The bright side

Since I'm usually a glass half-full kind of person, I'm trying to see my glass with lemonade in it this morning. Tendonitis in my knee is keeping me from tai chi and walking. I'll have to give the knee complete rest for at least a week and then ease slo-owly back in. These are the lemons.

This means I have more for time working on the stepping stones rug which has languished and progressed very slowly. I'm coming to the realization, too, that I will not have enough of the 'stream' wool to make the rug as big as I intended. Some adjustments will be necessary.


I'll be able to finish the pink cardigan for Becky. It's an old Sirdar pattern and I think it's quite feminine yet grown-up. She really wants purple socks but I don't have the yarn right now so I shall finish this for her first. Purple socks are next in the queue.


Or I can just sit and read while I ice the knee. There's a lovely stack of books just waiting to be enjoyed. Right now I'm in the middle of an Ian Rankin mystery. And we all know that I must finish that one first. I didn't use to be a fan but I picked one of the Inspector Rebus books up last year and I've been hooked ever since.

And, of course, there's the ever-present paperwork. Reports and newsletters; agendas and minutes. I can't see that I'll be bored at all with my enforced rest.

Slow

I don't seem to be making much progress on my Stepping Stones rug. It's been a busy week and I seem more content to spend my free time either reading or fooling around on the computer.

Fooling around doesn't include blogs - that's in the reading category. No, I'm talking about playing games: mostly solitaire variations but maybe bingo or an ice fisherman trying to catch fish before the silly little penguins steal them. OK, it's mindless but sometimes one needs mindless.

This is as far as I've gotten with the rug. Four stones and a donut.

Several more to go and a lot of stream. I like (not love) how it's turning out. It does make me appreciate the difficulties of using just two colors. It also reminds me of why I prefer hooking over quilting. It's that I can get a more painterly quality to the coloring. If I were quilting a stylized pattern like the stones, I would probably only be using two fabrics. And I would get a fairly flat result. That's one of my problems here: it is not as lively as other rugs have been.

I think the other problem is in me...I like variety. Being able to pick up a new color or shape every now and then keeps me going. I suppose that's why hit-and-miss is such a favorite technique of mine. A bit like knitting striped socks. They go really fast because you're counting off the stripes rather than the rows.
However, it's all in my head. Mind over matter. I'm not giving up - just kvetching.

Arguments

I hook with wide-cut strips on a burlap foundation. Even though my designs may look non-traditional, they are still being hooked in the traditional primitive style. It's important to me to continue working to produce beauty with a purpose.

The other day I was reading about the virtues of hooking on a linen foundation as opposed to one of burlap. I have often read these arguments and I keep wondering what all the fuss is about.

I watched my mother hook rugs for our home. She saved all the wool - and wool-type - garments and sewing remnants in a cupboard. When she saw a need to have a mat at a door or bedside, my father would get out the frame and he's fasten on the burlap for her. Mom drew her design and worked at the rug in her spare time - she had 5 kids. My favorite design was the Kellogg's Corn Flakes 'rooster' logo. It was green, red and yellow with a gray background. She thought it would be a cheerful addition to our kitchen floor - and it was.




I can't remember how long it took to make one but it didn't seem like more than a month. I was a kid, who knows? Suddenly the mat would appear. And then it would go down on the floor and it would be used. Our floors were hardwood and every bedroom had a mat beside it. Some were hooked, not by my mother, but by older women in the family whom I had never met. They were all hooked on burlap with wool strips or wool yarn. Some were quite old then.

The argument is that the linen doesn't break down as does burlap and will therefore last longer. That rug that you spent time designing, collecting and/or dyeing the wool, cutting the strips and finally hooking them in will disintegrate. Well, duh! Of course, it will. And, do I care if it disintegrates in hundred years or a thousand? Not really. I am not creating museum pieces...I want my rugs to be used. Walked on;, sat on; slept on. Loved for their warmth as much as for their artistic merit.


If I compare the mats I hook to the knitted garments and socks that I make, well, I sure wouldn't want the socks I spent time designing and knitting to be hung on a wall to look at. Is there a difference with rugs? I don't really think there is. I love how working in this way connects me to the story of people who have made garments for their families and objects to use in their homes.

I'm happy with the way things are. For me.

So long, 2008!

I know there's been some days in 2008 that I'd rather not experience again but not many. There was a lot to celebrate, too. New babies, new houses, new jobs. We were both healthy, and wiser, if not wealthier.

