Knit and Plenty

Auld Lang Sign Off

I am particularly moved, on the last day of this year, and the last day of my blog, by the tune most linked to today: Auld Land Syne. You know it, right?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne.

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

The song asks whether old friends and times will be forgotten. It remind us that we should always take the time to remember those times with fondness; to raise our glass, and remember our old friends with kindness.

I lost some friendships this year. Knitting friends, actually - and without going into any silly details, there was some misunderstanding on everyone's part, and some overreacting on everyone's part, and some stubborness on everyone's part. But I was left over here, and they all stayed together.  One of them was a BFF. Go figure. And regardless of the reasons or situation or outcome, or facts - which of course are never the same for anyone, it still hurts. They would tell you it was my choice. Or even my -- dare I say it -- fault. But it's all like being kicked out of the neighborhood girl's playhouse and they all still get together to play on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, it hugely effected my happiness about knitting, and blogging and I just haven't recovered from it. Anyway, its alot of yarn over the needles at this point - and I'm not bitter, or angry, just sad and today, I am remembering all of them today with great fondness. They were a big part of my starting this blog. It was so much fun so much of the time. They motivated me to come up with new ideas, spurred me on with projects to post. Geez, I even launched a business - which I am also ending. Everything has a beginning, middle and end. Although I am usually one of those friends-for-life kind of people. And when life makes things otherwise, I certainly raise my cup of kindess - and I do so to all of them...and to you!

To anyone and everyone who has ever stopped by, read, posted or emailed, my heartfelt gratitude. This has been a great experience, a great community. I have learned many lessons, one stitch at a time.

I know that my passion for fiber never leaves me, and I know it will be stronger again in time.

God bless you.

Knit and stitches,

Jodi

On my Undoing and the death of lash

I posted this first picture back in June - all about how I bought this great Tilli Tomas, and an Italian ribbon yarn and some colorlash (eyelash), and how I was going to combine them to create an amazing fiber concoction. I was avoiding spending $70+ on some beautiful Ellyn Cooper. You know how it is: I rather do it myself. So, after winding it all together, and knitting the start of a shawl, I realized it looked horrible. This next photo is me and Joanne over at Major Knitters de-plying (new word) the whole huge ball of it. The eyelash just had to go.

Thanks to Joanne I didn't give up and trash the whole thing. It certainly took some undoing.

In the end, it looked like this: The hideous trial-scarf on the left, the mound of eyelash on the right and the Tilli and ribbon in the center, hopefully to be used on some future project.

The moral of the story: if you see a beautiful multi-strand - buy it. And whatever you do: STEP AWAY FROM THE EYELASH.

I guess eyelash has gone the way of the pashmina, wouldn't you say?

Yarn Forward

Regardless of the reception I received at the Knit and Crochet Show, there was one thing that made it all worthwhile and that was being reminded (although I try not to need to be)  that my family and friends are incredible. My mom and stepdad made the haul with me, and were a constant source of strength. (Here's my mom and Purl.)

Then on Saturday, Regina, Lindsey and Susan showed up to lend their support.  Regina had already gone above and beyond the call by lending me all sorts of fabric and froo-froo for the booth. She even manned the operation (hording off the crowds) while I got to do a little shopping.

That's Regina in the booth, too.

And all of you in blogville, folks that have ordered the kit, told their friends, posted on their blogs - it's quite amazing to be the recipient of so much positive energy.

And I believe with every yarn of my being that good things will come to those who give it, and those who receive and return it.

I am grateful, blessed and ready to pay it forward.

The following takes place between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

9:05  - 9:10 p.m. Realizing that 24 started five minutes ago, I race up the stairs and begin searching wildly for the remote. By the time I find it, the show has gone to a commercial.

9:10 - 9:25 p.n. Settling in to watch the show, I begin to cast on 35 stitches for the Right Front of my cardigan. Jack is being hunted down by President Logan. Chloe continues to make those horrible scrunchy faces.

9:25 - 9:45 p.m. Distracted by all the commotion at CTU, I realize that I forgot to use the smaller size 8 needles for the cast on edge. I remove the stitches and CTN (change the needles) and start again.

9:45 - 9:55 p.m. With the correct size needles, i cast on 35 stitches and work in a K1P1 rib for 1/2 inch before Jack realizes that the bad guys have him surrounded in the bank and I realize that the rib was supposed to be K2P2.

9:55 to 10:00 p.m. Jack screams the three letter word "NOW!" for the 107th time this season, while I scream the four-letter word, "SHIT" as I cast on 35 stitches for the third time this evening.

Fade in Montage. Cue sound: Boom boomp - boom boomp.

The lesson - I can knit almost anywhere, anytime - except for the 60 minutes that I watch 24.

The Best Intentions

I am a big believer in the power of intention. Wayne Dyer and all that. I really believe we create our own reality. Putting what you want out into the universe and watching it materialize. So, I will be taking total credit for the last episode of Grey's Anatomy where Meredith was knitting as a substitute for sex.  Sex. Knitting. Greys. Three things I really like all coexisting and connecting to me in one place/moment in time. I expected any minute for them to start eating Entemann's chocolate donuts and listing to James Taylor. So don't be surprised if Allison on the Medium starts golfing or that CSI goes to Florence, Italy.

