Object of My Affection

Whenever I have some time to spend, all to myself, I almost always choose to go to the library.  I might go to the market or garden center or yarn shop, but I really truly love going to the library.  Today was one of those days.
I picked up a book by one of my favorite authors, and can't wait to get started on this novel. But I need to finish one I am halfway through; To Kill a Mockingbird and its going fast.  Easy read and very endearing.  Its the kind of book that lingers in your mind, and later little things come back to you.  She is such a good writer.

Me and Atticus

This new book, according to Stephen King is "on fire with suspense".  Need I say more?  I have read many books by Greg Iles, but I hesitate to recommend him, because occasionally things get graphic.  Murders and crimes are not glossed over, but written about realistically.  I have researched this book and its supposed to be one of his less graphic books.  Some are actually not recommended for juveniles according to his website.  I appreciate that.  I fall into that category.

Anyway, aside from my me time today at the library, I stole a little time in the flower bed, weeding, moving some plants and cutting a couple of tulips.

 I planted a bag full of bulbs at the end of last fall and they have come up, right on time.  Sort of salmon pink colored.  Very similar to the mohair yarn I've been spinning.

I was inspired to wash some more wool after listening to a podcast that discussed processing fleeces, even greasy ones. I have one that I soaked and tried to clean last year or maybe even the year before.  I can't remember, but its been a while and its sitting in the corner like a bad child.  I don't like to look at it, and frankly I'd lost hope that it could be salvaged.

dirty fleece

I had come to believe that I would have to use it for stuffing or batting.  But.....I followed some sage advice, washed only one lb. of it in a small dishpan in the tub, twice in very hot water. Then rinsed in equally hot water and set it out to dry.

white as wool

  I was amazed at how soft, clean and not-felted it was!  I guess I amazed myself by following directions like a good girl.  That always works out you know.

March Winds

Lately the weather has been pretty mild, but definitely worth sharing a few photos of. (Please excuse the preposition at the end of the previous sentence.)

View from the guest room upstairs

Lovely winds and mild temperatures make me more that happy that its already March and we've hardly had any snow.  I don't want to speak too soon, but hey, it is March, right? Kinda close to being in the clear, and we're probably only gonna get one more really good cold spell before its over.  Not warm enough to plant much yet, but I'm okay with that.

view from the back yard

view from the dining room

I have planted some spinach, kale, Swiss chard and lettuce seeds and all have come up.  Woo hoo!

Part of the booty from moving my father-in-law's stuff down here are some various gardening tools;  I'll try to post pics soon.  Its sooo cool to have an extra hoe, shovel, etc. for the back yard.  I kind of have two stations that I work from, one on either side of the house.  Most of the walking around in the back yard is me going back and forth to get tools that I left in 'the other flower bed'.  I need the walking around mind you, but its a pain when every little cotton-pickin thing requires me to get up off my duff and walk across the yard to round up the tool.  How nice it'll be to have a least one spare everything!

The lovely, and I do mean lovely pink Swallowtail Shawl is coming along nicely.  I am now speaking with a true Southern drawl, so as to emphasize the future I'm envisioning of myself wearing this shawl on cool summer nights sipping iced tea.  In reality, I may actually find myself sitting on an ice chest, but for now, I'm sticking with the more romantic fantasy, sans ice chest.

front left side

The pattern is not without snags for me, but I'm just correcting mistakes as I go.  I think I have the hang of it enough to cover my boo-boos so that no-one will notice.  An expert lace knitter would have none of that, but I'm no expert! 

back-side

I guess I'm on a little bit of a Southern kick, here lately.  I'm finally reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  Not the audio book or movie, but sitting down every night with a hardback book propped up in bed with my glasses on.  She's a great writer, you know,  Harper Lee.

  I realize now why I never read the book as a kid, growing up in Alabama just a short distance from where the story takes place.  Its because the language Scout uses as a first grader is worse than anything I ever said in my whole life up until I was in labor with my first child.  That part is not in the movie. Her cussing, I mean.  But she's adorable, and I identify so much with her descriptions of the town where she lives, and the way things are at that time and in the South.  Truly a Southern work of art.

