Inspired Knits & Peace of Mind

Change is gonna come. . .

2011-09-30T13:11:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all,

My blog has been quite stagnant for a while and please accept my heartfelt apologies. There will be changes soon. A new look is coming.

Stay tuned for a grand re-opening

Blessings,
Gwynne

How Much is Too Much?

2011-02-24T14:48:00.000-05:00

February is almost over. January seemed to go very quickly, but I guess that is something people say as they get older.

I have been doing a lot more contemplating than writing so far this year and I have to tell you one of the reasons why. I spend a fair amount of time exploring, lurking and chatting, tweeting and posting on websites, like Twitter, Facebook and Ravelry. As I read posts/tweets that others write I am struck by how much oversharing is out there. I ask, "How much is too much?"

There are forums and friends and people to follow and companies that have an online presence. Do people who use these sites realize or care that what they share is out there FOREVER? I understand some folks are lonely in their offline lives or things are too challenging IRL, but I say to you with love -- please get a grip. Going online and ranting is not going to change anything in the long run. Deal with it and move on.

As a child, my family moved from place to place to accomodate my father's job and we children spent a lot of time adapting to new surroundings, getting comfortable, and then leaving. Most times upon leaving we would be devastated by having to leave friends that we hoped to have forever and never speaking to them or seeing them again. I do understand the need to belong, to belong to groups or even lead groups. These social networks seemed to have tapped into that need and people are diving into the shallow end from the high dive. While it is great to converse with like-minded people, Ask yourself:

1. Why am I following this subject? Why am I in this group?
1. Are they genuinely my friends? Do I really know/like them?
2. What am I getting from this?
2. Is this too much information I am putting out here? Am I talking too much, oversharing?
3. Is what I am saying relevant to the topic? Am I derailing things to make it about me?
4. Are there any unwritten rules I am breaking?
5. Have I even bothered to read the rules and guidelines before posting?

All it takes is one person or incident to change the dynamics of a group forever. It doesn't matter how well intentioned the act -- there are folks that will not forgive and can not forget because it is there to be re-hashed for eternity. Just be careful out there.

But on another front, I have been knitting up a storm and given myself a HUGE case of startitis. Another case of how much is too much. I have started so many projects this year and it is only February! if this keeps up all of my needles will be in use. That will probably be the only way to cure it. Though I hope I can finish them because I see a few more in the near future, heh. I'll show you some that I have begun and which ones are haunting my dreams next time.

A few of my recent FOs (finished objects for you muggles) here:

Tetsobou Hat in Malabrigo Sock

Norie Hat in SG Traveller

Gridiron Socks in SG Bugga

Loafers in Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Worsted

Moonlight Spiracles in SG QED

Until next time, Blessings

Keeping It Real

2011-01-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

Hello New Year, Hello Blog again!

I have been MIA on my blog for quite a while and it feels so good to be back. There had been so much happening over the last quarter of 2010 - head spinning and all that.

With all of the turmoil wrapped up and put away, it is now time to GET REAL and KEEP IT REAL. I will not make resolutions. I will not judge. I will just live as happy and healthy a life as I can. More random acts of kindness will be performed more than in the past. I just love the idea of anonymous blessings. I may even try a giveaway or two!

My knitting life has been a great sustaining force in my life and will continue to be. I thank all of the wonderful people that have touched me and have allowed me to touch them with this craft I like to call, Artistry.

My family is my inspiration each moment; happy sad, funny, supportive, loving, mischievious, stubborn, and sweet.

Such a textured life. Thank you and Blessings.

Favorites are Better - Late, But Better

2010-10-07T12:09:00.000-04:00

OK, Here is the list I promised for yesterday. Sorry it's a little late. I really had so many that I had to whittle it down some.

My Favorite Things

My wonderful husband - what a blessing
My children - my miracles
My sisters & brothers
Denzel Washington movies
Turkey salad - OMG
Spinach salad with cranberry vinagrette
Grilled Swordfish with lime & chipotle sauce
Knitting with my favorite yarns:

The Sanguine Gryphon
Dragonfly Fibers
Madelinetosh
Dream in Color
Kauni / Evilla
there are more but let's keep it short

Authentic Friends that will tell you the truth lovingly
Ravelry
Local LYSs - you know who you are. . .
My home
My doctors
My neighbors

I reserve the right to revisit this list and add to it with wild abandon.

Hello, Long Time No Hear. . .

2010-10-05T11:54:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in such a long time. It is not that I didn't have anything to say -- I just didn't feel I had anything worthwhile to blog about. I have been feeling all kinds of frustration with the smallest things and whining just isn't my thing.

