Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

So we are disappointed, disgusted, not surprised by another politician. Every step we take forward we go two steps back and because we want quick, simple answers people are looking for a quick solution there are folks saying to resign. Not every offense is a death penalty. He was stupid and piled the stupid on but it isn't a resignation offense. I don't think the congressman in NY should have resigned but that was his call...wait, what is it with NY Congressmen?

Never mind.

I've been really busy: I've been learning a new program for photo editing, knitting up a storm, studying other folks shops to gain some new insight to my shop, knitting some more. The first phase of the yarn sort is done - and the weather in Chicago has turned to stymie. This is a sample of the soap saver sacks I made. How many did I make? I think there are seven. They were quick and they were fun and I needed a variety of them. They are, of course, being sold in the shop.

I was busy making caps (hats, tams, lids, rasta, whatever you want to call them. There are a plethora of them around the living room. I made this one last night and because was a little afraid of running out of the skein I eliminated about three lines of the instruction and I like it better than if I followed the directions to the letter. (Let this be a lesson you - sometimes less is more.)
I've been putting things up in the shop as the first thing to do on my work list. The first thing used to be write a blog post and that has to, sadly, go down a peg because as much as I love writing to you - it's ain't a money maker and mama will eventually need new yarn. OK, Mama won't need new yarn for about a decade but you know how these things go, once there is a dent in the yarn stash it's going to disappear at an alarming rate - I hope.

There is also still an afghan being worked and some stuff that has yet to be photographed. Believe me when I say there is a lot. I am keeping track of what I have going on and I am almost at 100 items and June just started. This is also counting a set as one item. individually, way over 100. This is the first time I am not thinking I won't have enough for the craft sales starting in October.

There is still much to do and we have baseball games to go to! I have also been watching my Cubs tank feeling hopeless. Cubs fans have learned to find that silver lining but this year is really horrible.

I hope your spring is going well. Yes, with all this heat it's only spring. Summer doesn't get here for another month - looking forward to what that will be all about.

I am going to go enjoy some cool cantaloupe - I loves me the spring and summer fruits!!

Spring Season Has Begun!

The Cubs have lost their first two pre-season games. So the perfect season will not be.

Note to Albert Puljols: you turned down a 10 year $200 million contract. Let me give you a reality check - no one on the planet is worth $200 million. Considering that you will be 41 - way old in baseball years - that's not a deal you turn down. With workers demonstrating in Milwaukee, you don't turn down the amount of money that would pay them all for several years. You get $16 million a year now - you should play one year for free.

Here's the other granny square hat. Poor little Styrofoam head can't handle the rasta. It took a lot to try and keep her upright when the cap was on her head. I need one of those heads that have hair. I've said that before. I say it again because I still don't have one.
At our Wednesday get together and the one we had this Sunday the wonderful Melissa and the endearing Chantal had some orange Sugar N Cream Cotton which I just fell in love with. Chantal would not even think about letting me have it - I asked - and I knew better than to ask Melissa. This morning when Mr. Honey took me out to breakfast I asked him to drive me over to Micheal's so I could get some of the goodness for myself. Now I have three balls of it along with two of a nice blue I didn't know they had.

But these are the small skeins so I am wondering how many scrubbies I will be able to get out of them but I am filled with happiness that I have them and I know where to find them if I should want them again. I was so tempted to buy the self striping cotton yarn but saved that for a later time. (This is why we have husbands...)

I believe I will be finished with my special order hat today - the gnome hat inspired by Glee. I made one last night that turned out more skull cap but it's really cute and it serves as a nice cap - especially with the flower I put on it. I am writing up the pattern and I will take a photo a little later. I want to finish the other cap first and write that pattern and do a two-fer.

Tomorrow is the kid's birthday. Mr. Honey mentioned it at breakfast today. 33. Where does the time go?

Less Than Desired

So, I had this idea these cute little bags would be great for bridesmaids. Order them in the color you want to match the dresses and the girls could be consistent while still having a little purse that could carry the keys, lipstick and cell phone. It needs to be blocked and lined for the entire cute effect to come into play.

it's cute enough and I will finish it out but I need another one to place in the shop - it's just kind of - dull. The next one I make will be in a lighter color - a color a bride or bridesmaid could see using.
That makes the eighth item I've made this month. Really cooking with gas before the New Year.
I have four squares done for the afghan and I figured out the afghan needed to be 56 squares. If I can get it done, it will turn into a Christmas present but that means I would have to get it done in the next 25 days. That would be quite the trick - and treat - since I have to work anyway might as well give it a shot.

