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Category Archives: Inspiration
He's Dancing Again…
My dear friend's husband passed into eternity this morning. He had fought cancer for almost a year. Probably longer, but that's when the diagnosis came through. It sounds odd, but I was happy for her, and happy for him. He no longer has to endure the pain; it was excruciating for the last six weeks. He is no longer bed ridden. She told me that the other day he was trying to get out of bed, but of course he wasn't strong enough to walk any more. He has been on pain medication which has made him, well, not himself. It was so hard to watch my friend endure this. I think at times she was at the end of her rope. And yet through it all her faith remained strong. You see, we are Christians and she was clinging to the Rock of her Savior probably more than she ever had to. I only pray that she can rest now. She doesn't sleep well anyway, and she is absolutely exhausted.
Our church family has been visiting, Facebooking and sending emails to her all day. I am so proud to be part of such a community. We have been bringing food since mid December. I just found out today that people who weren't on the list have been bringing gifts and food. Some are not from our church, but she has great friends. They are wonderful people and it is all because of our common bond in Christ.
I was happy this morning, but now I mourn. I want to cry. When my DH texted me that he is on the plane headed for home, I thought, "What if it were me?" I know I would be a mess. She is so strong. She was married almost 30 years to her sweetheart. Same for me. What a battle she has endured. The Light shining through all of this is the hope that we have that Reggie is now dancing with his Savior.
Knitting Workshop with EZ
I finally broke down and bought the PBS series Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop. She had me at the first lesson, Winding Wool. I learned something incredibly useful, how to make a center pull ball without a ball winder. This is very valuable to me since I only have a ball winder and not a swift. Winding has always been a pain. I don't have a lampshade large enough to hold a skein, and a couple of chairs seems to allow the yarn to get tangled anyway. Apparently I should have gotten a swift first. EZ has one that she is winding from.
Her sense of humor had me in stitches. Pun intended! 
She truly was the opinionated knitter, but it's allowed. Her experience was so vast. I wish she was still on this earth.
You can hear someone, I think it is her daughter, Meg Swansen, talking in the background, prompting and helping EZ with the flow of the show. The production is not polished, but completely adequate. Of course we are used to flashy graphics and seamless editing these days, but these videos are refreshing in that they are all about the knitting.
I first saw some of the videos a couple of years ago when I was visiting Rosewood Yarns in Boerne, TX. I thought then that I must get the video, but they always seemed expensive. Now that I finally have a copy, I think they are a treasure. No matter your level of experience, I'm sure you will learn something valuable.
Happy Knitting! CherylA New Mission
I'm working on providing a better website for my readers. I hope to provide help in your knitting endeavors by showing techniques I discover and recommending books and patterns that I love. When I see some cool tools and gadgets I'll link to them and I'll share the things that inspire me.
This site is for people who love hand knitting. I'll be talking about my latest discoveries and some of the trials and tribulations I go through; we all frog, ya know?! I'll have a section for the finished projects too, so you can see that I do actually finish things!
Let me know what you think about this new effort. I'd love to have your comments and suggestions on what you'd like to see here. Is there anything I can do for you?
Thanks!
Cheryl
Bougainvillea
Ravelry Party at Unwind!
On Thursday I went to the Ravelry meetup at Unwind Yarn. I wish I had some pics, but I didn't even think to bring a camera. D'uoh! It was really fun. I got to meet Casey and Jess, and talked to Casey for a while about programming. He's very cute and kind of shy. Go figure, a shy programmer?!
The place was packed when I got there around 7pm. I didn't know anyone there except Stephanie. I was hoping I'd run into a friend, but I guess I should have brought one. My brain just doesn't work that way.
After a while I decided that I just wanted to sit and knit so I took out my RSS (Really Simple Socks). Here's a pic of the leg. It's a little hard to see the detail. Right now I'm at the point of starting the heel. These socks are my own design with a little help from a pair of store bought socks that I've had for years. I've been looking at them since I picked up knitting again and I've been wanting to try the pattern. Well, they are finally wearing through the heel, so I thought I'd give it a go. These are one repeat shy of the store bought ones. The yarn they use is much thinner.
