Finding a Purpose

Life is

what you make of it.

Always has been.

Always will be.

A simple quote, illustrated. (Grandma Moses)

Boy in Green Cables

We're all Irish today, aren't we? Actually, I am part Irish (Northern Irish, by way of Scotland). Today was a day for green and a day for handknits. And of course, every handknit has a story (part of their charm).

Suddenly this morning I was possessed with the idea of finishing the only sweater I have ever finished. You see, it was ABB (All But Buttons). Yes, it took five minutes to finish something I started on a train about four years ago. I was knitting a sweater for a friend's new baby on the way from NY to Washington DC. I didn't know it, but I was pregnant at the time. I ended up giving the friend's baby something else because I didn't finish that sweater. And, it was a short pregnancy -- just nine weeks long. Fast forward to my pregnancy with my now two-year-old. While nesting during that pregnancy (oh the luxury of having my older two in school all day), I finished the sweater, well, A.B.B. It's a size two, so I didn't feel so rushed to put on the buttons.

Anyway, it sat in his closet looking lovely for two years. Today, in a feverish rush, I added the buttons. They are from one of my dad's old cardigans. Sniff. A great recycle. When Jack outgrows the sweater, I'll snip the buttons before handing it on. I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn which is an absolutely gorgeous shade of green, a ridiculously soft yarn, but already pilling after a wearing. I love the colors of this yarn, but I knew it would pill from other projects.

The sweater debuted today. The sales guy in the sneaker store really liked it (though he did ask if someone made it -- is that a good thing? He was very crunchy, so I take it as a yes). He was the only adult besides me who saw it today.

We'll take the luck of the Irish, but we need to make our own luck too.

OK, some Crafty Goods Already

Well, it's snowing, it's cold and I haven't had as much time out in my little grey cottage lately. Plus, it doubled as Santa's Workshop and that Santa sure leaves a mess.

I'm not big on giving handmade gifts.  I used to be, but it can be a giant let down for both giver and receiver if receiver really just wanted a gift card or a wii game.  Verbatim from our holiday.

Scene:  Jill sitting in chair knitting away on a striped scarf.  Minding my own business while everyone else just sat there and watched tv. Ahem.

John:  What are you making?

Jill:  Oh, a scarf.

John:  Why... so you can just go right over and give it to the Goodwill?  [self-congratulatory chuckle here]

Yes, hilarious.

Anyway, some knits...

The red scarf is a 1x1 rib with manos, kid silk haze and some heavier mohair together in three shades of red (as my son would say, dang, that red is hard to shoot.)

The mittens have been shown before, I believe.  I plundered the stash for some worsted weight Colinette which was once destined to be part of some hideous blanket.  They've gotten a lot of use so far.  Someone wrote that people complain that mittens are hard to drive in.  Her response:  drive less. I have to wonder what you're driving that's so tricky with mittens.  The space shuttle, I'll give you, but they work fine in a mini van.

I sewed the third scarf.  It's just a skein of Colinette Point Five with a few lines across every few inches.  It makes a very lightweight scarf from a heavy yarn.  Plus, it's a scarf in an hour and how can you beat that?  

The fuschia/blue/purple one is a  mistake stitch rib from Noro Kureyon.  It's a bit short, a bit itchy but so well loved by the third grade knitting club. They gasped when they saw it. Erica, Moena and Mai -- the three Japanese girls in the class -- were allowed to try it on first, since Kureyon is made in Japan. I'd like to think my knitting wowed them, but let's be honest, it's kind of a third grade color scheme.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Mitten Smitten

I've started knitting again, and rather frantically. That's sort of how I roll with knitting. Hot or Cold. No warm. I have too large of a stash of yarn which has sat in a big black plastic tub for about the last year while I fell in love with the new boy in town -- my Bernina. Knitting's greatness really lies in its portability. My sewing machine lives out in the epynonymous grey cottage, hence unless toddler is asleep, it's challenging to get a block of time out there. On the other hand, if I do find a block of time (falling mysteriously from the sky), I can whip things out much more quickly on the sewing machine. And I am a big fan of the whipping things out school of craft. Must admit.

Here's a mitten shot from a two year old pair. Knit with noro silk garden and along for the walk in woods yesterday. The new pair (knit from an old ball of Colinette Skye) is simply awaiting thumbs. I'm thinking about doing the thumbs in a contrasting color, just because...