Life Is . . .

. . . strange? odd? weird? funny? full of karma? short? meant to be shared? a gift? exhilirating? pointless? a circle? better with coffee/chocolate/(your favorite here)?

You pick the word to complete the phrase.

How we answer says everything about who we are or where we are on the journey at that given moment.

I also believe the answer changes--sometimes rather frequently.

Having my DD home on fall break makes me happy. It also reminds me that I do, sometimes, worry that I'm starting to lose my cognitive skills as I venture full-steam-ahead into pre-menopause. (I'm told this is normal and everything will be ok once I reach the other side. I hope so. Some days I feel like a freaking idiot!)

I went to a knitting class last Wednesday evening where I and two of my knitting pals are learning to make thrummed mittens. I would post a picture, but I've decided I need to visit the frog pond and redo a bit before I show you. My thrums are courtesy of an alpaca named Cocoa. They are beautiful and so, so soft!!

At the class I met a couple lovely ladies from Pocahontas (where said class was taking place at Ewephoria Yarns....the best LYS ever!) I would really like to get to know them better, especially Jane who I sense has a lot of life wisdom and some great stories to share.

This is the best part of knitting to me. Don't get me wrong, I like the actual knitting: the tools, the lovely fibers, the act of creating something. But I also appreciate knitting's ability to create connections between people, often people who might not ever meet otherwise. It's a lovely, serendipitous thing to watch happen and I've learned to go with it and enjoy the ride. (Clearly, because this post started out with my intention to tell you about the Cat Bordhi video I watched thanks to Lucy Neatby's blog wherein Cat demonstrates the ability to knit while walking, swinging, sliding and climbing trees....thus enticing people to get up out of their knitting chairs, turn off the tv and get active while knitting.)

We will be venturing back to Pocahontas Wednesday evening for part two of our class. I do hope that Jane and Virginia come again so that we can visit!

You Can Make A Difference!

Make a Delicious Difference simply by watching!




Every time the video gets watched they donate five meals to the hungry! (Also my friend at work, Becky, has a son who is in the video!!)

Fools Gold

The minute I saw Chris Church's pattern, Fools Gold over at Knotions, I knew it was a pattern I HAD to make for my niece and nephew (whether for Christmas or otherwise).

It is simply THE cutest hat I've ever seen!

Even though they were actually visiting this past weekend, I went ahead and cast on for the project. I had some Swish bulky from Knit Picks left over from another project. It is a washable, 100% wool, so it seemed ideal. I started Friday night, knit a little on the hat Saturday evening and completed it Sunday afternoon in a couple of hours. (All total, knitting time was around 3-4 hours....I think.)

Here's the completed project:



. . . and atop a real head (though, granted, a head larger than the one it is intended for!!)




Chris Church's design rocks! It was easy to knit (and fun too!) It only takes about 135 yards of bulky weight yarn (1 skein!!) and a U.S. #10 24" circular needle. I think the wee kiddies (and their mom & dad) will like it!

Happy Knitting!

Today's Weather

Is perfect!

It's Not A Fruit

One may be tempted to run off to the supermarket in search of a quant. It sounds like some exotic produce which is sure to either be absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious, or really putrid. When I first heard the word I was irresistable drawn to it.

Quant

It doesn't have anything to do with measuring or quantifying anything either.

What it DOES have to do with is my Christmas knitting list.

I intend to knit 5 quants (or would that be quanti?) as gifts for a few of the ladies on my list this year, particularly those living in climates where woolen mittens are not a practical gift. (i.e. Texas)

Some of the intended recipients may (or may not) read this blog, so I can only post photo which is a bit of a teaser.



This is my first completed quant. I hesitated to use a solid color yarn, but it turns out the organic cotton worked! It blocked well and the entrelac pattern is fine in a solid color.

The quant can be knit with a small amount of yarn, thus making it a perfect stash buster, particularly if you happen to have as many leftover sock yarn balls as I do. (I'm finding I like what it looks like with a DK or a fingering weight yarn.)

Turns out the quant may prove to be the ideal Christmas knit for some. It's quick. It results in a pretty item which will likely be used. (And the use for a quant ensures the recipient is bound to be noticed wearing it, perhaps even asked about it.)

Thanks Knitty.com!!

Happy Knitting!

Happy 51st!

Today my DH turns 51! We got him the NFL package on DirectTV to enjoy for a few months....which he is doing right now! We're having a beautiful day (weatherwise) here. We have a yummy chocolate cake with a genache topping and carmel/pecan glaze with fresh strawberries and raspberries. We'll go out for supper. And his bro from TX is visiting!

