Great Towering Textiles

Knitting shall resume in 10 ... 9 ... 8 ...

2012-02-02T00:18:00.002-06:00

Trying to be productive and focused.

Knitting takes a back seat.

(Okay. That was my break. Back to work.)

(Note to the knitting: You're lovely. It's not you, it's me.)

Messages from the Universe

2012-01-22T11:23:00.000-06:00

I had, this week, my fair share of Messages That Shall Not Be Ignored.

No surprise to me, I subsequently finished this massive loop scarf and discovered it is not for me. The color is nice. (I will find a way to snap a truer tint.). The yarn has merino and silk and was on sale.

Proportionately too big for my needs. It needs a slimmer or younger.

However, I will not hold it for maybe or for another mood or for convincing myself or for frogging or any such nonsense. Universe has spoken: Gift time!

Happy Day

2012-01-20T13:10:00.004-06:00

This day has

Good coffee,

Playing pantomime games with third graders,

Leftover lunch from lovely dinner with friends yesterday,

Lovely dinner plans tonight, complete with a snow plan,

Tickets for Race at the Goodman Theatre,

And a little time to get things done in between.

I may even knit a little.

Now

2012-01-16T11:37:00.003-06:00

Past:
I didn't catch up on posting holiday knitting pictures. Captured a couple for Ravelry. I knit some unassuming and manly hats for all but one of the male adults in my close extended family. I knit a hat for my mother and the previously posted entrelac hat to my newest cousin (she married my cousin, but we're all family).

I put the pause button on the placemats - having made some excellent progress, mind. I will be finishing those in the next month and packing them into the gift box for sending out in November. This of course makes them past and future projects.

Future:
I have some ideas of what I'd like to knit this yearI assembled some knitting requests for the coming year. I have vast ideas of some sewing I'd like to do. I also have some graduation quilts I need to get rolling on. The blocks of the first one are done, at least, having been done for some time past. A future and past project, that one.

Now:
I am working on a quick bulky scarf loop. Call it what you will, and infinity is high-minded, but it is just a loop. Georgeous warm brown, this wool from Australia is a warm, cozy blend of merino and cashmere, happily a sale, happily also stash that has been sitting around awhile. It is not a gift. It's for me, and it's to wear now, now that we are having some winter for winter. I have knit through half the wool - more than half - and have hopes of finishing this week.

Now:
I have leapt from holidays to very busy January. Three road trips already since the holidays, I am feeling a little like I need some down time. However, I'm trying to sleep now, whenever I can, with the earliest bed times and most frequent naps in two weeks than I recall. I am getting a fair bit of work done, besides, and am teaching a class that I love. The class is half a day long, and it calls for being immediate, to be there now. I'm looking forward to resuming it on Tuesday.

Now:
Having indulged my at-the-desk-break by posting here, I need to walk a few flights of stairs and stretch so I can get back to some good desk time.

Warm Greetings for a Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:20:00.002-06:00

This weekend I have been shifting into the New Year.
Nothing unexpected in it. Tidying and regrouping. Preparing and resting. Well, not so much resting as not racing.
Enjoying homemade soup from the freezer.
Leftover holiday treats disappear over bits of leftover and mostly crossed-out lists. Didn't finish the placemats. Will keep at them along the way this month.

This past year seemed over full and wrung out by May. Summer was a good turnaround for me. More calm. More doing of the things I used to do. The rest of the year profited, and the holidays were quite pleasant. No drama, little stress.

Now? New starts, new lists, swatching, sweeping - they are just little things.
Turns out that little things do matter.
Here's to a year filled with small, pleasant moments!

Tidings of a Season

2011-12-26T12:36:00.000-06:00

My little corner has been a busy one. Had the fun of welcoming my little family of mother, sister, kids for the Christmas weekend. Enjoyed - not kidding - some advance preparation, cooking soups and pfeffernuss, cleaning and decorating over the past weeks.

We had good times, good giggles, good games, good visits, good church, good music, and Oh! Good Foods! I knew there was football in the air, but the kids didn't turn the television on all weekend. (I suppose the Bears lost?)

Some travel this week. I will be tackling a little more knitting and sewing today. (Of course I am, my sister would say!)

I wish my knitter friends joy, in whatever forms please you.

(My dear aunt, much loved and much missed, made the Joy I propped onto the hall mirror. She was a proper maker of Christmas!)

Surprises

2011-12-11T19:48:00.003-06:00

How'd I go this long without trying entrelac?

Same thing goes for spaghetti squash, which I tackled for the first time this fall. The second half of the one i baked this week made a fine squash & tomato gratin this evening. (Leftovers from that, one more lunch tomorrow.). Yum.

Similarly yummy, this hat. As I followed a recipe and not a pattern, I will have to write down the details right now. I tried on the hat and I love it.

The hat is a Christmas present I will be proud to give. I will have to make another one soon, though. I have made two caps for myself recently that are nice looking, but they are not so spectacular on me. This entrelac hat? A very nice surprise.

Workshop in Holiday Mode

2011-12-08T18:03:00.001-06:00

Hardly ever happens: I am in a holiday making mode. Early December usually finds me worn, frazzled and behind.

Since I am not entirely worn, frazzled, or - well - since I am getting at least some things done ahead, I am making time for me. Perversely, I am enjoying that me-time by doing some holiday gift making. Pulled out the holiday fabric amassed over time (and at sales) and began with some placemats for two of my cousins with young families.

Whee! It's going to be quite a stack. Brought it into the shop, where I factor in a bit of me-time sewing early and late.

Cooking on a Sunday

2011-12-05T09:04:00.003-06:00

I planned to cook.
Then I started this hat, following an in-store pattern, picked up with this yarn.

Turned out the pattern was a recipe. Several rows of entrelac rectangles, it said. There were specifics for the left leaning triangles. There are specifics for right leaning ones shortly, followed by two recipe options for the decreases. Nothing about the rectangles in between except a number of rounds of rectangles done by the author. Now that I know the pattern is a recipe, I am at least prepared for the next surprise, as I suspect the decreases aren't what I remember of the shop sample.

Could be I just don't remember. Could be the scramble to find guidance for the rectangles placed other hat images in my head. Did I mention that this is my first entrelac foray?

So I will be considering multiple sources for the top if this hat. Good thing I was planning on a creative day-off challenge.

Doubly good there are containers of soup and ratatouille in the freezer.

December!

2011-12-01T09:18:00.001-06:00

Here's to a December which includes some textile fun!

Finger Puppets

2011-11-29T15:44:00.004-06:00

A friend of mine makes adorable little finger puppets and sells them on Etsy. She makes custom orders as well.

Adorable.

Sh! She doesn't know I posted this.

Rhinos in Process

2011-11-28T16:20:00.005-06:00

Among the projects that have kept me busy lately:

These were still in progress, at the time of this impromptu photo romp.

Wire hangers of varying sizes and configurations for the armature.

You can tell they're not done yet, because horn application is in varied states. We made two-horned rhinos. Nine of them.

T-shirt yarn - some overdyed from chain mail knitting some years ago. Some of varying grey and kindred tones from additional cannibalized shirts. When done, we did some fabric overpainting. And we added eyes.

Guess whose tshirt drawer was thinned out a little extra? Win and win.

Textile Play, scene 2

2011-11-13T20:52:00.001-06:00

Sunday night
Fabric paint
Lno block carving
Paint scumbling

Some success
A lot of rustic printing

Geeky Costume Details

2011-11-13T01:37:00.001-06:00

Plata, Plato, Playdough.

2011-11-12T22:46:00.004-06:00

I keep wanting to call this colorway Plato. I had a parakeet named Plato. I thought the name was playdough, because I knew more about that lovely colored substance than I did the philosopher.

The yarn here is Malabrigo Gruesa in the colorway Plata - for the metal, not the philosopher.

A 65 yard quick hat, this one was. Only three inches remained!

