I, like many people, have been following the news about Haiti. Even without television, the scenes described are horrific and incredibly sad. They are brought slightly closer to home because two students from my college were there when the earthquake hit and I actually know one of them. They're safely on their way home to the US, thankfully. Another friend, a man who works at my college and is a member of our parish, grew up in Haiti and he shared with us after church today that a large portion of his family on his Mom's side are missing with no word. One aunt owned a restaurant across from the national palace which is completely flattened.
I can't even begin to think about how this would feel if it were my family, or how we would survive if it happened here. My main reaction, though, is feeling somewhat appalled at all I take for granted. I just went to the grocery store and had a brief moment of feeling virtuous about all of the fresh vegetables in my cart -- until I thought again about Haiti and how people there would welcome water and the most basic of foodstuffs, while I have an unending array of choices and the ability to pay for what I need and even some things I just want, but don't really need.
Reading the Episcopal Cafe website a few days ago, I came across a link to an article about financial fasting. The idea keeps nagging at me. Even though Don and I are really quite frugal overall, I'm sure it would be a good discipline. Check it out:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123103495.html I'm thinking about doing it during Lent, though I'll admit the thought crossed my mind that I have to take care it doesn't keep me from going to Spa, Knit, & Spin. Guess I'll have to decide how much this means to me. Maybe I'll fit it around the event, but give myself a strict budget to stick to -- which I know won't be easy.
ON MY NEEDLES
Finishing up the sweater Zeben started over break. He got the body and sleeves done up to the point where everything joins for the yoke. The yoke involves short rows, which he wouldn't have taken the time to figure out on his own, so I'll gladly finish it and send it to him. Then, I think I'll make one for his brother.
Slouchy Cardi is still at the point where I have to do the sleeve caps. Stalled.
Not on my needles, but related to my knitting, is a step toward organizing my yarn and projects. Zeben has gone back to college and already has a job lined up on campus so won't be coming home again for a while -- probably not until next Christmas break. So, I'm taking over that room. My desk is moved up there to make room in the living room. And, I'm in the process of moving all that is yarn/knitting related to one place. I plan to finally find out just what I have, and figure out what I can do without. I'm really looking forward to my version of "The Airing of the Stash" as well as some culling. Plus, I plan to try to move some of my UFOs into the finished object category.
Now to get to the rest of the house. We just have too much -- much more than we need, or even want anymore. We'll recycle as much as we can by donating to local organizations or saving things for the church yard sale. Just one tiny way to reallocate the riches of this world.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Off and Running (Again)
The college where I work has a 4-week "Jan Plan" term between semesters. It was an experience I really liked as a student, and as an employee I also really like the educational value and opportunity of having Jan Plan. However, it does mean that our students return to campus on January 4, giving staff very little time to recover from the first semester and plan ahead for the second. We have to be ready to be back on our game the first work day of the year. And, as usual, I'm always shocked at how quickly the month goes -- we are already a quarter of the way through the term today! Time just goes much too quickly.
But, the fun thing about this past week is the enthusiasm of the students for our new career planning program. I led a self-assessment workshop Friday afternoon with a fun, engaged, smart group of young people. It is always a pleasure to present activities and information and not only watch the students soak it up, but to also have them reflect back to me and teach me new ways of looking at things. I guess this is what has kept me doing this job for almost 23 years!
On the home front, one of my sons had his wisdom teeth (all 4) removed on Monday, so I've been trying to be a good nurse when I've been home. The other son is at a leadership conference for his fraternity. We've taken down the Christmas decorations, though the lights are still up on the apple tree and lit up every night. I'd like to keep the tree up longer - we didn't quite make it to Epiphany - but we hate it when we miss the tree pick-up on our street and have it sitting sad and naked on our lawn for weeks, so we took it down on Monday. Everything that wasn't on the tree has been migrating to a table in the dining room. If I don't spread the un-decorating out over a week or so, I always miss something. This way I'll be able to put everything away in the right box pretty easily.
I spent and unexpected but fun afternoon/evening at my parents' house yesterday. My brother, his wife, and three children all came to visit from out of state. We were only short one sister and her husband, my husband, and one of my sons from having the whole family together. We capped the evening with a rollicking game of spoons -- always good for at least one moment that makes you laugh until tears come to your eyes and your stomach hurts.
I was sitting to the side, working on getting the binding on my son's quilt. My neice, who is in 5th grade and learning to sew, asked me how long it has taken me to make it and I realized that I started it almost exactly one year ago. Last Jan Plan, a group of people (women) at the college took the Quilting Club advisor up on the offer of doing it as a "class." We used the club room a couple of lunch hours a week. Zeben had asked me for a blue and white quilt, so that offered me the chance to actually do one. And now it will be completed later today!
And on to new projects :)
ON MY NEEDLES
I got the sleeves done for the slouchy cardi, but think I'm going to rip them back to where I started the decreases for the cap and make it a little wider. I'd rather do it now than after I've blocked and sewn it together.
