'tis the season

So in keeping with the season, today I was jolly. I put on my favorite Christmas CD's and hung garland all across our big front windows, intertwined with some red and gold ribbon. And for good measure, some little white rice lights left from last year that I hadn't used. There's 9 settings on those things--you can dial anything from plain old solid lights to slow fade to fast twinkle and everything in between. I have to admit I spent more than a rational length of time mesmerized with lighting effects.

Here's another shot--I couldn't take one straight on, because for the first time in a week, we actually had a sunny day. And the camera just couldn't stand all that brightness right in it's little face.

And then I spent the rest of my jolly time making my annual Christmas bread.

When we were first married we lived in the woods overlooking a big lake, a decent grocery store was 50 miles away, and so I baked all our own bread. It was a wonderful time in our lives. Mondays and Thursday were baking days and it became routine and normal. I didn't realize then how much it would spoil Doug for the rest of our marriage. He is a bread elitist.

That first Christmas, I found this great Christmas bread recipe--a nice soft dough braided over a cherry and apricot filling. I make it every year--just once a year--and although I tired of it years ago, it's still Doug's favorite. He looks forward to it every year, is horrified when I gift it to friends, and it wouldn't be Christmas for him without it.
Here it is straight from the oven. Candy cane shaped and with little bits of filling peeking through the braid.
The recipe makes three large candy canes of yumminess--I keep one out for us to eat right away, and freeze the other two for Christmas dinner and friends dropping by, and holiday breakfasts. We eat them plain, but for company, the top is drizzled with a plain powdered sugar glaze and decorated with bits of cherry.

Holiday traditions. They start accidentally--just a recipe made on a fluke one day. A new recipe to try. And now something that means Christmas to us--and to our kids and grandkids. As soon as they arrive for Christmas, after the hellos and hugs, they head for the kitchen asking "where is the Candy Cane Coffee Cake?"

And my heart glows. No matter how good the bread tastes, I know that's not why they can't wait for that first bite. It's the meaning baked into those breads. It's tradition and Christmas and home.

It's flour and yeast and sour cream with cherries and apricots. But mostly? Mostly it's love.

hectic

I'm in the midst of Christmas and all that entails. Just like the rest of you.

We have the first of our overlapping Christmas guests arriving this Friday, and the last will be here until at least the first week in January. We're the most centrally located of all our family and friends, and it's natural for everyone to congregate here. I love them all and wouldn't change it for all the world.

But there's still a lot to get done, and it gets a little more hectic every year. We host Christmas Eve dinner for family and everyone they feel like inviting, and Christmas dinner for the ones who are still hanging around or have just arrived on Christmas Day. I hate to admit it, but it gets a little more stressful for me every year. Menu planning, trying to cook ahead, figuring out where everyone is going to sleep, making sure some person I wasn't expecting has a present--I always have sort of generic presents in gift bags hidden away all over the house just in case. I'm always rewarded afterwards with a "Good save, Mom!" from one of the kids. It's funny and wild and we always manage to have a great time.

Last year my two kids, along with my daughter-in-law and my daughter's boyfriend, ended up drinking wine Christmas Eve and stayed up talking and merry-making until 5:00 a.m. Christmas Day. It was a little difficult getting up after a couple hours sleep and fixing food for all the new arrivals for Christmas Day. I won't do that again, but who knows. It's once a year and I tend to get caught up in the festivities.

So for you and yours--I wish the same. Good friends, wonderful family, chaos.

Make memories.

not a picture in sight

I've been MIA on the blog front. Truth is, I don't keep an online journal any better than I do a personal diary. It always seemed like something I should do--write down all the random things that run through my head every day. But I always get caught up in the here and now. There's always something going on that's more interesting in the happening than in the telling.

I was taking pictures of new yarn the other day, and my somewhat-new camera suddenly died. No warning--took a perfect picture one second, and went dark two seconds later. No display at all. In my eternal rosy optimism, I just used the view finder and plowed on. But when I downloaded the photos, I got black for those shots.

