Knitting Mojo

Despite the chaos that reigneth here at Chez Knit I have been getting a bit of knitting done. I have to do something to save my sanity.

And surprisingly…..

I have my sock knitting mojo back. I bet you didn’t even know that my SKM had taken a hiatus had you. I had been loath to speak of it but I had three pairs of socks “on the needles” and when I would pick them up all I could think was, “Meh”. I would put them back in their little zippered bags and move on to something else. Frankly my entire knitting mojo was sort of meh. That may be why I ended up with so many things on the needles and nothing actually getting done.

And then I started knitting on the blankets for the Hamlin Fistula Hospital. Those crazy, autopilot garter stitch blankets in various colors of acrylic yarn.

Acrylic!

And gradually, as I would sit in front of TV (rarely) or book or iPad, my knitting mojo made an appearance. It peaked it’s head up a bit and looked around just a tad and decided that it would return.

With a vengeance.

At a time when really I have no business knitting anything. I should be packing or doing more wedding stuff or getting ready to move. Anything but knitting.

That must be why I finished a pair of socks AND a wrap this week.

Because I shouldn’t be knitting anything at all.

Oh knitting mojo you are sneaky and cruel.

You Handsome Devil!

Embrace the MOB!

7 Quick Takes (Vol 223)

Egads!!! 14 days til wedding and 21 days til move. Perhaps we really are crazy like the people who are buying Chez Knit think we are.

Remember to do as I tell you. After you have soothed the inner crazy with a dose of blather you need to click on the picture above to be whisked, as the speed of Anthony Weiner’s SECOND fall from grace (can we PLEASE stop hearing about him), over to Conversion Diary to catch up with all the news that’s fit to digitally print.

Boxes and boxes of blather!

1.

Come August 16th in the year of our Lord 2013 this lovely place will officially become Chez Knit.

We are very excited.

And I can hardly wait to repaint the master bedroom which is currently a less than desirable shade of pale pink.

Gak.

And then there is the upstairs which is a pale yellow color. Have I ever mentioned that one of my LEAST favorite colors is yellow.

Heather K. we need to have coffee as it will no longer be such a long drive for either one of us.

2.
I am continuing to spend time each day cleaning things out in anticipation of the VOA pick up next Friday and then the major packing the week after the wedding. Despite the fact that I have spent the last 3 years or so decluttering my house (which never actually felt that cluttered) there is still more stuff that I find that I can live without. My bench mark really is if I haven’t used it in two years then it doesn’t have a place in my life and can be donated.

Now that rule doesn’t apply to some family memory stuff that will go with and be stored in the basement but for the most part everything that you have in your life can fall under this rule. For the most part I haven’t had a problem adhering to this although there have been one or two instances where I have had to make a hard decision or two.

But there is still a BOAT LOAD of things that we are saying bye bye to.

I can hardly wait.

Our goal is to be a “lean, mean moving machine” on August 16th.

3.
I had fully intended to knit myself a lace “something” to go with my dress for Shoe Queen’s wedding. We all know how much I love knitting lace. For some reason I find it incredibly calming to do so. And I actually started something….

But I have frogged it and decided that I will just not. Knitting lace with a looming deadline that is so very close is just a recipe for lacey disaster. Trust me, I will royally screw up and then just be very angry and frustrated.

So the Madelinetosh Lace in the lovely colorway “Cousteau” will just have to wait for a bit. I am still going to use the same pattern that I had intended to knit now as it has a lovely wavy quality to it. But it is not going to be now.

4.
I am making a concerted effort to use up a bunch of stuff in my freezer so that there isn’t all that much to move in three weeks.

THREE WEEKS!!!

I am almost down to the last of my homemade pizza sauce. And we are almost done with the homemade pasta sauce. Once we are a bit settled at the new place I will make a bunch of big batches to replenish.

But my freezer hasn’t been this empty in a LONG time.

Of course, if the local orchard sends me an email telling me that their peaches are ripe and ready for purchase then I will just have to process and freeze and then move. But that is a sacrifice that I am willing to make.

Cuz we are out of frozen peaches at the moment and I feel the lack.

As well as frozen corn.

5.
Because of the absolutely crazytown like schedule here at Chez Knit one of the things that has suffered is my ability to sit down and read blogs.

I read too many blogs.

But I cannot delete them. I love them so.

However one errant click fixed that dilemma for me.

I have been using Feedly for a number of months now, ever since I heard the news of the impending demise of Google Reader. I love Feedly. And I was sitting at my computer the other day scratching my head and wondering how I was going to get through all the blog posts that I hadn’t read.

And I clicked on the little check button to say “Mark as Read” for one particular blog……..

