....I never finished it, I have 14 pieces in various stages of aw-I-f*^~ed-up again of that silly thing stuffed in my knitting basket - may not be all that strange but it sure was frustrating!! Thursday's my FAVORITE day :-)

YAY FOR PILLOWS!!!

Um, yes. I meant to say that in a dignified and grown-up way. I fail.

Pillows are the greatest things EVAR.

* a note to my previous post, I just sewed two opposite sides together, so that it formed a tube to stick my hand in... not sure that was blatantly obvious in my afternoon attempt at clarity.

I knitted a kntting needle cozy for my knitting needles. It is a loooong circular tube that I used as practice for socks with my new double pointed needles and both me and my son have cell phone cozies because every cell phone needs one. I have yet to follow a pattern, it is too much fun to just create. I'm almost done with my first sock.

I haven't done any really wild improvising yet. I tend to only knit something I like, and I worry that if I mess with it too much, I'll get something I really, really don't like.

I'm going to be sort of improvising on kids' socks soon, though (say that three times real fast). They want socks that look like superhero boots. I'm using Yarn Harlot's basic sock recipe, revised to fit my family's long skinny feet, but then I'll have to do colorwork to make them look like superhero boots. I have one order for Superman and one for Wonder Woman. Good thing they (the kids) are still tiny and cute.

Oh, they're both boys, too.

In other news, Laurie, how would you feel about meeting one of your readers who only sometimes comments? I'm unexpectedly going to be in L.A. later in April. It's only a couple of days, and I swear I'm not a stalker.

Yeah Victor, you've made it this far buddy, just hold on for one more day! (heh)

Just remembered the improvised crochet headphone cozies. The old foam covers fell apart so I fake crochet some blue ones and my sons told me they were the lamest things they had ever seen. I wear them with pride when I jam on the computer.

Tai -- LOVE you for working in some wilson phillips this early in the a.m.!!!! LOL

Anna Liza, yes! Will you be in town on a Thursday? You could come to snb :) Next week at SNB, Kellie is coming all the way from NEW ZEALAND. I am very excited.

psychomom, socks!! Lucia must have gotten to you ;)

The weirdest thing was Womb, from Knitty; I sent it to my Mom in a box labled 'One replacement part' after her hysterectomy. I now have an interesting reputation in the medical halls of Macon, Georgia...

LOL @ psychomom, everyone laughs at me because I refuse to wear earbuds, I only wear those big old-fasioned headphones. On the bus. I rock.

and hi to everyone :)

Hi Laurie, I love the truckster, I think that would be the way to camp!

So there was this cute little kitten to be knit. It was a rectangle and a couple other bits using increasing and decreasing. I made one. It's head flopped about a bit. But then I decided to improve upon it and make one for my friend since she had to leave her kitty w/ her parents while she is studying in Belgium. I improvised. Bigger yarn, bigger needles... just how much bigger can it be?

OH. MY. GOD.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/n0nnahs/131538908/in/set-72057594112557681/

Let me say the first one I knit, sat in the palm of my hand. This one, not so much.

Weirdest thing? A nose warmer, with loops to go over my ears and keep it on my face. That was nearly 20 years ago in a badly heated apartment. I was really desperate. The funniest thing about that is that when we moved, I couldn't find it. I've always wondered what whoever found it thought it was.

I made a pillow for my mother for Christmas! I was pleased with how it turned out, and she loved it! There's a picture on my blog, http://knit-read-cats-hockey.blogspot.com/search?q=pillow if you want to see, though of course all it is is your basic tube with the ends closed off. It was super-easy!

Oh THANKS, Terri. You're going to get me kicked out the the library. My mom is having breast cancer surgery next week, I wonder if Knitty. . . .

-Rachel Yes! Look in to the Knitty archives, I think. There's a scarf pattern dedicated to breasts.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/knittyF04surp.pdf

Also:http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTbits.html

Good luck to her! My bf goes for colorectal cancer surgey later in April.

Ok, so is NOBODY watching AI this season? Just me?

I think I once saw some knitted boobies online, actually....