I will, however, provide a list of things that are NOT my favorite things this week followed by a list of my favorite things next week.

NOT My Favorite Things List (Part 1)

Gossipy people
People that enjoy disparaging others
Falling in the toilet in the middle of the night
Book smarts but no common sense
Expecting more of others that one gives
Brown-nosing (so transparently)
Elitists
Sinful Religious folks that judge
Perfect people - they are everywhere
Soggy piecrust
BAD Coffee - grrrrrrr
Ugly yarn - yes not all yarn is equal. . .
Knitting patterns for sale that should be free
Automated Customer Service - where is everybody?!!!
Tropical temperatures
Hot Flashes
Muscle tremors

I think that will do for now. I reserve the right the revisit this list when this mood strikes again. Tomorrow the My Favorite Things List.

Shawls. . .

2010-07-16T14:26:00.001-04:00

I love shawls. So much so that I have to have one on needles at all times. It just so happens that I have two going now and am contemplating another two.

I am currently knitting on The Curator Shawl by Grace Anna Farrow. A lovely designer that I get the opportunity to chat with on Ravelry.com from time to time. Her aesthetic is clean lines and simple beautiful colors, a fan, I am in my best Yodaspeak. I am making the square version, but somewhat smaller than the pattern calls for -- but loving this so far. I have finally begun the decrease side so the finish line is within sight. The yarn is Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8, in the Masala colorway. So festive and summery; I think it will block out to a decent real woman size, heh. I hope to finish this before the end of the month so I can proudly flaunt it.

The other shawl on the needles is the Melon Pattern for a Shawl or Scarf from Victorian Lace Today. I signed up for a KAL (knit-a-long for non-knitters) in the Dragonfly Fibers Ravelry Group. This is a lovely group of knitters that love Dragonfly Fibers yarns. The inspiration behind these gorgeous yarns is the wonderful Kate Chiocchio. Love her!

The yarn I am using for this shawl is Dragon Lace in the Fire Star colorway. The most beautiful red with golden highlights and . . just WOW! I would love to have some of this in her Velvet Underground colorway -- maybe it will be a future request.

I made good progress on it thus far but had to put it down for a little while to finish the Curator. I want to use it on a trip my hubby and I are taking at the end of the month.

The other two shawls I am loving and itching to start are Veera Välimäki's 3/4 Hap Shawl and Veronik Avery's Travel Shawl from her new book which I have mentioned in previous entries. I don't know how much longer I can hold out.

Wish me luck!

Blessings

A New Day

2010-06-30T10:09:00.001-04:00

I am feeling very grateful today. So many things I could be unhappy about but why waste the energy. I have a lot of things to do each day and am glad that I can do them -- maybe not all in a day, but slowly and surely complete portions of tasks daily.

If you are feeling low today, I hope you can take the time to remember that you woke up and felt the Sun on your face and maybe heard birds chirping. And that is just the start.

Blessings-

Knittin' more than Nothin'

2010-06-24T14:46:00.001-04:00

Wow is it hot! We are in the throes of a heatwave and I haven't done so well in it. This prompted me to make a change I had been contemplating about for a while.

I cut my hair! No, not a trim. . . but 6 whole inches gone. . .

I have had locs for about 9 years. I cut them completely off about 5 years ago and quickly regretted it. I started them again within a year, and over the years, they have grown quite long, just below the shoulder blades. Now they are at my shoulders -- I just put a new picture on the blog and now I have to change it LOL! I feel pretty -- Oh so pretty.

So much knitting activities have been happening. I have knit 3 pairs of socks in the last month and a half. This is a first for me and I have an itch to knit another! After I completed the LCS socks last month I was compelled to knit myself some luxury socks in a yarn I have been coveting and acquiring for over a year. The Sanguine Gryphon has made a loyal customer out of me with their Bugga! lines, Traveller and Gaia DK yarns. I chose Bugga! in the Orange Assassin Bug colorway for my project. A vibrant, range of orange hues that make up this colorway make me think of blood oranges or Halloween.

I wanted to use and equally renowned designer pattern for these socks so I chose the Chicklets Sock from Anne Hanson of Knitspot. It is simple but beautiful and classic. This is an easy pattern with a memorable 12-row repeat that makes it great for travel & movie watching. Since it is made for sportweight yarn, it is a win-win for me, heh-heh. I totally loved Bugga! and it is so funny because I have been purchasing it for a while and never knit it up. Silly girl. How could you have waited so long?

