a sober thought

It's not often when I can wake up from a late night spent storming the dance floor, jazzing to retro tunes, crawling into bed at 4am with a gigantic smile and sense of satisfaction, and say that alcohol was not involved. But in light of my recent flirtation with stone-cold sobriety in the company of the charmingly inebriated, I though I would share a few need-to-be-said observations.

1. Ladies wearing shirt-dresses and tights make beautiful wallflowers, but the moment they start getting frisky, that shirt-dress becomes a shirt, and those black tights become your bottoms, and your bottoms are mostly transparent (you do to the math).

2. Any girl worth her stripes can sport a boy on the prowl from a mile a way. He, entertainingly, has a harder time spotting her disinterest.

3. I like enthusiastic dancers, but not the bruises they leave on my feet.

4. Birthday requests can be fun, but Sunday Bloody Sunday is not a very danceable choice.

I suppose there's a lot more you'll let slide when you've had a few drinks and things start to become peculiar. Maybe it's a rule that you write it off, maybe it's instantly forgotten, or maybe it's just something that's not to be talked about because what happens in that dirty-hole-in-the-ground-go-to-bar stays in that dirty-hole-in-the-ground-go-to-bar. If so, please forgive my momentary lapse in etiquette.

filled with holiday cheer

I'm not a christmas person, but who can say no to a homemade buffet, open bar, and a turn or two around the dance floor?


There's no better way to spend a chilly Saturday night.

factorybynatalie!

I am finally opening up shop on etsy under the name factorybynatalie. The profile isn't active yet (because all of the knitwear I've posted has been claimed), but I'm working on some new patterns and hope to have some items up for sale by Jan. 1 2010. If you want to make a special order, you can contact me at factorybynatalie@gmail.com.

p.s. thanks for the support char

yarn overboard

have my heart on a string

This was my lesson in conquering one-sock-syndrome. These are 100% wool, in size 6 - 6 1/2. It's an original pattern of lace knit hearts.

sweet reminders

The first snow falls and I suddenly have a desperate desire to add flowers to everything. I always preferred tulips to roses, but this pattern has me by the heart.

get your head on straight

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99 days of suburban living

I grew up on the West side of the capital. It's your typical dying suburb: a relatively unknown patch of the former Nepean, that connects the local mall to more important parts of the city. It's basically a through-way - a single four lane strip of pavement lined with banks, fast food, and a few name-brand gas station. It's packed during rush hour, but empty the other 22 hours of the day.

I don't know any people who stayed here post highschool graduation. I escaped at 19, and coming home at 21 was like being delivered into a nightmare. I lived in a town within a town, and my neighbourhood lacked the most basic spirit that defines a city, a community - there were no people. There are plenty of cars, double-door garages, and parking lots packed with row upon row of minivans. But the sidewalks were bare, and the only time I saw a body was as it was staggering from store to 4x4.

Without people, this place seemed cold and soulless. It was as though nothing beyond the Tim Horton's frachises survived, and it was depressing to notice how the people aspect of community had been swallowed by big box grocers and coffee conglomerates. I don't bear any ill-will towards my hometown, but it's a place where the (non-childbearing) under 30s flounder. My defense has always been to stay indoors, but that habit is becoming dangerously comfortable as the winter winds approach. Hopefully, in the sweet by-and-by, something good will come.

because chivalry is dead

Why wait for a man to buy me flowers? I am in love with floral patterns that remind me of things my grandma would knit. Matching scarf and mitts?

how to keep toasty

As a belated (soon to be loved) birthday gift, this is a double layer neckwarmer made with an eco-friendly Peruvian black wool. It's soft, simple, and easy to wear.

naughty or nice?

Cute with heels, and good for sliding down the hall in oversized mens' shirts (à la Tom Cruise).

I posted these ages ago, but just now got around to adding the finishing touches. Hello, party socks!