Fragile or Fra-gee-lee

Last weekend we sorted and packed boxes at the former home of my father in law in another state.  He'd lived in the house for 30 years until he suffered a health issue that brought him to live with us.  His house has sold and we had one weekend to empty it of boxes, beautiful furnishings and various items.  All I can say is, Wow, I'm glad its over.

We are blessed in this nation to have so many things.  More things than we can care for and often so many things that we have to store them in a remote location.  I heard today that we only use 20% of our stuff.  I believe it!!

Before leaving on the trip, I made the decision to try to knit the Swallowtail Shawl.   I originally saw the pattern in Interweave Knits when it was first published.  Now its a trend and many, many people have made it.  That meant I had a slim chance of being able to make one myself.  I'm not a beginning knitter, but I'm definitely not an expert.  This pattern uses charts so I have been really intimidated until last week.


For some reason, I thought I'd give it a go.

So far, its pretty easy and I've ripped out a few rows.  Two lessons learned already that I will take seriously.
1. Use a life line. Just do it.
2. Use stitch markers. Just do it.

I can't imagine completing this shawl without those two things.  Especially the latter.  Once I got the rhythm of the pattern using the stitch markers, I got a little more confident that I would be able to finish it.

Its so easy to let fear of failure keep us from trying new things, or things we don't have confidence about.  Some people battle with their emotions, and mine is usually fear.  Recently I was asked to take on a volunteer role that I didn't feel really capable of accomplishing, mostly because I don't know where to begin.  But I heard an inspirational message today that really encouraged me to go for it, even if I fail. To regret not trying a thing is probably worse than messing something up that could be fixed later with some help from someone else.  So assuming I fail on some level, with this shawl or in my new position, I will decide now, ahead of time to ask for help.   Like they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Give a little bit

Lots going on for our family right now, but stress goes out the window when I can find some time to spin or knit.  Or listen to a great podcast.  I downloaded some new ones today and grabbed my iPod to sync them  before I got in the car to run errands.  Driving around dreaming of spinning made me forget about the yucky stuff trying to mess with my small brain.

To all of you who do  knitting and spinning podcasts, "Thank YOU!"  I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  When ever you feel discouraged and wonder why you should do another episode, just remember this little high-five from me.  I really appreciate all the effort, editing and tech stuff that must go into each and every episode.  I'll say it once again, thank you.

In the last year both my husband and I left our jobs and at almost the same time, my father in law moved in with us.  While I can't complain about much, I will admit that the general change  these things have brought to our lives,  and the ripple effect is gi-normous.  Every single day has its challenges and victories.  We are always better people when we overcome adversity and difficulty.  Yahoo for growth.  I don't ever want to stop growing, even if it takes a little effort.

I did some carding recently that is just lovely, if you ask me.  The first batts are sort of peachy looking.  I know orange is the new black so maybe I can spin, ply and knit something before the colors change.

The other batts are more purple-y. One has a touch of yellow with the purple, kind of mardi-gras-ish.
 I added some glam to each one by incorporating angelina and kept the blending of colors to a minimum.

I know that the end result won't be as pretty as these examples, but everybody needs a little sparkle in their life, especially when things are tough!

I got my haircut this morning and I really like my hair-cut-lady.  I don't color my hair or even have her wash, dry, style, etc.  I just show her my little picture (I bring it every time for consistent cuts) and she goes to town trimming my locks.  But she should be a certified counselor.  Such a great listener and full of wisdom. God bless you Linda!!

The Space Between

After completing my last project, I have been working on some crochet granny squares, using up scraps from my stash.  I have been crocheting a lot longer than I have been knitting, so its very easy for me to whip up these little guys. 

But it also reminds me of why I like knitting better.  My default crochet project was always granny squares, which meant breaking off and tying on new yarn, a lot.  Which I hate.  Which is why I knit, because you can carry yarn when you need to change colors. 

I also don't like the spaces that crochet leaves in a project.  Everybody in the entire world has a granny square afghan somewhere in the house that no one wants to use because their toes poke through the holes when you cover your feet with it.  And yet we keep on making granny square afghans.  Like the one I'm making now.

I found a great use recently for some swatches I made last year from my Yarn-of-the-Month-Club selections.
Coasters!!  I used some iron on interfacing to back them and keep them from curling around the edges.  I love this idea.  I think I must have seen something on Pinterest that made me think of the idea, or else I stole it from someone.  That's entirely possible.

swatch coasters backed with iron on interfacing

Cardi-gone!

