I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb

I have always been fascinated with the Age of Exploration. Imagining those first great explorers venturing into unfamiliar seas with the excitement and anticipation of stepping onto unidentified terrain. Imagine the stars overhead, the waters spread out before them, venturing the globe and charting courses never before set by man.

Imagine, Leif Eriksson, with cargo aboard, charts aboard, sailors ( the early knitters) aboard, and  Yarn Aboard, setting sail for Greenland, and ending up in the southern seas...

  (okay, so Wendi in North Carolina isn't really tropical seas, and Leif did not go to the tropical seas.....but follow along)

Imagine poor Leif, being taken on another journey....

  and ending up in a mailbox in Western New York... with another famous explorer...Magellan!

That's right, Magellan,  the Explorist 210!

 

Let me explain. The day I got my yarn aboard package, we also got another fun package in the mail! A hand held GPS! 

Last week, we had some friends over (Dana and Keith) for dinner, and they introduced us to the world of Geocaching. What is Geocaching, you ask? Well, you must read Dana's blog entry of Wednesday, August 23, which explains all about it.

Are you back? So, you see that JR and I have a whole world of exploration ahead of us...mapping and tracking and discovering just for the fun of it. Perhaps as we go along, we will find the perfect house for us! I think Leif and Ferdinand would be so proud!

I have been knitting dishcloths like crazy! What is it about a dishcloth???? That ball band pattern is just so fun and I have made five of them in the past ten days or so. My One Skein pal is going to be on the receiving end of most of them...

   

along with a beautiful skein of merino and angora yarn and two soaps that all match perfectly with the dish (er...face) cloths. 

Since this entry seems to be all about discovery, I wanted to share some very cool products that I discovered at TJ Maxx...

 

Plain and Thimble!  The packaging is incredible, and the body and hand cream is so awesome!  The soap smells so wonderful...I have not found the lip balm or sewing kit yet.

I MUST GET MORE!!!! I WILL PAY, BARTER, TRADE, KNIT DISHCLOTHS, DOG-SIT! Please check your local TJ Maxx and Marshall's to see if they have this stuff? What you don't want to keep for yourself, I would love to procure.

Welcome back to Monday and a new week! We were away for the weekend, visiting our son Ben. The girls also met us there and we some time all together.

JR and I stayed at a great little old motel right on Seneca Lake, called the Showboat Motel! Hard mattresses and all, it was a place to sleep, had one vacancy, and they had a great restaurant right on the water where we had a $10 breakfast on the dock.

   

The Finger Lakes Region is really beautiful, and Seneca Lake is even deeper than any of the Great Lakes.

The area is gouged with valleys which hold the lakes...sloping sides  create the perfect conditions for vineyards, which are just beginning to show the harvest to come in the weeks ahead. We feel so fortunate to live within a few hours drive of many varied topographies within New York State...not only the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes, but imagine the beauty of the Adirondack, Allegheny and Catskill Mountains so close by. There is the Hudson River, the Erie Canal, the Lake Plains and incredible gorges and waterfalls throughout the state.

So, it's always a treat to take a road trip that includes not only family, but beautiful surroundings as well.

We are continuing the house hunt, and have come across a couple of possibilities....this takes a lot of thinking and energy!!!! I can't imagine what packing and moving will be like!

See what arrived at our port today?

 

Yarn Aboard Leif Eriksson!!!!  Wendi sent it sailing to me, and would you look at the cargo???

  Sockotta, in the colors of the sea, some DPN's (never can have too many sets of these!) and a great needle case to put them in!  This bag is awesome.... I will begin to fill it right away with the needles that I couldn't fit in  the case that Susan sent me!  Two awesome needle cases. I am such a lucky girl.

Thank you Wendi! and Thank you Amanda, for such a great swap idea...now I have to take Leif on an adventure he didn't plan on when he arrived at my doorstep... and believe you me, this will be exciting.....and photographed. Then the box will be filled with a bounty of loot for the next adventure!

Every year, our women's ministry has an event called "Classy Trash and Treasures" in which ladies bid on any variety of things...new and old, etc. For the past few years, my donation has been a "Use What You Have Decorating Service." They bid on me to come to their home to redecorate a room by re-arranging furniture, using things found in other areas of the house, and by giving  advice and ideas for purchases. It's been a pretty popular idea. In the Spring, someone bid $300 for this service! It was so much fun going to Sue's house and helping her to plan a comfy little office retreat for her. I really didn't feel at all worth $300, so I offered to cover a work table for her.

She will have a piece of glass cut for the top, and use it as a desk! The bonus is, all of that room under the table for storage. It is always such fun to do something like this. Then you get to interact with people and maybe even make a friend.

So, I've been thinking of the auction which is coming up in a few weeks, and I'm thinking of knitting a really cute kid's hat and doing a "Learn to knit this Hat" service. Perhaps up to three people could bid, and I'll supply the materials...the best part is, it could start a new knitting group for these people, who may not even really know each other before the auction, but because of their interest in learning to knit, they will share something together in a whole new way!

So often, we think we have so little to offer others in support of a charity or ministry, a school auction, whatever. Imagine the new knitters and crocheters or seamstresses that could be cultivated from your willingness to share a talent and some time...to me, it means so much more than just writing a check...on both sides!

A few days ago, I was in my favorite discount store, TJ Maxx, and in the clearance bin, I found this adorable bag. Well, it wasn't quite as adorable when I got it. It had some yellow silk roses on it which were looking pretty tattered, but the bag itself was well worth the few dollars I paid for it. The original price was $50!

