Don't sit under the apple tree....

Before I get to the knitting progress, I have to show off a little.  Here is my little apple tree with lots of fruit all over it!

I'm so thankful that there is little maintenance with this thing.  I have neglected my whole back yard this year and it shows.  All except for the apple tree that has only required rain and sunshine.  I did some pruning but today, and it looks a lot better!

The rest of the yard is full of flowers and greenery but it's like Jumanji out there - crazy vines and leaves, weeds and odd looking flowers.  I asked my friend last night what this thing was that had taken over a neglected flower bed.

She said it sounded like a Passion Vine and I looked it up; she's right. Not sure what variety it is, but  it had  taken over the place and was very unruly.  I had to dig a little to get rid of it today.  The "fruit" was only seed-filled pods and the flowers only last a day or two and then they're gone.  What a mess.

Okay, here is the knitting up date.  Big whoop.

But it's progress, nonetheless.  I charted the letters on graph paper and am adding a small cross and snowflakes.

I may add a reindeer, but that will be later.  The absolutely best thing about a Christmas stocking is that there is no second-sock-syndrome.  It's like a work of art that you don't have to duplicate.  One is enough!  Now that, I like! Why paint two Mona Lisa(s)?   (Did I just compare my stocking to the Mona Lisa???)

Its beginning to look a lot like a Christmas stocking

Listening again to a great business book by the Arbinger Institute, and knitting the first exciting rows of my very first Christmas stocking!  I bought the yarn while out of town this past weekend - four great colors.

The pattern is inspired by the how-to video from Knit Picks, although I can't find this particular pattern anywhere.  So I have improvised by starting with the basics from my new Christmas stocking  book.

Knit Picks video tutorial

Then using some motifs from a favorite book of mine, The Harmony Guide to Aran and Fair Isle Knitting.  I've implemented a simple 2x2 rib to start with, after casting on 72 for worsted weight yarn on size 6 needles.

The yarn is acrylic Red Heart soft and the colors are Wine, Dark Leaf,  Honey and Mid Blue.  I would say the blue is more like a Williamsburg Blue if you ask me. The honey is very close to Bit'O'Honey candy, if you can remember back that far!

I was able to spend some quality time with my niece and nephew and in laws this past weekend and really enjoyed our Independence Day celebration. Here we all are at a local pancake house; we always seem to have breakfast there.  Great food and great service!

I was stung by a bee while floating in the pool, and I haven't been stung by a bee since I was really young.  We all fantasize about going back in time and being youthful again, but we forget that there were as many bad days back then as we have now, we just tend to downplay them.   I'd forgotten how much bee stings hurt and how irritating they are.  God forgive me (and pardon me neighbors) for the cuss word I let out!  OUCH.

Knitters Review

Years ago I signed up to be on the Knitter's Review mailing list, to receive their newsletter via email every Thursday morning. KR reviews new yarns, tools, techniques and books for knitters. It was always such a treat to see their name in my email box and have an excuse to grab a cup of coffee & read the latest poll and yarn review.

Today the market is flooded with commercial and boutique yarn stores, knitting websites, blogs and podcasts  out the wazoo, but back then, this was groundbreaking stuff for knitters like me.  KR also had a great forum section on their website; also the first of it's kind for knitters, as far as I know.  You can still go to the website after logging in, ask any question you like and get a pretty good response from somebody who's been there. (Mind you, this was before FB and Ravelry.)  When my husband and I took our trip last week, we wanted to get a better idea of what local yarn shops would be the best to visit, so I checked with the KR forum !  Thank you Clara Parkes, pioneer woman!

 This is 4th of July weekend and we will be taking our annual trip to my in-laws' house in Birmingham, AL for a pool party and family get together - the family is growing and this year we add one more. Woo hoo! We cook out, swim and listen to music by the pool, or hang out inside and watch movies.  A very American holiday!

And speaking of holidays, it would be so cool to make a trip to Joann's to get some yarn and start on my Christmas stocking. When I get home from work I just don't have the energy to drive back into town to shop. I guess I could order online, but I really like to feel the yarn and see the color in person before I buy it.   Bummer.

I've pretty much completed the purple pillow top, as of yesterday.  That makes two pillow tops that will need fabric backing, and that definitely means a trip to Joann's is in order.   I guess it's true what they say:

Fortune cookie: ESL at its best!

And before I go, I have to share a little something from my garden - peas in a pod, squash and cucumbers!

Vacation Day Five

Day 5 of our trip started with a relaxing coffee/read the paper kind of morning.  No agenda, just leisurely breakfast and then hit the road.

