Zeneedle...needleart as life

In Which I Try to Get My Act Together

The busy week has gone well, as the Snap Peas shawl is finished (it is now blocking), book club was great (as usual), and we successfully helped a friend move into her new place. It took a village, which made it a blast!

I don't have much to show for this week and next week things will be quiet around here because I'll be away for a few days. That means no mountain pictures, so I'll show you a few sunrises to suffice.

March 24th

For the most part, this week has been gray, but early last week we had a few days of blue sky with scattering clouds.

March 20th (my lunch time view)

March 21st

March 23rd

The list of projects I need to do this weekend is growing very quickly, but I have plans to write a couple of blog posts and do some knitting on the Sky Skarf.

Have you been busy with anything fun this past week? 

Happy Weekend!

Shoot

This week is another week of busy, busy with a side of crazy.  Telling you about it will be easier with bullets.

• Time goes by too quickly and seems to fly by even faster on the weekends.

•  I find it difficult to fit in everything that needs to be done in the time I have "free".

• Things such as, grocery shopping, basic life organization, cleaning,  and anything fun, must be accomplished in two days time.

• And, I haven't even thought about knitting or blogging.

•  It doesn't seem fair, but there you have it.

• The winning names from last weeks blogiversary post have been randomly picked (last Friday), but I haven't notified anyone.

• I will do that as soon as I can get around to it.

• Red Peas shawl is almost finished, as only the bind off is left.

• But, tonight is  book club, SnB is tomorrow (maybe I'll do it then), and Wednesday we'll help a friend move.

• The book club I'm in has been together for 25 years. 

• Reading the books has enriched my life in many ways, as has the friendships forged.

• Maybe Thursday will afford me a day of rest.

• Blogging this week is a big IF...it's unlikely you'll see much, if any of me.

• The picture at the top is of my "soon to be" Color Affection.

• Vicki custom dyed the yarn and it is fabulous in color (I love all three) and softness (yum).

• She calls the yarn (Make.Do.Dream)...perfect.

• Over and Out (for now).

Seeing Red

Thank you for your warm and generous comments on my 8 years of blogging. As spring continues, I can promise more garden updates and photos. Smith has been working hard and good things are happening.

I actually have some knitting to show, but while looking through my Ravelry Notebook I realized everything I'm knitting, as well as almost everything I've finished, is a shade of red.  hmmmm  What's up with all the red?  Red is one of my favorite colors, but at first glance you'd think it's the only color I can see.  

Who can have anything bad to say about the lovely "Tart" Pashmina and the even more beautiful Red Peas? Once I understood the rythm of knitting each rows, and the reason for the construct, everything fell into place.  The shawl is nearly finished, only 2 sections left to do. It's going to be a warm and elegant wrap.

If I show a half finished shawl 5 times does that make me boring? Seeing the process of a project is the what I love about knit blogging. However, I'm not sure there is much to tell about Luciole.  The real story is Kim's yarn, the beautiful New England Red from Woolen Rabbit. She's nearing the end, too.  I have a way of knitting slowly along and then ending up with a little flurry of finished items, which just may be the case with my red shawls.

Do not be swayed by all this red, as my number one favorite color is still blue.  Sadly, my only blue(ish) project is the Sky Skarf, which means I'm spending a lot of time looking up at the sky.  I will not bore you with yet another pictures of the blue, blue sky (which has been amazing the last few days!), but there will be Sky Skarf news later.

The next two projects have been planned and there will be no change in color. I am seeing red, and that's all there is to it.

Psst...there is still a chance to win prizes if you comment on yesterday's post!

Oh, My! I Almost Forgot!

Everywhere you look spring is making inroads, as flowers push through the earth, leaves green up the branches, and blossoms come forth adding spots of color to the landscape. Of course, this means snow!

 Man oh man, it was cold yesterday. The temperature barely hit 40 and snow flurries skittered across the sky throughout the day.  The jonquils were flattened by a couple of inches of snow, and while they do bounce back, it's sad to see.  Today is replay of yesterday, except that it's the first day of spring(!) and blue skies are taking over. We hear it will be 70 by weeks end, so spring is doing its best to send winter packing.

Today IS cause for celebration, although the celebration should have been March 1st. That's the day I started blogging 8 years ago! If not for Vicki's post today, who is also celebrating 8 years, the anniversary may have never entered my head. Here's the stats:

Total posts: 1962
Total Comments: 63,337
Total Friends: HUNDREDS!! You make my heart sing!

Vicki says, 4 more years!  I guess, I'll second that. It's hard to imagine giving this up, although posting is, and will be, more sporadic. Blogging has become a part of who I am and I'll stick with it as long as I'm willing and able.

Since the comments aren't anywhere near a nice round number, I'll pick two random comment winners and, if they reach 63400, I'll give away a third prize.  Bloggiversaries mean prizes for you!  Thank for you reading, my friends!!  Winner's will be drawn and annouced Friday afternoon.

