New York City!

Daphne, Grant Hart, and Me, last night. Just a picture for the moment. Story to tell later!

Happy Pentecost!

I should have brought a camera and had hubby photograph me in action, drumming, but I didn't think of it. Too nervous about making my public debut, I guess. But pics may surface at some point, as one of our parishioners was going about with a camera while a bunch of us drummed on the sidewalk after the service, outside the church.
I had to sing in choir this morning as well, so had some interesting presto-change-o moments during the service, as I simply refused to drum in my choir robes. I wore them when I sang, but when I was drumming, I wanted to look like a drummer. And this outfit makes me feel like a drummer.

I was allowed to keep the headscarf on even when I was vested, which I appreciated, even though my daughter did nothing but laugh at me and call me "Rambo."

Daughter and hubby are NOT fond of the drumming, nor does it interest them, but my daughter's boyfriend likes to play, and I think we are going to be great drumming buddies.

It has been quite the weekend for drumming, beginning with a circle in Providence on Friday night -- 4 hours long! Yikes! And then a good 45 minutes this morning, and another hour for a lesson this afternoon. I think I won't play now for a couple of days. My hands are pretty well bruised and in desperate need of a rest.

One of these days, I should really get to a point where I do not feel compelled to drum with the vigor of a hyperactive, 25-year-old man!

At least I have not managed to add any new bloodstains to my drum head...

Done!

First, the Nova Mob t-shirt. It was a bit of a mess when it arrived, and looked like it had been baptized in coffee in random places, plus its previous owner had rather obviously sweated copiously in it over the years. No amount of washing and Shout could fix either problem, so, completely undaunted by this, I bought some ecru dye. Not bad for a 20 year old t-shirt, eh? I'm pretty sure the graphic is Grant's own design. My hubby is scared of it!

Now, for the Belgrade Quincy Hat. I finished it today, and it has had its bath and is drying on the rack in the living room. Pics were taken before washing. The hat grew a little as the yarn relaxed, so I may have to chuck it in the dryer at some point.

The green you see peeking out from beneath the hat is the edge of the box Grant mailed the yarn in. Yes, I'm keeping the box. It makes me smile every time I think of him covering every inch of the thing in green tape, for the sake of recycling.
I used less than half of the skein for this hat, so there's plenty of yarn left to make another hat. I'm tempted to give Grant a share in this. It would serve him well in the winter, that's for sure.

All of My Senses, and More Yarn Pics

I did not know this video even existed , but just found it on You Tube. This is the very first solo piece I ever heard from Grant Hart. The song is beautiful on its own, but with the video images, it's even more so, and so mysterious. I've always thought about all the verbal images that fly past, and let my imagination run with them. Now, this precious glimpse into Grant's vision, twenty years ago. The song moves me as much now -- maybe more -- than it did back then.

Oh, and I have started my hat. The skein weighed 7.35 oz and contained approximately 325 yards. It is making a wonderful, cushy, thick fabric, and will be so warm. I might even have enough to make two hats, in which case I will very likely gift one back to the giver.

A thank you letter is on its way via snail-mail as I type. I promised myself I would not play with the yarn until the letter had been written and sent. Done!

I am still awed, amazed, and dazed...

Look at how HUGE a ball the skein turned into!

Here's the beginning of my hat, the first 20 or so garter ridges of the band.

And a close-up so you can see the lovely texture of the yarn.

Grant purports to know nothing about knitting, but I think he knows more than he realizes, thanks to his artist's eyes and aesthetic sense. His choice was brilliant, wasn't it? Much as I want to make the pleasure of the knitting last, I'm really looking forward to wearing the finished hat as soon as possible!

A Woolly Surprise!

This lovely skein of yarn arrived in my mailbox today, a total surprise, completely out of the blue.

The return address said Minnesota, but the letter enclosed said the yarn had been purchased from a street vendor in Belgrade, Serbia.
It looks to be handspun, is a heavy weight 2-ply, and smells delightfully sheepy. It will be, I'm relatively certain, one of Jared Flood's "Quincy" hats, since the yarn is intended to be made into something for me. It's browner than the pics show: so rustic and beautiful.
No, I do not personally know anyone who lives in Belgrade, Serbia, but I do have a friend who traveled there recently, who wore the hat I made for him while playing a concert in that city.

God bless you, Grant Hart. You really and truly made my day. Thanks for thinking of me. I love, love, LOVE this yarn!!!!!!

I Will Sing, Sing a New Song????

No tune for this one yet, but the words began to churn around in my head while I was practicing guitar this afternoon.

Chant of the Ever-Circling

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Were anathema to mum,

But girlie toys, they held no joys

And just seemed kind of dumb.

I'd rather sink a Battleship.

To hell with Queen of the Prom!

And pop that pop-o-matic:

Play Trouble all day long

Let me at those Robots,

And let me be the blue one.

I'll knock the block off the red one:

Pretend that it's a human.

Don't want to wear this girlie sh*t

Or play with girlie toys,

I want to work in the yard with Dad,

Shirtless, like a boy.

'Cause being a girl means staying inside,

And learning the myriad uses of Tide,

And training for that future day

When the girl becomes a bride.

What if that's the sort of dream

That causes her tomboy heart to scream?

"Sorry, girl, but there's no other.

You've got to be just like your mother."

But I still want to get at those Robots,

And I want to be the blue one,

And knock the block off the red one,

And pretend that it's a human.

Put Barbie on a Battleship

And send her right on down!

Give me pop-o-matic Trouble,

A roll of caps, and a stone.

I don't plan on joining the coven

Of the Easy-Bake Oven.

I'm deplorably green with a sewing machne.

Where the hell's my Barrel of Monkeys?

What d'you mean, I'll not get an Erector Set,

A Hot Wheels Track, or Matchbox Cars?

I want a toolbox and a hacksaw;

Betsy-Wetsy simply won't do.

I may be a girl with a perverse little curl

Right in the middle of my forehead,

But when I'm bad, I'm very bad,

And when I'm mad, I'm horrid.

So let me at those Robots;

I've a burning desire to deck 'em.

Know what they say about humorless folk?

They can't take a joke, so f*ck 'em!

Get me out of these stupid frills

And leave me the f*ck alone

With my Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots,

And my pal who can cuss up a storm.

Suzy Homemaker can kiss my *ss!

I'd rather be taking out the trash,

And raking the leaves, and mowing the grass,

And being a boy like Dad.

Now let me at those Robots,

And let me be the blue one,

And knock the block off the red one;

To do less, it just isn't human!

CP Warner

3 May 2010

Where in the World is The Hart Hat?

Belgrade, April 29, 2010.

The lighting is a little odd so you can't see the colors in the yarn, but I can tell by the way it fits him, and then there is a close-up of the diagonal swath of ribbing. That's my hat!

I'm absolutely thrilled to see him wearing it to perform, and to perform one of my all-time favorite songs of his, no less!