Aaargh!

Actually, I guess I should be saying "rip it, rip it, rip it," since I've spent the last hour frogging The Firestarter sock by Yarnissima I started February 23. I had no business starting this sock before I finished the first pair of socks I've ever knitted. However, the informal sock knitting group I belong to had agreed to make that sock in February and I wanted to see if I could do it. Several of the members, more experienced than I, had already finished theirs and offered to help me if I needed assistance. Do I need assistance? HA! I had to rip back 4 rows because I had developed a hole, not a ladder, a HOLE, in the join between one needle and the other. Everything seems okay now and I will pay closer attention when changing from one needle to the other. This is not a beginner's sock, but I am determined to do a good job of it. And when I do, it will be due, in large part, to the talented, supportive members of my sock knitting group.

The pattern for this little beauty can be found at The Loopy Ewe in their free patterns section. It has some very interesting features and is meant to be knitted toe-up on a circular needle. I used a Turkish cast-on and am knitting it with the magic loop method. I wanted a challenge and this is definitely it.

I Heart My Sock Knitting Group

I really love my knitting group! We had one of our twice weekly meetings today and I came away with such a good feeling that I had to sit down and write about it. It helps me to prolong that warm glow I always experience after our get-togethers.

Knitting, crocheting, in fact, all the fiber arts, are not just about the production of a finished object, or even the process of creating something. They are also about community. Community as found in the old-fashioned quilting bee or in the very modern online communities, such as Ravelry. I am a member of Ravelry and spend quite a bit of time discussing knitting and crochet related topics in forums, and connecting with fellow knitters and crocheters through shared projects in individual groups I belong to. Most of these people, however, I will never meet in person. So when I need that face to face connection with people who share my passion I rely on my knitting group.

The members of our group are of diverse ages (15-60+), backgrounds, and levels of experience. We give each other encouragement, support, and instruction. We share patterns, books, magazines, and yarn. We even go on yarn buying expeditions to the "big city" together. My life is richer because of my involvement with this group. Moving to a new home in an area of the country far removed from what I was familiar with has been invigorating, but I have also experienced a certain amount of displacement. Since joining this group, I feel I've found my place here in the Southwest. It's like in the theme song from the old TV series "Cheers": it's a place "where everybody knows your name." And that's a good feeling.

Spring Has Sprung!

There is no doubt about it--spring has arrived in southeast Arizona. And it has brought me another surprise. I didn't realize that bulbs planted in the fall would actually bloom here. Well, as you can see from these photos, they do indeed:

Daffodils are "my" flower, since I was a March baby, and my favorite color is yellow. I couldn't be happier or more energized.

And what have I been doing with all that energy and happiness? Taking my yarn for a walk by making scrumbles, of course! What's a scrumble, you ask? As defined by Sylvia Cosh and James Walters here: "'Basic' scrumbling means making freeform random patchwork pieces to be joined into a continuous, textured fabric."

On a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico this past autumn, I wandered into a boutique downtown and was completely blown away by the coats, vests, and scarves they had displayed. I didn't know how they were made, but I loved them. Since that time and after a lot of research I've found out that they were constructed using scrumbles from freeform knitting and crochet. Check out the International Free Form Crochet Guild site for freeform examples and links.

I'm currently involved in making scrumbles to donate to two groups on Ravelry that will use them to make items for fundraising to support breast cancer research. I'm a real beginner and at first was very anxious about my scrumbles. Were they good enough to donate? What would others think of them? I checked out the work of others on their project pages to see how mine compared and then decided the whole idea was to do "my" thing. Last night I even got brave and made one without following the guidelines I had been using contained in Jenny Dowde's wonderful book, " FreeForm Knitting and Crochet." I'm happy with what I've done so far, but you can judge for yourself. . .

When I'm working on scrumbles I feel like my whole body is humming with energy. It is very liberating to work without a pattern.

The Winds of March

I was born and raised on the east coast--Virginia and Maryland. My favorite season was always autumn, but next in preference was spring. After a long, cold winter the sight of green buds on trees, daffodils pushing up in the garden, and blue skies always got me excited about new beginnings. Moving to the high desert of the southwest, I was not sure what to expect of the seasons. So far, it's been a real revelation.

We moved here in July, 2007, and were prepared for a hot summer. We had visited in this region off and on for over 10 years, but never stayed for any length of time. Well, our first summer here was delightful. Only a few days over 100 degrees and it was a dry heat (yeah, I know it's a cliche, but so true.) And a lovely monsoon (rainy) season. The landscape was greener than we'd ever seen it and the wonderful smell of the desert after rain was intoxicating.

Then came autumn and I thought I would really miss the trees changing color. Another surprise! The colors may not be as riotous, but the golds and burnt oranges we saw in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona and on a trip through Sedona and to the Grand Canyon were very satisfying.

