I've Moved! Time for a change of scenery!

Find me here: http://www.onemorerow.blogdrive.com

posted by Teresa 9/28/2004 07:06:00 PM

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As Promised... Mz. Corynna Bean in her Daisy sweater.

posted by Teresa 9/26/2004 07:52:00 PM

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It took 4 months 2 hand knitters and the United States Post Office. ~FINALLY~ Corynna's has her Daisy Sweater! I hoped to have a picture to prove it, but when I took it to her Tuesday night I left my camera at home thinking Corynna's Daddy could take the picture with his camera only to find out he let his parents take his camera to Myrtle Beach for their vacation. He promises to take a picture of Mz. Bean in her sweater as soon as he gets the camera back, and of course I'll post it here. The sweater fits her GREAT! It's a little big - which is good. She may still be able to wear it next Spring. But take it from me (unbiased of course) Corynna looked SO cute in it! BIG THANKS to Handknitter Sarah (the other knitter) who fixed the hole and sent it back to me and the blink of an eye. MMmWah!

posted by Teresa 9/22/2004 07:32:00 PM

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This way... ...to the Midwest Festival of Fibers. As we neared the entrance to the Wool Gathering this intent pound puppy was busy showing his stuff. He was all business. Would you believe he herded me right into a tent where I found this georgeous 789 yard skein of 100% alpaca. Sport weight. I shouldn't have spent the money but I couldn't help myself. This is C's most favorite color so my excuse is that I bought it for her. At this point I have no idea what it's gonna be...ideas? This gorgeous yarn came from this guy: This is Enrique aka Ricky. Enrique is owned by Deb and Greg @ Checkered Flag Fibers. He's a Huacaya Alpaca - color Dark Rose Gray. Beautiful and wonderfully soft. sigh That's what's so fun about buying yarn at a wool gathering - it's an organic experience - meeting the people who feed and care for the beautiful animal that begets the the beautiful fleece that's spun into beautiful yarn and ends up being a beautiful hand knit something.

posted by Teresa 9/20/2004 09:57:00 PM

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Midwest Festival of Fibers
This weekend - just outside Yellow Springs, OhioDenise aka LocQueen is coming up from Cincinnati Sunday.We're going to have brunch at The Winds Cafe and then head up the road to The Wool Gathering.
Click the pic above to go to the Wool Gathering web pageClick the map below to go to Expedia's map for YS.

posted by Teresa 9/17/2004 08:24:00 PM

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Lunch Time Celeb Siting Dave Chappelle. As I understand it, Dave spent his summers in Yellow Springs and has a soft place in his heart for the village and the Ohio countryside that surrounds it. I lived in Yellow Springs for 3 years and have worked here 3 more years. In those 6 years, I've heard people talk about seeing Dave skate board down the street and hang out in the local coffee shop but I'd never had a Dave Chappelle siting myself. Today - outside the little deli my friends Sue, Diana and I frequent - there he was...camera crew in tow. Seemed to be doing some comedian-on-the-street interactions with villagers/passersby. An upcoming 60 Minutes spot, Sue heard. ? So I went out and asked if I could shake his hand. He said yes. I told him that "we" love his show and that we don't miss it and that we have the first season on DVD. ("We" meaning Cherise and I but of course he didn't know that 'cause I didn't say, "my partner C and I" which will disappoint C but then I didn't expect to be shaking hands with Dave Chappelle today so I didn't have my speech planned out - know what I mean?) So anyway - he smiled that Dave Chappelle smile and said thank you and that was that. I went back in the deli to finish my Shrimp and Rice Noodles. All in all a pretty nice lunch for a Wednesday.

posted by Teresa 9/15/2004 12:40:00 PM

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FINALLY! Corynna's Daisy sweater is finished... ...except for the hole. I've decided to take Handknitter Sarah up on her offer to fix it for me. So in the mail it goes today. My knitter's pride is a bit bruised over the fact that I wasn't able to fix this myself. I tried. ...and ended up making the hole bigger. Usually that would make me all the more determined to fix the problem myself - but Corynna should be wearing this now before the weather changes and while it still fits her. The lesson is about letting go. And moving on... ...to other stuff. Like Kersti for Kristi. This is the beginning of the first poncho panel. I had started the poncho using another pattern as a guide but then Bonne Marie finished her Lacy Poncho and offered it for sale. I really like the two-rectangle poncho construction better than the start-at-a-point-and-increase-each-side poncho construction. So I'm using Bonne Marie's pattern as a guide and improvising. I also cast on the Alien Illusion scarf from Stitch and Bitch: Progress as of Sunday afternoon. Post picture, I took AI with me to a Jazz Concert our Neighborhood Association sponsored from 4 to 8pm and made more progress. The casting on of AI marks the official beginning of my holiday knitting. AI will be gifted to my Sci-Fi obsessed brother-in-law. The one who sent us a Christmas card two years ago that had the Star Trek-Next Generation crew on the front with his picture inserted as one of the crew. He's a total freak and that's why I love him! It's been a while... ...since I posted a picture of our gurls so I'll leave you with this shot of Dot and Sade as they vie for my attention. (That's Dot's favorite squeaky toy. She's so darn cute when she runs around the house with it in her mouth - looks like she's carrying around a big red bow.) Hope the start to your week is a good one! Bye!

posted by Teresa 9/13/2004 07:48:00 AM

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As they say over at Emily's List: Dress him up, dress him down... ...dress him for his trip back to Texas! Wanna Dress Up Dubya?

Give 'im a click!

posted by Teresa 9/09/2004 10:39:00 PM

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Secret Pals 3 - Questions and Answers Secret Pal 3 is rev-ing up! So, here are my answers to the Secret Pal 3 Questions. Ready or not!? Here we go... 1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? "Yarn snob" sounds so...harsh. :) But if being a yarn snob means not knitting with Red Heart and Lion Brand - well, I'm a yarn snob. I'm on a very tight budget, so I've never bought Collinette or cashmere. But I do prefer natural fibers. 2. Do you spin? Crochet? No to both. 3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) No. 4. How long have you been knitting? I've been knitting somewhere around 15 or 16 years. That's not counting the knitting lessons I took when I was 9 or 10. I knit a scarf and a pair of slippers, then didn't touch a pair of needles until I was in my early 30's. (I'll be 47 this December.) 5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I don't. But I can sure start one! 6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I love natural scents. I'm especially fond of lavender and jasmine. I have an oil that I wear called "Rain" and I love that too. 7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Ohmiyes! Dark chocolate with almonds, expresso beans. There's a little deli in the town where I work that carries an organic dark chocolate bar with lavender and wild blueberries. ***sigh*** It's divine. Simply divine. 8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? If I didn't have to work, I would devote my days to knitting, making art quilts and reading. Quilting would be a second passion if only there were enough hours in a day! I have a pattern for a sweater on my "To Do" list that combines quilting and knitting. Someday! 9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD) I like a mix of music. From Jill Scott to Allison Kraus. Diana Krall to the Indigo Girls. 10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I love purple. I lean toward purples on the blue side of purple, not so much on the red purples. I'm also a sucker for soft pastel blues, as well as denim blue and mossy greens. 11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? My family is me and my partner C and our two beagles - Sade, who turned 7 this spring and Dot who will be 6 months old September 15. 12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) My dream - like many knitters - is to own a yarn shop. Currently the yarn shop I dream of would be in a re-habed turn of the century carriage house a couple streets away from our house and would include an expresso bar. I'd also carry that line of organic chocolate I mentioned about a few questions back. 13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I love natural fibers - mostly wool. I've yet to find a cotton that I can honestly say I like to knit with. I love Koigu and I love Jamieson yarns. Yarns on my "gotta try" list include Green Mountain Spinnery and Peace Fleece yarns. It would be fun to have 1 skein of a bunch of different Rowan yarns to swatch up and play with. 14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Cotton. Most acrylic. 15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Obsession? Fair Isle. Waiting patiently for me to pick her up again, is the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle from "Sweaters From Camp." That's my "totally for Teresa" knitting which I probably won't do again until January. 16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Sweaters. 17. What are you knitting right now? A poncho from Kersti for my daughter Kristi. Getting ready to start working on gifts for the Winter Holidays. 18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiosity question for us.) I like them. I hope I get around to knitting one for myself. I think of myself as a traditional knitter all the way. Never had much interest in machine knitting - until I've considered knitting ponchos. 19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circulars all the way. Bamboo. Crystal Palace is currently my needle of choice. Lately though, I've been lusting over ebony needles. 20. How did you learn to knit? As I said in question #4 I took some knitting lessons when I was 9 or 10. In my early 30's I was an avid cross-stitcher and bought my cross stitch supplies from Vicky at The Yarn Dome. Late one summer I bought a magazine that had all kinds of needle crafts in it. There was a pattern for a sweater that I really liked. I asked Vicky how much it would cost for her to knit it for me. She said somewhere around $300. I gasped! Then she said, "Why don't you knit it yourself?" It wasn't long until I was spending every spare moment at "The Yarn Dome" picking up where I'd left off so many years before, honing my knitting skills so I could make that sweater. I haven't picked up a cross stitch needles since. 21. How old is your oldest UFO? 8 years old. A patinas pattern with cables from the chest area up, knit with patinas Classic Marino Wool. It's a beautiful sweater. Thanks for reminding me! I need to get that darn thing out and finish it! 22. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I've never been much for cartoon characters. My favorite animal: Beagles. Favorite bird: Canadian Geese. 23. What is your favorite holiday? Winter Solstice - 1st. Halloween - 2nd. 24. Is there anything that you collect? My yarn stash and knitting book library is the closest thing I have to a collection of things. But I've been telling C I'd like to start a collection of fun/unique expresso cups. Secret Pal!

posted by Teresa 9/05/2004 02:46:00 PM

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Summer of My Knitting Discontent It started with the the short set Corynna wanted which set me on a course of mostly mediocre knitting excitement this summer. The few projects I have worked on have not produced that passionate feeling you get when you are knitting something you JUST LOVE. It's no secret that I've been disappointed with Corynna's Daisy sweater. I've come close to throwing it in the back of my knitting closet more than once but stopped - only because Corynna keeps asking about it. Now this... ...a hole. It happened when I was weaving in ends - (the scourge of Intarsia.) I undid a couple ends, that I had woven in previously - thinking I could do it better this time. I was wrong. Now I have 3 loops which form a hole. (green yarn is threaded through the loops) Three because it happened at a place where I was changing colors. (Does that make sense?) I found some resources for performing surgery, ah I mean, mending holes in hand knitting. I'll try to mend it this weekend. After all the whining I've done about not caring about finishing this sweater...about how I just want to stop and knit Corynna some beautiful WOOL something - well - I've taken some major ribbing about the hole, the past few days from those closest to me. All of it falls into the general category of "OH! SURE you didn't MEAN to make a hole smack dab in the middle of the sweater!" "UM-HM" "Sure, Teresa." Really! I didn't do it on purpose. The perfectionist part of my personality just took over. Anyway ...if you have suggesting as to how to fix this please leave it in my comments. My reputation as a knitter (don't laugh!) is at stake here... ...not to mention how much time I could spend in the Grandma Dog House.

posted by Teresa 9/02/2004 09:56:00 AM

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A Bit of a Rant First a Pre-Rant-Rant: Blogger has changed AGAIN. This time they've changed their photo hosting. Seems they aren't anymore. So, it's back to the "old" days of using an outside host. 'Til I figure out what I'm going to do, there's only the written word to view. Sorry. The Real Rant Saturday evening we went out to eat with Kristi, Sean and Corynna. After dinner Cherise headed off to Borders Books while the rest of us made a trek to Toys R Us and Old Navy. When we picked Cherise up, I made a quick check of the knitting section and found a copy of For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitter's Art edited by Kari Cornell. Last night I had a chance to sit down with it and give it a once through. Turns out that it's a book of essays centered around four (I think) areas. Contributors include Meg Swansen and Pam Allen and some other names I recognized. It's full of graphics and pictures of vintage knitting leaflets and advertisements and old personal photos of children and adults knitting. There are current photos but not as many. And I was surprised how many photos there were from Debbie New's book, Unexpected Knitting. First time through I mainly looked at pictures and skimmed the essays so I can't attest to the quality of the essays. I do however have an opinion of the visual esthetics of the book and I was stuck by the "whiteness" of it. There was only one picture of non-European women and that was an old photo of two indigenous looking women. It made me think, about knitting's recent past - the time most of the vintage graphics and old photos come from - the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Did Black, Asian, Latino women knit? If so, where are their pictures? If they weren't knitting, why not? Most of the vintage graphics have that "Leave It To Beaver" quality. A dotting white mother knitting with her daughter, an intent white girl knitting her first project, the perfect white family - mother, father and daughter on ice skates each sporting matching knitted hats, scarves and mittens. It makes me wonder if anyone raised a question about this when they were putting together the book. "Ah, Kari...the book is wonderful but it's really White. Didn't Black women knit?" It's clear the recent resurgence of knitting this time around doesn't seem to know boundaries of race or gender - Thank Goddess! I just wish this book had gone a little deeper and looked a little further especially with it's $29.95 price tag. I'd buy it again 'cause it's a nice addition to my knitting library. I just wish I'd known I could buy it from Walmart for little more 1/2 of what I paid.

posted by Teresa 8/30/2004 09:46:00 AM

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Smart Women Vote! Today is Women's Equality Day A Celebration of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote! Info here. Take a quiz here.

posted by Teresa 8/26/2004 07:41:00 AM

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Kersti Raglan Body Hugger comes to a screeching halt. ...and it's all my daughter's fault. I told her I would knit her something this fall and we had planned to spend some quality time over coffee going through my books and magazines to find that "something." Last week she called to tell me that "something" was to be a poncho with a matching hat - and she wanted it in the same yarn I was using for the Raglan Body Hugger. I have two choices. Finish the Body Hugger and order more Kersti for her poncho. Abandon the Body Hugger for the poncho set. (Body Hugger progress stopped at 3 skeins knit into body.) I've decided it will be the latter. You see, I'm a knitter on a budget. A very tight budget. (A very sweet, generous and kind yarn shop owner can attest to that.) ...and so it will be a while 'til I can afford more Kersti. I'm also a mother. Subject to bouts of guilt and prone to brief episodes of martyr-like-behavior. So a Kersti poncho set it will be. I'll be Knitting Kersti for Kristi. Kristi and I emailed links back and forth last week so I could understand the type/shape of poncho she wants. We have settled on Amy's Summer Poncho as the base pattern. I cast on and started knitting it last night while watching Six Feet Under. I'll post a picture of my progress later this week. Unfinished Objects I'm in a funk with them all. Bean's Daisy sweater - still sits almost but not done... ...I'm just plain unhappy with it. Venus - just needs the right side and it's ready to wear... ...I'm afraid it might be too small, even with the adjustments I made. More than likely the funk factor here directly correlates to my unhappiness with my over-weight self and my inability to get motivated to do something about it. :( Baby Sweater - Dot chewed up the needles and I'm not really happy with the yarn I'm using. ***sigh*** A funk is a funk is a funk. And it's only knitting. In the scheme of things I'm grateful- -if this is all I have to be in a funk about... life is prity dern good!

posted by Teresa 8/23/2004 07:47:00 AM

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Is This a Knitting Blog? Ah...yes. But there are just SO many important issues to think about and act on right now. Please consider this: Help fight efforts to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples, including any Constitutional amendment. Click the banner and sign the Human Rights Campaign's Million For Marriage petition. Gay, straight, married, single... if you believe in marriage equality go sign the petition NOW!

posted by Teresa 8/19/2004 08:54:00 PM

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Get it here.

posted by Teresa 8/18/2004 07:51:00 PM

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My Iowa Retreat (In Pictures) Going to Carol's is really like going on retreat for me. She doesn't own a TV; so the only sound, the whole time I was there was either the sound of us talking and laughing and talking some more - or silence - wonderful, soothing silence. And then there's the food...a fridge full of fresh produce from Local Harvest CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where Carol is a work share member. I arrived in Cedar Rapids Monday morning. Monday and Tuesday were low key, catch up days. Tuesday I really hit vacation stride when I didn't get up until 12:50 PM Ohio time. Wednesday morning we (Carol, her son Sam's girlfriend Dominique and I) headed to the farm to work and bring home the week's bounty. Our task was to weed 3 rows of green peppers... (Looking from this direction it seemed like the rows went on forever!) ...and pick ripe peppers as we went. Here I am... ...smiling but hurting already. I'm WAY out of shape. Here's the other end of the rows, about 2 hours later... ...de-weeded and plucked of the day's ripe and ready peppers! We then proceeded to weed a partial row of carrots, after which I drug my sorry-out-of-shape-aching-ass to the car and waited while Carol and Dominique gathered all manner of vegetables to take home. Chard, kale, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, green beans (to name what I can remember) and of course - green peppers. That evening we went into town where we heard Mike and Amy Finders play, we browsed Prairie Lights Bookstore and had an awesome dinner at The Red Avocado. A really nice end to a tiring but lovely day. Thursday found Carol and I scurrying around to do all the stuff we thought we had time to do. The biggest of which was me painting a design on the little roof over her porch. Carol bought her house at the beginning of the summer. My "design" and the painting of it is my house-warming gift to her. Me on the ladder painting... ...Carol painting her mailbox... ...close-up of the porch roof... ...the finished product! Well kindda. I didn't get a second coat on everything by the time I needed to stop. Carol finished it up the next day - after I left. I flew home, early Friday morning. C was very happy to see me. This was the first time I had been the one to go away and she was the one left at home. She really missed me, which is really nice to know after being together for a little over 4 years. Later this week some knitting content. ' Til then~ Here's to quiet spaces, organic vegetables, good friends over long distances and the sweet love of someone at home.

posted by Teresa 8/16/2004 01:00:00 PM

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On Vacation...

...and off to Iowa City, Iowa

to visit my friend Carol.

Back sometime next week.

In the mean time here's

something to keep you busy:

CornCam 2004

The Iowa Farmer Today web camera

in a field north of Iowa City.

posted by Teresa 8/08/2004 03:45:00 PM

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The Dog Days Of Summer Know where this saying comes from? I didn't. So I looked it up... My search took me to Dogs Through History In Greek mythology, Canis Major (Great Dog) and Canis Minor (Little Dog) is The Great hunter, Orion's, two hunting dogs. Canis Major is one of the most striking constellations in the heavens. Look for Sirius, 'The Dog Star', the brightest star in the heavens. Legend has it that Sirius is the diamond in Canis Major's collar. Sirius is said to mean 'scorching' or 'sparkling' because it is nearest to the sun at the height of summer. In the constellation, Canis Major is said to be crouching, ready to pounce on Lepus, The Rabbit. In olden days, people thought Sirius, the Dog Star made the days hotter. The saying 'dog days summer' comes from this belief. We're so much smarter now, aren't we? Even though it's technically the "dog days of summer" it's certainly not scorching here in the Ohio Valley today. A front came through last night which brought us some gor-geez-e-mo weather! Highs around 72 today...tonight low 50's. Ummm. Great sleeping weather. Kersti Love If you've knit with it you know where I'm going here. I can't put it down! I think I'm really going to like the Body Hugger Raglan...I was a little concerned to be making something that is called a "body hugger." This mid-aged body of mine doesn't need misplaced bumps, lumps and curves highlighted any more that they already are. But I think this might just work. I'm making the largest size so the rib pattern might actually work to my advantage here. Surfing Amazon I just love clicking around Amazon and seeing what new knitting books are on the horizon. One that looks particularly interesting is... For the Love of Knitting~ A Celebration of Knitter's Art by Kari A. Cornell I did some other searching around on the title...looks like it's set to be released this September.

posted by Teresa 8/05/2004 09:36:00 AM

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A Productive Week But first~ My Knitting Tarot / High Priestess T-Shirt arrived last Thursday. I love it! Haven't had a chance to wear it yet~ hopefully this week. Maybe I'll wear it to work Friday...it's casual day and at Antioch casual is casual. OK. Now on to the actual knitting. Venus... The left front is done. I finished the shoulder and side seams so I could see how it's going to fit. The armhole could be a wee bit bigger, so I'm thinking about frogging the back and front to adjust the measurement. Every time I look at it or think about it it bugs me, so I need to just do it now and get it over with. Over the weekend I cast on two new projects. Kersti and Sally Melville's Body Hugger Raglan... Colorway 354 which I love! Soft and girlie. I think it's going to make a beautiful Body Hugger. ...I also decided to join the Kersti Knit-Along. I know. Strange for me. I'm not really a Knit-Along-er. As C told me when I first met her...don't try to figure me out - it'll drive you crazy. (She was right.) childHood from the 2003 Summer Knitty... (note: Dot's nose) This is going to be a gift for one of C's co-workers. I've been meaning to cast on for this for a month now. I saw the Daddy and Mommy to be over the week-end. Mommy is, well...very pregnant. Decided I'd better get started. Little Baby is due mid-October, so this should be a nice sweater/jacket for the coming cold weather. I'm knitting it in Paton's Look At Me. Stash inventory and different weight of yarn than the pattern calls for but I'm making the appropriate adjustments. I'd originally bought the yarn to knit something for Corynna, many moons (many) ago. Speaking of knitting for Corynna. The plan now is for me to have her sweater done by the time she starts school - the end of August. I need to just plow through it and be done with it...problem is I don't care for it in the least. I'm ashamed of it. It's not my best knitting - at all. I want to just throw it away and knit her something beautiful in wool. But she's excited about it. She doesn't judge things the way her Gran-Ma does... ...to her it's a wonderful sweater that Gran-Ma Tresa made just for her. I need to make that my mantra and JUST DO IT!!

posted by Teresa 8/03/2004 08:07:00 AM

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Corynna and her beagle pup Cinnamon. Corynna with Dot. Devon with Cinnamon. If only we could bottle the cuteness and energy captured on this couch.

posted by Teresa 7/30/2004 09:52:00 PM

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I've Never Been Much for Politics Don't get me wrong. I vote. Always have. But I would never describe myself as political. More likely I would describe myself as someone who hated politics. All the negativity, lies and deceit. I get enough of that at work everyday. I've also never thought of my parents as particularly political or interested in politics. You know how some kids grow up listening to their parents discuss issues? Or their parents might take them to an information session about a local issue or rally for a state or national issue? Mom and Dad were proud to say they were (still are) Democrats. And I do have childhood memories of them watching the Democratic Convention on television. I remember watching TV with them when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. As a 9 year old, the images left me scared and fearful and unable to sleep without the light on for a long time afterward. I also remember getting up earlier than usual for school on a cold November morning, walking into our living room - dark except for the blue glow of the television - to find my Dad sitting there. He had stayed up all night and into the morning waiting to see who had won the election. Well, something has changed for me. Maybe it's that GW's smirky face peering from behind the podium in the Rose Garden makes me think of Billie Maher from elementary school - a spoiled, rich boy with nothing but his best interest in mind. Maybe it's that I believe with all my heart and soul that the war in Iraq is WRONG and the death of every solider and civilian since we entered Iraq is blood on this Administration's hands. Maybe it's that I'm older and I have time to listen to and focus on things other than the pure survival of me and my kids. Whatever it is - I like so many others believe this election and it's outcome is the most important election of my  lifetime. I (with C) have watched each night of the Democratic Convention on C-Span. Have I totally lost my mind? I'm actually looking forward to tonight and tomorrow night with the same amount of anticipation I usually only reserve for Sunday nights and Six Feet Under. I go to bed stirred by the speeches and thinking about what they've said. Yes, I know each speech is carefully crafted to promote specific issues / agendas and to inspire an emotional response...I admit with no shame that it's working on me. For the first time in a VERY long time, I'm feeling hopeful. ...and that feels good. _______________________________________________ NPR: July 27, 2004 -- For the first time, writers of Web logs -- online journals of news and opinion -- have been granted journalist credentials for a political convention. Bloggers at the Democratic gathering in Boston offer a more passionate, opinionated view of goings-on than that of traditional journalists. Check out the story here. conventionbloggers.com

posted by Teresa 7/28/2004 12:18:00 PM

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Sunday at Lake St. Mary's (Make that "Rain-day" at Lake St. Mary's.) Kristi, Sean and Corynna had invited C and I to spend the day with them at Sean's grandparent's trailer on Grand Lake St. Mary's. They go up for an extended weekend once a summer. The past few summer's we haven't been able to make it - but this year we got the date on the calendar early and vowed that nothing would get in the way of a day of water and sun. Nothing except an unusual late July cool front. As we headed toward the lake surrounded by gray skies, we knew the forecast called for temperatures in the mid-70's and less sun than Saturday, but we were optimistic that by noon the sun would show and we would be pontoon-ing around the lake. Alas, that was not to be. As we stepped out the door of the restaurant where we gorged ourselves on their breakfast buffet, rain-drops began to fall and fell and fell and fell. Here's a picture of my grandson Devon, fishing in the rain: He's a cutie isn't he? Notice the raindrops on the water. ...and here's a pitiful picture of C: Lawn chair, umbrella and blanket. Shortly after this picture was taken she retired to the backseat of the CRV for a long nap. It was just that kind of day. While C napped, I visited and knit. I had hoped to have Corynna's sweater ready to give her Sunday, but that didn't work out. It's close...kinda. There's many - many ends to weave in. And the crochet stitch used to finish the edges? Yuck. I'm going to pick up around each sleeve and the bottom and add a knit edge/rib/somthing. Then there's the neck. First it was WAY too big. So I tried a couple things that didn’t' work out. Then I frogged the whole upper part of the sweater and knit it again, reshaping the neck. I finished that with a ribbed edge. Here it is before Sunday: It looked nice except for a funky little mis-shapen stitch at the neck and rib edge on the left side. But Mz. Bean couldn't get her head through. UHG!! So while Dusty and Devon fished in the rain, and C napped in the car and Kristi and Corynna watched "The Fast and the Furious" at the trailer next door and Sean cleaned fish from his fishing the day before and Dot and Cinnamon (Corynna's 3 month old Beagle pup) romped and played and played and romped, I tore out the neck and re-did it again. Fifth (6th?) time charm - Bean tried it on before we left and it fit. So back to finishing. I'm SO ready to be done with this sweater. I hope the next picture I post of it here is as a FO. I'll leave you with another picture: C just finished landscaping the flower gardens around our front porch which includes a pair of lions surrounded by Blacked Susans or as we call them "Black Eyed Cuffys." (Cuffy is C's nickname from highschool, taken from the Preppy Handbook.) C is a Leo and has reminded me every day since July 23 that Leo reigns, and she will torment me with this fact until August 22. Like I said, she's a Leo and it is after all all about her. ~grin~

posted by Teresa 7/26/2004 09:51:00 AM

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One More Row and Another Latte

 is   years old this week!    

posted by Teresa 7/21/2004 08:55:00 PM

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Pooch in Need Go over and check out Antonio's site and his plea for donations to help him pay for a costly surgery for his dog Pandora, who's been diagnoised with a bacterial infection called Pyometra. Antonio's site - Eartha Knit - is here. I only know Antonio through my gurl, Deniz / LocQueen Knits 2 - so my request that you check out his plea for donations comes only from a place of loving our Dot and Sade and knowing how devastating a large vet bill can be. I also know how many of you out there love your pets and I know the action power of the Knit Blogging community to do good. A pooch in need is a friend in deed.

posted by Teresa 7/20/2004 08:13:00 AM

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Soft and Wonderful Things The fiber kind~ Kersti found her way to my doorstep Monday - all 14 skeins of her. Colorway 534...soft shades of pink and grey and other subtle colors in between. At this moment I'm planning to knit her into Sally Melville's Raglan Body Hugger. I say that with a bit of hesitation because I'm a little scared to knit anything for myself that has "body hugger" in it's name. My overweight and cushy body might be nice to hug but I'm not sure about knitting a sweater that might hug it back. For sure, I'll be making the largest size, lengthening it and blocking the ever-loving rib out of it. The pooch kind~ (That's my son Dusty smoochin' with the girls. Dusty is living with C and I for a while and spoiling Dot and Sade rotten.) Hope your Wednesday is everything you need it to be!

posted by Teresa 7/13/2004 09:24:00 PM

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Whew! The past week to 10 days has been full of activity 'round here. Here's what I / we've been up to: Thursday July 1 My good friends Georgianna and Julie were in Yellow Springs for less than a day. We met them (and several of their other friends from the area) for dinner at my favorite restaurant The Winds Cafe. It was one of those special evenings ~ great people, *W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L* food, and lots of laughing! Here's (left to right) Georgianna, Julie and me: George and Julie moved to Orange County, California 4 years ago, just weeks after C and I started seeing each other. I haven't seen them since they left. They moved so George could go to film school. She's now finished and has an exciting future ahead of her...her short film "Tyrone Jones" is making the film festival rounds and was recently accepted into the New York International Latino Film Festival. It was so good to see them...I hope to make it to visit them in the next year. Friday July 2 Dot's vet appointment. Remember my post about her losing her hair? She has demodectic mange which is caused by a microscopic mite called Demodex canis. All dogs raised normally by their mothers possess this mite as mites are transferred from mother to pup via cuddling during the first few days of life. (After the pup is older it is unable to pick up demodex mites. Puppies raised by hand, do not ever get demodex mites.) For some reason, conditions change in certain dogs to allow demodex mites to "gain the upper hand;" the mites proliferate and can cause serious skin disease. It's something she will have forever. We are taking her to her vet for weekly dips (She looks so pathetic just after she's dipped) and she's taking an antibiotic and Benadryl. Once it's under control it could be years before she has a break-out again. There's no way we could have known this when we got her, but we've contacted the breeder and told her so she can take Dot's Mommy to her vet. Our vet says Dot's Mommy shouldn't breed Dot's mommy anymore. So besides being the sweetest puppy in the world we can call her a Mange-y Mutt and not be exaggerating! July 3, 4 and 5 July 3 was Dayton's Fireworks. Corynna and Sean went with us (Kristi had to work), then Corynna spent the night. Sunday we took her to see Shrek 2 - it was our second time. We kinda like it - ALOT! Monday we ran around, then I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, dishes, ect. Tuesday July 6 We saw Diana Krall at the Fraze Pavilion. She is awesome. C has been a huge Diana Krall fan since I've know her, so it was a special evening for C. We love hearing music / seeing performers at the Fraze; it's an outdoor venue - not huge so that it feels kind of intimate, like you're listening to a concert at a rather large private party. Very nice. Wednesday July 7 The Kerry / Edwards rally. ...and yes! we are still pumped! Thursday July 8 Well nothing really special happened Thursday, unless you count my ordering 14 skeins of Kersti from The Boys. I couldn't resist any longer! Which is a great segway into a small amount of knitting content: What I've realized is that I'm spending much more time thinking about knitting than actually doing it! I've made a little progress on Venus' left front but not enough to merit a picture. I also wrote Rowan and asked for the measurement from shoulder seam to the beginning of the neckline slope. I got just what I needed from Sarah Ashworth. Quick and easy. I also ordered my Knitting Tarot T-Shirt. SO COOL! I think the Knitting Tarot is one of the most creative projects I've seen come out of the Knitting is Hipcraze. I hope Amber offers other cards on T-shirts and I'll definitely be purchasing the Knitting tardy deck. Ok...that's it for now. I'm headed to the front porch to engage in some actual knitting.

posted by Teresa 7/11/2004 11:07:00 AM

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I am PUMPED!! The Kerry-Edwards rally was AWESOME! We were kind of far back on some bleachers but that didn't keep us from getting totally caught up in the excitment! Here's a picture from our vantage point: The front smaller circle is John Kerry. The other, slightly larger circle is Teresa Heinz Kerry, John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards. Here's Kerry in the crowd: Me and C with stage in the background: My work buddy, Sue who went with C and I: John X 2 in 2004!!

posted by Teresa 7/07/2004 06:52:00 PM

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Kerry and Edwards in Dayton Today John Kerry will be here at Riverscape today with his new running mate John Edwards. (Riverscape link is to the Riverscape web cam) Cherise and I are going. I've never seen a President or Presidential candidate before. I'm excited!

posted by Teresa 7/07/2004 08:15:00 AM

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Have a Wonderful Summer Holiday Weekend! (Do your civic duty and go see Fahrenheit 9/11.)

posted by Teresa 7/02/2004 03:28:00 PM

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On to More Positive Things Some pictures of Venus: The back - done! The left front... Short row shaping just after casting on for the asymmetrical "drop". I'm "altering" the pattern a couple ways - taking out shaping at the waist meant to accentuate the waist (my waist should not be accentuated) and lengthening the entire sweater. I wish Rowan provided measurements other than just the length of the sweater - the pattern determines the beginning of the neck shaping so many rows after you've completed the waist shaping...I need to know the measurements from the shoulder. Think I'll shot an email off to Rowan for some help. Great Stash Reduction Project I'm patiently awaiting the Fair Isle box. Kim sent it off late last week. Maybe today. Corynna's Daisy Sweater I've picked up and knit two different neck edges. Everything looks hinky to me. My current plan is to surf the net for some other ideas, then give it another shot this weekend. This is where I get frustrated with my knitting - when ideas don't work out when I'm SO close to being done. I lose patience with myself. I don't have enough design skills / experience to make what I want to have happen - happen. Thanks to everyone who commented on my co-worker angst. Things seem to have settled down but I'm totally out of the gossip loop (which I like) and I'm totally keeping to myself, so there could still be stuff going on and I'm just not aware of it. Bottom line is, the only person's opinion that counts is my supervisor's. Dot Mz. Dot is having a very good week this week. C took a vacation week to work on Dissertation stuff so Dot has been un-caged during the day. I worry about how much time she has to spend caged during the work week. Sade's having a good week too - having her #1 Mom home with her makes everything right in her world. We take her to the vet this Friday evening for more puppy shots. We're a little concerned about the fact that she's got several little patches where she's losing hair. We both hope it's not allergies...Sade is allergic to EVERYTHING which translates into $$$. We're not too excited about the thought of another dog with allergies. Here's a couple shots of her enjoying the great outdoors:

posted by Teresa 6/30/2004 08:57:00 AM

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Timely Post Whilst waiting for Dot to eat this morning I checked out Wendy's site - as I do every morning. She had stumbled across Read Me - A Blogger's Disclaimer and posted about it. Of course I checked out the link, and decided to post about it to, as it applies directly to an issue I've been struggling with since last Wednesday. My last post eludes the issue. It all begins with the fact that I work in a very challenging environment. It's not the actual work and it's not the physical space that's challenging - it's the dynamics between each of the 4 women (including me) I work with. In the two years I've been in my current position each of us has been at odds with at least one or all of the others in some way, shape or form. The latest issue is that one of those co-workers has been keeping track of when I post to my blog - which very often is during my break time at work. Then she's telling anyone who will listen that I'm behind on my work but spending time posting to my blog. She knows about my blog because, when things have been good between us, I've sent her the link to my blog and invited her to visit. I found out about this last week and went directly to my supervisor, who assures me that she has no concerns about my work and could care less about how I spend my break time. The thing is that it feels really creepy to know that someone is reading my blog who has ill feelings toward me. Even though I don't write really personal information here, I do share thoughts and feelings and information that I've decided I don't want to share with my co-workers. To have someone reading with ill intent feels like a violation. It's validating to read (from the Blogger's Disclaimer): If you have a real life relationship with the writer, remember that communication is very important. View weblogs as online journals, no less sacred than a diary hidden between the mattresses. First of all let them know that you read their site, especially if they did not tell you personally. If they do not want you reading it, or suddenly stop posting entries, ask them why and if necessary, stop going to the site. It is important that as a friend, relative, co-worker or whatever you may be to the writer, that your presence at their weblog not impede their ability to express themselves. Remember this is their outlet. They may not want you to read certain things they might write about you or others you care about, in order to spare your feelings, avoid drama or maintain their privacy. You should respect this and immediately stop going to the site, and never relay any information you gather at their site to others who might use it against them. Friday's post was a passive aggressive attempt on my part to address the issue with my co-worker. As with most passive aggressive actions it didn't make me feel any better. So this part is for my co-worker(s): (from the Blogger's Disclaimer) Ex-friends...who have been cut out of the writer's life should refrain from reading their journal. If the relationship has ended, there is no reason you should get daily updates on the person's life. I know it's the Internet and I know it's public domain, but Toni, you are not a welcome reader here. Please delete the link to my site and leave me alone.

