Great Beginnings

About ten or so years ago, I took it upon myself to learn to knit something round. I had knit for years on two needles and had crocheted as a young girl with a hook. I knew I could do it. I found an old magazine from the seventies that had knitted Christmas ornaments and doll clothes patterns. I found a little mitten and a little doll sweater to practice on. I had accomplished a small tube in the round and it went well. I can't express to you the feeling of accomplishment I had when I made that little tube. But then to make these two little items out of scraps of yarn; it was beyond words. I had made a sweater! I had a made a mitten!

And now, it doesn't intimidate me a bit, to pick up a sweater pattern and read over it quickly to see what's involved. I immediately start looking at things like gauge, needle size and the number of cast on stitches. Wow, what a difference.
Here are the decreases on the left side of the sapphire sweater. I'm done with them and now am knitting straight until the piece measures 9 inches.

I have reached a real confidence in straight knitting, so that I can knit by touch and don't have to look - I can even read while knitting if it's stockinette stitch.
This morning, I spent about an hour knitting and reading in the kitchen. What a wonderful time spent doing two things I love. At once!
My husband installed some 'under the cabinet' lights for me yesterday. I have wanted them since we moved into this house in 2001. It didn't take that long, but running the electric cords, drilling holes, etc. took some ingenuity. Thank the Lord for a husband who's handy with that kind of thing. When we were done, it was obvious that my counters and back splash were filthy. Amazing what a bright light will do. I had no idea how dirty things had gotten.
Now I'm quicker to wipe up a mess, cause I can see it now! (Again, such a spiritual lesson.) And what's even more interesting, I didn't realize until I took this picture of the little mitten & sweater that the sweater was made of two different orange yarns. My 'high' view of the thing was humbled yet again. *sigh*
I am so prone to think I'm really doing great, fussing here, complaining there, and when the bright light of reality shines on me and my goings on, it's obvious I've got a long way to go.
A good friend and her husband split up this week. My husband and I had two very different points of view about what went wrong in their relationship. Later I realized that neither of us was right or wrong, but I could sure have toned down my know-it-all attitude. Things are never what they seem, and in a different light, you may discover some things you never knew before.
May I be not so quick to pass judgment on situations, when I don't have all the facts. I pray that I'll look to shed a little more light on the subject, before coming to a conclusion.

Tearing Down and Building Up

I've got this great wool in the garage, like bags of money - just waiting for me to come and get it. So I do! I card a batch, spin it and knit it. What a commodity!

I learned something from my friend selling my yarn at the fair. People don't want a lot of a certain thing, just enough to satisfy their craving (or impulse). So I decided to just make a single skein of very exotic yarn. Wool, silk and angora.

Three strands spun together with just enough sheen to make a strong but lovely extravagant yarn.

The wool of course is shorn from the sheep, angora trimmed from the rabbit and the silk harvested from cocoons. Cutting away something from it's natural environment then used in a totally different way. I have a friend on the show Biggest Loser (she threw a housewarming for my mother after rebuilding from Katrina). She, Liz, is losing weight to make herself better.
I left work today, losing my mind, finding it later while eating fish tacos and watching my TiVo'd episode of Castle.

I hope to make something useful and even exotic when I spin. Maybe the Lord looks at us the same way. Turning life's brutal cuts into something beautiful.
I'm looking forward to a little building up this Friday night - my friend is throwing a weenie roast at her house and she's one of those folks that always leaves you better than when you came!

Alternate Route

North Carolina is one of the prettiest places in America, and fall is definitely the time to visit. The mountains, hills and leaves all make a beautiful display of God's creation. I am blessed to have lived in the state for even a short time.
We moved to NC in 1997, twelve years ago and much has changed in the years since we moved away. But some things haven't changed. Everyone knows each other, there are lots of independently owned businesses and still plenty of undeveloped real estate. The pace is slower than where I live now so it makes for an ideal getaway location. We visited this weekend, to check on my father in law, who lives alone (82 yo) and I was able to meet with a dear friend for coffee - we've known each other over 20 years. In fact, she's known my husband's family since before I met him.

