I am going to completely sidestep the fact that I have not blogged since May. I am not going to mention the ongoing guilt I have for not keeping up with this blog because there are, truly, so many things I want to write about. I am just going to bask in the glory that is October 18th – which is the day I finished my first pair of socks last year!
It’s hard to imagine that its been an entire year since that first pair of socks came sliding clumsily off my double pointed needles. I thought I would never finish that first pair, but as it turns out their completion started an obsession that has lead to 29 pairs of finished socks …. 29! Five for my husband, three for my Dad, four for friends and the rest reside in my sock drawer.
Double points, two circulars and magic loop. Patons, Lions Brand, Plymouth, Serenity, Regia and Trekking. Toe-up, Top-down and the ill-fated two-at-a-time …. Seems I’ve made a pretty good dent in my sock education. I’ve still yet to make a patterned sock but I seem no worse for wear on this – I love the ease of a simple stockinette sock. There is a mindless joy of looking down and realizing you’re creating something functional and that the knitting has calmed your mind to a pleasant zen-like state.
So please allow me to share with you a year of obsessive sock knitting and as always, I cannot wait till next years recap!
What a finished pair looks like. It smells like victory though!
Second Pair of Socks
They are almost perfect!
My Dad’s First Sock.
First pair of finished socks for 2014!
Singin’ the Blues Socks
Feet – and that is my ceiling 😉
Opal Socks.
Patons Socks
Afterthought Heel
I LOOOVE these socks!
Prince Charming Needs More Socks!
Two at a time madness.
Perfect for Hiking!
Prince Charming Needs Socks!
Regia Socks!!
Neon Gum ball Socks
Cashmere for a sick friend!
Monet’s Watercolors
Easter Egg Rainbow – I like it!
A Night in the Woods
Ohh….Purples
The Hubby
They Glow in the Dark! (not really but darn close)
Serenity Sock Yarn
Celestial Blues
Plymouth Stiletto Sparkly Socks.
I want to leave you with this. Happiness, in part, is a full sock drawer!
I joined the Ravellenic Games for the first time this year and I went all out for Team Sasquatch! My main event was Event Shawl, but I also signed up for Event Charity, Event Single Skein and Event Modular (which was a huge mistake but more on that another day).
My main event was to knit a shawl. Since my disgrace with the Fiori Autunalli by Rosemary Hill I have been downright scared of knitting lace. Did I mention the disgrace came from 1. Reading the wrong chart 2. knitting the wrong chart 3. switching rows while knitting the wrong chart and 4. frogging about 1,000 sts in tears at my LYS? Word to the wise friends and neighbors, don’t knit when you’re too tired to remember your middle name!
Anyway, here I am rambling again! I choose for my Games piece a shawl knitted in worsted, I felt like it was my knitting equivalent of a nightlight. So The Lonely Tree Shawl by Silvia Bolvia (which is not only amazing fun to knit but FREE on Ravelry) seemed like the perfect choice. I gathered up some Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage from my yarn stash and was off!
Humble Little Beginnings
I was going really slow until the leaves started to emerge, trying to remember that lace knitting is only as hard as I let it be in my head. Once I got to this point I felt kinda confident.
(Disclaimer: Some lace knitting really is freakishly difficult, my problem lies in my lack of confidence after mucking up the same pattern so many times.)
and it kept growing….
and growing…
Before I knew it, it was time to bind the bad boy off. I felt bad for not picking a harder, more involved project at this point though. I know that point of the games is/was to challenge yourself, and I stand by my reasoning that I had to conquer my fear of lace – otherwise the Fiori is never going to get done.
But my shawl is done!
Blocking
High Def filter – I love the leaves!
Leaves! Done correctly!
It’s about 350 yards – much bigger than it looks.
Aww….Happy Place!
So there you have it friends and neighbors, the first leg of my Ravellenic journey came to an end. I’ve already given the shawl to a friend. I forgot to take a picture on the mannequin but I gotta tell you – giving away something that gave me a little confidence was pretty epic!
It’s been almost three weeks since I posted last – this is pretty horrific but sometimes life just gets in the way of the fun stuff. My father-in-law was hospitalized with C-Diff (if you don’t know what this is, don’t Google it. If you do know what it is, feel sorry for him). Obviously having someone to care for with an intestinal problem made my Panic Monster go into overdrive, it’s the nature of the beast I suppose.
So for the past two weeks, between working and taking care of family I have been washing my hands – a lot. I have actually started wearing medical gloves with ointment in the to not only heal my hands but also to allow me to knit without getting blood on the yarn. They are doing much better now – so it’s time to get back to work!
Howdy friends and neighbors, it seems a new year has begun and that means big plans to fill the next 365 days! Oh the plans I have, not resolutions so much as grand plans for all the things that I want to get into in the next 52 weeks. Let’s see the list shall we?
Find a year long KAL – any suggestions would be helpful by the way.
Join KALs to meet even more amazing online knitters
Finish a sweater
Finish that lace beaded lace shawl.
Find that perfect sock formula
Stash bust 50% of my stash
Actually spin things I want to share on the internet 😉
Try my hand at designing more intricate things
Try weaving – it looks like fun!
Keep all my social media up to date. aka Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr (my personal favorite), Tumblr and Instagram
But here is the one I am really, really excited for….
~ 52 Weeks of New Experiences! ~
I never make New Year’s Resolutions – they usually lead to disappointment. But this year I want to try something new, I want to try 1 new thing a week (or a total of 52 new things in a year). This can be knitting related or anything else my mind dreams up. Life is too short to not keep learn and trying new things. I already know what I want to do for week 1, which is really exciting!, but I am going to have to keep reading blogs, books, magazines and anything I can get my hands on to keep expanding as a person.
This is going to be a very full year indeed. So now I beg for your input friends and neighbors – what knitting are you doing this coming year? Heard of any good KALs? Seen something that tickles your fancy? Please share! I am here and sooo ready to listen!
Alrighty friends and neighbors, this is how I’m gonna try to put weeks of blogging into one post. First off, let’s get the bad news over with – bad news will be in red and good news will be in green (Christmas-y huh?). So, let’s begin.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
Gloria, my amazing niece, is in the top 10% of students in the midwest and will be sitting for a ACTs in January – she’s in the seventh grade!!!! 🙂
I broke my tailbone. BUT the snow has been beautiful!
Trevor’s Dad has cancer. BUT the treatment is doable, and his crazy hair from the treatments makes him look like Bill Murray.
My special stash was ruined when a pipe burst. BUT I still have loads of yarn to play with.
I had to get a second job. BUT I was able to get a second job in this economy and at this time of year.
Trevor and I shared our 11 year first date anniversary! 🙂
Orders seem to be slowing down. BUT I had my first Etsy store sale.
I’ve broken four pairs of needles. BUT I can rewrite patterns for straight needles, something I had never had to do before.
2014’s money may be worse than 2013’s. BUT I married Prince Charming and we can survive anything.