I finished the Cité neckwarmer in denim blue Malabrigo sock yarn for my mother - I should have taken a photo - sorry! But I loved the yarn so much, I stopped over to Purl Diva in Brunswick to pick up two more skeins -- in a teal blue combination and a purple/maroon blend. Some of these neckwarmers will make great Christmas presents next year and will be enjoyable little projects to work on.
I started the Tibetan Clouds beaded stole in a beautiful color of Smooshy (Dream in Color is the brand), but it just isn't doing it for me. It just isn't lustrous enough. I'll have to keep looking for something lovely and affordable. With any luck I'll find something that matches my beads.
But, the fun thing about this past week is the enthusiasm of the students for our new career planning program. I led a self-assessment workshop Friday afternoon with a fun, engaged, smart group of young people. It is always a pleasure to present activities and information and not only watch the students soak it up, but to also have them reflect back to me and teach me new ways of looking at things. I guess this is what has kept me doing this job for almost 23 years!
On the home front, one of my sons had his wisdom teeth (all 4) removed on Monday, so I've been trying to be a good nurse when I've been home. The other son is at a leadership conference for his fraternity. We've taken down the Christmas decorations, though the lights are still up on the apple tree and lit up every night. I'd like to keep the tree up longer - we didn't quite make it to Epiphany - but we hate it when we miss the tree pick-up on our street and have it sitting sad and naked on our lawn for weeks, so we took it down on Monday. Everything that wasn't on the tree has been migrating to a table in the dining room. If I don't spread the un-decorating out over a week or so, I always miss something. This way I'll be able to put everything away in the right box pretty easily.
I spent and unexpected but fun afternoon/evening at my parents' house yesterday. My brother, his wife, and three children all came to visit from out of state. We were only short one sister and her husband, my husband, and one of my sons from having the whole family together. We capped the evening with a rollicking game of spoons -- always good for at least one moment that makes you laugh until tears come to your eyes and your stomach hurts.
I was sitting to the side, working on getting the binding on my son's quilt. My neice, who is in 5th grade and learning to sew, asked me how long it has taken me to make it and I realized that I started it almost exactly one year ago. Last Jan Plan, a group of people (women) at the college took the Quilting Club advisor up on the offer of doing it as a "class." We used the club room a couple of lunch hours a week. Zeben had asked me for a blue and white quilt, so that offered me the chance to actually do one. And now it will be completed later today!
And on to new projects :)
ON MY NEEDLES
I got the sleeves done for the slouchy cardi, but think I'm going to rip them back to where I started the decreases for the cap and make it a little wider. I'd rather do it now than after I've blocked and sewn it together.
I finished the Cité neckwarmer in denim blue Malabrigo sock yarn for my mother - I should have taken a photo - sorry! But I loved the yarn so much, I stopped over to Purl Diva in Brunswick to pick up two more skeins -- in a teal blue combination and a purple/maroon blend. Some of these neckwarmers will make great Christmas presents next year and will be enjoyable little projects to work on.
I started the Tibetan Clouds beaded stole in a beautiful color of Smooshy (Dream in Color is the brand), but it just isn't doing it for me. It just isn't lustrous enough. I'll have to keep looking for something lovely and affordable. With any luck I'll find something that matches my beads.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Resolution Steps
I just took one step on that financial goal and created a budget worksheet for my sons to use as they explore off-campus living options. It wouldn't be a bad idea for me to fill it out for myself!
And, on the house organization, we're looking for a piece of furniture to replace the table in our fireplace room. Just getting the stereo system (yes, we're behind the curve on technology, but as avid radio listeners, our old Sony system is still central to our lives) and all my knitting paraphernalia out of sight will make that room ever so much less messy. Does this look messy to you?
ON MY NEEDLES
To make it easier for me to blog more regularly, I'm going to only talk about one or two projects instead of trying to catalogue the whole backlog.
I made progress yesterday on my Slouchy Cardi while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" with Zeben. I'm one inch away from tackling the problematical sleeve cap shaping. I've got Ellen's notes (Purl Diva) and will review the Ravelry notes before diving in.
Zeben has also been making very good progress on his Cobblestone pullover. He may just make his goal of completing it before going back to college in two weeks!
And, on the house organization, we're looking for a piece of furniture to replace the table in our fireplace room. Just getting the stereo system (yes, we're behind the curve on technology, but as avid radio listeners, our old Sony system is still central to our lives) and all my knitting paraphernalia out of sight will make that room ever so much less messy. Does this look messy to you?
ON MY NEEDLES
To make it easier for me to blog more regularly, I'm going to only talk about one or two projects instead of trying to catalogue the whole backlog.
I made progress yesterday on my Slouchy Cardi while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" with Zeben. I'm one inch away from tackling the problematical sleeve cap shaping. I've got Ellen's notes (Purl Diva) and will review the Ravelry notes before diving in.