Rachel, thoughts and prayers to your mom :)

Now I really AM going to get kicked out of the library! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers everyone!

At the local dive bar I frequent (frequently in fact) a guy who found out that I knit, asked if I could possibly knit a Cartman hat for him. (like the South Park character)I ordered (machine washable & dryable) yarn from knitpicks and worked the basic roll brim hat recipe(love you Laurie!) in rib so that it wouldn't roll.
The decreases (shoes) were a little funky as I tried to equally decrease the ribbing while ignoring the actual count so it didn't look like a spiral. I had way too much fun! - The "pattern" I ended up using sounded a lot like me repeating out loud to myself and my dogs "decrease these 6 to become 5, hmmm Knit, no, PurltwotogetherrrHAH! yesss"
I saw the guy last night and he said that the hat looks and fits perfect and he's already worn it all over town and the pom pom fell off and can he please have another?
So, anyone have a magic trick for hardcore pom poms?

Hi Laurie - loved the truckster too - what an awesome way to go!! I found your website by accident - looking for an easy hat pattern - and of course - am forever hooked with your wonderful way with words. I have not yet embarked on the hat though - only scarves and the little dishcloth with the decorative edge and super simple baby booties. The little dishcloth pattern actually makes up into a really nice baby blanket in a grander scale using fun yarns. But the wierdest thing (I didn't knit this) but I have the 2007 Pattern-a-Day Calendar and I think the pattern for valentines day was a Knitted Thong ... It looked like it would have been quick - but I am not sure what the comfort level would have been?!

I am getting together with some master knitters this weekend for a party so I am pretty excited to branch out from scarves and the super simple baby booties to something more ...

Sue

P.S. We have a Trader Joes in the Twin Cities too.

I don't know whether this is weird, per se, but I knit cozies for everything. I like to take notes on index cards, and my index cards needed a cozy. My iPod, my memory stick, our GameBoy, you name it, it has a cozy. Except the teapot - it doesn't have a cozy yet. But the French press does. :)

Pretty picture of the skyline! And pretty pictures of the cats, of course!

Love the cats... and hate Blake... he gives me the total creeps, I can't watch him... realized Tuesday that he reminds me of my high school boyfriend. But much of the love for the divas.

Laurie, you simply must start watching Dancing with the Stars on Monday nights. I hate any kind of competition TV (well, except jeopardy) and this has sucked me in like a tv vortex. And loooooove the parental trailer unit - it's positively posh!

And AI Laurie? Loved Blake until the character voice he did - shudder - the attraction was lost. I keep DVRng the episodes though.
I have watched most of the other seasons and have a friend that was on the show in 2004, I know she made the top 12...and came back for the wild card when they still had it.

I knit a guitar strap for my DH mandolin for Valentine's Day. It went FAST! I did it with bamboo yarn. I will declare that I am a non-ambitious knitter.

The craziest thing I ever knit? My intarsia Hello Cthulhu pillow.

http://stitch-witch.net/cthulu.html

Yep. The worst part was I didn't think to overstitch the black outline, so I had upwards of 6 bobbins going at once. I think about making another one as a bag for myself... and then I regain my sanity.

Not into AI this year, Laurie, sorry. Are you still hanging in there with LOST though?

Last night's episode? Good or bad? I can't decide.

Love the truckster. I want one.

Been reading for a while now, when I first found your blog I spent, um a couple of weeks, never at work of course, reading all the archive. Oh the hilarity.

Anyway, I am like you I get bored of patterns in about, a minute. So I'd never knit a hat before and I thought it was time. I got the preemie beanie pattern from Unwind so I could practice and make babies warm at the same time. I lasted one whole tiny baby hat with that pattern. Then of course branched out, added some thing, changed it a little here and a little there. Fortunately these little experiments didn't actually cause disaster although one of them did kind of end up large, more of a toddler than a preemie, but they need warm heads too right? Now I am addicted to hats as well. I need more friends who wear hats in L.A. Too bad the weather is getting warmer, less need for knits. Oh, the rambling, I do go on, sorry. BTW nose wamer? funny.

