Day Two: 29th March. Skill + 1UP

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. 

• I've knit quite a few non-sock items over the last year: several pair of fingerless mitts, a couple of tams for the granddaughters, hats for friends.  
• I've become much more comfortable with mixing up odds and ends of leftover yarn to make some amazingly attractive items.  
• I've become much more adept at determining the beginning of a pattern repeat, so as to make socks and other paired items match.
• I've begun to teach a couple of ladies to knit socks.
• I've written a number of brand-new sock patterns for my own use.
• I've learned a different heel-turn technique (the Dutch heel, which I like very much) and tried the short-row heel again for the first time since my very first sock-knitting attempt (and I don't like it any better now than I did then!).
• I have learned (or perhaps re-learned) just what good therapy knitting is, through the death of my sister and during the ongoing terminal illness of a dear friend. 
• I am learning the ins and outs of using Ravelry as a social knitting network (I'm bookish98 there)

Day One: 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns.

"Part of any fiber enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them."

I love to knit socks with Opal and with Trekking.  I always know that the socks will turn out well, that the colors will be wonderful, and that the finished socks will wash and dry beautifully.  I have quite a lot of Opal in my stash, and often hesitate to use it because then...it will be GONE! 8- 0
Love the striping, the slow color changes in Trekking, the fair-isle stretches in Opal, everything about both of these yarns!

A Good Read
I am re-reading The Time-Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger.  This is my second time through.  I've seen bits and pieces of the movie, but read the book first.  I've always been intrigued by time-travel stories, but this is by far the best I've read.  The prose is elegant, the storyline heartrending, the characters fully-fleshed and ready to jump from the page into real life. 

I am a speedy reader: I skim, I rush, I read with one part of my brain while solving problems and re-hashing conversations in other parts.  Those who know me, know that I am an unrepentant multi-tasker. With this book, I long to slow down. Savor. Immerse myself.  Alas, if I am reading silently I seem unable to read slowly, and I have no one who wants to be read to, at least no one older than my grandchildren, and this would not be an appropriate bedtime story for two- to six-year-olds. = )

This is writing that begs to be heard.  If I could speak the words as I read them, it would force me to linger, to infuse the prose with all the meaning the author intended to convey.  The story is written alternately in the voices of its two main characters.  It would be especially lovely to read the book aloud with a man, who would read Henry's parts as I read Clare's.

I don't know why this particular book has affected me so, but I will read it again now, and will read it again in the future, I am certain.  Each time I read it, I will take something new from it.  Maybe one day I will even watch the entire movie...

Still Life with Wine and Apples

Still Life with Wine and Apples

A package came from one of my chat room friends today.  I knit a pair of socks  for him as a gift, so that he would stop complaining that his feet were sooooooo coooooooold... He sent me these lovely wines as a thank you.  Derek, who goes by the name NJRef in chat (he is a soccer referee in his spare time), is a gourmet cook and wine aficionado who has been attempting to teach some basic wine appreciation to those of us chatters with any interest.  

NJSocks

 Son and his family were down tonight for supper, and I gave the three oldest ones their new socks.

Kids new socks, Andrea, Robby, Layla

 Andrea lost her first baby tooth!

 And still more winter!

Sevison Road

The sun came out today and shone on all the world. I think we might have six to eight inches of fresh snowfall since yesterday.  I just can't help myself...I love it.  I promise I'll get bored with winter one day, but until then, enjoy!

Sun on icy branches

Sunshine is better than medicine!

Yellow!!!

I love our red barn :)

Just in Case...

 ...you haven't had enough of winter yet, I am still enjoying it, and look what we are getting today!  I was sent home from work early this afternoon because of the weather.  During the drive home, there were times when visibility was down to maybe one-quarter mile.  It is just beautiful out there, and coming down even harder now than it was when I was driving.  The pictures can't begin to show how lovely it is.

It is a very good thing that I enjoy this sort of weather, living where I do. So many folks here are absolutely miserable when it's cold and snowy, and I feel badly for them. 

The little taste of spring we were given last week was nice, but anyone who has lived here for any length of time knows that we are nowhere near being close to the end of winter in February.

Hope you like snow as much as I do!

Gazebo and dining area, Breadbox Bakery and Cafe

Snowfall at the shop

Old barn along the way

Ice on the trees

The Thomas Road bridge

Barn in Snow

View toward the marsh

February Odds and Ends

Girly-girl socks for Andrea and Layla.  The cuff pattern was adapted from a design by Janet Rehfeldt. Her pattern was called "Bubble Yum" and I found it in SOCKS! Digest, March, 2003.  I cast on double the required stitches to make a little ruffle at the top, and knit a turned-down cuff instead of knitting the pattern down the leg.  The yarn was a mixture of special small bits from my sister's sock yarn stash.  All four socks were knit at the same time on two circular needles.  I think they turned out very pretty, and they're certainly girly!  I knitted all four at one time on two circs.