posted by Teresa 6/28/2004 08:23:00 AM

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Shout Out Taking time to say "Hi!" to someone who's taken a real interest in my personal knitting blog. Hi Toni! Thanks for taking time on your break to keep up with what's happening with me.

posted by Teresa 6/25/2004 08:12:00 AM

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Everyone's Doing It Portrait Illustration Maker Go on now...you know you want to.

posted by Teresa 6/23/2004 08:48:00 AM

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The First Few Days of Summer ...and the weather here in west central Ohio is quite delightful! Low humidity, temperatures in the mid / upper 70's and intermittent sunshine. If only I had some vacation time left! I did have a three day weekend, though - it went by way too fast. I was busy all weekend with family stuff and de-cluttering our humble home. All that left very little time for knitting. I haven't touched Corynna's sweater since I took the picture I posted last week. Here and there I squeezed in enough work on Venus to shape the armholes - not too far away from shaping the shoulders and neck which in turn means the back will soon be done. Yes! Thanks to everyone who left comments about me and C's Anniversary! We went to one of our favorite restaurants - Pacchia - Friday night to celebrate. It was very nice. I'm so blessed. I owe emails to a couple people - Susan G. and Joi. If you guys read this - Hi! and I'll write in the next few days. More later this week.

posted by Teresa 6/22/2004 09:06:00 AM

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Why is this Love Bug, jumping for joy? 'Cause Love Bugs everywhere know it's Teresa and C's 4th Anniversary! This makes Love Bugs (and Teresa and C) Very Happy!

posted by Teresa 6/18/2004 08:21:00 AM

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Yes, I'm using this picture of Dot to hook you into reading this post... Shameless use of such a sweet face, I know, but I couldn't help myself. Dot is 3 months old today. She's growing quickly...C and I are trying to soak up every teeny bit of puppiness in her - before you know it she'll be all grown up. Potty training is going ok. Some days are better than others, but that's how it goes. Sunday Kristi, Sean and Corynna came for a visit and brought their beagle pup, Cinna-Bob who is 9 weeks old. Corynna named him Cinnamon, but C and I told her that's a gurls name. We told her to name him Bob...mostly kidding. Then we started calling him Cinna-Bob and it seems to be sticking. Dot and Cinna-Bob romped and played and played and romped for almost 6 hours straight. Perfect play for both of them! Dot was so worn out when they left...we all decided that we need to get the two puppies together once a week for a blow out play session. Sade was totally relieved to let the Bob go at it with Dot for a change. Sade does pretty good playing with Dot but it's much more strategic play where Dot and Cinna-Bob made it a no - holds - barred - don't - stop - 'til - you - drop - free for all! Puppy energy X 10. Corynna's Daisy Sweater I tried it on Bean Sunday and it's just right - big enough for her to wear into the fall. Just as I thought, the neck isn't going to work as is. It's too wide. My plan at this moment is to pick up stitches around the neck and rib and/or finish with a drawstring - something alin to BonneMarie's Gigi neck. Venus, Oh Venus... Still plugging away at the back. I'm altering the pattern to fit my larger - than - the - pattern body. I think I've got 1 or 2 more inches before I start the armhole shaping. Summer Tweed is "ok" to knit with. I like that it doesn't split but it doesn't slide across the needles smoothly, so it's a bit of a slow knit...doesn't help that the entire pattern is done in Moss / Seed stitch. I hope to be wearing the finished product by the end of July. Truth and Beauty Finished it over the weekend. It made me sad in so many ways...but I'd read it again in a minute. As promised I closed Truth and Beauty - gave myself the afternoon be with / process it and started Autobiography of a Face that evening. Didn't get too far though 'cause I fell asleep while reading...I'm hoping for some concentrated reading time tonight or tomorrow night. If you stayed with me... ...here's a shot of Sade and Dot - last night. It really is a Dog's Life...

posted by Teresa 6/15/2004 09:44:00 AM

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Feeling Better Thanks for all the Get Well Wishes! I went to the doctor late Monday. No infection...allergies, says he. Sent me home with Zyrtec and some kind of expectorant prescription and I've been feeling better each day since. The thing I don't understand - if it's just allergies why does it seem like EVERYONE had it, has it or is getting it? Allergies aren't contagious, but this thing sure seems to be. C was sick the week before with it. Only difference was she had terrible nasal congestion and no cough; where I've had a terrible cough but no nasal congestion. I felt so bad for a few days that I didn't even pick up my knitting ('til last night.) I did feel like reading... ... a book I first heard about via Christy over at Rainbow Chills. The book is Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett. It's a beautiful biography of Ann's deep friendship with writer Lucy Grealy. The book resonates with me in so many ways. As I read I'm constantly thinking about my friendship with Carol - my best friend who moved to Iowa City over 10 years ago (and just bought a house there!) to pursue her PH.D. in English. She's also a writer - Poetry and Memoir. Like Ann and Lucy, our friendship has many of the same threads woven through it . All of that lies under the Ann's story of Lucy, a brave and compelling woman who I had never heard of until now. I bought her book "Autobiography of a Face" the same time I bought Truth and Beauty. As soon as I close Truth and Beauty I will open "Autobiography of a Face." I can't wait to read her story in her words. It's a wonderful book, beautifully written and very intimate - sometimes surprisingly so. Last Night's Knitting Corynna's Daisy sweater is nearing completion. One sleeve is in and the Reverse Crochet / Crab Stitch edging completed, All seams are sewn except those affected by the second sleeve. The second sleeve is on the needles. I am a little worried about the neck. It's kind of a rounded boat neck - bound off and finished in Reverse Crochet / Crab Stitch. I did half of the front last night and it doesn't lay right. It wants to roll down. The edging seems to pull on the neck line instead of give it stability. I'd like to think that blocking will correct this but my instincts are telling me it won't. I would have liked to post a picture of it today but I didn't feel like messing the camera last night...

posted by Teresa 6/10/2004 11:51:00 AM

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I take it back...I'm not ready to quit blogging. BUT I'm not up to posting much as I'm under the weather dealing with some nasty sinus - infection? - allergies? - living - in - Ohio - feeling - like -crap - coughing - my - fool - head - off - thang. Thanks everyone who left messages and sent emails - it means SO MUCH! (Lisa...I didn't turn the comments off - something was up with Squawk Box.) Anyway...I'll post some pictures when I'm feeling better.

posted by Teresa 6/07/2004 08:55:00 AM

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Check the map...Did I take a wrong exit? (I'm having second thoughts...)

posted by Teresa 6/04/2004 10:45:00 AM

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I've been dancing around this decision for a couple months and have finally decided - it's time to say good-bye to blogging. One More Row and Another Latte has served me well over the past (almost) 2 years. I think one of the biggest things blogging did for me was provided me with a creative outlet. Because of that, my plan is to keep my One More Row and Another Latte webpage (www.onemorerow.com) and develop it into a website. I may include a knitting "journal" there since I've been set up for Movable Type for over 6 months now. I've just been too darn lazy to mess with it. Thanks to everyone who stopped by here. I'm so grateful for your readership and friendship. See you 'round the ring... Teresa

posted by Teresa 5/27/2004 12:56:00 PM

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Bookend Blogging That's what I've been doing, lately. Blogging at the beginning and the end of my week. I'm either reporting what I did over the weekend or what I'm going to do over the weekend. Either way, I think it's clear that my life revolves around my weekends...as it does for so many of us. My plan to "live the life of a flower" over the weekend, and "keep it simple" - HA! Far from it! The weekend was filled from beginning to end. I did manage to protect my Sunday Morning on CBS - knitting - and - coffee - in -bed - time. I finished the front of Corynna's Daisy Sweater and got a good start on one of the sleeves. Later Sunday afternoon, while attending a wonderful concert in and sponsored by my neighborhood, I took Venus with me and knit approximately 8 rows. While Venus is pretty much mindless knitting, it's done completely in Seed stitch which I can do mindlessly but not very fast. Moving the yarn from front to back to front to back, slows the process. I'll post some pictures later this week. 'til then...

posted by Teresa 5/25/2004 07:55:00 AM

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This Weekend I'm Living the Life of a Flower... ...and keeping it simple. You too?

posted by Teresa 5/21/2004 01:29:00 PM

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On My Soapbox Quoting George Bush: "The union of a man and a woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith. "Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society." Mr Bush. I'd like you to explain to me how ABC's new reality show The Swap (based on a British show called Wife Swap) ...honors this most enduring human institution? I know the program isn't actual wife swapping as in the sexual kind, but the way I saw the upcoming reality show advertised titillation, and the subtle idea of sexual wife swapping was definitely a used to get the viewers attention. To make matters worse the previews make a point of showing the distraught children of the two families. Oh, good! More kids screwed up due to their parent's need for fame and/or notoriety or just plain stupidity. This is entertainment? There's something wrong with MY families values? It's hypocritical bullshit like this that weakens the good influence of society - - not women loving women or men loving men.

posted by Teresa 5/19/2004 09:36:00 AM

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Good Mail Monday You've heard of "Good / Bad Hair Days"? At our house we also have "Good / Bad Mail Days." A bad mail day is a day with only bills, credit card offers and / or "to resident at" flyers. A good mail day is a day with letters and/or cards from friends and loved ones / magazines / books / or packages. Yesterday was a good mail day for me when this little gem made it's way to my door: Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein This is gonna be a great resource. As I was looking through it I couldn't help but think of Rachel's Bella / Shapely Tank-ish tank. If I ever finish Corynna's Daisy sweater, I'd like to try my hand at designing my own tank. I think I'll call it T's Terrific Tank. Speaking of Corynna's daisy sweater...I finished the bottom half of the sweater which equals one daisy. I started the top half and the other daisy yesterday. In my quest to refine my Intarsia technique, I ordered: Intarsia: A Workshop for Hand & Machine Knitting from Sealed With A Kiss. SWAK is Intarsia central, so I didn't think I could go wrong when this little booklet is written by Sherry Stuever and Keely Stuever - who ARE Sealed With A Kiss. It 's small but comprehensive and well worth $15.95. Good things come in small packages.

posted by Teresa 5/18/2004 08:09:00 AM

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Intarsia SYLLABICATION: in-tar-si-a NOUN: 1. A decorative inlaid pattern in a surface, especially a mosaic worked in wood. 2. A knitted design resembling a mosaic that is visible on both sides of a fabric. 3. The art or practice of making intarsias. ETYMOLOGY: German, from Italian intarsio, from intarsiare, to inlay : in-, in (from Latin; see in–2) + tarsia, inlaid mosaic work (from Arabic tar‘, inlaying, setting, infinitive of raa‘a, to inlay, derived stem of rai‘a, to adhere; see rc in Appendix II). My inquiring mind wanted to know. (Definition from Yahoo References...some symbols aren't showing or showing correctly.) Lisa wrote about this yesterday - how knitting constantly provides you with opportunities to learn new things and/or improve techniques you already know. I'm having that experience with the Intarsia daisies in Mz. Bean's sweater. The daisy on the back of the sweater turned out ok, but I knew it could have been better. Just so happens, Rowan Magazine #33 (I ordered for Venus) has a really nice lay-out about colorwork. Turns out I wasn't twisting the yarns when adding a new color. There was also a really helpful tip to keep stitches from becoming misshapen when changing colors - don't insert the needle into the next stitch without pulling the next color snuggly first then insert the needle to make the next stitch. Just these two small changes have made a significant difference in the first daisy for the front of the sweater. And this makes me very happy. Do you have other Intarsia tricks and tips and/or resources? I'd love to hear from you...

posted by Teresa 5/12/2004 08:20:00 AM

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Look What I Got For Mother's Day: From my daughter, Kristi. It's even more special because she painted the riotous, floral design herself. Ain't it grand? Yes, I'm a proud Mom... I had a relaxing Mother's Day. Need proof? Me, and the gurls, engaged in my favorite Sunday morning ritual. Sunday Morning on CBS, coffee and knitting. (C was taking the picture or you would see her feet propped up on the ottoman next to us.) In the picture above I was working on Corynna's Daisy sweater. Later in the day I cast on and began Venus. I absolutely love the color. The first half of the weekend Corynna stayed with C and I. She's such a delight! 7 is a fun age. ...and of course she loves Dot. Ok...that's it for me today. I've got the day off today and lots of stuff to do. I'll leave you with this picture of Dot and Sade's tail: I wasn't fast enough to snap a shot of her actually biting it and Sade's reaction once she did. Let's just say, it was a teachable moment for Dot.

posted by Teresa 5/09/2004 07:24:00 PM

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Friday, Friday... Can't Help That Day... Huh? What do you mean those aren't the words? ...Friday, Friday, some times it just turns out that wh-e-y... Am I happy the weekend is almost here? Why YES I am! I have a three day weekend 'cause I'm rotating into working Tuesday through Saturday for the next four Saturdays. Corynna is spending Friday and Saturday night with C and I. We're both conserving our energy so we can keep up with her. Maybe she'll wear Dot out and and Dot will wear her out and Saturday night everyone will sleep soundly. We can only hope. Puppy energy abounds at 57 Mound. Dot is getting up a couple times a night and both C and I are finding out what old ladies we are. Neither of us function very well when our sleep is interrupted. The good news is that Sade has started to play with Dot, chasing her around the back yard, pinning her to the ground, play biting her. Poor little Dot...Sade's mouth covers her whole little neck...it looks so aggressive but it's canine behavior/language/play. It's interesting to watch how Dot makes herself submissive to Sade. Maybe this weekend I'll be able to photograph them in action...it's kind of hard though 'cause they move SO FAST! (you should see Dot running, chasing Sade and getting tripped by the grass...so cute!) and our digital camera is SO SLOW. Very Little Knitting has been happening this week. Too much other stuff going on. Sunset Summer Tweed did arrive in Wednesday's mail (Thanks Rob!) It's really beautiful. I swatched for Venus last night and hope to cast on this weekend. I think I'm going to like knitting with Summer Tweed. It doesn't have the bit of give Sierra does, thanks to the wool content (80% cotton/20% wool) of Sierra'; but it isn't plied like Sierra, so you don't have to worry about splitting stitches. I'll be able to engage in a little more mindless knitting, which is nice. Venus is done in Moss stitch though, so I won't be able to totally zone out. Rob also sent Rowan Magazines #s34 and 35. I'm saving looking at them for porch / coffee time Sunday after Mz. Bean goes home to Mom and Dad. I did join Rowan International and can't wait to get my membership pack. I ask again...how did I knit all these years without knowing about Rowan? To all Mommies in whatever form you mother... Happy Mother's Day! As Maria Shriver says: Motherhood 24/7, on the Front-lines of Humanity. Are You Man Enough to Try It?

posted by Teresa 5/07/2004 08:18:00 AM

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Monday, Monday Can't Help That Day... The weekend went way too fast. Saturday, Kristi, Sean and Corynna brought my Mom and Dad to Dayton. Kristi, C and I took my Mom to Fairborn to the Daisy Barrel - a combination quilt and cross stitch store. My Mom - an avid hand quilter - lives about 40 miles from me. She used to drive to the Daisy Barrel a couple times a year to enhance her fabric stash, but aging has made her wary of driving the interstate highway she would have to drive to get there. Another thing that makes it hard for her to get away is my Dad, who has demencia. So Kristi and I planned the day, to get her out of the house and to the daisy Barrel and out to eat. My Mom was delighted. Sunday afternoon, we went to a graduation party for Kristen - one of C's co-workers. She graduated from the University of Dayton. Congratulations Kristen!! And then there was the joy of our first weekend with Dot. That's all very nice, Teresa...But did you knit this weekend? Why yes I did. Finally, I settled on yarn for Corynna's sweater. If you remember, I decided to knit this sweater from Sandra: Last I wrote about this, I was trying to find yarn for it. The pattern called for "Wellness" by Gedifra. Turns out everyone I contacted, would have to order it - and everyone said it would take at least 2 months to get it. No thanks...this sweater needs to be knit before June 1 (I'd given up on the April 28th birthday gift idea) 'cause I promised her a summer sweater. I decided to check out a new area yarn shop, set above an antique shop in Centerville, Ohio called "Yarn and Needle." I've been hearing knit friends talk about this shop but Rob and Matt have fulfilled my every fiber need so I hadn't been there. So, pattern in tow, I went looking. Turns out they had the exact colors I was looking for. The yarn...Well, it was... Sierra. Yes, Sierra. And guess what else? I actually like knitting with it. Turns out my disconbobulation with Sierra was almost totally about the first pattern and not the yarn. Imagine that. So I bought the yarn on the spot, came home and started knitting. So here's my progress so far: I'm just 8 rows away from finishing the back. Just have to shape the neck and bind off. It's a very easy pattern - but the intarsia daisy was challenging. I've never really done intarsia in this way before. Most of my intarsia experience has been more like Fair Isle where you change colors in a ribbing or band. I think I tore the daisy out 4 times before I was happy with it. I'm feeling more confident now and ready to take on the front, which has two daisies on it. Another positive - I held it up to Corynna Saturday and I think the size is just right! t's so nice when things come together. Speaking of Corynna... Here's a picture of her with Dot. Want to see more pictures of Dot? Click here.

posted by Teresa 5/03/2004 11:13:00 AM

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We Couldn't Wait Till Sunday We picked Dot up tonight. Here's a few photos of the first night so far~ Checking each other out... Dot has two mommies... Cheesecake shot... Sade worn out by all the excitement... Sade is doing ok. She's growled a little at Dot but nothing very serious. Right now she seems mainly annoyed. C and I have taken turns hold Dot most of the evening. She's now in her cage whining mercifully. It's going to be a long night. Thank Gawd! tomorrow's Friday!

posted by Teresa 4/29/2004 10:07:00 PM

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Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle It's in the funny looking "pouch" stage. I'm 9 or 10 rows away from being ready to get steeky with the neck / neck shaping. I haven't read ahead in my pattern to know exactly what that will entail. All I know right now is that I need to complete 8 whole pattern repeats which translate to 8 completed beige star patterns (middle star pattern.) When it comes to following knitting patterns I don't read much past the part that pertains to what I'm actually knitting. I can tell you that I am looking forward to starting a sleeve. I'm ready for this to look more like a sweater than just a beautiful piece of knitted fabric. On the Needles... ...as soon as the yarn arrives, that is. Venus from Rowan Magazine 33 This design caught my eye last summer when I saw it in Patternworks, but at that time I had just started the STHFI, so it went on my "to knit list". I pulled the page back out a several weeks ago when I saw that Threadbear had Summer Tweed. Before I could order the yarn I needed the patter so I ordered Rowan Magazine 33 from Patternworks... (dramatic pause) I ask you...how have I knit for darn near 20 years now and never experienced a Rowan Magazine? Awesome. Beautiful. Meant to be languished over. It's my intention to never miss an issue from this point forward. sigh Now I'm just waiting for one of those wonderful Threadbear packages - with 6 skeins of Sunset Summer Tweed - to be sitting on my doorstep one evening this week. Dot's Namesake Dot - our favorite character from Mad TV. If you don't watch Mad TV, Dot is Dot Goddard (played by Stephanie Weir), one of an unusual set of twins. Her twin sister Karen (played by Alex Borstein) is a child prodigy and extremely precocious. Dot...well Dot is special. In the sketches, Dot and Karen's parents make it painfully obvious that Karen is the preferred child but somehow Dot always gets the last word and/or laugh. Dot's real name is Penelope but Dot can't spell Penelope so she's Dot. That's the story behind Dot's name. (And now you know what kind of sick sense of humor C and I share!)

posted by Teresa 4/28/2004 07:43:00 AM

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I'm Baaack ...and ready to blog, blog, blog! What's been happening the past two plus weeks? A lot and nothing much all at the same time. I took a blogging break because I've been dealing with some ongoing stress at work. Let's see if I can explain it in 30 words or less~ I'm the Chief Steward of our small Union (16 members) of mainly clerical staff. Since the end of February we've been going toe to toe with management and it got nasty. (29 words - not bad) It's still nasty and it can feel personal - especially since we're such a small Union/such a small school. I've come to a place where I need to step back, get some perspective and get grounded again. ...find some balance...sometimes easier said than done. But I'm working on it. On the Home-Front There's nothing like a little home improvement project to get your mind off work. C and I spent the weekend painting our small downstairs bathroom. Our first painting project...neither of us had ever painted a room before. Here's C painting: Here's me painting: The color is called "Sorcerer." It's a beautiful purple-blue. We both adore how it turned out. I'll post some pictures in a couple days of the finished project. C was so hyped by our success that she went on to put a first coat of paint on one of our kitchen walls - the next project. (New color is on the wall with the shutters...) I love the name of this color ~ Fragrant Clove~ Perfect name for a kitchen wall paint don't you think? Change, Change, Change Besides wall colors, there's another change afoot... Meet Dot... ...a new addition to our family. This picture was taken a week ago - at 5 weeks. We will get her next Sunday morning (5/2). We could have gotten her yesterday but we wanted her to have one more week with her Mommy and litter mates - to learn all the important stuff a little pup needs to learn from her Mom. How Sade will take to the new addition remains to be seen. We are planning for the worst - but our vet says Sade's mothering instincts may kick in and we could see a side of Sade we never knew existed. Only time will tell. Meanwhile we are making preparations for Dot's arrival. Knitting Content? Not today. But tomorrow or Wednesday I'll post my progress on the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle (I'm almost to the neck shaping - yes!) and a couple other projects either on the needles or soon to be. I'll leave you with my gurls... ...doing the happy dance!

posted by Teresa 4/26/2004 07:52:00 AM

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posted by Teresa 4/08/2004 05:52:00 PM

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Daletta In da How-se! Arrived Monday actually. I've decided to do Ingeborg in colorway 2 - dove grey, apple green, natural. I bought my yarn from Rob and Matt at Threadbear The only problem is with the green Rob sent - the one on the left. Don't like it. Overcooked - split - pea - soup color. Gonna exchange that green for the one on the right - apple green. Much more vibrant. The green exchange won't keep me from swatching, though - this weekend, I hope. Saturday, C promises a day of rest. I'd kind of like to go to the Farmer's Market and find a table where I can knit, C can read and we both can eat, drink coffee and people watch. Yes. I think that will work. Sunday is Easter which means Family Day! Lunch at my daughter's house and dessert and egg hunt for the wee folk at my Mom's at 2. I'd like to be home no later than 6pm - with the rest of the evening to knit. Mz. Bean's Sweater Saga She likes it! She likes it! Now I'm on the hunt for the yarn - Wellness by Gedifra. Rob says it will take a couple months if I get it through them. He gave me some ideas for substitutions but none of them tickle my fancy. Several yarn shops closer to home are listed as carrying Wellness on the "Knitting Fever" website - which leaves me with a moral/ethical dilemma about buying yarn anywhere other than Threadbear. Loyalty is one of my strongest character traits...but sometimes I can take it a bit far. Just 'cause I buy yarn - one time - from someone else, doesn't make me a bad person, right?

posted by Teresa 4/07/2004 08:03:00 AM

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"Chase away rainy days with a flock of cottony critters.." Way kitchy but too cute to resist! I found lambkins this weekend whilst C and I were out running around. Meant to be an Easter basket, I filled him with wool yarn. His little face makes me smile. Didn't do much knitting this weekend. The quest to clear our humble home of winter dust, cobwebs and clutter continued. I think I completed maybe 6 more rows on the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. Emma asked if I think I'm getting faster at Fair Isle. No, I don't. Well maybe...just a smidge. I'm still very methodical. Excepting my slowness, is the key. A Wendy Johnson, I will never be. Which brings me to the fact that I'm a bonafided member of the Ingeborg Knit-along. Slow as I may be...I'm joining in the fun. This will be my first Dale, but I'm not alone. A current poll shows that 56.86% of Ingeborg Knit-Alongers will be knitting their first Dale, too. 33.33% have knit a Dale before, which makes for a nice mix. Even though I've done a little Fair Isle knitting, I've done it with 100% jumper weight wool - which is a slightly different beast from doing a FI with Daletta. Dale sweater (as I understand from reading Wendy's blog) have a special way of picking up and/or doing sleeves. I'm game for learning new stuff and expanding my knitting repertoire so I'm in - even though I'll probably be at the back of the pack when it comes to the finish line. (See prior paragraph) How's your granddaughter's sweater set coming along? you ask smugly. "It's not." I'm over it. ...and that's all on that subject. Yes, there's a hint of defensiveness in my reply. I hate it when a project makes me feel crazy - and this one did. To clarify, I'm over the Sierra and the Ladybug sweater set. I'm not over knitting something for Mz. Bean. Last night I emailed Kristi this picture to show Corynna. It's a pattern out of one of the Sandra knitting mags I've picked up recently. I hope she likes it. I think I'd be much happier knitting this. I would shorten the sleeves and make some short for it. The pattern sizing is better - girls sizing instead of little girl sizing plus I have adore daisies - so I think this sweater would be way funner to knit. The pattern calls for "Wellness" by Gedifra, a 80% cotton, 20% acrylic blend which I think will wear better too. If she doesn't like it...well...grandma just might knit it for her anyway. So there! I'll leave you this sunny spring Ohio morning with a picture of Sade and her new blankie... Bye!

posted by Teresa 4/05/2004 11:18:00 AM

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Knit Blog Land is full of the nicest people! And one of those people is Allana who sent Sade (and her two mommies) a care package this week. Allana sent Sade her very own personalized blanket! "Because a beagle can never have two many places to cuddle up in." How thoughtful is that? She sent Sade's alpha mom a box of yummy Girl Scout Thin Mints... ...which made C very happy since she hadn't had a GS cookie this year. And look what Allana sent Sade's non-alpha mom... ...a kit from Morehouse Farms for a very cute bag knit in their wonderful Merino yarn. Isn't the color great? It's so soft! I can't wait to cast on! This week has been another stressful one for me at work. When I leave in the morning and come home each evening - I walk by Sade's blanket on the couch and it makes me smile. ~"When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy"~

posted by Teresa 4/01/2004 08:36:00 PM

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It's Monday Again! Another week gone by. Another weekend a memory. I'm in a melancholy mood this morning. C and I had a good weekend. A nice mix of running around and domestic tasks. A little low on the rest scale but sun and warm temperatures make it hard to sit still. I worked on the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle when I could. Sunday was the day of most concentrated knitting time. Of course there was our watch - Sunday - Morning - on - CBS - and - George - Stephanopoulos - (me) - knit - (C) - read - paper - and - (both of us) drink - coffee ritual. Last evening I knit to Law and Order Criminal Intent and the L-Word. Here's a pic taken prior to Criminal Intent: Here a pic of one of the armhole steeks: And here's a picture of Sade and the STHFI: taken especially for Lisa, Mike, Jack and Della. I "posed" this picture. Can you tell Sade doesn't really like her picture taken, unless she decides when? Larry left an early comment saying she looks like she's daring the viewer not to like the STHFI...if I didn't know that's her pissed look, I'd agree. Corynna Bean's Ladybug Sweater Set Friday evening brought an unplanned dinner with Kristi, Sean, Corynna and my grandson Devon. I stuck the recently re-knit front of the Ladybug tank in my backpack and held it up to Mz. Bean. Too small. Actually not too small but just right - right now with no room to grow. So back to the beginning, after I do some calculating for an all over and total resize of the pattern. I'll leave you with a picture of the back of C's CRV, taken Sunday afternoon: That's 25 bags of clothing on it's way to the YWCA, the majority of which belonged to C. A lot of this was stored at her mom's house - which we refer to as GBH Storage. Clearing out / changing energy... You see we are no strangers to the concept of retail therapy. Just doing our part to stimulate the economy.

posted by Teresa 3/28/2004 08:31:00 PM

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A Woman on a Mission Tha'd be me. Even though I should be working on Corynna's Ladybug sweater set, I have been focused on the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. Not just because I love working on it but mostly because I was so close to a knitting benchmark... starting the armhole steeks. Which I did yesterday. Wha-Hoo! 2 1/2 more pattern repeats to the neck shaping... Now if I can just pull myself away... ...and get to knitting on Corynna's set. One problem - I'm just not enjoying it. :( It's the dern cotton. Even though it's blended with wool (80% cotton / 20% wool) that just isn't helping. Last Monday I posted about my concern that the armholes were too small. I was right. So I undid seams and did some ripping. Then Thursday Susan posted about a sweet little top she was knitting for her niece. Part of her post was about an Elizabeth Zimmerman technique she used when decreasing for the armhole shaping that eliminates the "steps" that you get when you bind off armholes, ect. She included a picture of one completed armhole and I was sold. Even and neat. (So you know I just had to go out and buy "Knitting Without Tears". "What!"you gasp, "Your knitting library did not already contain this classic?" "No." she confesses and hangs her head in shame.) Next on the Ladybug agenda is to rip the front and back, back to the begining of the armhole shaping and give it another go with the new technique and some size tweeking. When? Umm...tomorrow night...good project for my Tuesday night knitting group...just one more night of Fair Isle goodness... ~just - one - more - night~ Speaking of Buying C and I engaged in some retail therapy this weekend. We each bought a few pieces of spring inspired clothing and several pieces of great art for the house. Of course we hit the book store, as I said above where I came across Sandra, a knitting magazine from Europe. Anyone else familiar with Sandra? The designs are fresh (IMHO) and in a nice range of sizes that include those of us who will never wear a small again. Also, there's no advertising and it's published monthly. Subscription information is available from GLP International. Ok, kids that's it for today. Have a great Monday!

posted by Teresa 3/22/2004 09:00:00 AM

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my mom teresa said i could post something to her blog  this one time so i want to say thank you! to everyone who worried about me i'd lick you if i could sade

posted by Teresa 3/16/2004 10:16:00 PM

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A Lazy Sunday (as Decreed by Rachel) Was Had By All I knit in bed 'til after noon. The afternoon brought low-key domestic chores which helped me put my cluttered mind in order. Around 4, C and I headed out for a little retail therapy and veggie burgers at Max and Erma's then finished off the evening with Law and Order Criminal Intent and the L-Word, which equals knitting for me. By the time we headed up to bed I had finished the armhole ribbing of Corynna's Ladybug tank top and sewed one side seam. I stopped there because I'm a little worried about the size of the armhole...seems small. I have a call into Kristi (my daughter/Corynna's mommy) to have her measure something there at home to compare. It's won't be that terrible if I have to rip back to the neck shaping and make it all a little longer...there's only 65 total rows in each piece...goes really fast. I knew getting the size right on this could be tricky~ First - the pattern sizing only goes to an 8, and Mz. Bean is wearing a 10 in tops. Second - I don't have the Lil' Mz. close by to hold things up to. Third - this is suppose to be a birthday surprise so #2 doesn't really count. Once I get the tank top done I'm going to move on to the sweater - that will be the most time consuming of the three pieces - better to knock that out early. Thanks!... ...to everyone for your well wishes for Sade. So far, so good...seems like she's moved out of the clustering place she was in. It's so good to have her back to her sweet-ill-mannered self! TKGA Master Level One I've decided to put this off for now. What was I thinking anyway? Duh?!? This is the year of "Knitting for Others" not the year of "TKGAMKL1".

posted by Teresa 3/15/2004 11:31:00 AM

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Sade Update This is her last night sleeping on my chest...worn out little Mz. but finally back to acting like herself.

posted by Teresa 3/14/2004 03:23:00 PM

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Wish I Were Here The stress at work continued into this week. It reached a fever pitch Thursday at which time I proceeded to cry. At work. UGH! I hate when I do that! But it did help - a release I guess. Unfortunately there was no relief at home Thursday night. Mz.Sade was having a very bad day. Triggered by an unavoidable visit to our wonderful vet - Dr. Kelly - Sade had 4 full seizures (and 1 half seizure) between 11am Thursday and 1am Friday morning. It that wasn't bad enough she stayed in the postictal phase for almost 24 hours. This occurs immediately after a seizure and is characterized by confusion, unresponsiveness or wandering. In Sade's case it's a manic wandering - more accurately manically pacing and panting and whining. I'm telling you...the dog did not sleep for well over 24 hours! Of course during all this we were in contact with Dr. Kelly who assured us we were doing everything that could be done between medication and just being there with her. We brought her cage in from the garage and put her in it with a blanket over it to decrease stimulation, which seemed to help - her. C and I were beside ourselves. Between worrying about Sade and feeling like there had to be more we could do AND being driven crazy by Sade's manic pacing and whining - well, let's just say both of us were eyeing the bottle of Valium Dr. Kelly had sent home for Sade. Late last night, after a dose of potassium bromide - prescribed late Friday afternoon Sade started to pull out of it. I'm happy to report we all slept peacefully through the night and C reports that Sade seems to be her old self today. I'm getting ready to shift back to a Monday to Friday work schedule next week so tomorrow/Sunday will be my only day off this weekend. C returns to work Tuesday - after being off 6 weeks for elective surgery. You can bet we are doing everything in our power to make the next few days as peaceful as possible.

