Tightly Wound

I've been a bad, bad blogger

Meredith — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:23:28 GMT

I don't really know why, but I just haven't had much to say lately. Not on my own blog, not on other people's blogs. I've been a true slacker. But, all of that changes today!

I did flowers for a wedding this weekend!  This is most definitely not something I would have to do even a few years ago, but I'm the chair of our altar guild at church (a.k.a. flower committee, prop gatherer for the pastor, punching bag for the congregation- if you're at all familiar with church work you know what that last one means ). However, I love this job!!  It is truly one of the most delightful ways I've ever been asked to serve the church. And most importantly, it has taught me a way to worship that I never experienced before - through my creativity. Anyways, we did something a few weeks ago that a friend liked so much she asked us to recreate it for her wedding. I really think it's pretty, so I wanted to share.

And I haven't been neglecting my knitting either.   I have been adding to the stash at a faster rate than I have been reducing it of late. I know I said I was on a yarn-buying time out, but I've modified the rules slightly. If I'm out of town and find something I can't get at home, it's fair game. That seems reasonable, doesn't it? I do have progress to share on the Erica Knight silk shrug and another row on the Dots & Stripes. I'll share pictures tomorrow!

I'm so proud...

Meredith — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:55:00 GMT

of my wonderfully talented husband who just scored a second place finish in a downtown photo competition hosted by the Bellwether Gallery in the new Monarch Art Factory. His prize-winning photo will be hanging in the gallery for the next month! How exciting is that! If you're out downtown this weekend for the Art Walk you should stop by and visit his pretty picture or check it out on his blog here.

Weekend Update

Meredith — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:37:37 GMT

I just can't stop with the SNL references. I swear I'm not trying - they just come to me. I'm not really much of a fan anymore. I haven't found it very funny since the Will Ferrel days. However, I did catch part of Peyton Manning last week and thought he was pretty hilarious. Did anyone else see it? Time to move on - way more space than I intended to devote to that subject.

Any weekend that starts out with the once-a-year yarn sale at Simply Fibers is bound to be a good one!. My fellow Springfield knitting bloggers and I met immediately after work at the LYS to be there when the doors opened. I didn't do too much damage, but did come away with this:

I am so in love with my new book. That's Classic Knits by Erica Knight and it is fantastic. Everything in the book is (as the title would suggest) truly a classic. I really think that I would wear just about anything I choose to make. I also bought some Bamboo Soft to make the silk shrug out of the new book and some Mango Moon to make a short-row "sunburst" bag pattern that I picked up at Hilltop Yarn Shop when I was in Seattle last year. (On a side note, this shop is very cool and I would highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.) I needed a little break from the Dots & Stripes Blanket, so I started on the shrug and have about three inches done. I think it's going to be a rather quick knit. I'll post some pictures when I'm a little further along.

Today was a beautiful day, so we took Dolly out for a little field trip and Matt took some pretty spring pictures. Here are my favorites:

Don't you just love spring?!!

And finally, I did a little baking. Matt and I have been hosting a church small group at our house for the last six weeks and tonight was our final meeting, so I decided to make some cupcakes. Granted, I had a little help from Duncan Hines, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I found myself wondering why I would ever go to the trouble of making cupcakes and icing from scratch when they are so darn tasty out of a box. So, I'll leave you with a little eye candy.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I love it, I love it, I love it!

Meredith — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:51:56 GMT

Today's trivia - can anyone name that SNL reference?

So what is it exactly that I am so in love with??? Why the Dots & Stripes Blanket of course!

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn, but I don't think this photo really does it justice - it's much cuter in person. I finished my second row of squares this weekend and I'm so excited. Much of this progress is a product of a long weekend spent like this:

Here's another indication of how laid back my weekend was - I took a stress test at work today as part of a management development course and landed a perfect score meaning I am completely stress-free- because everything was based on stressors in my life over the past 3 days and I had none! Those of you who know me really well will be truly impressed by this, I know. But now it's so long to spring break and back to school and sadly I'm starting to feel a little bit of stress that I won't be able to finish the blanket before Little Boy B. (the recipient) enters this world.

Blogger's Block

Meredith — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 22:25:51 GMT

I feel somewhat void of anything interesting to post about, but compelled to post something - anything - in spite of this. I've been on Spring Break this week which in my world basically means that I get to do what I want in the evenings and on my lunch break instead of writing papers on employee motivation through job design, reading about the price elasticity of demand, and suffering through six hours of evening classes a week.

