meg's garden: Knitting Stuff

Karma-shmarma, this plain sucks

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:26:59 GMT

Look away if you have a weak stomach or are prone to fits of despondency.

Following is the physical manifestation of dismay, despair, & depression.

This is three weeks of solid labor, nearly five inches of painstaking cables, knit on minuscule size 1.5 needles (that would be 2.5 millimeters) completely and utterly destroyed by an errant cup of tea that the wind overturned into my bag.

All efforts at salvage were futile; the yarn is Knit Picks Bare Merino Wool, Silk Sock Yarn, made for custom dying & tea is a natural coloring agent. I considered dying all of it, but Chris wanted off-white hose & besides, any attempt would have ended up unevenly colored (yarn should be dyed before knitting just for this reason)

Yes, I cried.

Right after I cursed a blue streak.

Then I went to the movies, to forget my pain for a few brief hours.

Now, it just mocks me~ I originally got it to make the Candle Flame Shawl last summer, which I ended up frogging (just wasn’t working for me) & now this.

I am giving away the rest of the yarn~ I am not meant to use it.

*Sob*

My take on the world

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:59:58 GMT

I was visiting a blog acquaintance today & was caught by an essay she wrote about her adventures back into knitting. Now, if you have spent anytime around my garden, it will come as no surprise that I would pause to read about knitting; it has become my primary creative outlet & an area I must apply stringent self-control in order not to bury my home in piles of yarn (something for which my husband & son- but not the cats- are grateful). What I read at Yours Truly stirred up several thoughts & reflections about the nature of knitting- or most any kind of handcraft, for that matter- & the people who invest time doing them.

I phrase I hear quite regularly (often from my own mouth) is, “[Knitting, quilting, weaving, scraping, beading, painting, etc] is so soothing”; with almost equal frequency, I hear the uninitiated cry out, “That’s beautiful, but I could never do that- I don’t have the [time, patience, skill, etc]” What is the difference between these two people? One has found a passion & the other hasn’t. I truly believe that everyone has that need, that ember of inventiveness, which is just waiting for encouragement & an outlet to express itself; I imagine it is the spark of God’s creative nature, fashioned in us as reflections of Him. No matter what form it takes, there is a universal feeling of satisfaction, of rightness, in forming something from nothing & knowing that you were the one who accomplished it. Until one finds their passion, that thing that kindles their imagination & makes their fingers itch to do something, I feel they will be missing a secret treasure that God placed inside us simply for the joy it brings.

Many people feel guilty when they spend time on a “hobby”, thinking that they should be doing something more practical or important, especially when doing a decorative art like knitting. I know the reality: I can go to the store & purchase six pairs of socks for the same amount I spend on yarn for a hand-knit pair, not to mention the weeks (in my case) it takes to make them. I’ve spent $30 & four weeks making a sweater for a baby that outgrew it in less than 2 months. From a purely practical standpoint, it does seem like a monumental waste of an already limited resource, my free time.

What this pragmatic perspective doesn’t consider is the intangible benefits of creative arts. For myself, & countless others, the act of knotting string with two sticks is a form of meditation, a contemplative action which calms & centers the spirit. Breathing slows, the heartbeat settles, blood pressure is reduced; it’s much like petting an animal or soaking in a warm tub- stress melts away. I can ruminate over a situation & find answers or acceptance flowing out with the fabric forming under my fingers.

More often then not, what comes off my needles goes to someone else; other then a scarf & a couple of pairs of socks, I rarely knit for myself. When I first started knitting again, my darling Lily cat would sit in my lap as I worked, & everything produced at that time was woven with her hair. It is much the same now, but instead of calico fur, items are woven with my thoughts & prayers. There is also the benefit of some mental calisthenics associated with working on a complicated or involved pattern, & the satisfaction of seeing it all come together in the finished project.

