Acts 17:26b
…and he [God] determined the times set for them [people of the Earth] and the exact places where they should live.

If I could get it deeply rooted in my heart and mind that this is my time and this is my place then I believe I would flourish. My petty complaints and resistance are my stumbling blocks. It’s not that complicated.

I am a woman. I am living in America, born in the latter part of the 20th century to immigrant parents. My mother lost four other children; I survived. I am healthy and whole. I am strong. I am intelligent. I have many gifts and talents.

I met Jesus, the Christ of my soul, in a real and powerful way in my late twenties.

I am ordained to live in this time and place. I am ordained to walk this life now, whether with ease or troubles. This is my time. This is my place. I have a purpose here.

When Paul was stunned by God on the road to Damascus, he heard a voice say, “…It is dangerous and turns out badly for you to keep kicking against the goads [to keep offering vain and perilous resistance].” [Acts 26:24, Amplified] God wants to work with us but it is we ourselves who resist.

I choose to accept the now. As Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord…” [Luke 1:38a]

it was a push to finish these by the end of socktober, with the beginning of the month most of my knitting time was given to the finishing of Daddy’s mittens so they would be done in time for his birthday, then the sleeves to my Wisteria sweater so they would be done in time for Rhinebeck, then a quick little ear warmer for Rhinebeck too, and then finally a pair of fingerless mitts that I haven’t said anything about yet… anyway there has been loads of knitting time this month. Many of it because there has been lots of cuddle time where Kailey just wants to sit with me. Now that she’s feeling better I’ve been trying to find the house.  Never ending mission I swear, I’m getting there but as long as the floors are clean, kitchen sink is clean, bathroom is habital and laundry is washed I’m ok. Gotta keep the expectations low with 4 kids, so something feels accomplished.  With a few nights of tv knitting, and Corra’s basketball game yesterday morning where Mike stayed home with the other kids (we had to be in the next town 15 mins away at 815am. There was no way I was going to bring the younger kids with me if I could get away with it. By the way her team won 28-2 this was her first game of the season since the flu wiped us out, she got a 2 point shot during the game, and you wouldn’t BELEIVE the fouls the ref didn’t call.) I have a pair of finished mystery socks.

project stats:
Pattern: Mystery Sock ‘09 by Kirsten Kapur
Started: October 1 2009
Completed: October 31 2009
Yarn: Handmaiden Fine Yarn Casbah Sock colorway blue lagoon purchased from the Loopy Ewe
Needles: US 1½ (2.5 mm) for the cuff and US 2 (2.75 mm) for the rest.
notes: I made one little mod, only because I’m not that fond of lace on the foot of my socks (its cold here in January!) I knit through the back loop of the yo’s on the foot. This does change the fit a bit, since there isn’t as much ease.

It has been a really, long time since I’ve knit a flap heel. I miss the magic of turning the heel. There might be a few more of these heels again in my future. Its really neat how Kirsten continued the pattern down the heel, a first for me. And I quite like how the calf pattern changes into the foot. Very cool. And the toe, awesome how she incorporated the decreases into the pattern!

Socktober always makes me think about how many socks I have knit, which in the end reminds me how far I’ve come from the first sock I have ever knit. Oh wow, that was a doozy.  4 years of knitting socks brings 51 pairs of socks I’ve come a long way.  I put them all together in a set on flickr.

clicky here to see it.

see, that totally justifies my sock yarn stash…

PS. I almost have my voice back, but the darn cough won’t leave just yet. Still feel a little crappy, but not as craptastic as I did earlier this week.
PPS. I’m going to start a sweater today in fact since Mike has the kids so well occupied I might sneak off and wind up the yarn now…

Who are your three main enemies? They are the devil, the “world,” and your flesh. The devil wants to lie to you, and deceive you. Your flesh wants you to please you, and not to please God. The world wants you to be fake – something you’re not – so that it can somehow make money at your expense.

It is important to be what God wants you to be. When you are fake, God knows it, and that is damaging to your integrity. When you are fake, other people know it, and that’s damaging to your character. Let’s look at the example of Mary in the Bible, and see what we can learn about her character and integrity.

Mary lived in Nazareth, a disreputable place.

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

John 1:45-46

There are places today with a reputation similar to Nazareth. I grew up in a small town that is kind of the “Nazareth” of North Louisiana. Nazareth in Mary’s time would have been the kind of place where a teenaged girl could have easily been bored, seeing the merchants and traders going to and from Jerusalem. That boredom could have led to temptation and promiscuity and immorality for many of the teenaged girls who lived there.

However, Mary was engaged to be married, and she was a virgin. The angel Gabriel came to visit her. He told her that she would conceive and bear a Son, and that she was to name Him Jesus, and that this Jesus was the Son of God. Mary was probably around 13-15 years old at this time.

Contrary to Roman Catholic dogma, Mary was not sinless. She, like all of us, was a descendant of Adam. Of all the people ever to walk the face of the Earth, only Jesus was without sin.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:12

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

Mary called called God her Savior. (Luke 1:47) She knew she was a sinner, and she knew she needed a Savior.

Even though she was a sinner, Mary is a good Bible example of someone with integrity. She kept her virginity. She was saved.

Let’s look at her character. In a previous lesson we learned about the things which spoke well of David’s character.

Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.

I Samuel 16:28

We can compare this description of David to Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:28

People who knew Mary might have wondered about her character. God knew she was a virgin, but what do you think people said when they found out she was pregnant before she got married?

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

John 8:39-41

People who knew about Jesus’s birth and childhood accused Him of being born out of wedlock. That was a reflection of their opinion of Mary, too. However, Mary surrendered her character to the Lord.

Character has to do with your name – what other people think of you – but we can’t always control that. What happens when you have integrity, but other people are wrongly smearing your character? I have three school-age daughters, and I can tell you from what I know of their experiences that all children can be mean, but girls can be meaner than boys – especially when it comes to gossip.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38

Even though Mary could predict how her miraculous pregnancy would affect her character, she said, “That’s fine with me, Lord.” Mary considered herself a handmaiden, and, in Mary’s day, handmaidens had to serve – and they had to serve joyfully.

Can you say with Mary, “Be it unto me according to Thy Word?” Before you begin to hope that God would never do something to you that would embarrass you the way Mary’s pregnancy embarrassed her, remember: He already has. His Word tells you to do all sorts of things that are going to make people think you’re weird. And some of those things are going to affect your character – in the short term.

Are we willing to look in the Book and see it what it says? Are we dressing modestly? Do we tell lies? Do we put ourselves in places of sexual temptation? Are we actively hoping for some strong temptation to come along, so that when we fall, we can blame the temptation, and not ourselves?

Many Christians say, “I’m saved – but I’m going to mess up once in while.” If we call ourselves Christians, then we had better stand for the Name of Christ. When I fill in the blank on a form that asks what religion I am, and I say, “Christian,” I don’t want to be responsible for someone else saying no to Jesus, based on my character.

Mary not only surrendered to the Lord, she was happy about it. As soon as she heard about God’s plan, she went to see her cousin, and she sang a song of praise about it. Her song is found in Luke 1:46-55. It is often called the “Magnificat.”

