FINALLY -- A Finished Object!!!

Hard to believe, I know, since I've not been around since August.  Life gets in the way some days.  You know how it is.

However, I have finished a beautiful shawl for my sister-in-law's Christmas gift.  The pattern, Multnomah, is found on Ravelry, and is lots of fun to make.  I used AslanTrends Sante Fe in the Vintage colorway.  I have a second underway for myself and will share that as soon as possible. 

I've also got a great cardigan on needles using a pattern from Ravelry called February Lady Sweater.  Another fun project I'm hoping to finish soon.

Need to get up photos of my "on the needles" projects, but now we're in the busy holiday season I'm not sure when that will happen.

Changing Directions

Look at the date on my last post . . . almost four months ago!  Not a word . . . absolute silence on this blog.  Well, one knee injury led to physical therapy, where the right leg was injured and which led to knee surgery on the right side.  I'm just getting back to normal and although I've been knitting away during all this time, I haven't had much opportunity to post.

In the time I've been "down" so to speak I've been considering what I do with my days and my life.  With fall coming my volunteer activities at church and in the community will pick up speed and I'll need to focus my energies there.  Many of you may know that I'm a mentor mom in a MOPS group chartered by my home church.  MOPS (aka Mothers of Preschoolers, http://www.mops.org/) is an international group based in Denver which encourages community among young mothers but also provides an opportunity for those in leadership roles to perhaps lead others to a relationship with Jesus Christ.  In order to do this effectively, I've been reading more and more to expand and secure the horizons of my own faith.  Dayspring (http://www.dayspring.com/) has a blog called (in)courage which is among the things I've been following and reading.  It has brought me some wonderful messages and given me pathways to explore and share with my young moms this next year.

So, I'm thinking about starting a blog of my own, perhaps ramblings of my own Christian experiences and feelings.  I'll let you know what God leads me to do in this regard.

In the meantime, I'll try to get up photos of my latest projects.  And I'll try to be more graceful in the future and not bog myself down with knee injuries (note plural!).

Happy knitting for now!

I'm Still Around -- Just Not Blogging Much

Patiently waiting for my knee to heal and the companion bursitis in the opposing hip to go away.  I've been told by my physical therapist that one of the worst things for what ails me is sitting too long and too much.  Of course, my pain is non-existent when sitting but that doesn't really seem to matter.  So, I've been avoiding activities which require long periods of sitting.

I don't know about you but when I sit down to knit I'm down for the long haul.  I suppose I should rethink my habits and intentions and allow myself to enjoy the few minutes of knitting that I could get done.  Maybe I'll ponder that today.

Behinder and Behinder!

That's exactly where I am -- behinder!  Since my last post, things have gone downhill, and I literally went down.  Picture this:  a beautiful spring day in Oregon, sun is shining, husband is working the yard, and I head out to make sure he's getting it done just right.  Never known for my grace on foot, I immediately take a nasty fall on our concrete patio and end up in the ER for 4 hours plus.  Although the left knee was the injured part of me, I think my wounded pride may have hurt worse.  At any rate, two weeks hence and I'm still resting, elevating, icing and sometimes compressing that knee.  Two to six weeks was the predicted healing time.  I'm getting a lot of reading done, and not much knitting.  Ever tried knitting while resting with your leg elevated above the level of your heart?  It really doesn't work too well.  I hold out hope that I'll recover sooner than predicted.

Behind in Posting

I've fallen behind in posting . . . because of lots of things.  First, my love of teaching children at our church has added a Tuesday night lesson each week and will run through the 9th of March.  Secondly, I've been working on lots of things around home getting ready for a visit from my MOPS moms next week.  In the midst of all this, I managed to take a nasty tumble on our patio last Wednesday, ending up for four hours in the ER!  No breaks or tears, just a nasty deep bruising injury, lots of swelling, lots of pain and stiffness.  This is keeping me in my recliner with my left leg propped up and iced a good part of the time, so lots of knitting and reading can be done but not lots of time at the computer . . . until today.  I love writing here but lately time hasn't allowed.  I hope what I write makes a difference out there for someone.

I Splurged!

For years, I've looked longingly at the Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needle Kits, and I had difficulty in justifying purchasing them.  I mean when I looked at all the knitting needles and combinations of knitting needles I owned, did I need more?  Silly girl!  Of course, I did, and when I lucked upon a brand new set of the Denise needles on ebay for a really good price, I decided the time was now.  I just moved my afghan project onto the new needles and I am thrilled.  The seller on ebay was a great gal whose shop is called Red Barn Farm.  Shipping was prompt, good price and free shipping on the needles.  I couldn't be a happier knitter. 

Fabulous Knitting Blog!

