30 December 2009

the mad hatter's holiday hoopla...


Some people bake cookies.  Some people decorate.  Some people shop like crazy.  I knit.  It would not be Christmas for me with out a mad rush to knit something for everyone on my gift list.  Its not a long list (thank God) but enough to create a bit of storm before the calm.
  Christmas 2009 was the season of the hat.  The nieces and nephews got matching millinery.  Each a different colorway -- they looked great sporting them Oma & Opa's chesterfield (that one's for you Els).  I always wonder how these homemade gifts will be received, after all its not related to the DS, or Wii.  You dont plug them in, charge them up or find any buttons for perpetually pushing.  And yet every year, the knit goods are genuinely well received...this year to the point of not being able to get a couple of them to remove them for eating dessert!
  Opa has discovered Marley, as in Bob...he is practicing the bass parts on all the songs in his free time.  He is talking about the music he will hear on an upcoming cruise.   Well, his Enkelin decided that he needed to sport a new look for his new music genre infatuation, so we collaborated on a project.  I hear this headgear is being packed for said cruise!
  Again, Crazy Auntie V has found pleasure in giving the simple gifts, with the children's genuine happiness in the receiving of practical presents...

...back on the blog!


'tis true.  I'm back to bloggin'.  Although most know me as a person who usually has too much to say, I have not felt the inclination to tell it to the world, so to speak.  Perhaps it is hibernation mode -- its that time of the year that the woodburner is going 24/7 and I am in front of it most of that time! 
  Although I do not enjoy being cold inside my house, I love winter.  I just love a fresh blanket of snow.  To walk in that first good layer is a most wonderful thing.  If you get up early enough following an overnight storm, there is nothing more peaceful than being outside, nothing moving; so still, so clean.  Got yet another chance to experience it this week with 10 inches dumped on us on Tuesday night.
  Usually after our first snow, there comes the deep freeze.  This week was no exception.  It was so cold, you could smell the chill on your clothes when you came inside.  That's right -- smell cold.  Weird.  I always find it a personal challenge to be the "master" over winter.  I dont want it to get the better of me, it somehow seems like I'm more hardy than anyone who doesnt have to deal with such weather conditions...and these below zero (really way below zero) days give me the chance to bring out the survivor side of my being.
  So we have made it through Christmas, a very rainy Christmas (previous to the rain was 3-4 inches of heavy, wet snow)...but even though we had enough precipitaion to cause over 2 feet of snow if it had been cold enough, it was not enough to melt all that snow we got a couple of weeks ago!  It didnt dampen the spirits of the hardy germans of St. Michaelis though.  The family decided to go to german church with me for Christmas Eve services.  It meets at a local college chapel...so picture this...a campus shut down for break, a miscommunication for the service to unlock doors for Gottesdienst, drive, lots and sidewalks not cleared and 20 little old germans trying to get to church!  Oh my, when things don't run smoothly... 
  We finally got in, and attended one of the nicest christmas services we have ever been to.  Even my non-german speaking husband listed as one of the best parts of Christmas.  I have a long but sporatic 15 year history with these wonderful people.  They have become a very important part to my life recently.  It started as an effort to work on my dwindling language skills.  I had no idea how mingling, with this little, dedicated group would affect me in so many other ways.  Yes, my german is getting better -- understanding is really good, speaking is slowly coming back -- they have shown to be very patient with my stumbling tongue!
  Maybe in the spirit of the new year I can be more disciplined with my language practice, my blogging time, eating healthier, losing a few pounds, being a nicer person, etc...

19 October 2009

Lack of a camera...

...and too many jobs (well, down to two now...not counting "mom") make for seriously infrequent blog posts...

02 October 2009

you will be missed, Uncle Dan...


