Bird's Eye View

A mediator was called in to settle our differences.

I set aside the shawl for a few days. That didn't stop me from going insane thinking about it. I decided the only way to truly know was to pull it from the needles and block it.

However, that prompted new concerns. What if I find something new to hate?, Have I officially become a crazy obsessed person?, Will it be smaller than I am imagining?, I wonder if knitting needles are allowed in the padded white room?, and What if I discover I hate the whole thing?

I told myself to get over it.

Click for a bird's eye view.

The design looks exactly like I imagined it should. It's the size I want it to be considering where I am in my pattern. But, I still don't like the tops of the eyes. I think there should be a yarn over, right here.

Please don't call the men in white coats.

Get Your Lace Here

This past Friday was a long day. I have been fighting a migraine for most of the week. Thus, Friday could not end soon enough. Being able to sleep in Saturday did a lot to relieve the tension in my neck that the headache has been causing.

So given the achiness of the week, I was delighted to find a package waiting for me at home Friday afternoon. A very lightweight package with my name on it. In it was the most gorgeous shade of rose colored Zephyr. Jesh, my laceswap partner, hand dyed it herself to match the autumn roses in her neighbor's yard. I can't speak as to how well the color matches the flowers, but I was absolutely stunned when I saw the skein. It is more vibrant than a dusty rose, but not garishly bright. A perfect shade of pink.

She included a pattern I haven't seen before, Poinsetta Shawl by Lucy Neatby. The construction of the shawl is intriguing. It is all I can do to not cast on for it right now.

As a special something, Jesh also sent along a beautiful beaded necklace and yellow wool. She took pity on my inability to find big bird yellow. Also, my wedding anniversary is coming up in a few weeks. The jewelry will be a perfect compliment to the dress I plan to wear.

Thank you so much, Jesh! You've been a wonderful swap partner.

Arrival of Autumn

The day is gray and overcast. Saturday Sky will be this way for awhile. Autumn has begun.

There is a rhythm to Michigan's autumn that never varies. The tempo may change from year to year but never the beat. First, the beech turns a vibrant butter yellow. This is quickly followed by the red of the maple. Then there is waiting. A long pause in the sequence of color. Finally, the hickory will show orange. Last and most stubborn will be the brown-orange oak.

This is my street. The only way in or out from my house. We are in the moment of waiting. The beech and maple are patient. They will not drop the last of their leaves until the hickory and oak display their color. There is a moment, not yet arrived, when the waiting ends. A moment where the colors will meet, overlap, and melt into each other. It always arrives in secret and without warning. My street will look like this for another week or so. Then when I am not looking or perhaps away at work, it will change. The moment of autumn will have arrived.

I also have news about my lace swap package. Tomorrow will bring pictures.

Bird Splat

The response to my previous post has been overwhelming. I have loved hearing about all the great reasons for blogging. So many of you have also encouraged me to not let one woman ruin what could be an otherwise great group of knitters. Thank you so very much!

In the meantime, I have turned my ire on the bird. I am not happy with the look of the peacock eye. The top of the eye looks, well. . . , like crap.


I have hired an attorney to file for a separation. Only when this bird learns to fly right, will I consider taking her back into my good graces.

Why Do You Blog?

Recently, I was sitting in on a LYS knit night when the woman across the table said that she didn't "get blogs." I started to speak when I realized that she wasn't finished. She proceeded to say that she thought they were stupid and what crazy person would spend their time blogging. I had the internal debate - respond / don't respond, let her have it/let it go, pick a fight / be the bigger person, etc. Ultimately, I said nothing. No one else did either. I suspect that most of us in that room knew a blogger or two, if we weren't one ourselves. I know that we knew there wasn't any reasoning with her. Her choice of words and tone of delivery made that crystal clear.

Driving home, I had the argument I had refrained from in the store. She isn't the first person I've met to question the purpose or importance of blogging - just the first to be close-minded about it. That attitude alone is enough to push my buttons.

