Dragonfly January 2015 and Cookie A December 2014

It's a marriage made in heaven. Djinni sock yarn in a gorgeous color called Big Sky and one of the December Cookie A patterns called Senna.

I'm convinced Cookie A is a genius.  I love knitting her patterns.  As I was talking with a girl at work today we commented on how they knit up so quickly BECAUSE you don't want to put them down.  The next row must be knitted because you want to see how it interacts with the one before.

Beautiful.  Genius.  Happy.

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People are buying yarn in the red colorways (pinks, reds, maroons).  One girl at work thinks it's Valentines influencing decisions.  I think it's snow, little sunshine, cold.

Oh, and they're still buying as much yarn as they can.

All you have to do is believe!

I believed, and I set aside some time, and I watched some tv and darn if I didn't finish the Frank Pedestrian Cowl:

While there are buttons, they don't actually work.  I was very disappointed in the teeny tiny button hole that was created by following the directions.  I probably should have ripped back and put in simple YO K2tog button holes, but I didn't.  I reckoned that I'd probably never want it opened so left it as it.

I immediately slipped it over my head and was embraced in a warm super soft cashmere hug.  Life is indeed good.

Buttons are from my stash.  I thought about something retro and sparkly but these with their right angles and straight line grains were really the perfect thing to spruce it up without taking away from the gorgeousness that is this cowl.

I can't wait to wear it to work tomorrow...and no, I'm not blocking it first.  I'm a rebel, but you knew that right?
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On to the next yarn club:  Dragonfly yarn with a pattern from Cookie A from last year.  Double dipping is fine by me...AND I get to knit a Cookie A  pattern in some gorgeous yarn...I believe there's more cashmere in my future, but I'll have news and pictures tomorrow.

Happy weekend everybody. Mine is on its downward slide, but that's ok.  It's been good and restful and just the thing I needed to help get me back on track!

A new project

Yes, I cast on a new project last night.  And no, I'm not at all embarrassed about it.  And yes, I love the idea of a new project because I love my yarn clubs and last year my enthusiasm for my yarn clubs got all bashed around when I was in the midst of my time of turmoil...so...I decided I'm rebooting yarn club enthusiasm in 2015.  So, here's #1:

Outlander, Among Friends.  You got the pics yesterday of the package.  Last night I started one of the suggested projects, the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl.

And let me tell you that it is a really nice pattern.  2 row repeat, super easy and the yarn?  Oh my...the yarn is lovely.  So soft, so squishy, so beautifully dyed. I'm a happy girl and so are my hands in working with this.

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A couple of interesting things:

Yesterday at work I was enamored of the color brown, so of course, working with this color has made me super happy.

I think I'll use blue buttons to have it match my eyes a little.

Those needles are my Marblz Interchangeable set.  I still love them and think they may be my favorite.  I'm keen on the Karbonz, but they are so pointy that I split my yarn to death...these are just the right kind of tip for me, and I love the acrylic...who would have thought I'd ever say that after my initial love of Addi's...

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And finally:  I BELIEVE  I will be wearing this thing to work on Saturday.  I probably won't, but I BELIEVE (at least for now)...so back to knitting and watching the next episode of Downton.

Yesterday I squealed

So, at the end of my shift yesterday I was one of the crankiest persons around.  I didn't want to see or talk to people, I just wanted to crawl into my apartment and pretend that I existed in a vacuum and that when I did finally venture out all the people in the world would be nice and pleasant and fun to be around.

(Like the characters in Julia Quinn's novels.  I decided that she lives in a wonderful writerly world.  I need to create one like that for myself.)

So, I checked my mail on the way home and was beginning to realize that the crankiness...was really the harbinger of a real bonafide migraine...and one that if I didn't nip it in the bud was going to lay me low for at least a day and I did not want to miss work...

SO, I got in the apartment, took a cocktail of every medication I could think of, drank a BIG cup of coffee and settled in to wait this one out.

At some point I walked into the kitchen and remembered that I'd checked the mail and in it were 2 packages of my yarn club.  I opened my Vesper yarn and marveled at the gorgeous self-striping loveliness (I really must just sit and knit socks for about 300 days straight).

But then, I opened the other package.  Which was a totally impulse purchase back in October.  I was sucked in by the advertising in the Sparks stitch markers that I'm pleasantly addicted to (seriously, I have every set that has been "special" at JBW).  This club is focused on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, her Outlander series, which I loved and have read several times over.  I was excited to join this one, but that was October and it was an impulse and honestly I know nothing else about the Among Friends people except that I liked Outlander and the other yarn clubs looks totally cool and awesome and I would get a project bag, a set of stitch markers (I did mention that addiction didn't I) and YARN...oh and patterns to if I wanted to use them.

