Freeplay Friday

It’s game night tonight, and aside from being pretty good at playing games, several of the boys are pretty good at this, too. Here’s to you, my boys. Here’s to you.

Stick a fork in it

It’s done. Finally. Not completely satisfactorily, but it’s done.

I put the final stitches in my Moderne Log Cabin blanket last night while watching Criminal Minds and CSI–blood, guts, and knitting!–and while I’m not over the moon about the border, I’m not up to doing it again just now.

Have I shown you this before? I don't remember. Pic shows the blanket sans border.

I mostly loved this project, even though it took me forever and would go into time-out on a frequent basis. When I’d pick it up again and feel that lush, squishy fabric, I’d wonder why I’d left it so long, but I suppose sometimes you need a little break to allow you to come back refreshed and ready to love again.

In the end, I did a single crochet border, turned it around, and single crocheted back around. My corners are wonky and puckery and I’m not overly pleased with them, but I started, nearly finished, then frogged back that darn border at least three times, and maybe four, and my heart fails at the thought of doing it again anytime soon. Crochet is so different from knitting–different motions and muscles are required, and unlike knitting, I have to look at what I’m doing for every single stitch. I can knit easily by touch, with only occasional glances at my work. Crocheting is awkward and not a good time for me. But–lessons learned, I persevered, and I have finished the largest knitting project I’ve ever attempted. I’m so pleased with the yarn I chose, the colors, the pattern, and the even, consistent stitches, as well as the very tidy pick ups at the color changes. That border can be re-done, and likely will be eventually. I’m calling this an overall success. So stick a fork in it–it’s done, and I am happy. Mostly.

Lyrical Wednesday

It’s a beautiful sunny day, I lived through another migraine, my tax returns were accepted and my refunds are on the way–it’s looking pretty good here so far today. Good day, sunshine!

Thanks

Not much of a post today, I’m afraid. I woke up with a migraine brewing and then, as if that weren’t enough, got the bright idea that doing my taxes would be a great thing to do, because it’s Valentine’s Day and all. A day made for love and taxes and other potentially painful things.

So the taxes are done, my headache is worse, and I need to eat, but I just want to give a shout-out to my friend Lynne. We’ve never met in person and may never, but she’s someone I’ve come to rely on for some good common sense and a boot up the butt from time to time when I need it. It’s a good thing to have honest, smart, and warmhearted people in my life. Thank you, Lynne, for being such a meaningful part of my life.

Thanks to all of you, too. No hearts and flowers and sappy sentiment. Just sincere thanks.

Confession

I have a confession to make. If you knit with me, take a moment. You’re going to need it.

Ready?

I bought acrylic yarn.

And not just acrylic yarn. Cheap acrylic yarn.

If you’re not a yarnie, you don’t understand how big this is, but if you are–well, shocking, ain’t it?

I was a little surprised myself that I succumbed, but here’s the deal: I’ve chosen Project Linus as one of my charities this year and hope to make at least a couple of blankets to donate. Materials used have to be machine washable and since I use mostly 100%,  hand wash only wool in my knitting, that won’t do. I needed some acrylic.

I headed off to Michaels last Saturday after Nice Girl Knitters at the library–it was a beautifully sunny, if quite cold, day, and a little jaunt out of town was kind of nice–and found they had all Lion Brand yarns on sale for half off.

I’m kind of snobbish about Lion Brand stuff. A lot of it is just–well, nasty. Homespun? Feh! Worst yarn EVER, and that’s saying a lot because there’s a lot of crap yarn out there. Lion Brand is generally right down at the bottom of my list,  along with Red Heart and most craft store brands, and that weird stuff Lion Brand and Martha Stewart just came out with (seriously, what the hell were they thinking? I wouldn’t buy this junk if they were giving it away).

But, ya know, it was on sale and super cheap and all, and I petted the Pound of Love (seriously. I’m not making that name up. It’s a horrible name, a huge and somewhat frightening skein of yarn, and the colors–pink, baby blue, kind of a sickly green–shudder.) I was petting another acrylic, too, comparing the two, deciding which one would be less likely to make my fingers get that creepy feeling you get when you touch something icky, like a slug, and I kept going back to the Pound of Love (gah! that name!) in Antique White. A simple, clean, classic color, and my fingers didn’t hate it too much. And it was five bucks. Five bucks for a huge chunk of yarn that’s way bigger than my head and would give me a lot of knitting for the money.

I bought it. I brought it home and started playing with it and I gotta tell you–it knit up pretty darn nice. I was a little stunned. It’s very soft, the stitches are nice and even, I’ve had no splitting issues, and my only gripe so far is that I found a knot just a few feet into the skein.

The romance is still in the early dating stage, where we both have our best manners on and wouldn’t think of doing anything crude in front of the other, but I think this might work out. Of course, I’ve thought that about other things that crashed and burned, but call me a cock-eyed optimist. I’m hoping.

P.S. Happy birthday to someone who will always be sort of wonderful to me. Be happy. Know who your real friends are. But mostly, be happy.

The Compact, again

I’m just about ready to pull the trigger, folks, and join others in The Compact. Although it’s still early in the game, I can’t foresee too much that I’d need to purchase new over the next several months, and if you’ve been reading for a while, you already know my focus lately has been on eliminating the unnecessary and excess from my possessions and that I practice frugality. This is just one more step along the way toward a less cluttered, encumbered, and wasteful lifestyle.

I’m not much of a joiner but this is something I can get behind–a non-consumer lifestyle, the old “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” mindset of many years ago. I had a great role model for that in my grandma, a woman who could, as my dad said, make something from nothing. Raising six kids on the farm during hard times had much to do with that, and I’d like to think there may be a little of my grandma’s make-do spirit in me. We think these are hard times, and they are for a lot of people, but most of us will never know the kind of deprivation folks in the Great Depression lived through. Still, with prices on the rise again (or still, or always) and interest rates so piddly–my “high yield” account is offering me a whopping .02 percent–frugality and creative saving doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Neither does stashing away some money in a coffee can.

