3/31/2007
3/30/2007
Favorite Knitting Accessory
RobYn has challenged her SP10 group to post our favorite knitting accessories, so here's mine! Presenting....drummmm rolllll......the MAGNETIC CHART HOLDER!!!! (imagine echoing sound here)
Here it is stripped down in profile. It folds to lie flat as well, although mine is always in use so that hasn't happened since it arrived from Patternworks. www.patternworks.com Note the elastic band that not only is fun to snap, but is functional too! Slip your pattern/chart behind and you've completed step one!
Here the Wonder Holder is flexing its muscles...errr antennae?....to support a magazine, pattern, chart for viewing right beside my recliner. (Recliner not included.)
This is the fully dressed-out version of the Wonder Holder. Its sturdy arms are extended and out of view behind the clipboard that is holding the magnetic page (See the black edge peeking out of the top?). I am using the clipboard because my pattern is on a flimsy piece of copy paper and needs more support. There is the magnetic magnifier that is truly helpful in reading small charts. The magnetic strips of varing lengths come in handy for a variety of functions. I use them to underline rows on the chart, as well as holding the paper to the magnetic, black sheet.
So there is my favorite knitting accessory. I use it every day!
re: Wordless Wednesday
That frog has to live in a very large pond suitable for large knitting projects when we have to rippit-rippit!
An escalator can never break --- it can only become stairs. ---Unknown
Here it is stripped down in profile. It folds to lie flat as well, although mine is always in use so that hasn't happened since it arrived from Patternworks. www.patternworks.com Note the elastic band that not only is fun to snap, but is functional too! Slip your pattern/chart behind and you've completed step one! 
Here the Wonder Holder is flexing its muscles...errr antennae?....to support a magazine, pattern, chart for viewing right beside my recliner. (Recliner not included.)
This is the fully dressed-out version of the Wonder Holder. Its sturdy arms are extended and out of view behind the clipboard that is holding the magnetic page (See the black edge peeking out of the top?). I am using the clipboard because my pattern is on a flimsy piece of copy paper and needs more support. There is the magnetic magnifier that is truly helpful in reading small charts. The magnetic strips of varing lengths come in handy for a variety of functions. I use them to underline rows on the chart, as well as holding the paper to the magnetic, black sheet.
So there is my favorite knitting accessory. I use it every day!
*****************************
re: Wordless Wednesday
That frog has to live in a very large pond suitable for large knitting projects when we have to rippit-rippit!
An escalator can never break --- it can only become stairs. ---Unknown
3/28/2007
3/26/2007
Events of Different Sorts
I've been using cotton to knit face cloths for my carry-along knitting. What better book to read while knitting than A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton?! :)
For my pay-attention and follow the graph knitting, I still have the World Map ghan. This is the final panel of four where I'm knitting my way through Australia having completed my creation of New Zealand!
Max had to go the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/ for a cardiac work-up. They kept him all day, so I did the obvious thing.
I went to Lambspun http://www.lambspun.com/ and came away with a bag full of brightly colored yarn. Lambspun is the actual LYS where Maggie Sefton learned to knit and uses in her mystery series.
The yarn will become this. Can you stand it??! Is it not just the cutest blanket for a four-year-old boy? Of course, who knows how old he'll be when I finish it! This is a free pattern at www.crochetme.com/color-me . So, I happily came home with my yarn...
while dear, sweet Max came home with an event monitor taped to his back and a bandaged leg. Poor baby. It appears that the heart problem is minor and not the dreaded cardiac problems that Boxers are prone to have. He's nine years old, so there are some conditions being treated with meds and dietary changes. Praise God that there is nothing major wrong with him!
He was still a sick baby in this pic. You can tell just how thrilled he is with the event monitor taped to him. He is so good and hasn't bothered it a bit.
For my pay-attention and follow the graph knitting, I still have the World Map ghan. This is the final panel of four where I'm knitting my way through Australia having completed my creation of New Zealand!
Max had to go the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/ for a cardiac work-up. They kept him all day, so I did the obvious thing.
I went to Lambspun http://www.lambspun.com/ and came away with a bag full of brightly colored yarn. Lambspun is the actual LYS where Maggie Sefton learned to knit and uses in her mystery series.
The yarn will become this. Can you stand it??! Is it not just the cutest blanket for a four-year-old boy? Of course, who knows how old he'll be when I finish it! This is a free pattern at www.crochetme.com/color-me . So, I happily came home with my yarn...while dear, sweet Max came home with an event monitor taped to his back and a bandaged leg. Poor baby. It appears that the heart problem is minor and not the dreaded cardiac problems that Boxers are prone to have. He's nine years old, so there are some conditions being treated with meds and dietary changes. Praise God that there is nothing major wrong with him!