Another reason I don’t struggle with the idea of wasting time is that I rarely just sit & knit; like every working mother I know, I multitask- I work on something when I’m watching TV, sitting in the orthodontist’s office, attending a football game, waiting for my dinner at a restaurant, or listening to the sermon at church. As a matter of fact, if I’m actually just sitting & talking, I’ll have people ask me where is my knitting bag. A rare few will tsk at me for knitting in church; for them, I pull out my charity projects, like the baby hats for the county hospital or the granny squares for the “Share a Square” project, pointing out that God expects me to put some feet on my compassion. I’m not saving the world by any stretch of the imagination; but as I observed in Yours Truly’s comments, “Knitting may not save the whole world, or even a small part of it; but a sending out a hat for a newborn of a migrant farmer worker, a blanket for a chemo patient, or a scarf passed out to a homeless man, can touch a life, even if only for a moment.”

Nothing but Knitting!

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 21:01:43 GMT

Wow, everyone seems to be rather taken with the felted clogs! Thank you for all the compliments; but I have to say, without any false modesty, that my “talent” lays in my ability to follow a pattern. I was taught the basics & have learned the rest by reading what others have written & tested. In answer to several inquiries, here are some specifics:

v Yes, they are pretty simple; you just need follow the pattern as written & to know how to ‘make one’

v The pattern was written by Fiber Trends & you can buy it at a local shop (they have a list online) or from one of Fiber Trends mail-order resources

v I used Celtic Green Cascade 220- it’s one of the best for felting- the amount needed varies by the size you are making. I made US Men’s size 11 & used 3 ½ skeins, knitted with two strands on size 13 circular needles.

v They were completed in 2 weeks, start to finish; I worked on them during free time at lunch & home, alternating with a pair of socks I’m knitting as well.

v Felting is a process of treating a knitted garment. An item is knitted in a larger scale, of 100% un-treated wool, then washed & agitated in hot water. This causes the wool fibers to shrink & mat together, forming a dense, water-resistant fabric- it’s similar to tweeding woven material, such as tartan or jackets, which makes it warmer & more durable.

I have to share that I have lived every knitter’s fantasy: last week, I was paid to sit & knit at work! Most of us have to grab opportunities to pursue our craft while living our “real” lives- lunch or coffee breaks, waiting at an appointment, riding in the car, watching television, while listening to the Sunday sermon at church (don’t give me that look- Pastor puts the Scriptures on the overhead & I’ll stop to take notes of things that speak to me!) This is why I like to work on smaller items- I can always carry one of my small totes with a project or two to work on when the chance presents itself. Last Wednesday, our company began the process of changing our computer system to a new & better server. The IT guys decided to start with our satellite office, which is only open 3 days a week, but they needed someone to be there while they did the conversion & testing. I volunteered, since the girl who is usually there was needed at the main branch. I was told it would take about an hour, so I took an hour & a half worth of non-computer stuff to work on (no small feat in itself- I do 90% of my work on computer). As I was walking out of my office, my supervisor mentioned that I might want to take my knitting along, in case I ran out of things to do. The hour-long conversion ended taking 3 hours; once I ran out of work to do, I had official sanction to sit & knit, while they finished the testing. Oh, yes, life is good!

They are finished

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 23:43:40 GMT

The clogs are finished, felted & dried, and they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. I have already started on another pair for Sam. I've posted the photo in the Knitting Projects album.

It's a little hard to tell in the "before" picture, but they were huge! They ended up over 18 inches long, with a very open weave & no body (I stuffed it with paper to show the shape its suppose to be); everyone in group said the same thing; "Wow! Are you sure those are going to fit?" (How's that for sisterly encouragement!) I put them in the washer for over 30 minutes & sweated it out- first, I was afraid they won't shrink enough; then I was worried they would be too small! All that is left to do is put some kind of gripper material on the bottom. I'm going to try this stuff we put on the suede soles of our ghillies (creatively called "Shoe Goo") which keeps the fabric flexible but has great sticking power- I mean, I'd hate to see Chris go sliding across the kitchen floor when he sneaks in to get ice cream in the middle of the night!

