Author Archives: Katherine

Needles

29 Thursday Nov 2007

Posted by in Knitting, Knitting Sites

≈ 5 Comments

One of the Internet’s strengths is its ability to help consumers
find the right needle in a digital haystack of data.
[Jared Sandberg]

Wouldn’t you think I’d have every size of knitting needle after all of these years? Wrong. My grandson has already out-grown the red Wallaby I knit for him for this Christmas so I’m rapidly knitting a larger one. I’ll post a photo when I’m finished. I’ve worked up to the underarm on #5 circular needles but, when I started the sleeves, I discovered I have no #5 double-points. I also have no local yarn shop. I searched the internet and ordered a set of needles from The Local Needle in Florida. I received an email from them that they had mailed it the same day. Wow. Somebody knows knitters and their needs.

Thanksgiving

21 Wednesday Nov 2007

Posted by in Thoughts

≈ 3 Comments

When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.
[Anthony Robbins]

Getting ready might be one of the best parts of Thanksgiving. Imagine the odors floating in from the kitchen while the table is being set for the gathering. Imagine the silence before the chatter, the expectations before the event. My heart is about to burst with gratitude.

Warmest of loving wishes for a happy holiday. Katherine

The Friendly Fox

20 Tuesday Nov 2007

Posted by in Thoughts

≈ 3 Comments

I believe humans get a lot done,
not because we’re smart,
but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.
[Flash Rosenberg]

The only business buildings in our residential neighborhood sit a block east of my house—three connected brick, 1920s-vintage structures that sit back from the street with a concrete plaza in front. Until recently, a bill collection agency occupied the corner building. I called them, The Knuckle Busters. They moved out several months ago. After weeks of renovation, a new business opened there last Saturday—The Friendly Fox: coffee, confections and comfort.

This morning at 7:30, I strolled over to The Friendly Fox and enjoyed a cup of hazelnut coffee and an apple scone. What a happy, comfortable, pretty place. The owner said she has awnings and tables so she can set up an outdoor space next spring.

I prefer living in small towns where I can walk to local businesses. Fort Wayne is the second-largest city in Indiana so, during the twenty years I’ve lived here, I’ve often longed to move to a smaller place. During my one-block walk back home this morning, I realized that The Friendly Fox makes my neighborhood feel like a small town. I think I’ll paint my picket fence and stay here awhile longer.

Before photo

18 Sunday Nov 2007

Posted by in Thoughts

≈ 1 Comment

I think housework is the reason most women go to the office.
[Heloise Cruse]

Office

…unless the house is the office. This is my next project (the rest of my house is fairly tidy, but life kind of piles up in my office as though it were a junk drawer). Now that my marathon sock knitting is almost finished, I’m determined to attack this space. These are the before photos. Sometime in the next few days, I’ll fit a cleaning/sorting spree in with my client work, and then take AFTER photos. At the left is a closeup of my roommate who is also under the chair in the top photo. From the look on his face, I don’t think he will volunteer to help clean.

Almost there

18 Sunday Nov 2007

Posted by in Knitting, Thoughts

≈ 2 Comments

The toughest thing about success is that
you’ve got to keep on being a success.
[Irving Berlin]

I have half a sock to finish and my Christmas knitting will be done—a scarf, a sweater, and six pairs of socks. Ah, success. Now I need to find where I stored the wrapping paper.

My youngest daughter has never learned to knit. I offered to teach her once and she replied, “I’d rather not. If I learned to knit, people would expect me to.” I can understand her point. If I learned to cook better, people would expect me to. I’ve invited people over for Thanksgiving dinner next Sunday. I’ll do my best to serve them the yummiest of meals, but I don’t have the pressure of them expecting me to—they have all known me for years so they know I knit better than I cook. I’ll make up for it when they get their Christmas gifts.

Kitchen Table Stories now available

14 Wednesday Nov 2007

Posted by in Drawing, Review, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
[Fran Lebowitz]

The trade edition of Kitchen Table Stories, edited by Jane Ross and published by the Story Circle Network, is now available at Lulu.com. This edition is 160 pages and perfect bound. Some of the inside pages can be previewed at Lulu. When you place your order, the books you order are manufactured especially for you and then shipped. The manufacture can take a couple of days. The book includes recipes along with very short stories.

