Communique from the library

As I lay awake listening to everyone else in my house snore this morning at 5:30am, after pumping milk, I read this blog post on the less-than-ideal aspects of working from home and recognizing some of the benefits of putting your kids in daycare. It was such a nice relief to read some of those thoughts to consider the benefits it will have in my life as well in order to help balance some of that guilt I was/am grappling with. I'm also thinking more of some preventive measures and organizing I can do to make our family's weekend less about doing every single chore we ignore Monday through Friday, so that we can enjoy each other on the weekends and make sure the time that we have together is quality time. More about that when I've thought it through more.

Currently, I'm parked at the public library waiting my turn for free tax preparation. Here's some random thoughts that have been rattling around in my sleep deprived mommy brain:

• Note to self: When planning long errands, IE-doing taxes, out side of the home and away from lil man, I should probably start bringing my breast pump along. That breast milk I've been so anxious about saving? Yeah. It's probably about to get wasted a bit and just end up on my shirt before this errand is through.
• Baby Signing. Hm. I hadn't really thought too much about trying that before. But it seems like a good idea to try now that I've killed some time browsing in the children's section.
• Lullabies- did your parents sing you one/some? My family used to sing "You are My Sunshine" to me. I'm not sure I know all the words to it though. My family probably didn't either, but I never really cared. I tend to sing the baby whatever songs come to mind that I know a decent amount of words to. This has included songs by Mary J. Blige and Florence and the Machine recently.
• We are going to be participating in our first CSA this summer through Soul Fire Farm. I'm super excited about it! I would like to be eating more locally & am happy to be supporting these rad folks in their farm.
• I miss my worms. (As in, compost worms) I've had intentions of making a longer post about the subject, and even took pictures to do so! Maybe I still will. But after successfully making and maintaining my first attempt at urban compost, my SO talked me into giving them away because those duties unofficially fell on him when I was pregnant and there were some (understandable) doubts about my ability to maintain them with a newborn. I had to pick my battles since he was already doing the cat litter box (after I had to show him some data to prove this exposure to cat poop wasn't just some urban myth I was using to torture him).
• Anyway, maybe I'll make another worm bin. Someday. ::Sigh::

There's no good way to tie up a post this random. I have a million other thoughts rattling around in my head. Things about money & debt, doing service work with kids, traveling, things happening in the middle east, and Santa Claus-but my eyes are starting to hurt. Maybe I'll write again soon. Three posts in a week has got to be a record for me! We'll see.

Counting the days

I'm getting practice trying to be that "present parent" that I so hope to be, as I attempt to enjoy my last few days before returning back to work on Monday.

Even though we began looking at daycares since back when I was about 5 months pregnant (yup, I'm an over planner), we only just officially selected one yesterday (yup, I'm also a procrastinator. A strange mix, I admit). I hemmed and hawed over the merits of daycare centers versus a daycare run out of a person's home. How would this affect our budget? Our vaccination choices? Our commutes to work? What were their philosophies on infant care? (You get the picture)

Then after much evaluation, and re-evaluation...well, I had wasted a lot of time. It came down to me deciding that I was procrastinating at this point, because frankly I just didn't want to leave my kid with anyone else. In the meantime, my top contender for an in-home daycare had filled it's last infant slot.

But in some ways, I think it's best we waited so long to decide. Not only because we've managed to find someone who has a lower child to adult ration, is very reasonably priced and in a more convenient location, but more so because in the few days between that decision and my return to work- I am completely deconstructing this woman in my head!

Perhaps she wasn't as "warm" of a personality as I'd hoped. Did I really check every corner of her house to ensure it was clean? How much TV does she watch during the day? Why doesn't she have a rocking chair? Was she believable when discussing her belief in an infant needing to be held often? Shouldn't I have hooked her up to a lie detector? Why did she have an infant space available anyway? Is that an indicator of something?

Any more time to think about it and surely this woman is going to start having horns and a tail in my mental image. She didn't raise any alarms when I met her at all. And I'm trying to remind myself to go off of those instincts. It's the not knowing for sure that kills me. I'm not good at not knowing. And my kid has no sure fire way of telling me if he's mistreated. Of course, there will be some signals he could give me if the setting is unfit-withdrawn behavior; not being well cleaned or fed; injuries or excessive illness. But it would break my heart for it to ever have to come to that.

