Happy Birthday, Taki!

It is hard to believe that our Taki turned 30 on August 8.  It is especially hard to believe when I consider we cannot get him to not make a silly face in a photograph.  Of course, his new birthday hat is a bit different, too, so it really is not out of place to pull a face when modeling it.  The knit was a labor of love, and that made the challenging aspects worth the effort.  I think it is quite a spectacular hat, and I hope his sister does not think it is so fabulous that she needs one too.  

The pattern is Samurai Kabuto from Folk Hats, and it is the original reason I bought the book.  It took a few years before I felt like tackling the challenge, and Taki's 30th birthday seemed like the perfect occasion.  It was knit either this hat or a thirty-piece mochimochi sushi refrigerator magnet set.  Maybe that will be his Christmas present.  That way, I do not need to knit thirty of them.  Anyway, the hat even goes with the theme of one of the rooms in his house, and recently, he has had more interest in researching his samurai ancestry.  

The pattern really is quite well written, and if you combine following the directions with patience and determination, the hat is totally doable.  I suppose that goes for just about any knitting.  Well, except for the good pattern part.  We have all encountered those that were not.  /ahem Knitting this took a lot out of me during a time when many people needed a lot from me.  In fact, I was sewing a few last details in the car on our way to the party.  However, I think it turned out great, he likes it, and he is very much worth it.          

UM...Overflowing

I received a wonderful box overflowing with prizes from Stacey's NMO fundraiser.  I love it all so much, and have been making plans.  I do have some singles waiting for their plying time before I should get into my new fibers.  After that, my next challenge will be to find the time to play with it all.  Then again, there is a lovely new drop spindle in my prize package, and that is a great way to spin when time is scarce, and it would not interfere with the plying.  Well, only if you count the fact that time spent not plying means that plying does not happen, but we are not super interested in reality right now.   

Since this is week 500 for Unconscious Mutterings, it seems like the right time to participate again.  I did the exercise as soon as the list was posted because I thought it might be unwise to peer into my mind later.  This is the time to remember--Do Be a Do-Bee.   

Call ::  Me

Instinct :: Killer
Toffee ::  Nut
Cleaner ::  Professional
Gut ::  Feeling
Leveled ::  Demolished 
Discover ::  New
Together ::  Again
Attack :: Killer Tomato
String ::  Along

All Thumbs

While I started these mittens over a year ago, it is only now that I am getting ready to finish them, and I am so close and yet so far. I really do not remember why I set them aside. I picked them up the other day and breezed my way to the tip of the second mitten and feel like tossing them back in a yarn bin, but I will not. I will weave in ends and knit the thumbs. Then it is only a dunk in the bath, the drying, and I will have new mittens. I can do this, and I will.

It is just that I have been a bit unsettled with my knitting lately. That can be a perfect opportunity to attend to the odd piece left unfinished. It is a good time to just knit without thinking about what I want to knit and just follow along and form stitch after stitch after stitch. When I do not feel like knitting, there are plenty of ends waiting to be woven in and snipped. While I am feeling a bit meh, I am going to use it to make my way through something I might otherwise set aside in pursuit of more exciting knitting. Then, when I cannot stand it, I will paint my nails and bask in the luxuriousness of forced idleness while I wait for them to dry.  

Feeling Like a Champion

After taking some time to diagnose the problem with my computer, gathering the confidence to order the part, and then finding the courage to tackle the repair, I am back. It feels good to figure out a problem and then fix it myself. It also feels good to return to blogging. Blogging is a weird thing, I often have very different thoughts about it, and yet, here I am. I could have kept up better while my computer was down, but stepping back from it was helpful. It even gave me the opportunity to build up a bit of blog fodder to help me as I work my way back into it. That is not to say you will be subjected to every baby bib and burp cloth I have sewn lately, but I do have them, and if I come up short for a photo to go along with a post, you just might get to see them.

Sewing is not all that I have done. I was social once for a little bit, and that was mighty nice. It allowed me to vent a bit. It was mostly just a little unnecessary family drama that will be just fine. I was super tired when I learned of it and am glad that I have time to prepare before I really have to deal with it. You know, it is one of those times when one is called upon to be the bigger person and do the right thing when it seems pretty pointless. Well, besides the fact that doing the right thing is right. I am still looking for ways to squeeze more positive and joy out of the situation, because there are still some opportunities for that. Well, that is my hope, anyway.