In addition to being an SCN member, I’m partial to this book for personal reasons. I volunteered to do the cover illustration and contributed one of Mama’s recipes to this book. The proceeds go to SCN which is a non-profit organization for women who enjoy writing.

On a roll

04 Sunday Nov 2007

Posted by in Knitting

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The only place where housework comes before needlework
(or knitting)
is in the dictionary.
[Mary Kurtz]

Alpaca SocksMy bed is made and my dishes are washed, but that is it for today. I’m on a roll. I’ve finished one sock mate and am almost to the toe on another. That leaves only four more sock mates to knit for Christmas (except for the mate to the sock at the left which isn’t a gift so it can wait).

As I knit, I noticed I can do 20 rounds (72 stitches per round) an hour. That means I can finish a sock in about 11 hours. I don’t usually time my knitting but I’m racing the clock on this project. Too bad I can’t knit and walk at the same time like some people do. This gives a whole new meaning to the word “sedentary.” I’m going to have to take a break and run to the grocery. I can do without food, but I don’t want to run out of toilet paper for Pete’s sake.

For those in search of the perfect sock, this gray one is as close as I’ve ever come. The cable is pretty. The ribbing in the heel gusset makes it snug in around the ankle. Meg Swansen’s fitted arch and the saddle toe softly cradle my foot. And, the fiber is delicious. It is alpaca.

Meanwhile, I also have my day work to do—client websites to update, print proofs coming in, etc. As soon as I see the light of day past all of this, I am determined to get back to sweater pattern production. I’ll offer them for sale individually and electronically until I have enough to compile into a book.

I received an email newsletter from Firefly that has a link to her blog.  This blog is beautiful and her paintings are outstanding. What a joy.

Okay, I have to go knit 10 rounds.

Walking my dog

01 Thursday Nov 2007

Posted by in Favorite Things, Thoughts

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My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
[Author Unknown]

 

Toby took me for a walk today. He knows every tree and bush in our neighborhood so he sniffed as I snapped photos. Our home (with the little red car and over-sized blue spruce) was built eighty years ago so I assume most of the other homes near here were too. As we walked, I thought about the play, The Blue Bird (L’Oiseau bleu) by Maurice Maeterlinck. Like the characters in the play, I went in search of happiness and found it when I returned home.

Six Socks

30 Tuesday Oct 2007

Posted by in Knitting

≈ 4 Comments

True love is like a pair of socks:
you gotta have two and they’ve gotta match.
[Anonymous]

Six Socks

And soon there will be twelve. These six socks (plus the mate to the first one) are the results of my October knitting. The last three are ribbed like crew socks. The last two have shaped arches (Meg Swansen style). So, I figure that I ought to be able to knit the last five mates in November and have them wrapped for Christmas in plenty of time. I figured it up. If I factored in minimum wage for the hours I spent plus the cost of the yarn, each pair would be about $175.00! But who is counting? Knitting these tied my thoughts to the people who will receive them. That is priceless.

Home again

25 Thursday Oct 2007

Posted by in Knitting, Thoughts

≈ 4 Comments

When preparing to travel,
lay out all your clothes and all your money.
Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
[Susan Heller]

lee and me… twice the money, especially if you are going to a yarn shop. My friend Lee (on the left) and I spent time knitting with her friends at Yarntiques in Johnson City, TN.

Here is a suggestion for people who consider paying big bucks for marketing strategy advice. Provide a comfortable knitting area in a room that has the walls lined with yarn floor to ceiling. See the look on my face? The words that go with that expression are, “Looky there. I didn’t see that yarn yet. I may just have to buy a skein and try it out.”

Last night when I got home, I sat here knitting on one of the new skeins I bought and thought about my trip. That is a fringe benefit of buying yarn. It makes my trip last longer because the yarn triggers memories as I knit. I can relive the lovely meals and conversations we shared. Thank you Lee for your friendship and the wonderful visit. And thank you Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee for sharing your autumn beauty.