Yesterday Once More

We had a great visit with my parents last week - we drove down on Wednesday, and came back home on Friday so Thursday was our only day to spend together. 

Sunrise on Thursday morning was really beautiful.I couldn't stop taking pictures.

Sunrise.  I used to climb that tree on the left.

View from the front yard looking south (that point of land is for sale kiddos!)

We always said "front yard" when referring to the water-front side of the house.

My folks are precious to me, and it feels like I hardly ever get to see them.  We spent the entire day together on Thursday, morning till evening, and wrung out the day like a wet dish rag.  Breakfast at IHOP, sightseeing downtown (Mobile), drove across the bay to my favorite antiques place, then supper at Cracker Barrel. It was over too soon! 

Mom and  Dad (married for 52 years!)

Their lovely new house post-Katrina.

View from the front yard  looking north

Looking north from the porch swing

New friend - little Tony from NYC

While driving around downtown, we stopped by the building where my dad used to work when I was really young.  It was a great place to park when we went to Mardi Gras back in the day.  The building is in disrepair now and is owned by someone else, but they allowed us to come inside and grab a few photos.  

This is the stool my dad used for many years in the office. 

Square metal stool; mid century modern ~

See the stool just inside the opened garage?

Original light fixture

These building were once used as carriage houses!

Below is the original bakery building where the public could view bread being made and packaged on conveyer belts.  The buildings above are where the delivery trucks were serviced and painted. The red lamp above is where the old gas pumps were.

I also got to see the orphanage where my grandfather lived for a while.  It is deserving of another post, so I'll save those pics for later.

I did get a lot of knitting done on the drive to and from my parents' house.  I'm really glad I took it along.  I completed the first chart and have started the second!

Rows 1-24 of the Flower Basket Shawl

I pretty much completed the first cable pillow and need to bind off and block it. 

While we were at the antiques place, I found some really cool milking stools from Europe.  I think they were French or German.  Most all of the items in the place are from Europe, and usually from Scotland.  I had pretty much decided on a stool to use with my spinning wheel in the garage, when I changed my mind.  The price was too high and not really negotiable. My mom seemed pretty sure that there was a stool at my grandmother's house, on the back porch that I was welcome to use.  

Granny's round wooden stool

As soon as I sat on it, I knew the height was perfect to use with my spinning wheel.  And to double my joy, I knew exactly where it came from, so now there's sentimental value attached to it.  What a find!

And to round out this post, I have to share the peach wool I'm spinning.  I love this color and can see another shawl in my future......

Thing One and Thing Two

After a couple of days of rain, we are having beautiful weather today - breezy and not as humid with some delicious sunshine.  Woo hoo!

Zinnias my daughter cut from the back yard!

And....I'm pretty darn excited to be taking a little trip tomorrow to see my folks down on the Gulf Coast.  They live about 7 hours away so we can make it in half a day - very doable and I don't mind driving at all.  In fact, I prefer it to flying in most cases!

I'm taking two knitting projects along, regardless of whether or not I touch them while I'm away.  I hope I at least get a chance to sit on the porch swing for 10 minutes and knit 3 rows.

Project Numero Uno (while I don't speak Spanish, I did hear this phrase in a movie and it means number one)

Ecru Cable Pillow

 I had to do some digging to find just the right color of Ecru, and like buying paint, I had some choices to make.  There's off-white, cream, ecru, and about 30 other shades of it, as I looked through my stash.

30 shades of Cream

And because my twist is inconsistent, and the ply is not always two or three ply (makes a difference in thickness) I had to get a really bright light, un-hank all the skeins and hold them up next to one another for almost an hour.  I eventually found enough skeins of the wool I felt comfortable starting with, and began knitting right away.  I hope to get a 12"x12" square from it and since its all homespun, I make no promises on the evenness of the finished pillow. I'll definitely have to press it when I'm done.

The other project I'm taking on the trip (Numero Dos) is another shawl I've started.  Its going to be light blue.

Zephyr Acrylic Needles from Knit Picks

The wool is from my stash and is a blend of Romney and Mohair.  Not extremely soft, but very light weight.

 I'm planning on using an easy shawl pattern from the same author as the Swallowtail Shawl.  This one's called Flower Basket Shawl and I got the pattern from Interweave Knits magazine, Fall 2004.  It should be on Ravelry, too. 

