More Knitting!

I know. Crazy.

While Len was out getting water for "the ladies" (his chickens are collectively called "the ladies") this morning, I managed to get some pictures of the purple cardigan.

One full sleeve is done and I am working on the second. No SSS* for me! I love top down sleeves, they alway seem to go much faster than cuff up. It's an illusion, I'm sure, but I'll take it.

Getting the cuff to come out nicely was harder than it should have been. I ripped it out a few times before getting it right. Cotton is not very forgiving, so just starting into the seed stitched blue cuff (on smaller needles than the body) looked really bad. I tried a purl round of purple, thinking that would smooth the transition. Um, no. Finally, I tried a plain stockinette round of the blue before the seed stitch. Perfection!

It is true that this is not exciting, but until my sewing machine gives me my knitting mojo back, this is what I seem to be capable of. Which is unfortunate, since the Frost Flowers shawl has been shooting me dirty looks and may be conspiring with Drifting Pleats to me harm. My usual "I don't knit wool in the summer" excuse hasn't been working since it hasn't been particularly hot. Oh well. At least the purple is pretty!

*SSS = Second Sleeve Syndrome.

You Got Questions

I got answers. Ok, two questions.

Barb asked what kind of seed pod this is. It is a leek, I stuck a few in my flower garden late last summer for lack of a better place. They didn't really do anything and, because I am lazy, I left them there. This spring they sort of woke up and started growing. I think this might actually be a flower bud, rather than a seed pod; I'm going to leave them to see what happens.

Sharon asked what I am reading now. First, I finished The Great Gatsby. I have to say, if you haven't read it since high school, you really must read it again. It's place in the American Literature Canon (whatever that may be) is well deserved. Fitzgerald's story of the soured American dream isn't hard, but it is complex, sad, and ultimately tragic. I only remembered a little of the book, and I don't remember disliking it as a teenager (the teacher who assigned it was very good at conveying her love for particular books and for reading in general). While I don't think the book is inappropriate for teenagers, it certainly takes on a different resonance as an adult.

Now I am halfway through Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner (totally because both Sharon and Valerie have mentioned it as one of their favorite books). I had read (and loved) it a few years ago as part of a book club. It is every bit as American as Gatsby, but couldn't be more different. It is big, rich and utterly human. I don't want it to end and I imagine I will be lost when I finish.

Vibrant Colors

This week's challenge at Exposaroonie is Vibrant Colors. I have plenty of color in my life, what with the flowers, the yarn and the fabric, so I was looking for something different.

On Saturday, Len got a call from a tenant that the building's basement was flooding. We were in the Ann Arbor area anyway, so I went with him to check it out (it was due to an overflowing laundry tub and not a big deal). The Kellogg Eye Center is building a very large addition and the construction site is just across the street.

The site was very bright. I have to admit to a bit of Photoshop tweaking to get the photos to pop since the colors washed out in camera (levels and color balance), but I didn't feel a need to crop. I'm going to submit the top picture since it is less cluttered.

Another, less colorful, picture.

By the way, this is just down the street from where a good portion of my misspent early 20s played out. I vaguely remember writing about the house in my early blog days, but I can't find the post now. I have very fond memories of that house, but it is a parking lot now. Couldn't have happened to a better place.

Random List of Nothing

I feel like I have writer's block, but I'm not a writer, so what? Blogging block. So I'll just toss out some random things and see what sticks.

1. Len decided it might be ok if I sewed him an Hawaiian-style shirt. I find it hilarious that the man who will usually only wear solid gray, blue, green and sometimes red shirts also likes colorful, patterned Hawaiian shirts (not super-crazy, loud shirts, but patterns, teal, yellow). I took home some pictures of fabric and he chose this Amy Butler fabric. It's green, but it has flowers on it!

2. Proof that I haven't given up knitting completely:

It's a foot! I'm knitting this from the toe-up since I don't know if I have enough of the green yarn for two man sized socks. I'll tell you a secret: I don't like knitting toe-up socks. It isn't the construction, which is kind of genius. They remind me too much of feet, and even though this hasn't been on anyone's foot, I can't help but think it is kind of gross. Stupid, eh?

3. Len is pretty sure this chicken goes to the hairdresser once a week:

4. I got these adorable Moo cards in the mail yesterday. I am completely enamored:

I saw them quite some time ago and finally gave in. Some of the pictures worked better than others, but so cute!

