D-U-N-N DONE! Done Something for the First Time

My Neighbor and I have decided to host a block party for National Night Out, no big thing really just some family friendly beverages, ginger snaps, and a chance to meet our neighbors. Yesterday we went door to door to leave invites for people, and as we did we chatted, mostly about the fact that she is training to do a Half Iron-Man Triathlon.

One of the things she said as we walked stuck with me. She said "It's been a long time since I've done anything for the first time." It got me to thinking about doing things for the first time. There's a certain excitement that only happens the first time, even if you do those things again. If you do them again it's because you love them, or at least sort of enjoyed yourself, but the first time, that's a thrill. It got me thinking about things I've done for the first time, especially things I've done lately for the first time, and if indeed I did things for the first time often enough.

The Block party will be a first. In fact, moving to Austin was the first time I have ever lived anywhere other than Minneapolis. My recent trip to San Antonio was a first. I'd not been there before, and was not sure what to expect. Granted, it's not a triathlon, but I have, in fact done that also.

That's me post-race, in front of the then LYS. The store happened to be along the race course and the yarnies so graciously cheered me on, that I went back for a photo. I did the Triathlon for the thrill of it for sure. I wasn't sure I could, I wasn't sure I'd finish, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to drown, and it was the excitement of not knowing that made it so fun.

I was thinking about all this while I did finishing work on Sizzle. And that too is a first. My first hand knit garment. I've done lots of accessories, but never clothing. Again, it's not a triathlon, but it was still a little thrilling. Every week I'd say to the ladies at my Sit and Knit, "...I hope it fits", never sure that it would, and enticed by the fact that it would probably be beautiful, but it might not. In the end the shirt fits, literally, and it's mostly beautiful, and I'll actually wear it. It makes me a little proud.

I think the important thing about doing stuff for the first time is the thrill. The thrill of anticipation and not knowing for sure what to expect. The risk that it might suck - the pride in the accomplishment even if it does, and the new found passion if it doesn't. Thrills come in all sizes. We can't all be adrenalin junkies, we can't all run the Iron Man, and we can't all knit wedding gowns. But we can, and should, all experience the thrill of doing something, anything, for the first time.

Ravelry and a Frogged Tank

Sweet! I finally got my invitation to Ravelry. If you haven't heard it's an online community for knitters, crocheters, and yarnies. It hasn't fully launch yet, but is up and running with volunteer testers. You can still get on a list to be invited as a tester.

I've been poking around, trying to find my way, and so far I think I love it. You get a notebook to track your projects, you can put future projects on a queue, you can track your stash, your needles, and you library. There are also the usual friends, forums, and groups features that you typically find in cyberspace. The only draw back I've found so far is it seems a bit daunting to add my stash. Over all though I quite pleased to be a part of the community.

On another note... I finally frogged the orange Tank Top I've had hidden away since early Spring. It's an easy pattern from the One Skein Book, and I was working with Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, which I love, but I just lost interest. I guess mostly because I just don't need another tank. So I frogged!

I'll reclaim the yarn for a future project. I'm think the Cast Off Sweater in The Natural Knitter.

Live from The Landing...

I'm back from a long, soggy, Holiday weekend in San Antonio. We did absolutely nothing to celebrate the 4th of July here in Austin. Too wet, Zilker Park was underwater so no fireworks, and no symphony orchestra. Instead we stayed home and cursed the rain.

On Thursday we began our long weekend away in San Antonio. It was nice, despite the continued rain. I bought a cowboy hat to keep myself a little dry, and we walked for miles, in the rain. We walked the Riverwalk, we saw the Alamo, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the San Fernando Cathedral. The Alamo was jammed full of people, and was mostly just boring. The Spanish Governor Palace is a much better bet, we were the only people there and it's filled with great antiques and has a fabulous courtyard. The cathedral is incredible, and I'm told the oldest building in all of Texas.

The highlight of the trip, by a million miles, was seeing The Jim Cullum Jazz Band at The Landing. When I lived in Minneapolis the Public Radio Affiliate aired "Live from the Landing, on San Antonio's Historic Riverwalk, it's The Jim Cullum Jazz Band..." every Sunday evening at 5PM. I rarely missed a show for years. Like people get hooked on "must see TV", I was hooked on a radio show. I'd plan my weekend around catching the show.

