The Long and Winding Yarn

A few months ago I got several new-to-me drop spindles.  These are different than the few spindles I already had. These are called bottom whorl spindles and none of them had the little hooks at the top which I was accustomed to using when spinning.

Spindles with hooks at the top

Instead they use a method of catching the yarn called a half hitch, where you make a little slip knot thingy (pictured below).

Half hitched

The spindles are so simple and earthy looking but I could never seem to get the hang of it (no pun intended) when it came to actually spinning.  Well, this week I did it!

After I got back from my trip down south to see my sister, I came home home inspired to spin. While there, we had taken some walks on the beach looking for sea shells, one of which I would use as a diz when combing wool.

Perfect seashell for a DIZ

 Once I got home with all these sea shells, I had to try them out, finding one which really suited me, although it was not polished and shiny. It was dull and had lots of wiggly lines in the surface from its life in the sea. But the key ingredient was a little hole right in the center of the shell. This is where you pull the wool through, right off your wool combs.

Sea shell collection

The perfect diz

Now that I've got all this great wool, in roving form, I HAD to spin it.  So I grabbed one of the spindles from my new collection and gave it a whirl.  (once again, no pun intended)

I had seen on a youtube video that when using the bottom whorl method of spinning, you had to catch the yarn below the whorl, then bring it up above the whorl to the top and use the half hitch.  This seems like such a little thing, but I'm telling you, it was a EUREKA moment for me!!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

By all accounts, the holiday season is upon us. All stores are fully stocked with things red and green and sparkly.  Social media is full of photos of homes decorated and Christmas trees lit up.  We are here!
For me, last year marked a sort of new beginning with at least one holiday tradition, I think.

Christmas 2011

I made a gingerbread house with my daughter and it was so fun, maybe even the most fun of the whole holiday, that I've decided to do another one this year.  While we were shopping last night, I happened upon this little kit. It seems to have everything you'd need to make a little gingerbread village, and I have a little train set that I think will go perfectly with it.

Gingerbread village kit

KNITTING
I knitted another pair of gloves that my husband immediately took a likin' to.  Very "Old Navy-ish" in color, and very organic in their origin.  The wool is very coarse, bulky yarn I made years ago.  It's dyed green or "jade" on the dye package.  The needles used were bamboo double point needles in size 6.  They took about a week to make, and would have been finished much sooner, were I not busy with some special family visits.

I started another pair of gloves with some yarn I bought a few years ago.  The yarn is man made cotton novelty yarn but is really soft and washable.  I tried a new thumb on the last pair of gloves (gusset) and will probably do the same with this pair.  The gusset is knitted as-you-go rather than afterthought style with picked up stitches. What a pain!

BOOKS
My book world has a very short shelf life, pun intended.  I've been hooked lately with ebooks and audio books from my library.  Last year I made a resolution to not buy ANY new books.  I kept that resolution and the only new book for me was obtained with a gift card. 

I've read and/or listened to books all year long from alternate resources, and I'm amazed at the variety of books I've found.  This was one of my better resolutions, if I do say so myself.  Books were supposed to come from my shelf.  Books that I'd never finished or never even started.  Well there's a reason why they never got read, and I found that out after just a couple of months.  They weren't any good!  That's why I never finished them, at least some of them. So I had to resort to the library and my Kindle account where I discovered authors I never would have read otherwise.

PERSONAL
My mom and dad came for a quick visit this week to meet their new great granddaughter.  We went over to her house on Tuesday to babysit while my son went to a quick business meeting.  My parents immediately fell in love with her, just like I did when I met her.

This coming year I've already started to make a mental list of resolutions I'd like to try.  One for knitting would be steeking. One for my inspirational life is to study more in depth some books of the Bible.  I've read through the Bible many times, and this year I did it again.  VERY worth it, if you've never done it. 

Today  wraps up a week long second honeymoon of sorts.  My husband and I are caregivers for his father who lives with us.  My father in law spent this past week with his other son a few hours away and we had a little stay-cation.  It was marvelous, and that's all I will say.  Tomorrow things go back to normal.
On Monday I'm driving to see my sister who I haven't seen since 2009.  I am super excited.  Seeing her was another one of my new years resolutions!

My house is decorated for Christmas, and tonight we get to babysit  you-know-who.  I need to come up with a cute nickname or acronym for her. I'll keep you posted!

Christmas 2012

Signs of the Times

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter and her husband joined us for lunch, and brought a little Christmas DVD they'd picked up at the store.  We turned it on and after just a little while, we were all in the Christmas spirit, thinking about trees, decorations and cooking for the holidays.

I have fired up some scents in the house to keep the mood going; balsam fir candle in the kitchen and holiday spice candle in the master bathroom.  I made myself a double shot of espresso just now, and found the filter to look a lot like a snowflake or Star of David.

Cleaning the house and getting out all the recipes for Thanksgiving dinner, I remember meals from the past, both good and bad.  The worst will always be the spinach casserole with potato chip topping made by my grandmother, that I later lost while "calling Ralph on the big white phone" if you know what I mean.

