Knitting Not Working...

No, I don't mean "Knitting, not working." 

I mean Knitting NOT working. As in "not working as planned." It happens, in spite of what I'd like to think. I've confessed to a few knitting bloopers here and there. And I've got another one... The Emergency One Day Hat. It's getting partially frogged. 

Remember, I had the "brilliant" idea of using Fun Fur yarn? Well. I did a few rows. It turns out that all the "fur" was on the INSIDE... 

This shot is the inside. I kept hoping that it would "shake out" but it's not quite working that way. I kept on, but it was getting more and more aggravating. 

I ended up taking a size 1 DPN and pulling the fibers - what I could pull, forward. Not the best idea. I wasn't going to keep doing that 4 times per round. 

So I set it aside in favor of doing a quick little project, which I'll explain below. 

This shot here is what the OUTSIDE looks like, and as you can see, I could shake this thing till doomsday and while the Plymouth Encore has phenomenal stitch definition and will be a nice warm hat? 

The Fun Fur's gotta go. Maybe I'll fiddle with another scarf with this stuff. People like them, even though they're a pain to knit. 

But I have to do something to redeem the hat. I liked the "fun fur" idea, but maybe it's just not appropriate with the weight of this yarn. It's too stiff to knit, and I'm not spending my time pulling fur.

The project I'm working on, along with the mitts, is what our priest is calling "Prayer Squares." I call them "Prayer Patches." Either way, what she's doing is expanding our Prayer Shawl Ministry. I would love to knit more prayer shawls, but you all know I'm not the speediest knitter!

These are little squares. They can be knitted or crocheted. A few inches wide and a few inches high. I'm doing a bunch of different sizes, and they're really going fast. Finally. I will likely stick to straight up knit, though I can do stockinette, if I put a knitted border around it. Just so they lay straight. Yes, I could crochet them, but for some reason, my crochet is curling. Would rather not have that happen. 

Mitts will be worked on this week, too... 

Progress. Bit by bit. 

Random Picture...

Yes, this is a quickie!! I was walking yesterday - taking my tummy out for a test drive, if you will. That IBS stuff is sticking around a bit longer than I'd like, even with a very clean diet. Anyway, I took a different turn, just to see where it goes, and I found another park! I also found that, after eating, a half-hour walk is about all I can tolerate till I need a bathroom. 

Lovely. 

Any rate, I found an apple tree. No idea why this tickled me so much except we're in the end of September, I haven't seen an apple tree in a while in someone's yard, and I thought it was just so "fall."

The apples aren't perfect, which is kind of cool in its own way. They're actually kind of small and gnarled. But it was neat to see the fruit peeping amongst the leaves of the tree, in various sizes, and degree of ripeness. And over-ripeness... 

Fall speaks to me in a lot of ways. In colors, temperature, scents and sometimes sounds. 

How does fall speak to you? 

Projects in Progress...

So, there've been a few things going on around here. At least in the knitting world. And today, I helped paint a bathroom - TARDIS blue, as a matter of fact!

Knitting On...

Kid #2 asked me, "When you have a chance..." to make a hat for a 3-year old girl. One of his friends has a couple of kids, and I guess I'm asked to make a hat for the youngest one. I have a pattern and I need to see what I have in stash. And I need to see if I have the needles. Why is it that it's always "I don't have those needles" even though your pile of needles is quite huge?

We shall see if I have the stuff needed. I'm looking at the "Emergency One Day Hat" from Ravelry (Celia's Basket). Of course, it'll take me more than one day - I'm not a fast knitter even in the best of circumstances. 

The priority at this point is the mitts, as they are for a birthday in November. Then I can squeeze in the hats, but I'm also working on "prayer squares" for church (more on that in a sec...).

I've finished one mitt. I've got the other one to go. It's using the Stone Tulips to match the shawl, and I did end up crocheting them, as I promised. Much faster, but boy-o-boy, crocheting with sock yarn is fiddly. 

I'm still faster in this method, but the small size of the yarn did slow me down a bit more than I thought it would. 

These are kind of blocky. But then, I'm one of those with larger hands and smaller wrists. I like the way the yarn flowed with the pattern; there wasn't a ton of pooling, and it's just enough to keep wrists and hands warm. It won't work on a frigid day, but then again, that's why one wears gloves or mittens. 


As I indicated, that first row or two are quite a challenge, and they curl like crazy. You think they're never going to straighten out, but eventually, you get it. After about row 8, you're doing just fine. There's a right and wrong, at least to my eyes. And what I seem to have trouble with, at this gauge and weight of yarn, is the tension. I'm usually the "tension queen" thanks to Granny's teaching. But this is a pain in the fingers. The first few rows are also a little tight, and I'm making a conscious effort to loosen up as I go. 

