Friday, April 30, 2010

Motivation

Let's say, just hypothetically, that you found out the local paper was going to send a reporter/photographer team to your Wednesday SnB in a couple of weeks.

That they might be putting together a story about hand spinning and other crafts for one of the weekly inserts.

What would your first thought be?

Well, mine was "A photographer? I've got to finish Wisteria Garden!"

It looked like this on Wednesday:

WG-09

Two weeks to finish about six inches of edging? No problem!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Work of a Different Color

Back in November, I wrote a post about how everything in my bag that day was red. A shawl, a baby sweater, and something super secret (which is still a secret, by the way).

It was interesting to me, because red isn’t one of those colors I find myself drawn to, yet there it was, bright and cheerful all over the place.

Taking photos for this post, I realized that I’d done it again, only with another color this time. Allow me to present… pink.

My Geodesic Cardigan has been getting quite a bit of attention since last I showed it to you.

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This Malabrigo Lace is just about the softest thing I’ve ever felt in my life. And the pattern, oh goodness but this is fun. I knit so much lace work, I’d nearly forgotten the soothing qualities inherent in miles and miles of stockinette.

I’ve gotten through the waist decreases, started the increases, and I made my first tuck the other day.

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I’ll admit that working the first one gave me a few head-scratching moments, but once I got the hang of the folding it went quite well.

Pretty soon things will get very interesting indeed, what with dividing for the sides, shaping the armholes and neck, and remembering to work the tucks in the midst of all that shaping. Must remember to take good notes, this yarn is not over-fond of being ripped out!

When the stockinette of this project gets to be less soothing than tedious, I put it aside and take out Wisteria Garden.

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I’ve turned the corner around the point of the triangle, and it really feels like I’m in the homestretch with it. Only this much left to do!

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Many many thanks for all the kind words about my front yard. Full credit for the design goes to a very good friend. She had the ability to look at a bunch of scraggly grass and see what it could become. She’s a visionary and a slave driver… and she should leave a comment here now and then!

Monday, April 26, 2010

What It Has Become

It started with a small front yard which looked simply awful.

From Porch

We did a lot of digging and hauling… things looked much worse for a while.

Cardboard

Then they started to look better.

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We added plants and water.

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Then, and really this is the most important thing, I added time.

This is what it has become in just under two years:

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This…

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has become this:

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This…

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has turned into this:

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A leftover chunk of Creeping Jenny has become a lush carpet.

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One lone maroon columbine and a couple of pots of violas have naturalized and spread with great abandon.

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And there is this smiling face to watch it all.

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Public Service Announcement

Remember this shawl?

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It’s Ancient Woodland, by Miriam Felton, the first pattern for Year of Lace 2009.

Well, it’s available for purchase to the general public at last, which means you can make one of your very own.

Here’s the link to Miriam’s pattern store. And it’s also available through Ravelry, right here.

One more picture, I just can’t resist!

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Home Work Leads to Homework.

First, I must thank you all for sharing the lessons that knitting has taught you. It’s hard to know how an introspective piece of writing will go over, and you’ve once again warmed my heart. To those of you who found your way to me through Bridget’s link (thank you!), a very warm welcome.

The weather here in the valley has been typical for the geography and the time of year, which is another way of saying that we just never know what we’re going to get from day to day. Or from minute to minute. Rain, wind, sun, breezes, slushy snow, sprinkles, rainbows, hail… we’ve been seeing just about everything this spring.

This weekend the weather gods smiled down upon me. Presented with two glorious days of sun in a row, I couldn’t wait to get outside and do some home work.

The daffodils and tulips were done blooming for the year, so I trimmed them all down. Since I was down on my knees anyway, I also pulled up a small forest of seedlings from the overenthusiastic ash trees behind the house. Then I rained down havoc upon weeds and grass that had dared to show their faces in the wrong places. That oughta show ‘em!

My husband was a great help, using the big shovel to dig down and break the roots of the grass that had encroached into the rose bed in the back yard. We got up chunks of sod, and I could swear I heard the roses heave great sighs of relief. They’ll be much happier without the competition for water and nutrients come blooming season.

We hauled out so many wheelbarrow loads of weeds and junk that my composter is full to the very top. Which means that my next garden task is to dig out and distribute the compost from the bottom of the container. The roses and other bushes will get their first feed of the season, there will be room in the container for things to settle and all those wonderful worms can get to work on the next layer.

Later this week, if I get a few sunny moments after work, I can do my homework. It’s been a while since I showed pictures of the front yard. All the hard labor of two years ago is really starting to pay off, and I’m looking forward to showing it to you.

All that, and I’ll have some knitting progress to show!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I Didn’t Know

There were so many things I didn’t know when I took up knitting.

I didn’t know I was going to need umpteen-million needles, or notions, or project bags.

I didn’t know I was going to need a digital camera.

I didn’t know I was going to buy so much yarn I’d have to stop teasing my mother about her fabric habit.

I didn’t know that I’d find myself surrounded by expectant mothers, who would cry over hand knit baby sweaters.

I didn’t know that knitting could make me laugh, or cry.

I didn’t know that lifelong friends could be found on the internet, when the only things we had in common to begin with were computers and a yarn habit.

I didn’t know that knitting makes an overbooked doctor’s office seem like a wonderful opportunity to get a few rounds in on a sock.

I didn’t know that it’s possible to take longer to decide which projects to take with me on vacation than it is to decide about the clothes I’m going to wear when I get there.

I didn’t know I could lose yarn in my own house. (Yeah, still looking for that darned stuff)

I didn’t know that I’d go shoe shopping one day with the express purpose of finding shoes to show off my hand knit socks.

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Anybody else? What didn’t you know when you took up knitting?