Another New Year Is Upon Us

This surely is one sad little blog. I feel so bad for it. It's been my companion for years, always ready and waiting. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's even well-written. Lately it's just been neglected by that upstart KnitOasis blog.

I realized today, as I came back to look for my post about Epiphany, that I really really like this blog. I like the layout and the colors and (most of) the things I've written.

I also realized, looking at my New Year's resolutions for 2011, that the fulfillment of one of them ("Teach more people to knit.") has led to the virtual abandonment of this blog. Why? Because the KnitOasis blog is for business, and that's what my focus has been for the last year. I can look back from this January to the last one and say WOW! I have definitely come farther in the "Teach more people to knit" plan than I ever thought possible. I now freelance with knitting workshops at The Charleston Museum on a regular basis and teach knitting classes at Michael's craft store. Who woulda thunk it?

My success in the knitting instructor portion of my life has come at a cost, apparently: the neglect of my writing just for writing's sake, and, by extension, this blog. Getting a career off the ground takes focus, time, money and energy--lots of each! But I have not forgotten that I was a writer (of debatable ability, I'll admit) long before I learned to knit, and eventually we all must return to our roots and to our true selves.

Maybe that can be one of this year's resolutions...to write more. Sure, there's not a lot of time to spare in my crazy busy life. I wear an awful lot of hats: wife, mom, homeschool instructor, friend, parishioner, chauffeur, cook, housecleaner, AND knitting instructor. They say, though, that when you try hard enough, you can make time, especially if all you need is a few minutes out of a day. It also helps if you're motivated, or trying to return to your roots. Or both.

Here's to a happy and prosperous New Year, no matter what your goals.

Decembre

I admit it: I'm cheap. If I can get a pattern for free, well, that's my favorite price. But I also want it to be good. This is why I'm a fan of the online knitting magazine Knitty. Free patterns. Good patterns. Nice designers who will message you back on Ravelry if you get stuck because you've only just started mastering Fair Isle knitting and this one is a little tricky because the pattern is on both sides. At least that last bit was the case for me in knitting Decembre by Meghan Dougherty. She very kindly answered my not-terribly-bright-might-have-figured-it-out-if-I'd-read-the-pattern-again questions and got me back on track.

I love this pattern and I love the yarn I used, Bamboo Ewe from Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller. It knits up nicely and is so warm and cozy. Great stuff.

Today we took a carriage tour

You've probably heard it all before, thinking that this is what the tour companies tell you just to sell you their tour packages, but a carriage tour really IS an amazing way to learn about a city. Maybe it's not true of every city or even every carriage tour within that city, but I can tell you that our experience with Palmetto Carriage Company was a great one.

Today our family took a tour in a city we already know quite well, thank you very much, and we all learned a lot from our very well-informed guide. I fluctuated between being impressed and slightly freaked out as our guide deftly navigated the narrow streets between parked cars, moving cars and other carriages, all the while looking at his passengers. This means he was not looking ahead. At the road. Ever. Like I said, it was borderline freaky. But I figured he did this all the time and our adorable mules "Hit" and "Run" were smart enough to know where to go anyway. I also knew that carriage wrecks in downtown Charleston are infrequent no matter which way the driver is looking.

The pace of a carriage, combined with the expanded viewing area that you don't get in a car, topped off with the fact that you're not walking the whole way, make a carriage ride worth it. I saw architectural elements on buildings that I've walked or driven by for years without noticing. And the stories are fun, of course. Every guide is different, but tour guides operating in Charleston are licensed and trained, so they all know quite a bit.

I came away from our carriage tour adventure today thinking 2 things: 1) Has anyone ever thought of doing an "Earthquake Tour" to discuss the 'Quake of 1886?
~~The result of having read City of Heroes: The Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886 recently~~
and 2) Wow, there is just SO much to learn about this city!!! I guess when you've been settled since 1670, there's a lot of history to toss around.

There are plenty of ways to tour Charleston, and plenty of things to see. Take it from this local--Palmetto Carriage is a winner.

