It Ain't Over Til the Fat Lady Sings.

Dear Mom,

It's a good thing I can't sing.

Without going into too much detail and making this long post too long, and since not all the I'm Gonna Tell Mom  blog readers are on my HIPPA form, I'll condense the adventures of the last month as much as I can.
At the end of March I had a CT scan to check on something (this is the part I will gloss over) which thankfully turned out to be nothing, but which luckily accidentally revealed a rather large aneurysm on my splenic artery.
After hearing the word aneurysm I pretty much got tunnel vision and expected to be told to go straight to the ER, Do Not Pass Go or Collect $200, but apparently I was wrong because I am sitting here, with my aneurysm still lurking in there. I have an appointment on Friday with a surgeon and I hope to leave that office with a surgery date. It has been a long month of waiting, waiting rooms, consultations and scans. I have been assured and reassured that the aneurysm "isn't gonna blow". I have also been told not to exert myself, strain or lift anything heavier than 20 lbs.

A friend (hi Lisa!) then asked "what if you sneeze?"
  !  
So far, so good.

~Suppress neither sneezes nor laughter.~

With the understanding that surgery Is Something That Is Going To Happen, I came home from that appointment on April 5th and started winding yarn and baking muffins. I was going to need comfort knitting and recovery knitting. And muffins.

Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.
~ Elizabeth Zimmermann

Unlike the Gall Bladder Event of 1999, I have time to prepare for this surgery.
I also don't have a two year old, a puppy, and a Kindergarten Carpool schedule to manage, Praise Be To God!

And unlike Carpal Tunnel 2007, I can knit during my recuperation. If it weren't surgery, this could almost be a vacation!

 I started planning projects and organizing yarn, needles and patterns. Soothing, somewhat mindless, comfort knitting projects. Wool.

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”

~Elizabeth Zimmermann

As it turns out, I had more time for planning than I anticipated, and many hours spent in waiting rooms. I finished all those comfort knitting projects. I've had to start winding yarn and organizing the next batch of projects. 

I finished this shawl, which had been AbandonedForNoGoodReason.

This is Dream Shawl. I used Cottage Craft yarn, in Charcoal. I really like Cottage Craft yarn- the wool is wonderful and the prices are fantastic, but sadly I am finding the company unreliable.

I finished the Truly Tasha's Shawl, which is inspired by the shawl Tasha Tudor wears in so many of the photos we see of her. 

Olive on squirrel patrol

I used Bartlett yarns for this one.  I might go out on a limb and say that if I could only knit with one yarn the rest of my life, it just might be Bartlett yarn. Some may say it is scratchy. Not me. It gets softer with washing. And I like finding those occasional bits of straw in the wool which remind me that this really did come from sheep and hasn't been processed beyond recognition. The things I knit with Bartlett yarn will probably last forever.

Okay, and then I finished this felted purse.

I really really like this purse. The pattern is MrsKnit'sAllDay Felted Bag. This is the second time I've made this pattern. It is exactly the right size for me. I found the handles here.

Sooo, now, for the next round of waiting room and recovery projects, I have cast on two projects from this book.

On Saturday, I cast on for the New Zealand Sweater in a soft turquoise wool-cotton blend yarn. I am modifying this to be more of a A-line, tunic length sweater I can wear over leggings. I am all about comfort right now. Shawls, and hot tea. Loose fitting clothes. Muffins.

And I have the Long Collared Jacket (in Bartlett yarn) on my  needles as well.  Stay tuned for photos of that.

Yesterday, I wound the warp and dressed Donna Reed for a rag rug- simple weaving- in case I am allowed to treadle my loom after abdominal surgery.  I may have to exercise restraint and save that weaving for post-op. I feel the call of the loom and know that once I start weaving, I will be finished with that rug quickly and need to start another. I know I won't be up to dressing the loom after surgery. I need to think too much and move too much.

I wonder, will I be allowed to spin? That would be good. It would have to be a terribly long recovery if I were to run out of roving!


It's not what you have to meet, it's how you meet what you have.
~Helen Workman

I'll keep you posted. Say a prayer for the doctors and nurses!
Love,
Kim

And Then My Head Exploded

Dear Mom,
On a recent visit to the Kansas City area to spend several blissful days with a dear friend, we gloried for hours, soaking in the inspiration of Florilegium.

beads of every shape and color imaginable

This area was off limits to customers. It is The Owner/Artist's Studio area.

This display is just small selection of the beautiful ribbons available.

Everything is displayed to perfection.

This case greets you as you step in the door.

This Enchantment is beaded embroidery on a window screen!

And one display case was filled with samples of ribbon embroidery.

In addition to the ribbons and beads I've shown here, there was roving, and wool for embroidery or needlepoint, buttons, art yarn, hand painted yarns, and thousands of ideas. Gretchen, the owner, and Cathy, her employee, were extremely generous with their time and ideas, with no hesitation to demonstrate a technique or describe a creative process. We left with our heads spinning. My only regret is that Florilegium is 9+ hours away. Lucky for ALL of us, they ship orders every day!
Love,
Kim

Give Away

Dear Mom,
Everything offered except for the mitten kit that looks like shamrocks has (have?) found new homes.  The Blue Sky Alpaca yarns had 2 nice people ask for it, so I had My Hero reach into a North Porch hat and pick one of those names. Congratulations, "Anonymous",  you win!