Oh, but let us get back to the social bit. It was not all about me dumping my stress out all over the place. It was also a good time of catching up with one another, and even discussing things that were not me. I like that the best. Helen had recently returned from family vacation, and she brought back these lovely gifties. I love my new mug and socks. Thank you, Helen! Those are not the only fabulous prizes I have received lately, but they will wait for another post.

PandaGnomeum

We traveled about 800 miles over the weekend, and by weekend, I mean just Saturday and Sunday. That was about 150 more miles than we intended, due to an unfortunate missing purse incident. That story is not particularly entertaining, was incredibly stressful, and all was pretty much put back to right in the end. We are so relieved to be home, and grateful that when all was said and done, everything worked out, eventually.

There was both newness and oldness in the adventure, so we prepared as best as we could and hoped it would be good enough. As far as that goes, we did pretty well. My biggest decision for the trip was the knitting. I decided to go with what has served me well in times of stress this year. No, not more owl hats, but rather the teeny-tiny mochimochis. I opened another package of magnets, put them in my accessory pouch and then tossed patterns in a knitting bag with an assortment of small balls of Knit Picks Palette. It turned out to be good car knitting. I learned that I-65 around Birmingham is not ideal if it is time to do assembly or embroidery, and that I would be better off starting a new creation and coming back to it, or I waste a good chunk of time. The handle in the car door is a great spot for the chibi, scissors, and clipped yarn pieces. By the time we returned home, I could feel phantom dpns from all of the times I had temporarily stuck them in my hair. I also had a few new pieces, and they followed a theme.

I came upon the theme before I knew how true it would be, but it was still silly enough that I kept with it. I held up the panda and gnome I had knit and said to Bruce, "It's PandaGnomeum!" He is so good to laugh at the silly things I say.

Unfortunately, the PandaGnomeum has continued, and we are struggling to keep afloat. One thing after another pops up before we have a chance to think about unwinding and catching up on things like laundry, grocery shopping, and computer repair. We will be fine; we just feel a bit out of sorts.

This is Not Car Knitting

The knitting I should have done by now just got underway at the end of last month.  I am making the Samurai Kabuto for Taki's birthday, and it will be tough to finish it in time (August 8th).  I have made progress on it, but now I am down to the brim, the tassel, the dragon, and assembly and finishing work.  The neck protector section took much longer than I had anticipated because the button stitch rows took forevah, and the row that followed was always a bit tougher because of it.  I am working on the dragon now, and that involves things like measuring, and I have learned (why, yes, I do learn my lessons sometimes) that is best done when one has a firm, flat surface.  That is to say, measuring on my thigh while riding in the car is not the best path to success.  Since we will be traveling many miles this weekend, I will probably leave the hat at home and knit something else.  I just do not know what that something else should be.  

TDF2012: All Over But the Plying

So, I did not know that I was going to disappear from blogs for the duration of the Tour de Fleece, but I did. It is good that the Tour is a July event, because it is a good way to keep up with something during a time of year when I would otherwise sit on the couch staring blankly at the television. Sure, I'm still sitting on the couch and the teevee is still on all the time, but I just keep spinning, and eventually, I have new yarn. Eventually is a key word here, because I am a slow spinner. It does not seem that way to me while I am spinning, but it is true. I followed the spinning schedule for the Tour, and I did not make it through the twelve ounces I planned to turn into yarn, but I did enjoy myself. I even got the drop spindle out for a bit so I could get a Tour de Niece picture. Yep, my auntliness increased again on Friday the Thirteenth (Madeline Belle, 7lbs, 15 ozs; 20").

Spinning also helped me cope with some unpleasantness and difficulties. It can be very therapeutic and calming, giving me a place to focus attention and settle into a soothing rhythm. Team CrankyPants helped, too, as did all of the beautiful photos of other spinners' work.

With all of the hours and hours I spent at the wheel, I hoped to have a finished yarn, but I was still about three-quarters of an ounce short of finishing the singles. I did make my way through that after the end of the Tour, and now I just need to ply.  

Tour Training

Well, if by training you mean, looked at fiber, then I have been training. Since spinning is not a requirement for Team CrankyPants, I am pretty sure this really does count. Actually, I have been doing some things to get ready. I sewed an apron to wear while I spin. This should help to keep any loose fibers off my pants, plus if I am spinning dark-colored fibers, they will be easier to see against the white apron. I should sew a darker apron for when I spin light-colored fibers. It should go faster now that I have already sewn one. However, I do not have plans in the immediate future to spin anything white, so maybe the darker apron will wait. 

The other day I took advantage of the heat to dye some silk caps. My nephew helped me, and that made the process even more fun. I have not decided whether I will spin the caps or just knit straight from them. I think they would make great mitts or a nice cowl.

