Currently Leap!: What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives? By Sara Davidson see related

Up From The Underground

It has come to my attention that I haven't posted on my blog for awhile. Funny how time has just slipped away here. I'm fine, just busy all the time. My job has become more stressful over the years; I spend a lot of time typing, plus with these tough times, those of use in the social services arena often suffer from what is called "compassion fatigue". By the time I come home from work at night, I often do not feel like spending hours on my home computer. But now Spring is here, and I feel ready to emerge like Persephone from the Underground after a long gloomy winter.

I've been knitting and crocheting, and I do have new photos to share. Joe and I have been going to concerts. The usual stuff. However....this Spring brings many significant changes. We have lost one of our sweet kitties to cancer. My daughter is a first-time home buyer and she is expecting her second child. My stepson is moving out next week, and I will be gaining a dedicated room for my home studio. I'm going to Scotland this month with my mother, sister, and daughter on what I've coined "The Magical Ancestry Tour". I finally just joined Facebook, which is really kind of stupid for someone who has been limiting her computer time, but what can I say?

I feel like I was meant to take a break and go underground, so to speak. Now changes are in the air, and I'm back....ready to turn the page into a new chapter of my life. After having a child living under my roof continuously for the last 28 years, I am more than ready to be an empty nester. It will be so wonderful to have all of my creative materials in one place. And a new grandbaby is due to arrive in December. I'm starting to get excited, actually.

I'm leaving today to visit my daughter and her family in Las Vegas, and check out their new home. I'm back, and I am ready to start posting here more regularly again. Sometimes we all just need a break.

Currently KnitKnit: Profiles + Projects from Knitting's New Wave By Sabrina Gschwandtner see related

Crochet Hook and Knitting Needle Caddies

Recently I treated myself to new sets of bamboo crochet hooks and knitting needles from eBay sellers. I wanted to make caddies for them to keep them organized. I did a Google search for directions, and I found some, but I wanted a commercial pattern. So I did a search on eBay and found a terrific pattern for not only the caddies, but cloth organizers and totes, too. The pattern is from 2004: McCall's Crafts M4728.

All of the materials I used were from my stash (fabric, batting, thread, ribbon). I did not think the directions would have been clear to a beginning sewer. Luckily, after over 40 years of sewing, I can usually figure things out.

My straight knitting needles are short ones, only nine inches, so they just came up to the top of the fabric pocket. I put the size 0 and 1 needles together; I doubt I will be using those skinny needles very often. I usually use circular knitting needles for my projects, whether they are knitted flat or in the round. I had a large collection of long vintage aluminum straight knitting needles, and I found that I'm not so fond of metal needles any more. I shipped most of my old straight needles with some yarn and a crochet magazine to a 13-year-old girl I met on Ravelry, who loves to knit and crochet, but her family is not very supportive...even to the point that they would not allow her to spend her own Christmas money on knitting supplies and yarn. She got permission from her parents for donations from those of us who were sympathetic to her plight, and her father allowed packages to be mailed to his office. She was delighted with the goodies I mailed her, and she sent me a nice thank you message. I remember being 13 years old and babysitting for money for materials so I could make things to sell in local boutiques. I could relate to this young girl, who is so passionate about her hobby. I like to "pay it forward" whenever I can.

This is what the caddies look like when they are rolled up and tied. I haven't used the crochet hooks yet, but they are the inline Bates style, which I prefer to the Boye style. Both the hooks and the needles are smooth and nicely sanded. I look forward to using them, especially now that I have them organized by size and in such nice caddies.

