With Gratitude

As the holiday season approaches, I start to reflect on the past year. I have been so blessed this year. My health has been good, I have a job, and most importantly, I'm surrounded by wonderful, loving, family and friends.

My parents and brothers provide such unconditional love and support, especially during the tough times. They encourage me to follow my dream (starting my own business) and Carl has helped me overcome my fear of leaving raw milk on the counter (hint: clabbered milk makes awesome cheese)(second hint: raw milk tastes a million times better than even the cream-line, flash-pasteurized, organic milk at the health food store). Scott has inspired me to expand my artistic endeavors and I'm thrilled that he's following his heart by surrounding himself with pottery that he finds beautiful. And Brian humbles me; he has remained strong in the face of really difficult times and doesn't ask for anything.

My husband, Tom, tolerates my creative explorations and takes care of hearth and home since my job this year has required a lot of overtime. I don't think he realizes how much I appreciate all that he does to keep this household together and how much I love him.

My friends have also provided undying support, good humor, and spiritual guidance. Marcia, Leigh, Heidi, Pat, Val, Keith, and Mike are there for good conversation, political diatribes, and perspective.

And last but not least, I'm so very grateful for the Squam Art Workshops community. I've lost my fear of trying things I never thought I was good at (drawing, painting, photography) and found that I can do these things better than I ever thought I could. All it took was trying, and the support of this wonderful community.

I wish for everyone a very happy and grateful Thanksgiving.

Namaste...

Hello! It's been a while...

I find it hard to believe that my last blog post was in February. Work intruded and any kind of writing, even the fun stuff, felt like...well...work. So no blogging, and really, not much of anything else, except work. And that makes for a very boring blog.

However, the "all work and no play" aspect of my life is changing. I hired a technical writer at work, which will relieve me of a lot of the work I've been doing and given me time to focus on other aspects of my job. And after my husband and several friends threatened interventions, I will put boundaries around my work. I have to, to preserve my marriage, my friendships, and my health (multiple migraines a week are not fun).

So twice a week, I need to leave work early to come home and fix dinner. It will be, by necessity, simple: grilled fish and vegetables and a nice salad. Every other Thursday I leave a little early to teach a knitting class. And I will not work weekends unless it's critical.

Creativity
One thing that I realized is that it's absolutely critical to have a creative outlet in my life. Yes, knitting is creative, but when you think about it, it's still kind of a left brain activity (can you say "math"?). Even with my knitting, I could feel that I was getting stuck--paralyzed by color, afraid to try new things. The knitting was just too familiar. So when I read on the Squam blog that Alena Hennessy was teaching an online art workshop, I ignored the fear and plunged in. I haven't done any painting or drawing since I was in elementary school (and that was a very long time ago!). I bought the art supplied (india inks come in such pretty colors!) and anxiously waiting for the class to start. Once the class started, I was surprised to find that I like what I was creating. And the process of creating was liberating. I was wholly engaged in making art--time stopped, my concentration was focused, and everything just flowed. The workshop didn't focus only on creating art; Alena included breathing exercises, photography, and self-care (long hot baths, tea, flower essences). The students shared their work and writings on a private Facebook group and the support from the group was amazing. Some of the art created was stunning. I enjoyed the class so much that I signed up for the next Squam online art workshop Pages and Paint. That workshop is focused more on mixed media (Alena's class was sort of mixed media) and looks like it will be fun!

Knitting News
Despite the 60-hour weeks, I did manage to get some knitting in. I started a knit-along with my 11-year old niece in April. We're knitting Clapotis, and are using the same yarn base (different colors). It will be interesting to see how our Clapotis differ.

I'm still plodding along on the Elizabeth R shawl from the Shakespeare in Lace shawl club. I think I might have enough yarn for a 6th repeat (I'm on repeat 5 now, so am almost done).

I knit two Baby Surprise Jackets for co-workers. Amazingly, even though the babies were almost four months old by the time they got their jackets, the jackets fit! I wasn't sure, since I don't have any babies laying around the house to see if the fit was good. And two more coworkers are expecting babies to come into their families, so I get to knit two more BSJs. The BSJ is a fun knit.

So before it gets too late, I'm going to post this and start knitting Elizabeth R. In my next post, I'll blog about Spring Squam...there was Shetland lace, vintage patterns, wild garter stitch, bears, loons, owls, and more. It was awesome!

Happy knitting!

