My Favorite Things

07 Monday Feb 2011

Posted by in Knitting

≈ 2 Comments

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
[lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II]

Another knitting class starts this weekend—we will make warm, woolen mittens. These mittens offer the knitter an opportunity to work twisted-stitch patterns on a small project. Traditional twisted-stitch knitting is worked with all knit stitches twisted (knit in the back of the stitch) although purl stitches are worked as usual. It is also characterized by sumptuous cables that usually cross only one or two stitches at a time.

Additional details include the palm gusset which adds ease into the palm of the hand where it is needed rather than into the thumb as is often done. The mitts are finished with a double-knit technique that creates a smooth edge. The pattern is both charted and described round by round. I’m putting the finishing touches on it now.

These items are knit using
sock or sport weight yarn
and sock needles.
200 yards for the mitts.
350 yards for the mittens.

Leftovers

03 Thursday Feb 2011

Posted by in Knitting

≈ 5 Comments

Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories.
Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.
[Thomas Fuller]

I love leftovers. That is a good thing since most of my meals are comprised of leftovers. I cook once and eat for several days so I make sure I cook something that is just as good served cold.

Most of my leftovers are yarn and fabric. These always remind me of my grandma. She could find a use for even the smallest snippet of cotton or wool. I loved to watch her make something beautiful out of nothing much. I used to think she was kind of like God in that way.

I’ve posted a photo of the colorful counterpane before but don’t recall posting a photo of what I did with its leftovers. I made a mistake when I ordered yarn for the counterpane and received fingering weight instead of worsted so I knit with two strands. I used up the leftovers by knitting the doll clothes with one strand. I was delighted it was fingering weight for her items. Goes to show you how mistakes can be good events.

(The yarn is Brown Sheep Nature Spun, the doll is a Magic Attic 18″)

Feedback

18 Tuesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Thoughts, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

If your actions inspire others to
dream more,
learn more,
do more and
become more,
you are a leader.
[John Quincy Adams]

I never cease to be amazed when I discover that something I’ve said or done has influenced another person. I usually think of myself as someone who putters around within the small sphere of my life merely meeting deadlines and crossing tasks off of my endless to do list. Then I get a comment from one of my blog readers or a call from one of my students, and I bask in amazement that my sphere isn’t as small as I’ve imagined.

Maybe feedback is what we need the most in our lives. Sometimes we even need negative feedback. Several years ago, my hair was waist length and I wore it in braids on top of my head. I looked like an old Heidy on my driver’s license. Then I had it all cut off. The improvement was so remarkable that I asked my sister why there isn’t anyone who loved me enough to tell me how dreadful I looked before. She replied that she just assumed I was going through a phase and would wake up eventually.

Positive or negative, feedback can do more than inform. It can encourage. It can teach. It can even make us feel cared about. I want to thank my readers who encourage me with their comments. I try to answer them by email but have fallen behind. Be patient. I’ll write soon.

Winter Classes

15 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in Knitting, teaching classes

≈ 6 Comments

Courage allows the successful woman to fail
and learn powerful lessons from the failure
so that in the end,
she didn’t fail at all.
[Maya Angelou]

Winter knitting classes started last Tuesday but a snow storm changed our plans so I emailed a PDF file of the instructions for this year’s Valentine Socks (Hearts and Flowers) to the folks who signed up. This might be an opportunity in disguise. I’ll meet with the class this Tuesday (providing there isn’t another big snow fall) and ask them about how it was to try the pattern on their own. If the response is positive, I’ll add it to the positive response I received from my New Harmony friend, Candy, and set up my Ravelry account to sell patterns online. I have at least fifty designs that I could develop into patterns.

2010 in review

02 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by in Thoughts

≈ 1 Comment

I received this from WordPress.

