Hanging By a Thin Thread

Being Content with What I Have and What I Can Do

2012-01-25T17:45:00.003-06:00

You know, I didn't undertake a word/theme this new year. And while goal-oriented, I'm managing to reach work goals, but because my work is both so emotionally rewarding and so demanding right now, I'm giving myself a break on the personal goals. The problem is, my work is EMOTIONALLY rewarding, but not financially (yet). I'm hoping this improve for us financially eventually . . . . but for right now, our family is broke because of living separately due to the bad economy. So we're trying to dog paddle . . . keep our heads above water.

Because of all the financial and family stress, and so much of our lives out of our control, I'm focusing on using my personal time to relax, enjoy and unwind. For once, I'm giving myself a bit of freedom and slack to just BE during my limited time off. Also am relieved that the spinning wheel and weaving equipment mode that haunted me last year has eased off quite a bit in the past 5-6 months, largely because I no longer have the chance to obsess about new equipment, and no longer have the time or money to pursue the perfect wheel or loom. Instead, I'm just enjoying what I have and appreciating every spare moment I have to do crafts of any kind.

The spinning is still the most enjoyable thing in the world! I no longer even PRETEND I'll finish a dozen projects in a year. Heck, I'll be happy to finish one or two completed projects the whole year of 2012 -- the current project is a sweater from my handspun yarn. But even if I never finish it, just spinning and knitting on it has been an utter joy. It doesn't get any better than that - just spin, knit, admire and breathe deep.

New Year's Introspection

2011-12-30T14:03:00.003-06:00

Well, as always, this week between Christmas and New Year's is my FAVORITE week of the year. It's the week of my dear husband's birthday, and also, the week I start contemplating a brand new year. New goals . . . . new possibilities. How exciting!

The photo remins me to clap for myself and others and be grateful for what I've achieved.

Usually I try to come up with a word/theme to guide the year, but I'm giving that up this year. Instead, I have created a few reachable, doable goals that will be fluid with my life and will evolve as my year does. I've included three goals and three affirmations and am carrying them around on a small index card in my purse. I am recopying, and meditating as well as visualizing myself achieving these goals each day during my meditation time. That's my plan anyway, and I've successfully been doing it for the past two weeks to test the plan out to make sure it works.

Last year, 2011, was crazy and unexpected in mostly good and just a few bad ways. I LOVE my new job and am making good headway with it. I liked my old job a lot and was so worried that I'd made a crazy decision by changing jobs in the middle of a bad recession and especially when that change involved an initial pay cut, but gues what? Surprise, it was a really good move. I'm meeting my sales goals at work and loving what I do. I'm still not making quite as much income-wise as I did at my old job, but it's all going to work and eventually, I hope the money will follow.

On the other hand, Bob's career has involved long distance back and forth much of the time. I really miss having my husband home all the time - but we are working our way into a better situation where we can balance being together and apart -- while still keeping our careers and home life as balanced as possible. He's now able to telecommute much more, so hopefully it will be easier. I think we're doing as well as can be expected given the odd career ride we've both had the last few years.

Holding it together is important - and we've done that. So in many ways, 2011 feels like a year where we made good with whatever was thrown our way.

I've given up even GUESSING what 2012 might hold, who knows? But instead my focus is going to be on doing the best I can with whatever comes my way.

How about you?

Have a Happy Jolly Christmas

2011-12-12T06:05:00.003-06:00

I'm not stressing . . . at least not about the typical gift giving and running around crazy like a chicken with my head cut off to buy just the right gift for more people can I can afford to buy for yet feeling obligated to do so. In fact, for several years now, I really have let that go entirely. This year even my Mother and I have agreed to the "no gift" thing - we have decided we have enough STUFF and we're going to just be together during the holidays and try to be a gift to one another in our presence, not our presents. The only person I'm buying an actual gift for is my daughter, and she's told me what she wants, so that's no sweat - something reasonable and affordable.

I can't believe what a difference it makes not worrying about the gifts. Now keep in mind, I have a small family, and no little kids in the picture. In fact, most of our relatives are middle age or older, and frankly, they don't want more 'stuff' anymore than I do!! It's the phase of my life I'm in - and one of the real perks to being in a life phase where I can "pause" more and step back, having a chance to experience the joys of the holiday without the obligation.

Now is the time to address some Christmas cards . . . listen to some music while drinking an old hot spiced tea favorite of mine from childhood. So where you are stressed or not, buying gifts or not, having lots of guests coming over . . . being with friends and loved ones, or being by yourself, you can do whatever holiday rituals truly make you happy - and one of mine is reading Truman Capotes, "A Christmas Memory" and then drinking some Christmas tea from my childhood. Maybe you can make some too? Or if you have to buy gifts, you can package this up in a little sandwich bag, into a Christmas mug and it makes a cute, inexpensive gift.

Hot Spiced Tea

1 1/2 cup of Tang instant breakfast drink

1/2 cup instant tea

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar or artificial sweetner

Enjoy!

The Kindness of Strangers . . . .

2011-11-26T13:24:00.005-06:00

I have been busy with the new job, as well as tons of personal changes. I won't get into all the excuses . . . and there's no need to apologize for not blogging in a while.

I'll just move on to the fact that I do indeed have MANY blessings . . . and chief among them is warm friends, loved ones . . . . and the reaching out of strangers to help on things in a serendipitous way.

For several months, I've been trying to figure out how to do triloom weaving on the 7' triloom I bought early last summer. Well, the first two attempts were a bust. After trying and failing twice to work on a shawl for my mother, I was about ready to give up and sell the loom. Couldn't get the hang of that darn loom.

Well, I was complaining about it over on Ravelry, and low and behold, this wonderfully nice lady named Sheila from over an hour away, volunteered to come over and help me sort it out. Since this loom is huge, you can't exactly meet at the local coffee shop - it's just not a portable kind of hting.

What a nice lady. She set me up by marking the loom with tape notating the nail count, showed me that it's much easier to have the yarn hanging from the TOP of the loom's frame, so you don't have to trip over the yarn on the floor. She also showed me how to check religiously to make sure there are no floats. Gosh, she had so much patience, and thanks to her help, I'm now working on a shawl once again - this time in emerald green. I'm still keeping fingers crossed!

Rewards of Decluttering

2011-10-16T21:53:00.006-05:00

Well I've been really trying to do a little bit of decluttering each day for about a week now. I have begun to make small strides, but each drawer, each bookshelf and each shelf full of clutter cleared away has made me feel really proud of my progress. I'm trying to simplify my life. Eventually, this may include me downsizing and moving into a smaller, more compact home, but for the time being, I'm just releasing (giving or throwing away) things that no longer than a use anymore. Trying to create a more simple, less chaotic environment so hopefully my life will reflect my surroundings.

While sorting through my nightstand, I was dumbstruck to find a set of notes that I'd carefully kept for YEARS (since November of 2000 to be exact) but hadn't been able to find in so long that I'd mistakeningly thought I accidentally threw it away or lost it some time ago. What a lucky find!!! It was a one-day seminar on handling conflicts with others, by being more understanding of the differences between each of us that makes us unique. It really was a big mind opener and has helped me deal with coworkers, loved ones and friends in a much more realistic and peaceful way over the past ten years. Imagine my happiness and suprise at finding these notes once again! And they resurfaced at a time in my life when I'm experiencing some turmoil again - so I'm grateful to have found it.

Sometimes when I find something that I long ago cherished, it feels like the greatest gift. I look forward to more things surfacing as I continue to dig, pitch, throw, and and reclaim.

Ask Yourself This

2011-09-25T07:44:00.009-05:00

I am trying, really TRYING to get a better work/life balance lately. With the new job, it is going very well, but seems to take every ounce of time, energy and focus that I have out of me. My boss had warned me that in the beginning, I'd be extremely busy and putting in a lot of hours, which is understandable since it's a totally new sales field for me - and the first time I have down outside sales entirely. Always before, I was inside sales, with a bit of outside client interaction and a lot of tradeshows and company events - but now I do everything myself and I'm on the run all day - and work on my paperwork and proposals and prep work late into the night. Luckily I've been having some success - I've sold two accounts recently and have several more that should be happening really soon. I'm doing well, but need to learn to do well in less time so that I have time and energy left for a life.

All work and little play is making me a dull girl!! I haven't been reading, crafting or interacting with my friends as much. Gosh, I haven't been to knit group in so long. Haven't had time to knit, weave, or even spin very much.

So this week, I decided to go to a Unity class at night and it's a weekly group of 12 people that will meet one evening a week for seven weeks. We will be studying and reflecting on the book Ask Yourself This by Wendy Craig Purcell. The book isn't a typical "how to" book that tells YOU how to find your spiritual self. Instead, it gently guides you into asking questions that will lead YOU to find your own answers and your strengthen your own relationship with the God of your being. The questions this week, in the first chapter were: What do I know for sure? How big is my God? How wide is my circle (How open am I to being open to meeting and interacting with new people and those different from me?) How much room do I give God to work it out? Is faith or fear guiding my decisions?

The group of people I'm meeting with are doing wonders for widening my own circle and I have enjoyed them already! The first week with them gave me a chance to reflect and share other people's spiritual insights, which is refreshing.

I'm still doing that focus on my Consciousness Raising affirmation that I linked to last time. Rebecca and Martha, thanks for joining me on it! I even posted my affirmation in several places - in the car on the visor, in my cube at work, and carry it in my purse. By affirming it several times a day, I think I've raised my own consciousness and hope that it is contributing to raising the well-being of all.

This week, I'm committing to asking and answering the next chapter in the book, and the next set of questions. I'm also committing to giving myself and my family more time and focus - easing up, at least a bit, on work.

I'm affirming the best for all of us - keep your chin up everybody. It's going to get better - and for me, it already is. I just have to focus more on gratitude for the things that are good and recognize the good for what it is - have faith in things that seem out of kilter or unfair, because it all will be okay in the long run.

People Coming Together - Campaign for Consciousness

2011-09-11T12:47:00.004-05:00

I've been feeling irritable, lonely, negative and disconnected lately - it's easy to feel that way - with the economy being so bad, and in my personal circumstances, Bob and I are away from each other so much (not by choice, but circumstances). Sometimes there seems to be no obvious light at the end of the tunnel, not only for us personally, but the whole country and beyond seems to be a compilation of nothing but "bad news." So I decided to shake myself out of my doldrums today and go to church at Unity (my spiritual home) - where I always get a positive lift. I was afraid they were going to have a sad and depressing 9/11 service, but instead, the service touched on 9/11 - but on the courageous acts and sense of oneness that came from it. So instead of the service being a "downer" it was a reminder of what is best in ALL of us. I felt really really uplifted and so VERY glad I went.

They have a brand new minister there, who just started last week, and she is SO inspiring. She's both amazing musically and in communicating her message in a way that really touches your heart and makes you want to take ACTION to bring about more good in the world.

One thing she read aloud to everyone is the Scott Heiferman, Meetup CEO, his message for "Fellow Meetuppers" on how Meetup first got started. Did you ever hear that story? If not, go read the September 9th blog entry on the link attached and be moved. If you don't want to go there, I'll summarize by simply saying, way less eloquently, that the phoneomen of Meetup started because Scott Heiferman was inspired by the sense of community that he suddenly felt amongst all his previously "go in the house and ignore your neighbors" mentality in his own neighborhood. On the event of 9/11, he saw his neighbors transformed, at least for a while, into caring REAL neighbors who talked with one another, who waved when they went into the house, who stopped and talked to one another outside in the yard for a change. He decided to launch a website to get people AWAY from their computers and into meeting one another in PERSON.

So I feel really uplifted today - and much less sorry for myself - wondering what I can do to be more active in my community. I started by staying after the service to meet people, and to sign up for a class that is a group of church members meeting together each week to study a book called, "Ask Yourself This" by Wendy Craig-Purcell. I've been doing way more bellyaching lately than praying and meditating. It's time that I start doing the things that give me hope in myself, and in the world, again. That's my commitment - to lift my vision higher.

Also, I am participating in the Campaign for Consciousness - 40 days of Daily Affirmation which goes from September 10 through October 19th - it will be forty days of lifting the consciousness for the benefit of the entire world. "Transforming the world one thought at a time." If you'd like to join me, go to the link, print out the three paragraph affirmation and recite it every day for the next 40 days.

Thanks to all of you who are part of my life - either in person or through the internet, and may we each lift up our thoughts to support and sustain one another. My thoughts ARE with you.

Gads is it September Already?

2011-09-05T17:16:00.006-05:00

Fall is moving in. We had an absolutely lovely and cool, sunny and exquisite Labor Day weekend. With the lowering of temperatures and the coming of Fall, my mood automatically becomes more upbeat. Life seems crisper and full of more possibilities with the departure of the constant heat wave of the past few months. It's been a hot, horrible summer, for us as well as most of the country.

My new job is going well. I still haven't sold anything, but am getting close. Yay! I've been getting appointments and seeing lots of people, so eventually the sales will start coming along too.

My calorie counting and exercise plan aren't going as well as I'd expected, because I keep getting sidetracked by the busy-ness of my new schedule and taking clients out to lunch is hard on the waistline! I need to get in better control of myself.

I just finished reading a charming little book called Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, a british novel by Allen Bradley, which I would highly recommend. A perfect light, end-of-summer novel that is part coming-of-age novel, and part cozy mystery, with the heroine being a mentally sharp 12 year old girl named Flavia De Luce. There are a few books in the series. Very cute.

Still haven't been crafting much, but hoping to get back to it really soon. I miss spinning, knitting and weaving.

Feel free to post a comment. I hope to be back in the swing of things here soon.

Just Checking In

2011-08-14T18:57:00.002-05:00

Not much new to report - I haven't been doing hardly any crafts, just an occasional spinning session here and there, because I've been busy getting my head crammed to overflowing with the new job.

I love the job, but am still in the learning phase. Took a big test last Friday. If I passed, I can start working in the field with actual clients. Can't wait! The training was very thorough though and I am liking the job - the glimpse that I see of it right now. Won't really know what doing the job is like until I actually do it, ya know?

But thanks for all the folks who have wished me well and commented, both on here and privately. I love to feel the love, doesn't everybody?

If I owe you a visit or a phone call, just reach out to me and we'll make "catch up" plans. I really miss my crafts and hope I can get a more balanced focus soon. But I really NEEDED this change and it is a welcome one.

I'm hoping that good things come to all of you too.

Things They Are A Chang'n!

2011-07-30T07:51:00.002-05:00

Well, quick update - I got the sales job at the radio station - yipppeeeee!! Really exciting. My last day at my old job was yesterday - quick presto chango, I know. Start training with the new place first thing Monday. Lots to learn, but I'm extremely excited and looking forward to it - I'd been feeling in a career rut for a while and now I need to really push myself to excel at this new job, similar to how I pushed myself and grew two years ago at the old one - but hopefully this will lead to more lasting long-term opportunities.

All I know is I gotta improve, learn and grow, because what else is there?

Is Anyone Still Here?

2011-07-17T18:48:00.019-05:00

Wow, I've been so immersed in tons of changes, chaos, and reaching for new things, that I kinda forgot to blog. Not sure if anyone is still listening sometimes, but I think I still have at least a FEW readers out there. I know, you guys are busy too, right? But I never want to totally let go of blogging because so much more can be covered in a few blog paragraphs than can be said in any other medium since I'm not a Facebook kind of person.

First off, in the "life" realm, I really can't jinx it because I believe it's bad luck to report on something until it happens, but let's just say there has been a job search going on, as well as pretty active interviewing. I'm hoping like crazy that one particular opportunity materializes, but it's still up in the air. But it's a "happy" exilerating kind of air ride - hopefully I won't be plummeted to the ground in disappointment. This is a scary time for me to make a career move - but I've been feeling innner prompting that FEELS more like divine direction than simple job restlessness, so I'm listening to that inner angel - in fact stumbling upon this sign while at a thrift store made me assured, in a weird way, that I'm right to make a change now. Call me romantic or illogical, but I really believe in "signs." This one is a literal one that seemed to speak directly to me.

On the crafts front, I've been really making use of my free time lately to get some things finished. First off, I finally found the right button for that laptop cover I've been weaving and I finished sewing it up last week. I really LOVE this project. Absolutely LOVE it. The bright, crazy colors really make me happy.

Then I also made a quick project of crocheting and felting an Alpaca roving rug for Bob. I thought this would be PERFECT for that spot right under his desk where he sits barefoot working on the computer. This felted rug is as soft as can be.

Last on the weight loss/fitness front: I have been really making progress - yes!!! Keeping a strict calorie count journal and following the 1200 calories a day guideline my doctor gave me is working out so well. I'm down 9 pounds (nearly 10) in 6 weeks. Thrilling. I'm starting to go down a size in clothes, too, which is always gratifying. I'm continuing to exercise as much as possible, within the constraints of my shoulder injury and even that too is showing signs of improvement.

So have a good week everyone, let's hope the wind is pushing my balloon in the right direction into bluer skies. Sure hope that's the case - and I'm holding all of you in my good thoughts and wishes too. May your ride be smooth(er) for a while. So many of us need a rest, don't we?

Shouldering Too Much?

2011-06-26T16:51:00.005-05:00

Haven't had time to write much on here lately. Things have been truly crazy busy. Work has been extremely stressful and weird lately. Unsettling actually. Lots of people quitting. Not sure WHAT is going on at my office but I don't feel either happy or secure. Very worrisome. Especially with my boss leaving - I just hate the idea of adjusting to my 4th boss in two years. Ugghhh!!!

We are thinking we might need to eventually relocate with Bob's job - long story - but with the real estate market being what it is, I don't know that it would be easy to move. Staying put for now, but that could change.

On top of all that, I am having pain. Lots of pain. In my shoulder. I've spent the last few weeks going to my doctor, to an ortho specialist and now to two weeks of physical therapy. It's called informally a "frozen shoulder" but the actual name is adhesive capsulitis. I noticed symptoms a few months ago, but it just has gotten worse and worse over time. Finally a few weeks ago I was in agony every time I moved the wrong way, and I could barely move my left arm or sleep on my left side. Let me tell ya, that's a problem when you are left handed! I've gone through some really painful physical therapy sessions 3 times per week and doing exercises for it 3 times a day. It's finally getting to the point where it's merely painful and not excruiciating.

I am so grateful for physical therapists, though. They are really and truly miracle workers if you do your exercises and follow their advice.

Maybe it's no coincidence that when I'm "shouldering" so much my shoulder gives out? Let me tell you, the thought has occurred to me that maybe this pain is more than physical and maybe my subconscious mind is trying to tell me something? Who knows.

The only thing that has brought me pleasure is spinning and weaving. For some reason, I've been able to do a BIT of that this week. For a few weeks, I haven't done much at all craft-wise because of the shoulder, but now I'm able to do a bit. This is the woven laptop bag I'm making on my rigid heddle loom. I LOVE weaving.

Celebrating with a Friend

2011-06-13T10:02:00.017-05:00

Last weekend was Luann's birthday - so I headed over for a quick one-day trip to her house - it's about a 90 minute drive each way, but a very pleasant day and a nice drive. On the way down, I listened to a book on tape.

We had a fun day - spent some time spinning. First time I'd spun in a few weeks. I've really missed it. I saw her new Border Collie, her animals, and she gave me some raw fiber - some Shetland, some Finn, and some Blue Leicester. Guess I will have to learn how to wash and process fiber, huh? It's beautiful stuff.

She showed me her looms and taught me how to warp a loom using a 14 foot warping board. I've always just used the direct method of warping before. I can see how a warping board might be easier with some projects. I have a warping board on the back of my Harp but have never used it.

Last but not least, I finished making a birthday shawl for another friend, an online pal named Debbie. This is the first woven shawl I've ever done on my Kromski 24" rigid heddle. It actually didn't turn out half bad for a first attempt.

Luann has been making some really cool woven banners that hang outside on your deck and make gentle sounds in the wind. I am probably going to try my hand at making one of those too. We both agreed that we should use some novelty yarn, particularly ribbon yarn, in our shawls and banners. So we went out on a novelty yarn buying mission - found some really cheap for $1 a skein at Big Lots near her.

I keep promising a return to knitting, and I really have been trying to do more of that. Cast on some Monkey socks. But admittedly, my preoccupation is still weaving. I'm eager to get going on another shawl on the Harp. It's just too fun to stop. Warping tonight. Yippeee!

A Need for Synthesis

2011-06-05T17:08:00.005-05:00

Granted, this year I wanted to learn a bunch of new skills - spinning better, weaving on a rigid heddle, carding better on my drumcarder, continuous strand weaving, learning more about art yarn. All these things I've been delving into for several months now.

So what has happened recently is that I've sorta lost track of where I'm at. With every new interest that comes along, I have allowed myself to randomly pursue it. And now things are getting to be a little - or a LOT strung out and disorganized. I jump from one set of needles, or looms, to another without enough direction to really complete projects the way I used to do.

Even my daily spinning (i.e. sanity check) has fallen a bit by the wayside while I pursue an obsession with weaving. Though I love weaving, unlike spinning, it isn't always relaxing and instead of unwinding, sometimes it makes me more tense.

The result is that I very much feel at "loose ends" right now - starting many things but finishing very little. So maybe (probably) I'm feeling scattered.

So I've decided to get things back in check by:

Finishing the turquoise recentagular shawl I've been weaving for a birthday gift - it's getting fairly far along, but not quite finished.

Spinning more on some sock spinning that has been sitting idle for several weeks

Clean out and organize my fiber stash so I know what I have and can get ready for Tour de Fleece.

Finish knitting a Haruni shawl that I've been working on very sporadically and see if I can make some headway on that.

Pick out a project I want to work on for Tour de Fleece - probably preparing and spinning the Coopworth fleece I picked out a few months ago at the Jefferson City Fiber fair.

Hopefully this realization for the need to get organized and focus my energies will help me put a rein on myself a bit and lead to perhaps getting more accomplished.

Update on diet frustration: Guess what? Since doing my calorie counting plan all this week, I went from 154.0 on Monday to 150.4 today. So I have lost 4 lbs in one week. Realize that this is probably mostly "water" weight but I am quite happy to have finally made a big budge in the scale. I went out and bought a cute little journal today at Borders, it has an oriental theme and is narrow so it won't take up much room in my small purse. With the shoulder trouble and pain I'm having, the big monster purse was replaced last week with a very small bag that holds only my essentials.

Maybe this shoulder trouble is symbolic, telling me I've been shouldering too much, and needing to simpify and unburden myself of the heavy things that are weighing me down? Who knows!