posted by Teresa 3/13/2004 12:12:00 PM

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Just What I Needed An unintentional 3 day week-end. Last week was an extremely stressful week at work. You have to know the dynamics of my work place to really understand. Let's just say by the time I walked out of the door Friday evening, I felt like someone had used me to mop the halls with. Friday night I was up most of the night sick to my stomach. Stress or a bug? My guess is stress, but who knows for sure. All I know is that I called into work Saturday and then proceeded to spend the day sleeping, mostly - but also reading and knitting here and there. When I did knit I worked on the Shirttail Hemmed Fair Isle. Here's a picture of the sweater as a whole so far: I'm not too far from being ready to start the arm steeks which begin after 5 1/2 pattern repeats have been completed. The easiest way to count this is 5 1/2 beige stars up the center front - see 'em? I spent most of my time working on the second side of bottom ribbing. I find this very tedious - fun...but tedious. The sweater starts with a provisional cast on instead of the actual ribbing. This allows for the shirttail hem shaping. Then you go back and pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on which I find tricky. The stitch you need to pick up isn't always obvious due to what carrying the colors does to stitch definition. Another thing that slows me down is attaching the "hem" of the ribbing to the sweater. The book says to "graft" or "sew" the ribbing. I have yet to find a good picture or description of "grafting" live stitches from the needle to "dead" or already knit stitches of the sweater. If anyone out there has a resource, please share! Having said all that...the bottom ribbing is done! Here's a picture of one side of the shirttail hem: I still need to fuss a little more with sewing the ends of the rib to the bottom of the side panel. If you look closely you can see the left side falls perfectly into place. I think the right side will be ok after a little blocking. Sade decided she wanted in on the picture taking... Right on schedule. Saturday a nice big box came in the mail from Threadbear. Last evening I wound 1 skein of each color into - hmmm, what do you call 'em when you wind 'em on the yarn winder? balls? cause they aren't really balls... Yarn cakes? cause they do kind of resemble little cakes of yarn... Hummm... Anyway. I started knitting the back of the sleeveless top: I'm liking knitting with Sierra. And yes...that is a yarn ball in the picture. In the middle of the skein, I was winding too fast and the "yarn cake" popped off the winder and unwound on the floor so that skein turned into a yarn ball. (Sadly, that was the biggest bit of excitment seen in our living room all week-end.) In retrospect, maybe the pink should have been a hot pink instead of the light pink I went with but all in all I think it's going to turn out quite nice. But most of all, giiven the grayness of the past few days, it's really nice to be knitting something colorful.

posted by Teresa 3/08/2004 02:30:00 PM

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The Check's...Um, I Mean - the Yarn's in the Mail The Boys, as many of us have taken to calling them, (in this case mostly Rob - Thanks Rob!) worked their magic and have dropped a package of Cascade Sierra in the mail. Here's the color combo as it sat on Threadbear work-table yesterday afternoon, awaiting my approval via email: It's for the Spring/Summer sweater set for Corynna. The set is a sleeveless, belly-button-baring top, shorts and long-sleeve sweater...all with intarsia ladybugs here and there. You've seen it, I'm sure...well partly because I posted a picture here recently and also because it's the sweater on the cover of Family Circle's Easy Knits for Kids... The Ladybug sweater set is going to be deadline driven. My intention is to give to be Corynna for her 7th birthday April 28th. Her birthday is a a wonderful spring birthday date - perfectly timed for this sweater set. Rob estimates I will have the yarn by Saturday...this gives me a couple more days to indulge myself in the Brightly Coloured Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. I'm enjoying every methodically made stitch. I'm working on accepting that I'm never going to be fast at Fair Isle. My FI mantra: "It's about process... It's about process". I'll post a picture of the "process" soon.

posted by Teresa 3/04/2004 11:27:00 AM

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Kathy's leaving knit-blog-land. It's a sad day.

posted by Teresa 3/03/2004 10:47:00 AM

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We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Fiber Related Programing... For an uncharacteristic rant about Average Joe. Melana and Larissa have both proven - sadly and without a doubt - women cannot help themselves from choosing good looks and no personality over average looks and oodles of personality. I was SO angry at Larissa on Average Joe Hawaii's season finale last night! It was SO obvious that Gil was an immature, self-centered jerk. When she picked him I was stunned. Guess I have more faith in my gender mates than I should have. But Larissa got what she deserved when she told dingo Gil about the ghost in her closet - her terrible secret - that her last relationship was with Fabio. What was that all about? I thought the way they were building up this secret from her past that she must have been in Playboy or in some porn flick...but NO! Gawd forbid! Horrors of Horror! she was in a relationship with Fabio! OHMYGOSH!!! Stupid Gil's reaction proved that he is truely a neanderthadl. I was laughing out loud when he was throwing his little fit and pleading his case to the camera and men everywhere that dating Fabio was a crime truely horrible enough to end a relationship. Larissa got what she deserved on that one - Average Joe karma does exisit. This little bit of reality drama made me wonder if this Average Joe ending had been staged. It was all a little too weird...or maybe I just don't give people credit for being as shallow as they really are. At least the producers didn't take the extra dramatic steps of having Larissa call Brian, crying and saying she had made the wrong choice. I wonder, really, how did they stop themselves? During all of this, I was saying, "That's it! I'm never going to watch another Average Joe...Never again!" Then the promo starts for the Average Joe 3...the tables are turned...Adam - sweet, sensitive, name - the- items - on - the - menu - after - Melana - Adam...gets to pick the girl. Ok...I'll watch...but just this one last time.

posted by Teresa 3/02/2004 09:01:00 AM

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How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank Here's a way to improve the world and have a wonderful felted bag to show for it. Susan aka I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can designed this fun felted bag and is offering the pattern or a donation to the Heifer Project. Susan writes: I decided to call this the One-World One-Purse Felted Bag because it is knit all in one piece on one needle and the idea for the shaping came from a purse I bought last year in France. I am making this pattern accessible on the Internet to everyone but please read and honor the copyright notice at the end. If you print a copy of the pattern and/or make the purse, I request that you make a $5.00 contribution using the PayPal link below to the account I set up to receive donations for Heifer Project International. If I collect enough money this way, I will use it to purchase a Knitting Basket. Otherwise, I will transfer the money collected to Heifer International's general account. I think the name of the bag is very appropriate given Susan's intentions. Susan invited me to knit the bag before she firmed up the pattern. She even sent me yarn to knit it. Unfortunately, my Mom's sweater took all my knit time 'til now. The bag is on my knit list...but I've decided to knit it in different colors than Susan sent me, so I've got to order the yarn, ect, ect, before I start knitting. So, click the picture to go to the One-World One Purse Felted Bag page...you don't need to wait a single moment more to start improving the world.

posted by Teresa 3/01/2004 11:32:00 AM

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It's a Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood... Forecast for the Ohio Valley today - sunny and 55. Tomorrow, sunny and 60. The sun is bright, birds are chirping outside my work window and there's a buzz of energy in the air this morning - even at 7:30 am! I foresee a major outbreak of Spring Fever headed this way. Sirdar Birthday Jacket I gave the jacket to my mom last night. We met at a little ice cream and sandwiches place so I could give it to her. Warning! My Mom HATES to have her picture taken. Hates it! I told her to get the sweater; she had to promise to let me take at least one picture of her wearing it. Well, the posed one didn't turn out but the sneaky / spontaneous one did...just don't read anything into her facial expression. It fits her perfectly! (As if it were made for her ~grin~ ) She knew I was knitting it for her. We had one fitting about 3 weeks ago; to make sure the sleeve length was right. She requested wood buttons and I really like the ones I decided on; mahogany color and very simple. Can you see 'em? So Whazzup Next? This is the year of knitting for others. I've spent most of my knitterly life knitting mainly for myself. I've been banned for life from the "Selflessness -Is - Next - to - Godliness - Good - Grandmothers - Knit - For Their - Grandchildren - Club"...oh, yeah...and the club where good mom's knit for their kids too! In an effort to clean up my act, my next project is a summer sweater set for my granddaughter Corynna - which she picked out. It's the ladybug set on the cover of Family Circle Easy Knits for Kids. I'm working with Rob to substitute Cascade Sierra for the Reynolds Saucy it calls for. I'm very happy about this 'cause Sierra is an 80% cotton / 20% wool blend. That little bit of wool can make all the difference in my little knit world. 'til Rob and I get it all worked out and the yarn's in my hot little hands, I'm very contently knitting away on the Shirt-Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. Remember that? Ooooo...my fingers are very happy to be knitting with jumper weight wool and size 3 needles again!

posted by Teresa 2/28/2004 08:54:00 AM

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"The President said he wanted to proceed with kindness, good will and decency- make no mistake, that is not possible. It is neither kind nor decent to discriminate against Americans and deny them critical rights..." ~HRC President Cheryl Jacques Be Informed! The Human Rights Campaign American Civil Liberties Union Take Action! (Cartoon by Jeff Parker)

posted by Teresa 2/25/2004 10:14:00 AM

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Sex and the City ...and They Knit Too Did anyone else catch the quick clip in Sex in the City - A Farewell (can't remember if it was I or II) where the actressess are lined up in their off set director chairs and at least one of them - maybe even two - are knitting?

posted by Teresa 2/24/2004 09:19:00 AM

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Try As I Might... ...I can't seem to get a picture of the Sirdar Cardigan/Jacket that does it justice. Here's my latest effort: I've tried it in different rooms with flash, without flash, with fill flash...grrrrrrr! The latest picture is post-blocking - which was a snap 'cause it dried so quickly. Either tonight or tomorrow evening I'll head out to pick up buttons at a local sewing center called the Stitching Post. Renee in Colorado asked to see me in it. I'd love to oblige but I'm afraid I can't...it's way too small for me. I made it for my Mom who's just a little bit of a thing. She's 4'11" and can't weigh more than 100 pounds soaking wet. She's able to buy some of her clothes in the girls department. I'm not very tall - 5'2" on a good day. And there was a time~long ago and so very far away~when I did weigh 99 pounds. One of my graduation pictures, serves as proof. My kids found it when we were looking through family photos on Thanksgiving Day this past year. My son Dusty exclaimed, "Mom! You were BABE-A-LICIOUS!" Ahhh youth. That was then and this is now. But the bottom line is the sweater is too small for Moi. Having said all that...here's a note for those of you who might consider making this cardigan/jacket. The pattern sizing runs small. I made the next to the largest size which the pattern says "To Fit Chest/Bust" 34 inches. The largest size is "To Fit Chest/Bust" 36 inches. The good news for us plus-sized gals is that the pattern would be very easy to adjust. I'd probably also make it a little longer since I'm always trying to cover up my tummy. And speaking of plus-sized gals... (C and I kid about writing a memoir of our relationship called "Plus Size Love...When Belly's Collide") (Ok, we're not THAT big but it makes us laugh!) ...here's my favorite two: Evidence of why Sade is so spoiled. (I know...it's a rare full face photo of C! Weird man, weird!)

posted by Teresa 2/23/2004 02:32:00 PM

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It's an Official FO! (Picture taken before blocking.)

posted by Teresa 2/22/2004 10:21:00 PM

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I Know It's Cyclical... ...and happens to most everyone who blogs but I hate it when I get the Personally I think it's only a matter of time before "Blogging Blahs" are included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. My three most common symptoms: ~I have to MAKE myself post. ~I haven't reached for my digital camera in days. ~I consider a poll asking whoever stops by to confirm my belief that I have the most boring blog on the Internet. If the blah factor doesn't decrease in the next several days, I think I'll go into hibernation for a weeks or two. But not quite yet... Sirdar Jacket I finished the collar last night. All that left is the seam sewin'. Next picture I post will be an FO photo. Rob here's a pic of the jacket: I'm using Sirdar's Donegal Tweed. I've really enjoyed knitting with it.

posted by Teresa 2/19/2004 07:39:00 PM

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Monday and All is Well Life is getting back to normal here at the 'ol homestead. C's brother Fred - who came all the way from the Windy City to take care of his little sista all last week (Thank You Fred! We Love You!) - headed home early yesterday morning. After my Sunday morning ritual of knitting and watching Sunday Morning on CBS I spent much of the day immersed in domestic activity so I could spend the evening and some of today watching TV/movies: Sex and the City I'll take one more season please. Iron Jawed Angels - Inspiring. I was very touched by this film. I cried. I will never take my right to vote for granted again. American Splendor Odd and endearing. I loved the way it was put together, which is probably why it's been nominated for an Academy Award for Writing/Adapted Screenplay. Sirdar Jacket Front bands - done. Shoulder seams - sewn/done. Collar - in progress. Didn't breeze through the finishing this weekend like I'd hoped - plus I kinda forgot that blocking would take a couple days. But my mom is totally ok with waiting a week or so to get her birthday present. And yes today is her birthday~

posted by Teresa 2/16/2004 08:39:00 PM

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Happy Valentine's Day! (Go give someone you love a big ol' hug!)

posted by Teresa 2/14/2004 08:08:00 AM

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Hey! What a week. There's just too much activity going on in my little corner of the world. C still continues to heal and recuperate wonderfully. The most stressful part of C's recovery so far has been dealing her mother's drama. She's one of those people who needs everything to be about her and if it's not - well, she'll figure out a way to make it so. Life's stressful enough without the extra crap. Corynna's tonsillectomy went well but Wednesday and Thursday were rough - just as the doctor warned. She had to go back to the hospital yesterday because she was dehydrated. They hooked her up to an IV and rehydrated her which worked wonders! When I called at 10pm last night she was sitting up coloring. Today I'm just plain tired. The Sirdar Jacket is nearing the finish line. I finished the second sleeve while at the hospital yesterday and picked up stitches for one of the front bands last night. Speaking of knitting at the hospital yesterday. A young woman - Jamie, a student at Wright State University, I found out later- stopped when she saw me knitting. She told me her roommate had just knit her first scarf and that had her (Jamie) interested in learning to knit. I told her about a several different resources in the area and gave her my blog address and email. So Hi! Jamie and/or Jamie's room-mate, who's name I do not know. Leave me a comment if you stop by.

posted by Teresa 2/13/2004 09:33:00 AM

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Where Did This Week Go? Ok. I really do know the answer to that question... ...this week has gone by so fast 'cause C had elective surgery. She had surgery Tuesday and came home late afternoon Wednesday. Surgery went beautifully, she's recuperating comfortably on the couch and I'm playing nurse. Talk about some knitting time. We arrived at the hospital at 6:40 am and I was knitting by 7. I knit so much Tuesday that I woke up in the middle of the night with sharp pains radiating around my left side/shoulder/chest, that lasted through most of Wednesday but it's all gone now. Sidrdar Jacket Here's the unblocked but finished fronts: Last night I finished a sleeve and when I'm done here I'll be casting on the second one. Corynna's Test Results I've been so wrapped up in C's surgery stuff that I forgot to post about Corynna's test results. I'm sorry for leaving ya all hang on that. The sweat test for Cystic Fibrosis was negative. **Sigh of relief** Going in the doctor was pretty certain it would be negative, but the combination of medical issues Corynna's been dealing with can be indicators of CF. I'm glad he had her tested to rule it out. For about 3 years now Bean has been dealing with chronic sinus/respiratory problems combined with digestive problems. Now that they have ruled out CB, Corynna is schedule to have her tonsils and adenoids removed - this Tuesday 2/10. A few weeks later she has an appointment with a pediatric digestive doctor. Site to Check Out I got a really nice email from Kathy @ Anacleta Knits. She linked my Knitty article and wanted to let me know. Her site is fun with lots of cyber nooks and crannies...give it a click.

posted by Teresa 2/06/2004 10:49:00 AM

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The Slip Stitch Box is On the Move - Finally! Here's what the box looked like when I handed it off to Heather Friday evening. Amyturned the mailing list around a bit. Here's what it looks like now: Heather - 45463 Kathy - 49654 CJ - 49240 Michelle - 47203 Mary - 44141 Blaine - 44118 Donna - 44074 M. E. - 43220 Sandy - 43202. Rene - 35205 Lisa - 34119 Linda - 33418 Julie - 30517 Katey - 30080 Amanda - 29714 Jenanne - 28786 Elizabeth - 28730 Lana - 28729 ...and on to the Cable group! I'm going to work on a Slip Stitch page that I'll host to try to keep everyone updated, so watch for that hopefully by the end of this week.

posted by Teresa 2/01/2004 04:58:00 PM

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In Between Weather Systems At this moment the sun is shining brightly even though it's still very cold. Earlier it was one of those soft, frosty mornings where purple / gray / blue / clouds hang on to the last bit of Ohio before the sun breaks through and sends them scattering... ...on to the East to pester Wendy! Allana is a Bloggin' One of my knit'in' peeps, Allana recently started a blog of her own. Allana is a fellow beagle lover. You may remember I posted pictures of her two side kicks Belle and Marbles. After you are done catching up here, why don't you take a trip over to At the Green Frog and say "Hey!" Slip Stitch Box Update Heather and I finally worked out the hand-off. We meet this Friday around 5:45 pm at a local coffee shop. Finally, huh? It's time we get the Slip Stitch party started, don't ya think? Out of Necessity I was careless with my trusty wooden cable needle last Sunday...I must have left it lay on the couch after my CBS Sunday Morning -George Stephanopoulos knitting session. Sade - innocently I'm sure - thought it was something to chew on - so she did. I loved that cable needle. It was the only one I had. While substituting a short size 1 double point, I remembered seeing a link on Wendy's site for cabling without a needle. So I printed it out and worked through it and now, I'm happy to say, I think I'm going to be a needle-less cable maker. Wendy saves the day! Thanks Wendy! Corynna's Test Results Still waiting. If they don't call and leave a message today while Kristi is a work, she's going to call them. Thanks to everyone who left words of concern.

posted by Teresa 1/28/2004 09:01:00 AM

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Hello from Winter-y Mix Land The view from our front window this morning. As you can see I have yet to venture out to shovel. Bad neighbor - bad! I will later...I'm just not ready to go outside yet! Sade's got the right idea ...don't you think? This is a sweats - sweater - hand - knit - sock - and - THANK - GOODNESS! - I - don't - work - Monday's kind of day! Great Stash Reduction - Slip Stitch Box Heather and I are trying to work out the hand-off logistics. It's not going to be today as I hoped. We are currently emailing back and forth to figure out when and where we can meet. As soon as I know, I'll post it here. Sirdar Jacket Should finish the right side by bedtime this evening...then on to the sleeves. This may be the first deadline project where I actually finish by the deadline. Helping my confidence, is the knowledge that I am taking a vacation week next week (2/3 to 2/11.) Mom should have a sweater that she can wear on her birthday. *sigh* Isn't it great when things go as planned?!? Speaking of Plans - ThreadyBear... ...isn't quite going as planned. Matt is doing some pattern re-vamping and I'm waiting for the green light to start knitting. TKGAMKL1 I've decided to wait to start until I finish Mom's jacket. But I did read Meg Swansen's article in the current Vogue last night. It was helpful to read the tips she gives for trying to tighten up that loose left stitch. Oh yeah, and thanks Meg for helping me hone in a little more on my personal knitting style - I am a Fussy Knitter. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm prone to obsessive compulsive behaviors and fight my perfectionist tendencies. I really prefer to identify myself as a "technical knitter" it doesn't sound so...ummmm....fussy. Gratuitous Grandma Picture Corynna and Kristi stayed all night with us Thursday night, as Corynna was scheduled for a medical test at Children's Hospital Friday morning. (Sweat test for Cystic Fibrosis - yes...I'm concerned but I'm trying not to invest too much energy in worrying until we get the results.) Here she is acting like Sade...begging for food and/or treats: ...and here she acting the drama queen...all worn out from begging... Ok! I'm off to do the Monday morning sit and knit with Ellen...have a great day!

posted by Teresa 1/26/2004 09:46:00 AM

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New Button for the New Look

posted by Teresa 1/25/2004 10:16:00 PM

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The Great Stash Reduction Yesterday I agreed to captain the Slip Stitch box. I've got my stuff ready to go since I went through my stash the week between Christmas and New Year. It's just a matter of putting the box together, which I plan to do tomorrow. The box goes to Heather, who I just happen to know (Hi Heather!) We will probably do a hand off instead of mail so that should help push the box along - since it's gotten a late start. If you are on the Slip Stitch list...send your email and/or blog or web-site address to me at teresa@onemorerow.com and I'll post the progress of the box as I know it.

posted by Teresa 1/24/2004 09:32:00 AM

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A Nice Loooong Week-end A three day week-end turned into four when Saturday brought a day of ice and sleet. It was a day custom made for reading and knitting but I really spent most of the day reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. It's surprisingly delightful! Sunday I bought "Tears of the Giraffe" - next in the series - ready to start this week sometime. Yesterday we saw Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. C's more into the trilogy than me - too many battle scenes for me. Today I've been getting in a row here and there between C and I taking care of domestic chores both here and at her Mom's house. Tomorrow is technically my MLK Holiday since I usually have Monday's off. I'm heading to Greenville to spend some time with my Mom and Dad. My Dad (77)has dementia - some good days/some bad. My Mom, (75) healthy mentally and physically (drags trees around her yard - I pray I get her aging genes) is full-time caretaker for my Dad. This winter he's the least mobile and the most dependent than any so far, and it's wearing on my Mom. So we're going out to eat and I'm going to stay with my Dad so she can get away without him. She'll probably just go out to Walmart and Fashion Bug but at least she'll be out of the house! Re-Vamping Continues Thanks Karen and Sarah B. for the nice words about One More Row's newest look. I wasn't happy with the dark background. It could change again...but right now I'm pretty happy with this look. Oh and Sarah B...you look really cute in that hat! It's definitely a keeper! ThreadyBear The revised test pattern was in my inbox this morning. Been so busy today, I haven't printed it out yet. Plan to just as soon as I finish this post. Sirdar Jacket Less than 10 rows from casting off the left front. I'm moving along on this which is good...I'm ready to do a project that doesn't have a deadline. TKGAMKL1 No progress to report. Been following Sarah's struggle with the loose left stitch when she did Swatch #1? I've got the same problem...the bottom of the Sirdar jacket is a ribbed pattern with 6 stitch (cable and stockinette stitch) columns between 2 stitch purl columns...I've got the same loose-left-side-of-the-column-stitch-thing happening on the stockinette columns. So I'm around (riding on Sarah's blog tail?) to see how Sarah works this out. Truth be told I'm having a hard time picking up any other knitting than Mom's Sirdar jacket...

posted by Teresa 1/19/2004 08:49:00 PM

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Now This Could Work There's a relatively new Tuesday night knitting group at a local bookstore called Books and Company. I've gone to it a few times and it was ok but not gee-I-can't-miss-Tuesday-night-knit-group ok. Last night was different...it was GREAT! There was Dolores, her pre-teen daughter and her daughter's friend, Susan and her daughter, Rose, Maggi, Rochelle, Jeanie and me. There was lots of good conversation about everything from movies to grandchildren and lots of knitting. We were a diverse little group in terms of knitting experience - Susan and her daughter are new knitters, Rochelle once owned a yarn store, Maggi spins as well as knits and both Rose and Maggi also machine knit. The girls sat in a semi-circle and knit and talked among themselves and giggled and giggled. Too cute! It was the knitting group I've been looking for. I've got my fingers crossed that it's like this more than not and gets even better. ThreadyBear Still in a holding pattern waiting for Matt to do his magic with the pattern. It's interesting to be privy to "watching" a project take form. Sirdar Started the left front. I may actually have this done for my Mom's birthday - February 16th. E-eeeuuuwww Hopefully it was just a slow news day yesterday... ...this was on the front page of the Dayton Daily News: Double E-eeeuuuwwww Ohio State University entomologists are seeing an increase in the number of bedbugs among pests being mailed to their clinic for diagnosis, by homeowners and pest control operators throughout Ohio. Ick! Gives new meaning to "Good Night! Sleep Tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Speaking of sleep...Kathy, you made C and I laugh out loud with the comment you left regarding my 1-5 nap with Sade . I told you I was gonna get better at napping... ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

posted by Teresa 1/14/2004 09:29:00 PM

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One Week Later... Where does time go? I'm not intentionally posting once a week but it seems like it doesn't it? I'm never going to be a daily poster but I really do intend to post more than once a week. Anyway... I've got this new Monday morning ritual of watching Ellen. and either knitting or blogging. This morning I'm blogging. When she dances at the beginning of the show, it just makes me smile. Ellen does this little bit on Mondays - "What Are You Doing While You Are Watching Me?" I've got to get Cherise to take a picture of me knitting and watching Ellen so I can send it in. Threadybear in 'da House I'm test knitting one of the ThreadyBear Fair Isle Sweaters for Matt. I'm doing the medium size sweater in the Winter Wheat colorway. The yarn came in the mail Friday and I wound it into balls Saturday night. Here they are: The picture isn't totally true to the real color but pretty darn close. Oh and the colorway is GORGEOUS! I'm ready to start as soon as Matt emails the pattern. I'm planning to post my progress as much as possible this week. TKGA Master Knitting Level 1 Got my yarn... Cascade 220 - Natural I've got to pick up tags when I'm running errands today. Hope to start my swatches this week. Last But Not Least...Sirdar Jacket Coming along nicely...at this moment I'm 1 inch away from the shoulder shaping and binding off. Then on to the left front, Have a great Monday!

posted by Teresa 1/12/2004 11:03:00 AM

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"Grandma, will you teach me to knit?" The question every knitter with children and/or grandchildren hopes they will hear. This question was asked of me by Corynna Saturday evening...and of course I said yes! Together we knit a row and then she was done (6 1/2 year olds have short attention spans) but the question was asked and the interest is there. I can be patient. Corynna wore both me and Sade out. Here we are an hour or so after her mom and dad picked her up... (Note dropped knitting...) Sirdar Cardigan Just your basic sweater back but fun to knit. The yarn is nice to work with too. Bit's 'n Pieces ~ Today's mail brought a skein of Celery Cascade 220 from Threadbear. Making myself a pair of felted clogs. ~ Picked up the current issue of "Knit It" - Yuck! ~ Gearing up for the TKGA Level One Knit Along with Sarah and Company. ~ Made some changes to my template - I was bored with the old look. This will do until I get my Movable Type/One More Row dot com site together. ~ I decided to delete the Christmas counter - spur of the moment decision made while sprucing things up. C's been busy wordsmithing our fridge with the Interweave magnets I picked up at Stitches Midwest:

posted by Teresa 1/05/2004 09:46:00 PM

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Welcome 2004! It's a quiet start to the New Year here at the ol' homestead. Last night we watched movies and today - 12 full hours of MAD TV. Feeling a little sad that today's the last day of my Holiday vacation. Back to work tomorrow and Saturday. The last 13 days have gone way too fast. Here's a recap - just in case you're interested: 12/19- Graduation ceremony for my daughter Kristi - LPN. 12/20 - C, me and Kristi Christmas shop all day. 12/21 - Graduation party for Kristi. 12/22 - More shopping and 7:30 pm performance of the Dayton Ballet's Nutcracker - C and me, Kristi and Corynna, and Dusty and Devon (my son and grandson...Bean is 6 and 1/2 - Devon 6). 12/23 - Knitting AM to early afternoon then off to Cincinnati to get C's hair done and have dinner with her college friend, Jeffrey, then more shopping. 12/24 - Grocery shopping, house cleaning, gift wrapping ect, ect. 12/25 - Christmas Day with both of our families. Enjoyable but tiring; we both hit the bed at 7:30 - asleep by 8pm. 12/26 - I spent the majority of the day fighting a migraine. Felt well enough to join C and three of her friends for dinner at a really nice local restaurant. 12/27- Spent the whole day knitting soles and finishing for the two pair of felted clogs to be given to Fred and rig Whew! Fred (C's brother) and rig (fraud's partner) stayed over night with us. I was felting clogs at 11 pm. They both LOVED them - it's so nice to knit for people who gush over your work. 12/28 - Enjoyed a little breathing room 'tile my friend Carol arrived around 4pm. We went out for Thai food then spent the evening in our jammies watching TV and talking. Monday afternoon I organized my stash and the knitting notebook I keep. Getting ready for the Great Stash Reduction box to come my way. Monday evening cast on my new project. Sirdar Pattern 8336 done in Donegal Tweed DK I'm doing the same color - Grass - as shown. This sweater is for my mom. I hope to give it to her for her birthday February 16th. I ordered the yarn and pattern from Threadbear. Rob was ever vigilant trying to pry the yarn loose from the distributor - Thanks Rob! I had knit about 4 inches of the back on size 6 needles, but the gauge was off just a smidge so last night I ripped it out and started again using 7's. Haven't knit as much today as I would have liked - my right arm and shoulder have been bothering me. Ggrrrrr. I'll post a picture some time this week-end. BTW - I'm thinking the holiday knitting counter might have found a permanent place here...

posted by Teresa 1/01/2004 06:37:00 PM

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Angel at the Door Let me in dear mortals...I bring good tidings and wet sloppy kisses! Ok now, where are the treats? Get your picture will ya? and then get these damn things off me! ___________________________ The last of our Holiday guests just left a little over a half hour ago. More tomorrow after a little R'n R today.

posted by Teresa 12/29/2003 12:00:00 PM

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Happy Holidays! Tying up Holiday knitting loose ends... The two pairs of felted clogs will be given and felted Saturday night as the recipients will be staying with us that night; a little holiday slumber party thing we do every year. Today I'll be finishing I-cord on an Indigirl Perfect Pouch that will be felted tomorrow and given December 25th. Maybe a bit damp but done. Ummm...I have a confession to make. The Mudcloth II Booga Bag? I'm keeping it. (I bought the intended recipient a book instead.) At this time the total for the Knitting Basket Project is $4, 380.75. Nine (9) baskets and seven (7) shares of another Knitting Basket. A heartfelt Thank-You! to Everyone! I don't think I'll post again until Monday of next week - unless something happens that I just can't keep to myself. Peace and Blessings to you and yours from me, C 'n Sade XOXO

posted by Teresa 12/23/2003 11:14:00 AM

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Knitting Basket Project Yes! The current total is $4157.14 - as of 9:27 pm EST. Wow! Wow! This Saturday, December 20th is the last day to contribute...we should have a final tally a day or two after Christmas...some folks are sending checks through the mail and then there's the Threadbear donations. All I can say is... Wow! Knitter's and Fiber Folks ROCK!

posted by Teresa 12/19/2003 08:54:00 AM

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The Perfect 45th Birthday Breakfast EsterPrice dark chocolate covered cherries and coffee...life is good! I've committed my self - in my 45th year - to perfecting the practice of napping. I've never been a napper but that is about to change! I bought myself Sark's This is a great little book even if you are already a championship napper. Page 12... As Adults, we still need nap times. We need tender places in which to repair our souls and put special glue on the broken places. How gently wonderful is that? Page 86... Napping is Productive My new mantra. And speaking of birthdays...I share this date of birth with the one and only Indigirl! Happy Birthday Amy! One more Christmas gift is very near completion! Here's the "Mudcloth Booga Bag II" drying after felting... This time I did a combination of Julie's Booga Bag and My Constant Companion from Knitter's Stash...I'll sew the pocket on using embroidery thread to match the rusty brown. I only made one pocket 'cause I wasn't sure how it would all work out, so I'm going to make a second pocket - one for each side. It's about balance, ya know. Now I'm working on the second pair of felted clogs. I have one sole done and just started the upper part of the clog. I would be a very happy 45 year old if I could go to bed tonight with both clogs done.... I'll let you know tomorrow how that works out.

posted by Teresa 12/15/2003 11:28:00 AM

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Stitch and Bitch - The Book Comes to Dayton, OH Debbie Stoller made a stop at Books and Company here in Dayton last night. I really enjoyed Debbie's presentation of the book and her sense of humor. Here's a pic of her...I'm not a big "skull and crossbone" fan but I loved the sweater she had on... Here she is showing the top to the bikini swim suit from the book - it's the quenessential "itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-bikini"... ...and here I am with Debbie. The event was very well attended with a good mix of fiber folks - young and old, new knitter's and experineced. A Shout Out! to the newest of my knit Heather, who I met in person there... Hey Heather! Loved the scarf you had on!

posted by Teresa 12/12/2003 08:44:00 AM

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Knitting Basket Project Update We have purchased the first 7 Knitting Baskets. Click here to view a gift card in honor of everyone who has donated. The total collected as of 9:14 am EST is $3,780.91. Wendy, Deb and I have decided to make Saturday December 20th the last day for donations. Rob tells me that the donation jar at Threadbear has been getting lots of attention. Thanks Matt and Rob and all the lucky Threadbear customers who get to actually spend time in the brick 'n motar Threadbear. This Project has made my Holiday Season already! Anything else from here on is just icing on the Christmas cookie!

posted by Teresa 12/10/2003 09:05:00 AM

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Short and Sweet It feels like every minute is filled right now, 'specially since I've got quite a bit of knitting to do yet. Thanks to everyone who left messages regarding the Holidays. It's nice to hear different perspectives and comforting to know I'm in good company when it comes to making the season whatever I (and C) want and need it to be. I finally got batteries for the trusty digital camera... Here's my "test" Indigirl Perfect Pouch: ! I don't plan to give this one away 'cause it matches matching scarves I made C 'n me last winter. It's fun to have a matching pouch. I've started another pouch - slated for Holiday giving. The body of the bag is done - just needs I-cord. and here's one pair of clogs fresh off the needles. Need to do the soles and sew then on to the second pair. My Tuesday night Photoshop class is done so tomorrow night I'm headed to knit with a small group that's forming at a local book store - Books and Company, Dayton. Debbie Stoller makes a stop at Books and Company this Thurday night (12-11) to promote I plan to take my camera and get some pictures to post here Friday.

posted by Teresa 12/08/2003 07:28:00 PM

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Ahh December I love December. Not just because it's my birth month. I love December because it's the beginning of Winter and I love Winter. I love the cold and snow. I love driving home from work just as the sun is setting. I'm lucky that part of my drive is through some rolling farm land. It's so beautiful to see the outline of the bare trees against the winter skyline and warm lights glowing through the farm house windows. Sigh... And then there's Christmas. For many years I hated Christmas. I'm a pagan at heart so I struggle with what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. I detest the commercialism of Christmas and the stress and strain gift giving puts on all of us. C is helping me make peace with the Christmas season again. Her Holiday spirit is infectious. She also 'gets' that I find my seasonal spirit by focusing on the Winter Solstice and pulling pagan symbolism and traditions out of Christian Christmas. C and I spent yesterday afternoon and most of today decorating the outside of our house. This is our first time to decorate since this is our first Christmas in our house. We're both happy with how it came together. Our neighborhood is having a Holiday House Tour this coming Sunday (12/7) so we are decked out and ready for visitors. Sade's getting into the spirit too... Note the wagging tail. Next time I'll post a picture of my finished Indigirl Perfect Pouch - I love this little bag and will be making at least 2 more before December 25th. There IS enough time. I'm sure of it. Now, I leave you with a picture of my best girls and our "Welcome Snowperson"... (PS - My birthday is the 15th...just in case you were wondering. I'll be 45 - yikes!)

posted by Teresa 12/01/2003 09:47:00 PM

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posted by Teresa 11/25/2003 04:23:00 PM

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My reaction when I saw the Christmas Counter this morning...

posted by Teresa 11/25/2003 08:50:00 AM

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Sunday One day off this week-end since we are closed Saturday for the Thanksgiving holiday - and that's today. We did our Sunday morning in bed, coffee with Sunday Morning on CBS / This Week with George Stephanopoulos ritual. Then brunch of french toast and canadian bacon. The next hour or so we gave our humble home the domestic attention it so sorely needed. Now C is off looking for bookcases for her office and I'm getting ready to settle in to knit. Hope your Sunday is all you want and need it to be!

posted by Teresa 11/23/2003 02:31:00 PM

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Name Change Day As of 3:30 today, I have a new last name. The process was fast and easy. The hearing with a court magistrate is so you can testify that you are not seeking a name change 1) so you can hide from creditors 2) because you have committed a crime and are hiding from prosecution Under oath I testified no to both. My best friend Carol (I love you Carol!) wrote a me the poem below to celebrate my name change.

