Tag: blog

Knitting

WIP 3/12/14, Booklove

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ON THE NEEDLES

The Kew socks are so close to being finished I can taste it. For once, I’ve held my raging startitis in check and will start a new project without feeling guilty about the number of projects relegated to the “back burner” or in my case, “the bag pitched into the deepest, darkest recesses of my yarn room”.

BOOKLOVE

I finished A Land Kinder Than Home by Wiley Cash and am set to start Paris in Love, by Eloisa James.  Enjoyed the Wiley Cash, but didn’t love it.  It’s a fictional account of snake handling, murder, religion and what happens when they collide.  Entertaining, but probably not a repeater.

GRANDS

This photo says everything you need to know about the Sprout; her cute factor is always first and foremost.  I’ve gotten good at changing diapers on the fly!

Linking with Tami and KCCO today.

Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.  Jane Austen

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 2/19/14, SCORE!, Ancient Kitty

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ON THE NEEDLES

A couple of socks, as usual.  I didn’t notice that I was using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock for both, it must be love!

Grace, from Knitty, Winter 2011

LLSS Flame

Wendy Johnson’s Catnip Socks

LLSS Wonderstone

 WELL WHADDAYANO!

Remember when I mentioned Phat Fiber and their sample box sale that I was going to try to get, along with most of the other fiber fiends on the planet, having come up short the last time I tried?  I blogged it here.  They open the sale twice on sale day – at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and are usually sold out within (no kidding) a couple of minutes.  I struck out at the 10 a.m. sale, but scored at the one at 5 p.m.  I was so surprised when the site sent me to paypal after I scored a box, it took me a minute to realize what had happened.  Now, I’m anxiously awaiting the mailman/Fedex/UPS person to see what’s in this wondrous box.  Check back for updates!

BOAT

This is the Iknead kitty, *Boat.  She is ancient as far as cats go, 19 to 20 years old, as close as we can figure.  She been a family member since 1995 and was about a year old when she joined us.  She’s arthritic, with high blood pressure and an enlarged heart but keeps on keeping on.  Anyway, I noticed her sleeping in one of her preferred spots yesterday and was struck by the sun shining pink through her ear. She was beautiful.

*As a kitten, she was found living on a friend’s boat which was in drydock and covered for the winter.  She started out as Boat Cat, which was quickly shortened to Boat.  We get a lot of funny looks when we tell people her name.

Hooking up this week with Tami and KCCO.

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.  Confucius

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Knitting

Guess What Day It Is!, No Excuse and Read This Book

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“GUESS

What day it is!” says the hysterically funny camel on the commercial.  Never get tired of that one, makes me giggle every time.  No camels here, promise.  Today is the scheduled delivery day for this – my newest knitting acquisition:

A Baby Brother drum carder.  So, once again, I’m running a marathon between my front door and my knitting chair, jumping up and checking every time I hear or even think I hear a big truck in my neighborhood.  Can you tell I’m excited?

Much as I love spinning, I hate hand carding, prompting this newest purchase.  I still have a TON of alpaca from the Diamond State Fiber Fest that’s clean and ready to card and eventually, to spin.  Come on, mailman/Fedex man/UPS man!  Stop at my house!!!!

TIME FLIES

I knew it had been a while since my last post, six days, in fact and besides just laziness when I’m not caught up in regular daily stuff, I have no excuse.  For some reason, blogging just hasn’t been on my radar lately.  I think about doing it all the time, even jot down blog ideas, but for the past week or so, that’s as far as it’s gone.  (Gives herself a good talking to about idle hands being the devil’s workshop and all that).

BY THE BOOK

Best book I’ve read since I don’t know when:  The World’s Strongest Librarian.  Seriously.  Awesome. Book.   Run, don’t walk to wherever you get books and give it a preview.  I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me. (No joke).

TODAYS FEATURED GRAND

Babydiva letting Babydaddy share the stage –

A rare moment of stillness.  Is she beautiful or what?

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.  Napoleon Hill

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Knitting

Short and Sweet

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I’M BACK

With such a difficult week last week, I’ve let my blog slide and I can tell.  I’ve missed blogging and reading other’s blogs.  It’s good to be back.

GOING POTTY

Again, with all that’s gone on the last couple of weeks, I totally forgot to show off my first photoworthy wheel thrown pots.  So, without further ado, here they are.

Today’s a pottery class day.  Hopefully, I’ll have something to show off by the end of class – if I can remember to take a picture!

We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.  Aristotle

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Knitting

This Is A Tough One

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If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that my mom has suffered from dementia for several years.  It’s not something I blog about usually, mostly due to my mom’s extremely private nature, but also because my blog is one of my “happy places” and nothing about dementia is happy.  At times, it’s funny  because sometimes, all you can do is laugh, but it’s more often heartbreaking to see a loved one slip away, but continue to be present in body.  That being said; my mom passed away early yesterday morning from her disease.   I’ll miss my mother, even though at times we had a “prickly” relationship, but I like to think that in recent years both of us had mellowed and were able to enjoy each others company more often than not.