So, what have I done with all of this free time? Well, I have been knitting quite a bit (yes this is still predominantly a knitting blog although you certainly wouldn't know it from my last few posts) and have made great progress on the Dots and Stripes Blanket. Sadly, it doesn't really look like much progress because there are so many dadgum stitches in a row on that thing. I don't think that I'm at a milestone worthy of a photo quite yet. Perhaps after I get some good knitting time in this weekend I'll post a picture.

I've also been reading some for fun - something I love to do but haven't really had much time for lately. I've enjoyed it so much however that I've made a promise to myself that no matter how busy I am I will find some time to read something for me. I've got four books in progress (or that I just finished) right now and I thought I'd share my thoughts on each of them:

This book is for a new book club that I'm in. I've never been in a club unrelated to church or school where you discuss literature, so I'm really excited. I don't consider myself particularly insightful when it comes to literature, so hopefully the club will be focused on food and fun primarily. Back to the book - a very quick and pleasant read. One of those books that I was sad to be done with. I kind of missed the characters after it was over, do you know what I mean?

Of all of my recent reading, I think this one may be my least favorite. I was enjoying it quite a bit initially but then it took a rather serious turn, I could see the writing on the wall of where the plot was headed and I kind of petered out about 50 pages before the end. I really don't like to see movies or read books that are in anyway unpleasant - sad, scary, unjust, or unhappy in any other way. Some might say that this is indicative of some sort of avoidance issue I may have , but I would argue there are enough unpleasant things in the real world without also having unpleasant things in the fictional world as well. So anyway, I'm not sure that I would recommend this one. If you can tolerate a pleasant story that takes an unexpected unpleasant turn then go for it. Tammy has much harsher words for it than I do.

This one is for a women's leadership group that I am in through my church. I've just read the first couple of chapters but so far, so good. I'm not typically a self-help, rah-rah kind of gal, but this one talks a lot about a subject of calling vs. career or success vs. significance which is a topic that seems to keep popping up in my life a lot lately. Hmmm...maybe someone's trying to tell me something.

Finally, a much more serious book. This is one that my mom gave me (thanks Mom!). It is a 40-day study designed to be done each day during Lent and it is fantastic and I would highly recommend it. It provides a great guide for meditation, reflection, and prayer on the events leading up to Easter for each day throughout the Lent season.

Time for bed! Happy reading everyone!

Happy Birthday Mr. Rogers and Big Bird!

Meredith — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:21:39 GMT

And Zarah too!!

Everywhere I turned today in blog land, people were talking about Mr. Rogers. Mason-Dixon Knitting has a clip of Mr. Rogers testifying before the Senate in 1969 about his program on behalf of PBS. I'm not much of a sap typically, but this one got to even me a bit! It is most definitely worth a watch if you have a spare 7 minutes.

As if a trip to the Neighborhood of Make Believe is not enough of a road trip down memory lane for you, today is also Big Bird's birthday. I'm not exactly sure how a muppet has a birthday, but apparently, today is that day!

So the question for you today is - in the battle of Mr. Rogers vs. Big Bird (perhaps battle is the wrong word to use when referring to these two peace-loving creatures), who wins in your book? It's really a toss up to me. On the one hand, Mr. Rogers makes you feel good, teaches you how to tie your shoes, how to be nice to everyone and feel good about yourself. On the other hand, Sesame Street teaches you important lessons such as how to say water in Spanish (on second thought, that may have been the Electric Company rather than Sesame Street), what a llama looks like, the difference between near and far, and how to count in a strange Eastern European accent. (Surely some of you can recall the episodes I'm referring to).

I figure the only appropriate way to complete the trip down memory lane and give everyone a warm and fuzzy feeling (and risk being a complete cornball), is to leave you with Mr. Rogers most famous words...

So, let's make the most of this beautiful day.
Since we're together we might as well say:
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you please,
Won't you please?
Please won't you be my neighbor?

Wohn, wohn, wohhhnnn...

Meredith — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:44:40 GMT

I wasn't exactly sure how to spell the title of this post. The sound I was going for was the one they play in Debbie Downer on SNL, you know that very cartoonish sound of disappointment.

