Way out in the Middle of Nowhere

This blogger does not like me at times. The next few things on the needles are a bit easier and great for keeping my hands busy while watching TV. The featherweight cardigan is part of the KAL that the ladies have started. A number of us ladies gather at the Dragonfly on Thursdays for open knitting. When I work by yourself all week, it is good to get out and chat with others to keep my sanity. My featherweight is in orange: Tiger Lily by Malabrigo. The last item on the needles that is new is the Brandywine Shawl . The initial idea was to knit this using some Malabrigo Sock yarn that I bought specifically for it. I started that things SIX TIMES using that yarn and each time, it would screw up before row 20. Finally I got the idea that this yarn did not want to be that shawl. I picked up a hank of handspun in a beautiful combination of violets and oranges and started knitting with that. It's been easy-peasy since!

First of all, let Americans take a moment out of their day off to reflect on those who serve in our Military and gave their lives in defense of the United States of America. Without them, USA would not be as Free and Wondrous as it is. There are times in my knitting journey where I am direction-less. I will start things and then frog them. I will start different things and just leave them alone. It usually happens after I complete a large project. The last episode was about a month ago. During that time, I started some 5 or so projects because the 6 or so that are in progress were not enough....... The Bee Fields shawl was giving me fits. I had an inkling that the size 7 needles were too big, but was too stubborn to frog the darned thing. It took about a week, but I mustered up the ooomph to do so and then restarted it. It does look better now. The yarn is a handspun silk that I had custom dyed for this shawl. I wanted a honey colored silk. Kerri at the Dragonfly was happy to help ...

I've got a Kundert Drop Spindle. It spins beautifully and I do like it a lot. HOWEVER.....if I drop the danged thing (and it does happen) while spinning, the cop (Spun fiber wrapped on the shaft) pops off. HELP!! I have emailed the maker of the spindles who replied something like, "Hey, I just make them. I don't spin with them. Ask a spinner." Oh OK whatever. If you have any answers, please let me know! The picture is of Vicki, with her I MUST KILL YOU NOW! look. Which is just added for fun. Dave is in the background doing...........something.

I recently was talking to a very knowledgeable person about my reading material in the restrooms of my house. Yes, I have reading material in them....sometimes it is the only place I can get a few uninterrupted minutes to read. One of the books is the "Great Mortality" about the Black Death plague that hit Europe in the mid 1300's. This visitor to my home enjoyed the downstairs reading: A book about how famous persons died and where they were buried, and asked about the one upstairs. "It's about the Black Death." "The what?" "The black death: the plague that decimated 2/3 of the population of Europe in the 1300's" About this time I'm reminded of the ex-boyfriend who didn't know what Stonehenge was.... "I've never heard of that." Ok, what are kids being taught in school these days? Not even that, but the History Channel digs out their documentary on it at least twice a year and shows it. In the scope of humanity...

What the words say to the right: " In this Feb. 21, 2008, file photo, Holocaust hero Irena Sendler is seen in her home in Warsaw, Poland. Poland's lawmakers have unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday Feb. 19, 2010, marking the 100th birthday of Irena Sendler who is credited with saving some 2,500 Jewish children from the Holocaust. Parliament says Sendler dedicated her whole life to children and was 'good, modest and concentrated only on helping others.' When Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II Sendler worked as a social worker and organized an effort to smuggle out Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. The children were given new identities and placed with Polish families and in convents. For her efforts Sendler was made an honorary citizen of Israel and held the title of 'Righteous among the nations.' She died in 2008." Courtesy of the AP News. Irena Sendler spent WWII in Poland, smuggling Jewish infants, toddlers and children...

The Janesville Area Knitting Guild has their Knit-In the first weekend in February. Now, I've known for 8 months what the knitting challenge would be. The challenge this year was mittens. So being a studious person, I waited until I had 2 weeks left to start my entry. I came across this funky looking fingerless mitts that I thought might just be eye-catching enough to win. So I started knitting and ended up with this: The basic pattern can be found here be forewarned: A lot of it is in German. My mitts ended up with a different shape. My cat wouldn't get off my lap long enough for me to check the website to see if I was doing it right. I just winged it. The pair looks like this with the right one being the first one done. It got a bit out of hand. And I won Most Creative! YAY!!

Remember the pyramid bag? Yep. It's cool all right. But I found a flaw. The yarn can get stuck around the zipper pull. I was using it at my Wednesday class last week. It's handy to secretly slip your hat-in-progress out and start knitting during class. I am pretty sure that the teachers wouldn't have a big fit about me knitting, as I was paying close attention to what they were saying. BUT, I am thinking that some of the other students may be either bothered by it or fascinated by watching a woman knit without looking. So I kept it pretty much hidden on my lap under the table. The next day, I pull out the hat and yarn and it was stuck in the zipper pull! I had to break my yarn to get it out of there. I KNEW there was a reason that the KIP bag doesn't have a zipper!