The mitts worked out to be 5.25" from the first chain, and that hits me right at the base of the knuckles. That's about right, and the length is below that bony part of your wrist (can't think of the name...maybe the Pisiform bone? That one that sticks out along the outer edge. Anyway, the mitts go below that bone. 

I wish they looked less square, but I think they'll be fine. I need to work on an actual pattern, one of these days. 

The Prayer Squares are a concoction of our priest. She used them in another parish. Instead of a whole prayer shawl, which takes some time to knit, she likes these as little "talismans" of prayer. 

She's going to be installed at our church and she's asked about the Prayer Shawl group doing these. I figured I had enough worsted weight scraps, so I started a few. That's when Kid #2 saw the purple sparkly yarn and asked about the hat. The kid may not get a purple sparkly hat, but if needed I guess I can go buy another hank of that if I don't find something else suitable in the stash. 

Anyway, I think I could do these in other yarn weights; I have bulky left, and somewhere, lots of Lion Brand chunky. 

I can do these squares over lunch, even sneaking in a walk before eating (which I want to do now that the weather is cooperating). 

But we'll see; the committee putting together her installation is meeting soon, so we can figure it all out. 

The Blue Bathroom...

So this was the bathroom in our church office, which is really a house. From the 50's we think, but we're not sure. There's a ton of work to do with the place, but we did do some emergency repairs to the bathroom, since we're working in there. And the priest and I hated the bathroom. 

So now, we like the toilet, a nice water-saving kind with two buttons to flush... for, um, you know - whichever one you need. The white vanity was a replacement of the old one which was brown. The wallpaper is right out of Laura Ashley. The tile, remarkably, is in great shape. But that harvest gold?? Yikes. 

The priest put up a really cute tapestry of a turtle, and we got to chatting about what to do with the wallpaper. 

She said, "Paint it." Of course, normally, you'd tear it off. This house is old enough to have plaster walls. We don't know what's under the wallpaper, whether we'd have to steam/score it and what it would look like after the scoring device got done. 

Do you repair the damage to the wall and then paint it? Well, we decided to just paint it, using the leftover paint we used in the reception area.

I suppose you could call it "sapphire" blue. I prefer TARDIS blue, of course. Or "Cubbie Blue." Which it has been called, sometimes with a sneer, by those other baseball fans. 

She did most of the work (that's her, right there in the picture); I managed to drip paint on the floor, and I ended up reaching the high parts, since neither of us thought to get a real ladder. Hubby will paint the ceiling for us. That leaves the kitchen/dinette area and the hallway. The hallway will be white, since it's short and kind of dark. The kitchen/dinette will use up the rest of the blues from the reception area, with light blue, kind of a porcelain blue (you can see it sort of in the Random Picture below). And maybe using the TARDIS blue again as an accent wall. 

It's fun to paint the place; we're transforming it from an area where our church "stored stuff" to something that's warm and cozy and welcoming to people. 

New Diffuser...

I actually think I have more diffusers than I need. I just opened up my Lantern diffuser. It replaces my Dessert Mist, which will be coming home from the office soon, since they have their own kit now. And I have the Rainstone, which I've been coveting for a while. I probably should have stopped with the diffusers, since we have a small house! I might bring another one to the church office; in the kitchen, maybe. We'll see.

Anyway: Lantern in the front room. Dewdrop in the kitchen. Rainstone in one bedroom. Dessert Mist will be in the office,once I get the table cleared off; I'd like to put it by the bookshelves, but I have to go where the outlets are. Home diffuser in the larger bathroom. And a couple of spares for demonstrations. 

I like this one; it's metal and glass, so it's pretty hefty. It's got a couple different settings, and on the "low" setting, it runs for about 8 hours. The lights can be white, candle flicker, and rotating through a bunch of colors. You can also pick just one. I like to rotate them. 

Interestingly enough, I usually use distilled water, but the Rainstone says to use tap or mineral water. That might be a good test of our water! Anyway, I'll let you know how I like the Rainstone in a later post. 

We've been lucky enough to sleep with the windows open, so I see no sense in diffusing to the back yard! I'll enjoy sleeping in the cooler weather, as long as the skunks stay away! Nothing like being awakened in the wee hours having to race around closing windows before the entire house reeks. I love my essential oils, but a layer of skunk usually wrecks any attempt to sleep or breathe. 

Random Picture...

This was a stencil that Kid #2 made for me. I love the saying. Especially in these times. That blue paint is the one that we may use in the kitchen. 

Anyway, this is hanging in the church office. I look at it a lot to remind myself, especially now, when it looks like we're headed into an abyss from which our country may never recover. 

