Tag: Albert Einstein

Knitting

A Spinning Sunday, July 4

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INTO THE DYEPOT

I’ve finally gotten around to dyeing the last bit of roving that’s been hanging around Violet, looking so sad.  It’s been so long since I started spinning it that I can’t remember where it came from or even what type fiber it is.  I know it’s wool, but what kind, no clue.  Maybe when I get in there I’ll get lucky and figure it out.  Wish me luck!  Found it!  It’s superwash merino.  Meanwhile, here is a look into the dyepot.

imageJacquard Acid Dye

Sky Blue

INDEPENDENCE DAY GRANDS

We had a big cookout for the holiday, unfortunately, I took no pictures because my camera was kind of inaccessible, in the same room that JosiePug is banished to whenever the little ones visit.  Unhappily, she’s not good with the kids – not because she doesn’t like them, but because she loves them TOO much, jumping and running and just generally being way too much pug for them.  She still outweighs the two littlest grands and 20 pounds of Josie goes a long way.  We still hope for the time that we can ALL enjoy each other, but until then, we keep them apart.  I do have some photos from the concert and fireworks at the river that night that Bigmommy and Babymama were nice enough to share.

Lots of dancing and flag waving!

PARTING SHOT

Hand Study

Albrecht Durer

If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z.  Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

On a Tuesday

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TUESDAYS

Anyone remember the Seinfeld schtick about how Tuesdays just don’t have a “feel”?  A feel as in “Mondays have a let down feel, just coming off the weekend and all; Wednesdays have a definite, halfway to the weekend feel; Thursdays carry that almost Friday and the end of the work week feel; and then that incredible Friday feel, which needs no explanation.  Poor Tuesday, with no real “feel”, except maybe the “at least it’s not Monday” feel.  This really isn’t going anywhere, just some random thoughts that run through my head, taking up some of the short term memory circuits until another totally random thought moves in and hangs out for a while.

TDL UPDATE

Week 25 Challenge

Cover Your Page with Hearts

One of my favorites so far!

More information on The Documented Life Project can be found here.

*MOMM

Here’s a look at my latest independent mixed media project-

As usual, this one has a bit of everything, paper, buttons, stamps, stencils, just whatever strikes my fancy at that particular moment.  Mixed media has taught me that the concept of art is very, very fluid, with no right or wrong way to create.  I totally LOVE that!

*My Own Mixed Media

PARTING SHOT

The only real valuable thing is intuition.  Albert Einstein


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Knitting

With An Umbrella And Everything

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LOVE THIS

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

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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

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

E=mc2.  Albert Einstein 

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Knitting

Cray Cray Christmas, Life Change

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WHEW!

Our (usual) cray cray Christmas has come and gone and from the pics, we were all very very good the past year.  What was the best part?  The Iknead/Coleman/Vaughan family had not one, but two Christmases, The Iknead/Vaughans in the morning and the Iknead/Coleman/Vaughans in the evening.

We went to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service:

Where I learned that hearing a precious three year old grand singing “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” will move me to tears, then and now; reminding me of the joy of the real gifts of Christmas, past, present and future.  (Excuse me, I need a tissue).

  Bigdaddy, as always, set a beautiful table for us Christmas morning:

Again, the food was delish and the company, delightful!

We had a visit from Santa:

and were able to squeeze in a Christmas snuggle or two:

Babydaddy was gracious enough to play Santa for Round 2:

I finally can post a Christmas knitting FO:

Babydaddy’s Handknit Socks

Santa made another stop at Babydiva’s house:

and found that Babydiva had also been very good!

What’s the over the top, greatest thing ever, long time coming and more than well deserved gift for all of the family this Christmas season?  Are you sitting down?

(Cue the fanfare)

Mr. Iknead is retired as of December 19, 2013!  Retired as in the ceremonial turning off of the alarm clock, sitting around, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee in the morning and what shall I do today retired.

Congratulations, sweetie!  You’ve more than earned it!  I can’t wait to get started on this new life chapter with you!

More to follow………

When the solution is simple, God is answering.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 12/11/13, Bee Stamp, Booklove

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NOT OBSESSED, JUST REALLY, REALLY FOCUSED

As so often happens with me, I got a really good idea along with my coffee and newspaper this morning and as usual, I had to pull out all my other crafting stuff and sort through everything to find what I was obsessed with focused on right then.  The stamp I use to identify my pottery projects bit the dust last week and my big idea was to change from an initial stamp (my initials, bc) to a honeybee mark.  So, back to the idea, I found some Sculpey clay, found a honeybee charm in the craft stash and pressed it in.  Then, I remembered I had some honeybee earrings, so I got one of those and did the same thing.  The next step is deciding which one to use.  I’m sort of leaning toward the charm, I don’t want a cutesy bee, more like a zoological print look.  Which do you prefer?

Just realized there is no contest.  The bigger one is better on all counts.  And they say size doesn’t matter :p.  Here is a better detailed photo:

Upside down.  Oops.

