Re-ignited

Last night, a heavy rainstorm caused an unexpected power outage that lasted until early this morning. Since dinner was done and the kids were nearly finished with homework and getting ready for bed, the inconvenience factor was pretty low. (Although, I was in the middle of winding a skein of yarn for my second Long Lacey glove.) But after the initial pause--- and scurrying for flashlights, the rest of the evening turned out to be a nice break from routine...

Just so you know, I had every good intention of observing Earth Hour last month, but forgot--- so last night gave me an opportunity to make up for it, I think. The quest for light started with these hanging sconces which are practically new from lack of use:




Then these in the 'craft room' aka dining room:





And voila, I was also able to finish skein-winding via candlelight. Mike was completely cracking up at my unabated fervor for the yarn endeavor.



Yet whenever the lights go dim, most Seattlites can't help but recall the massive power outage we experienced in 2006. What started as a mere flickering of lights, ended up leaving many residents in our area without power for at least two weeks during the dead of winter. The whole 'candlelight ambiance' thing was a moot point considering the freezing (indoor) temperatures. Since our house has not been wired for a generator, we had to pack our bags and drive to lodging in Portland.

Last night's events were much less stressful, thankfully. I took a hot bath (by candlelight) and read a little (also by candlelight), and felt pretty contented in general. I did hear a neighbor's generator kick on though, and that was a little annoying--- mainly because the sound remains linked in my memory to that harsh winter outage. It's not so awful to see neighboring houses completely dark in the springtime with frogs chirping in the background. It's another thing to have to listen to the awful drone of a generator... a nagging reminder of something not quite right.

Not that I was overly concerned about knowing which neighbor it was, the pond causes sound to bounce so it could have been anyone. But I did wonder why they needed to run the generator at all. It seemed that it wasn't being used to power any lighting nearby. The weather has been warm enough that certainly the furnace was not the issue. That left the possibility that someone was using it to run their television! Or computer--- (Mike did lose about two hours of work last night due to lack of Internet service.) But most likely the generator was powering a fridge or freezer... And I suppose I can forgive them that--- even if the noise did make falling asleep a chore!

In any case, having to consider alternative light sources for the evening reminded me of how much I like the little flames at the ends of wicks and how much I've been neglecting using the candles I have. Here is my absolute favorite candle, hand-made locally by a young woman who sells at our Redmond Saturday Market. The company is called Ascents, and she also has an online shop. Hers are the epiphany of clean-burning candles. They are completely paraffin-free and are made from all renewable plant products. The palm wax she uses keeps the candle from collapsing as it burns and has the effect of crystallizing like quartz. I don't normally care for scented candles, but I love the fragrance of Cedar essential oil in this one:



On the knitting front: I've finally finished one Long Lacey glove, just one more to go! I've been working ridiculously slowly on these--- (My friend Jasmine at Woolly Stuff has actually knitted two complete sweaters in the same time that it's taken me to knit this one glove):



I plan to work a bit on the second glove tonight--- and who knows, I may not wait for an excuse to light a candle or two while I'm at it...

Calling-hours

"I dare say your mamma has told you, my dear, never to let more than three days elapse between receiving a call and returning it; and also, that you are never to stay longer than a quarter of an hour." -Mary Smith in Elizabeth Gaskell's, Cranford.

I had a conversation on Thursday with my friend Julie in knitting group about a movie documentary she'd recently seen focusing on the importance of community with regard to the survival and success of women in the arts. As a textile artist and author herself, Julie's passion and affinity for the topic made for great discussion. Her keen perspective caused me to think immediately of the ladies of Cranford, whose strong friendships and disciplined sense of community gave rise not only to dignity and purpose in their lives but also accounted for a very practical means of survival despite their near-impoverished circumstances.

Of course I'm a complete sucker for all the of the pomp and ceremony of the by-gone traditions described in the novel, but I was even more taken by the realization of how absolutely necessary those social practices were in the lives of the book's characters. The Victorian tradition of 'calling' has been elsewhere defined as a mechanism for the Middle Class of the era to introduce themselves to higher society. Yet Gaskell does not convey the 'calling-hours' in the town of Cranford to be anything of the sort. Instead, Cranford's predominantly female population understood their adherence to calling as simply the least intrusive, most efficient way to know the needs of their immediate community, for the purpose of making themselves near-at-hand to render brisk assistance and encouragement.

