And Now with Knitting Content

Finally, it took a heat wave to get me to put down the knitting needles, grab what was piling up in the chair and shoot a few photos. Handling the woolies in 90+ heat was, well, not as nice as the soft squishy cotton. It had to be done. 

I, uh, still need to put on the buttons-yes, I know where they are unless the cat has relocated them. I call this one Cinched. Why you ask? Because I have a band of ribbing at the waist that you can't see. So much for telling a story with my camera. Sorry Gail, I need more practice.

I attempted designing a shawl collar and my heart was in the right place, I just need to add more depth next time. This one will keep the chill off my neck when I'm shoveling. 

Here is another that needs buttons...and a lint roller! Don't take a close look at this one, it's a bit furry. Soft and cozy cotton.

And here we have the latest work in process. I know this yarn grows horizontally and adjusted the gauge. Here's hoping I didn't adjust it too much because when I tried it on yesterday it was a tad snug. 

 It's been so hot there has been little knitting production. My sodoku skills on the other hand are sharp, sharp, sharp. The weather technicians have promised me a cold front starting tomorrow. Then again, they lie like a swatch.

Never Too Old To Learn

I took a photography class with Gail Zucker this past weekend at Webs yarn store. I've been dabbling in photography all my life and this was a nice refresher course. If you have a chance to take the class with Gail I highly recommend it. Let's see if I learned anything....

Black Velvet Background

 Sucks up the light and makes your object pop!

 Side light. Textures. Depth.

 Use round shapes when looking down on your subjects because humans like it.

 Reflect light.

Play with photo enhancing software.  Picnik used here.
Now I need to gather my finished objects and start shooting!

Spared

This year we were spared the violent storm that tore up trees and knocked power out for 3 days that we endured around Memorial Day in 2010. This year Westfield, Springfield, Brimfield and Monson were brutally attacked by not one but two tornadoes in a very short span of time. Montague suffered a wimpy thunderstorm during the whole thing. Here, look:



It got dark and rumbled. Then the rain came down and rumbled a little more.

 But no major damage. A few bent petals here and there.

 Er, sorry, playing with the settings on my camera. Can't decide which one I like better.

 The wind blew what was left of the blossoms off my June Snow.

Texted all my Springfield area friends for their status. All are safe, thank goodness. The rest of the evening was spent watching local news and when they went to the Bruins game I switched over to NECN to see how much Boston was paying attention. They were paying attention plenty because the same storms went through their territory. A winter Nor'easter is easier to handle than a tornado for us here in New England. We know what to do with snow. Tornadoes, not so much.

 So while I watched the news I wove some ends. Checked on the Bruins.

 Admired my mitered corner. This cotton v-neck would have come in handy this morning. The temps have gone from 90 to 70.

"I don't like thunderstorms. My stoopid brother wanted to go outside during the storm. I hid in the cellar. The human got so sick of listening to him whine at the door that she banished him to the cellar too. Then I had to listen to the whining. What is up with that?"

Whoa! I have been shirking my duties as a boring blogger. It's been over a month since you all sat at your devices and said, "what is she whining about today?" I'll try to remedy that for you. Get comfy.

 The lilacs have come and gone. The air was thick with the scent. We had a bumper crop this year and I hope it was due to my hacking, er, trimming from last spring.

 The ferns in the white garden and filling up space. I love the smell of these too.

 The birds were so well hidden in this tree because the blossoms were thick, thick, thick.

 I suspect this is the bunny that left so many "jelly beans" in the yard from the winter. This is the first I've seen of it. Beau made sure he didn't get too close.

 I finally got a moon shot. Usually my camera adjusts the light and obliterates it.

 Le Tulip rouge.

 Le Tulip Noir

 Le Tulip Blanc

And Jack was in his pulpit.

Now that the outside is accounted for let me update you on the inside. The fuel tank busted its seams. It took two weeks to replace it and I cannot describe the stench of oil. Made me ill. Once the soaking pads were removed there was vast improvement. You still smell it when you open the cellar door. It could have been much worse. My advice to all of you? Pony up for Tank Guard insurance. You're homeowners won't cover a dime.
The spring rains of stories told are here and are not going anywhere soon. Everything is green. The grass, the trees the flowers, the moss, the mold....
I have been knitting but not with the vengeance I usually do. I really have ENOUGH sweaters. Problem is I don't like making anything else. Not to worry, I'll work it out. I'm not going to post any FO's until after my photography class at WEBS with Gale Zucker of She Shoots Sheep Shots. That's coming up in June. You'll just have to wait.
Now, was that too bad? I don't think so.