I remember drinking a whole glass of my uncle's strawberry wine, thinking it was Coke (it was in a red Dixie cup). I remember it being a lot warmer going down that Coke usually was.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving means cooking all day, eating for 30 minutes and cleaning the kitchen for a couple of hours. And this year I hear all the stores are opening up Thanksgiving Day evening, as opposed to waiting for Black Friday.  Not sure what to think of that! HO Ho ho!

Either way, I'm looking forward to the holiday season, and even more so, now that we have a little granddaughter to share it with.  I definitely feel blessed, and am recognizing all the wonderful things I already have. 

I love this brass colored yarn I've been spinning - I think its the perfect fall color!

And I finished the prayer shawl, blocked it and photographed it. From blocking, to packing it up for the postman, here is the Baby Blue Mohair Swallowtail Shawl!

Soaking

ready to be pinned

pinning and blocking

full size and drying

Swallowtail unpinned and soft as a feather

finished edges

center point

folded once

ready for shipping!

Did you think I wasn't coming back?

I know its been a long, long time since I've posted in this-here blog, but I have a very good reason!  I have been knitting voraciously (can that apply to knitting?) on a lovely shawl that I've dubbed a prayer shawl.  Its for a friend and I will tell you that while its not been hard to knit, it has taken some intentional knitting time to get it finished.  When I realized I was through with the body of the shawl, and was about to start the last 10 rows, I was elated!  Then I calculated that 10 rows of 200 stitches means 2,000 stitches for the edging alone. I said out loud the other night, how proud of myself I was, for staying with the project to the very end.  My tired fingers are thankful its done.  Now to block it and take some photos. I promise those will be in the next post!

As a diversion, I started a pair of men's gloves, using yarn I bought several weeks ago at Joy of Knitting in Franklin, TN.  They are soft and cushy, and are a joy to knit, as a matter of fact!  Size 7 bamboo DPNs and sport/worsted weight yarn.  Easy-peezy!  Love it!

We've spent quite a lot of time lately with our lovely new granddaughter, babysitting, giving a bath and shopping.  It is probably obvious that I am not ashamed at all of being a grandmother.

 I am 47 years old and proud of it!  I feel as though I've earned every wrinkle, gray hair and moment of memory loss!  There's a lot of stuff under the bridge of my life!  Being a grandmother is like a great reward for a job well done!  I'm thankful, actually, for all the ups and downs of a full life. It makes me appreciate the little things way more than a young person could.  It takes time to live a full life, like investing in a collection of precious items.  Every valuable moment of my life is important, even if I didn't realize it at the time it was happening.

Today, I am who I am.  Older, but wiser and hopefully I don't get too bogged down with the things that don't matter.  Today I realize how short life is, and plan on making the most of every last ounce of it! 

Rare Breed

A few days ago I ordered an online class from Craftsy called, "Know Your Wool" which explained the variety and make up of many common breeds of wool. It was fascinating!  This morning I read an article from Knitter's Review" on Muskox Qiviut which is eight times warmer than wool.  That led me to Windy Valley's website and their article on Vicuna yarn.

Muskox Qiviut

Knitter's Review had a recent poll asking readers if they cared what breed of sheep produced the yarn they like to use.  I had to say, I haven't been so picky in the past but I am becoming more so now.  It seems that origins are more important than we realize.  At least I'm beginning to feel that way.  They're important to our clothing (cotton, silk, wool, etc.), they're important to our language (etymology), and they're even important to our behavior.  Some of us come from very caring families while others come from places where you have to fend for yourself at an early age.  Some families are wealthy while others are poor.  

When it comes to fiber, the tougher the environment, the more delicate the undercoat of the fiber is.  Which leads me back to my online wool investigations!  "Vicuña is the rarest and finest hair fiber available in the world and these animals live only in the upper altitudes of the Andes Mountains." according to the Windy Valley website.  A single strand is hollow, which makes it able to trap air and be the warmest fiber in the world, as well as the most expensive.

Vicuna

Our circumstances, origins and environment play a big role in our character and behavior. The worst circumstances can often bring out the very best of who and what we are. So the next time you are feeling down about your past or current difficult circumstances, remember the Vicuna.  Know that what's in you may be more valuable than you think!!

Getting Crafty

 Knitting
After starting a scarf for my friend, I'd only gotten about 6-8 inches into the project when I weighed the scarf-so-far and then weighed the remaining yarn.  They were almost exactly the same!  I knew that this would be a lost cause.  (This is the way knitters determine if you have enough yarn left to make a project.) No one really wants a scarf that's 14 inches long.  Time to rip it out and start over.

Yesterday morning I was up really early, and ended up in the garage going through my stash trying to find suitable yarn for an alternate project for my friend.  I had tried a crochet hat that started out well the night before, but my DH looked at me funny when I showed him what I'd done.  The hat was very 70's and kind of like the one that guy wore on Welcome Back Kotter, with a brim in the front.  Nah.

