Quietish

Some time ago I agreed to knit this shawl along with Stacey, but wanted to wait til I had time to devote to the project. Well, recently I had an urge to knit it so bad that I decided to knit the scarf version just to get it out of my system for now anyway.

Pattern:
Wing of the Moth, by Anne Hanson
Yarn:
Schaefer Anne, leftover from Phineas
Comments:
This is a very fun and fairly easy pattern to knit. It will make a lovely full sized shawl, I think in something fuzzy…

I keep stealing glances at the noisy construction and thinking I should report in.

There is no sign that they will be building more buildings anytime soon. They’ve been working on pretty-ing up the outside of the existing buildings. From the road I can see that they’re quite far along in outfitting the inside at least of what I can now confirm is the coffee shop. Mmmm coffee.

Now that I’ve done a little peeping over the hedge, I shall commence with the rest of my day. I hope to spend some hours listening to Damien Rice, knitting and/or crafting, and then getting Jamie to dance class tonight.

Exciting huh?

Ooh, I have been bad lately, haven’t I? I promise to be a better blogger this week.

Here’s my SPS, still technically on Sunday. I realized I hadn’t yet gotten one just before setting out on my evening walk, which has been back and forth in the parking lot mostly this week. So here it is, sorta dark and blurry, but still rather cool I thought.

Yes, that is a ski mask. I was cold.
And while I’m at it, my Middle Earth update:

Still in the up-and-down hills. (25 miles)

(Psst: After Wednesday I’ll be pruning that SPS list back, so please be sure you have let me know if you still want to be on it. Thanks!)

Hedwig

Pattern:
Monkey by Cookie A. (Knitty)
Yarn:
Sunshine Yarns‘ Hedwig
Mods:
I knit one less repeat in the cuff and I knit the heel flap shorter. Just didn’t need that much heel.
Comments:
When the Knitty issue that included this pattern came out, the euphoria of the new issue and all the new patterns caused me to want to knit it badly. Fortunately it turned out to be a very simple and well written pattern. The lace is interesting but not too demanding. It is incredibly cute, and I am happy. I also happen to think that the pattern works for this owlish colorway. I think the lace looks like wings and down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking to Rivendell:

The road rolls up and down. (23 miles)

Edit: Eeek, I misspelled Rivendell. Apparently no one noticed though :p

Although the anniversary of Mom’s death is two days from now, today is her birthday and I would prefer to think about her life.

I wrote her a letter last year. Today, I don’t particularly want to cry.

I keep thinking about my mom as an artist. Oh, she was. Not many would have seen her that way as she lived a mundane, sort of unexceptional life. But she wasn’t unexceptional.

Many times I got the very strong sense that she had awesome creativity just below the surface. I can’t describe it. It was as if she had a million things to say and immeasurable, intangible imagery that she needed to communicate but had never, in all her years, found just the right medium in which to bring it alive.

Once I realized this, my concept of her as an incredibly frustrated individual intensified by many times. It wasn’t that long after that her life ended.

In the most recent years, I was glad to see her begin to notice and embrace things that made her herself. Before them I don’t think she acknowledged they were there. She was finally coming into her own. She bought flower arrangements simply because she liked to surround herself with them. She discovered that she appreciated the work of local artisans. She thought about writing a book, or more, instead of just reading them. She knocked down inhibitions and painted her kitchen red.

She discovered that she was willing to consider options that she had previously insisted she couldn’t.

I am privileged in that I have been able to experiment with many art forms. While there isn’t just one form that I use for my expression, I use what I have and will keep journeying through different means.

As I create, or discover new ways to create, I think about Mom. I wonder if whatever I am doing with my hands would have exhilarated and healed her in the same way. I’ve come across a lot of things that I can envision myself explaining to my mom, down to every last step. The opinions she gives are only guesses at what her reactions really would be.

Her unrealized potential is the main thing that twitches my sense of loss and sometimes guilt. I wish there were still time to tell her that she was an artist.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

For my self portrait this week I tried to get a picture of my new earrings, bought at Simply Shell’s.

But it’s blurry, so here is a better shot:

I love them.

And just because- a shot from my walk in Middle Earth last night:

(Poor frozen trees.) Where I’m:

Camping and Eating and Drinking, and being seen by wildlife. (18 miles)

Oh, and live as of a little while ago:

CraftBorg, Episode Thirteen.

Hi there. How are you? Good? Good.

I kept feeling, all day today, that I should get on here and write. About what, I didn’t really know. I clearly continue to have no clue, as I’m several sentences into this post and still haven’t alluded to a topic.

