Serenity

Orlando park lighthouse, December 2006

I wish I could climb right into that photo. I settled for a quick yoga session this morning instead. Just some deep breathing and stretching, but yoga has a nourishing ability to "transport" my mind when I need to start a day off just right. Day 5 of eating raw for wellness has begun well...I'm pretty surprised that I haven't had as many cravings or moments of weekness to pop somehting in the microwave or fire up the stove. Or heck, even to tear open a bag of something sweet or salty. I had a couple of "what am I supposed to eat now???" moments, and also some "oh great, salad again" laments, but otherwise, doing fine. I'm committed to the 7 days, and since I'm already a sashimi fan, I think I can extend this even longer...we'll see.

Knit bits....not much to show right now, but I am proud to say that in keeping with my stashalong efforts I've become quite neurotic about using up EVERY yard of the skeins I'm using for my projects. For example, from my younger nephew's sweater leftovers I made this

freestyle beanie for my older nephew

and this

freestyle crocheted coaster (snuggles the tea mug just so)

Since I booked my ticket to Stitches Midwest I have kicked the yarn buying embargo into high gear. This No New Yarn policy does have it's recourse you must understand. I want to be able to completely lose myself in that wall-to-wall fiber filled convention center in August. Hence, no leftovers are safe in the stash, and no new comers are welcome!! (unless they are gifts, which I will accept with great glee) Ha! Next thing you know I'll be making chunky wool ponchos and carrying 3 strands of worsted for a pair of socks. Say I won't!

Mwah! Have a wonderful weekend all!

Lunch is Served

Today is day 3 in my 7 days to WELL. I'm using that phrase as it was sent to me by my oldest and bestest friend Opal (hey Ras!). She recently did a 2-week stint of raw foods only to help clean out her body and get back to some healthier eating habits. As soon as she wrote me about it, a light went off. I've been back and forth to the doctor one too many times in the last couple months...standard stuff - cold/flu/Strep...but it's the battery of antibiotics I've had to take that's been needling me. I subscribe to the school of thought that says we all have entirely too much of that stuff in our systems at any given time, and that if we can do better on the preventative side of things, we should.

So, I am.

Veggie Juice fixins for lunch today

I shopped early Monday for a bunch of the fruits and veggies that I love. It surely helps that eating well and feasting on produce is not a strange phenomenon in my house; neither is abstinence from certain foods for that matter. I keep saying that my on-going battle with the munchies and my sugar loving alter ego is mostly mental. If I can get my mind right, my body will follow.

I must say, today's dessert does looks especially appealing.



Be well darlings!

Out of the Closet

Best place for an elephant is right out in the middle of the living room so we can talk about it, right? Right...let's have it. I present, my unfinished object queue (those presentable enough for photographing)


Central Park Hoodie from Fall '06 KnitScene (for me)


Back now done (with short row shoulders no less!); Sleeves done; Right and Left front started


Sangria Socks (for me)


Still being neglected right now (I blame the slowness of dpns)


Plymouth Encore Afghan - a very late gift(I might just frog this and do one big one, instead of individual blocks)



Crochet Beach Bag (from Family Circle Knit & Crochet)


Felted Striped Tote (from One Skein book)


Interweave Crochet Hipster Belt - needs loops and fringe



On the brighter side...here are 2 items that were unfinished at the original writing of this post, but which have since been COMPLETED!! (Woo hoo!)

Chunky Gift Scarf:

Combined Red Heart "Soft", Berroco "Softy", and some gold novelty yarn from Kelli
Started:Early January 2007
Finished: Feb 15, 2007

Baby Sweater (for my nephew):

Yarn: Jo-Ann's Sensations Yarn in "Licorice"
Started: June 2006
Finished: February 14, 2007
Sadly, as he is now about to be 8 months old, it will not likely fit him much longer. Thank goodness I have another nephew to pass this along to (3 months old)

So there they be! Look for these to be featured in future posts as finished projects. And if they don't - you have these pictures to smack me over the head with, as it were.

Unfinisher's Log...Day 2341

Well, at least it feels that way...

As many of you that browse the web know, there is a group out there for just about EVERY old thing...