I was thrilled to get a chance to see it all happen in person. They weren't recording that night, just playing. I was surprised by the size of The Landing, in my mind it was an old classy theater. In reality, it's a very modest little jazz club with a full bar and sandwiches. In my mind the tickets were expensive. In reality it's a $6 cover charge. And I'd venture a bet that it's the best $6 you can spend in all of San Antonio. The band is a bunch of old guys, very old school with suit coats and ties, and the chops to play 4 full sets.

I took full advantage of the opportunity and purchased two CDs, and had them both autographed by Jim Cullum. I'm not much of a "fan" when it comes to TV or Hollywood personalities, but I admit I was a little star-struck for old Jim Cullum. He's a bit curmudgeonly, wears a bow-tie, has messy hair, and has duct tape on his coronet. He was very gracious about the autographs, and chuckled when I told him I used to listen every Sunday Night at 5.

If you ever find yourself in San Antonio, and you want to hear a bunch of old guys play great jazz, pay the six bucks at The Landing. And if you aren't down San Antonio way, check your local NPR listings, tune in, and turn the radio up. You'll be glad you did.

On a little side note: It has finally stopped raining here in Texas, today the sun has shone. A few stats I found interesting: We've had 34.8" of rain so far this year, that's an all time record. Until today we had 8 consecutive days of rain. It has rained 42 of the last 70 days. That's a lot of rain, and that's global warming my friends.

Texas Floods and Knitting Delights

It's raining down here in Texas! And I mean like "40 days and 40 nights" raining, like "Texas Floods" raining, like "when will it ever stop fracking raining" raining. I've been putting off several progress photos, and therefore several blog posts in hopes that I'd be able to take the pictures in natural light. They're so much nicer that way. But I can't get outside with the camera because it never stops raining for longer than 2 minutes. I guess in some ways the rain is good, lake levels are back where they should be, and it's no longer considered a drought. On the other hand, all this rain is from disturbances in the Gulf of Mexico which means an early start to the hurricane season, and that, my friends, is global warming.

I don't wish to be a kill-joy and bring y'all down with talk of our depleted ozone, instead, if y'all will bear with the artificial lighting, I've got photos to share and I'll put off the progress reports no longer.

First up, as I mentioned in yesterday's post I attended a workshop at the LYS over the weekend. I did some stash building during said workshop with the intent of pushing my color boundaries. I started by picking out this skein of Kollage Dreamy, not a colorway I would usually pick, but I loved it. Then I added to the stash, and ended up with this little bundle of love. It will become a shawl someday. There's some 2nd Time Cotton in there, some Habu, some Wick, and some Cotton Twist.

At my Tuesday afternoon knitting group I had a small "tada!". I've completed the back of Sizzle. It sits on stitch holders waiting for the front. I'm just two rows into the front, but soon damn it, soon...Did I mention I love, love, love the seed stitch at the hem? Well, I do. I also love the Berroco Cotton Twist I'm knitting it with.

Also there is slow but sure progress on the Branching Out Lace Scarf from Knitty. I'm working it in a Lace weight Merino from Fearless Fibers.

And finally as I think I stated earlier, when I get tired of the lace pattern and the sweater, I experiment with the make-it-up-as-you-go lariats. Mostly I'm doing this with that Habu I got a few weeks back. I love the textures of these yarns.

So there you have the progress photos, the on-needles shots, the whips revealed. Proof positive that I really do knit. If it ever stops raining I will be able to take some photos out in the natural light, I may even knit outside, wearing SPF 50 of course, for fear of that depleted ozone...

And one last thing, there's an easy-to-enter contest going on over at Skeins Her Way, when you enter tell her Right Out Loud Sent you, I want that Suri Merino. Thanks!

I attended a workshop on design this past Sunday at the LYS. Mostly it was organized as an open discussion with a few creativity exercises thrown in for good measure. I enjoy workshops like this, I think it's good for people, including myself, to share their ideas with others. I always find it rather enlightening to hear what inspires others. I came away from the workshop with several ideas rolling around in my head.

Idea number one - The importance of making each project you do your own. Whether you are making changes to a pattern, or embellishing an old sweater, everything you do creatively should be stamped with your own personal sense of style. We all have a personality that's unique, we are all, by default, individuals. Your personality should shine through in all your projects. If you do what you love, and what just feels right to you, your sense of style will show.