He was still a sick baby in this pic. You can tell just how thrilled he is with the event monitor taped to him. He is so good and hasn't bothered it a bit.
My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
---Author Unknown
---Author Unknown
3/25/2007
Dinner Guests
J B Stanley at http://cozychicks.blogspot.com/ asks:What four fictional friends would you invite to The Olive Garden? Here's my not entirely serious list:
Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird because he would be an interesting conversationalist with passionate views and a clear sense of right and wrong. He would put forth his uniquely honest opinions about world events.
Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's, to add whimsy and high spirit to the gathering.
The Cat in the Hat in the person of Johnny Depp because he's a bit scary and a lot off-beat.
Zorro because----where do I begin? He's a handsome, Latin, noble man...and so much more!! Holly and I would enjoy that!!!
I would be the hyperventilating fool in the fifth chair trying to act casual and nonchalant while breathing into a paper bag. Pass the Romano please!
3/23/2007
Saturday Sky ~~ Distant Mountains
Miracles are instantaneous, they cannot be summoned, but come of themselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them. ---Katherine Anne Porter
3/20/2007
3/18/2007
On A Sunday Afternoon
Finished some mindless knitting here, although I celebrate every FO! "Mindless knitting" makes it sound negligible, doesn't it? Since I typically knit large projects, the smaller ones are pieces of excitement for me!! I'm so easily pleased---har-har! This face cloth is at www.bernat.com/pattern/.php?PID=214 It is the Simple Ridge Dishcloth, though I am using it as a face cloth. I knit it in the thin strand chenille that has been living among us for the past few years. I don't even recall what I used the rest of it to make!! I bought it about 4-5 years ago. It's perfect for a facecloth. Next one will be the eyelet face cloth that is in the pic with this one at the Bernat web site.
As for the large project, the Whirled Map ghan, moving northward, exited New Zealand and am now creating Australia!
Looky here! These are proposed Christmas stamps for 2007! Knitted Christmas designs a la Christmas stocking images. These are posted at http://www.usps.com/ Each one is SO cute!
Finished the John Miller book, Judi Dench With a Crack in Her Voice, and am left yearning for a biography of her written by someone who is not a good friend of hers. It was tiresome reading for 3/4 of the tome which primarily consisted of the author quoting review after review after review of her impressive work on the stage, TV, and movies. He did however intimate that our Dame Judi knows how to have a good time. Alas, no stories about that! Single until her 35th year, there must be many, many tales of having good times with the impish, fun-loving Judi!! That would be a laugh to read!
As for the large project, the Whirled Map ghan, moving northward, exited New Zealand and am now creating Australia!
Looky here! These are proposed Christmas stamps for 2007! Knitted Christmas designs a la Christmas stocking images. These are posted at http://www.usps.com/ Each one is SO cute!
Finished the John Miller book, Judi Dench With a Crack in Her Voice, and am left yearning for a biography of her written by someone who is not a good friend of hers. It was tiresome reading for 3/4 of the tome which primarily consisted of the author quoting review after review after review of her impressive work on the stage, TV, and movies. He did however intimate that our Dame Judi knows how to have a good time. Alas, no stories about that! Single until her 35th year, there must be many, many tales of having good times with the impish, fun-loving Judi!! That would be a laugh to read!
I noted a few scribblings in my journal that I especially liked in this book:
- Script learning had to be DLP (dead letter perfect) This mainly refers to Shakespearean plays.
- Page 88 refers to fashion and manners "...the elegant attitudes...of the days before youth-worship put elegance out of circulation." When I think elegance, I think Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
- After the pilot's announcement before take-off, Judi's regular "prayer" is "We are in God's hands, Brother, not in theirs."
The last two chapters are the most interesting of the book because they do deal with her personal life---her husband Michael and their daughter Finty. The writing for most of the book suggests that she never left the stage! In between, ones sees that she is beloved, has great humility, likes to drink, party, play games and had many suitors. This sanitized story of a great actress and grand lady leaves me wanting more!!
The first duty of love is to listen. --Paul Tillich
3/17/2007
3/15/2007
Steps to Contentment---Wrapped in Yarn
RE: Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday pic
That picture of my sister has always cracked me up!
My caption for it: Are you sure I'm the father??!
My favorite knitting spot and the steps to achieve it:
1. Warm, sunny day
2. Deck minus snow and ice (though it does need to be swept)
3. Basket of Plymouth Encore yarns
4. Diet Coke in a bottle, not a can
5. Yarn bobbins for Intarsia
6. Little red row counter
7. Clipboard with pattern chart
8. Citronella candle to anchor clipboard
9. Pencil for marking chart
10. Book stand
11. Good book to read while knitting
12. Sunglasses, as needed
13. Comfortable chairs: one for sitting/one for propping up feet
14. Laptop to read blogs while knitting (Use when wanting a change from the good book)
15. Capable knitting assistant, Max the Maximum Boxer
16. Last panel of the World Map ghan on appropriately sized circs
Yield: A glorious day of knitting for hours and hours
Note: Stop when you're tired!