When It Ain't Working, Change It Up

2011-05-29T06:52:00.008-05:00

Well, since December 2nd, 2010, I have been doing the new Weight Watchers program and religiously following it, logging all my "points" in a journal and sticking with the program pretty religiously, and doing it with several friends - at work, in real life and online. I was thrilled with the new program, in theory, because I had a minimum of 29 points and I now get "free" veggies and fruits without counting any points for those.

So I loved the new program. The only problem is/was that I've lost a total of only 5 lbs in 5 months. A pound a month average isn't so whippy. In fact, it's gotten pretty discouraging. Even with doing my Wii nearly every day, I wasn't losing pounds. Just staying the same.

I know there are many factors influencing my lackluster results, including menopause and who knows what else. So Friday I went to the doctor, got a physical and had a complete blood panel done to see what's going on.

My doctor, it turns out, has lost 70 pounds in the past 15 months. Phenomenal. In fact, I didn't recognize him at first! I thought I had had a new doctor, so it was ironic I was there to talk about my weight loss, or lack thereof, and he was standing right in front of me demonstrating his fitness success. He reviewed my food journal and we talked about what he had done. He's been a guy who tried every diet and exercise plan, including Weight Watchers and various low carb plans. He told me that what worked in the end was plain old-fashioned calorie counting and exercise 5 times a week for half an hour - mainly walking, because running can cause injury, especially in someone my age. He said, in short, that I'm getting too many calories even though I'm sticking to the plan. He suggested that I go out and get a calorie counting book. That combined with my Wii is my new plan.

Will report back. My goal is to lose 1 pound a week average. I'll get the blood work back maybe next week - and that will give me a good baseline from which to see how well this new plan works.

Am I Still Knitting?

2011-05-27T07:29:00.004-05:00

Here lately all my blog posts have been about weaving. For those of you who don't weave, that's probably not too exciting. And you may wonder - do I knit anymore? My friend Elysbeth inquired about my knitting and I decided, what the heck, I might as well fess up to everyone that I have indeed inadvertently set aside my knitting bag somewhere due to my obsession with spinning, and here lately the new obsession of weaving.

In fact, embarrasingly enough, it took me a while the other day just to FIND my knitting bag buried beneath all the weaving books by my nightstand table.

It's not that I don't like knitting anymore. I do. Still love it. Just a matter of so many hours in the day. So I had cast on this shawl, called Haruni, in late March. It was supposed to be a knitalong with my group, but as mentioned, I'm way behind of doing anything with it. It's not a hard shawl, really it isn't. And though most in my knitting group have either finished or given up on it, I'm still plodding along, and now pulling it out of the bag and dusting it off. So here's the Haruni as it stands. The bright yellow yarns hanging out are the lifelines. It's my goal to work on it a bit during the Memorial Day extended weekend.

Have a good one everybody. I am really wiped out. Need to veg out, knit, listen to old podcasts, read a bit and knit a lot. This weekend the knitting will tag along with me. Promise.

Tri-Loom Can Be Trying

2011-05-23T13:41:00.005-05:00

Over the weekend, Bob and I put up the Tri-loom that I got for Mother's Day. It's a really nice 7' Tri-loom from Hideaway Homestead.

I was so excited! We put it together. I started working on it Sunday night. I read the instructions, then I wove. Then after working on it for a few hours, and with the daylight turning into evening, I couldn't see as well and was getting tired, but kept weaving.

Then at 11 p.m., well past my point of rationality, I stopped and took a closer look at my handiwork. Saw that many of the threads weren't right - they had several horizontal "floats." Quite annoying. And of course, I didn't know how to fix it. I was exhausted, so I ripped it all out with the intenion of starting fresh again and doing better. I am still struggling over how to fix mistakes.

I wrote Roger, the loom maker, and he is SO PATIENT and helpful. He basically said that the problem is, I've gotten messed up on the vertical weaving down but it shows up on both sides of the loom in the horizontal skips. He suggested that I use a crochet or afghan hook to make my weaving through the threads more accurate. He also suggested proofreading each line of weaving carefully before proceeding to the next. And he said there is a way of fixing mistakes and tried to explain it to me.

On Tuesday night, I started over again. Saw that when I was careful and used a hook, my weaving was indeed much better and I am starting to get the hang of it. This is really addictive but it does strain my neck and back, so I am only working on it a few rows at a time. And I learned my lesson and am now working under much better light.

I am going to keep working on this - because I can already see that I'm getting better as I practice, like with everything else. And I'm taking a class on Continuous Strand Weaving, which is what this method is - so after I have that class, later this summer, I'll probably have a better understanding of my beginner's mistakes and maybe they won't be such a big deal. The good part is you don't have to warp your loom, you just create the warp as you go, but the challenging thing is, you have to do it right. Ha! Small details, huh? Let me tell you, there's an old expression that says, "God is in the details." Really true.

Getting Stuff Done - Yes!

2011-05-16T10:23:00.002-05:00

Over this past weekend, I managed to get a ton of stuff done. Mostly organizing stuff - but it felt so terrific. I ran errands, I cleaned out closets and drawers, shredded up old bills. Chopped vegetables. Cooked and froze Weight Watcher friendly soups for future meals. Cleaned my car. Scrubbed my bathrooms and threw away old used-up stuff in the cabinet. Listened to the audiobook "Room" while I worked (fantastic and gripping book by the way). Reminded me that feels SO GOOD to get mundane stuff done and check them off the "to do" list.

I rewarded myself by visiting my old Sit and Knit group at Borders. Great seeing everyone again.

Now I feel recharged or empowered in a weird sort of way. Knowing that I can make headway in terms of mundane life tasks reminds me that I also can get stuff done and meet goals that are more abstract and meaningful.

Out of Sorts

2011-05-12T05:17:00.000-05:00

Gotta admit, I'm really feeling unsettled, disturbed, grumpy and have slept poorly. My mind was just full of so much STUFF - worries floating around bothering me to no end. Finally gave up at 3:30 and got up. Am still up. Tempted to just call in today and take a personal day - but hate to waste a precious day off on just being out of sorts.

Maybe I should take tomorrow off instead - a 3 day weekend might be refreshing. I also really need to journal - there's just so much stuff. Need to do a mind and emotion dump and get all this anxiety out onto a page somewhere. I wish I could go off and pray somewhere - maybe go visit the monastery again or something - inner peace is in short supply lately. I really need Room 8.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T17:01:00.008-05:00

Happy Mother's Day. We were all together. Four generations. Lucky to have Grammy Ferne still with us. She's phenomenal and was so happy to see everyone together.

Weekend Weaving Workshop

2011-05-01T19:26:00.013-05:00

Okay, a kind of crazy, intense learning-filled weekend. My brain is mush and I'm exhausted - but it was ALL worthwhile. My friend Luann and I went to Yarn Barn to take a Rigid Heddle workshop with Jane Patrick. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to learn from a weaving master like her!

The first day was all about using pick up sticks and the second day was hand manipulated yarn techniques such as leno lace, Spanish medallions etc. All I can say was the first day, I thought the class was WAY over my head, and it probably was, since there were many talented weavers there with much more weaving experience. However, I stuck it out, and am really glad I did! Now her book and DVD set make much more sense to me.

Jane is a patient teacher who goes around to everyone and helps them go at their own pace, without feeling like you are keeping the whole class behind. Then, if you a more advance weaver, such as a couple of people in our class, then she keeps you busy with advanced enrichment techniques. Therefore, I would highly recommend any of her workshops because she's an excellent instructor.

On Saturday night, I finished this Leno Lace cowl which I had started right before leaving home. It was a really quick, fun project. Made it on my Cricket loom in just a few days. Boy, weaving is amazingly fast when you're doing a small project.

I will turn in VERY early tonight. One thing I learned, once again, is that my weekends of "down time" are precious and it would have to be for a very special instructor for me to give up a whole weekend of relax - and I'm going to try to slow my pace a bit the rest of this week to rest up and regroup.

Weaving Accessory Bag

2011-04-24T17:42:00.003-05:00

If last weekend was focused on relaxing, this one was focused on doing errands and getting things done. Many things were marked off my "to do" list. That is a really satisfying feeling though.

The motivational speaker Brian Tracey used to call that "eating the frog" - meaning doing the things that you really need to do, and just swallowing those tasks - getting them over with, then feeling the satisfaction of having done what you need to do. Good especially on a cold, rainy and nasty April weekend when it's too cold to do anything outside anyway.

The only bit of fiber work I had the chance to do this weekend, though, was finishing weaving and sewing up this bag. It's a loom accessory bag. I actually wove the fabric for the bag itself on the Kromski Harp that it is hanging from. First project on that loom. And I'm so proud of myself for sewing the bag on my sewing machine, including a lining and inside pockets. Yippee. Something very handy and useful that I'll use every time I weave.

You gotta love a project that turns out exactly as you envisioned it. Gotta take happiness in simple things and accomplishments. Right?

Hope Begins

2011-04-19T07:40:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite quotes, from one of my favorite writers, Anne Lamott:

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work, you don't give up." - Anne Lamott

I LOVE Anne's nonfiction, especially her essays where she discusses her life and her faith, and her stories about her son Sam, who is now grown, with a son of his own. She's one of the most reasoned voices in faith that I've heard. She has the kind of faith that I aspire to. What's funny is I'm not as fond of her fiction - her novels just don't draw me in. Not sure why?

I also love her writing book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, which my friend Phyllis introduced to me back when I was still writing regularly. I don't know why, but Anne's nonfiction is so much more poignant and funny to me, and just resonates in a way that few voices do. Even if you aren't a writer, you'll love the insights from this book.

She seems to have the kind of faith that allows for complexity, and I feel that many people with strong faith tend to simplify the world and the heavens, whereas Anne accepts and welcomes the complexity. Few others have the inner strength to laugh at it, while still embracing it.

So if you haven't read her book "Grace Eventually: Thoughts on Faith" you might want to. I especially love the audio version, since she reads it herself.

As we are now seeing the promise of Spring, and it's the season of both Passover and Easter, it's the time to examine our interiors - focus once again on our spiritual selves and experience that sense of renewal that allows us to go within ourselves for reflection, then rise above and outside of ourselves in a hopeful way.

Spring Clothes Shopping

2011-04-13T07:38:00.009-05:00

I don't remember when I've EVER looked forward to Spring so much, or a year when it's been so delayed. We had an outright beast of a winter, as I know many other areas did also. And I'm usually a cool/cold weather person, but when it comes to warmer weather this year, I say, "Bring it On!" though I may not maintain that enthusiasm once our temps and humidity climb into the 90's as they eventually will do.

At any rate, being faced with attending many conferences at this time of year, and needing an "attractive business casual" look, I decided last night was the time to go clothes shopping. I really dislike doing that, since I'm not nearly the fashionista that my mother and daughter have always been.

Shopping is especially distressing when you want to "dress thin" while not BEING thin. And a short, plump middle-aged lady like me is hard-pressed to find clothes that truly don't make her butt (and gut) look big. There's a good reason why we always ask people, "Do these pants make my butt look big?" There are in fact outfits that, while not making us truly smaller, can reduce the emphasis on our overly abundant parts.

So instead of holding out on clothes shopping until the elusive day when I "get in shape," I've decided to buy a few pieces NOW. And what is unusual, instead of avoiding white like I usually do, I purposely have been very drawn to it lately. Not sure why. I bought a white purse, a white pair of capris and slacks, one black and white dress that is very cute, and a darling pair of white sandals. I also bought a new pair of black capri's with a sort of silverish belt. And in the spirit of spring, painted my toenails bright pink. Doing this mini Spring "self makeover" had me singing "Summer Breeze . . . . makes me feel fine" all the way to the office.

What makes you sing? What makes you feel good about yourself? Can you treat yourself to one new outfit? Even a visit to a thrift store can reinvent a tired wardrobe.

Weaving - Me?

2011-04-02T09:08:00.017-05:00

Okay, Grandma Ferne dragged me into spinning, kicking and screaming, when she offered me her Ashford Traddy 2 years ago. Now I'm being drawn into the darkside of her favorite craft love . . . . . weaving. Granted, I haven't fallen in love with it enough to add a room addition onto my house for a floor-sized loom, as she once did, but I like it enough to make this (second) scarf on my small Cricket heddle loom.

And I've dusted off my sewing machine - in this effort to transform my too-short first woven scarf into a Little Zippy Knitting Notions Bag.

I have succumbed to the lure of a Kromski Harp 24" rigid heddle loom. Here it is all put together. Nice huh? For some reason, I had a heck of a time getting it assembled, and I kept thinking we had put it together wrong. But my Kromski dealer from afar, DakotaSkipper, who I "met" on Ravelry is the very best, most supportive person. She dropped everything when I told her we were having trouble, and wrote out a whole tutorial on how to put it together. She is excellent support not only in selling the loom to me, but in continued information and assistance.

Soon will come mug rugs. I've been obsessively read Jane Patrick's Weaver's Idea book and watching her 2 set DVD instruction about rigid heddle weaving. She makes it look easy on the DVD. The book is a bit over my head, but will give me just what it says - IDEAS and inspiration for a long, long time. It may take me a while to get good enough to try many of the things she mentions in the book.

Gosh, my head hurts. I'm overwhelmed with crafting information this whole winter and now into spring. But the crafting has kept me focused on something fun and creative when much of the rest of my life has felt out of control and in transition lately, so that's probably why I'm immersing myself in them so much. It still is (a bit) cheaper than therapy, but a whole lot more fun.

Finally - a Restful Weekend

2011-03-27T20:47:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I just realized I haven't blogged in two weeks. I think that's about the longest I've ever gone without checking in here. It's been a busy time. Especially weekends. Lately my weekends are even busier than my work weeks. Just got back from a 5 day tradeshow that kicked my butt and wore me out. So as this weekend approached, I couldn't wait! Then heard the weather forecast was for a frigid return to winter. Sure enough, as promised, this was a freezing cold and even snowy weekend - and I decided yesterday (Saturday) was a day to just stay home and hibernate. Haven't had an all-PJ's/all the time day in forever. So it was PJs and the fire for me. How cozy. Amazingly so. Played with my fiber most of the day. Successfully set up my rigid heddle loom on my own, then started a scarf and worked all day on it while watching movies and videos and drinking coffee. Very fun! Totally indulged in bumming around and enjoying every minute of it. Cooked. One of my favorite new meals I've been eating on Weight Watcher's lately is sweet potato fries sprayed with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" and dusted with chili powder - just cut them up, put in a 450 degree oven for 17 minutes and voila, you have a taste treat sensation that Jennifer Hudson recommends, and so do I. I eat it with 1 cup of cottage cheese and if I want sauce, I dunk the fries in honey mustard. Did treadmill and listened to podcasts. Fun! Today, on Sunday, I had breakfast with my Mom and visited my Grammy. Came home exhausted, took a deep deep nap. Did some thrift store shopping with her and landed some WONDERFUL gray corduroys. Perfect. I forgot how, when I was a teenager, I wore cords constantly. Now I'm fully rested and feeling much better. So this was a good reminder of how important balance is in my life and probably for most people. I haven't been giving myself any down time. Duly Noted. Intend to do more vegging when my body calls for it. Sorry for the run-on paragraph. Blogger must need some rest too?

Fiber Fest in Jeff City

2011-03-13T17:50:00.016-05:00

Just returned from the best kept fiber learning secret in the Midwest - the Jefferson City Fiber Festival that is held every year in March. This was my second year attending, and it's just the best fiber learning opportunity I can imagine, short of SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) - but SOAR is too rich for my budget, while the one here in my state is so much more affordable and convenient. Plus, we often get many of the same teachers.

My classes this year were all spinning ones - 1) Setting Yourself Free with Scissors - which was drum carding and spinning by using novelty fibers and leftovers from other projects, and combining them into glorious batts in such as way that it LOOKS like art yarn, but is much more pleasing to my eye - and is much easier to boot. This was the most fun and easy class I took all weekend. It was also my favorite. There's a better chance of me using this immediately in my projects than anything else.

You can see that I loved this so much that I spun the yarn, washed and dried it in my hotel room and then created this little neckscarf that coordinated with a hand-made button that a newly-met friend, Susan, offered me. Isn't it beautiful? She has a real button making talent. I wish she sold them online, but she only does them for fun. I hadn't spun chunky singles in a while and this was really a blast.

2) Spinning Cotton - quite a challenge, but boy I learned a lot. This class helped perfect my ability to spin on a high whirl, treadles fast, move my hands VERY fast and practice long draw, which has usually been impossible for me. We also learned to draft cotton using special cotton cards. I can't believe how much fiber a little bit of cotton spins into. It's a very short staple. It was a pleasure to watch Leslie use a supported spindle, I think called tahkli (pronounced "talk-lee").

3) Spinning Flax - the teacher was a fiber genius and I had a great time. We spun with these high distaffs that reminded me of something I'd see people marching around with in Rennaisance times. Huzzah! It is a really challenging but FUN fiber to spin. The teacher made us realize how much work goes into getting Flax from the plant into shape enough to spin, and it is really labor intensive. Flax eventually becomes linen. It softens up more and more with each wash.

4) Woolen vs. Worsted - how to tell the difference and change your spinning technique to match the type of fiber you are spinning. Very enlightening and in this one, I finally learned how to use hand cards, or believe so anyway. The teacher, Darlene, was very patient and helpful, but a 12 year old fellow spinner named Shannon really helped cement the concept of hand carding and made it "click" in my brain. We practiced worsted vs. woolen prep and we learned that cottons are best done with long draw, while long fibers which I normally prefer are best done with the inchworm beginner method which is still my fallback technique. We got to work with fresh lamb's fleece, washed but not carded, and I finally know a butt from a tip - and how to flick it then card it and spin it without messing up the alignment of the fibers.

Whew! Very fun but exhausting weekend. Not so much as a retreat as a brain squeeze - but it gave me enough ideas and material to practice on for a good long time. I highly recommend this affordable festival to anyone in the Midwest who can attend.

Rigid Heddle Class at Yarn Barn

2011-03-07T06:20:00.013-06:00

I took my first ever weaving class over the weekend at Yarn Barn. It was a rigid heddle beginning weaving class. Project was (of course) a woven scarf. I took the class because I've had my Schacht Cricket loom in the closet for over a year now and it's high time to use it.

The teacher, Mary Margaret, is a lot of fun and has a huge enthusiasm for weaving that was infectious.

The other women in my small class were very talented and multi-craftal. So the whole time we are in there in class, I'm thinking everyone's colors look better than mine, their scarves look better, and they are much faster than me also. But that's okay. I'm usually the slow one in the class and that doesn't bother me. I tend to be slow at getting new concepts and skills, but if interests me enough, I eventually improve over time.

So everyone else in the class finished their scarves but me. Most people's scarves were 50 inches, a tad short but no big deal. Well I just took mine home home and finished it up last night. Very confident and proud of my beginning weaving, even though it was far from perfect.

But when I was nearly finished and turned the crank one final time to get the end of the weaving area and to try to put in my waste yarn at the end to finalize the scarf, the apron rod, when fully out of the crank, was flopping and made all my tensioning on the scarf go slack. So I couldn't finish it up properly. My intention had been to do the "twining" (end stitching) and put in the white waste yarn so that when it is washed and blocked, that is removed and creates a nice finished look and even tension.

Maybe it was user error - I can't remember the teacher talking about that apron flopping issue. And I don't remember it being a problem on anyone else's loom, but then I was the only one with a Cricket. It is probably user error.

At any rate, while the beginning of my scarf looks like this - all neat and tidy, the ending looks messy and not tensioned properly.

Plus my scarf was only 36" - hardly scarf size. Not to mention fringe - shesh I can't remember how to make neat fringe at all. She showed us. I've seen first scarves from 6 years olds that look much neater and cuter than mine. Shesh!

So I'd say that my enthusiasm and interest in weaving far exceeds my talent. But I'm always open to get better - it can only go up from here.

Dare I Say It?

2011-02-25T11:26:00.007-06:00

My friend Elysbeth and I were just talking the other day about how, we are both truly supstitious about revealing possible good news until it is a "done deal." Inevitably talking about a positive possiblity jinxes it. But as many of you know, my husband has been out of work for several months. Last time I bragged about him getting a job, it a short-lived contract job that lasted only a few months, so I'm hesitant to mention this for fear of jinxing it.

But shesh - I am so happy about it I am about to pop. Bob got a job, yeah! Granted it's a contract job that may only last 6 months. But considering how desperate and worried we were, it's such a relief. He's been looking for so long. When I say he's been LOOKING for a job, I don't mean casually, I mean with his whole heart and soul and constant effort. He had a really rough time. This job came about because he kept calling and following up with every single possibility. Just when his hopes had been dashed on one possibility, he heard that he had an interview with this new one. And they moved fast to interview and hire him. Yay!

Hip hip horray!!! (Now I'm still keeping my fingers crossed). Thanks to all of you who were supportive, sympathetic and said prayers or sent some good vibes our way.

This is a much needed piece of good news. Whew!

Resolution Roundup

2011-02-23T06:23:00.005-06:00

Remember I made some resolutions in January? Well I decided that I should periodically, maybe once a month or so, check back on myself and see how I'm doing with those so they don't fall by the wayside.

So I'm going to brief recap what they were and how I'm doing:

De-junking and decluttering: This is going pretty well. So far I've managed to begin organizing and removing a lot of extra boxes and old items from my basement. Also have gotten my knitting/guest room into organized enough shape that Luann was able to stay there recently. I still have more I could do in there to make it better, but it's a start. Also started on the kitchen. Still a long ways to go in kitchen, baths and closets. Have been good following my rule about removing an item of clothing from my closet for every new item brought in. That works really well!

Artist's Way is the Way - write Morning Pages to start journaling again on paper. More importantly, once a week, go on an "Artist's Date" where I explore new activities that are fun, creative and unique - that spark my soul. Did I forget about this or what? I haven't done much with this. I like the idea of journaling/doing Morning Pages every day, but so far, this hasn't worked well into my life. I have done a few "artists dates" where I do some fun activity that stimulates my creativity - and that part I'll keep doing because it really seems to keep me somewhat sane during a tough time. Bob still doesn't have a job, so times are depressing and worrisome. Maybe some journaling would help?

Become a Mentor for my daughter and move out of the Parent with a capital "P" mode. I've started working on this. We've made some progress. This is a big one, but needs to be kept on the front burner. She's really grown up but there were some life skills that remain to be taught. If she learns from us, that's fine. If not, I need to continue stepping back and letting her live her own life and develop the skills - even if it means learning some things the hard way. It's tough, but I'm getting thicker skin.