 My cousin Jeanie's gift socks had a dropped stitch, so she returned them to me for repair in an enveloped addressed to the Sock Hospital! :)  I just love Jeanie! Chuck, what a good choice she was.







Nearly all of our snow melted off in the thaw last week, leaving just a few stray patches here and there.  Today we got fresh snow, and in HUGE flakes. I wish you could see how big they were in this picture.

The big SPLAT on my arm was all one snowflake until it landed.

The sunshine last week and warmer temperatures were most welcome, and better than medicine for a winter- and stress-wearied soul.  Now for a few more weeks of winter and then spring once again.

 Random things

A pair of socks and another pair of mitts for some friends.

Two pair of fingerless mitts for my brother in Canada, mystery yarn from my sister's stash

Another pair of gift socks, this time in an old self-striping Opal colorway

SNOWZILLA 2011...our first blizzard of the year

I have little to say this time.  It's been a difficult winter in many ways, and there's been enough sadness shared here lately. 

I did have some lovely times this past weekend, though.  I took my son, his wife, and three of their children to the Davis Mercantile in Shipshewana, where I used to work. The merchants of the Merc were hosting a special benefit for a very nice young couple who own and operate a restaurant on the top floor of the building.  They had a house fire last summer, lost everything in their home, and she was very badly burned.  After several months in the hospital and much pain and suffering, she is finally able to be back to work at least part time. 

The couple's church baked hundreds of marvelous cookies.  We began by buying a box at the restaurant, then visited every shop in the building to fill it with cookies, a different kind of cookie at every stop.  It was my daughter-in-law's first visit to Shipshewana, and she had a great time exploring the different shops. 

Of course, no visit to the Merc would be complete without a ride on the carousel and a fresh, hot, soft pretzel at JoJo's.

 

Guy Thompson entertained us with a special performance of his wonderful marionettes.  A free-will donation was taken, and all proceeds donated to the benefit.  Guy and his wife, Christine, used to run the Mousetrap Puppet Theater on the top floor of the Merc, but I'm very sad to say economic considerations caused them to close the theater a couple of years ago.  He currently does shows at WanaWaves, the indoor water park in Shipshewana on Saturday evenings at 7:00.  Don't miss it when you're in town!

Mercantile merchants donated a portion of their sales for the day to help with the family's medical and personal expenses.  It's good to work in a small town, where people still care for and reach out to help one another.  

A Touch of Winter

 As I've often said, I love winter.  It is such a quiet time.  The snow muffles the sounds of the world around me and covers the debris and detritus of the rest of the year with a fresh coat of white.  It's a time to reflect, to slow down, to burrow deep beneath the covers...to breathe.  We must consider each step in the winter, look about us for slippery spots, drive a bit more carefully, make sure to dress warmly and prepare for extreme temperatures.

We put suet cakes and mixed seeds out for the birds.  They add a touch of color and busyness to an otherwise stark and quiet landscape. We get a wide variety of winter birds here: cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, phoebes, woodpeckers, titmice, grosbeaks and others.

 Fresh, untracked snow is the main reason why I don't like snowmobiles.  Of course, they are also noisy machines, and their ruckus interrupts my winter peace.

If you look very closely, you might see a cardinal perched in the branches of the tree.  When I first looked out, there were three males, all in bright-red plumage, but I wasn't fast enough to get that picture or, for that matter, close enough to get a good image here.







It's very cold here today, below zero early this morning, and not warming up very quickly at all.  The furnace is working hard to keep the house comfortable, but the sun is shining brightly so it doesn't feel quite so chill.  There was a lot of snow near us yesterday, but we got just a few inches.  A niece who lives a few miles to the west of us reported that at one point yesterday, they got nearly four inches of snow in a half-hour period.  There is also snow falling and predicted to fall all over the South, so there will be many children there who may be experiencing their very first snow!  I hope that they'll get enough to have some fun in it.

More on Christmas
I got two boxes of chocolates from my kids and grandkids for Christmas...click on the image at left for a better view of the tags.  The little ones were up and around before their parents on the day before Christmas, and they opened a few of the gifts before they were supposed to. They also helped themselves to my chocolates.  The other box of chocolates looked very similar to this one, but with more empty spaces. = ) 

My friend Shelly is deployed to Germany at the moment, and she sent this MOST excellent polar bear hat for my grandson.  Robby loves it, and has been wearing it almost constantly since we gave it to him.  I have some wonderful friends.

And so, for 2011. 

I am not a believer in new year's resolutions as they are rarely kept, but there are a few things I would like to aim for.