I lost my LYS. BUT I have found a new yarn store. It’s a drive and I won’t be able to go often, but everyone that works there is lovely!
I’ve been avoiding blogging because I don’t want to lose my online knitting community.
I guess it is silly not writing, but it feels like my projects (or my yarn) are really that special to blog about. Since the incident at the LYS my knitting mojo has been….none existent – I am constantly doubting my ability and my finished product. Again, silly. It is time to take a breath and move on. Get back to blogging and back to sharing with the amazing online knitting community. Who knows, I may even have a pattern to share soon!
FINISHED OBJECTS!
I don’t know if this is everything, probably not but this is the best way to catch up with all the things I’ve been finishing. The scary part is that there are multiples of several of these project – I will spare you several duplicate photos and do one pic of each. I hope you enjoy.
Cabled Beanie.
Lace Cowl – Worsted.
First 3 stockings.
Basketweave Beanie.
Stocking.
Looped Cowl.
Stocking.
My Design – Cable Hat.
Another stocking.
Lucy Hat
Sparkle and Shine
Vampire Knits Pattern Re-Vamp 😉
Dustland hat
Mittens
Bulky Mittens
Second Pair of Socks
Lace cowl
First attempt at a stocking – oh well.
My Favorite Model – Gloria
My Design Mittens
My design ribbed hat
Hello Cowl.
Another Cowl.
My design – another cabled beanie.
I actually feel like I haven’t really knit that much in the last month, not until after I got a good look at the photos. I think for next year I am going to do the Knitmeter to see just how much damage I can really do. I think that is it for me today, I have bared my soul and now it’s time to get to knitting. I will be back, getting over this insecurity is something you just have to push through – no other way around. For anyone reading this, thank you for sticking with me, it means the world.
Holy crap I almost blog-faded! I could make loads of excuses (and more than less likely will do just that :)) but as my dear Lottie from Lottie Knits would say “it’s time to get off my bum.” Oh! Also, it’s snowing – which greatly improves my mood!
Knitting Weather!
So, for anyone that is still reading this languishing blog, here is what has been going on the past few weeks to contribute to my blog-neglect (see? excuses already!)
– The Excuses –
No Dragon Speak Software – My NaNoWriMo gal has been plugging along so well with her novel that I told her just to keep it till it goes on sale on Black Friday.
My Mom retired – Yea!
I had an order for 43 ruffle scarves – this brings my year total to….wait for it….319.
I have gotten a boat load of questions from hospital workers since it snowed, and now have a nice little influx of non-ruffle knitting.
4 baby showers.
2 weddings.
My father-in-law has changed Alzheimer’s medication and is being treated for skin cancer 😦
My LYS asked me not to come in because they were afraid my hand would scare off new knitters.
– The LYS Experience –
Before I retell this story, if you follow me on Instagram you’ve already heard it, feel free to skip ahead (there’s a picture!). Also, I am going to keep this as short as possible – mainly because dredging it up makes me über cranky.
So back around the time I last posted my LYS owner called me to tell me knitting was canceled. No big deal. The week after that I called the shop to see if we were meeting that night and had the oddest reaction from a gal I’ve known for years. She told me _______ would call me back. About 20 minutes later ________ called me back and asked me not to come to knitting that night; they were having a meet-and-greet for new potential knitters (in a younger crowd than our knitting group (even though I am 28)) and she didn’t want my hand to scare them off.
My reaction was to go get on Instagram and connect with knitters who, in my mind, would be able to be objective because they’ve never seen my hand.
I. Was. Heartbroken.
The support from knitter’s on Instagram was so overwhelmingly awesome that I should have just snapped out of it. So what? I don’t have an LYS anymore…..
Nope, not going to work.
Instead of feeling the love from the 99.9% of knitter’s who are freaking amazing, I ran down the rabbit hole of knitting all the time to prove that I could do it. This is a fun mixture of stubbornness, OCD, and my very own Panic Monster. I have been eating, sleeping and knitting….and not a whole lot else. I have kept all my social obligations and haven’t become a hermit yet but saying I got a little obsessive would be putting it….lightly.
– The Fresh Start –
So here I am friends and neighbors, ready to get back to what makes me happy. I love writing and I love reading your blogs. Both of these things have been severely neglected. So there will be some catching up to do (lots of catching up to do) so please be patient. I am slowly going to try to work the comments and questions that I’ve received – especially regarding patterns – but it may take a little longer than normal.
Also, I follow loads of you on Facebook – I haven’t “liked” or commented on your blogs because my Facebook account and my WordPress account aren’t linked – but I have been reading your work. Rob’s Surf Report and A Tangled Yarn are just two that I read every single time they post. The Knitterly Hook-er is one of my favs to follow on Instagram. If you want to follow me on either of these sites click → FACEBOOK LINK ← or → INSTAGRAM LINK ←. Both of these sites get updated daily because I can use one hand to upload and type.
– SPOILERS!! –
Stick with me and I promise I will try to give you something awesome to read or stare at – as awesome as I can make it! Here is a itty-bitty preview of what I’ve got up my sleeve:
Second Pair of Socks – I never photographed the finished pair.
My Hat…No Sharing.
This took three and a half hours to type friends and neighbors, every minute both cathartic and totally renewing. I can’t wait to catch up, happy Tuesday!
I want to apologize for my blogging neglect, I have a good reason I swear!
I was at my local hand doctor’s office last Friday, shooting the breeze with a nurse that used to work on my unit when I was introduced to a fellow….sufferer? No, that’s not right, a gal that has temporarily lost the functionality of her dominate hand. We got to talking and she was super bummed that she wasn’t going to get to do this years NaNoWriMo, something she has been looking forward to all year. Totally understanding how irritating it is to have your dreams shot to crap by a failing appendage, I loaned her Dragon Speak software to see if it would work for her.
So far things are going great on her end, she’s had a week to practice getting used to oral dictation and she is all ready to write. When she gets the money she’s going to buy her own spiffy version, but I told her not to rush (also to wait and get the $200.00 package because it is way better) and take her time.
The blog may be a bit sparse on written diatribes – I know, your all crying into your coffee right now – but there is still plenty of knitting to show off. I hope you won’t mind photo heavy posts – because I have loads to show off!
Friends and neighbors please bear (bare? I never remember) with me and I will keep you apprised of all the goofy, knitting shenanigans I can get into.
OHH!
You can always follow me on Instagram (I post all the time) and my Facebook Page (because I who doesn’t love a fan! ;))
Something really amazing popped up in my WordPress notifications, even if it is a week or two old I wanted to share!
Are You Sure About This?
I cannot believe that this is right. I mean, really? Since March 13th my little hope of having a knitting blog has come to alive. I am totally awed and so freaking humbled it is scary! Who are you, my dear friends and neighbors, who find me even slightly interesting? I spend my time devouring your words, your photos, the little bit of your life that you wish to share. Now, it seems, that you are kind enough to afford me the curtsey of doing the same.
