This is my last post about knitting for 2022. I will not complete anymore projects this year. I have completed 82 out of 50 planned projects. These projects were all completed in the last week of December 2022.
I plan on completing 50 projects for 2023.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2023.
If it is all possible, I am doing more Zenning around the house. It’s a good way to end the year. I figured that the first day back from vacation was the best day to start. At breakfast I made my to do list, which was not comprehensive. I started with the den fireplace and removed all my spinning and weaving projects and supplies. Everything has a new home. Even the skein of yarn that went to the Goodwill box
This lead to needing more shelf space in the knitting room. So I went on a Sugar and Cream hunt. I almost filled a 32 quart box. I decided not to finish the 2 blankets in the bag so they went into dog pillow stuffing. They were not even a complete block of a 9 block pattern. Sometimes to move forward I need to let go of things that are not in the least bit useful. I have learned that it is not necessary to keep or complete every project, or reuse the yarn. I even put the knitting needles and accessories in their proper homes.
I came up with an absolutely brilliant idea for a color combination for my next pounder scarf. So I went on a hunt for black worsted weight yarn. The black combined with a very bright and bold variegated yarn will make a nice one of a kind scarf. I will be winding additional skeins of black worsted weight yarn tomorrow. The scarfs after that will either be black and white or a scrappy scarf of many colors. I have the first 2 1/2 rows knit and I am in love with the combination of yarns. I also finished one hat and another pounder scarf tonight. I call them pounders because each weighs in at at least 17 ounces. They are also 6 feet long, which is good for a cold climate. Pictures are going to happen tomorrow.
The most interesting part of the day was watching John. When I finished cleaning up the fire place, he had to do more dusting and tie up the cables to make things look even better. He then went on to his own cleaning agenda. I can’t wait to see where this leads us.
Well my typing hand is getting really cranky so I will call an end to this post.
I wove the last coaster for the year. So after dinner I cleaned off my work table. Packaged all the random yarn into bags by color. Then reorganized the weaving cart. I have 1 3/4 trays filled with bags of yarn. One loom and all the smaller weaving tools on 1/4 of the second tray. The top tray had the larger small loom and the warp. I was told if I put everything thing away in an organized fashion, I would be more productive in the long run
You might remember that before I started this small weaving binge for the mudd rugs aka coasters I had all 3 trays overflowing with small skeins of hand spun yarn. This is a good thing. Coasters are leaving the house as gifts. Well almost all of the coasters. I did fall in love with 2 that I will be keeping.
I also tinked a summer top that I had started. With the rate I was knitting compared to how fast the inches and weight are leaving. It would have been too large to wear before I even finished the back. So after tinking the sweater, I cleaned out the bag. I replaced the yarn with a skein of yarn to make a shawl. I choose a pattern that will look good no mater how much weight I lose. Even losing a few more sizes it will still look good.
So this is how I left my small weaving cart. The small carrier bag is for yarn scraps that will go into future dog pillows. No I have not organized the entire room yet. I project at a time.
Every once in a while we all acquire yarn for our stash. Some one has an idea for the yarn, but me the designer in me just did not see it. So it just sat there waiting in a basket. I tried knitting, weaving and crochet. I just could not make the yarn sing.
Then came the long scarf’s for a Knitting Guild project. A scarf knit on the round with 2 strands of yarn, 1 sock weight and 1 of worsted weight. The yarn is finally singing. Combined with yellow, red and a dark purple cotton. I am on the fourth stripe. The scarf is just flowing off the knitting needles. It is so bright and colorful. I am hopeful a teenager will like it. Nine inches down only 65 inches to go.
Today I channeled my inner teenage girl. I picked a few things I had not worn in a while. The end result was 2 more outfits going to Goodwill. The we’re both too big. One pair of pants going back into the closet. Me going back into the closet to find an outfit to wear. This was the aftermath. A small pile for Goodwill and hanger’s thrown everywhere. Today it was the 4th try that was the charm.
Hopefully I have most of the clothing that is too large out of the closet and into the Goodwill boxes. Yes, there are 3 full boxes at this point.
I have been doing a wonderful job of shrinking out of clothing or to get a laugh line in this house the clothing has been growing in the closet. Dillard’s did not have much of a selection locally. I have also filled 3 boxes with clothing that have grown larger in the closet. Yes, clothing can really grow bigger over a weeks time. I really need to make a trip to Goodwill.
So today my hero drove me 2 hours to the Scottsdale Bryn Walker store. To buy local even if it was 2 hours away. There was a huge selection of clothing to try on. I came home with 2 bags of new outfits for the next few months. I tried on clothes for over an hour. Talk about your patient husband. Towards the end when I got to tired to move he encouraged me to try on just a few more because after all it was a 2 hour drive each way.
Most importantly was that I had lost enough weight to get into a few styles that were previously too small for me. Kiko the store clerk was able to put a few combinations together that I did not even think about. I have a few outfits for those really cold days. I got some Tucson dressy clothing too. We tend to be more casual even when we get dressed up.
We went and got a quick lunch. For most of lunch we had a private patio. I am not sure why more people were not eating outside with all the numbers going up. John’s corn beef sandwich was good. The meat was lean and tasty. My salad was a 3 out of 10. To rate higher a salad must taste good without any salad dressing. I do not like diving into a salad that is swimming in dressing, only to drain salad dressing off my salads to eat them. Also a random question. How do you get an avocado to go limp? I do give them credit for not burning the peach iced tea though.
On the way home traffic slowed for a medical emergency on the side of the freeway. So it added about 15 minutes to our ride home. After hanging up the clothes we got today I took a nap until dinner time.
Another takeaway from today is that I don’t know which is harder on my body during a flare up:
1. Doing 45 minutes of physical therapy.
or
2. Trying on clothes for an hour or so.
I am sore and tired after both.
I am really hooked on weaving smaller pieces right now. All from my own hand spun wool. Mostly on drop spindles. It has proven to be good for my stash down goals as well as relaxing and meditative. Suitable for small frames or coasters. Since most will be gifts. I will only show you the one that is finished and has refused to leave my studio. The picture does not do the colors justice. It will reside in my studio until it wants to explore the house.