Textile Play: Experiments

2011-11-11T18:06:00.005-06:00

Cork circles, on the right

Plastic "cedar" fronds

A foam rubber flower die cut, eventually with bits ripped off and out

Cork faced with haphazard netting of crochet cotton (held on the sides with pins, it looks very disturbing)

Urban Rustic

2011-11-11T14:19:00.003-06:00

Called for a brick wall, somehow....

Losing Track, Staying on Course

2011-11-10T18:49:00.004-06:00

I have more hand printing play underway. I'm tackling some embroidery for costume. Costumes are on schedule for several projects. Knitting a quick hat. Working on other knits.

BUT I'VE LOST TRACK OF MY FLICKR ID details. Honestly.

I just timed out my efforts into a 12 hour lockdown.

At least the important stuff is on course.

I'm just losing track of the passwords.

Knitting for Plays

2011-11-04T17:39:00.008-05:00

I am a dork. Let it be said.

I'm now knitting another costume piece.

Urban Rustic gloves (pattern from Knitty)

from some very old stash wool

The pair will serve as another costume piece for an upcoming play. Actors are being asked to talk with us about what their characters would wear. We couldn't find gloves that were crude enough for one character without being fingerless. "I'm a survivor," she said. "I'd have the tips of my fingers covered."

FAST knit. Knitting up on 11's, and truthfully would be a lousy pair of gloves for serious warmth. Too loose for real winter. Still, they're a look that seems to work well for the occasion.

The costume shawls of previous posts - both in the same production. And one of the actors decided her character activity is knitting. Because of that, she picked the beige costume shawl made a couple years ago out of the shawl bin samples I pulled for her. As her knitting prop she is currently using a project she started a long time ago. Have to go stash diving quickly for a suitable knitting prop for her, as her current project is pretty pristine.

I am a dork. I am so amused.

I hope to be done tomorrow. What will amuse me then?

Play

2011-11-03T12:27:00.005-05:00

I have given myself permission to play a tiny bit this fall.
Here's one piece - I am taking part in a handpainted fabric swap, sponsored by Leslie Keating of onegirl - now Maze & Vale .

Last week I found a lovely piece of plain linen & cotton yardage in the remnants section of Vogue Fabrics. It could serve for the fat quarters, but I'm feeling indecisive. This past weekend I picked up some 100% cotton canvas yardage. (If I don't use it for this project, it's targeted for some cloth bags.) Will be going through some other on-hand yardage, as well, and have started the prewashing of the fabric I just picked up.

This decision-making sea of choices is part of play. I invited a friend over yesterday to meet me in the shop to play with some fabric paint printing. Tried our hand at using a variety of found objects. Decided that was the focus of the sampling activity for the evening.

It was good to play and think about what I might best do for this project.

Knitting Photo Finish; Or, Tricking a Smart Phone

2011-10-26T18:22:00.005-05:00

Smart Phone photography isn't entirely Smart.

I've been playing games at tricking it into capturing better color. Well, different color.

Sunny day indoor location and truer color:

Same location, same time and day - totally faded out:

Fluorescent light, early evening - not great color:

Moments later, having figured out I can fake out the light meter by pointing it at the light and taking the picture quickly - better color:

Taken earlier before said experiment - crazily disappointing color:

Much better color. Also, THIS COSTUME PIECE is DONE. Done for a different show than the one for which it was started, but hey, done is good.

Fall Knitting

2011-10-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

Football Knitting meet Costume Knitting.

I'll be in the stands.

More Summer!

2011-10-09T14:53:00.007-05:00

The beautiful days of the past week are continuing into the next. I am delighted, especially as I have a day off tomorrow. A DAY OFF. On a nice day. I intend to sleep, walk, and take care of my home environs.

Sleeping and walking may carry the day. The last weeks have been brutally full of work, but that's just because the projects are big. BUT, I am happy to say, I still carried on with the summer resolve. Cooking, a little knitting, still in practice.

Actually knit a hat during tech week. It's not the hat I wanted, but it can at least be a hat to wear while walking in the mornings when the weather turns. The weather will turn, I know. Working on a sweater as well. It's an out of season knit, but since it's miles of stockinette, I'll be able to get it done by spring. It's definitely a warm weather sweater wrap.

But that's enough of that. No pictures of knitting today, and those stories aren't incredibly compelling at the moment. Instead, I had promised myself aloud to share other stories with the picture parade of the last post.

A friend (former colleague and neighbor) bought a century farm with her husband as part of their empty nest transition. Visited them in the summer, and we made plans to have a can-the-harvest weekend. We put it on our calendars. As the date approached, I got a call: apples were done. They'd canned though, which was new for her, and she felt very good about her accomplishments. Long story not much shorter, we didn't cancel after all, I went out, and we planned to tangle with tomatoes and see if we thought we might still be able to pick a few apples.

I actually Left Work Early that Friday. I hear people do that. When I arrived we ate supper and read cookbooks at each other. There was a lot of chuckling. Her husband is a hoot. And, as is customary in my family in massive cooking adventures, we called my mother to check on a particular recipe.

My friend's property holds an incredibly diverse assortment of such old apple trees - not an orchard - so distinct that they defy easy identification. Think heirloom. Never-been sprayed trees. Tart ones, sweet ones, pear-like, perfumy, red, green, blush, and yellow.

My friend is delightfully an in-the-moment person. We drove the truck around to check out the trees, as there had been a pretty hard frost. Armed with bags, containers, a ladder, and an apple picker, four of us picked "just a few."

While I've picked a lot of wild fruit and farmed fruit over the years, somehow I had never been apple picking. I think I caught up.

A few here, a few more, oh, there are some here, and before we knew it, we'd probably picked about 10 bushels.

My friends had just picked up the new book Canning for a New Generation. We slow roasted paste tomatoes while we picked apples. (Fit for freezing. If they last.) We made chili with tons of veg from the garden, four colors of tomatoes, zucchini, peppers.

We cranked out apple sauce on the road to making apple butter, mixing up many types of apples in each pan full of sauce. We made and canned a red pepper and tomato relish from a familiar recipe I'm quite fond of. We made jars of apple butter and canned it as well as the balance of the apple sauce. We ate open face sandwiches of roasted tomato on slices of day old cheese bread bowls, toasted in the oven.

It was an excellent weekend.

I came home with a carload of produce and weeks of good cooking ahead of me. Of course, those are stories for another post. I need to check on the matinee.

Summer meets September

2011-09-28T18:40:00.005-05:00

This summer, I decided I would take better care. You could list just about anything there, and it would fit. Eat better, walk more, cook (I used to) more, separate from work more, connect with friends, write a letter, sew, clean, read...

The last few years I have been particularly unkind to myself, and it doesn't help me care for others particularly well. I got a little lost.

This summer I took a couple road trips. It sounds super ridiculous any way I type it, (and I've backspaced five times now), but I had lost track of my better me.

I'm happy to report that I'm hanging onto a bit of that summer resolution. The fact that I'm hanging onto a bit of it in what is usually a whirlwind month of activity is pretty remarkable.

My alarm just went off. I have to get a cup of tea going so I can get into my next several hours of work with lots of people.

Here's a glimpse of my September report:

I'll come back for story telling. In the meanwhile, I hope you'll make something yummy. I may make another apple crumble tonight!

So International

2011-09-05T18:20:00.003-05:00

The pattern designer is from Germany.

She gave the pattern an Italian name.

Frangiflutti. (Pattern on Ravelry.)

I picked up the yarn on a trip - Happy, by Wendy - at John Lewis in London.

So this is a British Breakfront. (Frangiflutti, translated, as I understand it.)

The yarn is bamboo - a little nylon for stability.
Really, you know, I think it looks kind of wabi-sabi.

======
Knitting details - used US 7 needles. Used up all but 2-3 yards.

It's now in a gift bag, ready to move on.

Enfin quoi?
(Oh this internet and it's fancy dictionaries....)

About that Pagona post

2011-08-25T15:29:00.005-05:00

My posting skills the other day were pretty sketchy. I lost part of the original post.

