This mix will be less about songs about a subject and more about songs that provoke something in you—a memory or a feeling, for the most part.

Some of these topics were interpreted fairly liberally. So, here was my mix.

1. a song from the first record/8-track/cassette/cd you ever bought: “Time to Chill” (DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince)
2. a song in a language you don’t speak/know: “Coco” (Brisa Roché)
3. the song that has the most plays in your music library: “(We Wear) Capes” (Uncle Monsterface)
4. a song that others might be surprised to know that you love: “MMMBop” (Hanson)
5. a song you feel guilty owning: “Crucified” (Army of Lovers)
6. a great song for gettin’ it on: “Voodoo-U” (Lords of Acid)
7. a great dance song: “Groove is in the Heart” (Deee-Lite)
8. a silly song: “Double Dutch Bus” (Frankie Smith)
9. a song that expresses how you feel better than you can: “Movin’ On” (Maros)
10. a song to which you know all the words (bonus points if you get your inner diva on when you sing along): “I Love Myself Today” (Bif Naked)
11. a song you’d put on your desert island mix: “You Make My Dreams” (Hall & Oates)
12. a song about nice weather: “First of May” (Jonathan Coulton)
13. a song that instantly transports you to another place or time: “Fit as a Fiddle” (Annette Hanshaw)
14. a song that you find soothing: “The Shining” (Badly Drawn Boy)
15. a song that helped you get over a broken heart: “Last Goodbye” (Jeff Buckley)
16. a song you thought you would hate, but you don’t: “Friends in Low Places” (Garth Brooks)
17. a song about (one of) your philosophies in life: “Freewill” (Rush)
18. a song you would cover in a heartbeat if you were a rockstar: “Gravel” (Ani DiFranco)

It got me thinking about all the advertising that is coming up in full swing for this time of year, all those commercials aimed at losing the weight that is inevitably gained while scarfing down mega portions of turkey, stuffing, breads, pies, and cakes; and I realized something important: this never happens to me anymore.

I don’t say this because I have a magic technique on avoiding temptation; no, I say this because since I’ve discovered size acceptance and the Heath at Every Size movements, I’ve given myself license to eat tasty food, regardless of the time of year.

It seems that many people divide foods into categories like good and bad, assigning a moral value to nutrition that should never exist. I mean, if you are allergic to peanuts then perhaps fork-pressed peanut butter cookies (one of my favorites) would be bad for you to eat, but that doesn’t make the food item inherently evil.

The holiday season—whatever holidays you celebrate or not—is full of people making claims of being bad, just by having that second helping of mashed potatoes and stuffing, or by eating both ice cream and pie after dinner. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve witnessed people either:

1. turning down treats like cake or pie because they are on a diet and trying to be good; or
2. accepting those treats with a devilish grin and a sly “Oh I’m being so bad” attitude.

If there is one rule about eating, it should be this: food is neither good nor bad; food is just food. People are not good or bad for eating certain foods; they are just people eating foods.

Because I no long subscribe to good/bad way of thinking, it bothers me more and more every year when Christmas rolls around and I’m faced with friends and family members feasting on pizzelle and chrusciki like there’s no tomorrow, because it’s the only time of year they will allow themselves the luxury. So of course when January 2nd rolls around, they step on their bathroom scales and are amazed and guilt-ridden to learn that they’ve gained 5 (or 10 or 25 or more) pounds since Thanksgiving.

My own eating habits from my birthday through New Year’s Day stay fairly consistent with my habits throughout the rest of the year. I do not binge on holiday treats; it’s not the only time of year that I allow myself that piece of chocolate cake. I rarely stray from my revolutionary diet system, i.e. I eat when I am hungry and I stop eating when I am full.

Therefore, when the kids are back in school after winter break, and all the Mummers are quietly back in their clubhouses on 2nd Street, I never feel guilt-ridden over anything I may have eaten, and I’m not struggling to come to terms with any dietary restrictions for the coming new year.

My only food concern for this coming holiday season? That I’ll have enough time to bake enough pumpkin brownies for everyone I love, and that they will enjoy and appreciate my efforts, instead of chiding me for leading them into temptation.

Also, I bet there will be some confusion as to what constitutes road trip music. A lot of the lists I see out there have songs about cars or driving on them. They’re strong songs (not generally suitable for ambient listening). They’re the kind of songs that are okay on your computer speakers or your iPod, but they fuckin’ rip it on a proper stereo or a set of car speakers. Sometimes, they’re songs that are good for singing along. Stuff that passes the time and keeps people happy. I think a great description of this kind of music is “care-free, feel good songs.” So work with that.

So, here was my mix.

