There once was a bunny

Remember how I said I'm not so good at finding the right words in emotional times? 


My friend has had a rough week - okay - year.

She recently lost a childhood friend to cancer.  It was unexpected and heartbreaking.
I didn't necessarily know what to say.

I do, however, know what makes her smile....bunnies.  Easter is her favorite holiday and little bunnies just seem to cheer her up.

So, I made one.  I found a pattern at www.bysmallmeans.com and got to work.  To be honest, I'm not much for sewing up and I refuse to make clothing for toys or dolls.  Still, I had a good time knitting and stitching goodwill into this little critter.

He's far from perfect (as is life) but he's soft and all ears -- a perfect friend.

There he is hanging out in the most beautiful tree in the neighborhood!

The challenge of gifting

Don't you love it when someone you care about opens a gift you've painstakingly found for them and they smile broadly, look at you in the eye and say, "How did you know?!"

That moment to me, is priceless.

Still.  I hate shopping.

Always have.

Go ahead, take away my "girl card," but it's the truth. 

Racing through malls and shopping centers, in a desperate panic to find THE gift for the birthday, anniversary, shower -- you name it -- has always caused me to break out in hives.

There are few reasons for this:

1. I pick up other people's energy.  They say it's because I'm an intuitive and I guess that's true.  So you can imagine heading to a place full of people who are desperate to find something to fill whatever need they have is, at the least, stressful.  (yes.  I also know how to "protect" myself from all this energy and how to "decontaminate" when I get home.   The thing is - I forget.)
2. I need to be clear and focused on the recipient.  Sadly, I'm often in a last-minute panic at times like Christmas when there's an onslaught of people to gift with the perfect present.  I put a crapload of pressure on myself to do it just right.  I want the recipient to know how much I really do care about them and I have been known to spin out of control and then threaten to buy everyone the "fruit of the month club".
3. So many commercial trinkets and things are simply pricetags to me.  My friends and family are not just a number.  Yet I get all wigged out if the widget I found for my sister is less expensive than the doohickey I found for Dad.  It seems wrong that I do this, but still, I do.
4. I need to be in the mood to get this whole gift thing going.  I have a classic Earth Shaped heart line.  That means I may not be so good at using the perfect words to tell you how I feel, or to express joy, celebration or even heart felt condolences -- but I'm great at creating something with my own little hands that can express it all for you.

What about you?  Is gift giving fraught with angst or is it (like it is for Michael) a time of great happiness?

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FINISHED!

The Kindle Cover!

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  Still I'm calling it a prototype - there are some things I'll change in the next go round.

What do you think?

Of Festivals and Fibers

Last weekend Michael and I went out to the Vienna Community Center to attend the Uniquities Fiber Festival. 

I've never been to an event for knitters or yarn people.  (remember, I've only been knitting regularly for 15 months or so).

Long fascinated by people pursuing their passions I've lurked and watched from the sidelines (i.e., internet) events like Rhinebeck and the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but I've never ventured out there.

As outgoing as I seem, I'm really quite intimidated by going someplace where everyone else is (in my opinion) more "in the know" than I am.  Maybe it's an inferiority complex, but I really hate feeling like I don't fit in.  I worry all the time that I won't have anyone to talk to (except the animals) and that everyone around will see that I have no idea what I'm doing.

Plus, I'm just a homebody.  My astrologer says that has something to do with my Cancer rising.

Still.  I had mentioned to Michael that this Fiber festival was happening and he urged me to go - insisting that he would come with me to see what all the fuss was about.

It was the perfect event for a newbie.  Small enough to make a quick lap and not feel intimidated.

While I had zero budget for any of the yarny goodness, I intended to learn about the dying and spinning process and to simply breathe in the yumminess of the yarn.  Michael had other plans. 

He surprised me with the insistence that he'd gift me with yarn - if I agreed to use it for me. 

I was like a three year old on Christmas morning!  We made several laps around the tiny space before selecting

The dark blue is "Nona" a merino, cashmere, bombyx silk Lace weight.  Approximately 630 yards from Spirit Trail Fiberworks in Sapphire.  I'm making the Anya Scarf by Zari Zamen of Panda Bonzai! in it for me.

What they say is true -- working with something this luxurious just really changes your life for the better.

The light blue and the pastel are 100% Baby Alpaca ~ 200 yds each. Light blue is color 1257 1 of 5 and multicolored is color 1151 1 of 5.  I got two of the multicolored - the second skein is 3 of 5.

I'm thinking a smooshy cowl and mittens with that.

This was a great experience and really lit my fire to make my way to some of the bigger festivals this year.

