Confessions of a Grandma

I finished the knitted pillow that I was working on.  It is done in Shepards wool from New Zealand.  The pattern is from the first knitting book I ever bought, I Can’t Believe I’m KNITTING! (Leisure Arts, INC,, 1997, Little Rock AR). We recently had a letter from Mile’s friend who now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.  When we visited, he was living in Auckland on the North Island.  His hobby was restoration of old motorcycles (the Mike connection) and other old motor vehicles.  His wife’s avocation and main interest was in restoration of old homes.  They had several and were finally able to buy a grand home that was on the historic register and they moved to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand.  2011 was not kind to NZ and Christchurch suffered a great deal of damage.  Our friends’ place was heavily damaged and they have not been able to do any restoration because the earthquakes and aftershocks have continued at an unrelenting ...

While Linda of   A Slower Pace  has been working on her sock and baby hat knitting, I have been up to a much smaller project.  I guess you could say I made two little hats, but they are much too small for a baby or even a doll. Each of the bathrooms has a mirrored medicine cabinet to the right of the sink and a larger wall mirror over the sink.  I would sometimes open these cabinets with a bit more vigor than was really called for and I would hear a disconcerting "CLINK."  Since I am well known for my propensity to break glass things, I decided to take a proactive step.  So I made little covers for the knobs on the medicine cabinets to cushion any future blows.  Sometimes I just astound myself with my creativity. ********* I just read Star Island  by Carl Hiassen, a Florida writer.  His book, Sick Puppy,  which I read the first winter we came to Florida made my laugh until tears came out my eyes.  Actually, his books ...

I have not been knitting too much lately.  I only have patience for small, quickly finished projects like this towel.  It still needs blocking, this is fresh off the needles.  I think I should immediately start another since it took me so long to finally get into the rhythm of the pattern. I knit a lot of hats in the round.  That involves pretty mindless knit stitch and some counting.  I usually start from the top and work down.  That's not how most of the instruction I have say to do it, but I find it easier for some reason.  I have convinced myself I don't have to worry about gauge so much that way.  Also in a hat, the occasional extra stitch doesn't become a big worry.  Knitting along almost becomes a meditative state. Not so with a fussy pattern.  I kept ending a row with an extra stitch or a missing stitch.  Then I would have to  undo and try again.  That kind of knitting h...

 I went to a card party last Sunday--making cards, not playing cards.  I really liked these two projects because they are not overly fussy. Mike has been working on the computer long hours for the past couple of weeks.  He is selling some of his rather vast collection of antique motorcycle memorabilia.  This has given him something to do during the rainy times, but it has also drastically cut down on the amount of time I have spent in my virtual world. So, I have found other things to do.   I obviously was inspired by the origami card. These are felted slippers.  I'm working on a second pair and a hat.

While I was reading about boosting brain power, I had the intuition that knitting has got to be exercise for your brain.  Sometimes knitting can be meditative.  And believe me, struggling to wrap my mind around that lace pattern for my recently completed shawl--that was a brain workout.  I can't tell you how much ripping out I did before I finally got started.  At some point my brain and my fingers just started to work together. Well, lo and behold, it turns out that there is some scientific investigation into the benefits of knitting (crocheting and sewing, too) for the brain. According to Dr. Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic , knitting may be "neuro-protective."  It may reduce memory loss and symptoms of depression, which seems to be a factor in the likelihood that mild cognitive difficulties will lead to dementia.  An interesting article about therapeutic knitting can be found here . Maybe it's taking the easy way out, which might not be ...

My hopes for a lovely, spring-like May that were so quick to bubble up last Sunday with its sunshine have been dashed.  Rain and more rain. The library has benefitted.  I spent extra time working on my clean up project for three hours yesterday. I'll put in another afternoon on Friday.  Areas of floor are visible now, and by the end of the time yesterday I was starting to think there may be an end in sight--at least for round one. Ar home, I took out a large load of blankets and sheet sets that we no longer use but I had stored for "just in case we need them."  I looked for a an organization that was collecting bedding and blankets to send to Alabama tornado victims, but ended up taking the whole pile to the Salvation Army.  There are people being displaced right here in Vermont because of flooding as I was informed when I called the SA to inquire.  So they happily took what I had. Finally, the wet and chilly we...

 This plant in the back yard has started to bloom with tiny red flowers.  I don't know much about the names of Florida plants yet and I have yet to identify this one. I'm not sure I even want to know the name of this one-- it is one bizarre looking plant. This is the yarn I bought the other day.  The blue is kid mohair and silk blend.  I have started a lacy scarf that is entirely purl stitch.  The green is a blend of alpaca and silk.  Both yarns are delightfully soft.  I am enjoying a bit of repetitive and somewhat mindless knitting.

