...dali, what a head trip

...HAD to check out the new and improved Dali Museum in St. Pete's.  Wow, this has to be one of the most fantastic museums I've been in.  I did not think they could make it better than the old place, but they did.  More prints/paitings/drawings etc...than the other.  It was wonderous and head-spinning.  Each one more bizzar than the next.  I absolutely loved it.  The new building was fantastic, but for some odd reason we could not find the entrance on the first try!  It was only obviously marked with an arrow showing it, but yet we walked the perimeter of the building.  It was worth the trek around.  The grounds are well designed -- the rocks (I did not get a photo -- why I did not think of it is beyond me...) looked just like ones Dali had painted in many paintings.  It didnt hit me until we were through a better part of the gallery.  Came home with a few goodies from the gift shop to savor the memory...

...have knitting, will travel

...so, here you see my knitting basket -- on the road.  Finished a no-brainer scarf project requested by my son.  He will be happy to have it around his neck when we return.  But the dilemma now is which project to start next.  In the photo you can see the wool for two of the three remaining, planned projects.  The blue wool is for a sweater pattern I found in a Rebecca magazine.  The self striping is for a pair of leggings.  The third wool is hidden under these, also a self striping ball of Opal for a pair of socks.  I'm really wanting to start the sweater, but it is a german pattern -- not as detailed and "hand-holding" in nature as american patterns.  My mind is definitely in VACATION MODE and does not want to process the steps to figure out the german pattern.  Its a cable/bobble/intricate pattern thing that will be lovely when done, just a troublesome thing to get set up and started (as I believe I may rip out a few times before I get it just right...)  ..."destination procrastination" on this one, I think.  Then the leggings one is a flat pattern that I wish to knit in the round.  Sounds simple, but I just cannot picture in my head why the cast-off and cast-on are where they are in yet another european pattern...left brain/right brain NOT co-operating!  Then there is the sock pattern -- not in the mood to do socks, but it will probably be the pick, as it is the one of the three projects that IS no brainer...
...oh, and I would like you to take notice of my FAVORITE knitting tool in the world...my hand-turned Nostepinne...I love this thing!  Thank you Adam for making it for me!!!  It has been very therapeutic for me to wind balls of wool using it...they look so pretty sitting like little eggs in my basket, I think....

...on the road

...leave at midnight, drive like crazy until 1pm, find hotel, watch game.  This was the start to our get-a-way.  We made it to Beckly, WV, we are in a cozy hotel, well fed, drinking beer and its half time (we are ahead 14-0!)  Kiddos are holding down the fort (we hope - also, have oma and opa's help with this one -- LOVE them!)
Long car rides ALWAYS mean knitting projects -- especially winter driving.  Its a great distraction for me so I don't slam on the phantom breaks floor side passenger seat!  This time, though, I was the driver for the snowy part of the trip -- ugh!  Thank God it only lasted a few miles...freak squall.  I have finished Jack's scarf request and have supplies for three projects - pair of socks, pair of leggings and a beauty of a sweater.  Let's see where that goes, eh? 

...wow! Has it REALLY been that long?

...I am sooooo surprised that no one has actually lost their life!  I am coming off of a VERY long dry spell of needle-less activity.  I've been getting my "career" in order, my social schedule more balanced with my "responsibility schedule".  Then the holidays just fell into the mix.  That is what brought the needles out of the dusty vase where they reside these days.  Granted the knitting was not the PLEASURE knitting I would have hoped for.  It was gift knitting -- a different creature altogether. 

  Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't mean to say I hate knitting for other people, its just a different mind set from the start.  Deadlines, preferences of others over personal creativity and the like sometimes makes gift knitting more of a "job" than my regular knitting.  I'm still finishing off a gift or two, but it is more like "request" knitting.  A scarf for "the boy" (soon to be "the man" -- whoa!) is what I'm working on right now. 

  I just really wanted to post to let any stray soul who might happen to actually follow this blog know that I'm still alive...bordering on the insanity that mid-winter in the northern Midwest USA brings...

remembering...

...those who died for our freedoms.

Now days it seems there is much debate over freedom. What is freedom is worth? Do the conflicts and wars we are fighting really affect our freedoms and in what ways? Just what should we be free to do? Aren't we free already? And so it goes...I dont have the answers.  I'm not necessarily writing here to start more debate...perhaps just to provoke you, the reader to thought...what do YOU believe?  Now permit me to ask, are you trying to ramrod it against someone elses beliefs, or are you listening and trying to understand why that person across the aisle believes the way they do?  You see, DEBATE is all well and good - a starting point for action...but we cannot get to action with out understanding.   

I believe that war starts because of selfishness and greed. I do not know that we will ever be rid of it, because we will never be rid of selfishness and greed.

I do not believe there is such a thing as a JUST war.  Greed and selfishness are just plain wrong.  But I do believe there is reason and necessity to fight in wars because greed and selfishness exist.  