Well, as much as I like to be right, I'm wishing I wasn't in this case. No tournament for the Bears - again. Eight years and counting. The above picture is from last year's painful seleciton Sunday. The Bears were smart enough this year to not allow anyone to capture their moment of anguish. Better luck next year, I suppose. Time to move on and prepare to kick some butt in the office pool! And yes, I do realize that all of my talk about doing well in this year's bracket will insure that I finish at the bottom of the pack. Rock Chock Jayhawk!!

P.S. I don't reallly care that much about KU - that was just thrown in there for my Mizzou friends!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Meredith — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:31:31 GMT

In my world March Madness (that would be the NCAA basketball tournament for you non-sports types or people who live on Mars ) is second only to Christmas time. I could watch all 64 games and not get sick of it. I love everything about it. I love the office pool - in which I usually do quite well, by the way (this year I intend to win). I love the Cinderella teams. I love the cheesy stories about the hard-luck guy from Who's-ever-heard-of-it State that make you want them to win so badly. Ah, yes, March Madness is definitely the best of times.

Being a Missouri State Bears fan - the worst of times. For those of you not familiar with my Bears, last year we beat our OWN (doesn't seem possible, does it?) record as the highest-ranked team not to get into the tournament. Sadly, it appears that we've set ourselves up for another such scenario this year. I invest so much time and energy in these guys for 4 months, for what, a trip to the NIT?!! So sad. Perhaps next year I'll cheer for Kansas or North Carolina instead.

My husband is still optimistic and thinks they will get in. He thinks I'm a pessimist - I think he needs a reality check. 1 hour, six minutes and counting until we know who's right. Say your prayers for the Bears and I'll keep you posted!

Pet Idol

Meredith — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:47:41 GMT

I was looking back over my recent posts and decided it has been entirely too long since I shared a picture of Dolly. So, I present one of many (way too many) Dolly portraits:

I would be embarrassed to admit how many photos we have of our dog. Granted, this is due in large part to the fact that my husband's favorite hobby is photography and Dolly makes a wonderful (and strangely willing) subject. This could turn out to be beneficial, however, as Dolly is a contestant in the Springfield News-Leader pet idol contest, the grand prize for which is $1,000! If you have a minute, voting starts on Monday and you can vote here. Unfortunately, Matt found out after he submitted her photo that there couldn't be people in it and instead of replacing the photo with another he submitted, the newspaper just cropped me out of the picture. We've also discovered in past photo contests that Matt has entered (namely the Ozark Empire Fair) that a bad picture of a dog dressed in ridiculous clothes is more likely to win than a fabulous picture of a dog just looking like a dog.

In other, and completely unrelated, news I'm sort of in the middle of a pity party right now. My life seems so incredibly hectic, as I'm taking 6 graduate hours this semester and really busy at work. I'm hoping that my upcoming spring break will rejuvenate me. However, I've discovered that spring break just isn't what it was when I was a real college student.

Not much knitting news to report. I'm taking a trip for work next week to Tampa (where hopefully it will be fabulously warm) so hopefully I'll have lots of time to work on the Jaywalker s that I just cast on then. Pictures to come soon! Time to sign off - I have 80 (yes, 80) pages of reading to do for class tomorrow night!

They say the first step...

Meredith — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:34:25 GMT

is to admit that you have a problem.

Matt has officially decided that I have too much yarn. I don't think that's the case. Most of this was purchased with no real project in mind, but because it was a great deal - my weakness. What do you all think - too much?

My life is quite hectic right now, and I think this clutter in my life (although I'm not sure that's a good word because I think my life is full of important stuff, just lots of it) has made me obsessed with de-cluttering other areas of my life - such as my house. I spent much of today cleaning out our office and my craft room and decided I needed to organize the stash. Notice I didn't say I needed to clean out the stash - just organize . I have definitely made a resolution that I will start to whittle away at this pile of yarn before making any new major yarn purchases. The next step is to go through all of those patterns I've been saving and match them with yarn. Maybe I'll make a list - I do love a good list. An admission - sometimes I put things that I've already done on a list just so I can cross them off.

I only have two projects in process right now - and they are both long-term knitting commitments. This first one is making it's blog debut. The Knit Circle Throw:

This is a Lion Brand Yarns pattern. I admit (my second admission in this post) that I am a yarn snob of sorts and not usually a fan of yarns such as this (Lion Brand Homespun in a gaggle of different colors), but I saw this blanket on someone else's blog and just loved it. It is knit from the center out in a circle with yarnover increases every so many rows. I love it!

