All the marbles and charming men

The internet has been very, very good to me. Back when I was active on the Knitlist I got to meet quite a few really great people who also happened to have this weird habit of creating things with sticks and string.

In July of 1998 I met Helen when she was on a Southern California sojourn. Helen was here when Señor Frog came into being. She was even part of the pour through the marbles crowd that gave him his sparkling eyes.



Here's what I wrote to the Knitlist on 18 July 1998:

During the fibre fondling road trip, I didn't have too much occasion to knit (aside from during the Brazil/Netherlands interlude). Afterward, I had rather more than I bargained for as the blowing hot and cold A/C that had plagued the troupe during the trek turned rather more serious as the trusty van began to overheat at a rather alarming rate. Suffice to say that spouse and I spent rather more time than we had planned admiring the view from a service station while waiting for the rad and engine to conform to a more drive friendly temp. Fortunately, I had my knitting.

The green guys in the current Knitter's mag had caught my eye. The instructions said cotton, single colour, fibre fill, wiggle eyes, smallish size. My brain said, neon twine, day-glo green, beanbag, multi-coloured underbelly, bulbous eyelids, marbles for eyes and larger format.

I cast on and soon I was under the spell of Señor Frog. When only his upper body & legs were complete, he had already charmed a co-worker and fellow knitter whose advice I sought as to whether the underbelly should be yellow, gold, or safety orange.

I gently suggested that if she said intarsia I would have to hurt her severely even though we both knew it was the clear choice. The clear choice which I abandoned in favour of a striped underbelly.

Knitting right along, by Thursday he had eyelids, a striped yellow and gold underbelly (wrong side showing for maximum variegation effect) and was waiting for eyes and stuffing -- that was solved in a pre-dinner shopping expedition where small, white navy beans and a tin of 250 marbles were secured. By the much celebrated 11 July San Diego knit-together, he was complete but for eyes having already enchanted all and sundry who had made his acquaintance. Marbles were sorted and discussed and debated but the two that spoke to me on Sunday are now glued in place and working their magic on still more unsuspecting victims of his charms.

In his travels he has left a trail of admiring and brokenhearted men and women in his wake. Common refrain among those who had met him was a hopeful "Heather, um, er, ah, do you know who you're giving this one to?" Others, including lys workers who should be immune, have attempted to kidnap him. He is not without enemies, spouse, who initially was quite fond of Señor Frog has tired of hearing him admired and has been heard to mumble "Frog not careful, he have ack-see-dent." As a precautionary measure Señor Frog currently spends his days on my computer monitor at work and his nights under lock and key -- a safer plan for both the unsuspecting world and Señor Frog.

In September of 1998, I spent a week rambling around England visiting family, old friends and making new friends. It was not totally a solo trip as I was accompanied for most of it by Señor Frog who was just as wildly popular in England as he had been in the United States. Spouse had suggested that perhaps for Señor Frog's well being that the frog stay in the UK.

As things turned out, after acquiring even more admirers, he took up residence with then bachelor Euan Bayliss in Leeds.

Since I started blogging Helen and I have reconnected in cyberspace and Euan and I have been occasional correspondents as well.

Recently Euan emailed me with the news that Señor Frog had somehow managed to lose an eye and was looking rather sad as a result.

I immediately dug about and found (yes, I am a packrat) all these years later all the marbles that we'd poured over for just the right two.

Unfortunately, my only photos of my old Latin love do not do his enchanting eyes justice so I've asked Euan for a more current snap and suggested that a pirate styled eye patch might be just the thing to take Señor Frog from sad to sexy until an eye transplant can be arranged.

And on a charming men note, Señor Frog will, for me, always be on the charming side of the charming, smooth and slick scale and one of these days I really will revisit that redesign and once again welcome a Sexy Latin Amphibian into my home.

Off to walkabout knit and perhaps meet a charming man or two -- who knows? I've seven more inches of stocking stitch until the pentagon sleeve project's sweater body is ready to attach the sleeves. I've just started with the 3rd centre pull ball.