My First Knitpicks Order!

Wow, that was fast! My first ever order from Knitpicks arrived in 5 business days. Maybe that doesn't sound fast, but since shipping was only $2.49, I think that's quite expeditious! Oh, and I just love what I got---16" size 6 circs. I had knit a hat on 29" circs, but it was a pain, and I understood then why the pattern specifically stated 16"! So now, in addition to everything else I have on the needles I'm happily knitting a roll-brim hat for a local Seafarers Ministry. With my luxurious Knitpicks circs :)

Knitting Doesn't Have to be Hard

It's definitely summer down here in the South, a time for mosquitoes, humidity, ceiling fans, the beach, and sweaty glasses of iced tea (or as the locals say "sweetea" or just "tea", with the tooth-decaying sweet syrup unstated but understood. I take mine straight---no sugar!).

Recently while saying, "Thank you, God, for air-conditioning and ice makers," I realized our old thirsty stone coasters weren't as, well..... thirsty, as they once were. So, naturally I decided to KNIT SOME!!

Happy Beginning of Summer!

In honor of the official start of summer, I'd like to share this WWII propaganda poster that I found somewhere recently (I keep a virtual collection of them that I use as screen savers). I think it's the most unusual one I've ever seen....somehow I doubt they posted it at the Charleston Navy Yard during the war, since I'm sure they were already pretty hot!

World Wide Knit in Public Day

I discovered while surfing some knitting blogs today that this Saturday, June 9, is World Wide Knit in Public Day.

I went to the website and THERE IS NOTHING PLANNED IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!!!!! Of course, I have found out about it too late to officially plan anything. Not that officially planning anything is my forte.

I'm just wondering if maybe there might have been some confusion about the title....of course there's nothing wrong with World Wide Knit in PUBLIX Day, and I do happen to be on very good terms with most of the weekday staff at my own local Publix, but you just can't assume that everyone will have the guts to actually go knit at the grocery store.....and then you have to ask, why Publix? and not Piggly Wiggly or Kroger...

Regardless, I'll have to come up with some place to land with my knitting this Saturday, which makes me think--why not:

World Wide Knit By the Side of the Road Day
World Wide Knit By the Campfire Day
World Wide Knit While Boycotting Camping Day
World Wide Knit Like a Pirate Day
World Wide Knit at the Movies Day
World Wide Knit Door-to-Door Day

and one that just might catch on...
World Wide Knit When You Should Be Cleaning Day!!

Hmmm....

It's the first day of June---Time for:

My plans for the summer....


**Catch some Palmetto Bugs and train them to do a circus act

**Meet more of the neighbors---put a car on concrete blocks in the yard and see who drops by first from the home owners association

**Find a way to feel good about the fact that the thought of going camping makes me shudder

**Knit wool sweaters while sitting on the beach, within the path of kids dripping ocean and sand on everything in sight

**Form a support group for those of us who'd rather have dental work than go camping

**Once a week, frantically load bottled water and batteries into a cart at the store, muttering loudly, "Storm's coming... oh dear oh dear... such a big storm...gotta stock up..."

**Begin blogging the minutiae of my day....8 am: Got out bed. 8:05 am: Went to the kitchen 8:06 am: Put kettle on for tea....

**Plan a camping trip for the hottest day of the summer

**Talk like a pirate while in line at the grocery store

**Pick the squirrels off the bird feeder with a super soaker water gun. Laugh maniacally...while talking like a pirate...

**Pull all the grass and leave the weeds. Put up signs that say "Wildflowers: Do Not Mow"

Today's (Song) Quote

Today is Irving Berlin's birthday (1888), and man is it ever hard to pick ONE favorite out of all his songs!! So I've picked my all-time favorite Fred and Ginger dance featuring words and music by Birthday Boy Irving Berlin:

"Let's Face the Music and Dance"

"There may be trouble ahead,
But while there's moonlight and music,
And love and romance,
Let's face the music and dance.