I got it home, took off the silk roses, and added silk peonies instead. Isn't it the sweetest thing?

Go check out this site...this woman has some great bags and you will be inspired!

http://gretchenscott.info/

Gracious, where is the time going? It is nearly the end of August, and next week it will be Christmas!   I am always in the mood for Christmas, even when it comes in August. See what I got at the auction? And this is just a peek!  We bid on a huge box of well over a hundred ornaments, glow in the dark icicles, some other fifies Christmas funk,and got it all for the astounding winning bid of

Four Dollars!

A 1950's lunch box (JR actually went to school with the girl whose name in on the tag!) which is in great shape...

Two dollars.

The most incredible box of vintage demitasse cups...Spode, Limoge, Ansley, etc... The sweetest tiny cups I have ever seen...about a dozen of them...

Four Dollars!

Then, I had to have these great old mounted Gypsy Moths...

Five dollars.

A box of china teacups?

Four dollars!

And the very last item to go up before Kip closed down the auction was this scrap book just full of valentines and other ephemera from turn of the century up to the forties...

  There is even a picture of the little girl who owned this scrapbook with the dog from "Our Gang!" I waited through the whole auction to place my winning bid...

Ten dollars!

So, for less than thirty dollars, I rescued some history. Although I am not sure where I will put all of this stuff!

JR and I have been talking a lot this past year about our future. Some circumstances and life changes have been lining up for us that have lead to our decision to find a new home. Well, an older home, a smaller home. We are preparing for a future where we will not be as tied to maintenance of such a large home and outbuildings and gardens. It is time to move on. We love projects, we love creating wonderful spaces, and no doubt, wherever we rest, it will have the charm of home, a special feeling of coziness, and gardens, to be sure. Just on a smaller scale. We talk often of having the freedom of time to travel more and do missions work. So, we know that as bittersweet as this transition will be, it will be a good thing and we are very excited. I have lived here for nineteen years, and it finally feels right to move on. So, we begin a whole new adventure of searching and dreaming, and sitting up late at night planning and talking about what lies ahead, and what the bathroom will be like....I have to have a screen porch, of course, and we will build one. So my hope is that we can share every bit of this journey with all of you...and you will all be invited to come to visit and knit on my new porch one day!

But for tonight, I am going to wind yarn.

MUCH better. This is Sizzle Two, knit with 6+ skeins of Dale of Norway "Svale." a beautiful cotton/silk.

we like Sizzle Two.

Next up? 

  The Idena tank, in Idena Bamboo/Cotton. This yarn is so silky and soft...in such a luscious color.  It reminds me of chocolate ice cream.

  Which reminds me I'd like to go get an ice cream cone. Now.

A desperate reader, Denise, commented:

" ok you HAVE to dish on those mittens who what when where.. must make them."

So, Dear Denise, here is the dish on these fab mittens.

These mittens are called "Advika" and are found in the Mission Falls Booklet  "Smitten" which has four other fantastic mitten patterns as well.

 

They are all knit with Mission Falls 1824 Wool. Now, come closer, and listen-up.

Deb gave me the scoop of the day.... Busy Hands Yarn  is going out of business. They are having a great sale on all of their products, including Mission Falls Yarn! The wool is $3.50 a skein!!!!! "Smitten" the booklet, is only $5.25. I paid $9.95 for my copy.

So, skedaddle over to that site, because there are lots of good things at very good prices!  I already placed my order this morning, and I promise, I left some things for all of you!

But before we can think mittens, there is tank business to take care of...so stay tuned for the Sizzle Two Debut, featured on this knitting blog tomorrow!

My Meghan....Happy Birthday.... as a daughter

as a sister...

as a mother...

   

as a friend.

My daughter laughs hard, cries harder

smiles wider, hurts deeper

intensely lives,  loves intensely.

If the Book of Meghan were written , it would be the work of classic literature, of modern discourse, the perfect novel... a poetic composition reflecting the beauty and tragedy of a woman's life....and one day, dear daughter, the final line will be written that will complete the masterpiece of you. I love you, Meghan.

Marisol es mi hermana del proyecto del color para Agosto. Amo Marisol!

She sent me this most incredible box for the month of August! Every gift was so carefully selected, and it is just perfect, and wonderful, and she was so generous, and I'm blushing from the overwhelming kindness that Marisol has shown!

The array of treats was awesome...we ate the chocolate covered raisins at work, Marisol! I couldn't wait! And the caramels happen to be my favorites.

   

Fun little other goodies in the most interesting neutral shades!  Check out these strands of beads! I felt so "she-she" when I put them on!

 

A pattern and yarn to do a tank for next summer... with a very interesting construction....I look forward to having that be on my list for next spring.

 

And, this very cool cigar box purse...I love it! It is just the right amount of retro and funk to accessorize many outfits.

 

And of course, Marisol filled it with some I Love Lucy mints ( I think because I love Lucy!) and a couple of really good neutral lip colors. 

I keep looking at all of these things and think to myself what a lucky girl I am. Thanks so much Marisol! You really did go above and beyond!

Today is my son's birthday....Seeing Ben a few weeks ago, after his "re-birth" was no less exciting to me than when I saw him for the first time after I gave birth to him nineteen years ago.

 

Happy Birthday Ben! 

a neutral break from a color crazy world...

   

 

 

So with all this neutral, do you understand why I want to knit these????