Viva Victor! Viva Francisco! Viva Blake & the Divas! Love the kitty picture, awwww.

Rachel - knitty does totally have knitted boobs; knit a bunch in different colors to coordinate with different outfits! Wish I'd known about these when my mother had her mastectomy....

As for weird things I've made - I'm afraid to think about this too hard (don't like to think what memories might creep out of the woodwork), but the easy answer, the one I'm actually proud of, is Archie the Giant Squid:

http://www.tsocktsarina.com/blog/?p=7

Shannon.....I LOVE the knit kitty! So cute! Do you have a pattern for it?

I'm a boring knitter....pretty much by the pattern. Any variations tend to go very wrong. *le sigh*

-- That sure puts the "Ahhh" in "Ahhrr Vee!" Can't you get your folks to leave it in LA and take your house home with them?

-- I would watch AI is Sobakowa were on. Otherwise, I'll stick to Dancing With The Stars.

-- That picture of LA helps explain why you stayed there instead of moving closer to your folks. (I did wonder.)

I thought the craziest thing would be the little felted bowls I just finished. But they're truly adorable and not crazy at all and I ended up filling them with shredded paper (aka Easter grass) and candy and I'm giving them to my grandchildren. And then I made another one, only bigger, but haven't felted it yet so I don't know if bigger will work.

Laurie, you know you're a True Knitter when you just can't leave a pattern alone.

I've actually gotten the Husband to watch AI with me this season. (I'm not sure how it happened, either.) I don't really like any of the guys (except beatbox boy). Likin' the divas, though.

As for odd knitted things...

http://nosestuckinabook.blogspot.com/2007/03/knitting-pics.html

Scroll down to the last one. Yeah, it's weird. I haven't put it out yet--we're moving in a couple of weeks, and will be living someplace where I can "legally" put stuff in our trees.

Oh, my god. When you said they were traveling in style, I didn't realize they were driving the Donald Trump version of an RV!

Sanjaya needs to go in the box to the left.

To the left, to the left ...

Dude ... I'll admit it! "Hi, my name is Kat and I watch American Idol!". Sadly, we even have an office pool for it (in which I'm tied for the lead!!! (whoo hooo!))

I'm thinkin' Blake and Jordin in the finals. I know Melinda and LaKesha rock (and I like Gina too) but because America will KNOW that the divas have gigs after this is done (you know they'll get record deals) I think they might get the boot. Plus they split the vote because their style is similar. (hello?! too much time spent analyzing this, ya think??? ...lol). Okay, I'll shut up now. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone! :)

I'm still working up the nerve to tackle the dpns -of -death part on your "easy knit roll brim hat." And in the vein of crazy hat and scarf accoutrements, e.g. tassels and pom-poms, I did knit up some Crazy Corkscrew Worms that were shown in ??????? some new book I checked out of the library that was aimed at the teen knitter novice...the worms are really wacky looking. The design is by Lisa R. Myers. Sanjaya is sooo creepy. In fact I think this is the absolutely worst season ever of AI. But I still have to watch...

Frankie she was a good feline, and Victor, he was her onion...

I never use patterns, or rather I never use other people's patterns, and if I do they're invariably different by the time I'm done with them. Weirdest knitted item: cat toys. I'm sending you a picture.

Really? You want to know the weirdest thing I ever knit? You're sure? OK...here goes...you asked for it:

First a tiny bit of background on how this came to be: We have a very prim and proper friend in our little group. She blushes at the mere mention of body parts. Well, her hubby has been deployed to Iraq, and we knew she'd be -ah- lonely while he was gone, so we got her a little gag gift so she wouldn't be so lonely. Know what I mean? ;)

Well, her new friend needed a cozy, no? =)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/betheany/438883403/

Now that I've actually read the comments... bwahaha! yes, I've perfected my long-distance mind-control sock ray. You WILL be assockilated.

Tsockstarina, I love Archie! I'm now totally embarrassed that I even mentioned cat toys.

Rachel, I'll be thinking about your mom.