 

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 3 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 38 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 287 posts. There were 46 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 4mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 17th with 134 views. The most popular post that day was Sock Workshop.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were sheepandwool.org, ravelry.com, atimetoknit.com, tricot.nordique.free.fr, and community.livejournal.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for olympic sweaters, the best drawing in the world, fair isle knitting, katherine misegades, and pencil drawings of birds.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Sock Workshop October 2006
10 comments

2

Garden Dweller July 2006
5 comments

3

Lesson 1b: A Cast On October 2006
3 comments

4

Olympic Sweaters February 2010
6 comments

5

Lesson 1: The Welt October 2006
3 comments

Happy 2011

01 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in Thoughts

≈ 6 Comments

Cheers to
a new year and
another chance for us to get it right.
[Oprah Winfrey]

People who know me will find this really strange. I went out last night and partied in the new year. I danced the caps off of the heels of my party shoes, kissed total strangers, and was temporarily adopted into an energetic Italian family for the evening. I had a delightful time.

How does a fairly reclusive, sort of stuffy, and kind of shy woman of my age end up doing such a thing? I decided to do it. I said, “Self, are you going to usher in yet another new year by knitting until nine, then going to bed?” “No!” self answered. “For once, I’m going to put on party shoes and a sparkly outfit and find a place full of enthusiastic people.” Then I Googled, New Years parties in Fort Wayne, and found the one at the Philmore on Broadway not far from my home.

They offered lovely surroundings, refreshments, a live band, and party favors. I sat alone for about an hour enjoying watching people come and go then a lady asked me if I’d want to sit with her family. Such warm and inclusive people—they said they were Italian and took me in like I was their cousin from Tuscany. I didn’t know people could exude fun like they did. At midnight, we hugged, kissed both cheeks, blew silver horns and bid each other a wonderful new year. If it turns out the way it started, it certainly will be.

Merry Christmas

24 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by in Drawing, Thoughts

≈ 6 Comments

Christmas, my child, is love in action.
Every time we love, every time we give.
It’s Christmas.
[Dale Evans Rogers]

Whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year, I wish you the very best—a time full of love.

I celebrate Christmas and have learned over the years how to fill it with love. One Christmas over forty years ago, I felt sorry for myself.  I was stationed at a Navy hospital a thousand miles from home and assigned to work Christmas day. I nursed my self pity through part of my shift until it dawned on me that my attitude influenced the folks around me. They deserved better. It didn’t take a Charles Dickens ghost to jar me loose. I got the message and hunted ways to do something special for each person on my ward. By the middle of the afternoon, we were all feeling better and sharing memories with each other. About then, one of the patient’s mothers brought us a party in big baskets and bags. I shall never forget standing there with a mouth full of cookies thinking that self pity is a person’s worst enemy.

I have filled the Christmas socks (Santa lives at my house so really smart folks hang their socks here–there are six socks hanging). I’ve also gathered in the last bit of food for tomorrow’s brunch and run the vacuum. I have Christmas songs playing on my iPod, a warm dog on my lap, snow out the window, a pretty Christmas tree to look at, and knitting to do. Life is good.

My warmest wishes for your happiness,

KMM

1-Minute Inspirations

11 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by in My Client's Sites, Ongoing Projects, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God’s handwriting.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Late summer is my busiest time as I polish publications and the annual catalog for Willowgreen Publishing. This year has been especially exciting. We added two new printed books, 15 ePub eBooks, a growing list of MP3 audio books, and a new audiovisual production. We also started a new blog, 1-Minute Inspirations, that offers VideoPress videos of Jim’s photography and words.

Hoosier Autumn

27 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in Photography, Thoughts

≈ 2 Comments

But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock–
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.
[James Whitcomb Riley]

Robert Pence, photographer, recorded these and other images of our Hoosier autumn on his tour of Salomon Farm Park, Fort Wayne, Indiana. For more of his photos, select this LINK. Bob also took the fisherman photo in the masthead—the fisherman is my son James and the photo was taken about 18 years ago.