Today we did more shopping for clothing to replace the clothing that is literally getting to big. It was the first week since September 8th that I have not lost 2 or more pounds. That being said, the inches are coming off in droves. Between my lifestyle changes and the physical therapy for my knee I am developing muscle mass. I know muscle mass weighs more than fat. Muscle mass is also more compact which makes me look leaner. Muscle mass burns more calories. Win- win- win for me. Which also makes the clothing look and feel larger
Yes, I know it has only been 4 weeks since I last went shopping. I have shrunk out of those clothes already. Hopefully I will hit a body size that I have clothing in my closet for in the near future.
I have also acquired some non caloric treats for when I hit certain milestones. Getting smaller clothing is not a personal milestone for me. Yes, I like shopping. It is just not as fun when I personally know that they will fit only a few weeks at best. I really enjoy finding that classic piece of clothing that is well made , that I will be able to wear for years. I have got to lose the weight equivalent of a few more toddlers for that to happen.
I will talk about pounds lost. I will talk about sizes down. However it is not polite to ask my current weight or goal weight. That is between me and the man upstairs.
Also the clothing will not go to waste. They will be going to Goodwill. Someone should get a Ganga of in season clothing at a great price.
This is a new recipe to go with my new lifestyle. No sugar has been added. Some interesting substitutions have been made. I added the walnuts for extra nutrients and crunch.
Chunky Orange Cranberry Sauce
3 cups fresh cranberries rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons of Penzey’s Lemon Peel California Minced or the zest of 1 lemon
1 cup walnuts broken into bite sized pieces (Next year 1/2 cup)
1 cup of orange juice- no sugar added ( get someone else to finish the small bottle or juice the fresh oranges for you) (Next year apple juice)
Place cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and apple juice into a 3 quart pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and walnuts. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick. Place into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Makes about 3 1/4 cups. The estimated calories for the entire batch is 1,028. I saved 662 calories by not adding sugar. If you want a truly low calorie version leave out the walnuts which have 766 calories, which would leave you at 242 calories for the entire recipe. All these calorie counts are from information found on Google. This has not been lab tested for calories.
The picture below is what it will look like when cooking. It does not look or taste like a traditional cranberry sauce. It looks more orange than red, because of the orange juice.
When I call out a brand name it is because I use the product in my house for cooking. I am not being paid to advertise the brand. You may use whatever brand you like.
* The orange juice made it too tart and I will use apple juice next year and less walnuts. The tartness got stronger as the cranberry sauce sat in the fridge.
I am making progress on my coaster weaving. I went stash diving for more cotton rug warp. I found 5 rolls, it does not come in skeins. I have the yarn down to 2 shelves instead of 3. The top is now reserved for the warp, small bits and weaving supplies. I will have room to put the small looms there too.
All the yarn that I am currently weaving was all spun on drop spindles. They were mostly small samples to try before you buy.
I also have a rhythm down and can weave about two a day. Using up stash for useful things is relaxing and fun. Not sure what I’m going to do with them when I’m finished but I’m thinking gifting.
Today I played with stripes. The coaster still on the loom was from 1 skein. I just cut off each section of the yarn to get the stripe effect. The 1 on the left was from 3 different skeins of different weights. Since it takes about 18 grams of yarn to make a coaster stripes are a great way to use bits and pieces up. I am having fun with the stripes. This is my Purl & Loop Loom. Check with your local yarn shop for availability. I am using the Navajo style of tightly packing the weft on the loom. My friend Louise taught me. I agree with her that it makes a sturdier fabric.
Besides coasters, these can be sewn in to a larger piece . Although I would personally sew the warp threads to the waft on a sewing machine first.
These were woven today and need a hot soapy bath and trimming before they are finished.
I don’t know about you but weaving in the ends and doing finishing work often takes a backseat to creating. Tonight I had an ever growing pile of the evil finishing work. I decided it was time only because I am currently creating more art the will require finishing work. It is an evil, vicious cycle. Create many, many things. Wait until I have a small pile and just sit down and do it. Repeat.
You know what comes next, don’t you. Taking pictures and posting to Ravelry. Well that will be tomorrow in better light. In the meantime please enjoy the group photo. Three hats for the Flowing Wells SD Clothing Bank, 2 cotton and 1 super wash wool hat made of hand spun yarn. I hope the kids like the colors. Also 6 coasters woven from hand spun yarn. I wove 7, but one had a major problem not worth fixing so it is going to the dogs for pillow stuffing. Waste not want not.
Then everything will go in the proper storage bags.
I hit a milestone that I thought I would never hit. Since September 8th I have lost 25 pounds and gone down one size. I gave up eating processed foods. This is a very healthy lifestyle change for me. I have more energy. I actually eat more food including nuts and peanut butter. My skin is clearing up. I am following A Pound of Cure and it is medically supervised for those that might be worried about my rapid weight loss. Best of all no surgeries involved.
In crafting news I am making myself a very expensive blanket. This was supposed to be a gift. The one I went into project bags to repurpose, but John likes it so much that I am going out to buy a gift tomorrow. It is 100% cotton yarn. I am crocheting it. You know how the price of cotton has gone through the roof this year. I am on the 4th color. I went into my stash and found more yarn. I am trying not to leave any currently priced at $25.00 a skein behind. I am using Butterfly cotton yarn. Since the were bought at different times, not all skeins are the same length. Also as each round gets bigger the yarn does not make as many rounds
I am using each skein of yarn to the point where it can’t make a complete round of the pattern. Then I am switching colors. The scraps of yarn will be used for charity scarfs. Waste not want not. Also my knitting skills have taught me how to hide the beginning and casting off so it is invisible.