Spend more time with people and less time online. Trying to do this. My biggest challenge on this remains Ravelry, but think I'm spending less time on it overall. I'm trying to arrange some "real life" get togethers with my friends and have started returning to the Saturday knit group to meet up with some people. also am going out with a coworker to a gym to exercise and do a bit of venting. Am still connected with my close online friends such as Elysbeth and Phyllis. Am doing some reaching out by phone. Talking.

Follow Weight Watchers new program, or whatever method works for me to get about 1,200 calories a day until I reach a healthy weight. This is going really well! I've been back on WW plan for nearly two weeks and have been doing good. Slow but steady wins the race. I've been writing down food and looking up the points. I've been concentrating on eating veggies, protein, fruits, healthy but limited carbs (whole grains). Feeling MUCH better. Trying to eat less frozen meals and cooking healthy foods. Trying new recipes is FUN. Will share some of those soon on this blog if anyone is interested.

Consistently exercise each and every day. This is for both physical and mental health. I have returned to doing the treadmill at home regularly and also joined a gym near my work. Have been working out with a friend of mine from work. She motivates me and it's more fun to exercise together. We've been going at lunch, and also occasionally go after work for longer sessions. This week I'm taking aqua arobics and a yoga class. Definitely lifts the mood and helps the body too.

Take a vacation - Bob and I took the Vegas anniversary trip in January. Really a blast. We are too tight on money to plan anything else yet - but when the weather really warms up, we hope to occasionally take some weekend trips by car, or if we're still broke and can't afford to stay overnight, we'll do daytrips. I got the daytrip book from the library.

Wear my pedometer every day. Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. Yes.

Watch my language - speak less and act more. Avoid gossip, backstabbing and careless use of speech. Hurtful putdowns, sarcasm and bad tone of voice should be recognized for the poison that it is. Kind speech and thoughts lead to kind and gentle actions. Strive to be "soft centered." Ohhhhhhh. Hahum. This one has been the most difficult. Least focused on. I've recently said some pretty harsh words to the cable company - but now I'm out of that business relationship. (grin). Seriously, haven't worked on this much. Need to. Sometimes when my life is hard, I become hardish around the edges, and sometimes resentment leaks into my core. I don't like that in myself. Besides, being gentle and firm, and patient, lends better results than harsh anyway.

Friend and Fiber Filled Weekend

2011-02-15T17:11:00.014-06:00

Last weekend my friend Luann came up to stay with me for the weekend and to hang out. We wanted to attend a nearby spinning guild meeting. So we had the perfect excuse for a friend and fiber fest.

On Friday night, we made dinner together and stayed up late talking, spinning, drinking coffee and getting our fiber ready for the spinning group.

We made more snow dyeing cakes also - taking advantage of the little bit of snow that was left on the ground. We made some really gorgeous green with a mixture of lemon lime Kool-Aide, dark green food coloring and some lemonaide Kool-Aide. We made a total of 3 batches of dyeing.

The spinners we went to see were having a Crazy Batt drum carding challenge. Luann brought her Louet drumcarder up for us to use. Saundra encouraged us to include all kinds of things in our batts, including cut up scraps of fiber and pretty scarves purchased from thrift stores, as well as our old yarn and roving scraps. We cut them up and included them in the batts.

We went to Yarn Barn to visit the store Luann had never been to. We had a good time and tried out all the wheels. When we got home, she showed me how to do a bit of frame weaving on her rectangle loom. The neat thing about this type of weaving is that you don't have to warp the loom. She left it with me to borrow so I could finish up the scarf we started together. Unfortunately I can't remember how to it! I'm going to try to figure it out again on my own, but if not, then she may have to give me a refresher course. In a couple of weeks, I'm taking a rigid heddle weaving class at Yarn Barn.

It was a really fun weekend.

No, It's Not a Snow Cone

2011-02-08T19:50:00.026-06:00

Last weekend, faced with nothing but cold and snow, and fighting the worst case of cabin fever, I decided to try my hand at "snow dyeing." My friend Luann had been doing this with success, and so I decided to try it. From my understanding, you can dye fiber, yarn and even cloth with this method and it's really easy and fun.

Using a 9 X 13" cakepan, I filled it with about 2 inches of snow. Then laid my fiber down in a thick layer. I used plain mill ends. Then I laid about 2-3 more inches of snow on top. Tried not to pack it down hard. Because this snow was light and powdery, it worked really well. Then I took about 10 packages of Kool Aid and lightly sprinkled the top of each pan - I had two panfuls of "snow cakes." 10 on each pan - so I used a total of 20 packages of Kool Aid for each 2 pan batch. I later realized that the yellow Kool Aid wasn't going to be dark enough for what I wanted, so I decided to turn it green by adding some blue food coloring.

I let this sit on the kitchen counter at room temperature for several hours. In fact, if you did this in the evening, you could let it sit out overnight. Just be sure there is a tablecloth, dropcloth or something underneath in case the pan spills over. (By the way, you can use other types of dye besides Kool Aid, I just happened to have those on hand and they were cheap, plus I wanted something non-toxic since I was planning on using the oven to bake in the dye).

After the snow has totally melted, I placed it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. I took it out of the oven, let the pans and the fiber cool to room temperature, then just rinsed them out and set the fiber to dry on a screen in my basement.

I like how the colors came out. I noticed that because I let them sit in the dye water as the snow melted, the roving was darker and more saturated on the underside then the top. That variation was fine with me and I liked it. Some people might prefer to use a pan with holes, like a colander, so that the dye water could drip down as it melted and escape the fiber pan. Like I said, this seemed like too much bother to me, and I liked the effect created by the method I used.

This was so fun! I like the spring like colors achieved with Kool Aid. But I'd also like to try this method sometime with acid dyes. It is a really cool method that allows the dye to seep slowly into the fiber.

Making snow dyed cakes gives me something to do with snow other than make snow ice cream. Goodness knows we've had enough snow for now . . . and maybe getting some more later tonight? Eeks. Better wash my cake pan and be prepared for the next round of snow cakes. If you try it, let me know how yours turn out.

Drum Carding Up a Box of Valentine Chocolates . . . Err Fiber That Is

2011-02-05T19:46:00.016-06:00

Did something unusual last night. I had been thinking about entering this Fancy Kitty drum carding contest on Raverly for several weeks now. There were three categories: natural batts, colored/blended batts and finally art yarn batts.

The natural and blended contests were taking place in the middle and late January and with our vacation and during the throes of getting back in the swing at work, I didn't have time to enter those categories.

And I'd practically forgotten all about the final category contest until I stumbled upon it again in the early evening on Rav and decided on a whim, "What the heck, I'm going to enter this contest, just to do some more batt creation and aim for a specific thing this time - a Valentine's theme. So I threw caution to the wind, and along with it, some merino, hand-dyed mill ends, white angora, brown mill ends, lavendar merino silk blend and tons of sequin strings, pieces of ribbon as well and sprinkled in some angelina for some extra sparkle and glitz.

Finally much of that fiber I dyed up last summer, in the August heat, at last I found a use for all that red, pink, and peach fiber.

I managed to create, photograph and post my drum card art batt in time for the contest deadline at noon today. Yippee! There were several really lovely batts submitted, so who is to say what will happen, but I'm glad I put myself "out there" and definitely learned a lot by trying to create a specific themed batt. Lots of fun!

Now I can't wait to see what this batt will look like spun up. I don't have a project in mind yet, but will come up with something soon.

Edited to add: I didn't win - another lady did whose batt was called "Hunka Hunka Burn'n Love." I'm still glad I entered and I'm happy with the batt I made. Will be doing more with my drum carder now that I broke it out of the fiber closet.

Bracing For the Next Wave of Winter

2011-01-30T17:04:00.021-06:00

Okay, last time I wrote about what a fun little snow overnight that I had with my buddy from work. And I know some parts of the country have it far worse - winter has been a real bear this year for folks nearly everywhere.

But honest to Pete, it's getting pretty wearing already. January is really locking us in very cold temps and threats of major "snow events" not to mention ice. Which is worse? Not sure. Snow is pretty and sparkly the first few times and then it gets annoying. Still I'd ten times prefer winter over summer. We had ONE warm springlike day (yesterday) where it got up in the 50's - that was a mere tease, because winter is returning with revenge.

The thing that most annoys me about winter is that everytime I plan to go someplace, my plans are subject to derailment. Like last weekend when I was going to an Artyarn workshop in Harveyville, KS, I ended up coming home early. Scardy cat of being stuck in the middle of Kansas with an ice threat. (Plus I missed sleeping in my warm bed - as you get older and more set in your ways, you miss your own house more than you might imagine).

Anyhow, I attended one day of Jacey Boggs' artyarn class and then came home Saturday night - so I missed the whole second day of class. The day attended was great - well the instruction was at least. I had a bit of technical difficulty, when the little piece that acts as the delta orifice flipped off Rhoda the Roadbug (my spinning wheel) and I didn't have any superglue to reattach it. That's all it would have taken - a few drops of superglue. So note to self: add superglue to my spinning supplies.

At least I had a chance to experience Nikol's delicious cooking. Someday that girl is going to come out with a Yarn School cookbook, and when she does, by gosh, I'm going to get it. Nikol is the owner of the school and host to those of us who visit.

Here's my friend Christine, who was kind enough to drive us to Harveyville.

I learned a lot about art yarn - which is now more appropriately called "textured yarn" - Jacey's term and I like it better than "art yarn" because textured yarn is really what it is. It's all art yarn right, we're all fiber artists making art? But some of us try our hand at making big, funky, yarn with texture. I don't honestly know how much I'll be spinning this type of yarn in the future, because I tend to more traditional yarn. But then again, it really does help make you a better spinner overall to learn new techniques. Plus, I love corespinning.

I see much, much corespinning in my fiber future.

So now as we face this next week - with a long three days of extended "snow and ice events" leading into my work week, I wish you all a nice fire to curl in front of with your spinning wheel, favorite novel, or kntting/crochet project. Enjoy and try not to get too stressed about all the activities you are missing. This will just help us appreciate spring all the more when it DOES come, right?

Snow Day Hen's Party

2011-01-20T22:00:00.019-06:00

Well last night through this morning, we had about a 9 inch snowstorm. It came down fast and pelted us. This is only the second major snow of the season so far.

It was a really slick and BIG storm - the roads were a mess. Luckily I'd packed some extra work clothes in my car for just this kind of snow emergency. My plan was to stay at a nearby hotel, as I've sometimes done before. But a coworker friend of mine, Diane, invited me stay at her house overnight. I was reluctant to do this, because frankly, it just felt "weird" staying at someone's house - encroaching on their personal space. But she insisted she didn't mind - so she drove me home.

Let me just say, it was a fantastic idea. We had a blast! What is usually a hum-drum mid-week evening turned into one of the most spontaneous FUN sleepovers I've ever had since I was ten years old.

We started by cooking a delicious casserole for dinner. It was a recipe she'd never tried but had found on the internet. It's called "Fiesta Chicken Casserole." It has chicken (we used frozen chicken), salsa sauce, sour cream, shredded cheese, black beans and Campbell's condensed chicken soup. The recipe called for pie crust as a topping, but instead, we decided on crumbled tortilla chips for a crunchy topping. Then we baked it in a 13 X 9" casserole dish for 40 minutes. It came out SO delicious! Piping hot comfort food, and I bet it could be made to be less fattening by choosing the low-fat versions of the ingredients. My kind of cooking, inexpensive, and delicious.

Since she likes to sew, she showed me gifts and things she's made for family members. She is a really craft-oriented kind of person that can make fancy gift packages with a theme. She makes diaper cakes for expectant mothers full of all sorts of baby stuff. And she makes just really clever things. I enjoyed sitting in her sewing room and brainstorming cute sewing, knitting and quilting ideas - she doesn't know how to knit (yet) but I have a feeling our craft obsessions might rub off on one another eventually.

Her home is one of those homes that is just COMFORTABLE. From the moment you step in, you feel at ease. Not fancy - just clean, comfortable and welcoming. Before night fell, we watched the birds as they scurried from the snow and into her bird feeders. She has different feeding stations for different birds.

Then after dinner, we sat up and watched her favorite sit-coms - her current favorites are "The Middle" and "Hot in Cincinnati" - while we watched, I snuggled in a warm blanket on her couch and finished knitting the Gimme Five Vest from an old issue of Knitters that I was finishing up using some art yarn I spun. I haven't had time to block it yet, but here's an idea of what it looks like. Pretty cute for a fast knit. It's a drop stitch design.

We stayed up until 11:30 just giggling, talking and watching the snow fall down, covering the deck, the driveway, the road. It was a real hen party. She had a comfy guest bedroom for me and a guest bath - just perfect.

The roads weren't well plowed in the morning, but by afternoon, the streets were clear so I could return home. But I was SO glad I stayed with her rather than risking a long commute at best, or an accident at worst.

And this snow slumber party also made me glad I'd said "yes" to one of those serendipitous
opportunities to open up my world to happy everyday adventures.

Viva Las Vegas!

2011-01-14T08:44:00.024-06:00

Well, I already am working on making this a more exciting, fulfilling year.

Starting with one of my resolutions to take more vacations - we just got back from a Las Vegas vacation. What a blast! Bob and I haven't been away together in far too long. It was an anniversary trip - so we wanted a romantic getaway.

It was so fun to escape sub zero temperatures and 5 inches of snow to go away to Vegas and just step off the everyday world for a while. The glitz, the glamour, the "over the top" nature of Vegas was just what our heads and hearts needed right now.

Although Bob is very tolerant of my knitting and fiber obsession, I decided to leave it behind for this trip. I just wanted to focus on our relationship, seeing the scenary, being together and vegging out. We became children for 5 days - being goofy, silly and just doing whatever we felt like as the mood hit us.

We haven't been to Vegas since Emily was in kindergarten and boy has it changed in all those years!

We tried to do something different everyday. We went to the Pawn Shop store where the History chanel TV show is filmed with Rick and his dad the "Old Man" and Chumley and the son "Big Hoss." Though we didn't get to see the stars in person, we saw them taping out in the parking lot as we drove by one day. Another day, we went in and toured their shop. Yes, there is a line waiting to get in. We spotted a few items in the shop that have been featured on their show.

We absolutely LOVED the Freemont Street Experience - it's in downtown Las Vegas night activity. They've taken 5 blocks of streets and put up a big 90 foot lighted ceiling overhead to link them together and turned it into a place where you can go, shop, walk around, eat, drink, gamble, and just have fun. The whole area is ablaze with people dressed up, with outdoor musicians, including one really talented saxophone player named Carl Ferris. That guy is amazing. It really puts me in mind of a Mardi Gras type atmosphere, even though I've never been to New Orleans to accurately compare the two.

I'm no fashionista - but one thing I noticed was that many MANY women there, tourists and locals alike, were wearing these quilted jacket/vests. Though I've seen them around for years, I've never seen so many in one place - it's like EVERYONE was wearing them. So I went to Ross's discount clothing store - and they have those shops everywhere in Vegas, and bought one for myself. If you are cold, wear a whole jacket or sweater, right? But these somehow keep the core part of your body warm and so all you need to wear under it is a long sleeve blouse and you stay pretty darn warm without the bulkiness of a full coat or jacket. Really neat. Now I know why they are so popular.

We had a chance to see several shows - including Cher's Farewell Tour. Oh my gosh, that woman is a knockout at whatever age she is now. She gave an amazing performance and I'm so impressed with her talent. I always watched her Sonny and Cher show on TV when I was a kid, and what a chance to see her live.

Of course, we ate and ate and ate. But we tried to eat two meals a day instead of three. We ate most mornings at a favorite place called Arizona Charlie's - having the $3.99 egg and steak special. Delish!! That's what we're eating in the photo at the top.

Well anyway, we are back to reality. Wah!!! But it's okay, really. In fact, going back to a normal routine wasn't half bad, and we came back really refreshed.

The Artist's Way to a Great New Year

2011-01-06T11:01:00.015-06:00

Many many years ago, in 1995 in fact, I discovered Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY. It was a fad back then, and since I was working as a paid freelance writer as a career, in addition to being a stay-at-home Mom at that time, the program was one that naturally appealed to me. Nearly every writer, artist, musician and free spirit who I encountered during the mid-90's was reading and doing, and discussing the 12 week Artist Way program.

The way it works is each week, there is a corresponding weekly chapter that you read about in the book, and then exercises related to whatever the theme for the week happens to be. In addition to the weekly reading and activities, there were two over-arching activities that a person does regularly throughout.

Two overarching and critical activities:

Morning Pages - each day, you write 3 pages of freehand journaling per day, preferably in the morning, before you go about your morning rountine - it's a first of the morning "mind dump" and is a mental dump not unlike the physical dump that happens each day in the bathroom. Rather gross, and I apologize, but it's true. Instead of the sweet little diary entries that many of us learned to write as kids, this is a release of all the mental stuff that is clogging up one's creativity - all the gripes, complaints, annoyances, fears and mental limitations that are preventing you from moving forward in every area of your life. You flush these negative feelings about your career, your relationships, your friendships, your finances and anything else into your Morning Pages and then release them, freeing yourself to move forward with your day less encumbered and hopefully freerer.

My feelings about this used to be mixed - I believed in "postive thinking" at the time, and was worried writing these bad, negative things would make me a negative person, since I tend to lean toward the negative anyway. Well, contrary to my fears, doing these Morning Pages each day really did make me feel better and perform more effectively. It truly DID seem to foster my creativity. Don't know why but it sure did. Just to be safe, I counterbalanced the Morning Pages with a separate small notebook I called "Evening Pages" and they were just a short list of 3 things I was grateful for that day - the good things that happened that I could appreciate and thus end the day on a high note.

Just to clarify: the Morning Pages aren't ALL negative - it is simply stream-of-consciousness writing - you write about absolutely anything that occurs to you until you write 3 complete pages - it can be about anything. But it's yours and should be totally uncensored. One thing that I used to do was write, at the beginning of the notebook, a caveat for my loved ones, just in case anything catastrophic ever happened to me and they read it. If I were concerned that something seriously might be miscontrued that I'd written in anger, then I might considered tearing up or removing those pages after the vent was complete. Kind of like writing a letter or email just to get the thoughts out - but never mailing it.

Artist's Date. Once each week, you plan something fun, creative and enriching to do to enhance your creativity. Rather it be coloring in a coloring book with crayons, spending the afternoon sitting in the park listening to classical music, spinning or knitting, or touring a museum or gallery - whatever it is, lofty or mundane, you do it unfailingly each week - preferably a different activity to add variety of stimulation into your life. Julia Cameron suggests the importance of doing this activity individually and not with spouse, friends, children, etc. However, this activity is so vital that I find myself sharing it with loved ones sometimes and find it enriches both my creativity AND my relationships with others.

In order to get back "into" the Artist Way mindset, I decided to buy The Artist's Way CDs so that I can listen to them in the car. Anyway, I am going to be starting The Artist Way program again as part of my new year's routine - so feel free to join in if you like.

In case you are put off by the word "Artist" and find yourself thinking, "But I'm not an Artist (with a capital "A") - why yes you are! We all are.

2011 Intentions

2010-12-28T11:45:00.021-06:00

One of the creative dynamos I admire is Nikol, sometimes known as "Thrifty Knitter" and founder of Yarn School. Who else but she could buy some old forgotten school buildings in the middle of rural Kansas and turn it into a creative mecca for artists of all kinds, including fiber artists and musicians? That would be her!

Anyhow, each year, Nikol creates what she calls an Uber List for the year - and as best I can determine, this is a list of things she wants to accomplish throughout the upcoming year. The list isn't exactly a set of New Year's Resolutions, but seems to fall somewhere on the borderline of yearly goal setting and practical annual "to do" list - a super-duper list or as she says "Uber List." Adapting this format for myself, I want to set intentions to get OUT of the passive mindset and spring into action to create a more interesting and fulfilling life.

So here are my beginning plans, and I'll be adding items throughout the year as I get an in-depth vision of where things are going and where they NEED to go. A lot of things are very fluid right now and need to stay that way - but they need to be moving in the right direction.

De-junking and decluttering: For every new clothing item I bring into the house, give away at least one item, to a thrift store, charity shop or whatever. Same thing with yarn and books. Instead of buying magazines, read them online or download the patterns. (Exception: This does not apply to Spin-Off - which I always treasure, save and pour over again and again). Organize yarn room and fiber storage closets. Destash what I no longer love.

Artist's Way is the Way - write Morning Pages to start journaling again on paper. More importantly, once a week, go on an "Artist's Date" where I explore new activities that are fun, creative and unique - that spark my soul. Find weekly soul-enriching activities that can help me emotionally, creatively and spiritually recharge.

Become a Mentor for my daughter and move out of the Parent with a capital "P" mode.

Spend more time with people and less time online. Since getting my very own "smart phone" recently, I can see why the masses have become attached to these things - and why I sometimes see people texting other online people in the ethers, while ignoring the In Real Life people sitting right in front of them. Thank goodness I am not on Facebook, what a time sink that is, right? Ah hem, but honestly, my personal addiction is Ravelry and it's getting out of hand. Though it's a great online tool and database, it has become an emotional pacifier. Nuff said.

Follow Weight Watchers new program, or whatever method works for me to get about 1,200 calories a day until I reach a healthy weight. Don't just rely on frozen meals as I did before on Jenny Craig, but really learn to cook healthy and frugally. Eat at home and at the dinner table, with family time - to talk, share and nurture one another instead of eating constantly at restaurants or in different rooms in front of the TV.

Consistently exercise each and every day. This is for both physical and mental health. If joining a gym doesn't work out, then find a weight bearing and stretching routine that I can do at home, and develop a routine that I can do consistently. I did really well exercising last year on the treadmill - keep this up but expand to some weight-bearing and stretching exercise as well.

Take a vacation - a real "couples" vacation with my sweetheart. A significant vacation and really UNWIND and reconnect with him. This one is already in the works, and I hope we get to take several mini getaways throughout the year.

Wear my pedometer every day. Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. I seem to be much more active and fit when I do this.

Watch my language - speak less and act more. Avoid gossip, backstabbing and careless use of speech. Hurtful putdowns, sarcasm and bad tone of voice should be recognized for the poison that it is. Kind speech and thoughts lead to kind and gentle actions. Strive to be "soft centered."

Happy New Year everyone!

