lifelong knitter

Angels

At the risk of being ridiculously redundant, y'all ROCK! Angels came in the mail for Daughter bird and her Mommy, beautifully made by Norma's own daughter. Lovely gift boxes, tied up with sparkly string and sequins....a knitter's verion of the cat in the hat for the dorm room, a couple of FABULOUS puppy treats, and, yep, a gift wrapped ROCK. From the long walk I had admired on her blog...wow!
When I went to visit maggi, I just HAD to show her what was in my knitting bag. Knitting, of course, but look what I got from Christy...an actual Red ROCK from the beach at PEI! We sat on the floor and ooooed and ahhhhed over the sparkly red rock, magpies in their glory!
Sandy is a little mystified over the whole Rock thing, but she sends slobbery smoochies....her Mommy is a bit overwhelmed....and hasn't brushed her teeth yet. Ewwwwwww.
Last night I restarted the shawl formerly known as Charlotte. I did 35 rows and am MUCH happier with her now. Maggi asked me if I was going to keep the color sequence the same, and I said yes, but then thought a litttle more about it (okay, okay, I obsessed for an Hour) and decided to *try* all of the possible combinations, and of course, settled on a different order. The LEAVES me alone shawl shall be a finished object d'art just about the time I am admiring the Falling Leaves on the way to Rhinebeck.
Oh, and for those of you who heard me whining about the tax paperwork this week? Guess what, it wasn't ME. I was feeling so stooooopid, and wondering why in the world I couldn't figure the form they sent me from the State department of Revenue. I finally went to an Actual Tax Accountant yesterday, who had to check with the senior partner in the Firm to be sure...yep, here's the new form the State said they were going to start using this quarter....turns out THEY thought it was complete gibberish, and weren't sure what was being asked for. You'd think they'd send the new forms to the people who fill them OUT, wouldn't you? Guess what his Sage Advice was?
VOTE.

Finally, Friday!

Sandy Poodle, Spokesmodel for The Knitting Channel, here. Lookee what my Auntie Debbieduck made for me. Can you spell foofy? I thought you could.
Mommy did something SO awful last night at the Knitting Meetup, she's embarassed to tell you herself. She's afraid she may be asked to leave the knitblogging community and slink around with a sequined letter K on her shirt...red, I think she said.
She's in the shower, trying to wash it out of her mind right now...so I'll ask all of you to tell me what this means....
She frogged all 72 rows of Charlotte in front of other knitters who were screaming for her to stop. Gasping at the NERVE, when she reportedly said *hey, it's KNITTING. I don't like the way it looks. It's MINE, and I'm ripping it. I end up with the same amount of koigu I started with and can simply Begin Again....*
The way I heard it, the lights were turned out and the shop was closed. Mommy was sent home.
Perhaps this is that thing called Hyperbole. Perhaps, not.
In any case, she read me a LOVELY bedtime story called The Blue Castle. We both thought the ending was just perfect. I like that Lucy Lady, she writes Good Bedtime Stories.
Hope your Friday is HAPPY! We have a package to open that I am SURE contains something for me....Mommy says it is from a very nice Bichon's Mommy....
Uh-oh, she's out of the shower and calling my name....smooches, y'all!

Little Old Lady

For the longest, whenever I saw LOL, I'd think, yep, that's me, Little Old Lady, way before my time. I've ALWAYS loved big hats, wearing shawls, knitting and quilting, cats, puttering in my garden, reading...I could go on and on (and then I'll forget what I'm trying to point out here, which....well, you get the idea.)
I listen to classical music and see the math, not to mention the knitting patterns. I wear sensible shoes. Seriously. I love a good pair of sexy slingbacks as much as the next girl, but I cannot WAIT to kick them off and slide into my comfy dogs. I'll never again wear pantyhose. I've paid my dues.
Now, you may be wondering what my coffee is laced with this morning....and rightly so. Last night I joined the shawl club at Joslyn's Fiber farm, and all night long I dreamed of throwing things into the churning water off of a rugged, rocky coastline. This is completely the fault of Rachael and her sister Bethany, who gifted me with the most amazing little LMM paperback. Have you read The Blue Castle? NO? Run to your local purveyor of books.....
Just like our heroine Valancy, in a couple of weeks, I am going to pitch the potpourri OUT the window and start doing as I PLEASE.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Late this afternoon, our regularly scheduled program will be brought to you by the Letter B...
Because we are going to see the Boy Bird, then to Borders for Books, Brueggers for Bagels.....
This evening I shall be at a Knitting Meet Up.
Living Out Loud.