Zeben has also been making very good progress on his Cobblestone pullover. He may just make his goal of completing it before going back to college in two weeks!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Resolutions
Ah, the time of review and thinking about how to improve on...everything! My list of resolutions is always too long and daunting, and this year's is no different. Then I read Heloise's column in the paper this morning and she talked about setting goals instead of resolutions. Goals can be a bit broader and give you some leeway in your accomplishments, to my way of thinking. So, I'm setting goals instead of resolutions.
Knitting Goal: Work on those UFO's (unfinished objects for non-knitters). While I did request and receive yarn for Christmas (including a surprise gift of Sundara silk lace weight that thrilled me down to my toes!), my focus this year will be on finishing projects instead of starting new ones and using yarn I already own for anything new I do start.
Health Goal: Reduce anxiety. Or, at least manage it better - maybe with exercise? yoga on a regular basis?
Financial Goal: Maintain my financial sanity in the face of at least one son living off-campus next fall. Don't exactly know how this will play out, but will try not to be anxious about it (see above).
House Goal: Make real strides on reducing the "stuff" we have. More about that later, but it will involve a combination of getting rid of things and finding better ways to store what we keep.
Other Goals: Make quilts for Nate and my mother. Blog at least once a week (noting that my last blog entry was a year ago!). Make more effort to have a social life instead of hibernating when not at work or with family.
That seems like enough!
Overall, I find myself relieved to have 2009 in the past, though I hadn't been thinking that much about how true that would be. The last decade has had some significant rough spots in it for me and my family and I can see how it has all worn me down in some ways. Starting a new decade seems like an opportunity to start with a clean slate and I hope I can take advantage of that in some positive ways. And, how appropriate is it to have a blanket of fresh snow to make the world look tidy and clean.
ON/RECENTLY OFF MY NEEDLES:
I'm working on a Slouchy Cardi (from Knit Cafe) in Knit Picks Merino Style in Storm (a teal blue). The yarn was my birthday present, so I'm forcing myself to finish this before starting my Christmas yarn sweater. I've got the fronts and back done, am halfway up the sleeves (knitting both at once as there are some pattern issues and this will allow me to make them the same as I adjust the pattern), and then will have a hood to make. I'll need to seam it together, but there are no buttons or bands to add on, so it will be a quick finish.
I picked up a skein of Malabrigo Sock yarn in a denim-blue kettle dyed color at Thanksgiving and used it to make a pair of fingerless mitts (Delicato - I got the pattern from Dye Dreams at Spa Knit and Spin last spring along with some of their yarn and my aunt admired while I was knitting them) for my Aunt Alice. I actually got two pair done before Christmas and still have some left, from which I hope to get two "Cité" neckwarmers - Ann Hanson's latest KnitSpot pattern.
Cascade sock yarn in a dusky blue ended up in a prayer shawl for my friend Elisabeth using another Ann Hanson pattern "Cluaranach," and a scarf for my friend Lizzie, "Tudor Grace," another KnitSpot pattern. Ann's blog is one I follow regularly too -- that woman is an incredibly productive designer and it is an inspiration to follow her progress.
On Christmas Day I cast on for a pair of fingerless mitts for Don in the Knitty "Dashing" pattern and then knit a hat to match from the "Hurricane Hat" pattern that was one of the holiday links on Purl Diva's page. I used purple tweed Galway yarn. On New Year's Eve I knit another hat in blue tweed for Zeben from the same pattern. Maybe I'll make him a pair of mitts sometime too. But the leftovers will also make good mittens for next year's Mitten Tree at church. After knitting with sock and lace weight yarn for so much of the past year, knitting something in worsted weight goes so fast!
And, Nate requested a pair of socks last summer and I found a self-patterning sock yarn in reds, orange, maroon, and brown and finished them two days ago. I basically knit them twice as the first time through they were too big. I was working on them a lot over Thanksgiving because I had his feet readily available to test them on. I finally got the sizing worked out and finished one of them while sitting at the repair shop the other day, getting new tires on the car.
So, the only projects really on my needles at the moment are the neckwarmer and the Slouchy. I need to cast on another neckwarmer to use up some mink and cashmere yarn I got before Christmas. I managed to knit a neckwarmer for my Mom in time for Christmas but think I can get another one out of the skein. This is yarn that comes from a small company in East Orleans, MA called Great Northern Yarns. They shear the mink once a year and blend it with cashmere for a lovely soft yarn. It wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be when I took it out of the package (though I was very impressed with the hand-written thank you note the owner included!), but when I soaked it and blocked it, it "bloomed" and was just luscious!
On to a new year and decade!
Knitting Goal: Work on those UFO's (unfinished objects for non-knitters). While I did request and receive yarn for Christmas (including a surprise gift of Sundara silk lace weight that thrilled me down to my toes!), my focus this year will be on finishing projects instead of starting new ones and using yarn I already own for anything new I do start.
Health Goal: Reduce anxiety. Or, at least manage it better - maybe with exercise? yoga on a regular basis?
Financial Goal: Maintain my financial sanity in the face of at least one son living off-campus next fall. Don't exactly know how this will play out, but will try not to be anxious about it (see above).