I'm going to give credit to the speediness of the knitting to the signature needles. I know I am normally a swift knitter and I think they have sped up the knitting a little but there's no denying the squares are being finished faster. Since my hands and the fibers are the same, got to give it to the tools.

I've already used a skein of yarn and have another one started and I am starting the third skein because I need two colors for the next square. If this goes well, it won't just be a 56 square afghan, it will have some personalization because I am going to add names of the family members who will receive it. Wish me luck cause this will be a challenge!

Diversions

I feel a follow up to the spoon issue is almost an essential. At the end of the story, Mr. Honey stood in the kitchen and declared there were teaspoons in the sink. Well, over to the sink I went...again...no teaspoons.

However, the mystery has been solved.

I found a couple of teaspoons in a mug that he has on our lazy Susan and...sigh...I found a couple of them on my craft table. Now, he insists that what he found were teaspoons - they were not - but I cannot in all honesty ignore my role in the missing teaspoons. So, while he is still a man - he may not be one of those men. We can move on.

I was making a square for the 42 square afghan and I kept messing it up. The 3 strike rule applies to squares as it does to any knitting project but not being able to get this simple 4 row lace pattern was enough to make me want to put away the 42 square afghan. I could not do this so I allowed myself a one day diversion. And I leafed through the book I bought on the next to the last day of the yarn crawl.

Family Circle Easy Accessories (I got it for 50% off) is full of really nice projects that are - as they say - easy. At least at first glance. I stopped at the first project which is a poncho made up of - squares - surprise!!

I pulled out the Feza Opera that I have in six different colors (seven, really, but only need six for the project) and made the squares. I like them. They are big and cushy and I can't wait to block them to be a little bigger than the 12x12 they are and make them into the poncho. I finished the last square last night and that got me over the hump with the 42 S.A. I put together the second strip for that and got started on the last squares I will need.

I will get to the poncho in short order because I think I am entering a poncho phase. I will say the only flaw in the pattern is that it doesn't give instruction on how to put the poncho together. It tells you to make two strips of three squares each and then to look at the photo but there's no photo of the back of the poncho to show how it all connects together. A beginner is going to get lost - I'm not a beginner and I had to pull out old patterns to make sure. Bad editing - especially for a book that says it's for the beginner.

I'm going back to the 42 S.A. I would like to have a bunch of the squares to take with me to knit night tonight. The next major project will be another granny square afghan in gold, brown and white. It's a frogging of the biased afghan I was doing. That one didn't thrill me after all so it's going to be transformed. Better that than just sitting there.

Such is the life of a knitter.

Another One Bites the Dust

I'm loving it today. There was a great rainstorm last night. I love rainstorms. I love thunderstorms. I don't like it when they knock out the power and the one last night did not, leaving me to love it. I love it because when you open the windows the day after a rainstorm, everything smells so fresh.

You know what else is nice? Selling something on your sadly neglected Etsy shop. It is especially fun when you sell something you don't think will sell. Something like this:
Yep, the granny square afghan was picked from the pile. I was thinking I needed to put it in a special container until the craft show and then I would display it and possibly sell it. Now, I have to put it in a special container so I can ship it off to Ohio or Iowa or was it Wisconsin? Actually, it was Missouri - Kansas City, Missouri.

You know what's even nicer than that? When one of your buds gets a job! The fabulous Melissa has been looking for work for the longest time. She was doing two part time jobs but she wasn't in her field and she was thisclose to being miserable when she hooked a job she wanted and they met her salary demands! YEAH! The bad news is we won't be able to hang cuz she's gonna be one of those working stiffs. All that means is that we are going to have to do our special knit dates because the j.o.b. is the important thing! Congrats Melissa and I hope you are employed long and enjoyably!

As far as my own job, things are looking up for the April 17th show! We have some folks signed up and I have a few (and I mean a few) more spots open and I am going to send out an invite to some artisans I met Saturday afternoon. I will also be checking out another craft show this weekend in Chicago and this time I will arm myself with info on The Craft Cafe.