These are the names that knit you together- a Stetler woman and a Clear man; now you take them in your hands like knitting needles and wrap your life around them, loop after loop, row after row, a pattern of your own emerging as you cast and recast yourself in the colors you want to live in.

posted by Teresa 11/19/2003 07:50:00 PM

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Old Shale Coat FFO (Finally Finished Object) ...and I love, love, love it! I thought I was going to change the collar but decided to knit it as the pattern indicated and decide once it was done. (That's the great thing about knitting it yourself...you can always rip it and change it.) But I like it. It's a nice change from my usual look. I also didn't think I would like the lace around the cuff but I think it's my favorite part of the coat. It's very girly and feminine but not too - if ya know what I mean. The cuff is designed close to the wrist -probably to add warmth since it's a coat. If I knit it again I might add a few stitches to the cuff - just a few. But ask me again after I've worn it a few times. Now, of course, I'm anxious to wear it. Probably not tomorrow. as it's suppose to be near 65. Wednesday the forecast high is 49 so I'll probably wear it then. Wednesday is also the day of my name change hearing so wearing something I've made would make the day even more special. Last but not least a shadowy picture of Sade curled up on the Old Shale Coat. Ain't she sweet? OH! And LOOK what happened since last I checked: I'm speechless. All I can say is WOW!

posted by Teresa 11/17/2003 06:21:00 PM

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Monday=Sunday in My World I got up this morning with a really crappy headache - not a migraine - probably weather induced. The description of the weather matches how I feel... 46 degrees F So, I'm headed back to bed to see if sleep will help. The Old Shale Coat is done - I had hoped to post a picture this morning but now it's going to be tonight. Later ya all!

posted by Teresa 11/17/2003 09:17:00 AM

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Everytime I post an update to the Knitting Basket total, I'm in awe of the generousity of the Knitting Blogging Community. Margaret Meade said it best:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has.

Old Shale Coat Update It's done! Pictures later today or tomorrow morning. Now back to Holiday Gifts...

posted by Teresa 11/16/2003 12:02:00 PM

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Knitting Baskets Purchased So Far! (Thanks! to my co-worker Tom who's donation pushed us to the 4 basket mark!)

posted by Teresa 11/13/2003 09:56:00 PM

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So What Are Teresa, Deb and Wendy Up To? This... Are you guys familiar with Heifer International? You can "purchase" animals or a share of an animal to go to impoverished families around the world, to help them feed themselves and or earn income. One of the gifts you can purchase is a "Knitting Basket." Here's what Heifer International says about the Knitting Basket: Your gift of a Knitting Basket will include two llamas and two sheep - one male and one female of each - four animals famous for their warm, income-producing wool. From shearing to spinning, weaving and finally selling woolen goods at market, your gift of a Knitting Basket will help four struggling families earn extra income to break free from the grip of poverty and hopelessness. Over time, as your gift multiplies and more animals are passed on to help others in need, entire communities will be warmed by the precious wool of your Knitting Basket. Me, Deb/Yentala 'n Wendy have joined forces for a holiday season charity project. On behalf of the Knitblogging Community, we would like to be able to donate at least one Knitting Basket to families in need. A gift of a Knitting Basket for four needy families is $500. With many of us pitching in, this is not an unreasonable goal. I have set up a Paypal account to receive donations for the Knitting Basket. By clicking on the button below, you can donate to this cause. It doesn't have to be a large donation. Many people donating just a few dollars will quickly add up. If you have room in your heart and in your wallet, please consider contributing to this worthy cause. Love and thanks from Teresa, Deb and Wendy To donate to the Knitbloggers Knitting Basket Project, click on the Pay Pal button in my side bar. Spread the word! Post the button on your site and link it to either Wendy or my Knitting Basket page.

posted by Teresa 11/12/2003 12:10:00 AM

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(PS...Old Shale Coat Update: One sleeve done and sewn in. Second sleeve well on it's way. FO by this weekend!)

posted by Teresa 11/10/2003 03:14:00 PM

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Mudcloth Booga Bag Felted it last night: (the pattern color is more rusty brown than the picture shows) What I know and/or learned: 1) It felted way faster than I thought it would...I wish I'd stood at the washer and pulled it out to check on it. I was going on how the Kureyon Booga felted, which was 2 full wash cycles...1 full wash cycle was too much for this. 2) Next go 'round I may knit pieces flat instead of in the round and sew 'em up. The Fair Isle stranding across the side panels where there's no color pattern drew the fabric in too much and and the fabric produced is too dense. 3) I really like the pattern at the top of the bag and I like the fabric this produced. Even though it's two strands of yarn it's not as dense as the lower part of the bag. So I'm rethinking the pattern for the next one... 4) If I were going to knit this in the round again I'd opt for a more consistent color pattern all the way around and from top to bottom. The combination of the stranded knitting at the bottom and the color knitting at the top doesn't work. The top is less dense and kind of floppy. 5) It's too tall and skinny. It keeps reminding me of a vase - which could be an option for it's use. 6) Different yarns felt differently - duh Teresa! Over all I think it's a success. I'm already plotting and planning the bigger, better version...I may cast on tonight for it - tomorrow night at the latest. Why, oh why? can't that count-down-to-holiday-gift-giving-counter back up a couple weeks?

posted by Teresa 11/05/2003 08:53:00 AM

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Actual Knitting Progress Julie's Booga Bag...may be this Holiday Season's most given gift. I love using the pillowcase to felt! So much less mess in the washer. (See our green November grass? The weather here has been absolutely beautiful and I just had to take an outside picture) (Sorry if the picture is a little dark.) Using the Booga Bag pattern, adding my own design to try to get a mudcloth look. The yarn is Cascade 220 black and rusty brown from Threadbear. This picture was taken late afternoon. By bedtime last night I finished the body of the bag. Tonight I'm going to felt it. This is an experiment and I'm holding my breath to see how this felts. I knit the pattern sides Fair Isle style then carried the rusty brown across the black sides, catching or weaving the carried yarn. I'm going to block it with the iron before I felt it, but I'm concerned the sides may pucker - really I'm afraid the whole things going to pucker. To help with this I'm going to be pulling the bag out of the washer during the felting process, pulling and patting it along. Here's C's Helen's Lace shawl. It's progressing slowly but surely. I've been keeping this on the nightstand so I can knit a few rows before turning out the light each night. Look what came in the mail yesterday... Amy's Perfect Pouch pattern! The thing that made this even more special? Rob addressed the envelope to: Teresa Stetler-Clear. My first piece of mail with my new name. This one's a keepsake.

posted by Teresa 11/04/2003 10:04:00 AM

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Too Beautiful to Post 71 degrees F It is November, isn't it?

posted by Teresa 11/03/2003 12:11:00 PM

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The Boys Know How to Put the Grand In Grand Opening It's been a very busy week-end. Saturday: Worked 'til 3 pm then shopping, dinner, more shopping with Kristi and Corynna, while C helped Sean install shutters at our kitchen windows. They left around 10:30. (Late night for us.) Sunday: Up early. Breakfast, latte stop at Starbucks, then drove to Cincinnati to pick up the LocQueen/Denise for our little piece of Threadbear's Grand Opening. The house/shop is WONDERFUL!! Lot's of comfy places to sit and knit or sit and talk. And the yarn - awesome. The only thing missing is an expresso machine - Matt and Rob see what you can do will ya? Matt and Rob were crazy busy - lots of people in and out. Handknitter/Sarah Peasley (Hi Sarah!) was there and I had a great time talking to her and getting to know her better. What a sweetheart! Another great connection - thanks to blogging! I met Eva (Hi Eva!) who is lucky enough to live just 20 minutes from Matt and Rob. (I'm so jealous, Eva!) Here's a few pictures...I wish I'd taken more but I was enjoying myself so much, I kind of forgot I had the camera with me. (me, Sarah, Denise) (Matt. Didn't get a picture of Rob - about this time he was running around handing out numbers for a door prize drawing) (Tate...Not sure where Connor was.) Today: Had a GREAT massage at noon which has pretty much wiped me out. I was feeling a bit tired anyway. I have managed to do a little housework and a couple loads of laundry. I hope to knit a bit this evening but at this moment I think I'll be lucky (yaaawwnn) if I stay awake past 8pm!

posted by Teresa 10/27/2003 07:19:00 PM

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Creativity Sucking Goblins be Gone! I've posted a piece of my 'art' to my cyber fridge door. If you want to check it out go to: OneMoreRow.Com In time I hope this will be my new cyber home and the graphic of me and my bug will be my web signature. I drew the bug by hand, then scanned and have been using what I'm learning in my PhotoShop class to make additions and tweek, tweek, tweek. Tweeking will go on for quite some time as this is very rough compared to how I want it to look. Take that! Mz. That's - Not - Good - Enough - To - Put - On - The - Fridge - Goblin!

posted by Teresa 10/24/2003 08:35:00 AM

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Thurday It's been kind of a quiet week. I made the decision to withdraw from my Intermediate Web Development class. Not feeling so good about the decision - hooks into old messages I have about myself. But that was then and this is now and I'm an adult woman who can make good decisions for myself. So there. Last night I cast on for the felted clog and pulled out some stuff to start charting a pattern for an african themed Booga Bag. I let out a tiny scream every time I open this page and see the Christmas counter...less pressure now that I've dropped my class - now I just have to stay focused! Headed to Threadbear on Sunday for the open house. Denise/LocQueen is making the trek with C and I. I'm looking forward to seeing Sarah and whoever else makes the Sunday party! Right now the weather forecast for Sunday is: High:47 F Rain: 60% Wind:From the North Northeast at 7 mph Perfect day for being inside knitting with friends - new and old.

posted by Teresa 10/23/2003 08:18:00 AM

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Grateful Thanks... ...to all that have shared their personal name stories this past week AND to all who left messages of encouragement for/about my son. We make each other stronger with our stories and I'm grateful to be part of this circle. I hope I'm able to give as much as I get here 'cause I get a whole lot from you all! One of the ways I can give back is to share some of the great NAME stuff I'm finding. Here's a site I found for Acrophonology - name analysis using letter qualities. Soooo. I'm feeling very scattered. Last week I tried to give most of my time and energy to getting caught up with my Intermediate Web Development class. Wish I could say I've made progress but I haven't. November 22 is the last day to drop without a record, so I've decided to keep pushing forward and see where I'm at on the 20th - I may drop it and take it again - next time in class instead of online. Theme for the week-end: Family.Tomorrow is my grandson's - Devon- 6th birthday. Yesterday was the party at a local kid's fun center called The Magic Castle. Lot's of family, kids, loud music, pizza and gifts. Early evening C and I took Kristi, Sean and Corynna to Longhorn Steak House ~YUM!~ for Kristi and Sean's anniversary (9 years!) and to thank Sean for putting up blinds (at almost every window in our house!.) Then Kristi and Corynna stayed all night. Kristi has is going to nursing school and is doing her clinicals at a hospital near us and Corynna didn't have school today 'cause she's nursing ear infections in both ears and a sinus infection. Here's a picture of Corynna at C's desk as I'm typing this: Krist will pick Corynna up in a little over an hour then I will start laundry and clean up after all the hub-bub. Knitting here and there. Old Shale Coat: I'm just a few rows away from the neck shaping on the left front. I'd really like to have that done by Thanksgiving. C's Lorna's Lace Shawl: I'm keeping this on my night stand and knitting a few rows each night. Christmas Clogs: casting on tonight I may have to felt my Booga Bag tonight too - Wendy's been flaunting her's and I'm feeling the need to see mine finished. Plus I'll also have the satisfaction of a true blue FO that also a FCG (Finished Christmas Gift.) C's picked up her trusty camera again, in an effort to get her creative juices flowing. Here's two of my favorite pictures from her first roll of film: [shaking head] A dog's life... Not sure if I'll post again this week - the school thing - ya know?

posted by Teresa 10/20/2003 10:55:00 AM

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For me, spirituality is a struggle. I have a hard time reconciling the concept of a loving God with addicts still dying on the street. I can't believe that I somehow merit recovery more than they do. Nor can I believe in a capricious God who does some kind of cosmic eenee meenee minee mo to decide who gets recovery and who doesn't. So what's left? A God I don't understand but with whom I am still willing to have a conscious contact. Dan B, Ohio I'm saying a prayer tonight to the Goddess/God/Spirit who I also don't understand, for those who are in pain spiritually, emotionally, physically. Especially my son and his sponsor.

posted by Teresa 10/17/2003 05:06:00 PM

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Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary Main Entry: name Pronunciation: 'nAm Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English nama; akin to Old High German namo name, Latin nomen, Greek onoma, onyma Date: before 12th century 1 a : a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing b : a word or symbol used in logic to designate an entity 2 : a descriptive often disparaging epithet [called him names] 3 a : REPUTATION b : an illustrious record : FAME [made a name for himself in golf] c : a person or thing with a reputation 4 : FAMILY, CLAN 5 : appearance as opposed to reality [a friend in name only] 6 : one referred to by a name [praise his holy name] - in the name of 1 : by authority of [open in the name of the law] 2 : for the reason of : using the excuse of [called for reforms in the name of progress] Last Monday I filed papers to start the process to change my last name. Mowery is the name of my ex-husband. When I left my marriage, 6 years ago, I considered taking my maiden name back but for many reasons I was afraid my youngest son, Michael, would see that as a sign that I was trying to distance myself from him too, and I didn't want that. So I kept my married name. I've decided that enough time has gone by now - time to prove whatever I needed to prove...it's time to be who I am now. I've decided to take back my maiden name - Clear - but in an effort to honor the maternal side of my family tree - I've decided to hyphenate it with - Stetler. So my name will be Teresa Stetler-Clear. A hearing is set for November 19th at 3:30 pm...I assume I will leave that hearing with my new name. I've been feeling very emotional about this decision. Not because I'm having feelings about not being 'Mowery' any more - it's about taking control of my life. C reminds me that a name isn't just letters on a piece of paper. Names effect us in variety of ways. Leading up to November 19th I'm going to post different things I'm learning about naming/names/my name(s). For starters, here's a quote from WisdomeQuotes by Casey Miller and Kate Swift From antiquity, people have recognized the connection between naming and power. Special Wish to my daughter and my son-in-law:

posted by Teresa 10/15/2003 08:41:00 AM

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Monday This 'n That My Sunday. Don't you just hate how the week-end/time off work is gone in a blink of an eye? And the real question...why doesn't time at work go by as quickly? Not much knitting yesterday. The house needed attention so the day was devoted to domestic duties. Here and there I knit I-Cord for the Booja Bag and at least finished that. Wendy's going to felt her Booga Bag today but I think I"m going to pull out the bind off and knit another inch or two to add to the length of the bag. Need to be careful not to throw off the dimensions of the bag but I want it to be a little bigger. Not sure when I'll felt it... Next up...felted clogs, once I check out shoe sizes of the intended clog wearers. Artist's Way Pioneers I've signed up and signed in - thanks to Pioneer Melissa for getting this going. I've been working on issues around my creativity and how I block myself with my therapist, Jesse for a couple months now. You know, paying $$ to try to figure out why I block myself from my drawing/sketching artist-self. Example: I want to draw the outside/front of our house for Winter Solstice cards from C and I this year. I've had the idea for over a month now...have I sat down to draw the house yet? No. Why? Well everything else is more important it seems. Why? Why? Why? Why? I hope the group and the Artist's Way (which, by the way, I've owned for...hmmmmm....5 years now?!?!) will help me work through whatever the hell my creative goblins are. Sade Belle in Action Most of the pictures I post of Sade are of her calm, serene, and sleepy. So here's a couple shots of her in a more active mode...playing with her buddy Spot.

posted by Teresa 10/13/2003 08:44:00 AM

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Late Addition When I compare the picture of my bag to Wendy's the chartreuse stripe is in the same place but the rest of the color striping is different. Mine has more purple where her's has more of the bright blue. That's what makes Kureyon so unique - it's kind of like a snowflake or fingerprint...seems no two skeins are exactly alike.

posted by Teresa 10/10/2003 08:17:00 PM

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Blog Friends EnVogue I picked up the Holiday issue of Vogue last night when C and I were out running around. What a nice surprise to see a short article about knitting web logs with the URL's of several of my favorite blog folks: Knit Dad Wendy Chicknits/BonneMarie The Blue Blog/Alison Other sites were listed but these are the folks I know best in my corner of blog world. Booga Bag Body of the bag is done. If you want to see what it looks like check out Wendy's pic - my looks almost identical - single chartreuse stripe and all. Freaky huh? Working on endless I-cord. (Note to self: check out I-cord makers.) I love this bag but it may smaller when felted than I thought it would be. Yes...the pattern stated the finished measurments but of course I didn't read that. Pictures I've seen, made me think it was bigger. I'll probably tweek the pattern a bit size wise for the next couple I make. One of them I'm planning to use different yarn and plot out an African color/pattern thing-y. Columbus Knit-Out. I'm not going. Not happy with my Guild, right now. I signed a sheet - phone number and all - at the last meeting that I wanted to go and could drive. They said at the meeting they would meet at a central place the and do a caravan to Columbus. No phone call from anyone from the guild. I've made calls to find out what's going on...left messages...still nothing. I'm a new member and I don't think this is a good way to make new people feel welcome. Of course I could go over by myself and join in but I'm not good at that - I'd much rather go with a group or at least someone I know. Plus, I was looking forward to doing something with the Guild members so they could get to know me and me them. Yes, I'm feeling miffed and left out. But I'm a big girl and I'll get over it. Their loss. My gain of a day.

posted by Teresa 10/10/2003 07:55:00 AM

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The best way to get something done is to begin. ~Author Unknown Not intentional but there's definately a theme this week: Time is staring me in the face. Notice the new addition to the right? UnkyMoods.Com Stumbled across this site last night. Today's mood choice is more of a confession than a mood. I'm procrastinating - big time - completing assignments, reading and projects for my Web Development class. I'm 4 weeks behind. Not good. How did time slip by so quickly? I keep making promises to myself that I can't knit until I do this assignments or I read that chapter but the next thing I know, I'm sitting on the couch knitting. I'm lousy at self discipline. Always have been. I know that doesn't mean I have to continue on being lousy at self discipline. I make my own reality. But some personality traits are harder to change than others. What is for sure is the quarter ends the second week of December and the last day to submit work and my Knit Gift List are on a collision course... Yikes!

posted by Teresa 10/08/2003 08:28:00 AM

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That Count Down to December 25th... ...is also reminding me that I told myself I would lose 15 pounds by Christmas. Damn! These next couple months could be a bit stressful!

posted by Teresa 10/07/2003 09:35:00 AM

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Every Year ...I say I'm going to knit the gifts I give to those nearest and dearest to me and then time gets away from me as I selfishly knit for myself.. This year is going to be different and I'm using my blog to keep me focused on December 25th. As you see, I've added a "this many days 'til Christmas" counter at the top of my page. Today or tomorrow I'll add a list of gifts to help keep me honest. And of course I'll be counting on all my blog friends to keep me on track as well. (Leave me a note and tell me if it took too long for my page to download...if the counter slows things too much I might look for other options.) The recent cold snap here sent a little chill of reality through me: Unless you want this year to be like all the rest you'd better get started! So...I set the Old Shale coat aside this weekend and started Booga J's Kureyon Felted Bag. Yarn for two pairs of clogs - also Christmas gifts - are 'cloggin' their way across Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio from my good buddies at Threadbear. ETA is today but I know from my best friend Carol, the week-end is prime clogging time, so we'll see when they show. Anyway, I told Matt the favorite colors of the intended clog owners and asked him to pick out the yarn for me. Can't wait to see what comes. Here's a pic of Mz. Sade this morning. Yes...she's that sweet and cuddly in person.

posted by Teresa 10/06/2003 12:06:00 PM

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A Post for My Inner Child I'm having a great time in my Beginning Photoshop class! I've had Photoshop for a little over a year but it's remained a mystery to me. Don't know why I couldn't figure it out on my own but I couldn't. ...and I'm learning about new toys! (please try to refrain from being too shocked at my lack of technical knowledge...) Graphic Tablets. Who knew? Etch-A-Sketch for grown ups! Having said all that...Lookie! What I Did! (If this is all too much for you - click on to your next read, I'll understand.) Ducky before: Ducky after: Freehand fun. My blog=my cyber refrigerator... artwork hung for all to see. (My inner child is smiling.) 4 Mice Enroute to Alexandria, VA ...my meager contribution to Wendy's Mouse-A-Thon. As of this morning her Mouse Count is 1367. The power of one request by a woman beloved will make many kitties drunk with catnip fever while at the same helping Capital Animal Care do more good. Karma you can see.

posted by Teresa 10/02/2003 07:46:00 AM

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Last Tuesday of September ...the last day of September, actually. Where did this month go? Fall weather has taken hold here. The extended forecast shows we may see the 70's again by next week-end but not until our lows dip into the upper 30's a couple nights. We're trying to tough out the early chill and not turn on the furnace but the only time I was warm all weekend was after I did 2 miles on the treadmill, in my sweats and sweatshirt without turning on the fan. I HATE being cold! C slipped into Rosecalie last night. It fits her perfectly (I'm jealous!) and looks great on her. She can't wear it out though, 'til I weave all the ends in...I was so discouraged when I finished it and it didn't fit me that I threw it over the back of our front room couch - in easy reach if I wanted to show it off to anyone but not a true blue honest to goodness FO. Making good progress on the left front of the Old Shale Coat. No pictures though 'cause it's just the mirror opposite of the right front - except for the buttonholes of course. In the mail yesterday My critique? A beautiful book. I'm in awe of Debbie's art. I kept turning pages and under my breath saying "Wow." "Wow." My thought is that her work is a little more raw than Katharine Cobey who is my most favorite art knitter. Katharine's work seems - to me - more refined. Maybe it's that Debbie New uses lots of very bright colors and Katharine's tends to work with more muted colors and natural fibers. But then I don't have a lot of room to talk about creative knitting. I am such a traditional knitter. I get a little frustrated with myself because of this. I struggle to knit outside the lines. Being friends with Denise/LocQueen, I'm often faced with my ordinary controlled knitting self. I get it honestly though - for years I've wished my mother - who hand pieces and hand quilts BEAUTIFULLY! would stop following other peoples patterns and color schemes and let her own creativity peek through. Now I face that moment in most women's lives when I shreek with agonizing horror "I'M JUST LIKE MY MOM!" But unlike my mother (don't get me wrong - I love her dearly and work very hard to except her as she is) I want to be open to pushing myself and trying new things so another promise to myself come the New Year: ...try at least 3 Unexpected Knitting techniques. I see a list forming...

posted by Teresa 9/30/2003 09:29:00 AM

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Is it Just Me? ...or are weird things happening with Blogger? Images I've never seen before are appearing where my images are suppose to be and my images are showing up where I never meant them to be. So if you see a picture of a baby being fed in a high chair - the last image to appear where MonaLisawithNeedles should have been - don't think..."Wow, Teresa! You didn't tell us there was a new baby in your life!" - think..."Damn! Now what's wrong with Blogger?"

posted by Teresa 9/29/2003 08:07:00 AM

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The Weekend Begins I'm working Tuesday thru Saturday again (from now to the first of the year) so I'm just starting my weekend. It's just me and Sade (who's laying next to me snoring loudly) 'til Monday as C's in western Virginia for a training. I've pretty much decided to hibernate for the next two days, knitting and catching up and (hopefully) getting ahead on schoolwork. The weather is going to cooperate with the hibernation plan...there's a cool front moving through tonight. We'll be lucky to see 60 degrees tomorrow. This week has been very fall like. It's almost like Mother Nature was impatiently waiting for Tuesday and Fall Equinox to push Fall onto us...which is ok, 'cause I love Fall (and Winter) and Summer kind of sucked this year. So I raise a cuppa Joe to whatever time you have the next few days to sit and knit and breathe

posted by Teresa 9/27/2003 08:07:00 PM

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Project 2004 Starts January 5...you've got plenty of time to order your packet. Sarah's the ring leader so head over to her site and sign up. No new knit pics. But for the Sade fans out there sleepy-eyed Sade scrunched into the chair next to me late last night. "Come on Moms! It's time for bed! Who cares what the weather's gonna be like tomorrow!"

posted by Teresa 9/25/2003 07:47:00 AM

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The Wheel of the Year Turns to Autumn Autumnal Equinox: Sept. 23, 6:47 A.M. EDT I finished Old Shale's right front yesterday and started on the left front. Movin' along. I'd love to have this done to wear to the Columbus, Ohio Knit-Out, October 12th. My TKGA Level 1 Hand Knitter packet came yesterday. I'm going to join Sarah and Co. in January to do Level 1 as a Knit Along. Had a lot of fun Saturday night designing the beginning of a button...it needs a little tweeking but should be up by the end of this week. 'K...that's it for today. Enjoy the first day of Fall Y'all!

posted by Teresa 9/23/2003 08:16:00 AM

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Mid-West Fiber Festival "A Wool Gathering" Wool in all it's incarnations! It was a beautiful day which I'm sure helped with the really nice attendance. What's a Knit Blogger's post about a 'wool gathering' without the obligatory wooly animal pictures? Not worth it's weight in pixels. So here's a very sweet angora sheep goat (Thanks Emma) and a precocious wide eyed llama. I've been thinking about what gentle creatures most of the wool bearing animals are and what peace-ful crafts spinning, knitting and weaving are. Here I am surrounded by peacefulness... I'm in the Dzined booth. Debi Daniels, owner/dyer/designer, specializes in beautiful hand-dyed handknitting and handweaving yarns in wool and wool/hemp blends. Her yarns are gorgeous. I love the muted quality of her colors, so much I just had to buy a few skeins... This should prove that I deserve my membership to the Fiber-Freak Guild... ...I know some of you thought I should turn it in when I left Stitches MidWest without a yarn purchase. And here's proof that C is the perfect woman for me: With my checkbook balance in mind, I was only going to buy 1 skein...C talked me into 4. Told you she was perfect!

posted by Teresa 9/21/2003 08:14:00 PM

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It's Weird to Think ...that 1.8 million people are without power due to Isabelle at the same time I'm enjoying a near perfect late summer/earlyfall evening on my front porch Mother Nature is one complicated woman! While sitting on the porch I knit a few more rows on C's Helen's Lace shawl (which is finally starting to look like something) and did a few more rows on the Old Shale Coat right front (which is getting close to looking like it did before being frogged Sunday night.) A One More Row Shout Out! to the newest of my knitting Allana (Hey Allana!) ...who left a great comment confessing that when she needs a lift she clicks on my blog to look at Sade's picture. Sade is thrilled to know she has a real life groupie. Allana thinks I may be the only knit blogger with a beagle. Allana made my afternoon by sending me a picture of her two adorable beagles Belle (the bigger) and Marbles (the puppy). Allana writes, "This is the look they give me when I pry my ball of yarn from their jaws and try to explain that my knitting bag is not a toy chest!" So, for Allana and any other Sade fans out there Sade says, "Hi!" and "Where's my treat?" Everyone who left messages encouraging me through my blogging slump. Every word was appreciated and taken to heart. ___________ BTW...Have I mentioned lately how sweet and wonderful C is? Why no! C's tells me, I haven't. Let it Be Known Knit Bloggers and Knit Blog Readers all! I am the luckiest woman in Knit Blog World! to have beautiful, intelligent, generous C for my one and only! But seriously... I love you, C!

posted by Teresa 9/18/2003 09:22:00 PM

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Blogging Angst I'm in one of those places where I question why I'm blogging. This usually happens when I'm not feeling very creative. I've been having trouble coming up with catchy titles for my posts and I think my posts have been pretty (yaaaawwnnn 'n stretch) boring. As with most bloggin' folk, I get most of my blogging energy from comments and those have been sparse. I think I'm just staring my ordinary self in the face right now. I'm not the world's most exciting knitter when it comes to the projects I prefer to knit. I knit at a fairly boring pace - progress on my projects doesn't change much from day to day. I don't design my own stuff and I'm pretty much ok with that, even though I do get ideas here and there. I've been through this before. C laughs about a night about a year ago when I lay flat in bed staring at the ceiling (think Charlie Brown after Lucy's pull the football out from under him) and I said (use your best dramatic depressed tone) "I think I'm going to quit blogging." It's just a phase. I'll move through it and make peace with my ordinary self once again. Old Shale Coat Update I'm still feeling a bit red-faced that I totally missed 9 whole rows in the pattern!! One of the main things I learned when I first started knitting was to READ THE PATTERN! - word for word, comma to comma. Knitting provides another teachable moment. I decided to go to the Dayton Knitting Guild meeting Monday which allowed me a wonderful space to be with other knitter's and make good progress re-knitting what I tore out. Turns out, getting out was just what I needed Monday morning. "A Wool Gathering" This week-end is the Mid-West Festival of Fibers "A Wool Gathering", in Yellow Springs (Ohio). I work in Yellow Springs so C will bring me to work Saturday morning, come pick me up at 3 pm and we'll head over there. I think the weather is suppose to be kind of Fall like, so it should be a nice afternoon for it. Knitty is Da-Bomb once again and good things are happening for Amy/Squib and crew. Amy Swenson's Rosedale is going on my must knit list. It's one of the best Kureyon designs I've seen. And we all love our Kureyon, don't we now?

posted by Teresa 9/17/2003 08:12:00 AM

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No Sooner... ...did I post my first post than Sarah posted this comment: Teresa, I read through the Old Shale pattern (how I wish I was knitting it right now!) and wondered if the directions for the Eyelet Pattern for Right Front might have thrown you off: did you remember to do rows 23-32, that are mentioned up by rows 18-20? Don't you know...she's right! I missed those rows. Damn! Now, you'll excuse me, won't you...I've got some rippin' to do. PS...Thanks Sarah! (and I really to mean that!) ____________________________________________ Old Shale Progresses and Perplexes The right front is almost done. I'm not sure if I've made a mistake but my knitting isn't jiving up with the pattern. The pattern says to knit "...until piece measures approx. 35" from lower edge of scallop, 6 buttonholes have been made..." and then begin the neck shaping. I've made 6 buttonholes but the piece only measures a tad over 27". I've made the coat back shorter than the pattern calls for because I'm a shorty, but it's still off. I've counted and re-checked the pattern a couple times to make sure I didn't screw up the spacing between the buttonholes and am confident I haven't. If I go with the pattern then the neck will be lower than I'd like it so I've decided to knit another pattern repeat to make another buttonhole and then do the neck shaping. 6 buttonholes. 7 buttonholes. I don't think it's going to make a difference when it's all said and done - do you? _______________ Tomorrow the Dayton Knitting Guild will start to meet again after a break for the summer. I'm planning to attend even though tonight I've been thinking about how nice it would be to be home all day tomorrow - not place to go...no socializing. We have had something to do every weekend for way too many week now. I had planned to go to Cincinnati after the meeting to go to Knit Happens with Denise, but I emailed her and cancelled 'til next week. Oh and I start two classes this week...Intermediate Web Design and Beginning Photoshop. So much to do...so little time.

posted by Teresa 9/14/2003 08:12:00 PM

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9/11 Memorial Quilt A quilt block for every person who died September 11, 2001. Heartwrenching.

posted by Teresa 9/11/2003 07:51:00 AM

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Whassup Wednesday Night Well, not much. It's 10:30 and I haven't done a stitch of knitting tonight. Don't ask me what I have done 'cause I not sure myself. I did do dishes and sweep the kitchen floor. But mostly I've nuthin'. Things I've heard today that make me happy: Opus returns November 23rd. He gets his very own strip called "Opus" of course. Now I can start reading the Sunday cartoons again! (It's Anti-Undies week here at One More Row) Sarah McLachlan's new CD "Afterglow " will be available November 4th and the Bangle's (they're still together?) have a new CD as well - out September 23rd. I've heard singles off both CD's and don't ya know...the gurls sound good! ________ Lisa asked how the Old Shale Coat is coming. It looks pretty much the way it did in Monday's post. I've knit a couple rows on it, but nothing substantial. Mostly, I've been knitting on the Helen's Lace Pie Wedge Shawl I'm making for C. I cast on for it Sunday. I've been fiddling around trying to find the right needle to knit it with. It takes a #8. My straight 8's were too long so I tried the circular needles I'm using to knit the Old Shale Coat. They worked great but - I need them for the Old Shale Coat - so I tried my Brittany birch double points. They weren't slide-y enough and the tip was kind of blunt for that weight yarn, so I tried 16 inch bamboo circs I have - that didn't feel right either. So I'm back to the Brittany dpns. I'm making it work. No picture of my shawl progress. Doesn't look like much at this point after about 25 rows. Ok. That's it for now. Time for Real Time with Bill Maher - if I can stay awake.

posted by Teresa 9/10/2003 10:10:00 PM

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If you don't like it, do something about it! Just installed Will do 'til YACCS gets it together, I find something else or I decide I like it. ____________________ Latest YACCS Update Estimated time for fix: September 9, 7PM EST GRRRRRrrrrrr......

posted by Teresa 9/09/2003 08:28:00 AM

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Monday Again? Last week went so fast! ...and here we are again - another Monday morning. I only wish I were home doing laundry! (Kinky little Kewpie, isn't she?) I worked Saturday 'n back to the grind today but there's a three day weekend waiting for me at the end of this week. Thursday I got some unexpected knitting time due to a migraine headache which kept me home. Thankfully knitting doesn't require a lot of head movement and is best done when sitting still. This picture was snapped Saturday evening. I knit a couple more inches yesterday. This is the right front. The buttonhole band is worked as you go. So far I love the way the garment is constructed but I'm a little worried as to how the pocket is going to look. It's a 29 stiches by 7 inch piece that gets sewn down to the wrong side of the front. We'll see...blocking can make a huge difference in things like this, so I'll reserve judgement 'til then. I wanna give a Shout Out! to the newest of my knitting Donna... ...who doesn't have a blog but who is in the begining stages of knitting Roscalie and has been emailing me with some questions. Hey Donna! I'm really looking forward to getting my commenting back - hopefully today. What makes blogging fun is the interaction with other folks...I'm really missing that. 'Til then remember, you can e-mail me!