I hope this isn’t annoying or showy, but I wanted to share all the stats with you. It seems that since I quit staring at them daily that they’ve changed a bit.
Total Followers on WordPress: 525
Most Visitors in One Day: 344
Total Visitors: 13,519
Total Comments: 2,730
Total Posts: 120
Total Tags: 964
**** **** **** ****
Total Instagram Followers: 359
Total Facebook Page Followers: 68
Total Twitter Followers: 37
Total Tumbler Followers: 45
I wish that I was in a place financially to give something away, something as awesome as I feel right now! There will be a time, sooner than later I hope, that I can share my appreciation with everyone that puts up with this little blog. It’s strange though, even if no one read this I have learned so much from you in the past six months – more than I can ever express my gratitude for.
So thank you friends and neighbors, you have made my week!
So the progress on the Jayashri Sweater continues, very slowly. It’s been a really busy week; several custom orders have come into the shop (yea!), along with several (28 – yes, twenty-eight) ruffle scarf orders. If you don’t take into account having 1) a job 2) a husband and loving niece and 3) social life, well then I guess I would have my pullover finished by now.
Wanna see some progress? Because I really want to share!
I am still keeping a very vigilant count of all the stitches that go into this wonderful pullover, it appeases my OCD as well as my genuine curiosity about how the garment is coming together. I am getting to the decreases that are written in the pattern for the waist, decreases aren’t a problem and I can see (both on the picture of the sweater and in my head) about how this supposed to turn out. It is the short rows and increases for the bust ( of which mine is….ample) that I am a little worried about. I am watching the Short Rows Class on Craftsy to get a better understanding of how these stitches are worked and it has done wonders to bolster my confidence. Of course I am saying this before I’ve actually worked a single row. 🙂
It is a bit daunting to put your first attempt at anything on the internet – especially when you spend every minute of your spare time seeing other bloggers amazing, flawless work. Perhaps it will be a way to motivate me to spend the extra time to learn the construction of a garment – I mean, who wants to fall flat on their face in front of such amazing talent? Either way it goes I am just remembering to breath and enjoy the knitting.
So friends and neighbors it’s question time! What was your first handmade garment? Did it end with smiles or tears? Is there any advice you would wish to share?
As always, it is a pleasure to blog with such great company! ♥
That’s right friends and neighbors, it’s time! I am so excited to be hosting my first KAL with the wonderful Stacy over at Musings and Motion. If you are still interested, it is always open to anyone with the wild urge to make a sweater! 🙂
There is NO TIME LIMIT to this KAL – this is meant to be fun, not stressful!
We would love to see pictures of how things are going – just link back to All Night Knits – even use the spiffy banner I’ve attempted to make above if you please.
I myself am going to do a post every MONDAY on my KAL progress. You can do the same or whatever day you please – Again. This is supposed to the a fun, communal thing.
Don’t feel like posting a blog? Why not POST ON TWITTER! We are using the hashtag #kalAllNight – post pictures or questions any time or any day, I’ll be there!
** THE AWESOME MUSING AND MOTIONS GIVEAWAY! **
If you are all set and ready to go between September 16th and September 27th check out → THIS LINK ← from Stacy over at Musings and Motion for her FREE Ravelry Pattern Participant Giveaway! Details also listed below ↓
This Monday, September 16, 2013, Rachel from All Night Knits and I will begin the Jayashri Knit-Along! To get you even more excited about knitting this gorgeous pullover sweater by Meghan Jones, we are going to buy some lucky participant a knitting pattern from their Raverly queue. All you have to do to enter is comment below with a link to your blog post or twitter feed that features a photo of your cast-on row (or more). I will randomly choose a winner from all entrants. This giveaway will begin on Monday when the KAL officially starts and will end on Friday, September 27. This gives you two weeks to get cast-on. I will announce the winner here on Saturday, September 28. Happy knitting!
** THE PATTERN **
Need another look at the gloriously awesome pattern Stacy found? Here it is!
I AM REALLY
Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks
MAKE THIS!!
Hope to hear from all of you soon – I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve! Keep a look out for more giveaway fun, goodies, participation banners and links.
Post! Your dirty minds should have seen that coming a mile away! 😉
I cannot believe I have somehow managed to neglect my blog for a week and a half – it this blog was a child the state would be involved. There was drama but frankly I am just not in the mood to dissect all of it at the moment (or ever). Not to mention the fact that whenever I go near my computer I am bombarded with all the things that need to be done of the silly machine like:
Making new business cards.
Making care instructions for all the new knits.
Updating my Ravelry page.
Updating my Etsy page.
Replying to a million emails I would rather avoid (the ones I want to respond to I try to do in a more timely fashion).
and of course…Updating my blog.
It’s been a bit of a struggle since I’ve been on a ruffle scarf binge again. I wanted to be able to buy a pair of needles for the Katniss Cowl. I got the needles but managed to much up the pattern so badly that I am seriously considering just doing it all over again – I owe it to my niece and more importantly I owe it to Lolly over at Lolly Knits. Silly genius made me a perfect pattern and I’ve mucked it up.
Let’s talk about what the hell I’ve been up to – if you’d like to, of course.
** BOOKS **
I read Delirium to see if it would be something Gloria would be interested in, since I have heard such wonderful things about Before I Fall. The whole romance thing is something she wouldn’t be interested in and I found it a bit lacking, especially since reading quite a bit of really good YA fiction. If this can count as a review here it is – this book is the first in a trilogy and I haven’t bought any of the other books yet. Enough said.
The End of Your Life Book Club was…Amazing. It is one of those that after you finish reading you almost cannot start a new book, it feels too close to cheating. I love this book, and if you are a lover of books, reading, family and life then seriously go find a copy.
I am so glad I am almost done with The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club – it’s bloody awful! Set outside of London the completely formulaic story may not have sucked that bad if the author would capitalize ever-single-solitary word she wants to emphasize. Every time I saw something Capitalized it took me right out of the story.
** MUSIC **
Imagine Dragons
Florence and the Machine
Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde
Elliott Smith
I could try to explain why I love this music but eh, I just wanna share what I’ve been listening to. Here is Imagine Dragons Radioactive though, the music video is painfully stupid but if you just listen to the song it’s all good!
** KNITTING AWARDS **
The Versatile Blogger
One Lovely Blog Award.
The Wordpress Family Award.
The Liebster Award.
The lovely bloggers who’ve nominated me for these wonderful awards deserve a proper “Thank You” shout out, which I will put in the Award section on the upper part of my blog. But if I blog it here their blogs might get read twice!
Go check out some amazing blogs and keep posted for their long overdue tributes on the Awards section of the blog.
** KNITTING **
The Reversible Cabled Scarf was a stash-buster which made me so utterly happy that I made two. I found it on Ravelry originally, but when I went to find the link it’s gone. I remember it was free though so if you have an interest lemme know.
