Riding the Rails

So, Christmas morning came and Mr. Honey went off the church as he normally does and I took that opportunity to wrap his Christmas presents. He wanted books - so he received the books he asked for which were financial/economic books so I thought the fun thing would be to wrap the books in the Business section of the newspaper - we need to recycle where we can.

Now, over the past few years, Mr. Honey has brought home these beautiful gift boxes from Menard's so we don't wrap presents anymore because the boxes takes it to a new level but I've still been known to not wrap a present. So this year, I wrapped them in the business section and then put them back in the Amazon box they came in and close it back up to make it look like I didn't even bother wrapping them.

When he came back and he said it was time to exchange presents (I didn't prod him too much) I handed him the box and he said, 'No wrapping?' Which caused me to go into fits of laughter which he didn't understand until he sat down and opened the box.

So obviously I was going to take the title of Christmas Prankster.

He handed me a box that was bigger than a box holding three sets of the world's most awesome knitting needles should hold - and he even put a yarn cord around the box as the ribbon.
I open the box and there's yarn! And I said, "You got me yarn, too!' (Notes: 1. You got me yarn. 2. You got me yarn, too, so there better be something else in the box.)

I look at one of the labels on the yarn and I think - "They don't sell this yarn at Knot Just Knits.' Then I look at the other yarn. It's my yarn! It's yarn I already own. I take the skeins out of the box and there at the bottom is a wrapped package - of one set of needles.

OK.

As I put the yarn aside, I see another set of needles buried in one of the skeins.

That's better. So I have two sets of Signature needles. It does not escape me that I have three sets of Signature needles on my wish list but I am happy with two. (After I ask him if he left anything on my wish list and he said no.)They are beautiful and luscious and I have to explain to Mr. Honey why these are the gold standard.

Later that day we are headed to the fabulous Melissa's home for Christmas Dinner. We are outside when I reach into my bag - and there's the third set of needles. He chuckles madly and says he snuck it in my bag when I wasn't looking and considering I was knitting in the morning and using the bag, he was surprised I didn't notice.

So he gets the Christmas prank award.

Mr. Honey anxiously waited for me to use the needles and my next project called for size 5 needles instead of the 8,9, 10 that I have - so I disappointed him yesterday. But today when he walked in the door I show him I had finally cast on with them and again he wanted to know why they were so good and my reply was they move like a car on rails. Handcrafted. Hand polished. Smoother than Tiger Woods both on and off the course. And beautiful color and balance. It doesn't speed up my knitting that much but the stitches are better - they are more even and I have not split the yarn once in several hours of knitting. My hands have to get used to them, my hands started to ache when I started using them but that went away after a little while. I have already decided I need a set of size seven needles for the smaller projects that I do - and I will get that pair myself as opposed to wait for the anniversary gift.

My initial thought is that these are nice needles to have. They are holding the worsted weight yarn I have without any slippage and yet they yarn moves very smoothly. I am curious how they will handle a slippery yarn. There's a definite difference between them and the needles that we're used to buying. If you can get a pair (or three) they are nice to have in the tool box.

I hope your Christmas was great. We had a really good time and last night we went out to dinner with my brother-in-law and they gave me a beautiful painting by Jonathan Green - a Gullah artist. It's was some very nice icing atop a very nice cake.

This is the time of year we start thinking of New Year's resolutions - I am still committed to getting rid of the stash and I've completed seven things this month (I made a cute little bag that just needs a lining) and I have a squares afghan on the needles - the Signature needles. I hope you have a safe and festive celebration - whatever that means to you. And let's all look towards making 2011 something we can share and be proud of!!

Whatever..Whenever

My drool of the day comes from astrid naturals and is her Shea butter soap. Have you ever had Shea butter on your skin or used it on your hair? OMG! Maia sells it in different fragrances and at a great price. Check her out!

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I didn't think I would get around to writing today but it has been really quiet around here - except for now because Mr. Honey is in the kitchen making dessert for us to take over to the Fabulous Melissa's...but the phone hasn't rang and the dog hasn't been barking too much. Pretty quiet, so after clearing out 200 of the 1900 emails I have in my in box and starting a hat to match the gloves and scarflette in the picture, there's room to post.