1. Acceptance of things I can't change

2. Not letting the bad things upset me

3. Being happy with what I have instead of sad about what I don't have

4. Shedding fifty pounds

Well, that last one is my doctor's plan for me...skinny little dude that he is (sigh).

Happy New Year to us, every one.  Let us hope for a better year to come.  If you see me without a smile, lend me one of yours, and remind me that I need to find one of my own.

 Christmas, 2010

It was time. I hadn't had my mom's Christmas cookie cutters out since our grandson was born, four years ago. When we were kids, baking the cookies was a huge deal.  Mom would make as many as five or six triple batches of cookie dough and spend the whole day baking.  Then the family would gather and help with the decorating.  We'd make the entire Nativity scene in cookies as well as dozens of Santas, trees, stockings, stars, holly wreaths, and bells.  We would load and wrap plates of cookies and drive around our town, delivering them to friends and teachers.  It was a wonderful time

I only baked Santas this year, and only mixed up one batch of dough.  The Santa cookies are everyone's favorites.  There is a method to eating them, too...you have to eat the pom pom off the hat first, then the hat, then the hat brim, then Santa's face, then the beard.  I think there may be a law that says all that.

 This is the all-important 'blob'.  It's what's left when you've rolled and re-rolled the dough and cut out all the cookies you can from it.  The little, too-small-to-make-a-cookie bit that's left over is a 'blob' and you get to eat it as soon as it's baked.  You only get to eat the 'good' cookies if they break or burn.

Here is the Christmas tree that almost didn't make it up this year.  We were finishing and painting the drywall in the living room and dining room, and only got the mess cleared away a few days before Christmas.  I considered not putting it up this year, but I'm glad I did, now.  It does bring a great deal of cheer and it's always so pretty, with all of the ornaments collected through the years.  My angel stopped lighting up this year, after twenty years of use.  I hope that we'll be able to repair her, but if not she'll have to be replaced. 

 Robby in his goofy hat...

 Ethan in his new hat and mittens, knit by Grandma...

 Layla modeling her new tam and mittens, also knit by me...

 Opening presents and showing off some of their new goodies....

 

Christmas really IS for children, isn't it. = )

My Christmas was topped off by a visit from my oldest brother, who lives in Canada.  He's been here since Saturday morning, and may be here through the first of January.  This is about the most time I've spent with him since we were kids, and I am so enjoying every minute of it. My family has become so fragmented since my mother's death in 1998.  It's good to still have this one close connection.

A Happy New Year to one and all!

A bit of this and a bit of that...

I'm not nearly ready for Christmas, but that's nothing new. I have, however, finished a few projects.  

A couple of years ago, I knit five pairs of socks for some of my chat room friends.  One has yet to wear his, as his wife says 'They're too NICE to wear."  Another, however, wore his so much that they were already through at the toes last winter.  These lovely blue socks will, I hope, take the place of the worn-out pair.  While working the heels and toes, I knitted in a strand of mystery yarn from my sister's stash in the hope that it will help them last longer.

New socks in the mail tomorrow, Kevin!

What a beautiful day I had today to photograph them.  We had high winds and a couple of inches of fresh snow overnight, but the sun is out today and the sky is really THAT blue!  I do love winter. :)

This little hat and mitten set is in Robby's favorite color.  I used one strand of Opal Uni-Color in orange for the hem and then added one strand of Opal Rainforest in "Schmetterling" for the rest of the hat, holding the two yarns together.  I divided the skein of Schmetterling into two balls, both beginning at the same place in the pattern repeat, and alternated knitting one round with one ball and the next with the other, so that the self-striping pattern would be longer.  He loves them!  Next time, though, I will make the hat a bit deeper, as his ears peek out just a bit.

These are the two pair of fingerless mittens that I showed in a previous post, now finished.  They are very nice for keeping my hands warm at the keyboard.  Next time, i think I'll try knitting the individual fingers.  I think they look like turtleneck sweaters for one-armed Barbie dolls! 

This was my 2010 entry in the Shipshewana Merchants' Association annual scarecrow contest.  She wore a dress that my mother sewed for me when I was in the eighth grade, that closed with buttons from my great-great grandmother's button box.

A bout of hormonally-instigated depression took away my Christmas spirit last week.  I had difficulty finding any joy in my heart for those days, but I think I'm on an uphill run again now.  For those of you who may not believe in depression, it is real, it is painful, and it is very, very hard to deal with.  I have lived with it for forty years and I've learned how to work my way through it, but this episode was a particularly bad one, and I'm glad to be able to see the sunshine again.  

This is a terrible time of year for those who struggle with depression.  Keep watch on your loved ones.  Give a hug when you see it's needed.  Try to understand that it's not a sign of weakness, it's not your fault, nor is it theirs, it just is.

Just love them.