The Devil and the Details

Yesterday my sweetie and I had our "date" day; the time once a week that we devote to our relationship, just as if we were courting almost 29 years ago.  We stopped by the guitar store so my hubby could pick up some strings, and then we visited one of my favorite places - Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.
Its a lovely estate that quietly shows off the architecture and greenery of the Old South.

Chair Art

Cheekwood - click to see the large ball of yarn in the distance!

Newly planted landscaping

Howe cottage

Jamie and the new Howe Garden

We really enjoyed our visit,  then we stopped by a great new restaurant in town called Sopapilla's and then headed home.  I love my home, and my garden has produced some new vegetables for me this year - sweet potatoes, banana peppers, and patty pan squash.  My apple tree had lots of good fruit this year, too. Love it!!

An apple a day...

I've been knitting away on the last of my baby projects, The Little White Dress. It has lace trim on the bottom and that's all I have left to do, but it seems like its taking forever!

sewing shoulders

Picking up the neck band stitches

sewing up the sides and arms

starting the lace trim

knitting more of the lace trim

It's all pieced together except for the trim, and I'll block and attach it today, I pray.  Such a pretty project.

Putting all the pieces together

I also finished the little jewelry roll from the last post.  My daughter has really encouraged me to start an Etsy shop, so I set one up.  Just not sure what to do next....

Jewelry Roll

I frogged the striped socks and have decided to finish the pink Swallowtail Shawl next, before starting any more new knitting projects. 

We're watching Hurricane Isaac make its way into the Gulf of Mexico, skirting Tampa and heading toward my Mom & Dad's house.  I'm praying for all of my family's safety and well being.
I battle a lot with fear and anxiety when these storms show their ugly faces.  I remember watching the Tasmanian Devil on Bugs Bunny as a kid.  He was this snarling, angry creature that wreaked havoc wherever he went.  You knew that it was a cartoon and it never seemed to matter, but in real life, things like this aren't so funny.  Everybody knows a Tasmanian Devil, who rips to shreds everything in its path, with complete disregard for what's left in its wake.  Its hard not to hate these creatures.  Sometimes its disease, sometimes its disaster, and sometimes its a real live person.  Mostly the best thing we can do is to stay out of its way, along with those we love and care about, and pray for those who aren't able to do the same.

Interest in Pinterest

Like so many other gals who love Pinterest, I'm finding lots of inspiration from a site I found recently.  Its a tutorial on how to make a little knitting-on-the-go bag.  I loved it when I saw it; I had to make it!

For those of you who don't know about Pinterest, its a virtual community bulletin board. Lots of people have gotten on board (pun intended), including businesses and commercial entities.  Its a great way to get your "stuff" seen by lots of people, and marketing folks love it because it helps them to see what's hot and what's not.
Women are brutal, by the way, and its mostly women on Pinterest, so be forewarned!

On the positive side of pinning, you can find inspiration on all kinds of topics, and you can learn a lot from some pretty smart people.  I love it.  And I love this little knitting bag.  Like I said, I had to make it.

finished knitting on the go bag!

flat circles sewn together with strap

Golden Grommets (sounds like a band name, looks like a flounder!)

I bought the materials yesterday during my "me" time.  I had a blast shopping and browsing, even buying what I need to make another project, a jewelry roll.

A jewelry roll is a small travel accessory used for carrying your jewelry safely and without tangles.  But mostly its just another cute thing to bring along when you travel.

In case you haven't noticed, women love pretty luggage and will pay a fortune for a Louis Vuitton bag or suitcase.  Its status, if nothing else.  Ms. Kardashian sets the bar high, and its not surprising to have the suitcase cost more than the clothes inside. (What's wrong with that?)

So I've started a new knitting project, socks made of scrap yarn!
Here's my inspiration photo:

(I have these exact shoes, a present from a dear friend who moved far away. )

And here's the sock I've been working on. Shorter than the inspiration photo, obviously.

I'm definitely in the homestretch, getting close to the toe. 

What's next?

What a year this has been!  As a knitter, you're always looking toward the next project and always feeling a sense of anticipation.  Since the first of the year, I've been thinking baby thoughts and doing baby knitting.
And wrapping up lots of projects recently makes me wonder what's next, and I keep going back to the same thing. SOCKS. 

I'm ready for some one-shot knitting (okay, two shots) without any piecing together.  Without any pressing, blocking or measuring.  I want to knit something that is funky, but functional. Whimsical but wearable.  Something that inspires me but doesn't tire me.  (I feel a rap song coming on...)

Socks are great because you can choose from a gazillion different yarns, lace / rib patterns, and start with virtually no prep work.  All you need is a quick SPI gauge number and voila, you've begun.
So after we celebrate the first grandchild in the family tomorrow at the baby shower, I will probably switch gears for a month and grab a set of sock needles and some cutie-patootie yarn. Time to knit some crazy socks for fall!
 
My vegetable garden has produced some uber-fresh and tasty vegetables. The apple tree has lots of fruit but after a long drought and the heavy rains, the fruit has split and is falling off the tree a bit early.  I suppose I just need to get the ladder next week, pick all the apples and make a few apple pies.

Book wise I've been reading Agatha Christie's  And Then There Were None. Agatha said this was one of her favorites. It is the best selling mystery of all time, at over 100 million copies sold.  I didn't actually buy my copy, but borrowed it from my local library through their e-book lending system! Gotta love it.
The language, written long ago to a British audience, is thoroughly offensive today, but taken with a grain of salt, its a good read, especially when read while listening to classical music.