The Herringbone Stitch cowl is made with the same roving yarn was the cabled scarves, in honor of Lolly and her Katniss Cowl pattern. Plus, I wanted the yarn out of my stash.
The cowl was a purchased pattern from my LYS and it turned out amazing! And yes, I did find another WIP in the bottom of my bag – it’s like Mary Poppins’ freaking knitting bag!
The baby hat was from Itty-Bitty Knits with a few alterations on my part, when the I-cord is place I will get a proper picture. I am pretty sure it is going to be adorable.
** THE END CREDITS **
If you’ve made it through my ramblings good for you because I don’t think I could! I can’t wait to get down and dirty with the Knit Along details, get some more knitting under my belt and do Lolly some justice with that cowl. You know, if I didn’t have a full-time job I could get a lot more done! 😉 Well Friends and Neighbors, hope all is well, cannot wait to catch up with all of you and hope to hear from you soon!
This is the scolding look I get from Max when I don’t blog enough. Scary, isn’t it?
So I have finally decided to go ahead and start with posting this Knit Along! I am so excited and cannot wait to see how many people we can get on board!
So here’s the details! Stacy from Musing and Motion, who has been kind enough to help co-host (really I am following her awesomeness here) this with me have decided to go with the Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks by Meghan Jones.
I AM REALLY
Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks
MAKE THIS!!
** The Pattern Details **
For the man body of the sweater is a DK weight yarn (Knit Picks suggests Gloss DK Yarn – between 8 and 16 balls based on measurements)
For the collar is a fingering weight yarn ( Knit Picks suggests Palette Yarn – 1 ball)
The finished bust measurements can be sized from 34″ to 62″ so it can be accessible to any size and is meant to be worn with a 2″ positive ease.
The needles are size 5 US 32″ Circulars – size 6 US 32″ – size 6 US DPNS
** The Knit Along Details **
Stacy and I are hoping to get this thing started on SEPTEMBER 16th – which gives us all three whole weeks to get our yarn and get ready! If you are interested please leave a comment and if you can think to on how to improve this whole process please let me know. I cannot wait to knit along with you – it’ll be my first!
I have been working doubles for the past few days, thus no posts. Add to that the pressure of 1) trying to figure out how to organize a Knit Along 2) work being so busy I cannot even read my blogs and of course 3) F&*King Ruffles…
These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.
These are just a few – a few – of the ruffle scarves I have finished. Basically what you are looking at is all the different yarn colors, if I had taken pictures of all the ruffle scarves in my house right now I never would have gotten around to actually writing this post. I’ve missed blogging, I’ve missed reading your blogs. I miss living in a less ruffly world 😉
These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.
These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.
** WHAT I’VE BEEN READING**
Since I didn’t have time to check my book reviews with Rob over at Rob’s Surf Report (my new best friend for helping me figure out how to write a decent book review) I am just gonna show you what I’ve been reading this past week or so.
5 out of 5 Stars.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
4 out of 5 Stars.
5 out of 5 Stars.
A special thanks to Hannah Rose over at A World Created for suggesting Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. This books was a rarity, something as hard to find as good Mexican street food in Ohio. It was incredible, anyone interested in period pieces, not shy of a little gruesomeness and a truly unique experience go check it out.
** WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO**
XX – XX
The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Cary Brothers – What You Are
This is my favorite Bon Iver song – Skinny Love
** MY PLANS FOR THE WEEK **
Get my Ravelry Page updated – it is so far behind.
Get all the Stitch Patterns put in the upper header.
Make a bazillion more ruffle scarves.
Organize this Knit Along -or at least get a good idea of it.
Write my 100th post!! 🙂
Figure out what to write for my 100th blog post 😦
Knit squares for the Get Well Soon Blanket (more on this is the person I am knitting for will let me discuss it).
Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair in Saturday!
Sleep.
** THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND **
I have no idea where the next 100 posts will go, what direction content wise. All I know is that, just in case I forget to mention this in my 100th post, without you bloggers I wouldn’t be becoming the knitter I always wanted to be. So, thank you.
Oh yea! This is the cartoon my husband gave me this weekend assuring me this is how he felt. Well friends and neighbors, even though it was a joke you have to wonder!
It seems that since this month has begun I have been trying to play catchup, every single day. I cannot believe it is Sunday and I am JUST getting around to posting not one, but two weeks worth of my great-grandmother’s stitch patterns. Well better late than never I suppose.
So, friends and neighbors, with no further adieu I present the stitch patterns for weeks 18 and 19!
** Week 18 – The Tulle Stitch **
The Tulle Stitch
Needles: Size 5 US (3.75mm)
Yarn: Bernat 100% Cotton in Blue
Stitches: Multiple of 2 + 1 Stitch -or- ×2+1 ( I also alway do at least 1 stitch garter on either edge)
kythkek – Row 1: *K1, yarn forward, K1*. Repeat till last stitch, K1 (Okay. So “yth” for you non-veteran readers means “yarn towards heart” in my great-grandmothers scrawl. As for the “e” that popped up – after a little investigating it meant “end”).
pand p3-1 – Row 2: P1, *P3, slip 1st stitch of these 3 over other 2stitches*; repeat to end. ( I am going to beg mercy at giving up after 4 frogs trying to figure this out. I turned to a stitch pattern book from the library – which is also where I found the name of the stitch. I mean, come on! Who could figure out what “p3-1” meant!)
k1an kythk – Row 3: K1, *K1, yarn forward, K1*; repeat to end. (I had already decoded this before turing to the stitch book – thank you very much ;))
p3-1ep – Row 4: *P3, slip 1st stitch over second 2 stitches*; repeat to last stitch, P1 (Again, the book reaffirmed what I (might) have figured out – but it was still nice to know that I would be giving you a readable pattern).
So for fun (more my fun than yours I suppose) here are the unedited photos….
The real pattern is called horizontal weaving (thank you LYS!) but under her notations it was called the wave. She actually made a baby blanked out of this pattern – it was adorable!
Needles: Size 5US (3.75mm)
Yarn: Bernat 100% Cotton in Blue
Stitches: Multiples of 3’s + 1 stitch -or- ×3+1st.
k – Row 1: Knit all stitches (*JUMPING* *CLAPPING* *GIGGLING*! It is like Christmas morning to find a pattern that has a no-brainer row).
kskip2pythk – Row 2: K1 *Slip 2 stitches purl wise (with yarn in back), K1*; Repeat to the end of row (Okay, this was a head scratcher to be sure. If you are “skipping” then you must be slipping…right? RIGHT! Moving right alone to “yarn towards heart” and your home free!).
Again…unedited….
Close Up
Mid Section
Entire Cloth
and the far sharper (both literally and figuratively) edited ones….
Since I took the photos with my Canon instead of just my iPod I thought it might be fun to see the difference in the unedited vs. the edited photos. It gives me a little more perspective on what I can accomplish with a little bit of touching up. It also lets me play with filters – which is always fun!
Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks installment and I wonder, friends and neighbors, which pattern do you like better?
Receiving blogging awards is still such a surprise to me. When I started this blog almost 18 weeks ago I never imagined anyone would read it let alone recognize my existence with an award. This particular lovely came from Movies, Silently. I love her blog, it was in fact one of the first blogs I started reading when I started my blogging adventure. Silent Movies are her specialty, but it doesn’t stop there. She’s cunning, funny, stylish and her posts are always a fantastic read. Seriously, do yourself a favor and pop over there – I will wait. 🙂
So, down to the rules of the award.
Add the “One Lovely Blog Award” image to your post (Check!)
Share seven things about you (Check!)
Pass the award on to seven nominees
Thank the person who nominated you and add a short blurb about them.
** So, 7 new (and supposedly interesting things about myself) **
I met the love of my life when I was 17 years old…on a blind date. We both worked for the same chain of movie theaters and a friend thought it would be the perfect set-up to get Trevor to run into her arms (we really are that different, and difficult ;)). Eight months later we were engaged!
When we moved into our condo in 2004 our next door neighbors were meth addicts. These were the scariest moments of my life! When their cat wandered into our yard with infected wounds from being punctured by needles Trevor and I gave them two choices; 1) Give us that cat and go away or 2) we are going to call the cops and have you arrested. Fatty never liked us, but I think we gave him the best (and last) 3 years of his life.
With his Lick ‘n Kick.
Very Fat Cat Under the Table.
Hungrily Eyeing a Piece of Bologna.
Seriously…Kitty was HUGE!
It has become a good luck/ family tradition for the men in the family to get heat stroke on their wedding night. My grandfather, my dad and my husband were all incapacitated on their wedding night. We got home, I put my husband to bed with Advil and Gatorade and went downstairs and ate the white chocolate fondue pot he had prepared 😉
When I was I was working at the hospital in college, I was going through the ER to get to my car and saw a man self-canabalizing. That’s right friends and neighbors, he was eating his own fingers. I dutifully told the nurse what was happening in the hallway and the proceeded to go get my own lunch.
In high school I was running after my crush after a concert. Being that I was in high heels and a skirt (and horribly clumsy) my shoe got stuck in-between the sidewalk and the grass propelling me, and my skirt, forward. After recovering from my humiliation ( it didn’t take long, stupid crap like this happens to me all the time) we realized the foot was in fact very broken. On the plus side, my crush carried me to the car, ER and home. Then made a joke to carry me around all the time. I was elated – and that feeling never changed, even after I found out he had a crush on my brother.
My all time favorite band is The Smiths. You may think it’s music to wallow in, but I love it!
I have an unnatural love for horror movies. After my OCD made normal things in life seem terrifying, watching a horror movie – and being scared and something you SHOULD be scared at – makes sense. There is not a lot I haven’t seen – and Martyrs is the best/worst of them all.
Okay. Done! Now for my nominees!
A World Created – Hannah, until we started conversing I thought that all internet friendships were supposed to be creep and weird. Now I know that a true bond can be created out of kindness and passion for your craft. Every post seems better than the last.
Traveling the world….and much more – Your blog shows your deft hand with your craft and a sharp wit that makes your posts a pleasure to read. Bonus, you were the first person to really help me make the Katniss Shawl for my niece – I am indebted to you!
Lottieknits – You know why you are getting this, your kindness knows no bounds. For the rest of you – go read this blog! It has snippets of everything you would ever want to read about. It has been a constant source of inspiration to me.
lollyknits – Just another blogger that I desperately wish was my next door neighbor. Decisive and funny, her posts are a joy to read. Her pictures make me jealous (this is a good thing and a compliment) and again – another kind soul that is always willing to lend a hand.
MonsterYarns – Although it seems like everyone already knows this blog, I am going to suggest you quit reading mine and go straight over yonder to MonsterYarns. The post is fabulous, the writing superb! Not to mention that some of the comments I have received from this blogger are hilarious!
Rob’s Surf Report – A great writer, blogger and friend. There is always something to heavily consider after reading his posts – and not commenting doesn’t feel like an option. I am inspired by the free way he writes and voices his opinions.
Creative Writing with the Crimson League – This is a newer blog (for me) that I’ve started following. Do you have a blog that you just cannot skip, even if you’ve been up for 20 hours? If not – head over, you shant be disappointed!
Alright friends and neighbors, two posts in one day again but totally worth it. Signing off for a bit and I will see you tomorrow….unless something else decides to flood. 🙂
Okay Dokey folks, time for some book spine poetry brought to you by Oh, Chrys!! I thought about going through my library and amassing this amazing poem…then I decided that would feel like cheating. As my Summer Reading List is always evolving – based on what we get from the library primarily – I tried to do the best with the actual books on my list. So, as sad as this may be (much like my real poetry, which is why I would never share it) here is my Read-A-Thon Book Spine Poetry Challenge!
Delirium in the woods,
Gulp.
The shinning girls double feature,
The good nurse.
Wow, that was painful! Hope you’ll stay with me through the second part of this post after that atrocity! Just trying to stay authentic, that’s how I roll! 🙂
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›››› Tears on My Pillow ‹‹‹‹
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
Author: Laura Lippman
Style: Quality Paperback
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Length: 158 pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-193836-8
Year: 2008
Publisher: Morrow
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Share a quote from your current read or tell us about a book that really pulled on your heart strings. What was it about that book/quote that made you cry?
She knew what it was like to fight for her own life, but this had been different. She was defending her daughter. Now she could only hope that she hadn’t killed her in the process.
Page 147
Obviously this quote was at the end of the book just by looking at the page number. I had invested hours of my time becoming immersed in this story – invested in the characters. Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan novels are of course part of a series, so this book brought me back to characters I have followed for years. I have been following Tess through all sorts of painful and dangerous shenanigans in Baltimore, so when this novella came out after being published in The New York Times Magazine I jumped on it.
In this book, my Tess – after years of rejecting the idea of settling down – is seven months pregnant and on bed rest. Firstly, I was amazed that Lippman went this direction with the character, as a private detective a baby just didn’t seem to fit. I went in a bit weary but Lippman didn’t disappoint me because Tess was as wary of it as I was!
This quote pulled at my heartstrings and indeed made me tear up because I understood, at a very personal level, the idea of protecting your unborn child no matter the consequences. She was so worried about becoming a mother, her lack of motherly instinct, but when the time came it just kicked in. I’ve been told that is how it really is when you have a child. We have never gotten to the baby part, and I was holding my breath to see if Tess did. Want to find out if she got there? Well…READ THE BOOK!
I don’t think that I could possibly hide my surprise when Movies, Silently sent me this nomination. I love her blog, the magic and mystery of the silent movie era are described in such a vibrant tone everyday – I look forward to reading each and every post. Old souls are far more common here in the blogging community than I imagined, and she is this wonderful, inspiring writer reminding us of the golden age of movies. My thanks to her will never be enough.