Charity knitting

Go read this: KnitOasis, Jan. 30, 2011

Thank you :)

Knitting in Public (or How Not to be a Hater)

(This blog post comes to us from KnitOasis, my alter-ego) (Because I myself never the house without taking along my knitting)(hahaha)

There are many variables in my life (despite appearances to the contrary). I have many interests and a few true passions, plus there are things that must be done every day or every week to fulfill commitments and obligations. Knitting is one thing that can be described as a constant in my life, though. I've knitted through good times and bad. I've knitted easy things and things that were so challenging that I swore it was going to make me give it all up; lock, stock and yarn stash. I've knit alone and in large crowds and in everything in between. It is a rare day that I leave the house without a project, carried along "just in case" there is a moment that could become knitting time.

And yet...

And yet I sat today in a lovely class at the Charleston Museum (aka one of my favorite places), and witnessed someone, other than myself, knitting during the class. Why is this even worth mentioning? Because, believe it or not, I HAD NO KNITTING WITH ME. Knitting in the car, knitting in several rooms of my house, but not with me. I had just been chatting with a dear fellow Knitter-Mom about how we really should have brought our knitting in with us, chuckle, chuckle. Then not 10 minutes into this class, I catch a glimpse of this other mom, knitting away while listening to the teacher. I am sure this woman is a kind, generous, lovely person, but I found myself being a Hater. As in, I hate that SHE thought to bring her knitting, and I didn't. It was bad, let me tell you. The milk of human kindness had ceased to flow from my heart and I had no one to blame but myself.

I can excuse it all by saying I had no idea what the structure of the morning would be and thereby could not have known I'd have tons of sit-and-listen time to make use of. But really, is that a good excuse? I think not. I purposely carry a handbag large enough for at least a small knitting project (and I don't fill it with things that would take up valuable yarn space), I make sure I always have a small project on the needles to keep handy for excursions, and I know that knitting is an activity that can be done in so many different situations without being considered rude or distracting. (Of course, there are exceptions to this, but that's another story.)

Later, as we toured the Civil War exhibits in the Museum, I saw displays that featured knitting needles and yarn and descriptions of how the women left behind during the war knit ALL THE TIME for the boys on the front. I felt them mocking me, those women of the 19th century. I just know they were always prepared when they went visiting...Parasol? Check. Lace gloves? Check. Knitting? Check.

I claim to be committed to my craft, and I have big plans for all the things I will knit this year. So, if you see me taking a few moments to knit in public somewhere, please know it can mean only one thing: I'm trying not to be a Hater.

A New Year Dawns

Fan that I am of making lists, I am not really such a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. Still, I keep making them, so what does that say about me? Don't answer that.

Of the 8 resolutions I made last year at this time, I can safely say that I only stuck to one or two, leaving me with the following quandary: do I move last year's unfulfilled resolutions to the top of this year's list, or do I chuck them altogether and start fresh? Does anyone else ever have this problem? I mean, those goals were worthy of setting a year ago, so are they no longer worthy of pursuit just because 12 months have passed wherein I have totally forgotten about making them?
You see my dilemma.

I think I'm going to keep what still feels pertinent and add what seems timely and let the chips fall where they may. After all, there is more than a slim chance that I won't remember making this list anyway.

New Year's Goals for 2011

1) Revise 2009 & 2010 NaNoWriMo novels into one spectacular, readable, publishable work.
2) Knit something for the Red Scarf Project well in advance of the yearly Dec. 15 deadline.
3) Start Christmas knitting much much sooner than I did in 2010. We're talking before Thanksgiving.
4) Blog at least once a month on at least one of my blogs.
5) Continue my quest for the perfect cup of homemade mocha.
6) Cut back on caffeine.
7) Teach more people to knit.
8) Tackle the knitted sweater again, hopefully with more satisfying results this time.

Happy New Year and may you have great success in keeping whatever resolutions YOU set for yourself this year!

"G" Whiz

I love this dishcloth. I love the color (Peaches & Creme #28 Delft Blue) and the fact that is looks so great in my freshly painted kitchen. I love that the pattern was easy and the whole thing knit up in an afternoon. The only thing I don't love about it is that it's not the sweater I've been working on since April! The knitting is complete and I even thought I'd found the perfect buttons...but the drapiness of the rayon is not allowing for the large button that the pattern had called for. So it's back to the button drawing board for me. SOON, I hope to be reporting in about the finished product--my first ever knitted cardigan. Until then, please enjoy this dishcloth. G, isn't it lovely?

