Keep Dreaming Geeky Dreams

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=23638
I want this so freaking badly I can taste it. But it's more than my daughter's preschool tuition. Barring that, I think I need this - though want is another thing altogether in this case:
http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=22938

And then, there's this:
http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/TshirtStoreDetail.asp?StyleID=184

Which goes perfectly with today's post. Baby afghans. I had a baby (my second) in April. I got the coolest freakin' handmade baby afghan EVER. To wit...



and just in case you need a closer view to "get" it...


Yeah, that's right. She knitted Earth's point of origin into the afghan.

FoxPhile, you RULE!

And to show, even more, how she rules... she's sharing how she did it with Keep the Geek readers. Though it looks complicated, FP would classify this as being "intermediate" in difficulty.



and the written directions:

Stargate Point of Origin Knit Baby Afghan Pattern.

Cast on 179 stitches. ( 24 stitches per motif x 7 motifs + 1 + 10 for side edges )

K1 P1 across 5 rows for the base

Each section is knit of 26 rows of Motif. 9 sections makes a nice size afghan.

Complete the piece with another 5 rows of K1 P1 across

Motif Rows (ABABABA pattern):

Row 1: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 P across to last 5 stitches K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 2: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 K across to last 5 stitches K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 3: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: P24
Motif B: P4 K5 P7 K5 P3
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 4: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 K across to last 5 stitches K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 5: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3
Motif B: P5 K3 P9 K3 P4
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 6: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4
Motif B: K24
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 7: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3
Motif B: P6 K3 P7 K3 P5
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 8: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4
Motif B: K24
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 9: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3
Motif B: P7 K3 P5 K3 P6
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 10: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1
Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4
Motif B: K24
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 11: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1
Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1 Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3
Motif B: P8 K3 P3 K3 P7
K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 12: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 13: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P9 K3 P1 K3 P8

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 14: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 15: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P10 K5 P9

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 14: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 15: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P10 K5 P9

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 16: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 17: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P11 K3 P10

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 18: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 19: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 20: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 21: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P4 [K1 P1 8 times] K1 P3

Motif B: P11 K3 P10

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 22: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: K4 [K1 P1 8 times] K4

Motif B: K24

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 23: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P24

Motif B: P10 K5 P9

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 24: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 K across to last 5 stitches K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 25: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Alternate Motif A and Motif B across: ABABABA. End with one extra P1

Motif A: P24

Motif B: P11 K3 P10

K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

Row 26: K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 K across to last 5 stitches K1 P1 K1 P1 K1

After you complete the pattern in the ABABABA mode, repeat rows 1 thru 26, but start with Motif B and alternate Motif B and Motif A across: BABABAB.

(Sorry, I got bored of formatting about halfway through - I think I'll get this posted before another shiny object gets in the way!)

If They Say No, It Means a Thousand Times No!

Or How To Not Drive Yourself Insane With Your Children's Music

You've probably noticed by now how ... insipid ... kid's music seems to be. And if you haven't? Dude, you've got your iPod cranked way too loud - you'll be deaf by 50 and your kids are playing in the street. Granted, this solves the problem of having to listen to the kid's music but I'm thinkin' you're probably not looking for that kind of permanency.

So, I've got two recordings (which for the sake of differentiating between a recording of an individual selection and a collection of selections, so to speak, I will call an album, dated though the term may be) to suggest over the next couple days - the first is alt group They Might Be Giant's No! (which I'll review below), the second Sandra Boynton (yes, the Sandra Boynton of the fluffy cats, barking dogs, and lonely hippopotami fame)'s Dog Train - both of which provide a little blessed relief from unending verses featuring purple Osmond-toothed dinosaurs.

No! is actually one of 3 (I think, there could be more) They Might Be Giant's children's albums (the others being Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s). The songs are ridiculous, true, but that's their appeal. These aren't songs written for what an adult wants kids to want - these are songs that appeal to kids on their level and, thank God, to we "adults" who haven't progressed much further.

No pleas for world peace or sermonizing here. From the creeptastic vibe of "The Edison Museum" to the plainly silly but oddly appealing "I Am A Grocery Bag", some of this album might appeal more to older children but my nearly 3 year old requests "Violin" (a very stream-of-consciousness recital of completely disparate objects), "In the Middle In the Middle In the Middle" (great vocals by Robin Goldwasser) , and "The House at the Top of the Tree" (beats the heck out of A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea) every time we get in the car and I've caught her singing "...one quarter of George Washington's head..." around the house - which is damn funny when you consider her (lack of) diction.

Honestly, I could do without "John Lee Supertaster" and she asks to flip by it but I think that's more a function of our respective ages than the song itself. "Robot Parade" is a favorite of hers though the anti-authoritarian bent underlying it escapes her I'm pretty sure (I hope!) and the mopy tones of "No!" make me laugh every time. I'm also hoping that the bedtime romp "Bed Bed Bed" rubs off on her soon! (Ok, so there is some propagandizing... not quite the same as sermonizing.)

One other thing... the songs are short. They say what they have to say and they stop. Good, bad, I don't know - but I know that kids don't get bored by them.

And now I think I need to go discover where they, indeed, make balloons and then sweep the kitchen floor because, unfortunately, I lost the "I Am Not Your Broom" battle.