Only I wasn’t looking at just that blog on the screen. I was looking at the main screen, the gateway screen. And I realized, after the click, that I had told Feedly to mark as read ALL the blogs that I read. I just sat there for a minute wanting to kick myself for my inattention. And then it hit me that maybe this was a good thing.

I wiped the slate clean so to speak.

Now to keep up in a better fashion.

6.

Look who I found hiding in the recycling bin on Wednesday. I am not sure how he got there but he couldn’t have been there all that long because we have garbage pick up on Tuesday and the bin was empty Tuesday night. Or at least I thought it was empty. But I will be honest to say that I didn’t check all that closely cuz when I went down to get the bins I was at a run due to the amazing thunder and lightening that was happening all around. He may have already been in the bin by that time and I just didn’t notice until Wednesday.

He liked it in the bin and was reluctant to leave until I dumped him into the garden.

7.
I will have a longer post on this later in August or September perhaps but I am both excited and nervous as to how the new house is going to work out as far as my “work space” is concerned. In one way it is going to be fab because I am going to take over one portion of the basement to have all my knitting, scrapping, sewing stuff in one place.

Squee!!

You would think, with the size house that I currently have, that I would have all of that in one place but you would be wrong. Sewing (which I love) is in my office. Knitting (which I REALLY love) is in my office. Photography (which I live and breath for) is in the office. Scrapping (which right now I am meh about) is in the basement. And obviously my computer and desk are in my office. The problem is where to put the computer and desk. I think, just think mind you, that my desk will be upstairs on the main floor but that everything else will be down in my woman cave.

At least that is the plan right now.

Day 126–Butterfly

Yes, I know I said that this project might be dead for the time being….

But you guys know that sometimes I lie about these things.

I was out in the back garden taking pictures to remember it by (longer post coming I think) when this fellow kindly posed on various flowers before gently flitting away.

Into A Brave New World

If you are a guy and you get squeamish about a discussion of women’s undergarments……I might leave now.

I ventured into a foreign country today. A land that is unknown to me. A fearful place where I do not know the rules and to top it all off I had to take my clothing off in front of someone that I didn’t know…..

I went bra shopping at Nordstrom.

I have this dress that I am wearing to Shoe Queen’s wedding. And I knew that it needed better “foundation wear” than I was currently providing for it. The “girls” (don’t make me explain that any further) are usually foundationally supported by something that I found on sale a Kohls.

TMI?

I warned you.

But for a while now I have been thinking that I have been shortchanging myself. I knew that there was something better out there for me. Something more…uplifting….shall we say. Something that just screamed..

YOU WANT TO WALK DOWN THE STREET WITHOUT A SHIRT ON JUST LIKE LADY GAGA!

Well, maybe not that but I knew that there was something better out there for me. But in order to find that elusive something, that Bra of Eldorado, I was going to have to sail into uncharted foundation garment territory. I was going to have to actually let someone else (beside HHBL and my doctor) see “the girls” in their natural state and measure them and evaluate them and make a judgment about them. Oh lordy, oh lordy. I am a tender shoot, easily bruised.

But I knew it had to be done. So off I went to the nearest Nordstrom to hopefully find some older, blue haired lady who had been fitting women with the perfect foundational garments since the turn of the century. Someone who would understand me and the girls. Someone who would find just the right binder for me (name the movie!!).

Nordstrom is a foreign land to me. I wasn’t sure, upon entering, that I wouldn’t have to pass through immigration and show my papers. Every thing gleamed. Everything shined. Everything is expensive. But I pushed on to my appointed final destination, after I inquired where I might find bras.

In lingerie I was told.

Duh.

Up the escalator I went, hoping that the thing would slow down or perhaps stop and I would be stuck there forever. But no so luck. I wandered for a bit, hoping against hope that I would look like I knew what department I wanted and wouldn’t be asked if someone could give me assistance. After a few minutes of wandering I found the department. It was fairly obvious….there were bras and other assorted unmentionables hanging in plain sight. My first thought was just to wander, grab something that looked like it “might” fit, try them on and be gone from this accursed land. But then I pulled myself up by my flip flop straps and went to ask someone for help. I looked around for the sturdy, blue haired lady who would help me. But she was not there. I could only see two employees who, if I wasn’t mistaken, were approximately 12 and 14 years old.

Oh lordy.

Isn’t there ANYONE in the lingerie department who is older than I and can help me for the first time EVER get measured and fitted for a good bra?

No.

So I walked confidently up to the desk and pleaded my case. I tried not to wring my hands and look pathetic. If they had looked closely at the state of my chest they would have known that I was pathetic. A pathetic, Kohl’s bra wearing person who desperately needs foundational help.

Help me Obi Bra Kenobi! You’re my only hope.