I believe we should exercise great caution when making the decision to enter into conflict, then go confidently should that be the decision.

I believe our country has a military full of dedicated men and women ready at a moments notice to protect what ever any one believes to be THEIR FREEDOMS...even when it conflicts with their own beliefs.  That to me is simply amazing.

Thank you to those who have given their lives in service to this country -- whether it was their choice, or it was chosen for them...so that I can write freely about what I believe.

...felt that bag!

...focus...maybe.  For a while I was on a "bag bender".  Using up stash yarns, creating, improvising...that was the name of the game.  I've been thinking about knitted felting again.  In the process of checking my supplies and my finished projects inventory (looking for another gift really...) I came across these beauties.  I wanted to take a little time to post the pictures and make public what I've been up to in my spare time.

This bag at the left was given as a gift to a good friend of mine, who recently checked back in to my world.  The main panels, front and back are from Barbara Walker classic mosaic knitting patterns.  The sides, just random garter stitch stips.  The coin piece is part of a necklace I had picked up ages ago at a second hand shop.   The heart bits are shell dangles.

It measures approximately 8"x12" with a chain strap of about 36"  The wool is Patons Classic Wool.

This bag, at right, is a small bag with no strap (approx. 3.5"x5") that I use to protect my digital camera.  The strap of the camera slips through the two loops to keep it from slipping off and I can slip it on my wrist when I am out and about.  Again, it is made of Patons Classic Wool and Barbara Walker mosaic knitting patterns.  Just another creation I made to use up "stash" yarns.  Being small, it didnt use up much.

The bag at left is much like the camera cover.  It is about the same size...same construction, but this time I attached a chain (approx. 36")  to the loops to make a shoulder strap.  It is big enough to carry a cell phone, identification, a plastic card or two of your choice  and perhaps a lip gloss if one would wish.  The pattern is, again, a Barbara Walker slip stitch pattern.  The little moose came from the button section at the local sewing shop.  He just seemed to fit right in with the little pine trees!

This pink bag was a free form, whim more than anything.  It was made from yarn that came from "who knows where"...It was really one of my first bags that I ever made.  The leather strap is attached to the back of the bag near the top so it lays close to the body.  The button does not show well in the photo.  It has an irredescent styalized floral pattern deep inside.  It is quite pretty.  The bag measures approximately 13"x15" and is unlined.

This bag at the left is sized to fit a water bottle, although I did not start out with that purpose in mind.  Sometimes the bags just have a way of coming into their own.  Again, Barbara Walker was my muse for the patterns...slip stitch classics.  It measures approximately 5"x9".  The handle is a dollar store funky find...a scarf knotted with beads in the spaces between.  They are wooden with burned and handpainted patterns.  I went back to the Patons Classic Wool for this one....can you tell that the skeins are not used up yet????

This bag is one of my favorites.  It was made about the same time as the others and again with Patons Classic Wool and Barbara Walker slip stitch mosaic patterns.  I used i-cord loops for strap attachment.  The strap is from a leather russian map case circa WWII era.  It is easy enough to detatch so should I choose to use it to carry the map case, I can quickly make the switch.  The bag measures approximately 13"x17" and can easily carry a notebook along with all your necessities.  At this time it is not lined, but one could be easily inserted, as the shape is so basic.  The strap is long and the bag hangs at just below hip level.  I use this one often. 

...so, these are my bags, ones that have yet to find a home (or that will never leave THIS home...)  I must say it is easier to part with these creations than it was when I first started making them.  At some point I wish to photograph some of the ones I have given as gifts in order to have more of a complete record of the things I have made. 

...monkey business

...so this is the little guy that might just jump start my swing into spring.  I bought this pattern and proper yarn for my friend Pen as a birthday gift.  She is a knitter with a sense of humor to be sure.  Of course being the woman of action she is, she got the Marley version (dreds and all) made up in a matter of days, posted him on FB and everyone who saw it just RAVED about him.  Decided that if Pen could whip one up, so could I.  But being the "anarchist" that I am (I put that in quotes because by some standards I dont even come close to outside the box...) I never really knit to the pattern...I made a smaller version. 
I knit, usually out of necessity.  This need called for a gift...yes, Sarah, if you are reading this it will be NO surprise.  But it just felt so good to finish a project that I had to blog about it.  In my last post, I spoke of only thoughts of action...this post is about ACTION.
After spending a winter apart from one of the people who really pushed me into action, I have realized how important it is to me to have someone like this (besides my DH)  "in my world".  And of course, just when I thought this would be a rarity for some time, in walks another driving force...Thanks for dropping in and sticking around Erin!  I appreciate the focus you help me achieve, as well as inspiring that jump start...
Habits are hard to break, but every day I strive to do better than the last.  Its all I can ask for...to expect miracles would be insane, and would only frustrate me...real goals...that's what I strive for...
ps...good-bye useless crystal!!!