Again, I’ll miss my mom, but truly, her death was a release and a relief.

I love you, Mom.  R.I.P.

Life is an adventure in forgiveness.  Norman Cousins

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Knitting

Such An Honor

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THANK YOU

Soknitsome has honored me by nominating me for a WordPress Family Award.  This is something I love about blogging, making connections with others, which in turn makes all of us better that we originally were.  Thank you soknitsome, again, I’m honored.

Since turnabout is fair play, I’m nominating a few bloggers that I’m particularly inspired and/or moved by.  They are (in no particular order):

1.  speckledblue

2. february12

3. at350degrees

4.  for the knit of it

5.  flaws and all

6.  harmonic oscillator knits

7. pixelknitsponderings

8. Row’s Pottery Shed

9. uknit2

10. …my spare moments

Should my nominees be inclined to pass on this award, there are just five simple guidelines to follow:

1.  Display the award logo on your blog.

2. Link back to the person who nominated you.

3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family.

4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them.

5. That’s all.  Please just pick 10 bloggers who have taken you as a friend and feel the love.

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.  Joseph Clinton Pearce

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Knitting

One for the History Books, An Honor, An Award

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ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

The 2013 Coleman family reunion bash has come and gone and I think it’s safe to say it was a unqualified success. Everyone played nice (but we always do) with lots of baby admiring, kid chasing, laughter, way too much food and just all around catching up. I’ll be posting pics for a while, there are at least a couple hundred, but don’t worry, I’ve no intention of subjecting you to photo after photo of people, places or things that are only interesting to the people actually in the picture. First, though, I finally got a pic of the Sprout in the Olivia Petit sweater. Oh.My.Gosh.

IMG_1801                                        IMG_1810

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Lindsey and Annie – The first twigs on the Coleman Family tree

I can’t believe they have babies of their own now!

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SUCH AN HONOR

I was so surprised and honored to learn that nothingbutknit2 nominated me for a Leibster award.  Keep reading to get the skinny on this very cool award.

The Leibster Award is given by bloggers, to bloggers, and its purpose is to highlight blogs with under 200 followers that deserve a look.  Encouraging people to visit blogs that others enjoy seems like a great initiative.  The rules for the award are pretty straightforward:

1.  Post 11 facts about myself.

2.  Answer the questions given to me by the person who nominated me.

3.  Invent 11 questions to ask people whom I wish to nominate for the award.

4.  Choose 11 people (with fewer than 200 followers) to give this award to and link to them in my post.

5.  Go to their blog and tell them.

My 11 Facts:

1.  I’m an only child.

2.  I have three grandchildren, all girls.

3.  I’ve been married to Mr. Iknead for 33 years.

4.  I am recently retired.

5.  Before I was old and creaky-boned, I was an aerobics teacher.

6.  I’ll try anything once.

7.  I learned to drive on a stick shift.

8.  I’m an unrepentent homebody.

9.  I love to fish – but strictly catch and release.

10. I played bassoon in high school.

11. I love a challenge.

My 11 Nominee Answers

1.  Favorite color?  Any shade of purple.

2.  Childhood punishment?  Spanking.

3.  Favorite book?  A tie – Stephen King’s The Stand and Betty Smith‘s A Tree Grows in  Brooklyn.

4.  Dog or cat?  Both.

5.  Party theme?  Come as your favorite book character.

6.  My favorite actor/actress?  Diane Keaton.

7.  What have I learned recently that surprised me?  People describe me as “artsy”.

8.  Have I ever done anything illegal?  Yep.

9.  Hardest thing ever done?  Ran the eight mile leg of a relay marathon.

10. Title of my autobiography?  Still Crazy After All These Years.

11. Easier to give up chocolate or TV for a week?  Chocolate.

My 11 Nominee Questions:

1.  Fiction or nonfiction?

2.  Favorite dessert?

3.  What was the last book you read?

4.  What’s your favorite music genre?

5.  Do you know how to swim?

6.  What do you have a burning desire to learn?

7.  Birth order?

8.  What’s your guilty pleasure?

9.  What’s your favorite thing to knit?

10. What would be your dream job?

11.  What would be your dream vacation?

My Nominees:

The Mommy Life 101

My Knitting Circle’s Blog

wife*mother*disciple

Your Mess, His Message

Take a few minutes to check out these blogs, I hope you like them as much as I do!

There is no such thing as a “self-made” person….Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.  George Matthew Adams

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Knitting

Goal Met, Sweet Sprout, On to the Next

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ON THE NEEDLES

Yesterday’s goal met, with pictures to prove it!  You can see that Olivia lacks a sleeve and some I-cord to be finished. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, this sweet sweater has been totally worth the hair tearing and project slinging but I’m ready to move on. It sort of seems like a waste to not go ahead and knit another since I seem to have gotten it down but honestly, I need a break. I’m thinking a simple pair of summer socks for Mr. Iknead. He suffered through my Olivia learning curve too!

Front, without buttons.  Anyone have button suggestions?

Back

Love that the color photographed pretty much true on this gray, rainy day!