The word “Magnificat,” comes from the same root which gives us our word, “magnify.” To “magnify” something means to “make something bigger” or “to give someone glory.” Mary’s song magnified the Lord. She was interested in making herself seem smaller, and the Lord seem bigger. Mary would not have been happy with the way this part of the Bible is often used today. The Roman Catholic Church has a well-known prayer referred to as the “Hail Mary.” It comes from a combination of Luke 1:28 and 42. The Catholic prayer says, “Hail Mary, full of grace…” But Luke 1:28 tells us that the “hail” with which the angel greeted Mary, was just that: a greeting – not a description of sinlessness. Mary was not “full of grace.” She was a sinner, saved by God’s grace, through faith. When the Bible calls her “highly favored” it means that Mary was the recipient of grace given to her by God.

Note that Luke 1:32 does not say, “You will be great…” It says, “He shall be great..,” referring to Jesus. And Verse 42, which says, “blessed art thou among women,” has Elisabeth, Mary’s cousin – not the angel – speaking.

So, what was Mary’s secret? How could she be so happy, so excited, so obedient… knowing that her character was going to be questioned? For one thing, Mary loved the Word of God – she knew the Scriptures.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Psalm 119:165

Remember, Mary did not have a Bible. She would have gone to the synagogue to hear the Word of God in the Old Testament being read aloud. Mary hid the Word in her heart – she memorized it. In her song, she quotes from the Law, the prophets, and the Psalms. Luke 1:50 has part of Exodus 20:6 in it. Luke 1:51 has part of Isaiah 40:10 in it. Luke 1:53 has part of Psalm 107:9 in it. If Mary could memorize Bible verses without even owning a Bible, how much more should we be able to do it when we can have access to a Bible any time we want!

It grieves me to see people – especially teenaged children – get up after a Sunday School class, and leave their Bible lying on the floor. We have to wonder if Mary would have gone out of the synagogue and left her written copy of God’s Word, if she had had one, lying on the floor.

So we see, Mary could face the possibility of having people say bad things about her – to fail to see her true character – because she was not being fake. She was being real. She understood that her life needed to be given to obeying the Lord joyfully. The secret of having that joy was (1) surrendering to God’s Word and His way; (2) magnifying the Lord; and (3) knowing the Bible and memorizing it.

Unlike David, other people didn’t always say, “The Lord is with him/her…” However, when it comes to Mary’s character, think about the people who whispered about Mary, and said bad things about her behind her back. And then ask yourself, “Who do we recognize as the earthly mother of our Savior?” Bible students for centuries have honored the name of Mary for her Godly character, but we do not know the name of a single one of her critics. I’d say that’s pretty good character.

May my lips speak Your praise all the days of my life, for You continually create a new song in my heart, sigh after mourning, a gasp after a laugh;
May You be the first word on my lips, the constant meditation of my heart, eliciting from withing the core of my being all that wells up to worship You;
May You be the source of my delight, drawing me into a dance where all creation worships You, every child-like, upturned heart praising Your name.
Let me receiving within my being a new heart, restored and recreated to encompass all Your light—as the moon reflects back to the sun with a brilliance that illumines the darkness, I year to show out Your love;
Let me hold open a heart to You, Your handmaiden for Your service, losing myself in wonder and releasing the inhibitions that I erect to withhold my surrender,
Let me loose the feebly anchoring ropes which I have bound about my heart to prevent rupture and loss wrecked by love and joy.
Only let me be like Mary, awed at the multitudes of angels You subtly slip into my life… let me revel like Hannah, magnifying Your name from the depths of soul, rejoicing in You my savior.
Only let me finally let go, and be the earthen vessel You made me as, not patching with unfit material the cracks in my sides, stopping up that life blood of Your heart;
Only teach me to surrender my fears and be content to be as You made me, running some still path of transformation as You teach me my own limits.
Hear my simple prayer, from a heart too weighty to let go in You light—You made us to bear Your burdens which are only heavy in our strength;
Hear the voiceless ache of my heart to learn the secret joy of submission and gingerly lay myself before You without constantly reclaiming the very gift I sought so hard to give;
Hear my confusion, a void noise, deeper than black-hole mystery, sucking out my life like a spectre feeding on my own soul… stealing away the joy in my life.
Return to me memory of this world of the living, for in You I have chosen  to trust beyond reason, even as I seek to substantiate my own weakness;
Return the hope and joy I once had in You, in the midst of darkness, which enlivened my entire world… turning away from a more morbid fixation.
Return the words of deliverance You once taught me, for you set me free and I returned to captivity, though I seek again the gaze of Heaven.
You have placed me in this world, to learn and to love, to feel and to think , to give and to receive—may I always hold open my hands to receiving and not fear the giving.
You were the first love of my heart, and now reigning as my idol, I understand why You decreed no images, for Your face is more varied than on one to fix the heart;
You again are the one I’ve returned to, in dissipating whirlwind, to just stillness again… and in there I know to be rest and contentment.
Send me, Lord Jesus, Your handmaiden is waiting.

I have never finished an item of lace this quickly before.

It is Springtime Bandit (rav it) and was a free pattern, yay! I had a skein of Handmaiden Casbah sock yarn, so lovely and soft, in the Stardust colourway (such a good movie, based on the equally good book by Gaiman). I thought I was going to make socks with it, since I love love love my Jaywalkers made from the same yarn. I even selected about 7 patterns on Ravelry and in my knitting books that would be perfect for the yarn.

And then I met Springtime Bandit. I have been planning to make a shawlette for some time now, and thought a nice way to start one would be using sock-weight yarn instead of lace-weight. This pattern came up, and I immediately printed it out and got out the needles.

I used 5.5mm circs, as called for in the pattern. And I’d have been able to finish the entire pattern with the 355 yds in one skein if I’d used just one needle size smaller, I imagine. As it was, I got to the *very* last row and had to un-knit in order to have enough yarn to bind off with. And even then, I took “bind off loosely” to another level of meaning, (i.e.: tightly) as well as having to locate the two small pieces of yarn that had been holding the skein together when I got it, and attach them to the end of my shawl in order to have enough to bind off with.

However.

I wore it to work today, pre-blocking even (if anyone knows how to block lace, I am very interested. I have a fear of ruining this lovely thing). It’s perfect for the (finally) nice spring weather we’re starting to have here. I may even wear it to Easter dinner tomorrow.

On a completely unrelated note, I have read *three* separate wedding reply cards at work that all have this same gem of a phrase:

“Please indicate your choice of dinner entree:
chicken___________
beef______________
child______________”

….

Anyone else not quite up to cannibalism at a wedding?

Wasn’t it just Friday, and now here I am finishing up Monday already.  The technical manual of death is still unfinished, and those darn customers just keep calling.  I did declare my office a land of happy, non-angst ridden, cheerful people, which at least seemed to cheer up the grumpy salesman.  And that is from me, the person who hates chipperness before 12 noon, and people talking to me before 10 am.  So perhaps it was a good weekend as I came out of it in this good mood. 

My parents are having a great time reading the comments from Friday’s post.  At dim sum on Saturday morning Mum declared herself to be an honest and impartial judge who would weigh each entry on its merits.  Very Canadian of her non?  I was upset as I got so full of yummy shrimp dumplings that I didn’t have room for my other favorites; stuffed green peppers, eggplants and tofu.  (They are stuffed with shrimp dumplings).  We also didn’t have any chicken feet or tripe, but what we did have was dim sum heaven.  I rounded out my day with popcorn for dinner, and all was well in the world.  (Don’t tell Mum about the popcorn for dinner, I’ll get a lecture about proper nutrition!)