Before the fiddlers have fled,
Before they ask us to pay the bill,
And while we still have the chance,
Let's face the music and dance.

Soon, we'll be without the moon,
Humming a different tune, and then,

There may be teardrops to shed,
So while there's moonlight and music,
And love and romance,
Let's face the music and dance."

Be glad it's only five

Someone recently forwarded to me a very worthy email, all about choosing to have a good attitude and deciding to be happy.

At the bottom of the missive was a list, and if you are a regular reader of this blog (it's possible---there could be someone!) you may have noticed that I have a penchant for lists.

So here is the list from that encouraging little email....

Five Simple Rules to be Happy:
1) Free your heart from hatred.
2) Free your mind from worries.
3) Live simply.
4) Give more.
5) Expect less.

While the average person may read this (heck, since it was one of those notorious forwards, chances are EVERYone has read it!) and be inspired, nay, strengthened in his or hear daily existence, I however find it only leads me to compose my own list. Perhaps due to my streak of cheeky sarcasm, exacerbated by lack of sleep and too much PG Wodehouse...whatever the reason, here are my very own...

Five Easy Rules for Complicating the Simplest of Endeavors

1) Muck about with your Netflix queue so that instead of a witty, urbane romantic comedy, you end up with "Barney: Shake Your Dino Tail" for a date night movie. (No apologies to Barney)

2) Promise to knit something for someone, but only after you have UFO's (for the non-knitter: UnFinished Objects) on every pair of needles you own. This works best if at least 2 UFO's are for rapidly approaching birthdays, and the newly promised knitting has a very short deadline.

3) Decide to homeschool, then surround yourself with public school teachers who moonlight as truant officers and curriculum experts. Extra points here for having teachers who are directly related to the children in your homeschool. (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)

4) Spend a morning creating gingerbread houses with the kids. Add lots of candy and frosting, then leave them on a 3-foot high table. Go out of town for the day. Leave the dog in the house. Enjoy coming home to clean up what she DIDN'T eat; really enjoy the fun groaning sounds she makes for the next several hours.

5) Paint your nails before leaving the house for the kid's dance practice, thinking you've got adequate time for the polish to dry. Arrive at the studio in time to wire plastic leaves on real trees (it's a recital prop, of course!) for 2 hours. For maximum impact, wear a knee-length skirt that makes it impossible to crawl over scenery.

Today's Quote...

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."

e. e. cummings
(poet, painter, essayist, playwright)

Knitting in Public (gasp!)

I think I've crossed some sort of invisible line. Yesterday I went to a RiverDogs game (We won!). My hubby had asked me, the day before, if I'd planned to take my knitting, and I said no, meaning it. Then, yesterday morning, it happened.

I put a skein of cotton yarn and some circular size 8's in my "ballgame purse" (you know the one I mean--it doesn't show dirt, but holds the sunblock, the insect repellent, the handwipes, the game roster, the cell phone, the raisins, etc.). Nothing came of it right away, though. I settled in, chatted with friends, watched the game, had a hot dog.

Then, about the 5th inning, I gave up. I could no longer resist the urge. Out came the yarn to be balled and then knitted into a washcloth. Sigh... My friends didn't blink an eye, just proving that, to them, it was something to be expected from the likes of me. BUT! I've never knitted at a baseball game before. I've tried to be a NORMAL member of society, confining my knitting to the privacy of my own home, my own car, my own daughter's ballet rehearsals. Now this! What's next?

PS: I also recently bought a bag. Not a knitting bag, not a purse, but a sort of briefcase, complete with padded spot for, of all things, a laptop (which I do not own). Why did I buy this bag? Because I NEEDED a way to haul knitting with me and still look like "oh, doesn't she have a nice large handbag?", instead of "what in the world is the woman hauling around?".
Yes, I think the obsession is going to new levels.

My First Sweater!