Happy Birthday D! I love you!

Grey Skies & Sad News

Today the sky in our area has been overcast and grey.

My DD has come home from college a day earlier than expected because a classmate and friend from four years of band together ended his life this morning.

It's a horribly sad thing that an 18 year old kid (or anyone young) dies in any case, but especially so when it comes at their own hand. It's hard to imagine the pain, the desperation, the utter lack of hope. I had enjoyed this kid's musical talents at every band event we attended. He was uber talented and very smiley. Yet I barely knew him, or his family.....and still I've found myself shedding tears this afternoon.

So if you read this, please say a prayer or light a candle for Ben and everyone who knew him. The ripples of loss are spreading throughout the community and the kids and his family/friends can use all the support they can get.

Fingers Crossed!

I'm over half-way done on mitten #2 for the current pair in progress.

I "winged" the decrease section of the tip of the hand on the first. I guess it turned out ok.



Also, since the pattern I did on the last red/white pair turned out looking differently on the palms (one emphasizes the red vertical stripe, while on the other the white stripe stands out.....I believe this is because one mitten's palm pattern began with red while the other one began with white), I wanted to try something that might look more "uniform" when completed, so I decided to do diagonal stripes. I have intentionally done it so that the stripes run in the opposite direction of each other. I'm liking how it's turning out!



We'll see what I think when it's off the needles.

Also last night I picked up the mitten I had done where I forgot to put in the thumb opening. I figured out which row and which 10 stitches it should have been. Then I placed a lifeline in the row below and the row above. I then snipped the middle stitch. (Ok, yes, this was difficult for me to do! I put it off for nearly 6 weeks! I envisioned a giant, gaping hole and a completely destroyed mitten.)

Guess what happened?! Nothing! It actually took some work to pull out the 10 stitches to make room for the thumb hole!

I had two yarn needles ready and as I gently pulled out the stitches, I threaded them onto the needles. Surprisingly, each side was 2"-3" long when unravelled. I wove them in on the back side of the mitten, on either side of the hole. Then I picked up the stitches from the lifelines above and below the hole and knit up the thumb just as though there'd always been a hole waiting there for me.

Phew! Can steeking be far behind??

Happy Knitting!

It's A Win-Win Day!

Wow, am I feeling really blessed today!! I discovered I was given a blog award by a fellow blogger today, my friend Val over at Sew Not My Day

It is a "Kreativ Blogger" award.




I believe I'm supposed to tell you 7 things you didn't know about me and then nominate 7 other blogs for the award. So here goes!

1. I don't really like phoning for pizza and will always try to get out of doing it.
2. I always wished I had red hair when I was in grade school.
3. I've always wanted glasses.
4. I had a panic attack during my last dental appointment and nearly jumped out of the chair.
5. I can bait a fishhook and I can take a fish off the hook too.
6. I sometimes make frosting just to eat it on graham crackers.
7. I don't mind the smell of skunk.

Ok, now for 7 blogs I nominate/read daily:

Franklin Habit's The Panopticon
Romancing The Yarn
Crazy Aunt Purl
Wendy Knits
Yarn Harolot
Knitman
and Cast On

I read many of the same ones my friend does, so I tried not to repeat any of the ones she posted today.

On the other "winning" front, look what came in the post today?!!!



It's a lovely box full of all sorts of goodies! A couple years ago I met an on-line friend via a swap over at SockKnitters.com. We have kept in touch and formed a friendship. A few months ago she and I decided to do another swap which would feature a hand-made gift and some add-in treats. Isn't it a wonderful surprise?!!



I just LOVE the color of the sock blank! (And I've been really curious to see how they work, so I'm thrilled to have received one hand-dyed just for me!!) In addition there are several knitting goodies like a wpi key chain, little crochet hook for emergencies, yarn needles, blocking pins, and a lovely needle guage check that will make a cut necklace too! A little notebook which is perfect to tuck in my knitting bag to keep track of projects, some chocolate, a cool basket (I have to wonder if Kathleen hand-crafted it?! It's really nice!), and some coffee she made for me in a fall blend. (I have to tell you she sent me a small sample of this in the last exchange, and it is THE best coffee I've ever had.....I am so, so, SO happy to get some more!!!!!) <- and a mug with a knitting theme to go with it!

I tell you, I am one spoiled-rotten mamma today!

I was going to post my weekend mitten progress, but I'm going to indulge in a bit of chocolate and oogle my gifts a little more!

Happy Monday! Happy Knitting!

(& Thanks so much Kathleen!!) (& Val!!)

Doing the Two Step

As in two steps forward, one step back!