On Sunday Miss Joce and I met for some lovely coffee and knitting, which was highly enjoyable.  We then made a pilgrimage to a new to me Calgary store Gina Brown’s.  I wasn’t very hopeful as I’d recently ran out of yarn on a second mitten, halfway up.  I had already been to 3 other stores looking for matching yarn.  (please note nice other yarn store lady, Iceland single ply Lopi cannot be substituted with two ply stuff.  I will be able to tell the difference, however I still like your store).  Gina Brown’s turned out to be a great little shop with lots of selection, and what did my wondering eyes did appear?  The exact yarn I needed!  I immediately turned around to the nice lady at the register and said “I declare this to be my new favorite yarn store and I vow to buy lots of yarn here as you have saved my beautiful mittens from being frogged by lack of yarn”.  Granted this lady did not know me, looked at me a bit strangely, and said “Umm, thanks”.  Needless to say I was very happy to be able to keep my beautiful mittens intact and finish them. 

Miss Joce and I proceeded to spend a lot of time going over the store with a fine tooth comb and looking at absolutely everything.  Absolutely everything.  It was so much fun.  Miss Joce laid out her  beautiful Noro mitered squares and began to pile up possible edging yarns.  I was transfixed by the baskets and baskets of Fleece Artist/Handmaiden.  They must have just gotten a new shipment (If you live in Calgary or environs, They may just have gotten a new shipment, go now!) and it was all beautiful.  So beautiful.  I was very good however, two skeins of Trail Socks (70% merino, rest nylon) and a cashmere merino mix in a lovely brown mix, it is left in the photo:

Miss Joce was advocating cashmere socks, but I can’t help but see it as a jaunty beret that will go wonderfully with my camel coloured work coat.  One of the other two skeins is going in the Canadian Care Package, I wonder which one it will be?

And to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more, Luke 12:48. I will use this passage of scripture in the spiritual sense only, we all understand that is pertains to the secular, i.e., or jobs. As an Armourbearer, I am totally perplexed regarding two of my fellow saints. The Lord revealed to me something in their lives that is totally displeasing to Him. Now many will say, you need to pray for them, and yes of course I do. Since I have a prophetic mantel on my life also, the Lord oftentimes reveal things regarding people. This however has hit me like a bolder because my fellow saints are strong in the Lord and today by their actions alone, they know that the Lord has revealed to me that they are walking in sin. I know I am rambling here, but I had to release this, the thing is that God has not instructed me to pray for them in this area, confront them, nor share with my leader regarding them. So, I must be still and wait on God’s instructions.

Now when God placed this prophetic mantel on my life years ago before I became an Armourbearer, I tried to run from it, I soon discovered that if I did not spend quality time with Him, my mantel was not as strong; however, I suffered and missed His presence, so that didn’t last long. Then when I became an Armourbearer, God turned my focus only on my leaders and it has only been recently that God has showered me again with this mantel.

Now I am at a cross road because God is requiring alot from me because He has given me much and His Word says they will ask the more. Wow, if this post today seems to have no direction, then you are accurate because I have no direction in this post. This is a post to let off steam because my heart aches and breaks for my saints. Today the anointing was so strong on me that they literally could not stand in my presence. I have been in deep prayer, praise, and worship for the past 3 days and know they know that I know. They ran from me like the plague, nothing overt, but it was painfully obvious that they knew that God had exposed them. To my fellow Armourbearers, Handmaidens, brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray that I get God’s direction in this situation because my spirit is grieved. I know that God revealed it to me because, in this situation, He knows that I will not share this with anyone else, unless He directs me. This is a heavy burden for me to carry, but it is no heavier than the cross and the sins that Jesus bore for you and me, so I won’t complain, I will continue to seek the Lord for His guidance.

May God continue to richly bless you.

Many people do not see being single as a blessing; but the Word of God says, “…He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord.” (I Corinthians 7:32) It literally took me years to totally grasp this. I was married for a long time and returning to the single world was a challenge. Yes, I served the Lord; however, I had not received the revelation of this passage. I continued to struggle with who I was. For so long, I was someone’s spouse and was one with them. I literally spent years trying to figure out who I was.

As a child of God, although I knew the Word, I still struggled the physical needs and longings, ok, you got it, I fornicated and yes, on several occasions. Everytime, the relationships that I thought were heading somewhere ended on a dead end road. After years of turmoil, I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to live a celebrate life. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but right before I became an Armourbearer, I had this intense desire to put the breaks on being sexually active. I am not going to lie, it was a real challenge. I spent many of days and nights in prayer asking God to help me through, not to remove the desire because I do want to remarry, but to quinch the fire and to shower me with His love so that I might not sin.

The longer I was celebrate, the more that passage of scripture became real. Many churches desire to have a married couple as Armourbearers and Handmaidens, but I believe that those that are unmarried serves best in that capacity. As an Armourbearer and Handmaiden, you are required to sacrifice your life to serve the man and woman of God. Not just physical sacrifice, but emotionally and spiritually, you are to continually pray for your leader(s) and be available to them whenever they need you, you are always on call and if you are married, you cannot be so readily available. I Corinthians 7:33 says, “But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. 34There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”

As I read 1 Corinthians 7:32 one night lying on my bed the vail began to be lifted from my eyes. God shared with me that singleness is a blessing from the Lord also. This is a time develop a relationship with God an intimate relationship. I began to spend time in worship, prayer, and the Word. Uninterrupted time, being single enabled me to turn off the phone, not answer the door, don’t worry about dinner or anything, but focus on God and developing a truly intimate relationship. Singleness allowed me to be available to my leaders when they needed me. Singleness allowed me to be available to my church when those that are married had other obligations.

I know the struggles some singles experience with loneliness and saying, “there’s nothing to do,” but when those times arise, I take that time to spend with God. I recently began volunteering in the community to help others, singleness allows me to do this. While helping others in the community I am still caring for the things that belong to the Lord because my life is an example of the love of Jesus Christ and it allows me to minister to others and be a blessing to those that might never enter a church.

One thing that I plan to incorporate into my singleness is a date night with God. During my date night with God, I will began with thanking and praising God in song and dance, followed by worship and the reading the Word of God back to Him. This is a time that I plan to focus totally on Him, unless directed by the Holy Spirit, during my date night with God, I will not be praying for anyone else nor myself. All of my attention will be directed towards Him. I do this anyway, but I have not dedicated a set time for Him in this manner, yes I have morning devotion and throughout the day and at bedtime I praise and worship Him, but I plan for this to be a different experience. I believe that my focus on God in this manner will enhance my relationship with Him.

So for all those that are single, don’t get discouraged, know that your singleness is a blessing and an opportunity to care for the things that belong to the Lord. To my fellow Armourbearers, if you are single you are blessed to have that time to dedicate to your leader(s) and they belong to the Lord. For those that desire to be married, wait on the Lord and do not get something that you will regret later, take this time to focus on God and He will direct your path.

Life is really good right now.  We just got back from spend a few nights at the new house while my father-in-law was in town to help work on the kitchen.  It was a nice, technology free few days.  Who thought I would ever use those words together?!?  No TV, no internet (unless I wanted to walk to the Dunkin Donuts which is practically across the street from us) no nothing.  I got to know my Hoyle Casino game well…LOL…and I sat in a chair and read quietly (I can’t remember the last time I did that – most of my reading happens at night in bed lately).  I got to spend some really great quality time with Jake.  We walked to DD for breakfast in the mornings and yesterday we walked 4 or 5 blocks to McDonalds for lunch.  It was such a beautiful day yesterday that it seemed a shame to waste it by going places in the car if they were close enough to walk to.

