So a new year is about to start, and our knit group is settling down in a new place (I hope) and I’ve decided to go back to what makes me happy. This means I only completed one charity scarf this year, and I am returning to my shawl, which I had set aside while trying in vain to be successful at charitable knitting. I think I’ve realized that charity knitting is not for me. It’s great for the people who can crank out so much knitting that giving away some of it only seems fair. I, on the other hand, have realized that I spend so little time knitting, that it’s becoming a miracle if I can complete more than one or two projects in a year. So, in order for knitting to make me happy, I have to knit what makes me happy. Does that make sense? So, back to the shawl it is. I hope that none of you get bored with me talking about it, because, well, it’s gonna be a while before it’s done.

There’s also been a lot going on that I haven’t blogged about. Like in November, when I went on my first-ever cruise, and Rick Springfield and Beeb Birtles happened to be there. i should really write about that, maybe, except that probably for most of the folks who know me, that whole story is old news by now. But, if you read this, and still want me to write about it, let me know, ok? And I will.

And then last week, there was a Christmastime tour of The White House. I once went to the White House when I was about 7 years old, but I barely remember it. Though, I do remember that it was at Christmas time, because I have a distinct memory of the Christmas Tree in the Blue Room. I was in Brownies then, only I was in a troop of all girls with disabilities, because the disabled girls were not permitted to join the other girl scout troop at our school. (Yes it was really like that in those days.) So, I think since we were a troop of all “special girls” the leader called ahead and arranged a meeting with the First Lady for us. (It was Mrs. Nixon; I’m getting old.) Other than the Blue Room I have almost no memory of this day, except that Mrs. Nixon gave us all gold pens with her name on them. So it was fun for me to go there, and I have pictures of that, too… perhaps I’ll post them here, though they are on my Facebook Page, if you want to peek.

But other than those events, my life has been fairly uninteresting and work has been fairly stressful, and so knitting has been stalled, thus, so has this blog. So, my resolution for 2012? To rediscover the joy of knitting, and to make it worth writing about. Are you with me? I hope so.

I’ve been a yarn crafter since I was 7 years old. Sure, it was a way to pass the time when I was alone, or watching TV, or contemplating the world. One of my most favorite solitary memories was the night I watched Daniel Day-Lewis win the Best Actor Oscar for what is one of my most favorite movies of all time. (Since he’s won two, you’ll have to click to see which one it is, though once you do, the answer will be obvious!) I actually MET Daniel Day-Lewis just a few weeks before the big event that year, as crazy as that sounds, but it’s true. It was one of the most memorable evenings of my life, when I attended a special screening of said movie, in Congress, no less. So, there I was several weeks later, cheering him on at the Oscars (from my couch), and crocheting a bedspread for my then-boyfriend-now-husband. At the time, I thought that was about as fun as yarn crafting ever got. Except there were times when I crocheted in the company of my grandmother, who was rarely without yarn in her hands, and of course, those memories are priceless.

Three years ago, though, I learned something really important. When you love something, you love it more when you can associate that thing with the company of friends. Over these last years I have made friends who otherwise would have been completely anonymous to me, but for the craft I would not now trade any of them for the world. Even when I do knit alone now, I am never really alone, because thoughts of the beautiful sweater that Tammy is making, or the funny joke that Julie told, or the heartache and hard times that unfortunately some are going through, but we lean on our friends and it somehow feels just a little better.

Knitting has given me the opportunity to make new friends, and feel connected to something larger than myself. And truly, that is what matters to me most about my craft. The connections.

So, please join me in celebrating just some of the hands that connect together and surround my heart. (As always, click to embiggen, click twice for full size)

Looking at these photos I can’t help but have the song “Hands” by Jewel running through my mind: “In the end, only kindness matters…”

And I hope for you that your knitting brings you also to that special place, whatever it is. For me, I’m forever grateful for the company of friends.

It’s Day One of Blog Week. Today’s topc? Yarn. I’m going to tell you about two yarns that I’ve gotten and attempted to knit the same project with them. Namely, the February Lady Sweater.