I heart Blake. No, I really do. I love his dancing and his smoldering gaze. Mmm. Lakisha has a weird mouth, and annoys me. Melinda's good, but annoys me with her overly sweet, "aw shucks, am I really that good?" act, and so I heart Blake. Sanjaya is horrifically awful, but prob has the pre-teen vote. Ugh.

Lovin' the Frankster.

Oh, and patterns? I've paid for them, I've gotten them for free. I've even bought magazines for them. But (and I've been knitting for 3 years now?), I have yet to follow one exactly. Just my OCD-esque need to be in control.

Oh, and my BFF/former BF is hooked on AI *this* year, the one year when I could care less. You could email him about Sanjayayayayayaya.

Oh, and last nite's Lost? AMAZING. LOVED IT.

I'm so excited that you now watch AI! That was the only thing missing from my "Lauris is my long lost twin sister" type of stalking crazy. Sanjaya is the strangest contestant ever...without the hair, he would have been gone a long time ago.

Stephanie in Tennessee (and others that may be interested) - the knitted kitty pattern can be found at http://geobabe.livejournal.com/227621.html

Knitted knockers...yep for breast cancer survivors who hate the silicone ones...
check it out
http://www.theknittingexperience.com/main/Blog/6BBD2AE7-3527-48E8-BCDB-920DF4123638.html

That's the weirdest.

Here in England some places can't afford synthetic breasts to teach breastfeeding... so they get them knit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6338819.stm

http://www.theknittingexperience.com/main/Blog/6BBD2AE7-3527-48E8-BCDB-920DF4123638.html

Sorry, I don't think the link in the previous post worked because it was missing some important parts for the knockers preview.

http://www.theknittingexperience.com/main/Blog/
6BBD2AE7-3527-48E8-BCDB-920DF4123638.html

I give up if this one doesn't work. Sorry Laurie for hogging the posts just so you can see the knitted knocker pics.

I can't think of any weird things that I've knit :-(

When I first saw the picture with Victor in it, I could only see the top part, and I saw the bag and yarn and my first thought was BOOBIES!

Better check Frankie for onion breath.

leif garrett was so much hotter than sanjaya. please.

i don't knit weird things but i did crochet an olympic flame and a bone. crochet is so much easier to improvise with.

i like your parents' wheels. definitely bigger and nicer than my boston apartment was.

My weirdest knit is probably the squid hat:
http://noricum.blogspot.com/2007/01/fun-and-fo.html

Love Blake!! When he did "Time of the Season" WOW..gave me a case of the vapors! Hated to see Sundance, Chris & Stephanie leave before the one who "people watch with their mute button" and who "must not have a mirror in his dressing room" did! Jordin is my next fav then the divas.
We have a Minnie unplush truckster......still the only way to camp.

Laurie,

Just so you'll know: I am hooked on your blog.
So hooked, in fact, that I started quoting you to various friends. Now, all of my friends love you too.

So, today, one of my friends asked me what your URL is, so that she might share it with her children's teacher.

Gird your loins, honey. I think you might be on the verge of becoming a role model to the younger set (like Kindergarten young). Or a cautionary tale.

I don't' have a clue which, but thought you'd enjoy the notion either way.

Hug the furry kids for me!

The secret of why AI picks bad singers over better ones is that it's what they're looking for. My daughter's friend tried to get on Idol a couple of years ago, and they told her that her voice sounded too professional; they said they want people they can take from zero to starhood. The friend had taken lessons and sung in small-town musical theater, plus been in a Broadway musical as a chorus member.

The strangest thing I ever knit was my Fiber Fish. They are mittens, but shaped like fish and you can actually wear them. I'm very proud of them because nothing like them has ever existed in the world of knitting before.

That is one fancy camper! I can't imagine trying to back up in that thing. Of course, I have enough problems in my little Mazda.

The sunrise is gorgeous.

Hey, my family "camps" the same way!!

This.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/99595446@N00/sets/72157594549288474/

This is the worst thing I've ever knit. But it's some of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.

I never thought of it as weird, but I knit the womb from Knitty. I knit it in cotton chenille using Hot pink for the uterus, green for the cervix and ultramarine blue for the fallopian tubes. It was a for a baby shower and I thought it would make a great baby toy.