To me, frugality isn’t about going without what’s needed or even some of what’s wanted, but more about identifying what matters and channeling efforts and money toward those things. Good people and good experiences warrant my spending some money, not another gadget I’ll use once and stuff in a drawer somewhere or  some knick knack that just clutters up the place and collects dust or more books I won’t read (and don’t misunderstand me here–I love books but I’m a really slow reader these days and am going for quality rather than quantity. I don’t want or need to buy a lot, though a few favorite writers get my money, and I’m always happy to give books as gifts).

So, I’m in. For the remainder of this year, with a few provisos, I’ll follow The Compact. My exceptions will be:

1. Food, personal, and cat care items. Duh.

2. Medications. Again, duh. I’m not on any prescription meds but do keep some necessary OTC stuff on hand.

3.  Limited household products (light bulbs, etc.). I use baking soda, vinegar, and other non-toxic cleaners as much as possible so seldom buy cleaning products. I’ve tried homemade laundry soap but found it left an unpleasant film on my clothes so I’ll stick with my All Free and Clear.

4. Underwear and shoes (my horror at the thought of wearing used shoes has already been noted in a previous post).

5. Automotive needs. I also need a bike pump since flat tires on my bike won’t do me any good. I have a gift card slated for that purchase.

6. Possibly some (very limited) knitting supplies. Knitting is one of the things that has literally changed my life for the better and I won’t say no to some careful purchases.

7. If I decide to get a “real job,” then possibly some clothing, as I’ve found it difficult to find decent clothes in larger sizes at thrift stores.

8. Gifts, most likely. I feel cheap when I give something thrifted, even if it’s pretty awesome.

That still looks like a lot of consumerism, doesn’t it? But the truth is, there’s a lot out there that I could buy that I won’t.  Disposable hand towels for home use? WTH? DVDs? The library has more than I can watch, and they’re free. CDs or music downloads? Again, the library has loads of music for free–though Zac Brown Band and Keith Urban are worth purchasing, in my opinion. Jewelry? What for? I have plenty. There are tons of other things I could throw money at, too, but I think I’ll hang on to as much of mine as possible, thanks, and I have just the coffee can saved back for the job.

Freeplay Friday

For your Towanda moments.

 

A walk on a gray day

It’s another gray day here after a wonderfully sunny afternoon yesterday. I complain about the gray days a lot, I know, but they do get me down if I let them.

That’s kind of key–if I let them. You remember the other day when I was whining about it being so gloomy, and it was. But I got out for a walk–more or less forced myself to go, because I really just wanted to hibernate, but I knew the activity would do me good. And it did.

I went to one of my favorite parks, one that has two of the elements that sooth me: woods and water. This particular park is woefully underused but I wasn’t going to gripe about it. It was really nice to have it to myself.

There was sleet coming down and a very chilly wind as I headed down the gravel path toward the woods. All the more reason to walk quickly and gain the woods, where even in the dead of winter, the trees provide shelter.

The sleet continued falling, pure and white and sounding like the gentlest of rainfalls. I made my way along, down the hill and into the sheltering bowl at the bottom of it, mine the only footprints along the path. The wind died as I reached the bottom and though it was still cold, warmth was spreading through me from the brisk walk. The farther along the path I went, the more I heard the small sounds of the woods all around me. Squirrels rustled and chattered overhead. Woodpeckers flew from tree to tree, juncos and black-capped chickadees sang, going about their business undisturbed by the weather. Just ahead, an owl took flight, silent, strong, assured. Life in the middle of winter.

I cleared off a bench and sat, eating my afternoon apple, the sleet still falling, and it was kind of–wonderful. Peaceful. Life in the middle of winter.

Lyrical Wednesday

The sun has been struggling to break through the clouds this morning, with brief bursts of light that make me hopeful of clear skies and wonderful, cheering sunshine. But I remind myself that it’s my frame of mind and heart that makes a good day, not outward circumstances. But some sun wouldn’t hurt.

The Winds of Fate

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the self-same winds that blow;
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
That tells them the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the winds of fate
As we voyage along through life;
‘Tis the set of the soul
That decides its goal
And not the calm or the strife.

Color me gray

Funny how something like light affects a person, but there are many like me who find the gray days of winter depressing. Although the sun broke through yesterday–though hoar frost iced the trees until afternoon and it really was a lovely sight–and the sky was beautifully blue during my afternoon walk, the gray has settled back in and I’m just wanting to put on another layer of fat and go hibernate. If you live in wintery climes you probably know what I mean. Bears might be onto something after all.

It has been a mild winter–there’s not a trace of snow out my patio door when normally it’d be piled up to several inches in height–and there have been a lot of sunny days. Just not so much lately and it’s getting me down a bit.

I started knitting a Sky Scarf earlier this year, using KnitPicks Stroll Tonal yarns in Blue Yonder, Pearlescent, and Thunderhead to represent the color of my Iowa sky each day. Two strands of blue held together and knitted up for a clear, sunny day, one strand each of blue and white for a sunny day with a few clouds floating around, one strand each of white and gray for a day like today, and two strands of gray for the stormy days that spring and summer often bring. Although there’s quite a bit of blue in it, there’s more gray than I’d like to see. I’d like to see pretty much no gray, actually. I love me some clear sunny skies.

No pics, I’m afraid, as my batteries are run down–and that’s not the least bit metaphorical–but perhaps at some point. In the meantime, I’m breaking out some obnoxiously pink yarn for a big pop of color on this dreary day and hoping to see the sun soon. Wishing you sunny skies.