The first yarn I got for this project is TessYarns Raw Silk. I purchased it at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival several years ago. I got three HUGE skeins in a deep, navy blue:

TessYarns Raw Silk

Isn’t it pretty? I loved this yarn. It’s soft, and feels great in my hands as it is being knit. Which, unfortunately, doesn’t mean it’s a pleasure to knit with. I find it a little fussy and unforgiving. But it does make a beautiful fabric:

Raw Silk knitted up

Still, I found it incredibly hard to work with. My first ball got all tangled up on itself inside and when I yanked on it at one point, three ends started coming out. Obviously, there’s a knot somewhere inside my giant yarn ball. I had someone working on it, but that was long ago and we gave up.

Also it was my first time doing buttonholes and they looked funny. Which wasn’t a reflection on the yarn as much as the knitter, but I think I will need to start this project from scratch and with another ball and then go back to my original yarn ball if and when I can get the knots out. Someday I will have my raw silk sweater. But, not just now.

Then I saw this other yarn on The Loopy Ewe website, and fell in love with it. It’s purple, of course:

Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Worsted, Purple Club

I am finding this yarn dreamy to work with. It is wool, so very forgiving in the hands, and, did I mention it’s purple? That counts for a lot in my book.

Of course, I’m really bad at finishing anything. I’ve been working on it for more than a year, and it’s been on a serious break for about 6 months or more. I think I need to start working on it again if I am ever going to wear a February Lady. So, if this one is going so much better, why is it not done?

You know why? Because it’s not the yarn–it’s me. I’m bad at finishing anything. I think in all of 2010 I finished exactly one thing, and it was just a scarf. I’m coming to the realization that I like having knitting in my hands, love feeling yarn and playing with yarn, but I hate actually making things. Is that weird? I know that makes me a quintessential process knitter, but I’ve taken it to the extreme. And my own lack of stick-to-it-iveness has meant that I don’t have anything really to show for these two beautiful yarns. Except, I can tell you, they’re both wonderful.

Trust me on that. I guess maybe being beautiful is just enough for me. It doesn’t actually have to BE anything, except lovely to my eyes and soft in my hands.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week is March 28 to April 3!

I mean, it’s good to have more than just the “here’s what I’m knitting today” kind of posts, isn’t it? Especially if you’re like me, a painfully slow knitter for whom the project progress photos all look the same if taken too soon one after another. Which is why I include family stuff and book reviews and occasional appearances by the cat on my blog. But Mimi has proposed topics that are all interesting and thought-provoking, so I’m going to give this a try again. I can’t promise a post every day, but I’m going to do my best.

Yes, I’m going to do it again, even if it kills me. Or rather, I have to find a way NOT to let it kill me. Last year, I did a post for every day of blog week (at least I think I did!) and by the time it was over, I was EXHAUSTED. Ever since that killer week I have, in general, blogged much less often. Now, as you can see, I’m making an effort to get back in the habit. I still won’t have daily project progress reports on this blog (“See that half row right there? That’s what I knit today!” Snore.), but it turns out that I do have lots on my mind all the time so I might as well share. Maybe it’ll be more family-related content from time to time, or more resources added to the other parts of this site. Whatever it is, it is my goal that you’ll be hearing from me more often again. And I shall try to keep it focused as much as possible on knitting, while at the same time not making it too boring for those who have never experienced the rapture of holding yarn in their hands.

A tall order? Maybe. But then, there’s Blog Week to get me started.

Sadly, our Borders was one of the ones set to close with the company’s announced restructuring. We’ll miss it, for sure. The staff there was always friendly and accommodating, and there was never a shortage of knitting books and magazines nearby to encourage discussion or the starting of new projects, or the learning of new techniques. Over time our group grew from just a few regulars to more than 20 at most meetups, and no one on the Borders staff ever said we were taking up too much room, or too loud. In fact, another customer complained about us once to the staff, and that person told the customer in no uncertain terms that our group was always welcome and good for business! It was a rare and good situation.

But, move on, we must. So, we’ve started meeting in our local shopping mall food court. It has advantages and disadvantages. Food is a plus, or a minus, depending on which side of the scale you’re standing on; and the ability to spread out is also a plus or a minus. It’s easier to take up more room in the food court than it was in the cafe, which is helpful for working on larger projects, and there’s never a shortage of tables and chairs. But more space also means less intimacy, and I’m not as fond of feeling a little farther apart from my friends.