Since I have a baby sister who lost a breast to cancer the knitted knockers actually brought tears to my eyes.

A knocker for her though, would only take a couple yards of yarn.

When my niece was very small, her very favorite toy was a 6 foot long rubber snake (by the name of Paco). She was concerned that Paco would get cold in the winter, so despite hating snakes, rubber or otherwise, to the very depths of my being, I knit a very long, skinny sweater for that stupid snake. With bobbles (which I also hate). I believe I was vying for the title Coolest Aunt Ever. I don't think I won, though.

I tried to knit a cover for my Kitchenaid stand mixer, and since I only knew how to knit hats at the time....that's right, a GINORMOUS hatasaurus rex cover for the mixer in blue/white kitchen cotton. Hey, it was only a little bit large, about the size of a toilet bowl. That's what I get for trying to "make up" my own pattern! And for the record, I put it over the mixer anyway---only in the cupboard...

I'll admit it. I'm a 38 year old woman addicted to AI. My friend's 10 year old daughter is in love with Sanjaya and I think that might be an explanation as to why he's still there. I don't ever vote (because I'll admit I watch it but don't want to admit I actually pull out my phone and vote for anyone) but 10 year old girls are apparently voting in large numbers. I've watched every season so far, but if Sanjaya wins this will be my last season watching.

Ugh, the "pontytail-mohawk teenage Leif-Garret-esque strangely unsexy sex symbol" is just AWFUL! I really wish he'd go home already.

On the other hand, I have the biggest crush on Blake Lewis.

OMG...I must've missed a post...since when do you have a plant named "Victor"??!!

Sanjaya is as sexy as two week old mac 'n cheese...and I don't even watch Idol.

Laurie, About Sanjaya...have you seen this???
http://www.votefortheworst.com/
I'm sad, but It's probably true. And we all shudder when the good ones go home. km

Laurie, the pain as you watched AI was definitely NOT the knitting. Just sayin'.

Elemmaciltur, skip back to last week sometime. I WONDERED why you never caught it and commented before!!! LOL

Hands down the weirdest thing I've ever knit has got to be the snatchel from the latest issue of the Anticraft. Gave it to my sister who is a cervical cancer survivor. Her response was "What is wrong with my FAMILY?!" I also knit and felted a bulletin board. That was my third knitting project right after two scarves.

Viva le Victor! Good luck with that. I wish it was warm enough here to plant anything!!!

I can't believe people actually drive those things! Only in America. How do you get them round corners?? They definitely wouldn't fit on the roads here in NZ.

I can't believe they drove it on the freeways of LA.....Scary!

Now I have to go knit some body parts. And maybe a kitty. I am SO in trouble!

Laurie, I emailed you and blogged about the trip. I'm keepin' fingers crossed we can both be in the same room at the same time!

"Corners? We don't need no stinkin' corners!"

I love the truckster!!!but I don't think there is a single road around here that would have room for it!!!

Weirdest thing to knit? I'm pretty happy with following a pattern...but my son, age 14-to-be, loves knitting. Just plain knitting. no pattern, never mind the colours nor the difference in fibers- he just knits. So I set him off on a bag in wool, knitted in the round(he even managed to turn it inside out-without noticing...) in lots of crazy colours-he is nearly done, and then I will finish it off and felt it. It looks -hmmmm-rather interesting...lol.

Wierdest thing? I'd have to say my pieces of pie.

In Cherry
and blueberry!

They certainly seem to perplex people enough anyway. Love 'em though!

oops, links didn't work
http://pieknits.com/pattern.html
http://www.magknits.com/Nov06/patterns/pie.htm

Victor is one brave onion. My kitties would have gnawed his greenery off. And then thrown it up all over the carpet.

The weirdest thing I've ever knit was a bright purple sweater for a tree. Um... yea...

I once knit a uterus. I do not tell a lie. I actually know the designer too. http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTwomb.html

And I too adore Blake! He picks the greatest songs. That song by The Cure! Adored it!

