Back to Blog'in

Well gee, I'm finally writing after trying for months to get back to the blog.  I'm so pleased with myself for conquering the endeavor that I felt applause was in order.

I haven't knit very much since I last wrote but did finish two small projects and always had something going to take with me to knitting group.  Embarrassment set in after I realized I had taken the same scarf to work on for five months.  Tonight I am getting into a hat that I started on the needles about a year ago as I've realized I miss knitting and have developed bad bedtime habits over the past year.  I tend to talk on the phone, watch tv and surf the web at once while sitting in bed at night.  These activities are not conducive to winding down for sleep so tonight I am going to write a little bit here and then put the laptop down.  The agenda includes listening to a couple knitting podcasts while I click away at my hat project.

So here is a brief summary of what has been going on with me.  I started running last spring and found that I love doing it.  Realized that regular exercise is a wonder drug for the mind.  I learned to meditate as well as relax very deeply.  My cooking has gone to new heights with a new understanding of how to use the fewest and simplest of ingredients with techniques that render the most amazing flavors, all from absolute scratch.  I've made it a rule to never purchase meat from a regular grocery store; only from the co-op or directly from the farmer; meats that were humanely raised in small herds, allowed to forage for their food for at least 80% of their diet and preferrably organic and local.  I've made a promise to myself to buy more food at the farmers market this spring/summer to support local family farmers who grow food that is free of chemicals or certified organic.  I've learned that the ridiculously expensive, high tech outdoor sports clothing is worth every penny and that The North Face clothing is crap.  A jacket from Arc'teryx or Mont-Bell will set you back a paycheck but you'll never regret the expenditure.

Onto the personal junk.  Last week I went to the doctor for a check-up.  My blood pressure was normal and I weigh, 183lbs.  I don't remember ever weighing 183# but I remember 234#.  I decided to buy some new jeans to celebrate tonight and once again figured I'd try on the "skinny fit" Levi's just for kicks with no intention of purchasing.  They fit me perfectly and looked terrific to boot!  They don't look like skinny jeans on me, they just look like fitted jeans which is good because I hate those certain skinny jeans that look painted on, peg-legged, and so low cut that the waste band's natural resting place is across the butt cheeks and every time the person bends over you see their coin slot.  I did have the middle-aged dressing room moment when I stopped and asked myself, "is this style too young for me?" Too young or not, I looked good and I bought them so that I can fit in with the other kids at school, I mean work.  Oh, and I bought a sweater in size medium.

I took a picture of my lavish Sunday tea.  With the gray days in abundance, I wanted a special treat while I listened to my Sunday morning radio programs.  Note that I made the crumpets from scratch and yes, I just said "my Sunday morning radio programs".

Giftwrap or Giftcrap

Crafting a garment for hours and knitting kind thoughts and love into each of 10,000 (give or take) stitches produces a gift like none other. The thought of wrapping this gift in commercially produced giftwrap and donning a tacky, shiny plastic bow accompanied by a generic greeting card written by a stranger is just not right. A gift that comes from the heart need not be presented in a wrapped package at all but, for the recipient, there is a certain kind of joy brought about by being presented with a beautifully appointed vessel concealing a wonderful surprise.

This past week I had to make a choice with the presentation of a hand knit gift and decided that the package itself should reflect my creativity and values as well as the values of the recipient - I went green. The crafting process was rather easy and worth sharing so here it is:

The gift box was leftover from a coffee mug I had purchased. I wrapped the gift in tissue paper that had padded drinking glasses in a past life. For the outside a clean, brown paper bag was cut and used as eco-wrapping paper. Dolling up the brown paper package was quite a fun process as I hunted through some of my magazines and found some matte finish pages with a good amount of color on them, sliced them into strips and glued them to the box. For the bow, I managed to manipulate six of the strips into perminent loops and glued down the ends to each other in a graduated stack. For the card/gift tag I opened up a bunch of booklets I had salvaged from a print shop. The booklets contained different paper styles with line art, clip art, commercial graphics and a variety of print techniques. I cut out three very different pieces that complimented each other as well as the colors in the mag-page ribbon. When finished I thought the package looked as sweet as a piece of candy. Thoughtfulness, values, wonder, and joy.

The sweet smell of spring

"Stopping to smell the roses" is a phrase I've heard throughout my life and always understood it in a technical sense. Understanding how to put this statement of advice into practice in a spiritual, self-nurturing way and realizing how it happens had always eluded me. This week however, has really opened my eyes and mind to embrace this idea of life enjoyment. At first I thought that maybe something happened suddenly that made it click in my brain but looking back over the past year I found that it has been creeping up on me slowly.

Lately I've had a week off from work coupled with the most beautiful weather I've ever experienced in Indiana. Spending time outside the city at a farm full of budding trees and the sweet smell of grass and flowers was bliss and I was able to capture the experience and enjoy myself within it.

Yesterday I finally got to meet Bridger, the baby I made the hat for. He had to spend an extra week in the hospital because of jaundice but is now home with Christie and Dan. Absolutely dashing little baby boy and future heart-breaker for sure.

