Knitting

Time, Green Growing Things

June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

TIME OUT

I feel like I’m falling down on the job – I haven’t posted since Sunday, not for a lack of postable material, but it’s SO hard to pull myself away from the other things that I love and that make me so happy. I feel so blessed to be at this point in my life, the point where if I want to spend the entire day baking or painting or knitting or reading or anything else that catches my rather short attention span I can, and it’s ok.

GREEN LEAFY STUFF

The plants that Mr. Iknead and I managed to put out before the rains hit are thriving like crazy, leafing and budding and flowering. It’s been raining here off and on, mostly on, since last Thursday, with some bad storms with high winds and torrential rain. No tornados and no hail, thank goodness, but things are a muddy mess. I know that we’ll all be crying for rain by the time August rolls around, but today, a little sunshine would be welcomed. I took these today between rain showers-

Basil is growing like a house afire. In the narrow box is more basil that took root after I thinned the ones in the clay pots.

I love my begonias! My mother loved begonias and at first, I got them because they reminded me of her. Now, I’ve fallen in love with them, too.

This is our first time with a butterfly bush, I think it’s doubled in size over the past week. It’s a keeper for sure.

PARTING SHOT

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. Albert Einstein

Knitting

Room, I Need More Room

June 8, 2014June 8, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

MORE ROOM, PLEASE

My idea awhile ago to devote Sunday posts to spinning hasn’t played out, mostly because my spinning/knitting/yarn room has, for the last couple of weeks, been doubling as an art journal room, with a table and a rolling bin taking up what was left of the floor space and very little, if any, spinning has occurred. Mr. Iknead and I are working on freeing up more space in another room, but moving stuff around creates a domino effect and before we know it, rearranging one room leads to rearranging another, and another, and on and on.

THE DOCUMENTED LIFE PROJECT

TDL is the culprit for the abovementioned difficulty. My art journal is growing fatter and fatter. I’m not sure it’s going to make it though the remaining 28 weeks without major surgery or at the very least, a cover transplant. A small price, I say, since I love working on it so much. i’ve been practicing drawing faces for the past few days. Up until now, I’ve collaged most of my pages, but after seeing other members’ journal posts, i decided to give it a whirl. I did this one today-

I sketched her, then painted her using watercolors.

So that’s what I’ve been up to these past few days. How about you?

PARTING SHOT

Wisdom begins in wonder. Socrates

Knitting

Final Frontier and the Crazy Yarn Lady

June 6, 2014June 5, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

STATION IDENTIFICATION

Mr. Iknead loves space stuff, I like space stuff and so when he somehow learned that the International Space Station was going to pass over our house this evening, naturally we had to check it out. It’s an absolutely perfect, beautiful evening, not a cloud or haze to be seen and just a minute or two behind schedule, sure enough, we saw it. I was awed. Really, I was. Think about it, it’s moving 17,150 miles per hour, 230 miles up and we could see it, and there are people living up there. Really. Amazing. As someone who remembers John Glenn’s flight, it never really gets routine, this space thing. So, yeah, the crazy yarn lady was standing out in the dark, in her pjs, looking up, marveling at how bright it was and how fast it traveled. Just think, it all started with those Wright boys, whose neighbors probably called them crazy, too.

The ISS crossing the Terminator

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. Jawaharlal Nehru

Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Booklove and Paisley

June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

My Cable and Pleat Tunic is once again on the needles, after starting and then frogging three times. I’m hoping that this attempt is THE one and I’ll finally see real progress.

MORE CRAFTINESS

I decided to I needed some kind of jar or pot to store the assorted brushes, pencils and markers that are accumulating quickly on my craft table. I love paisley- bet you didn’t know that about me- and decided to experiment with some paisley shapes and a straight sided glass jar. It’s not finished, I plan to cover the jar completely with paisley and then outline to make them stand out. Here’s what I have so far-

Yeah, I can see that outlining them is going to be a must to delineate the paisley shapes.

BOOKLOVE

I just finished Maeve Binchy’s A Week in Winter yesterday and it was OK. I enjoyed it, but probably won’t pick it up to read again. Admittedly, it was a departure for me, I generally go for nonfiction or horror or crime novels. Still, I liked it enough to finish it.

FIRST TIME

This morning was the first time I’ve been able to enjoy my coffee and newspaper on the patio. Birdsong and cool breezes, coffee and newspaper=perfect place to spend the morning. Crazy good.

Linking with Tami, Ginny and Frontier Dreams today.