Turnaround

2010-12-25T08:14:00.003-06:00

As I told many of you a few weeks ago, I was not planning on using a "guiding word" this year as I have in years past. But yesterday, when I was doing my yearly contemplation and meditation, I was given a word, "Turnaround."

I am not sure exactly how I am going to use this word - but I know it's what I - and my whole family - needs to do. I am feeling like a victim with many personal things that have hit me hard this year and hurt. Hurting has taken a toll physically, financially and emotionally. Knowing I'm not alone and that MANY people I know are hurting, and hurting much worse than myself, doesn't make it easier. But I can only control the way I react to the events that have occurred and fight like the dickens to turn things around for myself, while lending support to those who need it.

So in 2011, it is my intention to turn my attitude around - to kick my own *ss and stop whining. Do an about face - buck up in my attitude, and do whatever needs done to make things better.

I am NOT a helpless little reactionary victim. I am a strong, smart woman who, with God's help, can solve problems, make things better, turn my failings around and be a better person. I can do whatever I need to do, and I will do it.

Now please, universe, don't see this as an invitation to hurl more *rap my way - because I will duck too when that is the smartest thing to do.

Have a good year everyone - now I'm going to go solve some problems and make a new plan. And while I'm thinking, I'm going to be cleaning out and organizing a few of these out of control messy rooms around my house - such as my craft room.

EVERYTHING is going to get an overhaul around here, especially me.

The Ultimate Gift

2010-12-17T09:50:00.009-06:00

At this time of giving, as many of us scramble to find just the right gift for our dear ones, while trying to stay in a budget, it occurs to me that the most precious gifts are ones that we can't give.

I subscribe to Daily Word - a Unity publication, and I get it online each day in my mailbox. Yesterday's message really hit home with me. At this time of year where many of us feel so frazzled and overwhelmed, I find solace and insight in these Daily Word reminders. It's amazing just how much the "word" of the day hits home. It's uncanny at times!

Yesterday's word was Grace. The message from this day is so 'on point' that I'm going to carry this little print out in my purse as a reminder that no matter what happens, I can choose to respond rashy, out of my frazzled human mindset, or I can pause a moment, listen in my spirit to find that place within myself that experiences Grace. Here is an excerpt of the affirmation they provided for the day:

"As I respond to a difficult situation with compassion and understanding, I am expressing God's grace. I am allowing the holiness within me to surface and to flow effortlessly from me. As I embrace adversity, remain strong under pressure or look for the good in a difficult situation, I am acknowledging that all is not at is appears. By experiencing all things with love, I draw forth the grace of Spirit. The gift of grace is powerful and strong. Grace is part of my being, and I am at peace."

Though I'm not in control of what gifts I'm given, I CAN control what I give to myself - the important gifts don't cost a thing, but are most precious. So what if I did that - gave myself that gift of Grace? It's a choice. Today, I have the where-with-all to unwrap that gift.

What inner gift do you most need to give yourself right now?

Fun with Corespinning - Art Yarn

2010-12-08T20:22:00.020-06:00

Ever since reading Diane Varney's "Spinning Designer Yarns" book that was recommended by my first spinning instructor, I've been wanting to learn more about how to spin "Art Yarn" or sometimes called "Designer Yarns." I missed a chance to take a class Camp Pfluffypluck with Lexie Borger because at the time, I was a rank beginning spinner and wasn't ready yet.

So then last fall or winter, I bought Jacey Boggs DVD of Sit and Knit. I've been watching it periodically as well as reading everything I can find on how to spin art yarns. Over the past few months, I've been playing with the techniques such as making corespun, cocoons, coils. To be honest, I'm not even sure which is what all the time!

But I've been messing with these techniques and seeing what I can come up with. The first shot here shows the singles I spun from some multi-colored Targhee roving that I bought a few weeks ago at Yarn Barn. I corespun it on some laceweight yarn.

The second shot shows how the fiber looks when combined with the novelty commerical thin yarn I plyed it with.

Finally you see it finished and skeined up. It's a bit loosely plied but I think it will be okay. If it knits up well enough, I'm going to knit a vest. I may need to make a few more skeins of the stuff, but first I need to be sure I like the way it looks knit up in a swatch or "sample."

In January, I am going to take an art yarn class with Jacey Boggs. I'm really excited - not only because I get to learn the techniques, but since the workshop is being held at Harveyville, where Yarn School is held twice a year, I'm sure it will be a blast! I've taken classes from Nikol but never been to Harveyville yet.

What I discovered is I'm starting to understand WHY people make art yarn. Even if they don't want to use it in their knitting because maybe it's too wild, garish and "over the top", nevertheless making the yarn itself is so fun and creative, it makes you feel good just making it. Even if it never turns into a wearable garment. But I'm hoping this yarn will. Fingers crossed.

Ahhh . . . . Can I Just STAY There and Never Leave?

2010-12-04T21:39:00.011-06:00

Usually when I go on business trips, I don't mind them, and realize they are a built-in part of my job, but not necessarily fun. As a rule one hotel quickly starts to look like another. This week's trip to Colorado Springs was an exception. While there, I stayed to The Broadmoor. It felt more like a working vacation than anything I've ever experienced. From the moment I stepped off the shuttle, it felt as if I'd stepped into a resort from the early 20th century.

In fact, if you've ever seen the romantic movie, Somewhere In Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, the Broadmoor has that kind of old World elegant ambiance and charm. Nestled into the mountain as it is, with both a lake and mountain view, combined with the fact that their Christmas trees and lights were ablaze for the winter season. Ah, simply breathtaking!

Oh my goodness, this was hands-down the most beautiful hotel with the most exceptional service that I've ever experienced, bar none. My stay there was remarkable. Whew. The staff working there clearly love their jobs, regardless of what role they play. No one is "just" a door man, a desk clerk, a housekeeper - they are representatives of a hotel they serve with pride. Imagine if I took that same sense of pride and pleasure in a job well-done that this staff displays? Good idea - I'm going to add that to personal goals I'm working on right now. How can I work even more intently, but with pleasure and a focus on total quality and a sense of the importance of what I do each day?

Also, the trip reminded me that all of us have "magical places" that we each savor. No matter where I stay in Colorado, I am amazed at how the mountains refresh me and renew my spirit. Colorado is really a place that tunes up my love for life.

Even though the bed was luxurious and extremely comfortable, I found myself staying up late at night so that I had time to read, write, soak in the bath, meditate, pray and reflect on the year drawing to a close, and the new one fast approaching. I luxuriated not only in the serene environment and sense of place, but in the chance to go within myself and reflect. So the balance of work/play/relax made me realize the importance of aiming for that balance in my everyday life to create a happier daily existence back home.

Wow. Even though I am back, I brought home a little $8 mousepad featuring this lovely scenic hotel. So whenever I get frazzled or harried, I can recall sitting by the cozy fire or walking on the lake path gazing up at the breathtaking mountain. It's another place that I will always treasure for the serene person I allowed myself to be while in that sacred space.

Quote: "You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience." - Teilhard de Chardin

What place creates magic within you?

Warm Toes/Warm Heart

2010-11-27T07:13:00.007-06:00

Here are "lucky socks" that I made for Emmy so that she can enter into her finals week at college feeling more confident about test-taking. They are just simple ribbed socks that I started a long time ago. The yarn is County Clare in Socks That Rock that Lynn of ColorJoy gave me over a year ago. Aren't I slow? I started this socks and then, for some reason, had set them aside for so long! Then when I needed to make Emmy a quick pair of socks to put in her college finals "care package" I was able to pick these up and whip them out quickly.

I've developed a policy where I am going to knit one project at a time instead of the multiple projects I usually work on all at once. Here are my new knitting "rules":

One small/quick project on the needles at any one time. These are items such as hats, socks, mittens, scarfs, accessories.
I do one NEW project and then either complete or FROG one old project before casting on another new one. These County Clare socks were an example of an oldy but goody.
I can have 1 afghan and 1 sweater on the needles concurrently, and work on those larger projects in between the newly started shorter projects. In this way, I can get the bigger things gradually done. These usually take me forever and a day, but this way I feel work on them a bit in between and hopefully not feel overly stressed out by them.
This "one at a time" policy does not apply to spinning, as I seem to be able to work on multiple projects at one time on my three wheels and not have any angst or difficulty in completing projects. This is probably due to the fact that spinning is just so darn relaxing!

What I am finding is that on the "in between" projects for the UFOs that there are many UFOs in my closet that have remained there for so long because I just plain don't want to do them anymore. So I'm going to be more "frogging" than finishing on many of those old haunts. And you know, it feels really GOOD to frog because I didn't realize, having those things hanging out in the closet are stealing some of my mental/creative energy just fretting about all that I have unfinished and undone.

For my "new" project this time, it is Nikol Lohr's Bunny Hop Slippers. It's a thrummed slipper pattern that I highly recommend. Nothing is warmer or cozier than thrums! I was always unsure of how to knit them before, this was an easy way to learn how. It's a free pattern over on Ravelry and the pattern shows you how to do them right in the instructions.

Here is the pair of Bunny Hop slippers that I completed after the other day for my daughter. She wanted hers without the bunny face, ears and tail, but on the next pair that I make for me, they will have ears, eyes, tail details.

If you need a quick Christmas gift or whatever kind of quick gift, I can't recommend these highly enough. They are fast. Take 1 skein of chunky yarn or two skeins of worsted held together. They are a great stashbuster. Inside, you use shredded roving for the thrums. I did the actual knitting on these in about 2 days, but it took me several more days to find the big lime buttons.

If you are making them for children, you use a smaller needle. On these, I used size 9s and made the women's small size.

One Thing

2010-11-23T06:55:00.003-06:00

I appreciate all the kind thoughts that readers of this blog (yes they are few but they are really caring, insightful people) have expressed to me in response to my last post. First off, thank you EACH so much for your comments to me in private. You are wonderful.

Though I was a bit discouraged last week when I wrote, being a solution-oriented person, I'm now focusing on fixing some of the stuff that is bothering me. And I've received great feedback and ideas from the loving peanut gallery here and elsewhere. I will be sharing some of those ideas in upcoming posts, after I try some things out and see what works.

Anyhow, clearly the thing that has helped me a great deal in these past few weeks is to get focused on doing one "doable" thing at a time - I called it "The Goat Approach" after that Oprah article I read. While I must say that I don't always succeed in doing this - whenever I get "lost" having this "put the next foot in front of the other" approach really seems to be working, at least in making me feel more calm and competent if nothing else.

So I believe this is the approach, rather than the word, I will finish 2010 and enter 2011. With that approach, I feel I can take the best actions needed to turn things around and more fully experience the present. One thing. That's all.

Navigating Life - Maybe I Need a Spiritual GPS?

2010-11-17T16:19:00.009-06:00

I've had a long-life issue with getting lost. It's no secret to anyone who knows me. I could get lost in a dark closet if you spun me around twice.

Last year's personal word for the year was "Find" but that feels like it was all wrong. Instead of finding stuff and making better use of what I have, I've had a confusing, scary, and very insecure year. Not a disasterous year. Some of my friends have suffered much worse - i.e. a devastating flood, a cancer diagnosis, that kind of disaster that is much worse than the ups and downs I've experienced. But even knowing that others have it worse doesn't always help. I just feel lost.

And this year has really sucked in a lot of ways. My husband has been unemployed, then employed on a contract job for a few months, and now that the budget cuts are tight again at year's end, he's unemployed again.

My daughter has gone off to college - but things haven't been easy for her either. It's been a difficult and turbulent transition. I'm proud that she's trying to find her own way, even when it's a big struggle - she's pushing ahead and fighting very hard to make a new life for herself.

The weight and fitness routine that I was so proud of for the past two years have somehow fallen by the wayside in the past 6 months or so. I'm really not eating crazy or bingeing or anything like that - I just keep gradually packing on more and more weight as my stress level rises. It's almost like my body is rebelling saying, "No, I'm not going to stay thin, I'm going to hold onto everything I absorb and keep it." What's up with that? Weird.

I don't want to whine. I really don't and that's not the purpose of this posting.

I just need to start pondering my word for next year and I'm almost afraid to. I've never looked onto a new year with downright dread or fear before, but that's how I'm feeling.

Thank goodness for spinning. It's the only thing that really relaxes and calms me anymore.

One insightful thing I read today on Belief.com is that a car's GPS only asks you two things - 1) where are you now; and 2) where do you want to go? Your GPS records where you want to go and alerts you when you are off course.

For a long time, I've been recording what I eat and how much I exercise, but maybe I really need to take a closer look at where I've gone off course and sabotaged myself. I must be getting off the route in many different areas of my life.

Time to reevaluate the goals I've set for myself and see how I'm getting off course.

Maybe next year I don't need a word? Maybe I just need to listen to what that inner GPS says, and instead of putting it on "mute" I need to turn up the volume and listen a lot more.

What in the World Am I Trying to Prove?

2010-11-10T11:45:00.015-06:00

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn

As someone who just recently had a milestone birthday, I must have been wanting to prove that in spite of the years, I am still young in body and spirit - sort of. I've always prided myself on being open to new experiences and avoid getting into ruts. I decided that I needed to find more FUN fitness routines than the treadmill, which is starting to get a bit hoo-hum.

So naturally when my friend Elysbeth started talking about how she loves skating and has been doing it regularly lately and getting rather fit, the idea intrigued me. Pretty soon, I was asking a 26 year old friend at work if she'd like to join me for a skate night at the local roller rink. Now keep in mind, I didn't ever roller skate much as a kid, and I haven't been on a rink since my daughter was a Brownie Girl Scout. Even with the troop skate outing, I stayed mostly on the sidelines.

Last night we went. I strapped on skates, practiced a while on the carpeted area, then shakily hit the rink. To say that I'm an amateur is an exaggeration. I'm a total wall hugging control freak who was terrified of falling. I fell. Three times. All three times I fell on both my butt AND my right wrist (I'm left handed).

Then I noticed I was the oldest person there - oh except for one very athletic senior who was wearing knee guards, wrist guards and elbow guards.

Then after my Guardian Angel had set on my shoulder all night protecting me, I heard a whisper in my ear and a twinge in my wrist that said, "Remember, if you shatter your wrist, you won't be able to knit or spin for a good long time." Suddenly, this roller skating adventure seemed less adventuresome than foolhardy.

"Okay, I've had fun - let's go while I'm still in one piece." We left. I am still looking for a fun form of exercise - but one a bit less likely to endanger my knitting.

The Goat Report

2010-11-07T08:09:00.010-06:00

What did I learn from goats during this past week?

I tried a new approach, to less multi-tasking and more focus on doing one thing at a time, with full awareness. I promised to try it for seven days, and report back on it. So here are my impressions from doing so:

Goat wisdom:

I am amazed at how very often I am multi-tasking, in ways that hadn't even occurred to me before. I don't ordinarily even drive to work without the radio on or a book on tape playing while I drive. This week, I drove to work without my usual distraction in the way of seemingly harmless entertainment and was amazed that I had time to focus on my workday ahead, to think about some problems and possible solutions, and to walk into the office fully ready to get to work with some things already preplanned. Plus, coming home, it was the same. I was able to think about some things I was grateful for and prepare for my evening with my husband. I'm not sure if I drove any better or not, but I felt more aware of what I planned to do and to reattune myself to transitions from home/work and work/home. I found myself looking forward to that unharried "windshield time" alone with my own thoughts.
At the office, instead of keeping up my constant thread of incoming email messages and texts, I turned off my cell phone completely, as well as my Outlook work mail and my yahoo email account. I allowed myself certain periods of the day to check it - before getting started in the morning, at lunch and at 3:00 in the afternoon, and then again in the evening to check and respond to my personal email. That seemed to keep my mind off the newest, flashiest thing and onto my work at hand. Instead of having several spreadsheets and work projects open in Windows all at once on different panes of my computer, I kept as few as possible open and tried to focus on one task at a time. I felt I got some kinds accomplished work-wise this week that were important and had a stronger feeling of accomplishment all week.

At home in the evenings, if I was watching TV, I only allowed myself to be with my husband and watch TV. If I was knitting or spinning, I did that without doing anything else. I spent less time knitting and watching TV, but seemed to get more accomplished. I worked only only ONE knitting project this week - which was the Slouchy hat for Emily. It was an easy project, made from my previously home dyed and spun yarn, but I was able to easily and effortlessly finish it this week and felt proud that I had it done in time for her visit from college this weekend.
I had more, but shorter, meaningful conversations with my husband in person and my daughter by phone. We had better communication and got some decisions made that had been up in the air for a while.
I worked on getting more planning down on our Guild's Spring Retreat. I'd been letting it slide a bit the past several weeks but realized we'd better get moving on it. I managed to set up a meeting for us all to meet again, and organized and gathered the material we will need to do it more effectively.

I started thinking about and planning quick gifts that I could make this year for people's Christmas gifts, saving me some money, which is in short supply this year. I even tested out making some of Nikol's coconut handscrub, and it didn't turn out half bad!

Bob and I spent one evening dedicating just ONE HOUR (we set a timer because the task was unpleasant) to finding and purging as much junk in our sub-basement as we could find. It was amazing what we managed to clear out of there in just one focused hour of effort together.

I used an egg timer as an excellent tool this week to make myself clean out a drawer for 30 minutes. I used it to motivate me to exercise 3 times this week for 20 minutes.

The hardest goat time of all was when I was riding passenger on a 3 hour business trip each way, and my colleague was driving. Normally, I would have pulled out my knitting and gone on "automatic pilot" for 3 hours distracting myself with sock knitting - and maybe even with an MP3 podcast playing in my ear. Instead, I used the time to engage in a very deep, meaningful conversation with this colleague both about the client we were getting ready to visit and how we might be able to meet those needs. We discussed everything in depth, and in paying attention, we were fully prepared and had an excellent meeting. On the way back, we talked about our company, our working together in our two jobs to combine efforts more effectively.

I ended the week feeling much less harried, more centered in myself and prepared for the weekend.

This weekend, I've been a little more harried and distracted, falling back into some of my old "mind numbing" ways of doing errands and doing several things at once. It felt all the more jarring because of the focused way I led the first five days of the week.

What proved most effective and felt the best was keeping my attention on ONE THING, but not for nearly as extended period of time than I usually do. I gave myself frequent breaks and changed activities much more frequently, but getting more done during each focused session.

Unpleasant tasks didn't seem nearly as unpleasant if done for a limited period of time.

I rewarded myself by doing FUN things, like spinning for 20 minutes (when at home), or checking my email, or talking on the phone with a friend for stress relief. Or taking a brisk 15 minute walk with a colleague in the middle of the day.

Upshot: I'm going to be doing less multi-tasking in the future as I really see the benefit of single-minded attention. I also realized that it's a lot harder to do than one might imagine, but the results are surprisingly refreshing.

The Goat Approach

2010-10-31T06:51:00.012-05:00

You know me, often reading Oprah magazine, more so than seeing the show - I never seem to have time to watch, but reading the mag is something I often make time for. Well, in the November 2010 issue, there's an article on page 124 in the "Feeling Good" section called "Plugging In." Catherine Price, the author, talks about how she and her husband went on a working vacation to France in which they exchanged labor for room and board on a busy farm - specifically by caring for a herd of goats. One herd. Two weeks. Sounds easy?

Well . . . . it turns out that goats are "masters of single-minded focus" while Ms. Price, the author, is a typical multi-tasking American, who reads her cell phone texts while eating breakfast, while getting dressed. You know, doing several things at once, but none of them mindfully?

She brings up an interesting point: scientists now believe that the real attraction to multi-tasking isn't because we actually get more done, but because doing so produces more dopamine, the "feel good" neurochemical in our brain. It turns out we're stimulated by the new and attention getting. Thus, the irresisibility of new emails and texts flashing onto the screen and the popularity of the very word "new" in advertising. If it's a novelty, we're sucked in instantly. Many of us are novelty junkies.

I won't summarize the whole article, but suffice it to say, this message really appealed to me because it rang SO TRUE with my current place in life. Shiny - ah, my attention shifts often whatever I am or should be doing, and instantly gets drawn into the most attention getting. Not usually the best use of my time.

This author points out that when you milk a goat, you need to be goat minded, and only do that one thing. She will sense if you aren't paying attention single mindedly, and will go to pursue her own goatly goal. So the moral of the story is, when milking goats, milk goats. When working on a report at work, work on that without checking email or voice mail. When you are having a conversation with your spouse or child, be fully immersed in that. When you are cooking a delicious meal. Cook.

By doing one thing at a time, and focusing on doing it completely and well, you may not get more done - but you may get enough done right, and with the right mindset, that you might find what are really true tasks you should be doing, and focusing on those. One. At. A. Time.

This is a lesson I need to learn right now. I'm feeling pulled in too many different directions. So I've decided that to do an experiment. For one week - that's seven days - I'm pledging to totally "plug into" whatever activity I am doing at that moment. I'll let you know next week how that works out.

So this coming week, I'm a goat.

Added note: Diane wisely pointed out that I was referring to milking goats with the male pronoun - obviously you can't milk a "him" so I edited to fix that. Thanks for catching it Diane!

Steampunk Halloween Weekend

2010-10-29T13:49:00.019-05:00

This is one of the first times I'm really feeling totally "out of the loop" when it comes to Halloween. Usually my daughter is home and she continues to dress up in costume every year, in spite of now being a grown up college kid.

But since she's away at campus, I haven't been as involved or aware of the Halloween preparations. In fact, for the first time ever, my house isn't at all decorated inside or out for Trick or Treaters, and I haven't even bought candy. Can you believe it? I'll probably be dashing out tonight or tomorrow to grab whatever last minute bags are on sale, and try to buy candy that kids like but that I don't like too much myself - because the last thing I need is to gain extra "candy weight" on top of the pounds I'm already trying to lose.

I found an article today talking about the 10 worst Halloween treats to give kids and aside from the not unexpected "apples" and "Dum Dum lollipops" they said the hands down least favorite candy was the peanut taffy that is wrapped up in the orange and black wrappers. Gosh, I must be really out of touch then, because those were always high on my list of candy favorites as a kid, and now too, except I have to be careful I don't pull out a filling when enjoying them.

In fact, here lately, I feel really out of sync with a lot of things. I fell in love with the Phat Fiber's "Steampunk" themed fiber box but I have to admit not knowing much about it. So I had to research it on Wikipedia to find out what it's about. Turns out that Steampunk is actually something that appeals to me - it was defined on one website as "The Intersection of Victorian Romance with Technology." By the time I figured this out, the Phat Fiber boxes were sold out - but I hear they sell out rather quickly, and I'm not a "competive buyer." That somehow seems crazy to hover over a website waiting to buy something. Why do it? (scratching head).