I've joined this stash busting effort (again) this year in the hopes that I can get my stash down to something manageable, and something comprised of only yarns that I just can't WAIT to knit with. I really want to tuck some more knitting techniques under my belt, but that means casting on new swatches at least; the length of the Yet-To-Be-Knit list doesn't let me feel free enough to do that yet. Woe is me!

Best way to take on a problem is to face it right? Yeah...that's what I thought when I pulled out every.single.yard. of yarn that I have in my (ahem) guest room and decided to photograph it for accountability. Brace yourself...





Now I know that some of you will look at that shameful shot and say "hmmm....that's not so bad", but others are having to hold on to something and breath very slowly, as I did. This was a wickedly rude awakening. Mostly because that photo doesn't actually show all the skeins (they couldn't all fit), and because it doesn't include the Mound O' Acrylic fire hazard:




Bah! Even that's a cropped shot (*shudder*). We don't want to hurt anyone's retinas; look away if you must.

My friends, something must be done! There is some great stuff in there! My ridiculous but lovely fiber haul from Stitches Midwest; some of Cindy's yarn; all my travel yarn loot; gifted yarn. Cashmere! There is cashmere in there people! It should have seen the light of my needle ends months ago. No excuse.

So, I'm good and determined. I last bought yarn on January 29th, and I'm on a minimum 2-month yarn embargo. My next knitting-related purchase of any substance will be a super nifty blocking board. Alas, that won't be until the unfinished knit and crochet item list comes down though. Oh...did I forget to mention that? The stash pile photo conveniently (mercifully!) does not include the stack of items not yet completed. That post will be for another day - maybe tomorrow. I need a lie down...

Super Saturday (With Lily Chin Photos)

May I just say again, membership has it's privileges.

This past weekend was a memorable one for many reasons. The primary reason is that I'm finally home from the frozen north, and although the temperature here is nowhere near tropical, I'll take a 60 over a 6-degree day any old time. I continue my quest to have the company open a Florida office...I'll keep you posted.

First up Saturday morning was Library Story time - LOVE. THIS. SERVICE. Every Saturday, the girls and I head out to the Main library and spend an hour with Miss Amber (what a sweetie) listening to stories, singing and dancing, and doing a craft -all with the theme for that week. This week was Silly Stories, and there was even a movie, at which I was laughing right out loud. Yeah, I kinda get into it. Behold the girls in their Silly Hats!

Next up, a definite knitting journey highlight! I took a class on Saturday afternoon with Lily Chin, world's fastest crocheter and a super fab knitting designer/celebrity. She was visiting the LYS for 4 classes this weekend, and as an employee I was able to attend the Reversible Cables Class(Lily calls them "Ribbles"). I was SO thrilled and admittedly star struck! You can clearly see I lost all composure by the size of that foolish grin I'm wearing in the photo with her. I learned so much about the construction of cables, they are deceptively easy; and she also gave us some insight to how she plans out designs for using cables (there was graph paper and math and I didn't faint!). She has such an amazing energy and charisma, and her work speaks for itself. You can check out her collection here, and her tour schedule here. I highly recommend taking a class with her.

As if the class wasn't great enough, it was an extra treat to see some of her books and many of her designs hanging up around the room. I also got confirmation from her on the Chelsea yarn I have in my stash - it's going to be great for socks, just as I hoped. She showed me a nice mini cabled pair already knit up. It's all I can do not to cast on for them this very second. *Sigh* Good times.

More knit progress next time!

Knit Yourself Well

My youngest and I came down with Strep this week, and we've both had a time of it. I finally listened to some good advice and headed to the doctor. We got our meds in short order and the improvement is noticeable already.