Now, your assignment, should you chose to accept it, is to look around your world today and see every thing as connected to you and a part of you and there just for you. Who knows, you might just end up driving by a yarn shop and finding a parking spot!!!

And in the realm of the wider realm: take a pause at 2 minutes and three seconds after 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday.  The time/date stamp will be 01:02:03 04/05/06 - something that has never, and will never happen again. 

A sheep called Ambien.

I am sleep challenged. My past is peppered with bouts of insomnia and I have tried, at one time or another, every known sleep inducing technique. I don't stress about it much any more. Most nights, I stay up late watching "tivo'd" TV and knitting and luckily, I can function pretty well, most days, on only five or six hours. Last night, I tossed and turned for about an hour, and when sleep did not come, I decided to turn the light back on and start my new cardigan. Sounded easy enough: Cast on 70 stitches and work in K2P2 rib for 1.5 inches. So that's what I did. I cast on until I thought I was close, stopped and counted. Pretty good, 64 stitches. 64. 65. 66. 67.68. 69. 70. Ok. now I'd better check before I start the ribbing. So I counted again. 69 stitches. Ok. Add a stitch, count again. 70!!! Happily I am on to the ribbing and sleepily, I get to the end of the row and shit!!: P2,K2,P2...k1????  How does that happen?  I'd like to say it's because it's 1:00 in the morning, but I swear, this happens to me all the time. So, I am now sleep deprived and counting impaired.

And if it wasn't 1:00 in the morning, I might have started over. But at 1:00 in the morning, it's perfecty o.k. to just increase in the last stitch, and call it a night. Perhaps I should stick to counting sheep after all.

Not Just a Magazine

Life and knitting. The perfect combo. My life frequently (must) distract me from my knitting; but knitting is the calm distraction I frequently need from life.   Life and knitting.  I love talking about both. Untangling both. Sharing both with so many wonderful new friends who so kindly responded to yesterday's brain blog. Still no news - but I'm confident it will all work out the way it's supposed to. Thanks for all your powerful prayers.

A Yarn of a Different Color

There's no place like home on a Saturday. Puttering about. Choosing to run a load of laundry - or not. Curling up with a good skein.  It feels good to not be in charge today. It feels good to not be thinking about anything except what new pattern to try or what movie to see tonight. Today, I have made the choice to surrender to the day. No matter what comes my way, I am going to remember that I can choose how I react, and mostly , I can choose how I think. Isn't that the only thing we really can control ??  One minute that horrible green yarn was a "what was I thinking?" and the next it's the perfect color for a flower stem. And the best part is that the power to change your mind is always just one thought away. Like Dorothy who always had the power to get herself home and interestingly, everyone she meets in Oz already has exactly what they are looking for -  when they choose to see things differently.
To remind myself to not hold on so tight, I painted and embellished an old jean jacket.{click photo to enlarge] I think I'll wear it to the movies tonight.

Brought to my Knees

Yesterday I went to visit Deb who is recovering from double knee surgery. She is in rehab for the next two weeks (for her knees, not the Vicodine --- that's next month.) She is in good spirits and working amazingly hard in physical therapy. Deb taught me to knit 25 years ago, and she still, to this day, helps me to finish projects because I have never mastered the art of seaming. She has the talent and temperment for it, although we're not quite sure if the same is true about her surgeon. Now, I love all this medical stuff, but I'm posting the picture as a thumbnail for those of you who may be squeamish. If you choose to click on the picture to enlarge it, I'll warn you - it is a little, how should I say it...unseamly.  Deb is a great sport with a terrific sense of humor, so she laughed when I pointed out that there was a remarkable similarity between her stitches and the raglan spine on my new cropped poncho. (if we lose our sense of humor....)

As she took a stroll with me down the hall as I left, we passed many people using walkers and wheelchairs, and I took stock in how lucky we all are for simple things like knees. I think I'll get on mine later, give thanks that I can kneel today and send all these folks, and especially my pal Deb, my prayers.

Purls of Wisdom: Clearing Your Mind One Stitch at A Time

Hello StitchHopper,
I have tried to learn to meditate for many years. I've gone to retreats, bought books, listened to monks chanting, and attempted TM from the '70s. I loved Wayne Dyers, "Getting in the Gap" until I realized it wasn't about buying jeans. So nothing really worked for me, because frankly, it seems like a real unproductive way to spend time. Now, I know that the whole point IS to stop DOING and start being. But, mostly, I would sit there with my half-smile, crossed legs, light eyes, blah, blah...thinking about all the other things I could be doing, or panicking about all things I'll need to do faster to make up for this "lost" time. But I recently started a scarf that had a very simple pattern, but it still required constant thought. The pattern was this: Purl 1, Yarn Over, Purl Two Together,Purl 1, Yarn Over, Purl Two Together:Purl 1, Yarn Over, Purl Two Together. Do you feel it happening? As I sat there, productively creating a beautiful (and practical) accessory, I found myself reaching the most peaceful place. I intuitively knew that I was not wasting time, but at the same time, all the thoughts of loading the dishwasher, and paying the bills and calling my mother (hi, mom) disappeared. I highly recommend this practice and this pattern. The resulting scarf has this incredible jewel-like quality and the lesson is worth its weight in gold: You can purl two skeins with one scarf.