Knitting

The one, after a deep breath,

April 10, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

the Brittany Jumper is no more. I decided I just couldn’t live with the crooked eyelets and in the end I’d be much happier just starting over. So that’s what I did.

DD and the Papoose got home to Fayetteville all in one piece. It sure was nice having them around and I wish I could have hidden Susannah away and kept her, but I knew that sooner or later her mom would figure it out. So it was a no go.

Here is the obligatory photo that every blog post must have. So there. Here’s my girls, DD and DDIL. DD is in pink. Aren’t they beautiful?

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.

Knitting

The one where she wants to

April 9, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

self-destruct because six inches into a six and a half inch skirt she’s sees that she’s off two stitches in the eyelet pattern on the Brittany Jumper for Susannah. I kept checking it and checking it but I guess I didn’t do as good a job as I thought. I’m just not believing this and I know that in the grand scheme, this isn’t even on the radar, I mean, it’s no quake, tornado or tsunami, but still…..

I had all my chicks in the nest this weekend and it’s been wonderful. We cooked out and I made two loaves of bread and an apple pie. Now, the main kitchen sink drain is backed up and it’s spewing into the other sink, but we’re all here and healthy and again, it’s not a quake, tornado or tsunami.

Susannah and her Pawpaw –

You know, it’s all good.

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory. Rita Mae Brown

Knitting

The one where she knows why

April 8, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

it’s (usually) the young people who have small children. DD and the Papoose have been here about eight hours now and I’m really, really tired. Totally worth it, but it feels like I’ve run a marathon today. Now, I’ve never run a marathon but I’m pretty sure it feels like this when you get done.

Between playing with Susannah and taking her to Yarn Mart to show her off, as she just happened to be wearing her Pinafore dress, I ran to the grocery store and bought the makings for an apple pie tomorrow. Special order for DD, you see. Don’t get to baby my baby too often anymore.

This is the Papoose aka Susannah and her friend, June, on a playdate last week. (Susannah is in the purple). Precious, precious.

To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship, Thomas Moore (1779-1852)

Knitting

The one where Coupling is

April 6, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

is my featured WIPW offering. Cast on at lunch today and got a few rounds in before I had to go back to the salt mines. Here they are so far

DD, Lindsey, and Susannah AKA Papoose, are coming to Little Rock for the weekend Friday. DSIL, Clefton, has a busy weekend with work, so she decided to come visit. Can’t wait. I’m so hungry to see them both. I’m going to really hunker down with the Brittany Jumper, I’m hopeful that it can be done by the time they’re ready to go back to Fayetteville.

I’ve had a request that I bake some plain whole wheat yeast bread this weekend instead of sourdough, so I’ll probably end up baking both kinds and then have bread coming out of our ears. I usually give most of it away anyhow, always have takers. It’s been a week or so since I’ve baked and my flour jones is starting to wake up. Will try to resist until Friday.

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Knitting

The one where she talks about

April 4, 2011April 4, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

the book she just started, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Just a few pages in, so the jury’s still out but I think it’s going to be a keeper. I do that with books, there are several, both real paper and ink and audiobooks, that I read over and over, savoring. The Stand is one, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is another. Never get enough of those two.

I (finally) truly got going on the Brittany Jumper. It only took me a weekend. My problem was the eyelet pattern around the hem. If you get off even one stitch, then all the eyelets after get all whopperjawed. Since it’s 208 stitches around, well, entire days can be swallowed up in casting on, knitting, swearing, frogging, casting on, knitting, swearing, frogging. You get my drift. Here’s what little I have so far.

A little closer

Here’s the angel I’m knitting it for –

To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.

Knitting

The one where 2KCBWDAY4 asks

March 31, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

where are they now?

The Pinafore Dress is in Fayetteville, AR with Susannah

These socks live in my sock drawer here in Little Rock

So do these

These are my newest FO, Catnip Socks, they’re waiting for a nice bath and block, will then join the others in my sock drawer.

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. Georg Wilhelm

Knitting

The one where she thinks

March 27, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

she may have had as close to a perfect few days as she’s ever had. I did most of the things I love to do – I baked bread, went yarn shopping, worked on my Catnip Socks and made a pot of soup (shrimp bisque if you must know). On the sock front, I have only an inch or so left before I start the final ribbing on the cuff. I could probably finish them tonight, but tomorrow is a work day and I know myself, if I stay up later that I know I should, I’ll pay for it tomorrow night and Tuesday, so, I’m putting the brakes on tonight with the intention of finishing them tomorrow. I do have my next project picked out – another Minnowknits dress, this one called Brittany Jumper – here’s a pic

I may use this yarn –

It’s Fibranatura Cottonwood, 100% organic cotton, the color is called Cindy, #41109. It’s more of a coral color than it’s pictured.

National Knitting Blog Week kicks off tomorrow, I’m going to give it a try; I enjoy blogging and reading other’s blogs. Should be really cool. I’m always interested in seeing other’s blogs. I can always learn something.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Dr. Robert Schuller

Knitting

The one where the frustration

March 22, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

of last night has faded and I’m able to post the Papoose in the Pinafore Dress. So sweet!

How cute is that?

I can’t stand it!!!! She and the Pinafore Dress were made for each other. OMG! It turned out so well I ordered two more Minnowknits patterns, the Brittany Jumper and Cotton Candy. These will necessitate several visits to Yarn Mart. No firm color decisions yet, but I’m leaning toward pinkish.

I’m baking this weekend, no matter what. It’s been a couple of weeks and I’m starting to have flour withdrawal. Maybe brownies, sourdough bread for sure.

Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. Jim Morrison (1943-1971)

Knitting

The one where she’s back from the wilds

March 19, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

of southwest Arkansas, otherwise known as DeQueen, my hometown, where there are lots of chickens, lots of pickup trucks and lots of not much else. Wireless Internet access is very spotty, if it exists at all, so no blog yesterday. Today is a catch up, I suppose.

Remember the Minnowknits Pinafore? Take a look at this –

How sweet is that?

When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Knitting

The one where she asks

March 15, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

the age old question: “Is it my destiny to always have at last two false starts before I settle into a sock pattern?” Just asking……

I think I got smacked with the dummy stick between last night and now. I just noticed about five minutes ago that the entry I worked so hard on yesterday was still in draft form, that’s right, folks, typed it, proofed it but didn’t bother to publish it. So, the upshot of this is that today, there are two, count ’em, two entries today. Jeez, sometimes I worry about myself :p

How ’bout a good dose of Susannah?

There, I feel much better.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Seneca (5 BC-65 AD)

Knitting

The one where two new

March 13, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

projects get posted, the En Point sweater from Interweave Knits and Swirl Socks in Araucania Yarns, Ranco Multy. I’ve not knitted near as much I wanted to this weekend, but that’s pretty typical for me. My reach far exceeds my grasp and so much yarn, so little time and all that. Here’s a peek at both of them –

along with a Papoose pic

Beautiful, isn’t she? Our sweet girl. Such a joy!

Getting there isn’t half the fun – it’s all the fun. Robert Townsend

Knitting

The one where it’s finally

March 10, 2011 mud&stringLeave a comment

Thursday evening and my work week is finished. I’m so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and then going to get my hair done in the afternoon. I’m in dire need of a cut and highlight and just some pampering.

I’m finishing the Celebration Socks tomorrow. I’m half way through the last pattern repeat and I am so ready to finish them and fall in love with a new pair. I’m pretty proud of my self just for persevering. This pair has been a challenge, I’ll say that.