THE GRANDS

Today, I’m putting the Sprout in the limelight, I think she may have been given short shrift with the recent birthday and Easter.  Her onesie says it all!

Don’t forget to check out Tami’s Amis WIPW blog for more WIP love!

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.  Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)

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Knitting

How Come?

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HOW COME?

How come I’ve suddenly been overtaken by the idea of knitting Easter sweaters for the grands, different styles but identical colors?  How come this idea didn’t occur to me a month ago when there was actually a snowball’s chance in hell that it was doable instead of yesterday afternoon, when there wasn’t?  How come I’m starting to pattern and yarn shop for the above mentioned impossibility?  How come I just downloaded the most precious sweater pattern on the planet (for today anyway) from quince&co. and am scheming a yarn buy in the new few days?  The pattern name is Olivia Petit, designed by Connie Chang Chinchio and don’t you agree with my above assessment?

I know, I know!!  It’s because spring is coming, the sun is shining even though it’s cold and I’m a knitting crazed grandma of three gorgeous granddaughters with delusions of grandeur (me, not the granddaughters)!  I’ve tentatively decided on Knitpicks Comfy Sport, in Honeydew.  The yarn choice could change any second, with my birthday coming up and all but for now, Honeydew it is.

PLUGS

I do want to plug a couple of new sites that I’ve been pointed toward or found on my own this past week or so and have fallen in love with.  I’m usually late to the party, so if this is old news to you, please humor me, pat me on the back and tell me how cutting edge I am : ), please.  First is an Etsy shop called The Sitting Tree, with yarns, patterns and FOs to order and the second is an online shop, Quince & Co., full of knittiness with lovely yarns and precious patterns.  The pointing toward part was from Ginny’s Small Things blog, another new love.  Ya’ll check them out, bet you’ll love them, too.

Be faithful in the small things because it is in them that your strength lies.  Mother Teresa

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Knitting

How Come?

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HOW COME?

How come I’ve suddenly been overtaken by the idea of knitting Easter sweaters for the grands, different styles but identical colors?  How come this idea didn’t occur to me a month ago when there was actually a snowball’s chance in hell that it was doable instead of yesterday afternoon, when there wasn’t?  How come I’m starting to pattern and yarn shop for the above mentioned impossibility?  How come I just downloaded the most precious sweater pattern on the planet (for today anyway) from quince&co. and am scheming a yarn buy in the new few days?  The pattern name is Olivia Petit, designed by Connie Chang Chinchio and don’t you agree with my above assessment?

I know, I know!!  It’s because spring is coming, the sun is shining even though it’s cold and I’m a knitting crazed grandma of three gorgeous granddaughters with delusions of grandeur (me, not the granddaughters)!  I’ve tentatively decided on Knitpicks Comfy Sport, in Honeydew.  The yarn choice could change any second, with my birthday coming up and all but for now, Honeydew it is.

PLUGS

I do want to plug a couple of new sites that I’ve been pointed toward or found on my own this past week or so and have fallen in love with.  I’m usually late to the party, so if this is old news to you, please humor me, pat me on the back and tell me how cutting edge I am : ), please.  First is an Etsy shop called The Sitting Tree, with yarns, patterns and FOs to order and the second is an online shop, Quince & Co., full of knittiness with lovely yarns and precious patterns.  The pointing toward part was from Ginny’s Small Things blog, another new love.  Ya’ll check them out, bet you’ll love them, too.

Be faithful in the small things because it is in them that your strength lies.  Mother Teresa

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Knitting

The one where another blogging New Year’s resolution

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is made.  I’m not setting the bar quite so high this time, instead of blogging every day, I’m going to shoot for twice a week and really learn about how blogging works and why, instead of getting by with minimum knowledge like I have for the past year.  I’ve not made an entry since the middle of October (I had to go back and look), but things are more manageable now, with my mom settled in here in Little Rock and a new routine  established.  So, I’m ready for a new start.

Pictures tomorrow, I hope.

When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said onhis deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.  Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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Uncategorized

The one where I finished

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one of the best books I’ve listened to in a long time:  Dark Places, byGillian Flynn.  It kept me guessing until the very end.  I’m totally addicted to audiobooks, it goes along with my issues of always multi-tasking, but as much as I love them, sometimes I want to feel the weight of a book in my hands and smell the paper and ink.  I’ll probably always be a little old school for books, always on the lookout for odds and ends, my current favorite bookstore is Dickson Street Used Books in Fayetteville.  Can’t make a trip to the ‘ville without dropping by Dickson Street at least once.

I’ve had a challenge the past few weeks keeping up with my blog resolution.  Suffice it to say that that particular goal has fallen by the wayside.  Now I’m happy if I can get one entry posted every few days.  I’ve been running to and from my parents’ house, a three hour drive away, trying to tie up loose ends and just being there for my folks, making sure they’re (somewhat) OK.  All that, coupled with no internet access down in the wilds of southwest Arkansas, has my blogging on the back burner.  Sigh…..

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.  John A. Shedd (1859-1928)

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