The First FO of 2008!

I finished the first crochet block for the 2008 12" Crochet Block-a-Month CAL on Craftster. I joined it through Ravelry, but details of the CAL and links to the CAL patterns for each month can be found here. The first block, January, is called Dreamcatcher. I finished it in one day, with some frogging. I misinterpreted some of the directions, but figured it out without too much difficulty. Probably would have helped if I hadn't also been watching the NFL's 2008 Wild Card Football games.
The color in this picture is a bit off, but I just couldn't get a true color no matter what lighting I used.

Needle and yarn
Hook
5.5 mm (I)
Yarn
Plymouth Encore Worsted
How much?
1 skein = 200.0 yards (182.9m) (did not use entire skein)
Colorway
1231 (a soft sage green)

I am going to make 2 of each of the monthly blocks and eventually put them together in an afghan for my husband. I had another pattern in mind to use with this yarn, but was intrigued with this pattern and like the idea of a sort of sampler afghan. The other colors I will use are also Plymouth Encore Worsted: 1202, a light tan; and 1203, slightly darker tan. See color cards here.

Now I need to get busy on the scraps scarf I'm making for the READ KNIT COOK group on Ravelry. I received the book we're reading for this group in January today--Knit Two Together by Connie Lane. Can't wait to begin reading. It is a Harlequin which usually I would not be interested in, but read a good review of it on Amazon by Harriet Klausner whom I respect. She is a former librarian and I used to read her reviews in the discussion group for mystery lovers--DorothyL.

Everything's New in the New Year

Yesterday I mentioned that I needed some extra yarn and needles (besides those for the socks I'm currently knitting) to take to Sock Knitting Club so I could learn something new. Well, the new things I learned were the magic cast-on for toe-up socks and knitting socks on 2 circular needles. It was just a beginning and I was all thumbs at first, but I think I'm going to like this method of knitting socks. Thus far, on my first pair I've been using 4 dpns and try as I might I keep getting ladders when I change from one needle to the next.

The ladders are difficult to see in this view, but, believe me, they are there!

I was inspired by my introduction to these new techniques to do some reading when I got home, so I got out a book I've had on my shelves for some time--Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Her encouraging attitude and clear instructions made me feel like this is something I can do. I never had the confidence to actually try knitting socks before, let alone on 2 circs, but I am challenging myself to try new things in knitting and crocheting, and in life. My second pair of socks will definitely use the magic cast-on and will be done on 2 circular needles. I am so grateful to my fellow Sock Knitting Club members for their assistance and support in my quest to become a more adventurous knitter.

Speaking of new things, I have joined Ravelry and am profitting from it in so many ways. One of the groups I've joined is called READ KNIT COOK. Its description is: A book-of-the-month of sorts. Every month there's a new knitting or crochet themed book chosen to read, a knit- or crochet-along, and new recipe ideas to try! For the cooking portion this month we were offered 3 different recipes. I chose Buzzard's Breath BBQ Sauce and made it last night for dinner. Instead of processing it in a blender and canning it as the recipe calls for, I used it as is after the simmering and combined it with some cooked Anasazi Beans and left-over pork tenderloin. Cooked for about an hour in the oven at 400 degrees--delicious! My Texas-born husband loved the bite of the habanero pepper in the sauce and yet it wasn't too hot for me.

The Snowball Effect

You know those days when something bad happens early in the morning, and then something else, and then something else, and it's all downhill from there? I've often wondered if that kind of day is just coincidental bad luck or if we unconsciously influence the continuing disasters by our attitudes. I had a chance to ponder this question on my drive to a Sock Knitting Club meeting this morning.

After sleeping badly all night and then awakening very late as a consequence, I made my departure for the meeting even later by having to change clothes twice because of : #1 a button coming off my top, and #2 spilling my oj on my jeans. Then as I prepared to drive away, I had to go back into the house for some extra yarn and needles that I needed for the meeting so I could learn a new technique. Finally, as I was tooling down the road, making good time, I heard the little dinging sound that told me I was in need of fuel. As I travel long distances to get anywhere, I didn't want to take a chance and so I stopped to fuel up. By that time I was beginning to fuss and fume and stress out big time.

Once I got back on the road, I began to reassess my morning and think about the above question of luck versus attitude. I came to the conclusion that, with me at least, it is mostly attitude and my unfortunate personality trait of trying to control everything around me. One of my sisters gave me a t-shirt with a slogan on the front that sums me up very well: I'm Not Bossy, I Just Know What You Should Be Doing! Remembering that now in retirement I have loads more leisure time and don't really have to rush if I don't want to, I decided to chill and enjoy the warm day and great views on my way to the meeting. I arrived only about 20 minutes late and everyone looked at me like, "What do you mean?" when I apologized for my tardiness. A lesson I hope I will remember the next time I am having "one of those days."

When I Can't Sleep

Every woman I know has told me that she frequently has trouble sleeping--much more often it seems than the men I know do. It used to be that I would lay in my bed, tossing and turning, and getting wider and wider awake when I was experiencing one of these manic times. However, now I get up and go into my craft room (also the computer room and a guest bedroom, in case the thoughts of a room dedicated to crafting makes you jealous) and pick up the needles or a crochet hook. Below is a little poem I wrote to express how comforting this practice has become for me:

Knit Therapy

The rhythmic click of the needles quiets the strident voices in my mind;

The soft feel of the fibers slipping through my fingers calms my jangled nerves;

The yarn’s vibrant colors refresh my jaded senses like rain in summer;

The slowly growing object on my needles gives my life a new purpose.

I am really trying to let go of the hectic habits that the working world created in me and become a calmer more relaxed person in my retirement. Knitting and crocheting are helping me to accomplish this goal.

After a Long Hiatus

Over a year has passed since I last posted here. A lot has happened in the interim. We sold our home in Virginia and moved to our new home in Arizona.




















We've been here six months now. We brought way too much stuff with us and are still trying to deal with it, but we feel pretty settled in. Without my usual obsessing, I hope to once again record some of the events of our life in retirement.