Then it became a little weird.  We could tell the drive may take a little longer, and we knew we'd be getting onto a turnpike or toll road.  Getting a little extra cash (okay, some cash) at the drug store after buying a trial size bottle of mouthwash, (we had to buy something), we felt prepared for the journey.  The Ohio countryside was beautiful, but it was misting rain the whole way.  Like tropical storm rain, if you've ever had that experience.  Even the locals commented on how weird it was.  And the temps were in the low 60s.  Eventually we got off the toll road and stopped at Burger King for a milkshake and rest stop.  Everybody in Ohio is a lot older than everybody in Tennessee. I'm not kidding. Mo, our waitress at breakfast, her name is short for Maureen, was over 70, easy. The lady who checked us out at the drug store was about the same age with a lot fewer teeth.
Anyway, after getting back in the car with our milkshakes, we realized the shakes were not right.  Syrup on the bottom, not stirred, like a fruit on the bottom yogurt, only these were milk shakes and we were using straws.  The ice cream was not mixed with the syrup at all, as in the term, "shake".
After finding our country highway via the GPS, we started feeling like we weren't going in the right direction.  Miles down a country road, we came to a complete stop where they had closed the road to through traffic, with absolutely no detour signs or suggestions on where else to go,  and this was our road to the hotel in Ft. Wayne.  So we turned around, reset the GPS for alternate route and were now officially entering a time warp.

Kids riding bikes without helmets or shoulder pads or face masks.  There were driveways with cars, not garages with SUVs. Houses had swings on the front porch and there was significant amounts of land between them.  So weird.

We arrived safely at our lovely hotel where I spent the afternoon reading, and my better half checked out a local music-gear event.  We had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, and everything seemed back to normal.  Indiana is actually pretty cool.

Vacation Day Four

Spruce trees in Ohio are massive!

On Wednesday night I had one of my all-time favorite desserts - strawberry shortcake!  On Thursday I had dinner at an Italian restaurant.  Could the week be going any better?  Is this week going by way too fast?
Day four was spent in two tourist locations in the city of Cleveland, Ohio; the first being the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  A true American destination.

I won't even begin to list all the things we saw, but many are true, one of a kind bits of history.  And if you like music, you will certainly find something that blows you away.. I sure did!

Janis Joplin's Porsche

Coupe used in ZZ Top video

It is true, apparently that many musicians live their lives on the edge, and some did not have such a happy ending.

Jimi Hendrix first draft of Purple Haze

But they did leave behind the music that we love to listen to; the music that makes us sing along and laugh when we can remember the words!

And the second attraction was the house used in the movie, A Christmas Story.  The interior of the house was not used in the film, but rather a set constructed in Canada, where a few other scenes were filmed.

We checked out the museum across the street from the house and found lots of things used in the movie.

I loved the knit cap that Ralphie wore during the 'lick the frozen flag pole' scene!

Vacation Day Three

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with our host friends on our third day of vacation, and then went into town to meet an old friend of my husband's; a man he worked for for many years but never actually spent any time with.  Though relatively young, he has recently been afflicted with Parkinson's disease and his wife has Alzheimer's.  This gentleman was quite the mover and shaker and was always immaculately groomed.  He is still careful about his appearance but has very limited ability to communicate.  It was a bittersweet moment for my husband to see this man who he looked up to for so many years.  Time marches on as they say.

We left the lunch in Columbus and drove to Dublin, nearby, to check out a knitting shop called Knitting Temptations.

What a great find!  They had a tremendous selection and the place was adorable.  Very inviting and in a really nice part of town.  I made my first conquest of the trip!  A book of  Christmas stocking knitting patterns. BINGO.

I looked at all the yarn, but thought I'd wait till the next shop to make a second purchase.  Gotta make it last!

Vacation Day Two

We had a lovely drive out of town this morning.  Beautiful weather all the way, with only a slight delay hitting traffic crossing into Cincinnati.  Our friends in Columbus received us with open arms and a beautiful candlelight dinner.  It's been a wonderful day getting to know a couple that knew my husband for years before I ever met him, and hearing stories of their adventures all over the world.

They've met presidents, worked with celebrities and legendary performers, and taken away a boatload of wisdom from their experiences.  DH is scanning photos as I type; proof that all this stuff really happened!
Tomorrow I'll get to meet another of 'the gang' and hopefully get another glimpse of the life my husband led before we met. 