I've emailed all the winners and as soon as I have their mailing addresses, the goods will be on their way.
Thanks and Congratulations to Elaine, who will soon have the Carrots and Beets mitten kit and the Suri Silk. I'd like to know what brain storm inspired Elaine to ask for the Suri Silk. I love Brain Storms.
And Thanks and Congrats to Reneelynn, to whom I will happily dispatch the Cupcakes mittens kit.
This was a fun way to give good homes to neglected yarn and projects.

Love,
Kim

Three Bags Full

Dear Mom,
With your help, the yarn stash went through an Epic Purge a couple of weeks ago.
All those partial skeins of yarn that I thought could some day be….. something…… and all those yarns for projects I started and did not like, supplies for project ideas that IwillNeverInMyLifetimeIfILiveToBe103HaveTimeToDo- all of that- went in to Three- yes. THREE! Contractor- sized garbage bags, into the back of my car, and donated to Goodwill.
EDITING is my new mindset. Edit out those projects that I do not Love. Life is too short and free time is too precious to do anything but the Really Good Stuff. And just because I Have An Idea, doesn't mean I have to act on it. (Until I find a way to stop the clock, or function on 45 minutes of sleep.)
I have to say that some parts of the purge were painful, but not many, and mostly it was liberating to rid myself of the burden of those "this could be ….. something…." projects and to have all that under-the-bed and closet space cleared out.

However.
Some of those projects and yarns were just too good to donate to the Goodwill, even though they are things I don't want to knit anymore, or yarns I can't decide what they should be, and I've decided to offer them here for any blog readers who are interested. Free. I'll even cover the shipping ( US, please). Such is my desire to see this stuff in good homes and not in the bottom of a craft bin at the Goodwill.

First thing up for grabs:

 A Spillyjane Cupcakes Mitten pattern and the KnitPicks Pallette yarn to knit them.

Next:

Spillyjane's Heather's Mittens pattern and KnitPicks Pallette yarn to knit them- FYI- I swapped out white for the brown thinking  I would make a Shamrock Mitten for St Patrick's day.

And then there's:

Spillyjane's Carrots and Beets Mitten pattern (why, yes, I did lose my mind one day and went Spillyjane crazy) and the KnitPicks Pallette yarn for knitting them.

And there's this too:

6 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca Silk. (50 grams, 146 yards per skein) 2 skeins of Blueberry,  color #140; 2 skeins of Slate, color #100; 1 skein of Iron, color #134 and one skein of a light lime green color, tag missing.

And finally:

2 skeins of Misti Alpaca Handpainted Baby Suri Silk  (80% baby Suri Alpaca 20% silk Color #21/ 100 g, 218 yards per skein) AND this handy Circular Solution Port-a-Pocket.

IF anyone out there is interested in any of these. please leave a comment and tell me which thing you want. IF there are more than one interested knitter, I'll draw a name out of one of the Young Lady's North Porch hats. Is a week long enough for any/every one to get their dibs in? Let's see how things look next Thursday. Tell your friends -unless they might want what you want and then we'll just keep it a secret, okay?

Love,
Kim

Caramel and Cream

Dear Mom,

I noticed that I am in a caramel and cream phase.
The napkins on Donna Reed-

And Big Brown Betty's new frock-

Betty's cozy is this pattern, without the stripes, and I used some of this yarn.

I also noticed that the yarn I purchased yesterday, for a summer project, would fit right in.

Things are warming up. Temps in the 40's are forecasted for the weekend! You know it has been cold when, 15 degrees feels so warm that you think you can get by with just a heavy sweater. Good sense prevailed and I did wear my parka. I bet we see people wearing shorts as soon as it hits 50 degrees.

Love,
Kim

Skein winder

Dear Mom,
I've neglected to introduce the newest member of my Fiber Equipment Family. This could be because I haven't been able to think of a good name for her/him/it.
I recently had a very full knitting class and decided to use some of the proceeds from that class to purchase a new yarn swift. The little umbrella swift that Wendy gave me 20+ Christmases ago has been    wearing out. The threads on the clamp that secure it to a table are stripped and I can only tighten it so far. I've been using some of that stuff you put under rugs to keep them from slipping as a wedge to fill in the gap between the thickness of my table and the tightest spot on the clamp. Winding yarn from skeins into center-pull balls was becoming wobbly adventure. There were occasions when the swift would wobble itself right off the table.
Knowing its days were numbered, I had started casually investigating the different swifts available.
When I saw the Strauch Skeinwinder, I knew I'd found what I wanted. I chose to purchase the combination floor and table model and ordered it from Sheep Street Fibers.

