Creative Abundance

Before and After the New Year

Before Christmas things looked like this:

 

(Luci Leigh with a completed Cheingora scarf knitted for our wonderful vet, Dr. Jones)

After the New Year things continued to look like this (only a bit colder)

Luci Leigh with more Chiengora, another scarf under construction, as well as three new skeins of Chiengora from Kelly.  This latest Chiengora scarf is for my harp teacher.  Like many other places, it is cold here.  I am hoping to finish it before my Saturday lesson - the timing will be great as Saturday is expected to be even colder.  

One of my favorite plants for this time of year is poinsettias.  I’ve aways done very well with them.  I usually can keep them looking very good until Easter and into the summer. One year I almost was able to encourage reblooming - they need twelve hours of total darkness and twelve ours of light in the fall.  It is tough to remember to take them out of the closet!  

We have a local poinsettia grower who is terrific.  White’s Old Mill offers poinsettia trees - and that’s what’s in the picture.  I think they are reasonably priced.  I have another one that are holding for me - it was on sale for $40.00.  The trick is getting them home - it requires two people -one to drive and one to hold.

As a holiday gift to myself I purchased some gorgeous silk from Ravelry’s LostCityDenise.  I know her from her posts on Knitspot as well as her blog.  She has an incredible lavender farm and recently began offering yarn, Clear Creek Lost City.  

This yarn is fantastic.  It is a lace weight - and it is very soft.  The color is lightly variegated for interest but would not be a problem for an intricate pattern.  Denise knitted this color way, Pink Champagne, into a gorgeous wrap - Rav link.   I am hoping to do the same.  If you like Sundara or Yarn Chef lace weight silk, you will love Denise’s.

 (Luci says, “I wish she would make me one of those onsies that have a round hood, no elf pointed hoods for me.”)

The “Copeland Sisters” have been enjoying an abundance of harp practicing.  I have a wonderful harp playing opportunity very soon, and I hope to post some music on the blog shortly.

In the New Year I need to focus on working and playing smarter, not harder.  I plan to participate in a workshop with Sharon Schamber.  I’ve taken a workshop with Sharon before and it was incredible.  I am particularly interested in this workshop because it involves needle turn applique via a machine.  I’ve not written about this before because I did not want to give it any more power than what it “has” already.  I am having some difficulty with my left thumb.  I don’t need one more thing that requires more use.  If I have to choose, playing the harp and drawing/painting trumps knitting and applique. Sharon is a world class quilter and artist - but she also has difficulty with her hands.  When I look at Sharon’s work, and having seen the challenges she has with her hands, my difficulty is trivial.  However, I need to work smarter especially with respect to my thumb. This workshop will “let" me do more applique.  I don’t think I will abandon the by hand needle turn method, but these techniques will give me more options without impacting my thumb.

Peachy’s vision has been restored.  We are absolutely thrilled about that!  And in about a week  or so her strict exercise restriction will be over, and we will be taking a Canine Good Citizen class in preparation for her new career as a pet therapist.  (She already is a very Good Citizen - she just needs the "sheep skin.”)

Wishing you all a joyous New Year filled with peace.

 

Three Days...

It’s three days before Christmas... and I am trying to get all the knitting done.....

I did hit upon a discovery that is interesting to me.  I am knitting two Irish Hiking Scarves (the pattern is free on Ravelry).  One scarf was knitted following the pattern and the other scarf was modified. Both have the same number of stitches.  I modified the stitches on the edges of the scarf and the stitches in between the cables.  I substituted a moss stitch for the pattern’s K2P2K2.  I discovered that the scarf is almost twice as wide as the one in which I followed the pattern.  They are both knitted using Kelly’s Chiengora of the same weight.  I am using a size 8 needle for one, and a size 9 needle for the other.  But I didn’t think that the difference in needle size could account for one being so much larger. I prefer the reverse side of the scarf that I modified - the moss stitch is much more attractive on the reverse than the K2P2K2.          

I find this interesting because I prefer moss stitches around a cable instead of garter. Without experiencing this I would probably try to substitute a moss stitch for a sweater pattern’s garter or K2P2K2 without thinking about the consequences.  I still am likely to substitute but now I would be sure I did intensive gauge swatches of the change.

This year I am planning on knitting a number of sweaters. (How’s that for a commitment?)  I have already received the yarn for this Drops Jacket 103-1:

Ravelry indicates that 1182 people have knitted it - I think that’s a pretty good indication that the odds are in my favor.

I purchased this for the Drops jacket

 In the back of my mind, I am thinking that the weight of this is similar to Kelly’s Chiengora.  I think a second Drops jacket would be wonderful in poodle or samoyed Chiengora...

It’s three days after the Nor’easter left the area and some of my neighbor’s yards look like this

  

We have had so much rain this year and the ground is so saturated that after an inch or two, many yards have small lakes that remain for days.  This is the sixth wettest year on record - right behind 2003 when we had a very wet year as well as Hurricane Isabel.   

Grateful Thursdays

I am grateful for articles like this one...

They are just accessories....

Dorothy’s ruby red shoes.....

A scarf for the Orphan Foundation of America in the ruby red color way....

But they are both powerful accessories....

 

That make the journey easier...

