lifelong knitter

Swiftly Tilting Planet....

So, I was supposed to go to a Horticultural Seminar on Saturday, and I was ALL excited (rare plants! geeks who speak LATIN! Woody Landscaping Experts!) about it.
Then THIS appeared on my porch Friday afternoon...

teehee.
Cleverly disguised as a Cleaning device with Windtunnel Technology...

First, we have FIBER...

and what's THAT? Why it is a Wooden SWIFT! Made in Sweden...

Easily installed, and LOVELY, dontcha think?
There's lots more in that box and it is all about SPINNING...
WE're so happy we can hardly STAND it!

So instead of a full day at the Seminar, I raced over, bought the two Viburnum on my wish list
(a dwarf doublefile and a sublimely fragrant 'Mohawk' for those of you who Garden Obsessively)
and spent the rest of the afternoon SWIFTLY turning my stash from skeins to knittable balls....
sigh.

Tune in tomorrow for the Attempt to Assemble the Wheel....

April 15th

As a balance to all of the gnashing of teeth and sighing that accompanies this day....
I offer you a little bit of sweetness...

Here's hoping your weekend is filled with Sunshine, some knitting,
and SMOOCHIES!

Note: Just in case you are wondering why my posts have been so abbreviated lately...
in addition to being so sick that all available neuronic activity has been devoted to procuring Oxygen,
you should know that recent entries have all been typed with one finger, while trying to hold a new
squirmy member of the household. The above picture represents a bit of progress...He was
willing to sit *by himself* for the microsecond it took to get the picture. Then, back in my arms.
I'm a firm believer in attachment parenting. My kids and my animals all get HELD when they need it.
Regular, long winded posting to resume when he is secure enough to sit *near* me while I write!

Thursday

I wake up on Thursdays thinking about seeing my Boy bird....
making a plan for our weekly outing,
and marvelling at how far we've come.
I always knew this would be the most important
and difficult part of the journey..
finding just the right *niche* for him
to have an active, participatory role as a member
of a community.
Learning to let go, to step back and ALLOW
the process to happen is the tough part
for me.
I went back and read an old journal entry
from the early days of my Search...
" I refuse to give up on the idea that my children
have the right to live up to the fullness of their potential.
I just hope I have the strength to live through the process!"
Never give up...there were more than my fair share of days
when I was pretty darn sure I wouldn't survive it...
that's where my Faith (and Knitting, of course)
figures in to the equation.
Blessings to you and yours,
As Always!

Knitting continues

As I continue to count down the days until
a)Tiger is released for the Mac....(only SIXTEEN days to delivery!)
b) Hitchhiker's Guide (the MOVIE!) premiere (again, sixteen days)
and, of COURSE, MSWF...in 24 days...
Daughter bird called from college yesterday to tell me
"Guess WHAT, Mom? I got another A on a paper!"
I told her how proud I was of her and asked if there was
anything else exciting going on...
"Oh, YES! It's National Library WeeK.."
Geeks are US.
teehee.

Pattern preview....

Here's a sneak peek at the design I've created for Autism Awareness. (You knew April was Autism Awareness Month, right? It's Poetry Month, too...which I find delightful!)
I wanted to try and describe the Cherry Tree Hill Rainbow Ribbon...since I am not a poet, I'll let the photo fill in most of the description.
It isn't the least bit stripey or pooley (is that a word? prolly NOT!) and I haven't had a bit of trouble with splittiness or snagging. Makes for ZEN knitting, perfect for my current state of brain fog.
A worsted weight, it is creating exactly the kind of supple, but firm fabric I was after in my design.
More details to come, of course....
We are supposed to get rain later today, which should help wash away some of the pine pollen and ease my aching lungs...
Knit ON!

Ensemble

The matching HAT...

I thought a LOT this weekend about what it means to knit for someone who might otherwise not HAVE a pair of mittens in forty below weather....and as my brain struggled to contrast that with how most of us live...I was reminded of the time my dear Daughter asked me, as we passed yet another homeless man on the streets of San Francisco..."but MOM, if we don't feed him or help keep him warm, who will?"
Who, indeed.
Today is 411. Get the info on what you can do to help in YOUR neck of the woods...
Namaste.

Friday, Already?

I'm still all outta whack with the time change....
I finished the first pair of Dulaan mittens, see?

If I were one of the kewl girls, I'd be knitting a third mitten
and regaling you with the fascinating tale...
but sadly, my focus right now is on
Breathing.
I've got this wicked upper respiratory/spring allergy nonsense...
Coughing, sneezing, fever, headache....bleh.
The boy bird and I had a lovely time at the Mall, and I'm off in a little while
to the dear Daughter's college
to watch her run cross country!
The new Spring KNITTY is up...
can't wait to hear what y'all think.
I'm singing dat wuh wuh wuh WUH song....

Carson's Day Out

First I went to the SPA and had an Oatmeal bath...

So I'd be all Handsome and Clean smelling to accompany Mom to the Art in the Garden show
in the Village. The artsy ladies were all making such a FUSS over me, but I was sniffing around

for something to CHASE......

do you see him? Or are you like my Mom, all mushy over those FLOWERS?

Sheesh. She got so excited that we went back to the studio and she got all hot and sweaty
planting these...

I napped in the shade. That looks like too much work and besides, I just had a BATH! To tell the truth, I like it better when she is KNITTING. That means she sits STILL for awhile and I can curl up in her lap where I belong. We're supposed to have rain the next few days, so I'm hoping for more knitting.

I forgot to tell you the Best Part. I was so good at the spa that I got to have TWO Teenie Greenies on the way home. I LOVE me some teenie greenies! I'm just sayin', you know, in case you come to visit or anything and you were wondering what to bring me...

Smoochies, y'all!

My First Pattern

Will be available soon,
all proceeds to benefit the Autism Society.
I was honored to be asked to submit a design
and THRILLED when the fiber arrived....

stay tuned to see what this Rainbow Ribbon
from Cherry Tree Hill becomes....

Mitten ONE, done

I finished the first of the Dulaan mittens...
and I learned a lot in the process!
The two for one increases and the technique for decreasing stripes in the round are both techniques I will happily add to my skill set.
What thrills me the MOST?
The way the INSIDE looks and feels...

I'm happily humming the tune from the Mamas and the Papas now...

it IS what's on the inside that COUNTS!