Something about this new house gives me a wonderful sense of peace.  It feels like we were meant to have this house.  Strange, huh?!?  I took a bunch of pictures, but haven’t uploaded them yet.  Will add them later.  I have a few older pictures we took when we were deciding.

I love the wood in this house

This is a view of the stairs.  The whole house is full of wood that someone lovingly and carefully stripped, refinished and varnished.  It’s my favorite thing about the house.

The bay window is another of my favorite things about this house.  I plan to set my spinning wheel up in this area and take advantage of the amazaing sunlight that filters through.  The other great thing about the house is that it’s full of windows.  I love the way the light fills the downstairs in the mornings!

Here’s a shot of the front of the house.  It’s pretty nice looking from the outside as well as the inside.  Please ignore the TERRIBLE picture of me…:)

Here’s a picture of Jacob from Halloween as well.  I meant to post it last week, but I was too lazy.  I’m working on it.  He was the most adorable little monkey and he cleaned up candy wise.

My Little Monkey

The whole week has been a great one, actually.  The new house, Halloween, and the best thing of all, Tweak came home.  Tweak is our youngest cat.  She got out the Sunday before Halloween and we had lost hope of finding her.  We took her picture with us when we took Jake trick or treating but no one had seen her.  Then the Sunday after Halloween TJ was taking Jake to the new house to check it out and there she was on the porch like she was waiting for us.  The poor baby was thin and dirty, but not hurt and she was happy to be home.  She’s pretty much been a little cuddler since she came back.  She sleeps next to me and follows me around the house, and I’m thrilled to have her home.

I just went back and read my last post and I realize that it was a pretty depressing missive.  Looking back I really have had a pretty rough few years.  I’m hoping that’s over now.  I’ve got a much more positive attitude and I’m doing everything I can to maintain it.  One of the things I’m doing is making a point to leave the house for at least a little while every day.  I’m losing weight and looking for a gym to join in Battle Creek to keep myself (and TJ if I can get him to join as well) healthy.  My girlfriend Deniece and I used to play raquetball three times a week and I loved that.  I’d love to find a place where I could start playing with TJ.  There is no better exercise in my mind, especially in the winter when you can’t get out and run around outside.  There is a great health center here in Kalamazoo that actually has a day care center, but of course now that we’re moving to Battle Creek that would be a 20 mile trip so it’s a no go.  :*(  There is a fitness center at Duncan Aviation where TJ works, but it’s minimal and there is no day care.  I don’t want to get a babysitter just so I can go and work out.  I will if I have to, but I don’t want to.  If anyone knows of a good gym in Battle Creek, let me know.

Moving on with my completely non-linear post.  I just got the most amazing knitting package.  Okay, it’s a package of yarn, but it’s amazing yarn.  I am making the Tidal Streams scarf for my mother-in-law for Christmas and I mangaed to lose the pattern.  I went back to Color Song Yarns to reorder the pattern, actually the kit b/c I really like the Silk Twist yarn.  So while I was there I went on a bit of shopping spree:  I got two skeins of the bigger sized 150g Sea Silk.

Seashore

Cezanne

Sea Silk is such a soft yarn and I’m thinking that both of these are destined to be shawl.

Here is the Silk Twist that came in the kit for the Tidal Stream Scarf kit.  The colorway is Rose Garden and I’m thinking that this is going to be…I have no idea what this is going to be.

The yarn to end all yarns, though, is Handmaiden’s Camel Spin.  OMG!!  I’m in love with this yarn.  I want to buys pounds of this stuff and roll around naked in it.  Seriously.  I fell in love with camel fiber after the Michigan fiber festival when I bought the camel down/merino blend.  I’m still working on the mitts from yarn I spun from that.  It came out kind of thick and thin but it’s soft as a cloud.  The Camel Spin yarn is just as heavenly.  I don’t usually spend the kind of money that Handmaiden yarns cost unless I’m buying a skein here or there to make something small.  This time, though, I splurged and got two skeins in the bronze colorway.  I’m planning to make a Clapotis out of it, I think.  Definitely a shawl.  I want to be able to wrap it around myself while I sit and watch TV or spin.  It’s so dreamy soft that I think it’s ideal for a wrap.  If I could afford it, I’d have bought enough to make the dressing gown or bed jacket from the Romantic Style book and then have been able to wrap myself in it’s luxury before bed and after rising every night and morning respectively.  Can you tell that I’m obsessed with this yarn? 

My precious...my precious...

Okay, time for me to go for right now.  Jacob is getting impatient to get outside and enjoy what is supposed to be the last nice day of the year.  We’re going to clean out the car in anticipation of our cross country trip in a few weeks and then off to Starbucks for me and McDonald’s for him.  I get yummy coffee, he gets to play at the Play Place and I get knitting time.  It’s totally win-win.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.  And Jana, I’m thinking of you and of Mark and hope he’s doing better soon!

Cleopatra is attended by a beautiful collection of handmaidens. The handmaidens are “supers” just like me. One of them is Elizabeth Oeding, she has been is 5 productions and thinks it keeps getting more and more fun. She also supplied one of the more interesting props during a rehearsal – a box of “Dots” candy was used as a stand in for Ptolomey’s crown. Elizabeth also volunteers with the Kansas City Symphony and the Ballet. I posted pics of all the handmaidens with today’s blog.

The countdown to Opening Night is upon us. We have 3 dress rehearsals to go, and 2 of those are with the orchestra.

Look for more blogs this week as we work our way to Saturday night!

Robert

IMG_7213, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

It’s done! It’s done, it’s done, it’s done! (And a good thing, too, because now I can pay even more attention to my NaKniSweMo sweater.) This is, as I predicted, an awfully short scarf – it wraps around my neck exactly one time, enough that I can single-knot it together. (Or hold the ends together with a brooch, if I were the kind of person who owned and wore brooches, but I am not.) The pattern is Cable and Lace Scarf Redux by The Kniterella, which is gorgeous (and I apologize for the snotty Ravelry-only linking, I am too lazy to find a link to the unlocked pattern) and went by very quickly.

I don’t care how short it is, though. It is warm, and unbelievably soft, and I may actually never take it off.

Song of the Entry: The Eagles – Take it Easy

IMG_7163, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

Remember the yarn I bought over Thanksgiving weekend? This yarn? I finally knit with it! Basically, the second I picked up the skein I just wanted to squish my face against it (the wool/silk is ridiculously soft) – so I decided the best thing to make would be something that went against my neck and face.

This is a scarf! Or possibly just a glorified neckerchief, since I’m trying to make as much scarf as I can get out of 300 yards, but, whatever. It’s going to be awesome, and I can squish it against my face as much as I want to.

Song of the Entry: P!nk – Bad Influence

So this is what Mike bought me at Lettuce Knit (Toronto) today. 

Handmaiden sea silk and Socks that Rock in Lettuce Knit colourway

As instructed he purchased sock yarn and some Handmaiden sea silk, but after selecting those skeins became paralysed by the vast selection and ran for the hills! I guess he was overwhelmed by yarn fumes?!

Thankfully, armed with more detailed instructions, he can make time for the return visit on Sunday.  Lord, how I love that man.

Alex is looking forward to Halloween Canadian style with great anticipation.  Not like the wimpy version we have here in New Zealand where most people don’t take part and trick or treating happens in full light.  I imagine Alex will have a ball and amass a stash of loot unlikely to be replicated at home!

