tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67686100244544863842024-03-13T14:31:38.875-04:00Knit Spin Kick: Life in the Fiber & Martial ArtsI knit, I spin and I kick. Sometimes I write about it.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-57382725186475815302018-10-23T17:42:00.001-04:002018-10-23T17:42:30.710-04:00When the Apocalypse Happens, You'll Want Me Around.My boys like to remind me that, because I can't run due to various orthopedic impediments, I would be of little use during the coming Apocalypse. And while it's true that I probably can't outrun a zombie, I do have other skills that should make me valuable enough to warrant a body guard or two.<br />
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"So," I ask them, "when all of this happens, and there aren't any stores, how are you going to get new clothes?" The general response is that they don't believe this is even worthy of consideration. The only relevant skill was zombie killing. "Do you know how to cook over an open fire? Can you take raw wool and turn it into a sweater? How about weaving a blanket? Can you do that?"<br />
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At this point they just stare at me in utter disbelief, as if the one and only skill worth having is knowing how to kill zombies in multiple ways. I remind them that, while I can't really run, I'm still a trained martial artist; I just need the zombie to be in range.<br />
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I know how to decapitate with a bamboo staff. (I mean, if it's a zombie, the head isn't firmly attached to begin with, so a bamboo staff, properly swung, should do the trick nicely.) I know how to punch, kick, and get out of holds. I have been trained on how to use another person's mass and momentum against them to render them incapacitated. Plus, I have lots & lots of pointy knitting needles and I'm not afraid to use them. Finally, I'm really not at all bothered by the idea of hurting someone trying to do me harm. I won't start a fight, but I don't have a problem finishing one.<br />
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While my sons and I joke around about my relative value in such a society, it does make me wonder about how all of the skills that I have spent a lifetime (so far) acquiring, practicing, and, in some cases, mastering, are actually valued in the present day. I'm not speaking about just my family members, but by society at large.<br />
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I remember the reaction that bringing a spinning wheel to the pool club elicited from other members. We spent countless hours at the pool when the boys were younger and since it was too hot and humid to knit, I brought the wheel. One older gentleman, from a former Soviet-bloc country, told me how he remembers how his grandmother would spin so that the family could have warm clothing in the long winters. Anyone under the age of ten wanted to sit in my lap and work the treadles. Others came up to me, completely confused as to what I was doing and I was doing it at all. One lady was kind enough to remind me that there was a yarn shop about twenty minutes away, so there was no real need to go to all the trouble of making my own yarn. You should have seen the look on her face, so pleased to be giving me such vital information.<br />
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While I don't expect absolutely everyone to be able to do all of the fiber-related activities that I do, I do expect most people to not freak out when the power goes out. Being able to get through a week or more without electricity can be challenging, but it certainly isn't impossible. I can remember a few storms when the power was out for days and days and many of my friends solved the problem by checking in to a hotel for the duration. They looked at me as if I were the crazy one by staying home. "Why would I leave?" I would ask, dumbfounded that it was even an option.<br />
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"How do you cook?" they would ask. I have a fireplace, a gas grill, and a charcoal grill. Check. "What about water and showers?" I have bottled water for drinking and downtown had power, so I showered either at the gym or a friend's house. I'm just down the road from a small pond that would do in a pinch. Check and check. "Aren't you cold at night?" I refer you to the paragraphs above which refer to knitting. I also quilt, so keeping warm gets a double check.<br />
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I also like the idea that I was teaching my boys about self-sufficiency and problem solving. It's easy to throw money at a problem to make it go away, but staying and dealing with the situation was a far more valuable lesson. Don't get me wrong-it was a <i>lot</i> of hard work, but I have never, ever regretted staying at home instead of going to a hotel during that long blackout or any that followed.<br />
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Questions would come up and asking Google wasn't an option, and it was fun to work through things together. (Also, without the internet as a distraction, it was amazing how much more interesting the cats became as a source of entertainment. I think they felt neglected when the power came back on.) They learned how to entertain themselves without an electronic screen and to pitch in and get things done around the house. They started to see the family as a team that needed to work together in order to get through the day. You just don't learn these things while dining on room service and watching Netflix in a hotel room.<br />
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So, yeah, in many ways, I feel like I'm ready for an Apocalypse. Evidently, I've spent most of my life training for it. Just get me a bodyguard and let me do my thing.<br />
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-38585420363743065902017-05-24T11:05:00.000-04:002017-05-24T11:05:34.231-04:00Sprints and MarathonsIn my humble opinion, there are generally two types of projects-and I am quite convinced that this applies to more than one category of craft. There are sprints and there are marathons. Sprints are the projects that are quick and relatively easy to complete, or the project is so absolutely engrossing that you can't possibly consider doing anything else (and I mean <b><i>anything</i></b>, including housework, feeding your children, or any other mundane task that dares to interfere with the current obsession). And then there are marathons. These are the projects which seem simple enough at first, but take forever and then some to complete. You know what I'm talking about.<br />
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For me sprints are socks made out of self-striping yarn. I have a pattern in my head for these, a very simple ribbing for the cuff and then stockinette for the rest of it except for the heel flap. Call me simple, but I just love seeing how the next color in the sequence will knit up, even if I'm on the fifth repeat of the striping pattern. I just can't help myself. A sprint can also be the modular cardigan that I made years ago that required about 37 colors of yarn (really, more like 18). I would stay up to 3:00 a.m. just to see how the next color would play out compared to everything that came before it. (This is not a good thing when you have toddlers or a job. Learn vicariously.) Because I spent so many compulsively sleepless nights on it, that sweater was done in a flash. A sprint can also be some quickie cowl or fingerless mitts that strike your fancy & would make a great addition to your Christmas stash of knitted gifts AND it only takes a few hours to pull off. In my case, those items are not something that suit my personal taste, but I know someone who would love to have it. Sprints. We love them because they are fast, they fulfill some flight of instant gratification fancy, and then they are done so we can focus on something serious.<br />
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That brings us to marathons. My apologies for being repetitive, but you know what I'm talking about. Marathons are the projects that just seem to take <b><i>forever</i></b> to reach the half way point, let alone get finished. I envy people who run actual marathons: by and large, they are done with theirs within a 24-hour period. In the knitting world, this would indeed be considered a sprint. I once had a sweater on the needles that had been around longer than I had been married, and I had been married for 14 years at that point. And the only reason it was as far along as it was, was because I had had jury duty about 10 years before that. (I'm pretty sure <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/194564401X" target="_blank">Strunk & White</a> would have issues with that last sentence. I must have been absent that day.) In more recent history of my knitting career, I offer the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bateaux-mouches-scarf" target="_blank">Bateaux Mouches </a>scarf and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zickzack-scarf" target="_blank">Zick Zag Scarf</a> as further proof. <br />