I think I am getting close to having a plan for what I will spin during the tour. I have the pile of mystery fluff that I carded ready to go, and I have my box of Royal BFL/silk Cupcakes. I have plenty of fiber to choose from, but figure getting through all of that will be enough of a challenge for me. That has not stopped me from thinking about other possibilities, just in case. Mostly, though, that is just a distraction and a fantasy that I will have so much time to just spin, and no other drama or trouble will keep me from it. I can dream, right?  

Up On the Roof

We have been very busy, but most of it has been a home maintenance and repair journey, and therefore, not particularly blogworthy. We started out with the task of cleaning the gutters and found a hole in the roof. We have repaired the hole, and are in the process of other roof work. It is not fun, the weather is very hot, and we have both fallen. We are thankful that we were not on ladders or the roof at the time. He fell up the porch and I fell off the porch. I can only laugh at my bruises and scrapes. My unhappy wrist (probably a mild sprain) is super-annoying, as it has slowed me down and prevented me from doing as much. After a couple of days, I struggled to keep to the R portion of the RICE treatment, but I have greatly improved my machete skills (best $3 spent at Harbor Freight, evah).

Anyway, it is very weird around here, and I am so grateful to have people who will answer questions like, "Which is the better gnome?" and, "Which gnome goes with this chicken?" without batting an eye. Those are the kinds of questions I feel up to dealing with, not the question of my Rata Scarf. I did block what I have, and I still do not know, but I kind of feel like just frogging the whole thing, but that is probably the home improvement talking. Of course, I do not have the time or energy to deal with it anyway, so it will wait.

For now, there is tons of laundry to do, missing sleep to locate, and I have to not think about getting up on that roof in the morning so that I can get up on the roof in the morning. In between now and whenever, I hope to catch up on emails, blogs, comments, and maybe get a few packages in the mail, but it seems I am forever in that mode, so there you go.

Previously, Not on the Blog

Just popping in for a minute, because I do not have time for much more than that. Until then, enjoy these pictures of lace I knit for friends but did not show so that they could be surprises, but then never got around to blogging.

Argh! Yarndage!

 
Oh, it is probably my fault, but I still feel as though I have been wronged.  I want to shake my fists, cry, and shout that my 5% more yarn than the pattern lists is a sufficient safety margin.  However, that does not make me any less out of yarn, nor any closer to finishing it. 

I decided to get serious about finishing my Rata scarf, and as I neared the top, I noticed the beginnings of the cone showing through beneath the yarn.  That sinking feeling began to settle in, and I wondered, but kept going.  Well, I made it to the top, and worked the edging almost all the way across before reaching the end of my yarn.  Even if I had made it across the top, there is still the long trek working the edging down the right side of the scarf left undone.  I did entertain the idea of not working the edging on the right side, but that was mostly a bargaining/wishful thinking thing in hopes that the yarn would go further than it did.  

After that disappointment, I moved on to a Team CrankyPants Training Camp task--I finished prepping some fiber.  The task has alternately made me think that I need a drum carder, and that I should never again attempt to prep fiber myself.  It really was not even real fiber prep.  I was just carding together two smaller bumps of combed fiber into one blended bunch of fluff.  Still, it is done, and I am glad.  I have been tossing about several ideas about my spinning for Le Tour, and the craziest of them involves beads and silk.  

Anyway, I have decisions to make in regards to my Rata Scarf.  I guess there are only two--rip, or buy more yarn.  I am loathe to do either, but just letting it sit unfinished indefinitely is not an answer.  I do have a plan, and hope you will weigh in on what you think about it.  I might try blocking what I have to see how well I might like this scarf if I finish it.  If it is so lovely that I must have it, I will buy more yarn.  If I feel meh about it, I will rip.                 

Ten Years is Not Enough

Ah, marriage--it combines the contentedness of being neutered with the occasional sex of being not!  Happy 10th Anniversary, Brucie! 

Why Not? That's Why Not

Clearly, there are many people who would never knit the things I have been knitting from Mochimochi Land, and many of them question my sanity when they see that this is what I have chosen to knit lately.  Some of them even feel the need to ask why I am knitting these, and it catches me off-guard each time I get the question.  I do have answers for the question, but I suppose what stymies me is someone actually asking me.  Of course, I just keep knitting and am not really bothered by the questions, but have a little chuckle as I wonder why they feel compelled to ask.   