Designing is a goal I have for myself this year. This is the first project, other than the Sky Wrap Scarf that I designed quite by accident. By the way, I have uncovered the directions for the original Wrap/Scarf that I thought just couldn't be what I saw at the store. Attached were directions from the web that I used as a start, but even they are not what I ended up with. I will write up what I did. I remember most of it, but I'll have to make a sample just to be sure.
Back at the Ravelry party, as soon as I whipped out my socks, I got lots of comments and compliments. I talked to Laura, tinkknitter on Ravelry who I hadn't seen for a long time. She works at Unwind sometimes. I met Lucky Penny who I can't find on Ravelry right now, and a couple of gals from a church across town. One of the women was really outgoing and saw that I was knitting two socks on two circulars. She was intrigued by this and asked if she could watch because she had always wanted to try it. Her friend is a crocheter that she's trying to convert into a knitter. As we talked we discovered that we know some people in common. The choir director at our church used to give lessons to their kids and a woman that started the walking group at our church are friends of theirs. Small world, huh?
After the crowds thinned out I was able to move around and bought this beautiful shawl pin and these yarns. I'm trying out the wrap again in this Tough Love sock yarn from sweetgeorgia. The color is just gorgeous! I'm not sure it wants to be the wrap though. I think it may be calling out to be Pomatomus. The colors remind me of a beautiful Hawaiian ocean, crystal clear water and the scales of a fish. We'll see...
I'm not sure why I bought the Manos de Uruguay except that I kept picking up the skein. It's so soft, and the colors... Alright, you got me. I bought it because it was love at first sight. I don't know what I will make with 175 yards yet. They only had the one skein because it is a prototype. I think it might be a spring scarf of some sort.
The shawl pin was complete impulse. Ummm, weren't the yarns too? Anyway, I needed a shawl pin. I have a wooden one, but I never wear it because it needs finishing.
The place was packed when I got there around 7pm. I didn't know anyone there except Stephanie. I was hoping I'd run into a friend, but I guess I should have brought one. My brain just doesn't work that way.
Designing is a goal I have for myself this year. This is the first project, other than the Sky Wrap Scarf that I designed quite by accident. By the way, I have uncovered the directions for the original Wrap/Scarf that I thought just couldn't be what I saw at the store. Attached were directions from the web that I used as a start, but even they are not what I ended up with. I will write up what I did. I remember most of it, but I'll have to make a sample just to be sure.
Back at the Ravelry party, as soon as I whipped out my socks, I got lots of comments and compliments. I talked to Laura, tinkknitter on Ravelry who I hadn't seen for a long time. She works at Unwind sometimes. I met Lucky Penny who I can't find on Ravelry right now, and a couple of gals from a church across town. One of the women was really outgoing and saw that I was knitting two socks on two circulars. She was intrigued by this and asked if she could watch because she had always wanted to try it. Her friend is a crocheter that she's trying to convert into a knitter. As we talked we discovered that we know some people in common. The choir director at our church used to give lessons to their kids and a woman that started the walking group at our church are friends of theirs. Small world, huh?
I'm not sure why I bought the Manos de Uruguay except that I kept picking up the skein. It's so soft, and the colors... Alright, you got me. I bought it because it was love at first sight. I don't know what I will make with 175 yards yet. They only had the one skein because it is a prototype. I think it might be a spring scarf of some sort.
The shawl pin was complete impulse. Ummm, weren't the yarns too? Anyway, I needed a shawl pin. I have a wooden one, but I never wear it because it needs finishing.
So silly of me. I was telling the ladies that I was trying to use up my stash yarn before buying any more. That was before I saw these wonderful yarns. Also, the entry fee to the party was to be used toward any purchase made that night. I couldn't let that go, could I?
New Year, New Habits
Happy New Decade! So many things to think about. This is the year I turn 50, so of course it's a milestone year and makes you consider creating some new habits.
I have already created the habit of running, although for the last month I've really fallen off the wagon. I've had a cough, a cold, and earlier in the month the winds were kicking up the ashes of the Station fire and creating such an environment that I wasn't thrilled to be outside. But for Christmas I got a Wii Fit and now I can work out in the house. I did work out to DVDs before, but sometimes you just have to change things up. The Wii Fit has so many fun exercise games that it will be a long time before I get bored! I've heard that the hula hoop burns lots of calories!