While knitting the socks, I needed another Bugga! fix so I casted on some Skinny Bugga! for slouch hat in the rare colorway called Blowfly. OMG, it is the most gorgeous color! I now understand why it is so sought after. This pattern is another from Veronik Avery's book, Knitting 24/7 called "The Pinstripe Slouch Hat". A Perfect pairing. See?

Since it is fingering weight yarn, I am not moving as quickly as I would like. Well, I won't need it for a while so what's the rush, heh -- it's just for me.

Well, that's enough for now --

Blessings

What a May Happened. . .

2010-06-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

And I do mean happened! As I said, I will share with you all the event that went on since I last posted.

Well, My lovely hubby and I were in the midst of updating our family room and after the carpeting was re-stretched (shout-out to Mr. Stretch of NJ, you guys rock!), and shampooing carpeting and wool rugs, our new furniture was delivered.

I was sooooo excited and relieved that it arrived in pristine condition and fit perfectly. The hubs and salesperson tried to convince me that we needed extra seating but I am glad I stuck to my guns, it fit perfectly. One more item checked off the list.

The next item up is planting our little garden. We wanted to actually till an area of the yard near the honeysuckle, but with all of the things happening at once, we figured we would tackle that next year.

We decided to scale back and do container gardening again this year. We chose Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes for the hanging containers with cubanelle and California Wonder peppers for the ground containers. They have only been planted for about 10 days and are blooming and fruiting already!

My Husband had been quite busy lately and sharing only some of what he was up to. Hmmmmm. Well I found out soon enough.

I turned 50 last Wednesday - WOOOHOOO and it was great! My young men teased me mercilessly but with love and then presented me with funny cards and gifts equaling 50 from my fav LYS. Hubs took the day off and just spent time with me -- the best gift of all. He told me to wait until the weekend for my gift. No problem.

The wait was soooooo worth it. The party he was planning was supposed to be on Saturday but with the threat of thunderstorms he postponed it to the next evening. And what a night! The daytime temps on Sunday was in the high 80's and breezy, but it cooled very nicely by party time. An old-fashioned fish fry, mini-burgers and hot dogs, his mom's potato salad, my sisters' wonderful side dishes and cornbread were the menu. Buckets and buckets of refreshments, Family, Neighbors & Friends, and . . . Ciroc Grape Martinis and Pear Martinis for the Birthday girl!! Oh Yeah!

I was then told to go inside and and wait. Once summoned, there was a birthday cake from this wonderful little local Italian Bakery that was amazing. Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling with whipped cream frosting and coral colored whipped cream roses that were near perfect. After the singing I look up and saw a HUGE inflated movie screen -- it had to be at least 12 feet tall and 15 feet wide! The Cineplex was about to play Avatar! Since I hadn't seen it I was so ready. After the sun set, the movie started -- in my backyard! Popcorn, matinee candy boxes, chaise lounges and chairs. Everyone with blankets and snuggled with kids and sweethearts. What a wonderful gift.

I think I will keep him forever. This was the best birthday ever. . .

Thankful . . .

2010-05-20T12:04:00.002-04:00

Whew! What a month so far! I know it has been awhile since I last posted and so much has happened. I mentioned that my wonderful brother and his wife celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last month, which was great. Even better, a week later my sweet hubby and I celebrated our 19th. Long live this great marriage! There seem to be so few and I am thankful to have a man in my life that is my best friend, my rock, a great father, lover and so on. . . you get the picture.

Then came Mother's Day. . . I normally don't expect much and hope to relax and indulge in some selfish endeavour. The only plan was to visit my mother who lives about an hour away. Well, when I woke up, the smell in the house was amazing. . . walked into the dining room and there it was!

A beautifully set table (oh I wish I took pictures!). My sons are 19 & 27 and instructed me to sit in the seat of honor. I was then served fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, yum), fresh OJ and coffee. WHAAAAAAAT? The next course, Cinnamon French Toast with warm syrup, Bacon and scrambled eggs! It was such fun. They are wonderful chefs but as they say, "We prefer Mom's cooking, if push came to shove". Those sweet lazy buffalos! Buffalos is a pet name for them that I can say without embarassment. I am so THANKFUL for them.

They chauffered me to my Mom's for a visit and when we got back home, my hubs was prepping another meal. Sauteed Tilapia with tomatoes and green beans with garlic roasted fingerlings, HEAVEN! For dessert, Key Lime pie. The best part was that we were all there together and had so much fun talking and laughing about when the boys were young. THANKFUL. They topped it off with GCs for online yarn shopping and a GC to one of my favorite aromatherapy shops.

