Each week, they choose a theme

This American Life usually inspires me to think about my own response to their topic, so I thought I'd make it a writing project.

Each week, I'll post their theme for the next week's show, and then anyone who wants to write on that theme can e-mail me a link (or their essay, if it's not on a blog) at erin (dot) mediamixed (at) gmail (dot) com. E-mail me by, say, Monday, because that's when I get the TAL podcast, but that's not a real deadline.

Since this is the first week, here's two topics (the previous week's and the coming week's):

"What I Learned from TV"
"The Allure of the Mean Friend"

Socks that rock

To maybe someday make the Space Invaders socks, I have to figure out how to make some simple socks. I think I'm on the right track with this tutorial, though it would have been smart of me to use a thicker yarn so I didn't have 64 stitches in each round. (Is it even called a round?)

To learn how to make the little guys, I plan on making a pattern for a Space Invaders scarf. If it works out, I'll share, but I don't know how to read a pattern, let alone make one, so it will probably just be all unofficial.

I also love these monkey socks (no monkeys on them).

Purled

I was surprised at how quickly I caught on to purling (after a couple of evenings of trial and error). This very first ribbed scarf is made with a mostly cotton yarn for my mom, who wants a lightweight white scarf to go with a blue sweater. Now I just have to get to the post office.

Something I am not doing

That would be making curtains.

Since I moved into my place in December, I have needed curtains. I have huge windows that are too tall for anything off the rack. And they face south, so they spend all day capturing sunlight, making my place hot.

I have measured for curtains and bought all the hardware to hang them, but I have yet to buy fabric.

All the fabic stores are inaccessible to me. They're either on a bus line that I don't know how to get to or the light rail runs by there but doesn't stop nearby. I called one store and asked whether they were near the subway and was told, "Kind of?"

There is one that's close enough to a light rail stop, but I've been there, and there are no sidewalks between the stop and the store, which is on a busy, curvy road. Not fun or safe. (There is a bus between the stop and the store, but it runs about every 45 minutes, and I really don't need this to become an all-day ordeal.)

I even tried Wal-Mart, but finding 12 yards of the same fabric was not happening there.

Baltimore, I am so disappointed in you.

Scarf No. 2

I finished my second scarf. Now I'm learning how to purl. DIY Network's Knitty Gritty has some videos on knitting basics, which can really help if you're having trouble visualizing instructions from a book.

Found objects

I had these extra bike tires sitting around uselessly and taking up precious inches in my pint-sized bedroom. I also had this disturbingly blank wall above my couch (fine, it's a futon) in the living room. Now, I don't have either problem.

Each hangs from a single nail. Weight-wise, this shouldn't be a problem, but the tires are pretty thick and just kind of perched there.

Plastic bag bag

Mod Cottage has a tutorial on how to turn your old plastic bags into a no-sew grocery bag. I made something similar (but uglier) out of newspaper bags a la instructions from the Ready Made book, but I had thought your typical grocery bag might not be sturdy enough.