Want a list of festivals around the world?  Check out the Knitter's Review listing.

What festivals do you attend?  What's a must see for a newbie like me?

Working for Yarn

This is what happened.

Last week, I sent a little email to a list of friends letting them know that I'd be opening up my intuitive knitting business and asked for their support.

Mostly I was thinking in terms of moral support. 

My friends have always supported me.

Not one of them snickered when I told them I was leaving a corner office and a six figure salary to start a business walking dogs and picking up poop.

They weren't even surprised when that business grew to 6 figures in 4 months and I started hiring help.

I'm the one in most of my circles who does her best to "just leap."  Meaning, after a bit of thinking and planning and blueprinting, it's time to take action.  I have a strong urge to simply move forward with my life.

Not ignore the past, nor avoid things in the present...but live big and on my terms now.

I believe we all have magic inside and that somehow society has done it's best since we were teeny tiny things to knock that magic out of us and get us to conform.  I suspect that was a good idea back in the Industrial Age, and the advent of corporate thinking.

It's stifling though.

Part of my life's calling is to prove that you can live on your own terms.  And in doing that you can actually change the direction of your life and the world around you.

Think about it.

When you move forward, directly in alliance with your deepest truth and your passions, you're going to make decisions that are for the highest good.

Back to what's happening here.

Two peeps asked for commissioned pieces.

One wants a Kindle cover and another wants a hand-crafted heirloom baby blanket for a shower coming up.

WOO HOO.

First the Kindle cover.

I searched around a bit on Ravelry and the web looking for a pattern to inspire me.  There were several that were intriguing but none really wowed me.  (although I did get a good idea of gauge and such).

Instead, I devised a Kindle cover based on the slip stitch hat I just completed.  I pulled out a self striping yarn and a solid and set to.  Here's what it looks like so far.

What pleases me most is that the inside will be cushy - an added bonus for those Kindle screens I think.

Essentially this is a tube that will have the bottom sewn up and the top will be secured with a velcro closure.

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The baby blanket.

The parents are having a little girl and they are decorating the nursery in a jungle theme.  The gifter asked for something mostly pink with perhaps some green.

I spent a few days searching for inspiration.  Babies are so precious and such a joy that it seems very important to spend much time thinking about the perfect pattern or inspiration.  Since I do not know the parents it was harder to intuit the perfect look than it is for me when I know the recipient.

This process made me realize that up til now I've been essentially knitting intuitively.  It's a big part of how I do all my work, so it wasn't all that surprising.  I think from now on I'll ask for a photo of the recipients if I don't know them.  Looking at photos turns on my intuition and makes it easier to do the design.

After some meditating and swatching, I remembered that one of my closest friends gave me an antique pattern book that had been her mother's.  (It was one of my most precious gifts this year!)

I pulled it out of the plastic casing I'd stored it in and flipped through.  I found the perfect crochet design for this little baby!

Here's what it's looking like so far.

This is a pretty basic crochet shell pattern. Keeping the stitches tight is important -- we don't want little fingers or toes to get snarled in the holes.

I'll add a lacey edging in green and variegated stripes.

That's where I've been.


So y'all, what are YOU up to?

The Usual Way

It happened in the usual way.

I opened my mouth.

That's where all the adventures in my life start.

For several months now I've been knitting away, crocheting away and just plain playing with yarn and have the best time.

In between yarn times, I've been providing hand analysis readings for private clients, leading a group coaching adventure and meeting weekly with creative, juicy and brilliant one-to-one clients.

The work I do with these clients usually revolves around them recognizing their innate power to make their dreams come true.  So whenever a client says something like, "I wish I could get paid to...." our work starts to focus on the making it happen portion.

It was bound to happen then.

I heard myself say

"I wish I could get paid to play with yarn and create my own designs."

Sitting there with my honey and a friend, munching on organic chips and vegetables and it just slipped out.  I don't know what we'd been originally talking about to be honest - I'd been in my head trying to figure out a better use for this yarn

(Dragonfly fibers Djinni Sock: Ode to Sock Summit)

than the design I'd originally conceived.

it just wasn't working for me. and the eyelets just looked like holes.

When the two of them stopped talking and looked at me I just blurted it out.

Over the weekend I thought of a conversation with a colleague who is also a coach and intuitive.  What stuck out was our topic "Taking your own advice is hard!"

True that.


My clients trust me. When they do the work that I request of them they start to make a living doing that thing that they love.

What would happen if I just took my own advice?