The challenge here folks, is how to stay present when anxiety looms. As a therapist it's a question I help others grapple with often. Positive thinking; activities to stimulate your senses and remind you that you are in the current place and time; cognitive behavioral techniques that help identify irrational thinking. It would help me to practice what I preach right about now.

I'm working on keeping that anxiety in check by enjoying the baby's gummy smile, reading about how other mom's make working outside of the home work for their family via blogs of other conscious parents and rad women, and reminding myself to trust my instincts. Those instincts served me well in pregnancy and birthing, and (so far) in realizing what my baby needs. I have to trust that they will continue to serve me well in who I pick for child care.

And if all else fails, maybe I will take a picture of the baby being held by his new daycare provider. Something I can look at during the day at work to re-acknowledge that he's safe in her capable hands. Or, at the very least, something to remind me that she does not, in fact, have horns.

When Breastfeeding Sucks

I am one of those detestable women who loved being pregnant. While it was certainly not without it's discomforts- I was fortunate enough to have a complication free pregnancy which allowed me to work up until the day I gave birth and gain no more than 35 pounds. And giving birth? Oh my, I'm still in awe at how well that went. Hopefully one day, I'll write more on the subject, but to sum it up quickly-I gave birth at home with no drugs in just a little over 8 hours. (Yes, I know- you want to slap me right now, don't you?)

But breastfeeding? Breastfeeding has not invoked the dreamy eyed state of bliss the books all promise. So I was pretty relieved when I came across this article the other day which critically examines this particular facet of motherhood.

The Case Against Breastfeeding

Waking my newborn up every two hours when he wanted to sleep, I wanted to sleep, and my body was still recovering from giving birth...well, for lack of a better word- IT SUCKED. Constantly considering my wardrobe and destinations in terms of the ease at which I can whip out my boob, in the middle of winter no less- not so dreamy. Seven weeks later, and I still can't figure out how to breastfeed on my left breast as easily as my right. And then there is just the lack of general mobility...

Yes, I have spent countless hours staring into the eyes of my beautiful babe as he fed. But I've also spent many of those hours thinking, "Seriously dude?! Aren't you done yet?!" And lecturing him that I was not a walking pacifier, and that if he wasn't going to eat, he needed to let the boobie go! He's already learned to ignore my lectures.

The best thing to do, isn't always the easiest-I know this. And ideologically speaking, it's terrible for me to think of buying a manufactured mix to give my kid when my body can already produce it. And I'm actually really in awe how amazing it is that my body is capable of producing all of the sustenance he needs at this point in his life. Seriously, that's some kind of magic.

But I miss feeling like my body was MINE. And it's intense feeling so responsible for someone's every meal, comfort and bowel movement. The first time the baby went without pooping for a few days, I was riddled with guilt as if I had eaten (or neglected to eat something) that reduced the efficacy of my milk.

But perhaps the worst part of breastfeeding, in my opinion, has been it's impact on the parenting dynamic between me and my partner. Rosin's article addresses that quite well. Going out for even a few brief hours has meant preplanning so that, in between already frequent feedings, I can pump more milk for his Dad to have on hand while I'm out. It limits G's bonding time with the baby, means I'm the one up with him whenever he wakes in the night, and that he is quickly handed back to me when in need of comfort (read: a boobie). And because I am part of the great American dream, my excessive debts mean I have to return to work next week, so I've been frantically squirreling away every drop of milk I can lest my poor kid starve while I'm at work.

This is a passing phase, I know this. But it's still really effin hard, and not enough people acknowledge that! And our society, for sure, does not account for the time and energy needed to provide this type of care to our children (much like many other aspects of family it doesn't account for either).

We just recently decided that perhaps occasionally we will give the baby some formula if I can't store enough, or if G needs to feed the baby while I'm out or need a rest. Plenty of folks do that. And I should feel relieved in that decision. I want to feel relieved. But I don't. I feel guilty and have in some ways upped my pumping efforts because it still feels like I'm giving my baby crap because I'm being lazy or selfish in some way. Even on the sample formula can we have in the house, it says "Breastfed is Best" for Pete's sake!!

I'm realizing that this is just the first in a long line of situations to come in which as a conscious, feminist mother living in a consumerist, privileged and individualist society- I'm going to feel torn. Like I have to have/do/be "it all". Like nothing I do is going to be ideal, or good enough. These are the battles of motherhood, I suppose. And breastfeeding feels like the first battle that I'm not going to feel like I'm winning no matter what I do.

Don't call it a comeback...

