The Grinch Was Right

At the last Knitting Night, Lynn was making fingerless gloves for Christmas presents. I fell in love with them. Beautiful cables and an inserted thumb hole . . . (not the lazy way that I do mine of just leaving part of the seam open!).

But then I got 'the story'. Her mom passed away at the beginning of the year. No one could quite bring themselves to wear any of her sweaters. So Lynn selected one . . . took it apart . . . and then unraveled it. I know, huh! Talk about tedious and time consuming. 

If that wasn't time consuming enough . . . She then took the yarn and she's knitting fingerless gloves for her sisters for Christmas. 

It's probably the most thoughtful gift they will ever receive.

The Grinch . . . and Lynn . . . nailed it.

"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas he thought, means a little bit more."


Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Be Careful What You Wish For

My daughter . . . 'the saver' . . . recently bought her own house. After multiple weekends of returning for "a few things", her room is finally empty (except for a notebook of Pokemon cards that I just found yesterday). 

While she was going through the purchase process, her boss kept saying . . . "What's your mother going to do?", "She's going to miss you!","What's your mother going to do with your room?"

Really? Hasn't he seen the Staples commercial where the son goes off to college, and as soon as the car leaves the driveway the mother is up in his room with a tape measure?! Since my daughter has bought a house . . . well, there will be no return on winter and summer breaks.

Just picture it. An empty room . . . okay, there is one twin bed in the corner . . . but these four walls will never have the title of guest room. I pulled all my yarn out from its hiding place under my eaves . . . grabbed the baskets my mother has made . . . and set about creating . . . finally . . . my craft room. Just saying it brings me instant serenity. 

I looked at my stash and admit I got a little stressed . . . no silly, . . . not because of the amount . . . but how should I 
organize it?



First, I quickly realized that Mona could not be involved in this process and she had to be evicted from the room.






I thought I would do it by fiber. All the mohair together . . . all the cotton . . . all the wool . . . you get the picture.
But as I was making the piles I soon realized this was not going to work. All the colors mixed up just did nothing for me.

Hmm . . . by weight? But what would I do with some of those unlabeled skeins that I'm not sure what they are??









So I grouped them together by color and the serenity quickly returned. (Please note that this is only a partial viewing of the fiber involved in this project!!)








Next I put each color group into a basket. I put all the fleece waiting to be knitted into mittens in another basket . . . added my knitting needle collection that I keep in my grandmother's old ice tea pitcher . . . and then added a felted bear to watch over the whole corner.

There you have it. After 29 years, all signs of a daughter are removed and replaced with a long waisted for craft room. 


Although . . .  if I sit there quietly . . . I can still see her sitting on the floor playing the Sims on her computer . . . there are still some spots on the walls from her glow-in-the-dark stars that I couldn't get out . . . I have memory flashes of wrestling matches and arguments with her brother . . . Elmo and blankie, Fisher Price toys, and band 
uniforms . . . and I might even hear U2. Oh ya . . . and the Pokemon cards are there. Perhaps I'll keep the cards . . . move them in with my stash . . . keep 29 years of memories safely cushioned and preserved by wool, mohair, and cedar chips . . . and love.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Knot a Good Way to Start the Day

There I sat this morning. 

The window was cracked to let in a little October breeze . . . I had a cup of coffee in my hand . . . Mona was in my lap . . . I was knitting away and slowly waking up and thinking of the day ahead of me.

And then it happened.

As the yarn was coming up into my hand I felt . . . well, I felt 'that'. You know . . . that moment when you no longer feel the smooth piece of yarn and two options instantly pop into your head. Is it just a 'crink' in the yarn . . . or is it a knot?


I stopped and looked . . . and of course . . . a knot. I hate that. If we can put a man on the moon, why can't they make a skein of yarn without a break in it? 

It makes me a little cranky. It completely disrupted my flow. I had to undo a few stitches . . . get out my scissors . . . and do a join.

I know . . . I know . . . First World Problems . . . and I will still have a good day.

But really . . . don't you hate that too?

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Stash Busting Fail

 Sigh. I always go into stash busting with such high hopes. “This is it,” I say to myself, “I am going to cull this giant pile and make something fun!” What follows is hours of Ravelry searches for patterns using the same weight and yardage of whatever I have kicking around. In this case it’s a supposed DK weight (seems more like a worsted to me) dark green tweed. I search and I search and I charge my phone and then search some more until “Eureka! The perfect pattern for the weight and yardage! … But the color doesn’t work for this pattern.” Now, a sensible person, committed to stash busting would move on but no. Now I’m in love with the new pattern and start shopping for DK weight yarn in a suitable color and my stash just stays the same size only with new colors. On the plus side I think that DK that I already own will make some pretty cozy boot socks so at least I have something working for me.