I have made five things this month - which is a pretty good month - I should actually be able to squeeze the hat in before 2011 hits. The scarflette was supposed to be a scarf but I just didn't want to make it anymore and decided since cowls and little mufflers were in, I could shorten up the length and it would do just fine. I wrapped it around my neck and it was warm!! So, there you go.

The gloves are reversible - you can wear the, with the knit or purl stitches showing. The hat will be a cute hat with a tail and a pom-pom. Then i think I must get away from the blue. Green, yellow, hey, gray's nice. Something must take me away from the blue!

Mr. Honey is sooooo busted. At StitchCraft Wednesday night, Marion and Robin told me they knew what I was getting for Christmas because they were in Knot Just Knits when this man walked in and said to the shop owner that he needed to buy the items off his wife's wish list. I told you a few days ago that there are three sets of Signature Needles on my wish list.

While we were having dinner on Tuesday somehow the conversation came around to knitting needles and he wanted to know why I thought they were so special. He had already purchased them. They were in the house. They are in the house now. Somewhere. They are the precious and I am Gollum. I have not told him I know. I am sure he will want to relay his conversation with Marion and Robin and I want him to have his fun.

But if I knew where they were - I'd knit with them while he was sleeping and put them back. Just like what I used to do with gifts when I was a kid.

Once again, let me wish you and yours a wonderful holiday. I am thrilled beyond measure that there are those of you who will be surrounded by generations - parents, grandparents, siblings and children. You are living some of the most precious memories you will ever have. I look back on those days now and see the wonder and special feelings of love, grace and blessings that go into a Christmas Eve/Christmas Day dinner.

We can never go back to those days - too many are gone - but the memories mean so much more. I can remember the laughter. I see the smiles. I can recall the moment I was at the 'big' table with the adults. I remember helping Mom get the good china out of the cabinet. It only happened twice a year. And waking up to a house that smelled of turkey roasting, chitlins, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler.

I remember Dad - who I'm missing a lot today - bringing home the real Christmas tree and the whole house smelling like pine and we put those gigantic painted Christmas lights on the tree that would never pass safety standards today and pulling out the green and red tree holder and steadying the tree.

I remember the arrival of my maternal grandparents from Louisiana - Cherry with her chewing tobacco (and Sanka can) and Herman with his pipe. We knew it was Christmas when Granddaddy pulled out his change purse. A quarter was magic.

This evening, after church, I will head over to my sister-in-law's house and spend time with her and most of her kids. Again there will be three generations but this time I will be one of the elders. That's what happens when you grow up.

Make some wonderful memories tonight and tomorrow.

Easy Does It

Does it make you uterus ache? Just a little? Me, neither. But I do think it's really cute and I think it came out really lovely and it's not even blocked yet! This little darling is for a two year old. Can you imagine it in red with a heart or green with a shamrock? (Note to self, find a shamrock motif...)

We don't have any two year olds in the neighborhood any more - at least I don't know any who are that young - so I can't try it out on anyone. (Another note to self: get a toddler doll.)

Duke is wearing his dog coat and it will have to be redone. The pattern is written for a dog that doesn't run...into bushes. Mr. Honey looped a collar through it and we have other thoughts on how to change it up - he does look hot - whatever the canine equivalent of hot is and he already knows that when we pick it up it means freedom for him and perhaps he can stay outside in the snow and cold a little longer. In fact, when he wants to go back out after we've called him in, he will avoid us taking the coat off.

I had selected a shawl to do next with the idea I would market it as a bridesmaid's gift. I did a swatch (pause while you pick yourself up off the floor) and the yarn I used wasn't right for it. It came out to thick. I didn't find this out until after I purchased five skeins. So instead of the shawl, the skeins, which happen to be a shade of blue, will be used in another blue afghan.