We need to vote. We need to register as many people as we can. And we need to make sure people can get to the polls. 

When we say, "vote as if your life depends on it," unfortunately, now-a-days? We mean it. 

What with the allegations against the SCOTUS nominee looking more and more dreadful, and with Congress willingly enabling the village idiot, one has to wonder what's going to happen to us. 

Really, I've been reading so many heart-wrenching posts on Facebook from friends I know - I mean KNOW, in real life. People are having to relive things they shouldn't have to. People are mentally wounded because of all of this bubbling up. 

The only power we really have (so far) is at the polls. It's all we have to cling to now. Let's make it work in November. 

Best. Purchase. Ever.

I just used something that paid for itself. Twice. And I never thought I'd have to use it.

Hubby bought me a battery charger - I mean a device which can re-charge your car's batteries. It's in lieu of jumper cables (which scare me to death anyway). I thought, "That's nice." Tossed it in my console and went on about my life. 

Till this morning, when I was running errands ahead of my haircut. My battery died. Deader than Marley's Ghost. I pushed the ignition button and .... Nothing. Click, click, click, and the entire dash went nuts. A kind county sheriff stopped next to me, I got out and said, "It is what I think it is, isn't it?" Yep. And then the guy who parked in front of me asked, "Did you leave your lights on?" I mean, it's 11 a.m...and my car is newer - the lights automatically go off. Ah well...I said no. He told the sheriff he didn't think he had cables, I went into my console and said, "You don't need them. I have this."

"Does it have a charge on it?" I swear, he was trying to be nice, but really?? I said it did. He hooked it up. Voila - car started. I drove it home dutifully because the charger pack has one jolt in it and that's all - I didn't want to risk stalling out. Cancelled the hair appointment, recharged the jolter-thingie, and then charged my battery once more so I could head out to get a new battery for the vehicle. 

Yes, I'm perfectly capable of charging the battery, but you know what? It was nice that they stopped to help. The sheriff, actually, said, "Man, I wish everyone carried these in their cars!"

Best hundred bucks spent. As a matter of fact, don't tell my kids, but that's what they're getting for Christmas. 

Garden Bounty...

The garden continues to produce, and I think we have a few more months of goodies. Today, I was outside and figured I'd better thin out the carrots. Really, that should've been done 2 months ago, but better late than never. I started grabbing the smaller carrot-tops, but a few of the bigger ones came with. No problem. 

I brought them in, sorted and trimmed, and then washed what we were keeping. In reality, I tossed about 18 of the "micro" carrots - too small to even wash. The bunnies in the front yard will be happy. 

Hubby and I snacked on a few of them. Boy-o-boy -- you really need to taste a "real" carrot. So earthy, crunchy, and sweet, along with being rich and "carroty" - totally unlike the supermarket ones. 

I love the taste of these raw. I love them roasted. I enjoy putting them in juices and smoothies because they add a strong kick of flavor. 

They freeze up nicely; we usually cut the spares into medallions and use the freezer bag system where you vacuum seal everything. Keeps the colors crisp and keeps the flavor as intense as if you'd just picked them. 

This variety is "Shorty." They're meant for raised beds, because they don't get very tall. I've done "short" versions of carrots for a couple years now. My favorite is a combo of apple + carrot juice. Very refreshing, with a hint of lemon in it. 

I Hate Ribbing...

Why, oh why did I think these mitts were going to just "zip along" because they're called "simple"? They're not. They're taking an eternity. And I'm not jazzed with them. 

Endless rounds of K2, P2 ribbing. Thirty-six rows. Then 10 rows knitted flat (on DPNs - that ought to be cute). Then at least 10 more rows knitted round, in endless, boring, mind-numbing K2, P2 ribbing. 

I don't much like it on socks, except I know I only have 12 rows there. Fifteen, if I'm feeling ambitious. But these are just not making me happy. 

I have easily 380-ish yards of yarn. 

I wonder if I should frog them and crochet instead, using the Urchin Stitch. It's a beautiful stitch that I've used many times. In fact, my brown wool mitts are in that stitch. It's a simple one, the whole thing is done flat, and the best thing: I crochet much faster than I knit. 

I don't think the yarn colors will be lost in the intricacies of the stitch. It's gotta go faster than what I'm doing now. Cursing the yarn isn't making for a fun project. Perhaps this "simple" pattern is better for a heavier yarn - in sock yarn, this is pretty dismal, for me at least. 

Can you tell where this is going? 

I'm frogging - or shall I say that I've already frogged. Yes, just now. 

There's quite the pile of kinked-up yarn at my feet; but I think it's easier to just do these with the Urchin stitch, get it moving and have them in time for the birthday girl. 