Who we are never changes. Who we think we are does. Mary Almanac

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Knitting

Pottery, Sad and a Table

June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

MY POTTERY

My least favorite thing about throwing pots is the glazing, mostly, I think, because glazing is something that cannot be rushed if you want a good result. With me, it’s sort of a chicken and egg thing: am I not good at it because I don’t enjoy it or do I not enjoy it because I’m not good at it? Anyway, a few weeks ago I got busy at the glaze table and these pots are the result. For the first time, I’m actually happy with how they turned out. I took my time on this bunch and it paid off, I know I was more thoughtful and patient, thinking out the process with regard to colors and how I wanted each piece to look when finished.

WHA….?

Sadly, the Cable and Pleat Tunic is not going well. I frogged it for about the third time last night when I just couldn’t get the stitch count to jibe. After frogging, I put it away until this morning, when I was much fresher and in a much better mood. Come to find out, I had miscounted way back in the casting on, with 38 extra stitches. No wonder it didn’t work! I’m getting ready to cast on again; wish me luck!

CREATIVE MINDS AND ALL THAT

I thought I’d give you a look where all some of my crafty stuff hangs out. I console myself with the quote, “Creative minds are rarely tidy.” Mr. Iknead avoids this room like the plague, but I like being able to see my stuff. I have a feeling that our housekeeper is going to hyperventilate when she gets a look. A warning sign on the door might be in order.

All serious daring starts from within. Harriet Beecher Stowe

Knitting

With An Umbrella And Everything

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

LOVE THIS

It finally stopped raining and we were able to step outside and enjoy our newest patio purchase:

It was a long time coming and I predict many, many happy hours. Next on the purchase list: a glider and a wading pool for the grands. This will be a perfect spot to work on my art journal and my knitting projects. I might even bring Violet, the spinning wheel, out for some fresh air every now and then!

PARTING SHOT

Can I help it if I’m easily entertained??

E=mc2. Albert Einstein

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Knitting

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!

June 1, 2014May 31, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

SHRUG IT OFF!

My Harmonica is finished! I was geared for an all nighter, I was so ready for it to be done, but had it finished and ends woven in by about 10 p.m. Babymama was nice enough to model it so I could get a photo.

The shrug turned out really well, don’t you think? Babymama is a great model – she makes everything she wears special! Her little hitchhiker is Charlotte Faith, due the first week in August.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of algebra. Unknown

Knitting

Still Documenting

May 31, 2014May 30, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

TDL

Still going strong with The Documented Life art journal. I started about 12 weeks late, after reading about it on a blog I follow. I finally got caught up last week and while I’m not working on it as obsessively as I was when I was trying to catch up, I find myself doing page prep and trying out new ideas and techniques off and on during the day. Honestly, I don’t think “techniques” is the right word for what I do. It’s more like “I wonder what would happen if……” I love doing this stuff! Taking part in this project has shown me my inner artist – the one I didn’t know I had. Here are some of my pages –

Monochromatic Challenge

This challenge was to ask someone else to start on my drawing, then I was to finish it. Mr. Iknead started with a drawing of his iPad. I couldn’t get the image of a theater ticket or the idea of a premier out of my head and this was what developed.

Draw A House Challenge

I saw a pin of some crooked pottery houses and pinned it with the intention of trying the idea out in my pottery class. Guess the images stayed with me.

PARTING SHOT

If the good people, in their wisdom, shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined. Abraham Lincoln

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Knitting

Good to Go, Rain Rain Go Away

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

I received the yarn for my My Harmonica Shrug yesterday, but in spite of my best intentions, it didn’t get finished. Today is another day, though, it could transform from WIP into a FO; technically, the day’s not over until midnight, right? I frogged the Cable and Pleat Tunic and restarted this time without the twist. That’s what distracted me from My Harmonica. I promised Harmonica that I absolutely, positively will not work on any other project until it’s finished. Yes, I talk to my knitting all the time, most of the time nicely, but there have been moments….

GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS

The good news is that the patio is finished and we’ve purchased a table, an umbrella and four great chairs to go with it. We’ve also gotten most of the plants in the ground and so far, they all seem to be doing well. We have a couple of different begonias, impatiens, lamb’s ear, butterfly bush and coral bells in the flower bed, with just a couple more to plant, a redbud that a friend gave me and an oakleaf hydrangea from another friend. The bad news is that it has rained for the last three days, so all the lovely furniture we’re so anxious to use is sitting in the garage, waiting for the sun to come out. When I checked the forecast this morning, it said rain and thunder showers continuing through Sunday. Crap. I hope it’s wrong. The other bad news is that Mr. Iknead’s back went out yesterday, due, I’m sure, to all the stooping, squatting and lifting he’s done over the past week or so. He had a rough afternoon yesterday, I hope he’s better today. Poor thing.

