Craig Robertson of Ukulele Noir (Boston) is a contributor to the Ukulelia blog. He just created a post about Brian’s YouTube video (playing My Blue Heaven on his Joel Eckhaus/Earnest Instruments ukulele of the same name). I think it’s a very pleasing video, if I do say so myself. (And I’m decidedly not a video kind of grrl, though certainly I’m a Brian kind of grrl and then some…)

Thanks, Craig!

(By the way: while digging out links for this post, I found an interview of Joel Eckhaus on UkeTalk, for the ukulele fans out there.)

January 1, I finished another two toddler-sized socks. That makes my first pair of 2007! Here in the photo at top are the new 2 socks and at the bottom the ones from a few days ago.

I can not stop knitting these. I’m most of the way through knitting a fifth one right now. Fun!!!

Of course, I am supposed to be focusing on other things right now. I’m in the middle of dyeing some yarn, and I’m partway through writing two wrap patterns (one dressy and one comforting), but of course I’m knitting socks instead.

I did say I’d take the 1st of the year off, though. And I did… I ate and cooked and took a short walk, read emails and blogs, talked to my brother twice and my mother once, played music with Brian, and knit toddler sockies. Life is pretty good. This is a great way to start the year, I would say.

I have one Hershberger Art Kazoo ™ in stock. I decided tonight to go ahead and put it with my polymer clay buttons in my new online shop.

This kazoo is numbered #189 and is titled Secret Wish. I love naming them. This one I made right before we went to New York City for NY Ukefest 2006. I guess it had to do with my lifelong wish of singing in NYC. Or not, but it makes sense as I write this, anyway.

Some of you who read this are musicians rather than knitters or family (and oh, how I love you all, whatever reason brings you here). So who knows? Maybe someone out there would love to have this, yet did not know that it was available.

I think I made 4 kazoos in 2006. There was one year when I made only one. Now that I am mostly focused on knitting and singing, the polymer just does not get equal time in my schedule. I still love my kazoos but I do not get to the production of them often.

Did you know that Brian and I met, in part, because of the kazoos? I talked to him on the break of a Ten Pound Fiddle coffeehouse concert (we had a friend in common and I had always admired his music anyway, so was eager to chat with him). At the time I was so into making kazoos that I had three in my pocket for “show and tell.” He bought one from me on the spot. (That one is named Starry Eyes.) A year later we met again at a contra dance and started dating. Or that is the very short version of our courtship…

Brian played that same kazoo last night at the New Year’s Eve show, as a matter of fact! His has stars that glow in the dark, on a turquoise background. I’ll have to dig it out sometime. Maybe I’ll take photos of all the kazoos I’ve given to Brian over the years (I think that would be four in total). In my spare time, of course!!!