Doing It Alone...

In public no less! 
I have taken to gathering up my knitting of an afternoon and heading out to my favorite local cafe,  http://collegestreetcafe.com/  There I sit.  At the table, in the corner, knitting away.  It is a vigil that I keep every Wednesday afternoon.  Religiously.  Me, my corner by the window, my needles and coffee.  It is a lonely vigil.  A vigil not to be taken lightly.  A vigil of love and endurance.  Just how long can I sit there, knitting away, before someone joins me.  It is my quest.  This must be done for knitters everywhere.  Kind of like a movement.  So what if the movement has been going on in other places for much longer with varied rates of success.  It is time for this to happen in this small outpost.  The movement has been a great success just 15 miles up the road in Rome, NY.  There, a group meets weekly and often has no room left for others to join.  Every table is full.  Every chair occupied.  Can that happen here?  It must! And, until it does, I will continue to occupy my table in the corner by the window at the College Street Cafe and Artists Studio.

Join me?

Holidays On The Way

There are times when little things begin to scratch away at you.  A little niggle within the cerebral cortex.  A small knot in the throat when hearing an old song.  A small laugh when you catch a little memory flitting around in your head.

With the first of our holidays looming I am reminded of holidays past.  Not because of what we are doing this year, but because of what we have done in the past.  Does this mean I am getting old?  Won't go there!  But, I digress -

This Thanksgiving is going to be the first in years that I haven't been surrounded by family.  My older children are scattered across the country, spending the holidays with their family or can't come for one reason or another.  My siblings and father are in California and don't even think about heading across the country for a turkey dinner.  And, my husbands family is in Wyoming and will more than likely be sharing the day with my oldest son. 

What little thoughts have been flitting through my head this year?  That I miss my father's wry sense of humor.  He is one of the kindest and funniest people I have ever known.  Yes, even kinder and funnier than my beloved Boyfriend. I miss my mother-in-law's pies.  She can bake a pie that would put Marie Calendar into a frenzy of competitive pique!  I miss the gentleness that is my father-in-law.  I miss the outrageous, outlandishness of my brother and the quiet, stillness of my sister.  I will miss the clamor caused by too much family around a too small table, that, in the past was an annoyance at best, but now, that it isn't mine to be annoyed about, is a small comfort.  Family.

If possible, be thankful for the family you have around you now, because they may not be there tomorrow.

To my family - all of you - and my friends - all of you too - Have a wonderful holiday season and know, you are in my thoughts as that little niggle in the cerebral cortex, the little knot in my throat, and the song that plays in my heart.

Freedom!

If you are hooked on cables, like I am, you know how fast knitting seems to move along when that awaited cable row is being worked. You have done your knitting like the good little knitter you are and happily begin the row that you have anticipated.

You get this gleam in your eye. Your fingers flex in anticipation. Your heart races. Then, you reach behind your ear, over to the table, next to your chair and "!@#! Where did my cable needle go?"

What is it with those things? Do they grow legs and saunter away thinking, "just wait, she'll never find me now". Or, is it the DH or DS? Calmly picking up that little stick thingy and using it to clean their keyboard or pipe? It could be the cat, the famous Captain that decided the cat toys were too tame and the cable needle presented a challenge yet to be beaten. Whoever the culprit, the cable needle is always gone.

I gave up trying to find the bag with the cable needles in it months ago and resorted to using a dpn. But then...the dpn went missing. Probably out having a great laugh at my expense with the bail jumping cable needle!

That was it. There was no more procrastinating. Throwing my wip down in disgust I relented and paid a visit to a couple of well known bloggers http://www.grumperina.com/cables.htm
and http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2004/06/04/cable_this.html

I chuckled as I envisioned the Yarn Harlot on the train frantically trying to figure out how to retrieve her dpn. And, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to spare myself that embarrassment. With knitting in hand, I followed the tutorial provided by Grumperina and took the plunge.

With their help I was able to tell the cat, the DS, the DH, and yes, the cable needle itself, that I was FREE! Free of the dependency of a shorter, wannabe needle. Free of the need to keep track of more than my regular 5 dpns. Freedom!

It was easy! Imagine it would be easier if the yarn wasn't black! But still!

Pixie Boy

Daemon
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

Shortly after Daemon and his mommy arrived here this past summer I began knitting for him. His first Grammie creation was this little hat; a much needed item in the northern climes.
It isn't quite finished as I haven't had a chance to put the pompom on the pointy end. But, how can one do a pompom when the hat is on a child's head? I ask you!

Yin Yang

I have been going through a sewing thing of late. 

Since the move, yes it has been a while, my machine has been languishing in the un-opened sewing cabinet.  There isn’t enough room to sew in “My Little Room”.  If I were to drag out the ironing board, the cutting table, the dress form, the sewing machine and all the little items that go along with the craft, there would be no room for me! 

