"I have never felt that anything really mattered but the satisfaction of knowing that you stood for the things in which you believed and had done the very best you could." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Friday, April 29, 2011

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-17

And...here we go!

1. I love to look at landscapes in the Spring to see all the wonderful colors.

2. Nothing beats a kind word and a smile.

3. It's how you look at things that really matters.

4. If you know how my book will end, please don't tell me!

5. Well, would you do it just because your friends are going to.

6. I wish my garden could sustain more of the classic spring peepers.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Memphis move on in the NBA play-offs, tomorrow my plans include a much over due oil change and car wash for the black beauty and Sunday, I want to take a walk-about with SF!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-016


FFI>


And...here we go!

1. Pardon me, I'm not quite myself today.

2. Today I will be leaning on SF a good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like chocolate covered bacon.

4. People watching is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

5. Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm Knitter, not a fighter.

6. Ice cream goes hand in hand with summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to allowing myself the time to grieve and have an Irish wake for Eraser, tomorrow my plans include a little house work and time with SF and Sunday, I want to sit by the pool, cold beverage in hand and enjoy the day!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.
Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon replied the whiskered angel,
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled.
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.
But don’t they understand? asked God.
That you’ll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined? For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is… forever and ever and ever.
Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat.
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them.
I just am… forever and ever and ever.
Author unknown

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-015

Friday Fill-Ins


And...here we go!

1. For me, it was all about the presentation.

2. I was amazed at the abundance of organic produce at my local supermarket.

3. Behind the sound of the wind in the trees, I heard the still of the night air that promised a new day on the horizon.

4. A whale watching cruise is something I always wanted to do.

5. When it was over, I was not sure if I had made my point or if it even mattered.

6. I was by myself but I never felt alone.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to happy hour with the neighbors, tomorrow my plans include knitting, sunshine and a mud bug party with Stephanie, Jack and Zoe and Sunday, I want to pamper myself!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday Fill-ins 2011-14

And...here we go!

1. In the near darkness I enjoy the solitude of my thoughts while sharing the time with the one I love.

2. The Nurse would really like to be "Off Duty" til further notice.

3. But this really grabs my attention.

4. Just once I would love to fish for trout in the stream.

5. It's always nice when the little things you've done get noticed.

6. Nothing beats good food and pleasant company.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing nothing but relaxing with SF, tomorrow my plans include a much need visit to the hairdresser and perhaps a ride on the motorcycle and Sunday, I want to visit with the neighbors (since he his a CPA he has been BUSY)!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Day seven: 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time.

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

This one really amused me for some odd reason.  I don't think I have a typical time.  Knitting has been a part of my life for so long that it is just an extension of me.  I have knitting with me at all times.  A project at work, one that I grab when ever I get in the car.  And then the ones that are on the end table in the living room and in my project bag.

At any given moment there are at least five active projects just to cover all the spaces that need one.  I almost always have socks on needles and a shawl or shawlette.  The rest range on what "bug" has bitten me at that given moment.  Sometimes the bug is caused by a yarn that comes in a swap.

Case in point, the Cheshire Cat scarf and now the Multnomah that I cast on Thursday while at USS with Jordan and Clarice.  The Cheshire Cat scarf was my go to project when SF and I went to Knoxville.  I wanted to showcase the beautiful yarn that Amy had made for me and the scarf was the answer.  I can't wait to wear it.  The Multnomah was the same.  I knew as soon as I received the yarn in the swap that I wanted to make a shawl/shawlette with it.

I take knitting with me when I go to the Hobbit to see Megan, so I do knit with food and drink near me.  There are several of the staff there that knit and they are all new knitters.  They have lots of questions and I find myself bringing some standby Red Heart to show them how to do something when they ask.  They all love the projects I bring and they love it when Megan wears something I made.

When I am at home, I typically knit in the same spot on the couch with SF while we watch sports.  I will admit that I don't usually work on anything too complicated for some sporting events because I know that just watching the event will cause me enough stress.  SF is amazed that I can knit and watch TV at the same time.  I just smile and keep going.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

March Goals - Progress Update

And what about the goals for March?

These were the goals that I laid out:

I have the March Sock of the Month underway. It is not as far as it should be but that will be corrected this weekend since we will be watching the ladies SEC Tournament.


