Granny's Square

The last few days I've been in a nearby town doing some work with an acquaintance from my previous job. She owns a company that specializes in doing any kind of work a client might need done, and those jobs range from errands, cleaning, shopping, decorating and dog walking to waiting for the cable guy.
So she put together a team this week and I came along. We cleaned a prison.

Yes, a prison. The buildings are newly renovated and there's a lot of sheet rock dust when construction is over with. I have mopped, cleaned, wiped, carried buckets and sprayed stainless steel until my fingernails are down to nothing. I am truly, deeply tired today. And anxious to get back to my knitting.
I started this several days ago and I'm thrilled at how fast it's coming together.
The yarn is naturally colored gray wool - cabled, which means two strands of plied yarn spun back together in the same direction as the single.
The yarn is fat and the pattern is something I kind of made up. The equivalent of a knitted granny square. I got the idea from Knitting Rules.

If you noticed the beautiful chair, and I hope you did, you might like to know where it came from. It is an antique that was newly redone by my brother and my mom. The piece was my husband's grandmother's and the springs had come apart long ago. I'd always meant to fix it and never did once I went back to work.

When my son told me he was getting married, I thought it would make a lovely gift.
I took it to my parent's house in June and we re-worked the straps. The rest was done without me and that's probably why it looks so darn good. I take no credit whatsoever!

Stating the obvious

Okay, so my son got married last weekend. No need to expand on that. But for a mother, when your child leaves the country for a week and you don't hear anything, at all, your mind begins to play tricks on you. Little voices come up with scenarios that have no basis in reality. It's just a mother's worries. So there, I've gotten that off my chest.


Now, onto some knitting and spinning from the Harpeth River Spinsters. First let me say that I had no idea that the co-founder of our group, Vicki Knechtel, was the wife of Larry Knechtel. And the meetings I attented for the first several years were at Kaye's house - and Kaye bought her house from them. (Kaye and Vicki have both moved away, although Kaye did call yesterday during the meeting at Susie's to say hello to everyone; she lives in Maine now.)

Here are the pictures:





I apologize for not cropping or photo shopping anything - I know they're dark and need help but I am only now getting my programs back on my computer.

Here's what I spun:

My garden is growing pretty well, just in case you asked me, "How does your garden grow?"
I will be working in a nearby town next week so it's been good to enjoy the warm, sunny weather. I took advantage of the summer breeze this morning and set up my wheel on the patio. Perfectly lovely morning!!

Thank you, Tennessee! And thank you to the Guard-Kitty who kept all the dangerous birds from bothering me while spun this morning.

Summer at Stoney River

Today has been a God-send kind of day. Do nothing, relax, and eat junk kind of day. I’ve completed the foot of the Stoney River sock, with a start on the toe shaping.

I finished the majority while watching a DVD of Julia Child from 1962. Things were so different back then. People hosted shows based on their expertise and knowledge of the subject, not on their measurements, hair color and age (or lack of). Julia was a professional in every sense of the word. Her ability to translate a love of cooking to her audience was unmistakable.

The last episode I watched dealt with making a fish stew, very rustic by today’s standards but completely authentic to the cuisine she knew so well. This was a Mediterranean soup that let the diner remove bones and shells. That’s the way I grew up eating seafood. We ate fish off the bone, shrimp from the shell and whole crab backs were left in the gumbo. The pots and bowls were big and you needed a fork as well as a spoon to eat most meals.

Last night my husband and I made a long drive to NC and back, dropping off his father who stayed with us last week. We arrived back in time to check out an Asian restaurant for supper that served lots of seafood in its buffet. Now I know what you’re thinking. How could a girl like me possibly eat seafood from a buffet? Well, I’m here to tell you it was delicious and perfectly cooked in every way. Boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, seafood casserole and poached salmon, all quite freshly cooked. I could not have been more surprised, but will definitely go there again. Julia would have been so proud!

Anyway, getting back to knitting and the Stoney River socks. The cotton and the light blue-gray color are perfect for summer knitting. The color even reminds me of fish at a seafood market! And the bamboo needles are the right kind of summertime tool as well.

On Friday night after the wedding rehearsal, I gave the June Bug wrap to my new daughter in law for a wedding present.
(blocked and dry)
I guess it wasn’t that big of a secret, but I tried my best not to knit on it out when she was around. She and my son are on their honeymoon now; a cruise to the Caribbean. I thought since the wrap was silk and white, she might be able to use it as a light shawl with a sundress.
She made a beautiful bride and is quite a lady. I was so proud of her last week, for keeping high standards when some friends really hurt her feelings. She maintained dignity and never let on how she felt. And with many friends and family members vying for answers to countless questions prior to the wedding, she kept her cool and was the picture of femininity. Only in the confines of our kitchen did she shed her little tears of frustration. God bless her!

As I took today off to regroup from the company and the obligations of last week, I made time to card some wool.
I haven’t spun in a while and I miss it. I will be going to Spinning Group on Friday and I really want to take something to spin. What a treasure to have boxes of wool in the garage, ready for my hot little hands to grasp!