I did get some knitting done along the way. I'll say it here and now - I am not a monogamous knitter. I like to have a lot of different projects going so I don't get bored. We Geminis are just born multi-taskers (ha ha).

I presented the Heaven shawlette to my mother. She seemed to really like it and put it on right away.

I finished a pair of socks that I called Scylla Ice with yarn that was gifted to my by a new friend that I hope to meet in person one day. I hope this doesn't embarass her too much. Deb has this wonderful spirit of joy. She is upbeat and can always be counted on for a laugh. Just thinking of her makes me smile. I would love to bring her the same spark and support she has given me. I am Thankful.

The pattern Scylla's name is taken from the Greek tragedy, The Odyssey. I love the slipstitch pattern great for varigated yarns -- the yarn is Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the color Glacier. Beautiful color, just a little uneven. Indie dyers can't always get it the way they want it but they keep trying. Thank goodness!

I started another pair of socks from my new favorite pattern book by Veronik Avery, Knitting 24/7. The Lacy Cable Socks. The yarn is Knit Picks Risata in the color Dusk. I love this yarn too! This cotton/wool yarn has been in my stash for a while and I was looking for something cool and summery for lacy socks. Perfect match! I am almost finished with one sock. It has good elasticity which pleasantly surprised me.

I also started a square shawl by GraceAnna Farrow, called the Curator Wrap, more on that later.

I will be celebrating a milestone birthday next week and can't wait to share what is planned for the week and the Memorial Day Weekend.

Blessings.

Tuesday Happiness

2010-04-20T12:11:00.001-04:00

Somedays you wake up and just feel happy. Today happens to be one of those days. After a great nights' slumber following 2 nights of little or no sleep, I awoke to the sunshine with thoughts of knitting on my mind.

I am currently knitting a small shawl pattern called 198 yds. of Heaven by Christy Verity. It is a simple lace pattern suggested for worsted weight but will look great in any weight, I think. I am using Rowan Summer Tweed and am enjoying the journey.

As you know, I knit (ha, ha). In order to knit I need some oh so fabulous yarn. Ok, I don't need fabulous but hey . . . I have been shopping a bit and found some yarns and notions that I are quite wonderful. There are some great commercial yarns out there and great sources to get them from. There are also some great internet shops and indie artisans that are worth mentioning as well. I have some in my stash that are making me wish I had 8 hands to have 4 projects going at once. I will probably be talking about them here from time to time.

There are a few yarns that I adore-and-drool-over-and-go-after-and-have-and-love-and-debate-whether-to-use-or-just-cuddle-or-just-display. This is happens everytime I go to my stash.

One of my new favs is Great Northern Yarns .

They are the only distributor of Mink Cashmere yarn. It is a top dyed, 70% mink, 30% cashmere yarn so the depth of color is in a word, Amazing.

The first photo is the Natural, the second is the color Radient Purple. It is a luscious, yarn that blooms while you knit with it and further blooms after soak and blocking into something amazing.

For those concerned for the minks that are used, please read the information on the website and contact them with any questions. Craig, the owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. He are currently debuting a new 100% Cashmere yarn in DK and lace weights that I see in my future.

I am considering making these Almeara gloves . What do you think?

Blessings.

My First Pattern Loopy Spa Mitt

2010-04-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

I am so proud to announce that I have published my first pattern on Ravelry. For those not in the know, Ravelry is this great social website that is geared toward fiber artists, designers. Folks who knit, crochet, spin fiber, weave, and sellers of all related goodies.

Being part of a community like this is very rewarding.

My pattern is a mitt that can be used in the bath, shower or if you are so inclined you can use it in the kitchen as well. It came about as I was preparing a swap package for someone in one of the Rav groups that I participate in. I saw this wonderful washcloth by Karen Schoren called, The Luxurious Loop Washcloth, but it was made using sportweight cotton and I wanted something more substantial - worsted weight. So the Loopy Spa Mitt was born. I hopy you enjoy making this as much as I did. The loops can get a little monotonous but the end result is so worth it.

If you would like to download a free copy, use the following link

My First Blog

2010-04-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

This is definitely something I did not think I would be doing. I am an unassuming person more inclined to watch the action than talk about it to the masses, but here I am.

I am a knitter, fledgling designer, wife, mother, daughter and so on. I learned to knit when I was about eight. It was fun, but other things got in the way and it was a memory that was turned into a new reality about 6 years ago.

In this blog, I will blog heavily about knitting, add some patterns, and talk about other things that may seem interesting at the time. I can't promise an entry a day or one a week, but it will be frequent enough to keep you interested.

So do please come back again. . .