About that Pagona. The post title was not carried out in the post. I gave it away. (I also went back into the post to fix that.)

It did not need to be a scarf I should keep. It was the PERFECT prezzie for one of my costume grads. Even when I was knitting it, I kept thinking the color would REALLY suit her. And, as I said in the newly edited post, she's a good match for the spiky drama of a capelet sized Pagona.

Now knitting another giftie scarf out of Happy, a yarn from Wendy, the UK yarn distributer/manufacturer.

The pattern is Frangiflutti, an interesting little assymmetrical kerchief.

Almost done, actually. End of summer knitting push....

Not a Keeper - and I'm okay with that

2011-08-19T09:20:00.003-05:00

Finished the scarf.

Enjoyed the knitting. Both pattern, Stephen West's Pogona, and yarn, Tosh Light Merino, were pleasant to handle.

Love the color - richer than this photo, but I just want to post today and move along.

And I gave it away. It was the PERFECT prezzie for one of my costume grads. Even when I was knitting it, I kept thinking the color would REALLY suit her. And she's a good match for the spiky drama of a capelet sized Pagona.

Own. Up.

2011-08-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

After funny angles and triple chins and odd incognito sunglasses, I give in.

Thanks to mittenfarce for the Habu Moire which inspired the whole deal!

Incognito Finito

2011-08-08T18:45:00.000-05:00

Nearly Done & Nearly Gone

2011-08-07T23:24:00.001-05:00

Not sure what would run out soonest, the moire, the shoshenshi, my single crochet mojo, or the day.

Time to sleep. I may use up the yarn pretty nearly, but not this weekend.

Linen Fix

2011-08-07T08:13:00.004-05:00

August can seem sometimes a month of Sundays. I love the drama queen "forever" of the phrase "a month of Sundays."

August holds a long deliberate stretch of heat and rest. It wants quiet and a book and a cold glass that tinkles with ice and leaves condensed pools of liquid on the table.

August demands the attention of the last preparatory stretch before the big Monday of school.

August tells me to hustle with all the things I've not yet readied.

August tells me to slow down before the real hustle begins.

This August weekend I paused for a little linen fixation.

Feels like August. Needs a great brim, one that goes forever.

Classics

2011-07-14T20:47:00.002-05:00

Can't put a date to the cartoon, but it has been clipped to this page for a long time.

Food on a stick.

Expanded - more food, more fun!

2011-07-14T20:42:00.001-05:00

So it's true. I have both of these.
Yes there is some crossover. Perhaps a fair bit.

But hey, it was on sale.

And as I was no longer living in Minnesota, it was an extra fix of food writing fun.

Kathy's Uncle Al Has a Goofy Fan

2011-07-14T20:40:00.002-05:00

Before there were food blogs, there was the lovely ritual of catching the Minneapolis Star Tribune food column by Mr. Al Sicherman.
I only lived in St. Paul for a year. I have a vague memory of reading it aloud: oh, those green days of being newly minted theatre grads trying to find jobs.

We'd read aloud, yes indeedy, at each other.

Socks, Blended

2011-07-12T07:10:00.001-05:00

I MUST get batteries for the camera. Phone photos are lousy for color.

Yarn is Dyeabolical Alter Ego.
Colorway is Frogs IAB - that is, In A Blender.
Pattern is Wendy Johnson's Sunrise Socks.
Needle size 1.5, US.
Sock size, the smallest width, curiously.

Will be interested to see how the color holds and how the size holds.
As they are for me, there's no stress hidden behind that statement.

I forget when I started them, but they are done.

Time to get knitting sorted out for camp.

Starfall - Look for this book in the fall!

2011-07-05T16:50:00.004-05:00

Lovely book coming out this fall. Starfall.

My dear friend Diana wrote the story and is the lovely clown in the hoopskirt.

I'd embed things, but the photos are ABSOLUTELY copyrighted, and I don't know if the trailer has limited access. Posting the link to the publisher and the trailer, this I can do.

It's charming. CHARMING. Plan ahead. Tell your indie bookseller.

Great towering cat blankets!

2011-07-05T15:08:00.002-05:00

My mother and I compared notes about what we did on the 4th. "My usual," she said. She cleaned and did laundry, preparing for her sister's visit today.

I did much the same, though my company is further down the road. I continued my summer project of cleaning out the Andy Warhol boxes from various stories and stages. Filled up bags of paper recycling, found - at last! - the missing box of denim scraps. Washed up a bunch of fabric and sorted vintage sewing supplies, putting some in the freezer for quarantine, some into bags to donate to the shop, and the rest of it into the right places on the sewing shelves.

I gave myself a break by tackling the towel and sheet shelves of the closet. This extended to purging and tidying the storage of other household textiles in other closets, tubs, and bags. Packed up a bag for the Animal Care League. Towels are topped by a stack of 8 quick little cat quilts - pillow cases with stitched-in folded quarters of old mattress pads. None of the materials would have been suited for thrift, and it took no time at all to whomp them together.

Time to go drop them off at the shelter.

I know. None of this is particularly sexy blog posting. Still, the amusement of it all is keeping me on track.

Wonder what I want to get done tonight....?

Full

2011-07-04T08:53:00.001-05:00

A Paltry Summer to Summer Count and other lists

2011-06-28T11:20:00.007-05:00

What am I thinking?
Not only is this post late, the summer to summer tally is short, short, short. From Memorial Day to Memorial Day was the initial intent. An appropriate textile year - not calendar nor fiscal - June lets me start fresh. It's almost the end of June. You'd think I'd forgotten.

What did I knit?
This year was BUSY. The knitting was not so great. I completed knitting a grand total of:
Three Whole Scarves
One Cowl
One Pair of Socks

What, no more knitting?
Au contraire. True, much of the knitting in progress this year has drifted in and out of actual progress:
1. There was a variant of an 1860's "bosom friend" shawl destined for costume use. Sewing took priority, and so that is languishing.
2. There's some progress on the cotton blanket.
3. I stalled on a pair of gloves for my nephew, who will likely not be wanting them for cross country in fall. Stalled for questions of size, the glove has now had a fitting and should be fit to return to active knitting.
4. After a false start of a third of a foot, one of the socks from the wonderfully named Frogs in a Blender colorway is actually done, and the next is underway.
5. Knitting a Stephen West scarf for myself. I am doing the dance of no leftovers, hoping that I will gauge the knitting correctly so I have the perfect amount of yarn left for the finishing.

What DID I do?
A. A year long project involving Civil War era costumes. I have increased my lifetime count of making men's tailored jackets from two to well over a dozen.
B. Tenure and promotion.
C. Directed two shows.
D. Put on unnecessary weight. (See A, B, C, B, and B.)
E. Lowered my blood pressure and cholesterol, despite D.

What am I doing now?
Excellent question. That's for another post. Some evidence in the previous post.

Knitting Summer

2011-06-24T18:48:00.006-05:00

Practicing slowing down.

Visiting friends.
Remembering I cook.
Walking.

Getting rid of stuff.

Thinking about blogs and letters.

Going to a few plays.

Oh. Look at the time. I better not slow down now. Curtain waits for no slowpoke.

On We Go

2011-05-19T15:50:00.005-05:00

I wonder what I would draw today, were I to follow the steps Betty Edwards describes in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain for creating analog drawings of abstract ideas or emotions.

I might draw a crossroads, though that feels puzzling to have just typed. I foresee no change of job and am not organized enough at the moment for a house purchase. I don't have large questions hanging in front of me with audiences rapt for an answer. But then, I might not draw about me.

I might draw a blank, all puns intended. I am tired, that's for darned sure. I have had twelve months of crazypants, if I may borrow the clever term from the glamourblogs of knittinglore. I have a lot I want to do, wish to do, and still must do in this transition from spring to summer. Finding it hard to start today. And then, I might not draw about things to do.

I'd steer away from drawing the symbol or the icon: no sad face, no tear. Though an old friend of mine has died, a too-young friend, and I cried today at home as I needed, the stories to tell are not as simple as those symbols.