There is a small part of me that hopes that this award is true, that somehow I have inspired at least one person who has read this blog. Maybe a knitter wanting a new pattern, a reader wanting a new book or someone up against the odds who can find some sort of strength in what I write…and more importantly all the wonderful comments that come through this blog. The readers of this blog have made me a better person, and I mean this. I hope this doesn’t come off as pompous or pretentious – hells bells it comes straight from my heart!
So, now let’s get down and dirty with the awards rules!
1. Display the award logo on your blog. (√ CHECK!) 2. Link back to the person who nominated you. (√ CHECK!) 3. Nominate 10 (yes, I changed it – it used to be 15 but I hate to bombard people with the need to post awards. Also, I figure with less nominees the chances of having their blogs discovered is higher.) other bloggers for this award and link to them. (√ CHECK!)
4. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements. (I will get right on it – with great pleasure I might add!)
** So, here are my wonderful, amazing, talented, super awesome bloggers! **
lollyknits – Lolly has shown me the wonderful world of artist expression through her spinning, knitting and writing. She is also a wonderful source of encouragement and support to her fellow bloggers.
Cross(stitch) Your Heart – Another blogger that is always willing a helping hand, her blog boast beautiful pictures, rich prose and a wry sense of humor. Yes – I know you already got this award but I want to give it to you because you inspire me. Deal with it 😉
A World Created – There are just not enough good things to say about Hannah Rose and her huge, inspiring heart. My advice, go see for yourself!
Intricate Knits – I have been personally inspired both by her blog and her comments. She takes her time, you never feel like she is rushing to get through her posts or her conversations with other bloggers.
Rob’s Surf Report – My daily dose of writing and brow furrowing thinking comes for his brain to my computer screen every day. He is a joy to converse with and his blog is incredible! If I had half his writing talent I would just up and quit my day job.
jelliefishcrafts – She is a relatively new blogger on my list but I just love how her mind thinks. She has these amazing to-do lists she plans to conquer and she has been quite helpful with my quires on my blog. I wish I could give her the Amazing Team Member Award as well.
Sara Crafts – When I first started blogging and was struggling with getting it all together, she almost (at the time) single-handedly kept me from throwing in the towel. If that isn’t inspiring I don’t know what is.
feelgoodknitting – Inspiration comes from this blogger because she really reminds you that it DOES feel good knitting! Forget frogging, socks that are too big or sleeves that aren’t the same length – take strength from someone who loves what they do!
knitrun4sanity – (@knitrun4sanity – you know you are totally deserving of this award twice over). To the rest of the readers, this runner/crafter awesome blogger is not only a great read but a great reference. I love her posts, I love the convos we’ve had and I love that she reminds me to keep up – no matter what!
Through a Cracked Lens – Want to talk inspiration? This blogger talked me into sharing my photos on my blog – something my particular Panic Monster was keeping me from doing. Her photos, her writing, everything about her blog resonates with me. I love seeing it in my reading queue and throughly enjoy our commenting back and forth.
Still with me? ACES! There is one more bit of fun that Movies, Silently has set up for us!
But it wouldn’t be fun to just give this award out without a little bit of a challenge so here are three questions:
1. What is your favorite post on your blog (please include a link): My favorite post is actually one I did just a few days ago – A Quick Call to Knitter, Crocheters and Designers! This post was asking how to go about writing a pattern for my niece and received a whopping 153 response! Everyone came up and wanted to help, to share, to contribute. Since I don’t curse on my blog (often) I am going to pretend to be British for a moment…It was BLOODY AWESOME!
2. Did you consider blogging about any other subject? If yes, what? I have wondered a great deal about blogging about my families genealogy, there are so many wonderful stories to tell that I think people would get a real kick out of!
3. Is there a particular time or place when inspiration strikes you? If yes, when and where? When I go to bed, my mind starts racing with ideas of what I want to write about next. The best time for me to write however is late at night, the house is quite and I can focus of what I am doing – from there my mind just takes over and I just try to keep up!
Thank you friends and neighbors, thank you so much for making blogging this much fun. As a bonus for getting through 1,000 words – ANY COMMENTER TO THIS POST IS FREE TO NOMINATE ONE PERSON IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND PING IT BACK. LET US NOT HIDE HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR FELLOW BLOGGERS – LETS SHARE THE LOVE!
Before I start, the Read-A-Thon Schedule is posted! Click →HERE← for info!!
Ahhh…It feels so good to be back at the computer with a clear head and something new to share! Thankfully this week I did not lost GG’s notes – not moving around a whole lot was quite helpful as it turns out. So, with no further adieu – here is Stitch Pattern Week 15!
Full Length of Footsteps Pattern.
Since I went through all of my stitch dictionaries and normal internet sites searching for a name, to no avail, I am naming this the Footsteps Pattern. It looks a bit to me like murky steps in crackled snow. That could be the lingering effects of pain killers but I like it and I am going to stick with it.
Natural – Even though the yarn was baby blue.
Up Slope – Sepia.
Textured.
Full Length of Footsteps Pattern.
Green Scale – Hi-Def
Footsteps Stitch Dishcloth
Pinky Tones
Original – Sharpened and Desaturated.
For those who read the blog the following content needs no explanation, but there is hope that there will be new readers out there! So here is the low down: My explanation is bolded and it’s italicized – it may also be a bit snarky if the mood suits me! 😉
** The Pattern as GG Wrote It vs. The Pattern That Makes Sense…To Me. **
r1k2p2 – Row 1: K2, P2 across entire row. (Very kind of you GG- my thanks go out to where ever you are).
r2k2p1addp1over – Row 2: *K2, P1, YO, P1; Rep * across the entire row (I thought about taking back my thank you – what does add mean? Well….I went with YO).
nrk3p2 – Row 3: K3, P2 across entire row. (It appears that numbers were becoming a hassle, so nr is taken as “next row” in my book. It feels a bit like a guessing game doesn’t it?).
nrk2p2 – Row 4: K2, P3 across entire row. (Alright, simple enough….feel like I am getting my footing back…haha….footing….get it?….bad foot?…Never mind)
nrk1k2-p2 – Row 5: *K1, K2tog, P2; Rep *across entire row (now the “2-” I am again left guessing that it is “k2tog”. In reality, I may be messing this whole thing up).
k1addk1p2 – Row 6: *K1, YO, K1, P2; Rep * across entire row. (Good grief, not even a “nr” – just a space from here on out).
k2p3 – Row 7: K2, P3 across entire row
k3p3 – Row 8: K2, P2 across entire row (Again, I am guessing that the “p3” was written wrong – not enough stitches to cover it and it doesn’t really work with the rest of the pattern).
