coming up roses

 Several years ago, I sat down and taught myself to knit on circular needles in the round.  I made a neckwarmer.  Then I didn't knit again til this past weekend.

I felt like I wasn't doing it right.  So I when I saw that there was an intensive class focused on the basics of knitting, I sent an eMail to ask about it.  Since I am right~handed, I learned to crochet with the hook in my right hand and the yarn feeding thru my left.  In knitting, left~handed yarn~holding is called "continental" and the vast majority of knitters I've met are either first knitters then crocheters or only knitters and they knit by throwing the yarn with their right hands.  Most yarn stores are devoted to knitters with crochet being a poor second at best.

Well, the folks at Knit1 Oxford are super friendly and welcome any fiber~freak, no matter if you knit, crochet, loom, weave, wrap, needlepoint, quilt, etc.  The owner, Patsy, does continental, so was very willing to sit with me on Friday and I could watch her do her knitting.  There is a major difference in the way I hold my yarn.  I tend to keep my index finger extended up, so that when I crochet I can pick the yarn with the hook.  Turns out that's what I do with the needles too.  This makes my stitches a bit looser than most new knitters {which actually may be a good thing}.

I returned on Saturday for the intensive knitting class.  I knew more than I thought I did, but lacked the confidence.  So Saturday morning was perfect for me!  Also, since I like the anatomy of stitches and examining the hows and whys of methods and techniques and not just the do this that way and this is correct; I could better understand that if I did this instead, it would result in this look.  Way cool!

I really enjoyed meeting the ladies there and felt very comfortable.  So it might be a treat for me to go up every other month or so and spend a Saturday there.  I met a fellow crocheter too and it'd be great to spend more time with her, comparing notes and tips and such.

Saturday, Jerry and I ate lunch at "Rice and Spice", a Thai kitchen in Oxford and then drove home.  It was a wonderful weekend.  Sunday, I was practicing my knitting and discovered something...a style of my very own.  And it's not wrong.  It's different.  My new~found friends gave me the confidence to know that just cuz it's not what they would do, or what I've ever seen anyone else do, it's still a good way as long as it gets me to where I wanna be.

The above flat piece on circular needles is a bit of that technique.  It yields the stockinette stitch.  I just started messing with it this evening.

The roses are from my husband.  He's so sweet ta me!  And I put them right in front of me on my table so that I can enjoy them all the time.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Fiber~Freaks UNITE!

Knit1 Oxford is a fairly new yarny store located in Oxford, Mississippi.  When Jerry and I went to the Fiber Fest in January, Knit1 folks were very friendly.  I joined their mailing list and have been debating with myself about the intensive knitting class they offer frequently.  Finally the other night, I contacted them to ask if the instructor teaches continental {yarn in the left hand knitting}.

Yes, I'm right~handed.  But I crochet and have been doing so for thirty some years.  Which means that I hold the hook with my right hand and use my left to provide the tension needed to feed the yarn properly.  So when I dabbled with knitting a few years back, I naturally held the yarn with my left hand.

However, most folks that knit {and do not crochet or learned to knit first} use their right hand to throw the yarn.  I'd be interested in the class, preferably if they also teach continental for those of us that are on the left.  So, it turns out that the instructor of that class does not knit continental and does not teach that way either.

BUT WAIT!!  There is another lovely lady that does!  So we got it all set up and she is going to work with me on my knitting, molding me into a yarny~type that can add yet another craft to my mix.  Yea!!!

I've got quite a few circular set of needles, including my favorite feel, the bamboo.  I also have some straight needles.  But at the moment, I'm refreshing my memory from when I taught myself briefly how to cast on and knit.  I'm using chop sticks and acrylic yarn.  But tomorrow, ahhhhhhhhh I get to plunge my fingers into wool and all sorts of other lovely frothy fibers.  And I might get some yummy~yarn to work with for the new craft!

When I did work with the circular needles a few years back, I used Jennifer Stafford's domiKnitrix:  whip your knitting into shape.  It is a fantabulousness tool to use to teach yourself some wicked kick~ass skills, besides how to knit and purl.

Stafford is indeed awesome.  She prefers to knit continental, but also shows english.  She gives great advice and good tips to remember for that extra appeal.  It was by using her book that I first even contemplated venturing into knitting, and I did several pieces using the circular needles to create in the round neck~warmer.  However, I didn't feel quite confident until I can actually watch someone who knits in a way I can understand and mimic.

I'm really excited about tomorrow's trip!

The Columbus Arts Council features Elayne Goodman

The Columbus Arts Council is sponsoring a show and reception at the Rosenzweig Gallery tonight.  The show features works by Elayne Goodman, an MUW alumni.

Her work is also available for purchase on eBay and other online sites as well .physical locations.  She uses recycled materials and combines them in different ways to show new perspectives and a variety of forms.

One of the techniques Goodman uses often is to encrust items with other items into a collage of sorts.  For instance, she covered a stool's seat with Elvis memorabilia and laminated it so that the seat can still be used.  I think some of the bowls and vases she has covered with buttons are very interesting and eye~catching.