In the White Mountains

Winter was a bit colder than we expected--some lows around 19 degrees--and we had snow twice. A wild blizzard as it fell and enough to make everything white. Then it disappeared in about three hours. No snowmen, but also no shoveling.

Now, it's March and I can definitely detect signs of the approach of spring. Trees that lost their foliage in the fall are budding up and showing green. Cholla are showing yellow buds, the skies are an intense blue, and the winds are here. It is often very windy here, no matter what time of year, but to me, the winds of March have always been a precursor to spring.

Cholla beginning to bloom

As for new beginnings, I am trying new things with my knitting and crocheting. I have finally finished my first sock and cast-on for the second one. Soon I may actually have a pair. These are for my son, Jon, who works outdoors and gets very cold and sometimes wet. I know they look large, but he does wear a size 11-12 shoe. However, I intend to felt them to give him even more insulation from the elements.

Spiral Stripes Socks

Many other projects are either in the works or planned, but they will be the subject of future blogs. I have spring fever and need to get outdoors right now.

Cross My Heart, I'm Burnin' Up the Stash

I finished the February block for the 2008 12" Block-a-Month CAL group on Ravelry. It's called appropriately Cross My Heart. It went much easier than the January one. However, now I need to make another January block because I've decided on different yarns to use. I started out thinking I would make each block in the same color and then the pattern for February called for at least 3 different colors. I'm happy with the new colors and it enables me to use up even more of my stash.

Hook: Size H, 5.0mm

Yarns:

Bernat Berella "4" in Soft Forest Green (244)

Caron One Pound in Country Rose (535)

Caron One Pound in Off White (514)

Storage space in our new home is more limited than in the old one. We had an attic and a basement there. I have all my craft things and yarns in a closet in our computer/craft/guest bedroom and it is overflowing. I've decided that I really need to destash my yarns so I joined another group on Ravelry, Burnin' Up the Stash.

Following one of the tips posted there, I have started recording just what I have in my stash. I spent several hours yesterday just logging in my sock yarns. It is a bit overwhelming, but I am determined to do a bit everyday until it is all accounted for. It has made me wonder why I have accumulated so very much yarn.

Am I addicted to yarn buying? Is it some type of disorder like hoarding? I've always been a dreamer and perhaps the thoughts of a new project are as satisfying for me as the actual completion of a knitted or crocheted object. Whatever it is, I feel like I have taken the first step in admitting I have a problem. Once I've finished logging everything in I will need to set some goals for how to eliminate this embarrassment of riches.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub Another FO

I finished a really quick project today for one of the groups I belong to on Ravelry. It is a Spiral Scrubbie.

I made it for my husband to use when washing dishes (yes, he's a doll!) because he hates all the dishcloths I've made--too big! Actually it looks super easy, but I had problems following the finishing instructions. After some thought, I managed to finish off in a somewhat acceptable manner, but do not think I will make this pattern again. Found two others which I might try in order to use up some of my stash. We'll see. It's pretty low priority right now as I have many other projects on the needles or hooks. I need to finish a child's hat and scarf that I started in January, and my first pair of socks, and a baby afghan I began last year, and . . .

Needle and yarn:

Hook 5.0 mm (H).

Yarn Peaches and Cream Ombre Cotton Worsted.

How much? Very little yardage from a cone.

Colorway Peppercorn.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

It has been so long since I posted here, I just hope I haven't forgotten how. Seriously, I do have excuses. First, we went to California to visit my husband's family and I had no access to a computer. ( I still haven't purchased that laptop I've always dreamed of having.) Second, upon our return, I was sick for a week with some kind of disgusting bug. Third, I was busy, busy, busy knitting and crocheting the shawls I was taking with me to Texas to give to two of my sisters and one of my nieces for their birthdays. Fourth, I spent a week in Texas with my sisters and never even thought about blogging because we had so much fun reconnecting.


And fifth, but perhaps most important, I have been experiencing some kind of angst about blogging versus journaling.


I have been journaling for about 14 years now. Sometimes almost daily and then sometimes only intermittently, but it has been a great solace and a source of serenity for me over the years. I usually write just before going to bed to reflect a bit on the day or rant or enthuse about a current bee in my bonnet. It is fairly effortless as it is just me, my journal, and a pen.


Blogging, however, seems to take me a long time and neccesitates access to a computer. I am somewhat self-conscious about having everything perfect and also about exposing myself to cyberspace. I'm just writing for myself in my journals, but in a blog there is always the potential that someone else will read it. This is also one of the good things about blogging as I feel more like a real "writer." Maybe it's just exhibitionism but it does satisfy a creative impulse in me that journaling does not.


I haven't completely resolved the issue in my mind, but I am going to try my hand at doing both for a while and see how it works out.