This one is a take off on the amber waves afghan which I've wanted to do for years. Since the blue bohemian didn't kill off as much of the stash as i thought it was going to, this should do it in for sure. it requires double stranding or the pattern just won't work and it's coming along very quickly - the original pattern wants size 15 circulars but the only size 15 circulars i have are from my interchangeable needles and one of the few flaws it has is the larger needles are very short and kind of uncomfortable so I am using my Clover bamboo needles and they are working like a dream. The yarn isn't slipping away and it isn't sticking and the work is going relatively fast. I get to work on it for a couple o hours and hope I make some really good progress. it would be nice to get it done before year's end - no pressure - ten days. It's not like I'm cooking Christmas dinner. We are leaving that to the fabulous Melissa who has invited over to her joint. We are bringing wine and a dessert. Mr. Honey told me what he was making but darned if I can remember what he said. I might hand him the recipe for Trifle that folks made last week at church - that stuff is angel's food! They made it with brownies instead of angels food cake and even the angels came down with their spoons!

I'm off for a couple of hours of blissful knitting and probably to watch some of what has been recorded on the DVR. I will take a photo of the Deep Blue Sea afghan for the next posting!!

Time for Healing

This is the scarf that matches the hat I showed in the last post. I'm not selling them as a set cuz some folk will want one without the other and they should have that option.

I was in Dixon, IL Saturday morning. Dixon's claim to fame is Ronald Reagan's childhood home. Haven't seen it - I was going in the opposite direction - I was there for a training session for my role as the Chicago Northwestern District's United Methodist Women Coordinator for Social Action. Really long title meaning it will be my duty (and honor) to make the United Methodist Women in my district aware of the social actions the General Board have determined we should look at. For 2011, we will be looking at Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, Immigration Issues, Water and Environment and a host of other subjects.

The big thing I learned during the session is that everyone is interconnected - far more than we think we are. Nothing really happens 'over there', it all happens here and though it is unrealistic to think we do everything for everyone, we can impact something and that impact has ripples which will go to places we never think of and change lives of people we will never know and they will never know who to thank.

I have always been amazed at how our craft reflects our world. We work one loop and then another and they connect and create something beautiful and useful. And so we are as people. We work our loop and connect with someone else working theirs and we create something beautiful and useful. For all the setbacks we experience for the most part we do well. The idea is make sure we take more steps forward than we do back - unless we're dancing.

That Christmas spirit that was alluding me is slowly making its way in. I am looking forward to 2011 and learning more about ways we can connect, impact and change that which needs to be changed. I may not be the heroine but I don't mind making the path a little clearer for her to make her move.

I am certain our craft will play a role in Social Action - I'm already looking for the different ways it can enhance the work ahead. If you have any ideas, I'd be thrilled to hear them.

The First of All Things

I made this hat and scarf last year and they both sold at either the holiday sale or on line. I'm feeling a bit reminiscent of the year that has swooshed by while I was alternately not looking, really busy or being inundated with political ads on my phone and t and v. But it is the first of November and since there is less of the year ahead than there is behind, I am already looking forward to 2011 - with a little stop on the way to Christmas and the Holiday show.

I already know I am going to find a new doctor and make an appointment to see him/her at the beginning of the new year. In light of that event, I am now pulling a health blitz so when he/she tells me I need to take better care of myself it won't be as bad as could have been. So, they won't say 'you REALLY need to take better care of yourself.'

I learned a few things from the somewhat successful craft show over the weekend. I learned I have to listen to the public when they tell me what it is they want to buy from me. It's not a great epiphany for me, all I had to do was look at what sells in the shop and at the holiday show every year to know there are three things that sell the most: hats, scarves and afghans. What I heard a lot of from the folks stopping by the table on Saturday was: Do you have this one in a different color? Do you have a scarf (hat) in this color? and while I had to say no to those questions, I could follow that with: 'What color would you like? Here's my card, look in the shop in a week and it will be there or do you want me to email you when it's done?"

This shawl, which I also made last year, is no longer with me. It didn't sell at all so I frogged it and it is now part of a granny square afghan and the sequins are in a box waiting to be used again. I have also learned there are times to let things go.