I also visited a great local bookshop that I just love to frequent. The building is shaped like a Swiss chalet and there's a fireplace with two wooden staircases leading to loft book areas. I noticed plenty of autographed copies lying around, and there seemed to be lots of book signings scheduled. This in a town of 5,000. I scratched my head until my girlfriend told the me the shop was bought by a famous author who lives nearby. Wow. No wonder it felt so cozy and inviting. I did buy a book by Peter Mayle and a candle (both 1/2 price).

I am back home now, and catching up on things, unpacking and looking at the grocery list for next week.

Driving in the mountains, I noticed something. Steep inclines are made more bearable by tacking back and forth. Sometimes you don't realize how steep it was until you look in your rear-view mirror. (Life lesson, there, for this girl.)


I took my knitting along and made a teensy bit of progress. Maybe later tonight I will get in a few more rows.

(Before & After)

Music and Molasses

My friend took my yarn to the festival, which was in fact right here in Tennessee! (why did I think it was in Ohio or Indiana?) Anyway, she sold about 3/4 of the yarn and even came back with a couple of sweet stories. One little girl had apparently not been able to buy anything during the event and cried when she got to her car, telling her mom she wanted to buy "some of that lady's yarn". They came back and Carolyn helped them out! Another lady bought pretty much all of the blue - she makes chemo caps for those in treatment. Wow, I am humbled.
Now, for the long arm of the law. The second arm of the sweater is finished and I'll be starting the body next. I think the measurements are pretty close so I hope the rest goes well.
I often wish I had the opportunity to ask some wise man my tough questions, whenever I want. (Remember the owl in the tootsie pop commercial?)

1. How do you know the difference between something that you really need to let go of, and something you need to keep hoping for? Especially when the pursuit is neither bad nor good. I realize that if a thing keeps you from functioning and being normal, it should probably go. But then again, some of the most famous inventions came because someone was willing to be tenacious about something, even if it seemed ridiculous.

2. Is a blind copy (bcc) the same as a lie? (I’m serious.) I know the technical reason, but is it completely ethical? Just askin'.

I may ask my father in law. We're making a concord-like trip to see him this Thursday night. We'll only stay for a day and come back on Saturday. He's one of those kind, thoughtful people who tells it like it is, but makes you laugh while he's saying it.

Traveler's Rest

Today I dropped off a a rubbermaid tub of my yarn to my friend Carolyn. She's been doing demonstrations at Travelers Rest, an historic home in Nashville that hosts Trade Days in October. The folks are in costume and the event resembles a Williamsburg experience. (I wish I had some Brunswick Stew!)
She will be taking my yarn to be sold in Indiana, if there are any takers. She has mentioned to me before that there are folks at this particular craft show who would probably be very interested in buying some of my yarn. Admittedly pessimistic, I have smiled and thanked her for the compliment. But this time, she's called twice to ask for the yarn, so here goes. A sampling of my homespun taking it's first road trip! I named the yarns Begonia, Navel Orange, Sand, SkyBlue, Vintage Pink and Rosie to be more memorable.

After dropping the yarn off we got a bite to eat and visited a book store where we picked up these goodies.
Leather Book Weight

Book Stand
When spinning or knitting or even on the treadmill, it can be helpful to have these kinds of gadgets. I like the bookstand in particular, for reading while plying. Excellent deals and very practical tools!

My appetite for reading actually started early in life. I was a very studious child and the school I attended gave out lots of homework. It was not unusual for my mom to pass by my room and tell me to close my mouth. It was one of those unconscious habits I had, to let my jaw drop slightly when I was reading or studying hard. I think it’s still true today. I get engrossed in reading something and completely forget about what's going on around me. I love getting lost in a good book, don't you? The kind of book that takes you to a faraway place, where you experience sights and sounds and smells; all virtual, but they feel so real. (Am I the only one who feels this way?) (blushing)

The Great Pumpkin

After a lovely Sunday afternoon in the pumpkin patch, it was back to work on Monday.
My daughter and her husband came to town for a couple of days and they really wanted to get a pumpkin so off we went. Twenty minutes waiting for a parking space later, we found some great deals on orange fall decorations.

