Psychobunny

Several years ago while visiting England, I discovered that I may be a bit of a bad-ass. I don't say this lightly or even all that happily. I've always seen myself as extremely mild-mannered and gentle. It is hard to get me riled up and I'm so uncomfortable with confrontation I've never been able to watch most reality shows and even sitcoms where the characters argue a lot (I'm not sure I've ever been able to watch an episode of All in the Family all the way through).

Nothing in my personal history gave me reason to believe I could be a bad-ass. For example, just out of high school I worked at a popular record store where one of our favorite past-times was catching shoplifters. I didn't catch them myself but I enjoyed watching my roommate and friends chase the kids down and getting back our merchandise. One time a young woman was caught shoplifting. She was in the back room waiting for police when she decided she wasn't going to wait around. She simply got up and started walking out the door. The store manager and several male employees jogged along trying to get her to stop but they were afraid to grab her or physically detain her. She was almost at the door and would have walked out.

In a panic I stepped in front of her blocking the front door. I looked her right in the eye and just tried to look calm and resolute. She looked at me and hesitated for a moment. Just a beat; a few seconds. But it was a face off and I was hoping desperately she wouldn't call my bluff. Inside my head I was thinking, "Oh God, oh God, please don't step forward because I will step aside and let you go. I don't know what to do!" She turned and walked into the back room with the store manager. I think my knees wobbled and I know my stomach was flip flopping nervously (as it is now just remembering this and writing it down).

I realized later that I must have presented quite an intimidating physical presence. I'm six feet tall and though I wasn't as "big" then as I am now (all right, fat) I have never been willowy. Even at my thinnest I look athletic and strong. I have a gigantic mass of red hair but I have dark eyes so I look more like a Scottish Highlander who might go on cattle raids rather than a whimsical Irish lass. I'm sure I looked like more than she wanted to handle. And if my poker face was any good I probably put up the appearance of a bad-ass.

But it wasn't until that visit to England that I discovered my bad-ass potential. I had talked the family, mother, step-father, and brother, into getting on a bus and just seeing where it took us. Neighborhoods started to look sketchy and when we hit Whitechapel (which I associate with Jack the Ripper) we decided we had better get off and find our way back.

My step-father, not always a savvy traveler, insisted on wearing a fanny pack even though he was always leaving it open. It was full of wads of cash and receipts but regardless of our lectures, he absent mindedly persisted in the habit. As we were coming up to a stop, he was standing near the door and I was on a seat facing him. We likely did not look like we were together. I observed a man standing next to my step-father pick-pocketing the fanny pack.

My reaction was immediate and fierce. I had such a rush of anger that I acted without thinking at all. I stood up and grabbed the man's wrist in a grip that probably hurt a lot. Luckily the pick-pocket was quite a slight man and I towered over him by at least a foot. My hand completely circumvented his wrist and he looked up at my face in surprise. I grabbed what he had taken and threw down his hand. I was so angry I wanted to hit him. In fact, at that moment I was struggling not to get more physical. I wanted to shove him and kick him. I was shaking with rage. Luckily for him the bus stopped at that moment and he scrambled off. (I look back and wonder if I looked a bit like the Hulk breathing heavy with eyes full of rage. OK, too much TV.)

My step-father, still oblivious, got off the bus and I followed. My brother had exited out a different door but I quickly told him what just happened. I saw the pickpocket scramble back on the bus and I decided to let him go. I'm sure he had a small accident in his pants when he saw me talking to my brother; who stands 6'4" and is built like a line backer with a shaved head and goatee and who immediately turned back around to face the bus with a scary look on his face.

I was absolutely shocked at my anger and immediate urge (instinct) to do someone physical harm. I honestly thought I didn't have it in me. But, it appears, I will protect my own. Even if it is just for a handful of receipts from a carelessly left open fanny pack.

Bad guys...be warned.

Posted by TheBunny at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Plan C has worked out well. It got me through at least three gifts.

Behold:

The French Press slippers. A quick easy knit that results in terribly cute slippers. I had fun playing with the texture and the buttons. This pair I knit in Cascade Pastaza. A hairy yarn that I thought would be really cute in slippers. I also got this pretty, arty-looking button. I also actually sewed the strap on at an angle which looked really cute. It is hard to see in this picture but the straps don't go straight across the top of the foot. The are diagonal. It really works for changing the style of the slipper.

