Open House

Yesterday I hosted our spinning group and it turned into one of those ordained occurrences. Only a few were here, yet because of that I felt completely free to open up to my friends and share my heart.
You see, I turned in my notice this past week at my job, and if you know me, you know I would never take something like that lightly. I've wrestled with the decision for a long time and felt that the Lord used some very extra-ordinary things in the last few weeks to show me that now was the time. I am thankful that I have a relationship with Jesus that gives me complete confidence in Him, that even when I'm scared to death, I can trust in Him that everything is going to be all right.

So, for now, I'll post the show and tell from our get together. I'm still trying to figure out this camera, so some shots are blurry, others are not. (I'm learning!)

Beautiful lacy hat and scarf, not a set, but both handspun, and hand knitted. Love the colors of both! I want that hat!

Wonderfully calming, even soothing waves or feather & fan throw. Made with a variety of yarns, all wool, but each adding a unique contribution to the overall appeal and oneness of the blanket.

I spent the time spinning this lovely silk, getting closer and closer to a bobbin full. There are a lot of cocoons in this batch!

And during the Olympics the other night, I started a sleeve on this maybe-sweater. I like the look but not the bobbles. I know if I put on a sweater with bobbles, I'd be messing with them all the time, and pulling on them like a little kid. Mostly I just want to find a good basic pattern that fits me well. I'm using this vintage book that I learned to knit from. Great basic cardigan and pullover instructions. And as a knitter, there's not much better than knitting worsted weight yarn on medium needles. The ribbing is done on 3's and the stockinette is done with 6's. Nice drape and texture.
I read this quote recently and had to post it:

Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.
Unknown

Yesterday I met a man who had escaped communist Vietnam, only to go back later to try to spread anti-communist propaganda. He was nearly arrested then and made it safely out of the country. He's going to school now, and runs a small business nearby. He shared with me how thankful he is for the freedoms we have in America, to express our opinions and views, even dissenting ones. It's legal! I realized after meeting him how blessed I am to have to opportunity to meet with my friends, to share my heart and never risk imprisonment for my thoughts!

For the love of Money

I love that song by the O'Jays. And the lyrics are so true! People are so hung up about money.
Day after day, we are becoming more and more aware of how much we love our money. No one makes a decision nowadays without 'counting the cost'. There seems to be no end of advice for folks who want to be prudent and not spend too much. I wonder what our world would be like if we all just became really, really generous. Not caring how much a thing cost, but rather looking at how much they valued or wanted something. To what extent would we go to get that thing? How much happier we'd all be if those around us just dropped all their inhibitions and gave their all every single time? All facets of life would change, don't you think?

I have one area of my life that really fits into that category. I have lots and lots of yarn. Its not hard to be generous, or extravagant with my projects, because I know I have lots of dyed yarn, undyed yarn and even fleece that's waiting to be spun and dyed. What a blessing to know this!!
There's no end to the projects I can take on, if I only had the time to knit more........

I have finally closed the toe on the first LB sock and have cast on for the second sock.



I've captured some really good cloud pictures this week. I'm so glad the snow has let up for a few days. The sky has been gorgeous!!
I love the 'sky blue' and I wish I had some sky blue yarn. I do have the sapphire yarn and I could surely have a dye-day soon, if the weather co-operates. I'd like some sky blue and hot pink!!
I miss my sister lately and am wishing I could go down to Tampa to visit her. I can tell my color choices are leaning toward the tropical. Spinning group is tomorrow, here at my house so I'm looking forward to getting some inspiration! Hope to post at least a couple of pictures Saturday!
By the way, in the picture above, I was sitting at a red light on lunch hour and realized that right above those blasted lights, was a beautiful gift from God, just for me. Next time, don't look at the red light, look at the sky!

Alice in Wonderland

After spinning the gray Alice fleece, I had no trouble coming up with a name for the project I knit with the yarn. Alice in Wonderland of course. I am intrigued with a throw done in large cables and reverse stockinette on the cover of an old Lion Brand catalog. I may just use the Alice yarn for that throw. And I think I may dye the yarn green,...maybe.

I haven't picked a stitch of the week so I'd better get on it.
And I was very tardy getting out the invite for this month's spinning meeting. I had offered to host and even have it on my calendar, but didn't send out the email till today.