I had spent Saturday afternoon with our kids choir, rehearsing for Christmas. Afterward I met with a friend and her two daughters at Starbucks; all are learning to knit. Here's "V" who is six, and her great knitted scarf. She's got talent and should probably be on one of those TV shows! No kidding!
We had coffee (their treat!) and it was really crowded and even smoky from the folks outside, but we didn't care! We were in our own little knitting world. Next to the fireplace on a damp, cool day in October.
The blue sweater is coming right along. Started the second sleeve and it's faster because I've already done one. You know, like the drive back home is always shorter than the drive there, because you've already done it once.

It must be said that my knitting is truly my addiction, along with coffee. Life is hard, at least 80 percent of the time and we must take time to do things that ease the way. I asked my husband the other night if he would say I knit all the time, and he said Yes. (That's all he said.) I was out for two days last week, two vacation days, and it soooo felt like I was being punished when I came back. Today I literally had to take my to-do list and book an appt. every thirty minutes to keep on task all day. But surprisingly, almost all of my tasks got done. AND I picked up two new clients! Hallelujah! And now, as soon as I finish my time on the treadmill, I will knit till I fall asleep.

Give Piece a chance

When you knit a sweater, the obvious first decision to make is whether or not to knit in the round or knit pieces one at a time and sew them together. After finishing the brown blanket for my son and cussing all the way through the piecing together, I am surprised that I'm making this sweater.

Here is the first piece, the arm which kind of started as a swatch/test item to see if I liked it and if the gauge would be ok. So far, so good.

I did take it with me on the trip to Atlanta and made great progress, but did not take it into the Georgia Dome. Didn't even take a purse. We had a blast, seeing Muse and then U2; both phenomenal bands.

The next day we went to IKEA in Atlantic Station and I was completely overwhelmed (the store takes up 15 acres) and inspired. It's time to make some changes 'round here, and in fact I started today. I threw out a bunch of old cloth napkins and placemats. Faded and tattered is not what I want on my table.
My daughter is coming to town today and I'm more than ready to ask her opinion about some color changes as well. Walls, napkins, etc. Thank you IKEA for some fresh inspiration.

Our fall weather should be arriving shortly, with temps dropping significantly by the end of the weekend. I have been tossing odd pieces of clothing in a bin in my closet; they will go to Goodwill soon enough.
Something else is changing right now, as well as the weather. Our president was given the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the highest honors given to any human in our society. I think he was truly humbled and said it was undeserved. It reminds me of the tremendous grace of God which we receive on a regular basis. I am so thankful that I am given the many blessings I don't deserve. Like the president, I feel unworthy of all that I have.

Indigo Go-go

I leave in the morning for Atlanta to go see U2 with my husband and his brother & wife. On the way, you guessed it, I will be knitting. I doubt I'll be able to take the project into the stadium, but I'd sure like to try.

My new project is this great little sweater. I'm on a quest to find a sweater pattern that fits me. This is from Mac&Me.
I dyed this yarn a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my office with that very pattern laying on top of the yarn basket. I just had to give it a try. Lots of measurements and math calculations later, I've decided that there is a)enough yarn, b)the right gauge and c) a pretty decent pattern to have a go at this sweater.
I swatched and got 4 sts. per inch on my Ivory needles. (Size 10?) The sweater body is knit in the round but I've started the sleeve and made good progress; almost finished tonight while watching the Vikings play the Packers. This is Brett Favre's first time to play against his old team. Quite a game!The sleeve needs to be 17 inches from wrist to underarm, then I start the sleeve cap shaping. I measured my favorite sweater and it's 17" so that's my only real alteration so far.
I am keeping good records and notes in case this turns out to be a great fitting sweater.

I went into work today and did my best to cover myself while out for a couple of days. It's not like things can't go on without me, I just don't want to have a boatload of work to catch up on, while I'm trying to do my regular stuff when I get back. I can only delegate to one person, our new receptionist, but thankfully, she's very eager and willing to help. I also asked my boss to do one thing for me. He seemed happy to do it and I'm glad. He told me today to let him know when the work load gets to be too much. (I thought I did last week....)

A blog is a blog is a web-log

I realized a few minutes ago that I was having one of those awesome moments; the kind you dream about during the week and imagine having, but never quite seem to get around to it. Today I worked in the yard, digging a new garden, like I used to do.