Then there’s the issue of the loud video jukebox in the food court, which I suppose is a source of easy cash for the mall (but does anyone actually use it, or is it just there, being loud?). I could do without that. But, the space is open and easy, centrally located, and free. Not to mention probably good business for the mall. I saw lots of our group making food purchases all throughout our meetup. So, while not our cozy little bookstore cafe, it’ll work for now.

I just hope, as someone who’s not a huge fan of change, that I’ll get used to it. At least I’ve got all my friends in it with me:

Speaking of change…

I’ve been playing with the format of the blog a bit. I was going to do something completely different, and I may still, but instead I upgraded my theme and redid the color scheme a little. I swear, one of these days, I’m really going to LEARN wordpress and how it works. It sure seems like the design possibilities are practically endless, and I’d love to challenge my brain a little. That is, if I could work up the energy…

Until then, I’ll just keep knitting.

Today, at long last, was my knitting class with Lucy Neatby. Of course, we had to get a photo together with our wild and wonderful hair!

Lucy Neatby and Trish are kindred spirits of the hair

I have never taken a knitting class before. And last night, I was telling my husband that taking a first knitting class with the likes of Lucy Neatby might be like saying, “I’d like to learn to cook. Maybe I’ll go take a class from Julia Child.” Well, except that Julia’s no longer with us, but you know what I mean.

Lucy signed my copy her sock knitting DVD

I learned Channel Island cast on, ME! A decorative cast on! And the amazing short row, garter stitch heel, in which you wrap the stitches to close the gaps but don’t need to pick up and knit the wraps because the garter stitch envelops them. I did a provisional cast on with a crochet hook around a knitting needle, and learned the mechanics of an afterthought heel. And then?? She showed us a really easy way to do grafting. Not that I am one of the people who thinks kitchener stitch is hard. I actually think it’s cool! But lots of people don’t like traditional kitchener stitch, and I had no idea that there was more than one way to do it. WHO KNEW?

I’ve never learned so much about knitting and the mechanics of stitches all at once, in one day. I never knew that knitting could be exhausting. I usually only knit for short spurts so this was a challenge for me. But, I’m so glad I did it! I attended class with Tammy from Knit Group and being there with a friend made it so much fun! I’m so glad Tammy was there and it seemed like she really enjoyed the class as well.

The class was held at an Italian restaurant in the same strip mall as the sponsoring yarn shop, and it was a great place to have a class! Lunch was included, and it was a simple grilled chicken garden salad but it was so flavorful! And the bread? It was fresh and piping hot from the oven. After class the yarn shop owner opened the shop for class participants, and gave us a yarn discount, too! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. When I went in there I felt instantly as if it was the sort of yarn shop that local yarn shops are supposed to be. It was crowded and hard for me to get around, but that’s usual for most yarn shops. But the selection? I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pretty all in one place. At least not in this area, other than the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, of course. And there were so many samples hanging in the shop! So much to see. I wish I lived closer!

Of course, some yarn followed me home. (How does this happen?)

Koigu, in five shades of purple for a shawl

Some Noro, for a sparkly scarf

Today would not have been possible without the help of my loving husband. As fate would have it, this once-in-a-lifetime knitting opportunity fell upon the occasion of our 18th wedding anniversary. And he got up with me, before dawn, on a Sunday, and drove me an hour each way (that was a total of four hours in the car for him!) so I could spend the day knitting with one of my knitting heroes. Folks, THAT’s love, I am sure of it, and I celebrate this day with all my heart has to offer.

After the knitting and the shopping were done, My husband and I actually went back to the Italian restaurant where I had just spent my day and had a heavenly, delicious dinner. The waitress asked us where we were from and I mentioned that it was our anniversary. We decided to order dessert (a delectable flourless chocolate cake and a scoop of cinnamon gelato) and when it arrived we were informed that another couple across from us had purchased our dessert! They said that they themselves are getting married later in the week and so they wanted to hope for themselves 18 happy years. How sweet was that? So thank you, Howard and Sheila… your kindness on our special day will not be forgotten.

And so I have written this post until such time that it is no longer really our anniversary. Even so, the memories of this wonderful day will last a long time. I had such a great time, and can’t wait to be a sock knitter for real. I think I’ve been pushed over the edge.

E.B. in progress. Looking good, eh?