Exposaroonie Challenge

This week's Exposaroonie challenge was Silhouettes. This is my submission:

I rather liked this leek seed pod as well, it is so weirdly elegant, but couldn't get it to fit into the 2:3 ratio requirement. It was just too difficult to get the pod against the sky without a lot of clutter (despite the cropping, this is still a bit cluttered).

I Got Nothin'

I'm in a foul mood, mostly hormone induced. I hate being that person, but there it is. Once a month, for several days (sometimes for two weeks), I want to stay in bed, pull the covers over my head and make the world go away. It doesn't help that last Saturday was a series of traffic jams, missed opportunities, parking lot meltdowns, not to mention my car trying to hork up a lung. I'm still recovering.

How about instead of whining and complaining, I show you the best part of the day.

I went to South Haven on Saturday to visit my mother and my sister Sarah, who was taking a quick vacation to see her parents this weekend (our mom, her dad, complicated family). It was a lovely visit and a stunning day.

There were so many people on the pier, getting a decent (interesting) picture of the lighthouse wasn't really possible, so I just took one of the graffiti.

Now I'm going home. Maybe pull the covers over my eyes.

Gardening at Night*

And so it begins:

Garden, version 2008. We did not manage to raise seedlings this year (except for leeks), which didn't seem to be an auspicious beginning, but things are growing now. We've had a goodly amount of rain, which is good at the start, but I hope it backs off now that most of the plants are well established.

We will have a lot of tomatoes, 36 plants in all -- Supersweet 100s, which are small cherry tomatoes and are perfect in salads and for drying and roasting; Brandywine, so I can say I have at least one heirloom tomato in my garden, Romas and First Lady (I don't know anything about these). Len and I are strange, we don't really like raw tomatoes very much. But I make and can salsa, sauce (plain), ketchup, plus canning them whole(ish).

A row and a half of green, purple and yellow beans. They freeze really well. Obviously we will continue to grow our usual crop of weeds. They don't freeze well, but insist on showing up anyway.

Jalapenos and something called cherry peppers (which look pretty), for the salsa and pickling (honeyed pickled hot peppers are to die for!) No red bell peppers this year, they are much too frustrating.

Cucumbers for pickles (my sister, a niece and a friend of ours like my kosher dills, I don't know why, I think they're weird) and for dill and sweet relish.

And finally:

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts.

Whew. It will be a labor intensive summer and fall. I'm glad I have the knitting retreat** in the middle of canning, I'll need to get away.

*I'm having an REM moment. I have a whole discourse on REM but I'll spare you the pain. Gardening at Night is from Dead Letter Office, a compilation of b-sides and outtakes (including an extremely drunken version of "King of the Road" which cracks me up).

**Sharon, I meant to say earlier, the retreat is in Silver Falls State Park, which is south and a little east of Portland. I'm so excited I could spit! (what a stupid expression...)

Frog and Toad Forever

Blouses

I have sewn quite a number of things since my sewing machine took me hostage and I was hoping to post a full fashion show for you, but the pictures I took yesterday afternoon were beyond awful. Honestly, I need a dress form* simply for picture taking purposes. So the semi-decent pictures I took last week will have to do.

*I found some instructions for making a duct tape dress form. For some reason, Len is leery of wrapping me in tape. I ask you, who wouldn't jump at the chance to wrap their beloved in duct tape? I'm totally into it, he thinks I've lost my mind.

First, a blouse desperately in need of an iron:

Plain vanilla linen blouse. But I have 2.5 words for you: set-in sleeves (-in counts as half a word).

Nice, eh? The instructions were so bizarre (gather? are you kidding?), but I think it helped that I've set in sleeves in knitting, I understood the concept, even if I've never done it well.

I got the buttons a very long time ago. They add a little oomph to what is otherwise a very plain blouse.

Amy Butler's Lotus Cami. In Michael Miller Ginger Blossom Bouquet (and Vintage Dots trim).

The underarm is too tight. I suspected as much, but now that I am spending a day in it, I know it is true. I will look at the construction tonight and see if I can figure out how to deal with it, since it is very uncomfortable. Otherwise the fit is perfect, and flattering.

I got these buttons at the same time as the ones I used for the previous blouse.