I think I wrote earlier about going to see my brother this summer and dropping my old faithful camera in the lake. Ok, so I didn't really just drop it--it slipped out of my pocket when I was bending over talking to my nephew, who was in the water. I loved that camera, so replaced it with another of the same brand. The company that made it went belly-up about the time I bought it, and the camera did the same a few days ago.

The new camera I just ordered will make the 3rd one I've had since August. Does everyone go through cameras this fast? I kinda doubt it.

So in a few days, I get to learn all the new buttons and bells and whistles this new one has. It will be a challenge. Soon as I get it, I'll post some pics.

Yarn dying on the stove--I better go check it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

undecided

So I was cleaning up my workroom and found a couple cardigans I had worked on last year. I wish they would have remained hidden, but since I found them--and I am trying to simplify all the clutter in there--I now have to decide what to do with them. To rip or save?

Here's the first: it's a lace cardigan from Garnstudio. One of the great free patterns you can find on this website. This sweater is knit in one piece from the bottom up to the underarm, where you cast off and divide to finish separately. It's a lovely pattern, even though it does look upside down to me now that I look at the photo.


I stopped working on this because once I got to the underarms, the instructions ceased to make sense to me. I wrote to their support people, who (although they answered promptly and were very nice), didn't answer my questions. So it's been sort of laying in a sad little heap on my sewing table while I ignore it.

I'm not sure I will ever wear this, even assuming I can figure out what to do next, or wing the finishing. For one thing, brown is not really my color. Especially this sort of washed-out brown. The yarn is great--Silky Tweed--but I only purchased the brown because it was on sale and there wasn't enough of the other colors I liked better. The danger in sales, I suppose. I always feel frantic to find something at those prices or kick myself later.

And I found this one, which I had entirely forgotten about. Jean Moss' Eriskay cardigan from Knitter's Fall 2000, done in Rowan DK Soft. I adore this yarn and would love to get more. The photo is bad--

And so is this one, but it does show the pattern a little clearer. Once it is blocked those little scallops turn into crisp zig-zags zooming up the sweater from the deep rib to the shoulders.

This is entirely finished, except for button bands and some seaming. I think, though, that it is too small. Or I am too big. And never the twain shall meet. It doesn't look like something my daughter would wear, so . . .
I think it will become soft little balls of yarn for me to turn into something else. In my favorite weight yarn.

Do these things happen to you? Does it upset you? I love my hand knit sweaters, but most of all I love the knitting of them. It doesn't ever upset me too badly to decide it's just not right and rip it out. Sometimes I re-use the yarn, but most times I realize I just really wanted to try that yarn, and that pattern, and now I'm satisfied and can move on to what's next. The finished knit is just a by-product--it's the knitting of it that really attracts me. The colors, the stitches, the different techniques, the craft of knitting.

Meanwhile, the first of my books came in -- Colorful Knitwear Design from Threads magazine -- and it's full of great articles, patterns and new (to me, at least) techniques from well-known designers, including an Alice Starmore article on charting lace patterns. The sweater patterns are a little dated, but the information is first-rate.

Weekend Follies

We tried to go to the show yesterday. Actually, we did go to the show. This, with my favorite actress, and this guy, who would be good to look at even if he couldn't act. But we didn't get to see it all. Halfway through the movie, the soundtrack quit. While the rest of us started groaning, one of those quick-to-complain movie goers ran out into the lobby to check, then came back and announced to all of us that there was a power outage.

Now, this struck me as a rather odd explanation. The video track was still running and the management had turned on the aisle lights--was someone up in the projection room peddling very fast? I said the same to Doug and he went to check. He talked to those in charge and pointed out that if they have a power outage, ALL the power goes out--not just part of it.

They thought he had a very good idea, checked power outages with city utilities and found they didn't show any in our area. Then they called an electrician.

We decided not to sit in the dark waiting and opted for the refund they graciously offered.

So we ended up going out to dinner and then made a stop at Barnes and Noble for coffee and new books. Always one of my favorite weekend things to do. I bought a couple paperbacks and checked out the new knitting books to see if I wanted to buy them. (More on this next time)

Today I did some of this:

This is silk and merino--I have about a pound of it, I think, and have already done a bobbin or two of it. I'm trying to spin it a little tighter and finer because I'm never happy with the results when I ply. The ply always seems too loose to me. I think this will be a good two-ply, but I haven't actually tried plying it yet. It should turn out to be probably between a lace and fingering weight, and I'm going to use it for a lacy scarf or small stole.