A habit I need to get back is gardening. I haven't taken it seriously for many years. This house doesn't inspire me to garden because there isn't much room. The back yard is mostly concrete with a small patch of grass. There are borders around the edges which are wild and overgrown now. That's where I will start. I think I will work on flowers and bulbs for spring.
I need to create a habit for practicing the guitar every day. I've bought a few programs and taken lessons, but I rarely think to pick it up like I do the knitting needles. I got a beautiful new guitar for Christmas from DH. It is much easier to play than his Takamine, and it has a beautiful tone. Playing guitar is something I have done on and off since I was 13 or so. Mostly off. I often think that if I had kept it up over the years I would be pretty good by now.
Scrapbooking is another thing that I need to create a habit for. I haven't done it for quite a while, but I keep collecting digital downloads from Gotta Pixel. I do love the digital scrapbooking. I take a long time to do it though. If I do a little bit a week, maybe I can learn what I like and create pages faster.
I definitely have the knitting habit down. After Christmas I finished my Clandestine socks. I finally took a picture of the shopping bag before I gave it away as a gift. I finished Josie's Little Miss Greenjeans Sweater and gave it to her for Christmas.
I also need to create a habit for cleaning up after myself. After eating/cooking, working, knitting, dressing, etc. Yep, I'm a messy person. It's actually much better since the kids moved out. Now it's only my mess! I notice that in the weeks DH is gone, I tend to be a slob. So this year I resolve to clean up after myself.
While I'm at it I could get in the habit of organizing my time better. Calendars and timers might be good. I tend to rebel even against my own rules. What?!? I know... Pathetic.
So this year I resolve not to rebel and teach that rebellious kid in me to stay on track.
I've got lots of stuff there, not to mention choir/vocal practice and school homework - oh yeah - and blogging.
Daily stuff to do would be Bible Study, exercise, guitar knitting, voice, homework, clean up after myself.
Weekly stuff could include cleaning house, gardening, blogging and scrapbooking. Not bad.
Now that I've got myself somewhat organized for the year and spent way more time blogging than I meant to, I'm off to practice guitar! See ya!
I have already created the habit of running, although for the last month I've really fallen off the wagon. I've had a cough, a cold, and earlier in the month the winds were kicking up the ashes of the Station fire and creating such an environment that I wasn't thrilled to be outside. But for Christmas I got a Wii Fit and now I can work out in the house. I did work out to DVDs before, but sometimes you just have to change things up. The Wii Fit has so many fun exercise games that it will be a long time before I get bored! I've heard that the hula hoop burns lots of calories!
A habit I need to get back is gardening. I haven't taken it seriously for many years. This house doesn't inspire me to garden because there isn't much room. The back yard is mostly concrete with a small patch of grass. There are borders around the edges which are wild and overgrown now. That's where I will start. I think I will work on flowers and bulbs for spring.
I need to create a habit for practicing the guitar every day. I've bought a few programs and taken lessons, but I rarely think to pick it up like I do the knitting needles. I got a beautiful new guitar for Christmas from DH. It is much easier to play than his Takamine, and it has a beautiful tone. Playing guitar is something I have done on and off since I was 13 or so. Mostly off. I often think that if I had kept it up over the years I would be pretty good by now.
Scrapbooking is another thing that I need to create a habit for. I haven't done it for quite a while, but I keep collecting digital downloads from Gotta Pixel. I do love the digital scrapbooking. I take a long time to do it though. If I do a little bit a week, maybe I can learn what I like and create pages faster.
I definitely have the knitting habit down.
After Christmas I finished my Clandestine socks. I finally took a picture of the shopping bag before I gave it away as a gift. I finished Josie's Little Miss Greenjeans Sweater and gave it to her for Christmas.I also need to create a habit for cleaning up after myself. After eating/cooking, working, knitting, dressing, etc. Yep, I'm a messy person. It's actually much better since the kids moved out. Now it's only my mess! I notice that in the weeks DH is gone, I tend to be a slob. So this year I resolve to clean up after myself.
While I'm at it I could get in the habit of organizing my time better. Calendars and timers might be good. I tend to rebel even against my own rules. What?!? I know... Pathetic.
So this year I resolve not to rebel and teach that rebellious kid in me to stay on track.