I was browsing for new knitting blogs, and I came across Mason-Dixon Knitting, a blog between friends living in New York and Nashville!  Yep, the mention of my hometown, Nashville, did it -- I immediately went exploring and found a most amazing blog.  If you love knitting, and who doesn't, you've got to take a look at Mason-Dixon Knitting.  Gotta go . . . lots of patterns on Mason-Dixon I want to look through.  Later!

Needles are a-clicking!

To make sure I'm diligent, I'm posting here which UFOs I'm currently working on some each day.  First is the afghan mentioned earlier . . . . I start afghans and am easily bored because they take awhile to finish.  I'm determined to finish this one this year!!!  

And I've picked back up the scarf I've been working on since before I retired (2007) . . . I love this pattern but I
have to be able to pay close attention or I screw up every time! 

Faux Fair Isle Cap -- Photo of Finished Cap

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a great pattern for knitting a faux Fair Isle cap.  I had found the FREE pattern on Knitting Daily but didn't have a photo handy to post.  While we were traveling this past week, I used the excuse of needing a small project to carry along to start one of these delicious caps.  It is finished, and I wanted to share a photo of what I think is a really fun project to knit.  If you try it, I hope you'll enjoy it too.

The pattern is for adult sizes, but you can easily size it down to fit a child. I made this for a 6-year old, and it looks about right!!

Catching Up!

We had a short business trip this last week, which kept me from my needles, except for one sweet little faux Fair Isle cap.  Yes, a new project started when I said I wouldn't!  But I needed to keep my hands busy while we waited for customers to look at music stands in our exhibit booth.  I'm putting the finishing touches on the cap in between unpacking, catching up on Noteworthy business, and recovering from travel fatigue.

Although not many sales were made this past weekend, we met some really great people and enjoyed our time working together.  And I found time to knit on the cap but not nearly as much as I would have liked!

True Confessions of a Needle Addict!

I confess I love needles -- all kinds of needles -- knitting, quilting, cross-stitch, sewing.  I do exclude from my favorites those attached to the end of a syringe!  The bigger confession comes this week that I've cast aside my knitting needles in favor of quilting needles.  So, I haven't finished any of my knitting projects and actually haven't knit a single stitch on one of them.  BUT I have made progress on two quilting projects -- a Christmas wallhanging to hold Christmas cards and a new paper piecing project that I've been waiting for eons to begin.  Get the rotary cutter out!

The big question is this:  Should I rename blog to include my other obsessions or can I just use it blatantly to post about anything connected to needles? 

Busy Times

Not only am I committed to catching up on unfinished knitting projects, I'm also trying to get caught up on all my other unfinished stuff.  And this week we are preparing and staging for our exhibit next week.  So, I'll not be saying too much about what's going on in my craft little corner of the world, except I am working away on two knit projects, one quilt project and a long-anticipated painting project here at home.  Please keep coming back and I'll update you as I can.

Happy knitting, or whatever you enjoy doing!

Caving in to Necessity!

Necessity, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the quality or state of being necessary.  By stretching the meaning of "necessary," I think I can justify beginning a new project before finishing others since it falls into the category of caps made by the women of Moreland Presbyterian Church.  After all, I consider my caps an ongoing project. 

Next week Bob and I have a two-day exhibit for our music stand busines, Noteworthy Music Stands, and that includes some down time when I can't bear to have idle hands. So, methinks it's OK to start a new cap and maybe even begin a second in the process.  WHEW -- my conscience is clear.  It always helps to talk it through! 

One More Unfinished Object

This project is so old I completely overlooked it.  Begun in the first decade of our marriage (1981-1991), I began a sweater for husband Bob.  It still remains only partially begun (note the word begun, not finished or anywhere near there).  It's been tucked away so long poor Bob didn't even know I'd started on it.  I'll post a picture as soon as I uncover it somewhere in the depths of my sewing/craft room.  Sigh . . . .

What Was I Thinking??????

Here I go and promise in yesterday's post that I'll be offering photos of my UFOs that I intend to finish this year!  And then I remember -- the transfer software for my digital camera and the camera won't talk to each other these days.  I don't know if they've had a tiff, are in a domestic dispute, or just don't care for each other any more, but they won't communicate.

However, I think I'll go ahead and use the blog, and you my fellow knitters (you are out there, aren't you?) to make a list of projects that need to be completed, finito, DONE!