The picture below has the blanket in progress. The current yarn color on the yarn butler. The bag is holding all but 2 skeins of yarn. The knitting bag is available for purchase at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson, in store or on line. They also have plenty of Butterfly yarn in stock if you want to Crochet along with me. Feel free to choose your own colors. I am winging it so I won’t know until I am finished how many skein’s of yarn that I will be using. I am using a basic granny square pattern with a chain 6, join in the round. I have 8 stitch patterns in the center. All double crochet or if in Europe a treble crochet. If you want a pattern let me know, however if might be faster to Google how to make a granny square.
Now to set the 6 am alarm and call it a day
Today after physical therapy for my knee, I went to my project bags. I found yarn for 2 projects that had been shelved for various reasons. They are now going into a gift that is being crocheted because let’s face it sometimes crocheting is just faster than knitting with lace weight yarn. It was also my second fiber craft after sewing. I figure that if I stop after one project I should be ok. I am already on the first color change, second skein of yarn and am in the middle of the 12th row. I can’t show you a picture yet, because it is a gift.
I am sure that my family approves of my stash diving for a new project. I hope to use at least 6 skeins up in this project. There were about 15 in the bag. The remaining yarn will be used for cotton scarfs. Yes, I currently have 2 of those going along with 2 hats. Go me. Use more yarn. Stash dive.
I also went shopping yesterday and found 3 pairs of pants in a smaller size. Hopefully they will remain a good size for a couple of months.
My day felt so long that by dinner time I felt it was Friday. My days with physical therapy are always long.
Some knitting for kids got done. Nothing was completed. A couple of color changes happened on the next 70 inch scarf . I am using up a lot of smaller skeins. John even got a peak into the box of yarn that I want to use up. Even though I made a dent in the number of partial skeins, I still think there are about a dozen 70 inch scarfs left in the box. I really hope that I am wrong.
I really think that measuring my yarn use in gallons and pounds means that even after 4 big destashes this year meansI still have a lot of yarn. The good news is I finished 2 partial skeins tonight.
Some knitting got dropped off at the Family resource center aka the Flowing Wells Clothing Bank. They were very happy with an XXL Ziplock bag full of knitting and socks. I try to find the fun socks because I know it is a rarity that the kids get the fun socks.
The winter visitors are here and the supply chain has not caught up with them yet. Target was was out of a lot of things I needed. They had a lot of people stocking the store as I shopped. They no longer ask did you find everything, because they already know we did not.
This is a scarf for next year’s Tucson Knitting Guild’s Navajo knitting project. This scarf is long enough to be versatile. I used John for a length check instead of getting a tape measurer. It is a little over 6 feet long. Double layered for warmth. And used up 1 pound 1 1/2 ounces of cotton yarn. Yes that is 17 1/2 ounces or 496.12 gram’s of yarn. In other words a lot of skeins and partial skeins. It is very colorful too. A fantastic stash buster for me. A very warm scarf for a young teen.
The pattern is The Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs. I plan on making at least 6 more. I have 2 more on the knitting needles.
Everyone that reads this blog on a fairly regular basis knows that this has been far from a normal year of making for me. It really did not hit how little was created until I did the inventory to be brought into the Flowing Wells Clothing Bank next week. So here are the numbers as of today. This is since my last drop off so some hand knit items are being carried over from last years making.
29 Hand Knit Hats
1 Sweater
33 pairs of socks were bought on sale, because I knew my numbers would be low.
I feel like this is not even close to enough. My body limitations were the only reason. I am working on my body. When I fix one thing another seems to break or become dysfunctional. John did say it is enough. So on ward to next year.
My spindles, supplies and spinning bag are safely home. I accidentally left them at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel on Saturday. Since I am the only one with “so many drop spindles “ Vicky knew the bag was mine and put it away for safe keeping. Thank you Vicky.
Now if she only really knew how many spindles I have. A lady does not discuss how many drop spindles she has. Now I can go back to spinning the batt that has taken me years, because I am spinning it on lace weight spindles. The bigger spindle is my plying spindle. The spinning bag is a Goodwill treasure, perfect for a small spinning project.
I have a really good use for my hand spun yarn that is not up to my knitting standards for yarn. For some reason it looks great in a weaving projects. I have been bingeing on coasters. Pulling out bits and pieces for an abstract weaving. I have been having a great time playing. This is a bit of todays play time.
At a very slow pace I managed to get a lot done. Laundry, shopping, finishing 4 projects for small holiday gifts so no pictures tonight. I even cooked dinner for 2 nights. Even some random acts of cleaning.
Tomorrow I will set up the Halloween goodies bags. I will have a table out side as I have the past 2 years. I get to watch the trick or treaters on the outside camera. Not quite as much fun, but with COVID19, Flu and RSV numbers really high. Yes, high enough to make national press coverage. This is the safest way for me. I will also let the kids take what they want. Pencils, erasers and bubbles seem to go faster than Candy. All the leftover candy will be sent to work with John. All the leftover non perishable things like pencils and erasers go back in the closet for next year.
I must have been very hungry when I left the plaza that Grandma’s Spinning Wheel and By Artemesia are located. I left my spinning bag with 3 lace weight drop spindles, 1 plying spindle, a Knitty Noddy customized with my name and a Neosprine. Along with a batt. I will have to wait for Tuesday to track it down. Both shops are closed Sunday and Monday. Plying will have to wait.
How was your day?
I had a very busy day. With brunch out. Shopping for smaller pants, I got 1 pair. Coming home and cleaning. Giving 4 mudd rugs their hot bath and agitation. Plying and setting 1 very small skein of lace weight yarn that was completely spun by hand. The yarn is now drying in the garage. The mudd rugs have been moved inside to hopefully finish drying. I put a baking cooling rack over my hand washing sink. They are still quite damp so I do not expect them to be dry by morning. I also tried to catch up on paper work, my never ending battle. Some progress was made.
Now it’s time to put my feet up and knit.
All is well that ends well about sums up my day. I woke up to a really bad body day. I was really hungry after breakfast and wanted a sweet roll but had a half a pound of carrots and celery instead. I then crawled back in to bed for a nap.
Once the aspirin kicked in the day went better. I finished weaving two more holiday gifts. Then warped a small loom for another. I just have to wind the yarn into a ball or cake.