Adrina stepped bravely into the gap and said that she could help me. She showed me to a fitting room, grabbed her tape measure and kindly (and without pity) asked me to remove my shirt so that she could measure my rib cage.

Icandothis.Icandothis.Icandothis.

Off goes the top and there I stand in all my saggy Kohl’s bra glory. I give Adrina credit, she didn’t laugh. But she sure did hurry out to find something that wasn’t so offensive to her innate sense of foundational style. She was swiftly back with several rather lacy and delicate looking pieces of confection. My first thought was to burst into laughter if she thought those things would do the job. I need 3/4 inch cables young woman! And heavy duty mesh! And wire, lots of wire.

But soon I wasn’t thinking about the make up of the bra because just about the time I was done mentally dismissing the lacy piece of confection it became clear to me that I was going to actually have to take OFF my catastrophe of a bra in order to try on the lovely thing that Adrina had brought in with her.

Oh lordy, lordy, LORDY!

But I am brave. I can do this. So I sprung the girls from their aged prison and then actually had this young thing help me put on a bra.

Let me say that again. I put my arms in the appropriate place, she settled everything else where it was supposed to go and did up the back. Kill. Me. Now.

And then I stopped and looked.

Well DANG the girls look good. They look happy. And this thing feels pretty awesomely awesome.

So I sent Adrina out for a couple more bras just to test the theory that I was rapidly forming. The theory that said that I might never, EVER buy another bra from Kohls.

And by the time that Adrina returned with more lacy confection in various styles we were such old friends that I was standing there, hands on hips, naked from the waist up waiting impatiently for the next bra. We were such good pals that I stripped down to my undies so that I could try on the MOB dress with the new bra. No shame!

And in the end…….

I bought FOUR bras. And one of them is “orchid” in color. And one of them has a sassy little bow on it.

And we are SO not going to talk about what I paid for the privilege.

Kohl’s lingerie department you are dead to me. I give my allegiance to Nordstrom.

Along with my money.

Life is Always An Adventure at Chez Knit.

Today I am doing all that I can to fill up my time and my mind so that I don’t have to think about the fact that 18 days from now I will be moving Chez Knit to a new location…..

And there is still some question as to where that new location will be.

Yes, you heard me right, there is still some question as to where our location will be.

I had fully intended to do a long post with pictures of the new place. HHBL and I spent 3.5 hours there on Saturday while Paddy the inspector did his inspection thing. Three+ hours that I could take pictures, measure and think to my hearts content.

Three+ hours in a house where the A/C unit is not functioning. Not at all. No sirree. It was hovering in the upper 80’s in that town house. I had sweat in places that I didn’t know COULD sweat. And we couldn’t open the windows because Paddy had the radon test already started. So we just had to walk and talk and photograph and measure in heat. And think about where we were going to put furniture. And talk to Paddy about a number of things that were a bit concerning but could be fixed.

And there in lies what might be a problem. The things that must be fixed by the seller. Cuz there are several.

The A/C unit must be repaired or replaced. Yikes.

The house failed it’s radon test so that needs to be taken care of. Chaching!

One of the sky lights in the kitchen is leaking and they all need to be re-caulked. I saw a picture of the caulking job that was done within the last year…messy to say the least.

There are carpenter ants.

And there are some electrical issues that need to be fixed as a safety measure.

We picked our battles and didn’t even mention some of the little stuff.

So I think I will hold off on showing you the new place for a bit longer just to be on the safe side.

Life is always an adventure!!

 

7 Quick (Vol 222)

Greetings from The Frozen Northeast Ohio where the temp all week has been in the 90’s with a humidity index in the 104F range. We are complaining. But then again we will also be complaining in January when the temp is 10F and it is snowing. We are never satisfied.

Make sure you follow your Friday directions to the letter. When you are done applying a cooling layer of blather you need to click on the picture above to be whisked, at the speed of the sweat quickly forming on my dewey feminine moustache (curse menopause!), over to Conversion Diary.

Crank up the blather and let’s get this party started!

1.
Shoe Queen and Slim Jim wedding in THREE WEEKS!

Moving to a new house in FOUR WEEKS!

Trying not to be overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. HHBL and I were ruminating that it is good that we have a solid and stable marriage because right now we have about 5 of the top ten stressors going on around here.

2.
Today I am trying to have a “Get the Big Picture” day. There is so much going on from so many different angles and there are so many action items floating around on different lists that I just have to take a day and focus on getting everything into one place and on the master list. If I don’t do that then something SURELY will get missed.

Normally I keep my calendar and to do lists digitally. I might start with a pen and paper list but then it all goes into the iPhone so that I have the list always available. But I have also purchased a small white board calendar so that I can see the big picture of what needs to happen in the next 28 days. That way I stay on track and don’t get side tracked….which has already happened once today. On a day when I have so much that HAS to be done I decided that it irritated me too much to have my Outlook and iPhone contacts all messed up (somehow doubled). So I sat here and did all the corrections.