Alex aka Vader, Prince of Darkness

Just because he’s so darn cute, I have to post the pic sent through of him in his new costume.  This is the kid whose first word was “Yoda” and had real live Storm Troopers at his third birthday party.  I can’t imagine there is a costume more fitting!

IMG_7067, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

One of the most financially-irresponsible yarn purchases I’ve ever made, but I am SUPER excited to play with this and make something that I will wrap around my neck: this is Handmaiden Silk Maiden, the first 50% silk yarn I’ve ever owned. It is so soft, I just want to squish it against my face. (I, uh, don’t. But I want to.) I can’t wait to start playing with it and find a one-skein scarf pattern that will work with it.

Song of the Entry: Wheatus – Lemonade

I’m generally a pretty quick knitter, as long as there’s something in it for me, whether or not that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is filled with candy, a hat, or just weea really great beer doesn’t matter much these days. The fact that I have something to do (aside from disembowl myself with my T84 calculator) matters more to me right now than it ever has. 

 Jillie, a friend on Ravelry, and I are having ourselves a little trade in which I’m sending her this pink Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (Rav link) knit up with 75% of one Mmmmalabrigo Worsted Weight skein, in the “Fuchsia” colorway.  I am beyond pleased with the way this has turned out, and I can’t wait until Jillie receives her hat in the mail. 

I was a little worried about how beret-y the final product would be, but it blocked like a dream and I can’t wait to pick up some more Malabrigo from Purlescence in Sunnyvale.

This is a phenomenally bad representation of the colorway, but it’ll have to do.  This beanie was knit up with Handmaidens Casbah sock in the “Midnight” colorway, and I can’t imagine a better yarn for this kind of project. I purchased the yarn a few months ago, and have since been looking for the perfect kind of project. I am so over socks right now, so those were out. Hats are quick, and I was happy to start working on one right away. 

The beanie was knit with the yarn held doubled, on 3.5mm DPN’s. I put a smocked ribbing along the bottom, to keep the hat from curling and to curb the monotony – the rest is just regular stockinette. I’ve used Casbah before, and I’ll definitely be using it in the future for more socks and eventually (if I’m lucky) a garment. 

With these two projects out of the way, I’ve cast on for my second Central Park Hoodie. Maybe this one will actually turn out alright, unlike the shitstorm the first one ended up being. 

“The productions of all arts are kinds of poetry and their craftsmen are all poets.”
- Plato

Well, it’s great to see that the Greeks are again leading the pack with the bon mots.

So, tell me if you think that this is poetry or not:

Yes, I’m back in the Good Housekeeping mode yet again – at least as it involves production of fancy flavoured oils and vinegars.  I’m sick and tired of seeing and coveting bottles of them at Ye Locale Overpricede Food Emporiume, so thought I’d best get off my lazy @$$ and make some of my own.

(Er… plus, JJ and I went rather crazy at Fiesta Farms last weekend and then didn’t end up cooking everything we had planned, so I had lovely fresh herbs that were going off.  Sigh.)

So, from the left, there are: Oven-dried tomatoes in olive oil with oregano and garlic; basil olive oil; mixed berry white wine vinegar; fresh oregano olive oil with lemon zest; lemon and lime olive oil; and red pepper wine vinegar.

This, although pretty, I must confess does not feature local produce:

But the blueberries are now with us, so stay tuned for some experiments with white balsamic and blueberry!

And doesn’t this look yummy?

Time will tell – I’ve got to wait three weeks or so to crack into these babies. Patience is a virtue, they tell me…

Oh – and before I forget – today is the birthday of the oh-so-fabulous JJ!!!

Please join me in wishing him a lovely day – he well deserves it for putting up with me!  We will be having the real celebration next weekend… and I’m under strict orders not to tell you how old he is but if I could afford it, I would buy him a LeXXus I (if that is indeed a type of fancy car… heh heh).

So, in advance celebration I decided to knit JJ a cover for his lovely petunias!!

(“What are ye doin’ now, lassie?  Have ye gone mad????”)

Allow me to introduce my version of Seascape!

I’m knitting this on 3.5mm needles with the lovely Handmaiden Lace Silk – I have no idea which colourway but it seems closest to Popsicle.  So far, so good – the pattern is fairly easy to follow thus far.

And, I’ve decided to add beads to highlight some of the curves:

But… that’s not all!!  I’ve been suffering from a bit of knitting ennui of late and so decided to follow Tracy B’s excellent suggestion to try two projects at once.  Also, this lovely Posh Yarn “Cecilia” that lace goddess Clarabelle so kindly sent to me was sobbing loudly from its place of honour on my bookshelf, feeling neglected.

Celia, you’re breaking my heart!! (but hopefully you do not shake my confidence… sigh).

I had decided some time back that the ideal project to go with this yarn would be the half-circle shawl from Victorian Lace Today:

This is a rather scary project, as it involves lace knitting on both right and wrong sides with no “rest row”.  However (deep breath)… here goes!

So far, so guid, I think!

Now, I don’t know if I’m a poet or not – but I do think all of the above is looking a-ok.  So, that’s a start.

Sadly, it’s now time to leave for… work. Happy Monday to all!

Well, they lost. Again. And after I went and bought t-shirts and ballcaps!!

Just count me in as one of the ones making a left turn. Sigh. I did have to laugh at the tag line in the Daily Telegraph’s reporting of the Greece/Russia match on Saturday:

“Lightning does not strike twice, not even when the bolts are thrown from Olympus.”

Oh, well then. OK. I think the Brits are just showing their sour grapes off since they didn’t even manage to get a team into the Eurocup, anyway. So THERE.

I also loved the Greek team manager’s attitude. Check it out:

A miracle happened in 2004 but these kind of things occur once every 30 years, reflected Otto Rehhagel, the manager of Greece, who in Portugal oversaw a footballing earthquake. “I knew we would not be able to waltz through the group, we are not that good. But other teams will be going home, too – maybe both Italy and France,” he said.

Easy to say after the fact, no? But he had a smarter answer for the tougher questions…

“I know the games and I’m not going to play them with you. I know the question before you ask it,” he added. “I’ve said this before, Greece is a country where democracy was born so you can say what you want. Germany is also democracy which is why I’m free to say whatever I want.”

Germany?!? Hold on just a minute…

“I think the Acropolis has been around for several thousand years, and we won’t be around for that long – that keeps it in perspective,” the German said.

He’s GERMAN?!?!? Should have figured that out with a name like Otto, mind you. Was there some kind of fix, do you think?

(In case you’re wondering what in the name of Zeus the above cartoon means, I don’t know. But it came up inexplicably when I googled “big greek losers”.)

Anyway, at least I won’t miss any more time off work sleep watching thinking about the soccer matches.

Instead, I can spend more quality time drooling over my latest British TV-inspired crush:

I know, I know – I need to get a life. Or at least get back to knitting (and no, I haven’t forgotten that this is a knitting blog). I have a very odd combo of finishitis and startitis at the same time… I’ve put aside my three WIPs, but can’t decide what to start next. Any suggestions for 800m or so of lovely blueberry mist sea silk?