House Goal: Make real strides on reducing the "stuff" we have. More about that later, but it will involve a combination of getting rid of things and finding better ways to store what we keep.
Other Goals: Make quilts for Nate and my mother. Blog at least once a week (noting that my last blog entry was a year ago!). Make more effort to have a social life instead of hibernating when not at work or with family.
That seems like enough!
Overall, I find myself relieved to have 2009 in the past, though I hadn't been thinking that much about how true that would be. The last decade has had some significant rough spots in it for me and my family and I can see how it has all worn me down in some ways. Starting a new decade seems like an opportunity to start with a clean slate and I hope I can take advantage of that in some positive ways. And, how appropriate is it to have a blanket of fresh snow to make the world look tidy and clean.
ON/RECENTLY OFF MY NEEDLES:
I'm working on a Slouchy Cardi (from Knit Cafe) in Knit Picks Merino Style in Storm (a teal blue). The yarn was my birthday present, so I'm forcing myself to finish this before starting my Christmas yarn sweater. I've got the fronts and back done, am halfway up the sleeves (knitting both at once as there are some pattern issues and this will allow me to make them the same as I adjust the pattern), and then will have a hood to make. I'll need to seam it together, but there are no buttons or bands to add on, so it will be a quick finish.
I picked up a skein of Malabrigo Sock yarn in a denim-blue kettle dyed color at Thanksgiving and used it to make a pair of fingerless mitts (Delicato - I got the pattern from Dye Dreams at Spa Knit and Spin last spring along with some of their yarn and my aunt admired while I was knitting them) for my Aunt Alice. I actually got two pair done before Christmas and still have some left, from which I hope to get two "Cité" neckwarmers - Ann Hanson's latest KnitSpot pattern.
Cascade sock yarn in a dusky blue ended up in a prayer shawl for my friend Elisabeth using another Ann Hanson pattern "Cluaranach," and a scarf for my friend Lizzie, "Tudor Grace," another KnitSpot pattern. Ann's blog is one I follow regularly too -- that woman is an incredibly productive designer and it is an inspiration to follow her progress.
On Christmas Day I cast on for a pair of fingerless mitts for Don in the Knitty "Dashing" pattern and then knit a hat to match from the "Hurricane Hat" pattern that was one of the holiday links on Purl Diva's page. I used purple tweed Galway yarn. On New Year's Eve I knit another hat in blue tweed for Zeben from the same pattern. Maybe I'll make him a pair of mitts sometime too. But the leftovers will also make good mittens for next year's Mitten Tree at church. After knitting with sock and lace weight yarn for so much of the past year, knitting something in worsted weight goes so fast!
And, Nate requested a pair of socks last summer and I found a self-patterning sock yarn in reds, orange, maroon, and brown and finished them two days ago. I basically knit them twice as the first time through they were too big. I was working on them a lot over Thanksgiving because I had his feet readily available to test them on. I finally got the sizing worked out and finished one of them while sitting at the repair shop the other day, getting new tires on the car.
So, the only projects really on my needles at the moment are the neckwarmer and the Slouchy. I need to cast on another neckwarmer to use up some mink and cashmere yarn I got before Christmas. I managed to knit a neckwarmer for my Mom in time for Christmas but think I can get another one out of the skein. This is yarn that comes from a small company in East Orleans, MA called Great Northern Yarns. They shear the mink once a year and blend it with cashmere for a lovely soft yarn. It wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be when I took it out of the package (though I was very impressed with the hand-written thank you note the owner included!), but when I soaked it and blocked it, it "bloomed" and was just luscious!
On to a new year and decade!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
On the Subject of Resolutions
I've just come from reading my sister's blog where she outlined her New Year's Resolutions and came up with a nifty theme for the year: "Walk, then Run to 41." Guess who turned 40 last year?
I've tossed around the idea of resolutions this year and have not come up with a laundry list. Mostly I just haven't had any down time yet this year to think about it. I worked over the break between Christmas and New Years -- typically a ho-hum quiet time in the office when one can take a lot of time off or lazily attack the professional reading pile on one's desk, with a snooze or two when it gets boring. This year, however, we're launching a big program I've been working on since last June and the three days the office were open during the holiday week were frantic and it hasn't slowed down any since. Anyway, more about that in another blog entry.
Pretty much my resolutions have come down to two. First, I'm going to keep better track of my knitting, quilting, etc. projects by using my Moleskine to record every project I start and go back and add the date when I finish, along with other details such as the brand of yarn I used. As you'll see below, I've already cast on three projects since Christmas and am actually making good progress.
My second resolution comes from reading my other sister's copy of "You on a Diet." I'm just not able to jump whole hog into the diet thing at the moment, but I am making every effort to follow one piece of advice from the book: walk 30 minutes every day -- no excuses! I'm trying to walk three days a week during my lunch hour (I'm taking a mini-course during our January term on quilting -- more on that later) and on the days I can't go at lunch, I'm meeting my husband at the high school and walking on the treadmill in the fitness center that is his third home (after our home and his classroom respectively). The AD asked me if using the fitness center was my NYRes and I laughed and said it was Don's resolution that I would use it! Oh, and this part got a laugh out of my son, Nate -- I bought a mini-tramp to "walk" or "jog" on when I couldn't do either of my usual walking opportunities.