Until next time, read something weird and try not to let your stash get too out of control. Best of luck with that. 

Lindsey 

When You Know You Are Lucky

When I hear people mumbling and complaining about their jobs and their supervisors, I only give sympathetic nods. I have nothing to add to their moans and groans . . . and I know how fortunate I am that I don't. 

I work in a building full of books. I was also encouraged to start a knitting group and now once a month I can sit with a group of some of the nicest and most supportive knitters you could ever meet. I have wonderful supervisors and I work with people I consider friends. 

Could it get any better? Well, yes! When some of the people you work with are knitters too! There is always yarn to swap, patterns to show, stores to recommend, and help when you are stuck. 

Stay tuned. My co-worker-knitting-friends will soon be joining on my blog. 

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

When It's Time To Clean Up

Once upon a time I had a co-worker that was knitting these little squares. I asked
her . . . perhaps with a little sarcasm in my voice . . . what the heck she was knitting. Her response was "washcloths and dish cloths". My response back was something along the lines of "Really? Isn't that kind of a waste of time?"

From the Library Shelves

As I mentioned last time . . .  the best thing about the early morning is coffee on the deck while the birds and I wake up. 


So when I saw the book Field Guide to Knitted Birds . . . well it simply called my name. I mean really. Look at it. If you've seen other books by Arne & Carlos (think Easter Knits and Christmas Balls) you'll see how they cutely and cleverly designed the cover birds to look like themselves!

Inside you'll find pretty much the same basic bird pattern . . . but lots of tweaks to it . . . you can knit it to look like everything from a goldfinch to a peacock.

Take a look through it. It's a great way to use up little bits of stash yarn. It's a great way to practice 2-color knitting without the commitment of a huge project.


 It's a great way to bring the birds into your house . . . without wings flapping!

click here to place a hold


Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Just like tomorrow . . . later never comes.

Anyone that knows me also knows that I am not a hot weather person. But I will admit that I love summer mornings. I get up, drag myself down the stairs, fix a cup of coffee (that my husband is smart enough to have all brewed), grab my knitting bag and out to the deck I go. I'll sit and knit, wake up, and watch and listen to the birds as they start their day too.

The Perfect Baby Shower Cake

Susan was unable to come to the Monday Night Knitting Group. I decided to forgive her since she has still been knitting. She was nice enough to send a picture of latest project . . . so then I decided to really forgive her!

Knit Daily

Another great night of knitting. Everything from scarves and baby sweaters to mittens and cat condos were on our needles. There were new projects and old projects. We reminisced and realized we've been meeting for just about 4 years! We decided we weren't racing and all we had to do was Knit Daily. 
It's a good mantra . . . don't you think?

From the Library Shelves

I was just lamenting the other day that I like to do 2 color knitting . . . but I don't wear that style sweater anymore. (Lamenting sounds so much better than whining . . . doesn't it?) So when I saw the book Pretty Knitted Hands waiting to be shelved . . . I thought . . . . hmm . . . what a perfect solution. 

A Little Wool Humor

I'm not sure what I was looking for when I found this . . . .





. . . . but it made me chuckle . . . and I thought I maybe you would too!

















Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

                                       

Stash Buster Idea #1

I've been spending a lot of my 'knitting time' doing gardening/yard work lately. So instead of thinking about cables and short rows . . . I'm spreading mulch and staking my lilies.

Which led to my frustration one day. Am I doing something wrong . . . or is this stake just poorly designed? Who has a lily that is tall enough to go in the hoop right away? 

So I voiced my frustration to my husband . . . who told me to just use some string and tie the lily to the stake until it's tall enough.

Oh, okay. He gave me some white twine and I thought 'ick'. That will look terrible in my newly mulched garden.

Meanwhile 4 months later . . .

Holy Moly! I'm not sure where the time goes. I think perhaps sometimes it really does just fly away. It hit me a couple of days ago that it was May 1st. 

Four months into the 'New Year'. You know, the 'New Year' that I was going to post on Ravelry more. The 'New Year' that I was going to use up my stash yarn. The 'New year' I was going to blog more.

Maybe I can merge my knitting resolutions in with my spring cleaning. Instead of trying to use up some stash yarn . . . maybe I can just clean it out and give it to a new home! Maybe if I write Ravelry on my 'to-do' list it will actually get updated. Maybe it's never too late.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Monday Night Knitting

Another fun and creative night of knitting!

Joan finished her scarf and just has to give it a little blocking.

Her next project . . . something special for a kitty!! (stay tuned).