As a long-time fan of the Victorian era - including history, novels, music, clothing, furniture, jewelry etc. I was immediately fascinated by the Steampunk concept. Somehow I missed hearing about it during the cultural peak in the 1990s. (Maybe I was too busy raising my young daughter at the time and was instead occupied by the likes of Barney, Big Bird and toddler toys?) Who knows. But at any rate, I'm discovering that my long time movie and book favorites such as H.G. Wells "The Time Machine" and "Sherlock Holmes" are the bedrock of many of these Steampunk trends. So in honor of the Steampunk fad that I somehow missed out on, I treated myself to a very charming Steampunk bracelet by Winemaker's Sister. It's a darling accessory that has dangly charms that are utterly feminine, delightful and reminiscent of a time long by, mixed with the vivid imagination and creativy of modern day possibities.

No matter what I miss out on, I can still be a part of whatever I find myself drawn to and fitting into. In my head, I've always been and always will be, a prim and proper Victorian old lady. The concept of time travel has always fascinated me. While I'm not sure if that's Steampunk or not, but eh. Who really cares? It fuels my imagination and that's never a bad thing, right?

Happy Halloween.

Added later: This is the very first year that we did NOT answer the door to Trick or Treaters. Instead, we stayed home, shut off our lights and stayed in. We hunkered down in the downstairs family room with the dog and bird and just watched Back to the Future while I spun. So much fun. I just didn't feel like dealing with the kids and all the houpla this year. It was good being recluses for once. And I forgot what a great movie Back to the Future is - now I'll probably rewatch all the other two movies in the series as well. And after a horrible, stressful week, I am reminded that nothing relaxes me as much as spinning.

It's a Fine Thing Spinning Fine

2010-10-25T11:45:00.027-05:00

Guess what I did Saturday? I went to this shop The Wicked Stitch in Wamego, Kansas and took a class by Harveyville's own Nikol on Spinning Fine Yarn - which covered both sock and lace spinning. What a treat.

Chery and I drove over there together early Saturday morning, had an old fashioned breakfast at the Mom and Pop diner, then had a wonderful day spinning with several other students who were as enjoyable at the instructor was informative.

Nikol has a http://harveyvilleproject.com/?p=151Yarn School based in an old schoolhouse she bought and she hosts spinners of all levels of experience at her "school" twice a year. Well, I've never made it to Yarn School, so I was quite happy to get the chance to take an all-day class from her at The Wicked Stitch which is a really cute shop that sells both spinning supplies, spinning wheels, roving, and yarn and knitting products.

Jennifer's daughter took photos - but why is it that very few pictures taken while spinning are flattering? Every time I see a photo of myself spinning, it's a huge diet and exercise motivation? Maybe I'm just a narcissist?

Oh well, anyway, it was such a wonderful class. We learned how to spin finer, mainly by reducing our spinning tension and adding more twist to the fiber. We learned the "Miss America" method of plying yarn onto our hands to create a small sample and how to do a quick self-ply to test if the yarn was creating the right size and twist for what we were wanting to create.

We learned and practiced spinning from the fold, as well as long draw, and found out when those might be more appropriate than the worsted spinning most of us have done. We learned which fibers can be spun most ideally, using different methods. We got a bit out of our usual default spinning "comfort zone" to consider what might be best for the fiber we are spinning.

We learned that adding sturdy blends, such as silk, can strengthen sock yarn.

We practiced spinning a varity of luscious fibers such as a merino silk blend, silk hankies, and a brand new fiber called Optim which is wonderful! It's actually a permanently stretched merino and it feels as soft as cashmere but is much less expensive and less exhaustive to the environment. I want to eventually buy some from Nikol and make maybe a lace shawl from it? It feels like fiber taffy or liquid - it's so soft and slippery. Yum.

I always love spinning silk hankies, but some people in our group didn't like them. They stick to the rough spots on your hands, but Nikol provided us with her handmade sugar scrub that really helped. I love that stuff. In fact, I tried to make some last night. I'll let you know later how that works out.

Here I am pulling apart the silk hanky. That would make a great addition to socks to strengthen them. It's made from Tussah Silk and comes in hankies that you pull apart - it seems very delicate at first but that stuff is as firm as can be

Ya gotta love silk. Right?

Fiber Camp

2010-10-17T11:23:00.023-05:00

Well the Blue Springs Craft Group on Thursday nights that meets at Starbucks is a really fun group. I don't get there often, unfortunately, but when I do, there's always a bunch of laughs and camaraderie from knitters, crocheters, spinners, and crazy fiber folks of varying ages and varying levels of experience in whatever crafts we are pursuing. Whenever you want to learn or know something, there's usually SOMEBODY there who can get you addicted to whatever craft area you care to explore.

We talked for a few months about having a fiber retreat getaway at a cabin or something, but with the economy being what it is (bad) one of the members, Cynthia, kindly offered to open up her home and invite everyone for a Friday to Sunday fiber-filled weekend, with members of the group teaching classes in everything ranging from beginning crochet to Advanced Ravelry, not to mention drop spindling, Kool-Aid dyeing and Sweater Recycling. There were many more classes but I can't remember them all. The food everyone contributed to was delish. We had door prizes, goody cups and bags, as well as a fiber exchange and destash table.

What a marvelous GIRLS weekend - not matter what our ages, we were all 14 again this weekend. We even watched the movie DEATH TO SMOOCHIE which was zany and funny.

Since Em was home for the weekend from college, I only stayed Friday evening and then went back over there for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, but being there just that long was a blast!

Since I took some photos, you can get an idea of who was there and some of what we did. I'm not in these photos since I snapped them, but maybe I'll steal some photos that other people have taken too and add them in later.

Beautiful Autumn Weekend - Four Days of Relax

2010-10-10T11:12:00.007-05:00

The leaves aren't really changing yet, is it me or shouldn't the leaves be orange, red and brown by now? Seems like they aren't changing as much as usual. But we've had a perfect sunny (and extended) weekend. Not too hot - a high of 80 I think, but not a cloud in the sky and it has been wonderfully relaxing!

Friday I had the day off and didn't intend to dye fiber, because I've been doing quite a lot of that lately and wondered if I really needed to, but it was such a perfect sunny day that I HAD to take advantage of the fiber dyeing and drying opportunity while it lasts. I made three different vats of fiber. First an orangish/goldish fall leaf color, then some bright crazy pink and finally a mauve tone - mixing a bit of brown along with pink and a dash of magenta to end up with a really pretty mauvish fiber.

I've figured out a great way to dry fiber by the way. I take two sawhorses and place an old porch screen over the sawhorses to serve as a huge drying screen. It works so wonderful! If you don't have a good drying set up, I highly recommend it. I used to just lay an old tablecloth out on the lawn, but I found that the plastic didn't allow the fiber to dry well, but with it sitting on top of the screen, it's allowed to drip dry and get air on it from both sides. I'm thinking this might also be a handy way to block and dry a handknit shawl?

Yesterday my Mom and Bob and I went up to see Emily at her college dorm. It was a great visit - two hours drive up there, then we stayed all day with her until around 7 p.m. before heading back home. It was a nice FULL day, but we managed to go and didn't have to spend money at a hotel by making it a one-day trip.

We got her oiled changed, a new battery for her car, her antifreeze checked. So her car is now winter-ready. We ate at a delicious family-owned Greek restaurant. Had a lovely day. She's adjusting well to college and is finally feeling healthy and happy there. She's settling down to a better study routine and I feel like she's doing well. College is such a huge adjustment - for her for us too. We really miss her, but it feels good seeing that she's starting to transition to feeling better and happier there.

Every October, I start craving pumpkin flavors and smells. And since I don't want the calories, I'm opting for pumpkin car freshner in my car, and a wonderful source of pumpkin coffee's at Bean Central. They have THREE flavors of pumpkin coffee: Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Pecan. I drink coffee black, so this means I get the delicious flavor without the calories. Yum!

An Unwelcome Visitor

2010-10-03T10:31:00.006-05:00

Another adventure - this one maybe somewhat amusing if irksome. About a week ago, Bob noticed that the bungee cord on our barbecue grill had been removed and shredded by some animal. It was weird enough that he showed me.

Well, then a few nights ago, I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work. I parked the car in the garage and started unloading groceries, leaving the trunk open because I was going to come right back. Before I could turn around and go back out to get the next load, my neighbor rang the doorbell and said, "Hey, do you know your garage is open and so is your trunk?"

Me: "Yes, I'm going back out right now to get my groceries."

Her: "Well, I just saw the biggest raccoon in my life rooting around in your groceries - I clapped my hands and saw him jump out and run into the bushes near your porch here."

So the next day, I called Animal Control with the city and asked what they suggested about getting rid of this unwelcome bandit. They said my neighborhood is full of them this year, aggressive raccoons as well as aggressive squirrels. I told her we don't have the squirrels, but the grocery-grabbing raccoon.

Well, that night, Rodney, our friendly animal control guy, who looked amazingly like John Candy, by the way, confirmed that raccoons were really bad this year. He recommend that we not feed it (Duh?) and that we better watch out because if he's getting this aggressive, he could attack us or our dog if he gets cornered. He also mentioned that they are smart, REALLY smart, and some that are this territorial, near the door and all, start thinking it is THEIR house. Rodney asked if Rocky the Raccoon had tried to tear into our screens yet to get in? Why no, and that freaks me out a little bit. Can we please catch him ASAP?

After looking around the property, he noticed that the raccoon had dug up a whole bunch of dirt around the porch. The raccoon had apparently made a burrow for himself under our step. So after we trap the raccoon, we'll have to fill that so no other animal makes a home for himself there.

Rodney set a large cage trap outside under the bush, by the racoon's den, and left. The first night, nothing.

Then last night, guess who we found?

Don't worry I'm not going to name him. He'll be released back into the woods - hopefully really far away? I wouldn't want him to return. That's my excitement for the weekend - and now we're gonna need to repair that hole. This wasn't one of our planned preparations for winter, but it's better than becoming a wild animal sanctuary.

Traveling Across Kansas

2010-10-01T07:33:00.013-05:00

This week, I took a business trip for a tradeshow in the middle of Kansas. I was not in the tradeshow mood, but I put on my very best "tradeshow smile" and decided that as a reward for myself, on the way back, I would stop at a yarn shop (if there were any in the Salina area, I wasn't even certain of that).

Well, let me tell you, there is the nicest one there called "Yarns Sold and Told" right in downtown Salina. It is a big, sunny shop brimming with wonderful, well-organized yarns. I loved the friendliness of the store - both the employees as well as the customers. There were many cute and recently popular projects on display and they were very helpful about helping me find the magazines and patterns the projects came from.

I haven't been yarn store shopping for a while, since I've been doing more spinning than anything else. Making my own yarn is just so gratifying, that I forgot what fresh inspiration and fun it can be to go into a good yarn shop to touch and feel the finished objects. There's more there than just yarn! Going there reminded me that yarn shops can be good sources of live inspiration. Ravelry is nice and all, but having real people to talk to, and admiring their projects is a different kind of fun that I haven't experienced in a while.

It also reminded me that it's good to visit and support local yarn shops, because we want these "brick and mortar" shops to stay in business during the hard times so we can go there and hang out whenever we want.

The cup I brought home from their shop says, "2nd Friendliest Yarn Store in the Universe is located in Downtown Salina."

I now have two brand new projects I'm casting on for as a result of my visit to this shop. I'll be talking about and showing you those projects soon. Here's to my trek through Kansas, and the mental lift it gave me to walk in the door of the "2nd Friendliest Yarn Shop" in the universe.

Nesting Notes

2010-09-26T07:12:00.004-05:00

Since my mind and heart have lingered so much lately on my daughter, I will post an old photo of her here. This is one from our trip to LA in 2008.

With Emily gone off to college, I am in a state of flux as I readjust my life to no longer being a parent. Missing her hits me at odd moments. Like yesterday, I was at a thrift store, and I saw two high school girls sifting through the dress area in search of old evening dresses. One of them was a thin, pretty brunette like my Emmy. I stood watching them, mesmerized, missing my daughter, for the longest time.

Finally, one of them looked uncomfortably toward me, noting my eavesdropping with a nod of her head to the other girl. So I spoke up, told her I agreed with her friend that the red dress would look stunning on her. I also explained that my own daughter is just a year or two older and has gone off to college and that the dress she held in her hand was the style that my daughter probably would have picked. The two girls laughed and explained they were both searching for homecoming dresses, and since they'd only wear it once, they saw no sense in buying a brand new dress. They said they often shop thrift stores. I told them Emmy did too. They both were pleasant and sweet, but probably thought I was a little nutty. So I drifted away, leaving them to their girlish camaraderie.

Other times, Bob and I will see a little girl in a crowd who reminds us of a smaller, younger Emily. We talk wisftfully about that time, and laugh as we go down "Memory Lane" together - then draw ourselves back to the present.

But all in all, we are doing fine. Emily seems to be doing fine too. She started out sick her first few weeks there, but she's feeling better now and adjusting to college life. She misses us too sometimes, but overall, is building a new life.

One thing I'm trying to do is refocus again on my diet and exercise. I've been letting that slide really bad these past few months. I like Jenny Craig program really well, but can't afford to keep doing it, so I've been off of that for quite a while. Tried to do diet and exercise on my own, but that really hasn't been working!

I'm at that stage where I'm still not back to my very fattest weight - but I've gained about 15 pounds and 2 sizes of it back again from my Jenny Craig fighting weight where I felt at my best. I am too fat to fit into the more stylish size 8 clothes that I fit into only a year ago. I want to get that "top of form" feeling back again and I KNOW I can do it. I have the time and energy free now to devote to my fitness and health again. I have no good excuses for NOT doing it. I will do it. Yes!

So last week (on Wednesday), I signed back up for Weight Watchers again. We'll see how that goes. I've tried it before and struggled because since I'm so short and small framed, I only get 19 points a day. What I've figured out and plan on doing differently this time is to use the online tools, and I'm already forced myself to look up the points and journal everyday online so I figure out the true points of the foods I eat. Planning ahead is essential since 19 points doesn't go very far if you don't carefully preplan. I always thought that figuring out the points was such a hassle, but with the online software, it is fairly easy to look foods up and record them.

My Mother and I are also getting back into doing our treadmills everyday. We're both trying to do the routine where we go fast and then go slow on the treadmill, we break up the pace, intensity and incline on the treadmill to give the workout more "punch." That seems to really help. I'm also wearing my pedometer and getting in 10,000 steps each day. I just started all this - so we'll see how it works out.

So I end this post by reminding myself that we can't live in the past, but must reinvent ourselves for the future - it's a process. Sometimes it a process we have to repeat (as in the fitness journey) but we have to do what work at each stage of our life, because we are never the same and can't go back to who we used to be to get to where we want to be.

Art Yarn or Art Science?

2010-09-19T18:44:00.016-05:00

When we were in Bethel, MO at the festival, several of us took "Spinning Art Yarn" with Brenda Schmidt. It was a fantastic class! We also had her for another on "Making the Most of Handpainted Rovings." In those two classes, we covered a lot of techniques and I went into my usual overwhelm mode but still and all, I learned a ton of stuff including Corespinning, how to make coils, cocoons and how to Navajo ply. I actually did it, yay!

Brenda has been spinning for many many years, and guess what wheel she brought along? Her beaten up, no-worse-for-wear 1970s Ashford Traditional set up with a jumbo flyer for the art yarn. It’s a 1970s model just like mine - and hers has only one ratio (I’ve since updated to the flyer with 3 ratios). She uses that thing like a true but reliable car - maybe it’s not the most beautiful, but it’s got 300,000 miles of spinning on it and it works like a charm. When the leather footman goes bad, she just replaces it with some leather cut from a thrift store leather belt. When her drive band goes bad, she just replaces it with string. When her spring goes bad - she puts on a new rubber hair elastic. Ha! When I came home, I gave my old Traddy "Fernie" a happy spin. I have the exact same type, that belonged to my Grandmother. Watching Brenda spin so skillfully on an old workhorse with NO special bells and whistles reminded me that you don't have to have a fancy machine to make an exquisite yarn! It's more in the spinning technique and skill than in the spinning wheel. I zoned totally out on the part about how to add beads and bobbles, but hopefully I can get up to speed on that later after I've practiced more.

So I came home and wanted to practice right away! I had my Fancy Kitty Drum Carder all fixed up for Ron's adjustment and new brush, so I carded up a big bat of Woolie Bullie alpaca in blue and some black alpaca along with a dash of copper Angelina, which is glitzy stuff, and carded that into this batt.

Then I subsequently spun into this this art yarn.

And with that art yarn, I made this Sophisicated Coils Art Yarn hat - a free pattern on Ravelry by fellow Sunflower Guild member and designer extraordinaire - Christine Long. It's a really easy and fun pattern. What I like best about it is that Christine tells you how to actually knit with art yarn, to make sure that the coils you've worked so hard to create will stay in the front of the yarn and show up in the hat.

Next time, I'd probably perfect my coils or cocoons (the big fuzzy things sticking out) but I was pretty happy with my art yarn as a first time effort. After all, Art Yarn is an art, right? And I don't yet have it down to a Science.

168 Hours

2010-09-14T18:23:00.009-05:00

In terms of money, we aren't all equal - salaries are as varied as people themselves. Some are born filthy rich and others will barely have a meal. But when it comes to time, that's a resource that is a level playing field. We all, theoretically, have the same 168 hours in each week to do with as we choose. I used to argue that those of us who have to work for a living in the corporate grind are limited, because we automatically lose at least 40-50 hours in a work week, not even counting the frustrating commute.

After diving into Laura Vanderkan's book called 168 Hours, however, I'm not so sure about that. She explores time management in a unique way. Instead of trying to better manage the tasks we must do, she throws into question our very way of life itself. Are we making the best use of our lives? Is our career something we really LOVE doing, and if it isn't, even in these hard economic times, maybe we should reevaluate what we're investing our time and energy into creating. If it's not work we love, then the hours, no matter how compactly spent, won't be fulfilling.

She focuses on how we can instead turn our focus to maximize what we do and like to do most so that we create a time orientation that reflects our values and priorities. This allows us to do more - and not just more but do things differently, so we're energized by a new purpose and not just checking off a long list of mundane tasks. She has convinced me that not only can we accomplish everything we REALLY want to do (i.e. fulfilling work, quality parenting and marriages, fascinating hobbies) but we can take time to eat healthily, exercise, and fulfill ourselves in every way that is truly important.

This is NOT one of those "you can do everything and be a superwoman/superman" type of books. It's not pie-in-the-sky postive thinking drek.

If you'd like, you can visit Laura's blog and take a look at some of her ideas and exercises to see if you too might benefit by taking a new look at the 168 hours that are available to us all.

World Sheep and Fiber Festival in Bethel

2010-09-06T00:51:00.023-05:00

Oh what fun! I just returned from the World Sheep & Wool Festival held in Bethel, Missouri. I may never have the money or desire to fight the crowds that some people endure to go to other, fancier, BIGGER fiber festivals, such as Maryland Sheep and Wool or Rhinebeck. But here in Missouri, we have our own little festival and it's called World Sheep & Wool. Rather ironic since it's hardly big or "worldly" but is a whole lot of fun.

This year, I attended for the very first time, and went with 3 other local spinners, Luann, Julie and Christa.

We stayed in a cute victorian house. This one. Very quaint and comfy.

I took 3 classes: one on blending fiber with cards and drum carding. I have had a drum carder for over 2 years but never really felt I knew how to make the most out of carding - when you do it, why, how etc. After taking a class from Darlene, I am excited to do much more of it!

Plus, since a Missouri guy named Ron makes my carder, the Fancy Kitty, he was at the show and was able to tune up my carder, adjust it, and I bought a new brush for it which will make it even more productive than it was to begin with. I absolutely LOVE this carder (Fancy Kitty). It's the most efficient, least expensive drum carder you can buy in my experience. Keep in mind, I have never used any other kind, so my experience is rather limited, but I love mine and can attest to Ron's excellent customer service and affordable pricing.

We took a phenomenal art yarn class by Brenda Schmidt, of Wooliebullie. She does really great work and has such a patient nature. She and her mother, Bev, stayed in the same house we did and we enjoyed her company, as well as her teaching. She makes her living selling fiber and teaching fiber arts. She has one line of natural fibers with natural colors called Natchwoolie, and one line of bright colors and crazy fibers called Wooliebullie. One thing that amazes me is that she does it ALL on an old 1970's Ashford Traddy that just has one ratio - though she uses a jumbo flyer on it which helps in spinning art yarn. This wheel has been WELL USED - it's dusty, and a "no fuss" wheel that goes absolutely EVERYWHERE with her, to these fiber shows. When it breaks, she fixes it with string, leather from a thrift store belt for the leather on the footman. She just spins like a true spinning veteran. My friend Christa says she's a "gypsy spinner." It just goes to show that you truly don't have to have a fancy wheel to spin well, technique in the long run means more than all the fancy wheels and equipment in the world that you can buy!!

Speaking of buying, I found some wonderful fiber - here's a sampling of some of my fiber. I feel like a fiber glutton. No, not a glutton, okay I feasted on fiber. But that's what long holiday weekends are all about, right?

Hotel Recognizance Mission

2010-09-01T07:59:00.004-05:00

Lest you think I would lead a boring empty-nester existence after getting my daughter off to college - then here's proof that I still live a weird, if not exciting, middle-age life.

What did I do last night? On an otherwise mundane weeknight, I left work and met several members of the Retreat Search Committee from my Guild. Our assignment was to drive about an hour or so out of town to tour a possible site (hotel) for our Spring 2011 Knitter's Retreat. For the mission, Teri offered to drive her van with the rest of us riding shotgun - and during the drive out there, we continually argued with the misguided GPS.

Ironically enough, I was the one who was so excited to find this place on the Internet. On the Internet it looked perfect for our needs. Or so I thought.

What I learned from our outing last night:

Potential retreat sites, like potential dating partners, can appear better on the Internet than in person.

When you are starving and don't eat dinner until 10:00 at night, you start craving carbs and waffles start tasting really really good.

The aforementioned waffle house, late on a Tuesday night, has some interesting characters, some of whom offer to pay their bill in chickens.

Becoming a little tired and punchy, those of us trekking home begin reciting nursery rhymes, "To market, to market to buy a fat pig, home again, home again, jiggidy jig."