So, it was with mixed feelings that I opened that package.  Excitement about a new club but not really holding much expectations.  And then...I squealed.  Out loud in the middle of a migraine.  It was a bad idea but I couldn't help myself and I squealed again when I saw the project bag...and then...seriously...giggled outloud and squealed again when I pulled out the stitch markers.  It was at this point that I was sure my head was going to fall off my neck, but I would die a very happy woman clutching my first shipment from Among Friends.

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And for those of you out there without any compulsion about having many WIPs...you know what an empty project bag means, right?  MUST CAST ON, so I found just the right project and did just that.

I'm happy today...and starting my weekend by watching some Downton Abbey Season 5, knitting my new cowl and drinking a glass or so of wine (and yes, I'm even using the stitch markers even though I don't necessarily need to...it's the Outlander book!  How could I not???)

It rained today!

And those of us on the early shift actually went to the door to look at it.  Rain.  Amazing.

What I find amazing is that you can't actually SEE the rain falling, but the ground is wet.  Maybe I could see it if I were outside, but I wasn't so I didn't.

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Today's color in case you are interested was the cool family--blues, green and purples abounded!

And lots of it.  People have clearly panicked...and ordered all the yarn...

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I'm starting a really amazing project at work....I'll get to touch and feel and look at ALL the yarn we have.  It's going to make shopping with JBW even better than it already it (I mean our wonderful customer service can't be beat...I totally know that...but things are improving and you'll be amazed!)...And the fact that I get to be part of it just tickles me to death!

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Today's picture is of me and my shadow on the hike.  Aren't we cute!?

Sometimes things are just right...

...case in point:

I'm 5 rows in (in this picture) on my hexagon afghan.  It's so gorgeous.  i almost can't stop looking at it and I want to show it off to everyone I know.  Actually I just want to work on it ALL THE TIME...skip work, skip sleep...just sit and finish this thing.  I'm in love.

And I may sell it...trying to decide the right price point and then see if anyone is interested.

but I may keep it.  At this point I just don't know.  But it really is "just right."

Taking a hike

Yesterday's "Language of Letting Go" focus was to be spontaneous and have fun, so after work I went for a hike in the Hidden Valley Park near work.

Honestly I could probably hike out there for years and never explore it all.  I discovered a few things about hiking:

• it's not just normal walking...there are rocks, loose gravel and uneven terrain to keep your eye on
• It's beautiful...sun, sky, mountains, rocks, loose gravel, water rivulets in the sand, dead bushes.  Gorgeous.
• It's terrific exercise.  My body was hurting all over.
• I need better shoes suited to hiking.
• The urge to explore what's "around the next curve" can take you a lot further than you intended...

And finally...when one realizes one needs to pee...one really needs to turn around and head back immediately.  Going around the next curve, waiting another couple of minutes, etc., means that all that time is needed to get BACK TO THE RESTROOMS.

Oh dear, I almost didn't make it and I'm not outfitted for running...

But still.  I had a fabulous time being spontaneous yesterday, near brush with humiliation aside.  I do so love the desert mountains.

So, here's a little color inspirations for you today.  Tell me what colors you see and what the shadows and light make you think of...I'm going to do "something" with this inspiration just haven't decided what yet.

Book Thoughts

Kathy asked for a book recommendation...I'm assuming she means a knitting/crochet book...so we'll go from there.

I honestly think that anything by Ann Budd is worth getting your fingers on.  She has such a way of expressing patterns and ideas and she is very talented at providing "templates" from which to work.

If you like humor, read Mason and Dixon Knitting.  Wonderful ideas for how to use yarn the way you want to use yarn.   Plus it's funny and fun.

Clara Parkes is simply amazing.  Enough said.  Knitter's Book of Yarn, Knitter's Book of Wool, Knitter's Book of Sock Yarn.  Buy all three.  Once upon a time I was going to knit through the entire Knitter's Book of Wool...Life has intervened.  I do hope to get back to it at some point.

I'm an avid collector of magazines.  I subscribe to Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Crochet Scene, Knit Scene, For the Love of Knitting, Knit Simple and Piecework.  I gather up special editions that I think are interesting (Downton, Jane Austen).  So far I haven't made many things from them.  I like looking at the pictures and dreaming.

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Kathy, if you meant a funny cat book, buy "I Knead My Mommy and other poems by kittens."    I haven't laughed so hard in a long time...in fact, Pearl wondered what was up with me!

Hexagons

I'm thoroughly "into" crocheting my hexagon afghan.  Almost skipped sleeping last night then remembered that I do have to go to work and how bad of an idea that is, so I put it up and did go to sleep...but work is now finished and guess what I'm going to do very shortly!