My husband and I are on our way to the reception this evening.  A friend of mine was newly named the executive director for the Columbus Arts Council and it will be nice to show our support.  I really had no idea that there was so much showcased there!  Later this month, two classical guitarists will be performing.  There are also classes and other events.  It will definitely be worth watching!

in the name of Mr Anonymous Gifter

Long time readers will remember that the second half of 2008 started rough and rocky but ended on a great note!  I met my husband in mid~December that year and that, my friends, made all the other crappity~crap worth wading thru.  I won't rehash all of that six months' toils and boils, go back and read my entries from then if you really are that interested.

However, mid~November to mid~December I was having all sorts of car problems.  At one point, Mr Anonymous Gifter stepped up and paid to have my gas~tank replaced.  Now, he was elderly and had been gifting folks for quite some time, as he served as the benefactors board for his church.  But I was the second person to have actually thanked him.  This was a sad commentary on how entitled folks feel.  At any rate, I figured I could get the message of thanks to him the same way that he got the plea for help; so I not only thanked him right then with a card and some home~baked cookies and breads, I also continued to thank him annually with a card and some item {in 2009 it also involved crocheted hotpads}.

A couple weeks back, he died.  I knew who he was {uhm, a smart girl who uses the computer and checks out the tubeZ for info, 'twasn't hard to obtain}, so when I heard that he had died, I read over his obituary {online}.  His wife asked that all and any memorials be sent to the Sunnybrook Childrens Home just outside of Jackson {our state capital}.

This was a no~brainer.  Earlier this evening, I sent an eMail to the organization, asking if I could donate crocheted items to their kids, parents, and other staff.  I'd like to give back to the folks who helped me when I needed it.  This would be a good way to continue to show my appreciation for Mr Anonymous Gifter.

I urge you to find a charity, organization, effort, cause, whatever that you can feel strongly about and for and DO something.  Maybe you can't build a house, but I bet you can slap a paint brush on a wall.  Maybe you can't donate a wad of cash, but I bet you can give some time to help set up for an event.  There are so many ways that you can do something, anything, for someone, anyone.

Here's to you, Mr Anonymous Gifter.  Thank you so very much.

today's yield

Earlier when I was looking at the calendar, I realized that we've forgotten to check out July's birthdays and anniversaries.  So I decided to get busy and make my brother an afghan for his bed for his birthday, which is July 17th.  What do you think, can I make it?  Here's four 12" squares I made since 4pm.

granny~rectangle?

lapghan #3: Done

tinkering

So I decided to experiment with a few stitches and designs.  I came up with this, which might not look different from the other squares, but if you enlarge and look at the detail, you'll see a difference.

squares

What I did today?  Four squares toward lapghan #3:

lapghan #3, and so it begins

This is the first block for the next lapghan.  I wanted to show the back and also my nails that I had done today.  And of course, the front.  And my toes, at the end of my fat lil peasant foot!   I had a pedi today, too.  My leg seems impossibly long and it's just my shin...alllllllllllll in the perspective.  And yes, I need to shave.  Click to enlarge for detail {ya know, just in case you want to count the hair that is long enough to braid}.

border

lapghan #2, all but the edging

Yeah so I spread this out on the bed and I thought, "dude, there is something missing, what is missing?"  And then it occurred to me, the edging, debra, the edging.  And yes, that will tidy up the border of these squares and tie it all together.

twelfth square

Summer Solstice

  Look what my husband got for me!  It came today.  We saw it on a site dedicated to rescuing animals and saving pets.  It's a lovely windchime!  The autumnal leaves are ceramic, and I just love it.  I didn't realize how very awesome it would make me feel.  He's so sweet to me.

{sigh}

*blush*

square hat

I started to do a square, got lost in a movie, ended up with a hat instead.  Here is my stunning husband, modeling for me once again:

hip, hip to be square

Square #5

Pattern Binders

My printer is doing all sorts of fascinating stutters and whirring.  I think it may be dying.  This makes me sad {sniffle}.

So this means that I've been unable to print a few square patterns for a crochet~along I'm doing with a couple of fun ladies on~line.  Then I remembered late last night that I have binders.  This makes me happy {yea}!

I've not thought of these binders full of patterns in ... quite some time.  The one open on the table is full of granny squares.  The one closed is just dishcloths and doilies.  Since many of those items could be interchangeable, I got both binders out to start browsing thru.  This makes me pleased {humming}.

Also pictured are my other binders.  Afghans, filet, special stitches, sweaters, tunisian, knitting, looming, wearables, and something else that I'm not remembering right off the top of my head {I could go look, but I'm too lazy at the moment}.  Since it's been years since I opened these, I'm eager to see what's in them.  This makes me excited {grins}!

So today, and for the rest of the weekend, I plan to tinker about, looking thru these binders, picking patterns, crocheting squares to be used in lapghans for the VA Vets in Jackson, drinking tea, watching some TiVo'd CSIs, Criminal Minds, Law & Order, L&O:CI, and movies.  This makes me delighted {wahoo}!

hip to be square {squared}

See?  Doesn't this look nicer than the last post?  Well, at least different...

hip to be square

This square didn't turn out like the pattern, cuz I already reached 12"x12" well before the pattern does.  Hm.  I fix that, now!   While I go do that, here's this one: