alice in yarnland

Who was I then?

2005-09-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

June? was the last post really in June? Maybe I should start over - new blog, cause I think I am a new person, but the thread that holds the then me to the now me is the yarn, knit continually, sometimes frogged, sometimes tinked, but there. We do knit through the pieces of our life. It is constant.

I am sorry for disappearing from your view, but I do think I had to cocoon for a while, more than the shop keeping me busy, there were changes in me that had to metamorphose. Sometimes years and relationships take us to our knees. Guess I understood the relationship part quicker than I remembered the confidence part. But a really good man walked me through both. He loved me and knew I could do what I wanted. Guess the last 6 months helped me to believe him.

So how is Tangle, it is great, fun, pretty. Yarn is wonderful, but then you know that. Knitters are wonderful and everyday I am touched by how lucky I am. It is like having old friends and new friends for an endless dinner party.

And Knitting, Kalani got me to do lace and I am in love. Started with the green shawl in the Vogue Fall 2005 made from Karabella Margrite, doesn’t matter what it looks like, it is soooo soft. On my fourth repeat of Kiri, planning to make the WrapStyle Shetland Triangle for my ex mother-in-law for Christmas. I have never been a lacy girl, so where did this come from?

Made a list today of my (active) projects and I promise pictures, if I can remember to bring in my camera.

Now life goes on and I have to get to Friday night football.

Tangled up in green?

2005-06-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

So we are here, Tangle, in and open. What fun that the first people through the door Friday were DonnaLee and Patty that knew about Tangle cause they read my blog. Several others through the last few days wandered in from blog land. Some admitted it, some didn't. How fun is it to really meet cyber people. I took this great picture of DonnaLee and Patty - and deleted it from my camera today. To day is computer from hell day!!! Why does Quick Books think I have hundreds of workstations tied to the server when I only have two computers?

So computers be damed here are pictures

It is a little scary, lot of fun - best of all is spending all day with knitters.

What am I knitting? - well nothing that is listed in my side bar. I am halfway through the Scarf Style Touch Me scarf. Made a shawl out of Midas Touch for the shop and am really trying to figure out what do do with one or two balls of the Classic Elite Obsession Any ideas?

Watching paint dry

2005-06-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a girl named Alice, she followed a sheep in through a yarn store door and was never heard from again. Oh wait a minute, here I am, found my way back up from the build out and think the 18 hour days may be at end, or maybe just changing from building to stocking.

But the build out is done, with master minding from my dear husband, a ton of help from the 16 year old and bits and pieces from the rest of the family. Cement overlay was done last Saturday, stained Sunday night, sealed Monday waxed Tuesday and shelves delivered yesterday. Right now I am waiting for the building inspector and trying to figure out how to organize all the yarn I have in boxes in the storeroom. Really I just need a nap, but I want to sew the second side on the bag I made out of Noro Daria – it is so cool! Have you seen that stuff? Have to find another skein cause I want the handle longer – will just have to cut it and graft on cause I am not unsewing the one side that is on to get at the strap seam.

Well the camera is at home and the photo editing program is there too, so you will just have to wait for pictures – or all you Portland people can come in a week – June 17th and visit me. If you find me here make sure you tell me you are a Yarnland friend

But I can find pictures of a great book that came in today, there are so many cool things in this book.

I am going to try some of the knitted beaded wire napkin rings.

Now I have to go wax the bathroom floors.

What to do

2005-05-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

You know my postings have been few and far between lately. There is a reason. I really wanted to keep my blog separate from the knitting store's blog. But sometime this afternoon as I was reading yours, I realized that my life right now revolves aroung Tangle Knitting Studio and if I am going to blog more than once a week, it will have to have shop talk. So if you get bored let me know. I suspect that the love of yarn will carry us through. After all, I know you guys understand, even if DH is gapping as he writes the check for Addi Turbos, one small box, four digits on the check. "Sweetie, you just don't understand, these are the best." But you know it is a great day when you get your first boxes of yarn, the UPS driver says "I can't wait for you to open, I called my friend last night and we are so excited." as she unloads your first 10 boxes of yarn.

Lucky for me my DH is understanding (even if he doesn't understand,) as I have this HUGE grin on my face holding up bags of this incredible pink angora Maggi Knits yarn. DH is happy cause I am so thrilled.