Blake is hot, hot, hot!!! I think he and Dolittle will go one and two. I also have a thing for that sexy Chris Richardson - yummm. I've watched AI for the last 3 seasons and I am not ashamed to say I dig it!
I just knit my first pair of socks out of chunky yarn and had to go rogue with the pattern which I found here and highly recommend for the newbie sock knitter. I made mine shorter with a k2, p2 rib for about 3", k 4 rows then went right into the heel. I also made the heel and toe a contrasting color - takes about 1 1/2 hours per sock.
http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/kwe-socks.html

I don't think I've been knitting long enough to have any crazy/bizarro product, unless my first hat, an all-multicolored-fun-fur-all-the-time-your-head-looks-like-an-experiment-in-fungi disaster counts. I tend to think "bizarre" as "ooh, I like" though (what? I'm weird), and this was more the classic newbie-knitter-with-no-taste schtick.

Or so I tell myself.

I lived in my car once. Best two weeks of my life. I loved driving my wardrobe around with me.

THANK YOU GOD, I am not the only person whose parents come to visit me in Los Angeles IN THEIR RV. And I will have you know I love it!

My folks drove out in the "silver twinkie" (as I affectionately call the Airstream) in June. I tried and failed to explain to all the California people that having dinner with my folks in the Airstream with our pit bull was the most comforting night in LA I had ever spent.

I've never really knit anything weird, because I'm too much of a slave to patterns. No thinking outside the box for this gal! I've crocheted a few strange things, though... worm bookmarks with huge pompom tails, and a dog purse. Not a purse to carry a dog, but a purse that the dog wore around her neck.

i quit once sundance got voted off. i just can't get that excited about the rest of them.

though i think my dad is getting more and more angry each week that sanjaya doesn't get voted off.

OK, I dig patterns, though I do frequently edit them... more because I have to figure out how to correct (or at least blend) a mistake without frogging 12 rows...

BUT

When I was 10, Mom taught me to knit a scarf. When I was 11, I took it one step further and taught myself to decrease (k2tog -- isn't she brilliant, folks!) so as to knit a sort of stocking cap for the dorsal fin of a good-sized (like 12" long) plastic shark.

There was a matching scarf, but I'm not sure a shark scarf is as weird as a fin warmer.

I love your family's idea of camping. That's the way it should be.

Also, I'm still not watching AI.

Weirdest thing - I knit arms & legs (full length with fingers & toes, shoulder & thigh shaping) out of artificial sinew for a Canadian artist.

Thank God I do not watch AI!!

Not the strangest thing I knit, but: I taught a gal to knit in January. We started with the basic scarf. About 20 stitches long. She was knitting it tighter than a virgin's vajaja while we sat in our coffeeshop, then headed home.

Two days later she emailed to say that her scarf had strangely morphed to something 48 stitches wide and was not looking very scarf like.

Wisely, she bound it off and turned it into a little wrap for her cat. (who does not know PhotoShop enough to add it's own comments on the prize).

Hey, Laurie! I love AI. At the moment, I really love Phil Stacey. The baby blue eyes get me every time. And he looks almost identical to my ex-heartthrob, so you know, there's that. And, Gina! I love her hair, and I really think she is the most improved. Not that I think either of them is actually going to win, but I really like them. My guess for the winner is either Melinda or LaKisha. But, you never know. I think Blake is "ok", but his pencil thin lips kinda creep me out a little. And like Simon said, if you close your eyes, his voice is not really something all that great. But, he does have some serious talent with the beatboxing thing.

When I was young, my family always went camping in our RV. My DH always wants to go camping, but he and I can't seem to agree on what roughing it means. I think my parents ruined it for me!

Never watched A.I. until last season when homeboy Elliott Yamin made it to the top 3. His new album is out now, by the way, in case anyone was wondering....

But, this new season has put me right back in my "this show is crap" mindset. Well, really, it's the idiots who are voting for talent-less Sanjaya over talented Chris Sligh who are crap. Love the divas, though -- one of them will surely win.