posted by Teresa 9/08/2003 08:23:00 AM

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From YACCS: Rate Your Music and YACCS are unavailable due to a server failure. Estimated time for fix: September 8, 7PM EST Update (September 3, 4:35 PM EST): It looks like the old server is still failing intermittently. I can't debug the problem (since the server is located across the country), so the quickest solution is to ship a new server to the colocation facility. I'm going to build a server tomorrow and ship it on Friday. It should arrive Monday, September 8 around 6PM EST and should be online around 7PM. Again, I apologize for the downtime. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to speed things up; the process of ordering and shipping a server takes time, and yesterday was the first day since the outage that any stores were open. The good news is that the new server is much better than the old one, so the site should be significantly faster/more responsive once it's running. Thanks for your patience and understanding. Hossein Sharifi (sharifi@cc.gatech.edu) I'll be waiting this one out with YACCS 'cause you know I've used YACCS for over a year and haven't had any problems. Thanks Hossein!

posted by Teresa 9/03/2003 08:35:00 PM

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Faux Holiday Because I work Tuesday to Saturday and was off for my long weekend - Saturday, Sunday and Monday - today is technically my Labor Day Holiday. A four-day weekend...works for me! It was a busy weekend. We bought a treadmill Friday night, re-arranged two rooms and some how got the treadmill upstairs and set up Saturday. Sunday we ran around a little and watched two movies: Bringing Down the House (very funny!) and The Pianist (heartbreaking). Yesterday we went to Lowe's and ordered inside shutters for our kitchen windows and wood blinds for our bedroom upstairs and the front room downstairs; then hurried back home to meet up with my daughter Kristi, my son-in-law Sean and my granddaughter Corynna. Sean came to help us move C's desk to the back room - her new office space. Corynna brought her new pet toad, Peppy There's just nothing sweeter than a little gurl and her pet toad. With all of this activity I've still managed to make good progress on the back of the Old Shale Coat. It's big enough now for Sade to mistake for an afghan. I'm an inch or two away from shaping the neck and being done with the back. This afternoon I'll cast on the right front. BTW - I use YACCS for my commenting and they've been down due to a server failure. They hope to be back up today or tomorrow. 'til then E-Mail Me ...I love hearing from you!

posted by Teresa 9/02/2003 09:00:00 AM

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Was It Really a Week Ago? This time last Friday morning we were loading up the CRV, on our way to Chicago and Stitches Midwest. On our way we made a special side trip to see Matt and Rob...to check our their new place and pick up yarn that I ordered for a new project. Matt and Rob's new place is wonderful! At the moment it's undergoing some heavy duty renovation, which I'm sure you know if you read their blogs. Once the renovation is done they are going to have ***KICK-ASS*** retail / teaching / hang-out / dye space not to mention their living space. I'm so happy for them even though I'm a pale shade of "envy green". Renovation is not keeping Matt and Rob from tempting visitors with yarn. This is me 'n C trying to decide which beautiful Helen's Lace from Lorna's Laces colorway to buy. C fell in love with the "Free and Easy Pie Wedge Shawl" Rob made (and I'm wearing and didn't want to take off!)...so much she wants one of her own. She finally settled on "Mineshaft". We also ordered "Tuscany", so I can make the shawl for C's mom for Christmas. Besides seeing Matt and Rob again and touring the new house, I got to meet Tate. I fell in love with Tate. He is such a sweetie. (Connor don't hate me. You are a sweetie too!) If we are ever picked to be the new family of a stray I can only hope he/she will be as gentle and sweet as Tate. The New Project ...is the Old Shale Coat from Jamieson Two: It's done in Jamieson's Soft Chunky Shetland. I'm doing mine in Eider Duck. I will be making a slight change to the collar. I don't like the seperation in the back so I'll be making mine one piece. Here's my progress as of Wednesday evening. I knit another 3 inches or so last night. It's a nice change from knitting the Brightly Colored Fair Isle - knitting fast and not having to pay attention. C's giving me a hard time though, 'cause I complained whist knitting her round-ed v-neck sweater that stockinette stitch is (yaaawn...) boring. It is. That hasn't changed. But I've loved this sweater/coat since I first laid eyes on it so I shall sacrifice for the cause and endure the boredom. (Next week, if you read a post that say's something like "Will I never be done with the back of this coat?" - remind me that I said that!)

posted by Teresa 8/29/2003 09:37:00 AM

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Why? Why? Why? Why did I wait so long to go to a Stitches Event? Stitches truly has anything and everything a knitter could want or need. The only thing that could have made my weekend better would have been my actually attending the whole event - workshops and all. C, Fred, Ric and I headed out to Pheasant Run Resort about 9:30 am Chicago time. It was more of a drive than I expected, but the morning was sunny and beautiful so the drive was really enjoyable. I was making my way out of my first booth when I heard, "TERESA!" There in the next booth was Vicky - the woman who taught me how to knit, oh so many years ago. She and her sister Karla own Red Oak Designs. When I learned to knit Vicky owned The Yarn Dome in Greenville, Ohio. I was a regular there until I moved to Yellow Springs 6 years ago. (I do miss Saturday's sitting around her table knitting and gossiping!) Karla, Vicky's sister owned the Yarn Palette in Wilmington, Ohio. A few years ago they closed both their shops and hit the road and the Internet with Red Oak Designs, selling their own designs/design kits. They design sweaters that combine quilting and knitting and they are beautiful! It was so good to catch up with Vicky. Old friendships are good for the soul. A few booths down from there Sarah Peasley came up to me and introduced herself. Matt and Rob had told her to be on the lookout for me as I was making a special delivery for them. It was so good to meet her in person...she seems even nicer than Rob and Matt let on. Fred and Ric were interested and engaged from the first booth to the last. Ric said he was amazed at the "industry of it all." Fred had said he wanted to learn "one new thing there" and he did - he was very taken with spinning. Every spinning wheel we came to he stood and watched intently and asked great questions. It's because of him I now know the average life of a sheep is 15 to 20 years. C - she's the best - just the best! She carried my bags and made sure I didn't feel rushed. She made it totally my time - except for the small knitting crisis she experienced: (There was an odd little area of chairs off to one side...you had to be there but we all thought it looked like a "Knitting Intervention" area. "MY GAWD! I CAN'T TAKE IT! I DROPPED ANOTHER STITCH!) Believe it or not I didn't buy any yarn at Stitches. (GASP!) Later this week I'll tell you why. I did, though, buy the new Jamieson 3 (GORGEOUS!!! ), the new Knitters (so, so), a yarn winder and swift (yes! it's about time!) AND 6 sets of Crystal Palace Bamboo circular needles (I had to be able to knit on the way home?!?). Believe me...the old charge card got a work out! So that's it for now. Thursday I'll post about my pre-Stitches adventures - if some one else (ahem) doesn't get around to posting about them first!

posted by Teresa 8/26/2003 11:03:00 AM

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Stitches Midwest...Here I Come! I've got my and my and I am ready... to shop 'til I drop at Stitches Midwest Market Saturday! We're taking off between 8 and 9 am tomorrow morning. We'll wind down and over to Matt and Rob's place to pick up a special (to me) order and see their new place. Then we'll head Northwest to the Windy City. We're staying with C's brother Fred, and his partner, Ric, who live in Roger's Park/Chicago. They will be chaffering us to St. Charles/Stitches Midwest on Saturday. We'll hang out the rest of Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning and start home 'round noon. I'm taking Tuesday off, then I'll work 3 days, then off for a long Labor Day weekend. Priceless.

posted by Teresa 8/21/2003 08:47:00 AM

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Cute Aren't They? ...when they aren't running around terrorizing your house It was about Wendy's Mouse-a-thon here, Saturday night 'n Sunday - what little time I got to knit. Here's three mees in various stages...one done sewn but not stuffed (in the yarn I dyed at Matt and Robs), one done but not sewn (a two color Ode to C's felted clogs) and one still on the needles (Kureyon) - that's now off the needles. They are really easy and a great way to use leftovers. I'm planning on making 5 this go around, but I may make a few more before the end of September. AND I may get to deliver those to Wendy in person 'cause C and I are planning a Friday thru Monday trip to DC the last week-end of September. I've been talking to Wendy about meeting her for lunch. I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person! Actually I'm more excited about meeting her than site seeing (I've never been to DC) - after all she is knitting royalty.

posted by Teresa 8/18/2003 08:15:00 AM

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We're smilin' here. Premier Heart Specialist's called to say C's stress test results were normal! A huge relief and a wake up call for both of us. We're doing great with the South Beach Diet. Not losing bunches of weight but feeling REALLY good about how and what we are eating. Now we've just got to get the exercise thing going. Blog Survey Anyone else get an email about this questionnaire/survey? I answered Roy's questions - what about you? Stitches Midwest 9 days and counting. We drive to Chicago Friday 8/22 - with a possible side trip to check out Matt and Rob's new digs. Saturday is Stitches Market Day for the Madame of the Brightly Coloured Fair Isle and her entourage C, C's brother F and his partner. If you're going, look for the slightly overweight woman with short spikey hair and three very bored companions...that will be us!

posted by Teresa 8/13/2003 06:00:00 PM

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What is a Coffee Cup When It's Not a Coffee Cup? Inspiration.... that's what. This is my favorite coffee cup. Wednesday morning I poured a cup of coffee and was out the door to work. My favorite cup doesn't fit in my new Bug's cup holder so I set it on the dash. By the time I got home that evening I'd decided to try my hand at designing a Fair Isle pattern. At this moment I'm just going to tackle graphing a partial FI chart - hopefully it will turn into a sweater...we'll see. One step at a time. Meanwhile I continue to knit away on the Brightly Coloured Shirt-Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. Another small victory for me - I finally figured out how to do the square knot thang when changing yarns a la Ann Feitelson's Art of Fair Isle Knitting. Wendy recently became a convert to this way of dealing with color changes. For some reason I didn't get it together to try it until now. Have you all seen the knit purses Target's selling? Color squares and aran/cable patterns. Corny I know - but knits are definitely in for Fall 'n Winter. Savoy (August 2003) devotes their fashion section to "Cold Comfort"...several pages of beautiful knitwear. If nothing else great...inspiration! Savoy says "This season it's all about knitwear." But we knew that didn't we?

posted by Teresa 8/10/2003 11:25:00 PM

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Saturday and My Weekend is Almost Here Saturday and I'm at work, thanks to my crazy rotating work schedule. I'll be off tomorrow and Monday. Monday Corynna (my grand-daughter) and I are gonna 'swim like fish-ies' at an area water park - if the weather cooperates. Right now the forecast is partly cloudy with a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms - high around 83 degrees. (This summer's standardized forecast for our area.) We'll see. Corynna is really looking forward to it - the way 6 year olds look forward to things - so it will take pretty severe weather for us to not go. I'm hoping for a quiet day around the house tomorrow. Sittin', Knittin' 'n 'Readin' are the words for the day. C's birthday was very nice. Lot's of brithday wishes including the the ones left here, presents and a wonderful dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill - picked because we love to eat there AND they have the most delectable marinated and grilled chicken breast. We were good and doubled up on the vegetable of the day. No garlic mashed potatoes and only half of a half slice of the warm fresh baked bread (Oh! and I do love that bread!). We did forgo the diet for birthday desserts, which were SO worth it! Also, C had the drug induced stress test yesterday. We won't get official results until her doctor's appointment on the 20th. The technician doing the test said there was some kind of abnormality showing - "could be something / could be nothing". Don't ya just love it when they tell you that?!? So we're a little stressed...but better to find out in a more pro-active way, right? Anyway...remember the three words for Sunday are: Sit. Knit. Read. (In no particular order and in no particular place.)

posted by Teresa 8/09/2003 10:05:00 AM

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Thursday August 7th! And here's the birthday gurl now!

It's ok honey - 36 is not the end of the world!

Trust me!

posted by Teresa 8/06/2003 07:05:00 PM

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Smile Makers ...are everywhere if you just look for them. Like this singularly sweet Gerber daisy I plopped into a vacant space in our back flowerbed . (Flowerbed? I use the term loosely.) I had bought her at a local grocery store when she was in full bloom, to set on my desk at work. After the inital blooms were gone I decided to bring her home and put her in the ground with the hope of more blooms to come. It took a while but she started unfolding her bright petals last Tuesday making me smile every time I see her. And then there's all my Knit Blogging friends who left encouraging comments throughout the week and also emailed me privately. You are all the BEST! C is feeling a bit better since beginning the blood pressure medicine. We also started a diet last week - The South Beach Diet. As of this morning we've each lost 5 pounds! Probably water weight but who cares? 5 pounds is 5 pounds! Eating better feels good, even though the first two weeks of this diet means no lattes for me. That's been hard but not that hard since I can still have regular coffee - black - but it's coffee so it works. We start the exercise part of our feel-better-plan this week. Friday C goes for another type of stress test, so we'll see what information that brings. Another smile maker is seeing C's finished clogs 'round the house. Here's a 'posed' picture taken on our back steps... C loves 'em. And that makes me smile. Brightly Colored Shirt-Tail Hemmed FI update: Saturday I spent most of the afternoon on our front porch sewing up the hem of the ribbing. One side done. It was a bit of a mind puzzle for me for a while. It was basically grafting but one side is live stitches and the other side the back of the work. This is the first time I've grafted anything and all the pictures in my "how-to" books show grafting live to live stitches either on or off the needle. After a bit of frustration the 'Ah-Ha moment' finally presented itself... ...another nugget of knitting skill mine! Rib front: Rib back: Smile. A quiet smile inside and out can be yours when you knit for a good cause. Check out The Great Charity Mouse-a-thon happening at Wendy's place. And speaking of quiet smiles....this did it for me last night. Sade sleeping with Spot - her favorite play toy. (Smiley faces Thanks to Piles of Smiles!)

posted by Teresa 8/04/2003 09:04:00 AM

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Mid Summer Blues I've got 'em. Don't know exactly why but I do. Maybe all the rain and gray permeating this Ohio Summer. May be that I'm worrying about C who has been experiencing heaviness in her chest for the past couple weeks. At an appointment Thursday the doctor did an EKG and was concerned enough to order a stress test (today) and high blood pressure (runs in her family) medication. On top of that work has been extra stressful. Not the actual work that I do but the office politics - which I don't do well. That stuff just wears me down. Just not my usual cheerful self. I did finish C's clogs but have to buy a new battery for my camera before I can show you how dern cute they are! I've been back to working on the Brightly Coloured Shirt Tailed Fair Isle. It's slow going but going none the less. The Knit Blogger's Reading Group has been discussing "Life the Pi" in our forums. I just posted a poll to pick the next books. In the meantime I've been reading "In the Casa Azul: A Novel of Revolution and Betrayal" by Meaghan Delahunt. It's one of those novels based on real events of the life and death of Leon Trotsky, a story told in revolving point of view by those who knew him or coexisted with him in history: enemy Stalin, his father, the poet Mayakovsky, wife Natalia, lover Frida Kahlo, bodyguard, even his assassin. I picked it up because I'm a Frida Kahlo fan. It's kind of a hard read - disjointed and thick with the politics of the time, but it's such an interesting read at the same time so I'm sticking with it. Send some sunshine and feel good wishes my way...I can use all I can get this week!

posted by Teresa 7/28/2003 09:26:00 AM

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Cloggin' Bloggin' C's clogs are almost done: All that's left to do is knit the last two rows of the outer sole for the second clog, knit the inner and outer sole together, sew up the sole seams and weave in the ends. Then felting fun! Hopefully, I'll be felting Tuesday or Wednesday evening. And while we're on the subject of cloggin', how 'bout some gay cloggers? (We're everywhere!) In other knitting news, I'm officially not excited about the Sakiori vest using the yarn I dyed at Matt and Rob's. Just isn't doing anything for me, so I'll be ripping that out this week. Shirt Tail is patiently waiting for the Madame of the Brightly Coloured Fair Isle to turn her attention to her once again. I'm ready to be knitting with my 3s again after using 13s for the clogs. But I have to say, "Dag Gone! that Wendy!" for making me watch her knit Frogner. That sweater has gotten under my skin! I'm a sucker for checker board patterns and I love, love, LOVE this design. I'm THIS close to ordering Frogner and pushing Shirt Tail aside. It was a short and busy week-end for me. It was my one-day weekend. Managed to fit fun with family and friends, the last of Inventing Flight events, a hometown screening of a documentary of The Rubi Girls, a little retail therapy, beginning Life of Pi discussion with the Knit Blogger's Reading Group, AND some house work in. Whew!

posted by Teresa 7/21/2003 08:22:00 AM

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One More Row and Another Latte is year old today! One whole year of blogging fun!

posted by Teresa 7/18/2003 07:47:00 AM

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August Road Trip Headed to the Windy City and August 21 to 24. C's brother and partner live in Chicago so we've got a place to stay and real live Chicagoians to help us get around. Currently the plan is drive to Chicago Friday, hit Stitches Market on Saturday, hang out on Sunday and head home Monday. Better start saving now. (Anyone want to contribute to the I-Want-Teresa-To-Buy-Whatever-She-Wants-At-Stitches-MidWest fund?) C Clog Update First clog is done...just need to sew up the outer sole and weave in ends. Second clog...sole done/upper part of clog half done. Could felt by Sunday night.

posted by Teresa 7/16/2003 09:03:00 PM

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Everything But Knitting Happenin' Here Not much knitting here this week. Last night I knit 5 rows on C's clog - that accounts for my total knitting progress this week. Friday evening we got carry-out for dinner with the intention of sitting on the porch til dark, me knitting - C reading. I had knit maybe 30 stitches, when our next door neighbor came to sit on our porch and talk. After she left, the neighbor across the street came to sit with us and stayed til dark. I'm working on the sole of the clog and need to concentrate on it because of the increases and wraps, so I set the knitting aside and enjoyed the conversation. Another reason for lack of knitting content is the Knit Blogger's Reading Group. We're reading Life of Pi. We're in the last week of reading before discussion and I'm a slow reader (and I can't read and knit) so I'm reading, reading, reading. But Life of Pi is awesome and worth every stitch I'm not stitching. Inventing Flight is in full swing. This week has been the week of The Great Blimp Meet. 5 blimps have been cruising Dayton skies since Friday. Today we went out to see them up close. Here's the Met Life Blimp: C can't seem to find the Good Year Blimp...where oh where can it be? Oh and the other news of the week - the rain - finally stopped. The Great Miami River is only a couple blocks away from our house. Thanks to a system of damns it never reached flood stage but it will be a while before we are riding on the bike path... Here's to a new week and more than 5 rows of knitting!

posted by Teresa 7/13/2003 08:31:00 PM

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Tampa and the Johnson Family Reunion C and I are back from Tampa and her family reunion. It went really well. Her family was kind and welcoming to me even if they weren't sure what connection was between C and I. We used the standard gay - limbo - introduction, which goes, "This is my friend, Teresa," which is ok but still makes me sad to some degree. I understand why, I just want the world to be different. We were on the go every minute from the time we arrived Thursday evening til we left Sunday mid-morning. There was food, and a bus tour of the Tampa - St. Pete coast line (including the Sunshine Sky Bridge), shopping (including my first piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory), more food, hanging out with C's brother, more eating and lots and lots of talking. Which gave me some good sit 'n knit time. Sunday, due to rental car arrangements and C's brother's flight leaving a couple hours before ours we sat at Tampa International Airport for 5 hours. I have a couple new projects to show for my knit time. First - I've decided to use the yarn I dyed at Rob and Matt's to make Sakiori I from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Vests. I'm using Cascade 220 color # 9454 (a heathery purple) with it. I think it works well with my yarn and the vest pattern. The back is done in two panels then sewn together. Here's one side: "Sakiori means tear and weave or torn weaving..." "Each piece of sakiori cloth is unique..." (Folk Vests (page 53) I decided to use the Cascade 220 randomly to imitate torn weaving and add to the uniqueness of the vest while at the same time pulling in the color from the seed-stitch ribbing. C's Fiber Trend Clogs: I bought the yarn last Saturday between dye steps at Matt and Robs. C's wanted a pair since she saw the first pair Amy made for Jenn. I did most of this clog at the airport Sunday. Need to do the outer sole then on to the second of the pair. I also did some reading - Life of Pi for the Knit Blogger's Reading Group which currently has 80 - count 'em - 80! readers signed into Yahoo Groups. WoW! All in all it was a wonderful long weekend which was extended into today because I start my two week Tuesday - Saturday work schedule tomorrow. I'm so glad it worked out that way 'cause I'M TIRED!!

posted by Teresa 7/07/2003 04:17:00 PM

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We're off to Tampa and C's family reunion...see you Tuesday 7/8!

posted by Teresa 7/02/2003 09:13:00 PM

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Dyeing with Matt and Rob After a month delay, Denise (LocQueen), C and I made it to Bloomington for our private dye day with Matt and Rob...and it was SO worth the wait! Rob and Matt are the best. Just the best. They are so generous with their knowledge and time and food! Seven layer dip - yum! and cinnamon bars to dye - I mean - die for! When we set this up, Denise had a project in mind and knew exactly what she wanted to do. I was going to play. And play I did. My yarn of choice was Sweet Grass Wool. Here it is before: Here it is after, on the infamous Threadbear porch swing: ...and here it is wound into a skein: I think it's beautiful. I'm sooo happy with it and can't wait to do something with it. As of yet I don't know what that will be but I know it will be awesome. I've got lots more pictures of the process - both me and Denise. Gonna put them into a special page so you can check it out if you want. Now go over and check out Denise's blog and see the beautiful stuff she did. Matt and Rob - we love you!

posted by Teresa 6/29/2003 08:42:00 PM

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Who Am I? (I'm having an Internet induced identity crisis!) I usually don't do those what-kind-of-fill-in-the-blank-are-you? things, but I couldn't resist this one: Are you a knitter?
brought to you by Quizilla
You may not be a granny, but you've got the
mentality. Hard work and artistic vision lead
to your beautiful knitted results. ___________________________ I'm not sure what I think about this even though I do have 2 beautiful grandchildren, Corynna and Devon. I even went back and did it again answering 1 question differently (more honestly of course) and STILL got this result. Granny Knitter? Humpf! My Fat and Juicy Doll does not agree.

posted by Teresa 6/26/2003 08:10:00 PM

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What? A Knitting Post? Yeah... Updated pictures of the Shirt Tail Fair Isle. I hope you can see some progress 'cause it seems like I'm moving at a snails pace. I haven't had a lot of concentrated knitting time in the past week. Last time I knit more than a row was Monday (6/16). The weather was beautiful here. Sunny and cool. I sat on our front porch most of the late afternoon and into the evening knitting and weaving in ends. (Sorry if the pictures show up dark...they don't look very good on my work computer.) In this picture my ribbing is done. The only thing I need to do is 'sew' it. The fold line for the hem is a row of blue and red which allows a hint of the red to show on the front with the solid red forming the hem. Here's a picture of the back of my work. I always get a little thrill at seeing how the back photographs and the pattern shows. Peter sent me an email in which he addressed me as "Madam of the Brightly Coloured Fair Isle" I like that...suits me quite well, I think. (FYI: Lisa emailed me and said my comments are acting up.)

posted by Teresa 6/24/2003 10:33:00 AM

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We're Ready to Start Knit Blogger's Reading Group Are you going to join us? (BTW...I'll be posting some picks of my Shirt Tail Fair Isle Tuesday.)

posted by Teresa 6/22/2003 08:00:00 PM

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For a while now I've been having wonderful book discussions with Kathy via her comments, not to mention, reading and enjoying comments left by the many Knit Bloggin' Book Lovers who also frequent Far From the Madding Crowd. Last week I had a thought... (only one per week, folks, and this was a good one I think!) Wouldn't it be great if we started a Knit Blogger's online reading group. We'd choose and read a book and then discuss it via the Internet by setting a chat date or maybe via a blog. I left my idea in Kathy's comments which lead to others leaving comments expressing interest in joining if we got it going. So I/we are in the beginning stages of pulling the group together. So far we have a button and a blog page which I'm working to pull together. (The current Blogger overhaul is making this a little harder than it should be, but I will persevere!) If you are interested in joining us, take the button and check out the blog Monday for more details. www.knitbloggersread.blogspot.com BTW...I'm wearing my new Knitty T-shirt today which I bought to celebrate my article being in the Summer Knitty. It's the one that has "I'd Rather Be Knitting" on the front and the Knitty logo on the back. It's soft and comfy and I think I look pretty darn cute in it! (If I don't say so myself!)

posted by Teresa 6/19/2003 07:26:00 PM

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Happy Anniversary to Us! C and I celebrate 3 years together today!

posted by Teresa 6/18/2003 08:21:00 PM

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What the Rain Brings (Peter - I think you'll like this post!) It's been a downright soggy spring here in Ohio - not unlike many places east of the Mississippi. Rob, Wendy, Kathy and many more have commented on this as well. I'm a rainy day lover. As I write this - sitting in front of an open window there's a light but very steady rain and thunder rumbling in the distance. A day like this is made for knitting. A day like this is also made for Dog Vomit Fungus. Dog WHAT? You read that right...Dog Vomit Fungus. I feel soooo fortunate to have become a homeowner, because I would have never known about Dog Vomit Fungus. A few weeks ago I noticed this yellow mass of stuff in our back flowerbed. A couple days later C came in the back door and mentioned it looked like Sade up-chucked in the flowerbed. I told her I didn't think it was Sade and told her what I saw a few days before. We finished the conversation believing that we were talking about two different things - C proceeding to keep a watchful eye on our "sick" puppy. Saturday evening we noticed another strange glob of yellow stuff, again, in the back flowerbed. Upon seeing it in the beginning stages, C forgot about the "sick puppy theory" and developed a new theory - a new life form was growing beneath the earth and had chosen our back yard as the place to revel itself and would soon take over our house, then the neighborhood then the WORLD!! A bad science fiction movie in the making - right in our back yard! Sunday morning she made me go out and take a picture of it. Now it looked like scrambled eggs. While out in the yard, I tucked my right arm under my t-shirt and stumbled into the kitchen, saying, "I got your picture but it got my arm!!!!!" (If a movie was to be made I wanted the starring role.) This past Thursday, C, (who was taking a couple vacation days and had been sitting on the front porch reading the paper) sent me a frantic email with this picture: Seems the stuff had taken hold in our front flowerbeds. Horror! There were at least 3 different patches of it! Something had to be done!! I emailed the picture to Jayne (a co-worker with a degree in botany) asking her if she knew what it was and assuring her that we knew our dog had not puked there. Here's her reply: Yeah! It IS called either dog or cat vomit fungus. (How appropriate! ) It springs up all over the place. After several summers of being very angry with all of the neighborhood cats, we finally figured out what this stuff was. It grows, like mushrooms, in warm moist weather. All you can really do is scoop it up and throw it in the trash, or "turn it over". Believe it or not, it's not harmful to your plants...just looks yucky!!!! Who wouldda thunk it? Of course this prompted C to search the Internet for "Dog Vomit Fungus" which yielded MANY sites devoted to this fungus among us; which we find out isn't really a fungus but a large amoeba - a slime mold who's Latin name is Fuligo septica - that indeed inspired a science fiction movie: (1958 with Steve McQueen) Armed with knowledge gleaned from the Information Super Highway - knowing that it's a living thing which has surfaced due to conducive conditions and can't be killed, but only removed (so as not to see the unsightly blob that is Dog Vomit Fungus) - C sent ME out to scoop it, bag it and trash it. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to kill living things, bugs ect, unless I have to, so it was with a heavy heart that I dug up the slime mold fungus. Would we let it stay if it were beautiful? This culture we live in - focused only on things pleasing to the eye - what's a slime mold to do? I suggested to C that we let it live! and post signs along our walk that say "Welcome to Our Slime Mold Garden!" and "I Dog Vomit Fungus", but she only pooh-poohed my suggestions. (Cafe-Press t-shirts and coffee mugs? Hummm...) Heck. It might be another 10 years before we have another rainy, warm ,spring like this one when our slimy friends appear. I say we take advantage of the gifts Mother Nature gives us - even Dog Vomit Fungus!

posted by Teresa 6/15/2003 11:55:00 AM

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Rib'in It I started the Shirt Tail's bottom rib. Here's a picture of the cut steek and beginning to pick up the first row: Two things made this a little tricky - 1) The pattern instructions are not very detailed. I read and re-read the instructions and studied the pictures, trying to figure out exactly where to start picking up the stitches. I like to think that I have enough knitting experience that I can figure these things out for myself but after thinking and reading and looking and thinking some more, I sent an email to School House Press. Joyce Williams responded quickly and gave me just the information I needed to 'knit on with confidence and hope..." 2) The sweater begins with a provisional cast-on which is pulled out as you knit up the first row of the ribbing. The tricky part is picking up the pattern's color change stitches correctly. Each time the color changed I picked up the wrong stitch, so once I picked up the first row, I took out the first row of the rib, went back through the first row of the body according to the chart pattern then re-knit the first row of ribbing. Does that sense? Even if it doesn't it worked! Here's a picture about 5 rows into the 7 rows of the ribbing pattern: The rib is hemmed so once I finish the 7 row rib pattern, I knit a row that will be the turning row for the hem. Next there's a decrease row to help the shaping of the shirt-tail curve and then 4 or 5 rows of stockinette stitch for the actual hem. This will complete one side of the sweater's bottom ribbing. When I start the other side I'm going to make sure to pick up the stitches following the pattern closely so I don't have to rip. Knitty Thanks to everyone who's left a comment or sent me an email about my Knitty article! Emma...I was a mere child of 18 when I had my daughter. There's good things and bad things about being a young mommy - I have to say the best thing about it is being a young grand-mommy! I'm trying to get my nerve up to design something for an upcoming issue. I've never designed anything before but have some ideas. And I've got an idea for another article. Knitty rocks and I'd like to keep being a part of making that happen!

posted by Teresa 6/11/2003 08:14:00 AM

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It's HERE! Check out my little piece of Knitty: Summertime Knitting

posted by Teresa 6/09/2003 06:41:00 AM

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Did You Know...

posted by Teresa 6/06/2003 10:43:00 AM

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How'd It Get to Be June Already? Seems like it was yesterday we were all posting pictures of February snow storms! This June evening finds me getting used to my first pair of bi-focals. I left work early to pick them up. It was SO nice to be able to write the check for them holding the check book at a normal distance away - same for reading the mail. When I finish this post I'm going to try 'em out knitting - that will be the real test! They're no line - 'progressive' bi-focals. I've got some adjusting to do - I think more from a change in my prescription than the bi-focals themselves. Right now everything looks just a little off kilter. Speaking of knitting...I knit several rows yesterday but if I were to post a picture it wouldn't look much different from the last picture I posted. See, I realized a screwed up a few rows back. So Thursday or Friday night (can't remember which) I took out at least 5 rows. I've since made up those rows and a few more. Onward! as Meg Swansen and her momma would say! Did you see the fun Matt and Rob had this weekend without us even being there? June 28th! NOTHING will stand in my way this time!! C and I have seen two good, good movies in the past week or so: and Go see them BOTH! (Click on the pics to go to each site - they're both fun sites!) And I'll leave you with some joy - straight out of our backyard... (Photo credit: C...Very Georgia O'Keefe, don't ya think?)

posted by Teresa 6/02/2003 06:47:00 PM

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Work Gets in the Way of all the Fun Tomorrow is Saturday May 31st - the day Denise, C and I were suppose to be headed to Bloomington for a private knit-fest and dye party hosted by Matt and Rob...aka Threadbear. Notice I said suppose to. Unfortunately, we have had to reschedule to the last Saturday in June. The co-worker who rotates Saturdays with me had a death in her family and I will be working. I feel bad 'cause both Matt and Rob and Denise had rearranged their work schedules to make this day happen, but everyone concerned was very understanding and anyway, this will just give Matt and Rob more time to move stuff around their house...right guys?!? And something good will come of the whole Bair Isle bru-ha-ha too! It's been said many times the past few weeks and I'll admit it here too...I'm in a bit of a blogging slump. Mine is two fold, I think: I'm just plugging along on the Shirt Tail Fair Isle at my own Fair Isle pace. My progress is not very exciting. I'm not knitting anything else at the moment (although I have swatched for a possible baby sweater for Marie, the woman who cuts my hair.) so I feel like I don't have much to blog about. Who really wants to spend their time reading me say, "I knit a row today." ??? BoOOor-ing! The other thing is that I'm overloaded at work so no time for unprincipled - immoral - wrong - and - just - plain - bad (bad!) - work - time - posting. Then when I get home I've been crashing 'cause I'm tired from work! This post represents the bane of my existence... (dramatic sigh with hand/wrist resting ever so slightly on forehead) ...work. This lifetime anyway.

posted by Teresa 5/30/2003 08:48:00 AM

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Driver's Wanted My weekend knitting plans changed abruptly late Saturday morning. I was sitting with C in her favorite car salesman's office. I'd taken my knitting with me hoping to get in a few rows as C traded in her Honda Prelude for a new CRV. I was knitting away, minding my own business when C said, "Look what's sitting outside that window." It was a blue (with the slightest hint of purple) 1999 Beetle. C knows that I've wanted a beetle since high school (which would have been the original/first go-round Beetle.) Two years ago I looked at a few but they were out of my price range then, so I bought a 1998 Honda Civic. It was a wonderful little car but not a Bug. When Scott came back I asked about the Bug and decided to take it for a drive. SWEET! Two hours later I was driving off the lot in my very own BUG! and now sits parked in front of our house: Told ya it was SWEET! C also came home with her CRV: So we've been running here and there all weekend in our new vehicles. I've been too hyped up to sit still for very long. I did knit a bit yesterday during Sunday Morning on CBS but I didn't start the bottom ribbing - I'm just not grounded enough to concentrate on it. Here's my progress so far: (Hey! The color of our cars coordinates very well with the Shirt Tail FI!) Have I mentioned how grateful I am to be able to buy a wonderful house with C AND buy the car I've always wanted - all within a couple months? I am grateful. I am grateful! I AM GRATEFUL!!

posted by Teresa 5/26/2003 08:00:00 PM

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This and That Made some progress on the Shirt Tail FI this week-end but not enough to post a picture. Sunday C and I went to see Denise. C got her hair done and I knit but we were talking so much that it seemed more like I knit, rip, knit, rip. I really have to pay attention to this pattern. Denise, C and I are heading to Bloomington in two weeks for a day with Matt and Rob. They didn't schedule anything for that day so we can have them ALL to ourselves! What a treat! We're gonna play and knit and talk and (hopefully) eat and play some more. I've got some Jamieson on order for my next project so hopefully I'll be bringing that home with me. And how I'm going to resist coming home with arm fulls of Koigu!?! Lets just say I'm going to try to be strong. But back to the Shirt Tail FI. Yesterday was the monthly meeting of the Dayton Knitting Guild - made a needle connection there. Got my #1 Crystal Palace circs so I can do the shirttail hemmed ribbing. I hope to have this done by Saturday or Sunday. Speaking of my Guild meeting...yesterday was one of those guild meetings. The scheduled presenter had broken his leg so they asked another woman to fill in at the last moment. Envision a 71 year old retired school teacher on top of a table in the middle of the room demonstrating stretches to keep knitters healthy and limber. I think she did 10 or 12 different poses/excersises - one, legs spread WIDE apart, now stretch your head to the center...ok now legs spread WIDE apart, stretch your hand to your toes...next on her back (still on top of the table) legs spread WIDE apart straight up in the air... (oh! my)...now legs spread WIDE apart up in the air...get the picture? Now don't get me wrong, this woman is in great shape! That I can be in this shape at 71! But it was just a classic and somewhat surreal knitting guild experience. I was so grateful to have my knitting to concentrate on. It's just my opinion but some things are better left to the privacy of one's own home...

