Getting Closer to Christmas

I have my trainer's hat finished. 

I made it out of Cascade 220 Heathers and Cascade 220 Paints.  The pattern is the Boyfriend Hat.  I knit an inch with the Heather and then picked up the Paints and used the jumpless striping technique.  I really like how it turned out.  The blue bits are brighter in the photo than they really are, but the other colors are true.  This was a fantastic, fast knit.

I'm not making much progress on the Christmas gifts this year.  The kids have asked for only one thing each.  You would think I'd have it done by now.  I'm still a bit overwhelmed at work, but it is easing up a bit.  This past week I got to move to a private office.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to get more work done now, with fewer interruptions and distractions from people talking around me.   It has been 3 years since I had my own office.  It feels so good to have a space of my own.

Today my friend Donna is heavy on my mind. Her husband passed away back in July.  He battled leukemia for 15 months.  Today would have been their 29th wedding anniversary.  It has been 5 months since Dean died.  Donna is still having a tremendously hard time dealing with it all.  I am very, very worried about her.  She is receiving grief counselling and has a lot of friends supporting her.  I just wish there was more I could do for her.

Another person I'm worried about is my Mom.  Understandably she sounds so sad every time I call.  She told me that she didn't feel like decorating this year.  My siblings who live close to her took care of putting up the lights and tree for her. It will be good to have everyone together around her this Christmas.

Quick Gift

Friday after work I fought traffic to get to my LYS before they closed.  I made it with 15 minutes to spare.  My hurry was to get some Cascade 220 to make my trainer a hat for Christmas.  I wanted to work on the hat over the weekend.  I bought the yarn and turned to leave when I spied a gorgeous scarf.  I asked for the pattern and the shop owner told me it was something new from Rowan - Kidsilk Creation.  She showed me how quickly this hank of fiber could be transformed into a beautiful scarf.  In case you don't know, Kidsilk Creation is Kidsilk Haze knit very loosely into a tube.  To make the scarf you knit along the side of the tub and then stretch it out to form ruffles.  On impulse, I  bought a hank to make a gift for a friend.  Here it is:

Purple (kidsilk) Haze.  It honestly took me only 3 or 4 hours.  That time was not fully focused time either.  Very easy project for in front of the television.  Here's a close up of the ruffles.  The color is truer in this photo than the one above.

Buffler hat

I finished the hat for Ed. This is made out of Buffalo Gold Earth.  It is really yummy fiber.  I just made up the pattern myself.  It is a long overdue anniversary gift.  Here it is.  Ed wasn't too happy about my photographing him since he hadn't shaved yet this morning.    I liked the way it turned out. He's worn it a couple times while hunting.  We'll see if it gets to go to the high school football game tonight.  That will be the true indication of how warm it is.  Oh, and it is named 'Buffler' because that is how my dad would jokingly say Buffalo. 

Now, what will be my next project to finish?  I'm still chipping away at the Taise shawl and the Pure Love shawl.  I also want to get the Go Live Minimalist sweater done. 

Unforgettable

My heart is very heavy.  Sunday night at 11:45 pm, my dad took his last breath.  He suffered a lot during these past few months.  He is at peace now and is no longer struggling against the inflictions that plagued his body.  His ordeal really began 11 1/2 years ago when he had his first stroke.  That stroke began a long saga of ailments that slowly chipped away at him.  Mid-July this year, he had another stroke, marking the last time he was ever at home.  Between hospitals and nursing homes, the doctors tried everything they could to repair the damage to his body, but nothing worked.  He was too weak.  The viewing and funeral are over.  My family and I now try to get back to a normal existance.  It was a great comfort to us to see all the people that came out to honor him.  We knew what a great father he was, but we learned how loved and respected he was by others at work, church, and the community. 

For two days, my siblings and I sorted through old family photographs trying to create collages for the viewing.  We came across many that we had never seen before.  There was an entire box of photos from when my dad was in the Army.  He served in the US Army from January 1946 to March 1947.  He was stationed in the Phillipines and was part of the crew that worked to rebuild that country after World War II.  He had a camera with him during his time there.  He took pictures and sent them home to his family.  On the backs of some of the photos, he wrote little notes.  On one that is a particular favorite of mine, he is standing shirtless at a side angle, pointing his pistol at the camera.  On the back he wrote the note:  "Dad, I'm keeping in shape.  How about you?"  I wonder if he had a double meaning to that note.  Obviously he was in good physical shape.  But I recall a story he once told me about when he was growing up.  During the Depression, his father was a night watchman at the local dump.  Dad would take dinner over to his father every night and then sit with him and practice shooting the rats. 
There was another collection of photos that I had never seen.  They were from my parents' wedding.  I often looked at the formal photo album, but I had never seen the snapshots.  Another favorite photo is one showing my parents kissing each other rather passionately after they danced their first dance as husband and wife.  Their marriage lasted over 58 1/2 years.  I know my dad absolutely adored my mom.  Eleven years ago, on a weekend months after his first stroke when my mom herself was in the hospital, Dad and I sat at home drinking a beer together.  He got very nostalgic and told me many, many stories.  I'm sorry I didn't pull out a notebook and write them all down.  I can't remember all the details, but I will never forget how deeply he loved her.  Their love is the model for true love.  They took their vow 'for better or for worse' very seriously.  The strength of their love got them through many hardships, including the death of their first baby, raising eight children including one that is handicapped, the deaths of their own parents, cancer for both of them and other ailments, and countless other struggles.