This has been a fun project making my first cardigan.  I have made baby sweaters but this has been so much more a challenge, and I feel better that I chose a pattern with no shaping.  The more basic the better.

I can tell you that it looked awfully small, when I was making it, and frankly its almost more of a bolero, but technically, we're gonna call it a cardigan, okay?  I am glad to have this project under my belt, so to speak, because my confidence has soared since completing it Saturday night.

I am ready to start some baby-shower projects, and I found the most adorable pattern on the internet this morning.  I pinned it on Pinterest so you can see it there.  It's a pair of baby booties that are made of what looks like gray wool.  How earthy!  How cool! So up my alley!

Last night I was all ready to sit down with my spinning wheel, some cotton roving and a documentary from Netflix about Eleanor Roosevelt.

Nearly a bobbin full of cotton

Too bad it had some scratches, so we switched to a chick-flick that my husband and father in law agreed to endure.  Emphasis on the word endure.  Guys don't get why we watch this stuff and I concede that most love stories are just that, movies about love.  The lead guy wore a very nice sweater that I liked, the girls wore nice clothes as well.  Bad people were bad and good people had no real flaws.  Romantic, unrealistic and schmaltzy. So there!

And here is my garden progress:  I've trimmed back some pampas/maiden/zebra grass and put some finishing touches on this bed.  Can't wait for spring!

future vegetable bed

haircut finished!

can I recycle this?

Cereal Confessions

This week when we were buying breakfast cereal, I remembered a specific dislike I had as a child.  Honeycombs.  Not because of the taste, mind you, because it was as good as any other sweetened cereal on the market.  No, it was because of the damage done to the roof of my mouth whenever I'd finished a bowl.  For some reason, the time it took for the stuff to get soggy in the milk was a lot slower than the time other cereals took to get soggy.  In my hurry to down a bowl, I came away with these massive scrapes on the roof of my mouth that would distract me for the rest of the morning.

As I got older, I switched to healthier, more "cool" brands and eventually became a coffee and toast kinda girl.  Still am!  I have no appetite till about 10 am, so eating breakfast any earlier than that has led me to be a light eater, not a picky one.  By ten, I want anything I can get my hands on, so steer clear!

Today, I got the new issue of Bookmarks magazine and immediately had to sit down with a cup of espresso (double) and look it over.  I also got the new Knit Picks catalog.  Saturdays can be very satisfying, especially after all the chores are done and I don't feel guilty about kicking back till time to cook supper.  This  month's Bookmarks is good, as always and I want to read everything that's reviewed.  I noticed a great chart that summarizes the best books of 2011 and saw that two local authors made the top ten according to reviewers nationwide.  That says a lot about the creativity of the area in which I live.
While I have never aspired to be a writer, I think I might be more like Harper Lee in that I might have one good book in me, about my life, and that would be it.
I do believe that good writers are avid readers, and most folks say that's true.  So in that respect, I would have at least one thing going for me!

I am definitely in the home stretch for this blue cardigan.  The shoulders are sewn, the button band is finished, and all that's left is to attach the sleeves and sew up the sides.  I really, really hope to finish it this weekend.  I plan to work on it tonight after we eat (fried shrimp I hope!) and then a little more tomorrow afternoon.

I'm really spinning a lot lately and finished a whole skein from the blue jean cotton.  Just so lovely!

If you'll notice in the above photo, the top skein is slightly different from the sample below it.  I added a strand of royal blue sewing machine thread for strength and it really brightened the color and gave it more definition if I do say so myself! 

I started spinning this caramel colored cotton that may take a while.

  I switched to a small whirl and its making me take my time, but I think I'm developing some more of those fine motor skills.  Hopefully this will also help me next time I have to fight off a ninja or something.  I listened to some classical music while spinning the other night and felt like I was in another world. I'm way more incredible in my imagination than you probably realized!

Sheep to Sweater

I'm nearly there with the cardigan. I feel like it's taking a while but my goal was to be finished with this cardigan in 2012.  I think I'm gonna make it.  What do you think?

I love the whole feeling of going from a fleece to a wearable garment.  It is the ultimate in low tech procedures and one of the most satisfying things I do.