This Old Movie

Never let it be said that I don't excel at something. I am a world-class procrastinator. I am by no means lazy, and I think if I were more lazy I'd get much more accomplished on my actual "to-do" list. Rather, I am a veritable genius at creating other things to do instead. For instance, instead of working diligently on the sweater that I started as a Knit-a-Long with my friend Jani, I have written a dishcloth pattern based on a design brought to me by one of my Monday Morning Knitting Group friends. I have knit 3 different dishcloths and one secret Christmas gift. The result of this is that, almost 5 months after beginning this sweater, I still have more to go. Jani, who stayed on track, has finished the knitting of hers and has moved onto blocking and buttons. Yay, Jani!!!!!!

A second example: instead of revising my NaNoWriMo novel, I have, among other things, created a new blog to house my musings about classic film. To be fair, classic movies do figure incidentally in the novel, so it's bound to help with that, but still...pro-cras-tin-ation!!!!

Lantern Moon

Lantern Moon is a company that sells knitting stuff--I thought it was just needles. I was over at their blog today, though, and discovered that they not only sell other stuff, they are working to keep textile arts alive.

A quote from their website:
"Historic Preservation Project--a designation Lantern Moon applies to textile techniques and other artistic forms taught from one generation to the next. Through focused efforts to provide a market for this art, we are hopeful that A-Luoi weaving will be around for many generations to come."

August** Plans: A To-Do List for the End of Summer

1) Eat peaches procured from Dillard's Peaches in Greer (aka the best peaches east of the Mississippi). Try not to say, "Wow, these peaches are so great!!" with every bite.

2) Take full advantage of Duran Duran Appreciation Day and play every DD song on Youtube. All. Day.

3) Finish knitting my first-ever sweater-for-me, just in time to put it away until, what? January?

4) Start novel revision by getting all 50,000+ words in one place (more or less in order) on the computer.

5) Begin outline for this November's NaNoWriMo novel, by deciding if an evil twin is necessary or if a nefarious look-alike is sufficient in the cast of characters, PLUS--which one of the people I know in my real life will get killed off this time?? Fictionally, of course.

6) Read City of Heroes: The Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886 in time for the 124th anniversary of the big quake on August 31.

7) Try to take in some of TCM's Summer Under the Stars, especially Norma Shearer on the 13th and Katherine Hepburn on the 20th.

8) Take lots of walks, storing up the memory of the heat and humidity for the long winter days ahead. Bwahahahaha!

**august-adj: respected and impressive
**August-noun: the eighth month of the year

On knitting up the (perfect) holiday

Today I found myself tidying up my yarn stash, specifically a drawer full of small balls of leftover yarn, in many colors and varying amounts. I was quickly caught up in a haze of creative contemplating. (Washcloth? Cat toy? Bookmark??)

I love little bits of leftover yarn. They don't have a specified purpose, like the yarn I bought to knit a sweater or sock yarn for, well, socks. Instead the little leftover bits are Free Agents, open to drafting by whichever team finds them useful. (Crazy scarf? Afghan square? Hat??)

Without a specified purpose for this yarn, I feel much less pressure. There are fewer expectations for the unassigned scraps. The receipt for their purchase is long gone, so cost is rarely a consideration. Making a mistake with this yarn is not an earth-shattering possibility. Instead, it is a relaxing, yet energizing thing to hang out with them. (Me: "Ya wanna go get some coffee?" The yarn: "Sure, why not?")

The Yarn With Purpose intimidates me somehow. It has Plans, it has its Destination keyed into its GPS, it knows who it wants to hang out with when it gets to where it's going. There are few margins in the life of Yarn With Purpose. (Me: "Ya wanna go get some coffee?" Yarn With Purpose: "Can't. Too busy." Me: "Oh. Well, OK.")