Sorry guys it will have to be shop talk. Pictures tomorrow. Also picutes of the wonderful Secret Pal presents. She was so good to me, and really sent me perfect things, yarn I had never heard of, two books, and other goodies. Secret Pal stuff tomorrow and maybe bales of Manos thrown in too.

New Finds

2005-05-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Has it really been over a week since I put up and entry? I have done hardly any knitting, just lots of dreaming about yarn. Sometime toward the end of last week I realize I wasn't knitting anything I liked. The baby blanket from my kids to my ex's assisstant at Flowerbud.com, that I hired years ago, and haven't seen in just a few less. The homespun afghan for S#3 (remember the pink sock boy - one is missing), a sweater out of the Phildar spring magazine that the guage is right and the weight what was recommended, but I just don't like the drape of the kni, too loose. Those ladder yarn scarfs for a friend. Nothing was rocking my world. So I am just ignoring all those WIP, pretending they don't exist. And started Donna from Magknits in Cascade Fixation, bright turquoise, this I like. Thinking of the buttonhole bag, one green with pink polka dots and one pink with green polka dots out of Manos, cause I love how it felts.

And in the middle of the night worrying that I may miss some absolutely critical yarn for the shop. Wondering if I can carry Karabella,(want to make pattern 295 in Margritte) Cashsoft and Lang and no Debbie Bliss and Rowan, maybe Jo Sharpe. 3 am this morning after laying there with the yarn worries for a while I just got up, made my camamile tea and knit the Fixation. Have you knit with that yarn. I love the stretch of it. Feels really nice and the texture is great. I promise I will post a picture tomorrow.

Buttonholes and Heaven

2005-04-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

I know I have been pretty quiet lately.In the priorities of knitting, family, reading blogs, business, working on my blog, writing mine seems to be at the bottom. But I have been lurking on your in silence. Thanks for not being like me, quiet.Lets take my life in order:

Knitting:Five felted bags – four buttonhole, one cross between Sophie and buttonhole with a ruffle thrown in. In my neighborhood we have a ~~girls~~ women’s birthday dinner twice or three times a year. So we are celebrating Debbie, Judy, Beth and Karen’s birthdays tonight. Just finished Beth’s bag this morning (do you think she will mind that it is still wet?).
Hers is the red Sophie hybrid. She has an 18 month old and I think that requires a handle that goes over the arm. The black and pink fuzzy reminds me of some beast that might hide under a child’s bed. (You can tell that it doesn’t rock my world.) The sea foam, lavender and butter one is nice colors, but I don’t like the shape – I double stranded on the bottom and not the sides – think it lost that great shape.

Family: DH has been sick for a week so I am hopping with all the kids etc. (And the room got cleaned, before the boyfriend came over)

Reading Blogs: I keep up with you, every morning, my home page is my blog lines, thanks for keeping me entertained and motivated.

Business:

Lease negotiated and gets signed next week. Still aiming to open May.

Do you know what heaven is? Spending a morning with Kym from Knitting Fever looking at yarns and putting together an order. I love the Maggi Knits stuff – what fun to see real art in knitting patterns, why didn’t I look at her stuff before?

Haunted by a mother's words

2005-04-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

I know I should tell you about the knitting I am doing, two buttonhole bags, lucky clover sweater, but I just have to know what you would do with this.

Mom was my room this bad at 15?

All in a days work

2005-04-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

3 extra kids this week. 2 best friends of my kids’ plus a brother. Divorce, father half a nation away, mother not coping well, kids falling through the bottom. So here we are, a little stability and love for three kids in a hard place.

And look at my ROAK from Shannon. Are they the cutest stitch markers you have ever seen – perfect for summer knitting.

Worked on the Shapely T on the two hours drive to and from Rugby Saturday (S#1 is 1st prop) –am at the cap of the sleeves. Funny, I used to always knit the sleeves one at a time, now I do them together, and I like it much better – when you are done with one, the sweater is done.

Three Olives and an Artichoke

2005-04-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

Some days woman does not live by knitting alone:

Followed off by a steak and this perfect cheese cake

Cheesecake in Yarnland

1 T melted butter
3 T graham cracker crumbs
2 lbs regular cream cheese – room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 t finely chopped zest of lemon
2 t vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cover the base of a 10” spring mold pan with Aluminum foil. Brush melted butter in the bottom of pan, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and distribute evenly.