I think this description of the town's feminine personalities says it all: "Indeed as each has her own individuality, not to say eccentricity, pretty strongly developed, nothing is so easy as verbal retaliation; but somehow goodwill remains among them to a considerable degree."
Now, what's not accurate about that picture of womankind in kinship? And who wouldn't want to aspire to such an ideal as Elizabeth Gaskell has so astutely defined?

With that, I'm very eager to screen the film Who Does She Think She Is?


The film's producer and director, Pamela T. Boll makes use of her documentary to bring to light the cultural and perceptual challenges that come to bear upon mothers who choose to pursue careers within the arts. Certainly, longstanding issues of sexism are addressed in the film but according to my friend Julie, the takeaway has more to do with the artists' sense of 'community' or lack thereof playing the most crucial role with regard to each of the women's personal and professional successes or failures. Be sure to click the link to watch the trailer, it's very compelling.

Some of my friends are aware that I'm also purposefully striving to interact more with my immediate community. I think my naturally reclusive tendencies (hey, I like my alone-time) have progressed unnaturally over recent years from my disillusionment with our local school system and its attached parent community while Nathan was having his toughest experiences. Exhausted from having to 'explain' my son and his autism to teachers, other parents, neighbors and even relatives, with no real indication that anyone was any more enlightened for it--- it just seemed easier to dis-engage and not worry about constantly trying to change people's perceptions about Nathan or me. I thought I was doing best to focus on my immediate family, my closest friends--- having no real need to attend to anyone or anything else outside of that. So I became sort of a 'crafty recluse'--- and it really hasn't been all bad either. ;)

But I suppose the underlying need was there all along: The need to connect beyond the immediacy of my loved ones, and yes--- even the need to explain my son and myself. (Okay, so I finally realized that it probably wouldn't be so cool to end up as the crazy lady with no friends and throngs of cats crawling all over.) If I'm honest, I'll acknowledge that my writing the almost 40 posts that I have here these past few months has demonstrated a desire to relate. I told my husband the other day that readers of these posts must be so sick by now of me explaining myself and my motivations for various things. I really don't think there's anything left to explain, to much relief I'm sure!!!

I'm grateful for friends that have called upon me and left 'calling cards' via these posts by expressing interest in things that have interested me. And I love that I've been able to call upon you at your blogs of residence too. It's amazing how similar it is to the Cranford ladies--- although we're not restricted to hours of the day, we do allow ourselves sometimes to lapse into more absorbing subjects than Ms. Matty and Ms. Deborah would have thought prudent--- and of course our community is a much more global one at that. But global has been very good, with the friends I've met and the encouragement I've gained, I'm steadily connecting closer and closer... to home. ;)


(Cranford photo, BBC)

Indulgent

The fact that we had 70 degree weather with sunshine and absolutely none of the normal kid-sports or kid-friends events to attend made this past weekend probably the most indulgent one we've had in a long while. Mike and the kids took the short trek over to See's Candies to re-fill my stash --- because nothing says "start the weekend right" like a one pound box of my fave Scotchmallows. And the best part is I'm never expected to share what I'm given in the way of Scotchmallows. (Of course just to be sure, I always keep the box in the bedroom instead of the pantry.)

On Friday night, Mocha earned some babysitting money while the grown-ups went out to see Sunshine Cleaning, the Indie film whose plot is based on a 2001 NPR story of two women who operate a cleaning business specializing in the unseemly task of 'mopping up' crime scenes. I don't know if I've become completely desensitized given all of the crime scene/forensic television shows of late--- I've never been a huge fan that stuff, but I liked the movie a lot. I think the casting, the treatment of the 'gore' element in the story and the story itself were really good.



We also saw the corporate espionage flick Duplicity last week. The thing is, Julia usually ends up giving me a headache. Nothing against her as a person and all--- I just don't care much for watching actors or actresses who've gotten so 'big' in the industry, they show up in movie after movie only to play glib versions of either themselves or their former movie roles. Even though I'm tempted, I shalln't fault the actors for this unfortunate practice because I think the studios are more the ones to blame. But since this movie happened to fit into a perfect time slot for us, I agreed to see it and was once again pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it.




Hooray, I had some time over the weekend to make some progress on these: (my new row counter is helping me keep better track of the pattern too)




And on Saturday I attended my very first spin-in with the Eastside Spinners. Wow, talk about amazing. The fibers, the gorgeous artisan-made spinning wheels (what a variety), the sheer talent and experience of the group members--- and then there I was, with my beast of a wheel and my even more beastly yarn! And yet the entire group couldn't have been more supportive, welcoming and generous in their lending of expert instruction and advice. I learned so much and had an absolutely wonderful time.
[Funny back-story on my wheel: when I asked the previous owner if she had named the wheel, as some spinners do, she replied that she was too busy cursing in the learning process to name it! In keeping with that same spirit, I think I might as well name my wheel "The Beast." And maybe, "Beauty" will appear in my yarn someday?]


