Author: beverly

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Dirty Trick

I woke up this morning excited for the knitting. I finished the Caron Cowl. It actually has a name. It’s called the Warm Up cowl. Nonetheless, I woke up thinking about working. And it hit me: my yarn is playing a dirty trick.

Recall please, that I noted finishing the cowl was finishing 6/10 of the Noggins and Napes (changed the name so the collection wouldn’t be confused with this. A book I happen to own. Naturally, if you are making 10 items and you’ve finished the 6th, the next logical step would be to cast on or chain on for the 7th. In this instance, it would be casting on for a lace slouchy. 

That should be exciting enough. Casting on for something new, (even if made before) knitters live for that kind of thing. This morning I was so excited it took me a moment to remember the project I finished just hours before. But I wasn’t excited about the hat. I was thinking about what yarn I would use for the next collection. The next collection that is four projects away. What the? I was actually contemplating it for a moment before I caught myself contemplating it for a moment.

I was thinking about the ten yarns that would go to make up the next collection and all I really know about the next collection is that it has four original patterns in it and one of them is a hat and the one hat will require five or six different colors of yarn. That means searching for more than ten yarns and I might even have to go through some of the free range and caged yarns that’s not already in my downstairs bin. I may have to go on a hunt….through the chunky yarns…

Tricky, tricky yarn. what a dirty trick. I thought the chunky yarns would speak with each other but I understand how it isn’t possible. The caged yarn is separated by color, not weight, and the free range yarn ain’t separated at all. They would have to talk with all kinds of yarn to get the word out that my mind was open for fiber seduction.

It almost worked. I almost decided to go ahead and step into the future and start looking at what might be used. But I came to my senses. I know what I am going use for the lace slouch (Shadowberry), the cable beanie (Pink) and the Basic Beanie (Verbena).The only unknown is for the hat pattern. It will require two yarns..two worsted weight yarns.

I ain’t mad at it for trying. Clever, tricksy. Gollum would be proud. But I am holding out. But maybe I’ll knit just a little faster. And take a peek at my notes to see what’s coming..maybe look at a stitch book to see what the other three patterns will be. I’m still in control of this. I am. Aren’t I?

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The Night I Fell in Love

So, remember when I told you I made a cowl with Caron Chunky Cakes when I wasn’t really supposed to? Well, I was making one in the color I originally intended but it wasn’t going the way I wanted. I decided to use the hook size suggested in the band. The fabric was stiff and didn’t seem at all soft as the first one I made. 

I know some colors of the same yarn can be stiffer or rougher than others but in the skein it was soft. I went up a.hook size and started over. I got the same result. It was stiff and didn’t feel right. I was again in my office – the scene of the original cowl crime – and saw the crochet hook that for me into trouble to begin with. I decided I would try the cowl again to see what would happen. I took the hook and began again in the evening.

And that was the night I fell in love. It was soft and chunky and looked full. It was every bit of everything the first one was. I was grinning from ear to ear as if I had just won both lotteries and the government decided not to take any taxes.

If course, it wasn’t enough to take that victory. I decided I wasn’t just in love with this Caron Cake and this cowl. Oh no, that would be too simple. I was in love with chunky knits as a.whole. I would need to go through the stash and find all my chunky yarns so I could make chunky scarves and recall some past chunky knits. Chunky knits showed up on the Etsy trend page so not only would I make them; they would sell because they were hot. I would get sales. I would have great fun doing it. There was no downside.

I’ve calmed down a little. I might have lost momentum at the thought of going through the stash. I am anxious to make this with a tea cake. I won’t have that chance for a bit because I already have the cowl for the next collection. Hopefully, I will remember.

With the completion of the cowl, I have done 6 of 10. I have a lace slouch, new hat pattern and another cable beanie and basic beanie to complete. The plan is to have it done by the end of the month but we will see.

Pray I stay on track. I can hear the chunky yarns whispering to each other. They may be calling for my seduction. I am vulnerable but I shall stay strong.

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Rainbows in Montana

There be rainbows in Montana. There was a lot of rain. About the same time everyday and it lasted different amounts of time. We went there to watch the nephew play professional baseball. He is a Billings Mustang. That is the rookie affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. We saw four games. I think they went 3-1. I saw him hit a home run live. I saw him hit one in college. So now if I see him hit one in the big leagues and in the All Star game, I would consider that a home run cycle.

I did go to a yarn store while I was there and the people were uber nice but I walked out without a purchase. It was a little pricey and the yarns I felt in my hands were a little rough. I would go there and knit with them but I don’t know that I would buy anything. 