I will be completing the "Birthday Cowl" with the Malabrigo I received from Heather in the Have a Cuppa Swap package.


I have also put a real focus on getting all the WIP's in my queue completed so that I can feel better about wanting to start new projects.


Non-knitting I want to get back to reading more nightly before bed. That could be a challenge with March madness upon us but I will see what happens.


I also want to shed the last few winter pounds and get back to a more concentrated workout mode to get to that size 12 that has eluded me for the last year.

So, how did I do?

The March socks are taking FOREVER.  I think that is due to the US Size 0 needles.  I am almost done with sock one and will cast on sock two this weekend.

The "Birthday Cowl" was finished in record time.  I am now officially hooked on Malabrigo....

The WIP's in the queue....I had good intentions but taking care of Ambre for two weeks took a lot of my time.  She had whipp worms and needed meds every four hours just like taking care of a newborn baby.  I lost a lot of sleep and knitting time.  I managed to get one project in the queue finished and I am working on two others.

Reading before bed did not happen either.  Mostly due to Ambre.  I wasn't able to keep my eyes open so reading was not an option.  I hope that after this week (last week of NCAA basketball for both the men and ladies) that I can focus on this goal more.

The weight loss was challenged by Ambre as well, since I had no energy or time to get to the gym.  That too become a top priority for April.

I'll post actual April goals later this weekend!

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

This was an interesting topic.  I had already made a list on paper some time ago of things I wanted to try that for whatever reason I had avoided in the past 37 years of knitting.  Some are more patterns but there are a few techniques.

I really want to try entrelac.  I have no real idea as to why I have never done it before but it really is starting to creep into my field of vision.  I'll probably start with a simple scarf (thanks to Jordan) but I saw a beret/tam that just screams for me to make it.

I also want to take a colorwork class.  I know how to work in colorwork but my tensions are all wrong and I cannot use both hands to hold the threads.  I think that once I take the class I will feel more comfortable with more projects.

I also want to make one of EZ's patterns.  I have had a few of them in my queue for an eternity.  The BSJ always looks so wonderful when I see them finished.  There is one at USS that I love and I pick it up every time I am there.

The biggie for me is learning to steek.  I am PETRIFIED of knitting a garment and then cutting it on purpose.  That seems as foreign as dropping a stitch on purpose (in the Clapotis) was.

So what about you?  What has eluded you?

Day Five: Wildcard – Embellish the story

Embellishments come in all types and forms. Some are more than purely decorative and form a practical function – pretty buttons are as much part of holding a garment together as mere decoration, and some are just there to give a piece an extra ‘something’. Blog about an embellishment, be it a zipper, amigurumi eyes or applique patch which you are either saving to use or have in the past used to decorate a project with. Write about whether you are a very minimalist kind of knitter with classic lines and timeless plain knits or whether you love all the bells and whistles or sticking sewing and otherwise attaching decoration to your pieces.

Zoe's First Sweater

Zoe's First Sweater

This was the first item that I made for Zoe.  It is the Five Hour Baby Sweater.  There are some minor pattern "issues" but it really does take right at five hours.  I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted in the Wave colorway.  Stephanie did not want "traditional" baby colors so I loved how this was soft but not a real baby color.  I wanted the sweater to be simple and elegant, especially after we learned that the baby was indeed a girl.

When I was finished I knew that an i-cord was not what I wanted to use for the neck.  It laid about for a while when I remembered that I had a beautiful black ribbon from a gift that SWCNLBN had given me from Victoria's Secret gift a few years back.  I located the ribbon and when I finished threading it through I was very excited about how it looked.

Now when I get ribbons, I carefully wind them on a spool and save them for future projects.  You just never knwo when taht might be the best accessory to finish a project.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-13

And...here we go!

1. I can't believe my daughters are actually making more adult decisions.
2. I hope April brings more Spring weather for everyone.
3. How can I develop more of my skills and talents without sacrificing anything.
4. Jasmine rice was the last thing I cooked.
5. Six of one is a six-pack.
6. Humidity is returning to our weather and the NCAA men's festivities are here.  UConn is slated to win; nonono!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to grabbing some more time with Megan, tomorrow my plans include a visit to SJ H-D and a Tea Party at USS PLUS the two basketball games and Sunday, I want to enjoy the women play and the return of SF from her business trip!