On the drive today, I knit like a pirate discovering buried treasure.  Row after row after row of purple cables.  I have hurt my shoulder and believe it or not, it hurts to knit when I'm on a cable row, just the pulling of the two twisted stitches!  Is that lame or what?  Okay, literally it is kind of lame.  :-)

Vacation Day One

I'm officially on vacation.  I'm not at the airport or waiting to take the train into the city.  I am on my very own patio, sipping strong coffee, wearing my oversized T-shirt and shorts, enjoying the breeze.  Lots of kids are  playing  in the surrounding back yards, but I can't see them because of the privacy fences and trees.  I like it that way.
It feels like I'm already out of town, because I've turned off my mental clock.  The one that says I better hurry up and get (blank) done before (blank).  My biggest obstacle to vacationing is my state of mind, period.  So I'm mentally undoing everything that might have been on my mind to trouble me.  I'm about to embark on my  25th anniversary trip with my dear hubby (DH). Being with him is always a vacation, because he takes care of everything, probably better than a travel agent or tour guide.  I get to be a tourist and not do anything.  He does all the detail stuff and he really enjoys it, I think. Anyway, he does it all and I only have to pack.  We're not going anyplace fancy so I don't have to pack high heels or dresses that might need pressing. Just jeans, shorts and flip flops, t-shirts and sundresses.  Yes!

I've got my knitting bag ready to go; the purple cabled pillow top with an extra set of needles in case the harmony needle tips break at any point.  Mind you, I will be going to at least one yarn shop in each of the cities we visit.

The first stop will be Columbus, OH where we're meeting with some old friends of my husband's.  He toured with them, back in his rock & roll days and I've never met them.  We leave first thing in the morning, driving not flying, and my son and his wife will be housesitting while we're gone, so we don't have to stop the mail, turn on lights or move trash cans.  No worries!  Just hitting the road.

Ducks and stockings

I've got a hankering to do some fair isle knitting recently.  I think that's a good sign, since it requires concentration and I've haven't wanted to do anything but mindless knitting lately.  There are literally thousands of fair isle designs and variations and I have some favorites, but am willing to try something new and maybe a bit more challenging.  In fact, I'll let you in on a secret.  I'm thinking of trying a Christmas stocking.!   With all the heat of the summer, sometimes I just need to look ahead a little.  Further down the road than the weather forecast can predict.

In the past I've made mittens, a vest, a sweater and some socks.

Fair isle is not nearly as difficult as you might think, and well worth trying, especially if you already knit in the round.  Watching the pattern emerge as you go is like getting a prize from a gum machine.  It always is a little different than you thought, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The colors choices are endless and the only really hard part is keeping up with the chart.  A few years ago we went to Memphis and I stopped in a yarn shop and bought this magnetic board.  It's a great way to keep up with the lines of the grid, and believe me, you will need help.  A sticky note or something to stay on track.  Do not trust your eyes - take it from someone who's been there.  No matter how sure of yourself you are, you will eventually get off just a little, and you won't know it for at least one or two rows.  Un-knitting several rows of fair isle is no fun.  No fun at all!

I used to do a lot of cross stitching back in the 80's.  I had all kinds of embroidery floss and a million cross stitch charts for some reason.  I don't know why, but ducks were extremely fashionable back then.  I remember a particular job I had as a loan officer, where there was lots of scrap paper in the copy room that was mine for the taking.   I would copy duck patterns for cross stitching on the backs of botched loan packages.  That's probably illegal today and anything confidential like that is shredded immediately.  But those were simpler times. Ha.

Anyway, I gave away all my cross stitch stuff over a year ago, and I am on a mission now to find just the right fair isle pattern. Merry Christmas!

Don't judge a book by its spine

Whenever I see bookshelves, I get a little rush, cause I know hidden treasures are found there.  Often people are quick to pass by a book, based on it's spine.  We hardly ever get to see the cover, if the books are on a shelf, although nowadays, we see more book covers online than in person.  That's a big plus for booksellers and a big plus for me.

I can tell right off the bat what genre of book I'm looking at, based on the font, the decision to enlarge the author's name or the title, and of course the artwork.  That said, I try to give most books a chance, by reading the first several pages.  You'd be surprised how good a book can be, even if the book has a so-so cover.  I especially like book review magazines and newsletters.  I get most of my books based on recommendations from other readers and/or reviewers.   It pays to listen!

Okay, so I took a little weekend trip with my husband to a nearby city for some refueling, and it was truly worth it.  Free room and board, thanks to my in-laws, and a neat concert by one of our favorite songwriters.  The drive was super short.  I started another pillow on the way with this great purple-y yarn in my stash from way back when.   I love the color but have never found just the right project for it.

I love the way the cables are showing off the subtle color variations.   I think the wool was dyed and then I spun it, but wasn't happy with the uneven color at the time.  Now it totally makes sense.  Beautiful bits of blue, purple and lavender, and even a bit of periwinkle I think. 

The yarn is coarse, but since I'm making a throw pillow, it won't matter too much.  Just for looks, you know!

Today was not a bad day, in spite of the dread I had about it.  I wasn't looking forward to the work that was on my agenda, and I had not slept well, after waking from a bad dream.  I've been having weird apocalyptic dreams lately, and this one was unsettling, as opposed to the last one that was just weird.  But regardless, the day went by quickly and I still had enough time to get in some grocery shopping after the trip out of town; fresh milk and fresh fruit! I need to go start supper!