I also went to the biggest Hobby Lobby I have ever seen. I thought the one I went to was large. This store was humongous. It was like a warehouse. I eagerly walked all the way in the back through the ‘sewing store’ as the clerk told me, to find the yarn and…two aisles. I kid you not. Just two of the poorest stocked yarn shelves I have seen in my life. Don’t people get cold in Montana? Are there no knitters or crocheters? Seriously two shelves and I swear they didn’t have a huge selection of I Love This Yarn, either. I mean, I stood there in shock. You have all this store and this is all the yarn that’s managed. If I lived in Montana (which I wouldn’t mind) I would be voting someone out of office for not fixing this travesty of justice.

Luckily for me, I brought along enough yarn to do several – ok eight – projects. I wasn’t going to be staying long enough to do that many but a girl’s gotta be prepared. Like for a rainstorm which cancels the Saturday game leaving you with some unexpected time on your hands.

 I did finish some projects. I also started a beanie which has since been finished but I finished it at night and I packed it away before it could get it’s photo taken. These are two of the items from the new collection. I am now working on the 5/10 item. I’ve done the cable beanie, did the basic beanie, designed a new hat (finished the pattern, took the photos), did the taffy pull scarf because I was desperate to work on something  and I’m now working on a prayer shawl. That leaves the new cowl, a lace slouchy – I may do a color switch -,and one more cable and basic beanie along with the new hat pattern playing in my head. I don’t have a deadline but I do have a plan to have this collection out in September. I am working towards the first week since I didn’t get this collection started right away.

It could be stressful and I admit, I am not having one of my better mood runs of late but there are rainbows in Montana. So there’s that.

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The Way You Do the Things You Do

The Way You Do the Things You Do is a classic by the Temptations. I believe we have already established I love the Temptations. The song is a tribute to a nameless, faceless woman who has a smile so bright, she could be a candle and she’s so smart she can be a schoolbook. There should be a line in there about her being a knitter and can defy science, logic and math.

What you see in the photo is my first attempt at the Dakota mittens. The pattern is not complete and up for sale and the final gloves are with their owner and she’s happy with them. That can now free me up to say how much of a friggin’ pain the process can be. It’s always smile and rainbows when it’s done and it’s right but that middle part between anticipation and relief is a different story.

It was right around the time I took this photo that it occured to me they might be a tad on the large size. I was making them for a tiny teen. I did all the math and that still wasn’t going to work. Knit math was rearing it’s ugly head again. 

Knit math can show up in a number of ways. You can be making a scarf that’s supposed to be 60 inches and when you’re knitting along to the 55th inch and then knit math says that no matter how long and how much you knit, those last five inches will take as much time as the first 54 total. Never ever fails. 

Knit math will also show itself when you need to make something to an exact size. These gloves needed to fit a six inch wrist. Doesn’t take more than a glance to see these would be too big. I decided to go down several needle sizes and to go from a worsted weight to a DK weight…smaller all around. I then look at the gauge chart on the label to determine what I would need in stitches. No, I didn’t do a swatch – let’s not get ridiculous.

I did the math and then because I know how evil knit math can be – I deducted 10%. It’s what I do when I make anything because I have been burned by knit math time and again. Knitting will grow on you. Unless you’re one of those super perfect knitters who have perfect stitching as indicated on knitting labels ( I don’t want to know you. There’s only so much to this thing called tolerance.) knit math affects us all.

Even going smaller I had to start over about three times. Finally they were done and sent off. My client’s only complaint: they were a little too big. Sigh.

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Enough to Get By

I am not from the artist. I like to say, with a great deal of truth, that I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler. I can stay between the lines when coloring but that took some discipline and I’m still not sure I would pass grade school art class.

It’s funny then, when I use a chart to make a pattern. Charting isn’t something I do on the regular. I crack myself up when I print out the graph paper and put a pen to it. That’s another thing, I chart in pen. Like it’s the New York Times Knitting section and doing it in pen makes me smarter. It’s really because I don’t have any pencils around and when I find one, it doesn’t have a tip and I don’t have a pencil sharpener because I didn’t know I had pencils.

There is a part of me that wants to chart better. I know just enough to get by with what I’m knitting and I usually do it to make sure the idea I have in my head looks good on paper. I figure if it can look good with what I pass off as charting, then it will look pretty darned good when I get the needle and the yarn together. I would like to make neater charts. It would be more of a vanity project at this point as I would not inflict my charts on anyone – not even on a pattern I gave away for free – don’t thank me. It’s a mercy for all of us.