1. “Back In Black” (AC/DC)
2. “Ace of Spades” (Motörhead)
3. “No One Knows” (Queens of the Stone Age)
4. “Edge of Seventeen” (Stevie Nicks)
5. “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor)
6. “Fell On Black Days” (Soundgarden)
7. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Def Leppard)
8. “You Give Love A Bad Name” (Bon Jovi)
9. “Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin)
10. “Baba O’Riley” (the Who)
11. “Sympathy For The Devil” (Rolling Stones)
12. “Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
13. “Let It Ride” (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
14. “Carry On Wayward Son” (Kansas)
15. “Freewill” (Rush)
16. “Burnin’ For You” (Blue Öyster Cult)
17. “Heat of the Moment” (Asia)
18. “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Journey)

Basically, there will be a list of approximately 25 different topics/ideas, and you have to fill a CD with songs that fit as many of those topics/ideas as you can.

Some of these topics were interpreted fairly liberally. So, here was my mix.

1. Cat: “Cat People” (Schaffer the Darklord)
2. Sea Creatures: “Sigmund and the Seamonsters” (Tripping Daisy)
3. Wood: “When You Touched Me in That Special Place” (the Whomping Willows)
4. Historical Figure: “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” (Ween)
5. Coffee: “The Human Hosepipe” (Harry and the Potters)
6. Car: “At the Stars” (Better Than Ezra)
7. High School: “San Dimas High School Football Rules” (the Ataris)
8. Vampires: “Santa Carla Twilight” (Tiger Army)
9. “That’s what she said”: “Keep It Real (Represent My Nuts)” (Nursehella)
10. Baked Good(s): “Along Comes Mary” (Bloodhound Gang)
11. Not Human: “Underground Mutant Prairie Dogs from Hell” (Uncle Monsterface)
12. Farm Animals: “When I Was on Top of You” (from Cannibal! the Musical)
13. Robots: “Android Boy (Reboot)” (Lima Research Society.)
14. Sleeping: “Whompy Stole My Pillow” (Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills)
15. Philadelphia: “I-76″ (G. Love and Special Sauce)
16. Adult Beverage: “Dive Down” (Schaffer the Darklord)
17. Revenge: “Knife Fight” (Lemon Demon ft. Marty Allen)
18. Religion: “Backslider” (the Toadies)
19. Instrumental: “Dance of the Dream Man” (from Twin Peaks)
20. College: “Post-collegiate Shuffle” (the Grammar Club)
21. Blanket: “First of May” (Jonathan Coulton)
22. Bacon: “Bacon” (Harry and the Potters)

The theme for the first swap will be what I call the Quintessential Now. You make a mix of all the songs that you just can’t get enough of right now. The songs that you really, really love at this very moment in time/your life. They don’t have to be new or old or anything in particular—if you’re rockin’ out to it, include it.

So, here was my mix. Everything I’ve been playing on repeat over the last month-ish.

1. “Bit Pop” (Shael Riley) from Toybox
2. “Toxic” (Uncle Monsterface) from Jokey Jingles
3. “Pr0n S0ng” (MC Frontalot) from Nerdcore Rising
4. “Kid Gloves” (Voxtrot) from Voxtrot
5. “They Say I’m a Bad Boy” (Draco and the Malfoys) from Party Like You’re Evil!
6. “We Used to Vacation” (Cold War Kids) from Daytrotter Session
7. “Giant Moth – The Beauty Of Things” (Lima Research Society.) from Don’t Give Up Don’t Get Down
8. “Bank Holiday” (The Grammar Club) from Bremelanotide
9. “Heads Up, Hearts Down” (I Fight Dragons) from Cool Is Just A Number EP
10. “I’m Sorry (But Your Princess is in Another Castle)” (Uncle Monsterface) from Nintendode: Songs for the Big N
11. “Pipe Dreams” (MadHatter) from 8Bit Bullshit
12. “Life’s So Hard” (Marc With A C) from Life’s So Hard
13. “A Man’s Gotta Do” (Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, Penny) from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
14. “Cream and Bastards Rise” (Harvey Danger) from Little by Little
15. “Heart Tits” (The Grammar Club) from Bremelanotide
16. “Derockracy” (Uncle Monsterface) from Letter Green (I Love You)
17. “Honeydukes” (Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills) from Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
18. “Wear Wolf Fever” (Math the Band) from Math the Band Banned the Math
19. “Dare to Be Stupid” (mc chris & Modd Jobs) from Nerdcore Undercover
20. “Craig’s List” (Schaffer the Darklord) from Mark of the Beast
21. “Roll The Dice” (Sinister Six) from Invasion Of The Mic Snatchers
22. “tip eht fo mottob” (Shael Riley and The Double Ice Backfire) from Songs From The Pit

The full story is coming soon.

So… no sweat!

Materials

• 1 ball Cascade Fixation 2706
• 1 ball Cascade Fixation 3794
• set of 4 US size 5 DPN (or 40″ circ for magic loop)

Note: I used about half the blue, and way less of the red. I’m sorry I didn’t figure out exact yardage.

Gauge

Approximately 5 sts + 10 rows = 1″ relaxed (unstretched) on US size 5 needles

I had a bit of a time with gauge on this project, because I’d never worked with yarn so stretchy before! Must be all the elastic in the Fixation. I’m a tight knitter, so keeping the yarn slack and relaxed was quite a chore.

If you knit this pattern, find your gauge and use this pattern as a guide. Work with the guage that works for you, remembering to not tighten up that yarn!