That picture of my sister has always cracked me up!
My caption for it: Are you sure I'm the father??!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My favorite knitting spot and the steps to achieve it:
1. Warm, sunny day
2. Deck minus snow and ice (though it does need to be swept)
3. Basket of Plymouth Encore yarns
4. Diet Coke in a bottle, not a can
5. Yarn bobbins for Intarsia
6. Little red row counter
7. Clipboard with pattern chart
8. Citronella candle to anchor clipboard
9. Pencil for marking chart
10. Book stand
11. Good book to read while knitting
12. Sunglasses, as needed
13. Comfortable chairs: one for sitting/one for propping up feet
14. Laptop to read blogs while knitting (Use when wanting a change from the good book)
15. Capable knitting assistant, Max the Maximum Boxer
16. Last panel of the World Map ghan on appropriately sized circs
Yield: A glorious day of knitting for hours and hours
Note: Stop when you're tired!
Do what you love. Love what you do.
3/14/2007
3/13/2007
In Him, Through Him, and With Him
Quoted in Sojourners:
What God requires of those who call on God's name is responsive servanthood. God wishes to act in and through us, so Christian hope does not relieve men and women of responsibility. We are not primarily responsible for shrewd analysis of problems, for strategic selection of means, for maximizing the chances of success. We are primarily responsible for turning to God, for attempting to know and do God's will. That well may lead us into actions which are not shrewd, strategic, or successful, as the life of Jesus suggests. But as Jesus' life demonstrates, human action which is faithful to God's will can have transforming effect.
--- Parker Palmer from "The Company of Strangers"
When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.
3/12/2007
Read It -- You Don't Have to Cook It!
In her small kitchen, a 29-year-old woman faces 30 by challenging herself to cook all the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child in one year! That is 524 recipes in 365 days! The love-hate project inspires colorful writing. She admits to talking like a sailor (Her analogy not mine. Apologies to anyone related to or serving as a sailor.)---and she does! Tired of working as a temp and taking on a secretarial job that she seems to disdain (Sorry to all secretaries!), this writer's no-holds-barred style left me wishing that she would have held a few bars! I had to skip right over some of her grossly detailed descriptions of preparing some unusual foods. I admit it---I'm a girly-old girl!! All in all, her writing is hilarious, engaging, and a fun read! Interest in cooking is optional. This humorous book stands on its own.
My idea of a "Happy Meal" is any meal I don't have to cook.
3/11/2007
Readers Are Leaders!
This post will probably be a snooze if you're not a bookie person. I saw this on http://framedandbooked.blogspot.com I don't know who compiled the list. I read some of these as high school assignments back at the dawn of time!!! Really. It was just that long ago!
Copy the list to your blog and bold the ones you’ve read.
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)**
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)**
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.
3/10/2007
3/09/2007
For SP10
Greetings! As requested, I am posting the location of my SP10 questionnaire. I entered it on my posting for February 9.
Happy knitting!
3/06/2007
The First of the Last
There it is! The first stitch of the last panel for the World Map Afghan. This is as exciting as the first stitch of the first panel! Now I'm wondering just how long it will take me to complete it??!!!
Best way to start a Monday morning? Open the door to the flower delivery lady bringing an unexpected bouquet from the Texans. Absolutely wonderful! I recommend it! The Texas branch of the family truly blessed me.
I hate flowers -- I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.
--- Georgia O'Keeffe
3/03/2007
DeFeet of Cuteness
One Foot ---Two Feet --- Three Feet!
Max Feet!
Baby K Feet!
Baby J Feet!
Isn't amazing how an idea takes hold in the blog world?!
asked bloggers to post pics of feet around their homes.
I did.
If at first, the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it.
--- Albert Einstein
3/01/2007
Arctic Rip!
Look at my birthday book! Am I the last knitter in America to get this book? I've drooled over the beautiful FOs online from the patterns in this book--very basic, relatively easy, and fabulous style! A feast for the eyes!
My "knitting the blues" clearly shows how much time I have for mindless knitting! Using assorted bits and pieces of blue yarns, I'm making rectangles and squares to put together in a blanket for charity. It's fun to use so many different yarns to knit these bits-n-pieces while reading online and to carry in my purse!
Yes, indeed! You are seeing the Arctic rrrip! This panel did not quite measure up with the others in the world map afghan. So, using my charts, I ripped and and am now reknitting and shaping that section. Then, I will at long-last begin the final panel!!
I am loving my new flat panel monitor and my new HP computer! My old computer went to two of my DGs, ages 4 and 8, to use for their games. Everyone is happy! I hope you are too!
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. ---Aristotle
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