Gone too soon...at least that is what we will be thinking this side of eternity when we talk about Uncle Dan's death this week.  It was such a shocking message when my mum called to tell me.  She was just this side of hysterics and hard to understand.  At first, I thought it was DAD, not DAN she had said, and I really had to collect myself.  Then a calmer mum restated, Uncle Dan had died of a heart attack only an hour or so before.  And yet realizing who it was she was talking about had just as much sting as if I had heard it as I first thought. 
We are a close family, especially on my mum's side.  We often got together just to be together -- Oktoberfest last weekend was a good example.  Somethings are just hard to understand in this life.  Good happens and so does the bad.  It is just hard to settle in on the bad when one is surrounded by so much good.  I suppose I will just have to make that effort to keep looking for happy among the sad bits that we are going through this week...
My prayers and thoughts are of you auntie...

30 September 2009

clutter busting...


I just cannot seem to get a handle on the clutter in my home.  I've tried baby steps, and all summer I had taken car loads and truck loads to the local Goodwill store as donations.  I swear I restocked the shelves at that store!  And yet, there is still clutter in my home. 
I have always been a pack rat.  I inherited that from my mum and she in turn from hers.  I suffer from that "there has to be a use for that" syndrome.  Thing is, we live in a world where if we need something that badly, it is readily available, so why keep loads of junk around.  Perhaps someone else is looking for that very item because they were smart enough not to keep it from an earlier time?
The clutter in my home is getting in the way of my creativity as well.  I keep thinking there is no way I can spend time making stuff while there is so much to do to get rid of all the crap that surrounds me.  I should get my home and life organized before I do something as indulgent as making something.  Instead of having that block most people have with a blank canvas before them, I have the clutter canvas before me that wont let me get at the creativity that desperately wants release. 
I honestly try not to bring more stuff home.  I am really not a shopper anymore.  I'm not really a clothes hound.  I dont feel the need to decorate with the latest home fashions.  So realisticly, the clutter should diminish in my home as I contiune to get rid of stuff, right?  Perhaps I just have so much that I have not begun to make a dent yet...
My goal is to get another bit done this weekend.  Maybe take another load to the Goodwill on Tuesday.  I have a pile started already.  I'll add to it and see what I get accomplished.  In the mean time, I will try to actually finish knitting/felting project that has been before me for some time.  Perhaps it is more than physical clutter...

16 September 2009

Knitting, weaving, beading -- the tradition...

This is going to be the first of many (I hope) posts about an idea that is brewing in my head.   I am always amazed, and very drawn to traditional, practical textiles.  I am stunned at the talent these women have.  Be it a beaded medicine bag like this one made by plains indiginous peoples, or the Orenburg lace shawls that Galina brought to a class I went to years ago, I marvel at how they took the time to make something they would use every day look so beautiful!   These are things that were not just thrown together.  They took great amounts of time.  Where did we lose this?  We run in our cars to the closest discount store to buy cheap bags made by impoverished people making pennies per hour.  And we dont just buy one that might be needed.  We buy in quantity.  A bag to go with every outfit, to match every pair of shoes (you know, the cheap flip-flops in aisle 10 of that same discount store...).  Now yes, I admit I have fallen into this trap over my short 40 some years of living, but I have been giving this alot of thought.  It usually happens with a visit to the local museums or investigaing and searching for just the right pattern to spend time working on.  Some of my favorite hand made items are ones that took great pains to make.  You spend time with them.  You get to "know" them in a very personal way.  If they are intended for gifting, they are hard to part with.  The person that is on the receiving end is almost certainly a special person. 
The average person is always amazed that you would spend so much time on one item and the conversation always ends in "I wish I had time (or the patience) to do stuff like that..."
I did not always have that patience.  I rushed through projects, pounded stuff out to give away like I was stamping out car parts.  Sure, some of it was kind of cool looking.  But most of it was just like the cheep crap you buy in dollar stores -- nasty fibers, hastily drafted patterns and all the love & care of taking out the trash or cleaning toilets. 
Now I am knitting/weaving/creating with a different frame of mind...trying to connect with these people in the past and some cultures in the present.  It is much more enjoyable for me this way...It is so much more than just producing an object...

11 September 2009

Yeah Autumn...think WOOL...

