k is for krista

Peace

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light.  For a time

I rest in the grace of the world and am free.

Wendell Berry, 1968

Was It Worth It?

In case you hadn't noticed, I am home.  ON A WORKDAY!  I am playing hooky with my last two remaining vacation days.  I keep waiting for my boss to call me and say, "Um, yeah, we just checked the chart and it turns out you owe us a couple days.  We're going to need you to come in right away...Oh, and we'll need you to come in on Sunday as well.  Did you get that memo?"*

So far, the phone has been quiet and I am pleased.  So pleased, in fact, that I cleaned out the fridgadaire and went to the grocery store.  Tonight will be hamburgers with cheese and french fries.  I so badly want to be able to do this every day.  Soon, soon.  I love using my hooky days to take care of the house.  I really feel like I am the caretaker of this tiny apartment when I make sure the dishes are done, the dinner is ready, and the place looks presentable.  I'm really not June Cleaver or anything, but darn it, I hate that my home becomes a nightmare because of the ridiculously long hours my husband and I work. 

Enough of that.  Let's move on to my pride and joy.

The Swallowtail Shawl is finished and blocking!  I kept thinking to myself, "This had better be worth it.  If this is ugly I will freak out.  I will never knit lace again."  Needless to say, I am now planning to do Icarus from the past Interweave Knits.  What do you think?  Was it worth it?

* Please refer to the movie Office Space if you don't get this joke.

The Power of Nupps Compell You!

I have been working on socks with this awesome yarn my secret pal 8 got me.  The green fades to purple and back again in the most amazing way.  The yarn is kind of stretchy, just a little, just right.  It really doesn't seem fitting that I should be using a basic sock pattern here.  I need a texture pattern.  Not lace, nothing hole-y.  I just need something to spice it up a little.  I am drawing a blank.  Let me know if you think of anything.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I went into the knitting basket.  I wanted something to work on instead of the socks.  I know I've said it before, but I love Halloween, and I was looking forward to AMC MonsterFest and some knitting progress on the UFO basket from Hell.

Was it destiny that paired up the Swallowtail Shawl with the Exorcist?  I may never know.  It was amazing.  Father Kerris whipped that shawl into submission.  He released the demons, and now I can knit the nupps without gnashing my teeth and renting my garments.  I was up until 3 am (old time), then up at 9:30 am (new time), with my last fleeting thought and my first rising hope being this...that I will complete the Swallowtail Shawl today. 

The Power of Nupps Compel You!

A Rant

I was talking to a friend of mine at the bar tonight about another friend who had to give up the drink because of stomach trouble.  I said, "Ya know, I really don't drink a lot, but I do like to have a beer or two after work because I get so stressed that the beer helps calm my stomach."  He then went on to tell me that if you do the best you can, it's all you can do, and you shouldn't let yourself get so worked up, and it's as bad as a heroin habit to get all stressed out about work, blah, blah, blah.

I've heard all this before (well, maybe not the heroin reference, but this is Delaware), and I understand where everyone is coming from.  The thing is, I DON'T WANT YOUR ADVICE.  I am not asking for your advice.  Sometimes I will gladly ask other people for their opinion about things like good sock yarn, a dinner recipe, how to talk to a difficult relative.  I DON'T WANT YOUR ADVICE ABOUT MY JOB.  I live in Delaware.  My hands are tied.  I have the best job this state has to offer.  I know that I have a choice job, and I know it may kill me, but it is what I have to do right now.

I appreciate kindness.  I'm not really mad at my friend.  He knows that my company can be difficult.  He also knows I have to stay there right now.  The thing is, don't tell me how to handle myself at the company I have worked for six years, and DO NOT tell me that it is not worth getting worked up over.  That really burns my biscuits, and then I am mad because we have wasted good biscuits. 

Didja Miss Me?

I'm baaaack!

Mom and I had such a great time at Rhinebeck!  The trip in was easy (in the only way a 5 hour drive can be easy), the hotel was comfy, then fun, fun, FUN!

Oh, and early morning fire alarms.

That really didn't stop us from enjoying sheep...

mascots...

and, of course, bloggers!