I saw yet another documentary yesterday on how the digital world is affecting our brains, our attention spans, and our lives.  Not all technology is bad, and I'm a huge fan, so don't get me wrong.  But I find that time spent doing something manual is very worthwhile.  And if its good for me like exercising or taking medicine, why not?

I worked in the garden this morning, planted some seeds.  Another low tech thing that makes me feel good.  I know for sure that this is keeping me one more step away from Prozac, and that has got to be good!

one ounce batts of wool

angelina fibers

I carded about 4 ounces of wool today, mixed with Angelina fiber and added those batts to some I'd already worked on previously. Aren't they pretty?  Just a little sparkle and very white wool.  I've washed this before and some of it feels clean and some still sticky, so I'm only working on the cleaner batch.

I am trying to "spin down" in 2012 which is a challenge I read about online.  The goal is to spin all the wool you've got in your stash by the end of the year, which is a little out of my league when you look at this stash!

Stash of fleece, some carded some raw, some washed

You may be wondering about my reading goals for the year.  I pretty much decided to read only existing books, and by that I mean that I'm not going to purchase a new book this year if I can help it.  I am currently reading a paperback that was on my shelf from 2005, that I had put down because a shady character had used a cuss word that I didn't care for.  I realize now that while it may have bothered me at the time, I now see it like I might view a painting at the museum.  There are some things I'm willing to overlook when trying to appreciate art.  I remember when a politician decided a few years ago to cover a naked statue with some fabric to keep the statue's private parts private.
I don't want to be that way.  This book I'm reading now is really very good.  Its by Elizabeth George and she's written quite a bit.  So this one, A Place of Hiding, is somewhat long, and takes a little concentration.  Its actually very interesting as I've gotten into it, and I don't feel like I have to concentrate very much at all anymore.  I'm in it!

The next book I read is probably going to be To Kill a Mockingbird.  I have a nice, brand new hardback on the bookshelf just waiting to be read!

Blue Jean Baby Queen

A long time ago, in a land far, far away, I bought some recycled denim from a friend who'd had it in her spinning stash.  Its cotton and I have never had much success spinning cotton.  Until now, that is!

In learning how to adjust the drive band and tension properly on my wheel, I've now opened the door to spinning cotton. Something that just tickles my heart to death! I feel so proud of myself!

This stuff is so pretty and makes such a cool looking yarn that I believe I could even sell it, just on the granola factor alone! Its got nubs of blue and white and gray and feels really soft.  And what a great way to re-purpose!

After conquering this blue denim, I got out my very old bag of camel colored cotton, gave it a whirl and, Lo and Behold, I did it again!

It goes very slowly, but that doesn't discourage me a bit.  You see, I have tried and tried to spin this stuff on my newly acquire charkha and even on my tahkli spindle.  No bueno.  So when I found success with my beautiful Kromski, I was charmed and delighted.  Great experience!

Now if you're wondering what happened to my cardigan, I will tell you something that will shock the pants off of you.  I had to rip out some of the shoulder work.  I know, close your mouth.  You can't believe I hit a snag.  But I did and was not going to be slowed down.  I frogged the sections that needed changes and re-knit them within 24 hours.

The mistakes were in the pattern, but they just as easily could have been my mistakes, I've made so many!  Either way, I'm back on track and knitting the last section before construction and button band phase.  Woo hoo!

In the latter part of the week, I had the chance to visit with a dear friend, the wife of my husband's writing partner.  My husband is a songwriter, and we live in the Nashville area, so its not uncommon for writing sessions to occur, at least in my world.

So I tagged along with my hubby Thursday to have a cup of coffee with my friend, and look at what she'd made!  It was the most delicious cranberry anything I've ever had.  This was a cobbler/pie with nuts and oats and brown sugar.  Uh-mazing!

She keeps her plants indoors during the winter and I just had to snap a photo of her "conservatory". 

Later we took a walk by the railroad tracks near her house.  She and her husband have been walking down this little lane for years and I can't believe I've never walked it with her.  It was very cool and the walk was brisk, but really invigorating.  I love cool weather, so long as its not wet!