This is not going to be one of those posts where I solemnly swear to be a more dedicated blogger. It's not-I promise. I will say that I have been thinking about doing more writing in general which I hope to do on here from time to time. I've also been thinking about new ways to nurture creativity in my life which is impacted by several factors.

For one thing, my laptop died somewhere around Thanksgiving. Yes, I have been without a computer for the past two and a half months! ::gasp::

Okay, but not reeeeaaaallly, because I have an iphone so that's kind of cheating.

More importantly, however, is the new arrival of this beautiful lil bean....

Yup, I'm a new Momma. And it's funny to me that only two posts ago I even came out as being pregnant. That feels like a lifetime ago and so much has changed since then. So if I am going to be posting on the ol' blog, it's going to involve mommy things now & also what it means to be creative with my kid as well as stealing moments to myself for creative pursuits. Perhaps it goes without saying that any posts will happen during the baby's erratic and brief naps.

And of course it will include pictures of this cutie in hand knits. So check back in from time to time, wontcha?

I painted this...

...like, forever ago. The beginning of May I think? At the last minute and in between moving and being pregnant. You know...cuz that's how I do. If you can't tell (or don't know me at all), it's a portrait of my partner. Chasing me out of the kitchen, to be exact.

It was a lot of fun to work on & really reminded me of how great it is to paint. Sadly..I haven't painted anything since (with the exception of the bedroom in our new apartment), but I have high hopes of at least painting a few things for the baby's room. It was also fun to make a painting with such a light-hearted and simple subject & get to display it in a public space where even the kids from the school G used to work at got to get a laugh at it.

The painting was displayed on Madison Avenue in Albany NY, for Grand Street Community Art's Boarded Up Project (which I have definitely mentioned on here before).

And! For the information of all three of you who read this blog, this Saturday is the auction for the 2010 Boarded Up series featuring gorgeous work from local artists with proceeds going to the fantastic programs that GSCA has. I can't wait!

Growth

Yeah, I still haven't gotten the hang of updating this thing regularly. Maybe one day. But there has been so much life and growth going on these past few months....

For one thing, spring finally arrived! Oh, I can't tell you how happy I was to see those little buds outside my window. And just like that, it seemed like fall weather. And then, just as quickly we seem to have gotten mid-summer type weather. And those little buds have grown exponentially. And my winter blues shrunk in equal proportion.

Yup, those are my first few gray hairs. I turned 30 years old at the end of April. And I would say I've earned the growth of those little gray guys. I've lived a lot of life in these past three decades.

And a baby!!! (Which it clearly says in the caption there) A baby!!! I've been holding on to that news for several months for personal reasons. But I am due December 7th and am feeling good.

So that's what I've been up to between posts- a lot of growth. In many many ways. And hopefully I will continue to share that here.

The Wish

I think in my severe neglect of this blog, I never posted this painting I did a while back. I want to say I did it in June of 2009 (?) & it was part of the Boarded Up series for Grand Street Community Arts.

It sold at an auction to benefit the art space. I think about painting another one for myself sometimes though, because I kind of miss this painting.

Love Letters to the Universe

I love this piece and can think of many people this could be written to in my life. Really, I love the whole series. It reminds me that I want to do more art that can serve as love letters to the universe.

2009 knits

2009 knits, originally uploaded by mslj88.

1. baby booties-close up, 2. Little feet for little foot, 3. "Application Socks", 4. go with the flow socks, 5. roscoe's garden cap, 6. baby blue, 7. smell my feet, 8. comparing stripes, 9. ishbel, 10. amelia front, 11. rainbow socks, 12. cat hat grrrrr

2009 felt like kind of a slack knitting year for me. I had long periods of knitting-less activity. But even for my slump, I managed to finish a nice little collection.

I'm trying to get better at finishing things. 2010 promises to be full of some baby-knitting for dear loved ones.

Re-start

Dear Blog,

I know it's been a long time since I've written-I haven't been a good pen pal, I admit. And I know one of the last few times I wrote, I promised I'd write more often. Umm...that was back in May 2009.

What can I say? The universe kicked me some hard core hurdles in 2009. I won't get into the dirty details. Suffice it to say, that I've started 2010 with a new job, a new (used) car, and a new commitment to taking much better care of my body.

Hopefully, we can be friends again, dear blog, because I've had a lot of ideas rolling around in my head & some things to share.