Fun with photoshop and loads of apps up above today, I am getting more and more intrigued about messing around with hues and saturation to make the stitches pop. I think I may be finding a nice rhythm with it, or perhaps I just really like playing with photo editors. Either way works for me.
There is a part of me that thinks I cannot find this pattern because I have translated it incorrectly. Honestly, the stitches are a little wonky but I still think it is fun – not to mention it is just a dishcloth. Hopefully I have done the old girl some justice!
** Blogging Rhythms **
So the question I want to pose to you today is how much should one publish in a post? I tend to get overly excited about all the things that are jumping around in my mind and end up with very long posts. I wonder if I could reach more people (or just keep them interested) if I posted more often with less content. So, friends and neighbors, what do you think?
** Some Goofy Pictures for Surviving My Diatribe!! **
Flowers in the Park – Before the Foot Injury.
Niece with a Magnifying Glass.
Hubby Magnified!
All Formal for a Wedding. Not Really Goofy but Fun!
Still alive here in the Buckeye state, so no worries there. The foot is still attached so I am considering that one for the win category. It has been bundled in this contraption until we see if we can afford health insurance.
Boot for the Klutzy.
My biggest concern is that I broke the same bone I have already broken in this foot. I talked the doctor out of surgery (screws, rods…eww) because my hand was broken at the time as well. If this is the case, then I may be majorly screwed. Or….it could just be a really bad sprain that will heal on its own. I am hoping for the latter.
It has been made more difficult because I cannot use crutches for long periods of time due to my hand, so I have been taking the pain medication for my hand (and well, I guess my foot now too), which is something I tend to avoid. I hate pain medication, it makes me fuzzy and goofy.
Because of this I haven’t really been doing my knitting for fear of making a mistake. Instead I have been working on my parents anniversary party – invitations, knitted stems and pom-pom flowers (those are very difficult to mess up) and a photo album of their 30 years together. More on that later.
I finished Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, which was amazing right till the end – where for me it faltered. She had something that was really evolving into something amazing, but I felt like there was a short cut taken – like it was planned all the time but the planning was unneccessary.
I still really enjoyed it and it has been nice to relax with a good book. It was on my read-a-thon list but I have so much I want to read that updating shouldn’t be an issue.
I will be back tomorrow friends and neighbors with this week’s stitch pattern, no worries! Thank you all for your kind words and support – I will be back in the saddle in no time at all. Till then, try not to fall. 😉
Here I go again posting twice in one day! In my defense, this weird sleeping means that everyday kind of feels like two – that and the fact that there is so much to share.
In July I am doing my first ever read-a-thon, which seems crazy because my wedding anniversary is the 5th and my parents anniversary is the 9th (thank God the party isn’t until the 16th)! My husband has agreed to go along with the plan and I can see the excitement building as we traverse our library in search of goodies. This is what I am thinking:
July Read-A-Thon Book Candidates!
Okay, right quick:
Dark Places: Love Gillian Flynn – Sharp Objects (in my opinion) was better than Gone Girl so I am very excited to read Dark Places.
The Handmaiden’s Tale: Have heard nothing but praise for this book, found it for a dollar at my local used bookstore and snatched it up.
The Girl in the Green Raincoat: LOVE Laura Lippman (I am trying to get some female authors in this challenge as well). I picked this up planning on reading it right away and of course got distracted. Bring in to Laura Lippman, I’ve been waiting!
The Psychopath Test: A friend from High School mailed me this book all the way from Switzerland with an emphatic note to READ IMMEDIATELY. I plan on complying.
Gulp.: Mary Roach, who also wrote a book called Stiff (read it, you won’t be disappointed) came out with this earlier in the year and it is just the type of !thing that makes me want to giggle with unadulterated glee.
That’s all for today (part 2) friends and neighbors. If you have anything you want to add or suggest, lemme know!
I have two really wonderful people to thank for nominating me for the Wonderful Team Membership Award, both Pretty Little Things in a Box (on June 14th) and knitxpressions (on June 17th) have gifted me with the honor of knowing that somehow or another I have been a wonderful team member! I love the idea of this award, that bloggers can thank all the people who have helped them – mainly because so many of you have helped me. I feel as though I am flattering myself here a little though, both of these outstanding bloggers don’t need my help, but I am thrilled to read their posts and offer my humble insights. To you both, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Wonderful Team Member Readership Award (I REALLY want to create a New Award for this, much like blogger Movies, Silently did!)
Now onto the nitty-gritty.
To accept this award, I have to follow some rules:
1.The Nominee of the Wonderful Team member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her blog. (check!)
2.The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days, all at once or little by little. (check!)
3.The Nominee shall name his/her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post or on posts during 7 days. (On My Way!!)
I want to say an extra thank you to all of you I am passing the award to. You have supported me with both your advice, your motivation and your exceptional kindness. I have found a family here and you have made the world a little richer every day!
So here are my 14 wonderful, insightful, helpful lovely nominees. There are so many other bloggers I want to give this award to as well, your insights have been just utterly priceless. To the nominee’s – CONGRATULATIONS!
** Planning a Big Old Party **
Mom and Dad Christmas Morning. 2011.
These are my parents, and in the literally thousands of photos I have on my computer – this is the only one I have of them together. Seriously, I just spent a good 45 minutes attempting to unearth a single shot of my parents in the same frame. I could suppose that this says something (very loudly) about my Mom and Dad, but I am choosing not to go there.
Planning this party is….interesting. With T out of work and every penny we have accounted for, planning the type of party that I would like to give my parents is proving to be quite difficult. Hours spent logging serious library time looking for affordable recipes to feed all the people they want to invite, going to big box stores to find the cheapest paper on which to print invitations and trying to be as creative as possible to make their day special.
The invitations have turned out quite well, another perk of having Photoshop on my computer I suppose. I am going to mail out the invitations and include a 4″ by 6″ blank index card for everyone invited to write a little note. The plan being that I will present them with this in an album the day of the party. I would love to ask people for pictures but I am not about to press my luck.
Then there are the centerpieces. My Mom suffers from COPD, which basically means that real flowers are absolutely out of the question; her suffering from a crippling asthma attack would spoil the entire party for her. So, what is a knitter to do? Well…knit!
Assembly Line.
Loads of Flower Stems.
First Attempt at Construction.
First Trail Vase…Needs Work.
The plan is to make these the centerpieces, all acrylic yarn and no asthma attacks! I figure 6-8 flowers per ice tea glass (its plastic but we’re broke, so I will forgive us). I am also going to do a very delicate i-cord in blue (for water) and spring green (for grass) to place in the bottom of the vase. I may do a type of bow around the middle, but simplicity is my goal and I don’t want to verge on tacky. Bonus: this is a GREAT way to stash-bust!
I am also making a scrapbook of their married life, all 30 years. I am a bit concerned about this because I have never scrapbook-ed in my life! My Mom dearly loves scrapbooks but I was just never able to get into it, I like the photos neatly labeled and able to stand on their own. Maybe it’s OCD, maybe I just don’t like putting glitter and stickers on my photos – but for my parents I will suck it up. I just hope that I don’t make it too boring, I think I might have to buy some glitter….