Well let's face it, sick time doubles quite nicely as knit time. And what better way to introduce some warm and fuzzy feelings to an otherwise icky situation than to knit for someone else? Though I won't say who these are for specifically, those of you who follow the blog (including the recipient) will notice that (a) these are baby hats and (b)baby talk on this blog is very recent, so going just a few posts back will completely give it away. In the last 2 days I made 2 wee hats for this darling new princess, and here they are:

Just a little artsy rendition there...the hats are strategically placed on the Debbie Bliss Baby Knits book cover. Inside this book are the most adorable, yet completely doable baby items. I started small by making the seed stitch hat you see on the left in the photo, but there is much more to do in this book, and I'm grateful our local library carries it. The hat on the right is made with hand-dyed yarn from an artist named Jamie Harmon in upstate New York. In my stash busting efforts, I'm diving deep! This yarn was purchased in January of 2006 on one of my first New York City yarn crawls. I'm pretty certain I bought it at Downtown Yarns, but don't hold me to that.










No pattern for the hand-dyed mini beret. I was actually inspired to just wing it by some email conversations about designing and modifying patterns to suit your taste. They are very different in size too; I wanted this little darling to have a hat for now and a hat for later.

Other than the hoodie, I've also started these Garter Rib Socks from the pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks.




I'm working these on size 2 (3mm) circulars, so the rows are slow to show up. This is portable though and the color (Cherry Blossom Fibers' Sangria) is delicious!

Have a wonderful weekend dear readers! Remember it's Black History Month - here's hoping you'll seek out, read, listen to or find something new to learn and love!

New Year, New Look

I'm taking a cue from Del and trying to change up things around here. Hope you like the new scheme. I'll post some updates soon and get all my buttons and do dads back in their place.

Have a great week, and stay warm!

Get Your Knit Fix Here!

Just a short update post today...I'm knitting, no surprise there. The surprise though is how OFTEN I'm doing it now and how much a part of my life it has become. There are knitting magazines and books with post it flags sticking out of them strewn across my house. There is yarn in at least 3 different rooms. There are knit programs on my remind list for the TV (yes, the satellite service is back...be afraid people). And yesterday, hubby actually told me that he hopes I always put the same level of passion into my knitting as I do now - can you believe that??! This is the stage called Acceptance, and mama likes! (Major bonus points for him! I may even have to actually make him something sometime this year I was so grateful).

I'm reading a particularly good book right now called Beyond Stitch & Bitch. A reflection on knitting and life indeed...and I'm hooked. Small and easy to digest chapters make it easy to pick up and put down, which my life dictates that I do with most books. Alot. I highly recommend this one folks. Yes, Mau - you can skip it darling. I'll give you the highlights.

Knit pics follow...

Here are my birthday goodies from my dearest Sean. Just the right stuff...a very unique and "must be knit" skein of Araucania Atacama Alpaca yarn. Naturally, I want just the right project for this, and I'm taking suggestions!




AND he got me this!



May I just say that a book full of fun patterns and good reading is just the most perfect gift for the knitter who has...err...wants everything. Thanks Sean!

Here's what I'm working on...the Central Park Hoodie from the Fall 2006 Knitscene (back and sleeves shown in the photo). Love. This. Knit.

There's a knit-along for this here and here - join us!

And here's something I'm calling my Stash Tote because (a) it was knit from leftover yarns in my stash and (b) when it's done and felted, I'm likely to use it to store or carry other yarn skeins from my stash (cuz some of it is just too yummy for Ziplocs, you know what I'm sayin?)

No pattern, I just can't stand to waste even a yard of yarn, so this wool just had to be knit.

That's all the news that's fit to print my dears. Send me sugggestions for my 110yds of Alpaca goodness by shouting me out in the comments. Thanks!

As Promised...

Hello my lovelies,

First, a side story. I'm feeling much better today, and that's saying alot because yesterday was "interesting". Yesterday was Route Canal Day. I can't express how much I dislike dental procedures, except by telling you that I started fretting over this appointment from the moment after I made it about 1 month ago. I tried all weekend to think of a plausible excuse not to go, but couldn't come up with one. Funny how small things make a big difference though...I made it through that appointment yesterday without so much as a tear, and do you know why?? Because I knit.