You can, with modern technology, be in such a panic to find other alternative retreat sites that you begin googling them on an iphone in a dark van.

Sometimes There's A Simple Solution

2010-08-28T23:24:00.001-05:00

I've been working on several projects simultaneously, but one thing I've been steadily working on, in addition to the Granny Square afghan, is the little Shrug called, "Sweet Little Nothing Shrug" in turquoise blue and various colors from my homespun yarn. It is based on this free pattern. It worked up pretty well, overall, and took only two weeks to spin, then two more weeks to knit the garment itself. There was only one problem . . . the fact that the ribbing that ran along the bottom of the shrug kept flipping up in a really annoying manner. Guess I should have knit the ribbing with a smaller needle. Dang. I didn't.

I took it to the knitting guild Monday night, hoping that someone there would have a great suggestion, other than ripping it out. Several knitters pointed out that I probably should have done the ribbing on smaller needles than the stockinette portion of the body. Did you know that? Well, I didn't but apparently it's pretty common knowledge in the knitting world that you knit ribbing on smaller needles than you're using for the body of the garment. Save that suggestion for future reference, maybe. Not much help in my current situation.

Many people asked if I'd blocked it yet, why no, I haven't, because I still need to finish knitting the front ribbing before it's finished. But it was flipping so bad that I doubted even wet blocking would help. (I've had this flipped ribbing problem with another sweater one time, a pullover, and blocking didn't get it out). Grrr.

All week, I kept trying to come up with solutions - such as maybe crocheting along that bottom edge and/or put fringes of yarn down from the ribbing and weight the edge down with little beads. It would be a decoration, but would also weight down the material that wants to turn up.

In desperation, I took the garment over to Julie's house and she said, "Give it to me and I'll steam it." Steam it? Really? I've never tried that before. Yes, she has a steamer down in her basement. Ten minutes later, the shrug looked so much better. It was laying perfectly flat. Amazing!

Now that we've fixed that problem, the fringes and beading idea still sound appealing to make the shrug even cuter and more unique, and it's nice to know that steaming really is a good option. Wet blocking isn't the only kind of blocking out there. Nice to know, eh? And I went out to Mar-Becs and got one for myself - only $30, you can't beat that.

Edited to add: And now it's finished - I did end up adding the little beaded fringes of yarn that I'd come up with as one of the possible solutions to the rib flipping problem. Not bad. It sorta adds an extra cute factor. It's probably a little TOO cute for someone of my certain age - but what the heck, I'll wear it in good fun. I now call it my "Cha Cha Shrug."

Afghan Finished - College Life Begun

2010-08-25T10:29:00.006-05:00

It's finished. Yay!

My daughter is at school, safe and sound.

All her stuff is in her dorm.

She's starting a new college life.

And now we are feeling the aches and pains of the move. Even a hot soak doesn't help much.

But it's good. She'll be fine.

Our little bird has flown the coop.

I'm feeling relieved and a little sad. Not allowing that to overwhelm me yet.

Lot of emotions. But whew, it's gonna be okay.

It's a Boy!

2010-08-06T06:20:00.016-05:00

No, I didn't just have a baby or a grandbaby. I just found out that my Green Creek Conure, Mac, is a boy. With Green Cheeks, the males and females are virtually indistinguishable by sight, so you have to have them blood tested to find out for sure. Tests just came back late last week. Here is Emily with Mac.

Mac not only enjoys riding on my shoulder everywhere he can, but he also enjoyed spinning with me. If you look closely, or click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see Mac perched on the back of my chair while I'm spinning on my new little Merlin Tree "Roadbug" wheel.

Speaking of gender, I've decided that the Roadbug is definitely a female. My friend Luann said I should have had her painted Green (favorite color) but I thought, no she's just a plain, down-to-earth, but quirky and funny girl I call appropriately enough "Rhoda the Roadbug." She's named in honor of one of my favorite sit-com characters, Rhoda Morganstern, from the Mary Tyler Moore series.

Remember Rhoda? (the lively sidekick of MTM). I always wished I could be as beautiful, funny and talented as her - plus I wanted her attic apartment. If Rhoda could have been a real person, I'm almost SURE she would have been a knitter - maybe she would have spun huge art yarn? Probably would have had a loom as big as her apartment, and maybe knit some wild colorful shawls and definitely over-the-top quirky hats. Maybe she would have knit creative, fantatic freeform sweaters? Who knows.

One more gender analysis, I believe that my Mach II Spinolution wheel is a male - and I call him Henry. He's broad and substantial, and I picture him much like a Henry the VIII kind of guy. He likes to stay home in his castle, eat a lot of fiber, and not move around much. He rules over the spinning kingdom here at home as my best "go to" wheel - he likes to be the ruler.

Fiber Journey and Where the Road is Taking Me

2010-07-30T06:30:00.023-05:00

When I started knitting, I thought I'd never spin, crochet, dye fiber, or weave. I would have been shocked to find that I now do all but weave and even that might be something on my fiber horizon.

This last year, with so many changes happening in my life, and with my daughter nearly ready to fly the coop and go off to college, I've been trying to prepare for her departure by pouring my heart and my FINGERS into kicking out crocheted Granny Squares for her college afghan. I now have completed about 65 squares and I think Elysbeth has done about 30 - so that should be enough for me to start rapidly crocheting those squares together to get it done in time to send off with her in just a few short weeks.

In the meantime, I must also confess that my fiber road has led me to get one more wheel. Yes, I bought a Merlin Tree Roadbug. It's a little travel wheel perfect for carting around when I don't want to lug my otherwise PERFECT Mach II wheel by Spinolution. It is really small, works wonderfully, and weighs only 9 lbs.

In short, my fiber journey has led me further and further along the spinning road. Making my own yarn has been a total fascination and one in which I intend to indulge even more as my desire to buy storebought/commercial yarn has ebbed to the point where I hardly ever go into a yarn shop anymore. Instead, I am enjoying producing my own yarn and now knitting with it. Here is my lastest yarn I've made from this fiber, purchased a few months ago at the Sunflower Guild fiber fair.

So now I'm knitting with this yarn I just finishing spinning (see above). It's a 2-ply worsted weight yarn that turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I am finding that knitting with yarn that I produced myself is so much more satisfying than any yarn I can buy in a store. Happy sigh.

My Dyeing Day

2010-07-23T08:15:00.013-05:00

I decided to take a Friday off to just veg out and PLAY with fiber. So since I've been putting off dyeing - don't know why, but I think it's because I'm a klutz and I'm scared of dyeing my kitchen countertop or floor by accident. But I summoned my courage, and a lot of protective plastic. Today was a real scorching hot day, seemed like the perfect day to dye some fiber outside on a throwaway tablecloth.

Started out by soaking the fiber in a water/white vinegar solution so it would soak up the dye well.

Then I carefully mixed Knitpicks acid dyes (dry in cannisters) with water into small jars. The colors used this time were burnt orange, vermillion and emerald green, but on these fibers, I just soaked them for a little while outside in jars in the sun, and didn't leave them long enough. Think maybe I got impatient? Anyway, they came out pale and EHHHHH. I've actually gotten better results from Kool Aid dyeing before. This is how the outside method turned out:

And then I tried one inside, in the crockpot with just the burnt orange, brown and fire red combined in one pot. I tried to keep three distinct sections, but they ended up sort of melding together. Still I LOVE the effect. I am calling this "Fire on the Canyon." Now I wish I'd dyed up a whole bunch more of it.

There's still a big learning curve. I want to learn how to combine and make multi-colors in one roving. Will have to study up and keep practicing.

All in all, spinning is way more relaxing and fun than dyeing, but I like the roving and it may be worth trying again, especially in the crockpot.

A Musical Find - Pandora

2010-07-16T09:30:00.009-05:00

I've been so busy and distracted lately, I nearly forgot that my word this year was "Find." But in my need to calm my nerves and relieve anxiety about changes at work, I decided to find a music station that I could stream through the Internet and wouldn't have to to think too much about. I used to do that through my Sirius Radio but they don't let you do it anymore without charging extra. Forget that. I'm not paying extra for music. And I don't have time to fool with selecting and loading my favorite tunes onto an MP3 player. So I searched and FOUND a wonderful alternative. It's called Pandora.

Since I have ecletic musical taste, it's hard to find just one radio station that contains it all. But with this Pandora system, it KNOWS or learns that I LOVE folk music, such as Donovan, Carole King, James Taylor, Peter Paul and Mary, the 1960's type of folk; as well as the new Indie Music like Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Combine that with that fact that I dig R&B, some Blues, lots of 1970's music, Motown classics and some good ole Frank Sinata. It "knows" that I don't like Bob Dylan, can live two lifetimes without Elvis. It just has me pegged amazingly well and fast. It's like magic. Weird.

So you want to give it a try too? You can start by going to that Pandora link (above), then entering one or a series of your favorite music groups and/or songs. The free audio starts streaming and as you like/dislike songs that it picks for you based upon the favorites you've listed, the software finds other artists and/or songs that have similar musical qualities you might like. I have been LOVING this system and after trying it for a week, the software is refining itself to my tastes more and more. I am finding such wonderful music without having to mix it myself.

Music especially tailored and customized for your listening pleasure. Amazing. Try it and you may be pleasantly surprised too.

Finding the Perfect Summer Read

2010-07-10T08:08:00.002-05:00

We are all pressed for time. And booklovers are always looking for that great summer read. Is it really possible to answer only 10 quick questions in a quiz and get a book selection just right for you?

Well I was skeptical at first, but figured, "What do I have to lose?" I took this online quiz put out by Oprah's website and they suggested I read:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. It's about Rose Edelstein who discovers at age 8 that she can taste feelings in food - lonely pie, adulterous roast beef, resentment soup - whatever angst or elation the cook is feeling. This is a coming of age novel about a wacky girl in a wacky stew of a family and how, through the help of an adorable science whiz friend of hers, she begins to make human connections by finding others who believe in her. She gains confidence to believe in herself. According to reviewer Kristy Davis, "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" (Doubleday encourages us all to make the most of our unique gifts while still finding a way to live in the so-called real world." Sounds like a good book indeed for me to read. Note: I'm not recommending this book to others yet as I have not read it myself - I'm just moving it near the top of my "books to read" list. So I can't vouch for it yet. Will let you know later.

Here's one that I CAN heartily recommend. The Help by Kathleen Stockett. I'm in the midst of experiencing it right now. It's not just a "good read" - it's one of those you fall into and truly experience. It is just as fantastic as people have predicted. I LOVE it. Am listening to it as CDs in the car and it is so wonderful and well narrated that I find myself making excuses to make extra trips so I can listen to just a bit more. Ha!

Groovy Granny Squares

2010-07-08T06:11:00.009-05:00

The photo is Carol at the Shep Shed, my favorite online place to buy fiber, she's bagging up a big mound of fiber that I'd love to jump into right now. In fact, I just placed an order from their Grab Bag section this morning and hopefully will have more fiber to dye and play with in a few days. If you haven't ever bought anything from there, check them out. There's even a Ravelry Group where Carol posts about her specials and people discuss what they do with her mill ends. If you order from her, you don't always have much choice in the grab bags, but I've ended up with some nice stuff and it's always a fun fiber surprise. Just what I need right now. A fiber fix. Yes!

I've been so excited about spinning, especially since getting my new wheel. I even got out my Fancy Kitty drum carder and made some batts the other day (unfortunately mine doesn't have the brush attachment yet, but I've been thinking I might get one eventually. I neeed to start dyeing while the weather is hot out and I can dry fiber outside in the hot sun. The lady who sold me my wheel is a real fiber artist - she does everything, drum carding, knitting, dyeing, crocheting, weaving. Anyway, she got me inspired to want to do all those things. Yippee!

Unfortunately I don't have much time to do the things I want to dabble in. I'd love to just take 3 days off in the middle of the week some time and play in fiber pursuits. Hey, maybe I will do that in the Fall when the weather gets cooler. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

Things are really tense at work right now. Major shakeup and changes. So coming home to spinning at night has been a real godsend! Thank goodness I meditate and spin regularly. Now I just need to do Yoga more often and I'd be even better. I've been stress eating lately and haven't been exercising enough.

Another thing I've been doing is working on Emily's Granny Square Afghan. I'm now up to 20 (6" X 6") squares. I think I need about 90-100 of them or so to make the size afghan I'm wanting. She leaves for college at the end of August, so I need to continue pumping out Granny Squares. As you can see, I am finishing the last round in green each time so that my crocheting or stitching them together will be easier and won't show the stitching as much. I'm planning on trying to knit or crochet a block in the center with her school's logo in the middle. Green and White are her school colors.

Now off to work. Sigh.

Doing the Spinning Wheel Shuffle

2010-07-03T20:51:00.019-05:00

Well, remember a while back I said that I was THINKING ABOUT switching wheels? Well this week, I did!

I decided to just put out some feelers on Ravelry and on the Kromski group list to see if anyone might want to buy my Kromski Sonata. Unfortunately, I got no immediate local interest. But several out-of-town spinners were interested. After being offered 2 male Alpaca geldings in trade by a woman interested in my Kromski for her daughter, I decided that in my suburban neighborhood, those Alpacas just wouldn't fit in. If they peeked their cute, furry little heads over my neighbor's fence, he'd freak out. Even though my husband said he wouldn't mind a break from cutting the grass, the alpacas could eat it - I'd have to shovel the droppings. So no, that wouldn't quite work.

Luckily a lady from the Dallas area was looking for a Sonata for her birthday. Funny, I got this Sonata for MY birthday. So she ended up being the buyer who got my wheel and I mailed it off to her Friday night.

So then I went on a wheel search. I'd been thinking about several different ones, as you know. I ended up getting a really good deal on a Mach II wheel by Spinolution from a dealer here in Missouri who needs to sell hers in order to get the new Mach III when it comes out. This wheel says "Mach I" on the back, but the dealer did all the upgrades to make it a Mach II. So it's a Mach II in terms of function.

I was sorely tempted by the smaller (portable) Spinolution Bee, but decided that I need a good all-around workhouse wheel first before I get tempted by another portable.

If I like the Spinolution enough, who knows, I might eventually get the Bee also. But for now, my Mach (which weighs 22 pounds) does not fold up, but it comes with a travel strap and wheels, so it can be pulled pretty easily and effortlessly if I'm walking down the sidewalk etc.

This wheel is not nearly as PRETTY as my Sonata was, but hey, I need high functioning much more than pretty at this point. So the utilitarian nature of the Mach attracted me more than the pretty. In fact, when the huge bobbins are stored on the side, the wheel looks (to me) like a space alien, with a bobbin nose in the middle. This wheel looks like a portly but reliable man to me - or again, quirky like maybe a space alien. Various men's names are running around in my head . . . Henry, or Oscar? Any ideas will be considered.

I was able to make this trade and did it without investing extra $$$. So though I might eventually get the "dream wheel" that combines function AND appearance, right now I'm very happy with the switch. The Mach spins like a DREAM. The treadling is so easy I hardly move a toe and it spins everything from lace weight to art yarn. Yay!!!

Pardon me, but I've got to go spin now. Love, love, love.

The Big Unpack

2010-06-26T20:32:00.013-05:00

Wow, it feels like I've been on a nonstop travel whirlwind for about two weeks. Well, that's probably because I HAVE been. Living out of a suitcase for a fortnight is enough to drive any home loving woman crazy.

During the past week, even though I absolutely LOVE Colorado and have been there many times on business, I discovered that I am capable of experiencing fairly bad Altitude Sickness. So next time, I'll be on the lookout for that ahead of time and will be a bit more prepared for it.

Between business and personal trips, I've had quite enough travel for a while and am happy to say I have a chance to rest and stay home for a while. Yay! At my age, rushing through airports and standing on hard concrete tradeshow floors while trying to look perky isn't my idea of fun. But I'm back now, and ready to sink into my own comfy bed. Whew! (Big sigh of relief).

So what have I been doing, besides working? Not much. But I did manage to knit one hat, the Amanda hat, for our Sunflower Guild's charity Christmas project. We're knitting or crocheting hats for teens, both boys and girls. If you have any really cute patterns that a teenager would love, let me know (especially if it is FREE). This one, the Amanda hat, happens to be a freebie and is very easy and fun to do. Even though I'm a slow knitter, I managed to finish it in just a few days of snatched knitting time. So I'd highly recommend this one. It would also make a good quick gift if you need to whip up something fast.

Oh, and we're still preparing in every way possible, for our daughter's launch off to college. We just returned from a college orientation weekend that left us all excited, anxious, happy, and looking forward to a new phase of life --- both ours and more importantly, hers. I keep saying it, but really, I can't believe my daughter is growing up and away from us so fast. So on the way there, I started working on her college afghan that she requested. It's a Granny Square afghan. I was instructed by her to make it "as wild, with crazy colors" as possible. She wants it soft and washable, so I'm using Berocco's DK Comfort Acyllic yarn. It is wonderful, soft stuff that washes up very well. I love this stuff! Here are the first two Granny Squares that I managed to create based on the free and well-written "Traditional Granny Square" pattern offered by Heirloom Stitches.

These little squares were VERY FUN to whip up. So I will go buy some more of the yarn, in more colors, maybe tomorrow, if I can find a shop that is open and stocks it. Crocheting or sewing them together may not be as much fun, but the project is perfect for an on-the-go crocheter like me.

Feel'n The Wheel Lust

2010-06-17T16:54:00.016-05:00

When I was a teenager, I had no sense of fashion, and was very thrify with my hard-earned money, most of which I earned through babysitting. So when I went to buy shoes, I distinctly remember telling the shoe store clerk that I wanted to buy a pair of shoes that I could wear ANYWHERE. I didn't want a dress shoe or a casual shoe, but wanted a "do everything" shoe. Her eyes widened and she said, "But we don't have that. We have dress shoes, casual shoes, boots, party shoes, sandals. We don't have DO EVERYTHING shoes."

So now, I have a perfectly good spinning wheel, a Kromski Sonata (shown at left), which I've only had since November 2009, but I find myself lusting after other wheels, preferably, like the shoe request, one that can do EVERYTHING and be EVERYTHING - it should be able to spin everything from lace weight to Art Yarn. It should be sturdy but beautiful and traditional. It should also be affordable, not too extravagant. It shouldn't take up too much room in my house, and be at least somewhat portable. It should treadle easily and effortlessly. It should be easy - both on the eyes and the pocketbook, but not TOO easy or common. It should be all things rolled up into one.

When did these disturbing feelings arise? Well, it started with second guessing my wheel choice, maybe I SHOULD have chosen the Ashford Traveller, which I've always loved, or the Kromski Minstrel, which is about the same price but has double drive as well as single and is so much PRETTIER than mine, in the traditional wheel look that makes me swoon. I'd want mine in Mahogony.

And then, when I went to Jeff City last Spring, I sat next to a lady who had a Spinolution Bee, a very clever and cute travel wheel that treadled from side to side - a very unusual treadling motion. And it packed up like a dream, so cute and so efficient, as well as a dream to spin on.

Oh and another wheel fastasy. Just one more I REALLY like. Ahem. The Majacraft Rose. Yep. A little outside my limited budget unless I get a REALLY good deal on a used one. Possible but unlikely.

So now, I want another wheel. Don't need one. Just one one. It's wheel lust, plain and simple. What's a girl who wants everything to do?

Time Travel Weekend: A Gothic Melodrama

2010-06-13T06:01:00.015-05:00

What did I do this weekend? I attended "The Trial of the Century" that occurred one hundred years ago, a reenactment of the trial put on by the Jackson County Historical Society.

Was it Murder? Centennial Commemorative Re-Enactment of the TRIAL OF THE CENTURY: Swope v. Hyde. Saturday, June 12, 2010. 2-4 p.m. at the Truman Memorial Building (corner of Truman and Pleasant Street). Thank you in advance for your continuing support of our organization! This event brought to you in partnership with the Independence Parks & Recreation Department

Here's the story: In October of 1909, one of Kansas City's wealthiest families, the Swope Family, was headed by a spinster uncle named Charles who was a real estate mogul who had acquired and then sold, some of Kansas City's prime real estate in the downtown area. At the age of 82, since he was a bachelor, he lived in a mansion with his widowed sister Margaret, and seven of her grown children on Pleasant Street in Independence, Missouri. One of those nieces of his, Francine, had just married a young doctor from Lexington, Missouri, a divorced man whom the family didn't like or approve. The couple had moved to a nearby mansion that Mr. Swope had bought for them in Kansas City.

One fall night in 1909, Mrs. Swope had traveled out of town, and one of the nephews, Chrisman, became deathly ill, along with a cousin. Dr. Hyde was brought in to treat the ailing relatives, but they mysteriously went into convulsions and died, along with Mr. Swope, the wealthy uncle, and both were said, by Dr. Hyde, to have had strokes. Many of the other younger nephews and neices became ill with what was believed to be Typhus, though the convulsive symptoms weren't consistent with that illness. It was noticed by the attending nurses that every time Dr. Hyde gave them pills to take, and he treated a patient, they became much worse and died. Only when Dr. Hyde was banished from the home did the patients improve and eventually everyone became well again.

It was later learned that Dr. Hyde had been buying cyanide pills from a local pharamacist and claimed he was buying the poison "to kill cockroaches and some annoying dogs." They became suspicious and he was charged with murder. It was rumored that he wanted to kill several of his wife's siblings as well as the elder Mr. Swope because he hoped to ensure and increase his wife's inheritance, when he heard rumor that Mr. Swope was about to change his will and give most of his wealth to charity and to reduce the amount willed to his relatives.

Thus the "Trial of the Century" ensued only months after the deaths, and it became a Victorian age media frenzy. Media coverage went on for 10 years as Dr. Hyde was tried and retried seven times in total.

Yesterday, the public was invited to attend the reenactment of the trial and it went on for an extra hour - from 2:00-5:00. The reenacters did a fabulous job. The whole crowd sat is rapt attention for 3 hours, with only a brief bathroom break to stir the spell.

I'd already read the book, Deaths on Pleasant Street by Giles Fowler, but the trial was still fascinating to me and so well done! My grandmother, who is 94, still remembers the old mansion, which was torn down in 1960. She remembers going inside and wishing it weren't demolished.

Though the mystery of the deaths will probably never be resolved, speculation is still buzzing.

Failed Project

2010-06-05T10:07:00.004-05:00

Lately, I've been feeling pulled in too many directions. This is reflected perfectly in my knitting/crafting life.

I have been trying, for two months, to work on a Seraphina shawl (crochet project).