Beat cream cheese until smooth; gradually add sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and beat for at least 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time; scrape down sides of bowl and mix well between each addition. (Any cream cheese that is not mixed at this time becomes lumpy).Mix in heavy cream and sour cream by hand.

Pour into pan and put in preheated oven. Bake at 500 for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 200 and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave in for 1 more hour. Then take out to cool for a little and then chill in the fridge.

This really is the best best best cheesecake. It is a mixture of three of an old recipe from my ex sister in law, the Perfect Recipe cookbook and an Internet recipe I found.

Kelley

2005-04-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad have come and gone. Wonderful visit, always sad to see them leave. My mother brought her knitting, that she hasn't worked on for two years. She knits raglan from the top down, so that she never has to seam. Never uses a pattern, checked her gauge twelve inches into the sweater, had me measure her arms so she knows how many stitches she wants on each sleeve and can't wait to get below the armholes so she can just knit away.

While she was here I joined the club and made my first buttonhole bag. I think they may be addicting. Fast to do - I made mine longer and still finished it in one day. This may be an addiction. It is such a great little canvas to be creative on. Do you think I can make one with a red bottom and flames shooting up from the bottom? What about flowers and flower stems? I saw a bag in a magazine the other day and it has 3D daises felted on it, will have to think about what knitting technique could be used for the petals.

I actually want to make four of them for a birthday party for four of my friends. For Debbie B. I will need to put some of that eyelash, furry stuff on is (can you tell how much I ~~dislike~~ enjoy those novelty yarns by my description.) For Debbie D. red flames would be good, some carpetbag type for Judy and daisies for Karen. I am glad you don't mind being part of my thought process, cause I just planned then all out.

The first bag I made for Kelley. Kelley is one of those special people. You are lucky if you have a life that touches hers. When my dad retired from GE, he hired Kelley to be his assistant in his home office. In the 18 years since then she has become part of family.

My three brothers and I all live quite a distance from mom and dad, and as they get older you know how you can worry. But for us, we have Kelley. When mom or dad needs to go somewhere at night and they don't trust their eyes anymore, Kelley takes them. She brings lunch for all three of them everyday so she (and I) know that mom and dad will eat right. I can't really begin to tell you the things she does. But for me, most of all, she gives the gift a child of distance wishes for. The surety that if mom and dad need anything or anyone, at anytime, some one that loves them as much as I do will be there for them.

Kelley, the little knitted bag is nothing compared to the gift you give me, know that every stitch was knitted with appreciation and love for you.

Interviews

2005-04-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

I love getting to know other knitters/bloggers, so here we go, I am asking the questions you have to follow the links to the answers:

For Heatherly (I love that name - it is like a color or a feeling - it is going to be a heatherly kind of day - maybe that is what we should call a day with lots of knitting.)

Obviously religion plays a major roll in your life – but you have this mix of Jewish and Baptist how did it come about and how does it translate to daily (or weekly) life.
With everyone to knit for, how do you decide what to knit for whom?
Do you let your kids pick out what you will knit for them? (This is a two-part question and I say it only counts as one!!!) And if you do, do you find they have problems making the mental/creative leap from a picture to imagining what the real item will be like?
I am impressed by your knitting in relation to how long you have been knitting – so tell me about how and why you learned to knit, then what makes you such and adventurous knitter?
And you have to tell all of us how you ever find time to knit with all the other stuff going on in your life?

For another Alice (love this name too – oh is it mine, but can we share?) think about these and answer, tears don’t show on the computer and maybe it will provide a little diversion.

Tell me at least three of the nicknames that go with Alice that people have come up with for you over your life? (alas alas its all ass alass and ally ally bowling ally were two of mine)
You design your own knitwear and patterns; some knitters are most comfortable with knitting from a pattern with the recommended yarn. What do you think gives you the courage to design and create what you want?
Where do you get most of your yarn and why? What is it about the shop (on or off line) you like best?
Besides conversations on the train – do you knit with others? If you do – when and how did it start? If not – why not?
How do you deal with those people that sneer at knitting when you are knitting in public?

Now the rest of you have to watch their blogs and wait for the answers and while you are waiting have a heatherly day.