Last night I got so frustrated while trying a new sock toe and had to put my knitting down. I've cast on a sock toe twice now successfully without real instructions and without tears but didn't like the increases so bought a book of toe-up socks. Somehow, reading instructions was infuriating because they didn't make sense to me and didn't work. Surely taking a day off will help me go back to it and give it another go with a clearer head.

Knitting on toothpicks

Yeah! The baby hat is finished and the baby is born and the baby shower is this weekend. My friends Christie and Danny just had their first baby. He was born three weeks early which is why the baby shower is scheduled after the birth.

I'm really happy with the hat but the little i-cord loop at the top didn't go as planned. Originally there was going to be an i-cord long enough to tie in a little knot (like an umbilical cord) but as I was going along, one of the needles slipped out and I was too tired to fix it. The cord is long enough to fold down to create a cute little loop though so all-in-all I'm pleased. Tomorrow, some duplicate stitch designs will be added with some brown cotton so I need to find some motifs online that would look nice on a baby hat.

Bowl of oatmeal for breakfast

Actually, I ate beans on toast with poached eggs and then took a photo of the scarf I wrote about last time. The scarf was completed early this past week; just in time for the warm weather. Since I can't wear it until next winter I pulled it out of the cupboard to fondle one last time and take a photograph before wrapping it in lavender for summer storage. I love the oatmeal color and the thick, plush hand of this scarf but I'm a little disappointed in the edging. The sides don't match due to the pattern as it was written and had I thought about this near the beginning of the scarf I would have ripped it out and started again after reworking the stitch count. Without swatching, I can only assume that if the scarf were knit using a single worsted or sport weight yarn it would turn out like the picture in the written pattern and that the sides would look the same because of the ribbing. Since my version isn't exactly ribbed I think I could have changed my starting stitch count and gotten matching selvages.

I've started the baby cap that I mentioned ages ago. The baby is due this month and I need to get my ass moving quickly now on the hat that I've had 7 months to work on. Already my plans have gone from 4-color intarsia in organic undyed cotton to a simple 1-color hat with an over-stitch design. The ribbed edging was finished last night and I've started the plain knitting. Holding fingering weight cotton and using size 2 needles feels like micro-knitting after having worked on big chunky scarves. The yarn is soft and velvety like a horses nose.

On thursday night I went shopping for some summer shirts. I'm down to a medium in most shirts I tried on and found that many styles looked good on me that I wouldn't ordinarily entertain. Now I need to figure out what route I want to take to get some muscle on my arms (or twigs). They are not in proportion with my chest and shoulders and the main reason I never wear t-shirts in public. It isn't exactly that I'm embarrassed of my skinny arms, it's more that the t-shirt looks like a tent strapped over a barrel chest with triangular wings pointing off my shoulder caps.

Yes, more scarves

I get slightly uncomfortable every time I go to knitting group. We pull our sticks and strings out of bags and casually inspect each others projects. Once the conversation starts, I hear, "Oh, is that a scarf?", "Oh, another scarf.", and finally, "Let me guess, a scarf?". It isn't that I can't do other things and lord knows I want to do other things but scarves are comfortable. Scarves, whether garter stitch or intricate cables, are easy, shapeless, brainless fodder for ADD hands. They keep me occupied and I don't have to worry about fit. When I grow tired of them, they become highly desired gifts for friends. I love them. They are perfect for me and I'm trying to accept the idea that I've seemingly embraced one of the lamest knitted garments as my focus, my pride, my trademark.

This afternoon I posted my latest project on Ravelry and found myself questioning my own integrity. You see, the pattern used is called the corrugator and is available for free. I added the link to the original post of the pattern in order to give credit where it is due. I did not call mine the corrugator though and it looks absolutely nothing like the fabric created by the designer. Suddenly I felt dirty. Was I doing the pattern wrong; the designer an injustice? Was giving the pattern a different name a slap in the designer's face? It seems so tedious to pick through the world wide web for information on the etiquette one should follow when in my predicament so if anything comes of it I shall claim ignorance and be done with it.

Tip of the day: If you run short on sugar when making a cake do not substitute Splenda, skip the cake altogether. Furthermore, don't ever buy Splenda.

Production overriding purpose?

As I spent the weekend contemplating, among other things, the purpose of knitting in my life; I was struck by the notion of cheap yarn. It fascinates me that likened to discount-store clothing, cheap yarn is rarely, if ever, an aesthetic success. I know it must boil down to cutting corners for the sake of mass production and universal appeal but it seems as though the purpose of the manufactured item has been lost. I'll explore this thought sometime soon.

Friday morning I wore the big, super-posh, uber-luscious tweedy scarf. Wrapped in the softest merino and superfine alpaca, supremely textured by hand and needle; the epitome of class, sophistication and fine tailoring I was. The scarf belonged to me until about 3 o'clock when possession was hastily transferred to a co-worker/friend who was in desperate need of a luxurious hug. Exceptional are the moments when I can step outside of my own needs and commit friendly gestures for the sake of others. This act wasn't entirely selfless though because I got a little high off of turning someone's bad day around. I can always replace the yarn.

I want to knit a blanket for the foot of my bed.