I don't normally crochet a lot. I love it but I'm not good enough to do anything much more than straight squares. I find that it uses a ton of yarn, and I prefer knitting overall for garments. Crochet is outstanding for those things that are geometric, in my opinion: scarves, potholders, washcloths, baby blankets. But not much else. 

I know - the "hookers" out there are passionate about their art. And they have a right to be. I'm happy for them. I'm just not in their exalted ranks. So I think I'm chaining 50, then I'll start the pattern. I want to allow for a little negative ease, so I may end up taking that down to 48...It has to be an even number, so I've got to be careful and think about the wrist size of the person who'll be getting these, and also the fact that they have to go around the palm of the hand, too. It's always fun winging it... 

The trouble is this: the first row is usually a challenge. A size C crochet hook is tiny. And I have to be careful to not over-work my left hand. It's easy to do with crochet, but also with that small hook + yarn. 

Once I'm over this "tricksy bit" it'll go a little faster, too. What I also like about Urchin Stitch is that at the end, there'll be a lovely wavy top to the mitts. Just enough of "fancy" without having to work at it too hard. 

My Favorite Snack...

I'm on the "eating air" diet (a/k/a Whole30) again, and I'm limited in my snacks. My schedule has been crazy, so I've had to get creative with when and what I eat. I've resurrected a childhood favorite. It might not be "exactly" Whole30, but it's close enough. As far as I'm concerned, it's not chocolate and it's not overly-sweet, so I'm good. 

It's "Ants on a Log." Or, peanut butter on celery sprinkled with raisins. I like golden raisins; they're not as hard and dry. 

Not glam. Not fussy. But filling and chewy and texturally appealing when you've been eating a lot of salad. I'm using low-sugar peanut butter. But I also have some almond butter and I have some raw cashew butter. Whatever I feel like, I guess. The raisins (ants!) stick better to peanut butter. 

I used to eat this a lot when I was a kid. My other favorite is cream cheese on celery, but I'm off dairy for a bit more. I'm hoping that the tummy troubles cease. 

As usual, the weight? Not coming off. Today, I probably should have gotten on the elliptical, but I was moving around by cleaning, running errands and the like. 

My Favorite Pen...

I'm working on working on the Essential Oils biz... I'm organizing prospects, contacts, etc. And I like to go Old School when I can. I remember more when I write things down. I can type like the wind. Do something for 30+ years, and you get good at it, right? 

But if I really want to remember, I'll jot a note. And I like good pens. Particularly fountain pens. I used to be able to use them more often, but they'd been put away for a while. Today, I took the purple one out and cleaned it, filled it with a new cartridge and started a lovely list of my "peeps" so that I had all their info at my fingertips, even if I'm nowhere near a computer. 

Anyway, this is my Precious. It's not a grand Mont Blanc or anything (though I can dream, can't I?). It's a Levenger pen. I just like the heft and feeling of it. I have a blue one that's a ballpoint and you can believe that I keep a close hand on that one. 

Pen thieves abound, especially with the extremely nice ones! 

Random Picture...

So I've been doing the Swedish Death Cleaning. Sort of, at least. I mean, I'm clearing out what I haven't used in a long while; I'm de-stashing and donating yarn that I haven't a hope of using, and getting stuff ready for the upcoming Fall Rummage Sale at church. Today, I cleared out the top rack of my closet. Some stuff, I'm keeping, but at least I'm curating it a bit better. I'm telling you: my kids have already stated that, aside from the books and guitars (and maybe our camera equipment), they're putting a dumpster at the back and when we're dead, they're emptying the house... They don't want my china. They don't want the stuff from my grandparents. Aside from a very few things? They're of the generation of Non-Acquirers. 

I found a set of corny shot glasses - from my Granny. But I know my friend Shaun would love them, since he bought a partial set at an antique store. Off they go to him. I found a bunch of things I'd stuck up there for gifts. Off they go to the Rummage Sale, but I did find a few things for my oldest friend - they're now where I know to look for them this holiday!

I found a set of wind chimes. They'll be tried out at the church office. If they drive us nuts, I'll bring them home... I found a frame emblazoned: "The Boys" -- and I have a perfect picture of the 2 kids that I want to put in there! 

There's a "Creepy Jesus Crucifix" that my mother made (on my Granny's request). My mom did some lovely ceramics when I was a kid. Creepy Jesus Crucifix isn't one of them, though and when I asked Mom what to do with it, she said, "Doesn't your church hold a rummage sale???" Off Creepy Jesus goes - into the box. 

Anyway, as I rummaged, I found this little box. A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a secretary in the International Business unit of a Big Corporation that no longer exists. My boss, a really nice guy, traveled a lot, as you can imagine. And one time, he brought this back for me. 