Containment issues

Lest you think I fell off the face of the earth, I thought I'd better write a blog post to update you on all the knitting I've been up to lately. 

The beginning - a pattern, some vintage needles and a ball of white yarn!

 I started a great little Debbie Bliss dress with some pretty small needles and a boat load of white yarn.  Yarn that I bought and made sure I bought enough so that I wouldn't run out, even after the Lord comes back.  I may be knitting in heaven, if heaven is what I think its gonna be like. :-)

blocking the back

blocked and ready for piecing

I blocked the back last night and am currently working on the front.  Its pretty straightforward now, especially after I read through the pattern.  You're always supposed to read it all the way through, before you begin.  Like the way your teacher in school said to read over the whole test before taking it.  I remember a few teachers who'd make the last question be something like, "since you followed the directions, put you name on the paper and turn it back in, and you'll get an A."
Reading through the pattern didn't get me an A, but it has cleared up the parts I didn't understand on the first half of the back. I had not read through the pattern at that time.  Lessons learned!

Little cream cardigan

I've finished blocking the pieces of the little cream cardigan sweater.  Its so sweet and I can't wait to piece it together!  Love the little sleeves and that it could possible fit a kitty cat if I had one.

pieces awaiting their big reveal!

The recent heat wave/drought has ended and now my once dead back garden is alive and well.  Dear hubby cut the grass and it looks amazing.  The vegetables have finally taken off and we are eating them daily.

squash

tomatoes

apples

banana peppers

My roses and petunias are blooming, even thriving, believing they must be in Florida now, on vacation.

Alpha male petunias, the envy of the neighbors jungle gym

Petunias with inferiority complex hanging on the fence

roses rising from the dead

Vegetables harvested and acting nonchalant by the sink.

Summer Time

A whole week away can do wonders for your outlook.  Its amazes me how hard it is for me to unplug and just relax, but the week I was in California, I did it.  We spent 6 days there and I am so much the better for it.  We visited with family and went to a wedding and acted like tourists. We went to Laguna Beach, Disneyland, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Los Angeles. We stayed in Orange County and shopped at South Coast Plaza Mall.  What a blast!  And coming home was just fine, because I'd had a chance to refresh and get my bearings straight.

San Clemente Pier Restaurant

Beverly Hills

Aunt Judy's back yard

Laguna (Pacific Coast Highway)

 *******

Now that we're back, I've started and almost completely finished my next baby project. Its a sort of template sweater on medium sized needles with worsted weight yarn.  Worsted weight yarn is not baby yarn or fine thin yarn, but neither is it bulky, chunky yarn.  For those who don't knit, its your standard, Ford or Chevy yarn.  Dependable, durable and easy to handle.

Grandma's yarn

This particular yarn is special because it came from the "estate" of my husband's mother.  She was also a knitter and there was this one skein left over from a project she'd been working on when she passed away.  She'd been making a shell-stitch throw that I completed years ago and now use in the cold months.  It's actually crochet.  The yarn is off white, and there's only the one skein so I had my fingers crossed that there would be enough for this sweater.

 Last night I finished the right front portion and all that's left is to press the sweater pieces, put them together and add the neck band.  If I run out of yarn, I can use an alternate color to add the trim, and it should look fine, but I think I'm good.  I had a panic moment last week when all looked dim and I thought I'd run out.  Not the end of the world, though.
 
I've spent quite a lot of time lately in the garage, shaping up my little spinning/carding area.  I have this great area rug from my mom's old house and it makes me think of that house every time I stand on it.  We had brick floors in those days and it was no fun to lay around on brick floors watching TV.  The house, being a beach house, needed floors that could stand a lot of wear and tear from dripping, sandy bathing suits and flip flops.  So we had these rugs all over the house. The furniture was rattan with washable cushions.  I never really gave it a second thought until I was older, but it must have been a never ending task to keep that house clean. 

Before we left for California, my husband asked a friend of ours to install some flooring in the attic above the garage for extra storage space.  It definitely made my spinning area more accessible.  What a treat to have my own personal studio!

Attic floor installation

Before clean up

After the attic floor was finished, and the boxes were cleared away, I began my "studio" clean up.
I got out the lace flyer I bought once upon a time and hitched it up to my Ashford Traveler. I played with the yarn meter I got for Christmas years ago that I couldn't seem to get working (now it does!) and set up everything including my new wool combs and drum carder so that I only have to walk in and start working.
 Like a sewing room, its dedicated to all my fiber pursuits, my lifelong yarn hobby.
Don't forget to look at the rug!

After

Baby, what a big surprise!

Today was one of those milestone days. The day I bought my first outfit for a little girl who's coming to see me real soon.  My very first grandchild!

short set on hand knit baby blanket that's waiting for satin ribbon trim

I bought the little baby short-set today while shopping for maternity clothes with my lovely daughter in law.  We had a really nice time and she picked up some serious bargains!

 And I finally got something to wear to the wedding in California. Yahoo!  So cute. 

And I am totally getting inspired to spin this great looking silk cap and roving for my next project.  Just need to get the pattern for it!

I spun up a sample and crocheted a little chain to see how it looks.  Absolutely gorgeous!

My grandmother's crochet hook

I was telling my son and his wife today about my grandmother that taught me to crochet, and my grandfather who always took me to the drug store for a toy, let me drink coffee with him and taught me to play solitaire.
Josh didn't know his great grand father had been a policeman and before that was a small business owner.  They owned a "filling station" as we called them in those days.  Gas station to those of you born after about 1970!

There's a new generation coming our way and I couldn't be happier!