Just got back from WI Sheep and Wool Festival.  It was a very nice show.  I was there early on.  The first day never seems to be the best day to attend for activities during a weekend show, but I swear that's when the best merchandise is there -- not yet picked over, an overwhelming amount to choose from.  Major overload... 
I have been away from the fiber thing for too long.  Really, I never left it totally behind me while I attended to my mom duties, but I used to be immersed in it.  Every waking moment was taken up with something fibery.  Then came kids. 
At that time, I really just knit little bits here and there, mostly for gifts to give.  Once a year I would go crazy finishing some project or two to enter in the state fair.  That is when things got nuts.  Those are the fiber moments my hubby would remember.  They weren't pretty...
When I went into that all or nothing mode, lots of stuff I should have been doing, didn't get done.  My priority was wool, what ever I was working on, not my "job".  But that was then...
I think I have matured (duh!  I'm going on 17 years doing the "mom" thing, if that doesn't cause you to mature...).  I am better at prioritizing.  I haven't perfected it, but I am getting better.  My big problem is remembering that my "hobbies" are just that.  I have many things that need to get done in order to keep my home in order, but I DO have loads of time to do my fibery stuff, I just have to stop wasting time in front of the t.v. and on the computer.  Better organization skills would help too.  Did I say, I'm working on that????
So back to the wool fest.  I always see so many things to inspire at these shows.  Have you ever had so many ideas swimmng around in your head you just dont know where to start?  That is where I am right now.  Sensory overload in the worst way.  I always cave at this point.  So much floating around in my brain, no clear place to start, so why try...nothing gets done; all talk/thought, no action.  Well, that's going to change...
I bought a couple of things today...a small drop spindle, a felting stone, and three llama finger puppets.  Oh, I WANTED more wool, more equipment, blah, blah, blah...but I KNOW I have a stash of stuff waiting for me in my closet.  Its been waiting for just this time in my life...I have to use my new found discipline to act on all those ideas that are racing around in my head....now is the time.  Maybe I just need a little shepherd dog to rein them all in...

10 September 2009

Lace...

I've been thinking about knitting another "Gossamer Web - Orenburg style" shawl.  I wanted to do it just right so I'd put it off until I could find just the right wool for the job. 
My last was a triangular pattern I found in an Interweave Press mag from a few years back.  I knit it up with Crystal Palace lace weight in white.  It turned out beautiful...one an award at a state fair when I entered it that year.  It is one of my favorite pieces and I wear it often.  But that was a while ago...
At the beginning of this summer I finally found the perfect wool.  It is called Harmony by Jojo.  The colorway is blues and tan, very subtle varigation.  I am doing the Pine Tree Palatine Scarf from The Gossamer Webs design collection -- a small book that I bought years ago from Galina Khmeleva when I took her class. 
Its a lovely technique - all knitting stitches with the typical YO's and K2tog's to make the lace patterns.  I'll have to concentrate for sure, but I am looking forward to working it up.  It always seems to make sense the way the pattern comes together.  I would think that alot of knitting based on folk patterns are like that.  These amazing women knit them from their heads...passed the patterns on through generations...I like how that feels -- knitting something that an old russian grandma would have knit. 
I started the scarf over the weekend up north.  A perfect place to knit -- out on the porch by the lake.  It was wonderful.  Now that I am back home, I will have to have more discipline to work on it faithfully.  It is always harder to find quiet time around home.  If I get it, I worry about all the other things I should be doing.  Its tough being a responsible housewife and mother!

09 September 2009

Summer vacation, finally...

This was the first time in over 40 years that I have not made a summer vacation trip to "the cottage".  Well almost.  I have been going there since conception and this year, due to many circumstances, we were not able to get there until Labor Day weekend.  But got there we did.
It was an absolutely beautiful weekend in so many ways.  The weather was good.  The company was good.  The activities, or lack of them were good.  The fishing, well depending upon who you might ask...
All four of us were able to get up there to hang with my parents.  We fit everything we would do on a week's vacation into a long weekend.  Among the activities were things like, reading, knitting, golfing, walking, skiing, fishing, swimming, boat rides, campfires, beer, wine, ice cream, nightly cookouts, full breakfasts, bad tv, napping, bloody marys, s'mores and so much more than I can think of at this moment.
The new boat was a hit.  We got the swim raft in.  My bro's boat trailer is in working order.  And the only moment of panic was when the holding tank warning light came on -- Hey do you HAVE to flush that toilet????  HA!  All in all, a very relaxing weekend...is summer really over?

