K8's Sister

Overthinking. Yarnover. EZ

2008-06-27T20:56:00.012-05:00

Why post when there are no pictures (so there are a few)....it's not really fair to consume everyone else's photos without offering up your own (be nice, play fair).... it takes so SERIOUS skill to take good pictures in direct sunlight(which I don't have)....it's the end of June, the mosquitoes are out (I have the bites to prove it).

I love to knit. I make no secret about it. There is genius to be found in knitting. 90% of the time, both are positive and empowering. When the two are combined, they are downright combustible.

I am fascinated by holes. A hole is the absence of something. A hole generates a reaction. Sometimes it's sensory-cheese with holes tastes great. Or physical-caused by the dog or a mole. Examples of holes are: cognitive (holes in heads), emotional (holes in hearts) or geographical (sinkholes). Holes are given a "value". They are either empty or full. Holes in the marketplace are good. They're called "niches" and make scads of money. Holes in houses or fuel tanks are bad. Holes in jeans get a variable reaction. It depends on who you ask.

You make a hole by adding or subtracting something.

In knitting, there are holes that are desired (lace) and holes that are dreaded (insect or animal).

I get a really big charge out of being able to manipulate and control my knitting by strategically placing holes.

Genius is like a hole. It can be either natural or man made. It can be debated but not denied. Often the product of environment, both are obvious.

Elizabeth Zimmerman was a genius. She also happens to have been a knitter. She asked questions and looked for answers. She listened to history, applied her findings and learned things. She asked more questions. She thought about circles and lace knitting.

And ended up at Pi. Pi, as in science and math. Pi as in 3.14etc, etc, etc. Pi + holes = endless possibilities. And SIMPLE.

Pi + Renee (Goddess Knits) = Anniversary KAL

Short, sweet and VERY flexible. 5 clues, with a choice between 2 charts for each clue. Requires: yarn, needles (and beads). Even in the era of modified and carefully selected roles and goals, I can do this. Particularly if I do the 50/50 split: use something from my stash and purchase the other "something else".

Stash: beads. Purchase: BMFA Silk Thread, Thraven colorway

If you've ever taken a color class, you can appreciate Tina's experiment in over dying (Raven Clan colorway). Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Silk has a texture all its own. In the hank, it squeaks. A feel squeak, not an audible squeak.

Hand dyed yarn has a fragrance. A working kind of...studio sort of....homey feeling.

I never found the Hematite beads that I had in mind when I order the yarn. I had pulled these out instead (mostly because I could find them).

When the yarn met the beads for the first time this afternoon, I wasn't so sure. I never am. Every second guess gets a third and more is ALWAYS better.

They sat in a punch bowl. They sat in a vase. They jumped into a clear plastic bag. And we went for a ride.

There was traffic. There was music. There was a custom license plate that read "O RELAX" on a snazzy new German auto. I enjoyed it until the driver pulled a move right off Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway.

I laughed. I simply don't take myself that seriously anymore. Here's some more math: Construction + Rush Hour = Traffic

Minneapolis has transit issues. It could be worse. Deal with it.

A trip to the airport (3 Hour Tour) and I ended up with what I had when I started. Exactly.

Wind yarn tonight.
Start @ the center, working Clue 1 and Clue 2 tomorrow.
Take more pictures.
Begin Clue 3 on Sunday

By the end of the weekend, my shawl will lag only a day. I will have revealed my secret photo "assistant", and I will have watched the next disc in Season 5 of "MI-5".

11 Months to the Day

2008-03-26T10:35:00.008-06:00

It's an anniversary of sorts. The stall of the blog, the acknowledgment that I am picture-challenged and a new appreciation for simple things. I quickly and dramatically ran out of gas. One the plus side--I'm not the first or the last and I'm in great company! There are many, many highly creative and successful folks on these lists. So where's my name? That's a project for another day.