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Please, please understand that in no way do I want to do either pattern or designer any kind of disservice. I love these patterns. The items are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. All I am saying is that these patterns took me eons to complete. And to be really honest, I have yet to complete my Zick Zag Scarf. I started the Bateaux Mouches scarf because I see a therapist weekly and I like to keep my hands busy, and it's garter stitch, so no thinking involved. I had no idea that it would take so long to complete. And it's not as if I only worked on it during my therapy sessions. Turns out that thing is HUGE. By the end, when you have a zillion stitches on the needle, I could not even get through one row during the hour-long therapy session, and I'm not a slow knitter. <br />
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As for the Zick Zag Scarf, it turns out that counting to 5 is much, much harder than I thought it was, because the pattern requires the knitter to knit 5 stitches & then either increase or decrease. I can't tell you how many rows I have had to frog because I failed to count to 5 and then perform the next required task correctly, but only five rows back. That, combined with the fact that it calls for a total of four balls of yarn and when I had finished two, I measured the length of it by holding the last finished row at the back of my neck only to discover that it was too short for me (I'm tall & like to wrap my scarfs twice around my neck) so I had to buy two more balls of yarn. I am currently almost done with the first four balls. I optimistically hope to be wearing this a year from now. <br />
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Did I mention that the Bateaux Mouches is knit in laceweight and the Zick Zag is in fingering weight? These are not marathons, they are Ultra Marathons. (Look it up; it's a thing.)<br />
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I suppose there is an argument for the middle-distance type of project and that it is entirely valid and that I have probably knit more projects in this category than in any other. These are the projects you knit pleasantly enough and they are done in a reasonable amount of time with relatively few surprises. To me they are exactly how I like my trips by airplane to be: uneventful, predictable, and nobody got hurt. But, let's face facts, it is the sprints and marathons that we tend to remember.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-47714236256033836462014-05-04T16:23:00.000-04:002014-05-04T16:23:34.789-04:00The Universe Needs A Different HobbyAs I mentioned in my last post, I recently took leave of reality and purchased four fleeces in the hopes of turning them into a felted rug for my upstairs hallway. Both of you who read that post are aware of the fact that I'm up to my ears in fleece in various stages of cleanliness.<br />
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I don't know know if I mentioned this before, but I tend to be lazy. My whole approach to housecleaning is based on entropy, that the laundry doesn't have to be done right this second because, chances are, it's not going to suddenly sprout legs and make a break for it, leaving me with something entirely inappropriate to wear to yoga. Past experience with this phenomenon has given enough validation to my theory that I'm willing to risk leaving the laundry in a pile next to the washing machine or the dirty dishes in the sink on a regular basis. They have always, ALWAYS, without fail, been there when I was ready to deal with them, and I'm pretty sure there's a different force in effect to account for all the missing socks. I'm not procrastinating. I'm prioritizing; there's other stuff that has to get done first.<br />
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So a smallish mountain of fleece, limited time, and internet access led me to find articles about the <a href="http://mozfiberlife.wordpress.com/fsm/" target="_blank">Fermented Suint Method</a> of cleaning fleeces. It's too easy to be believed. Basically, you get a big tub of rain water, a really greasy fleece, and you put the fleece into the tub of water for a while. You keep the icky water that the greasy fleece soaked in, because, believe it or not, that's the first thing you're going to soak the next fleece in to get most of the ick out of it. I couldn't believe it, I thought the whole thing to be a cruel joke, because really, why would you put the thing you want to clean into really dirty, stinky water? And then I saw that Judith MacKenzie wrote about it. If it's good enough for Judith Mackenzie, Wool Goddess of the highest order in this house, then I should give it a shot.<br />
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Irony #1 of all this is that the fleeces I have are Finns. They are not greasy. Not at all, really. So this meant that I had to go and buy yet another fleece that's greasier than Finn so I can clean the ones I have. So I did that, and now I have five fleeces to deal with. Five is more than four, so by trying to make my work easier, I gave myself more work. I'm really hoping it will all even out in the end somehow.<br />
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Irony #2 is that the rain started on my way to the festival (after it was too late for me to put a tub under my downspout), the whole time I was there, & stopped when I was about twenty minutes away from home on the way back. Everything I read said to use rain water, and I didn't have any. So I used my well water & crossed my fingers.<br />
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Irony #3 reared it's ugly head by raining for the first two days my tub of well water and dirty fleece sat on the patio. I didn't bother to put another tub under the downspout because I already started this nonsense with well water. So now I'm at the point of no return, unless I buy yet another fleece (that would be #6) and wait for it to rain hard enough to fill a big tub with rainwater.<br />
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Number 4 showed up about an hour ago, when I decided to outside to check on the tub & see what was going on with fleece #5 and my well water. I didn't go out and check <i><b>because it started to rain</b>.</i> At this point, I'm pretty sure that the fleece washing deities are trying to tell me that the well water isn't going to work, and there still isn't a tub under the downspout to collect rainwater.<br />
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I'm also pretty sure that the Universe is just bored and decided to mess with me for sport. <br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-46804740838789532342014-04-24T17:42:00.000-04:002014-04-24T17:51:45.105-04:00Ten ThingsToday I realized some things. Ten things, in fact. Here they are:<br />
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1. My three-season porch looks like a group of Rastafarians stopped by on their way to the Buddhist monastery the next town over and asked me to cut their hair before they got there. But that's not what really happened.<br />
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2. I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I bought four--that's FOUR-- fleeces, at once, with the ludicrous idea that I would wash them in my tiny kitchen sink, dry them on the porch, and then card them with my little drum carder to make a rug for my upstairs hallway. In my "spare time". If that doesn't count as a break from reality, then I really don't know what does.<br />
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As you can see, my kitchen sink is ridiculously small. I think the people who put it in didn't cook. And it is just not up to the task of getting fleece washed in anything resembling "efficiently".<br />
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3. My psychiatrist is woefully underpaid. (Refer to #1 & 2 above.)<br />
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4. I console myself with the fact that I can't afford to pay her what she deserves by knowing that having me as one of her patients affords her no small amount of job security. Newly single Mom with a severe fiber addiction and two teenage boys living at home? Yup, I'll be keeping that weekly appointment for YEARS.<br />
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5. It took me two days to wash two of the fleeces and get one drum carded batt.<br />
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6. This is not going as quickly as I had hoped.<br />
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7. All of this means that I am now finding random bits of fluff all over the house. This one is on my dresser, which is upstairs and at the opposite end of the house from the porch. I don't know how it got there.<br />
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8. Maybe there's still a market for ZZ Top novelty beards in case I don't get the rug made.<br />
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9. Maybe it wasn't a good plan to use the one batt I made as a ZZ Top novelty beard.<br />
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10. The cat doesn't care about any of this. Lucky bastard.<br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-40817137593523434252014-04-14T15:54:00.002-04:002014-04-14T16:07:06.705-04:00The Amoeba and II recently found out that a lovely couple from my yoga class are expecting their first baby. This made me very happy for a few reasons. One is that these people are very, very nice and I think they will make fantastic parents, even though I don't really know them all that well. And loving couples having a wanted baby is always the happiest of news, at least in my book.<br />