02 September 2009

Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJM789...


...the object of my quest. 
In the spirit of trying to be a better steward of the planet, I have been tryng to use my bicycle more than I use my car.  No small feat.  We live a few miles away from the closest anything.  Easy when you just hop in the car and drive off.  Minutes from everything.  But you have to plan if you want to use less gas, be more responsible.  So today I rode my bike 20+ miles for $.044 worth of baker's yeast -- insantiy.  But what is more insane?  a) getting exercise on a most beautiful late summer morning...three hours worth  or b) driving the same distance to save a little time, while spending $2 in gas, not to mention wear and tear as well as carbon emmisions...  I had the time.  I chose a).
Now mind you, I was not sure I could really ride that far.  I had never done it before.  I did not bother to call the store that carries the bulk yeast to even see if they had it in stock -- they are often sold out.  If I actually knew there was no yeast, I might not have made the attempt.  The only thing I really did to prepare was to pack an extra tire tube and pump, just in case -- like I'd even know what to do if I had a flat...
Flat was pretty much the name of the ride.  Flat as in terrain.  It was a fabulous ride.  Well thought out, if I must say so myself.  I did plan that part out on google maps last night when I first got the idea.  The route I chose took me through three small towns an down a great bike path.  I got to ride over a pedestrian bridge crossing the freeway that I have not gone over since I was in elementary school.  That was kind of a cool memory.  I pedalled down roads that I had not been on by bike in as much as long.  Even though it was work, it was a delightful ride. 
On the way home, I treated myself to a lunch out with Agatha Christie at the local Noodles and Co.  I LOVE their Bangkok Curry -- light on the pasta, heavy on the veggies with a lovely creamy curry sauce.  I cannot believe it is so low in calories being so high in taste.  I've never been crazy about chain food joints, but this dish is worth buckling under once in a while.  It was what I needed to fuel my push for home.  I made it just fine, but did take a little nap a short bit later.
Funny how this accomplishment colored the rest of my day -- travel wise, that is.  I had one more errand to run and was VERY tempted to make it by car, but because I "ran out" for a little yeast, I CERTAINLY could run into town and drop off the library books that were due.  There was no justification to take the car.  So I hopped on and pedalled 3 more miles out and back -- more insanity...
But what is life without it, excepting pain free knees!

31 August 2009

Do you want fries with that?

"We are inclined to think that if we watch a football game or a baseball game, we have taken part in it”                 J.F.K.
...thus begins pre-season football in Wisconsin!  Everyone has an idea of what needs to be done to build a better team.  Everyone feels the need to voice their oppinions no matter what they really know or have experienced in the lines of pro-football.  Ask any grandma tailgating on game day...Ask, well...really anyone, once the final buzzer sounds.  They all know who should stay and who should be asking "Do you want fries with that?" the following Monday.
I love a good contest.  Be it American footbal, the REAL football (soccer for those who have yet to figure it out), ice hockey, rugby, baseball, curling...doesnt matter, excepting basketball -- I cant seem to get into that one.  I love the competition.  I love the game strategy.  I never really used to think about it much, going to games was just a fun time out.  Living where we do, we have so many opportunities from which to choose when it comes to sports entertainment.  I never really thought much about it until I played sports myself. 
Recently (a little over 4 years ago) I started playing soccer.  It was mostly a "turning 40 thing" which ended up being even more life changing than ticking off another decade mark, and it gave me another perspective of why people play and care about sports.  I learned about competition, team-work, comraderie, sister-hood (I play in a women's league).  I am understanding what makes MY teams click (or not).  So then, regarding professional sports -- I know little about how a particular team really comes together because I am not on the inside...I really believe one has to be in that circle to really know what has to be done.  We can all watch and make suppositions and accusations...but what does that really do?  So WHY then do all these people feel it is the end all, be all to let me know how a team should be coached or run?  I guess I will never understand...if anything, it is even more entertaining than the game itself!
Well, time to stop bloggin' and get back to espn360.com...I think there is a Bundesliga soccer replay I haven't watched!  (and thanks to J.P. for the photos!)