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Observations of working in a Yarn Store...
--Certain colors sell at the same time...doesn't always make sense though sometimes it does.  Today it's blue, if you're wondering.
--It really matters to put things back where they belong...hunted forever this morning for a bag of yarn to find it this afternoon when restocking other yarn.  4 of us hunted this morning...
--Yarn-y people are really nice.  Even when they get the wrong yarn or wrong advice or wrong color...they're usually nice about it...just want it fixed.
--The people that work in yarn stores are super-nice and excited to help people with their projects.  We really are.  I'm genuinely interested in what everyone is knitting because I have come to the realization that no matter how badly I want to I'll never be able to knit with it all.
--Even after almost 5 months at JBW, I'm still finding new yarns, books, and projects to do!  So much inspiration and beauty in the world.

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Hexagons lining up.  I'm using Tosh Merino Light in Seasalt for the border rows.  I LOVE.

Power

So much of the work I've been doing with my therapist has been about owning and realizing my own power.  Understanding my worth and realizing the rightness of being treated...well...right. (morally, ethically, honestly..., you know, right!)

Valuing yourself, owning your worth, expecting others to respect that...it's amazing how much that carries over into every single thing that you do...all aspects of your life.

It's been amazing to me how it's affected relationships as well as my ability to be alone.  I'm starkly reminded how different my life is than it was just a few months ago and how ridiculously happy I am about that.

Seriously, folks, sometimes I run around grinning and being all goofy...and it's just amazing.

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I read the first couple of bits from my "in the beginning" book...stuff I wrote just in the past couple of weeks. It's powerful.  Seriously, amazingly powerful.

And it scares me to death.  I could share this with people--in fact I need to share this with people--but in doing so I rip myself open.

Talk about being vulnerable.  I don't know where or when I'll find the courage, but I know that I will find the courage.

I know that in finding the courage, I will be a light that others can use to see the way out of whatever darkness they're experiencing.  and that makes me feel good...to know that my experiences can help others, that in finding my own strength I can help others find theirs.

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Today's picture is of the hexagons stacked up for the crochet blanket.  I'm still having to redo the outer ring on the ones I'd done incorrectly...but they're coming along...

I love it here

Sorry I've been absent, folks.  My daughters are visiting and I'm so enjoying spending time with them.

The view on our little hike this morning.  More next week!

My brain is asleep

I have no other explanation for my seemingly ditzy-ness at work today.  It doesn't happen to me often, but geez...today I was just "off."

Perhaps it's because I stayed up late watching the first episode of Season 5 of Downton Abbey...if so, it was worth it.  So good that one was.

I started a new pair of socks out of Vesper Yarn Colorway Imagine.  I'm using the Pinstripe Sock Pattern...it's gorgeous.  I'll have photos maybe tomorrow when I have a little more to photograph well.

Jimmy Beans is starting to do an Indie Dyer of the month focus.  When the yarn is gone (to us) it's gone.  This is not going to be good for my budget, I can already tell.  Zen Yarn Garden is the dyer of January.  We have such luscious sparkly sock yarn...and some beautiful worsted.  I had a hard time not buying it all...then I remembered my budget.

Finally, a girl can't have too many project bags.  Especially one as willing to start new things as I am.  And when I saw this one was back in stock, I nabbed it.  It's so beautiful and wonderful and will follow me everywhere.  I was so happy looking at it sitting next to me on the counter today as I goofed one thing after another (maybe that was my problem? I was distracted?)

In the beginning

...this is the title of the book I started yesterday.  In the beginning.  So many beginnings to talk and think through.  So many ideas to explore about beginning anew.  So many possibilities.  So many "left-behinds"...so much in that one little phrase.

In the beginning

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Today's picture is of the socks I completed yesterday.  One of those socks was cast on and off yesterday.  The other was finished the night before (and worked on for a good while at work during lunch before I decided that working on knitting at work just isn't the thing).

I love these socks.  The yarn is Allegria by Manos del Uruguay in color Candombe.  It is velvety soft, beautifully dyed and a dream to knit with.  Just a plain-old-vanilla sock pattern to let this gorgeous yarn sing loud and proud!

Wishing you a Cosmic 2015!

Well, everybody, we made it into 2015.  I am beyond excited about the possibilities in front of me for a new year, new opportunities, new friends, new everything.

I'm still reeling from everything that happened in 2014, but I decided last night that 2015 will be about me.  What I need and how I need it.  I will accomplish things and focus on getting myself healthy--in all ways.

I'm not really into resolutions, but I will try to:

• craft daily
• start my Etsy and Pinterest sites
• keep the blog going
• write the book(s) that everybody is telling me I need to write
• try to maintain my positive attitude while doing all the above.

I hope today finds you happy and ready for the new possibilities of the new year.  I hope that you are in a good place or at least know what that good place can be so you can strive to be there.  I hope that you learn to be patient and kind to yourself.  I hope that you seek and find true joy.

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Today's picture is my completed Cosmic Wonder Dust socks.  I've already gotten back to working on the next pair--a vanilla sock in Allegria by Manos del Uruguay in color Candombe (anything but vanilla).