Sincerely,
Knitty Digital

on my pod

In no particular order, here's some fantastic music that's getting a lot of air time. Well...on my speakers anyway. The radio sucks.

The new Decemberists album, Hazards of Love. I just acquired this one, but I am already completely enamored. It has all these peaks and valleys and is enjoyable throughout.

The only other album of theirs I have is Picaresque, but with even that limited exposure I can say that they manage to be exquisite story tellers while simultaneously making fantastic music. Both albums play like a spectacular book that you just can't put down.

I also love when an artist/group manages to evolve in their music while still retaining their own unique sound (this is why I still listen to Ani Difranco even after a bajillion albums). And the Decemberists have absolutely done just that in Hazards of Love. There's nothing more tragic than when an artist has a successful album and then just continues to put out reincarnations of the same damn thing.

Abdulla sent me The Last Internationale as a belated birthday gift, and it was a pleasant surprise in more than one way. Half of the self proclaimed 'radical folk duo' is a good friend of ours from college, Edgey.

I think I was mostly expecting some politically conscious hip-hop because that's more in line with my musical association with Edgey. Instead I found myself listening to a well produced album of bluesy, protest music, that is remnicient of the 60's but with a distinguishable contemporary edge. I don't know Delilah (the other half of the duo) personally, but she's got a great voice with a Joni Mitchell vibe to it.

I listened to the whole thing twice on repeat during my rather long commute to my fourth job. And yes, I recognize the irony of listening to protest songs on my way to my fourth part-time job. It was a paradox that I couldn't reconcile, but I would imagine that's exactly the kind of response that Edgey would be happy with.

And last, but not least, Bon Iver. ::Le sigh::

Holy hell, I am loving this music. Wise old wikipedia is telling me that the album For Emma, Forever Ago was self released almost two years ago so I guess in some ways I'm late to this party. But when I tell you that it's been on near-constant repeat since I got it last week, it's no exaggeration. My favorite songs are "Skinny Love" and "Re:Stacks", but really just the whole album is excellent.

The front man, Justin Vernon (shown above), is exactly a year younger than me & while he's off recording incredible music in secluded cabins in the woods of Wisconsin to work through his depression, I am doing....well..far less cool things with any of my bouts of sadness. But I would happily embrace life's downfalls if they all yielded creativity like this.

Really, just stop reading my rants and go listen to these albums. And....go!

The Knitter Returns

About two weeks ago I received the news that I would be getting laid off from my counseling job at the end of June. I have been less than thrilled with the job & had been trying to bring myself to leave it for quite a few months. It struck me that perhaps the universe was doing for me what I hadn't been able to do for myself.

That sounds rather Zen and all, but don't congratulate me just yet for this stroke of fortune. It also quickly struck me (oh, about 10 minutes later) that it was also my major source of income, that this isn't the best economy to be looking for a job in, and that having to sell myself to prospective employers is a loathsome task that brings up all those icky self confidence issues. Needless to say, I was stressin'.

It was then that it hit me. The sudden, irresistible urge to knit. All this tension came tumbling down my shoulders and needed to spill out by creating something with my hands. Something that allowed me to thrum out my stress through relatively mindless repetition.

I picked up some socks that rock yarn from Rhinebeck's past & got going on some socks. And boom! My knitting mojo was back!

It seemed fitting that I should come across the "Go With the Flow" socks from Favorite Socks in my "to-be-knit" binder. I mean, I was going to lose my job regardless of how stressed I was going to be about it.

I could freak out and worry about it (which I still do at times) or I can just go with it. It, being the flow. Take it as a positive opportunity to leave guilt-free in search of better opportunities. And be thankful I'd be taking my knitting mojo with me when I go. I told myself that I would make the best of it, and when I got a fantastic new job, I would knit the "9 to 5" socks to complete the knitting metaphor.

And here I am two weeks later with a sock & a half completed, the urge to knit more, my resume sent in to be considered for quite a few great positions, and a back up counseling position that just landed into place which I have already begun.

Of course, that doesn't mean everything is perfect. Having started another counseling position while finishing up my former one means I am theoretically working four jobs at the moment. And changes like this always wear on my over-planning, stability-loving personality. But I'm still looking at the brighter side of things, and knitting away all the rest. The rest will just have to fall into place on it's own.

love.

I realize that this is old news, because there's arguably already a cult following just considering the sheer amount of blogs I've seen this posted on. However, I had to post just to gush about how much I love this freaking preview.