Wishing you all a wonderful week…

Now, I warn you in advance: I have decided that I would like to return to live in Cape Breton when I win the lottery manage to find a legal aid job in Nova Scotia which will never, ever happen retire.  So, I took a million photos of the place.  Well, 502 photos to be quite exact.  I’ll only show you a fraction of those, I promise…

Let me first start with telling you about one of the best yarn shops I’ve ever been too, Baadeck Yarns.  It is located in Baddeck (get it?!?).  The owner, Patricia, is from Toronto but decided to move down there and open a yarn shop after a vacation some time back.  And I’m very glad she did, too.

Why?  Well, first off, she carries an exclusive line of colours by the Fleece Artist/Handmaiden… which she helped design herself.  And if I dare say so myself, I managed to exercise significant self-control in the face of this, buying only two skeins of HM Sea Silk in the Blueberry Mist colourway:

She also carries Tilli Tomas products which I had never seen in person before… so of course I had to snap up two skeins of the Moroccan Blue silk prestrung with beads:

Patricia was also kind enough to let me drool over fondle the Tilli Tomas Swarovski crystal studded silk which she had in stock.  At $125/120 yards I couldn’t really see fit to buying any, although I was sorely tempted.  (By the way, for you knitters out there, I am deliberately not including a link as I think it would probable be actionable if you checked it out and lost your house as a result.  Having said that, I did link it somewhere previously on this blog and I think if you search “bling” you’ll find the link.  Heh heh).

All I can say is that it’s just a very guid thing that JJ was along, otherwise the rent cheque for June would have gon bounce bounce bounce into the Atlantic for certain.  Oh – and if you are anywhere near Nova Scotia, do visit Patricia!  It will be worth the trip, I can assure you.

All right, all right… enough yarn pron.  Back to the vacation.  We spent two full days on the Cabot Trail, which is a road through the mountainous part of Cape Breton spanning approximately 120 kilometres.

JJ insisted on driving the first day but I got to drive the second!!  It is a fabulous drive.  The topography changes constantly.

There are all sorts of little curiosities along the way, such as, for example, the Lone Sheiling (a replica of a highland hut):

The federal government pours lots of money into the Cabot Trail (quite rightly, I think) so that they can keep it vibrant and replant trees… here is a baby birch tree!

I was happy for that, because it means that we can keep enjoying lovely views like this:

…and this:

…and so on…

…and so forth:

That’s me, by the way, at one of the highest points – about 500 metres above sea level!

I loved the mountains, obviously:

…but also the beaches.

…and even the rocks.  Nay, especially the rocks!

JJ, on the other hand, loved this site the best!

When I gently suggested that he was perhaps spending too much money at the place which manufactures the only Canadian malt whisky, and that he didnae really need a sample of every year that they’ve made..

…he pointed to the back of my newly acquired T-shirt:

Fair enough, I guess.  Anyway, he was just feeling cocky because we were in Scottish territory, where some of the road signs are even printed in English and Gaelic!

We also, by the way, ate fabulous Acadian food in Cheticamp, where the signs are in English and French.  (And by the way, if you’re coming to Nova Scotia, bring your fat clothes.  The food is great, unless you’re a vegetarian.  JJ wanted to take a photo of me eating the 10th order of fresh fish and chips but I refused as it would have been embarrassing to show my face buried in the plate.

I will part with photos of my favourite place in Cape Breton, which was Inverness, where we stayed.  This beach was within a two minute walk of the motel…

…and the sun sets very kindly on Inverness (when it’s around, that is, as the locals would hasten to tell you.  Apparently it’s not around all that often.  But when it is, it is glorious!)

That is about it for the vacation photos, I promise.  Only I still have to show you some of my fabulous acquisitions, as there are many great artisans in the province.  And you can get a palace of a condo even in Halifax (the capital) for what it would cost you for a 450 sq ft bachelor in Toronto.  I really need to move there.  Sigh.

Cheers,

Kristina

(…and don’t say you weren’t warned.  Now is your chance to hit the back button.)

I must say that JJ and I both had a blast on our extended vacation down East.  JJ had decided that we should take the train both ways.  At first, I was a tad sceptical (it takes just over 27 hours total, and I am not all that guid in close quarters as you can imagine).  But then I learned that they had a bar car on the train…

… so all was well.  It was also a great way to travel in that I got to see parts of Quebec I’ve never been in, and also New Brunswick…

…and somehow I didn’t even manage to piss off JJ!

Our first port of call was Halifax, which is on the Atlantic Ocean.  So you get to see lots and lots of big fancy boats:

… and look how clean the water is right in the dock!

A far cry from Lake Ontario, I can tell you.

Unexpectedly, I got to see Pier 21, where most of the immigrants to Canada landed prior to 1971, including my own father.  They had an interesting museum, including a photo of the boat that he came in on!

Halifax is also chock full of Irish pubs, which didnae take us too long to find.

And after a few pints of Guinness, JJ even managed to capsize a ship!

I should really, really be living in Halifax.  I mean, check this out… they give you potato chip topping for your street meat!!

While in Halifax, we also went on a real life pirate sailboat!

And see… here’s Johnny Depp piloting it!

Well, OK… not Johnny Depp.  Lars Lancebottom or something like that (I’m sure that was his real name, too)… but he was a nice guy.

And then we found another Irish pub of JJ’s past acquaintance, with real-live Irish snugs!

We were actually staying in Dartmouth, which is a twin city to Halifax and across the water.  Since JJ did not want to pay the 75 cent toll for the bridge, we had to take the ferry…

Oh – and I got to meet my all-time hero, Mr. Alexander Keith!!!!

We would have taken a tour of the brewery, but they wanted $16.50 per head and we decided that was best spent on some cold Keith’s.  Far cheaper, by the way, than in Toronto.

After a couple of days of debauchery and hanging around the Halifax waterfront, we decided to rent a car and hit the road.  The first stop was apparently a mandatory one if you visit this province: the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove.

This is quite the tourist spot and I was happy we were there out of season, I can tell you!  They have spooky signs hanging around such as this one:

… and if you picture this coastline in winter, you can see why.

We then spent a day travelling the South coast of the province, which includes such lovely sights as Lunenberg:

It’s full of houses like that, all painted different colours! Lunenberg is also home of the Bluenose II, featured on our dime:

This is what she looks like in real life, at least when on vacation:

We then decided to travel to Cape Breton, a large island which is part of Nova Scotia.  Upon JJs insistence, the first stop there was at an old French military installation at Louisburg:

I thought this would be quite boring, but the scenery was spectacular!

They have set the fort up as an exact replica of what it would have looked like in the 1700s when it was in active use – right down to the house of worship that the soldiers were all forced to attend:

This is just a small part of the grand apartment designated for the Governor (Old French for “Grand Poobah”) at the base:

And, pray tell, where did his wife stay?

Er… not quite.  But this was about the extent of her quarters:

Go figure, eh?  Leaving the fortress, you come upon an ancient (by Canadian standards, anyway) cemetery right next to the water:

We then found a place to stay with, reputedly, the best sunsets in the East Coast:

This is the beach at Inverness, where we stayed for five days or so:

I must confess that I was fascinated by the ocean rocks and brought an embarrassing number home with me.  So many, in fact, that our baggage weighed… ahem… well over the alloted amount.

We tried to leave our mark on the beach…

…but sadly the ocean had washed it away within five minutes or so.  Sigh.