The only bummer is the Cubs got it handed to them on opening day in Atlanta. But there's 159 or so more to play.

The other good news is that there is yet another skein that has bitten the dust as well: I have used a skein of I Love This Yarn in Aubergine. That means 2 down and 4956 to go and there is another one on the horizon that might not make it through the night. well, that may be pushing it. So far, it's been a part of about a dozen granny squares and 12 rows of the ribbed afghan and it's just now beginning to falter. I'm about to make a pair of booties to help the cause along. I am determined to get that stash down! Y'all pray for me cuz next month is our anniversary and my new anniversary present is a trip to Hobby Lobby - but I may change that to a trip to Chix With Stix to get a couple of pair of Turbo Addy circulars to see if I like them.

My cup runneth over.

View From The Bridge

What else is there to do, really, but stay in and knit? I am recovering from the all day inaugural coverage and the first Etsy sale to back to normal. Today the weather is warming up so the snow pile will be gone, but it has been around for a few days when the weather was frightful.
Duke loves this weather and he loves the snow. He bugs us constantly to go outside so he can jump in the pile. He's gotten so clever that if I say no, he will actually go find the hub and bug him (and he usually gets his way there.)

In the meantime, I am reworking the cable stitch afghan pattern I cast on. I'm making it so different that it can't be called the same pattern. I didn't know I had this kind of design genie in me but I like her!

Knitting Books - Or How The HB is an Enabler!

As much as the HB sighs over the yarn, needles and the time I spend knitting; he is not very good at pulling me away from my passion. In fact, he enables the addiction by purchasing knitting related items every time I ask.

So, sometime in October I was surfing the web when I came across Knit-Picks 40% book sale. Not being one to pass up the opportunity, I made a list of the books I wanted and put them on the HB's desk with a note saying: for my birthday and Christmas.

My birthday was the day after Thanksgiving and he handed a box.
A small box.

I didn't get all the books on the list obviously, but I did say birthday and Christmas so I imagine he split the list in two.(Well, there were about a dozen books on the list, so I'm expecting Christmas to be really big!) Here's what I got for my birthday:


The Prayer Shawl Companion is full of knit only prayer shawls and is a lovely book with some interesting patterns that go from beginner to intermediate. I didn't see anything in there that was scary.

Color Sense is a really good book for learning how to pull colors together. I am not very good at combining colors and this comes with a nice color wheel that explains it all nicely.

Natural Dyeing wasn't anything I expected. It talks about making dyes out of natural substances (well, that I expected) but some of those substances are: rhubarb, onions, cabbage and avocados. Who knew? It really got me thinking. I didn't have much luck dyeing with Kool-Aid; everything came out orange. But dyeing with fruits, veggies and herbs/spices may prove to be great fun. I am going to start experimenting.

The other books on the list are all pattern related so I am hoping has ordered them and has them stashed away for Christmas morning.

All I Wanna Do Is Knit...

I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post. I do have some finished projects to post up - a couple of scarves and a weird hat. My mother-in-law is still in the hospital. My hubby is sick. We just came back from an overnight stay in Milwaukee where we stayed in a bad hotel room. I have clients who owe me over $1000. The Cubs have clinched the division and I've been working really hard! My friends are all down in the dumps over one thing or another - and it appears I have been unkind to someone I haven't even spoken with. No wonder I haven't had time to write - LIFE!

All I really want to do is knit. And walk. I want to knit and walk. My spirit is a little bruised and I am going to allow it to be for a moment more before I rally myself up and regroup.

At times like these, I can trace my feelings back to leaning on my own understanding and not listening to what God has said to me - or listening and thinking I still knew better.
Victor Hugo knows better, too: "There are times when no matter the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees." I feel my kneecaps on the dust.

Cai - In Progress

It bugged me that I had nothing to show - boy, if I were in therapy that's a beginning of a session!

So, I took photos of Cai, my afghan that I have been working on since 8/8/08. This is 3 of the 5 strips that will go into the afghan. The fourth strip is done, but constructed in such a way that it cannot be added. So, I have to do the last one before I can add the next to the last one. What possessed me, you may ponder, to believe I could finish a 25 square afghan in a mere two weeks. Especially with squares like this one in the mix. I have no idea what I was thinking! So the final strip has begun and it will be finished some time soon and then the real fun begins of sewing them together. I am thinking of just doing a cross stitch in the darkest color or a simple mattress stitch. The sewing part is not my best event, but I will persevere. And I will post the final pics when all is said and done!