Letsee. Knitting, yes knitting. Do I have progress? Nope. Nothing to report. I have spent a couple of hours a day on that super-secret project that seems to have quit growing at some point. I did knit on Hedwig1 for a couple of hours today and I am now in the toe, now that I think of it. So yeah, I am almost done with a sock. Go me!

No, I don’t have a picture. And it’s too dark to bother with that now.

So, reading. I’ve been excited about my resolution to read more. In my minds eye, I’m reading my books so fast that the pages are flying out of their bindings. To my real eye, however, I’ve made no progress on my current read since I added it to my sidebar last week sometime. I do want to read though. Really, I do.

At the moment I feel like I’ve been too busy to get around to things I intend to and, at the same time, wholly unproductive to the naked eye.

Perhaps I have an unrealistic idea of what can be accomplished in the span of a week. I haven’t really thought that my expectations were very high, but maybe I should rethink that. I would feel pretty good if I could spend some time at least weekly:

I rarely get them all in. Even if 5 minutes of an activity were to be counted.

Anywho, I’m not really trying to complain. I’m actually pleased with most of what I’ve accomplished this week. Although I am frustrated by the stove top that is impossible to return to the bright-white I know it can be.

And I suppose I’m not a complete slacker. I did 2.5 miles last night, so I’m:

Walking through a deeply cloven track between tall trees, singing. (15.5 miles)

What on earth am I talking about? CLICK

I’m off to get a coupla more before we get recording for CraftBorg, Episode 13 tonight.

I’m not doing much at the moment so I thought I could spend some time sharing a few crafty things.

The other day I got a message from my pal Roberta that she received one of her baby gifts, so now I can share it!

Pattern:
baby bonnet from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn:
Dalegarn Falk, leftover from Jamie’s sweater. (It will be awhile before I go through all of it methinks)
Comments:
I totally dig this pattern and can see myself making it many times over with different yarns. The i-cord edging is sort of a pain, but rather cute and understated. I thought the other day that at some point I’d like to try a little crocheted ruffle on there as well.

On Saturday night, shortly before the trip to the ER, I finished a larger-child-sized vest for CIC/Care Wool.

Pattern:
None. Used the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns again.
Yarn:
Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride in Silver Grey.
Comments:
Yes, I know its very grey. I picked it out when I stood and stared at the wall of it at Gourmet Yarn, couldn’t get excited about any of the other colors, and decided I needed a color I hadn’t used in awhile.

Other knitting:

Last night my desire to sew something was fairly strong, so I set to work binding a little book made from playing cards and paper that Alchemia painted years and years ago.

And then, because productiveness and creativity is attacking from all sides, I drew a quick little ATC. Heee.

And lastly, I walked another mile last night (on solid ice, mind you, so it’s really quite a lot of exercise!), putting me at

Frustrated that I haven’t gotten much further. (13 miles)

Gotta love the timer feature.

As you can see, Kelly was much more healthy by the time we said goodbye yesterday. I’m sure many are weary of hearing it from me, it sucks living so far from all of my bestest friends. I will just have to keep hoping that one day it wont be so. Although, I suppose the fantasy that everyone will move to the same part of the country is a bit of a stretch.

Good Thing #1: Kelly noticed a coupla weeks ago that we had a 3-day weekend coming up and invited me to meet her in Ft. Smith to hang out.

Corresponding Not-So-Good Thing #1: An over-sensationalized yet somewhat worrisome bit of weather showed up in the forecast for that same weekend.

Good Thing #2: We both made it from our respective starting points to our mutual arrival point with no problems whatsoever. Mary visited one evening as well.

Not-So-Good Thing #2: Kelly promptly fell ill.

Good Thing #3: We’re right across the street from the local ER.

Not-So-Good Thing #3 : I seem to have also sorta gotten sick.

Good Thing #4: The doctor gave me a prescription, too.

Not-So-Good Thing #4: This town has a shortage of decent pharmacies and none that care to stay open long enough to serve those that spend the larger portion of their night in the ER.

Good Thing#5: Kelly is freakin’ hilarious when she’s stoned.

Not-So-Good Thing #5: Kelly makes a hobby of puking in as many different places as possible, loudly.

Good Thing #6: One has a whole lot of time to knit while in the ER.

Not-So-Good Thing #6: One has a whole lot of time to knit while in the ER.

Good Thing #7: We are both feeling much better now.

Not-So-Good Thing #7: We spent the whole day today recovering and have to leave tomorrow morning. Wah!

Self-Portrait with my drugs and my sock, which now has a heel and gusset.

You can read Kelly’s account, here. Feel free to ask her about the oh-so-interesting drop-ceiling panels, the moment when she apparently flat-lined, the many sobbing sprees, and how we smashed up the hotel room.

I hope we remember to take a picture together tomorrow, when we’re rested and fully-dressed.