And the Dots & Stripes Blanket:

You've seen this before, but I've made enough progress I thought I would post an update. A disclaimer - it may not seem that much progress has been made, but believe me, it has. I finished the first row of squares and have started the second seed stitch section (let me tell you, this much seed stich on these small needles is not so much fun). I love this blanket as well, although there will definitely be a bit of touch up to be done. I've also decided that I'm going to put a backing on it of some sort because the wrong side is not going to be very pretty.

Next on the list - something a bit more portable.

Finished Object: Slanted Eyelet Scarf

Meredith — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:49:56 GMT

I don't get to say this very often, but I finished something!! I knit this scarf almost entirely on the way to and from New York. Just picture me knitting fast and furiously with my noise-cancelling headphones on trying to forget that I'm 36,000 feet in the air.

I really like how it turned out, but I think it might have been more interesting with a different yarn - something a little more exotic. You can't see the pattern very well in these pictures, but it has an eyelet pattern and is slanted. The pattern is from my 2006 Knitting Calendar, which had a different pattern for every day. I started this scarf with some yarn from the stash that I originally intended to be a felted purse (Lamb's Pride Worsted) at one of those moments when I just had to start something new. I wish it was a bit longer, but I didn't want to break into another skein of yarn just to get an extra couple inches on this scarf. Sometimes a nice, simple, scarf project is just what you need, huh?

New York!

Meredith — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:36:33 GMT

So, finally I have New York pictures to share. I can't claim these as my own. My husband is the photographer, and (in my opinion) a fantastic one at that!

Union Square: you can see our hotel (W - Union Square) in the upper right-hand corner. While this picture looks beautiful, it might be a bit deceiving. One might be lead to believe that New York City is beautiful when it snows. Not so much the case - I'll spare you the details and just let you enjoy the picture.

Top of the Rock: They've reopened the observation deck at the top of Rockefeller Center. It's a bit pricey, but the view is so worth it. We were there just before sunset and it was gorgeous.

Chinese lanterns at Pearl River: Very cool Chinese market in SoHo.

We went to a taping of the Late Show and got to see Jim Carrey! As many of you know, Matt has incredible luck with celebrity sightings. Last time we were in New York, we happened upon Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. Unfortunately this time, no such luck, other than those on the Late Show, which really doesn't count. We did get selected to sit on the front row on the aisle for our "great energy". That was very exciting, but didn't get us on TV or anything. Oh and this isn't really even worth mentioning, but we sat across the aisle on our flight home from the guy from Ham on the Street on the Food Network - not exactly a celebrity sighting.

And finally...the Magnolia Street Bakery. So. Yummy. A couple of years ago, some friends of mine who actually live in New York introduced me to this place. On a pleasant day, the line for cupcakes winds down the block and around the corner. The weather was so "pleasant" when we were there, however, that we were the only crazies out and because of this got all the cupcakes we could eat.

I did make it to a couple of knit stores. I visited Purl and loved it. It's a teeny tiny little place and they don't have a huge selection, but what they do have is fabulous. Lots and lots of hand-dyed stuff that is gorgeous!! I exercised some restraint and came away with just a couple skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn.

So, that's the quick version of our trip. I did manage to finish a knitting project on the trip that I'll share in my next post. I'm also making a lot of progress on the Dots and Stripes Blanket. Unfortunately, things are crazy right now with school and work so I don't have too much time to work on it. Why is it that the times I'm really motivated to knit are the times when I have no time to do so?

While Dolly's parents were away

Meredith — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:00:45 GMT

I still don't have any pictures to post from our trip to New York, because Matt is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to photography and they're not quite ready (whatever that means). However, I do have this funny picture of what Dolly was up to while we were away. She stayed at Camp Bow Wow for 6 whole days and was practically in a coma when she came home on Tuesday becaue she had been playing non-stop. She's just now recovering. I like to think that she missed us while we were away, but this picture seems to tell a different story.

Cute, huh?! That would be Dolly laughing at a French Bulldog in an argyle sweater! Maybe tomorrow I'll have some human pictures to share although I'm sure everyone enjoys a good Dolly picture as much as I do.

I'm back....

Meredith — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:21:19 GMT

Well, our mini-vacation to New York has come to a close and its back to the real world. Gosh - I love that place!! I'm waiting on Matt to post our pictures to Flickr so that I can share them. We had a great (but rather FREEZING) time. As fun as New York is, I am always amazed at how much easier life in the Midwest seems after just a little bit of time there. I just can't imagine how people live their entire lives in 400 sq foot, $4,000 a month apartments without real grocery stores or Target!!! We did a lot of shopping (I made it to two NYC yarn stores), a lot of eating, saw a Broadway show, went to a taping of the Late Show, and I swear we must have walked at least 50 miles in the 4 days we were there! I'll post more tomorrow...