Good Morning! It's a pretty one out there. The drive to work was worthy of picture taking but as I was running just a tad late I had to leave the misty view for another time. I like Thursdays. I basically have the hall to myself save one co-worker who pretty much stays in their office. People who come in are usually less attitude-y than the Monday through Wednesday crowd. One of the Negative Nells' that works here has been up to fetch their mail, whine about it and leave. I ignore them as much as I am able. I have to, they suck the life out of me.

The weather has warmed up and most knitters switch to cotton or other warm weather fibers. I on the other hand, do just the opposite. I want my wools ready to go when the temps get nippy. I don't want to start a warm cozy sweater when I actually need it. Then again, with 50+ sweaters in the closet, "need" isn't the right term.

I like my neckline design for two reasons. One, the I-cord edge gives a sturdier finish. Two, and much more important in my world, you don't muss your hair pulling it on or off. It also gives a nice showcase for the center panel. I like this neckline design for childrens sweaters. No tears from yanking the sweater down over their proportionally larger head to body ratio. I used to hate feeling like my ears were being removed from their post because of my fat little head.

"Are you talking about your fat head again.?"

One of the Better Days

I had a resident come to my office door the other day. She stopped, looked at me then looked down at her shoes. I asked if she had new shoes. She didn't reply but turned her foot to reveal a swoosh of pink glitter. I remarked how fancy they were and asked if they made her run fast. She immediately turned and showed me just how fast she could go. She came back and walked into my office and stood at the window facing the main street. Not a word had been uttered from her. I rolled my chair over to the window and asked if she saw something. No reply but my rolling chair was of interest. She non verbally asked to sit on my lap and we rolled back to my desk, I grabbed some paper and markers. I don't allow residents to sit in my lap but since this one wasn't complaining or yelling at me I made the exception. She drew something abstract and I assisted by drawing animals which she immediately colored in with the pink and yellow hi liter pens. We sat in silence for a good ten minutes and after three sheets of drawings, the gentleman that had escorted my new friend came to fetch her. He had been within eye-shot the whole time and asked her if she was ready to go. Her answer, a resounding "NO". Follow-up questions by the gentleman, who apparently thought he was in charge, each received the answer, "no". No to a ride, no to Dunkin' Donuts, no to giving up the pens. I made a deal that I would hold on to the pens for the next time she came to visit. The deal was accepted and she went with her escort. It was the most pleasant experience I've had with a resident coming into town hall in a long time. By the way, she's two years old.

It's raining. Not snowing, raining. I believe we're making progress.

I spent the bulk of my day sharing my office with federal, state and local disaster response officials. Fun times.
This was a scheduled exercise set before Japan had their unfortunate accident. Good training for everybody. They dislike having to be in my office as much as I dislike having them there. All the more reason to build a safety facility. If they could find the land I'd help dig the foundation.

So with 90% of my day shot I scrambled to get my world back together before I had to get ready for our meeting. Nuclear disaster drill and Selectboard meeting all in one day. And I wonder why I have a headache.

Letting It Go

Just in case anyone is following--Tuesday rode the same negative wave as Monday. Time to spin this around.
The following is what is on my mind and my way of releasing it so I can move on. No knitting content.