Avoiding the Vacuum

2005-03-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have been very sporadic in my blogging lately. My mom and dad are coming today from UPSTATE New York and I have been trying to get the house in order. You know how that is with five kids, four cats, and dog, fish, a turtle, a husband and about 20 WIP and the yarn stash. Well I have done it. My knitting shelves look neat, my knitting basket doesn’t – but that is because of the afghan that is stuffed into the big red bag so S#3 doesn’t see it. I have been talking about making him a blanket for a while and when I went to JoAnnes, last Saturday for a zipper, they had Homespun on sale so he is getting his blanket – but I don’t want him to know hence the ugly red bag.

So knitting wise – I finished the short sweater from Knit 1 in time for D to wear on Easter. Finished 1 of 5 dreaded ribbon scarves promised to a friend for teachers gifts. A funky little watery colored scarf for me – but I will probably give it away.

WIP a cotton T from the Shapely pattern at White Lies, This great Phildar sweater out of navy cotton, Lucy Bag – although I seem to be stuck on this. I thought that brown would be a good basic color – but I isn’t rocking my world. Have to start a baby blanket for my boys to give to a friend (grown up friend – don’t worry)

Oh biggest WIP – Yarn store – Name: Tangle, space: lease looks all ok, trying to figure out fixtures and inventory. Went snooping up to Seattle last week, visited Tricoter and So Much Yarn. Both great shops, helped to figure some things out. Got an Anthropology catalog yesterday and have to call my friend Brenda – who makes custom paint colors and ask if we can do the store walls the color of the water on page 54.

So will you help me out here - just for curiosity, and inventory sake will you let me know your three favorite yarns and three favorite knitting books?

Now if you will excuse me I have to go vacuum before mom arrives.

I get by with a little help from my friends

2005-03-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the blog where you saw the great Japanese book with beaded wrist warmers? Do you remember any of the blogs talking about a wool wash that made the wool softer and you didn't have to rinse out?

I don't and I would love to find then again. Do you think I don't remember because I am getting old and my memory is going, or because I read too many knitting Blogs? (Don't answer that one.)

Done (with few words for a change)

2005-03-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

Rachel from Hot Knits

Schmeebot Bunny

Too Much About Camels

2005-03-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

This came from A Stitch in Time, Liz

Here's how it works:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions here. They will be different questions than the ones below.
3. You will update YOUR blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Ask and ye shall be interviewed, by me that is.

For Miss Alice from Liz:
1. I noticed your banner and it made me wonder: Are you also an artist? Since I saw the drawing figure I thought you might be.
2. What other craft related hobbies do you have, and have any of your kids taken an interest in your hobbies yet?
3. How did you end up with a Canadian soccer team in your house?
4. How do you choose your knitting projects? For wearability or looks alone?
5. How long have you been knitting and how and/or why did you learn?

No I do not draw, paint or in any way try to recreate real things. I do a lot of artistic things. Right now I am making fused glass, which is really fun. I have a kiln in my garage, I got it cause I wanted to do pottery (I have a wheel too) but have not had clay for a long time and wasn’t very good at it.

Craft hobbies!! My kids can talk for hours of all the things I have done. Pottery, Fused glass. I made Fimo beads for a while, did a little beading with that. Have made a lot of baskets, the basement storage area is filled with reeds. I used to sew tons, took tailoring classes in college and am not sure why I don’t any more. I loved to bake bread, but my ex husband threw out my four year old sour dough starter one day. My kids have played along with a lot of my hobbies. A little basket making, a little pottery, more fused glass, but so far no one has started knitting. My daughter just asked me to teach her so maybe she will like it.

My oldest son plays High School Rugby in Oregon. The Canadian team was on an 11-day road trip, and we were the first stop. Our players hosted their player, and of course all these teenage boys wanted to hang out together rather than sleep at individual houses. Having 5 kids of our own, our house is usually pretty crazy, so the kids know we say yes to almost anything. So oldest son asked if a mess of his teammates and their Canadian’s could spend the night.

I like to have something complex going that I can only do when I focus completely on it. I like to have something mindless that I can knit watching TV or in the car. I recently have started to think about the finished product more. What fits into my wardrobe, what looks good on me (as opposed to on the model in the picture.)? So somehow I try to combine the process of knitting with what I want in a finished item. Do I want to knit it cause it would be fun to knit and would I buy the end result if I saw it in a store? I have been a lot happier with what I end up with. The biggest thing now is I let myself change my mind. If I am not liking knitting something, I frog it and start something else.