Now there are those knitters who will take Yarn With Purpose and let it know who's boss, changing the original Plan to something else, and doing it without a backward glance or the slightest twinge of guilt. I envy these people their ability to own the yarn instead of letting the yarn own them. I don't understand them, but I envy them. My own capacity for such behavior is relatively nil.

Maybe it's human nature to gravitate towards the things that make us happiest, or maybe it's laziness to take the path of least resistance.

It's a lot like holidays. We have found at our house that the holidays that are the least trouble, those with the fewest expectations and the most fun, are the ones we like the best. The holidays that are more margin and less pressure. When the day rolls around and the family can just enjoy itself, without having to act a certain way or follow a pre-arranged set of rituals, that is what makes a memorable holiday experience.

Since tomorrow is Independence Day, I'm going to remember this and pretend we are constructing our day from leftover bits of yarn, in many colors and varying amounts, without the pressure to create a perfect holiday sweater. I'm not even going to knit a gauge swatch for the day. Happy Fourth, Everyone!

WWKiP day, 2010

In the course of my daily life it is a rare occurrence which finds me doing something with tangible international significance. This is not a cry for pity or sympathy. I can accept the fact that the average homeschool mom "doesn't get out much."

Instead this is more along the lines of a Really Good Reason Why the
World Wide Knit in Public Day is something that strikes my fancy. Think of it: knitters from all walks of life (even homeschool moms) knitting. In public. Everywhere. It boggles MY mind, anyway.

So on the official WWKiP Day (last Saturday) I was pleased to be in a public place, in this case a monthly political breakfast, and take out my knitting. DaHubby was kind enough to make it a photo-op, and the blurriness I blame on the camera in my phone, not on him.



The cool thing now in WWKiP circles is to KiP anytime this week, so you can pick a day this week that works best for your community. Frankly, this makes me think that it could be done everyday, since "community" is a term with the possibility for loose interpretation.

So, if you knit, try to do it in public this week, and if you don't knit, why not?

Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944

Today we remember the most famous of all "D-Days", the Allied invasion of France, also known as Operation Overlord. In the planning in one form or another since the Allies retreated from Dunkirk in 1940, this D-Day amassed the largest invasion force in history. The Nazis knew that an invasion was imminent, although they did not know where or when it might begin. The Allies used this to their advantage in order to preserve what edge they might have from the element of surprise. For many months leading up to June 1944, misinformation was systematically fed to the Germans in an effort to convince them that the invasion would come at Calais. This strategy helped keep the German focus on areas other than Normandy, ensuring that the Allies would have a chance to gain a foothold in France before the Nazis could mobilize sufficiently to launch an effective counterattack.

Prior to the landing of the troops on the beaches, 24,000 paratroopers were dropped behind German lines in France. Then the first of the more than 6000 ships arrived, and the first troops attempted to land on Omaha beach, wading through the water into relentless machine gun fire. Of all the beaches, Omaha was the most heavily fortified, and American casualties ran high...most of the 5000 killed there were killed in the first hours of the battle.

The invasion of Normandy was the beginning of the end for the Nazis, as the Allies pushed steadily toward Germany. Less than a year later, the war in Europe was finally over.

Ginger Rogers--TCM's Star of the Month

If you are reading this and you don't have access to Turner Classic Movies, or you have never heard of Ginger Rogers (gasp), then this might not mean too much to you. But stick around and maybe you'll learn something new...keep those brain cells working and they'll last longer, I always say!

Ginger Rogers was a STAR. She could sing, she could act and she was undeniably Fred Astaire's best dance partner, their ten films together still amazingly stunning today. My own affinity for Ginger was firmly in place long before I knew she lived for several years in my home town of Fort Worth, Texas. No, really! But it is a nice bonus, to say we essentially hale from the same locale. And you know I say that.

If you want to check out this very talented performer and TCM is an option for you, they are showing more than 40 of her films during the month of March. Wednesday, March 10 they will be showing, in no particular order that I can fathom, all 10 of the movies she made with Fred Astaire. I'll get the popcorn....

Happy Texas Independence Day!!

You know, Bevo gets dirty, and ya gotta wash 'im someplace! In the part of Texas from which I personally hail, however, I never saw such a sight as this.