Believe it or not, this mitten's entire hand was knit by Friday evening last week.
As I neared the lovely, pointed tip I had the sneaking suspicion something was wrong.
(That, and the fact I kept trying it on as I knit the decreases.)




WHEN will I learn to trust my gut instinct? (And the plain facts of what is sitting there on my body, clearly not fitting??!!)

The hand section was not long enough before the decreases began and thus the mitten did not fit.

While these mittens are lovely, and fun to knit....they're not exactly easy to frog.
I spent two hours Saturday evening tinking (that's unknitting, stitch by stitch) them to the point of where the decreasing had begun. It was tedious! (I've gotten good at wrapping stitches to ensure short carries on the back!)

Since then, they've been sitting and waiting for me to have a brainstorm on exactly how to lengthen them without overboard the other direction and ending up with palms which are way too long.

In the meantime, I've gone back to knitting on the endless garter stitch baby blanket from EZ's Opinionated Knitter. Bleh.

Happy Knitting!

Mitten Monday

Well, after a weekend of knitting fury, I am making progress on more mittens for Christmas.

Here is the completed pair which are my own chart/design. They turned out well I think! (Although there are some minor differences I can't account for since I knit them exactly the same way....but hopefully whoever receives them won't notice!!)

Queen of Hearts




This is a detail section from a pair I completed a few weeks ago, but haven't shown. I have a receipient for this pair. It was done using one of the charts from Lizbeth Upitis' book of Latvian Mittens, however I changed out the cuff to corrugated ribbing, which may be my favorite part of this pair.



Finally, this is the pair I've begun this afternoon. I'm using one of Lizbeth's charts for this pair as well, again switching out to a corrugated rib cuff. The friend this is intended for loves this color combination of the blue/brown and who can blame her? I think they're going to look terrific when done!!



That's the news from my knitting nest . . . how are your projects coming along?

Happy Knitting!

Something Snapped

Warning: This post contains almost nothing about knitting or photography (until the very end....where I threw in some gratuitous content.)

I had one of those moments in life where there's a choice to be made fairly instantaneously and you either have to act or not.

I was driving along one of the busier streets in town on my way out of town to do an interview. It was about 1 p.m. on a day when school let out early for teachers to have meetings. As I came down the hill near the park I noticed a teen-aged boy (close in age to my own son I'd guess) riding a bike and a small, red car which had come to a sudden stop nearby. Suddenly another teen male, face covered by a bandana, lept from the back seat of the car and ran toward the kid on the bike. By now I had passed the group, but something about the look on the face of the guy on the bike kept me watching in my rear view mirror. The masked teen from the car was chasing the kid on the bike, and other boys were emerging from the vehicle's front seats.

I had gone up the hill and around a bend by this time. I could no longer see what was happening. But the look on the kid's face who had been riding the bike was telling me this wasn't a group of friends joking around.

And so the decision moment was at hand. Keep driving and pretend I hadn't seen what I'd just seen? Or do something?

As I said, it was a busy street. There were at least 3 cars behind me and I had met 3 or 4 others coming at me who surely must have seen the same thing. A UPS truck had stopped half a block away to make a delivery as well.

Even as I pondering the choice before me, I took my cell phone out and had 911 punched in.

Ultimately I decided to flip a U-turn and head back to see if the kid needed help.
I locked my doors and kept the phone in hand.

As I arrived I could see the kid who'd been on the bike standing on the lawn in the same spot. I pulled over, rolled down the window and asked if he was ok. I told him I'd seen what had happened with the group of kids in the car.

Turns out the guys who had stopped had stolen the car they were in. They took his bike as well and had started to beat him up when they noticed the UPS guy and decided to split. He was shaken, but not hurt more than a few scratches.

He was, however, very thankful I stopped. (I think he told me thank you at least a dozen times between his calls to 911.) I stayed parked there while he called police and until they arrived.

Something inside me just snapped I guess. We hear stories on the news of terrible things happening to people and how people just pass by without stopping to help. I suppose I didn't want to be one more. That kid could have been my own son. And I would like to think someone would have stopped to help him.

Now for gratuitous content related to the actual purpose of this blog . . .

Today was my weekly Sit-n-Stitch group. I worked on the mindless sock I take there so I can visit at the same time. Last week I helped my friend figure out how to join the sleeves on the Wallaby she's knitting for a grandson.

On the way home from my interview this afternoon I was driving along country roads and saw a blue heron standing on a farm bridge (the kind which farmers install to cross drainage ditches from one field to another.) It was a lovely site and would have made a beautiful photo!

Progress

Well, I haven't completely fallen off the planet. I have been subjected to the earth's spinning of late. (Another week of off-and-on-again dizziness, nausea, etc.)