Idea number two - I came away from the workshop with a renewed belief that we all have a creative muscle, and like any other muscle it needs regular exercise to stay in shape. This exercise can come from any number of activities. Sometimes the activity may be a workshop like this one, the opportunity to share with others and hear and see what inspires and motivates them to continue to create. Sometimes this activity is small, your time is limited for whatever reason. No matter if you have hours to spend, or moments on a given day, the important thing is to exercise your creativity. Do something creative everyday.

Idea number three - Experiment! Embellish! Improvise! These three ingredients are essential. In my humble opinion they are the cornerstones that any creative endeavor is built on. Challenge yourself to try something new, or to work with colors you don't usually gravitate towards. Change what's already there. Think outside the box. Make stuff up as you go along. The important thing is to push your own boundaries creatively. Experiment, Embellish, Improvise!

Here are just a few of the projects to try we came up with during the workshop. Many of them are things I feel inspired to do myself, maybe some of them will get your creative juices flowing as well.

• Change the next pattern you're going to knit to make it your own. Add stripes to a plain sweater pattern, or a few rows of lace work to a shawl, or a section of ribbing at the waist of a tank.
  
• Take all the buttons off a store bought sweater and replace them with vintage buttons that are really special.
• Needle felt into an old pair of jeans to give them a whole new look.
• Add some lace to the cuffs of an old sweater, or some vintage trim to the hem of an old skirt.
  
• Make and sew an applique on a plain old tee-shirt.

The important thing to remember is to give all of your creative endeavors that little extra something, to put part of yourself into each idea so that your personality shines through and everything you create will be uniquely your own.

Long Time No Blog

It feels like it's been ages since I've had a new entry here on the blog. It has in fact been over a week. I had a house full of visitors from Minneapolis. My sister, my niece, and the three little people were here for just over a week. I'm not usually one for having house guests, in fact the last time members of my family visited I put them a hotel. It's not that I don't love them, I do, I just don't like house guests. Incidentally, I also dislike being a house guest. This time a hotel just wasn't feasible, so they stayed in my little house. Despite that, I was able to enjoy the time with them very much, we played, we ate ice cream, we hit some thrift stores, and in general had a great time. But I just couldn't get anything else like blogging, done.

Until yesterday it was almost a week since I'd done any knitting also. Unheard of I know, but I had a minor injury. I was hanging out in the yard doing a little yard work with the mutts. The mutts were having a fast and furious game of chase and headed in my direction. I could see what was going to happen next, but I couldn't do a thing to stop it. Little Layla deeked just at the last possible second, and Big Mike barreled right into me. I fell, heard my shoulder make several strange popping sounds, felt an amazing amount of pain, yelled out, tried to lift my hanging arm, heard several different strange popping sounds, felt a little less pain, and pulled myself together. The dogs had stopped to stare. My sister says she heard or read somewhere recently that orthopedic surgeons are seeing as many rotator cuff injuries from knitters as they are from athletes. I wondered how many they see from knitters with very large, very fast, and not at all graceful dogs named Mike. After a week the shoulder still aches, and I still can't hook my own bra, but as of yesterday knitting was possible again. Thank goodness!

In celebration I went to my Tuesday afternoon sit and knit at the LYS. I had missed last week, because of the bum wing, and the house full of guests. Only this week I didn't knit. Instead I learned some basic crochet techniques. I've been doing a lot of free-form, make-it-up- as-you-go-along knitting lately. Mostly it's taking the form of skinny scarves, lariats, necklets, and necklaces. They're nice little diversions from the progress I'm making on "Sizzle" and the Branching Out Lace Scarf. When I get tired of following the patterns, I make a lariat. I wanted to be able to mix it up a bit with some crochet. And so yesterday I learned how to make baubles, and loops, and few other basics that will allow me to improvise with a crochet hook.

I also added to the stash, just a little. I've been absolutely fascinated with Habu Textiles Yarns lately. I fondle them, and smell them every time I'm at the LYS. I love , love, love the textures, and the amazing earthy colors. They were the perfect thing for me to continue to improvise with. I promise to post photos of the finished objects soon. I should be posting progress photos of Sizzle and the Lace soon also, I'm a mere few rows from having the back complete on Sizzle, and more than half done with the lace. Now that the shoulder is allowing knitting again, and the house is deplete of guests, it should be soon.