I haven't talked about the garden lately. As I was telling Tani, I finally got all the plants I bought back in July & August for the front bed in the ground- so far, nothing has died but it still looks a little sparse. My crazy white dahlia is still kicking out blossoms, though each one gets smaller; but since they started out dinner-plate sized, they are not really all that small! I was planning on planting in reds, oranges & yellows for fall, but somehow ended up back with pink, fushia & purple. The vegetables are doing well; the "kudzu" Lemon Cucumber as taken off across the lawn, & is putting out 6 or 7 a week; the string beans I thought I was going to have to pull up & start over are finally producing some tasty beans; & my bell pepper, while they look funnny (more like chilies then bells) taste good & don't cook up slimey. Here's a pic of what I harvested this morning- I'm off to farmer's market for honey & walnuts, then to knitting to work on a new pair of socks for me!

Just to let everyone know, I now have dual-citizenship at MSN Spaces & Blogger- I will be posting the same entries on both pages, though Blogger is stripped down until I figure out pictures. No, I'm not leaving Spaces- I like the things I can do here, I haven't had the problems many others have had, & I like being a part of this community. I only do this so my blogging friends who do have problems with Spaces can visit (it does load much faster, but not as many options to novices like me) You can find it at http://megs-garden.blogspot.com/- have a great evening!

Validation

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 02:12:41 GMT

Yeah!!! Three comments on my site- I secretly feared I would be talking to myself, which wouldn't be terribly surprising since I haven't told anyone I know about my space, & besides, I'm known for having extended discussions while alone (hey, it's one way of guaranteeing intelligent conversation!) Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.

A fellow knitter asked about the sweater I'm making. The one I'm working on now is for my supervisor's future grandbaby, due this fall. I work in a very small accounting dept, three people to be exact, including my supervisor. The other lady, Cindy, & I are experienced knitters & our supervisor is a rank beginner. She admired a baby sweater I made & said she wanted to make one. I gave her the pattern, helped her buy the yarn & said to let me know if she needed help. Then, Cindy & I bought more yarn & are knitting the sweater together as a surprise. I don't have a picture of the one in progress, but I included the one I finished.

I have to show off some family stuff, now. I am one of six siblings, ranging from 46 to 29, & for the most part, we are a singlularly unproductive bunch. I have 3 children, & my older brother has an 18 year old son who I saw once when he was 2 weeks old. The others either don't want children or haven't gotten around to it. My husband, on the other hand, has one brother, Dave. He stated about nine years ago "I don't do babies- marriage & family just isn't in the plan" ... you guessed it: within a year he met & married a great woman (think Jenna Elfman in Dharma & Greg but not quite as cosmic) & discovered the joy of parenthood, in spades. Mary is 8, Bailey is 7, Parker is 4 & last week we added -

Conversation with mother-in-law:

Me: Do we have Baby?

MIN: We have Baby! Boy, 8lbs 13 oz, 20 3/4 in, lots of hair...

Me: What's the secret name? (They never tell us before hand)

MIN: We don't know.

Me: We, as in a royal We, meaning you don't know?

MIN: No, no one does- they didn't get around to it yet.

Me: Oh. Well, let me know...

Conversation with Mama Kristy:

Me: Hey- how you feeling? (This one was C-section due to dermoid tumor)

Kristy: Pretty good, but sick of being in bed.

Me: So, any name yet?

Kristy: Mostly. Tristan is definitely the first name, but the middle name...

Me: What are the choices?

Kristy: I like Walker, Mom like Kiern, but Dave said he wants Xaviar!

Me: Huh?! Where did that come from? (We're mostly German, Swedish, English/Irish/Scots- pretty much most of Western Europe)

Kristy: Well, he's been watching the World Cup... I guess it is different!

Me: Make sure you sign him up for Tae Kwan Do ASAP!

No fear- reason prevailed, so may I present my newest nephew- Tristan Walker! This was my favorite picture so far- it won't be long before he fits that sweater.