I also found out that if you fill the paper shredder to capacity it automatically shuts off and won’t work anymore until you empty it. My house work today consisted of emptying the dishwasher and taking out three bags of recycling. I should not forget about the trip to the grocery store. Am I the only one who still wears a mask inside anymore?
Ok here is another recipe that is low in fat and high in vegetables. Of course it is being cooked in my Red Le Creuset Soup Pot. For us this is enough food for 2 to 3 meals for the two of us when you have kids at home this should hopefully make it through 1 meal.
Chicken Vegetable Soup
1 3/4 pounds of cubed Chicken, I used white meat chicken Which is lower in fat.
2 Tablespoons of California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Oil
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper and salt
1 Very large Sweet Onion or 2 smaller onions
1 pound each of chopped celery, sliced carrots and mixed mushrooms
1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables
In your soup pot add the olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add the chicken, salt and pepper. Cover and keep covered as much as possible. Cook until no pink shows. Change your stirring spoon and spoon rest. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stirring occasionally and keeping the lid on In between. Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms. Leave on top until there is room to stir them in. Lower the temperature to medium low or number 2. Simmer for at least 3 hours. I have not added water, but be sure to keep on eye on the broth. If the level gets to low add water or additional broth.
30 minutes before dinner add the 1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables. Stir in. Bring the temperature up to 4 or just below medium heat. Serve when the mixed vegetables are totally cooked.
The picture is after I stirred in the fresh vegetables. This will have over 4 pounds of vegetables. You may add more if there is room in the pot
Of course no one is paying me to share the brand names. These are products that I use at home and bought out of our household budget.
The hunt for smaller clothing started today with p.j.’s. I really lucked out on this one. Because of the sale at Kohl’s and the only fabric that I could wear, I got 2 pairs of p.j.’s for the cost of one pair. This is a good thing. I just don’t know how long I will stay in this size. I also lucked out by finding Simply Vera by Vera Wang. She knows how to design for curves. The p.j.’s are well made too.
Next on the agenda are pants and a warm sweater. Yes, I know that I have enough yarn to knit a couple of sweaters but the chances are that after a month or 2 of knitting that they will be to big. I have done that twice before. So I am going to get a sweater to tide me over along with a couple of pairs of pants. Wish me luck on those.
So instead of knitting for me I am knitting for the kids again for next winter. At knitting guild we tend to knit a year ahead. I have 2 scarfs going for young teens that are going to be long enough to wear in different ways. I also have 2 hats going. I hat needed to be tinked out about 3 inches because I was not paying attention and lost a stitch marker. I did not notice it until I had 4 stitches on 2 double pointed knitting needles and a whole bunch on the circular knitting needles. That is all fixed and ready to go again. I also have the 2 weaving projects going.
It’s going to be busy tomorrow. Do it is time to call it a night.
I have been.craving holiday foods just because it is fall. I really wanted to go out and get a slice of apple pie today. So going out to get a fat and sugar laden piece of pie is out of the question right now. So here is my elegant solution.
Sugar Free Apple Pie
Serves 1.
1 apple cored and cut into chunks
cinnamon
30 grams or 1 ounce of the nut of your choice. If you have a nut allergy skip this ingredient.
In a microwave safe bowl toss the apple chunks and the amount of cinnamon desired. For a hardier taste I like more cinnamon. Sprinkle with nuts. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Rotate a 1/4 of a turn and microwave for 2 minutes more.
I know some people put cheese on their apple pie, so place the cheese on when you take it out of the microwave oven..
Please enjoy.
This pair of pants from Brynn Walker Is the first casualty of mine and of my new lifestyle plan. They will be heading off to the Goodwill box and when the box is full you’ll be able to find some really nice pants Goodwill. I had to go through my closet a day to see what fit. I know they’re will be more of this in the future.
I know we will be driving to Scottsdale for a shopping trip since the Tucson Bryn Walker got priced out of the rental market. By the way the store is still sits empty. Such a smart move by the owner’s rental property.
I am currently working on another Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs. It is not exactly as written. I have gathered all my small skeins of sock yarn and cotton yarn. As you can see by the second picture there are a lot of the smaller skeins. The first picture the very colorful scarf so far. I am trying to do my best to make a fun and colorful scarf. This scarf is going to be between 5 and 6 feet long so it is definitely going to a 7th or 8th grader. With all my recent destashing I now have room in my closet to store it until next fall.
I also think that I over did it a little on my errands. I was only out for 1 1/2 hours. I did 4 errands today. On the 3rd errand I found kids fall socks on sale for 70% off. This was my *Ganga of the day. So I went back and grabbed a shopping cart and pick out a whole bunch of socks for the clothing bank I support. Yes, I filled up half a huge bag. My hope is that the kids who get them, like them. I then came home and slept for 2 hours. I still managed to get 1 out of 2 loads of laundry folded, but not all at once. I also managed to mis match the colors on 2 pairs of socks, oh well. No harm no foul. I still have to put the clothes hanging in the garage away too.
*Ganga is Tucson speak for a great deal.
After working on a black and white scarf for a few weeks I really need some color in my life right now. So for television knitting I am doing a Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs, the pattern is on Ravelry. I am really diving deep for this on with all the bright and pastel colors I can find. I am also using a bunch of small skeins really bits and pieces. It will be going to a teenager in Northern Arizona next winter.
I am also doing a bit of weaving. Today I started a shades of Blue Mudd Rug with yarn left over from a cowl that I knit for myself.
The Monet inspired miniature tapestry is coming along very slowly. I worked on it for 2 hours today and only got 3 row’s finished. I have some very over plyed yarn that I am wrapping around each warp thread by hand. I am picking up the warp threads individually for each weaving stitch. I still have to finish the green grass. Then the yellow and purple flowers will be added on top. The sky and clouds will follow. Then and only then will I add the embellishments of bottoms, beads, and embroidery. I will sew the edges before I take it off the loom. Then I will have to figure out how to mount it so I do not lose the depths that I have created. I have not taken a class on this project. This is all from my creative side. I like that I am finally relaxed enough to let the creativity flow.