I'm drinking some hot chocolate and wondering where all that beautiful weather went. It was just so pretty all weekend and a tease is a tease. Very frustrating. Today is not cold, but gray and cold-looking from the window. Hurry up, spring!
I took the Leroy Brown sock with me yesterday evening to church and got in several rows.
I'm just about ready to decrease for the toe, which will be a welcome part of the process.


I also measured the purple round knitting swatch. Exactly 4.5 stitches per inch. I found a cute little short sleeve pullover but I'm gun shy about trying another sweater just yet. =(
Since I've had today off I've been cleaning house: dusting, vacuuming, mopping and washing. I started the year with a pedometer to track my steps each day. An average at-work day consists of less than a thousand steps. A stay at home day (today) had me at 7,000 by 9 a.m. It's after lunch and I've passed 11,000. I have to tell you that this continually surprises me.
Does it surprise you too?

I put away my last book - it took a nosedive about halfway through and did not look like it was gonna recover. I started a non-fiction book about Henrietta Lacks and a spiritual book called Crazy Love; both seem to be a vast improvement!

Boxcar Children

Last night after supper, while shopping at Wal-mart for some new pajama pants, we met a couple that reminded me of 'the good ole days'. Do you know what I mean? Those experiences that are so pleasant and wholesome, you just feel good for a while and savor the moment.
When my kids were little, we'd read books like the Little House series, Winnie the Pooh and the Box Car Children. They'd make you believe in a time and place where things were pure and innocent, free from the darkness that wants to invade our lives all the time.
This couple we met were older and did most of their shopping at Walmart and the Goodwill Store. They told us how they met. They were both 70 and had only been married to each other for 9 years, having lost both their spouses to cancer years before. They'd lived parallel lives, and finally met at their church, about 20 miles away in a community called Triune.

Today has been a wonderful, beautiful day. The sky is lovely, this morning cloudy, but now it's sunny and warm!! Wooooo Hoooo! Exactly what I need!

I went to a guitar show with my husband this morning. Saw an old friend that sells super expensive vintage guitars ( you could almost buy my house for the price of the one above - 1960 Les Paul Burst).
(Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple owned this Gibson SG)


DH has the day off and we've fired up the grill for tonight, since it's so pretty.

I've worked on my sock and it's going really fast; no counting rows, cables, ribs or nothin'!
I'm savoring this time after a somewhat stressful week. I'm making some changes and decisions about some things and although that can be very freeing, there's a certain amount of anxiety that can come with the unknown. Life is complex, and we're all are sure of that!

Games People Play

It's that time again - Olympics, you know! (a line from my favorite movie)
Ravelry, yarn harlot, they're all knitting some great project that must be finished by the end of the games. I have no such project but I'm happy with what I've got on the needles at the moment anyway.
Except tonight I realized as I made olympic effort to get to the heel, that I placed the cables on the front and back of the leg instead of the sides. Now I've got to tink (un-knit) to the afterthought heel thread. Bummer.

I did find a bit of color over the weekend, to knit. This is a lovely worsted weight purple and I'm swatching in the round on 8's. DPNs are recommended to get an accurate stitch count for a sweater, or anything in the round.
I've used this pattern before and have most of my calculations already highlighted, which makes this much more appealing. Less effort to get it started.
We've had snow again today and I was able to come home early, to beat the black ice. The commute this morning was tricky and I saw the last of 4 vehicles being pulled out of ditches - doubling my commute time. I'm so thankful I arrived safely! Tomorrow may be equally tricky....

We had a wonderful lunch Sunday with another couple we are good friends with. And my husband is giving guitar lessons to their son. He's proving to be quite a talented kid! He had no real interest in music before moving here last year. Now he's well on his way. I love that about kids. They are so real and don't play games about what they're interested in. They'll tell you in a heartbeat, "I love/hate that". Sometimes you really have to read between the lines with adults. They either want approval and aren't honest, or they have an agenda which is much worse in my opinion.
Listening to politics on the radio today, I heard that another politician is leaving the ring, citing too much polarization. I'm glad somebody's speaking the truth about our political parties. Both sides have gotten downright dirty, and nobody's getting anything done. I heard a poll that said a large portion of Americans believe a random sampling from the phone book could do a better job than the Congress we have now. How sad!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

On a day that's meant to remember love and affection, I have to share something that's close to my heart. My husband. He is the most thoughtful person you will ever meet, and even in the midst of all my weirdness, he treats me like a queen. I am so blessed! He's already given me my gift, and I've made him a pineapple upside down cake. That's what he wanted!