Swamped

It isn't just the paperwork....it's the heat and the humidity and the endless, pouring RAIN. Yesterday morning was lovely (albeit too steamy for me, still) with some blue sky and an actual two hour stretch of sunshine. During which time I cleaned up the garden, poodle princess at my side. My datura innoxia just bloomed for the first time....glorious. There would be a stunning picture for you here, EXCEPT, it poured all afternoon and most of the night and the light (what there is of it this morning) is flat and gray and so humid that my lenses (glasses as well as camera) fog up immediately when I step outside.
Whine, whine, whine. That's not ME, it's the mosquitoes.
I did make it to the part on the Linen Drape Improvisational Cardigan where the sleeves are put on hold (WASTE? I cannot bear the thought of wasting yarn...I'm using leftovers, recycled from the felted chick fiasco...) and I can merrily knit back and forth in mindless Bleached Linen Drape.
I'd like to share an amazing YARN review. No affilliation, yada,yada.
When I was on the train trip with Daughter and we were shopping with Rachael, I chanced upon a single skein of Alpaca Pure by Alchemy. I picked it up and sighed. The store owner was reluctant to sell it to me, as she wanted it for herself. Fabulous. What's not to love about handpainted pure alpaca? It gets better. I wound it when I got back, reveling in the subtle color variations, the SOFTNESS. When the new Interweave Knits came out, I saw the shawlette and thought...oh, perhaps I'll just swatch for that...wouldn't it be loverly in alpaca. You know the rest. I'm almost at the end of the Alpaca Pure.....how much must I love this yarn if I am doing ANOTHER lace pattern in the heat of July with alpaca?
Are you ready? It gets EVEN better. I searched and hunted, and even sent some fellow bloggers out into the wilds of their LYS looking for more of this knitting nirvana...cuz now I want to make it a full shawl, you understand, not just a shawlette...no such luck. In a fit of pique, I emailed the official *contact us* link on Alchemy's website. Lo, and behold, within an hour (we're in totally different time zones, so this in itself is a minor miracle) a lovely email in return. She searched her records to find out where that dyelot had been purchased (can you IMAGINE?) and gave me the info I needed.
Let's suport these small, independent yarn companies, k?
Alchemy, yarns of transformation....remember the name next time you are at your LYS. Ask for it by name. Fondle it if you have the chance. Tis heavenly, even in July.
Knit ON.

Photo Album

The photos from the second half of my trip are now in the photo album called The Great Adventure, over there on the sidebar. As usual, the pictures are in backwards order, sigh. Oh well. Click and enjoy!
Busy, busy day today, wrestling with the Pile of Paperwork.....
Danger Girl will NOT be defeated by a measly stack of paper, nosireebob!

Travels with poodle

After launching Daughter bird on her adventure to her Dad's for a few days before she goes off to college, I packed up the Poodle Princess and all of her essentials and headed on down the road. Oooops, forgot MY suitcase. Back to the house, let's try that again. Cell phone rings to let me know that Boy bird is going to the doctor, as he has been bitten by a spider. Frantic phone calls, finally his doctor informs me that he will be fine, just needs some antibiotics and topical steroids, not to worry. She'll make a house call if need be, so Get Out of TOWN, Girl!
After all of THAT hoopla, I decided not to take the highway, and yahoo mapped the road less travelled. My grip on the wheel began to relax as I passed VIR and headed into the green, rolling hills of Southern Virginia. I drove through the farmland of my Mother's family and had a lovely cell phone conversation with Elizabeth, who is dyeing and spinning the wool which will become the Carolina Blue Sky HUG. I was a little teary as we said goodbye so I could negotiate the turnoff to get to maggi's house....YES, Elizabeth, the Internet IS a Miracle. Absolutely.
We arrived safely at maggi's house just before dinner time and the wee C and Sandy were THRILLED with each other.....