I Got Nuthin

Happy September!

I love firsts and I love first days of months that start on Monday. It's a quirk. Anyway, I have uploaded all the projects I've done. I've gone through all the photos and I got nuthin left. I do have some projects on my needles. Cai, my earthtone afghan is closer to the finished line. There are five strips in total and I am about to complete the 4th one. The baby blanket for the nephew arriving in a few weeks is on the needles. I have not touched it since the day I cast it on and worked on it because I will start a new project about every ten days or so (it's on my schedule) but I only work on one project at a time. So, when Cai is done, I will pick up the baby blanket and work on it. I have the second Travis Wrap to work on as well but that is still in my mind and I haven't even selected the yarn for it and according to my schedule, a new (as yet unknown) project, will come to life within about a week.

So, it's the start of a new month...and I got nuthin'. I am working on Cai to the tune of about a square a day so it should be done in about six days. That will depend upon the work schedule, of course, and the times of the Cubs games because time stands still for the Cubs. (Die hard since 1969!)

I need to stop blogging and go the store to get bathroom cleaning supplies - don't envy me my glamourous life-you, too can live this way if you choose!

When Is an Afghan Not an Afghan.

Ok, so here's another pillow that started out as an afghan. I made about seven of these Aran cable squares and for whatever reason, didn't feel like finishing the remaining five squares I would need. So, I turned two of the squares into a pillow. Just like I did with the beach blanket. Unlike the beach blanket squares, the rest of the cable squares will go into an afghan. They are being used in Cai. Which I wanted to finish in time for the Ravelympics, but I won't be able to get it done -I'm just on the second of five strips. However, I am keen on finishing it as I am pulling stitch patterns from different sources to complete the 25 square afghan. The pillow will make its way to the November sale where it will sit with the beach blanket pillow. Hopefully someone will want to give it a nice home.

Quick Knit Scarf

Well, I'm just a knitting fool since the Ravelympics started. I still have the olympic scarf and the cai afghan to go, but this was almost done so i thought it would be best to go ahead and finish it up.

This scarf goes with the hat (that's Marilyn modeling it). They're both made with Red Heart yarn on size 9 needles. The hat was modified from a pattern found in Quick Knit - Cool Accessories and the scarf was made up from a stitch I found in a stitch dictionary and thought it would make a great scarf. and so it does.

this cute little set will be sold at the November Bazaar - come on by and buy it!

Ravelympians Unite!

It's almost time for the Ravelympics to begin. I am entered into three events: hat dash, scarf stroke, and afghan marathon. Oops, make that four, I am also in the design discus since I'm designing all the things I am making.

Tomorrow is also a StitchCraft session so I will be knitting with friends at the church. I already have the designs in mind. I will need to cast on during the opening ceremonies and complete them all within the next 2.5 weeks. That shouldn't be too hard. If I stay up late this evening and finish the scarf I'm working on now. (The added incentive is that when I finish the scarf, the set will be complete and they will go from my house to Marilyn's house where all the completed items are stored!) Less stuff in my house - more stuff in her house; that's my definition of fair. (Hey, I store the yarn at my house and trust me, there's a boat load of that as well.)

Good luck to all the Ravelympians and to all the Olympians as well. I hate the United States has silenced our athletes about other things going on in the world - it's not just sports; it's sportmanship and that goes beyond the playing field. I think we should let our athletes be all around people and not just players.

But I'll watch the track and field and the other events because i love the games and the sports!

The Trouble With Prayer Shawls

We sent out nine prayer shawls today as part of our work with Prayer Shawls 4 Fallen Soldiers. The last time we sent out the informational letters, we got no response. We received a letter after the shawls were delivered and you can find it on the blog in the January archives.

It was great to get that letter, but there's only one problem with doing this ministry - you never how to, or when to, smile. I mean the reason anyone gets these particular shawls is because they've lost a loved one. They are not injured, they are not missing - they are gone.

In our efforts to make sense of it and to show a heartfelt love and support, we send a prayer shawl to a family we most do not know hoping they will take our offer of love and not feel as if we are intruding on their own personal and private struggle.