Ravelry Party at Unwind in Burbank

Last Thursday night, January 15, the folks from Ravelry (Casey, Jess, and Mary-Heather) came to the fabulous yarn shop Unwind in Burbank, California before they headed to the TNNA trade show in San Diego. When I said hello to Casey, he said, "It's nice to see a familiar face", which I thought was nice of him. I spoke at length with Mary-Heather, and my friend Prudence Mapstone, Australian freeform queen extraordinaire, was also there. We chatted with mutual freeform friend Dawn for quite awhile, before I wandered off to do some yarn shopping. (Unwind had required a $25 deposit to reserve a spot in the crowded shop, which could then be redeemed for store merchandise.) Donated nonperishable food and toiletries were also collected for SOVA, a local food pantry, with donations qualifying attendees for raffle prizes. I also made some new Ravelry friends. It was a fun evening, and definitely worth the drive into L.A. on a weeknight! (I loved the Obama sweater!) And here's some trivia: If you watched the HBO series Six Feet Under, this was the yarn shop where Ruth went to knit.

Currently Sugar Mountain-Live At Canterbury House 1968 (CD/DVD-A) By Neil Young see related

The Road Scarf

I just finished knitting a scarf for my son, which is a late Christmas gift. I took the yarn and directions with me on my vacation to New York and Minnesota in October. I started it in my hotel room in Poughkeepsie and worked on it during my stay. Then I continued to knit on the scarf while in Minnesota, while traveling in my friend's car from Minneapolis to Duluth and back one day, and in his kitchen over daily morning coffee. I finally finished it, just in time to give to my son before he heads up to a new job in Bakersfield next week.

It's aptly called The Road Scarf, and it is a free pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. I used some Lion Brand Wool Ease yarn from my stash. It's a now discontinued color: Tartan Twist 185, which is a strand of green and a strand of purple spun together....but it reads as blue. It's so vintage, it has the old light yellow Wool Ease label. At 20% wool and 80% acrylic, it will wear like iron and won't shrink in the washer or dryer. It got boring after awhile, but I soldiered on to complete it. Now I can tackle finishing his afghan, and then all of those WIPs (works in progress) and UFOs (unfinished objects) lurking about this place. 2009 is going to be the year of finishing up my WIPs!

Currently AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister By Renee Rigdon, Zabet Stewart see related

Yuletide Knitting

I made this same stocking for my daughter when she was very young, in the early 1980s. I have knitted since I was eight years old, but this was the first item I had ever knit in the Fair Isle technique, where you use bobbins to hold your yarn because of all the color changes. You follow the design pattern from a chart, like counted cross-stitch. The original stocking was not a success from a technical point of view, as my knitting tension left a lot to be desired. For instance, the row of candy canes was one area that was pulled in too tight because of my inexperience with Fair Isle. The original stocking was a valuable learning experience, even though it was tricky getting stuff in and out of it at Christmas due to the fact it was shaped like a digesting boa constrictor. My daughter used it for all the years she was growing up. I thought she had it now, but she said she doesn't. I know it's not lost; it's somewhere in a box in storage.

Anyway, this is a replacement stocking that I completed just recently for my daughter Chelsea. Last year I made a custom stocking for her partner Rob, and the year before I made stockings for both the grandsons. Now that I have much more knitting experience under my belt, this stocking turned out a lot better. It has already been sent off to her for this year's Christmas.

I made this black hat for me. It's from the book AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister. The pattern is titled Gothic Glam Yule Hat. I used various yarns from my stash, with the main part of the hat made from TLC Amore. It's soft and knits up into a chenille type fabric, but it's cheap and I had the worst "yarn barf" from the center pull that I wasted a lot of time untangling. I made the brim about two inches wide instead of four inches, because I thought that was too wide for my head, and I wanted the design to be on the top of my head and visible. I found a new remainder copy of the book on Amazon for $2.19; it arrived on Friday, December 12. I started the hat on Saturday night, December 13, and I finished it while riding in the car to San Francisco on Monday, December 15. It was quick, easy, and fun to make. It's very cold here in the Bay Area, and I am wearing it while I'm here all week. (That's two holly leaves, a skull, and holly berries....but my husband swears it looks like Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons. Doh.) I really like the book, and there are some other projects in it I'd like to make.