Weirdest knit item? Don't really have one, although I'm contemplating knitting the uterus pattern that's in Knitty, for my former college roommate who is now an OB/GYN.

It sounds like you're enjoying some freeform knitting, and so if you haven't already visited Prudence Mapstone's website, you should check it out: http://www.knotjustknitting.com/ . Some wicked-cool stuff there, and no pattern required.

Rachel, had to skip comments after I read yours--- Knitty has a pattern for bra fillers post-op. the name was "tit bits" which has stuck in my head. Best wishes to you and your mom!

p.s. My wierdest knit has to be a parakeet cosy. They like to snuggle when they sleep, but if you only have one, they make these ugly faux-fur things to hang in the cage. So I knit one in fuzzy yarn. I didn't even weave ends because 1, its a BIRD, and 2, she likes to pick at strings.

You need to plant Victor on a last quarter moon and he will grow quite nicely, be sure to water him for two weeks straight as well so, he can get over the fact that he is now planted. I planted some of my onions in a nice pot in the back yard and the one is starting to seed out. I am waiting for a nice onion to form on the bottom. I am hoping it is a 1015 and it is big so, I can have some super great onion rings. Yum yum.

Laurie - I totally agree with Dawn. I am also stalker of your blog. You are awesome!

Since I found your blog, I come visit to check up what is new with you. Is that creepy? You are interesting and write well(and don't mention Britney Spears constantly). I even decided to advertise on your site-ha!
I just watched a good episode of knitty gritty. It got me thinking because I get a little bored with patterns as well.
I seem to find myself making a lot "knitting project bags", but there are way more bags than knitting projects.

I have to wonder...can you make Victor square? Just something to think about...:)

I knit, by request, a teeny coat for my nieces friends hamster. Then found out you shouldn't put "woolens" and such on hamsters because it would raise their body temp and possibly kill them. So it was an ordeal trying to get it back from this kid so she wouldn't put it on the poor animal and turn me into a hamster killer. Other than that, I crocheted a scarf with a puppy face and droopy ears, which fell smack dab on the middle of your chest when worn. My sister loved it. Go figure.

Brianna, you asked about pom-poms. Look back at Laurie's January 31 post -- she gave amazing directions. And to help keep them on? I frequently put a large button on the inside and then sew thru the button hole and then back up & around for added support.

Rachel, best wishes for your mom.

I knit beer cozies from Bamboozled, a meditation pillow and filled it with dried beans, and am currently knitting boots. Soon to be knitting and felting travel bags for my favorite gay men out of noro. I love knitting strange things. Like my hide-a-pillow.

Your cats actually lay on their pussycat bed pads? Lucky. My pussycat lays on everything but. The couch, the rug, my head, the cold tile floor, and immediately next to the pad. But never on the pad.

Oops, I just commented on this post but on the previous post. Spacy, sorry!

Love everyone's weird knitting! I don't knit weird (not on purpose), but certainly wing it on occasion. My dumbest (so far--still working on dumber) is an improvised "tam" hat. Thank God I did the practice run on a ball of leftover $2 Red Heart SuperSaver in harvest gold--possibly the ugliest yarn on earth. Predictably, it resulted in the ugliest hat, too, but no expensive yarn wasted. It looks like a deflated pumpkin! It's big enough to use as a lampshade! And, re Sanjaya, my kid has similar long hair and last night we tried to mimick the 'do! The Kid is such a good sport.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sputnik1/

I love your blog, it's on my top ten list of great blogs!

I have knit a few strange items over the years, but I believe the weirdest must be the felted nest/cage I made for my rat. He sleeps in it and eats in it - the weirdest but also most frequently used item ever.

I have knitted some deeply strange things, most of which I have given away. But I have a Noro cozy for my blowgun, and I knitted an armadillo hat years ago. I need to blog them one day, really.

Your parents rock. I secretly dream of living in an RV full of yarn and cats, and travelling all over the place.

I love knitting crazy things. I have knit a pie, apples, a brain, and the American Idiot heart grenade. At one time I wanted to knit a life sized human body with all the organs inside but then I thought that it would be a little, you know, wierd...