Happy New Year .. and my word is........

The main subject of this post really has nothing to do with these photographs - but I did want to share a couple of my latest fingerless gloves with you. These are gauntlets actually. I never thought I would like the longer size but I do ! I found a ball of an Heritage yarn from Australia in my stash and made the first white pair from it. It's 50 % wool and 50% mohair. Yet another thing that I had not thought I would care for much is the mohair but I am astounded at how extra warm this pair of gloves is! Most unfortunately, this yarn has been discontinued  or I would buy more of it. I've been looking for another similar 50/50 yarn to use instead but have not found one yet. This is a light sport weight and I knit them on size 5 (metric 3.75) needle. If you know of something that might work please let me know!  The pink pair is made from Cascade Cloud 9,  which is a yummy, super-soft blend of 50% merino and 50% angora - which is what the pattern called for. The pattern is a freebie from Dancing Ewe, where they carry all of Cloud 9's colors. The pattern is called "Susie's Reading Mitts". I love this pattern! There is just enough of a simple design on top and bottom to look pretty and add interest but it's also just enough boring knitting to be able to sit in front of the TV and stitch away.  I have ferreted out several new fingerless glove patterns - and I am excited to get started on them. Yes, I know - it's the little things that make me smile! I am planning to add some beads the the white pair for a little bit of bling - they look like princess gloves to me!

Now on the main reason for this post! Sorry for the longer than expected knitting detour!

Happy 2010 everyone! I realize that I am a day - or three- late for passing along my New Year salutations but I have been doing a lot of pondering since the calendar turned. I have never been one for making New Year's resolutions. They generally seem to be forgotten after the first week of the New Year and I dislike making resolutions unless I think that there is a fair chance that I will actually be able to follow through. The new thing this year - or perhaps it's just that I have only noticed it this year - is to choose a 'word of the year' - or is it, in my case, 'words of the year'? Whatever. I even found an interesting questionnaire from Christine Kane designed to help you focus in on an appropriate word. I liked this and, although I am not terribly good about filling out pithy forms, I actually used this to help me weed out words that immediately jumped to the surface of my mind like create!, loseweight!, domore! None of those words, however appropriate they may be for me in the short term, felt quite right.

I have been considering this 'word of the year concept' for several days now. Rolling words around in my head to see what felt right, to feel which resonated as real for me this year. My problem is that I cannot limit myself to just one word. I've tried to - really I have. The issue that I continually struggle with is whether or not I need to constrain my hobbies in order to focus more on only one or two things. I go around and around with this. In this sense my "word" would be simplify, but I must look at that in a second light in order to decide if this is "the" word. Simplify might certainly mean condensing my hobbies - or it might not. I suppose that might depend on what being able to follow all of my paths means to me and what goals, if any, I might have, for the things that I make. There was a time when my goal in making quilts was to be an acknowledged quilter - not well know necessarily - (a psychologist would no doubt have a field day with that last comment!) but decently acknowledged in the field. Over time I realized that wanting recognition was my ego talking pure and simple and I had to ask myself if I wanted recognition because of my ego or for the benefit of my inner artist. I think that there can be a difference.

When sought acknowledgment I did, pretty much, only quilt. I did not know how to knit at that time, nor did I know how to paint, do calligraphy or make soaps an lotions. I made some things that I knew were not my best - but they were deadline pieces... you see where I 'm headed with this perhaps? Deadline work and work that is made specifically for a show entry are not necessarily my best work.  My best, most authentic, work comes for being able to make art just to please myself, being able to go slowly when I want or need to and not having to work on a timetable. My best work comes from my heart - from a place deep inside that has no road maps and follows no rules. I have pretty much given up on the idea of acknowledgment in the quilt or quilt art world. If it comes it will thrill me but if it doesn't it won't upset me any longer the way it once would have. There are just so many things that bring me joy. Knitting is the evening, as I already mentioned, practicing making a perfectly rounded unical letter, getting gesso and paint in my hair -or feeling the rich pieces of roving flow under my hands when I felt. I think I am ordained to be a "jill-of-all-trades, master a none". I just like to have fun and follow the muse where she wills me to go.

My short list of words  are:

1.   Strength

2.   Simplify

3.   Stressless

4.   Uncomplicated

5.   Faith

The questionnaire goes on to ask "why is this the perfect word for you this year?"

Strength:   I would like to have the strength to be able to deal with whatever the year's challenges may be. I want to try to stand up for myself more and develop more confidence both in my work and in myself.

Simplify:   I had been noticing that when friends called me I would multi task. and I felt that I was not honoring them with my full attention. I don't want to do that. I want to be fully present when I am speaking with my friends - after all I am blessed to have the ones I have and I don't want to lose them through neglect. I want to take time to smell the roses, take decent photographs, listen to the birds, sing, ponder on a piece of art before I begin it, enjoy the simple pleasures of life that tend to slip by on a daily basis because other things compel me more loudly and more stridently. I want to knit in the evenings without having a pang of guilt that I should be doing my 'artful' things at my desk or sewing machine. I want to fully connect with life in a less hurried, more calm way.