Like, seriously, it makes my heart hurt a little bit-that's how much. I hope the movie lives up to the preview.

New Start

Hello internet world!

You probably assumed I had abandoned this blog. Well..I kind of did. More out of neglect than a conscious quitting though. You may have even thought in your wildest dreams, that I had stopped being crafty all together. Well...I kind of did that too. Before about two weeks ago, I hadn't knit in months! I can't tell you how long it's been since I picked up a paintbrush. And sadly, the only reason my sewing machine isn't covered in a thick layer of dust is because I've been lending it out to other people.

I don't know why I'm always so surprised when I recognize (once again), how closely my creative process is connected to my mental health. The word "duh" seems appropriate here. But here I was in a hating my job, hating where I'm living, winter (carried over into spring) rut that I just couldn't shake. I knew doing some art work would probably help me through some of this, but at the same time I just couldn't muster up enough motivation to pick up knitting sticks, let alone think about creating something.

And then there's this blog. I created this blog thinking it would be a nice little compartmentalized showing of all the things I created, with some lofty diatribes about the creative process, which would simultaneously omit 80% of any information about my real life. My real, messy, not always feeling immensely creative or inspired life. You see, I've been burned by you before, internet world. Or rather by people who would misuse my relationship with you, and I just wasn't ready to go down that road again. I still may not be. But I know this-if this blog is going to be at all helpful or relevant to me, or to anyone else for that matter, I need it to be real.

I need it to include shit I make, but then hate. Pictures of my messy craft room, which often resembles more of a junk room. It needs to include the books I read, my writing, the music that inspires me, my new ventures into gardening, sustainable living and cooking. I need it to include my feelings, insecurities, loves, and all the other things that actually drive my creativity (and occasionally hinder it). Otherwise, it's just fluff. And let's face it-I'm too old, too busy and too wise to invest my time in fakin' it.

So, here's to a new start, internet world. Let's see what we can learn from one another.

2008

2008, originally uploaded by mslj88.

So, 2008. It came. It went. I knit a lot of stuff- mostly socks & hats. I hope 2009 is the year of the cardigans. There are a lot of kick-ass cardigans that I want to make, three of which I have the yarn already for.

1. Amelia, which I have already begun in a lovely varigated green yarn that I aquired two Rhinebeck's ago.

2. Brompton, which I have a gorgeous blue yarn to do.

3. The Garter Yoke Cardigan, which I have been coveting for quite some time. I'm thinking of doing it in this mustard-yellow yarn that I have.

And of course, it would be nice to finish off that tangled yoke cardigan I started, oh..a year ago. And there is about a bazillion other things I would like to knit.

And then there were my "creative ambitions" for 2008..

1. Creating a cohesive art show in March (done!)
2. Experiment with spinning on a wheel
3. Play with color work more in my knitting
4. Do more paintings and drawings again (did a little bit, particularly for the show)
5. Get "finished" sprays of my stencils (done!)
6. Experiment with quilting
7. Make a shirt using a sewing pattern
8. Finish old projects that have been lingering (*I think I am officially changing this goal to feeling comfortable frogging some of my old abandoned, or unused projects, to make something different with the yarn)
9. Print some of my photographs (done!)
10. Incorporate more of my creations into my everyday life and wardrobe (started)
11. Learn more about different yarns

..but, this year I also did things I didn't dream I would have been able to...

1. Graduated with my Master's Degree

2. Traveled to 4 different countries

3. Went back to do work in New Orleans

4.Painted a mural

5. Had a joint art show

6. Fell in love

7. Organized a Craft Fair

8. Sold a bunch of things at said Craft Fair

9. Got my own tags & started an Etsy shop (though I haven't stocked it with anything yet).

10. Taught English & learned Spanish.

All & all, not too shabby. So I don't feel the least bit bad that I didn't do all that was on my list or blog more. 2009? Bring it on..

Finito

So, uhh..long time, no blog- again. What can I say? I'm not a very committed blogger. And I make no pretenses that that's going to change. Fortunately, I am a committed crafter, however, so I have lots of finished knits to show to wrap up 2008.

Name: Hailey's Stripey Hat
Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap
Yarn: Red Heart Designer Sport
Thoughts: Adorable & fast knit. Hopefully it fits Hailey's recently enlarged noggin' (I'm sure she'll grow into that head). Believe it or now, this project was the first occasion I've had to do an i-cord, which was fun.