I some how find that the tapestry is easier to weave from let to right. The yarn just seems to flow into place. I really have to think about my weaving when going from right to left. Can anyone explain this to me? Maybe if I would have taken a class I would know the answer then again maybe this piece would not be a piece in progress. I am sad that I can’t show the finished piece to my friend Kathy. I hope she likes what see sees from heaven.
As an artist I know how a fabric store, big box craft store, local yarn shop, local bead shop, you can fill in your favorite shop if I failed to list it can be like a Candy or Toy store to a kid. I really get that. Finding projects to do is an art project in it self. Completing that purchased project is another project in it self. Which leads to the beginning of a conversation with artists over the age of 60. Yes I did say 60.
Now is the time to evaluate all your art supplies. You need to start asking rational questions like am I going to finish this project? Do I still love the project? Was this project a splurge because you weren’t feeling well? Did you buy the project when your kids were little and you knew you’d find time to make it for them? Do I still want to do the project? Does your kid want the completed project now that they are adults? That fabric was lovely and I know I can find something to go with it, but never did. I love the yarn, but I’ve torn out that sweater three times. I am not teaching that anymore, do I still need to keep the supplies. You can add whatever questions you want here. I know everybody’s will be different. The item was on sale for a really good price.
I don’t expect you to do it in a day, after all it took decades to accumulate all these supplies. However, you aren’t getting any younger. Your spouse and kids are hoping that you’ll get rid of a lot of it. My humble suggestion is to divide your art into different areas. Focusing only on one drawer or one tub at a time will make the job easier. I have a 5 minute Zenning rule that I go by. I set the timer to 5 minutes. If at the end of 5 minutes I am frustrated, I stop. If at the end of 5 minutes, I am into it I keep going. I know I’ve been doing this for a couple years now, so I feel like in talk about it. This is an evolving process. You might look at some thing 10 or 12 times before you decide to either finish it or it Has to leave the house or the studio.
When it leaves you have many options. You can amass stuff and having a yard sale, I did not find this very successful. What I did find successful was gifting to friends. Gifting to mothers with young kids who wanted to learn a craft but had no money to buy supplies, Be sure to try to doing this when we are not on holiday surge postage it will save you about 20%. You can give some of the simpler items to adult day programs. You can send upscale supplies to younger artists who have no money for supplies. You can Donate to Goodwill. I have a friend who I know I can give lots of yarn to for other weavers. You can use yarn or material as package padding if you are sending a gift to a crafter. You can donate to church quilt groups, material is so expensive right now. I got rid of 2 car loads this way and the church ladies loved the fabric.
I know that everyone one will have a different route. However you choose to go on this journey is fine. This is a journey that can be gut wrenching at times. Don’t beat yourself up for past purchases. Don’t beat yourself up because your eyes were bigger and faster than your hands. Don’t feel you have to do this in a day. I have been on this journey for almost 3 years. Remember to give bins away so you won’t have the urge to refill them. Redesign your work space.
This will clear a lot of mental weight off your shoulders. You will start creating more when you know where everything is. You will have less UFO’s. You will feel better about you. You will have more time to create. This will make you very happy. If it doesn’t, at least your spouse and kids will be happy.
I screwed up and cast off a scarf 3 inches too soon. So tomorrow I will embellish one edge with six rows of double crochet. This turns a mistake into a design element. Since I wasn’t using a specific pattern no one will know the difference except the people who read the blog and me. It will still be one cool scarf for whoever gets it.
I also managed to finish the second mudd rug today. I will do the hot water and soap thing tomorrow. Since it is too short to thwack the Traditional way, I think I will throw it at the table a few times. I think that should work. If not I’ll throw it in the dryer on air dry and let it tumble with some dryer balls.
I found another UFO today. This one was a coaster project. One of the two coasters was halfway done. I finished the one that was halfway done and started the second coaster aka mud rug. I am using hand spun yarn made on one of my drop spindles. Finding the UFO was unintentional, what I was really looking for was a Navajo weaving needle that was between eight and 10 inches long. Obviously I did not find the weaving needle. I don’t think I have one.
Since I will not be going to any more yarn festivals this year I hope to source one or 2 Navajo weaving needles on line. Wish me luck. If you know a source, please let me know
I have found that weaving during the day makes knitting easier at night. Did you know that weaving uses more yarn than knitting. To my family that must be a plus. Another plus is that if you would like a unique one of a kind gift for the holidays I will be selling the pair as I have all the coasters I need in the house. They are made from wool which will help absorb moisture. The pair will sell for $25.00 which includes postage in the United States. After I finish weaving the second one, I will wash them in hot soapy water to set the weaving. Then they will be trimmed. And ready to go. Email me if you would like them. Then I will mark them pending until payment is received.
The weaving project is starting to take on a life of its own. The yarn is saying what it wants to be. This is always a good thing. Yesterday I warped the loom and put in the header. That alone took 2 hours.
Today I started on the design. This skein of very over plyed art yarn just popped up in my search through the spindle spun yarn and art yarn basket. The basket is about the size of a large laundry basket. I made a lot of little skeins. The section of orange yarn wanted to be twisted, turned and wrapped around individual threads of the progress was very slow. The small section of orange and the few green leafs took 2 hours of work. Although I do love the very dramatic effect it has on the project so far. The up side is that I am so in love with it so far. The art work and the loom. The down side, sorry that there is none. I am having so much fun. Tomorrow I might add a river bank and stream I have the yarn picked out
I did not sketch out the design ahead of time. I want this to be a very organic piece. I want a piece that brings me joy to create. Joy to look at. And joy for other people. I also did not want this to be a flat tapestry, lots of people do those. I also know that the weaving and spinning purest are going to hate it. That’s fine with me. This is my art on my terms.
I got a new to me Hockett Loom. I warped it today. I tried to weave with the tools it came with. That did not work. So I pulled out my Navajo made weaving tools and they worked like a charm. For hand weaving always go with Navajo made tools, they have generations of knowledge that they rely on.