Today, I'm blocking my last knitted item for the year. It's time to think about the New Year project. For many years now, I have made it my personal tradition to clear up the old year's knitting projects by December 31. Then I spend some time thinking about what I'd like to start. Of course, I usually start today but I count it as Jan 1. It will probably be some new socks. I have a design idea in my head and this is a perfect time to try it out. Nothing else on the horizon that needs to be made.

I will also probably draw out some coasters to hook. I won't start a new rug because I still have the quilt blocks to finish. If I put it away, I'll just be creating a UFO. Not something I can live with anymore. Bad enough I have to live with the UFO's that exist from before I started making the effort LOL

I have just finished the last book for 2008: The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson. When the book fell into my hands a few weeks ago, I read the jacket notes and thought "sounds interesting but probably a bit of a pot-boiler." Just shows that you shouldn't judge a book by it's dust jacket, either. It has turned out to be an outstanding read. I polished it off in 2 days - excellent characters and a gripping story line. It's set in northern Ontario with dual time lines: depression through WW2 and late 50's and 60's ending in the present. Four stars.

Which brings me to my last rant for the year: did any one else see the results of a little survey commissioned by Canadian Heritage? I was appalled by the weekly hours spent reading books for leisure or interest. So shocked that I can't really believe the numbers. Apparently, the weekly average for the university-educated is less than one hour per day. For retirees, just over an hour per day. So, who is buying all those books? When do they read them? Was this an off week for all the readers?

Apparently, about 22% of the books we read are by Canadian authors. And I think that was the real point of the survey. Now since it was a grant-giving body which commissioned the study, I'm not sure the results don't suit those government types. " See? Readers don't care about Canadian authors so why bother throwing money to them? " Or, could there be genuine concern? Hard to know but it's also hard not to think this was a self-serving survey. Of course, I don't think surveys are useful anyway. There are so many ways to crunch the numbers that you can prove any case you want from one. Merely interesting.

That's it. Last words for the year: may you have just enough challenge in 2009 to keep life interesting and may you have just enough of everything else to be materially satisfied.

Cool gifts

I found some pretty neat surprises under the tree for me this year. There was a delightful old book from the 50's: The Houses in Between by Howard Spring. I have no idea what it's about but I know i will enjoy reading it. One DS took his time in a used book store and found treasures for everyone.

I received some money to make a micro-loan to an entrepreneur in the developing world. If I make a wise investment, I am repaid and I can reinvest. Go to www.kiva.org if you're interested in this idea.


There were no knitting tools, gadgets or yarn but there was a renewal for Knitter's magazine which will fire my imagination for another year. Even though there is so much on various web sites, it's always a pleasure to have something to hold in your hand. Besides, what would I do with all that empty space if all my books, patterns and ideas were on the computer?

The most fun, though, was my package of Barbie stickers. That just made me smile. I know I'll find ways to use them.

Best gift of all was having the kids here for Christmas Eve. I think the spontaneity of the event just pushed us out of our comfortable rut. Having to be flexible and change plans at the last minute is so exciting. Not when you think about it in advance and make contingency plans but when you are truly surprised into change.

So, New Year's thought ( no resolutions!): keeping plans to a minimum is challenging but can create more joy

Drip, drip, drip

What a pleasant sound the melting snow makes. Not that it won't take ages to actually disappear but it's a start.

Since I'm kind of tired of talking about the weather, I'll move on. The rug I was going to have finished by Christmas is still waiting. I think I'm going to take apart the basting of the squares since it's not holding as well as I had expected. Usually, when I add a piece of burlap, I do a fair bit of zig-zag stitching. I was a little lazy - and in a hurry - so I didn't do as much as I should have. And it's hard to hook around the stitching so I was trying to solve a lot of problems at once. Haste really does make waste.

And today was the first day since the 24th that I've actually picked up the knitting needles to finish the little hat I was working on. Just too busy with parties, people and that which will not be mentioned again. I have an order for more socks since my niece really liked the Diamond Lace pair I made for her. And maybe some more mitts since they seemed quite popular. I also have an enthusiastic request for a cable 'sweater' tea cozy. So, pretty busy needles for the next few days.

Christmas Eve

I think I'm smiling...we're having a blast building our snow knitter. She's not actually in the act at the moment but you can see the results of her work. The flowers are a hopeful touch from Anne.

Andrea and I started by shovelling the driveway and sidewalks; then decided we needed to have some fun. The snow is pretty wet now and compacts well. Very nice for sculpting the huge pile of snow that we created.