I also got to meet the Yarn Harlot.  Sorry, no pictures.  She was completely occupied by all things blogger, and I thought it would be better just to shake her hand and congratulate her on the wedding.  But I DID get to meet her, and she was as gracious as anything to have a hundred crazy bloggers attacking!

I didn't buy any yarn, as was the plan.  I do have a considerable stash, and plenty of things already on the needles.  Instead, I bought this:

And this:

My first try at spinning, on a drop spindle.  It is extremely fun, even though I'm not very good at it yet.  I think I need to have some skill before I drop $500 on a spinning wheel...right?

P.S. I have tons of photos of sheep and scenery in my photo album.  There's a story with every picture!

Sunday the 15th

Well, it is the 15th and I think that means I have to blog for SP9.  Today I have already fixed dinner in the crockpot, and spent 2 hours volunteering at Michaels to stitch blankets together for Warm Up America.  20% discount!  Michaels is an acrylic wonderland, but still.  I did get some camoflage and hunter orange yarn to make hunting hats for all the guys and Apple Cinnamon and Orange Spice Cake candles, so not a total loss.

I have been tagged by Crazy Aunt Purl!  My four things...

Four Jobs I've had:

1. Waitress on the Rehoboth boardwalk.  I learned everything I ever needed for the workworld in that little restaurant.

2. Lifeguard.

3. Layaway gal.

4. Banker.

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

1. Friday the 13th

2. Steel Magnolias

3. The Watcher in the Woods

4. Strange Brew

Four Places I Have Lived:

1. Millsboro, DE.

2. Tilghman's Island, MD.  A true fishing town. 

3. Wilmington, DE.

4. That's it, actually.  Lot's of different houses all in pretty much the same place.

Four television shows I love to watch:

1. LOST

2. Project Runway

3. Baseball

4. Hockey

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:

1. Blackwater Falls, WV.  My Honeymoon spot!

2. Duck, NC.  Family trips.

3. Orlando, FL.  Writing seminars with Mom.

4. Pheonix, AZ.  Very disappointing.

Four of My Favorite Dishes:

1. Pork Lo Mein and egg rolls.

2. Easter Dinner. Ham, sweet potatoes, biscuits, macaroni salad, YUM!

3. Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey, cranberry sauce, pepper relish, mashed potatoes!

4. ANY soups.  (With biscuits, of course.  You know me!)

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

1. Crazy Aunt Purl

2. Yarn Harlot

3. MSNBC

4. Knitting Iris

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. On my parents back porch, looking over the harvested fields, seeing just a dot of orange where my brother Bobby is testing out his hunting rifle.

2. Rehoboth Beach with my toes in the sand, wrapped in a quilt.  It's quiet now because the tourists are all gone, so my best friend and I can talk and talk.

3. Curled up under the covers with the remote in hand and not caring that it's the middle of the day or that laundry needs to be done.

4. Beside my mother.

Let's Consider the List.

If you are a knitter, and you probably are, you know what list I am referring to. 

I am currently working on the Rhinebeck sweater, which sadly will not make it's debut at Rhinebeck(damn you, mandatory overtime!), also Trekking socks, Debbie Bliss yarn for (2) Black Sea hats, and we must not forget about dear, dear Swallowtail Shawl, which has moved to the bottom of the basket(literally) due to the painful nupps in the lace repeat.  Purling five stitches is not fun.  There is much to do, not counting any Christmas knitting I may be nutty enough to take on.

Why, oh why, did I buy this?

The subject in question is Mountain Colors handpainted yarn "Huckleberry."

The purpose of my trip to the LYS was to buy a 12" Addi Turbo size 1 in order to whip up some very cute socks in the yarn my SP8 gave me.  Oh yeah, add that to the list up top.  I couldn't resist.  I have never, repeat never, boughten sock yarn that cost $23.00 a skein(100 gms)!  When I saw the colors, the texture, the "handpainted," I was a goner.  I am weak!  I am just as bad on a yarn diet as I am a food diet.  This could explain why my stash(not counting the acrylic I am gifting to a nursing home) weighs more than my chubby self.  Holy cow.  These socks better be unbelievable, because if hubby asks how much they cost I will have some groveling 'splaining to do! 

(Chalk, haven't we talked about this spending issue?)

Accidents Happen...