• I'll get paid to play with yarn
• There will be a neat and useful home for all those design ideas I wake up in the middle of the night to  jot down
• The journey - all by itself - is going to be a great adventure
• Showing, rather than telling, is priceless for helping others live the dream they've got in their head (after all, if I can do it, so can you)
• This is going to be more fun than even I imagine

My plan:

•  Share the journey with you - right here at 2Knits&aP.  I'll post pictures, share the good times and the challenges and include you in the entire process.  Not because I'm the expert but because I'm a yarn-head like you.

• Tell the story in the best way I know how.  Writing is cathartic for me and it's the best way I know to work out challenges when I come across them - there will be updates here (of course) and in the 2x monthly ezine (you can sign up in the box on the right there =>)
• Show the cross-pollination between my life as an intuitive, a hand analyst, a coach and an ordained minister and this creative process.  I believe it's all part of the Cosmic Influence - and the process is pretty awe-inspiring.  If you start looking at your creative process differently too - that would be cool
• Ask lots of questions and share lots of resources.  As you can see, while I spend some time in thought before taking action - I'm all about action (I have action-oriented thumbs in case you're interested).  Taking action is intimidating for lots of us.  I often jump in the deep end and then realize I don't necessarily know how to swim back to the pier.  So when I don't know what to do, I'll ask.  I'll be honest about it and I'll let you know what I learn - so you don't have to jump off the deep end alone.

There's the dream.

The big goals and interim goals are being committed to paper and I'll reveal them all to you too.  I'd love your moral support and inspiration.

Vine Cloth Pattern

I've been in the repetition of the Quaking Aspen Shawl and felt the need to deplete my stash, make something that could be finished quickly and would be easy enough to cut my design teeth without too much pain.

What took care of all three?

A very simple washcloth/dishcloth design.

Everyone knows that handmade dishcloths make great little hostess gifts or other little "I was thinking of you" goodies.  Not so true if you went out to Target or the local pharmacy and picked a stack of those scratchy cloths and gave them to the hostess -- right?

I'm thinking of making a stack of these for favors at my next wine and cheese gathering - I'll adapt the colors to a theme for the night and everyone will have a nice little gift to take home.

Right now  - I'm the only one who has knit this pattern up.  I'd certainly appreciate it if you'd let me know about any errors (or feel free to ask any questions).  And I'd be really tickled if you'd send me photos of your finished pretties.  (I'll also post this on Ravelry, so we can all gather there -- okay?)

 

Vine Cloth

By Peggie Arvidson based on Hanging vines stitch pattern found in the daily stitch a day calendar 2012

(perfect hostess gift for the wine lover on your list)

For the green/yellow: I used about 1/4 of a skein of Peaches and Cream multicolored cotton yarn.  For the Blue and brown, I used less than one quarter of each the brown and Blue.  Both Peaches and Cream cotton.

Size US 8 needles.

You can adjust your needles to get the "feel" that you want in your cloth.  If you're a tight knitter like me 8 or 9 probably would be excellent.  If you are a loose knitter?  try a smaller needle.

Additionally -- if you'd like this more in a towel size -- cast on more.  The pattern is in a multiple of 8 plus 6 for the 3 edging stitches on either side.

Cast on 34

Rows 1-4: Knit

Row 5: K3; (K2, K2Tog, YO, K3;) 4times;  K3

Row 6: K3; purl 28; k3

Row 7: K3; (K1, K2tog, YO, K4) 4 times; K3

Row 8: K3; P28; K3

Row 9: Knit across

Row 10: K3; P28: K3

Row 11: K3; (K3, YO, SSK, K2) 4 times; K3

Row 12: Knit across all 34

Row 13: K3; (K4, YO, SSK, K1) 4 times; K3

Row 14: K3; P28; K3

Row 15: Knit across

Row 16: K3; P28; K3

Repeat Rows 5-16 twice (or as many times as you want to get the length you prefer)

Repeat Rows 5-14 a final time

Knit 4 rows

Bind off

You can embellish by adding stripes and adding a little crochet “rope” at the corner to hang the cloth!

What makes an Original - Original?

I feel like I should be singing, "Oops I knit it again."  over and over and over. 

I've been knitting nonstop since my last little jaunt here.  However, it seems my brain is reluctant to write AND knit.  This is disconcerting.  To say the least.  I fancy myself someone who writes.  A writer.   Because obviously writers, write.  Yet.  Other than morning pages my ability to sit here at a keyboard and actually WRITE has evaporated. 

My ability to sit at my keyboard, peruse twitter, spend hours searching patterns on Ravelry and you know, generally read knit blogs on end -- while knitting -- that skill set is most definitely intact.

No idea what that's about.

And frankly. It pisses me off.