We had a lovely dinner and dessert on the front porch. Sandy met a boy bichon from down the block and ate watermelon for the first time...
Download julyadv11a.jpg

She settled down on the couch after reading a story with C, so maggi and I could KNIT and chit chat. We had our Charlotte show and tell and then played with linen drape, as we both agreed the conversation precluded the concentration necessary for shawl knitting. I showed her the Kersti sweater and urged her to try it on (bwahaha....you KNOW she'll NEED some ;)
It seemed like it got awfully late way too quickly, as it always does when we're together. How grateful I am to count her among my Friends. sigh.

Up early the next morn, we headed up the road to meet Diane, and my godchild, Kevin. When Daughter bird was a preschooler, she had HORRIBLE separation anxiety. This is actually an understatemnt of epic proportions. She would not stay with ANYBODY, and could not bear to have me out of her sight for any number of nanoseconds. I tried everything I could think of, to no avail. Finally, we went to a very exclusive preschool in the area, just for an interview. We arrived at the scheduled time, and a beautiful young woman came out to greet us. Daughter happily went right over to her, climbed into her lap and waved to me. Diane continues to be an angel in my life, all of these years later. She went to all of the special ed meetings with me and even flew out across the country despite her airplane anxiety to check out the kids new school when we moved. I haven't seen her in five years. We picked up right where we left off.
We went shopping!Download shop704.jpg
Stay tuned tomorrow for the Yarn Shop Pictures......

Christmas in July

Well, we're back from our various adventures! A great time was had by all, as usual. Not even a three hour delay on I 95 could dampen my enthusiasm for the journey.
This morning Daughter Bird and I went to a neighborhood church that we attend once in awhile, and as we walked up to the front door, we saw....Christmas decorations! Wreaths with bows and the whole works. Inside, the sanctuary was decorated with a lighted tree, and a creche. We sang all my favorite carols, and it was absolutely the most lovely way to celebrate the miraculous birth of a babe, announced to shepherds watching their flocks by night. The lowly, outcast shepherds, who could have kept the good news to themselves but despite their station, and the fact that they were not welcome to worship in the church of the authority, nor recognized by their government except at tax time, kept the faith and spread the word of unconditional LOVE....changing the world forever.
So May it BE.....Blessings this day as always to you and yours!
Pictures tomorrow.

Adventure

We had a lovely visit with maggi and the wee C.....I can't wait to show you the pictures when we get back on Monday! Check Rachelsknitting.blogspot tonight to see where we are now!

Glad

I'm GLAD! Danger Girl and the Poodle Princess are off on a Grand Adventure, so today's post is all about Being Glad.
I'm so glad I started blogging. Almost a year ago, the bossy little dog lured me out of lurkdom and then Rachael helped me figure out Typepad, Em invited me to be a Grammar Avenger (although you can hardly tell, eh?) and I was off and blogging.
I've always kept journals, and morning pages, and scraps of notes on pieces of paper all over the place, but never imagined that writing for an audience could be so Healing, or so much Fun! Whenever I post something about my children and the struggles we've had with the World of Autism and related disorders, I cringe, thinking I'm going to get lectured for *not enough Knitting*. Instead, I get helpful comments, wonderful emails, and ROCKS in the mail to add to my collection. It gives me great hope, to think that when I start the forty seventh project of the season, I am not the only one with Startitis.
Right this minute, as you are reading this post, I am hanging out with one of my *imaginary friends from the internet* and I am GLAD!

Four Months Old

I am Four Months old today! Yesterday I had to go visit the nice lady who feeds me cookies and looks in my ears. She says I am getting to be a very big girl, and perhaps, since I am 7.5 pounds already, I might turn out to be bigger than originally anticipated. I don't know what all of the fuss is about. I'm just the right size.

Now that I've had all of my shots, I'm allowed to go on Adventures. Watch for me to pop up on another
knitblogging site or two in the next few days......