Fiberjoy

Sure, the hoodie was going to be finished with a week to spare.  No Problem.

The entire back was finished in two days. A few days later I was merrily zooming up the front thinking the hoodie was a snap until I realized – the needles. I’d forgotten to change to larger needles after ribbing. Rip and Knit. Again, partway up the front, this time I saw that I’d forgotten to do the 3 garter stitches along the front edge. Shoot, rip. It was almost another week before I picked up to knit. Then the second sleeve gave me as much problem as the first front half and suddenly it there were only two days left to finish the sleeves, knit the hood part and put it all together.

1 a.m. Friday I pinned it out then spritzed it and left it to dry over night. My first blocking job.

Staying up until 1pm is not in my best interest, especially two nights in a row. By Saturday the 20th, the birthday the cap sleeves were installed and seams joined,  only the zipper remained, and I was a zombie. I tried, really I did try, to sew in the zipper by hand but the hands on the clock were relentless and Ed’s dad had said they’d arrive at 11:30am. After 30 years of marriage I KNOW that if Jared said 11:30, they’d be at our door by 11. Probably earlier. By 9 I knew there was no way I could get that zipper in by hand in a timely manner so out came Old Faithful, the 1951 flyweight Singer. Finished with time to spruce up the house a bit.

10:30am while passing down the hall for the shower the phone rang. I tried to be invisible. No such luck. A customer with a phone order, waylaid with no escape. Jared and Linda arrived while I was still on the phone. I didn’t get to watch their faces as they saw our made-over living room and kitchen though I could catch bits of exclamations.

At Faith’s party Aurora produced a red Radio Flyer for Faith. She was entranced going in circles from living room through dining room into kitchen and back into the living room by another hallway at her house. Ed and I have always slowly doled out presents, this gives the person time to enjoy the gift rather than ripping from one present to the next which almost feels as though the first is being discarded, so it was fun for us to watch Faith have time to really enjoy the wagon before she started in on the round on presents.

For the past month her parents have been making Faith keep her hands away from her mouth and food while she’s eating, (except, of course, for finger foods) so she was hesitant when the cake was placed in front of her and she was encouraged to dig in with both hands.
Once she got the hang of it, no worries. Peace Cake!

The Hoodie:

Pattern: Hand Knit Yarns by Naturally Fashion Collection
Yarn: Cascade Tweed 220 Hot Pink 2+ skeins (Pattern called forVero 12ply)
Needles: US 7 & 8  (one size smaller to adjust for change in yarn)
Since both the yarn and needles were of smaller gauge than pattern required I used the instructions for the 24″ chest rather than 22″ – Faith is 20″ right now. It worked, with room for her to grow.
Time to complete: 3 weeks

Grandpa’s Gift:

I’m so disappointed that I’m still not able to access the reader card for the old Olympus camera. The new printer was delivered yesterday afternoon but another task had my full attention late into the night. Now my brain is too crowded by sleep cells to deal with installing a new piece of hardware. Pictures will be forthcoming as soon as they can be pried from the camera.

I knit a hoodie cardigan for Faith’s birthday learning many things in the process. For one, just because the back is finished in three days does not mean that it will be a snap to finish.  For the first time I encountered such beasties as cap sleeves, side seams, and sewing in a  zipper.  It was begun during the coast retreat three weeks ago,  finished this morning about 10:30, this after two nights staying up until 1am.

Her party was at 12:30 today.
Granddaughter Faith turned one year old today. One year ago we were rejoicing that the doctor’s diagnosis, based on multiple 3D ultrasounds, proved incorrect. There’s been no sign of Dandy-Walker Syndrome and she has a clean bill of health. We are deeply grateful for God’s intervention in direct answer to many prayers, and faith.

Today Faith is almost walking,  she could if she didn’t think about it. She took two steps at the pumpkin patch a few days ago when she fancied a pumpkin and forgot that she wasn’t holding a hand. We long to see her independence and encourage her not to hold our hands. In a few years we’ll long for her to reach out and grasp our hands.

She says “kitty”.  Any and all cats have captured her fascination and attention since she was old enough to turn her head and follow one with her eyes.

It was funny to see her ignore the piles of gifts in front of her while she opened and shut her first card blabbering as she pretended to read. She likes books, and she blabbers. Then she became enthralled with all the tissue paper.

She got naked and ate cake.
(Literally, except for diapers.)

We are blessed.

My apologies for not having any pictures to accompany this post. Our All-In-One printer has died and with it the ability to read the camera card. I need to dig out the funky old cord that came with the camera to plug directly to the computer. Unfortunately neither card nor cord fit in this new laptop. Until I can upload pictures to the deskcomputer then copy to a cd I’m kind of stuck. Ed gets the deskcomputer in the evenings.