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The other reason is that now I have a little person to knit for. I'm at that awkward age between being young enough to have kids of my own but too young to have grandchildren. Most of my friends are about my age, so they aren't having any more babies who I can knit for, either. I don't have a big extended family, and I don't have any siblings. There are no cousins or other family members having babies; the family well is dry in that regard. So I have to find babies to knit for, and when I do I get really excited about it. It's like I've been given a really nice gift and I get to share it.<br />
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Cute little things in bright colors and tiny sizes. Just the thought of it makes me want to start making pompoms to attach to the tops of little hats. Bootees and sweaters and hats, Oh My! A person could OD on exposure to this level of cuteness. Well-not really of course. It's baby stuff. There's never enough of that kind of cute and all the sweetness and love it represents. Never enough of that.<br />
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So this little person is getting a BSJ* striped in maroon Zara & a multicolor stripe whose ball band is long gone. The colors are not very baby-ish, but the parents are Asian and these colors will look great with the baby's complexion. The little person is a boy and I wanted the jacket to look like a boy's jacket. Something that will look cute with tiny little jeans and other boy stuff. <br />
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Well, I got the thing almost done--<i><b>almost done</b></i> <i><b>I say</b></i>--down to the last dozen rows or so, and noticed a mistake waaaay back. Back far enough that I had to rip 2/3 of the darn thing out because there was no way I could fix the mistake any other way. Apparently I had lost track of which stitch was the center stitch for the double increases. Instead of having a nice straight line of increases, it was wavy and looked terrible. That was not a good day to be around me, I'm telling you. (Note to self: make appointment for a check-up with the eye doctor.) Out it came, mistakes fixed, and now it's back on track. I hope. At lease the lines look straighter now, and the amoeba I'm knitting is definitely more angular than it was.<br />
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I love the look on people's faces when they ask what I'm making and I have a BSJ on the needles. Just love it. When you tell them that the blob you're producing is a jacket they just don't believe you, not even after you explain it. They think that you're just messing with them, or that you're a really bad knitter who is unable to come to terms with the fact that you have messed up your project beyond all hope of rescue, or that you're just a crazy lady who has too many cats at home and knits blobs because it's all you know how to make and you're not violent so your family lets you keep the pointy sticks. <br />
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Because, really, shouldn't the name of this sweater be the "Surprise! It's Really Not an Amoeba Jacket"? Or "See? I'm Not Crazy and It Is a Jacket". But I guess that only really works if the recipients see the work in progress because you don't give it to them in its ambiguous, amorphous, amoeba-like state. <br />
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On the other hand, wrapping up an unfinished BSJ & giving it to the lucky recipient could be pretty funny. Imagine the puzzled look when the expectant Mom opens the box & holds up something that is utterly unlike a jacket for all at the baby shower to see as you call out, "Don't you just love it? It's the cutest thing EVER!" Then they'll <i><b>really</b></i> think you're the crazy lady with too many cats who can only knit blobs. But you won't care because you'll be laughing too hard to notice.</div>
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*<i>Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you know what BSJ stands for. For those of you who don't, (that would be the other person reading this blog) it stands for Baby Surprise Jacket, one of many patterns made famous by the great Elizabeth Zimmerman. The pattern is available here: <a href="http://www.schoolhousepress.com/patterns.htm" target="_blank">http://www.schoolhousepress.com/patterns.htm</a></i><br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-21395664469317359012014-01-29T18:35:00.000-05:002014-01-29T18:35:38.729-05:00MacGyver Would be Proud...If He KnitNot too long ago, I made a hat. <a href="ttp://yarnzombie.net/patterns/Lillehammer.pdf" target="_blank">This one</a>, the Lillehammer hat from YarnZombie. I used essentially the same colors, but reversed the light and dark and used red instead of the chartreuse-y green. My version looked like this:<br />
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I used three colors of Cascade Superwash DK. I don't have the color numbers, but it's black, a light gray and red. My version also started with a provisional cast-on and a 3" hem that is turned to the inside to add another layer of wooly warmth over the ears. I took out the provisional cast on and did a K2TOG to attach the hem to the hat so I wouldn't have to sew it down later. (You'll be able to see more of that in a minute.)</div>
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So, being the polite gentleman that the recipient is, he put it on and declared it "Perfect!" And then the cold weather, the dreaded "Arctic Vortex" hit this part of the country. Now, I love the cold. My definition of truly cold weather is going outside and taking a deep inhale through the nose only to have your nostrils freeze together. That's when I start thinking about a hat and zipping up my coat. It was that cold. </div>
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But the hat did not make an appearance. I was a bit <strike>crushed</strike> curious about this, so I asked. He told me it was just a little too short and didn't quite cover all of his ears, and he didn't like to have cold ears. </div>
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Back to the drawing board. I didn't want to re-knit the whole thing. I'm a bit lazy, and I'm trying to cross stuff off of my to-do list, not add finished things back on to it. So, I channeled MacGyver.</div>
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Now, this is where I could give you the long, drawn out version of the story about how a knitting friend and I joke around about being the "MacGyver of Knitting". By that, we mean finding creative ways to get ourselves out of a knitting nightmare we have managed to get ourselves into. A weird extra triangle on the edge of your huge entrelac shawl, that you noticed just now but is 4 rows back? Fold it into a triangle & stitch it down. Nobody will ever know. Changed the gauge of your project and now the neckline is funny? Run that sucker through a serger. It will never show from the front. Like that. The problem gets solved and nobody gets hurt. Soooo--</div>
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I snipped the black purl row that was the turning ridge for the hem and put the hem and outside hat stitches each on their own circular needles.</div>
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Then I attached a ball of the leftover red yarn and made the hem longer. When it was long enough, I connected the black yarn, did my purl row to turn it, and then knit a longer ribbing in black. I couldn't find any of the gray, so the two color rib was eliminated. I knit the rib longer than the pattern said, and then added enough rows to make the outside length of the hat long enough to cover the deeper hem. One really long row of kitchener stitch in the black yarn later and VOILA! </div>
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A finished hat that was MacGyvered into submission to keep a pair of tender ear lobes roasty toasty in the cold and...</div>
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you can't tell the extra work was done on it unless you look really, really close. And nobody got hurt in the process. </div>
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While it's a nifty trick to pull off, I really don't want to do that much Kitchener stitch ever again. </div>
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Really. But I think MacGyver would be proud. </div>
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-27106343453603457762013-12-10T15:50:00.000-05:002013-12-10T15:50:27.058-05:00Snow DayIt is snowing here where I live in Connecticut, as it is in most of New England. I love the snow, and living in a coastal town we don't get as much snow as I think is appropriate for a proper New England winter. <br />
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The storm is bad enough that school was canceled for the day, and I'm home with my boys. Even though they devoted a large-ish portion of the day to napping, I'm glad to be home with them. Charlie did help me make the meatballs for the spaghetti sauce, and Eamon topped the pizzas we made for lunch. Right now, he and a friend are walking over to the little country store that's about a mile away to get some half & half so I can make some hot cocoa when they get back. <br />
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I have been trying to catch up on my Christmas knitting, which is not going as smoothly or as rapidly as I had hoped. And no, I can't show you any photos because I don't want to spoil any surprises. <br />