posted by Teresa 5/20/2003 09:21:00 AM

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Pictures! Took my knitting with me to our Neighborhood Association meeting last night. Got in several rows as the meeting lasted 2 hours! Our neighborhood will be ground central for Dayton's Inventing Flight 2003 Celebration since the Wright Brother's home and the Wright Cycle Company are 2 blocks away from our house. Paul Lawrence Dunbar's home is 4 blocks away. Because of all the history surrounding us our neighborhood is now part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. C and I realized last night that we are going to miss most of the really fun Inventing Flight stuff like the opening ceremonies, July 4th fireworks and the ReMax Balloon Celebration (hot air balloons) 'cause we'll be in Tampa, Florida for C's family reunion - our first as a partnered - out - to - the - family - and - Oh! - she's - white - too couple. Should be interesting.

posted by Teresa 5/14/2003 08:01:00 AM

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Moving Along... The Shirt Tail-Hemmed Fair Isle is progressing nicely. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to post - I thought I uploaded it last night but I can't find it in my FTP this morning. Picture tomorrow. Anyway...I'm over the start-of-a-new-project-hump and have settled into a nice rhythm. Saturday and Sunday were filled with family as C and I hosted a Mother's Day Open House for both of our families Sunday. Her brother flew in from Chicago to surprise their Mom and my middle son Dusty and my grandson Devon were in and out both days. It was my long week-end so Monday - gray, chilly and blustery - made for a perfect day to sit, knit and regroup.

posted by Teresa 5/13/2003 08:39:00 AM

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Hey! There's a Pattern Here! Finally, some visual satisfaction. This is one of three star patterns. The pattern is 24 rows and repeats 5 1/2 times before the underarm. This picture was taken at about row 16. I'm really liking the colorway - 12 different colors are used. As usual the picture isn't really true to the colors but it's very close...the purple is more purple and not as blue as it looks in the picture. I found the start to the Shirt Tail FI a bit frustrating because I was impatient for the pattern to emerge. The sweater doesn't start with the usual bottom band/ribbing which gives me a visual/textural/color kick within a few rows of knitting. The Shirt Tail begins with a provisional cast-on and proceeds directly into knitting of the body pattern. This allows for the shaping of the shirt tail which you can see here: At row 20 the steek stitches will be bound off and stitches will be cast on to start the actual side panel. I'll probably stop after a couple pattern repeats and do the shirt tail ribbing. Freudian Slip? A couple hours after posting Monday I came back to see re-read my post and any comments had been left. I realized that I had written Shirt Tail Hemmed Fail Isle instead of Fair Isle. Ahhhh, the unconscious mind.

posted by Teresa 5/08/2003 07:57:00 AM

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I'm Baaaack! And here's all the Shirt-Tail-Hemmed Fair Isle progress I have to show for my week off: (Thanks to C - the best knit-pic-holder around!) Doesn't look like much right now, does it? Know that saying "Third time's charm?" Let's hope so, 'cause this is my third total restart. First time I had to rip out due to the switched key error in the pattern. Second time, I had done two rows and realized there was a twist when I joined the round. (And I was being SO careful!) But this time, I think I'm on my way...I'm excited to get a place where I see the pattern detail. Anything sprouting out in your new yard? Mare asked in a comment she left a couple weeks ago. Mare, the sprouting things are mostly weeds. But - we have been planting. Yesterday we planted 5 Lavender plants and these: African Daisies (they have the most beautiful purple at the center) between the sidewalk and street in front of the house. Should make for a nice combination - fragrant too! Here's to a great start to your week!

posted by Teresa 5/04/2003 09:02:00 PM

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Takin' A Blogging Break Back Monday May 5th! I need a week to catch up with myself at work and at home. I've started the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle but right now it doesn't look like much. I'll post a picture next Monday. Have a GREAT week!

posted by Teresa 4/28/2003 11:10:00 AM

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A HUGE THANK YOU! To The Unknown Reader of One More Row and Another Latte who is responsible for my receiving this email yesterday: Dear Teresa, A blog-fan of yours alerted me to the fact that you are launching (have launched?) into Ann Feitelson's Shirt-Tailed Pullover. What a splendid design -- however, I must warn you about errors in the charts. Please be sure you have the errata slip at your elbow as you begin. I'm going to check my web site to be sure they are listed there. Yup - the important correction is there - Pages 127 and 128, charts: The legends for Charts A, B, and D have the column headers reversed. The left-most column of color names should have a darkened square at the top, and the right column of names should have a light square at the top. - but I must add that on p 126, the chart is Chart C We include errata slips with each book sold, but will you be kind enough to notify your readers about the electronic version? With thanks and Good Knitting, Meg Swansen Schoolhouse Press So as Meg asked I�m letting you all know you can find � as I did - the electronic version here: Sweaters From Camp Errata I can always count on my knitting to provide teachable moments�I gave no thought to checking to see if there were corrections to Sweaters From Camp � a duh?!? moment for sure! Thankfully I got this information now, as I have cast on and knit two rows of the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. Seeing as how the legends were reversed this would dramatically change the sweater although it would be an interesting experiment to knit as printed � one that I�ll save for another time. Tonight I�ll be ripping everything out and starting over - at this point that�s faster than carefully removing the first two rows. Thanks again Unknown Reader! I owe you one! And thanks to Meg Swansen for emailing me personally. It's not everyday I find an email from Meg Swansen in my inbox - even if it means a trip to the frog pond!

posted by Teresa 4/24/2003 08:51:00 AM

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Presenting...Roscalie! Design: Alice Starmore Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 Ply Pattern and Yarn: Virtual Yarns Started December 24th, 2002 Finished April 18th, 2003 (Sorry if this takes a long time to load...I couldn't help making the picture a little bigger!)

posted by Teresa 4/21/2003 01:26:00 PM

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Do a Little Dance... Roscalie is DONE!!! Finished the last armband last night. Will lightly wash and block tonight. Pictures Sunday or Monday. Roscalie is beautiful! A little big - but not too big to wear. I intentionally made the X-large...I like my sweaters oversized and I had never knit a Starmore pattern so I wasn't sure about the sizing. A couple weeks ago I asked Wendy about AS sizing - which she answered in her April 9th post: A lot of Starmore sweaters are wa-a-ay oversized, with only a couple of sizes. In those cases I make the size Small, which usually comes out to about a 44-45" chest measurement, so they are still plenty big on me. After reading that I had a 'Gee - that - might - have - been - a - good - question - to - ask - before - I - started - knitting moment. Make note to self... No matter. I will wear Roscalie with pride! (And probably a little sweat since the weather forcast for the forseeable future is not exactly wool wearin' weather!) The knitting was more for the experience of knitting Fair Isle and there's no doubt that the experinece has me hooked. I brought the Jamison and Smith for my next project with me to work today to start to wind skeins into balls at lunch. Ann Feitelson's Shirt-Tailed Fair Isle from Sweaters From Camp Do a little dance... Knit a little stitch... PS - Thanks for all the 'Me Too's yesterday! It's nice to know I'm in such good company.

posted by Teresa 4/18/2003 09:39:00 AM

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A Rant of One's Own Is it just me or does KnitBlog World feel a bit tense right now? Queer Joe's April 11th post has me thinking and processing what this blog stuff is all about. I don't like sitting at my keyboard wanting to leave a supportive "Love that color. Love that design! Love that whatever" comment only to find that it's been deleted or edited. To each their own when it comes to blogging...it is my personal space and I'll do with it what I want and that also includes deleting links of my once favorite reads 'cause ego seems to have taken over. I'm in total support of folks setting limits for themselves but Joe's boundary setting sucked some of the fun out of this for me. Wendy's been addressing these issues in one way or another over the past few weeks and I've cheer her on with emails of support and forsee continuing to do so. I'm all for each of us standing up for ourselves - I guess Joe's way of doin' it has hit me wrong. At this time I'm going to continue reading...but we'll see for how long. When you read my blog know that I'm thrilled and grateful that you spent precious few minutes here and that I'll be even more grateful to read "Me too!" in my comments.

posted by Teresa 4/17/2003 09:26:00 AM

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Roscalie Has A Neckband! I picked up the neckband stitches Thursday night and had finished a couple rounds but I wasn't happy with how it looked. After an email consultation with the Queen of Fair Isle I tore that out Saturday evening and picked up the stitches again this time using Wendy's method. I had picked up stitches using one side of the edge stitch. Wendy picks up both stands of yarn that make the "ladder" between the edge stitch and the pattern stitches. I like this so much better! The neckband seems more stable this way. I did most of the neckband Sunday morning. Last night I sat down hoping to finish and cast off but I couldn't keep my eyes open, so the neckband was finished this morning in the car while C and I ran errands. I'll be cutting one of the armband steeks tonight and also hope to pick up and at least start the armband. I may run into a bit of a roadblock though as my #2 circulars are 35 inches long and my #2 double points are the shortest ones they make. I'm going to try to make it work by pulling out a small loop of cord...it's worth a try.

posted by Teresa 4/14/2003 03:48:00 PM

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Steek Virgin No More I have cut my first two steeks - it was very exhilarating! Before the cutting the front and back neck steeks: After: I have to say, it was exciting. Gave me a little thrill. Uh...Excuse me, will you? I need a moment to compose myself...

posted by Teresa 4/09/2003 10:20:00 PM

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What? A Knitting Post? Why...yes! Sunday was the perfect knitting day. I started the day with coffee and Sunday Morning on CBS, caught several good movies throughout the day (Tom and Viv, Unhook the Stars, Lovely and Amazing) and ended the evening with Six Feet Under. I fell short of my week-end Rosecalie goal. (When it comes to speed, I'll never be confused with Wendy!) I'm 7 rows away from grafting the shoulders together. Here's the latest and last 13 row pattern: And here's a pic of Rosecalie so far: (a little dark on my computer, hope it looks better on yours) So maybe I'll have the shoulders together by the middle of the week. It's a goal, anyway. BTW - Grateful Thanks! to everyone who sent New-Home-Well Wishes to C and I over the last few weeks! It's wonderful to have our good fortune and relationship lifted up and supported by my Knit Blog Friends. You all are the BEST! Have a great Monday!

posted by Teresa 4/07/2003 08:03:00 AM

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I'll Be Takin' To the Needles... Week-end Weather Forecast: Saturday: Partly Cloudy High 52�/ Low 30� Sunday: Cloudy High 53�/ Low 44� Perfect for post-move R&R. Sunday I plan not to get out of my jammies all day long! If I'm reading Roscalie's chart correctly I think I'm 24 rows away from grafting the shoulders together. I'm determined to have the shoulders together by the end of the week-end...and maybe even get-steeky-wit-it, cutting the steeks (if I'm feeling brave!) and beginning the neckband and armhold bands. Look for some pictures Monday - and have a great week-end!

posted by Teresa 4/04/2003 09:45:00 AM

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SOLD! Darn it C! Enough battery for one picture and look what she does?!? Thanks to the 2+ weeks we had access to the house and some great organization while moving, we're pretty settled in. The movers did the furniture/big stuff on Saturday afternoon. I took some vacation time and don't have to go back to work til Thursday so I've been able to actually enjoy being in the house. Believe it or not I've actually knit several rows on Rosecalie...then I had to rip 'em out - placed a pattern wrong when I picked up the pattern after a steek. That's the way it goes! One surprise is we won't have phone connection til maybe Friday. The phone company came to hook us up this morning and discovered someone (most likely a contractor working in the alley) dug into and cut our phone line. It will take that long for them to fix it. I'm a little lost without my Internet connect - at the moment I'm posting from my favorite coffee shop...just another good excuse for a latte!

posted by Teresa 3/31/2003 05:45:00 PM

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Today We Become Homeowners! Think of us at 3 PM - we'll be signing our lives away! Last of the pre-move-in-pictures: The back yard...picture taken from the door to the 2 car garage. The yard is just the right size for us with nice flower bed space and privacy fences on both sides. C wants a riding lawn mower - what can I say - the gurl's got a dream. And me... ...and our new trash can. I won't be posting for several days...see you next week sometime!

posted by Teresa 3/28/2003 09:32:00 AM

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One More Room The Master Bedroom (I LOVE! this room!) This is the view as you walk into the bedroom. There's another set of windows to the right. Close up of open part of the ceiling with a sky-light-wanna-be window and beam with track lighting. (I love this ROOM! This a view of the bedroom with your back to the windows. Closet doors and yes, that's a workable gas fireplace. I LOVE THIS ROOM! Friday I'll post a picture of the backyard which will end the pre-move tour. Over the next month or so, I'll post some post-move pictures hopefully mixed in with info and pics of Rosecalie's completion. Beginnings and endings...

posted by Teresa 3/26/2003 06:40:00 PM

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Where's The Advil? This is the most heard question at our house right now. Yesterday - moving fools! Today - sore, slow moving women. But we were well supervised. (She's so pushy, always barking demands.) Most all of the stuff we can move by car is at the new house AND put away! We decided to hire a local moving company to handle the big stuff - by Saturday night we should be all moved in. And now! The room you've been waiting to see... The bathroom! Double sinks! How did they know two women were going to buy this house? No more fighting with C over mirror and sink space when we're getting ready to go somewhere.(She's a real mirror hog, I've got to tell you! All that smiling and posing.) Obviously...the tub/shower. And me looking at it as if it's the first bathtub I've ever seen...but it *is* the first bathtub I've ever owned, so give me a break, ok? More moving on the agenda today. (It's my Sunday-Monday week-end.) Today our refridgerator gets delivered. There's a little more putting away in the kitchen and we're going to take over the majority of our clothes. Living in the 'rental' (as we like to refer to it these days) this week will be a bit like staying in a hotel/motel somewhere: eating out, only the clothes we need for the week and mainly sleeping in the bed at the end of the day. Wish it felt that relaxed! Now where did I put that Advil?

posted by Teresa 3/24/2003 08:32:00 AM

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Peace Armband by Knitter G. from the Revolutionary Knitting Cirlce.

posted by Teresa 3/21/2003 09:33:00 AM

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Divine and Highly Elusive Ms C Day (Just Because) C strikes a pose wearing one of Rob and Matt's hats thanks to Denise's hat stylist magic. (You'll just have to take Matt's word about the horns and third eye.) C entered Wendy's limerick contest. She wasn't picked the winner but I think her limerick deserves publication (Even though it's a clear act of harassment.) There once was a womon named Teresa Who knitted a sock as a teaser Only one have I got And I say "What a crock!" A pair? I'll be an old geezer! A Room of C's Own Since today's post is dedicated to C I decided to show you the second bedroom as the first picture of the upstairs. This will be C's office. I think it will be a great place to write a dissertation, don't you?

posted by Teresa 3/19/2003 10:33:00 AM

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Saturday=ThreadBear Road Trip! It was worth every minute of the 3-hour drive! 60 degrees + sun added to Matt and Rob being **THE** NICEST GUYS!!! What a wonderful Saturday! Here's a real life pic of me, Rob, Denise and Matt: Here's the pic I promised Matt - The one were we've undergone the Adobe Photoshop Image Enhancement Diet: (In a perfect world it would be that easy!) There was a Fuzzy Feet Felting party with lots of nice folks who welcomed us as if we were regulars. Rob made vegetarian chili for Denise and three really yummy tortilla dips. Not to mention the homemade chocolate chip cookies - C's favorite! - she took two for the road when we left! Oh yeah...and there's yarn too! This is one of two rooms. Wendy asked me to feel up some Jamison and Smith for her - which I did with no problem. I came home with two different colors of Cascade 220 for a couple felted bags, two Jamison and Smith books and 5 beaded stitch markers. Had to be good - $$$ - closing on the house at the end of the month ya know! I'll share some more pictures as the week goes on... Another House Picture? But of Course! This is the front room just off the large middle room - the one we've decided to make the living/TV room. The gas fireplace does work and there are beautiful original pocket doors hidden in the doorway, as well. Next: up the stairs to the master bedroom.

posted by Teresa 3/17/2003 10:46:00 AM

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Can You Guess What We're Doing Today?

posted by Teresa 3/16/2003 01:07:00 PM

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Friday Eve (Can you tell I'm ready for my 3 day week-end?) What a week! Work, family stuff and 'the move' have kept me busy this week! I did take time for a massage last night and Saturday's set aside for a road trip. C, LocQueen (Denise) and I are headed to ThreadBear! Watch out Matt and Rob! It's a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive there but three wild women in a Jeep on the way to buy yarn - well you get the picture. C and Denise are urban gurls and there's lots of country between Dayton/Cincinnati and Bloomington so I'm going to be educating them on farm life along the way. "Over there, C? That's a tractor." "No, Denise that's not a Pottery Barn outlet, that's a real barn." I grew up living in town in a farming community but they both think I'm a country gurl, and to be honest I'm surprised at how much farming stuff I know - just by osmosis. On Line House Tour I've been taking you from the front door to the back of the house on the first floor. This is the room at the back of the house: We call it the sun room even though it's really not. We were going to make this our TV room but have now decided to put our table there as a kind of casual dining room. We love the ceiling and the windows and the light. Can You Believe It? A row here and there this week and I've finished another 13 row pattern. Rosecalie = stress reliever this week...I'm a grateful knitter.

posted by Teresa 3/13/2003 09:20:00 AM

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Good Monday Morning! Next up on the One More Row on-line house tour... The Kitchen! That's a 1/2 bath through the door with some floor to ceiling shelf space on the other side of the bathroom. It's got one of those cute oval shaped sinks. This is also where the door to the basement - or as C likes to call it, "the hole in the ground - is. The basement is small but dry and not as creepy as C wants to make it out. It will some provide limited storage space. C's coat is laying over the counter bar. I love this! We went bar stool looking this week-end - got some ideas but no purchases. We want the bar stools to be very comfy 'cause we think we'll sit there a lot. Great casual hang-out-while-dinner-is-cookin' space! There's more counter and cupboards to the right of this picture with the fridge on that wall as well. We don't have a refrigerator so we were out doing price comparison's on that this week-end as well. Thanks for the wonderful ideas for our middle room. I think we've decided to make this the living room and put one of our tables in the back room which we are calling the 'sun room.' What about Rosecalie? I think I knit 4 rows total this week-end. I'm working on another 13 row pattern. My plan is to do some lunch time knitting everyday this week - hopefully I'll have a picture or two this week.

posted by Teresa 3/10/2003 09:35:00 AM

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Where' s Vern Yip When You Need Him? This is the room that you enter when you come thru our fab front door. (That's a really nice sized under-the-stairs-closet on the right.) This room has both C and I stumped as to how we are going to use it. A dining room makes the most sense but we don't have dining room furniture. The kitchen (pic soon to come) has a nice bar but not a table area so we almost have to put our little round kitchen table there . Trouble is it will be totally lost in this room - it's the biggest room in the house. I have a table from my single days that's a little bigger but C hates it! (Currently it's in our basement!) We don't have a lot of furniture or furniture buyin' $$ so we're going to have to be creative 'til we do. What we do know is that moving day will come and go, furniture will be moved in, put somewhere and probably moved again. ...we're open to suggestions. (and a visit from Vern!)

posted by Teresa 3/08/2003 09:55:00 PM

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All I Needed Was a Little Encouragement... (It could end up being as bad as a proud grandparent with never ending baby pictures!) First a big THANK YOU! to everyone who left comments or emailed me 'bout C and my new house. It does my heart good to read all the words of excitement and support for our plunge into homeownership and what it means to our relationship! A couple of you mentioned the porch. I CANNOT WAIT! to sit there and knit! C and I are thinking either two wicker chairs or a small table and two chairs will be perfect there. We also want to plant a flowering vine-y something around the rounded part for privacy. So here begins the on-line tour! Lets start with the front door. You saw it from the outside - now here's the inside: Isn't this wonderful? I love the windows. I love the light. I love the lines. I feel warm and happy when I see this picture. Not Rosecalie but Fiber Related Current exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles featuring works by six artists who use writing in their art quilts and textiles. I am in awe of the work of Susie Shie and James Accord who have eight quilts in this exhibition. It you've never seen their work check it out at Turtlemoon Studio. Susie has a new on-line gallery of her Peace Buddha Girls, highlighting paintings she began making in February, 2003, as a response to the new threat of war in our world. This is one of eleven images so far 'Duct Tape Peace Charm' St. Q fashions a peace charm from duct tape...

posted by Teresa 3/05/2003 09:47:00 AM

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March Is Moving Month @ One More Row and Another Latte 'cause C and I are buying a house!!! For a same sex couple, in Ohio, 'joint tenancy with rights of survivorship' is about the closest thing to a marriage license, we can get. We are both really excited about being homeowners but even more, we feel grateful for this outward manifestation of our deepening commitment to each other. The house is virtually brand new. It was built in 1919 but totally re-habed a little over a year ago. C and I will be the first to live there. The house is in Wright-Dunbar Historical Village, home and stomping ground to the Wright Brothers, (as well as their famous bicycle shop) and their high school classmate, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. This area will be one of the central attractions for Dayton's upcoming Inventing Flight 2003, celebration. We close on March 28th and will make the big move March 30th. We are lucky that we are buying the house from our current land-lord and a really nice guy...he's given us access to the house so we can start to clean and move little things over the next few weeks. We're going to clear out a lot of stuff with this move...my motto is if we haven't needed it in the last 2 years we probably don't need it...make room for the good things yet to come! Here and there over the next month I'll post pictures of the house and our move. Hope this doesn't bore you all - I like to keep the non-knitting content low here but Rosecalie progress will slow even more (if that's possible!) Wendy just might finish 3 whole sweaters in the time it takes me to finish this one sleeveless vest but hey! what can I say!?!

posted by Teresa 3/03/2003 09:34:00 AM

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Uh-Oh... What little time there's been to pick up my knitting this week has been spent froggin' 'cause of this little bugger: A dropped stitch. Everything looked fine until I started to put in the second row of the next 13 row pattern - I just couldn't get the pattern to line up. Upon closer inspection the reason became clear. It's such a tiny little thing - that stitch - but oh so important. I'd like to think there's some cosmic reason for it...Rosecalie's latest lesson...another teachable moment...like, even if you feel small, insignificant, unimportant your role is key to to greater whole...your quiet and sincere efforts count...are not in vain...mean something...SOMETHING Sigh. Thank Gawd It's Friday.

posted by Teresa 2/28/2003 09:15:00 AM

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Thanks Everyone ...for the offers and ideas and sympathy! With any luck I won't be taking C's Sweater apart after all. A couple Saturday's from now (March 15th) LocQueen/Denise, C and I have a road trip to Bloomington/Threadbear planned. Matt left this message: NO!!! Theresa, darling? You're coming to Bloomington soon, right? Please, please, don't rip this before then. Rob tells me I have the patience of Job with this kind of stuff, and I'd really love the opportunity to fix this for you if you think it is at all possible to do without ripping. I really think that if nothing is broken, I may be able to work it out, block it, and keep you from having to rip and reknit. E-mail me if you're interested. BIG HUGS! -m. Then there was this idea from Nanette: Teresa, I may have an idea if you can't ease the snag back in with a crochet hook. ) On my first Dale of Norway sweater I was cutting the front steek (for a cardigan) and cut right through the sweater to the back. After using every curse word available I figured out how to fix it. I ripped a bigger hole in it (not for the faint-hearted) until I had a hole about 4 stitches and 4 rows. Then I used a double pointed needle and knit up three rows, then I kitchenered it together. Then you take the side yarns and weave them in the back in a reverse duplicate stitch. The end result was absolutely seamless. Good luck! I'm going to try Matt first and if that doesn't work I'll tap into my Fiber Warrior energy to try Nanette's suggestion. I've go options! That's what's so great about being part of the knittng comuunity...everyone's so creative and willing to help.

posted by Teresa 2/26/2003 10:45:00 AM

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It Took Me Two Months... ...but I'm ready to look again The Story: (You know I always have one...) It's Christmas Day and C and I are trying to get out the door to go to her family Christmas get-together. C was proudly wearing the sweater I knit her under her open coat. We had lots of bags of presents and Sade (the tri-colored beagle) to get to the car. I suggested that we take the presents out to the car and come back for Sade. We needed to carry her to the car to avoid wet paws because it had snowed the night before. (Sade totally misbehaves in the car by walking all over passengers -needless to say she doesn't go in the car very much.) C decided to make it all in one trip by overloading herself with presents and carrying Sade. I shook my head, grabbed the rest of the presents and headed for the car. C almost made it to the car before Sade - excited to be outside - upset the delicate balance by clawing her way out of C's arms. Presents landed in the snow as Sade made her way over to greet me. Once everything was safely in the car, C looked down at her sweater and very quietly said..."Uh-oh." My response...an equally quiet but well deserved (at least I thought so) "Told you not to take everything at once." I tried easing the snags but the force of the pull on the yarn caused the snags to pull so tightly that there's just no give. I think the only way to fix this is to take it apart and knit it again. So I did what any knitter worth her weight in yarn would do...I put it in the back of the closet. The Part Where Teresa Whines: This sweater was boring to knit. Boring I tell you! And I don't really want to knit it - even just the front - a second time. (For some reason C thinks my confession that knitting her sweater was boring, denotes a lack of loving energy used on my part while knitting her sweater...I, on the other hand, contend that it is only through love that one would immerse oneself in a boring project for another.) Oh, well...that's the way it goes. I just need to remember how darn cute C looks in it and how much joy she gets from wearing it! It will be another week or so until I start to take it apart so if you have suggestions or ideas I'm all ears!

posted by Teresa 2/24/2003 11:54:00 AM

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Let's Get Steeky Wit It! Here's the beginning of one of my arm steeks. I kind of chuckle to myself about how mysterious steek-making was to me just a few months ago. I've been knitting for at least 15 years and had never heard the word 'steek' before then. And now here I am with a neck and two armhole steeks of my very own. I love how knitting constantly provides new opportunities for learning. The picture also shows my most recently completed 13 row pattern. Beginning the armholes and v-neck means it won't be long till I'll be wearing Rosecalie. Hopefully while the weather is still cold but even if it's 80 degrees the day I finish it, you can bet I'll be wearing it. I don't look to make much knitting progress over the week-end 'cause I've got a little transcription side job to complete...got to replenish the extra yarn buying $$ after buying yarn for the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle. It sucks being a workin' gurl. Have a great week-end!

posted by Teresa 2/21/2003 10:23:00 AM

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A Hat and A Smile Remember the hat I was making for my grand-daughter, Corynna? I sent it to her for Valentines Day. In return, yesterday I got this cute web-cam picture of her wearing her hat. ...say CHEeeeESE!

posted by Teresa 2/19/2003 09:06:00 AM

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Sunday Snow Storm Magic Now you see 'em... Now you don't!

posted by Teresa 2/17/2003 09:21:00 AM

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A Three Day Week-end (thanks to my crazy work schedule) and Snow, Snow, Snow ! ! Makes this gurl happy as a tri-colored beagle playing on her snow deck! Hibernating with everything I could possibly need: C and Sade, stocked with DVDs (watching Moster's Inc. as I type), coffee, a full fridge, The Hours (the book) and Rosecalie. I may not peek my head out again until Tuesday

posted by Teresa 2/15/2003 03:25:00 PM

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Happy Valentines Day! VIC (Very Important Click) And on the light-hearted side: How Do You Really Feel About Valentines Day?

posted by Teresa 2/14/2003 08:55:00 AM

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Rosecalie The photos: Progress since last pictures: Rosecalie so far: Free to Be Me! I am no longer doing the two-handed method of color knitting. It was Wendy who made the light bulb sputter on for me when, in the course of responding to someone's comment last Tuesday, she said that she holds both colors in one hand, keeping the light color at the bottom and the dark color on top. This is the way I've always done color knitting - and it always worked for me but for some reason I thought if I was going to do Fair Isle knitting I HAD to use the two-handed method. I think I read somewhere this is the true Fair Isle method - used by 'real' Fair Isle knitters. Yuck! I can be so rigid when it comes to the 'right' way to do things! Anyway, I've gone back to color knitting the way I've always done it - holding both colors in my right hand, ect. It makes SUCH a difference! I feel so much more relaxed and am enjoying Rosecalie even more than before. Roscalie provides another teachable moment: there are no rules in knitting - except maybe one: TO HAVE FUN!

posted by Teresa 2/13/2003 09:13:00 AM

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Could You Just Make Up Your Mind? Ok. Ok. The Fuzzy Feet Felt Along. I've decided now is not the time for Fuzzy Feet. My conscience will not let me cast on Fuzzy Feet until C has her felted clogs. There's not much else to say about my decision other than C deserves to have her felted clogs and I'm gonna give 'em to her! Alison...maybe a late-summer-getting-ready-for-fall-Fuzzy-Feet-Felt-Along-II? 'Course by then Knitty will probably have given us bunches of other wonderful projects worthy of knittin' along with. (Speaking of which - when does the next issue appear?) 'Til then I'll be watchin' all you other FFF'ers and cheering you on!

posted by Teresa 2/10/2003 10:39:00 AM

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If You Get The Chance, Go See... We did yesterday and loved it!

posted by Teresa 2/09/2003 06:32:00 PM

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Good Things Come In Small Packages Yarn for the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle! As usual the pictures don't do the colors justice. I'm a little disappointed that they are showing up way darker on my computer here at work this morning than what they looked like on my laptop at home last night. Hope it's just my computer. To add to the frustration my favoite color - the purples- are showing up blue. But trust me, the colors are way beautiful! This is gonna be fun!

posted by Teresa 2/07/2003 09:55:00 AM

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Count Me In! Wendy eased the pressure a little yesterday when she left me a note saying that Rosecalie is not the next sweater on her 'knit list' once she finishes Oregon. So I joined the Fuzzy Feet Felt Along. It will be a few days before I start 'cause I don't have any yarn in my stash that I want to turn into Fuzzy Feet. I'll have to wait 'til the weekend before I can get anywhere to buy yarn. My decision to do Fuzzy Feet was met with indignation from C. See...she's waiting for me to make her a pair of felted clogs (thanks to Indigirl) - oh and there's the little issue about the one sock that's done and the other that hasn't been started. I offered to make Fuzzy Feet for her, but noooooo! she will only be happy with felted clogs. Picky, picky, picky! Maybe picking out the yarn for her clogs, this weekend will shut...I mean make her happy and Fuzzy Feet shouldn't take THAT long. I promise - PROMISE! to cast on the clogs as soon as Fuzzy Feet come off the needles. By the way, did I mention that ?? Yesterday, there was the BEST discussion in her comments about stranded knitting and whether to float or weave. Every hour or so, all day, I was checking her comments to see what was being said. (I don't get to keep up with her tag board 'cause my darn computer here at work doesn't read it so well.) The discussion lead me to a little day-time-fantasy of a Wendy Knits Get Together where all of us Wendy Knits groupies would come together and knit and talk and hang with Wendy. A Knit With Wendy Week-end in Washington. Hmmmmmmmm A girl can day-dream, can't she?

posted by Teresa 2/05/2003 09:40:00 AM

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Bits and Pieces Rosecalie Progress continues � slowly but surely � one row at a time. I�m currently working on another 13-row band. Each of the 13 row bands is different, set in between a reoccurring 11-row band. I love watching the pattern emerge. I�m getting close to beginning the armhole steeks and marking the center front for the v-neck. I�m a steek virgin and feel a bit of first-time-steeking-stress but as a Fearless Fiber Warrior I welcome the chance to add steeking to my knitting arsenal. Plus I always know I can call on Alison and Wendy if I need some steeky support. Corynna�s Kureyon Hat All it needs is the puffy-pom. The last time I made a pom�well, lets just say I was still getting an allowance. Last night I made a very wimpy one - not enough yarn � so I�ll give it another try some night this week. Fuzzy Feet and Beyond I�ve never done a knit along and really wanted to join in the Fuzzy Feet Felt Along Fun, which starts today. But that would take time away from Rosecalie, so I decided to pass this one up. I just gotta finish my Rosecalie vest before Wendy starts her Rosecalie Cardigan � it�s a pride thing, ya know? Speaking of future knitting plans, I�ve got some of my own. Last week I placed an order with Rob/ThreadBear for yarn for Sweater's From Camp / Ann Feitelson�s Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle Ain�t it purdy?

posted by Teresa 2/04/2003 08:48:00 AM

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And I don't care who knows it! Wendy! Wendy! Wendy!

posted by Teresa 2/03/2003 09:58:00 AM

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Corynna Knows What She Wants! After having all the wonderful ideas/comments read to her by her Mom, Corynna left this message today: Grandma, I love my hat!! I would like a puffy pom on top of my hat! Corynna So a puffy pom it will be! I'll post another picture before I send it off. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with ideas and suggestions with a special Thanks to Charlotte who caused me to have a 'duh moment' when she suggested "asking Corynna what she'd like?" So, I did!

posted by Teresa 2/01/2003 11:16:00 AM

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Corynna 'Bean's' Hat Top it with a tassle? A big puffy pom? Leave it plain? What do you think?

posted by Teresa 1/29/2003 11:27:00 PM

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Not Much to Post About I'm having a boring knit week. I've torn out the hat for Corynna a couple times. I cast on for a couple different patterns and wasn't happy with either. So I went back to the simple (boring, except for working with Kureyon) rolled brim cap. It has gone fast (when I've knit) -just a few more rows to close the crown. I'll post a picture tomorrow. I took Rosecalie with me to my favorite coffee shop Monday. I spent about 3 hours there, drinking lattes and knitting. After stitching a whole row wrong and then ripping the row out again, I think I finished 3 rows. I've slowed my pace again, trying to be more aware of how I'm holding the yarn in my left hand and spreading out the completed stitches on the right needle, with the goal of decreasing the slight puckering I was getting. Thursday night is Knit Night - when I meet with my friends Ellenmarie and Vicky at Vicky's house. I ususally don't get much knitting done at these 'cause I'm helping them but just being with them makes it all worth it. Ya, know...I think I've got a case of the Winter Blahs. Sure hope Punxsutawney Phil has good news for us next week...