I have a hard time accepting the fact that expensive technology products wear out or become obsolete within a handful of years. When I pay more than a hundred dollars for an item I expect it to last for years.  One computer costs more than we’ve paid for any car until we finally bought a new car in 2004, which I’m planning to drive at least another 15 years. In the past 10 years we’ve bought four computers – only two yet functioning including this 2 month old laptop; four printers of which only the laser is still working and it has printed over 9,000 pages this past year. I have no idea how many pages the workhorse All-in-One printed during its lifetime of two years.  My Olympus camera? It’s practically a dinosaur among digital cameras. We bought it the summer of ‘97, shortly after the first computer purchase. These are crucial to our business.

Oh, you want to know who won the drawing. Thanks everyone who left comments! I wasn’t sure how well a non-fiction book, with a somewhat narrow focus, would appeal. (Did I say how great the recipes are that are included at the end of almost every chapter?)

Fifteen names were written out onto identical slips of paper which were then carefully folded into thirds (no peeking), and tossed into the large orange ceramic bowl which Ed likes to use for soup and cereal. Again Ed was the person reaching into the bowl and grasping a name slip.

JudyMac! You are the winner! Judy had dropped out of blogland for so many months that I was concerned about her silence. (Judy provided me with the Charollois wool from France well over a year ago.) To have her surface a few days ago and then to win is wonderful. (I promise it wasn’t rigged) I just wish there was a way I could afford numerous copies to give to each one of you.

JudyMac is at the Knit Show at the Ally Pally in London where FreestyleFibre Jo and CelticMemory Jo have also been. Is anyone else of UK/Ireland/Europe going to the show? If you do please stop by Robynn’s Purlescence , (click on Cafe to get to her blog) Stand M33 and say hi.  Check out any of our Jenkins knitting needles and crochet hooks that she is selling, along with all her other goodies while you’re at it. The two Jos already stopped by and said Hi. How cool is that! I feel like I’m almost meeting all these various people through each other.

Next post will have fiber content, and pictures.

Good stuff still to come such as Oregon Flock and Fiber, and a weekend getaway at the Oregon coast.

A leap across two weeks brings me to the end of October’s Buy A Friend A Book week, which I would have missed again if I hadn’t chanced by Cornflower’s blog last evening. Since I’ve had a hard time putting down my latest read a copy of that book will be sent to the person who’s name is drawn. Leave a comment on this post and your name will be tossed into the drawing basket. Though the BAFAB week ends today, you have until 6PM Pacific Daylight Time Friday, Oct 13th. Drawing will take place that evening.

The book? Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life by Barbara Kingsolver

The book is an engaging chronicle of the year Barbara Kingsolver and her family consciously ate only what was grown in their area. (Each person was allowed one exception that stayed within the spirit of this eating life such as Fair Trade coffee for husband, Steven, who also contributes to this book along with the oldest daughter, Camille.) Barbara is an informed, intelligent, witty author who is skilled at captivating with words. The concept of eating locally appeals very much to Ed and me. We are very fortunate to live in a fertile area where it is possible. What is harder is knowing who is growing their produce and livestock as naturally as possible. This past week we have eaten almost exclusively from our garden. Not only have we eaten tasty, simple meals, it’s a good feeling to know that what we’re putting into our mouths is not damaging to our bodies.

Charity has tagged me for a book meme. I don’t really enjoy participating in memes but sometimes one comes along when I’m thrilled to be tagged, such as this one:

1.Hardcover or paperback, and why? Definitely hardcover: the solidness and smell seems more real.
2.If I were to own a book shop, I would call it… I’m terrible with names but I know what it’d look like. There would be shelves full of books next to tables where people could sit with the coffee, tea or pastry they’d just ordered at a corner counter. A small area with a little table, soft toys and tough books would be available for small children to have their own tea party while the parents temporarily escaped into a book.
3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is… I can’t say I have one favorite quote but here’s one taken from a notebook where I write a line or two that has caught my fancy: “The greatest moments in life are, and should be, brief. Man in his earthly weakness, like seedling plant, cannot stand too much light.” The Child From the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge pg 574
4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be… These are two people with whom I’ve fantasized eating at my kitchen table and sharing since I was in my twenties: Madeleine L’Engle and Edith Schaeffer.
5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be… The Bible (Does anyone else find that to be an oddly worded question? My eye/mind keeps reading “going to be a deserted!)
6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that… reads the words outloud, in character, as I read.
7. The smell of an old book reminds me of… Comfort, serenity, and of cradling old and ancient volumes when I worked at the Mt Angel Abbey Library.
8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…
9. The most overestimated book of all times is… as so many others have written – The DaVinci Code
10. I hate it when a book… is redundant, oversimplified, and has many editing/proofing errors.  …builds up to a climax that just doesn’t happen.

Here’s the hard part, tagging five more people. Hope you don’t mind, I wanted to tag many of you, please join in the fun even if you haven’t been personally tagged! Jocelyn,  Cyndy, Tracy, Anne,  Marianne (Blackbunny)

Don’t forget to comment and get your name in the drawing basket!