I often say, "Knitting has kept me sane and continues to do so." I am a 'process' creative, so there are plenty of UFOs. Like this one:

Emily, the wonder roomate's Inside Outs in STR's 'Highway 30'. Can you spot the issues? In addition to wide feet, Em's got a high instep. This one wasn't high enough. Ahd the HOLE--see the hole? Who knit these socks.......I frogged them both to just below the heel. And stalled. And so it went with several pair over the last year.

I joined Ravelry in June. And started actually using it's tools about a week ago. And for teh bonus round? That's right, "What are No Pictures?" Soon. Really.

Here's what using Ravelry has taught me (over the least 10 days). 1)I have LOTS of things on the needles. Many, many more than I realized. 2)4-25qt. plastic bins of sock yarn is bordering on excessive. That's stand on the edge of being a Thing. 3)I haven't finished cataloging the yarn that I look at everyday. I wonder what's in the back of the closet...... Do you know how many pictures I need to take?

Right along with the hard things, there was this:

My baby sister went off to University. K8's not a baby anymore. She hasn't been one in a very long time. 20 years old. Somewhere between crawling and Christmas she became a lovely young woman. She worked really hard to get to this point. Interestingly, getting accepted was the easiest piece. I thought that the details of becoming a foreign student were going to make me crazy. There were funding issues and VISA issues and changed flights and forgotten items. There were days that she thought that it was a pipe dream. She's now a hemisphere and half a world away. And exactly where she is supposed to be.

Finishing my stalled projects is very similar. There are days that I don't believe that I will ever put a dent in them or have a "real person's" living room. And my silly sister believes that it will happen. Perhaps not in her lifetime, but it will happen.

This leaves me with much more time. Time to knit, time to take pictures and time to get back on the horse.

Crabby People make me...Crabby

2007-04-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

Shopping Cats in Parking Spaces, self-centered driving, and Blog whining.

Let's all pledge to simply stop the madness.

You teach your children by example. More powerful than any wordsthat you will every say is how you behave. Do as I say, not as I do is NOT A PARANTING STRATEGY. It's Hypocracy. Pure and simple.

Take 30 seconds and be courtious to others. Your children will be courtious in 20 years. Brake for pedestrians--your children won't plow into one when they are driving. Hold doors, offer to help someone who has their arms full. Be courageous--rake the yard of am elderly neighbor or one whose spouse is serving in the military REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE WAR. Teach your children to live generously-before Oprah suggests it.

Live with your heart and your head. Live community and your kids will create one.

Of Cabbages and Kings.....

2007-04-24T00:52:00.000-05:00

My world is picking up speed and I'm not terribly sure that I'm up for the challenge. Purses, purses and more purses. There are felted purses to be made, there are larger versions to be reworked and today was all about the theme of the first rose of spring. And there's a sweater looming on the horizon. One who's yarn hasn't come in yet. And it needs to be done by June 1.

I am at Threat Level "Concerned".

In an effort to soothe myself, I did a bit of shopping. Online shopping. Always dangerous. I really should have a contest to see who could guess what I bought. A purse! And I don't even carry one. It's a gift for my DS, something that she would never, ever purchase for herself. There was also a trip to not one, but two LYSs chasing colors for the Rose of Spring purse. Relax, it's not felted. The jury is out on whether or not it needs crystals (to sparkle like dew). Lastly was a mission for journaling supplies. I have a clear vision for a knitting journal...it will be interesting to see how it unfolds (literally).

I recently changed calendar formats in another attempt to go totally paperless. A small monthly pocket planner did not help where the calendar on my phone failed. I went to an appointment today that is scheduled tomorrow and I've asked about the next two days multiple times as I fear forgetting something. It might be time to consider a new Palm.

It was so warm and sunny again today that I believe that I have a bit of heat rash along my hairline--always attractive. First the obsession with knitting and not small red dots all over my forehead. It is probably best to hole up at home, knit like crazy and gently introduce myself to the warm weather like the plants--a little bit each day.

Tomorrow, I'm after getting a picture of the growing buds on the tree outside--it's fantastic. I'll share shortly.