Swag, Shwag, and Spiff

I love words. I especially love discovering words that are new to me. So this Saturday after I was at an Adoption Day with Blue Dog Rescue the group I volunteer with, and I was given a tee-shirt left over from their Run for the Rovers 5k Race. When I got home The Boyfriend says, "...you get a lot of "spiff' on this gig". New word! I say "spiff, what's spiff?". He says "you know, giveaways, promo items, ..." or something to that general effect, and I say "...you mean swag." The Boyfriend had not heard the word "swag" used like this before.

So later that same evening The Boyfriend and I are having diner at the Brazilian restaurant with a friend, a smart, fashionista with a blog. So I ask said friend, "what do you know about spiff and swag?". Her answer was something along the lines of "...never heard of spiff, swag is the thing you drape over your curtains, I think you mean shwag."

Not being one to leave this kind of thing alone, I got on dictionary dot com and here's what I found: No such word as "Shwag" or "Schwag". "Swag" refers to booty, loot, prizes, giveaways, and promotional items. "Spiff" is very specific slang referring to promotional items given to sales persons by manufacturers in exchange for selling their goods.

Turns out I got swag.

On the knitty front ... I've been playing with the idea of I-cords. I've been making lariats, necklets, and necklaces. (yup, more words). They're fun, they're fast, and easy to wear. They all start as I-cords, and then I go from there. Some have areas of flat knit, which adds a pretty subtle but lovely detail. Some I throw in some decreases and increase to the flat knit. This can be stuffed with wool roving and sewn shut making nifty beads, others are left open resembling a piece of shell pasta. I've been adding fringe, and buttons, and I'm not done yet.

Knitting News, but Mostly a Reading Post

It was a whirlwind of a weekend. There were three different sets of house guests. The Boyfriend's 17 year old visited from Mpls. for most of the weekend. She's a good kid and I like her. We all saw Pirates Three. Promptly upon her departure my niece arrived with her three wee people in tow. I've missed them since moving away to Austin, and the visit was far too short. And promptly upon their leaving the four legged guests arrived. I had to pick them up actually. I agreed some time ago to do the doggy sitting for a good friend's two dogs while she has her first baby. I of course had no way to know that all would converge almost simultaneously. In the chaos I found no time to knit or write.

Yesterday, after the 4 dogs had run themselves nearly ragged in the yard, I did make it to my Tuesday Afternoon Sit and Knit. I was a half hour late, but I made it. And I needed it. So better late than not at all. I cast on Sizzle and made some legitimate progress. In one short session the back of the sweater now measures a full 4 inches from cast on. Time to start the dart decreases.

Unfortunately there was no other knitting to report. There is a lot on-the-needles. Seems I'm still not motivated enough to finish that pretty brown purse, and not sure just what my problem is. I'm thinking of frogging the orange tank, but can't bring myself to do it just yet, I can't bring myself to work on it either so it seems that frogging is inevitable. I've completely given up on the squares for the afghan, I found a pattern I love, but won't start that until I get some of these other projects safely off the needles.

I have been wanting to get caught up on a reading post. My reading has been bordering on prolific. I finished The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean about a week ago. There is a strange phenomenon with this book, seems every time I mentioned it the other party would reply "oh that's the one Adaptation was based on." But I never saw that movie. I tried to see that movie, but I hated it, and slept instead. I didn't hate the book. In fact I rather enjoyed it. I was struck by the fanaticism of the orchid collectors, and realized how true that fanaticism rings with both book collectors and knitters. Seems there is something lurking in the universe that pushes collectors over the edge to obsessive. And that's what this book is about.

I immediately started, and finished How to Be Good by Nick Hornby. It's a fast, fast read. It is a really light and witty story, but it touches on a pretty big theme - how do we define what it means to "be a good person". Is "good" defined by our professions, or are family status, or our ability to treat others with kindness? I'd highly recommend this one for a quick summer read.

After that dose of 'light reading" I felt compelled to pick up The War by Marguerite Duras. It's slowing me down some, and the title is really all I have to say about it just yet, it's a memoir of Duras' experience as a French survivor of WWII and Nazism. I love Duras, but this one's incredibly dark, and sad, and daunting.