That's right, my wonderful, super kind, and so very understanding of my "quirkiness" dentist allowed me to listen to my music (loud to drown out the drill) and KNIT. I brought out some stash yarn that's meant to be a felted tote eventually, and I knit to my heart's ease the entire 90 minutes. I only took breaks to spit and rinse, but otherwise that Stockinette stitch went round and round and kept me calm. Music, yoga breathing and knitting (plus the local anesthetic of course) and I was a happy girl! Next Monday, appointment 1 of 2 for my crown...that tote will be done in no time. I've even asked the hygienist if she'll take a few pictures for me, so you can share in my insane...err...ingenious calming technique. At the park on Sunday Adachi said to me, "Mommy, you can knit ANYwhere can't you?". Yes darling, apparently so.

Thanks to my wonderful Sean who tagged me to list 6 Weird Things About Me. Here they are in no particular order:

• I was born with the remnants of what would have been a 6th finger on my left hand. I know that this extra digit was nearly my destiny because (a) I have the tiniest lithe extra fingernail under my left pinky's nail, and (b) more than one of my family members either has one or has had one removed. Maybe we were supposed to become a whole new sector of people that learned how to do some totally amazing thing with this additional pinky, who knows?
• In the last three to five years I have suddenly become allergic to dairy, acetaminophen, and sadly wheat. Who knew you could just "grow" an allergy????
• Without being too graphic, I have this weird thing about not having anything on my feet, including and especially socks, when I'm..umm..."indisposed". Yeah, public restrooms are so NOT my favorite place to be *sigh*
• I've only thrown up once in my teen to adult life (beets from some veggie juice), but other than that I don't have this reflex....sadly, not even when it would REALLY have come in handy - my body just won't give stuff back.
• I have nightmares at least 3 to 4 times per week, usually dealing with some harm coming to someone I love and me not being able to save them or get someone else to believe me when I say they need rescuing. Stress much?
• I've survived 3 life-threatening situations: a car ran over me when I was 3 (only a scratched forehead); our home flooded while I was asleep in bed with mom at age 5 and we literally floated out to safety; I totaled my car 7 years ago and walked away from it even though the front end was crushed into the back seat...and I still have dreams about dying early. Yeah - I'm hard headed like that.

Still here? Oh good.

On a less weird and much lighter note, behold my score from my trip with KR and Cindy to Knit NY last Thursday:

All good stuff. Currently on the needles, I'm plugging away at the first sweater for the year (for me, can you believe it?). It's the Central Park Hoodie from the Fall '06 edition of KnitScene - more photos of that next post...I've stolen enough of your time for today.

MWAH!

Pssst

Hello All!

Just in from 9 days in New Jersey and Atlantic City - worn but intact.
I have several posts in the queue, but just had to put a note out here so you know I haven't disappeared or been eaten alive up by my unknit yarn stash. Since I last posted, Nancy's got another gorgeous creation to share, I've been tagged by Sean, and My Mau has a whole new hot spot that you've just got to visit.

My tag response, more babble and even some pictures await you dear friends! In the mean time - hug someone you love!

10

Another great family weekend to report! Drew's surprise 10th Anniversary gift was a trip for all of us to Orlando where we stayed in a really nice hotel and had ourselves a BALL! Get this, the hotel was connected to the mall! As in, you go down to the lobby, pass the Front desk and straight ahead into the Florida Mall. Needless to say my shopping spree commenced pretty quickly (apparently that was part of his plan as well...the dear man). Got some new digs, had a great time in the pool with the girls, and just loved on my hubby as much as I could. Tomorrow I leave for New Jersey, this time for NINE days. Yes, I know. If I have your number and I call you weeping, just remind me how many short days left until I can hug my children again, ok? Thanks, you're a love.

Here's a slideshow of our goings on while we were there.

I even managed to knit in the car all the way there and back - you just gotta love a good book on tape and a spouse who loves to drive!

I hope your New Year has started off the way you would like. And if not, hey, it's early - turn that sucker around and let's press on!

Don't Call It A Comeback

It must be the yarn embargo that hubby has imposed until post New Year...or maybe it's all the exposure to the beautiful things I have read about and seen that everyone ELSE is finishing, or it could be that my UFOs (unfinished objects) have been hanging around so long that they have evolved into intelligent beings, which can now actually call to me from my knitting bags - if that's so, this one would likely use foul language.

I present my oldest, and most sorely neglected work-in-progress-turned-wearable knit...