Sizes

Stretchy enough to fit one medium sized head—mine is 21″ around.

Directions

Cast on very loosely 75 stitches and join in round.

Knit all arounds in the following color pattern:

• Rnd 1-12: Color A
• Rnd 13-14: Color B
• Rnd 15: Color A
• Rnd 16-17: Color B
• Rnd 18-23: Color A
• Rnd 24-25: Color B
• Rnd 26: Color A
• Rnd 27-28: Color B
• Rnd 29-40: Color A

Finishing

BO all stitches very loosely; I followed Wendy’s variation on a Russian bind off. Weave in ends. Leave a very long tail, about 6-8 times the length of the band, to use to seam the piece. Your piece should look something like this:

Now fold the cast-on and bind-off ends together, and seam together:

Adjust the folds on the band so the seam is in the middle of the inside, and the stripes at the top and bottom of the front/outside:

You may want to block lightly; check Knitty’s reference on blocking cotton. Wear proudly and worry-free!

I’ve found it best to put the cozy on the cup before filling it with coffee. I may modify the pattern to accommodate this issue.

Materials

• KnitPicks Swish Lemongrass Heather
• set of 4 US size 6 DPN (or 40″ circ for magic loop)

Gauge

6 sts + 9 rows = 1″ on US size 6 needles

Sizes

Stretchy enough to fit one to-go coffee/tea cup

Directions

Cast on 46 stitches and join in round.

Knit 4 rounds in K1P1 rib.

Knit 2 rounds.

Next round: K1 K2tog [K to last 3] SSK K1
Next 3 rounds: K

Repeat the above 4 rounds 4 more times.
(There should now be 36 stitches on the needles.)

Knit 1 more round.

Knit 4 rounds in K1P1 rib.

Finishing

BO all stitches and weave in ends. Enjoy your coffee!

Discreet enough to keep on your nightstand or dresser, large enough to hold Chloe or G-Swirl, or anything in between. (Please note, those links are probably NSFW!)

Materials

• 1 skein Artful Yarns Candy Sweet Tart
• 1 skein Lion Brand Yarn Fun Fur Violet (optional)
• 1 set US size 8 double-pointed knitting needles

Sizing

Gauge: 20 sts + 32 rows = 4″ on size 8 needles
Dimensions: 4″ x 10″ without fun fur

Directions

CO 42 st, divide evenly across 3 DPN (14 sts on each).

Rnd 1: P
Rnd 2: K
Rnd 3: P
Rnd 4: K
Rnd 5: K

Rnd 6: [K5 YO K2Tog] to end

Knit next 70 rounds.

Begin decrease

Rnd 1: [K4 SSK K2 K2Tog K4] to end
Rnd 2: [K3 SSK K2 K2Tog K3] to end
Rnd 3: [K2 SSK K2 K2Tog K2] to end
Rnd 4: [K1 SSK K2 K2Tog K1] to end
Rnd 5: [SSK K2 K2Tog] to end
Rnd 6: K2Tog to end

Finishing

Pull yarn through remaining stitches. Turn inside-out and weave in ends. Turn right-side-out and thread a ribbon through the YOs.

To add fun fur, pick up all stitches on the cast-on edge. K 1 round, BO and weave in ends.

Materials

• 2 skeins Color A: Red Heart Super Saver Economy Gold (321)
• 1 skein Color A: Red Heart Super Saver Economy Black (312)
• 1 skein Color A: Red Heart Super Saver Economy White (311)
• 1 16-inch circular US size 8 knitting needle

Sizing

Gauge: 5 sts + 6 rows = 1″ on size 8 needles
Dimensions: 8″ x 84″ without fringe

Patterns for Each Block

Pattern for Block 1

Rnds 1-36: Knit all rows with Color A.

Pattern for Block 2

Rnds 1-3: Knit all rows with Color B.
Rnds 4-9: Knit all rows with Color C.
Rnds 10-12: Knit all rows with Color B.

Pattern for Block 3

Rnds 1-3: Knit all rows with Color B.
Rnds 4-9: Knit all rows with Color C.
Rnds 10-12: Knit all rows with Color B.
Rnds 13-18: Knit all rows with Color C.
Rnds 19-21: Knit all rows with Color B.

Directions

With Color A, cast on 80 stitches.

Follow the rounds for each block in this order:
Block 1, [Block 2, Block 1, Block 3, Block 1] x4, Block 2, Block 1

(Note: To make the scarf longer than the length listed here, just repeat [].)

Finishing

BO all stitches. Turn inside-out and weave in ends. Turn right-side-out, wash, and block.

To add tassels to the edges of the scarf, follow this article at eHow for a great explanation of creating fringe for tassels. Make enough fringe for 9 tassels on each edge of the scarf, 5 in Color B and 4 in Color C.

At the bind-off edge, attach one Color B tassel to the middle of the scarf, through both layers of knitting. Then attach two more Color B tassels on each end. Using the middle and ends as a guide, eyeball the locations of the remaining tassels.

Repeat this on the cast-on edge. Wear!