Name: Striped Mits
Pattern: Thumbless Mitties from Our Yellow House
Yarn: Red Heart Designer Sport
Thoughts: Fun & quick! Made to match the hat; added an i-cord attachment so they don't lose one another. Leah, who designed the pattern, was one of the fantastic creators I had the occasion to get to know better during the course of GSCA's Give Handmade! events.
This set was one of few things that I was able to knit for the holidays. I completed it in time for christmas, but have I actually mailed it? No.Name: Tres for Karen
Pattern: Yup, that's right. Another Koolhas (ravelry link)
Yarn: Some left over Karabella Aurora Yarn. Hooray for stashbusting!
Thoughts: What can I say? I love this hat & it's so gratifying to make. I'll be making another one in the near future for Karen's partner as soon as the yarn arrives in the mail.
Who knows? Maybe I'll make one for myself one of these days. It does look kinda good on me ;)Name: Kednel's Noggin
Pattern: Thorpe
Yarn: Some leftover Elsebeth Lavold yarn from my Ms. Darcy cardigan & a smidgen of navy blue yarn that I got as a freebie at the ravelry party.
Thoughts: Kednel specifically requested this hat. This is a terrible picture of it, but it looks adorable on him.
Name: Jenny's Gray Foliage
Pattern: Foliage
Yarn: Some leftover Montera, Classic Elites yarn that I've had in my bin for ages.
Thoughts: Yup, third time making this one too. But Jenny requested it after seeing the one I made for Rachel. I did one less repeat than the pattern called for in order to size it to her specifications. I didn't love it in this yarn initially, because there is less stitch definition, but all & all I think it looks pretty good.
And lest you think that I'm only knitting hat these days, I also finished a pair of socks..
Name: Purple Express
Pattern: Express Lane
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks that Rock-light weight. It's some mill end yarn I scored at Rhinebeck.
Thoughts: I like them. I don't love them. But I insist on buying multi-colored yarn, which I later fret over the pooling and pattern definition of. Meh.

I have intentions of blogging again soon with a 2008 project mosaic. Plus I already have a finished knit for this year, some stuff in the works, and other craft stuff to blab about. We'll see how that goes.

A day of rest

Hello blogging world! Long time, no speak! Err..or type, rather. I write to you the side of a warm fireplace at my mom's house where I'm spending the holiday weekend. I've been incredibly busy organizing our Give Handmade Crafstravaganza! It's been a lot of fun & given me an opportunity to work with a lot of great folks & network with almost 90 incredibly inspiring artists. We also started a new blog, 518handmade!, to continue to nurture the culture of DIY & handmade in Albany.

That being said, I'm freakin' tired people. And I can't wait until the days are actually here, when it's less about organizing logistics & more about getting to meet all these folks in person & peruse their art.

At times like these I find I'm so busy I can hardly remember whether or not I've brushed my teeth. And yet..I somehow seem to knit even more when I'm busy & stressed. I'm currently working on socks, a sweater vest, a hat, and a coat for my niece. And I think I finished the Ms. Darcy cardigan in about a week.

Name: "Bronzed Darcy"
Needles: US9
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in "Bronze" (purchased at Rhinebeck 2007)
Thoughts: It's a little short for my preferences. And if I did it over, I would've done it in the round. But overall, I still love the sweater & the look of it.

I should have more finished work to show soon. Including stuff I've been working on to sell at our show. I'll be teaming up with Corinne and sharing a table with her & her kick ass art.

Project Spectrum- Water Element

So I was a pretty lax project spectrumer, but I did it consistently throughout. But you know, more time for life, less time for blogging.

The theme for August & September was water & the colors were blue, purple & black.
These shots are from my trip to California in September. (I was in the San Francisco area to attend the wedding of my uncles)

pier 39

kissy face

And then of course there was the project spectrum knits..

I love this combo & have already been wearing it a lot.

My midnight cowl
Pattern: modified version of Ilean (ravelry link)
Modifications: Button band instead of joining. Added silver vintage buttons
Yarn: Purple merino from morehouse farm (which sadly no longer has a booth at rhinebeck)

The hat is another foliage, which I had knitted last year for a friend & had intentions since of making one for myself. I've been wearing it kind of beret style, which i prefer.

Here's detail of the top. Though for some reason it looks really pointy in this photo.

I also made a painfully plain hat for Gustavo. But it was "plain, black, fitted and folded" just as he requested (as modeled here, sticking out his tongue with his goofy self)

Pattern: Seaman's Cap, made in size large (which was too big)
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Sunsette
He also wears his kind of beret-style, but that's probably more so he can show off his twists.