Remember my yarn? Well, get a load of this gorgeous stuff that another Eastside Spinner, Nancy has made:


I was so inspired by the all gorgeous strands I saw at the meet, later that evening I did the unthinkable: I went to cloudlover69 at Etsy and ordered roving in a color palette that wasn't neutral! My knitting friends will probably keel over at the sight of these vibrant colors--- they've only ever known me to knit and wear neutrals, neutrals, neutrals.


Immediately following the spin-in, I also made my first trip to the nearby Cultured Purls and picked up some yarn for a sweater I've had in my queue for a while. (Back to the neutrals to calm myself down I think!) I found some nice mohair yarn but had to order the bulky-weight yarn I'll need for project. Hopefully, I'll be done with my lacey gloves by the time the new yarn arrives.


Here's the Sally Melville Mother of the Bride sweater I'd like to make:



Today though, it's back to reality so to speak. Middle child stayed home from school with a cold and we all have (apologies, but) a hellishly busy week and upcoming weekend ahead of us. It was fun while it lasted but now the trick will be to make up for all of the happy over-indulgences and avoidance of things that should've gotten done.
Ahh, Mondays... ;)

(Spinning photos: Eastside Spinners Yahoo Group and Nancy at www.PersistentKnitter.com)

Just spinning my wheels

I ran into some trouble and haven't made much progress on the Long Lacy Gloves. Pictured here is my new start on them. I'd previously worked about six inches from the cuff downward before I made a fatal error and had to rip out. Which really wasn't so terrible since the yarn I'd originally chosen had already started to fuzz. And it's no fun knitting something that ends up looking worn before you've even worn it--- so new day, new yarn! Uh, literally...

Seems I've managed to put myself backward at least one or two steps in the knitting process by purchasing this Louet S10 production wheel, second-hand from a fellow Raveler. And hereby begins the journey otherwise known as "spinning." Although I can't exactly explain my compulsion to venture into this territory... I do know that Ravelry had no small part in this. Something about hundreds of spinners in the forum threads discussing fibers, wheels, and hand spun knitted's made me just want to try it too---


Here is the woolly roving that begins as fluff:


Ideally, it will end up twisted and spun into a yarn like this Cascade 220:


However after two lessons and four hours behind the wheel, my yarn looks like this:


Which is such a long way from this:


And for that matter, an even longer way from the Long Lacy Gloves:



In staying true to my do first, over-analyze later modus, I'm saying to myself, "okay Kath, you've got yourself a spinning wheel--- what on earth for???
I don't know. Maybe the spinning endeavor is sort of a re-set? It wasn't too long ago that I thought of spinning as something that looked rather boring and unnecessary. Now I'm seeing it as a different way of interpreting a known course. So knitting is not just knitting: unwinding a ball of yarn with a couple of needles--- it's actually the process of creating woven fabric without a loom. (Oh yeah, sooo over-analyzed, I know. ;))

My weaving instructor says that spinning is one of the oldest textile arts known to man and that spinning logically preceded weaving. Of course woven textiles have made for our comfort and survival from our very beginning and continue to do the same for us today. So the idea of spinning causes me to see modern textiles differently as well. Even something as uninteresting as a bedsheet can be thought of as textile 'art', since it's made up of fibers dyed, spun, and then woven... Crazy!

This may be a leap, but do you think the Obama's version of Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden has the same type of re-set quality I'm speaking of? ...maybe.

I do agree that going backward a few steps in any practice can serve a good purpose. But at this point, I'm not yet feeling the urge to raise my own sheep or wear exclusively home spun fiber. (Are you relieved for me?;))

No, for now I'm contented to be just spinning my wheels...


(Photo: Long Lacy Gloves from Interweave Press)

Happy Trails to you...

Our week of the country life has so quickly come to an end. Blisters have healed and horsey relationships have mended too. The young mare Dakota, turned out to be not as feisty as she was just plain frightened--- of me, no less. I made the discovery shortly after the rearing incident that she simply was unnerved at the sight of me in her owner's barn coat. When later I wore one of my hand knit wools, she gave my arm a good long sniff and then very calmly and happily followed me out to her pasture. Wearing Linda's coat (to keep my own from becoming too "horsey") probably had the same effect on Dakota as the Bride of Frankenstein would have had on me: somebody else's head atop Linda's coat! Poor girl! In fact, I distinctly remembered her looking at me sideways as I spoke to her... right before she reared that first day. I wore the same sweater the rest of the week and I'm happy to say, we became fast friends as a result.