Stressless:   I guess this sort of has parts of 'simplify' in it. There are times when I can sit in my chair at work and listen to the cacophony of sounds swirling around me - everyone's energy levels at peak performance and I can almost feel the the world slip-sliding away. I get an image of the Tower - for those of you who know Tarot cards. The world crumbling around us all and yet we don;t take the time to notice. It seems like yesterday that my friend's beautiful and talented daughter was leaving for college in New York - now she is beginning her last semester! How'd that happen?! I don't believe that our lives can be entirely stress-less and, indeed, some stress is a good thing. I just don't want to have to look back on my life and remember only a blur because I was multi-tasking and too stressed to be able to stop and appreciate the moments of my life.

Uncomplicated: Again, bits and pieces of the words above are also pertinent to this one. Life these days is just too darn complicated to begin - I shouldn't add more complications to an already full stew pot!

Faith: In myself, in my work, in my life's worth. Faith too that there is, somehow, order in the chaos of the world and that the will rise tomorrow

There is more to this questionnaire and, although I am usually not at all good at filling these pithy self-examinations out, I found this one to actually be a useful tool. Part 2 calls for awareness and elimination and to learning to know your 'triggers'. Awww heck do I have to go back to the whining little child waiting within me again?! I haven't done that part yet .. and I may not !

My friend, Maria, called me yesterday and during our conversation we discussed the time warp pace as we get older. She reminded me of one of our favorite books written by Baba Ram Das in 1971 and  called "Remember, Be Here Now" (I wish I had my original copy of it and , in fact, I best go order one!). I got off the phone and realized that I had found not only my word, but the concept for my year ahead. It had been staring me right in the face all along! Remember, Be Here, Now. 

 

Nothing else matters and nothing else really is. Namaste.

 

I do have one resolution! 

It's to take the slow road. It seems that nothing I make falls into the fast,fabulous and fun category - so I'm going to go for gold - slow!

These little gems are made from cashmere and merino - I forget which one .

Either Cashmerino from Debbie Bliss or Cashsoft from Rowan. Either way they are soft, colorful and useful!

News On The Needles

It's that 'lovely' time of year when light is scarce and when I find additional pleasure in being able to watch the tube as I knit! As I have mentioned before, I am hat-phobic. I don't like hats. Never have and never will. That being said I am also finding that the cold is a bit more bothersome - so something about the neck would, at times, be nice - plus having the advantage of pulling something up over my head when it is pouring rain might be great! I have been fascinated by the concept of cowls - maybe it's all of the medieval reading I do! Lo and behold this must be the year for me because I found some great cowl patterns in the latest issue of Vogue Knitting Holiday 2009 Issue. Vogue Knitting also has a great new new feature that shows live photos of patterns in their current issue - so if you want to see this pattern on a 'real' head go to the highlighted link and click on "Think Big" on the right side of the screen.

I really wanted to make this cowl just as it was in the photo because I loved everything about it. Tanglewood Creations yarn is amazing. I looked high and low for it and finally wrote to the company. Sure enough - of course I would adore the yarn - it's cashmere and costs $33.00 per ounce & the cowl requires eight ounces! $264. for a cowl is a tad rich for my worker bee budget. All of their yarns are hand spun and I really admire that they employ home based spinners for their yarns. If I had the money I would happily support them! I considered using my other favorites - Cashsoft or Cashmerino - but I really agreed that this pattern needed something with color - or perhaps seeing it in color just 'colored' my mind about how it ought to look! At any rate I had some Noro Silk Garden on hand in a colorway that I am fond of - so I decided to just use that. I am happy witht the way it is coming out and, if DH ever wins the lottery for us, maybe I will try in with that glorious Tanglewood Creations yarn!

Here is another cowl pattern that I am also going to make called the "Geode Georgene" by Berroco. I actually bought the prescribed Berroco yarn for it too - but in a different colorway - Moss - of course! I like the versatility of these cowl neck 'hats' and scarves ... a fine combination of the two !

Of course I am still making my addiction - fingerless mitts! I have been lucky to have found a couple of new to me patterns that I really like. Chief among them is Susie's Reading Mitts from The Dancing Ewe.

Both of these new to me yarns are awesome and provide beautiful stitch definition and a super soft, luxurious feel. I love the touch of lace pattern that enhances both the top and the bottom of the gloves.

Below you can see a sampling of the great new yarns that I am experimenting with -

there really are some things good about the season of eternal gray!

Hope everyone enjoyed the love of family & friends & lot of good food for Thanksgiving!