We train ourselves to believe that what we do is a right thing. We train ourselves never to expect to hear from a family member and if we do, we prepare ourselves to hear a family member voice displeasure. From the batch of letters I recently sent out, I received three phone calls.

There was a mother who told me about her son and how he had gotten an apartment not far from the Chicago beaches and he loved living there.

Then there was a call from a mom who appreciated the program and looked forward to getting the shawl and wanted to change the address we had.

Then there was the call from the father who appreciated what we do and wanted us to know the child he lost was his only son. He also said there were three boys lost in his very small town and he wanted to make sure I got the name of one of the men he saw just the other day. He gave me the name - I did recognize it, and when I looked it up, I discovered we sent the letter to his ex-wife. Looking over the entire list, I saw there were several soldiers with divorced parents. Fathers and mothers lost their child and that doesn't change because the marriage didn't last. So, we pulled out more prayer shawls to send one to each parent.

It felt good talking to each parent; knowing what we did was appreciated and how they felt assured that we did not forget their children in an unpopular conflict, They were happy to share bits and memories of their children's lives with me and I was touched and happy to hear them. I feel full and blessed to be able to contribute and to want to give something even though I still don't understand how we got here - it's important, but not at that exact moment when a parent is talking about the child with all the memories made. It's those times when it's more important to do the good and right thing. It's the time to listen.

Still don't know when to smile.

The Prayer Shawl

This is the latest prayer shawl I made. I know I made it a few weeks ago, but I don't remember exactly when. Chances are good this prayer shawl will go to the next of kin of a fallen soldier.

I've done post regarding Prayer Shawls 4 Fallen Soldiers before and this amazing project continues to provide blessings in ways I never imagined.

I recently sent out seven letters to families telling them a shawl has been created in memory of a loved one. The last mailing we did, we received a wonderful letter from a mother you can read about here. We send letters out before we send the shawls to make sure the letters get to the right place, to make sure the family is somehow offended or doesn't want the shawl, or if we need to send the shawl to someone or someplace else. We give those letters a few weeks to get there and come back and then we send out the shawls. The letter includes names, addresses, email and phone numbers so family members can verify we are not capitalizing on their grief. We train ourselves never to expect contact.

I received a phone message from a mother who was so moved by the project (even though the shawl has not yet been sent) that she wants to donate cash/yarn to further the goal. I left a message back for her that said we would accept her donation and we promise to use the yarn to create a shawl that will be sent to another family and in the note we would specify the shawl came through the generosity of a soldier's family who wanted to move it forward.

Blessings are like ripples: they go forth, hit the shore and then come back and they stop at so many places between.

Knitting One Project at a Time

Here's the thing: I used to have up to seven knitting projects going at one time. I would alternate them every day. Then one day, I thought I was driving myself crazy. So I changed my chaotic way and went down to one project at a time and I think I've probably been that way for the better part of a year.

Every once in a while I would put down a project to whip off a quick prayer shawl because we needed one at church or a hospital would contact us saying they needed more preemie hats, but as a rule, I was doing just one project at a time.

At the moment, I am working on some squares for an afghan I designed and I have the itch to begin another project. I find there may be several reasons for this:

1. We have a sale coming in November and I am always worried about not having enough items to sell.

2. My next 10 projects are full sized afghans (I don't work on more than one, but I know what they are) and I am a bit afraid of never leaving the afghan world if I don't get through these next ten projects.

3. I have a ton of yarn but I always have the urge to buy more. However, my house already resembles a LYS so I have to use it up before I can satisfy the gnawing urge to order more.

4. I'm stalling because the colors I chose for my design is not as stunning as I thought, but I have to carry it through. (None of the photos in this post is the square - under wraps it is.)

5. The squares will take a bit of time to complete and I have the attention span the size of a newborn gnat.

Now, I personally believe there's a little bit of all those reasons in the itch I have, but the last two are probably the most true with reason three a strong next in line.
So, will I start a new project? Not today. But I have solved the problem by putting a new item in my schedule: "New project" Yep, it's an actual part of my schedule like my workout and cleaning the kitchen. My weekly schedule takes about 10 days to get through so I suspect I will start the next afghan around Tuesday or so. I believe I can happily alternate between two projects and by the time I get around to that entry in my schedule again, one of them will probably be very close to completion and I will be ready to begin again - because hope springs eternal.