I'd draw, though, with purpose.

I'd draw lines full of energy. I'd draw a line which bursts into more lines, which gives new starts, which starts other tragectories. I'd draw a line which looks for new space, for new beginnings, for other fascinating and glorious lines to support, shape, embellish, and let go. I'd draw a line that let go.

I'd draw a line that would say go on: On we go!

In memoriam: Randall Wreghitt

With thanks for friendship, support, a bit of mentoring, and laughter that spanned almost 30 years.
You were a gift to many - and a great, great example to follow.
Your online status always closed with the phrase above, and it will be no surprise that your love for the theatre will go on in the work of so many you celebrated.

Sadly without you, happily for having known you, on we go.

Worn out but in awe

2011-05-07T16:53:00.003-05:00

I consider myself quite fortunate.

I have had some amazing students. They work hard, they struggle uphill when they must, they challenge themselves, and they go extra miles.

I am exhausted right now. It has been a spring of madness on the heels of an endless winter and an overbusy fall.

I'm also looking forward to having them go away for a little while: I can't wait to have some knitting, sewing, and cleaning time for myself.

Still breathing. That is, when they don't take my breath away.

Awe, I tell you.

Oh Heck, it's up to my neck!

2011-04-26T11:34:00.002-05:00

With apologies to Shel Silverstein, as I misappropriate and misquote "I'm being swallowed by a boa constrictor."

Busy. More later.

Too much sewing. I have to scramble to the top of the pile.

Not to Decide is To Decide

2011-03-10T16:56:00.003-06:00

I am working on gloves for my nephew but stopped on finger the second because I'm disatisfied. Can't decide my next step.

So I have a needle case of needles and four skeins of yarn, two unwound hanks of stash yarn for a pair of colorwork skeins, a cake of yarn long in the stash, and another cake of yarn I had wound up in the store because I was going to knit it THAT DAY. In October.

So I'm starting everything. Swatching. Starting. I have several days coming up where I have to arrive early and then sit and wait, so I want plenty of knitting options.

I decided I want to have several small knitting projects going right now so I'll have knitting to do when I can't decide what to do about one of them.

Socks, mini shawl, and more socks. And all for me, because that, I decided, was due.

It's a Holiday if I Say So

2011-03-09T13:21:00.005-06:00

Made this for a dear friend and colleague who moved away. Should have made it earlier for the winter. Then again, she and her husband were purging household goods like mad for the move, so it's good not to have added to their worldly goods prior to the move.

They're in warmer climate now, but this is still a suitable spring gift for those greyer spring days.

The yarn is Mountain Colors River Twist. The color - Grasshopper, I think. Picked it up at String Theory in Glen Ellyn. Used a pattern developed by and for Knit 1 in Chicago. Bought this in the fall, so it expired “purchase for specific project” shelf life and moved into stash. I knit the yarn doubled and wanted something fast to move stash from storage to done. Use up the skein. Have a small ball about racquetball size - just enough for a garnish somewhere.

I loved the colors in the skein. This was a good lesson in color theory for spinning. The yarn twists have some sparkle. I doubled the yarn and effectively muddied the sparkle. So it goes. And so it goes away.

Happy Gift-Goes-In-The-Mail Day! I'm celebrating, no matter how quiet the party for this party of one.

This is where ultimatums lead.

2011-02-21T18:19:00.005-06:00

Sure, I'm done counting. BIG TALK.
Never slap down ultimatums, I say.

I did have one more thing to toss into my list. I have a great birthday tradition.

On many of my recent birthdays I've been able to see a really good play. It's usually a really dark play. Uncle Vanya. A really dark Little Eyolf - seen in London, even. This pleases me.

This year I was even treated to the play.
I went to Steppenwolf to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Chris Jones says this. Sometimes I think he's too fussy, but he gets to be. It's his job. It's still a treat for me. Even if it is part of my job.

I liked the play even more than Mr. Jones did. I heard Amy Morton's Martha and Tracy Lett's George say things I'd forgotten and find notes I'd never heard before, and I love the play.

Okay. 18. I fibbed. and 19. LOVELY dinner with great people before the play.

What's a line in the sand worth if you don't sometimes push it?

DONE

2011-02-21T17:23:00.005-06:00

Done. Done with counting things for celebrating.
Other blogs will have the clever cutesy. Here, not so much.
Done gets to mean not torturing myself for being behind with made up deadlines.

Done with Navy Diagonal Socks. Done dawdling.
This was hard. Started them for my aunt who passed away at the end of that same autumn. Resumed a couple times to make them for my younger aunt, who'd also requested navy. Made a sizing error. More dawdling. Done now. NOT BLOCKING.
Mailing later this week, though. Not waiting until birthday or Christmas.
Done gets to mean gone.

Done means end of this day's/week's/month's blog update, even if it HAS been a month.

Because I'm not done with the blog.
I wasn't trendy to begin with.....

A present from the past

2011-01-21T23:03:00.004-06:00

17. Family - past and present

My dear cousin found this sweet little photo and shared it with me yesterday.

I am this old.

2011-01-21T23:02:00.001-06:00

16. It is not always a curse to live in interesting times.

This was on in the waiting room, I understand.

Darkest before the dawn OR Quit whining, already....

2011-01-21T22:55:00.002-06:00

I had a rough day on Wednesday. It was hard to count good things during a countdown to a decade change. I worked hard. I got a bunch done, but so what...

And then I had to shut up, because:

13) I have work.
14) I have shelter and food.
15) I have health, and where I am imperfect I can regroup.

Fortunately, Thursday was better.

Taking and Marking a Holiday

2011-01-18T09:35:00.004-06:00

I'll cut to the chase. It was a Holiday. I took it. I marked it.

11. Watched a rerun of the six hour series King while I knit. I am just, just old enough to have been alive for the full, brief term of Kennedy's presidency. I have heard the stories of my aunt's bus ride to an interview during the grief-filled riots that burned down areas of Chicago when Martin Luther King was assassinated. But I was little, too little to know. I like to hear the stories, to watch the retellings, to see where we've been, to recognize where we still are, to see where we might go.

12. I stayed home. I wanted to go in to do some work. I didn't want to go in to do some work. Was kind of in a stay-in-pyjamas funk. BUT. I stayed home. Cat was pleased. In the end, I expect this was a good thing.

I packed up the blanket knitting for a little while. Cross training. Cotton knitting works the wrist a bit, it does. Will return to the navy sock.

At Home

2011-01-18T09:30:00.006-06:00

9. I am very much at home in my city. And I enjoy being a traveler at home.

I really like living in the Chicago area, for all its flaws.
It has complexity. It has down-to-earth and over-the-moon.

I grew up learning about neighborhoods through a lot of bus and el riding. I continue to work my way through all KINDS of neighborhoods. The city is on a grid and there are a few diagonals derived from old OLD stage coach and trading routes as well as more recent modes of travel. However, most places you go, you have to turn a corner somewhere. This allows for all kinds of interesting paths, if a body is inclined to seek them out. I typically do. For example, there's an excellent fabric resource near Little Village and Pilssen, where there are also excellent taquerias -- and more.

I drove to church Sunday and failed to get there. I was really late, and then I realized I NEEDED gas well before I WOULD get there. I jumped off the highway, found some place manageable, and found a new plan for the rest of my morning. Went instead in search of a Ukrainian bakery and deli I hadn't been to in awhile. Came away with a great loaf of still warm rye bread.

Spent the rest of my Sunday enjoying the comforts of home AT home.

10. Soup and tea and cat and blankets

With the amount of washing I currently need to do for the house of cat, cotton is just the thing. And as I shook my fist at my too-large quantity of yarn one weekend in summer, I am more than sure I have enough to make a cotton blanket. Worked for a bit on this while thinking about what I might want to knit next for more portable and wearable knitting.

While the cat watched me,

I watched the home team.

Next week also at home? Go Bears.

Time on Saturday

2011-01-18T00:29:00.005-06:00

I wasn't free for all of my Saturday, but I did get to treat myself to some good use of my time.