The big thing I learned over the weekend was how nice folks are in this business. This was the first year I did the Guerin Prep Craft Show. There were over 150 artists and I was greeted by the door by volunteers who asked if they could go to my car and help me carry in my gear. And there were other crafters who were going in and asked if they could carry something for me and offered to take it to my table. We chatted about the 'craft show' circuit and how business was and what shows they were doing later in the year. (There were some folks doing a show every weekend until the end of the year.) What that told me was that I either needed to take it more seriously or get out of it because these people are in it for the living and it isn't just some fun little thing they do. There might have been a time when that was the case but the economy has changed that. Crafting is no longer a hobbyist exercise. For some people it is the difference between staying in their home or not having to dip into the college fund. At the very least, I need to respect the craft for what it can mean even though I don't have a direct impact on what anyone else does.

I have to write down my patterns. I designed this hat and for the life of me, can't remember what I did and since the hat sold last year, can't look at it to remember all the details. Considering my pattern on Ravelry is selling, it behooves me to take advantage of this talent I didn't even know I had.

Overall, I made about $55 during the show but there were lessons I learned that will gain me more in both money and soul and you can't quantify that.

I have three things on the needles - a scarf, a hat and an afghan - don't tell me I don't listen. I will also continue to bust the stash and there's a big pile of yarn in the middle of the living room that is my cull pile. I will make stuff from that pile and hopefully by the time the show comes in December the pile will be gone and there will be wonderful items to take its place. In the meantime, I am off to the bank to deposit my riches!!

Glasses - The Rose Colored Kind

Things are looking up for the knitting group. StitchCraft now has 107 passionate crafters and though I have not met them all, the ones I have met have been wonderful!

It also looks good for the first StitchCraft sponsored craft show to take place in either February or March (I will know the date once I get the final approval to hold the shows and get feedback from potential vendors. I was looking for something to do that had to do with the craft show and keeping a positive outlook, so I created a logo:
What do you think? It's just a first go, but I'm liking it. I should know by this time next week if it's a go - if I remember to send the proposal.

I am hoping I went through all the crap for something great to be on the other side - I hope that right after I hope that all that crap is revisited upon the person who sent it. (Hey, I'm prayer, not perfect.)
There's another prayer shawl on the needles! And I sold another afghan! We have to take the pooch to the vet this evening because he cut himself and I will get the afghan out of storage in the trunk. It's freezing here - so I'm hoping to get the trunk open!

Did you all have a good Christmas? Mr. Honey and I saw Up in the Air on Christmas Day and yesterday we went to see The Blind Side. I will have to say this has been the best performance I've seen Sandra Bullock do and Tim McGraw was surprisingly good. (Is that his real hair?)

Can't Help Loving That Man of Mine

OK, I didn't have anything on my Christmas list. Me, the person who said, 'if you're in love with a crafter you have gifts for life.' Yep, I said that and I still couldn't come up with anything to put on my Christmas list.


Well, that's not quite true.


I came up with a lot of things for my Christmas list. Just not things I wouldn't have to explain away. Like, the Addi Turbo set of exchangeable needles. I would have to explain that although Mr. Honey has already purchased me a set of exchangeable needles, this set is made of a different material and therefore I need them.


Or why I need another six books when I haven't even cracked open all the books I got between my birthday and Christmas last year. (I would have to explain that I have indeed cracked them open, but I have yet to make anything out of any of them. I would then have to explain my method of choosing books to work out of which would only cause more grief and confusion because according to my plan, I won't make anything out of those books til about 2015.)


There are a lot of things on my list - and I could have done another yarn shopping spree, but seriously, even I'm getting tired of all the yarn I have - so I've decided to keep that to just my anniversary present. Which means I have a lot of knitting to do between now and May. So, I was going to forego a Christmas present....


until...someone suggested a few weeks back that we go to Chix with Stix again. It was the Friday during the Holiday Shop and so we popped over and I got some really nice yarn (even paid full price for it) and as I was waiting for Melissa to finish her purchase I saw it.


A knitting bag to end all knitting bags.


I stared at it and decided I wanted it. I pulled it off of the shelf and fell more in love than ever. It was the only one of its kind in the store. I pulled out my cellphone and called Mr. Honey and told him I had something to put on my Christmas list after all. When I hung up the phone, I glanced at Melissa who promptly said:


"You are so spoiled."


Yep. But come on. It's the Hermosa Namaste. I wanted it before I even looked inside. And after I called and said I wanted it, I took a look inside and wanted it even more. The clerk told me she would add it to my wish list and all Mr. Honey had to do was to come and tell them it was on my wish list and they would ring it right up.