So far, so good. I like the treadmill as it has a programmed 30 minute walk that builds in some faster portions and 5 "hills" during the walk. I've progressed to level 3. And, it gives me a chance to listen to my podcasts, especially Cast-On, in which I'm now up to podcast 54, on my way to catching up with the present at episode 70 or so.
While I'm not able/willing to diet, we have put our cats on one. And they are not happy about it -- especially Lydia (who is the one that actually needed the diet, according to the vet). When she gets hungry, she certainly lets us know.
ON MY NEEDLES
One of my gifts to myself for the holidays was Harrisville Shetland on cones from Halcyon Yarns in Bath, ME. I'm using it to knit up the Kimono pattern from Vivian Hoxbro's Shadow Knitting (Damn, why can't you cut and past a web address into this system? -- just look it up on Amazon, folks).
And, one of the gifts from Don was a skein of Jojoland cashmere (yummm!) in pink, along with a lace and cable scarf pattern. I'm about half-way through it and hardly want it to end as the yarn is so wonderfully soft to handle. But, I'll also like wearing it.
I'm still working on the Norwegian Woods Shawl in cream-colored Silky Alpaca Lace. I'm up to the part where there are over 400 stitches (405 to be exact at the moment) in each row. It can take an hour just to do 4 rows! But, the end is in sight. I'll post before and after blocking photos.
OFF MY NEEDLES
I've just finished a baby sweater that was an impulse purchase. My LYS had a basket with these balls of slubby yarn called, I think, Cotton Kisses. Each ball was enough to make a baby sweater using the pattern on the ball band and tucked into the center of the ball were the buttons needed for the completed sweater. One of my former students just had her first baby, so I couldn't resist knitting a little cardigan up in a mixed combination of cotton candy colors and white. Darling. I'll post a photo when I get the buttons on.
My mother's lace shrug is completed, blocked, and the cuffs sewn together. Did I remember to give it to my son to take to her yesterday? Oops, no.
NOT YET ON MY NEEDLES
I need to start another pair of socks. The pink ones were well-received by my sister at Christmas. Now I need to knit a pair for the other sister. One of my resolutions from last year is to always have a pair of socks going -- they are such an easy thing to carry with you for odd moments of knitting.
OTHER PROJECTS
I'm taking advantage of a quilting opportunity this month. I work with the woman who advises the Quilting Club on campus. 6 of us are working on a fun scrap quilt (though most of mine is not out of actual scraps -- I bought a lot of fabric new for this project). I'm making mine for Zeben who requested (over a year ago) a blue and white quilt (inspired by Blue Willow plates) for his bed at college. He and I picked out a toille (pronounced "twall") backing fabric in the right colors and now I'm putting the top together. It really is going to be pretty and is going together quite quickly. Right now it is all in random pieces, but I'll post a photo when I start to lay it out. My mother has requested a quilt, and now my other son, Nate, has expressed an interest in one in greens and browns. Go figure.
WHAT I'M READING
I'm working my way through all of my Yarn Harlot books. They do make me laugh.
And, I just broke down and subscribed to Piecework Magazine, which I've wanted to do for a long time but wouldn't allow myself to do until I let something else go. Sorry, Martha Stewart Living.
I've tossed around the idea of resolutions this year and have not come up with a laundry list. Mostly I just haven't had any down time yet this year to think about it. I worked over the break between Christmas and New Years -- typically a ho-hum quiet time in the office when one can take a lot of time off or lazily attack the professional reading pile on one's desk, with a snooze or two when it gets boring. This year, however, we're launching a big program I've been working on since last June and the three days the office were open during the holiday week were frantic and it hasn't slowed down any since. Anyway, more about that in another blog entry.
Pretty much my resolutions have come down to two. First, I'm going to keep better track of my knitting, quilting, etc. projects by using my Moleskine to record every project I start and go back and add the date when I finish, along with other details such as the brand of yarn I used. As you'll see below, I've already cast on three projects since Christmas and am actually making good progress.
My second resolution comes from reading my other sister's copy of "You on a Diet." I'm just not able to jump whole hog into the diet thing at the moment, but I am making every effort to follow one piece of advice from the book: walk 30 minutes every day -- no excuses! I'm trying to walk three days a week during my lunch hour (I'm taking a mini-course during our January term on quilting -- more on that later) and on the days I can't go at lunch, I'm meeting my husband at the high school and walking on the treadmill in the fitness center that is his third home (after our home and his classroom respectively). The AD asked me if using the fitness center was my NYRes and I laughed and said it was Don's resolution that I would use it! Oh, and this part got a laugh out of my son, Nate -- I bought a mini-tramp to "walk" or "jog" on when I couldn't do either of my usual walking opportunities.