As a result of the limited space in my room, I began the whining thing.  Hey, you do what works, right?  I opened up the ironing board…”Gee, there is no room to open my sewing cabinet…” I whined pathetically.  I moved the ironing board into the dining room and opened up my sewing cabinet.  “I can’t get around to get my serger out,” I said woefully.  I spread my pattern and muslins out on the dining room table.  At dinner time, the boyfriend threw his hands up in surrender and helped me move it all down into the basement apartment.  Yay!  I now have a real live craft area that is the size of a small, well…apartment!  It has hot and cold running water, a private bath for those unfortunate blunders with beverages while sewing, it has space for my dressers full of fabric and yarn.  It is going to be wonderful as soon as I can get rid  of the mancave stuff that keeps wandering in.

The first project that came from my newly acquired sewing space was a Yin Yang bag, designed by ScrapBags.  The first bag was done in a Chinese brocade.  It was fun to sew.  I loved the contrast between the front of the fabric (Yin panel) and the back of the fabric (Yang panel).  However, after a long hiatus from sewing, the fabric was rather challenging.  It wanted to slip and slide and play around.  Not cooperative at all!  I was not extremely pleased with the completed project. 

The second bag was much more fun!  I used a cotton Chinese printed quilting fabric (yin panel) and a light weight plastic cloth (yang panel).  I also made a few minor changes to the finishing.  On this bag there is a pocket on the inside and one on the outside.  And the cute little red button and the join.  I also tacked the handle rather than try to sew it down completely. 

My sewing area is now set up and ready for my at the drop of a  pin.  I no longer have to whine and drop hints about the lack of space I am allowed.  At this point in time, there is a muslin ready for a tunic top of crushed burnout velvet.  Will get to it sometime this week. 

After all is said and done, I have to wonder.  What was it, my Yin or my Yang, that caused my inner 2 year old to come out long enough to get an apartment?

Just a Trial Post

Trying out new things with my new computer. This is a shot of Mirror Lake. Hmm…wonder why it is called that? I did a sepia effect and tilt from Windows Live Writer. Then I expect to send it to my Blogger account for posting. Will it work? We will see.

Why am I doing this? Because I am having difficulty with pictures on Blogger. I take a picture url from my flicker account, upload it to Blogger and it goes directly to the top of the page. It doesn’t matter where I tell it to go, it goes to the top. Then, I have to move it and I don’t like that I can’t get the text wrap when I do that.

I don’t want to move my blog because of the hassle of re-directing traffic. Just leave it where it is and import from here. Let us see if that works.

Oh…before I do, let me try bringing a picture over from Flickr WWell, that seems to work. At least it came to the bottom of the page. And, in case you were wondering, this is the main street in the Olympic Village area of Lake Placid, NY.

and this ends my 100th post

Waterfall in Autumn

Waterfall in Autumn
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

Although I haven't been blogging much, I have encountered wonderful blog fodder; too much to even try to get into one post. So, I will start with this picture of a waterfall in the small upstate New York town of Ticonderoga.

We went on a mini vacation for my birthday, traveling through the Adirondacks and into Vermont, via the Ticonderoga Ferry. To say it was beautiful would not be enough. The autumn color was astounding. And, we missed the peak of color by a month!

Traveling from New York state, across the river and into Vermont was like moving through time. The scenery was punctuated with bucolic farm settings and quaint towns. We stopped for an early afternoon walk through Montpelier and then moved on to another ferry trip back to New York. This time the ferry was across Lake Champlain; our destination, Lake Placid.

We arrived in Lake Placid just as the sun went down. The air was crisp with just a bit of a bite to it. The Olympic village portion of the town alive with pedestrian traffic and lighted with turn of the century street lamps was a vision to behold.

Because we hadn't a clue where we were going to end up on this trip, we hadn't made hotel reservations. Our first stop for a stay was a downtown hotel that looked promising from the outside. Once inside that promise was quickly broken. We left quickly to say the least and headed for a hotel more in line with a wonderful birthday weekend get-away...the Marriot. To say this was a nice hotel is an understatement.

The next morning we arose and walked around the lake. I pity the people that have to live here all year long. The beauty and serenity would have me feeling as thoug I lived in a different time, a gentler time if there was one.

We spent the morning browsing shops and windows; enjoying one anothers company. Then it was time to head back.

The longer I live in this area of the country, the deeper in love with it I fall. Each new day, each new season, brings with it a different type of beauty and creates, within me, a serenity I have never felt before.

I Think I Am Back

It has been a long time! A long time since I posted, a long time since I wrote anything, a long time since I have had a working computer to call my own. At least 3 months! My last little laptop died a slow and painful death from the N1H1 of computer viruses. It wouldn't even allow me to load a new operating system! It was laid to rest in a small, private ceremony shortly thereafter. I have been sneaking onto the Boyfriend's computer for short peaks and chats on Ravelry. No time for blogging. Not on "his" computer, thankyouverymuch! But now, I am back.
It has been a long time.