When Passions Collide

Ok, to me the title of this post is eerily reminiscent of those cheesy romance novels we used to read in high school. You know the ones, with half-dressed drawings of flawless beauties standing submissively quivering next to equally half-dressed brooding hunks. "When Passions Collide!" Too funny.

That, however is NOT what this post is about. So sorry!

I was spending some time in Blogland with The Best of WWII, and I noticed that Melissa, the fabulous blogger there, had added a button since my last visit. It announces that she is a proud member of The Greatest Generation Society. Nifty! So I clicked it and applied for my very own membership, which as of this writing is currently "pending". After applying I was directed to this page, and began to utter loud excited noises of approval, along the lines of, "Oh, wow! Look at this!! This is SO coooooooollllllllll!!!!!!!!!!! Woohooooooooo!!!!!!!" You get the idea. It was the same thing that happened when I was in the mall before Christmas with the kids and discovered the WWII: A Day-by-Day History Calendar. Except when you are in the mall with your kids, you can't really put that much volume into your excitement, lest they suffer needlessly the Shame of an Uncool Mom.

The collision of passions came when I settled in to examine this page and blindly swung my feet to the footstool (or is it an ottoman?) and landed them messily on top of the Olympic Reindeer Hat that I've been knitting. Oops! I think the reindeer survived my Lands End loafers on their pointy heads, thank goodness! The moment made me thankful for my passions, ahem, and for the time and ability to pursue them. And for the Olympics which are frankly not exciting me much at this moment--hence the extra knitting and Blogland visits.

So the next time you find yourself in the midst of pursuing one passion, and you stumble over the evidence of another one, be grateful. With our without the cheesy romance novels.

When all else fails...

Eagerness to begin my second attempt at Fair Isle stranded knitting blurred my usual Girl-Scout-Always-Prepared ability today, and I made it out of the house without my bag of knitting gadgets. When I realized I REALLY needed a stitch marker to figure out where in the pattern I was without having to count and re-count every time I looked up from the chart (duh, that is what stitch markers are for, after all!) I began the hunt...

--Gadget bag? Nope.
--Emergency yarn cutter I usually carry in my purse so I can cut a piece of yarn to use as a stitch marker? Nope. Changed purses on the way out the door to church; neglected to transfer the yarn cutter.
--Stray pair of scissors anywhere in the vehicle? Nope.
--Set of keys not currently in use to employ in cutting of yarn? Nope. (House keys are great for this--if you have them on you.)
--Pocket knife being carried by any male member of family (since they always have pocket knives with them)? Nope.
--Stray piece of yarn that doesn't need cutting before being put to use as stitch marker? Nope.

GRRRRR.....

And then I found it: a paperclip in one of the 4563 assorted storage areas in the van. Genius!





When it grows up, this project will be the very cool Olympic Hat (Ravelry Link).

Greetings from the snowy South! On Friday night we got 4 inches of snow at our house, and some of our friends got 6 inches out in the country. Aside from the power outages that seem to accompany such weather phenomena around here, it was a wonderful, once in 10 years treat.

Oh, and yes, that scarf is handknit and the cap was crocheted, both products of SuperCraftyDancerGirl's yellow phase.

MLK and Benny Goodman...

In honor of MLK Day, we at "...by what we give." would like to pay tribute to a bandleader who hired musicians based on their ability rather than their color.

In 1935, Benny Goodman hired Teddy Wilson, a jazz pianist, to join him and Gene Krupa (drummer extraordinaire) as the Benny Goodman Trio. This made Wilson the first black musician to perform in public in a previously all-white orchestra. Soon after, Goodman invited Lionel Hampton (vibraphonist--cool, huh?) to join his Trio (thereby making it a Quartet, because if there was one thing a good bandleader could do, it was count!).

Hampton is quoted as saying this about Goodman:
"As far as I'm concerned, what he did in those days—and they were hard days, in 1937—made it possible for Negroes to have their chance in baseball and other fields."

Here is the Quartet in 1937. You'll swear that Wilson's hands are computer enhanced versions of the real thing, sped up to look that fast! Man, those cats could play!