posted by Teresa 1/29/2003 11:52:00 AM

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Taking a (Small) Break From Roscalie This is my 5-year-old granddaughter Corynna: I�m knitting her a hat. Why now? Knit guilt. Why do I feel guilty? Because I�ve never knit anything for her. Bad Grandma. Baaaaad Grandma. Ok. I know this is not typical Grandma behavior�but I�m not your typical grandmother. Then there�s the fact that shortly before Corynna was born - I lost my knitting mojo and didn't find it again until last year. C was my muse even though her method of inspiration initially came in the form of knit guilt. "If you really loved me you would knit me a scarf." "If you really loved me you would knit me socks." "If you really loved me you would knit me a sweater." I think I've proven my love, so far...I knit the scarf and the sweater and one of the socks. And then I started knitting for myself. Last week, after reading one of my blog posts, my daughter pointed out that I've yet to knit anything for Corynna. (Read: �If you really love your grand-daughter you would knit her something.� ) So I stopped on the way home from work yesterday and bought some Kureyon to knit Corynna a hat. Last night I cast on for a simple rolled brim hat but after getting her head measurements today it was too small, so I ripped it out. Tonight I�ll cast on again. A hat should get me off the hook for the time being. It�s not a sweater�but it�s a start. I'm visualizing Corynna starting first grade this September wearing Alice Starmore's Berry Tree. Now that should get me some grandma points, don't ya think?

posted by Teresa 1/26/2003 07:13:00 PM

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The Calming Effects of Knitting - On Others Yesterday I attended an all day strategic planning retreat for work. It was a really good day with two definite side perks: 1) it was held close to my house so I didn't have to do my morning drive and 2) I knit the whole day! I was able to complete this large and small pattern band: I sat at the back of the room with a two of my favorite co-workers and knit to my hearts content while at the same time being an attentive and active participant. Yes, I feel like I need to defend the fact that I can knit and listen and knit and talk at the same time, even though not one person gave me a hard time about it - not even the smallest I-can't-believe-you're-doing-that stare. One woman said to me during a break, "I see you are being productive. I wish I had something like that to bring with me!" But it was my co-worker Sue who paid me the nicest compliment. At the end of the day she told me my sitting next to her knitting had made her feel calm and relaxed. Ok, that's deep for me. I know knitting makes me feel good but to think I'm spreading that energy around...that's way cool. Especially given the fact that my workplace can sometimes resemble a union vs.management war zone and strategic planning meetings are fertile ground for getting folks riled up. (Staff are UE796 members - all 17 of us!) This got me thinking about the Revolutionary Knitting Circle and their presence at G8 this past year. What if every knitter gathered on the White House lawn and knit? Any chance George would catch a peaceful vibe and re-think the ugly violence he's about to unleash? Big sigh. I'm feeling really sad this week about impending war. So thanks Sue. I'm glad you benefited as well from my peaceful pastime. Here's a picture of all of Rosecalie so far... Did you catch Wendy on her tag board today? She ordered the Rosecalie cardigan from Virtual Yarns.I told her she better not make me look bad by finishing it before I get the vest done! She said it's a couple projects down on her list but as fast as she knits...

posted by Teresa 1/23/2003 09:19:00 PM

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Tis I, Movie Goer, New Knitter�s Guild Member and Fair Isle Fret-er Rosecalie snippet: Not much progress since the last picture I posted. My needles arrived Friday but I didn�t knit a stitch �til late afternoon Saturday. Then I only knit a couple rows. We were busy all weekend. Friday we took C�s mom to dinner and a movie � Antwone Fisher. Loved it! Saturday we went to the gym, the Farmer�s Market (indoor, thank goodness!), cleaned the house, and then went to dinner and a movie with friends - Bowling for Columbine. I think this movie should be mandatory viewing for every American. If you haven�t seen it yet�go. GO! Sunday is a brrrr�I mean blur. Monday I went to The Dayton Knitting Guild meeting. It�s the third Monday of each month. They have a morning meeting and an evening meeting. This was my second meeting - so far I�ve only gone to the morning meeting. My schedule is such that I have the third Monday of every month off and I like the feel of this meeting, so I�ll probably continue to go to this one. The program this month wasn�t very exciting but being in a room with 40-45 knitting women made up for that. I was off work today, technically my MLK Holiday, thanks to my crazy rotating schedule. I was going to only knit today but I�ve done more housework than knitting. (I only have myself to blame.) I spent a lot of time the last few days fretting about whether my Rosecalie tension was ok. I�ve been concerned about some very slight puckering (The P-word - yikes!), mainly from the two small/5row bands used in the pattern. I fretted and fretted and fretted some more. Then it came to me. THIS SOUNDS LIKE A QUESTION FOR SUPER FAIR ISLE WOMAN!! (echo, echo, echo�) So I emailed Wendy. She responded and eased my Fair Isle fears. Wendy wrote: �You can always expect some degree if puckering with a fair isle. You said, "slight puckering" so I think that's well within normal range. You'd be amazed how much puckering you can ease out with a good steaming. I can see from the photos on your blog a little bit of puckering -- it doesn't look excessive to me. If you're worried, try steaming a portion of it with it still on the needles. You'll see how nicely it all works out. Of course we all strive for pucker-free Fair Isle! A means to this end is to use a wooden rather than metal or plastic needle. Wood seems to grab the stitches better, so you can spread them out to their normal gauge on the needle. This makes your floats long enough, cuz the stitches aren't bunched up when you change color. By the way, I'm a staunch supporter of floats, not weaves. But I know people who are just as opinionated in the other direction.� Thanks Wendy! for being so willing to share your experience with all of us! You are the BEST!

posted by Teresa 1/21/2003 07:12:00 PM

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A Community Pledge I have not always valued people who are different. I pledge to honor the dignity and inherent worth of every human being. I have not always practiced compassion for people. I pledge to oppose injustice, not people. I have sometimes been more concerned about my rights than the rights of others. I pledge to dedicate myself to use my talents to empower others as I empower myself. I have not always stood up against injustice or denounced violence. I pledge to consciously practice peace on a daily basis. I have sometimes been reluctant to embrace differences and appreciate the value of every human being. I pledge to treat each person that I meet with courtesy, respect and fairness. Distributed by the Dayton Mediation Center, Dayton Ohio

posted by Teresa 1/20/2003 12:40:00 PM

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Sade�s Shameless Attempt at Redemption... ...works. Who could resist? Thanks to everyone who left comments on my last post! Reading them was as much fun as putting the post together was. So, if you were wondering, here's what really happened: Sade loves to burrow. And since she is an urban beagle her burrowing occurs mainly under the bed covers. She has done this since she was a puppy. Sade believes this is her dog-given right, just as dog treats and long afternoon naps are. So when Sade is ready to burrow down for the night she firmly pushes her nose at the spot where she wants to enter. If the occupant of the bed does not immediately respond by lifting the covers she increases the force of her nose until the occupant has the appropriate response. One of my favorite places to knit is in bed. Wednesday night we hit the sack early to watch West Wing and Law and Order - me with my knitting and C with the remote. Sade had been resting at the bottom of the bed but decided it was time to hunker down for the night. As I said I was knitting, working on Rosecalie. Sade decided the point of entry was to be Rosecalie and she proceeded to stick her head in the middle of the circular needles. When I didn't respond correctly, she increased the force. I was holding on to both needles trying to keep Rosecalie in tack while pushing Sade away but the more I pushed her away the more she increased nose pressure. Something had to give and the needle broke. C didn't really know what the tussle was all about 'til it was over. The thing that made this a crisis (Hey! I've got to get my drama where I can, ok?) is there's no LYS close, to just run out and buy needles. C suggested super glueing and/or duck taping the needle. C contends I rolled my eyes at at her well intended idea. The next day C (Have I said often enough, what a wonderful partner, she is?) had the replacement needle over-nighted - it arrived Friday morning. So..Rosecalie is back on track and Sade is out of the doghouse. Rosecalie Progress: The banding pattern in Rosecalie is a 54-row pattern. I'm currently knitting row 54. After this row, I need to stop knitting and weave/darn in the ends so far. Wendy says she does this every few inches but I'm enjoying the knitting and watching the patterns emerge so it's hard to stop to do this. I should get some good chunks of knitting time in though �cause I�ve got a really nice long weekend thanks to the crazy schedule I work and MLK Day. I was off yesterday and don't return to work 'til Wednesday.

posted by Teresa 1/19/2003 03:55:00 PM

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ROSECALIE COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT The Evidence The Victim The Offender Offender 24751 aka Sade Bell Knitting violation committed in Dayton, OH, 10:24 pm Wednesday January 15, 2003 A jury of the offenders peers is being convened.

posted by Teresa 1/16/2003 10:45:00 PM

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Jill-of-All-Trades or My Recent Past as A Fiber Artist's Assistant Four years ago this month I took, what for me, was a dream job and an employment risk. I went to work as the one full-time employee of a fiber artist. Her name is Karren K. Brito. Her business is called Entwinements. She makes high-end wearable art silk scarves using a technique called Shibori. Here's a picture of one of her scarves. She gave it to me as a gift - I could never have afforded to buy one. I worked for Karren for almost 2 years. I was truly a Jill-of-All Trades there, doing everything from office work, to wrapping the scarves on the poles, to being her computer techie, to learning to base dye (in her professional dyeing machine), discharge and do devore. Karren had lots of friends in the surface design community and they would come to her studio to work with her. Between whatever work we were doing that day I could watch them play and experiment and sometimes I got to join in! One of my fondest memories of working for Karren was when we would base dye the silk for the scarves. After they were done we would hang them on the line outside to dry. I just loved seeing the yards of silk, in all kinds of gorgeous colors, blowing in the wind. I remember a couple days in particular when it had snowed quite alot - even though it was cold we still hung the silk out to dry. The brilliant colors against the white snow were stunning. I wouldn't trade anything for the experience of working for her. But being her one full time employee working side by side 40 hours a week got to be a little much. We all have personality quirks but Karren's artist's ego was hard to deal with. I finally decided that I needed to be working in an environment where I could interact with more and different people each day. So off I went to another employment adventure. What 'caused me to want to tell you about this? About the time I was preparing to move on, Karren was beginning to work on her first book - and it's now a reality It's available through Amazon March of 2003.

posted by Teresa 1/15/2003 09:42:00 AM

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Rosecalie Update Rosecalie from afar... (sorry, it's a little dark) Close up... And for you real freaks (and you know who you are) the back... Had a bit of a scare Friday night. Everyday I take my knitting/Rosecalie with me to work so I can get a few stitches in at lunch. Friday night, I get all settled in to knit, reach into my bag for Rosecalie and it's not there! Panic! I fly out the door to my car thinking it fell out of the bag when I turned a corner or something...not there! In the few steps between my car and my front door terrible scences play in my mind. Rosecalie laying in the middle of the dark, snowy, wet street where I park my car at work, being run over again and again - tire marks scarring it beyond repair. Or an uncaring stranger finds it on the street and upon realizing what it is discards it into a dirty bug infested trash dumpster or crazily unravels it row by innocent row, leaving Roscalie's remains to blow in all directions in the howling winter wind. C met me at the door with a mixed look of pity and disbelief. She handed me Rosecalie. "Where was it I asked", choking back tears. "In your bag, honey, on the other side of your books pushed a little near the bottom." And then she hugged me. Uh? Ummmm. Well? Ok, so I may have over-reacted but damn! it's good to be loved for being the crazy person I am. Nothing's better than that.

posted by Teresa 1/13/2003 08:59:00 AM

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I Love This Book! - The sweaters are Gorgeous! - I love the designer stories about how the sweater came to be. - The photos are just as beautiful as the sweaters! C got me this for Christmas but I couldn't wait 'til December 25th so she gave it to me early. I've had it since the last week of November. (Sorry I didn't tell ya 'til now but it's my blog and I'll share when I want to!) As a new Fair Isle knitter I've found the technical information in this book to be very helpful! I especially like Meg Swansen's sittin'-'round-the-table-knitting-and-drinkin'-lattes writing. When I decided I wanted to give Fair Isle a try I asked Fiber Hussy and Fair Isle Diva Wendy what book she recommended for information and technical assistance. She said the only book she used was Alice Starmore's Fair Isle Knitting which I tracked down and poured over. But since I've started Rosecalie any questions I've had, I've found the answer in Sweaters From Camp. I agree with Wendy that Alice Starmore's Fair Isle Knitting is a must have but I think Sweaters From Camp is going to be my main FI reference book. Oh! and even though my heart currently belongs to Rosecalie? I'm not foolish enough to think this affair will last forever. I'll be honest. I'm scoping out my next new love - flirting with the Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle by Ann Feitelson in Sweaters From Camp. Flirting is only harmless fun until you order the yarn.

posted by Teresa 1/10/2003 10:15:00 AM

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Two Books and a Blog I couldn't resist these two - they're just too cute! Shaped like a mitten and a hat, with great patterns! Have you been over to visit Matt (and Rob) at Crowing Ram? I love this blog! While you're there be sure to click on the link for their online fiber business Thread Bear Fiber Arts Studio. Matt and Rob are relatively close to me, in Bloomington, Indiana. They have a Third Thursday Dinner and Knit Night at their place every month. Dinner and knitting with a great group of people would be so great! Significant others - including the non-knitting kind are also welcome so C would have no excuses! Relatively is relative, isn't it? Uh...I just checked MapQuest, which says 168 miles and a little over 3 hours! Whoa! Not the quick trip I imagined but doable. Rosecalie Got in a few rounds yesterday. Once I finish the current pattern band I'll post a picture.

posted by Teresa 1/09/2003 08:57:00 AM

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KNIT, Knit, kni, k, ZZZzzzzzzz Maybe it was because it was Monday. - The first Monday of 2003 - First Monday after an almost two week holiday break - A Monday after a one-day week-end - A very cold, gray and snowy/sleety January-in-Ohio Monday. But once I sat down to knit last night, I could not keep my eyes open. I think I got in 1 1/2 rounds. Luckily, I didn't poke an eye out when my head did the doze drop! I'm a little afraid to look back at what I knit...may spend my lunch today rippin'. I've already posted about Rosecalie's slow pace. Now add the reality of holiday break being over and the start of real-world-work-grind. (Why oh why can't I be independently wealthy? What past life karma relegated me to this life's lowly worker bee status?) There's that damn 8 hour work day and then the various domestic evening tasks. Plus my commitment (not resolution - commitment) to go to the gym at least 3 evenings a week. Oh, and the Intermediate Web Development class I'm taking started yesterday. Then add in the knit-Z factor. Progress will be slow. Needles raised. Head bowed. Knit Goddess Grant me the courage to accept the things I cannot change. One day at a time. One row at at time. One stitch at a time.

posted by Teresa 1/07/2003 09:56:00 AM

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It's Love and Not Just Infatuation You know how new love is? That special one is all you can think about. You want to spend every moment with them. To hell with eating, sleeping, anything, anyone else. Me and Rosecalie...Rosecalie and me. C said to me the other night (add as much dramatic emphasis to the following as humanly possible) "Something has come between us. You aren't paying attention to me. What about me?" I think I heard the theme to the Young and the Restless somewhere in the background. It's true. I'm in love with Rosecalie.

posted by Teresa 1/04/2003 09:12:00 AM

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Rosecalie Snippet No speed knit'in hap'nin here. Between watching the pattern and two-handed knitting I feel like I'm doing an imitation of Northern Exposure's Marilyn.

posted by Teresa 1/01/2003 07:35:00 PM

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Wishing Everyone a Fun and Safe New Year's Eve and a Peaceful New Year's Day! Our New Year's Eve's are always pretty quiet. We're not big party people. We are going over to a friend's house around 9 to see 2003 in - C and me, Carol and her hubby, John. I've been knitting most of the day, except for going to the gym and the coffee shop (double skim vanilla latte - yum!) It's been raining steadily since early AM...my favorite kind of day to knit. I'm back to where I was when I had to rip everything out. I'm hoping to do nothing but knit tomorrow. The only way to start the New Year - right? I'll post a picture late tomorrow afternoon or evening, hopefully there will be better natural light tomorrow.

posted by Teresa 12/31/2002 03:44:00 PM

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Gone Froggin' Remember yesterday's picture of Roscalie's meager beginnings? Gone. Like Froggie's eight-legged lunch. Roscalie's first lesson - PAY ATTENTION. Evidently I needed a bigger lesson, even as I wrote those words. Size 2 needles and 352 stitches per round makes for teachable moments. The picture yesterday showed the ribbing at 4 rows. After completing 5 more rows and starting into the main pattern, I realized I had twisted the cast on row when I joined the first round. Damn! No way to get around that one! So out it all came. Roscalie is now 10 cast on stitches on bare circular needles. I'm ok with it. C is more stressed out about it than me - non-knitters don't understand that ripping is as much a part of the process as knitting. Mostly I'm just frustrated that I have to re-do the pearl rows that make up the ribbing. The two-handed method is going well but pearling is slow. My knitting time will be limited the next few days. No nice big spans of kniting time until Tuesday. I'll have to get it in were I can the next few days. I'll be happy if I can make up what I frogged by bedtime Monday night then hope for some substanial progress Tuesday and Wednesday. Movie update: Saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding last night and Drumline today. If you are looking for some feel good flicks these two should do it for you.

posted by Teresa 12/28/2002 02:48:00 PM

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Beginnings, Endings and a Snowy Christmas Morning Christmas Day was off to a wonderful start when C and I took an early morning walk in the freshly fallen snow. Dayton was on the low end of the snowfall scale with maybe 3 inches. This is the Little Miami River and a bit of the Dayton skyline - a block from our house. Roscalie is underway. I had cast on and finished the first round when I realized I screwed up the color pattern only 20 stitches from the beginning. Uugghhh! So the first lesson Roscalie has to teach me is PAY ATTENTION! I finally took the time to finish my mittens. Just needed to close the top and weave the ends in. I'm happy with how they turned out. This is the first day since my break started that we don't have any scheduled things to do. Our plan is to veg most of the day - I'll knit, C will nap - then take in a late afternoon movie. Last Friday night we saw Frida (Beautiful! Wonderful! Go see it!)...Saturday Nemesis (a Trekkie must!) Today's pick is Big Fat Greek Wedding (I know, I know...we can't believe we haven't seen it yet either!) Drumline and The Hours are also on the must see list. Oh and the Wild Thornberry's Sunday evening - taking my five-year-old grand-daughter Corynna, who will be spending the night. I hear the WT soundtrack is pretty good. If only I could knit at the theatre!

posted by Teresa 12/27/2002 11:46:00 AM

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Wishing you a December 25th that's all you want and need it to be! Teresa

(Click Snoopy's Dog House for a Dose of Holiday Cheer)

posted by Teresa 12/24/2002 09:33:00 PM

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Roscalie Swatched I'm happy with swatch and my tension. The vertical gauge is dead on, the horizonal gauge is just a smidge over what it should be, which I think is fine, given the fact I like my sweaters loose. Love the yarn. Love the size 3 needles. Love the color work and watching the patterns emerge...Roscalie is gonna be a love fest. Hope to start casting on for real today...but first I have to wrap some presents.

posted by Teresa 12/23/2002 10:44:00 AM

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Peace to You at Winter Solstice Origins of Solstice Celebration Religious Tolerance.Org The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5� tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, it points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime and low in the sky during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. This is called the summer solstice, and is typically on JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. "Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum. In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern latitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would be troubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They feared that it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold. After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw the sun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained before spring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. The concept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the winter solstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect the solstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun's path within a few days after the solstice -- perhaps by DEC-25. Celebrations were often timed for about the 25th.

posted by Teresa 12/21/2002 10:08:00 PM

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Tiny Little Holiday Things Yes! Got my camera back! Now I can show you... ...one of the Christmas tree ornaments I'm making. Cute, huh?!? Cheap, easy and fun - especially if you like knitting with smaller size needles. Toothpicks, beads, a little brown stain and some yarn. A great way to use up that fingering weight yarn. I even did a couple with tiny little cables. Then there's these guys... My sister made these. Spirited little Solstice Sprites. I'm wearing the one on the left today. My sister is a very talented doll maker. She gave me a "full-size" doll for my birthday. My mom gave me one of her dolls for my birthday, too. A doll made by my sister is always a coveted gift. I'm a little frustrated that I'm not getting nice sharp pictures. I'm going to do some experimenting over my Holiday break. Suggestions and/or pointers will be greatly appreciated...maybe Santa will bring me "Digital Cameras for Dummies."

posted by Teresa 12/20/2002 09:13:00 AM

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Bad Link Katherine brought to my attention that, in my attempt to promote the QueerKnit Web Ring I posted a bad link. I had good intentions, really I did! So...if you are friend or family and want to join the QueerKnit Web Ring just click!

posted by Teresa 12/19/2002 10:43:00 AM

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Wow! The QueerKnits Web Ring is Growing! It's been a couple weeks since I circled the Queer Knits Web Ring. What a nice surprise to see it's grown since then! It does my little lesbian heart good to be part of this community... ...AND to see all the Friends/Allies of Queer Knits! Have you made your way around the ring? Well? What are you waiting for?

posted by Teresa 12/17/2002 08:00:00 PM

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Thanks Everyone... ...who sent Birthday Wishes my way! It was my 44th birthday and I had a wonderful day! Starting with my Birthday Booty from C - a beautiful pair of earrings, a cute little coffee pin, a ceramic star that has the word 'Believe' on it and my birthday Tiramisu and candle - all before 10:30 am! (Not to mention the early birthday gift - my trip last week to Iowa City.) Then on to my family Christmas gathering where everyone made my birthday even more special! My mom made my birthday cake...white cake, white icing smothered with coconut. It looked like a snowball - just right for a winter baby. Noooooo! I realized this morning that in yestserday's Holiday and Birthday hubbub, I left my digital camera at my mom's house. Damn! Here I am with a sunny day off and I can't take any pictures of my knitting. I wanted to show you the mittens and hat I've been working on. I also wanted to show you a cute little Christmas tree ornament I made a couple years ago. My sister and brother-in law will be coming my way Wednesday night so I should be able to post some pictures Thursday. Today's To Do List: Catch up on Daily Clicks Organize knitting stuff Start to wind Roscalie yarn hanks into balls Finish mittens and hat Mondays off are a good thing.

posted by Teresa 12/16/2002 11:34:00 AM

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It's My Birthday!

posted by Teresa 12/15/2002 11:19:00 AM

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Blog Posting Limbo Those of you who have Knit Blogs...do you get attached to certain entries in your blog? I do. I know I need to post today (a current blog is potentiallya more interesting blog, right?) but everytime I look at my last entry it gives me the nicest, warmest, happiest feeling. Posting moves it on in the blog and out of my current consiousness. The other piece of the limbo pie is that I want to show you all what I've been knitting this week - but between the weather and my work schedule I haven't been able to get natural light time so I can get decent pictures. It's more fun to showyou the hat and mittens I'm working on than just tell you about them. So, to make this post that's not really a post more of a real post check out these miniture knitted Christmas hats. Just in case you don't have enough to do.

posted by Teresa 12/14/2002 10:50:00 AM

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Gifts This is the first sweater I knit over 15 years ago. I gave it to my friend Carol (who I visited in Iowa) for Christmas that year. She was leaving Ohio for Iowa to go to grad school. The next month or so she sent me this beautiful poem, inspired by my gift. Thank You Poem by Carol T I wear the sky blue sweater the first day alone in January Iowa sipping Saint John Wort tea from a blue rimmed cup while the day floats by sky-deep in snow my mind clicking like knitting needles one stitch hooked to another like our lives feeling after feeling looped and pulled through until I'm surrounded by a sweater, not believing it's the first you knit not believing I can wear these lines of love every day, even if you're not here, a long distance laying on of hands with blue buttons over every breath Thank-you Carol. I'm so lucky you are my friend.

posted by Teresa 12/11/2002 08:11:00 PM

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I'm Back... and had a wonderful time in Iowa City with my friend Carol! Carol and I talked and talked and talked - the kind of talking you can't really do by phone. We ate wonderful food (Carol's roommate Sarah has a killer recipe for cream cheese, cranberry, and walnut muffins!) and did some fun things like go to see The Quire' s 'Cool Yule' Christmas concert and shop at the Iowa Artisan's Gallery. I bought two of C's Christmas gifts there and bought myself a Bryan Andreas/Story People print (one of my favorite artists.) In knitting related news, I worked on the second mitten to a pair I started this summer. It was a good flying project and kept me busy because I kept thinking I had memorized the pattern but would find out after knitting several rows AND THEN referring to the pattern that I didn't. So I did about as much ripping and restarting as knitting! I'm off work today for my birthday holiday. My birthday is this Sunday. Taking the day off today, after my three-day weekend away, was the perfect way to cap off the weekend. My family is celebrating Christmas this Sunday so my sister and her family can be in Connecticut with her son and his wife Christmas Day. So my birthday will take a back seat to the Holiday festivities. It's the down side having a birthday so close to Christmas. (Don't even get me started about birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper! - a little left over child-hood trauma!) My plan for the rest of today? Catching up on my blog reading and beginnig to prepare to swatch Roscalie. But first maybe a little nap...

posted by Teresa 12/10/2002 12:16:00 PM

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An Early Birthday Present My partner is the best! C you are the best! This weekend is my three-day weekend. C will be in Baltimore Saturday thru Monday for a symposium for work. Instead of me spending a loooooong lonely weekend by myself she bought me airline tickets so I could spend the weekend with my best friend, Carol, in Iowa City. It's an early birthday present. (My birthday is a week from Sunday.) Carol and I haven't had one on one time together for a long time, so this is an especially wonderful present! Plus I love Iowa City. I may not post again until Tuesday. When I get back I plan to start swatching for Roscalie. BTW...Indigirl made a blog button for me. (Thanks Amy!) Feel free to swipe it!

posted by Teresa 12/05/2002 10:00:00 PM

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Ta Da!! Had to snap the picture at work to be able to get it in natural light. It wasn't easy either - sneaking around to get it - since photographing my knitting is not in my job description! The picture isn't as sharp as I'd like and I tried to get a close-up but couldn't get a pic that did it justice. But I just had to post it NOW! Felting is magical to me...how it turns into something else right before your eyes! and I love how it feels! It's comforting to touch. I brought it in to work Monday and showed my co-workers the 'before' bag. Today, they were OOO-ing and AHH-ing over it saying 'How did you do that!' and 'You need to sell those!' My ego can always use a little knit stroking.

posted by Teresa 12/04/2002 12:30:00 PM

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Psssssst... I felted my Kureyon bag last night. It's drying today. Picture tomorrow. Oh yeah...it turned out GREAT!!!

posted by Teresa 12/03/2002 10:36:00 AM

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One More Row and Another Latte Has Gone to the Dogs Yohji in the Kwanzaa sweater I knit for him. Me and Sade asleep in the chair after a hard day of Thanksgiving eating. (We were good and went to the gym early Thanksgiving morning.) Yohji's Mom is one of us! Visit her brand new knitting blog Natty Knits.

posted by Teresa 12/01/2002 04:22:00 PM

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I'm Thankful for Finishing Stuff Here�s the Crayon, I mean Kureyon Bag� with straps and ready to felt. Maybe Amy and I are making accessories for Rubeus Hagrid? I won�t be felting the bag until this coming Monday evening. Lynette, felter extraordinaire and co-owner of The Yarn Basket (LYS) will be showing me the felting ropes. Pictures to come next week. This is the Kwanzaa dog sweater for Yohji, constant companion of our good friend Denise. I have about an hour of work yet till it�s totally done. I need to weave in the rest of the ends, pick up stitches for and knit ribbing around the legs and hind end. We will be seeing Yohji and Denise Sunday. I hope to snap a few good pics of Yohji sporting his holiday duds. Now that I have this pattern figured out our beagle Sade is next on the doggie sweater list. Not sure how much knitting I�ll do the next few days. I�m off work until Monday but lots of family stuff to keep us busy. Plus I�m doing an extra credit project for my Dreamweaver class. (Have to protect my A�got 40 out of 40 on the last project!) I�ve got the Koigu scarf as a take along to family stuff, but I�m itching to start swatching for my Alice Starmore Roscalie Vest. Alison (November 26 post) has me a bit worried about how easy it is to pick up the two handed method of carrying colors...even though her work looks beautiful! Not sure how much I�ll blog the rest of this week. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

posted by Teresa 11/27/2002 05:06:00 PM

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Before the Sun Went Down I managed to snap a pic of my Kureyon Bag ...not the best picture. I took several, without flash/with flash/inside/outside (Thanks C! You are such a good sport!) and this was the best I could do. It looks kind of funny at this point. The oversize-ment (Tigger-i-za-tion) of the bag to accommodate the felting process makes it look more like Santa's bag than a handbag. My plan to get my Dreamweaver project done last night and knit all day today has been half realized. The project is done. As far as knitting all day, I got six rows in this morning - enough to do the prep to begin the strap shaping. But at this moment that's all the knitting I've been able to get in. We've spent the day, doing errands - the down side of a one-day weekend. So, ya know...that's the way it goes. But once dinner is done, I'm in the chair and knitting the rest of the night.

posted by Teresa 11/24/2002 05:30:00 PM

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Just noticed the Knitty button has changed. An-ti-ci-pa-tion...An-ti-ci-pa-A-tion...

posted by Teresa 11/22/2002 03:45:00 PM

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A Day Without Knitting is Like A Day Without Sunshine It's dark in my world. Sigh. Very dark. I haven't knit a stitch since Monday afternoon. Sigh. Dramatic enough? The truth is it's just been one of those weeks. The main focus of this week needed/needs to be my Dreamweaver project. Wish I could say I'm done...but I'm not. Just started it last night. Due Sunday night at midnight. Work today. Work tomorrow. Sunday off. Work Monday. I hate my short week-ends but this time it's softened with being off Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week. My plan is to work like crazy on the project tonight and tomorrow night, with the hope of finishing it tomorrow night so I can knit all day Sunday. There is a knitting component to this though. (Warning! This will be boring for all of you Web Gurls out there...remember I'm a beginner.) The assignment is to make a web site consisting of 4 pages, comparing/reviewing some kind of product. I'm comparing yarns of three different weights. The four pages will be: index, fingering weight yarn, worsted weight yarn, bulky weight yarn. If I can't knit at least I can think knitting, right? So if all goes as planned I'll have a nice pic of my Kureyon Bag (Crayon Bag?) to post sometime Sunday. BTW - It snowed here this morning. I love snow and was jealous last week when I was reading posts about snow - everywere but here. Maybe I need to move further north. Wish I had thought to bring my camera to work this morning 'cause the view from my work window is quite beautiful.

posted by Teresa 11/22/2002 09:31:00 AM

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A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That Kureyon Bag is at 19 inches and ready to start shaping for the strap. Unfortunately, I can't work on it the rest of this week because I have another Dreamweaver project due Sunday night at midnight and I've yet to start it. All of my spare time needs to be focused on the project not on the bag. This will be a test of willpower for me 'cause I'm excited about finishing the knitting so I can get to the felting. (I've never felted before.) Felting seems kind of magical to me and I'm really excited to do it. So it's incentive to get the project done, right? Right! Knit Connections I went to my first Dayton Knitter's Guild meeting yesterday. I've been meaning to go for months but something always came up. Now I wonder why I waited so long! It's so good to spend time in the company of other knitters! The program was on diagonal knitting, which I probably will never do (never say never!) but the examples of what others had done were beautiful! At the end of the meeting they go around for show and tell...it was fun to see what everyone was doing. All I can say is there's a lot of knittin' going on! Funny how things happen...last week I was clicking through the Knitter's Review forums and saw a post from a woman in Dayton who was looking for other area knitters. I sent her an email. At the Guild meeting, when we went around the room for show and tell, a woman stood up and said that she was Rochelle (name of the woman in the forums) and I wondered if it was her. When it came time to do my show and tell bit, Rochelle called out, "I just sent you an email!" It was her first meeting as well. She told me about a small group that meets at a local bookstore but it's during the week which doesn't work for me. It remains to be seen if we will be able to connect outside of the Guild meeting, but it's a start. Hi! to Shetha from Confessions of a Craft-a-holic! Twice this weekend when I was checking out KnitBlog chat, she was the only one there. She was great to 'talk' to. Ivete is trying to set up a regualr chat for KnitBloggers, which should be a lot of fun. Hopefully, the group will decide on a day and time soon.

posted by Teresa 11/19/2002 11:15:00 AM

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Last Friday, Wendy posted a picture of her workspace and the view out her window. I enjoyed seeing where she spends her days and seeing what she sees when she looks out her window. I thought it would be fun if we all did this...or at least those of who can. We're such a diverse group. Here's my workspace I'm the Registrar Office Coordinator for Antioch University McGregor. I work a rotating schedule...two weeks in a row Tuesday thru Saturday/two weeks Monday thru Friday. My workspace is one of four in an open office...sometimes this makes me crazy. But my office mates and I get along well which makes it bearable. Here's the view out my window The campus here is beautiful. It's one of the benefits of working here. So just imagine me sitting at my desk working and every chance I get sneaking KnitBlog reading. Work gets in the way of all the fun!

posted by Teresa 11/17/2002 09:50:00 PM

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'Round and 'Round I Go Here's where I was on the bag as of noon today. I took my camera to work and got a shot before a dark chilly November rain set in. The picture shows the wonderful purple stripe which I just love! I find that I'm knitting for the purple stripe - do you do that? I need to knit the length or body of the bag to 19 inches before I start shaping for the strap...right now I'm at about 11.

posted by Teresa 11/15/2002 08:45:00 PM

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Noro not Crayola I just tried to take a picture of the progress I'm making on my Kureyon bag but it's too dark. It's looking more bag like. I knit most of last evening and almost an hour during lunch today. Sat in the coffee shop drinking a vanilla latte and knitting at the front window. I need to make this my new lunch time habit. I should be able to get at least a couple hours of knitting in tonight. What I want to work on is my bag but I also need to start a dog sweater I promised a friend I would make for her teeny-tiny-bit-o-white-puff-dog, Yogi. (I think he's a Maltese.) The colors are black, yellow, red and green so Yogi can get his picture taken for Kwanzaa cards. The sweater shouldn�t take very long - really like making doll clothes. Think I'll cast it on tonight, work a few rows so that it�s started, then spend the rest of the time on the bag.

posted by Teresa 11/12/2002 08:30:00 PM

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Organic Handbag? This is the bottom of the handbag I'm making, using Kureyon. At this point I think it looks like one of those funky bumpy autumn squash. This is the inside taken in the middle of the row in which I'm dipping down two rows to pick up a stitch that gets knit with the stitch on the needle. This row 'turns the welt' which distinguishes between the bottom of the bag and the sides. The pattern is by Classic Elite. Here's a picture of the finished/felted bag. The very beginning was a bit challenging. Using #10 double points, you cast on 8 stitches, then distribute to four needles - two on each. (BTW - given my recent post as to my dislike for big needles - I'm sacrificing for the love of the project!) It's extremely awkward for the first 3 rows, I think because there's more needle than yarn and stitches. Extreme focus. But it very quickly became fun. Most of what you see in the picture I knit yesterday. I've been able to do a few rows today but have a project due for the class I'm taking by midnight tomorrow night and I'm not quite 1/2 done. Knitting will be my reward once it's uploaded and ready to be graded.