This cropped cardi/shrug has been on (and off) my needles since fall of 2005. It was one of the first things I brought to Knit Night at GBOY, where I got great help and advice on constructing it, which I have since long forgotten apparently because the pattern is covered now in post it notes with feverish scribblings of things I had to work out on my own.

• Berroco Cotton Twist in Color 8387 (it should be called Berroco Cotton Splits!)
• 85 yds/ball; I used about 8 balls for the Medium size (Back 19", Length 16")
• Needles - 24" US 5 circular, 24" US 6 circular, and US 6 dpns

Since I started this and re-started it as I was becoming a better knitter, I can now say that the pattern is pretty well written and easy to follow. The construction is only a little hairy when it comes to joining the sleeve to the raglan edge of the body at the armhole. My main struggle with this one was really just that the yarn would split and snag something awful if you just breathed on it hard.

I like the fit, but am still not 100% sure this cropped shrug style is for me. I think it's a little loose around the back. Also, I knit and unknit the front band/collar ribbing about 8 times, and I'm still not thrilled with that part. Something about my calculations for that were off because I adjusted the length. I also extended the sleeve length a bit too much - knit and learn.

I take pleasure in seeing it finished though. Who knows...I may just make this finishing stuff a habit (oh goodness, jinxed it already...ah well).

Thanks for looking!

Post

So, the festivities have come and gone and we all survived. Most of it can be said in pictures, but the recap is that our newest nephew was there (born the Sunday after Thanksgiving)




My not-so-little anymore youngest niece Janaya is now a gorgeous 9 month old (wearing 12-18mos clothes thank you very much) - and her mommy and daddy are engaged as of Christmas eve - Woo Hoo!!

The girls were so appreciative of their gifts this year, it made me very proud of them. I think I could get used to this stuff.


I finished my oldest niece's Debbie Bliss Cardi JUST in time...they were walking in the door and I was finishing the seam on the cuffs!( Blocking??? Who has time for blocking?!)

We enjoyed delicious traditional Jamaican dishes too, like curried goat, oxtail, goat soup, rice & peas - Too good! Yes there was turkey and stuffing and yams, and mercy just Too. Much. Food.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend as well...on to the New Year preparations! This New Year's Eve, hub and I will celebrate 10 years of not killing each other...err marriage. I can't believe I have done something consecutively for 10 years other than live - wow. Anyhoo, if you don't hear from me until after the 1st, I'm sending you extra special HAPPY NEW YEAR vibes.

MWAH!!

In the Spirit

Holiday.

At no time is that word more deceptive than in the period leading up to December 25th if you celebrate Christmas. Actually, I imagine that preparations for Hanukkah or even Kwanzaa are no breezy stroll either. This year, I was feeling quite the scrooge since about mid-November. Already resenting the pressure I was starting to feel to make the "season" just right this year. Instead of my mind filing with thoughts of Christmas music, relaxation, good food, and most importantly the flood of family members and friends that I'm most likely to see in the next several days...all I could think about for a while was "I'll just never get those cards out in time" and "Knit! Faster!".

Now I'm not blaming anyone for this stress mind you. I'm type A. It comes naturally.
But we all know that the trend has moved quickly away from hot chocolate and caroling to fist fights at the mall and camping out in the cold for <>. I even briefly considered sending everyone on the list an E-card this year! Just to buy a little more time. :sigh:

Then, Sunday night. Hubby made that all melt away. He showed up around 9, returning from an afternoon of football watching at his brother's. He was all grins, which I couldn't figure out. After doing I-didn't-know-what for several minutes outside, he asked the girls and I to come to the door. He opened it, and there lay an 8 foot Christmas tree, just as gorgeous as you please! My holiday spirit came so suddenly at the site of that tree, it nearly knocked me over. Strange, but that small thing really gave me a huge lift! He insisted we decorate it with the girls immediately and the fun soon followed. I started blasting the carols, and we dolled it up!

That time with hubby and the girls, making sure the ornaments hung just so was a great reminder of how a little thing like family quality time can sometimes kick the snot out of a big thing like holiday stress.

I hope that whatever you celebrate, the spirit of that celebration has already started to spread it's joy around you and those you love!