On Thursday, the kids and I took a visit to the feed store and had a chance to make a few more animal acquaintances there. Morgan became quickly enamored by a little black bunny named Houdini, up for adoption: (Sorry Mocha, you'll have to stick to getting your bunny fix from Linda's.)


Meanwhile, the resident mouser was busy speculating on the store's newest tenants. What a good kitty. Those few weeks around Easter must be quite an exercise in willpower for that ol' hunter.



With Linda and family now back from vacation and the animals reunited with their human family, I suppose it's proper time to say our goodbyes and thanks to everyone at the farm for such a fun and memorable week---

Goldie, thanks to you, Sugar and Blackie for providing such beautiful eggs for us!



Dakota, even though we got off on the wrong hoof--- I consider you a bff now.



Jag, you were an absolute gentleman.



BJ, thanks for working hard behind the scenes to make our week a rodent-free one!



Fatty Ally, we loved how much you purred for us. And watching you "break dance" on top of your cat tree was far better than anything we've seen on those television dance competitions.



Rocky and Jack, you wild and crazy dudes--- Tell the bunnies 'hay' for us!



Happy trails to y'all. Until we meet again...



(Bunny and kitty photos- Sarah W.)

Very bloggy

The lovely and talented Susan at Knitting Alone, has given this pretty badge to me. The instructions upon receipt were:

1. List 7 things you love.
2. Pass the award along to 7 friends whose blogs you love.

Thank you so much Susan, this is very cool and I'm honored to receive it!


7 Things I love:

Knitting and Books about knitting, equally
Pagliacci Pizza and red wine
Taking the kids to the pool in the summer and spending the whole day there
Fireplaces that burn real wood
White peegee hydrangeas
The way the backyard looks at dusk
The people in this pic:




I'm passing this along to:

Heather at Heather's Eden
Holly at ohbutno
Janice at craftdelight
Jasmine at Wooly Stuff
Jen at Jen on the Edge
Lina at Photo.Knit.Dog
Melissa at Green Girl in Wisconsin

And I'll leave you with this:

"Creativity is the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others." -from Human Motivation, Robert E. Franken.

... Sounds very bloggy to me. ;)

The Last Knit

Shani screened this animated short on her blog yesterday. I thought it was marvelous!

Whether it's the hypnotic clicking of knitting needles or some other obsession that takes hold... Have you been there, too?

Tenderfoot adventures

Today was the first full day in our one week tenure of "the country life." We were recruited by my dear friend Linda to play caretakers to her lovely homestead while she and her family are away on Spring Break. To recap the list of furry residents, there are: two horses, two goats, three bunnies, three chickens, and two cats. The big ol' dog is currently residing at his favorite doggy resort for the week.

I've been looking forward to this gig for a long time and so far it's been a rather wild adventure for this suburban tenderfoot. Firstly, getting up before 7AM on a Saturday was wild; we've not done that since forever. I even got my first couple of tenderhanded blisters today. Yep. That's because with all the clucking, bleating, snorting, and stomping that greeted us this morning I was too distracted to stop and look around for gloves to wear before we got everyone their vittles, cleaned stalls and raked paddocks. A totally novice move--- and I didn't realize the blisters until much later when the chores were already done.

To add to the excitement, the young mare pictured above (can you tell she's feisty?) reared up on me when I was taking her out to pasture. I was so surprised by her action that I just stood there with my mouth agape, instead of tugging down on the lead when she went up. She must have been counting on less slack in the line and with no tension to counter-balance her, she ended up falling over onto her side! Thankfully, she got up right away. I was so relieved that she was okay, I cooed and patted her as we made the rest of the way to the pasture.

I was thinking we'd have to call the vet to check on her but Linda was definitely more concerned for me than Dakota when I phoned to tell her what had happened. My friend explained that Dakota was definitely acting out on account of her sensing that she could "out-Alpha" me. (Ouch. I can handle being out-Alpha-ed by another female, but I'd prefer that she wasn't the type with hooves.) Of course it didn't help that I wasn't firm with her after she misbehaved. So my assignment for this afternoon will be to take D. into the arena and give her commands until it's clear who's really the Alpha--- I wish I could say it's not going to be a close contest!