A large chunk of crap causing frustration in my world are people who can't move forward when they don't get their way. They pick and pick at the same old work/life histories. I've observed once they get their way their celebration is brief because they have another personal item lined up to gnaw on until everyone around says, "alright already, have it your way. I'm sick of listening to it." These people suck the life out of me. I don't like being around them. They may be perfectly amiable at the onset or in a non-work related arena. That makes it harder. They are so focused on their mission. There's nothing wrong with being focused as long as in this line of work the focus is for the  betterment of all concerned. But then, that's what these people think isn't it? Their personal agenda, their pet peeve is not everyones but they can't understand why not and will berate those constantly with their reasoning and "you know what I mean?" repeated over and over until the person being talked at cries "Uncle!. Yes, I hear you but I don't happen to agree with you", which invites them to continue to try and convince you. (Go Away. I'm not talking to you anymore. I don't care that you have a personal grudge against another employee and want them fired when all they have done by all evidence is THEIR JOB.)
This has been going on for years and my tolerance left along time ago. If you like your job you shouldn't hate going to work. You shouldn't have to work in what you perceive as a hostile environment day after day when the hostility has nothing to do with you. You shouldn't have to accept their behavior; nor should you have to, after trying to discuss your feelings with this person (people) to stop the behavior be told by that person, "that's just the way I am so deal with it." How about you respect and deal with the way I am and leave me out of it? Better yet, grow up and deal with your issues with those that can help you solve them and let the rest of us come to work, do our jobs and go home without feeling like we've been interrogated all day to support your....personal garbage. Please.
Compounding the problem is A member of Administration (there are several with the title of Administration in this arena) that feels those with "passionate views" need to be heard by all members of staff whether it is any of their concern or not. I asked why they felt this was progressive and received an unsatisfactory answer that everyone should be able to put in their opinion on the subject. I voiced my opinion that it was exactly the opposite to my way of thinking and a waste of  time and money. Again, gather the parties involved with the parties that can resolve it and MOVE ON. I agreed to disagree. Done. Moving on. They, did not and want me to see it their way.

And I get up the next day and do it again. I work on removing myself from this environment. Thank goodness for knitting.

After a rather unpleasant weekend I was hoping the work week would be happier, brighter, dare I say...fun? Alas, if Monday (today) is any judge it ain't gonna happen.
It's been snowing all day. Today. First day of spring. That's just wrong on so many levels. On the bright side, none of it is sticking to the ground. Made for some nasty driving in the hill towns if the police scanner in my office is any indication. It would have been better to stay home and knit.
Ack, there's the rub. Staying home with a furnace that refused to work starting Saturday afternoon. The repairman couldn't fix it until this morning. That meant starting and stopping the furnace via the emergency switch on an hourly schedule. That meant no sleeping for more than an hour at night if I wanted to keep the house above 60 degrees.Tired is an understatement. I'm thinking of going to bed when I get home from work around 5pm.
I did get a good chunk of my aran sweater done while bundled up on the couch over the weekend. I'm designing the sleeves to be fitted to the arm by using a cable and stitch combination that really ends up being a ribbing. I'm doing so because I don't like standard aran sleeves which tend to be bulky. On the needles the my combination looks downright silly. The sleeve looks like it belongs on some other project. A long skinny tube attached to a heavily cabled body design. On my arm it looks fine. The way the weather has turned back to winter I may get to wear it before the shorts and flip flops become necessary.
I'm hoping for a better Tuesday.

Reading My Mind

Just the other day I was thinking to myself, how does heather yarn come to be? How do they do that? Well, as if he was hanging out in my brain, Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed is posting a 5 part series on just the subject. Jared, please disregard anything else you may have stumbled upon in my cranium. Cluttered mess that it is.
Heathers are what I gravitate to as I enter any yarn shop. I like the non-solidness. It adds another interest to my work. What may look like a green sweater upon closer observation has flecks of yellow, blue and fuchsia. A deep red is actually a bright red but flecks of black or charcoal gives the color more depth.

The photos don't readily show the gray interspersed. 

I like the visual dimension whether there are knitted textures or plain vanilla stockinette stitch. So, thank you Jared. Thanks for taking the time to run through the process step by step so I can appreciate the work that goes into my favorite type of fiber.

I hear we're in for another dousing of rain that will have nowhere to go but...in my cellar. Ah, spring is arriving. For the first time in six months I did not throw on a wool sweater for work this morning. Lovely old building that it is, it is not the most air tight but they're working on it. As with any municipal building it takes years of meetings to decide where the money is coming from to put weather stripping on the doors to keep the breezies out. All in good time.

Every Day Like Sunday

Ah Sundays. I get up just in time to watch Sunday Morning. That's 90 minutes of knitting time. The cats hit their preferred sleeping spots and lounge around with me.