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But I can show you some photos of how lovely my neighborhood is when it snows. I just love it here this time of year. There is a little lake just up the road from my house, although we refer to it as The Duck Pond. One of the hurricanes took out the tree that used to shade the benches, but it is still a lovely, tranquil spot. And yes, sometimes I do go there in the nice early summer or warm fall weather and enjoy the view while I knit.<br />
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The neighborhood is very quiet right now. No cars, no landscapers zooming around or running their equipment to spoil the stillness. Just the occasional bird, or the sudden rustle and tussle of squirrels chasing each other. It is exactly the kind of winter day I love. Quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. </div>
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It makes me feel so lucky to have this view from my desk. I just want to sit here and enjoy it until the sun sets and brings a close to the day.</div>
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-36245630994387089752013-10-08T11:29:00.000-04:002013-10-08T11:29:23.133-04:00AftermathThe last two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind around here. My Third Degree Black Belt test was this past Saturday and I'm fairly certain that I was not a fun person to be around during that time. Added to that stress was the fact that both of my boys came down with some sort of coughing plague and missed a full week of school. I was losing sleep about covering the test fee (it was massive) and trying to keep the household bug at bay. I spent a small fortune on homeopathic remedies and kept plugging away at my practice schedule. <br />
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During the week before the test when the boys were home sick, I dealt with the stress by doing huge amounts of cooking. Monday was spaghetti and meatballs, a delicious new recipe for beef stew with mushrooms was made on Tuesday, and Wednesday's dinner was pork chops with caramelized onions braised in ale. There's no "starving a cold" in this house!<br />
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Thursday and Friday the cooking toned down a little as I ran around like a crazy person and planned a post-test party. The only cooking I did for that was 2-Alarm Chili, guacamole, some grape tomatoes stuffed with cheese and that other thing that I can't think of right now. Oh-truffled mac & cheese. Yum. My Mom kept telling me that I was making way too much food- for only about twenty or so guests. Very little of it was left over. <br />
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So here are a few highlights of the test. The beginning went fairly well, did the warm-up stretching, etc.<br />
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Managed to get through the forms, which was a bit of a challenge, but in the end I passed.</div>
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After that, I was tested on the self-defense and grabbing techniques. My friend CJ was a good sport and let me throw him around a lot during practice and the test. I'm sure he's glad it's over!</div>
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And then I had to break a bunch of pine boards with my hands and feet-this for me is the fun part. I just love breaking stuff!<br />
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And, last of all, I had to break three pieces of concrete, stacked one on top of the other. This is Master Kim getting them ready. You might be wondering what he's pouring on the top brick...<br />
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It's gasoline. Yup, the bricks had to be on fire when I broke them.<br />
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During the last few weeks I was waking up at night from nightmares that the only thing I would break would be my hand. <br />
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As you can see, it didn't.<br />
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After the test, we all came back to my house for a party that went on to the wee hours and had a great time. And Monday morning I woke up feeling like someone had a vise on my chest and that I had inhaled something caustic that burned me from the inside out. It hurts to breathe deeply and swallowing is painful in a way that I never experienced before this. I guess I managed to hold off the plague until I needed to so now it's come at me full force. As long as I'm all recovered in time for <a href="http://www.sheepandwool.com/" target="_blank">Rhinebeck</a>--</div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-52400367051611225972013-09-30T18:38:00.002-04:002013-10-01T09:26:07.020-04:00ReliefThe last few weeks have been rather stressful for me. I'm still adjusting to being single and a single parent, and my big test is now only four days and a wake-up away. I have completely fallen down on the Rhinebeck Readiness Campaign, and haven't even produced any knitting to speak of. And, as is my character, the fact that I have not met some goals while struggling to meet others has given me fits of frustration beyond all measure. <br />
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But Sunday was a very welcome break from all of that. A friend and I packed a little picnic lunch and headed up to Litchfield, CT to the <a href="http://www.whitememorialcc.org/">White Memorial Conservation Center</a> to do a little hiking. Well, more like a leisurely stroll through the beautiful outside. I had never visited this area before, but I am sure to go back. It is gorgeous. <br />
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After we ate, we walked past a little pond that was just perfect for little kids to skip rocks across<br />
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and enjoyed the very beginning of the fall foliage season.<br />
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We passed a stretch of lazy river where some local students were planting trees.<br />
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Even though you can't see them working here, they were.<br />
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We followed the path through the deep pine forest, where the pine needles were so soft and deep underfoot that our steps were silenced.<br />
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Some parts of the trail are frequently wet and muddy, so the caretakers kindly put in boardwalks so hikers can enjoy the area even if the ground is soggy.<br />
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Eventually, we arrived at the boardwalk that surrounds Little Pond. The area around the pond is quite marshy, so having the solid footing is nice. The views are gorgeous at every turn; I can only imagine how much more spectacular they will be during peak foliage season in a few weeks.<br />
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On our way back to the car, we walked through the greenest of glades. I don't know what the plants are that cover the ground, but the way the leaves caught the light and how the trees above created shadows on them produced more shades of green than I have ever seen in one place. It was magical, and my pictures<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCuZ2snBrCDokhhP5QYkyYhNGp2BMkv2014Va46eT8MWoYmRa9-drgcEb3jaQri5KhuU-q3Y6BYs9nne3zVs5-P-E00xfm7YoAAFRXMBg_jmzwLXV7g5xRW5StJZi8goFvEf22fQ8lULWn/s1600/IMG_5385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCuZ2snBrCDokhhP5QYkyYhNGp2BMkv2014Va46eT8MWoYmRa9-drgcEb3jaQri5KhuU-q3Y6BYs9nne3zVs5-P-E00xfm7YoAAFRXMBg_jmzwLXV7g5xRW5StJZi8goFvEf22fQ8lULWn/s320/IMG_5385.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
do not do it justice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKi38GhhoAbRjYtUQ_sQNw2WGPT9DktOYyU3XKXXYFVEMVBDTtfehyU3542kEdfLjJbuEczGi033sTvRS7kag5IUvDVOhyphenhyphenwWsgLYSfdD8y8vh3oL4cNoNxz63X4GXUbSqxCKFymcD_TGFK/s1600/IMG_5382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKi38GhhoAbRjYtUQ_sQNw2WGPT9DktOYyU3XKXXYFVEMVBDTtfehyU3542kEdfLjJbuEczGi033sTvRS7kag5IUvDVOhyphenhyphenwWsgLYSfdD8y8vh3oL4cNoNxz63X4GXUbSqxCKFymcD_TGFK/s320/IMG_5382.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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It was the perfect breath of fresh air for both of us, short though it was.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-43169122469088191472013-09-16T17:18:00.000-04:002013-09-16T17:19:37.913-04:00Practice *1-8*. Repeat pattern between *'s until finished. Cast off.In about three weeks' time, I will be testing for my Third Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo*. For the last few months now, I have been focusing on what I need to know to pass that test and practicing those things. Endlessly. Repeatedly. Over and over again. And then I do it some more.<br />
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I have decided that this is very much like casting on several hundred stitches of fingering weight yarn so you can knit a queen size blanket in garter stitch. There is nothing new to learn, just the repetition of the same series of motions to make one stitch and then another, and another and so on. There is no relief to be had at the end of a long knit row when you turn the work and begin the refreshing difference of the purl row ahead. There will only ever be more of the same until it is time to cast off, but until then there is only the endless, relentless monotony of the knit stitch.<br />