So why do you blog? I'm defining the verb "blog" as writing or reading blogs. Any topic, any frequency, any number of blogs.

It can does take a chunk of time. Tracking thirty blogs a day could easily pass an hour of time. Writing a well thought out post takes just as long if not more. Pulitzer prize winners might take less, but then again maybe more. This is time not spent with family or friends. Time not spent doing whatever it is that ignites our passion - reading, knitting, sewing, etc. Time not spent doing more so called constructive activities such as dusting or balancing the checkbook. Time better spent according to some.

So why spend the time blogging? I've thought of a few answers I would have given that woman. A sense of community, inspiration & creativity found in the works of others, a place for self-expression, a way to remember what has been accomplished, a source of encouragement for what is yet to be, and so much more.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What would you have done in my place? What would you have said - in the store or in the car on the way home?

Swatch Distractions

I never made it to the sale. I got distracted by design ideas for my ISE3 scarf. And the slight worry that the house would float away. In fact, I knit quite a bit this weekend - all swatches.

It took several swatches and many more wadded up pages of graph paper before I found the right combination of yarn overs and decreases for the scarf design. If only the real scarf was as short. ;)

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It is raining hard enough that I am considering looking up plans on how to build another ark. It is supposed to do this all day. None of my windows have an open view of the sky. Thus I went for the no towel required an "artsy & creative" way to capture today's sky.

I just received my match for the ISE3 exchange. I'm very excited because some of her preferences are in line with mine. It should make for some fun knitting. The gloomy weather is definitely calling for some fiber therapy to cheer me up. Conincidently, one of my LYS (sadly without a website) is having a sale this weekend. One guess as to where I'll be later today.

Speaking of swaps, Patty is hosting one that would be a great companion to the scarf exchange. It is a mitten swap. There are already people signed up from all around the globe!

I think I hear my cats donning life jackets in the other room. Maybe the sale will have to wait after all. I might be busy building that boat.

Peacock-Palawan Progress

Lace is soooo hard to photograph. Let's face it. The beauty of lace is similar to that of a butterfly's life. At the beginning it looks lumpy, blobby, and ordinary on the needles. Then, after some stretching it transforms into a thing of grace and beauty, like a butterfly from it's cocoon.

I've knit past the peacock's small tail feathers and am now to the section of feathery V's and "eyes". However, I am still less than half done. Fortunately, this is a slow work week and I should be able to continue a good pace of knitting. Another couple of weeks like this and I should be close to done. I can't wait to see if it turns out like I've imagined. Can you?

Also, I was choosen to be part of Eve's first Yarnival. I feel really honored because there are a lot of well written posts. She is accepting submissions for the second edition.

A Day In Pictures

The house was a chilly 68F degrees this morning when I awoke. A few hours later, the sky still looked like this. Grey, very, very grey. It is actually raining in the photo. One of those incredibly light and misty rains that puts a chill dampness in the air, but does not manage to wet the ground in the slightest bit.

Between the chilly temperature and grey skies, it is clear that autumn is ready to arrive. However, in case further proof is required, our oak tree has begun to sporadically drop a leaf or two onto the driveway. Across the street, our neighbor's sycamore (this is, of course, a guess on my uneducated botanist part) has lost more than half of it's foliage.

Things did brighten a bit when the mail arrived. A little bird had told me of a sale at Busy Hands Yarn. I could not resist the temptation and availed myself of a few lace patterns. I'm not sure when the time will be found to knit these up. On the up side, pattern stash enhancement is far less painful on the pocketbook.

Not wanting to upset the balance of nature, the lazy feeling of the day has been observed. One row frogged, three rows knitted, resulting in slow but steady progress on the peacock-palawan shawl. At each stage I am questioning the decisions I made for the design. Often, I try to improve the idea only to end up where I started. Remembering that has been difficult. I have casted on. The "design" phase is completed. Knitting will be the task of the day.

In between the cat naps.