So far, so good. I like the treadmill as it has a programmed 30 minute walk that builds in some faster portions and 5 "hills" during the walk. I've progressed to level 3. And, it gives me a chance to listen to my podcasts, especially Cast-On, in which I'm now up to podcast 54, on my way to catching up with the present at episode 70 or so.
While I'm not able/willing to diet, we have put our cats on one. And they are not happy about it -- especially Lydia (who is the one that actually needed the diet, according to the vet). When she gets hungry, she certainly lets us know.
ON MY NEEDLES
One of my gifts to myself for the holidays was Harrisville Shetland on cones from Halcyon Yarns in Bath, ME. I'm using it to knit up the Kimono pattern from Vivian Hoxbro's Shadow Knitting (Damn, why can't you cut and past a web address into this system? -- just look it up on Amazon, folks).
And, one of the gifts from Don was a skein of Jojoland cashmere (yummm!) in pink, along with a lace and cable scarf pattern. I'm about half-way through it and hardly want it to end as the yarn is so wonderfully soft to handle. But, I'll also like wearing it.
I'm still working on the Norwegian Woods Shawl in cream-colored Silky Alpaca Lace. I'm up to the part where there are over 400 stitches (405 to be exact at the moment) in each row. It can take an hour just to do 4 rows! But, the end is in sight. I'll post before and after blocking photos.
OFF MY NEEDLES
I've just finished a baby sweater that was an impulse purchase. My LYS had a basket with these balls of slubby yarn called, I think, Cotton Kisses. Each ball was enough to make a baby sweater using the pattern on the ball band and tucked into the center of the ball were the buttons needed for the completed sweater. One of my former students just had her first baby, so I couldn't resist knitting a little cardigan up in a mixed combination of cotton candy colors and white. Darling. I'll post a photo when I get the buttons on.
My mother's lace shrug is completed, blocked, and the cuffs sewn together. Did I remember to give it to my son to take to her yesterday? Oops, no.
NOT YET ON MY NEEDLES
I need to start another pair of socks. The pink ones were well-received by my sister at Christmas. Now I need to knit a pair for the other sister. One of my resolutions from last year is to always have a pair of socks going -- they are such an easy thing to carry with you for odd moments of knitting.
OTHER PROJECTS
I'm taking advantage of a quilting opportunity this month. I work with the woman who advises the Quilting Club on campus. 6 of us are working on a fun scrap quilt (though most of mine is not out of actual scraps -- I bought a lot of fabric new for this project). I'm making mine for Zeben who requested (over a year ago) a blue and white quilt (inspired by Blue Willow plates) for his bed at college. He and I picked out a toille (pronounced "twall") backing fabric in the right colors and now I'm putting the top together. It really is going to be pretty and is going together quite quickly. Right now it is all in random pieces, but I'll post a photo when I start to lay it out. My mother has requested a quilt, and now my other son, Nate, has expressed an interest in one in greens and browns. Go figure.
WHAT I'M READING
I'm working my way through all of my Yarn Harlot books. They do make me laugh.
And, I just broke down and subscribed to Piecework Magazine, which I've wanted to do for a long time but wouldn't allow myself to do until I let something else go. Sorry, Martha Stewart Living.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Longest Night
I have a fairly severe reaction to the dark part of the year. I have an inclination to hibernate. On many evenings, by 7:30 at the latest, I'm yawning and ready to climb into bed. I can easily sleep 9 - 10 hours a night and still be tired the next day. This always eases as the days lengthen. Usually I see a change once I am able to leave the office and find it isn't completely dark already.
But, for the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, I fight back. Dating from when my sons were very young, after we'd moved into this house where we've lived for over 20 years, I started a tradition of listening to the Paul Winter Consort's Winter Solstice Concert on public radio and wrapping gifts, therefore staying up waaay past my usual (and certainly way past my winter unusual) bedtime. I visited St. John the Divine Cathedral a few years ago, and saw a Paul Winter Consort concert here in Waterville one time, so can easily picture what the Winter Solstice concert is like.
I think there have been son-related activities and events preventing this observance in the past couple of years, but tonight I fought back my urge to go to bed early and am nearly done wrapping gifts. My sons are home from their first semester at college, but both are out with friends. Don helped me mix up a batch of English fruitcake but headed to bed while I baked it off. That's OK. The longest night almost begs for solitude. But, I'm not really alone. Lydia, the youngest cat, likes to be close by, so I have good company. And, I have longer daylight to look forward to tomorrow. The first step toward summer!
ON MY NEEDLES
I am about to start the decrease for the wrist of the lace shrug I'm making for my mother. I can just about knit the pattern with my eyes closed now.
The pink socks need to have the toes grafted, but otherwise are done.
The Norwegian Woods shawl, in cream-colored Silky Alpaca Lace, is going agonizingly slowly at this point. I'm in the first repeat of the last of the three main sections. Now there are 357 stitches per row, and I can usually only get through two rows at a sitting as it takes so long now. But, it is beautifully soft and will be absolutely gorgeous when it is done. My first full shawl!