Still.  What I've been thinking in the far recesses of my mind while doing all this mindless perusing and very important knitting is this:

What exactly constitutes an original design?

(remember, I've spent HOURS of my life perusing patterns).

I mean.  If I just sit down with a set of needles and some yummy hand-dye and start knitting and purling away -- every once in a while adding a stitch here and a yarnover there - and eventually end up with something, say, the size of a lap blanket -- is that an original design?

What if, after I've followed a dozen or so different basic mitten patterns and start riffing on colors and ribbing -- all because my brain has moved from auto-pilot to a need to do something to keep it entertained while making the dozenth pair?  Is that, technically, a design?


I'm thinking this may be a lot like writing (ah! A connection).  

It's been said there are "no new ideas" in the world of publishing.  Just new ways of saying things.

You know the classics have been done a billion and a half times (boy meets girl; man's inhumanity to earth; girl doesn't dig boy; the poor shall overcome, etc.)  yet new movies, books and stories are told every day. Right?


Maybe we're drawn to design, like words, that put a new spin on an old classic.  Or use a voice (vision) that allow us to see the same old thing in a new way?  I'm not certain.

This knitting thing has been a passion for much longer than I anticipated last snowy, cold winter when I picked up yarn and needles.  I figured it would get me through the winter and then I'd be done with it.

Knitting has become a way for me to create something out of nothing and I'm starting to think about things like "how would I make that?"  or "could I design something like the shawl I loved in a magazine and combine it with a new stitch pattern that I saw on my stitch a day calendar?"

Questions.

So what do you think?  What constitutes an original design?


And in the meantime, here's some of what I've been knitting:

My take on Ashton Shawlette

 

 

 

Cherry Blossom Boneyard

The start of a Quaking Aspen

Avoidance techniques

The fact that I've written more posts here than on the blog that is related to my income is telling.  What it tells remains to be seen I suppose.  Still it's interesting to see how my brain works.  In my mind the fact that I'm writing (and knitting and crocheting) means I'm taking action in my life.

Taking action is my default.  I move and take action.  I used to do it (unconsciously for the most part) to avoid feeling or digging into my not so proverbial stuff in my closet.  Now I do it because my muscle memory insists that moving and doing are my normal.

And frankly there is nothing wrong with doing, right?  Still.  What is it that I'm avoiding or shoving to the back-burner in my business life?  Will making more hats and gloves and socks and mittens (and a SWEATER) miraculously bring out the truth I'm clearly trying to avoid? 

This is a knitting and making blog after all.  So many deep questions just send me deeper into my stash.  Still, I'm wondering what my compulsion to stash is really about?  Is it about the yarn? 

So here's (some of) what's on the needles at the moment:

 The second ducky sock.  it's making me happy to make it.  moving quickly and luxurious to feel.  Probably too heavy and loose for "real" socks but they should be a welcome addition to my wear-in-the-house socks.

I'm also working on a sweater for Michael.  (it's grey!) and a pair of amazing sockies for Butter and a shawl that is way too complicated and still amusing.  The scarf for Dad and oh yeah.  I made a hat this weekend.  The Pattern of the Day in my calendar was a neat little intarsia pattern named Mountain Lake.  I cast on a few times intending to make a swatch. But you know, it had to be in the round.  And my dpns were otherwise occupied (see socks above) and the smallest circulars I had were the perfect size for a hat.  So while the hat is too small for an adult head, it is great for a child.   Yes.  I made a whole hat so I could try a pattern.  I liked it.  (and it was good for avoidance too -- I mean, you can't be called too much of a slacker if you make a hat in a weekend, right?)  Okay - don't tell the non-knitters that you can.

Jammies at Noon

I dare you (or anyone you know for that matter) to be unhappy while wearing these socks.  Hell, I suspect just being in the presence of someone who wears these should cheer you right up. 

The fact that there is only ONE of these socks at this moment is not a problem.  At all.  because I'm going to start the second one right away.  In fact I'm going to avoid the boring second sock curse simply by reversing the colors.  Don't think I can or should?  Watch me. 

I've always known my propensity for wearing mismatched socks would come in handy.  See, these are the socks I have on right now.

sadly, I did not make these

Yes.  They ARE cats on one foot and dogs on the other.  I am an equal-opportunity pet-lover.  (and yes, that may well be the bottom hem of my green "Life is Good" Jammies you see.  There is nothing wrong with wearing jammies at work.  If you work at home.)  But since you noticed I'm on my way to clean up and put on grown up clothes.  Now.

And if any of you have a pattern for dog socks (or cat socks) or can point me toward one -- I'll gladly make myself a pair of dog-cat socks.  Thank you very much.