Uh-oh.  I was in the swing there for a while with my shawl of the floral lace pattern...til I ran out of the first skein and went to get another.  I cannot believe that I left it at home, but I must have done because it is not in my bag.  So whether I want to or not, this is a project that will go untouched for the next six weeks. What was in my knitting bag was two skeins of sock yarn and directions for knitting toe-up, two at a time on round needles.  What was I thinking?  I've had that yarn and those directions for four years now and it hasn't happened yet.  Nor is it likely any time soon. I'm thinking a trip to the down town yarn shop to see what Florida knitters are into is in my near future.  Perhaps an evening stroll in the moonlight.  Tonight is the once-a-month occurance of the downtown staying lit up for evening shoppers.

Overheard:  I wanted to know what was really the story with this Egypt thing so I tuned in Fox News    Fox is the only one that doesn't give you spin.  Believe me, I've watched them all over the years.  If you want just the truth, go to Fox. Oh, my.  We all have our own perspective and each of us is entitled to his or her own opinion.  So, mister, exactly what color do you believe the sky to be? ************ My shawl is moving along nicely right now, but it is going to be a long time until completion.  I started with 84 stitches and increase every other row by eight.  I am now up to 388 and will have to keep going until I reach 1196 and then I will have to do the border around it.  Seems kind of daunting.  It takes a pretty long time to get across a row when up to several hundred stitches. I happened to see a shawl in a store window downtown the other day.  It was a large-knit stockinette stitch rectangle that wra...

I started a project from One Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant (Storey Publishing).  It's the floral mesh shawl on page 196.  I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  It's a lace pattern with a chart.   Patterns are mathematical and I am not very mathematical.  Knitting charts--and this is quite a small one besides--make me break out in a cold sweat, but even the verbal instruction seemed beyond me on this one.  The first attempt was a disaster so I pulled that out.  At least I had only completed the tedious collar and only about seven or eight rows of the pattern. The second attempt went better for the tedious collar but there were problems as soon as I started on the body.  For one thing, it clearly was not going to be a shawl  but a poncho. A poncho I could live with, but too many other mistakes have led me to unravel twice now.  I got thirty-nine rows into the pattern before completely messing up one of four...

I finished this shawlette and I have to say I am quite happy with it. It's kind of like a triangular scarf which could come in handy now that our summer is over (?!) and the temperature is supposed to drop into the 40's tonight.  Mike kept asking, "Are you still knitting that?  I've never seen you take so long to finish something."  I don't think that is really true.  It did take me a while to figure out how to read the chart that was part of the instructions.  It's the directionality thing.  I ended up going to the shop where I bought the yarn (which is a fine merino wool from Italy and I love the color) and someone there walked my through the first repetition of the pattern and then I was good to go.  I'm convinced that pattern charts are upside down and backwards so I always have a hard time with them.  Maybe it's my brain that is upside down and backwards, though. Some patterns are strangely specific.  I was looking a pa...

It was just one of those days. I made the first baby booty and it went so fast, I started on the second. I got all the way to the instep before I noticed that the second was not looking exactly like the first. Thinking I had lost concentration the second time around, I pulled out stitches down to the sole and started again, this time being especially careful to check and recheck the pattern instructions. Once again it was not matching. Obviously the problem was really that I had screwed up booty number one. I had to pull out stitches AND figure out the mistake I made with the first booty so I could make it again with the second. Mike suggested that I "Put the needles down and step away from the knitting." Okay, so then I had the bright idea to cut out some apron fabric. I cut two pieces with the fold on the wrong side. "Measure twice cut once," but NO not me. I feel like a dyslexic crafter. All sharp instruments were taken away from me at that point...for my own saf...

It was cold and rainy today so I got the housework caught up and then spent a good part of the day just knitting and sewing. I have finished two baby sweaters and have now started on baby booties. I just love knitting those little things. I have a bureau in my basement where I keep wrapping supplies and a drawer dedicated to a store of gift items. The gift drawer was pretty much empty after last Christmas season so I am working on getting it supplied again. Last year I made shopping bags on an assembly line basis. This year it's aprons. It's handy to have some stuff on hand I can just grab and wrap for a hostess gift or whatever. If something sits in that drawer for too long, I end up donating it to the Salvation Army or a local church's "Klutter Barn." Better to be sewing or knitting at this point--rather than baking. (Baking=eating)

I saw this pattern in a magazine and it really amused me. AND it used up some scrap yarn. I told Mike my plan was to knit a whole bushel basket of veggies and sell them at the farmers' market. He just rolled his eyes. He really does't get the knitting thing at all.