And, what will definitely be a late gift for Don, a nightcap made of purple (eggplant, really) cotton from the Franklin Habit pattern in Knitty. It is a little hard on my hands -- the cotton yarn and the #0 needles. But I love the pattern.
NOT YET ON MY NEEDLES
I have a $50 Visa gift card that I got for filling out a health assessment online through work and haven't yet spent it. I think I'm going to use it to buy yarn to make a Vivian Hoxbro Nihon Japanese Kimono sweater from her book, Shadow Knitting, in the purple/blue colorway. It looks like it will be more affordable if I buy the Harrisville Shetland yarn on cones rather than in skeins. If that is true, I think it will be my Christmas present to myself, with yarn purchased from Halcyon Yarns -- maybe on the way home from dropping my son off at the airport on Saturday (he's going back early to go to Florida on a training trip with his diving/swim team -- we are not feeling sorry for him).
But, for the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, I fight back. Dating from when my sons were very young, after we'd moved into this house where we've lived for over 20 years, I started a tradition of listening to the Paul Winter Consort's Winter Solstice Concert on public radio and wrapping gifts, therefore staying up waaay past my usual (and certainly way past my winter unusual) bedtime. I visited St. John the Divine Cathedral a few years ago, and saw a Paul Winter Consort concert here in Waterville one time, so can easily picture what the Winter Solstice concert is like.
I think there have been son-related activities and events preventing this observance in the past couple of years, but tonight I fought back my urge to go to bed early and am nearly done wrapping gifts. My sons are home from their first semester at college, but both are out with friends. Don helped me mix up a batch of English fruitcake but headed to bed while I baked it off. That's OK. The longest night almost begs for solitude. But, I'm not really alone. Lydia, the youngest cat, likes to be close by, so I have good company. And, I have longer daylight to look forward to tomorrow. The first step toward summer!
ON MY NEEDLES
I am about to start the decrease for the wrist of the lace shrug I'm making for my mother. I can just about knit the pattern with my eyes closed now.
The pink socks need to have the toes grafted, but otherwise are done.
The Norwegian Woods shawl, in cream-colored Silky Alpaca Lace, is going agonizingly slowly at this point. I'm in the first repeat of the last of the three main sections. Now there are 357 stitches per row, and I can usually only get through two rows at a sitting as it takes so long now. But, it is beautifully soft and will be absolutely gorgeous when it is done. My first full shawl!
And, what will definitely be a late gift for Don, a nightcap made of purple (eggplant, really) cotton from the Franklin Habit pattern in Knitty. It is a little hard on my hands -- the cotton yarn and the #0 needles. But I love the pattern.
NOT YET ON MY NEEDLES
I have a $50 Visa gift card that I got for filling out a health assessment online through work and haven't yet spent it. I think I'm going to use it to buy yarn to make a Vivian Hoxbro Nihon Japanese Kimono sweater from her book, Shadow Knitting, in the purple/blue colorway. It looks like it will be more affordable if I buy the Harrisville Shetland yarn on cones rather than in skeins. If that is true, I think it will be my Christmas present to myself, with yarn purchased from Halcyon Yarns -- maybe on the way home from dropping my son off at the airport on Saturday (he's going back early to go to Florida on a training trip with his diving/swim team -- we are not feeling sorry for him).
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Wall Street Ought to Take Up Knitting
Knitting is a calming, productive way to manage stress. Personally, I'm tired of hearing about the hysteria on Wall Street and Main Street over the financial crisis. I work with people who check the market several (that's putting it mildly) times a day and worry about every few points it drops and bewail the losses. I, however, take much pleasure in imagining all those suits in NYC calming themselves down by picking up their pointy sticks and some yarn. Don't you think that could improve things? I've lived through these down cycles before and my meager financial investments always have rebounded. There isn't anything I can do about the situation, so I think I'll just knit. Luckily, my stash is deep enough that I can keep busy until the market recovers. And, if necessary, I can wait a long time because I also have a deep stash of quilting fabric. I'm golden.
The empty nest is beginning to feel more comfortable. I still have a regular crying jag on Saturday mornings, usually after Don has left to do his Saturday things. Silly things set it off, but it doesn't last long. I think it may have as much to do with how tired I am by the end of the work week as it has to do with anything else. Maybe this will be the first weekend it won't happen.
Instead of knitting, however, I'm finding myself to be on a cleaning out binge. First, I cleaned Zeben's room over the summer, with another cleaning needed after he was home for a week before going to college. Then, I cleaned Nate's room. Dust was thick on the bookshelves and books and junk on the shelves. Trash was in the closet and on the floor. I opened a big trunk he keeps in his room and it had a full load of dirty socks in it -- pee-uuw! The floors in both room have been washed, the beds made, and I can get to the windows for the first time in a long time. The linen closet in Nate's room is now organized so I can find things (now that I can actually get to the closet). Now, though, I need to get busy and, finally, paint the woodwork and wallpaper or paint the walls. That should keep me busy this winter.