I don't have digital copies yet of all the photos I want from the masses we sorted through.  Here is one that I will always treasure.  This was Easter when I was 3 years old.  My sister Nancy is the baby. 

Here is the last picture of my family together.

What to do with 4 pounds of apples

Make apple butter.  Four pounds of apples yielded 8 cups of puree.  Eight cups of puree cooked down to slightly over 7 cups of apple butter.  Here is the final result.  It was a fun little project.  I wished I had more to cook with. Oh well, next time I know.  Now I need to get some cinnamon bread to toast to use as the delivery device.  Yum!

I'm Loving It

This is the start of my Pure Love stole.  I am so enamored by this fiber.  It is so soft and cuddly.  I can't wait to get this done.  Unfortunately, this has taken my attention away from finishing Ed's hat.  I'm rationalizing this by telling myself that he doesn't need it yet.  Duck hunting season started today, but it isn't cold enough yet for a hat made out of buffalo fiber.  I've got time.

Didn't mean to be away so long

Life continues to be absolutely crazy.  I told my husband the other day that I have a fantasy, which made him perk up his ears.  My fantasy involves a cabin in the woods with a woodburning fireplace.  I'd like to sit in front of a fire for days and do nothing  but knit, read, nap and drink wine.  It wasn't exactly what Ed was hoping I'd say, but he said he'll try to find me place to escape to for a weekend.

I've been doing a little knitting.  I made the Raceback Tee for Kristin.  The pattern was from Knitty.

My sister Patty spun the alpaca roving I bought at Knitter's Connection.  I now have over 600 yards of yummy 2-ply. 

I'm going to turn this into a stole using this pattern. 

Speaking of Knitter's Connection, I've starting knitting the Buffalo Gold Earth that I bought.  It is transforming into a simple hat for Ed.  The yarn is fabulous.  I don't know if buffalo have lanolin in their fur like sheep, but it certainly feels like it.  I've had to frog my original attempt because the hat was too large for Ed's head.  The yarn did not even seemed to be affected by the ripping out.

Over the summer I lost my friend who had been battling leukemia.  His family is having a rough time since he passed.  I made a shawl for his widow, but I'm not happy with how tightly I cast on and bound off.  The edges are curling.  I'll give it to her, but it won't be able to be used as I intended.  I wanted something she could wrap herself in when she needed a hug.   I'll give her something else this winter.

A few of my other WIPs are chugging along.  The Taize wrap is over half way done.  A friend gave me several cones of wool that he had in his stash.  He was gifted the cones from a friend who found them at a thrift shop.  They are fingering weight.  The wool is rather coarse so I'm guessing they were meant for weaving rather than knitting.

Gotta work on my stress level

As my last post will demonstrate, I've been a bit stressed lately.  Today was a total insane day at work.  I couldn't decide if I was in the middle of a mental ward or daycare center.  Oh well, I'm home now sipping a glass of wine.  Much better than an hour and a half ago.

To help with my stress management, I bought a hot tub.  It took us several weeks to get it all connected, but it is operational now.  The weather so far this summer has been cool enough to make the evening dips enjoyable.  Last night I spent over 20 minutes in it.  It was heaven!  We have it on our deck.  Here's a photo where it can be seen through the slats of the deck.  Ed took this picture to show an electrician when we were trying to decide how the power line for the spa needed to be placed.

Last week I went to Knitter's Connection here in Columbus.  I only took one class this year:  Introduction to Strickmuster by Candice Eisner Strick.  It was a fantastic class!  I fell in love with twisted stitches.  I came home and designed a pair of socks to make using the technique from class.  Maybe I'll post it someday.

Anyone who has gone to Knitter's Connection knows that they give out some fantastic goodies.  Included in this years bag were 3 skeins of yumminess.  I don't know yet how I'm going to use them.  I'll have to look for ideas on Ravelry.