According to the Herald Tribune , Venice has been named one of the top ten locales for hobbies. I’m not sure exactly how that distinction came about, but I do see lots of people playing golf, fishing, and bird watching. There is also a large arts presence in the area. Mike’s hobby is walking the beach each morning searching for sharks’ teeth. There’s a competitive little group out there every day--the serious ones getting out there first with flashlights in hand because it’s still dark. Mike found these two nice teeth this year even with waiting until the sun is up and without consulting a tide chart. I go for a walk on the beach, but I am avoiding picking up any of the detritus that tempts me there. I have boxes of shells and coral and rocks enough to fuel any craft project I may contemplate (and never actually carry-out anyway). There are only so many bowls of shells and rocks you can pass off as decoration. I've been doing some knitting. I find that is a good way to keep my han...

I bought this shrunken wool sweater at a resale shop--"felted" by mistake at some point in its life. I wanted to turn it into a kid's sweater--kind of cheaty, but much easier than knitting the whole thing myself. It will be donated somewhere. Mike and I like to have Sunday morning breakfast--something a bit more than our usual coffee and English muffin with peanut butter. This morning I made waffles from scratch. This is the very first time in my life that I served waffles that did not pop out of the toaster. What a lot of work. Any recipe that requires separating eggs and whipping the yolks and whites separately is a major project in my book. They were good, though--light and tender--and we had brought some Vermont maple syrup down with us so we had that to pour over them. Isn't it great to learn and do new things right into old age...er...maturity.

Several gloomy, dark, rainy days in a row have sent me back to some projects that have been on the back burner. I bought some self-striping yarn to make socks for my grand son. I was determined to do this little project (for little feet) on circular needles--something that I have been unable to accomplish previously. It took seven tries to get started and keep the pointed ends of the needles going in the right direction, but I think I finally have got the right rhythm. I'm sure I'll be back to trying to figure it all out again when I start sock number two. The other project is a shirt I made out of silk I bought on sale--a shirt with a collar and cuffs and button holes. The cuffs are what killed me because they go on opposite sides so somehow they should be mirror images and that is near to impossible for me to figure out--pinning, checking, basting, checking, praying, sewing--very nerve wracking. I know there are people for whom these kinds of perceptual tasks are just as...

I have started a double trousseau for the Bitty Baby dolls in California. This is a knitted ensemble modelled by a Madame Alexander doll. Are you old enough to recognize the White House era Caroline Kennedy? And I couldn't make pajamas for the little man and not make a night shirt for the young lady. I also tried my hand at making a pattern based on a nightgown that I bought for myself and really liked. It turned out to be way too small, so Kristen will have two night gowns now. We call this a "learning experience," but I really did figure out the mistake in my calculations--one of those "AHA" moments while brushing my teeth. For the life of me, I cannot understand how people without good oral hygiene habits ever figure any thing out. It just seems that life sorts itself out while I'm brushing my teeth. Maybe that just me. In the garden--break in the weather for a brief time yesterday and I got to do some much needed weeding--I notice small tomatoes and ...

I found a couple of free knitting patterns* yesterday and got started on a layette for a Bitty Baby doll. Well, actually, since these projects will go to California, it means two of each item. Renee gave her nieces each a BB doll for Christmas last year. Gives the girls something to do; gives me something to do. Before I go too crazy, I should find out if Gianna and Angela actually dress their babies. Kristen is all about the fashion for her American Girl and wants to learn to sew. Her mother, as I recall, was deeply into doll nudism. I was forever finding naked dolls around the house that I would immediately dress. When Amy went to play with them the first act was to take off all the clothes. I doubt that in the future her assemblage of naked, tattooed Barbies with punk hair shavings will make it to the collectible market. Frankly, that's as it should be though. In my Internet searching, I also found a pattern on another blog, this one for an American Girl: SockPixie: 18" Dol...

When my grand daughter visits she often wants to make doll clothes for her American Girl doll. At times, we've had quite the production line going. It was rainy today and Mike has gone to an antique motorcycle meet in Pennsylvania so, having the day entirely to myself, I got into some sewing--completed 2 pair of denim jeans and a denim jumper for the AG. I ordered some more patterns--gonna try some fancier duds. The picture is my own doll. I've had her since I was seven. I knit the hat, sweater, and booties and sewed up the pants last fall. The silouette is another minor area of collecting. You know, I read other people's blogs and I really start to feel like I don't have much focus, or at least I don't have one strong singular passion. Dabbler, I'm definitely a dabbler.