I've got lots of stuff there, not to mention choir/vocal practice and school homework - oh yeah - and blogging.
Daily stuff to do would be Bible Study, exercise, guitar knitting, voice, homework, clean up after myself.
Weekly stuff could include cleaning house, gardening, blogging and scrapbooking. Not bad.
Now that I've got myself somewhat organized for the year and spent way more time blogging than I meant to, I'm off to practice guitar! See ya!
GaryVee in Pasadena
I just came back from the most inspiring talk. Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV is currently on a book signing tour for Crush It! Pardon all the links, but Gary's got what it takes in getting the word out, and I don't mind being a part of it. When we first started watching Wine Library we thought he was a little wacky. He talks about wine smelling like Twizzlers and tasting like sheet rock among other bizarre descriptions. The thing is though, he really nails it business-wise. He took his dad's liquor store and built it up into a multimillion dollar business. And he will tell you that it didn't happen overnight. He says, "You've got to work your face off." He also says, "Just be you. You are a snowflake." I like that. I asked a question specifically about this knitting blog and the fact that there are so many others out there. He said "Just do it. It will work because you love it." That's the truth. I haven't gotten in nearly enough knitting time this week. I've been studying for a midterm. (I think I got an A.) I've got another one next week, so things have been a little hectic around here. Plus, our daughter and granddaughter came over on Sunday for DD's birthday. We had the family over. DGD is getting big! 6 months now and so cute. I really need to start some baby things....I was able to work on my illusion scarf today at Bible Study. I'm almost finished with it. The Clandestine socks that I started at HSB are still on the needles. I've done 3 repeats of the leg pattern. I need to get a picture of it. There is one part of the pattern that stumped me during the first go round. It's marked like a double decrease on the chart, but the key says, "sk2p" which I read as, "slip, knit 2, pass slipped stitch over." That leaves an extra stitch, though. I decided that it really should be slip, k2tog, pass. It works much better that way...
I will be blogging more about the knitting now that I got a kick in the pants from Gary V. I'll also be seeing a bunch of you guys on your blogs to see what you're up to and I promise not to lurk anymore!
Off to read the rest of Crush It! BTW, buy the book! It's great!Cheryl
Our Hardly Strictly Adventure
I spotted this amazing jacket as we were leaving the airport on Friday to go to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco. I want to make it. The lady was kind enough to let me take pictures. She calls it her Sherpa Jacket. If I write the pattern I might just share....Back to the weekend.
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is an amazing FREE concert. It is three days long with 6 different stages going all at the same time. Our wonderful benefactor is Warren Helman, who just does it for the love of the music. And it's crazy, but it is FREE to the public. He books these amazing acts every year. Of course we couldn't see them all, but those we did see were outstanding. We got a surprise guest appearance by Robert Plant. He played with Buddy Miller on Friday night at the Great American Concert Hall, so we were hoping he would show up at the festival. I heart Robert! sigh...
There was a sock monkey sighting right in front of us. Aren't they cute?!!!
The girl made them. They are only about 5 inches tall.They got to watch the concerts too. I think they are boyfriend and girlfriend.
Saturday evening we hopped on the party bus. I hope no one's mom was watching. I haven't laughed so hard in years. We did the wave on the bus. I think we scared some lady. She got off in a hurry.
My project for the weekend was Cookie A's Clandestine sock from Knitty's Fall 09 issue. Unfortunately I didn't see the link for the chart when I printed the pattern out, so I was stuck after the cuff. I had to wait until we got back to the hotel and I could get the link on DH's IPhone. Then I took a picture and used that for Sunday's knitting. Some lady behind us said, "Oh, you brought your crocheting?" I said, "No, it's knitting." "Oh, little baby knitting," she said. I said, "...Uhhhh....Yeah..." Never mind. She had already scored negative points with us when we were just setting up and she and her boyfriend come up behind us after we already had our place and she whines that shes not going to be able to see because our chairs are too tall and they have little bitty chairs. "Do you want to trade?" she says. DH says, "No." We kept hearing her complain about how she couldn't see. Then they left for half the time. When they came back their huge dog howled every time a certain pitch was hit. Uggghhhh. Thankfully they left early.
This is Emmy Lou Harris getting her honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. Linda Ronstadt was there presenting as well. Unfortunately they didn't sing together and my camera battery went dead right before Emmy Lou performed. 