Example #2:

The red just does not photograph well. but it is winter in Oregon. We have little natural light for me to use. The red is cooler than in this picture. I combined a red Peace Fleece with Cascade 220 leftovers. The best part are the beautiful little green and red buttons.

I tried something different with the final pair. The color worked great (again, how cute are these buttons?) but the felted material made it really hard to keep any sort of uniformity.

So I have actually pulled out the green trim and just did a few embellishments with the lime green yarn. The slippers' grips are drying right now (made with puffy paint) but I'll try to get a pic before I'm loaded up in the car and driving for the holidays.

Posted by TheBunny at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Quick! I don't have any time to dilly dally. Here is a completed present. Not a Christmas present. This is a birthday present that is in December. So it becomes a part of the Christmas madness. I figured out that 10 out of 12 immediate family members have their birthday between November and February. 5 of those are just in February. Although you shouldn't feel bad for me. These birthdays (and the holidays) always fall on the same date so there really is no actual necessity for cramming all knitting in that short time frame. I just seem to be a wee bit slow.

These are still a part of Plan A. I hung onto Plan A for as long as possible. Just long enough that I got this done. This is a little entralac felted bag I made. The pattern is in Interweave Knits holiday gift special. I made one and it just didn't felt small enough for me. I wanted a jewelry bag. So I knew I'd have to find something that wasn't spun very tightly. That yarn felts a LOT!

I found a couple skeins of Nashua Wooly Stripes which felted to the perfect size (To give some scale to the size of the bag, that is a coaster it is sitting on). This colorway is a fun, pink, purple, lime green, yellow mix. It is WS0056 Citrus. The color worked perfectly for entralac. A different color for every tier. One bag is dark and one is light. They turned out neat. They are a very quick knit. I did them both in one evening.

I wanted a jewelry bag because I made a necklace to go inside. I wanted something sparkly and pretty for the recipient. She is very fair so I knew she would pull it off and it would be a pretty dress-up necklace. Most of the beads are Swarovski crystal. So the handmade necklace goes in the handmade jewelry bag. Don't you love how the yarn even made a pretty border along the top? And I got a little silver bead to decorate the tie. Adds a little something extra.

I have another bag and another necklace. I'll share later. I have to get back to Plan C knitting.

Should we start a poll for when I give up and start throwing money at Christmas?

Posted by TheBunny at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've completed the convertible fingerless gloves which means I've now completed exactly one Christmas present. Whoops. However, at least that is one down. I liked this pattern. It knit up quickly, was easy to follow. I wish I had used slightly chunkier yarn. This yarn ended up knitting much finer than it looks like it would. I know I should have swatched. Shut up. I did take this to work and made a work buddy who is a little taller and bigger than my uncle (who is the recipient of these) try them on and they fit great. I like how masculine they look.

My uncle requested these last year when I mentioned them. He lives in England (cold) and lives in a small village that still has village hunts. He doesn't do the hunting. He is what they call a beater which means he flushes birds out of the brush. He specifically mentioned that fingerless gloves would be nice for that. I liked the convertible mitten tops because he can flip them over when he doesn't need his fingers and he is cold. Versatile.

I've completed one fiddlehead mitten, lining and all. the second one was a bit stalled because I ran out of the sand-colored yarn. Ran out of it right at the end of the tip of the thumb. I bet I don't even use 2 feet of the replacement skein. However, a nice neutral color like that will be used for a hat. Maybe even a matching hat for the mittens. I don't know.

These are for my aunt (also England) who has a horrendous commute into London from her charming village. I thought it would be nice to look down on these mittens while slogging through the commute. I'd like to make her a slouchy hat but since that is a nice-to-have and not a need-to-have I might wait to make it for her birthday which is February.

So I have two pairs of socks, a shrug, and another pair of fiddleheads that I'm supposed to complete. Since I refuse to do what I did last year (which was knit so hard and fast I gave myself tendonitis that took nearly a year to heal) I am formulating a great Plan B. Pictures when I have to implement. And I know I will have to implement I just want to see how far I'm going to get.

Fingers free for ear scratches. An important feature.

Posted by TheBunny at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Still need a thumb, originally uploaded by psycho_bunny.

One fiddlehead mitten is almost done. Just need to do the thumb. I've been working on the second one at the same time so I only have a few rows at the top for that one and then one last thumb. This is my first extended stranded knitting project. I couldn't resist this pattern and I may still do another for a pair for me. I love how these turned out.

Posted by TheBunny at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)