Wow! I did it! A sweater! A simple sweater, but a wearable sweater nonetheless! I'll be shipping it off this week to Knit For Kids, but first I'm going to try it on a friend's 2 year old and see how it looks.

Today's Quote

Today's quote comes to us from Isak Dinesen, born on this date in 1885. After years of struggling to keep her African coffee plantation going, she finally had to sell it and return to Denmark. It was then that she became a published author, her most famous work being Out of Africa, a memoir about her time in Kenya. She also wrote "Babette's Feast".

She said, "All sorrows can be borne, if you put them into a story."

Where in the world have I been?

Has it really that long since I posted to this blog? Yikes! No doubt it's due to all the knitting I've been doing....and the tireless hours spent walking uphill both ways to do good deeds for others...the novel I finally got around to finishing....that sled dog race in Alaska last month....and all that time I spent ironing my husband's shirts.

Anyway, I really have been knitting! I finished the tube socks and discovered they're too thick for this part of the country (except for a few weeks in Jan/Feb). But they look nice. I made a couple of handbags (my own design, aren't I clever? I'll have to post a pic when I finish the handle on bag #2), the first of which started out as a dishcloth with something called the Andalusian stitch. I found the stitch in Teach Yourself Visually Knitting.

The kids do something every year with our homeschool group called International Night and the country we chose to learn about and represent this year was Spain. Did you know there's a region in Spain called Andalusia? Do you see where I'm going with this? What Int'l Night project would be complete without some sort of representative knitting? I told a friend of mine about this plan and mentioned that this behavior might get me branded as one of those people who must include knitting in everything they do. SHE said that was ok, so I took that as "permiso completo", and kept knitting. No I did not knit it in the colors of the flag of Spain. It's only red, and only because I didn't have enough yellow on hand....!

I'm now working on a cotton tank top in blue (my daughter's also doing one in pink) and of course the Alpaca shawl from my first Really Big Yarn Purchase. Except it's very big and warm and becoming inconvenient to work on when it's hot or I'm away from home. So it may take awhile!

I ventured in last week to my LYS, Knit, and bought some teeny tiny needles and some Real Sock Yarn, so I can work on those New Year's Resolutions. Eventually!

Last week we also went somewhere beautiful to hike around and look for birds (and alligators!). Isn't it lovely?

It's a Sock!!

I did it! I made a sock! And I started the second one! Yea, sure it's only a tube sock (no heels were turned in the making of this knitwear), but it's still a sock. Well, a sock and a half, now.

Bon Voyage and Aloha!

Felicity has just set sail and is headed for beautiful Hawaii! She'll be sporting her new knitted swimsuit, designed and knitted by my daughter. Cruising along with her is Syrup, seen here with his cape (knitted by me), and his blanket (knitted by my son). (Yes, that's his first ever completed knitting project!! He has now started a scarf! Wow, three knitters in one house! I'm so happy!)
Everyone here at ...by what we give. (that would be me!) want to wish both Felicity and Syrup a lovely time! Don't forget to send us a postcard!

New Years KNITTING Resolutions

1) Finally start a pair of socks.
2) Finish a pair of socks.
3) Organize my stash.
4) Organize my needles.
5) Make a list of organized stash and needles so I finally know what's really in there!
6) Set up knitting classes and workshops.
7) Plan ahead for next year's knitted Christmas gifts.
8) Spend more time knitting every day!

Christmas Joy!

My very own copy!! The library will be so pleased to get their copy back!! What am I yammering about? Why, Mason-Dixon Knitting, of course! I received my very own copy for Christmas and I'm one happy knitter!

I also was able to make my very first Big Yarn Buy. That's 10 skeins of one yarn! It's so soft and wonderful...and it will make a wonderful shawl/wrap...as soon as I finish swatching...because naturally all that yarn has totally freaked me out and I'm terrified I'll do something wrong once I get started!

10 Christmas CD's to Knit By

Warm up the cider and grab your knitting....