Maybe it's been the unusual amount of sunshine we've had the past couple of days that's made everybody so feisty. Even Buster the bunny who's normally more than happy to accommodate his admirers, wouldn't let me hold him today, sniffle :(

Of course the goats were their usual crazy selves. That's Rocky and Jack doing their impression of me and Dakota for Colby---


They're such kidders ;)

The 'Old Man' on the farm, didn't want to miss out on all the fun either. Twenty-year-old Jag did his best at whinnying, gallivanting and pretending to buck after he'd been led out and had the gate closed on his pasture. Whoa, settle it down now, Old Timer! You're twenty in horse years, remember?


If this were a reality show, I'd swear the barnyard alliance was just about to vote my (you know what) off the farm. So I have another life to go back to next week, so the "country life" ain't for sissies, so my forearms, shoulders, abs and lower back are feeling it from shoveling poo and grooming paddocks. My nose is running from either hay or somebody's fur and I've certainly got a case of 'the uglies' because I didn't bother with hair or make-up this morning--- so what. I'm loving every crazy minute of it. And once I get my hands on a good, over-the-counter pain reliever, me thinks it'll be no problem making it to the final round.

I hope your weekend's been wildly good, as well!

(Dakota, Buster, Jag photos- Sarah W.)

Like cashmere

Colby decided to dress-up today as Mike for "Hero Day" at school. He wore: a button-down shirt, v-neck sweater, blue jeans and brown suede ankle boots. Mike was certainly flattered by Colby's gesture. Later he remarked that it was fortunate Colby had chosen Dad over Mom. Mostly because Mom as 'hero' might have made for a rather funny outfit. I know perfectly well that Mike was just mitigating his newly announced title;). Actually, if Colby had dressed as me today he would have worn a grey turtle-neck sweater and jeans. Not too crazy, although the ballet flats might have been odd.

It made me think of how much our manner of dress has evolved from the days of "Ozzie and Harriet." Jeans are now such a staple item that if my mine were to suddenly disappear from the closet, so would practically all of my wardrobe options. But even with as many pairs of jeans I've continued over the years to cycle in and out of, I still don't think I've ever found "the pair." Never mind though, that's another topic in itself. It is weird to think that a clothing article that started off as attire for railroad workers somehow morphed into a symbol of youthful rebellion, and then to early 80's status symbol, and now includes an entire spectrum of expression from totally destroyed to perfectly business-like. I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to the 'jeans uniform' but I still kind of wish I'd lived in the days when skirts, dresses, and cashmere cardigans were more the norm. I know, I know--- there are women who staged sit-ins to gain the right to wear pants. I'll stop whining now.

I do have the few pairs pictured above that fit and function relatively well most days--- and in my book, that warrants treating those babies like cashmere. Here's my method: Turn jeans inside out, cold water soak, skip agitation, skip rinse, straight to spin cycle and a line dry.

For this ritual, I use a wool wash called Eucalan, made from lanolin (oil obtained from sheep wool) and eucalyptus oil. It's phosphate-free, petro-chemical-free and it saves water consumption because there's no need to rinse it out. You only need to use 5ml of wool wash per gallon of water and a 500ml bottle costs about $11. I found Eucalan shortly after I started knitting and I've used it on everything from cashmere sweaters to wool coats with acetate lining, dry clean only wool trousers, silk dresses... you name it. I haven't had a need to send anything to the dry cleaners in years.


Here is a Pre-Rav sweater I'm getting ready to post on my finished objects page. It's made from Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere and a Tricoter shop pattern. The only adjustment I had to make to the pattern was the typical for me, lengthening of sleeves--- in this case, I added almost four inches. Gorilla arms, I know. I also dipped this in wool wash a few days ago and with it's bulkiness, it took over two days to completely air dry. Ahhh, the cold and damp of springtime in Seattle.





I've abandoned the Audrey gloves for now since I've tried two different yarns already with unsatisfactory results. Here is the replacement project I'm currently struggling with; from "Lace Style" by Interweave Press: Long Long Lacy Gloves.


I haven't done lace knitting for a long time and reading the chart has been a challenge for me. I think the ol' eyes are going bad... need to get used to wearing glasses to knit. I've torn out my work five times already in an effort to get the lace portion correctly completed before tomorrow's Knit Night with friends. As long as I get the tough part out of the way now, I'll be able to enjoy the conversation and a glass of wine without completely torquing the project! I'm knitting the gloves in wool-silk sock yarn I've had in my stash and tiny size 2 needles. If I can't have the 'skirt and dress look' every day, then I'm determined to get those elbow length gloves! Wish me luck and patience.