5. I had very wisely taken a few moments earlier in the week, while cooking some oatmeal, to assemble a weekend breakfast. call it what you will - Cheese strata, company eggs, breakfast casserole, savory bread pudding - it was ready to go, thrifty yet indulgent. Even though I had to go to a workish thing, I had time for a bit of weekend breakfast. Once in awhile, I get the domestic goddess timing right.

6. I'm starting to get the hang (again) of a simpler, decent looking professional "uniform". I can stand. Please note the uniform permits unfinte variety of socks and scarves. I dressed without drama and felt okay about how I was dressed for the afternoon thing. I am slowly managing to keep just enough ahead with laundry, and a very little bit of post holiday sale shopping increased the success rate odds.

7. With my large pocket of morning time saved with these two schemes, I took time to mop my bedroom floor. Moved furniture. Flipped mattress and springs. Changed bedding. Unpacked new white-sale pillows. Time WELL spent.

8. Left the afternoon event without staying later to do things and without bringing a slug of things home to do. I never really respect my personal time as I should. Gave myself permission to pick up a small bit of indulgent takeout, and knit that evening. Not too long, though. I went to bed early - an excellent use of my time.

(I type this, of course, to remind myself that I ought to take this kind of time for myelf more often. These are not remarkable things, and perhaps I could hit them a bit more often.)

This Thing About Counting

2011-01-18T00:02:00.004-06:00

Three days in. Last things first: unsurprisingly, I should never have given myself this kind of challenge. Not my bag, neither the track-keeping part of counting nor the other part, which is really the first thing, but I'm starting ... Well, you know.

So this counting thing is perhaps crazy making. Counting for activity, fine. I can sing the bottles of whatever songs. I will count like objects in a physical space if I am stuck there and bored. This lovely tendency was reinforced in early grade school when learning that there were significant numbers of objects in church: 12 of these, seven of those, etc., each corresponded to significant songs or groupings of names or sayings or prayers. You get the drift. So I counted instead of fidgeting. It wasn't to remember, though. For remembering numbers, I have to fidget. Rotary dial. Touch tone. I remember those. Bake something repeatedly, and I'll remember proportions. Retain measurements in my head? Only if I'm using them. Remembering a just-taken measurement only long enough to right them down? Three is my limit.

So I may bail on this aspect of the activity. It may just get me down

As for the first part - enjoying or doing or indulging or remarking or taking in a bunch of good things? I may not have enough Pollyanna left in me. We'll see. Stories may trump counted lists. If, of course, there are actual stories.

Will this count?

Fujiyamamama is right. I will need more chocolate.

Remarkable gifts - Tucson Tribute on NPR

2011-01-15T08:12:00.002-06:00

4. Woke up in time to hear NPR Weekend Edition's Scott Simon share a touching and remarkable tribute to the people of Tucson.

Will try to link it here later, if I can find it.

Remarkable gift, that Scott has.

Remarkable gifts in Tucson, those who are mourned, those who sacrificed or gave aid, those who continue to give, and the community that gathers itself in support.

10 Days, 50 Good Things (sorry, Martha, you'll have to share)

2011-01-14T22:02:00.009-06:00

So here's the thing: I got my first piece of AARP junk mail just before the New Year.
Responses are mixed: a choreographer friend said "Mazel Tov"; I recycled the junk mail.

This is the week I've dreaded and rehearsed for months. As it happens, it would typically be something I would try to ignore. I wasn't going to entirely hide from it, but I could easily have given it the cold shoulder. Then over dinner with my cousin and a friend a suggestion of a weekend trip to mark the occasion surfaced. While it was an entertaining thought, logistics and timing didn't line up, but we're going to do a nice theatre evening instead. Looking forward to that.

Then tonight I thought of something. I need to treat myself better. In fact, I could do a lot better at that.

I'm giving myself 10 days, wrapping both weekends into the package.
I'm challenging myself to 50 good things. Do them, enjoy them, something.

Tonight begins it. I'm giving myself a proper cozy "early night" Friday night.

1) A somewhat decent spinach pizza

2) A glass or two of Cabernet

3) Knitting time - enough to finish a gift scarf.

Day one begins. Three good things.
I might have a piece of chocolate, but I'll throw that in for free.

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends

2011-01-02T11:11:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year!

I enjoyed a quiet and relaxed holiday break. I steered clear of obsessing about making ten million things - no Santa's workshop for me this year! Didn't travel - until yesterday, that is - and completely by choice. Stayed away from the workplace for a few days here and a couple days there. Also kept myself away from working, giving myself time to rest and nest a bit. Shopped very little but effectively - a few gifts bought, wrapped, and mailed. Did a little rare wardrobe shopping for myself: walking boots, sale trousers and shirts to replace unwearables which leave home this week. I cleaned a little, mended a little, cooked a little, knit a little, read a little, and socialized a little.

This weekend proved a thoughtful one, notions swirling about beginnings, middles, and ends. I liked reading about mittenfarce's challenge to finish projects and to cast on a fresh start to the year. I read several references to cleaning the decks, the house, the slate. Couldn't find the steam to do the full clean sweep of any particular realm, though, not the home, not the project queue, not the office, the closet, or the slate. At the same time I found myself fascinated by the notion of "starting as you mean to end" - or perhaps to start as I mean to carry on.

The truth is I like all three places. I like the fresh energy of a start. I love the mess, focus, and process of the middle - even if that sometimes gets bogged down by despairing of progress. I'm silly enough to be amused by counting or measuring productive progress and distractable enough to keep from obsessing over the numbers. And like any properly inconsistent human, I love, hate, rejoice, sigh, celebrate, mourn, and mark endings of various stripes.

A good story, it is said, has a clear beginning, middle, and end, however it is packaged.

I confess, I'm not always a linear beginning, middle, and end person. And this is where I find myself at this turn of a year. I rather enjoy that there are so many stories underway. I have beginngs, middles, and ends to tend to. There will be more to come.

Done is good

2010-12-17T16:14:00.002-06:00

This got done.

Exams are done.

I'm wearing this without buttons. Done enough.

Oops

2010-12-15T20:16:00.001-06:00

Need a copy of Interweave Knits Fall 2010?

I find I've purchased two.

In the spirit of the previous post, one needs to go.

A Sure-Fire Antidote to the Shopping Impulse

2010-11-27T12:17:00.004-06:00

Help someone move and downsize. That will keep you out of the stores.

A few years ago we were grateful recipients of donations of sewing supplies from a community member who was downsizing. Recently she moved into an assisted living center. She's given us scads of things again.

I had a phone call for help today as her support team members worked to empty out the last loads which were moved into a garage. Since I didn't leave home AT ALL yesterday, I was glad I was up and showered and could head out.

So. I will tell you no tales. Our donor was not extreme. She just had a lot of stuff because, over the years, she DID a lot of stuff.

Still, it makes me ready to head back home to do some work with my stuff.

One day of knitting away from finishing the soft black wrap. That's yarn from the stash. I have gloves to get cracking on for my nephew. Have a sale skein of some solid sock yarn wound up. Did I mention that once I was done with some big projects I might knit again? Started this one for portable and easily repetitive knitting, an inexpensive gift for a recent grad.

Startitis, of a sort. Stashitis. Not shopping. I think I might be in the mood for holding Santa's Workshop again. Still, it will be on my terms. This holiday season I'm not shopping much and I'm not traveling much. I need my impulses to focus at home.

Time for some stuff-reduction.

JK

2010-11-22T16:47:00.005-06:00

WYSIG. OMG. JK.

What Yarn? Sale is Good.
Off My Giftlist.
Just Knitting.

Don't ask. I'm tired. Had to stay up way too late on Saturday, and Sunday and Monday are too, too full. Fortunately, I scored some knitting time during those full weekend days and will again tonight. If I can't go home, at least I can knit.

This yarn is Pemaquid - it's soy and alpaca and merino. Very soft. Will probably pill like mad. Colorway is Starry Night; despite the greyness of the photo, it's a nice soft black.