Life

The last week has been a bit of a blur with my son's wedding. Company in from out of town, places to go, things to do, and of course the obligatory computer crash. Yes, my computer crashed on Saturday afternoon, so I cannot post much in the way of pictures. We had to install a new operating system so I have effectively lost all of my address book, emails, bookmarks and pretty much anything that was saved to my desktop or hard drive in the last three or four years. My husband has high hopes that he can get it all back for me, so we will see.

With all the media we are so dependent on, I have become painfully aware that whether I like it or not, I am hooked. I am reading a new book by Nicholas Carr that addresses this topic. I do love computers and the internet, but I also love audio books and paper books and my kindle. And like the mouse in Who Moved My Cheese, I usually just re-route my habits for a while when things like these happen. I've said before, be ready to embrace Plan B. (as in, Be Flexible!)

We'll be driving to NC and back tomorrow to take my father in law home. I plan to make progress (finish) Stoney River sock #2 on the drive. My parents left this morning and we had a wonderful visit, catching up and hearing new stories of days gone by. Family visits are always an encouragement to me, and the celebration of my son's marriage made it extra special... I cannot express how blessed I feel. Full and rich!


Next week I will be working all week and am taking advantage of my last week of 'freedom'. Today will be laundry and house cleaning post-party. Boxes of stuff are all around and things need to be put away as well.

Couldn't get it right

I said I was going to do it and I did. I got out that little rigid heddle loom and went for it.
There are tons (okay not literally but you get the idea) of little hanks of wool and wool blends in my stash in the garage. This little bit is linen and hemp, I think. Maybe the only one. The warp is cotton so the weft really needed to be hard as well. Anything too soft could have sent me running if it proved to be too tricky.

I'm really pleased with what I've done so far, and that's saying a lot. I am pretty hard on myself and do not like to attempt things if I don't think I'll succeed. I figure there are lots of people who do things well and I don't have to corner the market on everything. I hope I can find a few things in this world that I do well. Let all the other stuff get done by people who are really good those things!

The Stoney River heel stitches are picked up and ready to knit.
I hope to take this with me today as I have a date with my daughter and future daughter in law to get our nails done for the wedding. If I get a pedicure instead, I can knit while they're doing my toes! (I am not a pedicure kinda girl, by the way, so all you therapists out there should be proud - getting outside my safe/comfort zone!)

And here's a To-Do list project I hope to do later this summer.
This chair was prepped by a kitty cat with claws like a velociraptor, surely. But.. with a little TLC and some new fabric, I hope to bring this dainty little chair back to the future.
Rip off the old fabric, clean well and sew slipcover. Easy, right?

I feel like a heel

It's been really busy but yesterday afternoon I spent some good quality time with my socks. I had forgotten which heel I used on the first sock so the second sock may be a fraternal or identical twin. I felt sure it was a slipped stitch heel, with short rows. I found my instruction book and went for it. So excited. Even if it wasn't exactly like the first, the second would be pretty darn close.
Then, of course the inevitable other shoe (or sock) dropped.
I had been holding them together in my lap while knitting but clearly I started the heel flap way, way too soon. There's at least a quarter to a half inch difference in the leg length! Good night!

Now I must decide if I'm gonna go for perfection or let it ride. Frog the heel, or not?

But first, I have to do some minor repairs to my daughter in law's wedding dress today, alter my dress for the wedding, and my daughter's. ( I think I need to actually buy shoes; cha-ching.) We have to get some mulch for the yard and trim hedges, etc. Phone calls and emails gotta get done today, really. So much to be done that I hate the socks will just have to wait for the next quiet moment.

The wedding is Saturday and rehearsal dinner is Friday night. ( I have officially begun waking up in the middle of the night again, rehearsing all of it over and over again, mentally!)

But we had a blast last night watching fireworks in our neighborhood. Even though it's illegal in the town of Spring Hill and nearby Franklin, you'd never know it. There were more fireworks than I've seen in a very long time, and very impressive!! They lasted for hours, an incredible display of American spirit. My husband said I looked like a six year old, giddy as the little kids next door, I suppose. God bless America.

Have you heard what they're saying?

Behind closed doors, it's all the buzz.
"Yes, we just heard the news! Smittenwithknittin is going to finish the Stoney River Socks!!"


"You know, if I could knit like her, I wouldn't need this Supreme Court job."


"Elena, you know you'll never knit socks as lovely as those Stoney River socks. What do you have to smile about?"


Yes, it's true, it's true. I am back to my final UFO and of course that would be the Stoney River Socks. They are so far down the road that I am into them like teenage girls at the Eclipse premiere.
You can see there's just not a lot left to knit.
I'm pretty much done with the leg and will turn for the foot and heel. The stitch is an alternating rib and I've got two socks from one skein!!!
The little wooden needles and cotton thread are perfect for knitting in this very warm weather. Nothing to hold in my lap; no warm fuzzy wool. No metal needles, just natural DPNs. Cool.