ON THE NEEDLES

Tina Martinez’s Fascine Socks, using Fiesta Baby Boom yarn in Sweet Pea.  My only regret is that I didn’t by more of this yarn when I had a chance.  I’m not running short or anything like that, I just love it.

A little detail

BY THE BOOK

Driftless, by David Rhodes

Linking today with Tami, Frontier Dreams Keep Calm and Craft On and Ginny’s Knit A Long.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination circles the world.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 11/13/13

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ON THE NEEDLES

From Quince & Company, this scarf:

Scapula, done in Lark yarn, color Bird’s Egg, 100% American wool

This has to be in my top ten fave projects, both the pattern and the yarn.  Though I prefer to “buy local” to support my LYS, I have to admit that Quince & Co. has turned my head a time or two.

Another couple of projects, both Hitchhiker shawls, are still on the needles also, but progress is slow and nearly imperceptible.  I’ll spare you the nearly identical pics.   Hopefully, they’ll join the ranks of FOs in the next week or so.

Linking with Tami and Frontier Dreams.

Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

Looky here, Grands and Cookies

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LOOK WHAT I MADE!

A very kind friend donated some fabric scraps a couple of weeks ago when she found out I was doing some crafty sewing – we’re talking high end stuff.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’d forgotten all about them, which happens a lot around here.  It doesn’t help that I have fabric and yarn and quite a bit of found stuff that I found intriguing and brought home from who knows where.  Really, I do know where, I find stuff on my walks all.the.time. Stuff I can’t resist picking up and examining, always wondering about the backstory.  My children keep reminding me that this is how hoarders get started.  But I digress.  Backing it up…  I started digging around in some fabric that I had laid aside a while ago and found this really cool upholstery fabric.  Thanks Jean!  Look what I made!

A new needle roll to corral at least a few of the (knitting) needles I have at any given time close to hand.

Here’s a look at the outside

A peek inside

I put a big pocket on the end to hold circulars

Rolled up

I like it!

THE GRANDS

I had the joy of one on one time with a couple of the grands yesterday – The Sprout and I, along with Babymama and Babydiva, visited the library for Book Babies and a good time was had by all.  Books, babies, songs, rhymes, it was so fun!  I probably had more fun than anyone else.  Sometimes, my enthusiam embarrasses my kids, but my grands love it  and I have no plans to scale back any time soon.

After lunch, I put the Sprout down for a nap and the Papoose and I made chocolate chip cookies, best I’d ever tasted!  I took pictures:

Just getting started – modeling her apron

Making sure the sugar is still sweet

Ready to scrape the bowl

Pretty close to perfect, Susie says.

One more scrape

The Closing Ceremonies

There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

Try To Relax, Willya?

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SPIN

A couple of things:  spinning is work, especially if you’re a newbie.  My treadle leg is tired today.  It also seems to have a steep learning curve.  I’ve been practicing and just this morning felt like I might be getting a handle on it, at least the treadling part.  If my hands are going correctly, I forget to treadle.  If my treadling is working, I forget about my hands.  But I think I’m improving….maybe…..just a little.  I’d taken a pic of my first (presentable) yarn – all one yard of it, but Flickr apparently is having a snit and won’t let me upload.  I’ll try again later.  What a brat.

OK, Flickr is back in my good graces.

THE GRANDS

We have tickets for tomorrow morning for a Kindersong performance and I personally am pretty jacked up about it.  I think it will be right up Babydiva and the Papoose’s alley, with lots of audience participation and familiar songs.  One of the coolest things is that Kindersongs is a husband and wife team, they’re local and before they launched Kindersongs, Mr. Kinder was a teacher and taught music to both Bigmommy and Babydaddy.  I think it’s really neat that my kids have a link to them and now, their kids will have one too.  Of course, any time we spend with the grands is precious and they’re just now getting to the age where they like to actually do things, and love to take part in anything musical and/or silly.  I hope we can get some pics.

PHOTOSHOOT

Our shoot at the beach turned out to be fabulous.  As soon as I can get a DVD burned, I’ll be posting some vacay pics.  What a difference a pro photog makes!  The weather cooperated (yay) and in a couple, everyone is actually looking in the same direction.  Do you know how hard it is to get three babies to look at the same thing?  One was always throwing sand, one was always eating sand and one simply got sick and tired of having her picture taken.  Kudos to the photographer!  Oh, I almost forgot, all our clothing matched, thanks to Bigmommy and Babymama.  I was a little skeptical about that, but it really turned out well.  I’ll  start listening to their suggestions more, maybe.

SUMPIN’S GOTTA GIVE

I decided today to put a lot of my projects on the backburner and concentrate on just one or two things.  Today, especially, I’ve felt a little overwhelmed; I want to work on everything but end up frustrated because I can’t seem to concentrate long enough to anything but screw up, much less finish something.  Knitting and reading – still in the game.  Everything else – in time out for at least a few days, until I can get my feet back under me.  Pinterest will be the death of me, I swear.

