Knitting The Moment

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Category Archives: finished knit

Post Wedding Stress Disorder

September 28, 2011 by Marie | 3 Comments

It really wasn’t a stressful wedding as weddings go; it was more that there was just so much going on all at the same time, and it takes me awhile to recover from things.  My husband kindly informed me some years back: “You are a tugboat.  You move large loads slowly.” When he said it, we were on a drive on Whidbey Island (one of my most favorite places) and I had tears streaming down my face.  I was tired, discouraged and hopeless.  His declaration made me smile through those tears and has given me the hope I need as I muddle my way through a low energy life.

Tugboat in New York Harbor

I’m still trying to get on my feet, but I have been a happy content girl (well, mostly): knitting,

packing Dosirak (bento- in Japanese) lunches for the kids

and trying to do a bit of pilates.  (A joke by anyone’s standard, but my scoliosis demands I “strengthen my core”.  I am hoping eventually to find my core.)  I’ve got my elementary, high school and college students back in school, and my husband started his BSN this week.

What I want to be doing is teaching.  I want to be teaching people to knit.  I want to sit and visit and get to know people and enjoy their amazing lives while we learn together to build things with sticks and beautiful yarn.  That’s my desire.  I’d love to be doing it in the next month.  We’ll see how the tugboat thing goes.

In the meantime, I started another little baby sweater, not that there’s a baby to wear it, but because I knit what I am in love with at the moment. Right now it’s this:

HELENA Sweater

I warn you-if you look at it, you’ll have to knit it.

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

 

That really cool bag. And mittens. Lots.

September 17, 2011 by Marie | 2 Comments

Finished.  Finally.  I so love this bag.

Not getting a great quantity of knitting done with our daughter’s impending wedding, but I am enjoying what I am doing very much.  I’ll have a picture of a cute baby sweater to show you as soon as I catch my breath.

In other news, here is a piece of Latvian tradition that, as much I I love knitting mittens, could NEVER have pulled off before tomorrow–

 

“It was an ancient wedding tradition to give numerous mittens as presents starting some time before the wedding. If the suitor was considered acceptable, the bride presented mittens to him and the matchmakers. In the period of engagement, the bride gave ‘motley mittens’ to her beloved who wore them on the wedding day. Another pair went to the bridegroom on the way to the church, one more —- to the clergyman when he entered the names of the engaged on the wedding list.  (at least 5 pairs)

The brides dowry was usually carried to the new husband’s house on Thursday or Saturday before the wedding day. The bride gave the dowry carriers a pair of gloves that were fastened to the carrier’s hat. The dowry cow’s horns were adorned with mittens, and a pair of mittens was to be given for letting the cows into the shed. (3 more pairs)

Sometimes mittens were given to the woman who helped the bride to put on her bridal veil. A brightly coloured ornamented pair of mittens was left for the church warden after the wedding ceremony and one also on the altar for the organ player. (3 more pairs)

Mittens were to be given to the man who helped the bride out of the carriage or the sleigh when she returned from the church. A pair of mittens was thrown into the yard on approaching the new husband’s house. When the bride was shown into the house, she left a pair of mittens near the stove. (3 more pairs)

The time was chosen (for the distribution of the marriage dowry) depending on the length of festivities and the place where the newlyweds were going to live. The young wife distributed mittens and other presents to her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, the wedding sponsors and the musicians.  (at least 8 pairs)

On Saturday in the end of the wedding week the young wife went to her mother-in-law’s bathhouse to wash herself where again she was to ‘throw’ mittens…” (1 more pr) from: An historic account of Latvian Mittens

GRAND TOTAL: at least 24 pairs of mittens/gloves, and since Nicole hates to knit, this responsibility would have clearly fallen to me.  And notice that Latvian mittens are intricately designed and shaped.  I had 12 weeks warning-I never would have made it. Latvian brides from times-gone-by:  I salute you!

Wedding tomorrow.  I can hardly believe it!

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

Coin Purse Argentina

July 14, 2011 by Marie | 5 Comments

under construction…

finished, packaged and awaiting a trip to the post office for a friend in Italy.

From the book Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski.