• Two scarves, one a combination of eyelash yarn and a soft 3-strand inexpensive yarn originally purchased for a baby blanket (there were leftovers!) and the other a beautiful colorway of rose hues in a mohair infusion yarn.  The second is a simple yet lovely pattern called Misty Garden (by Jo Sharp) that I found in scarfStyle by Pam Allen of Interweave Knits.  For those in the Portland area, I purchased the book at  Knit Purl.
• An afghan . . . for us, of all things!  Nothing too fancy but a pattern I really like. 
• I'm always working on cotton dishclothes as they are a favorite of mine.  I have patterns for both knit and crochet, but have never been brave enough to tackle crochet.  I use Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn Lily Sugar 'n Cream.
• I've also got caps to finish for our Women's Group at Moreland Presbyterian Church.  We have a standard pattern that's available for us, but I came across a faux fair isle pattern that I used for Christmas gifts for twin 5-year old boys of friends.  I think I'm going to start doing my caps with this pattern because it's just so cute.  This pattern can be found in free patterns at Knitting Daily.   
• And then I have a long-term project, a fair isle sweater for self!  I've always thought fair isle so beautiful, but also so frightening.  And then I took a class at Sew Expo in Puyallup, WA, a few years ago and learned a fantastic method for doing fair isle.  The class was taught by Ann Bourgeois of Philosopher's Wool Company.  Ann and her husband, Eugene, have compiled a book, Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified.  I was so fascinated by Ann's method that I purchased a kit at the Expo and later bought the book.  I'm underway with both sleeves finished and I've started the body of the sweater.  I'm using the Garden Patch kit in a Philosopher's pastel colorway.  The yarn is yummy -- the Bourgeois raise their own sheep, and the yarn is never processed with chemicals and dyed with natural food and root colors. 

I think for now this is what I can dredge up in my mind as unfinished.  I'm sure there are others, but I'll list them later.  And these aren't my only UFOs -- there are the quilting projects, cross-stitch projects, and sewing projects.  I'll never be bored or idle, if I can just stop finding good books to read!

Some Finished Projects

Perhaps one way to encourage self to pursue the goal of finishing unfinished projects would be to post some of those things finished in 2009.  I think maybe they were all started in 2008 or 2009, and finished up in 2009.  I must have been highly motivated by something special.  A great-granddaughter born in October of 2008 -- Kylie Paige.  So, I'll share here the items made for Kylie.

The first is a favorite baby cap pattern, and this picture is of Kylie wearing her cap the morning after she was born.  Her mommy liked it so much she asked that I knit several in a variety of colors.  One of the others I began in a yarn I had on hand and found I had enough to make a sweet sweater to go with it.  It's also shown here.  This is a Claire Montgomery pattern found in her book easy baby knits (for 0-3 year olds). 

 

For Christmas this year, I made a baby shrug for Kylie, another mommy request.  Although I was anticipating Kylie's growth, I didn't anticipate that she's going to be one tiny and petite little girl.  So, it will take a while for it to fit our little one.  Great-grandma failed to keep a picture but offer one from the Debbie Bliss book where I found the pattern.  When I find the book again (checked it out at the library), I'll post it.

My next post will try to start a listing of my UFOs so I can keep track whether anyone else wants to or not!

Beginnings

Beginnings seem appropriate for today, January 1, the first day of 2010.  My knitting experience began when I was about 12 or 13 years old.  My sister-in-law, Ann, was a fantastic knitter, one who could knit intricate patterns while chatting, watching TV, interacting with her children.  She indeed was the Queen of Multi-Tasking at a time when the word "multi-tasking" had not entered our vernacular.  Ann was patient and loving, and she sat me down with needles and her loving patience and taught me the basics of knitting.  I can't remember what I knitted first or how often I practiced, but what Ann taught me stayed with me so strongly that when I became pregnant with my son, now 38, I knit a cap, sweater and blanket for him as I waited patiently for his arrival.  I still have them and need to take a picture and post it since it's my first remembered project.


From there, I branched into being brave enough to knit something for my mother, an afghan which I now have (she died in 2001).  It was a trio of greens (her favorite color -- she was a redhead) in a fan and feather stitch.  I can never forget my frustration when I learned she had taken our son home to get something he'd forgotten for school and I had the afghan out and ready to block that night after work!  She said she never saw it; to this day I wonder.


My bravery grew and in 1984 I knitted sweaters for my mom and stepdaughter for Christmas.  I don't remember that they ever wore them.  The one for my mom was sent back so that I could redo the ribbing around the neck.  When I initially did the ribbing, I was watching an extremely intense mystery on TV and my tension in my knitting must have mirrored the tension I was feeling!  Mom said she couldn't get the sweater over her head. 


Over the years I have done charity knitting and made caps and booties for preemies at Oregon Health Sciences University.  I now knit caps for underprivileged children in the Portland School District, along with women in my church who also love to knit.


So now you know my beginnings.  And as I begin 2010, I've gone through and found my UFOs and have committed to finishing them before I start anything new.  I'm also going to get photos of my projects on the blog as it will be a perfect journal of accomplishments.


Wishing each of you a Happy New Year!