Random Saturday

The little voice in my head has been a little too persistent lately and is doing too good of a job of trying to drag me down. Today is World Happy Day and in the spirit of the day, I'm blogging about what makes me happy. So here goes...

• Tom and everything he does around the house (which is everything)
• My family
• Having a flock of cedar waxwings hanging out in our yard
• Having both cats sleeping next to me on a cold winter's night
• Coming across a flock of wild turkeys in a friend's driveway
• Knitting (mostly)
• All the love my friends share with me
• Snow (of which we do not have enough this winter)

And of course, the little voice in my head wants to negate all of these things that make me happy by guilting me:

• "You don't pull your weight around the house"
• "You don't visit your family often enough:
• "You have too much yarn and will never knit it all"
• "You aren't productive enough at work"

And the voice drones on and on and on, to the point where it creates an actual physical heaviness in me. We all have that negative, persistent little voice. What strategies do you find useful to quiet that voice?

Knitting News
I keep hearing about Signature Needles and how wonderful they are to knit with. I also keep hearing about how expensive they are. And there's a good reason for it. Pop on over to kmcat's blog and read about her experience with Signature Needles. Her story makes me want to knit only with Signatures!

Regarding actual knitting productivity, there isn't much. I've made too many gauge swatches for the Baby Surprise Jacket, mostly because I kept increasing needle size and couldn't understand why I kept getting fewer stitches to the inch (I'm easily confused). It finally dawned on me yesterday what the problem was and this morning I swatched some more and got close, 5-1/2 to 5-3/4 stitches per inch on US5 needles. I need 6 stitches per inch, so US4 needles are next on the agenda. I thought I was a tight knitter but that doesn't appear to be the case with this project.

I almost finished the Slouchy Beret but ran out of yarn. The pattern didn't give any gauge, although I suppose I could have done the math myself (duh!) but it didn't occur to me. (Note to self: use your brain, woman!) I managed to eke out a few more rows on the Elizabeth R shawl and am almost finished with the second pattern repeat. This project will go on the shelf until the two BSJs are finished.

And I ordered the Pinehurst fingerless mitts kit from the Squam store, in the Deepest Depth colorway. The pattern is by Natalie Selles and the yarn is dyed by Jill Draper. These mitts should be perfect for the chilly evenings at Squam this year. Naturally, since I'll be prepared with warm clothes, the weather this year will be tropical. Last year started out tropical and quickly turned winterish and I was woefully underdressed.

Running Progress
Nothing to see here. Move along now...

Okay...the little voice is telling me I'm having too much fun and that it's time to clean the house. The dust buffalo herd once again needs to be culled. And I need to figure out what we've got on hand for dinner. Tom cooks every night and it would be nice to give him a break from the kitchen.

Happy World Happy Day! And happy knitting!

Gone Again

Another three weeks has gone by with nary a blog post. To be fair, the first week was because I was on vacation and didn't have access to the Internet. Also, I was high on wool fumes (more about that in a few). Then I had to go back to work (which is much more pleasant when one is high on wool fumes) and eventually got back into the same old routine of getting up, going to work, coming home late, eating dinner, and going to bed. And I was knitting a sweater, too.

Maryland Sheep and Wool was fun as always. I didn't buy much...sock yarn for Tom and buttons for the sweater. It was crowded and as soon as my friend left, I went in search of sheep and I found them. At first I thought there weren't as many in previous years but then I found the big barn. And the most beautiful black and silver sheep I have ever seen. I wanted to start spinning the fleece right off his back. I'll post a picture after I return from Squam. I couldn't find the owner, but if I could have, I would have asked to buy the fleece right then and there! Next year I'm going to spend more time with the sheep.

Then I went to the beach, which is as the beach always is...relaxing with good food, excellent conversation, abundant cocktails at sunset, and plenty of knitting on the sweater. I also managed to get some spinning in, to reinforce what I learned in Maggie's class.

And now I'm in Waterbury, Connecticut getting ready to complete the trip up to New Hampshire to attend the Squam Art Workshops. I finished my sweater (although the idea of wearing wool right now makes me slightly nauseous; the weather is decidedly August-like). I've packed all of my knitting supplies. I have more clothes than a girl could possibly need for four days (I like to be prepared), and I practiced the moebious cast-on last night. So now there's nothing left to do except get there!

I've taken the day after I return off from work (to recover from the drive) and hope to post pictures and stories about Squam. And now? It's time to sew the buttons on the sweater.

Happy knitting!