I am currently working on something, not the cowl in the pic; that’s done. And I pulled out some graph paper because the design was taking on something I hadn’t planned and I wanted to see how it would play out. I understand my chart but I don’t understand if it looks the way I want it to. I am going to have to redo it in a neater manner so I can see if I have to frog it or if I can keep going. 

I think I will try and do it neatly. If I succeed, I will happily show you the fruits of my labor. If not, I will use my messy chart to check my work and no one will be none the wiser. The artist world has nothing to fear from me. Salvador Dali maybe but I’m sure even his legacy is safe.

 

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Knitting Myths

There are a great many knitting myths. The chief one is that we are patient.

It is something we are told all the time. Someone will see us knitting and say, I don’t have patience for it. There is no such animal as knitter patienceous. We are not patient. We demonstrate this in many ways. But we cover it in smiles and nods. But knitters can read other knitters.

If you really want to see the edge of patience, find a knitter who is close to finishing a project. It is a thing. We will start a project with great enthusiasm. We select the yarn, the needles, settle in our comfy chair and cast on with great joy. We watch as our creation comes into being. We compare it to the photo or our chart/instructions and smile when we see it happening the way it’s supposed to.

But then…There comes that point when there’s nothing left but the end. Nothing new to learn. No surprises. We are going to get what we are going after. Even the knit math works out.

We then begin.to look at our beloved project like that third cousin who has stayed one day too long. We long for another. We want the anticipation. We are cranky. Not nearly as cranky as when you interrupt our count, but cranky enough.

But as soon as we are finished, we call in love with our creation. Because we put in a lot of work. Because it is beautiful.

Because we can start.all over again. We live for new beginnings.

 

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I Do Not Knit

I am not someone who knits. I do not knit. That sounds surprising to some. But I used to be someone who knits. But now, I am a knitter.

There is a difference. And it isn’t an elitist thing. There are people who knit and there are knitters. Want to know the difference?

someone who knits doesn’t have much of a stash, if any at all. They go to the craft store to purchase the yarn they need for their project and nothing more. 

Knitters have a stash. When we go to get yarn, we buy it for the project we’re doing and for the one we haven’t thought of yet but we know this six balls of yarn will be perfect for it.

That same knitter will repeat buying yarn again before creating the nameless, faceless project the six balls of yarn were supposed to go to. 

Those who know how to knit are far more generous than knitters are. We will give away yarn in small amounts. There are exceptions, Crystal on YouTube gives away an insane amount of yarn. We won’t give you our best yarn but we’ll give you something. Someone who knits will give you what they have. Really, what choice is there? They don’t have a stash. They just have some yarn. Again, this isn’t a dig. Sometimes I wish I were back there.

There are many other differences between the two. But there’s no shade. Every knitter was someone who knit. We just became obsessed. For me, I’ve always been a little obsessive compulsive. When I was into books, I had tons of books. I was at the bookstore every week. Same thing when I was into gardening. 

I have more than 1000 balls of yarn and it’s because knitting has held my attention for so long. I turned it into a business and it remains a spiritual gift. I am surrounded with yarn and almost every day I look at adding more. I have limited myself to buying twice a year. The last buy was in May. The next one is December.

The countdown has begun.

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Can’t Tell Me

Yes, that is an IV in my hand. I’m this photo I am waiting for my doctor to come and tell me about the surgery I am about to have.

It is also January and I have orders to get out and it’s also knitting, which I will do anywhere I can get away with it.

You can’t tell me I have to sit in a hospital bed and have nothing to do but worry about the outcome of a surgical procedure. I believe knitting is an optimistic way to approach the situation.

If you look closely, it’s clear I am at the beginning. So, I think by saying I will start this thing now, I am also saying I think I shall be around to finish it up. 

I’ve been in situations where I don’t have my knitting with me. Remember I don’t knit in ballparks and it doesn’t drive me nuts but that’s about the only place. I haven’t knit at weddings or funerals but I do have it with me. At my memorial service, knitting will be mandatory for those that knit or crochet. I have no doubt I will leave behind tons of yarn. Those that come can bring there needles and hooks and a bag to take some home.

I have knit between weddings and receptions because they have this new thing where weddings are in the morning and the party in the evening. I don’t see why that time in between should go to waste. That is some prime knitting time.

I knit churcn. I know some folks have a problem with it so I make sure I sit in the back. At that point I figure if you have an issue then you’re the one not paying attention. I feel God speaks to me during that time and I always put it down during the prayers and always hold it during the blessings.

It works for me. It’s a scarier world when I can’t get to my craft. You can’t tell me I can’t do it. That’s a red flag. It’s a stressor. It’s not normal in my world. 