Knitter's Coffee Swap Part Deux

2007-04-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

A Bit about Me

1. Whole Bean
2. Decaf (it's sad, I know)
3. Typically regular but I enjoy flavored too.
4. I drink my coffee dark, thick and with a generous amount of cream. I love organic cream.
5. Friday's is Roadkill Latte day. Decaf, Soy, SF Hazelnut Latte. Best soffee ever would have to be Egyptian or Italian. Funny, both are made on the stove top.
6. If I were to answer honestly, I would have to say that I get a bit Sally-esque about my coffee. I'm particular about beans and cream, but as long as a latte/ cappuccino is made well, I'm easy.
7. Michael's Biscotti (from my local bread shop), a chocolate coffee bean or a good, biscuit-like scone. Seasonal fruit on the side.
8. Goodness, I hope not. :b
9. What's not to love...Wool, organic anything, cotton, linen, silk.
10. Cat Hair and 100% acrylic (while both have their purpose, not with my coffee or my knitting)
11. Um, could this question be qualified, please? I'm a process knitter. Kate Gilbert's "Cardigan for Arwen", a tribute to Vivian Hoxbro, 3-5 different socks, a summer rectangle with arm holes (and the perfect soft yellow), Norah Gaughan's Rams Horn Sweater"; and Rita O'Connell's "Garden Maze Cardigan" have floated to the surface of the stash. There's lace bit I don't typically sock and work lace at the same time.
12. Mostly cool tones--greens, blues, greys a bit of chocolate brown
13. Not to food or fibers, please don't send me grass or a tree.
14. I'm sentimental--my sister dyed sock yarn for me and I love the socks that it became--not because the colorway is particularly "perfect" but because she dyed it with me in mind. I also love to learn about anything and am inspired by pictures of all kinds.

Let It Rain

2007-04-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

A front went through last night. I didn't sleep. It's not as bad as it sounds, I enjoy those nights. Millie eventually gets tired and goes to bed after trying every bed behavior that she knows to get me to go too. When clear Kitty ESP fails to procure me obedience, she sacks out withing the 7ft. radius. She is at her most relaxed and endearing. We had a wonderful night.

Let it Rain

Make this day down, the weather was predicted correctly. It has begun to rain. A nice, lovely spring rain that will quench the ground and encourage new spring growth. It's the beginning of the season of greens! I believe that it will be a Window Box Wednesday this week.

On the knitting Front
I had thought to make the most of some quiet time and finish the first of my toe-up RPMs but the sock is a bit like the unicorn today. It has been Heel Time for a few weeks and the sock has waited patiently. I knew that I has knitted a bit farther than necessary but Ye Old Tape Measure said more than 3 inches! And further checking revealed that despite not being of the digital generation, my abacus tape measure was still correct.

I did inquire about a photo, but the frogged, curly pile of BFA Peakcock was embarassed to have brought my so low. And so begins my Widdershins. The Inside Outs Part Deux are midway. The first awaits an invisible bindoff and I need to do the other this week as Operation Stalk the Mailman begins next week.

Cross your socks as I work to focus on working toward completing pairs and having more FOs this year than last.....

Socks, Socks, and more Socks

2007-04-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

I have been socking. And socking. And socking some more. Houston we have a pair! And three singles! A second pair of Inside Outs, a pair of toe-up RPMs and another fabulous Jaywalker. They all need mates. But then, who doesn't.....

Resistence is Futile

2007-01-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

Indeed.

Everyone's doing it.
And now I am too.

Purpose and intent: primarily for accountability---knitting accountability. If I don't, the UFO's are going to get me. My STASH is on the verge of taking over my life. My STASH philosophy? I chose and invited each skein; I will knit each and every last one. For the most part, each skein came with the intention of becoming something. A specific something. The second and more social reason: it is time to stop consuming and to start contributing. My third and final reason: Opinions are free and I have plenty of them.

BUYER BEWARE: I have little or nothing of useful interest to say and I am not here to entertain.