There will be only one more Friday night before the pool closes for the season. And yes, I do feel a bit cheated of summer still. But at the same time I am looking forward to chilly fall evenings with steaming stew pots and comfy sweaters. I have to remind myself that except for when it is senselessly, bitterly cold, there are good things about every sort of weather, so I shouldn’t really look upon this time as a sad thing. There are many good things yet to come.

So once again, my DH’s camera provided the photo for this entry, as it did last week. But I realize now that I didn’t say why. My camera broke. My beloved, new camera that I just got for my birthday last month. The LCD screen somehow got damaged from the inside, and of course, Canon decided that such damage is not covered under their warranty, so my brand new camera just had a $150 repair, despite being less than two months old. Sigh… I hope I continue to get lots of use out of it and love it as I had so far. It has turned out to be one very expensive camera.

And so I’m knitting. I’m making it a point to knit some on the mystery project every day. But now, I’m getting sorely tempted to take a break and knit at least one pair of funky, wonderful socks. Why? Because I feel like I’ve hit a knitting jackpot, that’s why. I saw an ad recently on Ravelry that Lucy Neatby, yes THE Lucy Neatby, is coming to a shop about an hour from my house for an entire weekend to teach a series of knitting workshops. I had to jump at the chance. So, ok, what did I do? I signed up for a 6-hour sock workshop, so I can learn from the master. “But, wait,” I hear you saying, “You don’t knit socks.” You’ve said it at least a thousand times, right here, on this very blog. What gives?”

Well, I have knit socks, but generally I find them intimidating. So, it’s confession time. I have never felt confident enough to knit socks. So, I am hoping that learning from Lucy Neatby will inspire my courage and inspire me to become a true sock knitter. I have a whole bin full of crazy sock yarns just waiting to be knit up. All I need is a little inspiration and a lot of courage. I can do it. And what better way to get started?

Of course, as luck would have it, this once-in-a-lifetime knitting-Nirvana experience would have to fall on my 18th wedding anniversary. But, I’ll deal with that little issue way later. Right now, I’ve got to keep knitting.

Trish Knits at the swim club

Knitting.

Except that I haven’t even done much of it this summer, knitting by the pool, and now the summer is drawing to a close. Too quickly. I am finding myself to be grouchy and said about this. It’s been mostly the weather, this hot, disgusting summer. I feel robbed of summer, and angry that this pleasant evening which was at last not too hot, is one of the few memories I will have of enjoying these last few months.

But, this evening was one of the finest. I got several rows done while listening to a Nora Roberts romance novel from her “Chesapeake Bay” series. It was great. And tomorrow is knit group, and then an evening at the pool again. It’s going to be a good knitting weekend.

The Smithsonian Community Reef

Annette Carr's Toxic Coral

So the exhibit has now been all over the world and is coming to Washington. My co-worker Annette has gotten excited about the project and has begun making pieces for the reef. The Community Reef will showcase three types of reef: Healthy Reef, Bleached Reef (unhealthy) and Toxic Reef, which is reef that has grown up and around trash and other found objects that lurk in our oceans. Annette’s pieces, which I have photographed here, are examples of toxic reef. Water bottles, credit cards, used auto parts… these are all things which ocean animals must contend with and try to survive in spite of. I’m betting Annette’s piece made with the used auto air filter is going to find a prominent place in the exhibit. It’s a strange beauty.

So, if you’d like to participate in the project, and there’s still a little time, you can join the Ravelry Group or by e-mailing the project coordinator at sicommunityreef@yahoo.com for more information. I’m of course busy on my mystery project that I must remain loyal to until it’s done but I’m wondering how I can squeeze at least a couple of corals in. I think I want to be part of it. You should, too.

Trish with Yarn Ball Birthday Cake

My mommy made me a birthday cake in the shape of a yarn ball! How cool is that?

The baker at work:

Mom Icing the Cake

Eat your heart out, Buddy! Great job, mom! And it was delicious, too!

Seriously, having a birthday on a Wednesday in the middle of a wacky work week is no fun. It was an especially awful day at the office. But, to offset the bad parts I literally had over 100 birthday wishes on Facebook today–overwhelming! I am gobsmacked. Then to come home to a yarn ball cake? Well, is it too corny to say that that was just the icing on the cake?

I feel very loved tonight, even if I feel a little older. So, I guess I’d better sign off and get to bed–the beauty sleep is getting harder to come by at my age.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to drop me a note and think of me today. It was wonderful. I love you all!