Well, I think that’s about enough for now.  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s installation, with more pictures of the Cabot Trail than you want to see, I’m sure… and also the PayDay Haul.  Here is a preview:

Cheers,

Kristina

OK, the burn mark on our linoleum is still there (now covered by a throw rug), and my leg still hurts, but my mental state today is much better than it was yesterday. The sun is out (this is how deep the flooding downtown was yesterday after the thunderstorm), knitting night is tonight, Rahul and I might go see a play at the fresh-baked cookie store after that. And, as I mentioned, I have some good knitterly things to think about.

Here’s one of the nice things. When I finished the Hemlock Ring, I cast on for a new hat as a reward for myself. It’s no kind of weather for wool berets right now, but who cares? It’s pretty! And it was fun and quick to make.

Pattern:Rose Red, by Ysolda Teague. chemgrrl, who was done with hers, traded the pattern to me for a skein of Rowan Calmer.
Size made: Small, but using a larger gauge. I can’t tell you what the gauge was, because I was lazy and fudged it.
Finished dimensions: I was lucky–it fits! I blocked it over a dinner plate, and it came out to 11 inches in diameter with the hat lying flat, with a band size of about 20 inches.
Yarn used: Malabrigo Merino Worsted from a Whitknits sale, in Violetas, about 90 grams (i.e. just under 1 skein, or about 195 yards).
Needles used: US size 8/5.0 mm bamboo DPNs to start the hat (it’s knit from the top down), and US size 7/4.5 mm 16-inch Boye Needlemasters for the rest
Date started: June 2, 2008
Date finished: June 3, 2008
Mods: Aside from the gauge modifications, none that I can think of.
Notes: My Ravelry page for this project is here. I loved this pattern. It’s gorgeous and intricate, fast and pretty easy to knit, and very well-written and easy to follow (I used the written directions, which I think to many knitters is akin to saying you like white wine better than red at a gathering of oenophiles–sort of crass, indicating a not-very-advanced palate.)

I finished the hat in just two days, after some marathon TV knitting (season openers of Bones and House; Barack Obama’s speech accepting the presumptive nomination; two nights of Daily Show and Colbert Report).

I usually cable without a cable needle, but this time, because of the way the 7-stitch cable is worked, I had to use a cable needle. It was fiddly and annoying, but I think it improved the look of my cables–they’re usually sloppy around the edges, but looked pretty tight this time. I used a size 6 DPN instead of one of the special cable needles you can buy.

I actually have some red DK-weight angora blend in the stash, and after making Rusted Root I was thinking I should add more red to my wardrobe this winter, so I think I might make another one of these hats in fluffy red DK weight, exactly like Ysolda’s original. Or maybe not. I’m not crazy about the way the cabled band looks, although I really appreciate the tidy, knitterly design aesthetics of continuing those cables all the way down the band. It’s just that somehow I feel like the hat looks a bit too… chef-like? and I suspect I might prefer the look of a ribbed band instead.

I think the recommended lighter weight yarn would also be a good idea. Malabrigo on 7s, even well-blocked, came out slightly too sturdy and the hat doesn’t drape well. For best effect, I think it should be really floppy. Also, I can’t quite decide how I feel about this semi-solid colorway–is it a distraction, or does it add to the charm and intricate look of the pattern? (This is not to say I don’t totally love the hat–I really do. This is all nitpicking.)

Anyway–on to the pictures. It’s really hard to take a picture of the back of your own head.

The hat lying flat.

The back of my head.

Plated up for blocking. The underside and band:

The flowery top, with cute li’l i-cord nubbin:

Me looking vaguely chef-like, or possibly medieval, from the front.

So–some other good things.

• The Rainey Sisters alerted me to the fact that Niebling’s legendary Lyra doily is now available for $7 plus $4.50 shipping/handling through Lacis. It used to be rare and go for a LOT more on eBay–there are two copies up right now, the highest one, with 19 bids, currently priced at $81 plus $5.90 shipping. And I mean copy–it says you get photocopies of the pattern, not even originals. It must be a cash cow for the seller, since they can make infinite copies for 10 cents and sell them for $81+. That’s really kind of messed up.
• You can now purchase a couple of my patterns through Sandra Singh. She posted them today and has sold a copy of The Water is Wide already!
• Robynn sent me some freakin’ amazing yarn. Just look at how gorgeous this is.Handmaiden Camelspin, in Nova Scotia, glowing green and blue–this stuff has the sheen of Sea Silk but is much softer, probably the softest yarn I’ve ever felt, softer than the skein of cashmere I have in my purse:
  
  
  

  Artyarns Beaded Rhapsody in color 159, gleaming gold and silver:
  
  

Are those not just insanely beautiful? The timing was good; it made my day if not my week, and on balance more than made up for my Very Bad Day yesterday–thank you so much, Robynn.

This is the most gorgeous yarn…..the most beautiful pattern I had ever touch and made. With this yarn, my Swallowtail shawl has a “wow” effect!

The pattern is free at the Interweave website until the end of the month. I actually got the copy of the magazine and I always have my eyes on it. I finally got to it because my mom wanted to make it. While doing the translation for her, mind as well start together! It’s the first time I’m knitting with my mom together. It’s actually fun!

It’s my second attempt to make a shawl; but my first Icraus shawl is still on “hold” after I started a while back. I guess it’s a little discouraging by knowing it’s a big shawl = long term project. This Swallowtail shawl is just perfect. It’s a combination of 5 charts and it’s a fun knit. Except the nubbs which takes a little practice and patience. But the whoel shawl only took me a total of only 11 days! Consider knitting is my night time job. Me and my mom finished the shawl at about the same time and I love mine far more than my mom because mine is seasilk! It matches the pattern so well.

I don’t want to wear it because I want to save it for the big events. The one I have in my mind is my sister’s wedding in October. Hope I can wait till then! I just started to make this swallowtail pattern again with the Habu yarn I bought at the NYC last year. You can tell how much I love this shawl….a highly recommended pattern, which is now free!

Well, yesterday being the Ides of May, I headed to the local yarn shop as usual.

And here’s what I got!

First, a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas cotton in the Curry colourway (pictured below in the middle).

I’m hoping to make the Delft top in the current issue of Interweave Knits with these colours (I had the red and the orange in the stash from past swaps).

Oh, you should all congratulate me on my extreme forebearance. Why? Because, even though they had a brand new shipment of Handmaiden products in, I did not buy Handmaiden yesterday. I didn’t even look at it.

Er, um… ahem… I should confess that this is only the case because I was so taken with the Blue Moon collection:

The colourway is called “Atomic” of all things. Cool, eh?

And damn and blast (and double and triple damn) Lettuce Knits for being only one of two stores in Canada for carrying the stuff!! They’re just a bunch of pushers, really. Sheesh. I really, really can’t be blamed for losing my head (even though a whole bunch of Blue Moon stuff is winging its way to me from the US as we speak).

Actually, with all of those kilometres of laceweight yarn due to arrive, maybe I could use one of these as well:

Do you think I could program it to make Shetland lace?

Hmm. Actually, I doubt it. It was probably intended to make more useful everyday items of wear such as this:

Just check out that hunk o’ burnin love, would you? That fancy top wouldn’t be staying on him too long in my vicinity, I can tell you!!!

Or, how about some toys for the kiddies?

A very topical set of toys, I should think, given all the talk about bullying in the news these days (and you can click the link if you want to see my view on this issue!).

And, just to end off the work-week, I thought I’d post my top three weblinks for today:

(a) Passive-Aggressive Notes: I figure we’ve all seen such notes from time to time, although of course I’ve never written one myself! (cough cough). I get a real kick out of this website.