And I started this to go with my purple coat:
The colors aren't quite right, and I'm too lazy to fiddle with photoshop to correct them. There is a purple in here that matches my coat, plus the 'pop' of a bright orange that should be cherry and fun in the dead of winter. And believe me--I need all I can get to cheer me up and keep me going when it's cold enough to wear that coat.

Here's a little closer view, that's out of focus, but again, it's that lazy thing:


It's a simple sort of lacy rib that I found in some stitch directory--I'll look it up if anyone's interested. Just leave a comment or drop me a note. Very simple four stitch repeat and looks good on both sides.

The yarn is Silky Kidd from Cherry Tree Hill, available here. I love it, but I'm a real sucker for silk and anything that's soft and lovely. It is great to work with and will produce a nice, soft and cuddly, gorgeous scarf when I'm finished. I think there's enough yardage in this to get a nice long skinny scarf that I can wrap around my neck a couple times.

And today I also, finally, got all the rest of my ribbon yarns listed, which sort of explains my reluctance to mess with photoshop anymore. Lots of my customers love these ribbon yarns and are sorry to see them go--but I must admit to being relieved to be done with all the photo taking and trying to describe colors.

I'm not even going to relist those that don't sell. They are going to become something else. Maybe go into the crafts box my grandsons drag out when they're here--I'm enabling their creativeness and keep a bunch of supplies for them to experiment with when they visit. They'll have some delicious ideas for their use. Or I'll turn them into little mittens to decorate packages, or maybe just use them as ribbons on the packages.

Saturday Colors

Asters ~~ the last ones to show up for the party. But man, do they come dressed to make an entrance. Like a pack of rowdy teenagers who've been kept waiting too long, they burst through fall's door loud and rushing and pushing at each other to be the first one in. Crowded and packed together in one large mass, they demand to be noticed.

Got up early today and after finishing all those little start-of-the-day chores, decided to take today for me. Here's what I've been doing:


I started some new socks out of Cherry Tree Hill's new Sockittome yarn. So far I love this yarn. It has great bounce and the stitches line up nice and smooth. Not as much twist as their Supersock, but enough so the plies stay together and knit quickly.

I collect old needlework magazines, some quite ancient, and this is a pattern I found in one. The title called it "Fancy Hem-Top for socks, mittens, etc". Hmmmm, wonder if that name is copyrighted. It is pretty, but as you can see, I didn't get far before I realized that a sock made in this stitch is not going to be staying up where I want it. I think my shoes would end up eating my socks, and I hate that. So it's ripped, and I'll start another tonight, or unravel back to the hem and start some ribbing and a different pattern.

It would really make a cool top for a mitten, though. Maybe someday.

Plus, it's very similar to Fin and Feather, and pulls the top up and down in a scallop. Which could be pretty, but who's going to see it when it's down inside my shoe anyway? Here's a closer picture where you can see the 'wave' a little clearer.


Pretty, yeah? But the socks were ripped and it was time to move on to new fun.

Here's what I'm doing now:


It looks really awful doesn't it? It's not chitlins, although I've never actually cooked them. Just read about them enough to picture them looking sort of like this (which I guess they don't).

It's a nice soft fluffy wool from Brown Sheep~~don't know which breed, but he's a good one. The roving is small in diameter and should spin up beautifully. The color isn't as bright as my photo, it's both rosier and earthier at the same time. It'll be listed in my store next week.

Now on to spinning~~pictures in a few days. Enjoy the Saturday colors where you live. Hope they're beautiful.

fall?

The flowers aren't ready yet. Or maybe I just think that because I'm never ready, either.

Don't get me wrong--I do love autumn. The new crispiness in the air in the early morning that makes it just a little harder to get out of bed. The colors, and the cooler temps that let me stay outside transplanting and digging a little longer. And the sky! A color only seen in October--clear and a blue that's impossible any other time of year.