Unfortunately, I've gone wrong on it - several rows ago, and didnt' realize it. Somehow I was able to keep crocheting until this one point, along about Row 18 on Sequence 1 and I realize that I don't have the right stitches for it. Took it to the crocheters at Target on Thursday night and found out that I goofed up WAY back, many rows ago, because it seems that sometimes I included the beginning V stitch and sometimes I didn't, and I have an extra shell on one side - all of this will probably mean little to noncrocheters, but suffice to say, I royally goofed up my Seraphina. It was meant as a prayer shawl gift, but it's evidenly not meant to be (at least for now). I am just too frustrated with it. And I thought it was turning out so well.

Big squash to the overconfidence, that's for sure.

So now I'm letting it go, putting it away, at least for now.

At any rate, I'm casting on for a knitted shawl rather than a crochet, because I'm more confident in that. And I'm picking an easier pattern this time. This is a prayer shawl - so I don't need to be fretting about it, don't you agree? It should be a calm project, not a frazzled one. So I frogged the frazzled Seraphina that was not meant to be, and am turning to calm anticipation of the lilac of the new shawl.

Why do I seeem to have a string of SEVERAL projects go astray before something comes together? Gosh, this sounds like life in general, doesn't it? But sometimes, rather it's in crocheting, knitting or in LIFE, you need to recognize when it's bad and let it go.

Morning Has Broken?

2010-05-29T04:39:00.005-05:00

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Morning Has Broken
As Sung by Cat Stevens
lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Guess what? Things may be looking up for us. Bob finally got a job!!! Yay!!!

We are thrilled to say the least.

Thanks to all who have been sending us well wishes and heartfelt prayers for him to find a job. Whew, what a relief.

Get Thee to a Nunnery

2010-05-26T08:17:00.013-05:00

The phrase, "Get Thee to a Nunnery" was first coined by Shakespeare in Hamlet. When Hamlet laments to Ophelia that she should "get thee to a nunnery", he is expressing pent-up anger towards his mother, who he feels has been unfaithful and incestuous when she married his uncle. At the beginning of the play itself, we see a brooding Hamlet who seems almost more upset by his mother's marriage than by his father's death. He speaks of it with such bitter disgust: "She married, O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!" (I.ii.156-7) and is so upset with his mother that he pronounces a curse on ALL women, not just her: "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (I.ii.147). So, that curse includes Ophelia, and from that point on, he avoids her.

But the reason for ME using it here is the opposite - I occasionally seek OUT a monastery or "nunnery" for the purposes of filling my spiritual hunger and my longing for inner peace. Well, once again, last weekend, I had the opportunity to get myself to a nunnery and I can't recommend it enough. St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas is simply phenomenal therapy for me and repairs my soul like no other balm that exists on earth. Just spending a few hours in the rolling hills of the Benedictine Monastery reminds me of who I am, or want to be, my best self - in touch with the divine in me, and in others.

I haven't been there since September 2009, but I went there to meditate and to pray - to mostly seek out the Silence. Wow is that ever a powerful place, and not only are wonderful people already living and working there, but those who visit are very interesting inner adventurers.

At my request, I was able to lodge in my favorite Room Number 8. Ah!!! Back again. It's simple. It's stripped down of TV, radio, computer, all e-media. There's just a small bed, a small dresser, small desk, a comfy meditation chair, and that's it - a quiet room alone, with a beautiful view of the rolling hills of Missouri.

It was a strange, confusing journey there this time - because unknown to me, all the bridges leading to it on the Missouri side were disabled for repair. Ah hem. Nope I am not kidding. Symbolic, isn't it? I need repair, all the roads leading there are down - I need to forge a new route. Wow. But I did. I found it. Finally. And it meant all the more to me once I finally arrived.

Ah - peace at last, I found you. And just in time, too, because I carry this place with me, and mentally go there whenever I am feeling at my wit's end, which is all too often lately.

Thank you God for giving me a place to find you, because sometimes (like Hamlet) I really lose sight of all that is good.

The Graduate

2010-05-20T06:30:00.006-05:00

I have been feeling wistful all last week - and now this week even more so. My only child graduated high school last night.

We've had lots of preparations and parties - and misty eyes.

Simply can't believe my baby and many of her friends who I've known so well throughout the years are graduating now. Time has passed in a flash. A big threshhold has been crossed.

I'm so filled with pride and pain and expectation - all at the same time. And anxiety. I won't lie about that. Much of everything.

Mother's Day Weekend Outing with My Mom

2010-05-09T07:03:00.038-05:00

I've always felt my Mom was beautiful - inside and out. What's funny is, she's camera shy, so it's not easy capturing a photo of her. But at any rate, she always keeps up with the times and looks her very best. She loves beauty books, fashion magazines, and she and Emily are the Fashionistas in our family.

So when I heard that the Today show beauty expert, Charla Krupp, was coming to Kansas City to celebrate Mother's Day with her Mother-in-law and doing a public appearance through Rainy Day Books and Artichoke Gallery, I decided to take my Mom over to soak up some fashion and beauty tips as she featured her latest book called HOW TO NEVER LOOK FAT AGAIN. She has an ealier book also called, HOW NOT TO LOOK OLD.

We had a fantastic time. Let me say that Charla Krupp looks fabulous. I don't know how old she is, but she looks 10X better in person than on her book covers. She's short like me (in fact she's only 5'0" tall) - but she appears much taller because she knows how to dress to look longer and leaner with heels - in both boots and shoes. She mentioned that since writing the book, she's lost weight and does a fitness routine - so she's tiny. Whatever she's doing, it's working.

She's good at teaching women "of a certain age" how to dress to make the maximum impact and look their very best in spite of figure flaws. She brought along a rack of clothes she'd selected from a high-end boutique across the street, and she showed us what items she'd put together to counteract various body problems. Much of it is common sense stuff that we've all read in beauty and fashion magazines for years - stuff like, don't wear oversized, boxy clothes - wear dark solid colors on areas you want to minimize. Buy a good bra that holds you UP.

She's a big advocate for foundation garments - or "body shapers" I think she calls them. Spanx underwear and that kind of thing. For jeans, she suggests DARK jeans with no designs, logos or other attention-getting geegaws - she says these design features only make your butt and gut look LARGER. The pockets should be flat and plain - her favorite jeans are "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" which can be found at Dillards, Macy's, Nordstrom's.

She encourages women to wear one-piece dresses because that way, it's simplier and easier to coordinate rather than having to put together several separate pieces - especially if your problem area is your mid-section. With a dress, there is no break at all in the center to attract your eye, a dress will immediately give your shape a sleeker line through the middle. Best of all, you don't have to worry about what goes with it or what to tuck or not tuck.

If you are wearing separates, make it an a-line skirt or pant in a dark color. Wear heels for all boots and sandals. Have a pair of pretty flats to slip into in case your feet start hurting. Wear attractive jackets, but not huge, boxy ones or a matching suit.

For swimsuits - wear one piece suits that are flattering as possible - with support built into the suit. Apply self-tanning lotion and shave well so that your body looks smooth. Buy a really GREAT coverup and cute sandals, because you will be wearing the cover-up over it more than you will be swimming. Pretty accessories will boost your confidence.

Is Frugality the New "Normal"

2010-05-07T07:12:00.002-05:00

I was reading this article today about consumer reaction to the supposedly improving recession. The upshot is that even though the U.S. economy is improving in very small measures, and consumer spending has recently gone up a bit, that the average American still is holding onto a much more guarded attitude toward consumerism.

Many researchers agree that they may continue to save more, spend less, and be more cautious about impulse purchases. They are gravitating towards smaller, more affordable houses and they say that even if their income rises again in light of a brighter economy, they will still remain careful about jumping into major purchases. They are either cutting back, or reevaluating, what they consider necessary in their budget. Things that were previously taken for granted, such as premium cable stations and so forth, are often being cut - and new clothing and other expenditures may be put off or delayed instead of being purchased impulsively.

One 60 year old lady who was quoted in the article says, "I don't think it will ever get back to where it was before," she says of her nest egg. "I won't spend money the way I used to."

For those of us at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation - those of us approaching or in our 50's - it's too early for us to retire - and yet things are changing so rapidly and permanently, that it feels as if we need to shift our whole working/lifestyle way of thinking and everything is on the table for reconsideration. Something in my mind/heart and spirit has fundamentally shifted.

I know that this particular recession has hit us here in my family. Bob has been laid off for 6 months now - and although we've been through this before, somehow this time it feels different. Once he finally gets another job - we will look at our future with more caution - less relief, and more strategizing.

I'm Coming Unraveled

2010-05-02T20:53:00.005-05:00

This is the second sleeve of my oatmeal sweater. You know, I was nearly finished with this second sleeve but I became very unhappy with the increases on the sleeve, they looked sloppy and uneven with the other one. So I ripped and ripped and finally got so frustrated that I started CUTTING the sleeve, yes cutting with scissors. Now I've ripped way past the mistake - but my yarn is a mess from the cutting and the whole sleeve is probably going to go down and get thrown away out of my own impatience.

I started to just throw this sleeve away but decided to photograph it to remind myself that this sleeve is somehow reflective of my general frustration with my life right now. Bob is still out of work - my frustration and worry and anxiety is mounting. I'm getting a bit panicky with the economy being so bad. The bad feels like it won't lift.

I know things will turn around, but right now, I don't see it.

Maybe I'll do what my Grandma used to tell me when I became overly frustrated - put it down, Chelle, walk away, and come back when you feel better.

Faulty Assumptions

2010-05-02T08:09:00.006-05:00

I haven't been knitting as much this week as usual - because I had a business trip that was pretty intense all week and I didn't get the usual time in between and at night to knit. Dang!

At any rate, one thing I did finish was another Storm Cloud Shawlette - this one in Dream in Color "Bold" - a very striking variegated blue. This is the least favorite one I've done so far, mainly because it is a bit too small for my liking - it was done on size 8s and I only did one single strand of sock yarn. In the future, if I were just using one strand of sock, I'd use a 9 needle rather than an 8 - because everyone I know who has used an 8 ends up saying their shawl is too small.

But one person over on Ravelry wrote to me because she was frustrated with not understanding the pattern. She thought she only increased one stitch per row. So it occurred to me that other people who aren't watching other knitters make this shawl might be a bit confused.

On the increase rows, instead of just increasing 1 stitch on each row - on that increase row, you do yarnovers between each “knit” stitch - and those STAY on the needle in the subsequent row after Rows 2, 4, 10, 20, 38 and 72. So each time you hit one of those critical rows you are DOUBLING your stitches. But you are only doing that for critical rows - otherwise you’d end up increasing and having way too many stitches on your needle before you knew it.

I think another confusing thing is that what the designer is calling the INCREASE row, is actually just where you are knitting in the stitches you actually added as yarnovers on the row before. This sounds confusing but really isn’t. It’s the simplest thing in the world once you get it.

Isn't that true with life in general, we often mess up when we have something stuck in our minds, a faulty assumption that blinds us to seeing what is really there. This knitter who wrote me assumed that you only knit one extra stitch in the whole row - and she "read" the pattern with that belief in mind. Then when I pointed out her mistaken assumption - it was like a light suddenly came on - Eureka! and the pattern became blindingly obvious and simple.

Throughout our lives, because we develop life experiences, we start lodging many perceptions and assumptions - it is what my boss calls "head trash." Much of the time, those assumptions act as a shortcut to understanding life and are helpful in streamlining our learning, but sometimes the assumptions get in our way and create a mental block that we have to jump past or clear away in order to get a true understanding.

Now I did something different on this last shawl with the border that I kind of like, instead of continuing to do elongated stitches - on the border row, I just knit 10 solid rows of plain garter stitch - it made a more solid border - and instead of creating a ruffle, it just added a more solid border, which might be good if you're wanting that look, especially when you have really stretchy yarn. Just an idea!

So sometimes we need to look at things afresh - and create new ways of doing things - sometimes NOT following the pattern or the tried and true way is a good creative change.

Here's . . . . Mac

2010-04-26T06:47:00.012-05:00

This past weekend was really strange. We had definite plans. Really we did. We were supposed to go on a romantic weekend getaway to the lake. But we were both having a crummy week all last week. And then the weekend forecast of drenching rain, rain, rain and cold temperatures every single day. Yuck. Didn't sound very romantic. So we switched plans, deciding to cancel our reservations and stay home.

Then as we went out to dinner Friday night, we discovered there was to be a Bird Show at a hotel near the mall. I worked hard most of the day Saturday on my work project. Then in the afternoon, Bob said, "You need a break, so let's go to that bird show." Sounded good. We've been interested in birds for over ten years and I always wanted an African Gray parrot - but had decided that since they live upwards of 50-70 years, and are very demanding and costly, that we just couldn't afford to ever get one of those. I've also loved conures, because I love the little comedic antics they are apt to display.

I've been considering a Green Cheek Conure as a good breed, because they are less loud than many other parrots, and they are very affectionate and comedic. At the pet stores, though, they are priced so high. So when we visited the Bird Fair, we found a wonderful little 12 week old Green Cheek Conure that we named "Mac." We don't actually know if he's a "he" or a "she" but Mac seems to be a pretty unisex name that will work either way.

Already this bird is very sweet and friendly, and loves to get out and play around, and be petted and cuddled. It's a very engaging young bird. Since we bought him from a breeder, we got a really good price too.

One of his favorite toys so far is playing with a strand of yarn that I tied to the top of his cage. So I guess he's truly a bird after my own yarny heart!

I Need to Make a Blanket

2010-04-21T06:28:00.009-05:00

My daughter is firming up her college plans now - thankfully, she has picked her school and we are getting her application, and all that college processing stuff done. She's going away to school, which we all agree will be a good thing for her, and something that I always longed to do.

I went to community college for my first two years and then transferred to UMKC to get the degree. But I often wished I could have gone off and lived in a dorm to have that whole dorm life and freshman on-campus experience. I think it will open up a whole new world to her. So I'm extremely excited for her.

This is a weird time for us - because we're pushing ahead to get a new phase of her life started, and I'm feeling those motherly weepy feelings, combined with the excitement - and on top of it is the uncertainty - with Bob still not having a job etc. It's like we're driving on one of those old Ozark Missouri roads where the road twists and turns, and you can't see ahead over the next hill, but you have to drive anyway, and have faith that the road will still be there to meet you and will take you in the right direction. Ya know? I call that the Road of Uncertainty. It's sometimes scary, but it leads you to new places and usually everything is clear over the horizon.

Now along with this college preparation going on, I'm realizing that the sock blanket I've had languishing for several months, needs to come out and grow FAST because she's going to be taking off with it to her new dorm in a few months, and at the pace I'm knitting and shoving it aside constantly, she may be graduated from college before I ever get it done. This blanket, by the way is Christine Long's Sock yarn blanket, and is much prettier in person than in this photo. For some reason, the blanket is just not photogenic.

Last night, I showed Emily the beginnings of this blanket and I told her I had in mind to make it just like a study lap blanket and not anything real big - just to wrap around her legs while studying. She made it clear that she wants a BIG, warm, fuzzy afghan - a full size one, and she doesn't care if it's knitted or crocheted. So I'm thinking of putting this little sock lapghan on hold until I finish a substantial afghan for her. I'm calling for suggestions, I just need something BIG, SOFT and WARM that would be FAST to get finished. Any ideas?

This sock yarn blanket, done on size 3 needles, is a fantastic way to use up sock yarn, but in the interest of instant grat, I need something really speedy and am open to ideas.

Working Vacation

2010-04-16T20:53:00.010-05:00

I love my job, and especially during weeks like this, where I spent three days in Colorado Springs. Sure, I spent much of my time at a tradeshow, all the while wishing I could be out hiking, walking, and admiring the amazing scenary, but still just being there was pure bliss - and gave me a much-needed recharge.

Some people are refreshed by oceans - not me! Give me mountains, forests, wooded areas anytime - they just lift me up inside and give me an inner thrill, even from afar.

Now I didn't take this photo - because I really didn't have time to do the tourist-y stuff and couldn't seem to even snap decent photos while my colleague drove us from Denver to Colorado Springs and back again a few days later. So this is a photo of Pike's Peak that I found on the Internet, but you get the idea - mind numbingly gorgeous.

And the enjoyment I get from staying all by myself in a hotel room for two nights makes all the standing in the line and going through security checkpoints at the airport all worthwhile. My silly indulgences included early morning walks outside in the cool, crisp air, along with late night knitting, crocheting, reading - totally self-indulgent pleasures.

Sure, I missed my family - but this break from the routine was sorely needed and appreciated.

Crochet - Really Hooking My Interest

2010-04-12T20:29:00.001-05:00

Here lately, even before Spring set in, my mind and attention span has been lighting from here and there all around, rather like a fickle butterfly flitting all over a beautiful field of flowers. There are just SO MANY interesting things to draw my attention. Why stick with one?

For instance, I've not only become absolutely ABSORBED with spinning, but I've also been following a slowly developing interest in Crochet. I'm starting to understand Crochet enough to actually enjoy it and find uses for it beyond just edgings and afghans. I'm seeing some really cute things that I want to make, and I'm finally getting the hang of it enough to contemplate a few projects.

A crochet teacher named Nirmal (pictured to the left) first introduced me to crochet in the Spring of 2008, I believe? She was a wonderful teacher, but I didn't get very far until I turned back to spinning and set the crochet hook temporarily aside while I picked up the drop spindle, and later the spinning wheel. But all the while I've been doing other things, the crochet has been dormant in my brain, and simmering on the back burner.

Well, the simmering finally came to a boil THIS Spring, when I decided to leap into a fulll-blown Crochet Shawl, called Seraphina. I started it just over a week ago, with the help and coaching of both Roberta and Julie in my knitting and crochet group. I'm starting to be able to read a crochet pattern too. Yay! Here's the beginning of the shawl. Once you get past the very beginning, it becomes really pretty easy. I say "easy" but I shouldn't brag until I'm totally done, right? But I'm amazed and happy at how quickly crochet builds a project, as opposed to the slowness of knitting. It's the ultimate instant gratification craft. I will never replace knitting with crochet, mind you, it just has different uses.

Two bloggers who have always made me wish I could crochet are: Ellen (Los Angeles Is My Beat) and Maryse (Bag'n Trash). If you ever have a chance, go take a look at some of their projects and you will drool too.

Now, the final straw with getting me absorbed with this Crochet thing is the Potholder Swap over on Ravelry, which I knew nothing about until after it was too late to join in. I'm not fond of swaps and don't usually do them, but I must confess that this one really had me hooked. Who WOULDN'T be attracted to a swap administered by none other than HelloYarn and Maryse? Talk about distracting, these potholders are so darn cute! They're truly amazing. Though I can't participate this year in the swap itself, it doesn't mean I can't start making potholders just for the heck of it. Why ever not?

And if I've intrigued YOU with any desire to crochet, go run out and get a copy of the March/April issue of Crochet Today because they have a whole feature on crochet potholders. The article is on page 41 and is called "Your Nana's Potholders" and the design is by Maryse Roudier. As the article says, nothing says "retro" like an over-the-top potholder. And they have the free pattern out on the web too. Here's the link.

Now where's my kitchen cotton and crochet hook?

What Went Well?

2010-04-11T13:28:00.006-05:00

As one of those people who often has trouble keeping focus and has to manage myself to the nth degree, I've found that asking myself. "What went well today?" is a good question to ask. What did I do well that I'd like to continue doing.

So often, I get caught up in focusing on what fell apart, what ball I let drop, that I fail to see and appreciate the many things that I accomplished and techniques that actually work for me.

This isn't just one of those fake positive-thinking ideas, it's a real tool that I've found has helped me repeat the success I've experienced. Maybe one week at work I accomplished way more than usual. What did I do differently? Same thing with diet/exercise. Same thing with personal relationships. How did I manage to keep my cool and have a good day with my daughter instead of allowing a potential conflict spiraling into an argument?

My answer in short is: This week, I was really REALLY broke, and I wanted to treat myself to something fun, like a pedicure, but I didn't want to pay for it. What did I do? I did my own little pedicure at home with a kit my daughter had bought me at Christmas, including a heel pumice and then because I don't paint my toenails very well, I had my daughter paint them for in a bright obnoxious but cheerful HOT PINK.

Another thing I did well was resist the temptation to buy books at the bookstore. I am doing really well as ordering my books and even DVDs, such as old movies and such online through my library. So every few days, I have a new burst of books, music, DVDs etc. and they are free. I return them when I'm done and don't have to add to the personal clutter here at home. This week, even though my local library system didn't carry it, I was able to order Alice Starmore's Fair Isle video through the Interlibrary Loan System, and a copy is winging it's way to me from a Denver library. Isn't that nifty?

So today I ask you, as well as myself, "What went well this week for you?" and "Can you start doing it again more purposely as we face a new week?"

3 Day Relaxation Quest

2010-04-02T13:22:00.008-05:00

Okay it's a 3 day weekend for me - yay! I was hoping to sit outside and spin, remember? Well, the beautiful sunny Spring weather we had all week turned to clouds and overcast skies, and later thunderstorms this afternoon.

But early this morning, before the rain hit, I was able to sneak a bit of outdoor relaxation by sitting on my deck and reading Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini. It's an absorbing and really FUNNY read - only about 225 pages. I'm loving the author's dry wit and obsession with finding just the right shade of green for her sweater. What lengths will she go to to find it? The book is about one knitter's attempt to acquire Starmore's famous Tudor Roses book and to knit a Fair Isle sweater in one year. It's rather like a Julie/Julia type concept - but even better if you're an avid knitter.

Though I've never been seriously tempted to knit an entire Fair Isle sweater, this book is making me tempted to try maybe a vest. Isn't that silly? Just what I need, one MORE thing to learn. Let's see, I'm currently busy with my obsessions in spinning, knitting, drum carding, dyeing (well I'm reading about dyeing, not doing it yet on my own), as well as wanting to crochet better . . . and I'm starting to feel the pull of weaving on a rigid heddle loom. Now one thing I DON'T need is to explore one more aspect of fiber arts, right?

Right.

So then the Knitter's Daily email popped into my "inbox" on March 31st and started cajoling me into clicking on the Eunny Lang's new DVD on "Introduction to Fair Isle: the Ivy League Vest." Hmmmm. I love vests.

But first let me get back to reading that Sweater Quest book. Maybe I'll satisfy my desire to explore a new diversion by just reading about it instead of doing it.

Right.