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Since my Second Degree test, I have learned two new forms (Keumgang Poomsae and another that is unique to our school), eight self-defense techniques, eight grab techniques, the school's form for the bamboo staff (we call it "stick form"), learned advanced kicking and board breaking techniques and, at least in theory, improved my sparring. I say "in theory" because 1) I really do not like sparring at all and 2) I'm terrified of getting seriously injured. Not because I'm going to get hit, but because I'm afraid of landing badly or off balance and ending up in the emergency room. Again.<br />
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I say that training for the test is like the blanket because of the sameness of it. Six days every week I go to class, do the warm-up, and then SaBumNim sends me into a corner of the dojang with one of the assistant instructors where I'm told to practice 1-8 of self-defense and grab techniques until the end of class. And before class is dismissed, I know I will be tested on them with the rest of the class watching. I have already been tested on them, and earned the tip proving that I performed them well enough to pass the test. I have been tested on them at least twice each week for the last four weeks and this will continue up until October 4. The big test, the real one that I have been preparing for, is on October 5.<br />
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So until then, I will be doing the daily exercise in patience and humility that is the martial artist's garter stitch blanket. I will go to class, I will do 1-8. And then I will do it again and again and again. Then I'll do it some more, but with people watching. This sequence will be repeated today in class, and the next day and the next and the next after that until I wake up on October 6 and realize that the previous day I finished my blanket. I have cast off; the project that once seemed endless is finished at last, and that now will be the time to start something new.<br />
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*<i>It sounds far more impressive than it really is. By all rights, my black belt should have a little blue handicapped wheelchair sticker on it, like they put on the parking spaces and license plates. I have accrued so many injuries during my martial arts career that most of the curriculum has been heavily modified to accommodate my physical limitations. My instructor has invented new sparring techniques for me to minimize stress on my knees, and I don't do any jumping kicks. I have said for years that anyone who can run away has absolutely nothing to fear from me, because there's no way I could catch them. </i>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-4264783170154565992013-09-11T17:25:00.002-04:002013-09-11T17:25:28.585-04:00Only OneDo you know how much one can be? I am rapidly learning that one ounce of fiber to spin each is day is rather a lot. Especially if my children expect to wear clean clothes and eat home-cooked meals. <br />
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I just finished spinning the singles from the mini-batts from Ever Improving Me, so only plying is left. This leaves me exactly one ounce behind in meeting my goal. I have come to the realization that I may have to reassess the feasibility of said goal. Anyway, here are my two bobbins of wintery icy singles:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmQV_8PonmphmHfORcavomec631LJXrk8ecbRSJomuob71zE6QA3QA-IFG9J2eYUFgbkJ1JkIW-63ETtpKLMQxfeCiIc-RSu2y656ALbvo_7B4VLa4itG1huGlG53xaFU4Zx1eBaPiyAy/s1600/IMG_5164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmQV_8PonmphmHfORcavomec631LJXrk8ecbRSJomuob71zE6QA3QA-IFG9J2eYUFgbkJ1JkIW-63ETtpKLMQxfeCiIc-RSu2y656ALbvo_7B4VLa4itG1huGlG53xaFU4Zx1eBaPiyAy/s400/IMG_5164.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmQV_8PonmphmHfORcavomec631LJXrk8ecbRSJomuob71zE6QA3QA-IFG9J2eYUFgbkJ1JkIW-63ETtpKLMQxfeCiIc-RSu2y656ALbvo_7B4VLa4itG1huGlG53xaFU4Zx1eBaPiyAy/s1600/IMG_5164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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The photo doesn't really show how the silk glistens against the main color, but trust me, it does. And it's lovely.<br />
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I think I'm going to now aim for about 5 ounces each week, including plying. That was the big omission in version 1 of the RRC: no allowance for plying time. Or a day off. So we'll see how the RRC.2 goes for the next week.<br />
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But for now, I gotta go. I need to make dinner and the laundry still doesn't wash itself.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-59191785754059142212013-09-09T17:14:00.000-04:002013-09-09T17:14:04.122-04:00The Campaign Presses OnSo have been spinning quite a bit these last few days. I hope my motivation doesn't diminish over the next two months! <br />
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I finished the singles out of the<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/loop"> Loop</a> roving and chain-plied them to more-or-less preserve the color changes. After a soak in the sink and a solid "thwack" on the counter, the yarn is now happily drying on the back porch. I know I'm almost a competent spinner, but every once in a while, I wind up with something that I'm fairly pleased with. This is one of those times. Isn't it pretty? (Just nod & say, "Yes! It's fabulous!" even if you don't agree. It's OK, I don't mind the little white lie!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZqBNkkRdGhtJIFSjhRClJkJas_flMK9NNPW5ir9L65F6i2Du32FTxyuSgEVEfeK4CdYgElP6-gk45vG-l-fyXbfWccqv1OOTp-eFEqV3Shv8wjN2Yf8srh5i8Lg1ecnwBaAGjHIPBNEZ/s1600/IMG_5155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZqBNkkRdGhtJIFSjhRClJkJas_flMK9NNPW5ir9L65F6i2Du32FTxyuSgEVEfeK4CdYgElP6-gk45vG-l-fyXbfWccqv1OOTp-eFEqV3Shv8wjN2Yf8srh5i8Lg1ecnwBaAGjHIPBNEZ/s320/IMG_5155.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BurmenG8VK7r0Mt1pTqtaXZPIFdA91mlRV6bvBctexDWjBEszqSAVLojHh9X3Y7X0tJfLc7XqDiOGYWZbhigJiD5Q_mG7uqXH7kzkiw2vCXSSfH9wbYnkjA9m4eRwIfMYv8_qMnD_8qS/s1600/IMG_5161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BurmenG8VK7r0Mt1pTqtaXZPIFdA91mlRV6bvBctexDWjBEszqSAVLojHh9X3Y7X0tJfLc7XqDiOGYWZbhigJiD5Q_mG7uqXH7kzkiw2vCXSSfH9wbYnkjA9m4eRwIfMYv8_qMnD_8qS/s320/IMG_5161.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Next up is a pair of mini-batts from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/EverImprovingMe">Ever Improving Me</a> on Etsy. I have no idea how long I have had these, but they are the loveliest icy blue/green with streaks of pure white silk running through. I think they are a mohair and silk blend, but the label doesn't specify. The two batts total 2.75 ounces, so this should take care of the amount I was short on yesterday, as well as the next two days' worth in order to meet my RRC (Rhinebeck Readiness Campaign) goal. I can't decide on the final product, though. A nice 2-ply lace weight and for a lace scarf? Or one ply nice and thin wrapped around a fluffy ply of the softest, whitest angora? Hmm. I may have do to try some test skeins to see which I like better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYwYUlxKDzsfhKBIkd2XPU_pxbfCvl7J6NIxjedWy7WA7sh1IpfaigKeh8APPY_K54TmIRy8TWHSKJoWnL6VYVuw9TRX4_rrfrZqgn3RIMZj3P4HaTIyRP8DVsFzehxxsNI_aNywWLRmB/s1600/IMG_5153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYwYUlxKDzsfhKBIkd2XPU_pxbfCvl7J6NIxjedWy7WA7sh1IpfaigKeh8APPY_K54TmIRy8TWHSKJoWnL6VYVuw9TRX4_rrfrZqgn3RIMZj3P4HaTIyRP8DVsFzehxxsNI_aNywWLRmB/s400/IMG_5153.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I just love how the white silk glistens against the color. These batts are definitely making me think wintery thoughts. <br />
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And, finally, photographic proof that I do, in fact, knit, and sometimes I even finish something. This is the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/liliaceae">Liliaceae</a> Shawlette designed by Angelika Luidl. I made it in Road to China Light by the <a href="http://www.thefibreco.com/roadtochinalight.html">Fibre Company</a>. It's a beautiful magenta with a blue overdye, but I have lost the tags so I don't know exactly which color it is. The fabric is soft, luxurious and drapes beautifully. The pattern was fun without keeping me tied to the chart too much, and I'm thinking about making another one for myself since this one is a gift. I hope she will like it!!<br />
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-55805708083758490852013-09-05T17:22:00.000-04:002013-09-05T17:22:31.348-04:00The Rhinebeck Readiness Campaign and an UpdateFirst, the update, in which I do not come off looking like a particularly smart person. This is where the project that "disappeared" went:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7p09gsRK4FtkrIX6DIsPvSj1J6PSjxGqxGwR_z-CjzYI7IkFLxoQrnpl79dcQgjbnFW0X4j9JcqyxGCslrOXz5Pk7Ms1gcktzJOtMJo9LVFaJcYcy70rBc08A520s8RnVE8dje1uyRIA/s1600/IMG_5130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Do you see that little red bag on top of the short chest of drawers, the one with little white & black sheep on it? The one that is within arm's reach of my computer on the table to the left? Yup, that's the project I tore the house apart for two consecutive days because I couldn't find it. Evidently, my "safe place" is really "out in plain sight." <br />