So, Christmas morning after I gave Mr. Honey all the stuff he asked for (except for the string, that didn't come in time.) He handed me a box and for a moment, I wondered if he didn't get the bag for me. But there it was - all beautiful and all mine.


And the bag finked on me.


There was an envelope in one of the pockets of the bag and as I picked it up, I saw a slip of paper inside so I said to Mr. Honey. "Gift receipt?"
"No."
I opened the envelope and pulled out the slip of paper that said 'Gift Certificate $20.'

"Ah, honey, you got me a gift certificate, too?"
"No." and his eyebrow arched.
I didn't understand.
"I don't understand."
"Well, I told them what you told me that the bag was on your wish list so they put the purchase under your name. And it appears you've spent so much in their store that you've earned a gift certificate."
"Hummm. I don't go to that store that often."
"And yet you have the certificate."


I just put my head down and admired my bag.
And thought about how to spend that $20 in that store.

It's Christmas Week

Ok, so there won't be hats for everyone this Christmas. I forgot just what a hectic schedule I have this week. But that doesn't mean there weren't hats made.
I did manage to get a few knit up, but since they aren't going to anyone in particular, I actually started playing with the idea of doing an Esty shop.
I went onto the site and looked it up, and by cracky, I think I will do it. I've set up another blog to load up some product (of which these two hats will be part) and I've registered my shop on the site. I talked to God about it and other than reminding me of how I get these ideas and then lose my attention, He seemed to think this was something I could do if I managed to deal with the aforementioned attention problem. And I think I can do that since I'm always knitting and I head up the sales we do and since it requires writing, it pulls all my stuff into one place. But hats aren't the only things that will be in store. There will be afghans, blankets, pillows, etc. like this feather an fan afghan I just finished.

Other than that, getting ready for Christmas meant singing rehearsals. I've done a solo on Christmas Eve every year for the past six years. This year I will be returning to my mother's favorite, 'O Holy Night' I'm a first soprano and that means hitting the B flat. It's a really beautiful song and our music director, Michael, plays it wonderfully. It's very majestic. If I can remember to grab the recording, I'll try and put it up - cuz, of course, you'll all want to hear it!!

I'll be spending Christmas morning in bed while the HB goes to his church for his service, then he'll come back home and we will open presents (He bought me five knitting related books and 1 CD. I bought him some baguette pans and a stand mixer - well, it's what he wanted!) and then we are heading off to my church to help serve lunch to some of the homeless.

In case I don't get to the computer - let me say to you all how happy I am to know you. It is a blessing to share the love of our craft with you and I enjoy reading your blogs as well. I wish you all a safe, blessed and fulfilling Christmas season and a wonderful New Year.

That Little Can of Whoop A- -

Isn't this the cutest little lamp? I just opened it yesterday. It's a Christmas present from my brother-in-law and his wife.

I know what you're thinking but I did not open this present early. They gave me this gift two, maybe three, years ago. Yes, I just opened it yesterday.

I admit to being a little underwhelmed when I first tore off the wrapping paper and seeing the box with a lamp in it that required assembling. I had no idea what I was going to do with it. So it stayed in the box and was moved around the office. I decided this year I was going to donate it to the bazaar sale but somehow it never made it over to the church. Yesterday, I decided to open it. I looked in the box, pulled out the instructions, didn't feel like putting it together, took it into the bedroom where the HB was settling down for his nap with the following instruction: "When you have a chance, could you put this together?"

A few hours later, he walked in with this little lovely.

Now that I have more desks in my office, I am sure there will be a place to put it. In fact, I am mulling over several options. I am not going to use it as a lamp because it's so little and I don't want anything else plugged in - I have enough electricity flowing through this room to taizer the Incredible Hulk. But it's just too cute not to display. And to think I was ready to chuck it outta here.

Don't think my soul didn't kick me in the butt at my ungratefulness - it did. Pulled the tab right off that little can of whoop a-- and made me drink it.

And there's the lesson: Never be ungrateful until you're sure you have something to be ungrateful about and even then be gracious. You never know when you're blocking a blessing.