The surgery went fine and the hat was sent off to the buyer. All is right in the world.

 

 

 

 

Continue reading “Can’t Tell Me”

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Sibling Rivalry

These afghans belong to my elder brother and eldest sister, respectively. I have four siblings; two of each, and they each have a afghan from me.

Except my elder sister, doesn’t believe that to be true. With each afghan that went to a sibling she reminds me that she doesn’t have an afghan.

“You got the first one.” I remind her. “You were the one that started this. Because I gave you one; I had to make one for everyone else.”

“You didn’t make me an afghan.”
“I was at your house when I was making an afghan and you asked for. I gave it to you.”
“But I used that one in my classroom.”
“You were free to do that.” I said. “Because it was your afghan. Otherwise, you would have taken my afghan and put it in your classroom.”
“I don’t understand.”

This is how it goes. This isn’t the first time sibling rivalry has shown itself when I give an afghan to a sibling. After giving the afghan to Carole (elder sister), I decided it would be nice if they each got one and decided the best way to go was to go in order. So, I asked Vel (eldest sister) her favorite colors. I made the mistake of asking on a conference call with the other sibs. So they wanted to know why she was getting one. Going in order. That seemed to calm the beasts a bit.

When Rick (elder brother) got his, we were all at his house in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. There was some discussion about how much effort I put into each one and that was somehow an indicator of who I liked best. There was a mention that Carole was never asked her favorite color the way everyone else was. Because you asked for the afghan I was making so you must have liked the colors enough. (That explanation didn’t fly.)

Recently, Facebook did a memory of Vel sending me a photo of her afghan on her sofa. I ain’t gonna lie, that afghan was a corner to corner and was a PITA. It looked good on her sofa and that was a saving grace. But along with the memory of the photo were to comments where Carole declared she never got the afghan in the picture so it must have been intercepted on the way to her since the post said my sister sent me a photo of her afghan.

“You have another sister.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s her afghan.”
“There’s something wrong with you.”

It was a pleasure to make all their afghans and give it to them. I felt as if I was given the gift. Despite the weirdness that comes from DNA, I know they all appreciate them. Will I make another one for Carole because she used her in a classroom in a school she no longer teaches? Nope.

I’m the youngest. I can get away with bratty moments.
 

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The Only Place

This is a baseball field. More specifically, this is Minute Maid Park. Mr. Honey and I have a thing we do. We love the Cubs but a few years back, we got a little tired of the trips to Wrigley.

Listen, we live about ten miles from the park. If you were to put our address and the park’s address into the Google, it would say it takes about 35 minutes to travel that 10 miles. Ha! That’s only if Moses shows up, parts the traffic and let’s our chariot through. It’s more than an hour and Wrigley doesn’t have a parking lot. They have remote parking lots. So remote you go to the parking lot and then take a bus to the park. 

They have independent parking places and they make you pay for it. We usually take the bus that is less than a mile from our house and drops us off right across the street. It’s fine and great once you get there. It’s the best park in the league but the getting there will make you crazy.

We used to go up to Miller Park every year, known as Wrigley North because there used to be more Cubs fans than Brewers fans. But after a couple years of doing that, I announced we would be going to a different park every year – sometimes two- so we can get out of our comfort zone and actually take vacations.

What’s the significance of an esteemed (my word) citizen of Knitsville telling you about ballparks? Because it the only place I don’t knit. I’ve knit in ballparks before. There’s this thing called Stitch N Pitch I attended once. Just once. That was enough. I will knit everywhere. I am convinced I will be knitting at my memorial service. I will leave orders that anyone who can knit, should knit there. I will be leaving mass amounts of yarn behind so they won’t need to be that. Just needles, hooks and a snack and make a knit night of it.

But ballparks have seats very close together unless you’re in a luxury suite. And seriously, if you’re in a luxury suite, you’re not there for the baseball. And I actually enjoy the sport. But take a look at the photo and imagine someone knitting. Even the most compact knitter would have some trouble. If I were ever to do it, I would make sure I had people who loved me on either side. They couldn’t drink beer (cuz who wants that the smell or the actual beer on your fabric) and we would have to be sitting smack in the middle of the row. Why? Because people are constantly walking in and out of the row. If I am in the middle, I don’t have to be in a constant state of stand up, sit down. Knitters don’t like to be disturbed when we’re in a plush chair with a drink of our choice and the right music playing. You think we’re gonna be chill with people constantly disrupting the flow? That patience thing about knitters is a myth.

So there is a place where I don’t even bring the needles and I don’t mind because the game keeps my interest. It’s the only place. And I very happily pick them back up when the game is over.