Felted Knits and Green Tomatoes

I'm so excited! My order from Interweave knits finally came today! Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas. She is amazing, simply amazing. I've been on this felted kick since the beginning of the year. Purses, wallets - I've been wanting to do some clogs but I've been sidetracked by the never-ending hubby sweater and now the Harlequin baby blanket. I ordered it more than a month ago from their "hurt books" special and got it for a steal! It was definitely worth the wait. I'm going to try quite a few things this winter...felted clogs, mittens, booties, pillow cases, totes, even a throw rug! I hope my washing machine can take it!!! I'm all tingly with anticipation :) !

On another domestic note, our tomatoes are literally popping off the plants. Dad didn't tie up the vines so they are all over the garden and just loaded with green tomatoes. I plucked 5 today that were fairly ripe and had one for dinner on my burger. Now normally I am not a tomato person but today, I was thoroughly enjoying their fresh, sweet taste. I'm planning on making and canning my own sauce. I'm also going to can some of them diced. Ooohh, I can't wait! I also have tons of Concord grapes bursting off their vines and coloring up nicely. They won't be ready for a few more weeks, though. This year I'm going to go nuts on grape jelly. Between the grape jelly and the strawberry jam I've already made, add to that the apple jelly I'll turn out during apple season, and I'll have quite a store for eating and gift giving! It's all homemade from here on out!

Laurie, aka Crazy Aunt Purl, posted this today and it really got my feathers ruffled. Imagine having the balls to be so callous about heavy weighted people. Obviously this person doesn't have a lot of contact with normal people or he/she wouldn't have made such an ignorant comment. I've struggled with my weight for years and have had little luck in recent ones with keeping any kind of weight off. A lot of it has to do with having had kids and a c-section. Those muscles, when they aren't in good shape to begin with, really won't spring back without a LOT of extra effort. In fact, my doctor told me I'd need plastic surgery to remove a chunk of it because it wouldn't go away no matter what kind of shape I'm in. This person was spewing such insensitive filth. America is an obese society. We live with two extremes - you are either Hollywood thin or not. Most of us are certainly NOT Hollywood thin. And we shouldn't have to be. It galls me to know that women who look healthy and fit and are, say, a size 12 would be considered a plus size model. HA! I'm a plus size model and I'm size 24! Well, I could be a plus sized model if someone were to ask... Anyway, we've been brainwashed to feel badly about ourselves if we weigh more than the Hollywood norm. I've dealt with it my whole life. What really lights my ass on fire is when I think back to those horrible Jr. High and High School days and remember all the horrible weight related names I was called, then I find a picture of myself (rare, I admit) and I look perfectly NORMAL. I wasn't fat. I wasn't obese. I was athletic and healthy and stronger than most. It was teenage guy insecurity that led to many trauma filled days. You know, I've already spent WAY more time on this than I planned. I'm done.

That's it for me, folks. I'm off to finish up my Harlequin and watch some Olympics. Happy knitting y'all!