Is there Such a Thing as TOO MANY?

Last night Michael watched me cast on a fun par of socks.  He's fascinated by the entire process of knitting I think.  He watches me intently.  As though by watching the hands and the yarn and the sticks he's going to find the meaning of life.

It's cute.

I've offered to teach him how to do it, but he says no.  He'd rather watch me. 

He'd be really good at it though because he's an engineer and a math whiz.  I feel certain he'd never have the issues with pattern repeats and counting that I do.

Ah well. The socks.

Remember when I told you I let each of my C600 gal pals pick a body part and a color for their Christmas gifts?  (Eventually I'll get around to explaining C600 - the name).

So Sbelle picked fingerless mitts in pink (not really a body part, but she's a rebel).  I made her those cute Mitt Envies in pink (and the yarn is Ella RAE not Mae - just fyi)

what will I do when my model heads to college next fall?

And Tjane picked her head and told me to surprise her.  But she wanted something slouchy to wear after hot yoga.

She got TWO hats - because I'm cool that way (and the hats were really piling up around here)

she couldn't decide between this and the Slouchy Copy Cat in Miss Babs Violets in the Grass.

And now there's Butter's gift to be done.  She picked cozy footie socks for wearing around the house and luxuriating.

That's why I was casting on again last night.  I've cast on a few different yarns and swatches but haven't gotten what I wanted for her just yet.  But I pulled some Amazing Aurora (Lion Brand) from my stash and voila! It's a win.

Which brings me to Michael.  He accused me of NOT being a finisher.  This gets under my skin somehow.  Which is clearly something I should meditate on and wrap my head around.  But that's another story altogether.

In the meantime he made me enumerate all the projects I had going at once.  quickly I deduced which he had SEEN and which he hadn't.  I gave the number of what he's seen.  Smart, right?


How can he say I don't finish things?  Didn't he see what came out of that yarn basket at Christmas?  Oh, and didn't he notice the lapghan that I finished in a day?  Yeah. 

So what say you?  What's too much?

Lazy Knitter Get off your ...

I haven't written here in a while because I think you may be bored with simple, daily run downs of what's on the needles. 

There is also the fact that I apparently cannot count past three.  This is tough in K4, P4 ribs btw.

Recently I realized that I'm a lazy knitter.  Or that my desire to remain a slug in one place is the source of much of my creativity.

I'm inventing a new hat pattern (I'd show you a picture but the hat is downstairs and I'm not, so it will have to wait til I get off my arse and head downstairs to take a picture.  Hopefully I'll remember to bring my camera or it could be another few days....)

The pattern is being invented because I had written a pattern down and left the pattern upstairs (where I am now) and my yarn and needles were downstairs (where the TV is).  Once I was snuggled between my honey and my sweet dog with the blanket over my lap, my wine on the coffee table and the needles in my hands, I wasn't about to head upstairs for a pattern.

I figured I could make something up as I went.

At first I had stage fright, but then I figured if it really was sucky I could unravel the whole thing and follow a pattern.

I'm working it in EllaMae - in black and pink on US#8 circulars.  I cast on 80 stitches, worked a k2, p2 rib for about 2 inches and then sort of decided to wing it.  The first few rounds reflect that (but imperfections like that are my 'calling card')  Now I'm in a rhythm and run a solid round of K, then a round of k2, sl1, k1, then another round of k2, sl1, k1, and then switch the color and do the three rounds again.  simple.  and I'm actually kind of tickled by the way it looks.  If only the hat were here, I could show you.

But it's not.

This Knitter's 2012 List

Yesterday I flipped through a copy of The Knitter's Life List by Gwen W. Steege.  I was at the library - supposedly doing some work to prep the business for the new year, but really, I was basking in a little quiet time and trying to wrap my head around all that happened in 2011 and get a grip (yeah, right) on the new year.

The book had some really nifty and innovative ideas and I'm a sucker for a check-list - nothing makes me happier than crossing things off the to-do list.  Sometimes I write things on my daily list that I've already done, just so I can cross it off.  (sad but true confession).

Here's a list of intentions for my yarn-life in 2012:

• create one intarsia-something - hat/mittens/scarf
• improve my color skills - instead of relying on the yarn to change colors, do it myself
• make a sweater that I'm  happy to wear (right now I'm leaning toward a 3/4 sleeve cardigan)
• get the designs perfected and then the goodies listed on my etsy shop
• attend at least one fiber show
• meet more local fiber heads in the area
• start a monthly gathering for knitters and crocheters

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On another note - here's that scarf I made for Michael - he even agreed to model it for me. (isn't he adorable?)