There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other as if everything is.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting
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THAT GIANT SUCKING SOUND

is time going down the drain as I’ve been wrestling with widgets.  No joke, I started trying to get some new media buttons up and running on this blog on Saturday, though I really can’t swear to it, since it’s all sort of run together as far as time is concerned.  Since I’m technochallenged, it may take me hours to figure out how do one thing.  When the support tutorials start talking about plugins, downloads and zip files, they lose me because I don’t have any kind of grasp on computerese, I just don’t know what they’re talking about and am totally intimidated.  No matter, today,  I finally got things just the way I want them and  can start obsessing over something else.  I’d love to have some feedback, let me know what you think.

POTTING

Monday is pottery class day, with much anticipation during the week.  I enjoy everyone – including Teach (as Leslie refers to her), we laugh A LOT and talk A LOT, all while working with clay, stretching it, extruding it, rolling it and yes, sometimes beating it into submission.  I’m going to raku the pot below, firebug that I am.  Can’t wait!

Same pot, other side.

WTH?

Me and about a million other people are having Flickr issues.  Can’t upload, queue frozen on iPhone.  See above paragraph.

I’m linking up with Frontier Dreams KCCO today.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is to not stop questioning.  Albert Einstein

Knitting

FO Friday Quickie

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OFF THE NEEDLES, INTO FO FRIDAYVILLE

I cast off Laura Spradlin’s Grrlfriend Market Bag yesterday, just in time for pics and this week’s FO Friday post.  Super pattern, super bag.  Nice and stretchy to hold whatever you fancy.  I had some orphan balls of Sugar and Cream, so that’s what they became.  My only thumbs down on this project is that personally, Sugar and Cream yarn is really hard on the joints in my hands.  Much of this is just age related arthritis, but every time I knit with Sugar and Cream or any other 100% cotton yarn, my hands suffer and I can only do a few rows at a time before taking a break to let my hands rest.  Other than that, I’m really happy with how this project turned out.

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Grrlfriend Market Bag

Don’t forget to visit Tami Ami’s FO Friday blog for more FO inspiration!

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

DITD, Book Love, Birthday Girl, FO Friday

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WHAT’S UP

I’ve been a tad down in the dumps the last few days or so, nothing spectacular and nothing that makes me want to stay in bed with the covers pulled over my head, just a mild case of long sighs and dysmotivation*.  I should tell you that there’s no real reason for this dumpy mood, except maybe that my calendar says spring, the clothes catalogues say spring and last week one day it was 70 degrees, but the last few days have been cold and windy.  Windy to the point that power was out in some parts of the city.  Thankfully, we didn’t lose power, that might have pushed me right over the edge and I would have been forced to go buy a pair of sandals or a new pocketbook or something.  Dodged that bullet.

BY THE BOOK

I’m continuing my love affair with the writings of John Steinbeck with Travels with Charley. I’m late to the party with this particular one and am thoroughly enjoying this travelogue. This affair all started with East of Eden, first in a Reader’s Digest condensed book, so long ago I can’t remember the year or my age. I’m pretty certain it was junior high, around 1968 or so. Later, I filled in the blanks (it was a condensed book, remember) with a paperback from some school book club, probably Scholastic. Remember the Scholastic book club?  I lived for the days they handed out the new Scholastic book catalogues and would study them for days, making lists of the ones I wanted.  Even so many years ago, it was always “so many books, so little time”.  I got into trouble more than once for hiding a book inside another book in class, just because I needed to finish “just one more page, I promise”.

Travels with Charley in Search of America

YOU BET I’M PROUD

I usually am tooting my own horn over the grands and I will, later in this post, but I want to share how proud I am of my big girls, my daughter and my daughter in law, Bigmommy and Babymama.  They’ve both started blogs and mentioned me as their inspiration.  Teared me right up, it did.  So, pop over to The Mommy Life 101: Welcome to Motherhood and wife*mother*disciple and see why I’m usually awestruck by these two young women and their accomplishments.

IT’S BABYDIVA’S DAY

Three hundred sixty five days ago, Mr. Iknead and I were up in Labor and Delivery, anxiously awaiting the birth of another precious granddaughter.  Needless to say, we weren’t disappointed and happily added Babydiva to the growing roster of grands.  So much happens in a year and I forget how quickly babies grow and change,

from this

to this

to this

Happy First Birthday Babydiva!

FINALLY FO FRIDAY

Lolita Vest

Lolita vest

I think it turned out nicely.  I wearing it today, again.

Don’t forget to check out Tami Ami’s blog for more FO Friday treats.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.  For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.  Albert Einstein

*Dysmotivation – a word I made up to describe the feeling of not wanting to do anything resembling most definitions of productivity and being compelled instead to read, watch trash TV and surf Rav.

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