Sunflower Guild Does It Again

2010-03-28T18:02:00.007-05:00

This weekend I attended our local guild "Knitting in the Heartland" spring conference. I had a great time. I went to the vendor market and didn't buy yarn, yay! But I couldn't resist getting some spinning fiber. It was just too luscious to resist.

I bought shades of green such as this green alpaca:

I am normally not a "blue person" but for the past month or so I've been really CRAVING blue. Here's some blue fiber I got.

And finally my FAVORITE thing. I just LOVE the colors in this gorgeous roving. They are colors that normally wouldn't go together. I never guessed that shades of pink, blue, lavendar and teracotta would go well together - but this colorway looks AMAZING to me. Especially for spring. For some reason, the addition of that autumnal orangish/brownish color really makes this otherwise spring colorway "pop" and I love it.

So all in all, in spite of the cold/rainy weather (will we ever see sun again?) I had a fabulous time and hopefully spinning up some of this springlike roving goodness will make me feel much better. Now if I could just sit outside on my deck one SUNNY day - please PLEASE let there ever be sun and warmth again - then I will show you how it spins up.

Am I Ever Blessed

2010-03-24T19:48:00.007-05:00

Several weeks ago, I was going through a rough time and recovering from some minor surgery. And guess what? My dear online Ravelry friend Debbie (Snookums on Rav), is also in my Prayer Shawl group. You know what she did? She decided to make me the most beautiful shawl!

It's called The Reader's Shawl - and it is a lovely cream color with pockets. It is soft as clouds and totally warm and comforting. It even has pockets. It's a rectangular stole and is one of the sweetest things I can imagine someone knitting for me.

As if that weren't enough, she sent me some other wonderful items as well:

A little Easter basket full of goodies including: Died in the Wool, a knitting mystery by Mary Kruger - how did she know I love mysteries, and especially knitting-related ones?

A wonderful alpaca/silk blend of beautiful yarn. How did she know Alpaca was my favorite?

I am just absolutely warmed by her kindness . . . and her shawl.

Oh No Snow!

2010-03-20T20:18:00.003-05:00

Here we are, on the first day of Spring having a less than Spring-like day. What? Snow. Lots of it. Yuck. I think we can agree most of us are sick of it.

Spring. Please?

Storm Cloud Shawlette

2010-03-17T21:15:00.002-05:00

Some of you in the Sunflower Guild or those who attended the Jefferson City Fiber Retreat have already seen my completed Storm Cloud Shawlette in person. However, for those who haven't, mainly my handful of blog readers and knitting group members, here are photos of the shawl.

If you like it, it's a free pattern on Ravelry. It's a semi-circular design. It starts with only 4 stitches and increases from there. It's based loosely on the Zimmermann Pi Shawl concept. The good news is that it's one of those mindless, truly easy projects that you can do while talking, watching TV, and the dropped garter stitch actually goes faster if you DON'T pay too much attention. It's so easy you can very quickly memorize the pattern. It only requires for the smallest version, 150 yards of yarn, so it's a good way to use up those single skeins of really pretty yarn you have stashed. It can be made in sock weight yarn, sport yarn, worsted or even bulky - of course the finer the yarn used, the airier the effect.

For mine, I used a whole skein of the glitzy yarn, Feza Festival, which is a medium green with gold thread type novelty yarn, so I used about 250 yards on mine, and carried it along with a sock yarn called Dream in Color Smooshy in "Spring Tickle" - a very light green strand. The two yarns were carried together throughout the body of the shawl, and then on the ruffle, I used 2 strands of Feza Festival. You can make the shawl with the ruffle, or end on Row 70 and leave the ruffle off entirely. If you want a larger, fuller shawl, just keep going with the increases and you can make it as large as you like.

I finished the Storm Cloud Shawlette in only 4 days and I love wearing it. When out and about in public, I've received more compliments on this shawl than any other. Goes to figure that the simplest and easiest knits often get the most credit.

So if you have a skein or two of pretty yarn that you want to put to good use as an over the shoulder wrap, I'd highly recommend this project.

And if you make one, let me know. I'd love to see it!

Back from Spinners' Nirvana

2010-03-14T18:31:00.017-05:00

Okay I spent the weekend at a Fiber Retreat in Jefferson City, Missouri. It was my first year there - and what a fabulous experience. The scenery is idyllic. Even though the weather was COLD and rainy, it was sweater and shawl weather, which just gave the spinners, knitters and weavers a chance to wear their favorite projects. Each year, this conference focuses on a different theme. This year it was spinning. Even though I've been really tight on money, this conference was well worth every penny and wasn't expensive. It was very affordable and I felt like I got as much or more information out of it than some people get at more expensive conferences.

The first class I took was Beyond the Basics with Nancy Barnett. It was a really good chance, in a relaxed atmosphere, to ask a lot of questions about our spinning problems and figure out how to spin better in terms of technique. We learned how to use a drumcarder and hand cards, and how using each created different yarns. The teacher, Nancy, raises angora bunnies and taught us how to spin angora and to extend it by combining it with other fibers to make it more durable and go farther. The angora is a short-stapled fiber, and it can be challenging to spin, but she guided us through and when carding it with other fibers, I found I really liked the softness and warmth of it.

Patsy Zawistoski taught the next class I took on "Spinning Designer Yarns." This class was really intense - we analyzed commercial yarns by unspinning them and analyzing the plies and how the mill spun the yarns. We deconstructed yarns, basically and talked about what yarns are beneficial to try to replicate and which ones are easier to just buy at the yarn shop. She gave us a really handy tool to use to help in decoding it. This class taught me SO MUCH. By taking yarn apart, we learned how a variety of types of yarns are made. Fascinating. The time flew by.

Then I had my first ever official "Acid Dyeing" class with Gail White. It was called "All Tied Up in Knots." We learned about printer's and painter's colors. Painters are brighter in tone - jewel tones; whereas printer's are more muted and subdued. We dyed 6 different skeins of yarns using acid dyes - I've never come away from a class with so much yarn! It was so much fun playing with color and getting ideas for how I might try it at home.

The last class and probably my absolute favorite out of all of them was "Spinning Sock Yarn" with Janel Laidman, author of The Eclectic Sole and Enchanted Socks. That woman is amazing. She knows her stuff. We learned what qualities make good sock yarn and what wool or other fiber content creates that ideal. We spun a variety of structures and tensions - as well as plied different configurations. She checked to make sure we were spinning the right grist, strength and texture. We learned about how you can use different fibers, such as tencel and bamboo and nylon to stengthen socks. We learned different plying methods to get us the type of sock yarn we like best- either long-wearing or warmer and softer. The fiber she brought for us to experiment on was gorgeous. Wow! I came away really feeling confident and eager to try to make my own sock yarn - but first I have to finish spinning for Oatmeal sweater.

That's it folks, when they said, "Fiber Retreat" that's a misnomer because I was busy concentrating and learning that it was muore stimulating than relaxing. But it was a blast and I definitely will want to do it again in the future. Definitely a "two thumbs up."

Springing Into New Projects

2010-03-07T10:42:00.009-06:00

In an effort to prepare for Spring, even though it hasn't totally "sprung" yet, I decided to cast on for not one but TWO Spring projects. Don't worry I haven't given up on my handspun cardigan (Oatmeal), it's just taking longer to spin and knit than anticipated, so I'm trying to break way into some new projects that I might actually be able to wear while the weather is warm. I'm looking ahead with "cautious optimism" as my boss at work is fond of saying.

I went over to see the Borders knitting crowd yesterday and that was really a blast! Hi Lorenia, Hi Celia, Hi Kelly, Hi Donna. They really inspired me with their projects and I enjoyed having a chance to catch up with them.

Lesson learned: whenever you are down in the dumps, as I have been lately, you feel a natural inclination to want to curl up in a ball and keep to yourself, especially when the weather is cold or nasty. But this weekend, since the weather was better, even a bit sunny, I forced myself to take a break from the errands and go see the old Borders gang, and it really gave me a lift. So what I realized is that when you feel like pulling back and turning inward, sometimes the best thing to do is the opposite, reach out and connect with others.

Back to knitting: I'm trying to use up some stash - so I've cast on for the Rufflicious spring top. It's a Kim Smith design. Plus in starting it, I learned a new technique - how to knit down a hem. Clever.

The Borders gals also inspired me to start a darling and EASY little shawl - but I'll show you that next time. Hopefully I'll have it finished in short order. It always feels good to get some things on and OFF your needles . . . and in this case, onto the shoulders.

Hang in There - We're About to Turn a Corner

2010-03-05T14:13:00.003-06:00

Back around 1973, when I was a turbulent teenager and going through a really ROUGH time, my best friend at the time, Ginny, gave me a poster of a kitten hanging from a tree and it said, "Hang in There" - you can see it here. That poster, sappy as it was, really kept me going on some hard, emotional days. I kept it up on my wall as a reminder for a couple of years, until it became curled, torn and too ratty to keep.

Though I no longer have that poster, my memory of it lingers on. It seems appropos right now. I know so many people who have hung on and hung on through adversity this winter until their paws . . . err make that FINGERS are bloody.

All I can do is urge you (and if you are one of those bloody-fingered folks YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). Hang on. With everything in you, hang on just a little bit longer. Know that you aren't alone. Know that times are really tough right now. Know that it's okay. Know that it really WILL get better. Know that there are others out there who love and support you. Know that spring is either already springing, or really TRULY not far around the corner. Though we haven't had a really warm day yet, the sun has been out all week and I've been soaking it up with every sun-deprived fiber of my being.

What you can do to give encouragement to others? To yourself? What gives you hope?

Changing It Up in My Diet/Exercise Plan

2010-02-28T09:08:00.007-06:00

As most of you know, I've been working on getting in better shape fitness-wise since November of 2008, when I started Jenny Craig. I really like the JC eating plan, and they emphasize lean meat, whole grain carbs as well as low sodium foods. That plan has worked well for me, but I've been in a plateau the last 6 months and have been finding it harder and harder to stay "true blue" to the eating plan, because frankly the frozen foods that is the core of their program is getting really boring lately. Sometimes I feel if I eat one more frozen dinner, I'll scream.

Therefore, I went on the search for a similar eating plan that would let me eat regular foods and be less expensive. Since the budget is tight right now, I've been cutting back on everything. What I decided that there are two plans that most appealed to my lifestyle: 1) The Flat Belly Diet created by Prevention magazine; and 2) the Super-Charged South Beach Diet.

I picked up a Flat Belly Diet Pocket Guide for only $7.99 and it fits perfectly into my purse. What attracted me to it were several things: 1) simplicity; 2) the emphasis on low sodium and healthy carbs (both a part of my JC program that worked really well for me); 4) a heart-healthy emphasis on eating "healthy fats" called MUFAs (Monounsaturated fatty acids) rather than saturated fats; you eat a MUFA with every meal - things like unsalted sunflower seeds, almonds, olive oil, olives, avocados and dark chocolate; 5) 1200-1600 calories a day which is a pretty healthy calorie level, without starving etc. I will probably try to stay more towards the 1200 because that is the same as JC's plan; 6) inclusion of exercise into the program.

I started this eating plan on Thursday 2/25 and so far I've lost 3 lbs in the "Jumpstart" portion of the diet, which last 4 days. Believe me I am NOT after the fast weight loss, I realize that 2 lbs a week or even less is healthy weight loss. It's probably largely water weight etc. but what this tells me is that I can jump off this plateau by changing it up a bit. Ya know? So I'm probably going to continue this plan through the 28 days and see what happens.

Also, I LOVE their Sassy Water. Like nearly every diet plan, you are told to drink at least 8 oz of water per day (64 oz). But this book has a recipe for Sassy Water that would be refreshing for anyone.

I give you Sassy Water

2 liters (about 8 1/2 cups) of water
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves (you can get these year-round at a health food store)

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight. Drink the entire contents of the pitcher each day.

A Little is a Lot

2010-02-26T06:05:00.001-06:00

Sometimes (times like NOW) I feel like I don't accomplish much. My progress in my job, in my relationships, in my knitting, in my fitness goals certainly in some of my financial goals . . . every accomplishment seems small and takes forever and seems LESS somehow than what I had hoped.

This is one of those weeks - a big disappointment in Bob's job search. A job he really wanted, and didn't get. Looking for a job is frankly the HARDEST job anyone can ever do if they're doing it right. Ughh. I know there's a reason, and who knows, maybe something even better around the next corner, but it's still disappointing.

But I am trying to focus on every little thing that I do that contributes toward our ultimate goals. Every time (like today over lunch) when it's too cold to exercise outside, but my coworker and I go for a brisk walk at the mall instead of chowing down at a fast food restaurant. Every time I let my daughter take on responsibility instead of doing it for her. Every time I back down from an argument and work toward compromise instead. Each time I knit 3 really good rows on a cardigan sleeve, even though I had to rip out 20 rows before it that were awry.

These are all LITTLE things. But once a few years ago, I listened to an inspiring motivational tape where the speaker kept reminding us, "A little is a LOT." Doing a little - just a little - more than one would normally do toward the GOOD creates an impetus that often is just what was needed to create a breakthrough. A little is a lot.

So the little bit I've done and keep doing in so many realms of my life really ARE having a big effect.

What little thing are you doing that you want to do more of? What little thing are you most proud of today?

Friday's Find - Decorative Tea Tin

2010-02-20T20:37:00.006-06:00

When we were visiting Aunt Eve in St. Louis a few weeks ago, she offered us hot tea. Like me, she loves tasting different flavors of hot tea. But instead of pulling out a sterile and boring cardboard box of tea, we noticed that she had a large vintage metal container with which she stored all of her various bags together. So as we sat down at the table, the selection of our tea become fun and part of the process - much like sorting through old buttons when I was a kid with my grandmother. We had a chance to sort through, pick out and "oh and ah" over all the different flavors before finally selecting one for ourselves. And I ended up with one that I might normally not have picked (but enjoyed) because I had been allowed to leisurely appreciate and consider all the different varieties of kinds possible.

When I thought of all the assorted boxes in my cupboard that take up a lot of room, I decided that I too would find a metal tin from a thrift store and would begin storing my loose tea bags in a vintage tin too! It's really a handy and decorative way to store it.

And for a good entertaining book recommendation - I would HAVE to suggest that you read HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE by Michael Gates Gill. It's a book that Elysbeth recommended to me, and boy was it just what I need as an inspiring "pick me up" last week. I think it's loosely autobiographical about a 60 year old former executive of a huge advertising firm who gets laid off too late in life to easily recover. He loses his health, his marriage, his job and his morale at a time of his life that isn't easy to just pick yourself up and dust yourself off.

He goes from being SERVED at Starbucks to being grateful to serve others and to have a job at all. He learns to truly change his attitude. He kicks himself in the pants, pulls himself up and finds new meaning in living a much simpler but more fulfilling life. I found the book really moving. It's not rocket science or great literature, but if you need a good "feel good" and moving tale, this may be it.

Olympics Knitting - Not Hardly Out of the Gate

2010-02-16T14:44:00.016-06:00

Well, my knitting plans for the Olympics this year haven't gone off in a stellar way as I would have hoped. They started Friday, on a day I had minor surgery, and I slept most of the day and didn't even cast on until Saturday. The pattern I'm doing Oatmeal by Amy King started out with the sleeves. A part of the garment I usually avoid, but I thought, "Hey, it's good getting these out of the way at the beginning of the project instead of the end."

For some reason, I didn't realize that I had to do them on DP needles. And that they are done in the round. Every other sleeve I've done before has been knit flat and then sewn in after the fact. This sweater is designed where most of it is already knit together so there isn't so much sewing at the end. That's good. But harder to conceptualize for me. What's weird is that the sleeves are knit in the round, and yet the body is knit flat. Huh? Go figure. There's an interesting discussion of this whole "Knit circular" or "Knit flat" over on Kim (Knitting Matter's blog on the February 9th.).

Anyway, my yarn is still not spun, because it took me so long just to get the right 3-ply yarn and consistency. I'm going to be spinning as I go along. That way maybe I'll spin the amount of yarn needed and not a bunch extra. We'll see how the "spin as you go" concept works. This is my first major spinning project.

In terms of knitting: So far, I've only finished the 8 rows of twisted rib for the first sleeve cuff, because when I tried to knit the cably diamond part of the sleeve, I couldn't get that right and had to rip it out. This whole thing is off to a slow start. I don't feel in a "fast" mode AT ALL so I'm going to give up on the idea of the official Ravelymics thing and just go at my own pace, doing my own thing.

This is what the sleeve will eventually look like. This is not MY sleeve, mind you, but one that I found as a close-up photo to help me figure out what the pattern is telling me to do. Maybe if I stop trying to read the directions and just look at what I'm trying to accomplish, I'll get farther along?

I'm not disappointed in myself at all for dropping out of Ravelympics. It just doesn't feel "right" for me this time. Frankly, this whole last 12 month period has felt very odd - like I'm striking out in my own direction, on my own timetable, with my own road map, and competing only with myself, which is something Phyllis has urged me to do for years.

Phyllis' famous Competition quote: “I do not copy, compete with or compare myself to others."

Riding the Wave . . . . Of Uncertainty

2010-02-11T07:01:00.001-06:00

Maybe it's just the end of winter SAD syndrome, where this L-O-N-G winter never seeems to end. Or maybe it's the bad economy that has dragged on for so damned long. Maybe it's the tension of so many people holding on for so long and hoping things get better. I don't know quite WHAT it is, but this week has been a doozy. Sadness, tension, rudeness, snapishness and bad temper seem to be palatable.

Yesterday, a coworker stopped by my office and said, "We've got to get out of here. Take me away. Please." So we went out to lunch together just because we had to get away and vent frustration - get it out - and then laugh together, big belly laughs that made us both feel so much better.

And for those in the Northeast who have been hit by 30+ inches of snow, I realize that our midwest bellyaching about winter seems pretty shallow in comparison to your true despair at being buried in your homes for days and weeks on end.

Anyway, I told my coworker yesterday that I think one reason we're all so "nerves on end" isn't PMS, but simply the fact that people are extremely tense when change becomes such a constant. Many of us have been "riding the wave" for so long that we're getting deadened to it and no longer have the resilency to spring back.

My husband and I escaped last night -- yes on a weeknight, to a local comedy club, to see Jimmy "JJ" Walker. Remember the show GOOD TIMES? (Many of you may be too young to remember). This man is hilarious. He didn't talk about his GOOD TIMES days, but his humor was wonderful - sharp, right on point. What I like was that he didn't need to pick on people in the audience like many comedians do who have a little bully inside of them. Instead, he's talented enough to truly have a full show just on social commentary and acting out people he's seen and known.

Being a guy who was a teen in the 1970's like we are, of course we really identified with him. One theme that he drew from heavily was how uncertain the times are that we're in. He recounted all the sage advice he'd been given as a kid. Things like: Go to college, you'll get a good job. Get a job with a big company and you'll be secure. Invest in the stock market, you'll become rich from it. Anyway, he was a riot. I didn't realize that David Letterman got a start in comedy by writing material for JJ. Well anyway, his show was fantastic and gave me a mid-week lift.

I'm not a surfer myself, but here's to all of us hanging on, riding out the wave. Realizing that uncertainty is scary for most of us. But it will be okay. Really it will. We'll get through. When the wave hits you, do whatever it takes to pop back up from it. And breathe again.

Friday's Find

2010-02-05T12:15:00.003-06:00

If you are weight or health conscious, can I recommend:

Jason's Deli (think this is a nation-wide chain) - The Savvy Chicken Salad Wrap

Wheat tortilla, almond chicken salad, lettuce, tomato - is low sodium, low calorie, low fat, and very delicious. It is served with grilled/steamed veggies if you like - all for only 350 calories. First rate. Would highly recommend. Affordable price too.

Weekend Knitting and Spinning Update

2010-01-31T18:29:00.015-06:00

First I must show you my favorite "quick knit" shawl pattern - and a free one at that. The Easy Triangle Shawl by Lion Brand is the best, fastest, and most treasured shawl pattern I own. So I must share it with you. I made one this weekend for Aunt Eve.

Started it on Thursday night, had very little knitting time and still managed to finish it by Sunday. I've made this shawl in as little as 24 hours. Size 13 needles. Chunky yarn. This particular yarn is my favorite "go to" quick shawl yarn called James G. Brett Marble yarn in the colorway "Berries." Berries yarn has luscious shades of dark red, orange, pink - variegated acryllic yarn that cost $12 for nearly 400 yards. You just can't beat it for price, washability and softness.

My mother-in-law, Sylvia loved reds in all shades and so I made one of these shawls. Last weekend when I was in St. Louis, her sister, Eve, wanted one too, so I made her this one this weekend. Whenever she misses her sister, hopefully she can wear it and remember the closeness they shared.

Another relaxing thing I did - spin on my wheel. Yay! Very therapeutic. I originally intended to make the Oatmeal sweater out of a light Shetland brown yarn that was very soft and nice, but the color was rather bland and I didn't like the way it was coming out. So I went to Yarn Barn and bought some really nice roving in an unusual batt of browns, greens, and even some orangish red. It looked like "carrot cake" which happened to be the name of the roving. So by spinning it in 3 ply - using 2 singles of the Shetland Brown and 1 single of the Carrot Cake, I came out with a very nice brown tweedy yarn that I like much better than the plain old boring brown. So I have finally arrived at the yarn I will use for my cardigan - now I just need to spin up about 1000 yards or so of it before Ravelympics starts on February 12th.

Recharging my Battery

2010-01-28T12:27:00.005-06:00

Usually in the new year, I feel exhilarated and happy, revving to do new things. But this year, with the hard winter, and a lot of challenging personal circumstances, I'm just feeling tired and drained, much like a battery that has lost its charge.

Unfortunately, I don't have the money or the time to take a vacation. And I'm not really in the vacation frame of mind anyway. Instead, I'm craving spiritual retreat. I'm craving some time at the monastery. Alone. Quiet. Ahhhh. Maybe I'll give myself that luxury sometime in the coming weeks.

But tonight, I'm going to FIND my way the Steam'n Bean and hang out with some knitting friends. I'll talk. I'll laugh. I'll knit. I'll recharge. Not quiet but quite fun.

I'm still planning to do the Ravelymics challenge and I'm thinking that I'll do the Oatmeal sweater that we talked about earlier, from Spin Off magazine. I've been having trouble getting my yarn at just the right gauge. But I think, as of last night, that I've finally got it down pat. So tonight I'll go to the Steam'n Bean and sit down, drink a cup of hot tea or coffee and knit a swatch to make sure the yarn I've spun works up to the right gauge.

What can you do to recharge your battery?