I wish everyday were like Sunday. Alas, the bills must be paid and money doesn't come rolling in while I'm glued to the couch surrounded by balls of yarn, knitting needles, tape measures and sleeping cats.

Works in Process

This 12 month size pullover is created out of the scratchiest sock yarn and you may ask yourself why I bothered. Well, it was, um, cheeep and I wanted to work out a pattern of my own brain without sacrificing my better stock. It's Patons and though the color variation is lovely the fibers are short and were in my eyes, up my nose and very irritating. I ripped it apart a couple times; the wool held up to the abuse so it suited my purpose.
I mentioned my sister scored alpaca at a Chinese auction. A gorgeous red 2-ply worsted from Plymouth yarn.


I'm not sure whether to wear it when I finish or just have it around to pick up and squish. More on this after a good blocking.

The Done Stuff

The Aran Vine.
Just as a reminder I fashioned this after a tree in my back yard that has ivy vine choking it. I have a new favorite cable. The braid on the arm is fun to do and works quickly.


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Da Orange One
This started out in design to be a cardigan but as usual, the designer changed her mind and left the steek in and called it a pullover.

Set in sleeves and corrugated rib. All sweaters constructed top-down/seamless.

I had to do a plain rib on the neckline so my fat head could get through. Corrugated rib is not as flexible and as it was supposed to be a cardigan I joined the front sooner than I would a pullover. Of course, since I designed it -can't be wrong.

There are pairs of socks (in yummy soft, non scratchy sock yarn) too numerous to photo. As the end of February approaches thoughts of lighter spring knits are on my mind. So much to knit, so little room left to store it.

Brain Numb

Be it snowstorms, meetings, cancellations, more meetings, the bottom line- I've reached my limit. Pooped. I love winter but not enjoying it. I would like, and I'm asking nicely, to have a long weekend where I am not moving snow or making up time at work. I would like to go to sleep at night and not wonder if my garage roof is about to collapse from the load of snow or if the icicles hanging from the sides of my house roof are a precursor to interior damage. This winter has been worrisome. I don't mind the snow, really. It's pretty and being the "house plant" that I am,  "stuck" indoors is not a hardship to me. I'm trying to spin this into a positive but my brain has gone numb. I hope it's a temporary condition.

 I'm still able to turn a heel. Other projects include an open sweater in alpaca yarn my sister scored at a Chinese Auction. Baby Alpaca, mmmmmmm. I have another alpaca project in my bag that I've been ignoring. Still trying to decide on a design for body of the sweater because my first idea isn't going to work. If it were worsted I'd just do SOMETHING and rip it out if I didn't like it but this is lace weight on 2's so I want to be happy after I spend hours and hours with tiny thread and needles. That's it, I just want to be happy.

 This sight gets me every. time. This and when a thin layer of ice has formed on branches and sparkles when the sun hits it.

 Look at that roof. EEsh.Hold in there baby! I'd remove it myself but there's not a roof rake to be found. I've lived in New England all my life and have owned this house over 20 years and kick myself in the butt every winter for not ponying up the $40 for a roof rake. BEFORE it snows.

 This little guy makes an appearance every morning to grab a snack and chatter. He doesn't like it when I scrape my windshield before going to work. I imagine he thinks I'm after the thistle seed. I've never tried thistle seed so he may have a right to be concerned.

Icicles are so beautiful and so destructive. I love how the sky goes from purple to gray to blue with a yellowish cloud. All that color of light reflecting on the snow and in the ice, I stand there and stare at it. Yes, the neighbors think I'm odd. But after 20 years, better the nuts you know than the nuts you don't.

Beau looks so sweet. So angelic. Those of you who have a ginger tabby know this to be false most of the time. He's like a two year old on caffeine. After he tears around the house, crossing furniture he has been told not to lay a paw on, tosses all the "toys" in the basket, he crashes into a deep sleep, recharges his battery for the next session. His brother Andrew takes a lot of his abuse and though Andrew outweighs him by 5 pounds I do have to step in once in a while and end the torture. Andrew could toss HIM across the room but he's such a gentle guy he's never done it. In my line of sight anyway. No, Beau is my challenge and I love him to pieces. I've got two of the best cats ever.

Stating the Obvious

Oh Gee! It's snowing. Again.