I learned to knit when I was 10, my mother taught me, she rarely used a pattern, she would measure our chests, measure our arms and back length and away she went. It really was a gift to me, cause I know I can do what ever I want, I am never afraid to try anything or change anything. I am kind of a strange blend of analytical and creative so I just do what I want to patterns. (I am finding that most of us knitters are that way.) When I was younger I didn’t knit much, cause mom could do it faster and better and I wasn’t into the knitting, just the clothes aspect. Some point about 20 years ago I fell in love with this aqua variegated silk and started knitting a sweater, I knit for about 5 years, then quit for about 5 years. So about 10 years ago I really started knitting cause I loved the process, not just the results. My knitting disappeared for about 2 –3 while I started Flowerbud.com. That was all encompassing. But then my 1st marriage ended and I turned back to knitting. Now I am rabid and am going to mesh my business sense with my knitting love and open a knitting store.

So how is that for long winded – my dad has a line “that is more about camels than I ever wanted to know.” (Meaning too much useless information) Maybe this is like that.

Weather or Not

2005-03-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

I know we have all been talking about the weather, but here in Oregon we had 70 degrees for about two weeks, and just today rain and 48 degrees came in.

Here is this mornings weather conversation between me and DH:

me 'what do you think the weather is going to do?'
DH 'rain today, and tomorrow.'
me 'what about early next week?'
DH 'the air is pretty unstable so it may stay bad.'
me 'good. I am going to finish my sweater this week end and I want to wear it.'
DH 'honey, you can always turn on the air conditioning.'

Isn't he just the perfect knitters husband!

Tomorrow maybe he will take pictures of me in it.

Absolution for a Friend

2005-03-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

(pre cursor to Original Post - my friend LeAnne sometimes feels like she has too many WIP, I think that how ever many you have is the right amount. She feels she should try to knit one thing from start to finish - I never had a burning desire to do that - yet recently I did it with Audrey. So we were talking about it and I wanted to make a little joke out of knitting Audrey non-stop, I don't think it was an accomplishment - just what happened - but I can tell from the comment that my post didn't come across that way. - Please read this as friendly banter between friends, and my way of justifying LeAnne and I switching from project to project, not as definitive rules to knit by.)

Original Post

Yesterday LeAnne and I had a discussion about working on a sweater from start to finish without picking up another piece. I did my Audrey that way and LeAnne thinks it is something to strive for, I think it is sick. She asked me why I did it, and I had to stop and think. Knitting a sweater start to finish has never been one of my lifetime goals. In the end I did it because I wasn’t really happy with other things I was knitting, and I really liked how it was turning out.

So in my mind there are very few reasons to knit one item start to finish without picking up another. First, cause you have a last minute gift that you really should have started two weeks earlier and now you are screwed and have to put down all the fun projects to get this one done. Second for purely selfish reasons, you just don’t feel like working on something else and want some new clothes.

So LeAnne, I do not think working on one project is a sign of accomplishment or organization, I think it is poor planning and self-indulgence.

FYI – new Yarnland service – if you need justification for almost anything - come to me I will help! Now let me go back to Rachel, Shapely T, Clapotis, Lucy Bag, Market Square bag, and ………

P.S. The thrill of the day - This is the first day cool enough to wear Audrey since I finished it. And yes I have it on.

No room at the Inn

2005-03-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

My house is a very, very fine house, with 13 kids in the place….. Here it is Top to Bottom this morning!!!

These two are visiting from a Canadian Rugby Team – Guess which one broke his collar bone yesterday

Well have to run make breakfast

Family Participation

2005-03-10T06:56:00.002-08:00

Well, Audrey is blocked and the weather is 75 degrees, not quite the day for a sweater made in bulky yarn. Just wait and I am sure it will cool down again. I had it all pinned out on my bedroom floor yesterday morning and was amazed at the family comments. 13 yr S walked by and said 'thats really nice, wow I like that.' DH said 'oh you're blocking that, did you measure it?' I looked at him in wonder - how does he know to measure when you are blocking? 'I read it in the book in the bathroom.' So Janet Szabo's I Hate to Finish Sweaters is sitting in the bathroom, are you as amazed as me that he would open it and read about blocking? if I can quote Michelle 'thanks for stepping into my world for a second and talking about yarn!'

Now I am working a scarf with Rowan cotton tape, (had a little help taking this picture as you can see.) and the huge needles, I hate knitting with needles that big - it just doesn't flow - but so far I like how the scarf is turning out, and yes I am going to put some of those pom pom things on it, in a aqua color, am dreaming about how I want to knit them.

Missions

2005-03-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

I think I am in a mode of missions. I finished Audrey - in 10 days and can't believe that I knitted the thing from beginning to end with out touching another needle. Have you ever done that? I don't think I have. It is sitting next to me in need of blocking and it is bulky and our weather is 72 degrees today and somehow I am not really inspired to wear it.

But I found the new Magknits T shirt today and that is more like our weather, so I will have to explore my stash. Doesn't it get your imagination going - I am going to join the KAL

But my next mission is searching for this yarn. Is this the coolest thing - what is the green yarn? Found the scarf at Wendy Freeman, and I really like the pom pom thing going on. So help me out here, have you seen this green yarn? I went to four of my LYS today and the closest I came was the Rowan tape - but it wasn't nearly tubular enough.

When does multi tasking become aimless?

2005-03-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

My morning:

Got up thinking of finishing the neckband on Audrey,
First had to find another size 8 needle,
Started running AntiVir on D computer
Looked on line to see about latest virus she has picked up,
Put away all the needles that were sitting on my coffee table,
Started to clean the kitchen
Ran across camera,
Took picture of yesterdays LYS purchases for blog,
Went to check on D computer,
Did a little more clean up in kitchen
Took some recycling out
Started coffee
Brought vacuum down didn’t vacuum cause it would wake the house
Started laundry (rewash a load that has been in machine 2 days)
Folded sheets from the dryer (so this time I can put wet clothes right in)
Took out some old newspapers and brought in todays
Finished cleaning kitchen
Found size 8 needle on an old project
Poured coffee in one of my favorite mugs
Measured where button holes need to be
Knit button hole row
Heard DH wake took him coffee and talked
Now here I am blogging

But I am bound and determined to finish this sweater NOW with no more interruptions, oh just after I check on how the AntiVir is running on DH machine, and the floors are really dirty and this would be a good time to vacuum, and, and, and……

Tangled Up in Yarn

2005-03-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

So guess what I did today. Bought buttons so I can finish Audrey - only the sleeve caps and the front band left to do. And guess what else I did!!!!!

What do you think of the new me?

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

2005-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Bad - yesterday opened phone bill (just changed carriers) and found D had gone $300 over regular charges. DH and I got in huge fight caused by it. (we talked it out and made up later)

The Ugly - got both Audrey fronts up to the armholes 78 rows on the bulky yarn (6552 stitches) and I looked at them an realized that I floated the cable the wrong way. Held it up, knew it would drive me nuts and that it wouldn't look good, so I pulled the needle out and started to frog left side down to row 24 where the cable starts to move. 16yr S was kind enough to ask if he could help. Put the needle back in row 24 and started to set up the floating section, when I realized I had done it right the first time.

Some days are just like that. And in the middle of the day as I was sobbing, DH put his arms around me and said "sometimes adversity is what we need, even if we don't know why." And I do always look at those situations and ask myself "What am I suppose to learn from this."

The Good - today is beautiful, well ok its not sunny- but I have a few minutes this morning and I am about to finish the fronts to Audrey, and start the sleeves. I usually don't knit both together - but I knit the fronts together and it wasn't so bad. I didn't get too tangled up in yarn. Did my tax return yesterday and will have enough to cover the phone bill and maybe a little yarn, so life is good and there a lot of people that love me.

Cats and Frogs

2005-02-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

I told you I was having a transformation. That transformation includes a lot of frogs and help from a cat. I was trying to knit Banff, got half the back done and it sat on my shelf for over a month. Frogged it and started Audrey from Hot Knits on Friday and am 2/3 done on Monday.

Do you think we should learn to listen to our inner selves about what to knit and what not to knit. Was about ½ way done with Top Secret, hating it all the way. Frogged it and am dreaming about making this other sweater from Hot Knits. Have two more sweaters in the closet that have been sitting for (cough cough, under my breath) 2 years. They are getting frogged and now I am excited about what I will make next.

And what I really want to make is this Rumpelstilskin Cardigan from Summer 2003 Interweave Knits. I have tons of Debbie Bliss merino aran in a nice purple, I think I will start it this week.

Sweet Sons

2005-02-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post as I am on my way out the door to run errands - one to Borders, so I will have to sneak back to the knitting section.

But my 16 year old son emailed me this from school today - they are studing WWII and he found it on line.

More tonight as I have been frogging up a storm. (a pond?)