Another thing that's close to my heart is my knitting of course! I realized that my new blog (old blog hacked) hasn't got an archive of all the socks I've knitted over the last several years. So I thought I'd post a quick shot of what's still in the dresser.
Everyone needs to clean out their sock drawer once in a while, and why not in the middle of winter, when your socks are starting to get holes in them.....
The row counter is a lifesaver when knitting cables. You can see how the first half of the sock has cable turns every 4th or 5th row.
Then I re-read the directions and found that I should be twisting every 8th row! Oh well - a design element, yeah, that's it. Design.

Spinning silk is a two step process and the first step is separating the hankies, then drafting them into usable strips. I love the way they look when I piled them next to my wheel. So delicate!
I'm almost through with my Sarah Palin book, Going Rogue. I have to hand it to her, she's getting the last word in, based on her book sales alone. It amazes me what the media got away with, during the McCain campaign. And it's scary how much the election was based on the age and race of the candidate and not the experience and qualifications of the man. We are truly and American Idol society, basing all our opinions on the cover of the book and not what's inside. (That's my opinion, and you may disagree; that's perfectly fine with me!)
And while we're setting the record straight, I have to mention that my mom asked me about the time on my last post. The clock is wrong and has been since I've been on blogger.com so now I've got the correct time. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that in the future!

Rite of Passage

Getting your nails done is a lot like getting your ears pierced. I remember when I was 13 that I went to the mall and sat down on the stool at the Earrings & Things store and commenced the rite of passage. I got the little diamond studs and they hurt like heck for days! It scared me when I thought of all the horror stories - girls who didn't swab with alcohol every night before bed. Their ears would rot off. It must be true! So I was a good girl and kept them pretty clean; as much as any young girl could. My mom pretty much reminded me.

So last weekend I went with my daughter for the first time to get my nails done. I'd had a friend paint them years ago, who was in beauty school. She did a great job, but this is different. It's like having a box of 64 crayons, brand new, and a giant scribble pad. I am thinking of colors to paint my nails like never before. I never cared. My husband has really encouraged me to do this, I think because he thought it would cheer me up. And my daughter couldn't believe it when I took her up on her offer to go with her to the salon. Stranger things have happened, but not many.
As rites of passage go, I'm delving into new frontiers with my knitting. I am feeling ready to dive into some serious cable knitting. I like lace, but this Leroy Brown sock (probably twice this long now; photo is a couple of days old) is a blast to knit! I love my little cable needle (my deceased mother in law's). It is smooth and vintage gun metal green.
Here is the swatch-a-week swatch, so you can see how quick a knit it must have been. Honking size 13 needles and cabled wool yarn. (6 ply).
My husband was working with a friend this week so he took a few of his stacked up vacation days and did some picking. They are a very good writing team and always produce a good end result.

Oh when the Saints

A great Superbowl indeed - hooooooray for the Saints! I grew up very near New Orleans and much of the culture on the Gulf Coast is influenced by it. So it was natural that I would root for the Saints yesterday, and God Bless' em, they won!
And I can't believe Dree Brees asked to pose with my Leroy Brown sock. He said he knew I knitted on it all during the game and that it was only fair to share the credit and the glory! Aw shucks! I wasn't able to go with him and his family to Disneyworld, as I have to work this week.

I came home tonight and made some supper, although I felt a little queasy all afternoon. I had chills last night and again today, but I was hoping it was the fish I had for dinner yesterday. DH swore it smelled funny, and I swore it was just the marinade. Not to worry... (we'll see....)
He's working today and tomorrow, so tonight I'm going to make more headway on the Leroy Brown socks. I'm on row 53 and I can't start the heel till row 78. These little rows take a while!

I found a great pattern for my 'swatch a week' idea. I started it this weekend and think it would be a great pattern for a lot of things.
I'll post a good picture soon. And I'm thinking of doing a pair of socks next month that are a WIP. The Stoney River socks that are in my to-do basket. I think with a good washing and blocking they'll be beautiful.