Right now I am just playing with some small skeins of hand spun and pretty commercial made yarn to make random patterns. This is kind of like a test drive for Weaver. I will show my finished projects on the blog just let me know if you’re interested in them. They will all be one of a kind as I see what I can do with this loom.
I am finally done with the lady does of post surgery eye drops. It seems to me like I have been doing them for ages.
The black scarf is slightly more then 25% complete.
The arthritis flare up continues.
Every once in a while black yarn makes it’s way under cover of darkness into my yarn stash. Since this was a very good quality yarn I decided to keep it and make something with it. So I gathered up the black yarn and a couple of my yarn butlers and set to work making a scarf. I decided to knit it in the round so that I would not have to look at the work while I was knitting. As you can see one skein has some white in it. So when I run out of that yarn I will probably use some white yarn to keep the theme of black and white.
You might be surprised to see me using 2 yarn butler’s. I am using 2, because black yarn is impossible to salvage when it gets tangled. Also I did not borrow one, I have five. I have four wooden yarn Butler’s and one 3D one that John made me. I find that for some projects yarn butlers are essential. When working with very dark yarn. When working with very large skeins of yarn. I also like to use John Butler’s when I am warping my looms. So there are a couple reasons that I have five yarn butlers.
Talking about multiples of things, some days I wish I had two clothes dryers. I start doing laundry this morning after breakfast and just after 10 PM I put the last load in the dryer. It took a while for the blankets to dry. If I can’t get the big quilts washed in hot sunny days it takes about three rounds in the dryer to dry the big big quilts or bedspreads. I am doing good so far with laundry. I have about 1000 yards a freshly spun, washed and thwacked yarn drying. Also the clothes I hung up with this morning. The only loads that have not been put away are the ones drying on the clothesline and the sheets that I just put in the dryer. So I think I conquered laundry today.
Today started out on very bad footing. My neck and right shoulder hurt to the point I had to turn my body to look right. I was out of precooked home made oatmeal and did not have the time to make any before I had to leave.
At lunchtime things began to slowly change for the better. I was just wishful thinking when at my favorite bread spot in town Beyond Bread, I asked if my favorite sandwich the Avi’s Avo could be made without bread or mayonnaise. They said yes.. they really said yes and asked if I would like Romain lettuce instead of the bread. Of course I said yes. They brought out an overflowing bowl of lettuce, cucumbers, Sprouts, and turkey with two small cups of guacamole on the side. It was absolutely amazing paired with gazpacho soup and I was in heaven. Thank you Beyond Bread.
The day got even better my day got even better when I was working with my knitting student. The first thing we did was casting off a table runner That she had been working on for about a year. All it took on my part was showing her how to cast off just two stitches and she cast off the rest. The smile on her face for the accomplishment was just so wonderful. It just filled my heart with joy.
We then had to tackle the fringe on the table runner. First we pick the length the easy part. We use the short side of a CD case because it was the perfect length. First she learned how to cut the fringe. That was another easy part. Then we worked on putting the fringe in. That took a little more work, however she got the hang of it and got almost 10 inches of fringe done today. She had never picked up a crochet hook in her life. She learned how to put the crochet hook in the right stitches. How to do a quarter turn and pull the yarn through. And then how to tighten the fringe. She was so excited and happy it was just absolutely amazing.
John managed to quickly get the spasm out of my neck and shoulder and now at bedtime even though I don’t have full range yet, I don’t hurt. I am hoping that a good nights sleep will take care of the rest. Having my neck and right shoulder hurt threw my whole body out of alignment.
I did not get any spinning done today. I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done with 2 being put away. So it turned into a good and joyous day.
This is a new recipe to our house that became an instant family favorite. It is a one pot meal that makes 4 servings. It takes about 15 minutes to put together, with breaks in between to do things like hang up laundry or other quick chores. It does take about 30 minutes total cooking time. When I call out brands, they are the brands that I use at home on a regular basis. If you have your preferred brands that’s fine too although the taste may differ from mine. I also have not asked permission from the brand’s to list them in the recipe and if asked I will change to a generic listing.
This recipe makes 4 servings or more if you have small children. This also reheats well This recipe may be double. You may also use this recipe in tacos or burritos.
Turkey Taco Salad
1 Soup pot, I use my Le Creuset soup pot
1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey
2 Tablespoons of California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon of dried Onion Flakes or 1 fresh onion diced.
1 Tablespoon of Penzey’s Spices Chicken Taco Seasoning
10 ounces of Mirepoix mix
1 - 12 ounce package of Good and Gather mixed vegetables
2 - 2 1/2ounces cans of Early California Sliced Ripe Olives
A nice fresh vegetable salad with your favorite vegetables. We use romaine lettuce as the base.
Optional: shredded cheese
Cooking Instructions:
Add the olive oil to the pan and heat to a medium heat. Add the ground turkey, salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes. With a spoon mix in the spice’s breaking up the meat. Cover and let brown. Come back every few minutes to further break up the meat until it is crumbled and no pink shows. Change to a fresh spoon once the meat is thoroughly cooked. Add the chicken taco seasoning and mix in thoroughly. Then add the Mirepoix mix and if you are using fresh onion, stir in and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the sliced olives and the frozen vegetables and thoroughly mix in. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the frozen vegetables are thoroughly cooked.
While the frozen vegetables are cooking make up the salads. Place 1/4 of the mixture on top of the salads.
I finally finished a couple of knitting projects. It was to dark to take good pictures tonight. So tomorrow you get pictures.
I also avoided the donut monster today.
I have finally finished spinning the buttercup roving and plyed it with Ito raw silk yarn. Here is a picture of the last 2 skeins in the middle. I have not counted the yardage but I am sure that I will have enough to knit a shawl. The single skein I finished yesterday is on top. The one I finished today are in the middle. The top one was photographed on a light grey table with an Ott light. The middle 2 skeins were photographed on a brown couch with an Ott light. This is a perfect example of how background color can modify the look of any yarn. The gray brings out the yellow tones while the brown brings out the white tones and mutes the yellow.