I have, however, managed to make a bit of progress on the knitting front. Here's the first of the Heart Mitts I designed myself completed.






I must say I've learned a bit about shaping and patterns in the decrease area at the top. This pattern cuts it precariously close. I'm working on another pattern based on Frank Lloyd Wright's designs which I will have to rethink the top area in the decrease section. In the mean time I have cast on Heart Mitt #2 so that I'll have a feasible pair to give at Christmas.

I've also cast on a lovely little piece of lace work which will be a gift as well. This is only my second piece of actual lace work. (The first was the shawl I made which resides with my grandmother.)(Why do I keep giving these pieces away?!?) Here's a sneak peak of the work in progress (obviously not blocked yet...)



I'm using fingering weight yarn with the colorway "Tidepool Heather" and US #9 needles. Guage isn't critical for this project. I think I'm going to like the end result.

It's been a busy week for me with work projects and the magazine deadline looming large. Also another big advertising project is coming in, so I need to schedule lots of interviews for next week. All in all, it's good to stay busy.

Here's hoping everyone has a good weekend!

Happy Knitting!

All Moved In

We got our eldest moved in to her new home at the college dorm on Friday. There were large groups of students awaiting the arrival of the freshmen who descended upon vehicles and took everything to the room for us....yeah! Never having lived in a dorm myself, I was pleasantly surprised with how much room they have. She's got a busy 4 days of orientation with lots of activities and even some classes already mixed in. The semester officially starts on Tuesday. We're really excited and happy for her! (A bit envious too, to be totally truthful! I loved my college experience and would go back to school in a heartbeat!)

New Bank

This is the new bank in town.

Higher Education

I've been shooting photos of the new building on the campus of our local community college. It's a very cool building....and green too! Here is one photo, four ways.
(Gotta love Photoshop!)

From Chart to Mittens

I started in on the mittens I made the chart for. This is what they look like in red and white:



This is the first pair I've done working a different palm pattern than what is on the back of the hand. I really like it!



The blue line in there is where I will put in the thumb once the hand is finished.

We'll see how frustrated I get trying to find the pattern which will make the decreases at the top look ok.

On a completely different note, my recognizance team at the state fair over the weekend reported in Saturday afternoon. Two of my four projects sent in had ribbons attached to them!!! Yeah!! The mittens had a 3rd place ribbon and the entrelac tote which is felted had a 4th place. I'm so happy to have won two ribbons!! I'm the teeniest tad bit disappointed that I didn't do as well, place-wise, as my 2nd Place ribbon of last year......but that minute shadow of dissapointment is quickly overcome by the sheer happiness of receiving two ribbons! (I really only had hopes that the mittens would get a ribbon of some kind....so the other is icing on the cake!!)

My First Chart

I printed off some knitter's graph paper and have been playing around with some charting for a mitten pattern of my own design.

This will be the back of the hand:



I plan to do the palm in alternating vertical rows of color. Right now I can't decide if I want to do black mittens with the pattern in red . . .

OR

red mittens with the pattern in white......

What do you think??

Here's the pattern for the wrist area:



I will likely use the Latvian 2-color cast on and do a fringed edge with a braided band above it before beginning the wrist pattern. If I don't think the wrist is long enough, I can add another braid before starting the main heart pattern.

Not sure who the receipient will be. It will be fun to see how it looks knit up. I may find I have to adjust the chart. We'll see. It's kind of cool though!

From the Top

I realized I hadn't posted the most obvious photos from our St. Louis trip--those from the arch. Amanda captured most of these, from either the van or at the top. I didn't go up this time, but waited down below with my knitting project in hand.

Enjoy the view!

Arriving at the riverfront:



Bridges over the Mississippi River:



Illinois:



Downtown St. Louis (& beyond!):



Busch Stadium:



The Old Courthouse:



From the base (see the windows at the top??!!):



This last is the only one of the bunch I took. Seeing the city from the top of the arch is pretty cool! If you go: be prepared for a LOOOONG security check point if you go in the north entrance (closest to the parking ramp). [Tip: walk around to the other entrance. Almost no one does, meaning the security line there is WAAAY shorter!] Be prepared to remove your belt and have everything scanned. They do refuse to admit people in this post-9/11 world. They turned the 3 people in line ahead of us around and wouldn't let them in after they failed the metal detector 3 times.

Blog Contest Alert!

Hey! My friend (& godmother of my kids!) is having a contest on her blog to celebrate her 135th post.

She's an avid sewer and made the CUTEST hat which she's giving away!

Go check it out at:


Sew Not My Day.