In the old days, one of my summer chores was to defrost my freezer. Some younger folks will not know what this means, but if you have a single gray hair on your head, you will understand. The refrigerator/freezer we had when I was first married was all one big box with a crank-arm handle to open the door. The freezer was just the upper section inside that held ice trays and kept things really cold. (my ice trays were metal then; do not lick them by the way!)
The chore involved putting everything into an ice chest, turning off the fridge and scraping out all the frost that had accumulated inside. Usually it was at least an inch or two thick by the time I got around to it, and it took a few hours to do the entire job.
So I am very thankful for a self defrosting freezer, as a modern convenience. I also appreciate the self-cleaning oven as a great time saving invention. Yesterday morning I just walked over to the stove, pressed the button and three hours later the oven was clean and all I had to do was wipe out the ash inside. Woo Hah! No more 'Easy Off' oven cleaner with gloves up to my elbows. What a breeze!

Let's Wrap It Up

We're all prone to addictions whether we like it or not. Essentially, if we engage in destructive behavior and those around us allow it to continue, we will persist in the selfish patterns we were born with. Sometimes we are blessed to have people who care about us enough to tell us when our selfishness is becoming bothersome to others. Maybe a swat on the behind when we're three. Maybe restriction when we're thirteen. And hopefully when we're grown, a boss to tell us to end the poo-poo or we're fired.
Others may not be so fortunate. Those around them coddle the selfish, manipulative behavior probably because they're too tired to rock the boat anymore and deal with the tantrums.
I didn't take my Sunday afternoon nap today, because I watched a program about this on TV. It is unsettling how common this is. I see it everyday and I'm sure I'm guilty of it on many levels. (Either the addict or the enabler.)
I believe there's always hope though. And I believe that sometimes it's up to us to do the uncomfortable thing and speak the truth. Or discontinue the pattern.

On a happier note, a pattern I have come to love is the Feather and Fan pattern. This June bug wrap has been a joy to knit and it makes me proud to say I made it myself. From the silk hankies I spun into thread on my wheel. Then plied the strands to make the yarn. And finally knitting the wrap to completion. This is one addiction that will definitely take an intervention to get me away from! Ooooweee, I do love my knitting. (Don't even start with my coffee!)

I am, however looking at trying my hand at weaving soon. I got this little baby out the other day, while cleaning in the garage.

I have been inspired lately by a couple of talented ladies, and want to follow their noble example and give weaving a try. It's been a while, so I'm gonna have to seek out some help!

Always embrace Plan B

I love the title/quote above. We can never be sure of our future and certainly can't know how things will turn out. Best bet, be prepared to go to Plan B, just in case! It might not be so bad.

When I moved into my college dorm, I had a very reluctant roommate. She didn't really want to room with me and let me know early on, but she was stuck with me. (Plan B) Later on, we shared an apartment together and eventually we wound up being in each others' weddings.

Today I went to the phone store to see about getting my insured cell phone fixed. After a 45 minute wait, we were told the same thing the girl at the door told us. Go to the website, pay your deductible and get a replacement. Every 'associate' had a little different way to solve our problem, and if we had made a stink right there in the store, we might have come away with all kinds of perks.
But in the spirit of keeping my husband's blood pressure in a good range, we left the store and embraced plan B: pay more money, get another phone and go on to the next thing. (I've got a wedding coming up in a couple of weeks and cherish sanity.)
Preparing for the wedding has been fun. I've finally painted the breakfast area where the scuff marks have been staring at my guests every time they throw away their trash.


I'm keeping up with my June Bug wrap.


I spun the Peacock wool and plied it with some cream wool for a nice variegated blend.

And I even made a pie the other night. I used to make these all the time, and my daughter commented she couldn't remember the last time I made one.





I would like to tell you this was an apple or peach pie, but we're counting calories lately, so it was filled with sugar free, fat free pudding. (Plan B again!)

Fig Leaves & Temptation

Summer is here and it's hot as Hades, if you ask me. But to be fair, it's the first day of summer so I'll let it go this time.
With the heat comes the license to stay indoors in the middle of the day, unless you're at work, in which case you're already indoors!
But for me, the temptation to get outside this morning and plant those two fig trees was more than I could resist. I dug two holes in some pretty hard clay soil, laid those puppies in the holes and watered them till I had finished drinking my mason jar of water. At least I was in the shade when I planted them!
I have to point out something interesting about one of the plants. They were gifts from my dad & mom - started from existing plants in their neck of the woods. Look at how this tree was started; sideways from a branch! Isn't that cool?

It never ceases to amaze me how the most beautiful things can come from what someone else may brand a cast off and only useful for the trash heap. What great treasures we may have right at our fingertips, if only we'd stop long enough to look (and think!).
I dyed some pretty wool a while back and after looking at my wheel yesterday, and noticing there's nothing on it, I decided I needed to grab that Peacock Wool and get at it!
Some things just naturally go together!