If at first you don't succeed...

Meredith — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 23:26:47 GMT

Since my last post was about a not-so-successful project, I figured I should balance that with something positive. Matt, my husband, has long bemoaned the fact that he rarely benefits from my knitting habit. I should let you know, however, that I think this is mostly his fault. He has told me that he is not particularly interested in socks or a sweater and that he has too many scarves already. Doesn't leave one with much choice except for a hat, huh? Not only has he completely limited the type of hand-knit garment he is willing to wear, he is also very particular about his hats. So, here's the saga of Matt's hat.

Take 1:

I thought this hat turned out quite nicely. I made it very early in my knitting career, so it's quite basic and has a couple of mistakes that I still notice but didn't fix at the time because I didn't know how. This hat fits Matt perfectly, but unfortunately the yarn I used (Lopi, I believe) is way too scratchy for him. I've thought about lining it, but I really hate sewing.

Take 2:

I love this hat! This was after I had a bit more experience, so there are no big holes or mistakes to bother me. The yarn is so soft (I can't remember what it is) and I love the pattern - not too stripey, but just stripey enough. Unfortunately the fit on this hat is not quite right. For one thing, it's not tight enough around his head, so it doesn't keep him completely warm. Secondly, and this is completely my fault, it's a really odd length. It's not quite long enough to fold up, but it's a little too long to wear without folding. If he folds it up he looks like Joe Pesci in Home Alone and it makes me laugh!

Take 3:
Didn't ever really get beyond an inch or two on the needles, thank goodness. Matt saw the Sock Monkey Hat from Knitty and decided he had to have it. Adorable? Yes. Practical? No. I thought he would never wear it and therefore didn't want to waste my time making it for him. I'm not sure that he's completely forgotten about it, but he's given me a break for now.

Take 4:

Do you see how ridiculous the pattern in this yarn is? I found this yarn at Michael's (it's one of the new cheap 100% wool brands that they're selling in the craft stores now) and thought it would be perfect. I'm not really sure what you could use this yarn for, perhaps a scarf, but certainly you could never use it for a hat. I tried knitting in the round and ended up with a hat divided into four colored quarters. I tried knitting it flat and look what happened! Craziness!

And finally...success with Take 5:

This hat is the perfect fit, it's made out of very soft yarn (some type of Rowan that I think is discontinued), I love the color, and to top it all off the yarn came off the clearance rack at the local knit shop. I made up the pattern as I went (it fits like a beanie hat) and finished just in time for our vacation to NYC where it will definitely be put to good use. Yea for knitting successes!

Baby hat = failure

Meredith — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:51:37 GMT

I love baby knitting because of the almost instant gratification. Lucky for me, it seems like everyone I know is pregnant or has a newborn. I knit this simple, adorable hat out of The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss. Unfortunately this project was not quite so instantly gratifying and will be more likely to fit a 12-year old than a one-month old. (I tried it on and with just a couple inches added to the end, it would have fit me!) I would certainly consider myself an experienced enough knitter to make this hat without any difficulty, so what the heck is the problem?? I followed the pattern exactly but I have a couple of theories, well really only one. As I mentioned above, I am a very impatient knitter. Because of this, I refuse to check my gauge and therefore when size matters, I end up with a finsihed object such as the adult-sized baby hat. I guess checking gauge would be extremely important when I choose to do something like substitute cotton for cashmerino, huh? So, lesson learned, patience is a virtue in life...and in knitting.

In other news, I met some other Springfield knitting bloggers today. Tammy hosted a knit-in at her house and Zarah, Brianne, Kathy and I had a great time! I'm so excited to be joining the ranks of the knitting bloggers!!

Dolly's Big Day

Meredith — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:16:22 GMT

Okay, I'm just going to admit from the get go here that I know the following will seem ridiculous to many people. I think it might even seem ridiculous to me, but I love it nonetheless.