Tipping Points

 Last night I made myself a fancy coffee that was so darn good, I had to make another one. Problem is each coffee had two shots of espresso.  That makes 4 shots of espresso before bed ! I read for a while, watched TV, browsed the internet, and thought of numerous ways to solve the crisis in the middle east.
Even after I finally fell asleep, I tossed and turned all night long.   And I paid for my mistake all day at work.  It was like a coffee hangover.  Clearly I am no party animal! 

I have a bag full of knitting needles, literally.  I have almost all  (10) sizes in three varieties. Regular straight needles,  double pointed needles and circulars.
 Non-knitters probably wonder why one would need so many needles , but for those of us that knit, it makes perfect sense.  It's like having sunglasses, reading glasses, and regular glasses. They're all good, it just depends on what you need them for!

After I spun up the self striping yarn, and started to knit the swatch, I decided on using  the new Knit Picks Harmony needles, size 6.

The self-striping yarn is a complete success by the way; this swatch has three stripes from one strand of yarn.  The weight, size and feel of the yarn is great.  Very sock worthy, and that is what most people use self-striping yarn for.  Socks! 

Currently in the news there are about 5 public figures whose careers are going down the drain because of their refusal to make a right choice and deal with something they know they should address.  They are at a tipping point in their future, and we are all rooting for them to make the right choice.  And yet they don't.  They are so convinced that they are right and everybody else is wrong.  Sadly, they become a joke on  late night television.  Playing fast and loose with people's lives. What a shame.  What a doggone shame.

Card of Many Colors

The new issue of Spin Off magazine has a great article about spinning self-striping yarn.  When you're aiming at self-striping yarn, you usually think of roving that's been dyed for that purpose.  This method in the magazine is so simple and obvious that you think, why didn't this occur to me sooner??  Totally worth the price of the magazine, just to get some inspiration; so there's my challenge.  Beautiful cover and great articles!

I was so inspired that after carding a little wool yesterday, I had to give it a try today.

I have only spun the singles, so I won't post those pictures, but the semi-circle above is a rough try at carding with distinct color ways. 

The idea of laying your locks side by side and making rolags of different is the premise of the article, but I did my carding on the drum carder.  I can't wait to ply the yarn and try knitting a swatch!

Here's my latest FO.

I finished the Coral Cables pillow front and cast off this afternoon. The fact that this only took about two skeins of yarn gives me hope that one day I will use up the yarn in my stash, since it consists of two skeins of every color known to man.  Hope is a good thing!

We are making plans to take a trip soon, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Columbus, Cleveland and Ft. Wayne. Woo Hoo ~ Our anniversary was back in December but we're just now able to get away! I'm looking up all the yarn shops in those cities, and my husband has already bought tickets for the event he wants to attend in Ft. Wayne.  If I play my cards right, I might just have some self striping yarn to take with me.  Hope is a good thing!

Sad news about the Cocoa Bear hoodie.  In piecing it together I've somehow managed to not make something correctly and I don't know what.  There are vague piecing instructions so I've had to rely on my sewing know-how to manage, but clearly I'm not good enough.  It's just not going together like it should. Best thing is to lay it aside and pick it up later when I have  fresh eyes.  (Exhale and sigh. ) 

Coral Cables

The heat of the summer has hit full force this week.  After all the cool, rainy days of spring, we are now experiencing summer like temps and humidity.  Oh my gosh, what a change!  If its gonna be this hot, I would really rather be at the beach, okay?  I think I filled out the wrong form when I ordered my weather for June!!
But, in keeping with my Florida thoughts,  I have to show you how fast I'm knitting on this Coral Cables pillow.

I've done an outstanding job, don't you think?  Okay, maybe I shouldn't brag yet, but I feel good about how much progress I've made.  BIG honking needles make it go so, so fast!

This calendar page has lots of colors I'd like to find to make some complimentary pillows with.

Watching the movie "BIG" with Tom Hanks last night, reminded me of a job I had over 20 years ago doing something similar to what 'Josh Baskin' did when he found himself to be larger than life.  He got a job at a toy company doing data entry.  That's what I did back in 1986 for a music management company.  The company I worked for  collected those little pieces of paper that people filled out at concerts when folks wanted to be put on the mailing list for upcoming concerts and events.  Now that kind of thing is all done through the internet, and that type of work is probably obsolete, but for me back then, pregnant with my first child, it seemed to be a great job with little physical exertion and lots of quiet, routine work to look forward to. ( I don't like drama.)
I love the way Tom Hanks' character walked into an environment whistling his own tune.  He did not know what his future held, but he certainly made the best of it.  Even to the point that he had to decide if he wanted to go back to his old life.  The lives he changed while in an adult world, were better off for his presence.  What a great example!  I wanna be like that.  No matter where I go, and no matter how long I stay, I want to make the best of the situation.