While at the market, I splurged a little.  Not quite as much as I could have.  The qiviut was very, very tempting but I didn't have $175 on me to buy a skein.  I will own some qiviut someday.  As God is my witness, I will!  What I did get is this:

A skein of bison to make a hat for Ed.  Our anniversary is in September.  Hope to have it done by then.

Here is a skein of Footnotes from Fiber Optic.  I'm going to make the socks I designed with this.  Stay tuned!

Even though I resisted the siren song of the qiviut, I couldn't pass up the baby alpaca roving.  I bought a total of 8 ounces.  It is going to get shipped to my sister Patty who spins.  I'd like her to make it into laceweight.  To bribe her for this little favor, I'm sending along some Chocolate Kisses.  Not the kind from Hershey, but rather another skein of FootNotes from Fiber Optic.

Among all this shopping therapy, I have been doing some knitting.  The girls asked me to make them each a tank top.  I started with Kristin's.  I'm up to the bodice area on hers.  I took some liberties with the fourth section.  I figured any lacey pattern will do as long as it matches the stitch count.  I'll probably vary Trisha's also.

Unsolicited Advice

I really don't have a thick skin.  When people say mean and hurtful things to me I take it very deeply.  I wish I were different.  I know I should just brush it off and not let it bother me.  But I can't do that.  Sometimes there is a certain level of guilt that I feel if there is even a smidgen of truth.  I wish I were more able to take a deep breath and move on.  Today was one of those days that painfully reminded me about how personal I take some remarks.

We've had a green ash tree in our front yard.  This year, only half the tree leafed out.  The other half seemed to be struggling.  This tree hasn't been right for several years and it looked like this year was going to be its last.  A couple weeks ago one of the neighbors stopped Ed and commented about the tree.  This neighbor feels it is her place to point out to the rest of us when our yards don't meet her standards.  Now I have to admit her yard looks very nice.  Her husband works on it every day.  But not everyone has a green thumb, nor do they have the time or desire to work on their yards every day.  Now Ed and I don't have green thumbs.  We don't have the eye to create an asthestic border or coordinate shrubs and perennials.  Our landscaping is more utilitarian.  It frames the house without being the showcase.  We also don't have a lot of time.  Our kids are still at home.  WE both work full time, plus some.  And our hobbies lie in other areas.

Last weekend Ed and I worked on cutting the tree down until a huge storm rolled in and we called it a day.  A third of the tree was left. Given all the rain we've had it was really the first chance we've had to do any outside project.  While I was bundling the branches I was looking for evidence of what might have killed the branches.  I did not seen anything that was classic symptoms of the Emerald Ash borer, although I suspect that's what it was.  My neighbor thinks so too.  She gave me an earful this morning about getting the rest of the tree down.  She doesn't want her best tree to get infected from our tree.  I told her that her tree is very possibly already infected.  My college roommate is a forester and has worked on the EAB project for over 10 years.  She tells me that the only certainty is that all green ash trees will be gone because of this pest.  Its only a matter of time.  Anyway, after I got the EAB lecture from my neighbor, she then comments about the weeds in my flowerbeds.  And if that wasn't enough she made some remarks about my girls and the fact that my younger daughter is hanging out with my older daughter and her friends occasionally.  She also threw in a remark that I should start making my kids do yardwork to clean up the weeds. 

That's about the point I almost lost it.  After she pointed out how nice the neighbor's yard was, I took a deep breath and walked inside.  That was about 11:00 this morning.  As you can tell I'm still obsessing a bit and not over my anger.  I've decided that she is nothing but a bully and I'm her target. One of these days I'll muster up the courage to tell her off.    Maybe I should make sure I'm wearing my new T-shirt next time I see her. 

Confession is Good for the Soul

I blame it on having children and the Internet.  Keeping focused on a task for any length of time was impossible when the kids were little.  Getting 5 minutes of uninterrupted time was a luxury.  Getting 15 minutes was a Godsend.  I realized after a while I became conditioned to these short bursts of activities.  I became ADD. 

I used to not be this way. Going 'heads down' on a task was easy. Projects were finished within a reasonable amount of time. I used to quilt. I would make 2 or 3 quilts a year for a now defunct service organization called ABC Quilts. I also made a quilt every year for Christmas to give to a member of my family. One year I even made 4 for Christmas!! Not sure what mental disorder I was suffering from at that time, but I was like a woman possessed. But as the kids got involved in activities, my time by my sewing machine ended and I returned to knitting since it is more portable. Slowly I would cast on and knit while at soccer practices, dance lessons or volleyball matches. My projects were small pieces like scarves or hats. Then I discovered the Internet and blogs offered all kinds of new things to try. Shiny objects started popping up everywhere. I became friends with another knitter at work and she and I would trade project ideas. That's when it all fell apart for me. I jumped at the latest trend. Casting on became a frequent occurrence. My problem was following through to the end. Finishing is just not in my vocabulary.