I honestly don't remember what country it's from, but I'm thinking Middle Eastern. It's not scented or anything (like a cedarwood box or the like), but it's got a lovely inlaid patter on it, and while you can't really tell, the top slides open. I think I'll take it to the office and put it on my desk. Keep the spare Vicarage key in there or something. 

Are you de-cluttering? Are you clearing space in your physical life so you have it in your emotional life? There's something eminently satisfying about having space. I'd forgotten how good it feels to do that. 

Start-itis Strikes Again...

So this thing leaped onto my needles... You remember that I had that panic with the Expressions Fiber Arts yarn and had to search high and low for more Stone Tulips just for a bind off? 

Well, I've got oodles left. So after trolling Ravelry for a long time, I found a relatively simple wrist warmer pattern. I did struggle with the choices for a while. 

Pulse warmer?

Lace glove?

Wrist/arm length?

Fingers? 

Thumb hole or not?

So I looked at the yarn, and since it's relatively busy, I nixed the idea of lace. 

The person who's getting these barely wears coats, and I'm taking a gamble on even making the wristlets. So, no fingers; length just past the wrist - like a pulse warmer. And not too busy with the pattern so that you don't see it "move" when you look at it. 

Much like the avocado + lime green shag carpet in my bedroom as a kid...but I digress...

Simple K2, P2 rib, but of course I can't leave well enough alone. I really dislike starting a K2, P2 rib right off the bat. So I added 3 rows of knit to the beginning. A teeny-tiny curl adds a little interest. 

I may add that same curl to the end; I'll have to see how I feel. It might be uncomfortable, so I don't want to do that. This should use most of the yarn, which is cool. 

The rest goes into the "Oddments" bag for eventual Franken-socks. 

I should be able to whip these out for the birthday; I also didn't want to get into something so complex that I was "knitting under pressure." 

Knitting is fun, meditative and creative. So that's how I want to keep it if I can. 

A Little More Celery...

So I made some tuna salad for lunch the other day. For me, I like celery, hot mustard and dill relish. Used my homemade mayo and Penzey's spices. 

I pulled a couple ribs of celery, thinking they looked pretty slim. Till I started chopping. Wow - lots of celery. 

How bad could that be? Love the crunch it gives to salads and one of my favorite snacks is "ants on a log" - celery, peanut butter and raisins. 

Here's a little nutrition lesson for those who may have a throw-back idea that celery is "rabbit food" that women eat when they want to lose weight...

Celery has fiber, even though it's mostly water. Rich in Vitamin K, it also has folate, Vitamin A and Vitamin C, as well as potassium. It supports digestion, has possible anti-inflammatory properties, and it has a low glycemic index, meaning it has a nice, slow, steady effect on your blood sugar. 

All in all, not bad for rabbit food, right? I have to say, I love it raw. Not keen on it cooked, but if I dice it up enough, it's a nice peppery flavor to add to soups and stews. 

Flowers...but what kind...

These grow by my studio every year. They're lovely. And I don't know what they are. My landlord mentioned it once. Do you think I could remember?

Ha. 

I've reached out to "flower friends" to see if they could help me identify them. Heck, it took me 3 seasons to remember that "those tall pink flowers" in my garden are phlox...

I know that this thing makes seed pods and I'm told that I can take however many I want. I'm not sure how to plant them, but I'll let my students know so they can give them a shot. 

A few folks from my women's groups are also interested. They don't have a clue what it is, but they want the seeds. 

My landlord keeps our property beautifully, manicured to within an inch of its life, and he's always interested in new plants to make the place pretty. 

Contrast that with the landlord of my chiropractor... lots of -- nothing -- and a boring storefront. I know they kind of can't help it because of the configuration of the storefronts, but jeeze - tuck some flowers into the parking berms. It wouldn't kill them. 

Consume wisely...

"Consuming" is not only eating and drinking. It's what you look at on the internet, watch on TV, read, listen to... And clearly, you can see by this screen shot (ok, I took a picture of my computer screen - I'm very old-school), headlines of the different news -- or "news" in one case -- channels, telling the same story, are vastly different. 

Fox "News" (because, seriously - it's not...) claims "Failed Obama attacks successful Trump in bitter swan song" while the Washington Post says "An unexpected opportunity for Barack Obama." 

They're talking about the exact same speech. 

The. Exact. Same. Speech. 

And you wonder why we can't have a sensible conversation? Look at the headlines. Look at the words. Look at the snark. 

We need to be careful consumers. We need to discern what we're looking at and use our brains. We need to set aside our emotion and look at this stuff objectively, in spite of the partisanship of our news outlets. 

Take the time to actually think while you're consuming. I guarantee you'll be a lot happier in the long run. 