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Onward.<br />
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I sat down to my spinning wheel the other day for the first time in ages. I pulled out a multicolor batt from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/loop"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Loop</span></a> that I bought at Rhinebeck last year (and I forgot to take a picture of it before I started spinning. Oops.), oiled the wheel & got to it. About ten minutes in, my tiny brain squeezed out a thought: maybe I should spin a little bit every day between now & Rhinebeck and then 1) I would work through the stash fairly efficiently and 2) I would have room in the stash for whatever comes home with me this year from Rhinebeck. I'm calling it the Rhinebeck Readiness Campaign.<br />
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As I spun, I tried to figure out how much that "little bit every day" should be. Sometimes I only have fifteen or twenty minutes of time, so it has to be a smallish amount. Something small, but enough to make me feel like I accomplished something. An ounce every day is what I came up with. <br />
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This is what an ounce of the Loop roving looks like:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4s4t9JNdY4yEHMCb-DhZhmkwhKZb8_PSszhDSqeUq3NoXFsGW3wpbfTNXjbN3chDaHvZH-noMO5TvouhgsTyaP6HS4uYMXMfIBNrAczX_CS8_w9wU3mrhe1fdCUlJOmAFQFwq0wuduRX/s400/IMG_5139.jpg" width="266" /></span><br />
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A perfectly reasonable amount of fiber, right? The Goldilocks amount, not too little, but not so much it's overwhelming. The amount that's just right.<br />
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There are forty-four days between now & the day I leave for Rhinebeck. That means forty-four ounces of fiber need to be spun up by then in order for me to reach that goal. <br />
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Did I mention that I was a French major in school? Aside from learning to speak the language and learning a lot about French society & culture, the big thing going for it was that it did not have a math requirement.<br />
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I just realized that forty-four ounces is the equivalent of 2.75 POUNDS. YIKES!! This little campaign of mine makes the Tour de Fleece look like just a little bike ride. Just to get a better idea of what was in store, I dug around in the stash & weighed out about 44 ounces of fiber & put it all together in a storage bin.<br />
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This is what THAT looks like: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuErfiHH5i9ClV5yNLNbFDhc0lHcJtG5ZWwx86HoIj3z79sDxJLLoTMm5jIyvm6594HaaHhGP05rs99k6NVQ2E-2msoL5xzk4To1RJIgmNPv6vIpvgDMBAi06N_-HPUTQ8eMcVIspqfNiW/s1600/IMG_5146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuErfiHH5i9ClV5yNLNbFDhc0lHcJtG5ZWwx86HoIj3z79sDxJLLoTMm5jIyvm6594HaaHhGP05rs99k6NVQ2E-2msoL5xzk4To1RJIgmNPv6vIpvgDMBAi06N_-HPUTQ8eMcVIspqfNiW/s640/IMG_5146.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Gulp. (There's a bit of everything in there: the rest of the Loop roving, some blended batts I found on Etsy, various rovings from Rhinebecks past, a Mystery Bump from <a href="http://www.stillrivermill.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Still River Mill</span></a>, even some baby camel, angora and quiviut.)<br />
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I had better get busy. <br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-74725155027428177472013-08-02T08:44:00.001-04:002013-08-02T08:44:53.539-04:00Curse You, "Safe Place"I think we all have a "Safe Place" somewhere in our homes. It's where we put things that we don't need right now, but want to find easily in the future. So we put them in the "Safe Place".<br />
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I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure my safe place gets up & moves around in the middle of the night, or has somehow acquired an invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. I'm seriously considering renaming my "Safe Place" to "Black Hole". <br />
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Why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this because I put one of my knitting projects down somewhere in my house and now I can't find it. The bugger has gone completely AWOL. I have looked in all the usual places. I have looked in many unlikely places. Nothing. It has vanished without a trace, without a witness to tell me it's last whereabouts.<br />
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Oh-and here's the kicker- did I mention that this is one of two projects I'm working on that has a deadline? As in, the birthday is at the end of September, this is a lace shawl and it needs to be done 2-3 weeks in advance so it can be shipped overseas to get there in time kind of deadline? Of course it wouldn't be the socks I'm making for me so it doesn't matter when they're finished--<br />
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When I find that cursed Safe Place, I'm going to tag it with a GPS emitter of some kind so I can find it again. <br />
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**Sigh**Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-56764964342955848152013-07-25T17:48:00.000-04:002013-08-02T08:45:53.067-04:00When the Relationship is Over, But the Knitting Isn'tSo, many of you know about the book, "Never Knit Your Man A Sweater*" Where the * refers to the subtitle that says something about getting the ring first. <br />
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Well, it has become my recent experience that the presence of the ring doesn't matter. And it's not a new ring, it's a 21+ year-old ring that apparently no longer matters. <br />
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My question is, what do you do with works in progress that were intended for your soon-to-be Ex? What do you do about the sweaters you made for him that need mending, but which you hadn't done before you realized your relationship was over? Do you finish them? Do you put them in a bag along with the rest of his stuff & let him deal with it one way or another? Do you rip them out & recycle the yarn?<br />
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This is actually one of the hardest aspects of the divorce for me. I only give my knitting to a very select group of people. If you have knitting from me, it means your on my "A" list and quite important to me. The same goes for any other handmade item, such as quilts or other sewn things. Even my cooking. I spend time, care and love in all of these activities. It may look like I'm avoiding getting the laundry done to the rest of the world, but to me doing these things is how I show the people I care about the most that I do care about them. I like the fact that I can take any number of raw materials (yarn, fabric, food) and turn it into something that can make another person happy. <br />
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So then what do you do when you have these projects that were started because you cared about the recipient, but now that's no longer true? I'm very sentimental about my knitting. I know that at least one of the WIP's in question will be impossible for me to finish. I will hate every second I spend on it and that is not how I want knitting to be. I also know that every time I look at the yarn for that sweater it will only bring up unpleasant emotions, and I can certainly do without that, which means that recycling it for my own use is also out of the question. I think this one is getting ripped, recycled & shipped off to live with someone else.<br />
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The other WIP is a pair of socks, and while I'm not particularly wild about working on them either, I feel more obligated to finish them somehow. Maybe because they have languished on the needles longer, or because they're smaller, who knows? But I feel like finishing them gives me a moral high road somehow. (Spiteful or revengeful knitting? I don't like the sound of that either.) And so I feel stuck at the moment. <br />