But it is yarn I tried to put into a sweater. That failed. I would like to use this yarn before it becomes a permanent stash resident. It was a pretty good sale.

It's not on my gift list. It's for me. I'm just knitting something to toss on when my office gets cold, like it does right now. Or to be one of those great big puffy swallow your head trendy eternity scarf things. Or to button. A Quickie Lacy Ribby Buttony Wrap Thingy.

It's just knitting. It's a repeatable stitch pattern - from f.pea's quickie cowl. The needles are size US 11.

Just knitting.

Good Golly, Miss Gaenor

2010-11-20T21:38:00.005-06:00

Thanks again to Ms. Picnicknits for her lovely and generous offer of a pattern for a Knittyboard KAL. I sort of fell off the face of the knitting planet for a bit there.

Yarn is a cotton and silk blend from Great Adirondacks Yarn Co. - Nassau - in a colorway called Cappuccino. Used most of one skein, just a bit left. This was merciful, as I worked past the middle and ripped it back twice, as it was clear I'd be running out of yarn. Third time was the charm. Used size US7 needles. Pattern is Gaenor.

Finished this tonight. Two ends woven in. Photos taken and loaded up.

PS. New male figure mannequin. Very exciting upgrade.

Reaching for Ends

2010-11-17T16:53:00.006-06:00

I went to California this summer for a conference. As is my new habit, I try to take a little time for some vacation time for myself. One day I journeyed out to Santa Monica.

People I don't know, the only photographable landscape moment, with a bonus lamppost.

I have pictures of lamposts in a variety of locations. I don't know the end purpose of those, but there will be one. Eventually.

Went in to see the art museum another day. Had a lovely little meal at one of the trendy little foodie trucks which parked that day at the art museum.

In addition to the lovely mini burger with local goat cheese and other tasties, I particularly enjoyed that their dining counters were repurposed ironing boards.

It was on the bus back, at the end of my outing, that I noticed something as I was knitting. Naturally when you are knitting...,

...you notice other textiles. I saw a young woman wearing, as a shawl, what was absolutely without any doubt a lovely piece of lace that had its first life as a bureau scarf. A table runner.

Decided I HAD to photograph but decided to be coy in the way of some knitters, and pretend I'm photographing my knitting.

The sock was a helpful tool in my photographic pretense.I had to try to catch the lace trim on the petticoats and the longer lace trimmed pantelets.

It's good to know a household dainty does not have to end its life because household decor tastes change. Here's another shot wherein I simply hide behind the young man who took up the set in front of me. There are proper terms for this "was-trendy-in-Japan" fashion style which blends Victoriana and baby doll into a style for young women. The name escapes me, but the extended life of lace objects I applaud.

In other news, I have almost reached the end of my part of the tenure and promotion application process.
I wrote the 25 page portfolio.
I assembled the binder chock full of support evidence.
I met with the tenure board.
I have one more closing meeting with the Academic Dean.
Other steps will occur without needing my attention or input, so the rest will be out of my hands. I'll have to wait for the end. One way or another, there's an end to that mountain of work and stress.

Where one thing ends, another begins. Tonight, I will have sociable dinner with friends, and I will go home and knit. I might reach the end of the Gaenor shawlette I began in summer. I'd like to see that project reach a successful end, too.

Phew.

2010-11-04T22:07:00.003-05:00

I finished my homework yesterday. Work portfolio.

Big stuff, Maynard.

Phew.

I slept for 12 hours last night. Too many almost-allnighters lately.

I now get to do all the two hundred and eleventy-five things I've pushed to the back burner.

What a relief. Tackled a bunch of things today with gusto, I was so relieved to be doing anything BUT what I'd been doing.

I may now get to knit. I made the hair appointment.

I may even stop writing inane un-posts. (Who's kidding whom?)

Seriously. I may even have a glass of wine this weekend. AND KNIT KNIT KNIT!

Phew.
===========
Cryptic note to Julia: New email? Old? Guess I ought to try it out. Lovely article in the late spring newspaper, though I only just read it now. Thinking of you both in Idaho!

Promises, Promises

2010-10-26T18:43:00.002-05:00

I'm swamped. I'm not knitting.

I promise myself to be able to knit in November.

I'm not rescheduling my haircut, the one I had to cancel, until November. I should make the new appointment, I suppose, so as to give myself the promise of a haircut.

I'm that swamped.

I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I promise.

No drama. Except for the theatre parts.

Meanwhile this summer

2010-10-04T20:13:00.004-05:00

Second sock. Bus in Los Angeles.

I took a series of photos which require story telling. Another day.

After all, the world might implode if I get three postings in on one day.

Spring is neither February nor July

2010-10-04T19:49:00.005-05:00

Thanks for the kind words about the scarf glimpse I posted the other day.

I am a bit over tired.

Turns out I didn't knit this in the spring at all, as I guessed in making my last post.

Turns out I did actually finish knitting in the winter, and the blocking happened in the summer, with shipping just into fall.

No spring about it.

==========
The yarn is Ancient Threads Tri - dyed with natural dyes, which in this case is a logwood purple. Mostly soft brown, taupe colors, hinting toward purple.

The pattern is Luscious Lace Scarf. While available on Ravelry, I thought it might be appropriate to direct you to the pattern creator's blog.

Please disregard the green tint across the photos. Or better yet, witness the magic of color theory as displayed by phone photos and shadows on a rainy day. At least, I think it was cloudy.

Who knows. I also thought it was spring.

Last Spring's Knitting

2010-10-01T14:11:00.002-05:00

(Interesting greenish band. Must have been something about the phone camera and the shadow of the windowsill.... The original does not have the greenish swath.)

Wanted: Elves for third shift

2010-09-15T09:22:00.002-05:00

Following the shoemaker's successful recommendation, will knit hats and other smart knitwear in exchange for help.

===========

Meanwhile, no knitting for the last two and a half weeks. Blech.

Taking Elizabeth's sage comment about walking lifestyle to heart, though. Have been walking most mornings.

Something, anyway. But boy oh boy could I use some elves. Or a good doppelgänger.

Driving by

2010-08-25T17:35:00.004-05:00

Hi.

Been knitting.

Been walking. Been taking trains and buses and airplanes.

Been doing some cooking of healthy things.

Been losing weight slowly.

Been going to museums and libraries.

Been doing family things, like nephew visits with auntie jpknits and cousin wedding-related events.

Been to the doctor, so will be continuing to walk and to cook healthy foods.

So that would be enough for a drive-by blog post.

Bought a car yesterday. A new car.
Feel a little guilty but not remorseful (as in buyer's remorse).
So I won't be taking the trains home late tonight. I'll be driving.

Going for a walk now, so I keep that in my day and keep up the progress on the measures-for-better-health front.

Way, way, way behind on my summer to summer tally

2010-07-16T13:24:00.006-05:00

I post late, but the count is valid. Memorial Day to Memorial Day, pics linked as available:

Hats, 9 of them
Socks, one pair
Cardigan,one
Mittens, 2 pair
Neckwarmers, one and an ambiguous scarf/neckwarmer
Two shawls, if small
Scarves, 6 of them for gifts

And of course:
Dishcloths, 2

Kept one hat and the scarf/neckwarmer, as the yarn was a gift.
All the rest were gifts and, as such, moved on.
This is not bad.
In fact, this being the case, I'd almost wish the list were longer.

Gone fishing. Walking. Camping.

2010-07-10T14:19:00.004-05:00

Two months? Really? I guess I really have been focusing.

The first month was just survival: head down, move forward. The second month included work on two massive projects for work, trying to maintain healthy schedules, getting in some family time, cleaning - and a whole lot more sleep, more walking, and even some actual cooking at home. This was part of the plan.

I liked June. July promises to be more of the same. I can deal with that.

Going to knitting camp, the alternate, plain old camping knitting camp.
I thought I'd make marshmallows for s'mores, but it may be too hot and humid for that.