PARTING SHOT

The newest Yarnbox arrived earlier in the week and here’s what it contained – Two skeins of Fingerpaints Supersock Self Striping from Cherry Tree Hill Yarn, 100% superwash merino, in Java Jive. I have only three words – It. Feels. Amazing.

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. Chinese Proverb

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Knitting

Arghhhhhhh

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

DANG

While I’m waiting for the yarn to arrive to complete the My Harmonica Shrug, I decided to go ahead and start this. I had the yarn, I had the needles, I had the pattern and I even did a gauge swatch. The pattern starts out CO 338 stitches. Place marker and join in the round. Knit five rounds, purl one round. It’s working, everything looks to be fine, right stitch count, etc. I don’t have to tell you how many stitches are in six rounds of 338. Anyway, as I’m putting this new project to bed (I try to sort things out a little, make sure I know where to start when I next pick it up, looking for dropped stitches, just making sure I have no nasty surprises the next day, stuff like that). Anyhow, (you fiber artists already know what I’m going to say next, don’t you?) I saw that it was twisted. Oh no, please no!!!!!! Yeah, twisted. At 11 p.m., I frogged what I’d knitted and started casting those 338 stitches on, again. Maybe my Fyberspates will arrive today, sigh. Here’s what it looked like before frogging –

See the gauge swatch?

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. Leo Tolstoy

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Patio, Hello Beautiful

May 28, 2014June 1, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

See that little ball in the photo? That’s all the yarn I have left and the Harmonia Shrug just isn’t. quite. finished. All that’s left is adding ribbing to the other sleeve, binding off and finishing with a tiny ruffle. Luckily, for once I saw this coming and was able to order one more skein from a yarn shop in the UK. I’ll have nearly an entire skein left over, but I can definitely see the rest transformed into gift(s) this fall. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, as they say.

OUTSIDE

Our patio upgrade/redo is FINALLY finished and are we enjoying it! We’ve had our coffee outside on it for the last few days and have relaxed in the late afternoons with our respective cold drinks and iPads. Totally worth the $ and frustration. We have plans tomorrow to start shopping for an umbrella table and a swing.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL

Here’s my most recent picture of Babydiva, who grows more gorgeous all the time.

Babydiva and doggy sister, Bela

This may be my all-time favorite photo of my son and his daughter, sharing homework time. I have a phenomenal son, who is also a phenomenal husband and father and this sweet photo proves it over and over.

PARTING SHOT

Our only chick in the nest now, Josie, who is always right in the thick of things. She was very put out that her daddy went inside for two seconds and shut the door before she could follow.

Linking with Frontier Dreams, Ginny’s Yarn Along and Tami.

I admit to having an imagination feverish enough to melt good judgment. Dean R. Koontz

Knitting

Put The Knead In iknead2knit, Par-Tay

May 22, 2014May 23, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

OK, TECHNICALLY

There was no kneading involved, but I did try out a new cake recipe today, a Cinnamon Roll Cake and yep, it’s exactly what it says, a 9×13 inch homemade cinnamon roll. Yeah, it’s totally drool producing and will be put into the regular recipe population that hangs out above the microwave in my kitchen. You can check it out here. Mine isn’t as pretty as the one on the website, but who can take time to take photos when something smells so wonderful??

OOPSY

It’s brought to my attention that I haven’t blogged about Susannah’s birthday party. Thank you, dear daughter, for putting a guilt trip on me. I guess that because I blogged about her actual birthday, her party was a few days later, blogging about the party never occurred to me. My bad.

The party was a huge success, thanks to the Herculean imagination and efforts of Bigmommy. The Papoose wanted a rainbow birthday party and that’s what her mommy pulled off, making it look easy.

There was a Rainbow Cake

Six SEPARATE layers, BTW, to go on Rainbow Plates. There were games, Pin the Cloud on the Rainbow and Musical Cloud

There were presents and balloons!

Given Bigmommy’s balloon phobia, she went above and beyond. There were friends and streamers

And sisters and cousins, an aunt and uncle

(This is Babydiva’s mommy, Babymama, with newest cousin, Charlotte, on board! She is expected to arrive the first week in August.

We can’t forget the Queen’s chair or the Rainbow Arch!

But you know what was the absolute, best fun of the whole thing? Being a family, all together, aunts, uncles, moms and dads, grandma and grandpa and cousins, with more than enough love and friendship to go around.