Confession Time
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. In church last Sunday the lady in front of me was wearing a sweater that distracted me so much I couldn't concentrate on the sermon. I spent most of the time looking on my Ipod for a fern leaf knitting pattern. She got the sweater at Mervyn's. I want to make one. It was a wrap type sweater with the leaf pattern on the yolk front and back. The bodice was plain stockinette and had a few pleats at the center back. Probably on the front panels too. I don't remember.
I spent all day yesterday trying to work out the pattern. I found something here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaf-bookmark. There were only 4 "leaves" on each stem and it had a clover like pattern in between the leaf. It's driving me nuts!
Scrappin the Night (and day) Away…
Here are a few things I've been working on lately. I went to a crop night at my LSS and got quite a bit done.
This was at our choir workshop earlier this year with the Gary Bonner Singers. The workshop was in Arroyo Grande. The layout was done probably a couple of years ago, but I hadn't filled in in yet. 
I came across these pictures in my box 'o pictures from the kids high school years. I've got tons of them. Way more than I can put in a scrapbook. This is from 1999. The choir was singing Africa by Toto. The costumes were made by a Hollywood costume designer.
I'll start another one. Maybe even as soon as I get off the computer. The orange light isn't a golden sunset glow. It is the light filtering in from the smoke of the California fires. Today it is almost clear again. I took that picture a couple of days ago. It even rained (if you can call it that) a little today. It would be nice if it just poured for a little while.
Well, I need to clean up my scrapbook mess, knit a little and off to bed. I've got an early day at church tomorrow. Singing on the worship team. Yeah!
This was at our choir workshop earlier this year with the Gary Bonner Singers. The workshop was in Arroyo Grande. The layout was done probably a couple of years ago, but I hadn't filled in in yet.
I came across these pictures in my box 'o pictures from the kids high school years. I've got tons of them. Way more than I can put in a scrapbook. This is from 1999. The choir was singing Africa by Toto. The costumes were made by a Hollywood costume designer.
This is what I worked on today. The pictures are from my daughter's solo performance in the BHS Pop Show 1999. She performed "He's a Tramp" from Lady and the Tramp. The pictures were scanned so that I could do a digital layout. I love the background. I'm a little slow at digi, but I'm getting it. The background is Bittersweet from Dahlia Co Designs.
This one is my testimony. It's my first digital layout. I did it for the FaithSisters challenge last week. Unfortunately I couldn't get it in on time. Credits to Krystal Hartley's FaithFreebie embelishments, embelishments from Linda Holt's Persian Rug kit available on polkadotpotato.com, background by Cheryl Olson.
Journaling: I don’t remember a time that I didn’t know the Lord. As a small child I remember praying to Him, asking for favors, making vows. When my Barbie doll’s leg got broken I asked Him to heal it. I anxiously awaited the next morning when I would wake up and her leg would be miraculously healed. He said no.When I heard my parents fighting in the next room I vowed I would never do that to my children. It was painful to listen to and He heard my cry. He provided me with a wonderful husband who loves me as I love him. We have been together since 11th grade and married 26 years. I have always felt that God led me to him. I feel pretty lucky and grateful for His hand in our lives. He is my rock who I lean on in the tough times as well as the good. Sometimes I see His sense of humor and I laugh with Him. I marvel at the beauty of his creation and the sky paintings He sends me every morning.I haven’t always walked so closely with Him, but he uses life circumstances to bring me back to Him. I’m hanging on to Him for dear life.
Psalm 107:10-15 (NIV)
10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.
IN OTHER KNITTING NEWS
The sleeves for the Oriel Lace Blouse are coming along. I haven't got any pictures of them yet. They are about in the same place as before I frogged. Umm. Not quite. I haven't gotten that far, but close.
I finished the scarf for the church ministry. 
I'll start another one. Maybe even as soon as I get off the computer. The orange light isn't a golden sunset glow. It is the light filtering in from the smoke of the California fires. Today it is almost clear again. I took that picture a couple of days ago. It even rained (if you can call it that) a little today. It would be nice if it just poured for a little while.
Well, I need to clean up my scrapbook mess, knit a little and off to bed. I've got an early day at church tomorrow. Singing on the worship team. Yeah!