Whew…long post today friends and neighbors! I hope you were able to hang in there till the end because I have a very important question to put out there. Do you have anymore ideas on how to make an amazing party for my parents on a budget? ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME!!
Today is a big day! My 50th post and a new award to show off from a blogger I greatly admire. There is a bit of guilt since I haven’t posted since Sunday – my father-in-law has re-injured his hip and we spent the majority of the past few days in a hospital where the internet is a big no-no. But my fellow bloggers, and their trials and tribulations, have never been far from my mind. Did the frogging turn out ok? Did the sweat block the way you hoped? How is your Mom doing? Is your son’s first strep throat on the mend? If you are reading this, you know who you are.
50 posts ago I never imagined being a part of a community, let alone one that I cared so dearly for. Online communication is rumored to be stale, sterile and removing us from one another – I wholeheartedly disagree. I have been repeatedly gifted with kindness, calming words and encouragement from all over the globe. I am a very, very lucky girl.
So I humbly dedicate my 50th post to all the bloggers out there who encouraged me, helped me and showed unparalleled kindness to myself and others.
♥ The WordPress Family Award ♥
The WordPress Family Award.
What is better than knowing you are part of a close-knit community? I am stealing the line from Knitting with Heart, the lovely blogger that has given me this award today. It still comes as a surprise that I have been awarded anything, even after 50 posts. I love reading knitting with heart’s blog – I love reading all your blogs! Knitting with heart has shown her caring nature, superb talent and ability to enchant every reader with every post. I owe you a debt of gratitude – reading your blog opened up my eyes to writing about things other than just knitting, and the fact that you consider me a part of your Online Family brings more than a little mist to these weary eyes.
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
RICHARD BACH
Thank you. Thank you so much to all the bloggers that have made me a better – and stronger – individual. Since I can only link to 10 of you this is an incredibly difficult decision to make. I will do my best.
If you choose to pass on this award, here are the rules:
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family.
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them.
5. That is it. Just please pick 10 people who have taken you as a friend, and spread the love.
To my WordPress family – we are what we make, and because of that we are stronger than we ever knew!
Okay. To start off after days of radio silence I would like to answer the The Liebster Award questions so kindly given to me by knitrun4sanity – Seriously, check out this blog. I have already been nominated for this award, so I won’t hassle all you lovely readers with more questions, but since I was nominated (and she worked so hard on the personal questions) I feel it only right to answer them
The Liebster Award
1. What is your all time favourite craft? – The obvious answer would be knitting, but my favorite “craft” is actually writing music. I fell in love with it in High School and still to it to this day.
2. Where is the strangest place you have ever crafted? – The strangest place I have ever knitted it (gulp) the morgue. When I worked in the hospital I was working on a little tomato to give to my Mom as a pin cushion. I stuck it in my scrubs when we took the expired patient to the morgue, not realizing that we had forgotten to toe-tag him. My partner went upstairs and I (in accordance to Ohio State Law) remained with the body). So, naturally, I picked up my double-pointed needles, kept my yarn in my scrubs and proceeded to knit. It got quite a laugh.
3. What is your favourite craft time snack? – I am so anal about not getting anything on my knitting that I never eat around it. I do, however, take that time to indulge in ridiculously lavish cups of coffee. Creamer or syrup, whip cream, caramel, milk…mmm. Usually I drink it black so it’s like dessert!
4. Do you prefer the radio, tv, music or other when crafting? (If other then please inform!)- I definitely like listening to music when I knit. Recently though, I have been listening to quiet a few audiobooks and also podcasts. Variety is the spice of life!
5. What is your proudest achievement?- That I am able to write again after my hand injury.
6. What is your biggest crafting ‘dream’?- I guess like lots of knitters I would like to be published, but first I just want to write a pattern that I can call mine.
7. Who is your inspiration?- My husband, my niece and my cat keep me moving. Without them, sometimes I think I would just disappear creatively.
8. Is there a craft that you have yet to try that you would like to have a go at?- Crochet is a dirty little mistress, I want to have her, take her, OWN her. But I cannot, no matter how hard I try. I just keep coming back to it only to fail again. I feel I will conquer her one day though….hopefully.
9. How often do you craft (everyday, every weekend, twice a week etc) ?- Every. Single. Day. It is my version of meditation/yoga/therapy all rolled into one.
10. Are you a messy or neat crafter?- Messy! I have no idea how my husband keeps from going insane with the amount of stuff I have everywhere. It’s all so organized to start, but I always have so many things on the needles that it just…grows!
11. What or who got you started crafting?- My Great Grandmother was a knitter, and it was stumbling upon her old knitting journals and needles that made me decide to give it a go. What a great decision!
Surprised My Failed Hat Works!
SUCH a Promising Start
Full Frontal Heavy Goodness.
For Gloria
The Back
So Heavy I Had to Hold It.
Covering the Face in Shame.
Right Side
See that girl above with the goofy, shocked expression on her face? That’s me. The first picture I have put of myself on my blog and more than less likely the last. I hate having my picture taken – always have – but since my stripped stocking cap turned out better than it had any right to after some careful washing (I think snowboarders would like this, don’t you?) I just had to share.
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Okay, it has been a couple of days since I have posted, but things have been a bit crazy here in the Buckeye State. There are a couple of things I want to give you a preview of – my mind has been on my knitting and my blog even as I find myself cleaning the bathtub for the fourth time. Let’s see what you think!
My Life in Books – Here I plan to have a post each week covering one of my bookshelves shelfs. One shelf at a time I want to show you who I am a little better through explaining my choice in books, their history and how it has changed me.
Photography Friday! – I want to showcase more pictures throughout the week, but on Fridays have my blog mainly set on the pictures I am taking. This may seem a little pretentious (especially considering the talent here in the blogging world) but I am really enjoying it and I want to share.
Stitch Pattern a Week – Definitely have to keep that going!
Etsy Finds – One day a week I want to include an item on Etsy that I am gaga over. This is sort of a way to investigate what sells and what doesn’t in the Etsy world, since my stuff still isn’t.
So which are you more excited to see? Hey, my first ever poll!
So much to get caught up with and so little time (and almost 1,000 words already written) I am going to call it a day. So, friends and neighbors, I am going to leave you with a couple of photos and I hope you like them. More knitting pictures tomorrow (loads going on there as well) and I hope all is well and good for each and every one of you. Your kindness knows no bounds.
I never post twice in one day but this is pretty exciting news for me, so I want to share. It has been a rough weekend and the week isn’t looking much brighter, but you have to find the joy in things or you’ll end up curled up in the fetal position, eating your own hair. This is good news friends and neighbors and I just couldn’t wait to share! Thank you so much for all your support and for reading my rants, I’m still awed!
All Night Knits 