I alluded to something that happened to me last week, and I'll embellish just a bit tonight. A business consultant who tweaks operations for businesses, came by to meet with me for about an hour. I told her all about my "processes" and she listened, very well I must say. And she took notes, and she nodded and asked questions. I was sure she was going to say, 'honey, there's nothing I can do for you - you're a mess'. But instead she smiled and assured me that there were some very simple solutions to my work stress and frustration. It was such a relief to have someone who truly, truly understood what I was going through and like a angel, could tell me things were not hopeless. Thank God there are people out there, who going around making life better for other people!

I'm on a roll!

It is early Saturday morning and the wind is blowing and the rain has been light but present for a day or so. I don't really care, though, because for the first time in a long time, I'm inspired. My husband said yesterday, "she's back...". He's right. No need to belabor the point, but I will say that a cloud has lifted and I'm thinking more clearly now. For at least a month or so, and to be honest, probably longer, I've had a diminished desire to be me. Kind of in a holding pattern, like a plane that just can't land.
I think I've finally landed. And here are some things floating around in my head this blustery Saturday morning (aided by some strong coffee and folks around me who care about me).

I'm going back to my old day-timer. I picked up a newer, more colorful one around Christmas, but it's just not working. The old one is back, even though it's overweight and not as cute. It works really well for me, and I'm just going to make the effort to keep it with me!! There.

I'm also going to do a better job of eating. I have a friend who's a writer, and she also publishes a weekly menu-suggestion with shopping list with nutrition information. savingdinner.com
I used to use this all the time and every so often, I'll get out my saved files for inspiration. I intend to go back to being more intentional with my eating and cooking. And Lord help me stay away from comfort-cheeseburgers on my lunch hour!

My knitting and spinning has been so-so and again, I want to be more intentional with my projects. Wintertime is the best time for knitting and I've only got a few more months of cold weather to knock out some great projects! (Seriously thinking of a sock of the month or stitch a week KAL.)

And finally, I am trying something today that's a real stretch for me. Not kidding. I'm going to get my nails done today. I have been keeping them polished and filed but typing all day takes its toll on the edges and tips. Salons will paint a hard coating on your nails to keep them strong, and you don't have to go with the Cruella DeVille look or the 'white-out-on-the tips' look . That's just not me, I could never pull that off. (People would laugh, I'm sure; especially all my Birkenstock wearing friends!). But I would like a little something to strengthen the ends.

And last but not least, I really want to blog more often. When I don't blog, I think I'm just not dealing with things, and that's not good. I do want to maintain privacy, but there's something so cathartic about expression.
There are no pictures today, but lots of link so you can share my enthusiasm. And please read yarn harlot's post about best laid plans. I love the way she writes! This is where today's post found it's land legs.

Optical Illusions

Sometimes the way things look aren't actually the way they are. Some situations seem worse by their appearance - but looks can be deceiving.
I placed my cell phone next to the scarf so you could see how long it really is. And it looks dark against the white bedspread. But you've seen the previous photos, some looking green, brown or even black. You can't always trust your eyes or the dim light. (I still need to weave in the loose ends.)
This week was one of the worst I've ever had, and mostly because of the way I was seeing things. Or the way I was afraid things really were. I didn't trust my gut or my brain; I was listening to my emotions and fears. Now that's dangerous. Even pilots know not to do that, cause you could crash your airplane.

I had a real turnaround this afternoon, coming out of a meeting that 1. confirmed what my brain was telling me and 2. dispelled the fears I had that there was no hope. I want more than anything else, to post things that encourage and uplift, and sometimes I write entire rants, realizing later how good it was that I didn't post those feelings.
I love to read and hear things that uplift me. It's so important that we keep our perspective and a sense of proportion.
After all the snow last weekend, and more rain and showers today, I was really starting to get down in the dumps. What a relief to find a glimmer of hope & light today. Thank you Lord for lifting me up!

I have a new knitting project to share soon. I've started a pair of ecru gloves for my daughter. A friend sent me a pattern that I'm trying out (needles to yarn ratio) and seeing how the stitches look so far. Easy pattern, too!
And I've got Sara Palin's book on my iPod.