Then I started a couple of scarves,  but did not like either of them so I'm officially in a simmering mode.  Just giving it time. But I will make something for Jeannie.  She is a generous friend and quickly gave me not one, but two wreaths for my front door. One for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.

Thanksgiving wreath

Christmas wreath

 She's very talented and made these shoes for a friend.  What an artist!

Shoes by Jeannie

Spinning
So I spun some more of the Dryer-Lint roving and made a cool, artsy hank of wool.  I'm trying to find a large amount of yarn to make a throw for my DD and SIL.  They asked for one this weekend; one that was soft and big enough to use over the whole body without lace holes.  Got it.  Probably will mean acrylic from Hobby Lobby in chunky or bulky weight.  I love a challenge!  And I see Christmas Present on the gift tag!

Family
We had a marvelous day with our new granddaughter Saturday.  It was her first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I remember that last time they visited was before the baby was born, and I realized when they left that day, that the next time there would be a baby in the back seat.  She's a doll in her car seat.  And she's a doll when she sleeps and when she's awake.  And I was elated to see her laugh when we sang Toot Sweets from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Apparently the songs from the movie are sung all the time around her house.  So guess what album we just bought.  Well, we had to settle for the Broadway album, but Charlotte will never know. 

Thinking how much fun it is to go to Grandma's

Taking the Plunge

Tonight the weather is truly taking the plunge - 36 degrees!  After a really hot summer and some early cool temperatures, the cold weather is finally here.  I'm not one to wear shorts in the snow, although I used to live in the mountains where the locals thought nothing of shorts in winter. Not me!  I am always up for a cozy sweater, homemade socks and if possible, clogs!  Yes, I love wearing my clogs with handknitted socks.  My daughter assures me that it should not be done, sometimes I can't help myself.   I'd love a real true pair of dutch clogs like these:

YES?

When I moved to TN from the mountains of NC, I had thoroughly embraced being a mountain gal.  I used to wear overalls with a t-shirt and Birkenstocks without a second thought.
Then I moved to Nashville, TN, where folks are a bit more vain (please forgive me, but its true) and I realized I was in a whole other rodeo.  Not the kind where you wear cowboy hats and boots.  People here all color their hair, they wear very trendy clothes and shave their beards and mustaches in all kinds of funny ways.  I've had a lot of learning to do, and tried to adapt quickly, but occasionally, you'll catch me wearing something that would land me a permanent spot on What Not To Wear.
Anyway, I know my friends will still love me if they catch me wearing clogs and wool socks!

Knitting:
After visiting my friend Jeannie in IN, I knew I had to start a project for her.

Check out the WREATH she made! 

 I bought some super squishy yarn at a LYS and decided it would make a perfect feather-and-fan scarf for her.  Jeannie knows how to wear scarves so I knew this would be the perfect new project . 

And I have to share some of the goodies I got at my friend, Suzanne's house a couple of weeks ago. 
There were lots of spinning accessories including these gorgeous wool combs. and hand cards. 

Combs and Hand Cards

There were spindles of all sizes, knitting needles and a great crochet hook. 

Drop Spindles and Books

Bags of woo and needles

There was beautiful wool in great bags on the front porch of her log cabin. 
Yes, I said log cabin.  Not your average run of the mill ranch style house in the suburbs.  It sooo reminded me of the mountain cabins where we used to live.  Rustic with woods all around. 

And I got some excellent books. Books like A Gathering of Lace, and a Barbara Walker Treasury!  And cookbooks and gardening books.  I'm telling you, I scored!!

I made a deal with myself though;  that I would NOT  try to spin any of the wool I got until next year.  I'm trying to "Spin Down in 2012".  That is to say that I'm trying to spin all the wool I have in my stash, before starting any new spinning projects.  I'm kind of behind with the new grandbaby and a spontaneous trip to IN last weekend.  Not much spinning this week, but I did finish knitting and sewing up the cable pillows for my daughter!

As for reading, I'm on an audio book kick.  I started a new one today, and I've almost finished it already. 

Its by Henry Cloud.  He has a great book on Boundaries in case you need some help in that area.  I highly recommend it!
I finished the book by Bernie Madoff's daughter in law. It was quite sad and left me a little depressed.  So many people hurt by this one man. A compelling story but not a happy ending, as you probably already guessed.
 I've enjoyed this new book and its been very encouraging, especially as I'm entering a new phase of life. 

Life is Good

What a wonderful, crazy week I've had.  I am at a loss for words to convey the range of emotion I've experienced this week.

Little Angel

In the same week my son's firstborn came into this world, and my husband's father had a stroke.
In the same week I cried great tears at the sight of my first grandchild, and cried tears on the phone telling my daughter that we were following an ambulance carrying my father in law to the hospital.

While everyone is well, I am emotionally spent. Thank you Lord for knitting and coffee. Thank you Lord for Your Word that guides me through the paths of life.  Thank you Lord for friends and family that support us and cheer us on.  Thank you Lord for Your grace that leaves me wiggle room when I'm a mess.
Thank you Lord Jesus!

Quiet moment with my wonderful husband

We have so much to be thankful for, in all things, give thanks!