I love making and giving away these cute, little creations, and I find the process calming and stress-relieving.  I also come up with weird plans occasionally, but they do not always amount to anything.  I have an idea for next month, but I probably need to get started on it now.  The biggest problem is that it involves getting things in the mail, so the plan has two strikes against it already.  

Speaking of the post office, I need to go there now, as I have something that actually needs to get somewhere soon.  Catch ya later!   

Caps, Gowns, and More Caps

May has been a very busy month.  A major event was the daughter's graduation from college.  We are so proud of her.  Her hard work and accomplishments made it easy to look past the challenges involved in organizing her graduation party.  We survived the mixed-nuts-controversy, the panic over parking, and invitation indignation, all with our sense of humor intact.  None of it was actually anything to worry about, and as long as at least two people could keep that in mind at all times, it kept a relative calm over those who prefer to panic.  I stayed so busy keeping things flowing that I hardly had any time to socialize, and I kind of liked it that way.  

The weather jerks kept telling me about the heat, and I was starting to take it personally.  As this attitude was neither positive nor helpful, I decided that I needed to do something.  As I cannot control the weather, (not that it would be a good thing if I could) I figured that a sunhat was what I needed to put myself in a better frame of mind.   

In the past, I have looked at knitted summer hat patterns, never really found the right one, and I often freeze up when I begin to think about the millinery wire and starch.  Anyway, awhile back I thought about sewing a sunhat.  I looked at various patterns, and immediately discarded those sized for "average ladies' heads."  If that worked for me, I would have already bought one from the store.  Then there were the directions for those with more sewing experience wherein the designer throws out some guidelines, and you work out the pattern for yourself.  As my experience and skills are not there yet, my search continued.  Finally, I found a pattern that I liked, and filed it away for future reference.  Fast forward to this week, and I was ready to try.  

The pattern comes from Lorenna Buck, and I love it.  It fits, protects me from the sun, is comfortable, and I want to make more.  Even with my sub-par-sewing-skills and mistakes, it still looks pretty good.  I learned as I sewed, and think my next hat should be even better.  

With the need for air conditioning comes the need for a new hat for Harrison.  I love the pattern and the sizing options mean I could make these for everyone I know.  I seriously doubt that I will do that, but I will probably knit more of them for babies.     



            

I Wish I Liked It

I recently read The Happiness Project:  Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun.  It has some interesting parts, and as I read it, I thought about many things.  I could probably blather on about it, but I am not much of a book reviewer, and I feel very wrong recommending a book or not; it feels very naked and weird.  For example, I read We Need to Talk About Kevin, thought that, overall, it was quite a book, but cannot quite urge anyone else to read it because it is not a feel-good read, and, well, other things.  

So, if I am not going to review the book or really talk about it, why did I bring it up in the first place?  Well, this week's Ten on Tuesday topic brought it to mind.  In it, the author writes of her personal truths, commandments, and happiness theories, often in the form of lists. One such list is her Secrets of Adulthood, and these are two that I thought of when I read this week's topic.  

You can choose what you do, but you can't choose what you like to do.  

Just because something is fun for someone else, doesn't mean it's fun for you--and vice versa.  

Anyway, I do have my list of things that I wish I liked, have tried to like, but am not going to torture myself over whether I like them or not.  There are things that are optional, and those that are not, and getting bound up over whether I enjoy them is supremely unhelpful. 

Blueberries
Raw tomatoes
Exercising
Certain People
Sports
Housework
Dancing
Getting Up Early
Olives

Being Neighborly 

What with all of this happiness talk, I felt compelled to knit a little bluebird of happiness (which, by the way, is quite a challenge to photograph).  I hope to keep it perched next to me as a reminder to keep my focus where it belongs, or maybe it will flap its little wings and chase off the drama llamas. 

So Long, SuperMoon!

Perhaps it was the passing of the SuperMoon, maybe it was because a few life bits slowed to a more manageable pace, or it could be that I was just too worn down to fight it, but I finally slept.  In fact, I slept a lot; too much, it seems, as my back began to complain.  That might always be a tough balance for me, but there you go.  

I keep knitting little hats for Harrison, I am reading whenever I can (the ability to check out library books on my Kindle is a wonderful thing!), and even finding time to knit some on my Rata Lace Scarf.  This is very good, as I need this downtime to recharge before I have about 72 hours of extreme busyness.  I am choosing not to think about how close I am to that, but am glad to have done as much as can be done ahead of time already.  