Merry white Christmas !

Dyed

Here's the wool yarn that was dyed the other day. My intent was to get a turquoise color for the over-dyed wool fabrics that I was doing. This was just a 'throw it in the pot because there's room' kind of thing and I didn't have any particular color need.
When I mixed up the dye solution it seemed way too green so I threw in a bit of blue. (Like most recipes, I only use them as a basis for my own experiments.) This is the result and the photo color is pretty true. I've rewound and weighed - there's 172 g in this skein. I hope that's enough for the mitts I have in mind.
Stay tuned.

Oh, yeah, in the end I didn't use the wool fabric that I had dyed. One was too plain and the other had too much orange in the tweed which didn't seem to change much when over-dyed. It'll go somewhere else but not these quilt blocks.

Absent?

Good thing I did a lot of hooking on the rug last week. Ive almost got all the background done and I really like it. I haven't really decided how I'm doing the border yet.

We've been distracted by our Christmas visitor. Yesterday was our early Christmas, since Wendy will be elsewhere in December, and it was quite lovely. Carols playing in the background, shortbread and mandarin oranges. We emptied our stockings and opened our gifts. Big surprise gift! In the big parcel that looked like putters for mini golf were collapsible hiking sticks, one for each of us - with shock absorbers. Roll on Ireland... And there was, of course, lots of chocolate. But, it was just a rehearsal as we have more to look forward to on Dec. 25th.

I could knit, though. I have a whole lot of things on the go at the moment. I have the gray cardigan hibernating because I got tired of it. I just have not ever been happy with it. Don't know if that's because I had to take the original pullover apart and redo or not. I don't usually feel that way about frogged knitting. But I had so much trouble finding an appropriate design and then there didn't seem to be as much yarn as I needed for anything that seemed good. It's to the point of being sewn together and as everyone knows that's the really tedious part. If I keep it out it will get done. Putting it away would be unwise.

Last week , I knit really fast on the ribbed T-neck so that I could have it done and then start on the tea cosy that I needed to make for Wendy to take back with her. Lucky for me these are pretty quick to knit because I'm still not finished the T-neck on the gray sweater. For some reason this is taking the longest time to finish. Here's the tea cosy - each side has a different pattern...no two are ever alike.






See the festive Christmas tablecloth?

Then, last night, I was so tired of the fuzzy gray mohair yarn that I pulled out the new sock yarn that I had bought last week. More of that cotton Stretch sock yarn - this time in a sea and sand colorway. Socks are always the best default knitting...so relaxing.

It's been a great visit. I've learned all kinds of new things about blogs and cameras and computers. This new knowledge will be put to good use although it might be in subtle or behind-the-scenes ways.

Second chances

The beautiful green angora yarn has risen out of the frog pond and is rapidly becoming a princess. And I didn't even have to kiss it. I'm really happy with how this yarn knits up. Well, I was always happy with it but now I'm ecstatic. The angora is so light and soft it's like having a cloud on the needles. I'm dreaming of buttons ...what would be suitable for such light but regal yarn?
And, of course, a hooked mat is always a new life for so many garments. I seem to be obsessed with hit-and-miss at the moment. I keep experimenting with different looks. These big, raggy flowers remind me of Van Gogh and each one has at least 12 different types of fabric incorporated into the shape. Each stem and leaf has been done the same way. I'm into the background now and this will be a very controlled (only four fabrics) use of the technique. The flowers are controlled, too, but with more exuberance. My plan for the border is a striped effect using all the different fabrics that have been used in the rug. I am hoping that I can stick to hooking with random strips. Such a hard thing for a controlling soul to do...sigh.

Learning to knit

I was reading a blogger's account of learning to knit. And why. It seemed like something that I should remember. But I don't. I know that when I was about 15, I saw a little Carnaby Street doll (remember the Mod 60's?) in a British women's magazine of my mother's and I wanted to make it. I didn't have to learn to knit to make it but needed a refresher in garter stitch. Fortunately, that was exactly what I knew how to do. I vaguely remember making an afghan square of garter stitch for Brownies. Looking at the doll today - of course, I still have it! - there was actually a fair bit of construction involved. And striping.

I think it's pretty typical that I fell into knitting because I wanted to make a doll. I was never one for playing dolls at all. Since I had younger siblings, there wasn't much interest in playing with plastic babies when I had the real thing. Nor was there much thrill to being a pretend mama - the real thing did not seem that exciting. So, dolls propelled me to learn to sew and, later, to knit. I loved making their clothes. Still do.