Random Picture...

Yesterday was, of course, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I resisted posting for a long time. 

I'm not maudlin. I know it happened. It changed everything in this country, but sometimes looking back too much keeps you from looking forward. 

But then I remembered this... 

I think I did this piece in the year after the attacks.  It was exhibited in the National Counted Cross Stitch Show that year under the "Patriotic Designs" category. It didn't win, even though this was my original design. Some design (not original, thanks, but a popular chart) that showed an eagle with the flag won. I was kind of bummed because I thought about this design a lot. 

As I recall, I was reading about so many of the people involved and the story about Fr. Mychal Judge caught my eye. 

This was the prayer he prayed every day. He was a firehouse chaplain. He ran toward the blasts. He died helping people. 

He wanted to make sure that God got him where he needed to be. He was. He did. 

I was looking for artwork to hang at the church, and I thought this would be perfect. Hopefully, it provides inspiration where needed. I think that, even though Fr. Mychal was a Catholic and this is in an Episcopal church, he'd be ok with that. 

Knitting My Way to Calm...

Watching a particularly odd Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee "Hound of the Baskervilles" and knitting. Kind of a great way to spend a Friday night. 

The knitting is calming my mind, since I'm in a bit of a turmoil about the SCOTUS hearings. I've been reading and listening...and I really, really need to knit to settle my mind.

So let's show what's started, since you've seen what's done. This is the Terribly Simple shawl, by Caitlin ffrench - on Ravelry, so if you're not on there yet and you're an avid knitter or crochet fiend, get on there! You won't regret it. It's more addictive than Pinterest, though (I just tried to make a post on Pinterest, hope that went ok...never sure on some of these platforms). 

This is a yarn I'd had stashed for a long, long time, so I feel particularly virtuous about using it. I think I've had this since Sonda had her shop - so we'll just say it's been in stash "a while." Initially, it was destined for socks, but I changed my mind a while back. Wasn't sure about the silk content; this is Indulgence 6-ply with Silk. Its content is: 55% Merino, 25% Polyamide, 20% silk. Just not sure it would work for socks - it's very drapey. 

Maybe, though, it should've been a scarf. The black in it pools oddly; I don't know if I like it. But the other colors work well together. I'm not sure why they stuck that black in there, to be honest. 

Anyway, this is a super-simple shawl - or maybe a shawlette? Not sure yet. It's on 10.75 needles (or 7mm if you prefer), circular, 24" cable. Honestly, the cable should've been longer, but it is what it is. I'm really liking the Cubics, and they're wood, so they're very soft on the hands. The stitch definition of the yarn is great; I think that it should block out nicely. There's a KFB at either end for the increases, and I'm thinking that the band it's creating will be nice, too. 

It's totally mindless knitting, which I need right now. I need to process the hearings. I need to process what's going on in our country. 

The Day Democracy Died...

I was talking to Kid #2 about the hearings; he asked if I was watching them, and I was unable to, but I was catching up with the news. He said he watched, figuring he'd last about 10 minutes before he'd be screaming at the TV. 

"But I got caught up, and an hour later, I thought that it was kind of interesting in a way to watch democracy die." That's what he said. 

He's not an hysteric. He doesn't do hyperbole. He's a teacher; he's very level-headed - though I'll admit he's cynical as the day is long. He lost whatever innocence he had very early. 

And as a mother, this was heartbreaking. I don't want my kids to live in the kind of country we're shaping up to be. I mean, really - I told my parents that their generation really screwed up the country. 


But I think we took the cake. I mean by letting the Teabagging crackpots loose and then the corruption of the GOP? 

The whole charade of the hearings - and I'm including Corey Booker in this too, because of that bit of showmanship he pulled, "releasing the records." Technically, they were already going to be released. 

But I see his point. And I raise the point that at least he claims to have the courage of his convictions. 

I'm scared witless for the generations coming after us if this all goes through and Mueller doesn't get off his duff soon. I'm not sure how much more our democracy (or democratic republic if you want to get picky) can take. 

We cannot allow a judge to sit on the Supreme Court who has pretty much indicated that he believes the president is above the law. That's not how it works. I don't know what those folks at Yale Law School teach, but there are, to my knowledge, and still -- three branches of government. Three EQUAL branches that do checks and balances on each other so that no one branch supersedes the other. 

In other words, we don't have a monarchy or a dictatorship. In spite of Agent Orange's desires. 

It's In the Cards...

I was given a card deck. They're kind of a "thing" now... Goddess cards, spirit animal cards, yoga cards, astrology cards...You name it, there's a deck for it. Anyway, the ones I got as a gift are called "On & Off the Mat," and they have to do with yoga and breathing. 