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Suggestions as to how to become unstuck would be greatly appreciated.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-8942492879300252812011-03-30T19:04:00.000-04:002011-03-30T19:04:34.589-04:00One More Day and a Wake-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">It dawned on me the other day that I have been utterly neglecting my blog, and that I do enjoy writing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What brought this realization about is that this Friday evening, April 1 at 7 pm, I will be taking my test for a Second Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo. While this may seem like a string of randomness, the two are in fact connected. One of the required tasks for the test is to put together a book about various aspects of your life. While not a full-on autobiography, an essay about the student's life since passing the First Degree Test is required. Once I had finished the essay is when I realized that I missed the writing, and that led to remembering that I have an outlet for it, which had not been attended to in some time. So, here I am.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">These last few weeks leading up to the test have been rather stressful for me, and an odd tightrope act of balancing the need to improve my strength and endurance while not getting hurt so I can't take the test. It has been tricky, let me tell you.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So, like any good knitter, I have turned to my craft as a way to take my mind off of the test. The problem is that I may have turned to it a little too much...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here is a pair of socks that I started for a dear friend's birthday (already passed). They are the "Split Reed" socks from <a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/store/items/?search=think+outside+the+sox">Think Outside the Sox</a>. I was going gangbusters on them until I realized that they were sized for Sasquatch and so out they came. The intended recipient is physically quite the opposite of Sasquatch. A quick adjustment of the number of pattern repeats & off again, making up for lost time, until the heel had to be redone three times. I'm not sure exactly how that happened, I think I was in a frenzy of Test Stress, but in any case, here I am 3 days after the birthday with less than one finished sock. They are, however, very pretty. They're in Mountain Colors Bearfoot, in semi-solid red whose name I don't recall and for which I have lost the ball band.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZpTLGI7ywJ6hf5PYefiAtB6TVM4IoZ6TcZbTp6LArUiDNOaiPuzs6NhRHg9TQrykKoDDvPxsyHj0s2kHLC1C3Yb3_78iIx9tDFBHo8hbjCjdMzzDdRcLGhq3AfxJNSCcPIp1fuZAIAEm/s1600/IMG_9713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZpTLGI7ywJ6hf5PYefiAtB6TVM4IoZ6TcZbTp6LArUiDNOaiPuzs6NhRHg9TQrykKoDDvPxsyHj0s2kHLC1C3Yb3_78iIx9tDFBHo8hbjCjdMzzDdRcLGhq3AfxJNSCcPIp1fuZAIAEm/s1600/IMG_9713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZpTLGI7ywJ6hf5PYefiAtB6TVM4IoZ6TcZbTp6LArUiDNOaiPuzs6NhRHg9TQrykKoDDvPxsyHj0s2kHLC1C3Yb3_78iIx9tDFBHo8hbjCjdMzzDdRcLGhq3AfxJNSCcPIp1fuZAIAEm/s320/IMG_9713.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also started an THE entrelac shawl, which is worthy of several posts all on it's own; I'll save that saga for another time. It is, however, gorgeous, for me, and I have been having a very hard time not working on it 24/7. The yarn is Gedifra's Fashion Trend Stripe in color 4616.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL13DRcQ17qWBS_cxn9mTXx-5jFYWbQknnYkNiB1h7Klh1-QEnAfCFKaHekTq8gcOOEIsjWa5PzLJ4xONLoaDNIsZyy7h2j6Msz07c1IloYbVPheMtwOyDTpiZc8fMG26jo7CrF0dWNiC9/s1600/IMG_9714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL13DRcQ17qWBS_cxn9mTXx-5jFYWbQknnYkNiB1h7Klh1-QEnAfCFKaHekTq8gcOOEIsjWa5PzLJ4xONLoaDNIsZyy7h2j6Msz07c1IloYbVPheMtwOyDTpiZc8fMG26jo7CrF0dWNiC9/s320/IMG_9714.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, another belated birthday present. This is the Astaire Vest is from "<a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/store/items/?search=sculptured+knits">Sculptured Knits</a>" by Jean Moss. My revised version of the pattern is being made in Rowan's Felted Tweed, color170. I had to re-draft the pattern in order to use this yarn, which is a bit finer than what was called for. The pattern is fun and surprisingly quick to knit, and results in a nicely masculine herringbone type texture. It's quite subtle, especially in this rather dark blue, but I am quite pleased with the results.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSPMD5DL7dkYEtlsOGbUfX29Xm2wQh9de0Yl5rrS-BNHOJyTOsfUgCjBf1Bn5MPlsMlFvNWzTK692h5v3RFbehij1MNgQg1kV4bvY2q6vwliqum0BBJ9ADj3jOfmXXTBAY-mbxW0iBskJ/s1600/IMG_9717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSPMD5DL7dkYEtlsOGbUfX29Xm2wQh9de0Yl5rrS-BNHOJyTOsfUgCjBf1Bn5MPlsMlFvNWzTK692h5v3RFbehij1MNgQg1kV4bvY2q6vwliqum0BBJ9ADj3jOfmXXTBAY-mbxW0iBskJ/s320/IMG_9717.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz5XrUzryld06Zes66GqpkJCfc3zMYW7hn6kLaHRjIm0WcS3u_y_rtsk-SI9fapt4hGJzDs4V0ZEBDEIuELX99TIWVsAoVzd68Z5We_H3n_8StmQBlli5ZIyFmLoajqfg-J7y7y4gxoKH/s1600/IMG_9718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz5XrUzryld06Zes66GqpkJCfc3zMYW7hn6kLaHRjIm0WcS3u_y_rtsk-SI9fapt4hGJzDs4V0ZEBDEIuELX99TIWVsAoVzd68Z5We_H3n_8StmQBlli5ZIyFmLoajqfg-J7y7y4gxoKH/s320/IMG_9718.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once finished with the test on Friday, I may have to find a way of coping with the stress of getting the two birthday gifts done before the next birthday rolls around, and finishing the shawl before it's too hot to have it in my lap. I suppose I could always take extra TaeKwonDo classes...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-49807402998622166212010-07-17T18:16:00.000-04:002010-07-17T18:16:24.349-04:00Summer KnittingIt is hot here. I know, it's summer. It's supposed to be hot outside and I don't have a problem with that. But this is really and truly miserable hot and humid weather. Temperatures are in the 90's and the humidity level is darn close to being underwater. My boys are both on one of the local swimming and diving teams, and my oldest also plays tennis four days each week. What this means for me is that I have to be outside in the heat & humidity while they are engaged in their activities. My Canadian blood is not up for these temperatures.<br />
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I love the fact that my boys are so active, I really, really do. But their aquatics and tennis programs are outdoors in the summer. And they go from 10:00 am until 4:00pm. And there isn't an air conditioner in sight. Luckily I can jump in the pool and swim laps to cool off or I would not survive. But my biggest complaint is that it is too hot to knit! My hands perspire and the yarn starts to stick instead of gliding over my fingers. The weight of my project in my lap adds a layer of insulation that I really don't need. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to knit while in the pool, I'm all ears!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-66428129347957279082010-07-06T21:48:00.001-04:002010-07-06T21:48:04.661-04:00How?How do you help someone who does not want to be helped, but who needs your help? Suggestions, please.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-29250180644269090392010-06-13T09:03:00.000-04:002010-06-13T09:03:50.552-04:00One is Too ManyI must admit that I am at a loss. Please bear with me, this is difficult. I am an extraordinarily fortunate person. Which is not to say that my life is "Perfect", no one's is. But I have been blessed with people who love me and who I love without abandon. My children do not suffer from any serious intellectual or physical handicaps. We are not worried about where our next meal will come from or if we will be warm next winter. I do not take these blessings for granted.<br />
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However, there is that expression about bad things coming in three's. And I don't like it. Not one bit. <br />
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For one thing, it means that if you suffer through one bad thing, this means you need to be on the lookout for two more. It also means that if you have made it through two bad things, you are constantly searching the horizon for the third. What kind of life is that?<br />
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Today I had the good fortune to visit my LYS, but for the worst reason possible. I needed to buy yarn for a third comfort shawl. Personally, I believe that yarn shopping should be nothing short of joyous, but today I found myself walking into the shop with a set jaw, and the determination to find the perfect yarn for my sick friend. This is the point at which joy and passion becomes a chore. This marks the third comfort shawl I have undertaken. I don't like these numbers one bit. Three comfort shawls in two years?? How can that possibly be right? <br />
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These are all good, beautiful, smart and funny women. I love them all. They have all played an important role in my life. If not for any of them, I would not be the person I am today. I would do anything for any one of them; from folding their laundry and grocery shopping to taking care of them in their most dire moment of need. This is the worst possible reason to knit for someone. I hope you never, ever have to do it. And I sincerely hope that it's the last time for me.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-24777689061180683762010-06-01T17:13:00.000-04:002010-06-01T17:13:26.416-04:00Getting on the Crazy TrainWhile poking around on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a> earlier this afternoon, I checked in with group I belong to called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/martial-arts-knitters">Martial Arts Knitters</a> (you must be on Ravelry to access this last link, sorry!), where I found out about the <a href="http://www.hundredpushups.com/">100 Push-Up Challenge</a>. And this, my friends, is when I bought two non-refundable tickets to ride the crazy train.<br />
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I say two tickets not because I'm going to try and do 200 push-ups in one set, but because I am also signing on to do the two hundred sit-up challenge. (For those of you more hard core than I, you can also try the 200 Squats Challenge and the 25 Pull-ups Challenge. All can be found on the link above.) So, as of next Monday, June 7, I will beginning my quest to do 100 push-ups in a single set and 200 sit-ups also in one set. The program gives you a day-by-day as well as a week-by-week workout, and you can track your progress on their website.<br />