A Yen For Cashmere or More Joys Of Fingerless Gloves

At night my fingers seems to just naturally drift to a small, easily gratifying bit of knitting. Fingerless gloves have become a passion because I use the almost year 'round since my digits seem to be always chilled. I hunt for patterns that I like - both free &, happily, paid for.

Lately I have become enamored with Rowan's new yarn called 'Lima' - a fine bit of cashmere blend with a really different construction that facilitates great texture, stitch definition and is made with 84% Baby Alpaca/8% Merino Wool/8% Nylon. Can you spell soft?! I found a wonderful little pattern called "CoffeeHouse Gloves" by Lorna Meiser Owner of Lorna's Laces in Knit'n Style's issue for December 2009 #164. It knits up beautifully in 'Lima' and I've made a pair in almost every color that 'Lima' offers. I did change the pattern a bit to make it longer and also to add some length in the thumb - which I find to be much cozier.

You can see some of the texture of this yarn in these small pics.

The gloves in the photo below are made from the 'Coffee House' pattern in green 'Lima Yarn' . They look small but there is a lot of stretch built in and the gloves look wonderful on! The gloves on the left are also made in 'Lima' and are called 'Fetching' from Knitty.com as a free pattern!

I do have a request - if any of you knows of a great fingerless glove pattern please let me know! I am happy to pay for a great pattern . Simple or fancy, long or short! Thanks for helping me feed my glove addiction and keeping my needles going!

What A Trade! Fingerless Mittens For Gorgeous Hand-Dyed Fabric!

 

You can double click on these photos

 to get a much better view of the gloves and the fabric!

I love make & wear fingerless gloves/mitts.  Making them is like therapy for me & wearing them has proven to be the cure for my endlessly cold hands in the winter - when I wear them almost around the clock! I offered to send  mitts to cyber friend Terri Cohen (owner of From Here to Quilt Eternity) who said "sure! I'd like to try them" so I popped a dusty plum colored pair in the mail  - hoping that she would enjoy them.

Fast forward about a week and an envelope arrives that is filled with glorious hand dyed fabric. It was a "thank-you" from Terri! I had neither expected nor wanted anything in return and I definitely think that I got the best of this 'gifting' ! Terri sent a six piece gradation of browns as well as yardage of my favorite green ever and a glorious, eye popping, piece of red. Her hand-dyes are lush and beautiful and I was thrilled to see them!

I ask you- don't you agree that I got the best of this ?!! Anyone else need a pair of fingerless mitts??!! Thank you Terri - your generosity was not expected but I can't wait to find the perfect quilt to use these fabrics in!! Who says cyber friends aren't 'real' friends??!

Yarn Play

As you may have gathered from past posts, I have a thing for fingerless mitts/gloves. My hands are always cold - sometimes even on summer nights. I like to try out different patterns for them and the best part of using the patterns is becoming acquainted with new, luscious yarns.

I purchased the pattern for Schaefer yarns Razor Shell fingerless gloves (they can be made long or short of course) and I decided that I wanted to make them in the yarn that was used in the pattern. Schaefer yarn Heather yarns are named for famous women. The one I chose is called Indira Ghandi - it's beautiful & I can't wait to get started on these lovely gloves

My current favorite fingerless glove pattern is by Cheryl Niamuth and is called "Fetching". Cheryl also has another pattern that I really like and it is called "Dashing" - they are both quick to knit, very satisfying to make, patterns! The red yarn above is from Knit Picks from their 'Wool Of The Andes' collection in 'Firecracker'. It knit up into a really nice glove that I think will wear very well - as well as being very warm!

Rowan Classic Cashsoft is, simply, a treat to work with - soooo soft. Being able to use these will make Fall easier to take when it arrives again.....well, maybe that's a stretch but it will be nice!

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino is another soft touch yarn that I have fallen in love with. I am not sure that it is quite as soft as Cashsoft but it knits up truly wonderfully - it affords beautiful stitch definition. My next adventure, I think, will be to buy some pure cashmere yarn - enough to make a pair of my favorite fingerless mitts.

Softest Yarn?

I love soft. Soft makes me happy; soft makes me feel cuddled & warm. I wear velvets & soft cottons & I love to use soft yarns when I knit . I have been making numerous pairs of my current favorite fingerless mitt pattern to have on hand for holiday gifts this year. I found the pattern on Knitty. It's called "Fetching"& was designed by Cheryl Naimath. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn is what the pattern calls for but I have been using similar weight yarns from my stash. I decided that I wanted to use Cashmerino & I went to my LYS to purchase some. They didn't have any so I bought Rowan's Cashsoft instead. I also ordered some Cashmerino from an on-line vendor - knowing that I could have a pair made from the Cashsoft before the Cashmerino arrived.