This past weekend, I cleaned out a cupboard and the pantry shelves on our cellar stairwell wall. The impetus was an infestation of flour moths but the result was a lot of old stuff thrown out and a much-easier-to-find-things-in cupboard and pantry. One more cupboard to go, this weekend.
Now to organize and clean out the basement, garage, sewing room, porch, files & records, photos, recipe files, and..... yarn!
ON MY NEEDLES
Norwegian Woods Shawl #2 in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in off-white. This one I'll make in the bigger version.
Lace shrug for my mother -- Knit Picks lace weight in blue & gray variegated. This is my second shrug from the Gathering of Lace pattern by Meg Swanson. No errata for this pattern!
A friend gave me two cones of purple pearl cotton and I found a lace bag in Gathering of Lace that called for pearl cotton. It has a series of hearts down the center of each side. I'm hoping to have two done by Christmas to give the daughters of our friends who are also twins and also freshmen in college. So far I'm about half way through the first one.
The pink socks turned out to have problems. To begin with, I forgot to make the second size instead of the smallest size. Also, somehow I lost some stitches and wanted to do a different heel than the one in the pattern. I ended up pulling them both out and starting again. I'll be happier with them in the end.
WHAT I'M READING
I just started The Mezzo Wore Mink by Mark Schweizer. This is the 6th in a series of hilarious novels in which the main character is both the Chief of Police for a small North Carolina town and the Episcopal Church organist. He's also a fan of Raymond Chandler and attempts to write his own mystery stories. Each one of these books has at least one belly laugh out loud episode (involving pirates, clowns, helium filled naked women balloons, competing "living creche" scenes with collapsing sets, a massage parlor called the "Upper Womb," an escaped gorilla, and really loony Episcopal priests and religious education directors), which makes them very therapeutic to read. Our church choir has invested in the full set and has happily shared them. A new member of our choir, a retired priest, is currently working her way through the first couple of books -- she decided she'd better read them after we regaled her with our desire to put on a Pirate Eucharist based on one of the books.
The empty nest is beginning to feel more comfortable. I still have a regular crying jag on Saturday mornings, usually after Don has left to do his Saturday things. Silly things set it off, but it doesn't last long. I think it may have as much to do with how tired I am by the end of the work week as it has to do with anything else. Maybe this will be the first weekend it won't happen.
Instead of knitting, however, I'm finding myself to be on a cleaning out binge. First, I cleaned Zeben's room over the summer, with another cleaning needed after he was home for a week before going to college. Then, I cleaned Nate's room. Dust was thick on the bookshelves and books and junk on the shelves. Trash was in the closet and on the floor. I opened a big trunk he keeps in his room and it had a full load of dirty socks in it -- pee-uuw! The floors in both room have been washed, the beds made, and I can get to the windows for the first time in a long time. The linen closet in Nate's room is now organized so I can find things (now that I can actually get to the closet). Now, though, I need to get busy and, finally, paint the woodwork and wallpaper or paint the walls. That should keep me busy this winter.
This past weekend, I cleaned out a cupboard and the pantry shelves on our cellar stairwell wall. The impetus was an infestation of flour moths but the result was a lot of old stuff thrown out and a much-easier-to-find-things-in cupboard and pantry. One more cupboard to go, this weekend.
Now to organize and clean out the basement, garage, sewing room, porch, files & records, photos, recipe files, and..... yarn!
ON MY NEEDLES
Norwegian Woods Shawl #2 in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in off-white. This one I'll make in the bigger version.
Lace shrug for my mother -- Knit Picks lace weight in blue & gray variegated. This is my second shrug from the Gathering of Lace pattern by Meg Swanson. No errata for this pattern!
A friend gave me two cones of purple pearl cotton and I found a lace bag in Gathering of Lace that called for pearl cotton. It has a series of hearts down the center of each side. I'm hoping to have two done by Christmas to give the daughters of our friends who are also twins and also freshmen in college. So far I'm about half way through the first one.
The pink socks turned out to have problems. To begin with, I forgot to make the second size instead of the smallest size. Also, somehow I lost some stitches and wanted to do a different heel than the one in the pattern. I ended up pulling them both out and starting again. I'll be happier with them in the end.
WHAT I'M READING
I just started The Mezzo Wore Mink by Mark Schweizer. This is the 6th in a series of hilarious novels in which the main character is both the Chief of Police for a small North Carolina town and the Episcopal Church organist. He's also a fan of Raymond Chandler and attempts to write his own mystery stories. Each one of these books has at least one belly laugh out loud episode (involving pirates, clowns, helium filled naked women balloons, competing "living creche" scenes with collapsing sets, a massage parlor called the "Upper Womb," an escaped gorilla, and really loony Episcopal priests and religious education directors), which makes them very therapeutic to read. Our church choir has invested in the full set and has happily shared them. A new member of our choir, a retired priest, is currently working her way through the first couple of books -- she decided she'd better read them after we regaled her with our desire to put on a Pirate Eucharist based on one of the books.
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