So, my Mod in a brown pea-coat led me to sweaters. The first was a gold pullover - I can still visualize the Sirdar pattern - made with yarn that I bought in Banff during a summer job. My friends were most impressed and began ordering sweaters. In those days, no one seemed to knit with any size bigger than 4 mm. It took a lo-ong time to knit a sweater. One memorable effort was emerald green cardi (very big color in our high school at the time) in all-over popcorn stitch with a brown crocheted trim. And that's when I learned to crochet.

I was still knitting when I went to UBC but things had slowed down a lot. One of the last request sweaters was an Aran style pullover in appropriate aran-weight yarn. The needles couldn't have been more than 3.5 mm and I remember struggling with the cabling which I had never done before. It was so tight and I thought I'd never finish it. Then and there, I vowed never to make another. A vow I completely forgot when my boyfriend (and future husband) asked for one a few years later.

None of these experiences ever put me off. The challenges kept me interested, I think, and I just sort of accepted each one as it presented itself. I know I never scrutinized anyone's pattern and said 'no, I can't do that'. And I'm still learning...the challenges are still exciting.

Experiment

So, here's the first soakers. Do you call them a pair of soakers? A. thinks they look like pants for a chicken. Unfortunately, I can sort of see that vision. Darn, I'll never look at them the same way again. My own vision involved hot water bottles with legs. Not a whole lot better, is it? I think it's the high waist that gives them an out-of-proportion look. This is the 'curly purly' pattern.

Anyway, they were fun to knit and pretty easy. But I'll definitely pay more attention to gauge and needle size (there are three size changes in this pattern) as these are just slightly smaller than I had anticipated. Because they're so stretchy I think it'll be OK for a newborn. I'm going to make some for Charlie now and he's a bit bigger. I'd better get that size thing right.

Rugs and dolls

Been a busy week - or more. The rug finally was finished and sent off to its auction. I'm told the auction was a success as was the rug. I really enjoyed working on this one. The bright butterflies were a great preview of summer days and warm nights.

The first doll project was the 'reborn' CP Kid who was going in a silent auction. The request was for a skateboarding girl with piercings and dyed hair. But, in the end I couldn't find a skateboard to use with the doll so I changed her to a little girl with big 'skater grrl' aspirations. A black T-shirt with a tie-dyed peace sign applique and hand-made leather 'board' shoes. Even hand-knit socks. She was quite cute and eventually went home with a 6 year old girl. Nice.

Then all the babies and Barbies that needed to be washed and dressed and have a visit with the hairdresser. Then they go back to the thrift store for sale. Thanks to all the donors who help to brighten my day as well as that of other kids. It's fun but time-consuming.

And now I get to design another rug - or maybe another quilt square.

Oh, and I've discovered soakers to knit for all the new babies this year. So far, there are four in my world. Soakers are just such a lovely way to keep baby dry with an older, earth-friendly technology. And much softer and kinder to little bottoms than plastic!

Too much!

My little pink shawl started out to be a small project. Pretty simple garter stitch body and the ruffle seemed mostly unchallenging. Well, all that is true. Except - there will be over 2000 stitches on my 3mm needles!
And this fine yarn just goes on and on. I was confident there was enough until the ruffle started looking so big. There will be enough, I think. I did decide against the beads.

I think I have definitely overdone the mug cozies. I have now done 14 and that's enough for anyone. Especially someone like me who craves variety. I did get some variations by playing around with patterns and yarns. But, the mug cozies are way too small to get a good pattern going. Tea cozies provide more scope for exploring pattern and design in a small (but useful) project. The latest batch for mugs will be sold to raise funds for seniors' programs at Mollie Nye House. February is kitchen month for craft projects sold. The Aran tea and mug cozy will eventually make its way to eBay for sale.

Read & rip

My Knitter's mag fell through the letter slot this morning...I'm always so excited to see what's new. But, I was a wee bit disappointed with the styles on offer this time. Reminded me of the late 80's when there were a lot of unwearable styles being designed. Or at least not wearable by anyone I might know. This is not usually the case, so I'm hoping it's a temporary thing. Heck, I only get it for the articles, right?

On the plus side, I did manage to get down to ripping apart several wool garments that had been collected over the last month. Such beautiful colors! I do still have to felt them.

I know there is a rug hooking goddess. The latest rug in progress needed some lovely gray-blue for the heron...and it just appeared when I needed it. And a sweater, too - my favorite material for hooking.