Yesterday I set The Duras aside in favor of something a little less daunting and a lot more fun, Yarn Harlot Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It was among the "Thank You" gifts I received for taking care of my friend's dogs. I read the Harlot's blog everyday, and this book is a genuine treat. I think that like Orlean's book it's about being obsessive. And like Hornby's book it's about being good. But mostly it's about knitting.

Knitting Group and A New Hat

Earlier this week I attended my first "Tuesday Afternoon Knitting Group" at the LYS. I liked it. It's sort of a new group and so it's rather small. In fact there were just four of us there, the group leader, myself, and a mother/daughter team. I liked them, they brought snacks, chocolate covered raisins and toffee macadamia nuts to be exact. There was much talk of upcoming weddings, being completely intimidated by knitting in the round, which decreases slant which way, and growing hair on your elbows.

I'm taking advantage of the group as a regularly scheduled two hour block of knitting time to finally knit myself Sizzle which is available on Knit and Tonic. I'm knitting it with Berroco Cotton Twist, that lovely cotton rayon blend that has just a touch of shimmer. And because the sweater is for me, it's brown.

I only got as far as knitting my gauge swatch, but I have three things to reveal about myself and gauge swatching: I only do it when I'm knitting a garment, I just can't bring myself to do it any other time. Once I've got the gauge I frog the thing, I can't waste the yarn. And I'm a terribly loose knitter, I am consistently two needle sizes smaller than recommended. I always assumed this was because I do felting (fulling really) and so am in the habit of knitting all loosey-goosey. The group leader pointed out that it is in fact probably because I knit continental, and it's always looser. Who knew? I'm learning new things everyday, as they say. I've decided I will from now on start with the smaller needles, and will perhaps have to only knit the one swatch, getting it right the first time, instead of having to knit three.

On another note... I made this hat. I love it! It's knit from a bunch of stash busting cotton yarn and I added a fringe of cotton ribbon.

That's it for today. Have a great holiday weekend, and please drive safe.

Tagged - I'm It

Ok, so I got tagged and I have to admit I'm not really sure how this game works. I mean I understand the basics, they were explained as thus - you get tagged, you post a list of seven random facts about yourself, and then you tag seven other bloggers. I guess that part's pretty simple. The part I don't get is the "why" and the "what for"?

At any rate, I get a little nervous that if I don't play along it'll mean bad luck. I'm sort of superstitious that way. That can be fact number 1 - I'm superstitious, I believe in bad luck, and I also believe in good luck.

Fact 2 - I won't sleep in a tent. Ever! I have of course, slept in a tent, but I don't like it. In fact I don't like anything about camping. I like clean bedsheets, and hot food, and coffee in the morning. The last time I slept in a tent there was a thunderstorm, and the tent blew down, and I crawled out, picked up the whole crumpled wet mass of canvas, put it in the back of my car, and drove away. Done.

Fact 3 - Speaking of coffee, I have two and only two and no less than two cups of coffee each and every morning. And when I'm traveling I accommodate this about myself. I've even been known to walk down to a hotel lobby and get two cups of coffee and carry them both back to the room and then tell my companion, "sorry, they're both for me". That's a huge hit.

Fact 4 - I returned the new bike I bought (see living greener post), and kept my old bike. I had to, I felt nostalgic for the old bike every time I even thought about selling it. It was like I was in love all over again. I even considered keeping both bikes, but that's just silly, so I returned the new bike. The guy at the bike shop seemed to understand, there was nothing wrong with the new bike, it just wasn't my old bike.

Fact 5 - Read fact 3 and 4 and come to the conclusion that is fact 5 - I don't deal well with change. I like things to stay the same, and I like the things I like.

Fact 6 - Viva paper towels are the only paper towels I will buy. Plain white ones. I think silly decorations on paper towels are about the dang dumbest thing. And Vivas are soft. I have a friend in Mpls. who I have a lot of quirky things in common with. We discovered that Viva Whites was one of those things. She too will only buy the Viva whites. Viva La Viva Whites.

Fact 7 - I want to learn to snorkel or scuba because I'm afraid of the ocean.

So, that's it. Now I'll be tagging seven bloggers who I read on a regular basis, and if they don't like it they can stone me.

Cheers!