I talked to another friend this week and we spent a good bit of time talking about food and healthy food in particular.  She's very knowledgeable.  It really inspired me as I was grocery shopping yesterday and we had a wonderful meal, including some roasted acorn squash that I made like french fries.  I baked them in strips with a little oil, sea salt and Chinese Five Spice.

I got two thumbs up from the guys in the house and have now decided to plant a whole lot of acorn squash in my new vegetable garden.  Today I'm planning to go buy my garden seeds and dream of the summer.  Want to come along?

Barney Pillow

After knitting this cable pattern pillow a long, long time ago, I'm finally getting around to finishing it.  Its been in a bag stashed away in all my knitting stuff and today it just cried out to me, "Hey you, what about me?"

• I blocked the pillow front,  
• grabbed some fabric and the pillow form, 
• sewed up the sides and 
• went to work sewing the knitted portion to the covered pillow. 

It was helped along a great deal by a new method of time management I heard about recently.  Its called Pomodoro and the idea is basically timing your tasks, a little at a time.  So I downloaded a timer for my desktop and went to work, 25 minutes at a time until the thing had been completed.

I also worked in the garden, had lunch, and did some stuff in the garage, aside from daily chores.  What a great idea!  Don't get bogged down with a task that eats up your time.  Set a goal and stick to it.  Stop and change what you're doing, then come back later with fresh eyes and determination to knock out the task!

It seems like this was such a breeze, and I have another one somewhere that needs to be finished.  I guess I will go-a-huntin' for it tonight, and maybe knock it out this week.  Technically this could never be called a UFO (Unfinished object) because the knitting was finished, but the sewing was another story.

I did some shopping with my daughter and daughter in law this weekend, and bought something I've been wanting for a while.  I don't know why they were able to help me find this little guy, when I have been to store after store with not luck whatsoever.

I am so practical and the eyeglass case I've been using is much like the one at the top of the picture.  Boring, utilitarian and bland. I'm so thankful for young women in my life that keep me young and help me see things I might not have noticed otherwise. We all agreed that while the new case isn't glam or showy, its pretty and classy.  I love it!

Climbing Mt. Cardigan

As we begin the month of February, I am thrilled happy to say that I am well on my way to making my first real, true, basic, run-of-the-mill cardigan.  The Mr. Rogers kind that has no real shaping, darts, contours or otherwise figure enhancing tendencies.  Just a plain old sweater.  I love it!  Its like I've finally come home to my little cottage by the sea.  Okay, not really, but I'm super excited to finally cross over the threshold like when I learned to knit socks.

To this day, I can pretty much pick up yarn and needles and make socks without a pattern.  I think I will soon be able to do that with sweaters.  Its so important to know the fundamentals of a thing before trying to conquer the intricacies.  We learn to ride a bike on three wheels, then training wheels.  We have to overcome the momentum thing before we can go on to balance.  With knitting, there are lots of things to learn after the initial how to knit, how to purl part.  Spinning its a little more tricky, but similar where the learning curve is - and a lot like learning to ride a bike. 

Back to the cardigan.  I do not claim to be an expert now, but I'm not a novice either. I want you to know that I've made pullovers before.  I started with a raglan sleeve pullover that I blogged about recently when I re-knit the hem and sleeves. And I made a short sleeve angora pullover that was to die for, until I put it one time and my husband asked if I was going to wear that to church.  I also made a short sleeve pullover with set in sleeves that I pressed, never wore and eventually threw away. No kidding. I've also made a fair isle pullover which was also quite beautiful, but like the curse of the love sweater, it was not to be worn in public.  You get the idea. 

I do hope this blue Mr. Rogers number is fit for public viewing, but I make no promises.  My goal was not to make that kind of sweater, but rather to climb Mt. Cardigan.  I'm at least half way there! 

I finished plying and hanked the beautiful red blend yarn.  Its pretty soft and will make a great ____________(you fill in the blank, I'm open).

I have begun to spin some camel down on my new Turkish spindle.  I love this thing.  Its light but has enough weight to keep the spin going once you give it a whirl.  The camel is literally as soft as a baby chick.  Love, love, love it!

On Saturday, our family is all going to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Sunday is of course the Super Bowl. I'm not really rooting for either team that's playing, but since we have a decent TV now, I will be watching and cheering for the San Francisco Patriots.