By the way, my crappy sewing machine does not like to make buttonholes. I make test runs on scrap fabric, which go fine, but when it comes to the real deal, it is all swearing, gnashing of teeth and chewed up fabric. Not fun at all. Until the machine and I have a parting of ways, I think I will go with a less automatic version.

Chives

Now to behead them all!

Celebrations

So, I hear the Detroit Red Wings won some sort of cup or something?

"Detroit, Detroit
Got a hell of a hockey team"
--Paul Simon

That was for Stef and Keith, since I don't know from hockey, but it is also a nice moment for Detroit, which hasn't had many nice moments lately (yeah, Kwame, I'm lookin' at you!)

And, I got an e-mail from my aunt Penny. Some time ago, she had mentioned a knitting retreat in Oregon (where she lives) which she attended last year with my aunt Jeannette. She thought I might like to come this year and put me on the waiting list and early this week she got confirmation that I am in! So I get to go to Oregon, hang out with a bunch of knitters in a gorgeous place, and, most importantly, spend quality time with my aunts, who I adore and don't get to see enough of (Penny lives in Corvallis, Jeannette in Idaho). Unfortunately, this is in mid-September, which is right in the middle of canning season, so I can't stay as long as I would like, but it will be very nice to get away.

And. One more. My oldest nephew, Darian, graduated from high school on Tuesday, which is one thing, but he had a whole bunch of marks next to his name standing for honors like Summa Cum Laude, National Honor Society, and Senior Class Vice President.

Here he is with two of his proud sisters (my nieces, Imani, in yellow, and Cierra, in blue). Darian will be attending the University of Michigan in the Fall (chemical engineering). His early childhood was kind of crazy -- he was adopted at a year old by Kathy and Edgar in a very open adoption -- things could have gone very badly for him, and it is a great tribute to him, Kathy, Edgar and my sister that he is such a terrific young man. We are all so very proud of him!

Dandelion

I know I am supposed to think of these as enemies of the yard, but I can't help but kind of like them. It seems I am not the only one, since there is a Fickr group dedicated to the Taraxacum officinale (as I come to find out they are classified). Who knew?

Another Meme!

Sharon tagged me with a Meme I've seen going around. I really like Memes, they are a fun way of getting to know folks better, and of finding out about blogs you might not have known about otherwise. A fun community building thingie. Plus, I don't have to admit I have nothing, aside from a sad story, to show for the weekend (oh, wait....)

So. The rules: Posted here at the beginning. The player answers all questions. The player then chooses six people you want to know more about and tags those people by listing their names at the end of the post and going to their blog and leaving a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Also, you let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I am terrible at timelines, usually the only way I remember where I was at any given time is to look at my resume (which I don't seem to have anymore). I'm pretty sure I was living in White Pigeon, Michigan (a teeny town in southwest Michigan), I learned to knit in 1997, which must mean I took a weaving class at the Kalamazoo Art Museum that year (though it could have been 1996). Some people will be very surprised to know that I was very involved in the White Pigeon United Methodist Church at that time (my mother was the pastor). Around that time, I was dating a guy named Lance. He was not a very good boyfriend.

2. What are five things on my to-do list today (in no particular order)? I have a yoga class in about 15 minutes. I need to post some (not very interesting) articles on the work blog. I need to do some cataloging (how I wish I could pass that off to a work study, but no..). Gardening stuff. Finish a blouse I've been sewing (the only thing I actually want to do!)

3. What snacks to I enjoy? I am a big fan of starch (the Atkins diet would kill me). And salt. And fat. Meijers has a brand of tortilla chip, Matador, which fulfills all of those (unless they forget to salt them, which happens). I love Matadors. I guess I know where I'm going after work today, 'cos we're out.

4. Where are some places I've lived? Plymouth, Michigan (until I was 8), Ann Arbor, France (exchange program after High School, in some ways I was too immature to appreciate the experience), Seattle (Ballard, specifically), White Pigeon and Constantine. And now Grass Lake. I very much prefer the country to the city.

5. What things would I do if I were a billionaire? I would establish a Social Work scholarship at Western Michigan University in my mother's name and a liberal arts scholarship in my father's name at the University of Michigan. Retire. Buy a new car for me. A classic truck and a Daytona Triumph for Len. Keeping those running would take care of a significant portion of Len's time and a billion dollars, so there you go.

Who to tag? Stef, of course (you can box me about the ears later), Helen (at Chronic Knitting Syndrome), Tea, MichMash, and Barb S. (bspinner). Ok, that's just five, but oh well..