Ending the afternoon dirty and yukky and ready for a nice hot bath. Which I just took, with my Eucalyptus Spearmint bath salts and my husband's Crabtree & Evelyn 'Sienna' bar soap. I was reading my new book and had some classical music playing in the bedroom. Practically perfect in every way. So here I sit in my office on a beautiful, sunny, breezy afternoon, sipping peach iced tea and uploading photos for my blog.

This morning I started a pot of simmering water to dye some wool yarn. Spinning group yesterday got canceled so I decided to dye something anyway. I had already re-tied the skeins so that they wouldn't look tie-dyed when finished.

Before I'd had a chance to add the soaked yarn to the dye-bath, I noticed an enormous amount of water on the floor on the other side of the breakfast area. It was one of those moments when all I could say was, Honey, somethings wrong. It didn't take very long to determine that the spray hose on the sink had sprung a leak and would have to be replaced, so off my DH went to the hardware store.

So, back to the dye-bath with my beautiful yarn. It took the dye well and in a couple of hours the yarn was on the patio.

You can see why the ties have to remain on the yarn. It gets pretty tangled when you put it in the water.

With the breezy day outside, it took practically no time at all for the yarn to dry. Isn't it lovely?

Sensitive Information

I've begun a swatch using some recently spun lambs wool - double stranded. I'm using some ivory knitting needles I bought at an antique shop in a nearby town. I don't know what size they are, but they're close to a size 10. (They didn't tell me when I bought them, 'cause they just didn't know!)

This is a rib pattern and it's such a breeze to knit without any pattern whatsoever.

The books in the photo have an interesting story to tell. Tonight my husband and I went to our local bookstore for coffee and some browsing. I always check the sale table and sure enough, I found a library copy of Kate Hepburn's biography for $3. I also found this book by an author I really like, Geraldine Brooks. It was $6 and look at what I found inside.

Geraldine's autograph!

Tomorrow our spinning group is meeting to have a dye-day. I'm looking forward to a beautiful fall day but I hear there may be rain. Gee, I hope we don't have to cancel....!

I can see a pattern emerging

Last week I was going to post a blog and then a watch a TiVo'd episode of Castle. I'm doing it again. I've got a photo to post, and a cup of warmed over coffee (from this morning's pot) ready to drink. I know I'm getting old when my routine doesn't alarm me, but comforts me.

Ok, so here is the finished blanket for my son. I'm really pleased and surprised that it doesn't look hideous after all. I thought it would.

Just to sum up, the yarns are all hand spun and there are a variety of types; angora, alpaca, shetland wool, romney wool and maybe some camel (the red-brown).

The days are getting shorter and I am not able to spend any time really outside after work. So I guess I'll be doing a little more knitting. The next project is probably going to be a scarf for my husband, but first I have to find a pattern.
The obvious choice would be a rib pattern and logically a fisherman's rib or half rib. The problem is that there is not enough wool yarn to make that work. I've only got two skeins (it's home spun of leftover colors so that's all there is) of the color we talked about and making the scarf any 'thinner' or lighter, using a less bulky stitch, will not give it enough drape. It would end up looking like an old lady's lace curtain wrapped around his shoulders. So, it may be that I'll find another yarn. Or choose another stitch pattern.

He commented on a large afghan my aunt made years ago. Crocheted of acrylic yarn, that probably weighs 20 lbs. It's cream and looks like a cable stitch. I may start looking at crochet patterns, now.

Plans

As I piece together the panels and tuck away the stray ends of thread, I begin to think about my next project, and my pea-sized brain overloads. So many projects, so much yarn, and only one thing can be worked on at a time.

So I daydream about what my next project will be. I know who/what's in the running. I could make the Almost-Mountain Dew scarf for my hubby. Or...finish the socks I was working on in the summer......or start some cute little sweater. With all the rain, there's lots to imagine and plan.

I have been spinning the new silk hankies and they are lovely. I will take them to our upcoming spinning meeting which will be a tie-dye session.
Here is a single hankie before spinning (one cocoon). You poke a hole in the center and pull out until you have a long strand for spinning.

This is really a true ecru color - not white.
Lately as the G-8 summit and other UN meetings are taking place I am reminded of Jer. 29:7 that says to pray for the city where you are, for in it's welfare, you will have welfare. We must pray for our leaders; those in authority where we work and every level of government. It behooves us to lift them up; for wisdom, insight and integrity in all that they deal with. Amen?