29 August 2009

saturday morning = farmer's market...



Every Saturday morning, rain or shine -- today it was rain (and autumnal) -- I go to the local farmers market. It is a lovely one with mostly fruit/vegetable farmers and few crafters.

I'm not necessarily opposed to crafters at farmers markets, but some of the ones I have been to in the past are more craft fairs than food sales.

So I suppose you are wondering why there is a skein of yarn showing off on the side of the page in a post about farmers markets...Let me explain.

Tucked away in a light traffic area of the market, was a hand-spinner. A solitary lady with her wheel and several baskets of finished yarns. Social person that I am, I struck up conversation with her to find that she is a spinner much like me...not one to join a guild, mostly spinning just for the calm it brings. It was fun to talk with her...I took her calling card and bought a skein of yarn to make a knit cap -- melon in color just to keep with the theme of the market. If I had had needles with me, I would have started right there -- the weather here today is not at all typical of an late August day but much more like wool wearing weather. It was an impulse purchase, but when I get that hat done and place it on my head, I will certainly remember this particular Saturday morning!

28 August 2009

this is your brain...

Wordle: knit-wit
http://www.wordle.net/

Oh my yes...this is how my brain is processing at the moment! I have so many ideas floating around in my in my head that it really feels all jumbled up like this! Today I have perfected a little "pocket" doll pattern and picked up the finishing materials for a felted purse (on Ravelry for those of you who are familiar with it). Knitting is a funny thing for me. I love the slow pace of hand-knitting, yet with so many ideas to bring to the real world it doesn't go fast enough sometimes! It's no wonder I cannot sleep some nights. I will even have to listen to music on headphones just to distract myself...once in a while it works. I think that this is one of the reasons I have never put it to paper. It all seems so overwhelming, daunting, so much so I just don't start. Once, when I did, I got so snowed under by details that I just set it aside and that is where it stayed. This week I plan to try to put a stop to that kind of thinking. Because the little doll pattern has only one size and there is minimal shaping to it, it could be a bit easier to accomplish. Perhaps by the end of the week, I will actually have a hard-copy pattern in hand for editing. Now if I could just get my camera to work...

27 August 2009

it is too quiet around here...


I watched my kids drive off --DRIVE off -- for school this morning. No bus to catch, no carpool to hook up with, just a kiss on the cheek from each (yes, even the boy) and off they DROVE. I guess it really hit me just where we all are in life. My role is really changing this year and it hit me like test car dummies hit the windshield as I saw them leave.
More independence for them means more independence for me. I hope to use this "extra" time wisely. But because it is so fresh, I am not exactly sure what to do with my day today...so I chose laundry. Nice, eh? But I did start it off with a coffee in the company of a good friend. I am just stabbing at the clouds right now, but I am betting that good friends like these will be a most important part of transitioning into the next phase.
I am planning on working up three fronts to tackle. These have been back-burnered for some time now. Number one -- more fiber time... Number two -- german language skills need a brush up... Number three -- music practice, particularly on a very special concertina... These of course among the regular tasks of the day, which I am hoping spur less stress than in recent past. Being a slave to non-driving teen-ager's schedules puts a vice to the amount of time one has in a day.
One thing for sure -- if I need it, I will have time to join my white furry friend in a most welcome activity, the power nap!

25 August 2009

all quiet on the midwestern front...