So many people have rituals where they pull the cards. I actually have 3 decks of my own and I try to fiddle with them off and on. I have a "spirit animal" one, I have this one, and I have a set made by my friend Lulu Trevena - visit her here. We met  -- or I should say, we "met" while doing the elephant journal apprenticeship. 

I've pulled a couple of the cards from the Yoga deck, and the one I just pulled today says, "Stay open about your practice."

There's a whole discussion going on about functional yoga. Functional as in "making the pose adjust to the body rather than the other way around." When I was in training, we spent a lot of time learning to adjust students - making sure their alignment is correct in a certain pose. 

Well, I still do that - there are some basic alignments that you need to keep yourself safe. But with "functional yoga" it's also about incorporating more than yoga into your practice. I'm doing quite a bit of that with Yoga for Healthy Aging, and being more creative in getting my students to move in ways that will keep them healthier longer. 

So - "open" about my practice? Yep. I do a lot of resistance band work along with the yoga. I work with my little arm hula hoops to keep my upper body strong. I make sure I incorporate movement into my life every day, as often as I can. 

How do you stay open to new things? How do you make sure that your body and mind will be active throughout your life? Let's chat about that...

Random Picture...

This starts Tippi's 6th year at Lewis University - I think. I've kind of lost track of time. We go spring and fall semesters, twice a month. She still loves the work. Of course, more often than not, now that she's 10, I have to lift her in and out of the truck. It's not that she won't try - just that I don't want her to hurt herself. She's a little chunky - and for her to jump down onto a hard surface could eventually hurt her joints, so we give her a "lift." 

It took a while for the students to realize she was there, and unfortunately, they all came when she needed to pee!! Poor girl!! 

Anyway, she loves it. They love it. It's all good. 
 

September Start-itis...

It's a thing. Start-itis. That irresistible urge to start something new. It often hits around Labor Day for many of us, because we that September is our "new year." I don't know if it's  because for those of us of a certain age, school went back in session on the Tuesday after Labor Day, so we have those "new year" feelings associated from childhood. 

I don't know if it's the change of seasons. The leap from summer to fall often makes us feel invigorated with the color changes, cooler weather, changing length of days...all of it is a bit nostalgic and energizing at the same time. 

I've finished a few projects and I need to think about what to do next. I need to finish a few single socks, and I need to finish the Precious Metals scarf. But I'm itching to start something new... 

How about you?

Babies, I've got Babies...

So from 9 caterpillars, I'm back to two of them, one a brand-new baby. I hope that the big ones have gone on to begin their transition to Black Swallowtails. I've been seeing more of the Swallowtails around, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more of them as the season goes on. 

As you can see, my parsley has taken another hit! Oh well; if it's serving the butterflies-to-be, how can I complain? It comes back. 

Toting up so far, I've had two batches of 9, and today I saw 2 more. Not a bad haul for someone who didn't expect anything from this pot of herbs. 

I haven't seen anything on the dill. It's all dried up, which I think is kind of quick, compared to last year. Of course, the patch wasn't as large either, so maybe that's it. Or maybe they just like parsley better. 

I'm hoping the weather holds out for a bit because the Brown Eyed Susans are now seeding, and the Phlox is having a bit of a regeneration with the rain and slightly cooler weather. The hanging plants are just about done; I'm thinking of doing mums or something else - not butterfly or hummingbird friendly, but the season is waning. There's a bit of life left in the coneflowers, and the butterfly bush is doing ok. But the bee balm is done and so is the lavender, which surprises me. 

I've got a good crop of Rosemary, so a bunch of that will go into the freezer for winter time. Maybe I should resurrect the Rosemary Jelly I made a few years ago? The basil flowered almost immediately, so I figured that was "hummingbird food" and didn't even bother plucking anything for cooking. 

Finished Projects...

So this is what I've been doing this weekend. I admit, I heisted this one from a post in my "Make & Take Group" FB page. It's little "oily bugs." 

I got some stiffened felt and bought a cutter - which I found won't cut felt... So I resorted to a biscuit cutter and pencil. Used my snips, as they're easier on the hands, and cut out 15 circles. 

I bought larger pom-poms and used Tacky Glue to stick them on the base. I was looking for pre-cut, but all I found was foam, and I didn't want to use that. Had the Fiskars cutter worked, it would've been scalloped. But I'm not that dedicated...

After they sat for a while, I added some glitz. I saw these initially as "google-eyed" with little antennae. Nope. A bit too cutesy for me, frankly. 

I got gems. Stick on, but some of them didn't come off with the glue on, so again with the Tacky Glue. I still want to add more around the backside, because I did three in a cascade, but they still seem to look like sparkly eyeballs. Not the look I'm going for. 