Dolly spent the day at camp yesterday. The above picture is from the web cam at Camp Bowwow (which by the way is not good for productivity during the workday- can you even imagine if it was a child instead of a dog!!). That is Dolly and another corgi who is practically her twin ganging up on a perfectly innocent Basset Hound. Dolly is going to have to spend a few days at camp here before too long and they require that you bring your dog in for a test run to make sure that they won't eat any of the other dogs (or get eaten I suppose). Needless to say, she was in heaven and was asleep the moment she hopped in the truck to go home! This place is so much different than your average kennel. Dolly gets to participate in her favorite hobby, ~~playing with~~ pestering other dogs, for like 14 hours a day. The "counselors" give them bedtime treats and they sleep in a "cabin" on a cot with a fleece blanket. They send home a report card with your camper every day. I am proud to tell you that Dolly received "5 tail wags" and was reported to be a "happy camper". HOW CUTE IS THAT!!?? Just makes you want to roll your eyes at these darn yuppies and their dogs, eh?

The weird things meme.

Meredith — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:17:12 GMT

My first meme - how exciting!! My entry into the blogosphere is so full of firsts! (For those of you not familiar with the ways of the blogging world (not to name names, but mom ), a meme is something that just gets passed around between bloggers). I know you're supposed to technically get tagged for these, but I figure if anyone actually knew I had a blog, I would have been tagged.

So, here goes - six weird things about me:

1. I have a very noticeable brown freckle in my blue eye. I'm not sure that freckle would be the technical term, but that's what I have chosen to call it because it sounds better than calling it a defect.

2. Up until just recently, there were several foods that I could only eat in combination with other foods. For example, eggs could only be eaten with some type of meat in every bite. Spaghetti and garlic bread, beans and cornbread - I could go on and on. Thank goodness for Matt - he doesn't have much patience for picky eaters and has "helped" me overcome this.

3. I unfortunately possess a phobia-like fear of the sound of puke. I know, I know, noone likes puke. What makes me different, however, is that I could probably tolerate watching someone puke and/or looking at the puke itself, but the sound is just more than I can handle. All someone has to do is suggest that they feel slightly ill in my presence and it sends me into a tail spin (my family can certainly confirm this one).

4. When I do something really tedious with my hands (i.e. untangle yarn) my teeth involuntarily clench and I cannot speak while using my hands. It's really quite inconvenient and people always look at me strange when it happens, but there's really nothing I can do.

5. Matt and I had a bluegrass band play at our wedding reception. Some may not think this is weird and some probably do. I would have thought this was weird just a few years ago, but Matt loves bluegrass music and it has definitely grown on me. It was about the only thing he actually felt strongly about in our wedding planning and I was skeptical at first, but I think it ultimately made the party!

6. I love cheesy 1980's murder mystery re-runs: Murder She Wrote, Magnum P.I., Matlock - the cheesier the better! Unfortunely there doesn't seem to be much demand for these and they only come on during the work day so I never get to see them. Bummer!

Loose ends...

Meredith — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 23:10:39 GMT

Look at this mess!! (No, I am not referring to the corgi guarding the yarn - although she is definitely a mess. She is also a camera hog as you can tell by this picture.) This is my first attempt at color work in my knitting. A dear friend of mine is having a baby this summer and I figured that if the amount of time invested in her knitted baby gift was to correlate to the years we have been friends, it would have to be something pretty fantastic. I am actually very pleased with how this project is starting out and pleasantly surprised at how easy the intarsia has been thus far. I've always been really scared of using this much color, but this pattern was so incredibly cute that I couldn't resist. The only negative thus far is the unbelievable mess my yarn is in. I quickly discovered that attempting to untangle the mess as I go is a futile exercise and as long as I can still manage to complete a stitch I should just forge ahead. It took a while to convince my obsessive-compulsive self that this would be okay, but I think I've worked through it now and am on my way! I don't even want to think about weaving in the ends....

I've created a monster . . .

Meredith — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:00:08 GMT

Over Christmas, I taught my sister Laurel to knit. I don't know that Laurel would consider herself particularly crafty (although I do) even though she is extremely creative (she is an English teacher and writer) but she was my best knitting student ever! I taught her how to cast on and watched her knit one row and before I knew it she had finished a scarf completely on her own and was determined to knit mittens. It took me a long time to graduate from scarf knitting when I first began, so I was extremely impressed with her ambition. Since we live 8 hours apart and she didn't have any local knitting resources (which in my case was crucial in my beginner days) I recommended that she take a beginner's class at a local yarn shop. Well, needless to say she took my advice and has now completed her mittens and started her first hat! As if that's not enough she is starting her own knitting group and joining a charity knitting group! I'm so proud!!