Ramblings

Bullet points might be the best way to get through a post, as it's been a long time since I've had time to share with you.  It's easy to get out of the habit of thinking "in blog" when living "in the moment".  For so many years I looked at the world around me as "blogable", but now, that feeling is slipping away.  Thinking "in blog" is fine and, honestly, I was very aware of the world around me and how beautiful it was, but it was always in blog context.  It's not that any part of that has changed, it's just my mindset has reset, and I do not think "in blog" any longer.  I'm enjoying my moments and do not think to pick up the camera and share, but I miss my friends, my blog pals, as we've been hanging out together for a long time!

BUT this month, I've decided to start taking pictures again:

Before the beginning of March I saw on Maryse's blog the "March Photo a Day" and thought it would be fun to join (not officially, but in practice) and I have been taking a picture daily. Some days I remember just in the nick of time. This challenge has been a challenge.

This is March 1st and the picture meant to signify "UP". I've taken other daily pictures, but haven't bothered to put them into a mosaic, so I'll get back to you on that. Oh, and this was the last time we had snow. Yesterday was near 70!

There has been (a little) knitting going on and the pattern, Snow Drops and Snap Peas by Kirsten Kapur, has found a perfect mate in this yarn. Tart is my favorite color of MadelineTosh and the soft Pashmina is a bit of heaven.  The pattern is fairly easy, albeit, not as easy as I'd thought.  Every row of stockinette is written out with a different count and I must keep track, which has been easy enough, and the project, so far, looks amazing. I expect it will be a gorgeous wrap.

Wednesday I planted a large pot (we're talking huge!) of pansies, but the little  beauties shown here are in a smaller pot, which was a gift from a friend.  Pansies have beautiful happy faces and their smiles are contagious. Right?

Well, I could go on (and on), but it's time I had a post to print, so I'll end here.  I'll be back next week and, hopefully, will have more tales to tell!   Happy Weekend, everyone!!

Ten Tunes

I'm having trouble finding time to give you a run down of my life and knitting, so in the mean time, I'm going to meme along with Carole.

My iPod is a constant companion and if it isn't reading to me, it's playing music in my ear.  This little devise alone puts me in a great mood. 

Crank it up!!

Ten Soungs That Put You (ME) in a Good Mood --

1. Cure for Pain by Morphine

2. Visions of Johanna by Bob Dylan

3. Wild Horses by Rolling Stone

4. Sunshine Superman by Donovan

5. Here Comes the Sun by Beatles

6. Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

7. June Hymn by Decemberists

8. In God's Country by U2

9.Sweet Jane by Lou Reed

10.I Love You by Michael Franti

Get up and dance, people!

Distractions and Decisions

It's March, unbelievably it's March! Yesterday the sky is gray, but enough light pushed through the clouds to create an amazing sunrise. The air is warmer and the birds are beginning to sing their mating songs. It is spring, a time of awakening, with a world full of distractions and wonders. Spring is the time to shake off the cold of winter and to wake from the doldrums.

I love to blog because of the common sense comments from friends who know knitting, who have concete suggestions and good knowledge to share. The comments ranged from encouragement to reasons not to continue, every comment was valid, every one gave me something to think on. I thought, I stewed, I studied the two projects that were giving me pause. And then, clarity came. Denial is a strong emotion, but eventually it gives way to reality. The projects in question were abandon.  One must listen to the voices (of knowledge) they whisper the truth.

The question was what to do in their place? The only projects on my needles (excluding the sky scarf) are Luciole, a very simple, yet elegant shawl and Klemsoctt, formerly known as they TTL Mystery Sock. However, the sock just isn't as portable as I'd like and the small needles keep me from working on it for long. My days of a pair per month are over, it may be a pair per year from now on.

There has been pattern searching and stash diving. There will be decisions soon. This house if full of promise and potential.  I just need to tap it and get my head on right!  Spring should be helpful!  Thank you for helping me see the light, friends!

Catching You Up

A month of no snow ended with a week of weak snow.  In some places the mountains received almost 50" of white stuff, but our little slice of the valley had less than 5". As soon as the snow arrived it started to melt and the gray skies (2 weeks of gray) turned to clear blue.  The temperatures climbed to well above 50 yesterday! I love when that happens.

Spring fever is a live and thriving in our household and Smith has plants, planters and seeds ready to go. This week his is planting onions, carrots, radishes and beets (as well as leafy things, methinks).

I've been knitting, just a bit here and there, with no clear project desire pushing me.  The poor quality of my stitches has caused a wave of insecurity, which feeds a lack of desire to knit. Projects languish as my attention turns to pages of a book, or to the out of doors.

I wonder about my choice of yarn, or perhaps, the problem is the needle size, as the fabric seems a little dense (maybe). As you can see, there is a little too much indecision and second guessing, or maybe, it's that voice trying to tell me something and I should be listening. Maybe, I'll think about it tomorrow, as today, the sky is so, so blue.