Friday, September 16, 2011

Whirling like a Dervish Dancer



It was my son's birthday and I decided to buy him a new telephone, because his old phone met an unfortunate death. I wanted to surprise him so I went to the AT&T store as painful as that is but after all it's my boy and it's his birthday. I looked around and now it was time to take a look at my family account.

Can I see a photo id? Says the young lady who was helping me. Sure I say I got lots of those right here, oh my God my id pouch is missing! My heart sinks, WHAT? WHERE COULD IT BE? OMG. What do I do? Where do I look. Do I just call the credit card company right now? I can't remember when I used it last? Did I change wallets and forgot? No it's the same wallet.....

Excuse me young lady I got to go now. I ran to my car and high tailed it back to the house arriving slightly crazed. I ran in the house and started looking and throwing things my somewhat neat desk with piles of paper here and there are being tossed around like a salad. I am in a total panic. At which point my husband walks in and asks what I'm doing.

NOTHING! I say. Oh you are up to something you look like a Dervish Dancer.

NOTHING! I say again.

Then I finally figure that I will have to tell him this dilemma sooner or later so I confess and tell him that I have misplaced (surely not lost) my driver's license, my credit card and several other important cards from my wallet. To which he answers me with "Where did you have it last?"

WHERE DID I HAVE IT LAST? If I knew where I had it last it would not be lost!

"Let me see your wallet"

WHAT FOR? TO SEE IT EMPTY?

I realize that he is just trying to help but this is not helping. By now I am beyond upset, I am quite ready to have a total melt down.

Then I spot this little pouch on a love seat in the dining room. I sometimes throw my purse there or a sweater I've taken off and not put away etc. And slowly it's coming back to me now. I went on a bike ride and my husband insisted that I take my id with me. I had a business card with emergency info on it and a couple of dollars but he insisted that I had all my id with me. Ok I did and then I forgot.

What a relief to find my id. by then I was totally exhausted and put myself to bed. Never mind that it was only 7 pm. But all is well that ends well.



Friday, September 02, 2011

Twins or Cousins?



They are not identical twins that I know! First I thought I would strive for fraternal twins but maybe they turned out to be just cousins. You see I was using up small little balls of yarn for a class I took up at the Sock Summit.

The class was

Knitted Tessellation: Playful and Powerful Patterns in Practice

The teacher: Franklin Habit

When I first read the class description it sounded really exciting and it was a great class. I loved Franklin and he was organized and well informed. Over all a good class.

A hands-on introduction to the creation of tessellations: motifs that interlock without gaps or overlaps. Tessellations are as old and pervasive as design itself; they can be found in some of the most ancient examples of human craft, and were famously used in the modern era by the artist M.C. Escher. In this class, we will discuss the theories behind tessellating, and put into practice the basic techniques for creating tessellated patterns in hand-knitted fabrics.

There was homework:

Yarn: Sock- or fingering-weight yarns in solid or semi-solid colors. Two balls in highly contrasting colors if you wish to work in stranded colorwork; one ball if you choose to work in knit/purl texture patterns. (If the latter, white or a light solid color is preferred.) Needles: Any size appropriate to the yarn(s) selected–either double-pointed or circular according to your sock knitting preference. Notions: Stitch markers (8), scissors, notebook, pencils (not pens) and erasers for sketching and charting.

Homework:

Using the sock knitting method of your choice, CO 64 stitches (using main color, if you choose to knit your class project in stranded colorwork) and work in k2, p2 ribbing for 1.5 inches. Do not cast off. And get a good night’s sleep.

Because I'm a good student I did as I was instructed and knit 64 stitch rib for 1.5".

When I got home I decided that I liked the idea and maybe had enough yarn to finish a sock. I had a tiny ball of Koigu and a tiny ball of hand spun that I did in Judith McKenzie's class the day before.

The Gentle Art of Spinning Socks

The only thing better than a handknit sock is one made from your own handspun. This class is all about spinning a sock yarn that will make a pair of socks that will last longer than it took to spin and knit them. It will help you decide what type of fiber to choose, how to prepare it, and how to spin it to make radiantly beautiful socks that will be a pleasure to make and a joy to wear.

After I completed the first sock I really liked how it looked so I reverse engineered it so it's kind of similar but not quite the identical twin.