...that's why they're called accidents.  Sigh.  Someone ran into my beautiful precious truck today not five houses down the street from where I live.  I guess it's true that most accidents will happen within a mile of your own home.  Thankfully, the girl was pulling out of her parking spot and just not paying attention, so we were both going slow.  No one was hurt, but my precious has a dent now.  I went through about 20 emotions in 5 seconds, then locked myself out of my truck when I got out to see the damage.  Sigh, again.  Thank goodness my husband has an open schedule at work and was able to come home and get the spare keys, because I was on my way to therapy and had already locked up the house!  Can you believe it?  Steve was so cool and nice to the poor girl and her mom.  He is my HERO!

And so it begins.

I am so excited!  I just heard from my secret pal, and I got my own SP assignment.  They are both outside the USA!  I cannot believe that I am going to get to meet two people in other parts of the world in one swap!  That is so cool!

You know, being a secret pal has been so good for me.  Filling out the questionnaire has been a wonderful experience.  I know I don't talk about it at all, but I have a ton of issues that I am in therapy for.  One of my biggest issues is that I will sacrifice anything in order to keep the peace.  You know, peace at all costs.  While this doesn't seem like a bad thing, it can be destructive to me.  I don't remember the last time I thought about things in particular that I like.  I tend not to think about myself in efforts to please everyone else.  That questionnaire took about an hour to answer, but I had a chance to learn about myself.  I know it seems like small things; favorite color, favorite smells, etc., but it was really rewarding to make the statements, "I like this.  I don't like that."  One small step.

Whoa.  I, like, never talk about this sort of thing, but I know I can trust you, dear reader, can't I?

SP9 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

A. Wool, wool, wool, WOOL!  No cotton, no acrylic.  I think cotton's hard to work with, and acrylics use our precious fossil fuels.  Did I mention I like wool?

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

A. An old vase for my straights, the circs go back in their plastic envelopes and in a pencil case.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

A. I have been a knitter for about 10 years.  I consider myself advanced, except for intarsia-in that I'm a weak beginner.  I just don't like to do it.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

A. Nope.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

A. Lavender is always good, but I also like citrus-y, clean smells and earthy smells.  Basically, no perfume-y or fruity scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

A. I love dark chocolate.  I would eat it all the time if I could.  It's also supposed to be very good for your mood and fighting cancer.  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

A. I also crochet, journal, and glue glitter to anything that will sit still.  Except the cat, and only because he considers himself to be too adult for that sort of childish activity. 

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

A. I like folk rock, bluegrass, and (for shame) Top 40.  I do not have MP3 capacity.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

A. Earth tones are always good.  I'm pretty adventurous with color, but NO NEON.  Yuck.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

A. I am married with a very dignified Himalayan cat, Cocoa.  He likes to sleep on the couch during the day, and on my head at night.  The cat, not my husband.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

A. All of the above.  Delaware is on the Atlantic Ocean, so it is very cold and damp in the winter.  I keep a pretty big stash of scarves, gloves, and hats for the household.  I prefer fingerless gloves because I smoke and I hate to take off one glove to have a ciggy.  I know, I know...enough of the lecture.  I'm trying to quit.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

A. Socks.  Also, socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A. Socks.  Also, a sweater and the Swallowtail Shawl from IK.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

A. Of course!  There is nothing sweeter than recieving something handmade. 

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

A. No preference at all.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

A. No, but I'm buying myself a yarn winder soon.  Enough is enough.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

A. Can't remember.  It was in the days of acrylic yarn(before I knew what it was made of), and is actually in a garbage bag to be given to the local nursing home with the crochet hook still attached.  It's actually a very cute striped blanket in blue and gold, my college colors.  Go Blue Hens!

18. What is your favorite holiday?

A. Halloween and Christmas.  I love cold weather, long nights, and good food!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

A. I collect angels(not cherubs), and depression glass.  Small collections, but nice!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

A. No subscriptions, but I have been toying with just going ahead and subscribing to Interweave Knits.  I like everything in that magazine!

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

A. I want to start learning more shaping and sizing so I can design my own sweaters.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

A. Um, gee, I don't know...am I a sock knitter?  Does a bear sing in the woods?  Of course!  I wear US 9 average.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

A. April 28.