Fall has only one drawback, as far as I can see ~ it proceeds winter. Dread winter. Not my friend at all.

I went outside with my first cup of coffee this morning, like I always do when the weather is fine. It was wonderful~not a cloud~just brightness and light and beauty. Clear and full of life. I saw this:

and these:

And Spats:

You can barely see his cutest part~that little white tip on the end of his tail. He came to us from God knows where. Just moved into the back yard, refuses all offers of comfort and ease in the house, only wants food and a little stroking now and then. I'm the same (except for that inside the house part), and we understand each other.

He belonged to someone--he's a not-too-old neutered male. Why did he leave, or did someone leave him~I wonder about these things.

And anyway--the flowers! They aren't quitting and I also wonder at the resilience of these lovelies that dwell in my yard for a season out of the year. They want to live~give them a little soil and the sort of sun they like and they give you the miracle of such beauty coming from a tiny seed. And they keep going as long as they can~all for a chance to be there next year. To keep the beauty going.

I got new wool in yesterday. So in honor of the flowers and their defiance of the season, I'm going to be dying some yummy roving this week. Others may acknowledge fall. The flowers and I are pretending summer never ends.

If you love spinning, look for them here. Give me a couple days~I may be outside drinking coffee with Spats and the flowers.

New carpet today--and it looks great. The downside is that now we have to move all the furniture back and I'm tired. It needs to be done, but maybe one more day of making my way through the maze we created when we moved it out of there won't hurt. One thing work does is wait.

I've learned that a lot of things we force ourselves to do aren't really that important. The furniture doesn't care if it's sitting in the wrong room, and now, at last, neither do I. As you grow older, you tend to focus on what's really important in your life--and having the rooms back to normal is just not that critical to me right now. It will wait.

A few years ago I would have been obsessive about getting everything back in place--and cleaned thoroughly before books and pillows and all the little junk I have sitting on tables were put back into place. I'm not the same person now. My kids taught me the ABC's for my more relaxed persona, and Inky gave me the graduate course.

The 'things' in our life are not that important--you've heard it before, but take it to heart. What's important are the warm-blooded beings around us. Our kids, our family, our pets. Work can wait while we focus on giving attention to the love that surrounds us. Time to give a hug or a pat on the head--or just sit and enjoy the company of those others that give us joy.

We had to replace the carpet because of Inky, our old junkyard mix dog. We got her from the Humane Society twelve years ago. She was two at the time, and when we adopted her, the lady told us she had been scheduled for euthanasia the very next day.

She was a funny dog who enjoyed jumping up and down on her hind legs when she was young--this big dog--and was the epitome of vibrant life. She was unceasingly loyal and wonderful to us, and insisted that we learn the fun in leaving things behind to play and romp and go outside. She had been abused, and seemed to know, like animals in that special sense they have, that we were her salvation. She shared our strange mix of sadness and pride as the kids left one by one, and then even seemed to grow old with regret that she would have to leave us, too. It hurt my heart to see her embarrassed, confused and sorrowful when her body failed her at last and she began having accidents in the house.

We finally had to make the choice between watching her slowly starve to death or giving her a quick release from the liver cancer that conquered her unbelievable spirit after 15 years. We chose to let her go. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

I'll tell you what. The new carpet's great; I'm sure we'll love it. It's just that it can't quite match the old stinky stained one, and Inky still here.

just a patsy

hi there!

This is a test. This is only a test.

Just got the blog set up and thought I'd write a little something to see how it looks on the template.

And give you a clue to the name of my blog, and my eBay seller id. My name is Patsy, and I'm teased endlessly whenever someone in a movie or anywhere, refers to a fallguy as a 'patsy'. So there's kind of a double meaning here.

Because when applied to knitting (and spinning, as well as some other passions) the double meaning works. I am a patsy. I buy yarn based on some random attraction it has for me--with no clue whatsoever what I want it for, or if it will ever become anything other than a hunk of yarn. I just like the texture, or the color, or some other indefinable something that appeals to me. A patsy for fiber.

That's me.

So I'll write about it here, and find new loves to share with you--and I bet you'll like some of them, too.

Thanks for stopping by. Talk to you later.