(b) Stitchy McYarnpants: some very funny photos of vintage knits, together with commentary. And, she reminded me that I hadn’t looked at Passive-Aggressive Notes for a while. Thanks, Stitchy!

(c) Stephen Fry: he is a rather funny English actor and has recently set up a blog. I’m not sure what I prefer about it – reading his excellent writing or checking out the self-important commentators who either pretend to be buddies with him or pontificate using poor grammar and big words that they dont know how to spel.

Miaow!

Happy Friday!

No, not that kind of weed.

Get your mind out of the gutter!!! Anyway, it’s (still) illegal.

What I was actually referring to is the kind that pops up in yards and gardens all over the place at this time of year, striking fear and loathing into the hearts of gardeners everywhere.

An example: the dreaded and much-maligned dandelion.

Now, my thumb is not green but black – must be all that tar in the smokes. All this to say, I have no clue about gardening. But I do think that dandelions are quite pretty:

See? What’s wrong with them? They’re bright and cheery. And they’re free, and they don’t take any work to maintain. So what’s the big deal?

Still not convinced? Well, maybe my five tips on combatting the affliction of weed hatred will convince you.

1. Start eating the leaves.

Yes, you can eat dandelion greens. My great grandmother did it for years – and she even drank the water they were boiled in (the appearance of which any smoker who has tried that time honoured quit smoking tip “empty your ashtray into a jar, fill with water, let marinate one week then keep bringing it out and looking at it when you’re jonesing for a smoke” will recognise). And, she lived to be 107! (well, I exaggerate a bit. But she was very old when she died).

I’ve also seen dandelion greens at the supermarket in certain ethnic neighbourhoods from time to time Even some of the top chefs have picked up on this dandelion trick and are serving dandelion salad. So, if they can serve it, so can you, right?

As for prep tips, don’t ask me. I wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole. But, as they are extremely healthy, you really should try some yourselves. I’m thinking about your best interests here.

2. Look for comparisons between other “real” plants that you have to pay for and tend.

If you do this, it may well be that you will stop seeing the necessity of shelling out your hard-earned bucks at the flower centre. Here’s an example:

I mean, do you see any difference, really? If anything, the dandelions are nicer looking because they don’t have those big ugly fuzzy brown spots in the middle!

3. Hunt down artistic depictions of the weed.

And yes, people do honour dread weeds such as the dandelion in art. Here are two examples.

This piece by Ann Beckley is called “Dandelion Lace:

Don’t you love the dandelion etching on the side?

And this piece is Myrna Oostrom is simply called “Dandelions”

Wow. I wish I could paint like that.

Anyway, works of art like these are important in that they help to remove the stigma of weed-dom.

4. Make a pros and cons list.

I have a deep dark secret to confess: I am a huge fan of pros and cons lists. Having said that, I’m not going to list the “cons” of letting weeds flourish here because you already know all of those. Here are some pros:

• You don’t have to break your back any more doing all that weeding.
• You can save all that money you spend every year on plants which end up dying half the time anyway when there is some freak snowstorm in June.
• Got any neighbours you can’t stand? Letting your yard grow over with wees provided great fodder to piss them off.
• Alternatively, having problems coming up with social chit chat with the neighbours? Let your yard grow over with weeds, then you can casually ask them how they cope with weeds in their yard. I imagine that this is good for hours of pleasantries.
• You will have lots of extra time for fun things… such as knitting, for example.

Which leads us to the fifth and final tip…

5. Check out yarn inspirations.

There are even knitting yarns named after weeds. And let me tell you, fondling a skein of Handmaiden Dandelion sea silk could probably change your mind about a whole lot of things:

For some reason, I haven’t quite managed to get my hot little mitts on any of this glorious stuff yet. But, after all, it is PayDay tomorrow!

Here’s a little challenge for you. Below is a photo of more Handmaiden colourways.

Tell me which one is named after a (sort of) weed – and provide the name. I’ll post the link to the answers here tomorrow. Hint – each colourway has one word in the name only.

See, weeds can be fun. Go forth and let them multiply, I exhort you!

Happy Weednesday Wednesday!

Once upon a time there was a Princess called Aphrodite. She had the fairest figure in all the land of Trana:

For this reason, Aphrodite’s evil stepmother, the Handmaiden, was jealous. She kept Aphrodite locked up in this tower:

with only a shawl called Icarus for company.

Icarus was actually far better company for Aphrodite than one might think. He had been made of the finest Lace Silk which the Handmaiden had lovingly spun. Also, a wonderful designer called Miriam Felton dictated what form Icarus would take.

Now, Icarus had some very difficult moments growing up. He was constantly picked on by the full grown lace shawls in the tower. They even threw him outside a couple of times.

Even worse, he was attacked by the dreaded Frogman three times!

This left Icarus a little bruised and battered.

Perhaps it is for this reason that Icarus never reached his full weight. He was meant to become at least 150 grams with 1,000 metres of yarn, like all the other Icari. However, the Handmaiden used only a 3mm needle to make him – so he weighed only 90 grams!

However, his actual size was 66″ wide by 44″ deep – quite impressive for a scrawny underweight.

But back to our main story. Icarus, once he reached his full size, got restless and bored with life in the tower. So, one day, he escaped:

He initially got caught in the leaves protecting the tower, as you can see. However, he managed to disentangle himself and go exploring the grounds around the castle.

He found a rock wall to lounge around on for a while…

…but then got bored with this and went to find a more comfortable bed:

It was springtime in Trana. Being locked in the tower all that time, Icarus had never seen flowers, so went exploring a bit.

He had never seen anything so beautiful in his short life:

He then headed over to Millionaires Row – Aphrodite had told him never, ever to go there because the people who lived there were Evil and Corrupt Capitalists. However, Icarus didn’t initially see any evil people, only beautiful trees:

Meanwhile, back in the tower, Aphrodite wept bitterly. She could not be consoled by the other shawls, although they tried:

You see, unlike the other shawls, Icarus had a very delicate Rowan Kidsilk edging, which was lovely, but likely to shrink in the cold April rain:
.

As well, people called Icarus had had a history of melting in the sun, and Aphrodite, being the superstitious Greek Princess that she was, was scared for her little shawl.

(The Weatherman had said that it would not be sunny for several days. However, everyone knew that the Weatherman was always wrong – especially in April).

Icarus, however, wasn’t missing home a bit. He hung around in front of Spadina House for a while:

then found some pine cones to play with.

But suddenly, an Evil and Corrupt Capitalist jumped out of the bushes:

“Hey! Those pine cones are my property!”, bellowed The Capitalist. He then threatened to call the police, who would come and unravel Icarus so that Icarus could never trespass again.

Icarus ran as fast as he could to the safety of the Local Yarn Store, where he knew he would be protected by the Lovely Yarn Pushers:

However, he soon tired of all of the close up attention he was getting (Icarus was actually quite shy):

He also realised, seeing all the fabulous yarns, that he missed his lace brothers and sisters in the tower.

So, Icarus returned home to Aphrodite, who was thrilled.

And the Handmaiden, realising the folly of her ways in keeping all of them locked up, began to let them out from time to time:

And so they all lived happily ever after…

(Happily, that is, until Aphrodite got seduced by a Prince called Misti d’Alpaca who promised her all sorts of gold baubles:

…but then ran off, leaving her in a forest called Sherwood to fend for herself.

Stay tuned for the next fairy tale!!)