But I felt obliged to add a little bit of a detail. A signature if you will..

way delayed

Here I go cheating again, but I did not get to finish this post yesterday. There was just too much other running around.

So here is another delayed post, about another thing in my life that almost seems like it happened in another lifetime, it was that long ago.

This, my dear readers, is the mural I painted on the wall of a community center in Guaimaca, Honduras.

It says"...your seed of solidarity gives a new hope to our community".

The wall is to thank & commemorate people who have significantly contributed to the community center, many of which were based out of Berkshire County, MA.

Therefore, one of the mountain ranges represents the mountains of the berkshires, the other the mountains of Honduras.

This is lil ol' me with a close up of the mountains.

And this is a close up of the hands which is my favorite part.

This shot is really just for the purpose of scale.

For the most part, I painted this mural independently. (Shantell helped me fill in the green for the mountains.) I had hoped to do mural projects with children, but they had testing for school around the time I was there so it just didn't come together fast enough. I hope to go back to continue that project.

In total the mural took me about a week to paint. It was an interesting challenge to get paint and materials for this- I had my first hitchhiking experience as we had to go into the capital (about an hours car ride or so) to get affordable & appropriate paint.

The mural is right across the street from my friend Eddie & his families house. (They built the building & run the project there) And it's the first thing you see when you walk out of the door in the morning. It's also visible from the dirt road that passes the center.

It was a tremendous honor to be allowed to leave behind such a lasting mark and it was a great learning experience. It was the largest scaled piece I had ever painted, and the first time I had made something so publicly accessible. Although I had participated in the boarded up project, that piece itself had been created at home. I painted the mural at all hours of the day when people would watch from the road or come up and discuss it with me- what it looked like, what it's message & intent was. It was a gratifying process and I am very proud of the results.

Rhinebeck, revisited.

Oh Rhinebeck, how I love thee. This year was the third annual pilgrimage for me, Meaghan & Heather. As each year has progressed we have become more experienced, and thus more intent-full shoppers. We know where our favorite alpaca yarn is- Times Remembered. We know to get to The Fold for socks that rock yarn first thing on the first day- otherwise, forget it. But there is something about it that still makes me giddy, as though it's my first time going.

Along the way, more people have been added to our brood. Greeley came for the second time this year, which I was really excited about. She's an amazing knitter and always gives good advice when mulling over measurements and substitutions when buying for projects. My friend Laura came as well. She's from the UK & a beginning knitter-which was awesome because it was all so new to her.

Anyway, on to the photos!

I love the llamas & alpacas. They seem to have so much character. Every year I daydream about a romantic lifestyle of owning land with my own animals whose fur I spin.

Me & Meg soaking up the sun. (Luckily there was some sun, because it was mighty cold this year compare to last)

This little lamb was only four days old! It was so cute, I wanted to put it in my pocket.

I love this shot because it looks like the guy in back is laughing.

Another lovely benefit to Rhinebeck is seeing all those skilled folks doing things that I can't venture into in my life, like spinning...and sickly thin lace knitting!(Though I gotta tell ya-lace knitting is not high on my "to do" list.)

And then there was the Ravelry after party. Ohhh, the after party!

Laura really had no idea what she was in for here. She just kept saying she couldn't picture what a "knitting party" would be like. Unfortunately I have no photos that accurately convey the magnitude of this awesome-ness. But there was free food and drink, lots of giveaways, lots of raffle prizes, and LOTS of amazing knitters from all over the place.

We were a bit gitty when the Yarnharlot & company asked to join our table. Well, "we" with the exception of Laura. I think she thought we were just being crazy americans exclaiming to her that we were sitting with a knitting celebrity.

Bob, another knitting celebrity, was there. But figuratively.

He got eat-ed. He was delicious.

The sky was absolutely gorgeous. (By the way, you know you are knitting obsessed when you think to yourself "that sunset would make an amazing colorway for sock yarn")

Two days of Rhinebeck glory.

And this is Rasca saying, "Um, yeah. It's cool Ma. You could put the yarn back in this bag. I''ll take care of it for you..."

And of course, here are photos of just some of my spoils...
Ah, the sock yarn.

I also got a little bit of Alpaca, the pink bamboo blend I mentioned in the last post, and an awesome ceramic mug with an Alpaca on it.