Joe

I finally got around to making some birth announcements. I hope it's not too late.  Granted I did just get the CD in the mail yesterday...

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Spaces

This week has been an emotional one. Music and memories have been the theme. I've thought about moments that I have not thought of in a long time, and I've missed people that I miss everyday, but with more missing and longing than usual.

Do you ever remember the person you once were, and think, what happened? How did I lose touch with myself? And by "myself" I mean the things that were once important to you and defined you in that time, when you thought you were your most authentic, the most elemental part of your individuality and existence. You think it has become muddled and lost an hidden under a pile of the mundane and routine and day to day events that in the grand picture of life, really don't matter. I'm grateful when I am shaken awake by these thoughts because then I do remember, and I recognize that I've become lured into paying attention to the trivial and seemingly crucial aspects of living, therefore I can refocus my energy on what really matters to me, and be the me I mean to be.

These thoughts are especially important as I face this huge change in my life. Another life is about to enter this world, and he or she is going to rely on me to make sense of it, to be a guide and a teacher while this child creates his or her own sense of being and belonging. I better know where I stand.

I miss my aunt. I miss her so much. I miss her wisdom, her words, her music, her voice, her art, and her philosophies. I miss her life. She is the core of everything that I aspire to. I wish you all could have known her. I wish my child could know her. She is all the brilliant women of history, both known and unknown. She lived the truest life. She lived her life exactly as she meant to, without excuses, and without compromise. I can only hope to follow her example, as best I can, for the sake of my children to come. Everyone should know someone such as this. Everyone should be so blessed as to have a guardian on Earth to guide them. Mine has moved on to other spaces, but I still remember her and remember what I learned from her.

Anyhow, if you'd bothered to read this far, perhaps you would be so kind as to watch the video below. (If you know me personally, you may have seen it already on facebook) In my heart these thoughts and these words are connected. I don't think I could begin to explain. Perhaps it will mean something to you.



And here is the song that Lhasa wrote to accompany this philosophy
Soon This Space Will Be Too Small

Knock Knock

Hello? Anyone there?

I could sit here and write all about what I've been up to since last I posted.... but there's only one think occupying my mind..... my latest WIP..... this baby that shall be born in June. :)

 We have chosen to NOT find out the sex of the baby. We are looking forward to being surprised. I'm so thrilled and cannot wait until this baby is born. So far, I've had a pretty easy pregnancy. I'm halfway there and I don't know what's in store, but all that matters to me is that this baby is healthy. We are working on the nursery and little by little, getting ready for our growing family. Kitty is still spoiled, however :)

I have at least some knitting to share. Some more recent projects anyway....

 Monster Pants for the baby to wear next fall/winter. Made these from random balls of Berroco Pure Merino DK. Pattern is Das Monster.

 Here's something I knit at the last minute out of yarn I bought at the last minute while waiting for an hour in line at The Fold's annual New Year's Day sale. This had been in my queue for a while and I saw the yarn and remembered I wanted to make it. September Circle

And finally, a little shawlette from yarn and pattern I drooled over at Stitches last summer/fall. I saw the sample and had to have one exactly like it. I didn't reblock this for the photo so it looks a little wonky from wearing it several times. Feather River Shawlette

So yeah, that's my news and my life right now. Couldn't be happier :)

First Try

Ok, so after saying that I was interested in trying to spin, I tried it! Today, in fact. I won the spindle in a raffle by donating to a friend's charity cause: The American Animal Rescue Society. It was a Golding spindle and I felt very lucky. I also won two skeins of Sundara yarn :D  I never win anything, so it was very cool.

Anyhoo, here's my first attempt at spinning!


I used a hand-dyed BFL I bought from YummyYarn on Etsy.

I watched some videos on YouTube, to help bring back the memories of what KniftyRed taught me a couple years ago. They really helped a lot.

Of course, there are several thick and thin areas, and I'm doing the park and draft method, but it came out better than I had expected for a first attempt. It's slow going too, but I'm sure it will pick up and I'll get more consistent as I get the hang of it. :D

In other news.... I got a kitty!! His name is Bruce. He's super adorable. He's bigger now than when we first got him, but he's become our baby. My husband and I love cuddling him and spoiling him and he's been a great kitty! He's well-behaved, for a kitten, and we've had no problems with him.. yet :P We adopted him from the South Suburban Humane Society.