When the Cashmerino arrived I loved the colors & the weight was just about the same as the Rowan yarn. I was surprised to discover, however, that the Rowan Cashsoft is much softer than the Debbie Bliss. I'm in love with Cashsoft now & can't wait to buy more of it. It's glorious to work with & the mitts are soothing & luxurious to wear. Sometimes it pays to try lots of options!

Don't get me wrong - the Debbie Bliss yarn is very soft - and I will enjoy using it - and may well buy some more of it. One of my all time favorite yarns is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk - talk about soft - this is one of the dreamiest yarns ever - and yes, I have made fingerless mitts from it. They felt down beautifully and make a very warm, very soft version of a simple mitt pattern I use a lot. I was happy though that I tried a couple of options for "Fetching" because now I have found not one but two more ultra soft yarns to use!

What In The Heck Have I Been Doing All This Time?!

"Cerebration is the enemy of originality in art."
Martin Ritt

These 3 eagles (can you find all three?)
is what greeted me when I stepped outside this morning

Rather then my Sunday chapter notes for The Artist's Way I thought that I would try to answer my own question: What have I been doing? Where have I been? (The next chapter update for the Artist's Way will return tomorrow.)

There are times when I feel as though I have accomplished nothing. When painful days run together I get so darn frustrated because I just wnat to be painting,drawing, knitting, quilting, - all of the things that bring joy to my life. Thankfully, when I stop for a minute & think about it I realize that I have, in fact, been producing - just not as fast as I generally like to!

Here is a peek at my desk - all of the accouterments of art are there - just waiting for me to sit down and play!

I love fingerless gloves. I wear them all of the time - generally indoors and outdoors in the Winter because my hands get so cold. For Christmas last year I made about a dozen pairs of a simple pattern - and it is one of the few things that I have gifted people with that everyone seemed to enjoy using. That always makes me feel good to get feed back! I found this pattern on Knitty and fell in love with it. It is called "Fetching" and is designed and graciously shared by Cheryl Niamuth from Vancouver, BC - just across the road from me. I love this pattern and my first pair was made from Jo Sharp worsted in 'Lichen' - Oh! Do I love this yarn. I want more and more of it! I just started a pair in Lion Brand WoolEase in 'Lemon Grass'. Thus far I think it will work well. I am on the look-out for a pair of fingerless gloves in a more lacey pattern now.

This is the pair of socks I am working on using Conjoined Creations Flat Feet yarn with their 'Ladder Socks' pattern. The pre knitted pieces are really wonderful to work with. Much tidier than working with skeins of yarn. I like the pattern - just a bit of added texture than the sock pattern I usually use. I am hooked on the pre knitted pieces too. KnitPicks has aome preknitted sock blanks and a started set of dyes that is on my list of must purchase items. I am waiting for another thing from them to get something else back into stock and then I can give dyeing my own blanks a try!

Next up is one of the several silk pen rolls I have been making. This one is for a wonderful lady who sold me a pen that I had been lusting for at a more than very fair price. It is a Pelikan M400 honey tortoise & it has become my most favorite pen. It's nice to lust for a pen and then, when you actually get it, it performs as well as you hoped it would. Oh so beautiful & Oh so smooth. I cannot believe that I have found a pen that eclipses the love I have for my Bexley. I wanted to make this for her as a heartfelt thank you for selling me the pen at such a low price. I will be shipping it off to it's new Austrailian home on Wednesday.

The inside of the roll is Dupioni silk and the outside is from vintage kimono silks from AH!Kimono.

Welcome Fall

I had to chuckle after I drew this page for today's journal entries. Seems more like I am longing for Spring than welcoming Fall! I finished another pair of fingerless mittens and have another pair in the works.... I think they will make great holiday gifts. They will ,at least ,if the giftee has cold hands & fingers the way I do ! As I was heading to do some sewing I snapped the photo of my desk. My sewing machine desk is not much better! Hummmm. Might use some tidying don't you agree?? !!! Happy first day of Fall everyone. What projects do you have planned for the coming season?

Fingerless Mittens : One Pair Done One Pair Started

I finished my super soft pair of fingerless mittens (from Knitting At Knoon) & have already been enjoying them in the early morning when it's 54 in the house ! I can't say enough for the Debbie Bliss' bliss-full Alpaca Silk! It's one of my favorites - along with all things Noro of course! I decided that these might make a good holiday gift so I am at work on another pair in some lovely hand dyed wool - I figure I'll make 5 pairs or so.

Today I have been working on a "Professional Tote" - pattern from Creative Thimble. It's a great pattern with lots of zipped pockets and a place for a water bottle etc. There are lots of pattern pieces to cut out & then there are also lots of interfacing pieces to cut out too. Now that I am in the sewing mode I can see how well these instructions are written. In tomorrow's post I will show you more information about this great pattern !