posted by Teresa 11/10/2002 04:03:00 PM

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HOMESLICE OF CHAOS NEW ARRIVAL!! Congratulations to Beth and her family! One More Row and Another Latte feels a special bond to Homemade Slice of Chaos...I wouldn't be blogging if it weren't for Beth's encouragement.

posted by Teresa 11/09/2002 09:12:00 AM

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Like Our New Chair? Pier 1. We've been looking at it for a couple weeks, then last week it went on sale. It's the perfect knitting chair. C might get to sit in it...when I'm not home. As soon as I log off here, that's where I'll be - needles in hand. (Even though I should be working on a Dreamweaver assignment. But that's not due 'til Monday night...plenty of time, right?)

posted by Teresa 11/07/2002 08:18:00 PM

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On the Needles Koigu scarf update... This is one skein. I have another that I've started but I think I want it a little longer so I need to order another skein. Socks for C This is sock one. Sock two isn't actually on the needles, but it should be. Patons Mittens At least this one is actually on the needles. Ya know, mittens are as bad as socks when it comes to 'second syndrome'. This coming Saturday I'll be starting a felted handbag workshop. I'm doing my bag in Noro Kureyon. #88. I picked up the yarn last weekend...can't wait to start knitting it up. I made two Kureyon scarves last winter and love knitting with it. I'm taking the workshop for the felting process, since I've never felted. Lynette, who will be teaching the workshop, is a felting diva. I'm also looking forward to making some new knitting acquaintances. Should be fun.

posted by Teresa 11/05/2002 01:55:00 PM

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Sweater Weather I love getting my winter sweaters out! Here's a sweater I knit about 8 years ago. It's a Vogue pattern. I loved working on this sweater... I had a little grieving period when I finished it 'cause I didn't want it to end! It's a little hard to see (close up of cable here) but the cable pattern goes up both sides of the front and back and both sleeves.

posted by Teresa 11/04/2002 12:57:00 PM

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Virtual Yarn Becomes Reality This is what was in the box that traveled so far to reach my doorstep yesterday. Alice Starmore's 'Hebridean', 2-ply wool and the pattern for Roscalie. I am a Wendy Watcher and have been in awe of her Fair Isle knitting. She recently knit Rosendal which really caught my eye. I've done color knitting in the past - some stuff that bordered on Fair Isle and some intarsia but never true Fair Isle. I've been on a quest for a challenging project so when I came upon Roscalie on Alice Starmore's Virtual Yarns site I knew this was the place for me to start. I adore the colors and the style and a vest seems the perfect first project. If I love it, I can always do the matching cardigan. I'm not sure when I'm going to start Roscalie. I may wait until Christmas break - 12-22 to 1-2 - no school, no work and a good diversion from holiday madness! Until then I'll swatch for gauge and work on technique. Alice Starmore uses a technique for carrying/stranding yarn that is a combination of English and Continental knitting and I'd like to get the hang of it before I start the real thing. Plus, I have a few unfinished projects, lingering in the ol' knitting bag, that need to be made whole. BUT then there' s a good chance that once I begin knitting my gauge swatch, all logic will be thrown out the window, overcome by emotion and the need to fulfill tactile cavings only another knitter can understand. Want to place a bets on whether logic or emotion wins?

posted by Teresa 11/02/2002 11:35:00 AM

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Yes! My yarn and pattern arrived in today's mail! It was dark by the time I got home - too dark to get a good picture - so I'll get a pic and post about it tomorrow. Tired tonight. Participated in an all day retreat for the department I work in. Sometimes a day like that can make you more tired than a normal work day. Plus it was a beautiful, sunny day here but cold and windy which makes me want to bury myself in bed...which is where I'm headed, knitting (Koigu scarf) in hand!

posted by Teresa 11/01/2002 08:30:00 PM

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Happy Halloween!! History of Halloween Quiz

posted by Teresa 10/31/2002 03:44:00 PM

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It's Not the Size of the Needle... I feel the need to go on record stating my total dislike for BIG needles. There. I've said it. I feel so much better. I know I'm not the only one. I remember reading a post in another blog (can't remember who's though- sorry!) that for them knitting with anything over a size 5 (they may have even said 4) was like knitting with tree trunks. I could't have said it better. While I can tolerate a size 8, I much prefer not working on anything larger than 6's. What triggered this confession? New Wave Scarfdom and Vogue Knitting. Bonnie Marie has been cranking out scarf after beautiful scarf - one knit on size #35 (!!) - needles. Another 'New Wave' passes me by. And Vogue. Is it me? Seems like the majority of sweaters in the new Vogue are knit on #9s and larger? I know, I know...the BIG KNIT look is in. Seems the bigger the better. I see it everywhere, not just in the knitting magazines. Me? Won't be wearin' it. Won't be knittin' it. The great thing about knitting is that we all get to knit what and with what we want to knit with. (Say that 10 times, fast!) I've got a new project that should satisfy my needle-size-OCD. Hopefully I'll be posting about it this week. After the last month or so of new-project-trails-and-tribulations I'm not going to say until the yarn is sittin' on my step.

posted by Teresa 10/29/2002 06:28:00 PM

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Blogging About Blogging In the last couple days I�ve made my way around the Knit Blogger�s Ring. Seems like I only get to do this about every 4 to 6 weeks � there�s always so much to read and so many links to follow - and never enough time. It�s another of those nagging questions � knit or surf? I read that many of you have projects you keep next to the computer that you work on while you surf� but I don�t think this would work for me. When I knit, I want to knit, without interruption. Just me. I�ve posted that I�m learning Dreamweaver and web development. I find that as I surf the web now I�m more aware of what makes a good web page/site. I�m also curious about what makes one Knit Blog more �popular� than another � and how to make One More Row and Another Latte better. While making my way through the KB Ring I tried to be aware of what makes me linger at one site and not another. Three things stand out: Knitting content Pictures How often the blog is updated I think I�m pretty good at keeping my blog 'knitting focused'. I have mixed feelings about how much those who stop by this humble blog, want to know about my day-to-day life even though I like hearing about what�s happening - aside from knitting � in the blogs I read everyday. If anything, maybe I don�t include enough of this kind of stuff in my blog - I don�t know? I�m working on the picture/photo thing. I recently got my digital camera and have never used PhotoShop before, so I�m on another learning curve. But that�s one of the reason�s I keep this blog � learning about all of this �stuff�. I�m going to try to post more. I average 2 to 3 posts a week. Not bad but I�d like to post more�so I�m going to try to increase my posts to 4 to 5 a week. This brings me to say how impressed I am by those of you who post every day (you know who you are!) What blows me away is that most of you are very prolific knitters as well as talented web-sters � besides all the other things you do with your lives. I just don�t know how you find the time to do it all! You inspire me.

posted by Teresa 10/28/2002 04:26:00 PM

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Say 'Bye, 'Bye Minutes after this picture was taken this almost-sock was no more! Frogged out of existence! Why? I was just plain unhappy with it! The leg was too long and a bit too wide. The heel flap was too long. It just wasn't gettin' it for me. So a rippin' I did go. (Anyone else out there think there's something theraputic about ripping out?!?) All of this brought with it a nagging question... A skein of Opal Sock yarn is suppose to be enough for two socks - one pair. So what is considered the standard Opal sock? How do you know that personal adjustments won't leave you with not enough yarn to finish sock number two? (I might know the answer to this if I subscribed to the Socknitters List but I just don't have the patience for email lists.) Squib's got some sock trauma going on as well (yesterday's post)...

posted by Teresa 10/24/2002 09:58:00 AM

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From drawing...to Finished Object C knew exactly the sweater she wanted me to knit for her but we couldn't find a pattern...so she drew the pic above. I think I did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself!) of making her sweater vision reality. Finished the slight v-neck and wove in the last end Saturday night. C wore it yesterday. She's just the cutest in it! Fits perfect...like it was made for her.

posted by Teresa 10/21/2002 04:17:00 PM

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Tee for Me!! (QueerKnit Logo on back) Thanks to IndiGirl for setting up the QueerKnit Ring and Boutique! Gay or Gay Friendly? Join the ring...and show your colors!

posted by Teresa 10/19/2002 06:44:00 PM

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We're here...and we knit.

posted by Teresa 10/17/2002 06:44:00 PM

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Yes. I started something new this week-end. A scarf in Koigu. I love knitting with Koigu. No. I did not make the FO Wanna Be an honest FO. I have no excuses. I do feel a little guilty since sweater weather made it's entrance in the Ohio Valley last night. Maybe by next week-end. Knit-Night here at my place in about 1/2 an hour.

posted by Teresa 10/14/2002 05:48:00 PM

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FO WannaBe I tried to get a pic of the whole sweater but it's mainly a dark grey sweater with stripes around the bottom of the sweater and each sleeve - doesn't photograph well. All that's needed to make this an honest to goodness FO is a little crochet edging around a 'slight V-neck' I dropped from the rounded neck and weaving ends in. The intended owner has been wearing the sweater around the house 'as is' - trying to make a point. An hour or so this week-end should stop the harrassment.

posted by Teresa 10/12/2002 09:26:00 AM

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National Coming Out Day More info...Human Rights Campaign Foundation

posted by Teresa 10/11/2002 11:17:00 AM

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How Does a Knitter Know She's Loved? When her non-knitting partner brings her back a bag full of knitting books. (I know the pic is dark...I need to follow Wendy's advice and only snap pics in natural light!) While at a conference near Washington D.C. last week-end, said partner found out that the Springwater Fiber Workshop was close by. Everything a fiber lover could want - even looms in the back where you can rent loom time! I feel pretty special. There�s nothing better than someone who really gets you.

posted by Teresa 10/09/2002 07:47:00 PM

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Knitting Meetup Caught this on Ivete's blog today and gave it a click. (See button under links at right.) I'm signed up - curious to see how this works out.

posted by Teresa 10/09/2002 10:59:00 AM

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Not 'til Next Week Can't place my yarn order with The Handworks Gallery 'til next week...they left for Stitches East with yarn in tow. I'm being given a lesson in practice, I believe.

posted by Teresa 10/08/2002 10:53:00 AM

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All It Took Was a Phone Call... to help me make up my mind. I've decided this will be my next sweater. Fall '01 Vogue knit with Karabella Aurora 8. The story (for those three people who might be following it) is that late Friday afternoon I finally called The Handworks Gallery, and actually let it ring until someone answered. Whoever I talked to was so nice! The Denim had not come in so I canceled that. I had ordered a two different skeins of Koigu Kersti. Told them to send me the Koigu and that I would call this week when I knew what I wanted. I told the woman I was talking to that I was thinking about the sweater above. She asked if I'd ever knit with Aurora 8. I said no. She said it was her favorite yarn and that she would include some in my Koigu so I could check it out for myself. How wonderful is that? I've decided even without the sample to go with this sweater and I'm excited about it. Movement. I'll be calling tomorrow to order the yarn. Already tried today - they're closed Mondays. Hopefully they will be able to get the order out to me before they take off for Stitches East.

posted by Teresa 10/07/2002 09:49:00 AM

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Knitting Limbo Continues (and it don't feel good!) Is it that my schoolwork is taking all my free time and I'm not getting my fiber therapy? Or is it that the back-ordered Rowan Denim I ordered from The Hand Works Gallery is not yet in stock? and (even though my knitting time is being sucked away) I want to start something new and can't? I'm just feeling all disconbobulated about knitting right now. It seems like everyone else in Knit-Blogdom is making some kind of knitting/creative progress except me. As of this morning I haven't yet canceled my Hand Works Gallery order BUT I have picked up the phone a couple time and dialed the number. I do want to make the sweater I originally ordered the yarn for but the waiting is making my enthusiasm for this sweater and that yarn wane. In the past two weeks I've considered several other projects and just last night I had myself convinced that the next project would be a double-necked zip-front pullover knit in Karabella Aurora 8 merino from Fall 01 Vogue. Hence, one of the almost calls to The Handworks Gallery this morning...but as the phone started to ring I changed my mind again and hung up. Do I need medication? No. I think I just need my old yarn shops back. Sniff. My yarn shops - The Yarn Dome and the Yarn Palette - have closed. It used to be that I'd see a sweater, go to the shop and pick out the yarn. (And I could actually touch the yarn, too!) I'd buy enough yarn to get started and Vicky or Carla (sisters and owners of the two shops) would put the rest of the yarn in my own little cubby in the back of their store where my un-knit sweater would patiently wait as I bought a few skeins a week until the sweater was done. Impulse buying at it's best. Vicky and Carla were great enablers...I mean stash enhancement suppliers. Now my yarn purchases have to be made with more consideration. My budget has never and still does not allow my to buy yarn for a whole sweater. The purchase of the Rowan Denim yarn - all 24 skeins at one time - is a gift from my partner. So I want to make sure that the yarn and the project I start are just right. It may be quite some time until I get to buy yarn for a whole sweater again. What if I don't pick right? When I thought the yarn had been ordered and committed to the decision part was over as well. I'm an impatient kid when it comes to starting a project. I'm excited about it now and I want to start it now. Now! Now! Now!

posted by Teresa 10/04/2002 10:51:00 AM

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Knit Happened... ...at my place last night. I got in a several rows but mostly played Knit Doctor. Three out of the four of us were working on socks. Julie is about 1/2 way through her second sock of a pair. Ellen Marie - working on her first sock got the cuff done and started into the leg. Vicky wanted to work on a hat she is copying from an-old-worn-family-favorite, but she forgot the original hat and we couldn't figure out what the notes meant that we made last time we were together in late June. She was so disappointed! But we are getting together again in 2 weeks - she/we should make some progress on it then. Tonight - no knitting for me. Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver. It's living up to it's name... I've dreamt about it the last 3 nights! You know, that kind of dreaming/sleeping where you feel like you are doing more dreaming than sleeping and when you get up in the morning you wonder if you slept at all? My brain is working (overtime) which means I'm learning and this is a good thing. Yawn.

posted by Teresa 10/01/2002 09:12:00 PM

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Knitting VS Technology I've barely knit a stitch this week. All of my 'free time' this week has been devoted to the 'Intro to Web Development' class I'm taking on-line. The class should be called 'Intro to Dreamweaver' 'cause that's what it really is. I'm new to web development and have never used Dreamweaver so I'm experiencing a bit of a learning curve. I like taking it on line but if I get stuck on something it can take more time than it should to figure it out - this is when I wonder if I'd been better to take it as a traditional class. But all in all taking the class on-line out weighs being in a classroom - sitting on my deck in my PJ's is a great way to do homework! Hopefully, I'll get some time in on my sock this evening. I still haven't decided on the next sweater. I think I'm going to call The Handworks Gallery and tell them to cancel my order. I can always re-order in a week or two when I truly make up my mind. I know I'll get some knitting in tomorrow night when Knit Nite! resumes. The small group of women that I was stitchin' with before summer took over, are due here 'round 7:30pm. Hopefully we'll get back on an every-2-or-3 weeks schedule. Isn't this cute? A page from: 'Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day' By Jamie Lee Curtis Illustrated by Laura Cornell

posted by Teresa 9/29/2002 02:10:00 PM

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posted by Teresa 9/27/2002 11:20:00 AM

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Knitting Limbo Got a call from The Handworks Gallery yesterday that the Rowan Denim I ordered is on back order. At least two weeks before they get it in. Am I not supposed to make this sweater? I am SO ready to start a big project. All I have going right now are small things like socks and mittens. I need something substantial to work on! Maybe now's the time I try one of Mags Kandis' designs - 1924 Wool is pretty fab to work with I hear. Or that Alice Starmore I've said I was going to make for the past 5 years - wonderful longer cardigan with beautiful cables on the upper back that flow into the collar. Then there's the yarn stash and all those patterns I fell in love with back then - within reach - no fuss no mussing with ordering and waiting. But they seem boring now...what a fickel lover I am. My plan is to spend some time tomorrow night looking over options. I'm going to give Personal Threads Boutique a call tomorrow and see if they have Denim in stock and how long it will take to get it to me. I want a yarn shop where the yarn is in stock and they want my money and I don't have to wait for my Internet order to be processed or UPS person to come! It's enough to make a gurl become a small business owner. HHhhhhmmmmm...

posted by Teresa 9/25/2002 07:13:00 PM

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WWHHHhhhAAaaa HHHhhOOOOOoooo!!!! We got a digital camera yesterday! Presenting one of my current KIPs... Opal Mexiko color #15 sock.

posted by Teresa 9/23/2002 08:22:00 PM

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Knitting Books Are Everywhere! In the past week I've picked up three new knitting books - all recently published. Zen and the Art of Knitting Exploring the Links Between Knitting, Spirituality and Creativity Writen by Bernadette Murphy. Even though she interviewed other knitters and pulls from their experinences, Bernadette writes mostly about her own knitting life. I like her writing style and am enjoying the book alot. Bernadette got her MFA in creative writing at Antioch Los Angles which is a sister school to Antioch University McGregor where I work. One of our IT folks knows her from completing the same program and knew of the book that way. There's a web site for the book but it's mainly PR. Knit Lit Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting A book has a title or sub title Sweaters and Their Stories... ...what knitter could resist? I just bought this last night and looked it over before turning out the light. It looks like feel-good-before-bed reading. Knit Lit is a collection of stories and essays from 75 knitters edited by LInda Roghaar and Molly Wolf. Chapter titles include Disasters, Extreme Knitting, Peaceable Fleece in Foreign Parts and Plying the Spirit. One of the contributors, Zaina Keller Flickinger, is from my area. Her bio says that she is a member of the Dayton,Ohio Knitting Guild - the guild I keep saying I'm going to join and attend.The Knit Lit website has a link for ordering from Amazon plus info about contributing to Knit Lit 2. The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook If you like color and / or socks (IMHO) you will love this book! By Lynne Vogel and The Twisted Sisters (again, who could resisit?). I bought this last night to and looked through it over coffee this morning. It's divided into three sections - dying, spinning and knitting socks - 92 pages with lots of info...enough to get you inspired and looking for more. I'm looking forward to later today or tomorrow when I can actually READ and SAVOR the book again. It's available on Amazon and through Interweave Press . I found mine at Borders. If you've seen, bought and / or read any of these, leave me a comment and tell me what you think

posted by Teresa 9/22/2002 12:20:00 PM

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But Teresa...what are you knitting right now? Opal Mexiko Socks I cast the first sock on in-flight to Fort Lauderdale. While in there I knit the cuff and 7 inches of the leg. Before starting the heel I decided to try them on. The cast on row was tight and the cuff didn't feel comfortable going on. When I counted my stitches I discovered I meant to cast on 68 but had only cast on 60. So on the flight betwenn Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta - as KnitDad says - I unknit the whole sock and started over again. Ripping out is always a little disappointing but I knit to knit - the end product is a gift. I finished the cuff and started the leg between Atlanta and Dayton. I haven't had much time to knit this week so I haven't made much progress since Monday. Did get to knit a bit during a lunch meeting on Wednesday...that's about it. Sheringham Ordered the yarn tonight from The Handworks Gallery. Yea! Hopefully, I'll have the yarn by the end of the week. I decided to go with the blue - Memphis. Hope I'll be casting this on (again) soon. As I posted 9/18 I started this sweater in Ecru while in Florida - knit a skein thinking the rest of the yarn would be waiting for me when I got home. It wasn't. (Ok...I'm done harping on this. Promise.) If any one reading this has ordered from The Handworks Gallery, leave a comment and tell me if you were happy with their service.

posted by Teresa 9/21/2002 09:58:00 PM

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When I get the yarn... ...this is the my next sweater. The pattern name is Sheringham. Pattern and yarn both by Rowan. Too bad the picture does not show detail of the stitch pattern. It's very nice. I was set to do Ecru but now that I'm looking to order the yarn again I'm considering Memphis - one of the blues. The pattern detail would probably show more with Ecru but Memphis might be like wearing my old, soft, faded jean jacket. I admit it...I'm a blue jean girl at heart. You can take the gurl out of the blue jeans but you can't the the blue jeans out of the gurl.

posted by Teresa 9/19/2002 07:14:00 PM

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1 More Stitch NEVER AGAIN! Before leaving for Fort Lauderdale I called and ordered 23 skeins of Rowan Denim from 1 More Stitch in Cincinnati. Brenda the owner assured me she would send the order via UPS and that I would have it when I returned. Sunday we return home - no yarn. Called Monday. She said she was gathering her UPS orders and would get it out. Called Tuedsay. The order still had not gone out and she couldn't say when it would. ORDER CANCELLED!! And she didn't seem to give a .... What's up with this? She doesn't need my business? my $140.00 plus? business I might send her way? I just don't get this in an economic environment where small businesses have to compete with larger companies and the Internet. To me the Local Yarn Shop is akin to the indepent bookstore...an endangered specices. But evidently not Brenda and 1 More Stitch. Maybe since she's got a star-studded customer base and mention in Family Circle Easy Living she doesn't need me as a customer - whatever! I will never step foot in her store again. It sucks 'cause I've swatched, got my gauge and started my sweater. I knit up the one skein I bought and was ready to take off from there with the yarn that was suppose to be waiting at home. All for not! Chances of me getting the same dye lot are next to none, so more than likely I'll have to re-knit. ...whenever I DO get my yarn ...from the someone who DOES want my money!!

posted by Teresa 9/18/2002 10:11:00 AM

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Back to Reality. But one last glimpse of how I spent last Friday, Saturday and Sunday... Forgotten are Wednesday and Thursday, spent inside, thanks to tropical depression 9 / Hannah. This allowed for lots of knitting but too tired to write about that tonight. A day back in the real world can tucker a gurl out. Re-entry...should be a four letter word.

posted by Teresa 9/16/2002 09:12:00 PM

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Off to Fort Lauderdale! Back Monday September 16. May or may not post while I'm gone...depends on how sunny Fort Lauderdale is! Tom got my pictures up and ready for me to post (THANKS TOM!) but I'm going to wait until I get back.

posted by Teresa 9/10/2002 08:44:00 AM

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1 More Stitch - One More Chance I'm glad I did. The owner, Brenda, must have been having a bad day the last time I was there. Yesterday she was really friendly, very helpful and super chatty with every customer there. At one point my partner and I were the only people in the store and Brenda went on and on about her favorite kind knitting, bringing out yarn she loves and patterns she had made and wants to make. It was fun getting to know her that way. I left 1 More Stitch with one skein of Rowan's Denim in Ecru and a book of patterns designed by Kim Hargreaves, specifically for Denim. I didn't think I was ready to commit to a pattern and yarn by the time I got ready to leave but an hour later - and too late to make it back to the store before it closed - I knew what I wanted. So I'll call her tomorrow and ask her to send the yarn. Damn! I would have loved to have worked on this while in Florida! But at least with the skein I did buy I can get my gauge and then make a start. It will be nice to have a package of yarn waiting for me when I come home. Pictures...Coming Soon! I've had a co-worker's digital camera (Thanks Tom!) for the past few days. Today I took pictures of my 'knitting stuff". I hope to have them to post soon. Tom will need to download them from the camera to his laptop and then get them to me. Could be next week before I post any of them 'cause I'm not sure if I'll be posting while I'm in Florida. I know we are taking the laptop, just not sure what kind of access I'll have. I really hope to be on the beach the majority of the time but the extended forecast for Fort Lauderdale is not all sunshine...bummer!

posted by Teresa 9/08/2002 04:59:00 PM

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Saturday Road Trip! Destination Cincinnati... Going for a couple different reasons - one of which is to go to One More Stitch - a yarn shop just north of downtown. This shop is highlighted in the current issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting as Rebecca Budig's favorite yarn shop (when she's home). My first and only visit to One More Stitch was last January or February. I was totally turned off by the owner's interactions with her customers (me included!) But I'm going to give it - her - another try. I'm desparate for a yarn shop with a large and varied selection of yarn. Project(s) to travel with. I'll be starting a pair of Opal Mexiko socks this week-end. This will be my flight project. Considering packing a 5 year old UFO for beach and pool knitting. Long sleeved pull over with a cable pattern across the upper half of the sweater. Knit in grey Paton's Classic Wool. The cable pattern requires concentration but I shouldn't be too distracted while sitting next to the pool. This could change though...after tomorrow's little shopping excursion. A gurl's gotta leave her options open.

posted by Teresa 9/06/2002 09:07:00 PM

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Knitting needles as weapons? Nora Clavicle: "Don't make a move, Batgirl! Nor you either, Dynamic Duo." Robin: "Holy knit one, purl two!" My partner and I are flying, a week from today, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and I'm thinking about what knitting to take with me. For inflight knitting, think I'll stick with those non-threatening 5 inch #2 double points and a nice pair of socks. I'll be spending the next week trying not to be nervous about the fact that we are flying late on September 10th. My mind knows that my fears are irrational but I still can't help feeling a bit freaked. I tell myself I'm just glad we are not flying on the 11th but the way things go with the airlines there's no real comfort there either. I tend to be a nervous flyer even without all the extra stuff. My knitting provides active relief so I'm hoping my needles will make it through. We flew in February and I knit on all flights there and back. Just hope they don't decide to tighten things up again (not allow knitting needles) given 9/11 anniversary.

posted by Teresa 9/03/2002 10:41:00 AM

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End of Labor Day Week-end Update: Finished my Regia sock and now I have a pair - what a concept! (No half-assed effort here...) Toe up/sockinette stitch/K2P2 rib...pretty basic but they will be fun to wear. Finished one/left mitten. I had made one mitten on regular needles but sewing the seam was a pain. Double points are the ticket here...I'll be casting on the right mitten this week sometime. The Patons sweater is whole! Now I need to decide how I want to finish the neck. It's a rounded v-neck that doesn't need much. At first I thought I'd do a simple crochet finish but now I think I'm going to do K2P2 (same as cuffs and bottom rib) but only 2 or 3 rows. I had planned to pick up stitches tonight and maybe finish it but I got sidelined with a nasty migraine headache about 5pm. It's enough to be looking at this computer screen but thanks to Imitrex at least I feel well enough to do that! Today organized my yarn in my amorie/ updated my excel knitting worksheet AND organized my magazines in an upstairs closet. Currently the magazines are on the floor but it's nice to have them out of the Rubbermaid tub in the basement and in a space that's at least accessible. Hi to Fillyjonk and KnitDad! I'm enjoying both of your blogs! (links at right) Fillyjonk! Thanks again for another refreshing and honest post! (Monday September 2) You articulate so well what needs to be said. Wendy at Wendy's Knitting Blog (link also at right) is SO inspiring me to do Fair Isle. Wendy's blog is great! and her knitting is something to aspire to. I love knitting with small needles and the colorway of her current project is classically beautiful. Last night I even went so far as to check out Dale of Norway yarns in the Patternworks catalog. I need a new project that's challenging...

posted by Teresa 9/02/2002 08:01:00 PM

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Labor Day Week-end Knitting To Do List: ( I love me a three day week-end!) Saturday Morning KIP We plan to spend the morning at our local Saturday/Farmer's Market, sitting at a table, listening to live music, drinking coffee and eating fresh baked goods. My partner will be reading, reading, reading as she is taking comprehensive exams for her Ph.D. two weeks from today. I'll be knitting (one more row) and enjoying one and then another latte. Sew together rounded V-neck long-sleeved Patons sweater. There's no excuse for me not having this done by Monday evening. 'The line must be drawn here!!' Finish Regia socks. Work on mittens. Hopefully these will turn into Christmas gifts. I'm trying the Paton's Shetland Ragg on #8 double points, using Paton's 'Cool Weather Accessories' pattern. I also started a mitten using the 'basic mitten pattern' from 'The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Using Country DK for these...mainly to try out the pattern. (I've got lots and lots of Country DK!) Put away and organize my yarn stash. All my yarn is still in boxes since our move, the first of July. My partner gave me a really nice amorie for Christmas last year - devoted totally to my yarn stash. First time I've had a piece of furniture just for my yarn/knitting. Time for phase two of settling in. I love pulling the yarn out of the box and organizing it on each shelf. After the yarn is put away I need to figure out where all of my knitting magazines are going to go... Maybe I'll get access to the digital camera my neighbor offered in the next few days. It would be great to post pics of the finished sweater and my stash. What are you doing this week-end?

posted by Teresa 8/30/2002 08:19:00 PM

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I've decided to post once a week for the next couple weeks.

posted by Teresa 8/28/2002 08:22:00 PM

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This week I'm living vicariously through Bonne Marie and her experiences at Stitches Mid-West. Stitches East takes place October 10-13 in King of Prussia/Philadephia, PA. Only a short 8-9 hour drive for me...Hhmmmmm

posted by Teresa 8/26/2002 11:58:00 AM

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Finally! I'm going to be able to post some pics of my knitting! My wonderful new neighbors are going to let me borrow their digital camera until I have my own. I hope this makes this little page of mine more interesting...it's not good when you find your own blog boring :( Hope to have some KIP pics here by mid-week. Speaking of KIP...I made a mitten using a Patons Shetlagg Ragg. Cast on late on Monday night and finished it Tuesday evening - about 3 hours of knitting. The pattern is done on #8 straight needles but I think it would be better done on double-points so I'm going to stop at my LYS on the way home from work today and pick up a set.

posted by Teresa 8/24/2002 09:02:00 AM

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I think I am suffering from late summer drag. There's really nothing very exciting happening in my little corner of the world...my knit world or other wise. Doing a few rows here and there on the second Regia sock. The Patons sweater is laying across the futon waiting to be made whole. Picked up the new Knitter's and Cast-On yesterday...peeked at Knitter's but haven't really sat down to look at either. It's the part of keeping a blog that I'm not sure about...what do you write about when you don't have anything to write about?

posted by Teresa 8/19/2002 12:50:00 PM

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I'm always curious about what the knit bloggers look like. So if you are at all curious about what I look like wearing a hat late spring / early summer (although my partner does keep the air conditioning cold enough that I could wear a coat in the house on the hottest of days) in the living room (of the apartment we just moved out of) knitting... Me. Kinda dark - but still me.

posted by Teresa 8/14/2002 05:55:00 PM

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Regia second sock: finished heel and moving upward. Had to rip the heel/short rows from 'almost-done-to-you-start-the-heel-here' once 'cause I wrapped the wrong way and when I went to correct it all hell broke loose. Started a simple 4x4 basketweave scarf in Sidar Harlequin. The first Christmas project to hit the needles. Did you happen to catch Sarah's daughter's fiber dreads? (the August 8th post - you'll have to scroll through a couple more current pics of her most beautiful self spun yarn.) If I didn't wear my hair in a 1/2 inch spike I'd have a little end of summer fun myself. Maybe fiber dread extensions?

posted by Teresa 8/13/2002 07:03:00 PM

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Paton's sweater: finished both sleeves last night. Blocking today. Second Regia Jacquard sock (toe up): finishing heel-hope to 'knit on' tonight. It's a short week-end for me, only have today off. Since last October I've worked Tuesday thru Saturday. Beginning this week I start a rotating schedule - off two Saturdays / work two Saturdays. It will be good to have some Saturday's off again. I love going to local Farmer's Market's which all take place on Saturdays around here. Local fresh veggies, baked goods and flowers with some arts and crafts thrown in...you know where I'll be next Saturday morning!

posted by Teresa 8/11/2002 03:07:00 PM

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More of my current fascination with John Krynick profiled in the current issue of Fiberarts ...click on Profile in the left frame. Another of his pieces is shown on the contents page. For some reason I couldn't find their web page when I first posted about John August 1, so I posted a link to another site - featuring lots of cool fiber artists (Miriam Schaer) - where his work was shown. Fiberarts shows many of his pieces and I think the exact same article as the one in the magazine.

posted by Teresa 8/09/2002 08:15:00 PM

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It's a gorgeous evening and all I've got to do is sit on my deck and knit. Now that's a beautiful thing.

posted by Teresa 8/08/2002 06:10:00 PM

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Picked up a copy of 'The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges' by Ann Budd. As the name implies the designs are basic but I think it will be useful. The formatting of the patterns looks very clean...I'm curious to see if they are as user-friendly as they look. Have you bought this book? Picked it up and put it back down? Knitting something from it right now? Tell me what you think...

posted by Teresa 8/06/2002 05:52:00 PM

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Haven't knit a stitch today. My partner had the day off so we went to see the International Man of Mystery What can I say? we laughed and laughed. Finished the cream and burgandy sock last night. No pics though...don't have a digital camera (it's at the top of my wish list) and I haven't connected the scanner since the move. Maybe by the end of the week.

posted by Teresa 8/05/2002 08:45:00 PM

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More progress on the Patons sweater today. Took out the basting and frogged both sleeves. Refigured the sleeve increases and shaping - both are ready to go. Also ready to finish the Cream and Burgandy Country DK sock (first of the pair). While organizing my knitting 'stuff' last night I pulled this out of my bag - forgot how close I was to finishing it when I put it away. It made for great knitting on a short road trip to Cincinnati today. Completed the foot and started shaping the toe...maybe 16 rows away from FO status. Tonight I hope.

posted by Teresa 8/04/2002 04:36:00 PM

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Doin' the happy dance on the Paton's sweater! I put together the shoulder seams, basted in the finished sleeve and side and sleeve seams. The sweater is going to fit beautifully! The neck is just right! and the sleeve is 3 inches too long! WhaaaHoooo! This means I will have enough yarn and I am almost done with the second sleeve. The Knitting Goddess is smiling on me tonight. Thank you, Knitting Goddess.

posted by Teresa 8/03/2002 08:21:00 PM

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No knitting last night. While a Star Trek 4-Pack is prime knitting time it's also prime mess-with-the-computer-mess-with-your-blog time. I did ask myself why I didn't have needles in my hands instead and decided that the Regia socks and the Patons sweater are both at stages that require some concentration. I'm ready to do the heel on the socks andI'm not familiar with the pattern I'm using. I've only used it once for the first sock. Sewing the shoulder seams of the Patons sweater doesn't require a lot of time or concentration but it's what comes after they are sewn that's stopping me. (In the short life of this blog, even I am getting tired of my excuses related to this sweater!) I have a lot of anxitey about this sweater. It's for my partner - the first one I've knit for her - and I want it to be just right. Plus I want to be done with it. I do, I really do. So I need to start a mindless project. Probably a scraf which will be a Christmas present. Seems Bonne Marie and I are thinking along the same lines today.

posted by Teresa 8/03/2002 11:05:00 AM

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I'm frustrated with Blogger and the knit bloggers ring. Blogger would not publish my posts until this afternoon and my site is in the queue at Ring Surf and I don't know why. I had something screwed up with the code for the knit blogger ring and had sent an email about it. Maybe that's the reason? but why not send an email telling me what's up. No knitting yet today but it's Friday night which means Star Trek 4-Pack - prime knitting time. Another co-worker