Plan B, then. I'm not going to fret. That's not on my July plan.

Done and Done!

2010-05-06T10:43:00.004-05:00

This was a good time to be knitting only one thing.

It was good to focus on the sock made to specs, a sock without a particular pattern. I learned I needed to write things down.

I've learned I can take photos on the phone on the train and post them - though not yet directly to the blog. That'll be next.

I'm sure I learned other things, but for right now I'll just be done.

Threes aren't always charming

2010-05-04T18:57:00.003-05:00

Honestly I will have knit three socks in the end.

Twice round on the heel flap. Got to the turning and realized I'd done a slip knit slip across the flap, whereas the first was knit slip knit. Heel turning didn't look the same. I knew it was subtle and I knew it was under the heel. Still I ripped back.

Got through the second gusset and realized it was short. The heel flap was short, I'd picked up fewer stitches. It was more prononced than the aforementioned sins of the heel. Ripped back.

Almost done with the gusset. I hope to see my way cleanly through to the end. The intended wearer has a smaller foot than I, so that should go quickly. And I have already done the third major do and redo, way back at the multiple starts on the first sock.

My, but it's a good thing I am trying to focus on just one thing. I'd have a lot more trouble if I were juggling multiple knitting at the moment.

Sheesh.

Two Words

2010-04-29T17:29:00.001-05:00

Heel Flap.

Grinning and Bearing, not grinning and baring

2010-04-27T10:58:00.003-05:00

Thanks for the patience and the boost yesterday. Truly had at least a bit of intention to find some laugh in the morning, but it probably looked more like I was baring my teeth, growling like the bear I was pretty close to becoming.

Truth is days don't come apart just because ends come loose. People came together to get things done, I survived a student really melting down and turning somewhat feral. I got smacked down at a meeting and took it with grace, because it wasn't really about me. And when I missed the last train last night I was in such an improved spot that I decided I could roll with it. I got some things done in my office, have lovely clean spots in some of the tackier zones in there, and went home with the birds and the dawn's early train.

I'm happy to report that I made a proper omelette for my homecoming, seeing as I never quite have that time in most mornings. Washed a half week's worth of dishes, and tried to squeeze in a catnap. There's the silly that not enough sleep sets up. Woke up and knew I'd be late for my grade school gig. I volunteer but I really had this schedule worked out to avoid this kind of disappointment. Scurried to the train, called from the platform, and was advised to go home and sleep. Since the rest of the day won't permit it, I took the train the other way to work. Watch the silly turn smart.

I am still not expected at work, but I have completed the dicier part of any commute. I strolled into the nearby yarn shop for a needle replacement. Size was odd. So that will wait another errand, but I picked up a skein of yarn to taste when I'm done with the sock knitting. Stopped into posh sandwich shop and am having lunch At A Table. Definitely enjoying the escape. And so, So SO glad I got a grip yesterday.

After all, none of this is the stuff of drama. It's a lot easier to ease back in when you grin and bear it.

************

....do I lose points for sappiness and dorkery if I point out that just as I finished typing, Michael Buble started singing "No People Like Show People," right at the smile part....?

This Day Needs Frogging

2010-04-26T10:32:00.005-05:00

Honestly. In the space of less than two hours ...

I have three usual transit options. They come in rapid fire succession compared to the times they get me to me destination. Still, it's usually a nice set of backup plans- miss the early one that gets me there plenty early, and I still have two more options that get me there later but still on time. Guess who missed what.

Mind you, I left pulled together, breakfasted, coffee from home, a host of props I was supposed to cart in today.

I've spilled coffee while standing at a park bench, checking to see how empty the cup was since I now had time to warrant a coffee shop refill and a little outlet mooching. Need I mention white socks, tan pants? Windblown, carrying enough stuff to outfit a thriftshop window.... I tried to play remote office in an effort to regroup and have found twenty-eleven things that are today's problems.

I passed a shop window, and instead of seeing a woman who could manage to look like A Professional, the woman looking back at mesas the Wreck of the Hesperus.

If you see a whacko with a picnic basket today, it's me. Don't poke the crazy.

Turns out I could post on the train.

2010-04-21T18:26:00.003-05:00

Except that I can't post pictures.

Progress on the sock. Pics on Rav. Have taken to taking them on the phone while on the el - at times when there's not a crowd, of course.

I am more than half done with the second leg.

I can see the heel from here.

Someone on the train or the bus will see it soon enough.

Pictures aren't everything.

2010-03-05T12:37:00.006-06:00

Here's the complex look of a SWATCH in a very busy colorway.

Here's the point where I describe the picture that wasn't taken of the cuff I frogged:

Pink column next to a mustard column next to a navy column....

You get the picture.

I stayed up late obsessing. Frogged, switched needles, and am now getting a spiral stripe.

Picture of me tired, and too stupid to have gone to bed when I've had a cold this week? Not worth the bandwidth on which it would be posted.

Happy to be Wrong

2010-02-26T13:07:00.002-06:00

Finished dimensions 8" X 68"
One skein Interlacements Tiny Toes
Needles US 11
Pattern: One Row Lace Scarf

If It Looks Like A Duck

2010-02-19T12:29:00.002-06:00

It looked too small. It knit really fast. I no sooner took this poor picture than I'd finished.

It is too small.
Short scarf. Too short.

You know the moral: If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well .. it's clearly a duck wearing a really short scarf.

Man, did I want that off my to-do list. I'm not sure it will do.

But hey, it's knitting.

Seasons

2010-02-15T12:18:00.003-06:00

This has been a snowy winter season, no question.
I've been absent here for a bit, but I've been taking care.
Took note of a rarity: the neglect of an asparagus fern yielded some fruit.

There have been a few more, interestingly enough.

Took care to focus on some simple things over the holiday season.

There was loss this winter - in my community at work and in my family. January involved a lot of work with my cousin as she packed up her mother's place. Also worked with my colleague's friends as they packed up her belongings. We helped dispatch a bunch of stuff (library donations and other things) in one day. It's been interesting for me to note how my family's processes have been very healing, sad to observe that the circle of close friends who mourn the loss of my colleague were still in a very raw state. Very difficult.

As for me, I've been trying to deal with some things simply. Just trying to get things done, things put away. I have added things from my aunt's home into mine, so I'm trying to move OUT some things at the same time. My work zone has been the recipient of a lot of donation.

Very little knitting. A neck warmer not worth a photo session, some mittens,

a gift that's in stealth mode still, and a no-thinking scarf underway.

Today there's more snow in the forecast. But it's just a little.
It's winter, and it will pass.

Three hats, two photos, one year nearly over

2009-12-17T19:27:00.002-06:00

Finished the last two of the hats for my actors. Had a lot of Thanksgiving weekend hospital time to knit. One zipped away pre-photo.

Traveled for a family funeral and decided not to risk trying to finish that one on the plane (inox coated metal needles), so took this wool along. It was enough for a hat on nice pencilly bamboo needles.

Fall of 2009 has been hard work. Hasn't been well-suited to living aloud online. The year is nearly over. There are sunny mornings ahead.

AFK

2009-11-28T13:25:00.000-06:00

Back in awhile.

Two more hats to go

2009-11-25T12:48:00.002-06:00

I don't know when it was that I moved from figuring out that I would be the only one making these seven hats to the place where I decided I WOULD be the one to knit seven hats.

The stuff of stubbornness.

In memory of a good friend and colleague

2009-11-17T15:59:00.001-06:00

Remember
by Christina Rosetti

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Because they shaved their heads

2009-11-11T19:25:00.001-06:00

I'm making 7 camo hats.
Missed a photo of the 1st.
Took a photo of the next two.
These colors aren't perfectly true, as I had the desk lamp on in a fluorescent light filled room. Blech.

Keeping up

2009-11-02T17:17:00.002-06:00

Things I can't keep up drift away. Things I won't keep up are sometimes lifestyle and sometimes casualties. Things I should keep up? Oy.

Mostly, I'm not keeping up.