(If I said it was better than Christmas, my family would be even more convinced that I am crazy, so let’s just keep that our little secret, ok?)

So, last Saturday I left the house at about 10 a.m. with my good friend Steve. This trip has become something of an annual event for us. Steve is my best friend from college; we were next-door neighbors at the campus apartment complex and met during a fire drill some 24 years ago. It was a good day. The weather was unseasonably hot, but we considered that a good thing, since the year before I had shorted the electronics of my wheelchair during the previous year’s trip. So, while the heat was a big topic among festival goers, the whole time I kept telling myself that rain would have been much, much worse.

The fairgrounds are about 40 minutes or so from my house, but this year, at about three miles out, we were stopped dead in our tracks. The traffic was truly horrible. But, I was with a good friend and we had Glee going on the iPod, so again, it could have been much worse. Still, it was two and a half hours before we found ourselves walking into the festival gate.

I had been e-mailing my friend Jen all the way, as I knew she had been planning to arrive at the festival much earlier than I was. She reported that she was making a trip to her car just as we were getting onto the grounds, and so we happened to bump into her near the gate.

Trish and Jen at the gate

At the same spot I ran into my friend Karen from work. all before we ever made it inside the grounds! Since we’d been so long in the car, Steve and I arrived at the festival feeling ready for lunch, so we set off looking for food right away.

We found a lamb vendor and someone selling lime fizzes right next to each other. The lines were long, so Steve got in one and I got in the other. The lamb vendor was one I don’t remember seeing before.

Waiting in line for the lamb

I ended up with a beautiful kabob for lunch, and washed it down with a lime fizz, both of which I consider to be a true festival tradition.

Lamb Kabob

Lime fizz

Lots of people tell me that they can’t bring themselves to eat lamb at the sheep and wool festival, with all the adorable lambs so close by. I don’t mind eating meat, so long as I don’t have to talk to it first, and the lamb is something that just makes the whole experience unique. I love the aroma of lamb as it is cooking. My kabob was like a whole meal on a stick, including lamb sausage, peppers, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, and a baby potato. And the lime fizz was the perfect cooler for such a hot day.

One of the things I like best about the festival is the live music that is played in various locations throughout the grounds. When entering the Main Building, where a large number of vendors are located, I heard this:

Very soon I found lots of things to get excited about. One of the things that caught my eye fairly early on was an electronic spinning wheel device that looked so easy, that maybe even I could learn to operate it. I don’t spin, because I can’t treadle with my feet, and drop spindles and I don’t seem to get along, no matter how hard I try. (Emphasis on the “dropping” part of drop spindles, if you know what I mean.)

Turns out that this device has a foot pedal like that which you’d find on a sewing machine, but you can set it to tap once for on, and tap again for off. So, the kind people at the booth set up one of the machines so that it could be within my reach, and off I went!

Trish spinning with the Hansen e-Spinner

This is the HansenCrafts miniSpinner, equipped with a Woolee Winder. I fear that I am going to have to get one of these things. I can do it! My first few tries yielded a couple inches of slubby, twisty yarn, but hey, since I’ve never really spun before I still need to get a feel for drafting and holding the yarn. Oh, no! I’m starting to use spinners’ words! I definitely don’t need another thing to be obsessed about, but I feel the bug biting. I figure if stuff a 20 in my sock drawer once a week, it won’t be that long til I’ve saved up, right?

Of course, there are animals everywhere.

Baby alpaca

Sheepie gets the full beauty treatment

Sheepie gets the final touches on the hairdo

And there are lovely examples of what one can make with their wools.

Collection of beautiful alpaca sweaters

Of course, I did some shopping while at the festival. More about what I bought will be coming in a future post. But what matters to me most, I think, about this festival is the atmosphere. I know there are other fiber festivals around the country. I’ve never been to any of them, but I feel like I’ve got the best there is, right in my own backyard. It’s great for people who want to shop, a wonderful place to see and learn about fiber-producing animals, and a wonderful tradition that I look forward to every year. It’s a great gathering place for fiber friends, and I look forward to seeing people that I know there, year after year. I’m already looking forward to next year. There’s so much to do there, I keep telling myself, that I don’t really need to buy yarn.

Yeah, right. Stay tuned for that part of the story.