Just to prove I have a serious problem, here is a pile of fiber that has my attention at the moment.  In there is a sweater, afghan, stole, scarf, and a pair of socks.  Trust me, it's true.

The sweater is the Go Live Minimalist Cardigan.  I am making progress on it.  I'm almost finished with the second front panel.  That leaves the sleeves.  There is a knitting group at work that meets Wednesdays at lunchtime.  I have started joining them and this is my project.  At least 30 minutes a week is devoted to getting this sweater done.

The Great American Aran Afghan is going to be my ADD project.  I figure whenever I need a little diversion from other projects, I can work on a square for that.  I have no timeline for it.  This is the first block, designed by a lady from Cincinnati.  Chosen because that is my hometown.

The stole is the Taize stole I started a year and a half ago.  It is about 1/3 finished.  Again, no timeline.  I work on it whenever it piques my interest.

Last but not least are the silk hankies.  Yes, I fell 'hook, line, and sinker' for that little craze a couple months ago.  I bought 2 sets in 2 different colors.  The blue is going to become socks for Trisha to wear at night.  She has Reinold's Syndrome and needs to keep her feet and hands warm.  The cream colored silk is going to be a helix scarf for me.  I've altered the pattern slightly to make it a bit wider.  It will have a little more ruffle to it since I'm doing 3 short rows per side instead of just 2, as the pattern states.

There!  Now that I've admitted my problem, it is time to make some resolutions for action.  Being realistic, I can't go cold-turkey and say that I won't start another project until these are finished.  I will, however, vow to not start a new scarf until the helix scarf is done.  And I won't start a new stole until Taize is finished.  Another sweater will not be cast on until Go Live is off the needles.  I will not begin another block of the aran afghan until the current one is bound off.

With that resolve, I need to get cranking on the Go Live sweater.  Yarn is being delivered next week to make sweaters for the girls.   Told you I had a problem!! 

Spring Abandonded

This was a bit of a shock to the system.  After being in Florida last week where it was sunny and mid-80s, coming back to Ohio and getting slapped with another round of winter weather is too much.  

BRRRRR!!!!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Woke up this morning to the sound of a robin.  It wasn't sing.  It actually sounded annoyed.  But it was a lovely sound to me because it meant spring is its way.    There were two other signs when I opened the door to get the paper off the front porch.

My daffodils have started to come up.   I just hope they don't bloom while we are away on our spring break trip.  The other sign of spring is in the next picture.

It's not the beautiful sky or the tiny buds on the trees, it's the 'For Sale' sign in our neighbors lot.  This actually makes us very sad.  The kids have told them they are not allowed to move.    These people have been the best neighbors and we are going to miss them tremendously.

I've made a bit more progress on the Go Live cardi.  The right front panel is done and I'm almost halfway through the left front panel.  This project will go on my trip with me.  Hopefully I'll get the pieces done and then when I get home I can block them and sew it up.



Since knitting monogomy is not something I practice, I have another project in the works.  This is going to be a long term project, the Great American Aran Afghan.  I figure I'll do a block here and there as I need a project to break up the monotony of other projects.  I started with the block designed by the lady from Cincinnati, since that is where I grew up.

And finally, here's a picture of a pizza I made last week.  I recently subscribed to Cooks Illustrated.  I love that magazine because it satisfies two things about me:  my love for food/cooking and the science geek  in me.  The pizza was called St. Louis style pizza.  The crust is made without yeast.  It comes out thin and a little crispy, but not too crispy.  The sauce recipe is very simple, a blend of tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar and some spices.  The magazine recommended pre-cooking the pepperoni in the microwave using paper towels to get rid of some of the oil.  That was a great tip!! It reminded me a little bit like LaRosa's pizza from Cincinnati.  The family absolutely loved it and it was very fast to make.  Win-win all the way around.

Enjoy your weekend and get outside if spring is popping up around you.