Now back to the white board and the lists.

It is the only way that I am going to survive with some sanity intact.

Or at least some of the small amount of sanity that I actually possess.

3.
One more comment on the fist blankets that are on their way to the Hamlin Fistula Hospital.

Because I cannot just knit the basic pattern as it was written I had to fiddle with it. And because I did mitered squares rather than knitting in strips it took FOREVER to seam all 20 squares together. I figured out a faster way but it still took too long.

So now I am doing the pattern the way that they suggest…..for the moment.

But I am sure that I am going to get bored with that and then fiddle some more. I have until February because that is the next time I will send blankets.

I just cannot leave a pattern alone.

4.
I haven’t moved in almost 13 years. I know my little corner of the Frozen Northeast Ohio fairly well. All the little back corners have been explored. I know where to get things that I need.

And now I have to figure everything out again. That is both a frustrating and exciting prospect for me. I have to figure out where the bank is and the post office. I know where the closest (but more expensive) grocery store is. LL told me where the Giant Eagle is. I already know where the library is (THANK GOODNESS!) and the Honey Hut ice cream shop. But it will just add to the overall sense of confusion for a time not to know right away where I need to go.

BUT, and that is a big BUT (not to be confused with MY big butt), I can walk to a bunch of stuff.

HHBL and I are VERY excited about that. One of the things that I haven’t liked about where Chez Knit is located is that for me to do or get to anything I have to get in the car and drive there.

New Chez Knit is within a mile walk of just about everything.

SQUEE!!!

5.
I had been contemplating asking the new owners of Chez Knit if it would OK with them for me to take some samples of the plants that I have nurtured here for the last years.

But I have decided that a clean break is really what I want to do. No plants (other than house plants) will be going from one place to the other. I do have some planters that are filled with one thing or another and those will go with me.

Other than those, everything else stays. I will just be too busy to actually put stuff in the ground right away. And I don’t even know what I want to do over there. Most of the landscaping is taken care of by the association. Anything that I put in the ground I get to take care of . That seems reasonable.

A clean and uncluttered slate to start with.

6.
Tomorrow brings the inspection of the new place. I am sincerely hoping that nothing shows up that will be a major issue!

I am going to use the time to measure spaces and think about what furniture will go where. That way it gives me an idea of what furniture will not be going with us. Shoe Queen is taking several pieces for their apartment but that still leaves a bunch of furniture. I have a general idea of where things are going to go but I still have to do some measurements.

Hopefully then I can put an hour or so to thinking about where everything generally goes so that on the big day I can just stand there and tell the movers where to put the furniture.

And then I am sure I am going to make HHBL move some things around when I don’t like where I envisioned them going. Certainly in the big living room and the sun room the first things that will need to go down are the Oriental rugs.

Oh the decisions.

7.
And just because I need a laugh today….

How to turn your cat into a machine gun. This little ditty arrived via Cartoon Girl. It is a good thing that Zachary Mr. Crabby Pants is no longer with us because if he was…..

You KNOW I would so be doing this.

Ethiopia Here They Come!

I watch a lot of documentaries on Netflix.

I LOVE documentaries. LoveLoveLoveLoveLove.

And a while back I think I mentioned a particular documentary, A Walk to Beautiful, that moved me greatly. And as I was watching the movie I noticed something about all the women who had come to the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to find treatment. All these women were wrapped in what obviously were hand knit blankets.

Just simple hand knit blankets. Every woman gets one. They are a badge of honor and highly prized.

But who knit all those blankets? Well, the internet and the Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia website told me that volunteers knit all those blankets. And once I knew that then I knew I had to knit blankets.

Today the first two blankets went off to Australia and ultimately to Ethiopia where they will serve as a gigantic hug to these women who have lost so much because of something that they have no control over.

These two blankets are really a joint effort with all my Knit Sibs at Tri County Knitaholics. I knit the squares for the top blanket. Frannie knit the squares for the bottom blanket. Many of my knit sibs dug into the back of their stash closets and gave me acrylic that was lingering from bygone days. These blankets, and all future blankets, would not have come about without their help and support.

I never imagined, once I understood what “good” fiber was all about, that I would EVER again knit with acrylic yarn. But I was wrong.

I may spend the rest of my knitting life producing complicated things such as lace and socks and sweaters, but I don’t think that I have ever been quite as satisfied with anything as I am with these blankets.

I had better be because it costs more to ship these things than they are actually worth.

But it is still SO worth it.

The full video for A Walk to Beautiful can be found on YouTube or Netflix.