I skeined the yarn tonight during the Lord of the Rings Trilogy fight scenes. I know fight scenes are part of the book. They are also part of the TV show. That does not mean I have to watch them. Skinning each bobbin took up one fight scene.
The bottom photo is the start of 4 ounces of super wash BFL. It is obviously still on the spinning wheel. It is not going to be an art yarn. Since it is a super wash wool, I will be using it in charity hats. My rationale behind this is that a few hundred years ago this was the normal thing. It will also give me another one of a kind hat. Just because the kids may get them from the clothing bank does not mean all the hats have to look the same. The teachers usually get to pick the hats out for the students, so I try to give each on a unique personality.
Well this week has been interesting to say the least. Friday I dropped my favorite tea cup when my silly arthritic hands lost my grip on the cup. Apparently it dropped at the perfect angle to fracture into many pieces. The fantastic news is that is was empty at the time. I will also never have to wash it again. The question remaining, is will I be able to “Keep Calm and Carry Yarn”? The cup has permanently retired from carrying tea. I think it will be hard for me to stop carrying yarn.
Speaking of tea, yes I was speaking about tea. I have discovered that at my current age I will no longer be able to drink caffeinated iced tea with dinner. It called for Tums tonight. Maybe I should just carry some herbal tea with me and ask for hot water and a cup. Otherwise it will be iced water with lemon.
We went to Costco today to buy another 3 pack of Foster Grant reading glasses. I now have them placed at all the Strategic locations around the house. I even have two spare pairs. Still getting used to not wearing glasses all the time.
It was a very slow day around here. Don’t look so schocked, I have not forgotten how. I have just been super tired. Not to mention 2 eye surgeries this month. I did make dinner. I made taco salads with extra lean ground turkey ,let me know if you want the recipe. It’s another quick cook one red pot meal that makes 4 to 6 servings. Low fat, low carbohydrates and tastes good too.
For all of you celebrating please have a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful New Year. I did not get to go to services because of COVID19. I am afraid that it will impact most of my fall and winter this year, yet again.
I know in my heart of hearts that COVID19 will be around in some form or another for at least the foreseeable future. I base this on the fact that the 1918 Flu is still in our flu shots sometimes. I am not sure of the exact science behind this, it has to do with constant mutations though.
I have yarn so don’t worry about me.
I have 1/4 of my knitting room just how I want it. Elmo is even supervising my progress.
A lot of progress has been made in my knitting room. If you were here on Monday, by today you would not recognize it. I will take some pictures tomorrow. John did all the heavy lifting. All the space created by the donation to our community food bank is now filled with yarn. This s makes my yarn more accessible. I have moved every single roller to a new spot in the room.
When I went to get my afternoon snack, it turned out that it was dinner time. How did that happen? So while dinner was cooking I did some organizing and straightening in the dining room. It was a good day to get rid of clutter too, John was kind enough to take that all out for me and Roomba the knitting room while we cooked dinner
I spent the evening knitting. Only 1 project got finished today. My 19th charity hat for the year. Another operation gratitude scarf is a few rows from being finished. You guessed it, I cast on another charity hat too.
Ok, I have to admit it. Since my cataract surgery I have turned into one of those people who have “readers” all over the house. Readers are just portable magnifying glasses. I leave a pair on the kitchen table, in my knitting room, by where I knit at night, on my nightstand, and a pair in my purse. This is just so I don’t have to carry one pair everywhere.
Am I wrong in thinking that I might also need to leave a pair by the computer too. Also, just maybe a spare pair in case I lose or misplaced a pair.
The same goes with sunglasses too. One pair in my purse. One pair by the back door for errands around the outside of the house. I am not sure if I don’t need a spare just in case.
I also started the knitting room reorganization today. I had no problem filling the newly open space. I also moved on big basket to a new home. Just a few more things to move before John comes in for the heavy lifting
I am really close to finishing 3 more knitting projects. I have figured out the pattern revision, now just new pictures and a bit of typing. The sample for my next shawl just needs the ends woven in and the pattern typed. I still need the daily nap so things are going a bit on the slow side. Everything will get done in its own time.
TTFN
By the way I have bought all the Foster Grant readers on my own. His is my own personal opinion..I am not being paid for this blog post.
The good news is that if I put the back seats down in my car I can get 17 bags and 2 boxes of donations in the back of my car. Yes we did have just a little bit of room to spare. Yes, we did overwhelm the drop off site. If we would have used the boxes that they were hoping to be filled we would have filled them up and then some. Since our donation was nicely bagged and boxed we just put it on the side of the donation boxes. I am sure as the holidays get closer more people will donate too.
You also know what this means, don’t you? Of course you do. With all that empty space we will be doing a knitting room redesign this weekend. I will get all the light lifting done first and then bring John in for the heavy lifting and rolling.
Also today at knitting guild they did not care that the gloves were store bought, but I did trigger a lecture for the whole group. No a bad one. Just a don’t feel guilty if your are sick or can’t do the monthly challenge, it’s a suggestion not mandatory. Good to know.
TTFN
Yes, I am going to cheat tomorrow at the knitting guild meeting. I was supposed to knit a few pairs of gloves for the Navajo Project this month. Somewhere between 2 eye surgeries and my hands looking a little Craigy from all the stress I am cheating. In a good way through. I will not disappointed any child.
Tonight John and I walked over to Tuesday Morning while waiting for an outside table that never materialized, but that’s another story. I found 2 pairs of gloves that would be great for the older kids. They are even in the preferred yarn of polyester. The best part is that they cost as much as I would have spent on yarn. So even though I am really cheating by not being in hand knit gloves I will still keep 2 sets of hands warm.
That is my story and I am sticking to it.
I am purging my house of processed foods in an effort to get healthier. For the last 2 days I have been working on this. I am trying to go back to the way my great grandparents ate. I am not sure all this processed food is having a positive effect on my health. Although in the short term it has left my body very sore.
If you have been following my blog for awhile you will remember that in 2009 I give up all artificial sweeteners and all diet soda. This made a very positive change in my health. I have my friend Kay of blessed memory for leading me to this change. It was not easy and I had withdrawal headaches for 2 weeks
In 2017 I gave up all sugar sweetened sodas. That made another positive change for me. Although it did make those 48 hour work days next to impossible.