We had a house full yesterday for my father in law's birthday/Labor Day. Steaks on the grill, homemade cookies and some really good nacho cheese dip.  I love that stuff!
And my husband's friend brought over a large organ for the recording studio upstairs.  Just like the kind your grandma played at church!

My reading is still in limbo right now.  I am having trouble settling on something, but that's not unusual.  It takes me a while to make up my mind;  I am very indecisive.  Not kidding.
 But I've got my Kindle in the knitting bag so something will happen, I'm sure. 

Confessions of a Knitter

After finishing my first official lace shawl, I must make a confession.  I am now abnormally excited to find another shawl project.  This excitement is not unusual for avid knitters, but its really, really hard to explain to people who have no interest in knitting.

Swallowtail relaxing on the patio after a long day

Swallowtail taking a nap in the guestroom

Swallowtail entertaining friends, and telling jokes

How could knitting be that exciting?  What could possibly distract you so much so, that you literally day dream of knitting while eating out?  I know, its weird.  Its completely weird.  What can I say?  Its an addiction, I suppose.  

On the way home from dinner tonight (long drive) my husband was privileged to listen along with me to a knitting podcast on my phone.  He kept looking at me and saying how intrigued he was - that these people  are exactly like me. Yes!  We LOVE to knit.  And I mean love.  He said, "you would knit while you drive if you could."  Yes, I said. And some do, I think, at least while waiting at a red light.  I know I have.  I figure if people can text and drive, study and drive, apply make up and drive, what's wrong with knitting while driving?  Never mind, don't answer that.

   Joke: A motorcycle cop pulls up beside a vehicle that seems to be swerving a little too much. As he approached the car he notices a lady knitting while driving. He hollers at her as loud as he can, "Hey lady, pull over!" to which she replied, "No, scarf!"

And just to show off, I have to share a picture of the little white lace-edge baby dress.  Its as cute as it can be and I am really feeling good about this project!

Debbie Bliss baby dress

I've been spinning some white linen and I'm on the second bobbin.  I will ply this just as soon as I can, and hopefully set it aside to start spinning something less stiff.  This linen is pretty but its straw, basically.  Its a plant based fiber that has no twist whatsoever, and really lacks interest.  But its a nice break from wool, and has no nepps, and that makes for a neater floor when I get up from the wheel.  No little bits all over the carpet under the wheel and chair.

White linen

I put away a book recently that I almost finished.  Almost, because it came to the point where lots of novels come to. Novels that men have written.  Novels where the main character, a guy for instance, is approached by yet another young, attractive girl who's dying to hop in the sack with the protagonist.
I realize this is a man's fantasy, and its pretty common in movies, but a book takes a while to finish, and I don't really want to spend hours reading about a grown man's fantasy.  Maybe a woman's but not a man's.
I found a pretty good book sample on my Kindle that has really caught my interest.  I 'll let you know if I continue or not.

And last but not least, I dug up my sweet potatoes.   I was surprised at how many there were, considering they are invisible until you dig.

 And I only planted a few vines, so this was definitely a success.  I will almost surely plant these again next year!

All creatures great and small

It never fails to surprise me how comforting knitting can be.  Never.

I have a tendency to say things like, "yeah, yeah, I know..." when I think I know everything.  I feel like I do.  I think I do.  But I don't.  You see, I forget, is really what I'm talking about.
There are things that make us feel good, like comfort foods, comfy clothes, and favorite movies.
Knitting is one of those comfort things for me.

over 300 stitches on the needles - 8 between every set of markers!

I finished the beautiful white baby dress and have picked back up the Swallowtail Shawl.  I was surprised to find that I only had one more section to go before binding off and blocking.  One more section!
Mind you the number of stitches on the needles right now is somewhere over 300, per row, so its gonna take a little while,  but I'm up for it.  I can do this!

the last frontier

I had a wonderful time with my family yesterday afternoon - random snacks pulled from the cupboard, a little grilling and some leftover potato salad and baked beans.  But nobody minded. At least I didn't.
Its good to have loved ones around you!
 
I had spent the morning meeting some folks that have had a little trouble and I was able to pray with a dear, sweet lady who really needed the prayers, I'm sure.  But it was troubling to see the concern on all of their faces, and even to catch the family pets' concern.

 Pets know when things are amiss. Even though they can't speak, they can somehow convey their empathy. Its God given, I believe. Pets just don't get the credit they deserve, especially loved family pets who've been around a while!

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.