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Why do it, you might ask? Well, I have never done 100 push-ups all at once, but have come close. I think I hit around 70 or so right before my 1st Degree Black Belt test, but that was over three years ago. I know I can get to 70, so 100 will be a new goal. I have done that many sit-ups at once, but not since I was in college, back when the world was flat. Also, since I have been on & off crutches between October and March, I have put on a few pounds that need to come off, and these challenges should be a help. I'm going to try and remember to track my progress on the website and on Twitter & Facebook, if you're interested in following along. <br />
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Wish me luck! Anyone out there want to join me? Please??Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-85646818321242830182010-05-16T21:02:00.000-04:002010-05-16T21:09:14.867-04:00Day at the FarmI spent today voluntolding at my local working farm & nature center doing a spinning demonstration. For those of you who don't know ex-Marines, being "voluntold" to do something is, well, exactly like it sounds. Someone, who may or not be your Mom, "volunteers" your time and effort to do something. And you do it.<br />
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So I spent the day spinning at my local nature center for their annual <a href="http://stamfordmuseum.org/">Spring on the Farm</a> event. And I can't honestly say that I have anything to complain about. A lot of the adults asked very interesting and fairly technical questions, and it was great to have two-year-olds in my lap again (my boys are 9 and 11) as they tried to stretch their legs and reach the treadles of my Kromski Sonata. Do I have pictures? Of course not. (Have I yet??? Soon--I promise!) My family ditched me for the best slide in town once all my gear was lugged out from my car. (Really, if you have little kids who like slides, check out the Stamford Museum & Nature Center's playground. It really is the best slide in town.) I wish I did have some photos though, because I believe that whenever a Mom or Dad whipped out their cell phone for a photo, my smile was the bigger of the two.<br />
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I really, really want to have more days like this one, and I hope you all have them too. Spinning or not. Make yourself happy.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-76497574204272110712010-04-19T20:36:00.000-04:002010-04-19T20:36:19.759-04:00Tricot MachineThis clip is so cool--a French Canadian music video illustrated by over 700 knitted panels. Even if you don't understand the lyrics (about winter in Montreal), the visual is still worth watching.<br />
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Knitting as animation--who knew??<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z5UoYdcakkBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-9461215543697895192010-03-18T23:48:00.000-04:002010-03-18T23:48:50.631-04:00ThanksgivingWhile I was away taking three days of knitting classes with Nancy Bush (I know how you feel; I'm jealous of me, too.) my home town was hit by a massive storm & my house lost power sometime on Saturday. The phone call from my husband didn't make it sound all that bad. (huh--men!; shake head & roll eyes here). I suggested a camp out in front of the fireplace and a weinie roast with it. Little did I realize the extent of damages, or the fact that our power wouldn't be restored until Thursday at 12:30 pm. (By the way, the linemen from Chicopee, MA: you are my favorite people. I owe you, bigtime. I suggest you cash in that IOU in home cookin', 'cuz<strong><em> I am that good</em></strong>. You know where I am; call anytime!)<br />
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While I do have a certain special fondess for the Chicopee Linemen, I am also equally thankful for the linemen who came from Quebec (mes freres!), PA, NY, --and where ever else you came from. Thank you for giving up sleeping in your own bed, time with your families and home-cooked meals. Thank you for making the long drive and coming to our rescue. Thank you for working long hours in what wasn't always the nicest weather. Thank you for politely answering our questions--over and over and over again. I hope that you got to see the best of Stamford and other parts of Connecticut, and I apologize if you didn't. I am willing to make that bit up to you. But either way, please know that there is at least one family in Stamford that has nothing but praise for you and your efforts on our behalf. I can only hope that we will be there for you when you need us, just as you were for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-48848627438462586012010-02-27T20:55:00.000-05:002010-02-27T20:55:56.507-05:00The Coolest ThingToday, while spending what seemed to be endless hours at a swim meet in which my older son was competing (no, really: 4+hours of meet, 3 minutes of actual swimming), I was fortunate enough to need a crochet hook that I didn't have. I had started an entrelac wrap in <a href="http://www.adriafil.com/?id_pagina=2&id_lingua=2&id_filato=OM">Mistero</a> (color, grays to white #026, based on a pattern for Di Ve's Teseo Entrelac Stole, for which I can't find a pattern link) and found out after the base triangles were done that my cast on was way too tight. Rrrrrip! My solution to this was to use a provisional cast on and the only one I could remember at the moment required beginning with a crochet chain. I know you can do this with fingers or even a knitting needle, but, let's face it: a crochet hook is well, made for this. It's the whole "use the right tool for the job" argument. <br />
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So, I say that I was fortunate for not being properly equipped, because I happened to spy a woman crocheting a few rows down from me in the bleachers. "Aha!", I said to myself, "Perhaps she has more than one hook with her--after all, I have my whole set of Addi Clicks with me." So I went over and asked her. <br />
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And this is the really, really cool part: she did <strong><em>not</em></strong> in fact have a hook large enough to accomodate the yarn I was using, but it opened the door to a really fun conversation. We talked about knitting, our kids, swimming, you name it. We exchanged contact information and plan on meeting up tomorrow during the last leg of the swimming competition. How is that not the coolest thing ever?? I love people who play with yarn.<br />
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While I must admit that my past experience with Fiber Junkies of almost any ilk (knitters, crocheters, weavers, dyers, spinners, etc.) has firmly established, in my opinion, that fellow Junkies are open and welcoming to each other, this encounter confirmed it. Furthermore, it firmly cemented my belief that it doesn't matter where you go in this world that it's easy to meet people and befriend them. All you have to do is be open to the other person and greet them with respect and a smile and you will generally receive the same in return. My bet is that those hours at the pool tomorrow will not be long enough.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768610024454486384.post-83874087701876797682010-02-25T22:05:00.000-05:002010-02-27T11:38:34.732-05:00Needless (or Needles) AcquisitionNow that I am blessed with a set of the Addi Clicks, (BTW, love, Love, LOVE them!) I have become irrevocably intrigued by all other interchangeable sets, with few exceptions.<br />
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While I don't knit with wood or bamboo needles on a regular basis (note Addi reference above), I am itching to try the Webs bamboo set, the KnitPicks set, and am eagerly awaiting the announcement from Crystal Palace that they will soon be introducing a set of their own. In my book, they are the perfect bamboo needle: smooth, strong, smooth, and not too sticky. Did I mention that they're smooth? Add multiple cable lengths, connectors & a nice case and I'm sold. Forget the cost--mac & cheese for a week or two to pay for 'em, I'm IN. Like Flynn I'm so in.<br />
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I have also seen ads for the Hiya Hiya set, which comes in such lovely small sizes. As a loose knitter who starts all guage swatches at 2 sizes smaller than the pattern recommends, I find this particularly interesting.<br />
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Have I mentioned convenience? Imagine, between two sets (one wood/bamboo, one metal), all your knitting needs are covered. Perfect for one of those knitting cruises where whenever you go ashore they send you right into the mouth of temptation and a rampant case of startitis. The Girl Scout in you would be praising your level of complete preparedness.<br />
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I admit it. I am greedy. I covet things. Especially these things. <strong><em>Need</em></strong> doesn't even enter the picture. I <strong><em>want</em></strong> them all and I'm not afraid to admit it.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889983002919906214noreply@blogger.com0