Now I am making the next step in this slow set of steps. I am trying to give up processed foods. In some ways it is easy, we do not eat much fast food. Bread, bagels and tortillas are going to be a little bit harder. Although, as I went through our 2 pantries I was really amazed at how much processed foods we have in the house. So much so, that I am down to 1 pantry. That one pantry even has extra space. Did I mention that this leaves more room for yarn. Maybe I can consolidate some of the yarn I have around the house to 1 or 2 rooms. It is worth a try.
This has lead to 13 bags and 2 boxes heading to the community food drive this week. See the picture below for the bags. The boxes are up on a shelf.
I have worked on 3 of my knitting projects today. Nothing got finished. I did however find a very delightful cast off in the Picot Edge Style. There are countless ways to make a Picot Edge. As usual I have found a simple but elegant edging for my new shawl. It only takes one extra length of yarn at the end. 5 lengths of yarn versus 4 lengths of yarn for a stretchy bind off.
The next clue in my new pattern design is as follows.
1. Knit 2 stitches on to the left hand needle.
2. Bind off 4 stitches
3. Slip the remaining stitch on the right hand needle back on to the left needle.
Repeat steps 1, 2, & 3 until the bind off is complete.
Weave in the end.
For left handed knitters just reverse my instructions to read:
1. Knit 2 stitches on to the right hand needle.
2. Bind off 4 stitches.
3. Slip the remaining stitch on the left hand needle back to the right hand knitting needle.
Repeat steps 1, 2, & 3 until the bind off is complete.
Weave in the ends..
who is ready for a new knitting pattern?
Yes, I did manage a few chores. I am also wondering when the bruise from Wednesday’s surgery will go away. It is looking nasty. Did a little more deep cleaning.
I am at the end of a very large shawl. It did not start out that way. I started with a 3 stitch wide key. After the key was completed I increased by 6 stitches every other row. So the rows got very long very quickly. I have been playing yarn chicken for a while, since I am just awful at the Geometry needed to calculate how much yarn I would use per 4 square inches. Then figuring out my yardage divided by the yarn used in 4 inches. Then factoring in the 6 stitch increase every other row. Then when to stop when I hit a certain gram weight of the yarn. The designers I know that are mathematicians, engineers, physicists and science types have the easiest time with this.
Yes, I know that they have computer programs that figure all that out for you. Personally the artist in me thinks that is cheating. It take the spontaneity and creativity out of the process of designing. So I put Yarn chicken. This is also why I give the gauge for before and after washing. I really know that is Quirky of me.
Since I am doing a picot edge on the shawl, I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter. It’s better than ripping out a few. On this shawl it’s a demon. I already ripped out 20 rows mid shawl to fix a mistake.
I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter.
So tomorrow I pull out the stitch Bible and find my edging pattern and finish the shawl. By the way here is how much yarn I have left.
I had my second cataract surgery earlier this week. Everything went well. I am healing well too. There are some things that I have noticed. First being that sometimes I can even read with out the readers the eye doctor recommended. Things are definitely brighter and I can’t go outside without sunglasses. So I keep a pair in my purse and a pair by the back door. I have also noticed that the colors are more brilliant. Today’s trip through Costco was amazing. I made John go up and down every food aisle even if we did not need anything on the aisle just to look at all the colors. The packaging was an amazing Kaleidoscope of colors. I am not sure if it was dorky or my inner artist coming out from a years long nap.
The strangest side effect of the surgery involves the scale. As of this morning I have lost a total of 8 pounds. Strange right? I am not craving sweets or other carbohydrates. I am not eating to keep myself awake. If I am tired I take a nap. I am actually happier than I have been in a long time. It’s almost like I got rid of the cataracts and my body is coming back into balance. I can’t wait to see where I go with this.
I woke up from a nap and reached for my glasses and they were not there it took me a few minutes to realize that I did not need them anymore. Well except for my readers. I now have four pair and I know that a day will come when I can’t faint a single pair. So I have them strategically placed around the house.
I have not wanted to do any fussy knitting like hats, gloves or shawls. Instead I am working on 2 different Operation Gratitude scarfs. One for the car because I am still not driving. I can also knit these with my eyes closed if the sun is at a bad angle. I need to give my eyes time to heal and balance out. The good news is that I figured out what I thought needed a small revision in a pattern and will fix it as soon as I feel like taking pictures and editing a pattern.
It’s getting late so it’s time to call it a day.
My day did not go as planned. When I went to seam the new gloves, I was missing 1/4 of a glove. So back to the knitting room I went. First things first, I had to find a second pair of US size 6 wooden knitting needles. Thankfully I have at least 2 pairs in each size. I think that everyone should have at least 2 pairs in each size. Your local yarn shop can help you with that. You don’t have to buy them all at once. Save up your coupon money so it does not have to come out of the household budget. I am also grateful that the second pair were not on a project.
Forty five minutes later it was really finished. So while dinner was cooking I wove in the ends and clipped them together for seaming. I was too tired after dinner to do any sewing. So I choose to relax and watch another the Moon is going to crash into the earth movie. Of course the astronauts saved the earth at the very last minute. They always do.
So below is a picture of my oops.
While I have been busy recovering from my first cataract surgery, I can say I think it is going well. My distance vision in my right eye has ne going back to my 30’s. I have an up coming check up to see if my right eye is healed enough to do my left eye. Wish me luck.
Meanwhile I have been doing a lot of napping. I gave up stress eating. I gave up eating when I am tired and have opted to take naps instead after all I am retired. I have been doing some knitting, I have only finished 2 small projects this week. I have gloves to seam, I have a shawl, 2 scarfs, and a third pair of gloves to finish. I am also throwing in random acts of cleaning, not too much though because I am still supposed to be resting. They Obviously did not write those instructions with me in mind.
Sorry for any misspellings, I am doing this with out glasses because my eyes are tired. So I guess it’s good night.