What the heck are these for, you might ask. Well. There are numerous ways to use essential oils in a yoga class or at work without a diffuser or direct application on the skin, though to me, on the skin works the best. 

Some teachers use cotton pads, which are really nice. Some use sprays, which I've used. But I saw these, which were given out as party favors, and I thought, "How nice would these be to sit next to your mat?"

Except right now, they look like scary-eyed space monsters. So - the answer to that is MORE JEWELS (channeling my inner Elvis here). This is for a Yoga + Oils class I'm doing with one of my teachers and we plan to use 3 oils. This will enable us to dot them onto the critters and set them next to the mats. 

The students can take them home to use with oils they have at home or take them with them to work, to put on their desks. 

They're handy, slightly adorable, portable, and cheap to make. 

Next up is the most recent prayer shawl. Yes, in the background, you see about a zillion oils on my table next to my diffuser. Those are ones I use at night (not all at once, but as I see what I need). 

I really REALLY wanted to do a picot bind-off for this one. But I didn't leave myself enough yarn. You need something like six times the length to do a picot bind-off. Knowing that would've saved me a lot of angst with the last Close to You Shawl, I gotta tell ya...

So Hubby and I did the math. Did it again. And did it a third time, just to make sure. See, this is super-bulky yarn, so I had what I thought was an insane amount of yarn left - like over 21 feet. And it still wasn't enough. There were 105 stitches on the last row of this puppy, so that would've meant I needed about 3 times what I had. But I had plenty for my plain bind-off, and about 6 yards left. That went into the "oddments" bag, and I'll use it for something. 

Pocket Priest has an idea for us to do "Prayer Squares" - instead of doing a whole afghan, which is a great idea. I mean, I was "on a mission" with this particular shawl, but overall, I'd like to volunteer for our church's Prayer Shawl Ministry. But with my crazy schedule? I don't want to take 6 months to do an afghan. And I'm not keen on doing a bunch of them in the super-bulky. I have a lot of worsted in stash, but that's what'll take me 6 months... 

Squares are good for kids, elders who don't want a whole lap robe or afghan, and folks with sensory issues. I remember my kids used to love the tags on their stuffed animals. That's the same concept. 

Storing My Oils...

For a few years, I had totes to store my Young Living Essential Oils in. As I accumulated more, I added more totes. It was getting out of hand, and I didn't always know where things were when I was looking for a particular oil. 

Well. I was in JoAnn Fabrics the other day, buying the stuff for the Oily Critters, and I saw these storage things for sale at 50% off. I thought, "WOW, this might work!" I was hoping they'd work for the 15 ml. bottles, but they're not quite deep enough. That's ok. My totes work for those for now. 

So the bins are labeled: "Vitality" (the ones we can use to cook, bake, eat, etc.); "Singles;" and "Blends." 

I did the same thing for the totes, and that basket up there holds the empties. Sometimes, I re-use the empties for samples or blends of my own (taking off the labels). 

If you're an oiler, how do you store yours? I've toyed with the nail polish holders, and I've kept them in a basket. But I think this is better for me. I'm sure it'll evolve. Right now, they're on top of a dresser. Eventually, they'll move into my office. 

It's fun to find new uses for things; that bin system is actually for scrapbookers, and there are indents in the top to keep paper clips, pencils, etc. Which means it'll be a pain to dust, but there you go. 

Random Picture...

Ok, this time it's a funny. I saw this and sent it to my kid to share with my grand-cat... 


I love to see some of the internet humor. It's clever. Memes - love 'em. Yes, some are pretty trashy, and yeah, vulgar. 

But the great thing about the Internet is that you can almost always find what you want. If you want to watch cat videos for the next 2 months, you can do that. My friend Preston finds these awesome pictures that he posts as "series" on his FB page - cats + kids, cammo cats (cats hiding in obvious sight), and the latest one is rocks painted as pets. 

It's all engaging. Yeah, it can get to be a total time suck, but only if you let it. Heck, I can "waste" a ton of time on Ravelry, looking for shawl patterns, but that doesn't always translate to a "waste." It's kind of engaging my creative brain, taking me away from the crap that's on the news, and giving me a respite from everyday stuff. 

In moderate doses, there's nothing wrong with spending time on the internet. Like anything, you can go all the way to crazy-town. But you don't have to. 

My mom now has WiFi (yeah, I know - stop the presses!), and she's a bit concerned about "frittering away" her time. She has friends who play games and spend hours online. I told her, "Here's the thing, mom. It's a machine. Set a timer, and turn it off." She has lots of hobbies, and she's a bit afraid that she'll get sucked into the vortex. 

Remember: It's a machine. Turn it off. Unplug. Go outside, look up, enjoy the world off-screen.