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

socks completed and not

July 12, 2011 by Marie | 2 Comments

Last year, after pouting about the fact that I did not have near enough money to join a Sock of the Month Club,  I did a Sock of the Month thing of my own, wherein I took all the sock yarn in my stash and paired it with all the sock patterns I was dying to knit, stuck them each in a ziplock bag and pulled one each month for a year.  This brilliant and satisfying idea I totally stole from The Yarn Harlot, bless her. This year I was going to use the same idea and apply it to mittens, so much it is that I am in love with them, but alas, I cannot stop knitting socks.  It’s like a sickness.  I. Can’t. Stop. I am easing up a bit, so I’ve given myself permission to knit a pair of socks over 2 months instead of one.  Amazing, aren’t I?

May/June sock complete

(pair of green socks for Pay It Forward project.)

July/August sock with Molly

I have no idea who these socks are for, only that I am compelled to knit them.

Question: What is your favorite Knit Stitch Encyclopedia?

I am seriously looking to buy one. (or two) I had two of them years ago. Back when I 1st began knitting and the only thing I was knitting were hats in the round,  I inherited a bunch of old looking knitting stuff from a friend and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I needed TWO books of assorted knitting stitches.  I dumped them.  Totally stupid, I know.  Now I want to find a great one and invest whatever it takes.  Any suggestions?

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

 

The Market Bag

July 11, 2011 by Marie | 3 Comments

A lovely July summer day to everyone.  Not that we personally are having lovely summer days.  One of my friends read or heard that the forecast here is for “episodes of sun”.  I’m about to have an episode of my own-I blame vitamin D deficiency. To those of you having beautiful hot sunny days, I beg you to sit outside in flimsy summer clothes with a cold drink so that I can live vicariously through you.

I love these market bags.  I took a free pattern off the internet and messed with it so that it suits me better than the original.  I use a cotton/acrylic blend yarn that’s obviously “tweedy”. You could use jute or 100% cotton, something that is strong. I made one for each of my daughters a year ago and I have to tell you these bags can take abuse and bounce back like nobody’s business.

bottom of bag

My 9 yr old carries all her stuffies in it one day and her swimsuit and towel the next and she’s not careful, she just crams her stuff right in it.  My 23 yr old carries all sorts of books and wallets and things-I swear hers must weigh 20 lbs.

This is the second project finished for one of my Pay It Forward ladies.  Now I’m just knitting market bags whenever I get on the stinkin exercise bike for 30 minutes. (the ipod isn’t enough to distract me from the sweaty-out-of-breath part)

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

{And in case you’re interested you can take a peak at the daily photo blog I keep with my older daughter:}

A String of Happy Thoughts


 

Barf and Bolero

June 17, 2011 by Marie | 5 Comments

Toby (our 6 mo. old pup) puked on my bed early this morning whilst I slept.  I woke to my husband on his hands and knees next to the bed with a bowl of soapy water and a sponge trying to clean the dog bile off our brand new black and white bedspread.  And so the day began.

Toby-bringer of bile

And apparently I can’t read.  It’s happened before and I can’t figure out how it keeps happening.  I got all the pieces of the bolero done and set about to putting the ribbing on when I looked suspiciously at the bit of yarn I had left, back at the pattern, back at the yarn, reread the directions for the last part literally 6 or 7 times, until I was completely convinced that I wouldn’t have enough yarn, which totally baffled me because I distinctly remember being delighted that this sweater was only going to need one skein of yarn. In spite of staunch confidence in my memory (which is laughable) I reread the amount of yarn required….and yep, there it was- 2 skeins.  After throwing a tizz (silently-I didn’t want to alarm the children), and realizing that yes I do have to drive into town (30 minutes each way) for another skein, I ate some candy, watched Bonanza, and felt better.

In the end, I wound up with this:

So I finished the bolero, washed puke out of the bedspread and let the dog live.  All is right with the world.

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.

Sneaky Knit

June 13, 2011 by Marie | 2 Comments

I’m not quite sure how this happened when my knit time is supposed to be going exclusively toward my knit course, but there it was nonetheless…

both fronts

back

(The way they are making variegated yarn these days you wind up with sleeves and fronts that are fraternal rather than identical twins, which my randomness loves.  It makes a sweater a bit quirky and I figure with a color pattern like this maybe people won’t notice baby spit that is bound to be adorning the front very soon.)

Quite suddenly there was a whole sweater completely knit behind the back of my knitting course-I have no idea how that happened.  Even Chococat looks shocked.

 

laugh. dance. learn. create. knit.