Day 7

What a Yarn
There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative. TAGGING CODE: knitcroblo7

This is the hardest topic. I don't really have yarn brand that I love more than any other. I've gone through phases where I adored Malabrigo, or Socks That Rock. I've fondled other people's yarns that were fabulous, like Knitterary's Grinning Gargoyle silk and cashmere. I've longed to try the Wollmeise that people seem to pay an arm and a leg for. I've stuck my hand in a batch of vicuña fiber, and qivuit. I've touched buffalo yarn and I itched to knit with something that reminds me of the Old West. But I'm not sure if I covet them simply because of the talk about them, or because I truly think they are divine. I'm not saying they aren't divine, but I'm just doubting if my desire for them is sincere and not under the influence of fads.


I will say this, though. I love alpaca. I think it's my favorite fiber. It's warm and fuzzy and soft, almost slick like butter but without the grease, haha! I don't know if you know what I mean, but sometimes, if I close my eyes, and run alpaca through my fingers, I almost expect my hand to have a residue on them. I suppose it's the nature oils of the fiber, but there's nothing remaining, and it does not feel like the lanolin of truly greasy wool. But I love that quality. I like the halo of it. I love the drape. It has its disadvantages, as does any fiber, but I truly truly adore alpaca. That's sincere.

Day 6

Revisit a past F/O
Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your did just didn’t like that much… TAGGING CODE: knitcroblo6

 I'm bringing up a project that is somewhat of a sore spot: Rag Doll Drizzt. 

This doll was made with the purpose of traveling around the country and eventually to other parts of the world to fans of Drizzt. Drizzt is a character in some fantasy books my husband and I read many years ago. In fact, it was on the fan-site of those books where Eric and I first met sometime in February of 2005. There had been an original RDD, sewn by a member of the site with her mom. The mom died soon after the doll was finished. Unfortunately, the doll was also lost in its journey in Europe. A year past, maybe more, maybe less, I cannot be sure. Suddenly, the doll turned up! It turned out that the doll was lost during the riots in France, and the intended recipient was arrested during such riots and had never claimed the package at the post. After 11 months prison, she picked up the package and the doll resumed his journey. Again, it was short-lived. The doll was lost again and has not been found.


While the ORDD (original Rag Doll Drizzt) was waiting at the post in France and the recipient was in jail, I made RDD2. I thought to replace the ORDD and keep the doll moving to other waiting fans. The members were supportive of the idea and I added some extra touches. I made a journal for members to write in, as the Drizzt character had kept a journal in the books about his travels and thoughts, and I thought it would be fun if members pretended to be Drizzt and wrote about his "experiences." People could also add pictures and momentos. I also made and painted a travel box for him, and included some props. I encouraged other members to add to his props so as to create a sort of "time capsule" of his journey.  It was all going to be so cool!

A list of members participating the the event was created in order to reduce shipping costs. (I don't think it would make a difference anymore if you're sending to one state or another). We were to ship the doll to the next closest person. Since I had moved to Illinois at this time, I had requested to send the doll to the next person closest to Illinois, rather than to the person in Arizona who was after me when I lived in California. The members were up-in-arms about that idea. People had waited so long they did not want to be skipped. I defended my reasons, but no one agreed with me. Perhaps I was wrong to suggest it, but it didn't matter, I sent the doll to Arizona. The first recipient of the new RDD, made by me. Unfortunately, it was also the last.

The person who recieved it, the person who was most angry at my suggestion of altering the order of the list, never sent the doll on and has disappeared from the face of the earth. He used to be a very active and prominent member of the site. For a while, he kept posting, saying he was busy, or didn't have any money to ship it. He left for a few months, then came back again, saying he was going to ship it, then he even said he did ship it, but the next person never got it, and now he's gone. It's been three years.


I had such high hopes. We all did. ORRD had turned up and we were hopeful about that, and glad to have 2 dolls, but now both have disappeared. All that effort.... such a shame.


I admit, I feel like a fool.

Day 5

Location, Location, Location
Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you like to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub? TAGGING CODE: knitcroblo5

In this small apartment, I knit on the couch. I have a certain spot where I feel most comfortable. I have a red down throw that I keep on my lap, and a basket on the shelf under the coffee table where I keep my most active WIP so I can knit with the yarn in the basket below me. I often have the TV on while knitting, but lately, since we don't have cable, I've been knitting with music from my Zune.
I sometimes knit on my lunch break at work, but only on Wednesdays or Fridays.
I knit at my in-laws house on Sunday mornings while my FIL makes Butkus-Brekfix (breakfast).
I knit with friends in public at Stitch in Bitch meetings, when I can.


I bring my knitting with me if I know I'm going to do some waiting, like at the doctor's office. I would knit everywhere if it was acceptable and did not make people uncomfortable. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, so I don't knit at staff meetings or at workshops and lectures. But I wish I could.