1) Handel's Messiah
2) First Call "Beyond December"
3) "Christmas with the Rat Pack"
4) George Winston "December"
5) Glenn Miller Orchestra "In the Christmas Mood"
6) Mannheim Steamroller "A Fresh Aire Christmas"
7) Mannheim Steamroller "Christmas"
8) Michael W. Smith "Christmas"
9) Bing Crosby "Christmas Through the Years"
10) Nat King Cole "Chestnuts Roastin'"

Life Without (Much) TV

It's been a full week now...and what I realize is that limiting the tv is harder for me than for the kids! I had already greatly curtailed their watching, mostly because I much prefer their DOing something to their just sitting and watching. What has hit me most in the last week is my own attachment to tv. I really love old movies!

We have moderately interesting conversations during meals now, and we can really work on 6yo son's table manners (ick!). This morning the kids and I played "animal lotto" during breakfast.

I have to find a new place to knit. My knitting bag has always sat next to my spot on the couch (the end closest to hubby's chair), but that spot is also directly opposite the tv. I swear it calls to me sometimes! So I've been knitting very little--I'm afraid to sit down there! I can't move the knitting to the bedroom, because the minute I sit down in there, I will have a cat in my lap. Cats and knitting are not mutually beneficial.

The bad thing about kicking the tv habit during Christmas: all those great Christmas movies. The good thing about kicking the tv habit during Christmas: all those great Christmas songs on the radio. And our tendency to play board games as a family during the holidays. And bake cookies. And get out and go look at Christmas lights. And do Christmas crafts.

Maybe by January, we'll be so used to doing other things....
well, I'll finish that sentence in January!!

An update as of April, 2007: The TV is not on all the time, but neither is it off all the time. The kids are much more apt to find something else to do than ask to watch something. We get a movie for "Family Movie Night", we watch the History Channel, and right now, a lot of Baseball! But TV watching is no longer the first option and sometimes we just read a book together! I think, all in all, we have benefitted from our experiment. It has made us THINK about how we spend our time, instead of frittering it away. And that's a good thing!!

The Great Experiment

Perhaps it's a combination of things. I've been reading 109 East Palace, about the physicists who gathered at Los Alamos to develop the atomic bomb in WWII. I've also been alarmed at my children's conversations and how they consist primarily of quoting or discussing movies or tv shows. Perhaps it's a combination of these things that caused me to turn off the tv this week. By lunchtime on Monday, it was off, and it has remained off since then (3 1/2 days and counting).

If this experiment had been conducted at an earlier time, maybe a couple of years ago, surely there would have been bloodshed in our home. But I've been cutting down on tv consumption since I began reading John Rosemond and it had already made a surprising difference in the attitudes and behavior of the kids. Plus, they're old enough to play together and keep each other occupied.

Then I picked up The Plug-In Drug, to bolster my efforts and reassure me that I was doing the right thing. Now I wonder if I'll ever turn the tv back on! I want something better for my family than sitting in front of the tube, watching dumb stuff just to be watching something, shushing the conversations, complaining when someone stands in front of the set, arranging LIFE around the tv schedule.

So I'll let you know how it goes!

Things I Won't Be Including in My Christmas Letter This Year

**My achievements in the art of making little foam ducklings out of styling mousse...
**How my kids got "discovered" when the director of a hit reality show was in town filming something strange at the neighbors'...
**How I got a red mark on my eyeball when a new pair of contacts refused to be removed...
**How that red mark bears an uncanny resemblance to Abe Lincoln...
**How the kids and I spotted a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker--a bird that I thought was only a figment of Bugs Bunny's imagination...
**How I've finally trained the cat to give massages like that one in the Walgreen's commercial...
**How I won Yard of the Month for my artful planting of summer annuals spelling out "Jesus Loves You" in the flower beds...
**How mid-year I gave up doing laundry and have been successfully selling our dirty clothes on e-bay...
and last but not least:
**How Daisy is training for the Iditarod sled dog race...