Well, we got through "dog week" with zero problems! All in all it was a good time. Crazy? Perhaps...
Things will be quieter still, come Thursday. The kids start school again. Summer, stick a fork in it, its done. I don't "officially" go back to my soccer club job until mid-October, leaving me only with the ortho assisting job to keep me on schedule. The kids had become so independent over the summer, it sort of kills me...maybe it was just a way to ease me into how I would have to deal with the school year. With the oldest driving, I don't have to chauffeur so much, leaving me LOADS of free time I did not have last year. Both kids in ONE school helps as well. What will I be doing with that time? Well...
I want to use it to settle in for the fall/winter in general, those are my family responsibilities. Speaking in specifics though, and on a personal growth line of thought, there are three things I want to work on: Buckle down on my german language skills, learn to play grandpa's concertina well enough to play for REAL people, knit...knit...knit...knit (and all that goes along with it, including emphasis on DESIGN and possibly publishing - recording this process was the original purpose of this blog). These are three things that I have done consistently over they years, excepting "the kid years". One puts alot on hold to raise kids.
Now, not that I am done by any means. My role has just dramatically changed. No longer do I have to BE right there. I have just gone into intense worry mode (prompting a phone call to my own mum weekly to apologize for all I put HER through!) and am now teaching through conversations of my wisdom and experience (none of which they want to sit through, mind you...). Its the next step on my grand adventure called parenthood...

14 August 2009

Its a dog's life...

Well, if I don't post for a while, I wanted to show why...

I have a couple of house guests this week. My doggy is the one in the middle. What a bunch, eh?
Melts the heart...believe me when I say, its tough to turn down faces like these!

Everything about this little get together spells trouble...oh wait that would be Trouble (notice the capital "T"). It is ever so fun to have our two buddies over, but it does take some extra diligence to make sure nothing gets broken or no body (four legged ones especially) gets hurt. They do get on together ever so well, but they just don't know when to shut down! With the heat we've been having, it has been a bit easier to slow them down. But they never quit -- its more like they go into slow motion.

I'll certainly get in more exercise this week, as everyone needs to get out for walkies!

13 August 2009

Sam's Oktoberfest Jacke...

Besides its appearance on Ravelry, this is the first glimpse of the first pattern I wish to officially publish. I made this for my friend's newly adopted son, Sam. Her husband has a very strong german heritage. They enjoy the festivals (we have many in our area) and often dress in Tracht (german ethnic costume) when they attend.

I have had the idea for this in my head since my own son was little. We hit the same festivals all decked out as well. But when the baby you want to knit for is your own, there is usually little time to actually pull off such things. Now that my babies are teenagers, I have more time to do the detailed work it takes to design, produce and publish the patterns for all those ideas. I am very excited about this!

It was very rewarding to be complimented by Sam's Oma -- a seamstress by trade -- who is known to be a stickler for details and good construction. I have been really working on perfecting my finishing techniques. It seems that no matter how well you work up the pieces, if it goes together badly, all the hard work is in vain.

I must say, the idea of putting something out into the public world for all to see and critique is a nerve wracking proposition that I am finally ready to attack. I hope I am on to something here!

12 August 2009

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast...





-- John Gunther (1901-1970)



Yes, if only every day could start out that way! Perhaps that is why we don't have all the happiness in a day that is possible?

This was MY leisurely breakfast this morning. I thought I would give this quote a run for the money, so to speak. Eaten in the peace and quiet of my front porch. Well, as much peace and quiet as suburbia will allow, anyways.

Sure, I eat this sort of breakfast most days in the week. But each bite is interrupted by morning phone calls, kids needing something, getting dressed, making a lunch for work, etc... If I get up earlier, making time for that leisurely little meal, the day does seem to go much smoother.




And look who joined me today...Not the most attractive of God's creatures, but hey, I guess we can't all be cardinals, coopers hawks, or squirrels, right? Yes, these are some of the other frequent visitors to my yard. Actually, most of them share the property with me and my family. I see them when I actually take the time to sit still. When will I learn?

So today, among all the myriad of things that "must" be done, I will schedule some more quiet time with my little neighbors!

11 August 2009

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...

...must begin with a single step. --Lao Tzu

So, onward!