She is beautiful, sturdy, easy to use, versatile. In addition to using her as a yarn swift, I can wind hand spun yarn off the bobbin and into a skein. There are marks on the center post at 1, 1.5 and 2 yard increments to tell me how much yarn I've wound on the skein.  I am very happy with this purchase. She was worth every penny. Now, if only I could think of good name...
Love,
Kim

Fiberholics Anonymous

Dear Mom,
In her post titled "Hello My Name is Christine and I am a Fiber Fanatic" , Christine writes about the fiber she had blended and spun from her sheep and alpaca. It is beautiful. It haunted me. 


I stalked Christine, offering to take some of that fiber off her hands if she would be willing to part with just a little bit. 


She was. ( or I bugged her enough that she sold me a cone just to shut me up)


Last week my cone of yarn arrived. This is a 70/30 blend of Blanche and Sammy. (wool and alpaca)

It is absolutely beautiful and I have special plans for this yarn. In the meantime, I am keeping close while I daydream about what it will be someday and to admire it. 


To me, this is as pretty as a bouquet of flowers.


See how pretty it is outside with the crocuses?

For inspiration, it watches Downton Abbey with me.

It hopes to be a pretty lace stole someday......


Love,
Kim

One of the Best

Dear Mom,

If I were to keep track of such things, Friday, April 15 would go on the list as One of My Best Days. Ever.

I, along with some of the usual suspects went to our first Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN. We felt like kids at Christmas, such was our excitement and anticipation of the day.If we had planned out each and every detail, we couldn't have made the day more perfect.

We left mid morning, in plenty of time to arrive in Greencastle when the event opened at 1:00 with a stop for lunch, and using every bit of restraint not to kick up dirt and burn rubber on the way out of the cul-de sac. Not that anyone was around to notice. But still. The idea of it was great fun and gives you a little insight to the jubilant moods in the car.

In a flash we'd arrived in Greencastle- and really is there any faster way to travel than in a carload of girlfriends?- and found a delicious, delightful tea room for our lunch right on the courthouse square and on the way to the Putnam County Fairgrounds were the event was held.
I don't know if the town had decorated the trees for the event or if Greencastle had been "yarn bombed" but several of the trees on the square were decorated with knitting.

The event itself was overwhelming in the best way. I experienced a head rush followed by a headache and at one point I thought maybe I should just sit down with my head between my knees. I even felt weepy. Not from exhaustion but from the frustration of having so much I'd like to do, so much fiber I'd like to spin, so much beautiful yarn I'd love to knit with and never ever have enough time to do it all. Considering all the temptations surrounding me, I was very prudent in my purchasing, and except for an angora goat and an angora rabbit, I left nothing behind that haunts me. Leaving the goats and rabbits behind really wasn't all that hard because:

#1. I didn't drive.

#2. They poop.

Here is what I did bring home:

Just kidding. I left these cuties behind, too.

This roving is from a local farm. I mean LOCAL. As in not far from home! Funny to drive all that way and stumble across a fiber farm that is nearly in my own backyard. This fiber is a Border Leicester/ Cormo cross, is a soft, beautiful sheep's gray and should be wonderful to spin- from Westfield Woolies.

This beautiful yarn will be this scarf.

Kauni EQ

In hindsight, I wish I'd taken a photo of the Fiber Optics booth. Kimber Baldwin's saturated colors were stunning. I lingered there and enjoyed chatting with Kimber. Kimber blogs about the day and you can see photos of her booth being set up. It was hard to narrow all those color choices down, but having the expert dyer close at hand helped me to make a decision. I bought these two skeins of Footnotes-

Footnotes- Straight No Chaser (gold) and Cabernet Nights

-and I plan on using them for this scarf.

As if all that isn't enough- and let's just pretend that there aren't already more than several pounds of roving already stashed away- I couldn't resist adding these to my spinning stash.

This is "Shimmy" from River's Edge Fiber Arts, colorway River Stone. The fiber is 65% Merino, 15% Tencel, 10% Banana (yes, BANANA!!) and 10% Milk. I love the feel and colors of this but also can't wait to be able to say I spun some banana!!

This lovely roving is also from River's  Edge Fiber Arts and is called Screaming Wild Monkeys. The colorway is called Bachelor Button, which is a perfect description of the colors. It is 70% Superwash Merino, 15 % Seacell, and 15% Banana. We spoke with the mastermind behind the fiber. She is equal parts mad scientist and artist and I say that with respect and awe.  Hers is a brain that does not rest. She Has It Figured Out and if she hasn't figured it out yet, she will.

I also ordered a jumbo flyer and bobbin for my spinning wheel from the Woolery so I can ply my yarns together into one skein rather that breaking it into two small skeins.

It took the entire afternoon to peruse the booths and then go back to select booths to make our purchases. Even having done that, it was hard to leave, and there were a couple of false starts back to the car as one or another of us decided that she couldn't leave without something, or without one last look at something else.
We stopped on the way back home at the Swizzle Stick, the bar companion to the tea room we lunched in. Another good meal, a glass of wine, good conversation and home by 9. Like I said. One of my Best Days ever.

Love,
Kim