I have been reveling in the good feelings of getting things done, and letting them inspire me to get more things done.  Sometimes that just means finishing a batch of laundry or a sink of dishes.  In other instances, it means getting things off in the mail like a batch of photos for my grandparents and the Kindle cover that I wove.  Of course, there are always more things I need to get in the post, but they will wait.  They have to; I have not made them yet, but I have many ideas.  In fact, I just had another pop into my head as I typed this.  I really ought to write them down before I forget.  

It was a load off my mind to get the Kindle cover in the mail, because I had been paid to make it.  Everything about it turned out better than I thought it would.  I even managed to get my sleeping nephew to show off the finished product.  I like to think that his little smile means that he will always be a joyful and cooperative model for me.                    

Even Auntlier

My auntliness increased by 7lbs, 10ozs and is 20" longer, too!  Harrison Christopher was born Wednesday afternoon.  While his birthday debut started one way, he was not enjoying it, so it was completed via c-section.  My sister is OK, but having a few problems, so she was in the ICU until Friday afternoon.  This was not our favorite thing, but we have done our best to navigate our way through this unexpected and different path.  We were finally able to hold Harrison Thursday, and it was wonderful.  Now I just keep knitting little hats for his precious little head, wait my turn to snuggle him, and take as many photos as possible.    

Wednesday Weaving: Demo Edition

I felt a bit nervous as I made my way to the school where I would be a weaving demonstrator. After all, I was listed as a guest artist on the flyer for the event. Artist seems like such a grand title, and I felt like a fraud. I tried not to think about it, and focused on what I would be weaving. I had my Ashford rigid heddle, my Schacht Cricket, and my Schacht inkle looms set up and ready to go.


The parents were interesting, and had many questions. One asked how much the blanket cost, and when I did not have an answer, told me that I ought to know. She kept circling and I think that maybe she was waiting for me to name a price. A father got very close, watched intently for several minutes, and likened the process to computers with the on/off options. Another parent asked many questions about the fiber arts, had interesting things to say, and hired me to make a case for her Kindle. That was unexpected, but very nice. She did not want to give any suggestions on color, as she just wants me to be inspired and let my creativity lead the process.

It helped that I had Bruce along for moral support. However, that also meant that the kids got to weave on my Cricket a little bit. For the most part, they listened and did well. There were a few almost too shy and nervous to try, and one who was very confident in her abilities and thought that she should be given free rein over all of my looms. The kids were funny, and it seemed like a couple felt a real connection to weaving. One declared, "I am going to ask my parents to get me one of these machines!" At the end of the night, a first grader gave Bruce a hug.

Hoppin' Good

Well, we made it through the full-moon weekend, and it was something else.  Very little went as planned, and it was both too wild and too quiet.  A perfect companion for both the crazy and the nothingness, was making things.  Of course, scattered throughout the weekend were tiny baby bunnies.  They are quick, easy, and fun.  Then I decided to work on a little frog hat that my mom asked me to make for my soon-to-be-here nephew.  None of the patterns I found was really doing it for me, and that is part of why I hadn't made it before now.  In the end, I decided to use the owl hat pattern as a guide, and I think I have something that works.  




Speaking of Rufus, we got good news about him; he turned.  Not only that, but my sister's blood pressure is back where it should be.  We are so very thrilled.  Now that he is headed in the right direction, his birthday is planned for the 18th, or sooner if he gets impatient.  

Wednesday Weaving: Get This Off My Loom Edition

A few weeks back I heard of a search for a weaving demonstrator at a local elementary school as a part of their Youth Art Month celebration. The first thing I did was get the details, because I wanted to be sure that they were looking for something I could do. Since they only needed me to weave and I would not have to give a presentation, it seemed like something I could agree to do without taking on too much. Figuring out what to weave was the next step.

I could have left the current project on my Ashford, but I did not want to do that. I probably never showed this piece when I first started it. The plan was to make a blanket by weaving two panels and sewing them together. I had received a bag of yarns that I might not have bought on my own, and was stumped with how to use them, and this blanket seemed to be the answer. I used the plain, smooth, acrylic yarns for the warp, and then alternated blocks of two different textured yarns for the weft. When I was about 90% done with the first panel, I lost confidence. I worried that it was not going to work out the way I had planned, so I set it aside and could not make myself return to it. The decision to demonstrate weaving was just what I needed to make myself finish the blanket. I figured that if it worked well, I would have one more piece to display my weaving. If it did not, I would know and be done with it.

Now that it is done, I am glad that I stuck it out and finished the blanket. This will probably be a gift, but I have not decided on the recipient just yet. It is nice and soft, and the different textures add to its touchability. My nephew was even able to overlook the fact that it is not in his favorite colors and declare that he wanted to be the first to fall asleep under the blanket.