is my ADD over?
I finally got my shit together and actually finished a few projects. Can you believe it? Is my knitting ADD really over?
First off, I went to the best zipper store ever: Zipper Stop. I'd heard others rave about it on their blogs and since they're right here in New York (27 Allen St), I decided to bring my 3 (!) zipper-less cardies and have them help me find the perfect zipper. Zipper Stop is a family-owned business, and each family member has a specific role: the mom admired my knitting, the son went searching for the perfect zippers on their huuuge shelves and the dad cut my zippers to size. Love them. (By the way, they told me if you want zippers to match your yarn perfectly but can't make it to their store, just mail a little yarn sample to them!). Now I just have to figure out how to sew in a zipper. Easy, right?
Next, I finished my Vesper socks. I knit them in a mere 10 days in September or October, then had some technical problems: you know how I want to be all clever and stuff? Well, instead of doing boring ribbing for the cuff, I worked a fancy rib stitch which unfortunately is ... constricting. Argh! I tossed them aside and promptly forgot about them. Take that, Vesper socks!
All I had to do this weekend was unravel the constricting ribbing, replace it with plain old (but functional) k2p2 ribbing and add the 2nd after-thought heel. Ta da! As I walked past the Allen Street food kitchen/shelter --feeling smug about the purchase of 3 zippers-- a homeless guy yelled out "nice boots!". I wasn't about to contradict him, but he corrected himself and said "hey, those aren't boots, they're socks! Cool!". Thanks, homeless guy.
(I live right by the 59th Street bridge. See it? )
And I finished the Esther Williams hat, designed by Poor Miss Finch. 
OK, fine. I'll admit I *did* start a new project. But only one! I dyed some sock yarn. I was so inspired by Marie's dyeing party, that I deccided to dye some yarn on my own. This is self-striping yarn with 7 rows of black, 3 rows of deep red and 2 rows of pink. I've named this colorway "Carmen" because in my mind, that's what the dangerous and fickle Carmen would wear. I've posed Carmen next to my great-uncle Pierre, who was a dancer at the Paris Opera. How fitting! 
The rumor is, Pierre was supposed to be named principal dancer, but the Opera closed during the war, and by the time it re-opened, Pierre was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. My grand-mother claimed that in doctor-speak "multiple sclerosis" actually meant "syphilis". And with good reason too: when their mother died, my 14 year old grand-mother had to quit school, take care of her siblings and do all the cooking and cleaning. The youngest sibling got farmed off to a godmother but they both contracted tuberculosis and died within a year. My grand-mother's father, a scout for the Opera, was never home. However, the worst affront came from 16 year old Pierre, who, instead of helping my grand-mother, found an endless supply of older women to uh, take care of him. Looking at that picture, I'm sure we can all understand why...
Don't worry though, in later years, they did reconcile, but talking about Pierre is somewhat taboo in my family. I always imagined him to be hedonistic and a little impudent, although I know he eventually calmed his partying ways and married. Maybe Carmen will inspire some naughtiness?