Didn't Mean To Be Away So Long

It amazes me how quickly time is passing.  It is mid-February already.  I guess part of the reason time is passing by is that I've seem to have done nothing but work.  It has been absolutely crazy lately and it is making my very cranky.  The company I work for hired a new CIO in December.  This woman is completely restructuring my department.  Two managers were 'encouraged to pursue other opportunities'.  She has totally flattened the organization and now there are literally dozens of teams focused on the type of system they support.  My team is crazy busy trying to fix the issues with the new ERP system we released (prematurely) last fall.  We have been told that we have to work 11 hour days.   We have to choose one of the following shifts:  7am-6pm, 8am-7pm, or 9am-8pm.  I'm a morning person, and since I have a family at home, I prefer the earliest shift.  However, I also go to a trainer at 6am two days a week, which I refuse to give up.  That means on Tuesdays and Thursdays I work until at least 8pm and then I'm back in the office at 7am on Wednesdays and Fridays.  It is exhausting.  No one will tell us how long this schedule is going to be required.  I know I won't be able to keep it up much longer.  I'm finding it very hard to keep a civil tongue by the end of the week.  The filter disappears when I'm exhausted.

All this means that there has been no progress on anything knitting related.  That really bums me out.  I did fall prey to the enticement of the silk hankies that the Yarn Harlot had on her blog a while ago.  I ordered a couple.  I'm still waiting for them to arrive.

Today is a beautiful day outside.  It has been a very long time since I've taken a walk outside, so I'm going to do that.  I also plan to make my family a nice meal tonight.  I'm trying some new recipes.  Tonight's menu has a Greek theme:  pastitsio, pita bread, hummus, and Greek salad.  (Guess what my 'go to' website is for recipes.  ;)  )  Enjoy your day! 

This Week's Progress

I'm up to the armhole shaping on the right front of the Go Live Minimalist Cardi.  It is moving along at a nice pace.  Others might think my progress is slow, but at the rate I finish sweaters, this is light-speed.

My goal is to get this piece finished by tomorrow night.

All of yesterday was spent at a wrestling tournament for Blake.  I took several magazines, a book and the cardi to occupy me.  ADD seems to be a bit of an issue for me at those things.  They are too noise and the bleachers too uncomfortable to do any one thing for a stretch of time.    Blake wrestled 4 times throughout the day.  Unfortunately, he isn't doing very well.  It is a major accomplishment if he can make it all 3 rounds without getting pinned.  After the tournament, I made a pot of chili for him, Ed and me since the girls weren't home.  Later we turned on a movie to relax.  This is how Blake was 10 minutes into the movie.

As I mentioned, the girls weren't home.  The Winter Formal was last night.  Trisha went with her friends, but Kristin opted to skip it this year.  Kristin just hung out at one of her friend's house.  Here's Trisha and one of her best friends.  Two very pretty girls.

Moving Along

Last weekend I finished the back of the Go Live cardi and started the right front panel.  Since the panel is narrow it is flying along.  When I work on it, that is.    Here's how it looks now.  I'm getting rather excited about wearing it, motivating me to get it done.

After I'm done with this, I think I'm going to move on to a crochet project.  I like this.  Yes, it is frilly, but I have some olive lace weight left over from one of my tag team projects.  I think it will be a nice summer item. 

Conversations have started in our house about college for Kristin.  She having trouble trying to decide what to do as a career.  I've suggested several for her.  It isn't critical now that she decides, but it would help if she could get a general idea to help us with looking at colleges.  We'll start college visits in the fall.

1-1-11

Happy New Year everyone!!!  Like millions of other people, I make resolutions.  In the past few years, I've targeted my resolutions around things that were on my 'driving me crazy' list.  I moved my sewing area from the dining room to the basement.  A slow decluttering has been going on for several years.  This year I want to get several rooms painted.  First will be the living room and then the dining room.  Neither of these rooms have been painted since we moved in 13 years ago.  After those are painted, I want to repaint the family room and kitchen.  Eleven years ago I painted those rooms one color since their isn't a physical separation between the rooms except where the flooring changes.  Now I plan to delineate the area by painting several walls in the kitchen color and the remaining walls in the family room color.  Coordinating the colors is key, but I think I have found shades that will work.  Here is a photo of 3 of the colors.

The yellow is for the living room which is where this photo was taken.  The orange is for the dining room, which is the room in the background.  The green is for the kitchen walls.  The family room walls will be a tannish taupe (a bit hard for me to describe).  Stay tuned for the progress.

Speaking of progress, a bit of knitting happened last night.  It was an exciting New Years Eve.  After the girls left for their parties, Ed, Blake and I went to dinner at a chinese restaurant and then came home.  We played Sequence and then watched football.  I knit for a while but then got tired.  Since I had to stay up until 1:30 to pick Trisha and a friend up from their party, I didn't want to make myself too sleepy.  After midnight, Ed went to bed while Blake and I channel surfed.    Here's how far I got on the back of the sweater.  There's more football today, so I expect to get the back done.