A Sad Tale

A cat started hanging around our house this weekend. Len had seen it before at the house across the street, the owners of the house (who rent the house out, but are often there because they keep horses) said they were feeding the cat, but it was otherwise homeless. On Saturday, it came to us. We think new tenants moved in with some intimidating dogs, and the cat decided to find new digs.

The poor thing was in very bad shape. The cat was starving, had some sort of abscess on its face, nad something gross on its neck (probably a tick, it disappeared at some point), but it was very friendly and needing love in the worst possible way. And he certainly knew a couple of suckers when he sniffed us out. Len immediately named the cat "Gary" (despite not knowing the creature's gender). We set out food and water, Len made a bed in the garage. You know this can only end badly.

We have four cats, and have a hard enough time dealing with them (especially since Judy and Fred still want to kill each other), so there is no way we have the resources, financially or otherwise, to cope with another. I thought our friend Hal might be willing to take the cat, if we helped offset the vet bills. I also thought I would check with the Humane Society to see if they had any suggestions -- they do not appear to be set up to deal with homeless cats (they deal with adoptions and have a feral cat spay/neuter program), but I thought they might have some ideas of what to do about a rescue. I sent an e-mail since they are closed on Mondays, and figured I would call our vet on Tuesday (today).

Some time after sending the e-mail, I went outside, and found Len walking back from the road with a dead animal. I was hoping it was a small raccoon, but it was Gary. We only knew him for a couple of days, but he was such a sweet, pathetic sad guy, we can't help but be a little heartbroken. If nothing else, I hope we made his last few days a little more comfortable.

Blue Building

I love the blue building. It used to be drab gray, but a year or so ago, one side of it got cosmetic surgery. Now, it has interesting shades of blue, it reflects clouds, and best yet, the blue reflects off of the windows in the building across the street (which makes it look more interesting).

Actual Fibery Content

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

First, let me say that I am NOT, I repeat NOT, jumping into a new craft. No. This will be a one time only deal. One of my co-workers is retiring in June after 20+ years, so another co-worker and I are working on a book of photos and memories. Lora is rather crafty (and I have been a good/bad influence), so I thought it would be very nice to make a fabric covered book. Not that I know how to make a fabric covered book (I think it would be fun to actually bind the thing myself, but no one has even acknowledged that I've said such a thing, so I'm taking that as a sign). Then a friend of mine brought in a quilt book (another craft I do not intend to take up), and it has a Sew Fabric On Cardstock To Make a Lovely Book type pattern (I think the title was a bit shorter). Obviously I was struck with an overwhelming urge to sew fabric onto cardstock.

I might need some practice. Also nicer fabric. My co-conspirator in this endeavor has decided that we will take whatever lovely cover I manage to create and paste it onto a blank cover, answering the question of What To Do About That Ugly Back. Also we will take it to the local copy shop to be bound, since she is the one not acknowledging my insane desire to bind the thing myself. She is very smart.

Cat hair cover knitting! Yay! It seems I started this top-down cardigan last September, I've just started a sleeve. Not much to say about it really, except I wish it was done because I have all of these lovely sleeveless dresses and it is too freakin' cold to wear them! A lovely cotton cardigan would be just the ticket.

Exposaroonie Weekly Challenge

Yesterday, Stef (who finds some of the craziest things on the web) pointed out Exposaroonie, which hosts a weekly photo challenge. I'm all about being a sheep (in this case, of the blindly following variety, rather than the pre-sweater variety) and duly submitted this picture:

This must have been taken at the end of the session from the other day, in the moments before sunset in the opposite direction of this picture, which is facing southeast.

Safety Zone

This is at the end of a road I drive down on my way to work.

I remember hearing a story some years ago about these roadside memorials. As I recall, the tradition of marking the scene of a loved one's death began in Mexico and was brought to the U.S. by immigrants. Amazingly, I found the story in NPR's archive. I don't notice these in cities, but there are quite a number of them where we live. This one is just down the road a bit from the above picture; I think there is another, smaller cross hidden in the grass, which makes me wonder if two people died here and if it was in the same accident.

Pretty Pictures

Just some pretty pictures today...

Now for Something Pretty

We need something pretty after that little rant. How about some wild geraniums?

I love the simplicity of these flowers.