Keeping up appearances --
I don't, much. Could improve, but the reasons would not be for sake of appearance.

Keeping up with work demands --
Sometimes I wonder who does, really. You get some things done, and you make progress on others. I got a couple things done today. That list should be longer.

Keeping up the home --
Yurgh. In one weekend, a weekend in which I was at work twice, I managed three loads of laundry, some desk and table clutter clearing, and a little food-prep for a week of packing along all my meals to work. Gah. Bah.

Keeping up with the Joneses --
More distant than the appearance issue, mostly.

Keep your chin up --
Trying to support others who are trying, trying to model the tactic myself.
Having a hard time.

I'm certainly not keeping up with the blogging. I manage only to peer at blogs and knitty and ravelry. I'm knitting a second of the pile of hats I really wanted to crank out.

And I'm not ready for my evening of work. I'm going to do that now. I just wanted to feel like I could use a few minutes of the week to keep up something purely for myself.

Someone else would probably opt for the pedicure.

Koi-nomah; or, Babbling about an Orange Scarf

2009-10-27T00:13:00.005-05:00

Koi-nomah
Goofy name, but the name of the pattern (Multnomah) was a story that wasn't mine....

...and the yarn (Alchemy Bamboo, YES on clearance sale) colorway was named Kai's Goldfish ....

...and I kept wanting to call it Koi, not Kai, since, you know, well, goldfish and all...

...and you know, since I am clearly on a feather and fan knitting jag, this yarn looked appropriately very fish scaley in that pattern....

...so I give you Koi-nomah, but really, I just think of it as Julia's orange scarf...

because Julia hurt her foot, Julia likes orange, and I just thought she ought to have it.

Camera Stops on a Grey Day

2009-10-23T22:50:00.005-05:00

Thank you for the kind comments about the Buenos Aires sweater.

I think it will be okay. I think it will be wearable. I worried my mother may have thought it a bit short, but she was pleased the jacket sleeves aren't too big and baggy - she'd seen some of my early work, wherein I despaired of that very thing.

The afternoon was too far gone when I tried these pictures. Turned lights on and off, changed exposure on the camera, light quality, etc.

The first pictures are closest in color. Some of the rest look like I've had a bad day photoshopping. Seriously, though. Only added and subtracted camera bits and wall switches. Bah.

Yarn: Manos del Uraguay in Starry Night and in Coffee. The pattern, Buenos Aires, is from a Manos pattern booklet.

Size large, the cropped variation. Used most of seven skeins in Starry Night and into the third on the coffee.

F. O.

2009-10-15T17:43:00.003-05:00

I'm working on a project that lands a lot of F bombs.

Thought I'd use the other one.

Finished Object, or at least a Photo finish.

Details tomorrow.

Two Starts and a Finish

2009-10-11T15:58:00.008-05:00

Gift neckkerchief in Alchemy Bamboo (sale) in Koi, a perfect name match. Don't know if the pattern used will be Mara or Multnomah, but I've started with Multnomah:

Diagonal Rib Sock from IWK Favorite Socks book in CTH Supersock Solid:

Finished: Checkerboard Lace scarf (pattern from Purl Soho) in Farmhouse Yarns Bonnie's Bamboo; color is Indigo

Sewing and Other Things

2009-09-25T13:54:00.003-05:00

So many things going on just now, all mostly centered on work. Colleague illness has meant organizing all kinds of team approaches in taking care of the work load here, while the colleague's cancer team centers attention on the personal needs. (I know that's all vague. Don't want the specificity of someone else's private concerns placed here.)

Can't knit. I think I managed a few rows of a sock and then made a wreck of the same few rows.

Sewing is a huge part of my load right now as well. I have to get back to that. I WILL tackle and learn the blind hem feature on the new machine today. The hems of more than a dozen voluminous skirts make that a very appealing prospect.

Be well.

This is not what is meant by "costume parade".

2009-08-25T17:14:00.008-05:00

As a break from knitting scarves, I knit a hasty shawl for a costume project.

It's not much to speak of: durable acrylic donated to the shop, most of one super saver skein on US13 needles, with basic recipe prompts from the Fan and Feather Triangle Shawl pattern in Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. Really kind of a shawlette, this project of a long weekend is only a nod to the fanciness and fine knitting in Ms. Oberle's original.

I don't know that I'll ask the cat for an opinion, but I'm sure it will pass muster as a costume.

Isn't she done with scarves yet?

2009-08-06T18:34:00.004-05:00

Nope.

This is the last scarf. Found I did take a picture that looked like the yarn on the Old Shale Soxie Scarf.

This is the next gift scarf. Started it between dining moments at knitting camp.
Bonnie's Bamboo from Farmhouse Yarns. Purl Soho's Checkerboard Lace scarf pattern.

This is the most recently finished gift scarf.
Misti Alpaca Pima Silk handpaint.

Mason-Dixon gals posted a lacey rib scarf recipe of four rows. I'll link when I can get back to the blog, although it is Raveled.

Nope. Not done. Packing little lacy quicky scarf knitting for my week of travel. Including the bamboo above, that's one, two, three more.

Old Shale Soxie Scarf

2009-07-27T12:57:00.001-05:00

Another graduation scarf:

Yarn: Soxie from Great Adirondack in Nantucket
Needles: 8
Pattern stitch - Anna Bell's Old Shale Baby Blanket
42 stitches - a couple garter along the sides
Knit until there was not much yarn left.

Dark, shiny yarn

2009-07-15T18:23:00.002-05:00

Can't decide which photo captures the yarn better, as neither captures the whole quite well. One catches the highlights, thanks to the shiny quality of the silk. The other catches the dark, saturated tones in the yarn.

Either way, this was fancypants yarn - Handmaiden Silk Rumple.
It's a gift. The pattern was the recipe for the Bias Shawl distributed by the Handmaiden folk. I made it a little skinnier - 41 stitches.

Pretty. Just the right colors for the recipient.

Check lists

2009-07-14T16:10:00.002-05:00

Annual knitting tally done? CHECK!

Long absence from blog? Yep!

Road trip to see friends & family? Three thousand miles of done!

A week of vacation time with nephew? CHECK!

Successful week with said 13 year old? PHEW! and CHECK!

Read, one frivolous summer novel? Harrypotter#4becauseIamthatbehindCHECK!

Work on old WIP? CHECKcheckcheckcheckCHECK!
(Pictures on that as soon as I've stitched up the seams and found buttons.)

Old picture in the can? Found picture of long-ago finished socks?

CHECK!
Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Nantucket Red.
Pattern is Kristen Kapur's October Mystery sock.
I finished them in December, for the record, but I misplaced that memory card.

Summer to Summer Knitting Count, June 2009

2009-06-05T15:04:00.009-05:00

Summer to Summer Knitting Count

Four pairs of socks
* Aunt Blue Socks
* Mystery Socks
* Spring Striped Socks
* Pomatomus

Two afghans
* One baby blanket
* Grandmother's afghan ( a crocheting project)

Seven scarves of varying sizes and shapes
* Juno Regina, scarf size
* crest of the wave scarf
* Clapotis
* Montego Bay Scarf
* Bak tus
* Wisp
* Karius

Two types of fingerless gloves
* Fingerless Gloves
* Broadstreet Mittens

One sweater
* Greenjeans

Five hats, with / without extensions
* Turn a Square hats, 2
* Little cousin balaclavas, 2
* Thorpe

Four tubes, leg warmers and neckwarmers
* Neckwarmers, 2: another Dolores Park and 1Morningside
* Simple leg warmers

One bag
* Hemp Market Bag

One creature
* Norbert the Somewhat Inaccurate Dinosaur

Four dishcloths as gifts

(I haven't finished linking back to each of the projects, but I may just carry on later.)

Half a year in, and this is the first pair of socks ?!?

2009-06-05T14:57:00.002-05:00

Done. Socks for a second aunt who very gracefully asked if I might have time Some Time to knit her a pair of socks.

Not a problem.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi - Blue Jeans
Size 2