Linda was busy . . . she made 2 cowls . . . both in gorgeous colors. One is for a friend. (We all claimed that we were her friends too . . . but she wouldn't buy into it!!)

Check out this yarn. I LOVE it. Marguerite bought it at an alpaca farm. Even better than getting this yarn with great texture . . . she got to get close and personal with the alpacas . . . and saw baby alpacas!!!
I think I've got to go visit them.

And of course the new and trendy pony tail hat. Talk about bad photography. But the knitting . . . it's really cute.













Join us. A wonderful group making everything under the sun.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber. 

A New Trick

I had so much yarn left over from my Counterpane Masterpiece that I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves to go with it. It's a plain stockinette pattern with some decreases and increases that make it form fitting on your arm. The fun came when I went to work on the thumb. I've never done this method.

You simply knit to wear you want to insert the thumb hole. Then grab some waste yarn. 


Using the waste yarn, knit the stitches that will be the thumb opening. Easy enough so far . . . right??






Next slide the 'waste yarn stitches' back to the left hand needle . . . knit the stitches with your regular yarn.









Looks like this. Just cut your waste yarn and leave a tail. 

Do all this without your cat around . . . or she will want to play with all your loose ends . . . and then you may find yourself at wits end.











I kept knitting and finished my glove. It looks like this. 

Time to make a thumb hole.







All you have to do is remove the waste yarn and put the live stitches on your needles. Using cotton for waste yarn makes it a lot easier to undo. (Sometimes using wool makes all the little fibers want to stick together . . . have like a wool party or something.)

Here's what you have when you are all done. All I have to do is pick up a couple of stitches on each side to close in the hole and . . . . voila . . .
a fuss-stress-free thumb hole.







How have I never tried this before?!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

You Say Tomato . . . I Say . . .

Blizzard warning is in effect for the South Shore. Schools are closed and the library is closed . . . in anticipation of 14" of snow. 

My husband has assured me we are all set. There is plenty of propane for our generator. He has treated our driveway with a sand and salt mixture and the cones are at the bottom of our hill so no one will attempt to come up. The markers are in place so he knows where to snow blow. 








He has shovels right outside the back door so we can shovel a path to the shed . . . which he has left unlocked so the locks won't freeze . . . and he can quickly get at the snow blower to remove all that white stuff.

We have bread and milk.

We are ready.




I guess he thought that I was not thinking ahead and also planning for a blizzard. Well I proved him wrong.

I have my book to finish . . . and if I do finish it . . . I have the second in the series waiting for me on my Kindle. (It does take some of the suspense out of the ending . . .
I mean if Mitch Rapp is another book, then I think he's going to get out of Beirut alive.)

I have a mitten to finish and a fingerless glove to finish.

What more could you need for a day that you are going to be stuck in the house?!

Oh wait . . . I've got that too.

Something sweet and something chocolate. (I also know there is a bottle of wine downstairs).

I believe emergency preparedness  can have more than one meaning. On this my husband and I seem to have different opinions.

Tomato . . . tomato . . .

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Never Too Late

New Years. My favorite holiday. There is something about starting the year fresh . . . having a clean slate . . . setting goals and making resolutions. 

I always make the 'expected' ones. You know, eat more fruits and vegetables and less bread . . . exercise more . . . be a little nicer to people . . . keep the house a little cleaner. All the things we should be doing anyways, but it seems easier to commit at the beginning of of the year.

Then there are my knitting resolutions. I'll post my completed projects on Ravelry. I'll try and use up more stash yarn. I'll practice intarsia more because . . . well . . . because quite honestly I'm not that good at it. (I may even stink at it). I'll knit more for charity and I'll blog more.

Wait . . . I'll blog more? What's today's date? 



Math was never my strongest subject, but I think that means I've waited 2 1/2 weeks to blog. I've also finished the sweater I made with the recycled yarn. (Don't bother to go to my Ravelry page . . . it's not posted yet. Neither is my Counterpane Masterpiece that I also finished. I could also write a message to my husband in the dust on my hutch.)



Perhaps I need a little more effort in actually performing my resolutions. Perhaps I need more time in the day. Perhaps I need to set priorities.


Perhaps I am off to Market Basket . . . there does not seem to be any fruit in my fruit bowl. Perhaps goals and resolutions do not have to be made just on New Years. Maybe you can decide on January 18th to knit a pair of mittens from your stash yarn and then give them to a local shelter. Maybe you can decide on a random Wednesday morning to be a little nicer to the human race . . . or at least hold the door open for someone who has their arms full. (Sometimes it's good to start small!)

Maybe John Trusler was right. "No time like the present, a thousand unforeseen circumstances may interrupt you at a future time."


Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.