I received this on Monday 

Chiengora from Kelly.  I wasn’t aware the package arrived.  When I took Maizy outside, she walked past the package on the front porch, did a double take, and then went back to sniff the package.  Guess she was aware that it was Husky related.  She doesn’t do that when I receive a package from Amazon.  I think I mentioned this earlier, but Kelly does an incredible job deodorizing it - when the yarn is blocked, it doesn’t even smell like wool...

I should have time to knit up Christmas presents with the chiengora as there will be a lot of sitting in the car outside Animal Eye Care.  

We thought we were out of the woods on Monday.  Peachy’s eye was examined in the morning and everything looked great.  We were scheduled for a pressure check in the afternoon.  If her pressure was good in the afternoon, we would not have to return for a week.  However, it was a huge blessing that her pressure was checked that afternoon because it had spiked.  The spike was totally unpredictable, with no symptoms.  

It became clear that she was unable to control the pressure in her eye even with medication.  Yesterday she had laser surgery, and I believe that the surgery will permanently solve the problem.  We had hoped to manage the problem with medication but that proved to be unsuccessful.  The fluid in her eye is not draining properly, so they lasered her eye to decrease the production of fluid.  I was told that in people this surgery can be done to make the “drain” more effective, but that approach cannot be used in dogs.  The approach used in dogs is lasering the “faucet” to decrease the production of fluid, and therefore, decrease pressure within the eye.  I was told that this procedure has a very high success rate.  I am hoping that this will be solution and that on January 10 Peachy will be fully recovered and immersed in squirrel frolicking.

After the procedure, Peachy was hospitalized, but will be able to come home this afternoon. The next ten days are critical.  The actual laser procedure causes inflammation which causes eye pressure to increase.  To monitor the eye pressure, we will be spending most days sitting in the car in the Animal Eye Care parking lot, popping in for pressure checks every few hours. Given this situation,I should be able to get this chienegora knitted up - I am doing Irish Hiking scarves (and possibly fingerless gloves - depending on how much yarn I have) for people who appreciate chiengora...that would be our vet, her assistant and my harp teacher.

More chiengora is on the way - and Kelly tells me that she has some samoyed or poodle fur that can be spun up - I am delighted with those possibilities to make more powerful accessories with the spirit of Toto!!!

      

Grateful Thursdays

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”  Proust

On this Thursday I am grateful to the people in my life who have the ability to add animation and sparkle to humdrum events.

Illusions

The weather has been very strange.  Could it be spring?

It has been feeling like spring.  Today was 70 degrees.  On cooler days it has the feel of a spring day - cool and a little damp.

And SPRING blooming camellias have begun to bloom.  In fact, I still have some roses blooming right beside them....  The camellias have bloomed early before - during late January but they have never bloomed at the beginning of December.

We had two cold nights and 90% of our impatiens are no longer...

But there still are a few - this one right next to a Japanese maple that still has leaves!!!

That shiny area in back of the Japanese maple is water - we had rain last night.  Our yard rarely pools, but we have had so much rain that some puddles are looking like small lakes.  

  I I believe we are 18 inches above normal rain fall.

We did not go for a walk because it was very windy - I know of some dead trees on our regular walking route and I am concerned with trees falling.    I spent some time working outside in a well chosen area away from trees and during that time, I believe I heard a tree come down.

I have been trying to plant a new Japanese maple and was hoping to do so today but it is far too wet.

The last week has been spent with Peachy at Animal Eye Care.  Almost every day she has needed her eye pressure checked multiple times a day.  Because of her heart worm treatment I am reluctant to drop her off and pick her up at the end of the day.  So we typically go around 9 in the morning, spend until 11 knitting and reading in the car between pressure checks.  Then we have to return at 3PM for two more checks. The little mid-day break provides enough time to get home.  However, I haven’t been getting much else done.

While sitting in the car with Peachy I have been reading about a new toy that Eric bought me.  It is a wonderful little recording device that can record acoustic instruments with extremely high quality.  I did a quite a bit of research and for the money, the Zoom H2 seemed to be the best buy.  

When I play the harp the sound that I hear from the back of the harp is not what the listener hears - thank goodness.  The sound from the back of the harp is not that great.  It wasn’t until I used the Zoom H2 to record that I could appreciate what others heard.  And I was delighted!

I can upload the recording to my computer and play it through my speakers attached to the computer.  It has been very helpful in helping me identify the places that need more work. I took the H2 and some computer speakers to my harp lesson and it was very helpful for my teacher and me to be able to listen and critique it together.  

There is quite a bit of technical material that needs to be mastered in order to record an acoustic instrument.  My hope is to be able to capture the rich tones of the harp.  I think I am almost there.  I have also recorded and uploaded the recording to Garageband so that I can add things like reverb - my goal is simply to be able to make the recording sound like how the harp sounds in person.  Spending time tweaking the H2 and then working with Garageband is like spending time on Ravelry.  

And this is no illusion - I received the following pictures of some Chiengora that is on it’s way from Kelly of I Did a Twist

It is her Husky, Zues, and merino - isn’t it gorgeous?  Look how consistent it is - and look at this...

  

And this...

I can’t wait...

Grateful Thursdays: Orphans, Red Scarves, Heroes and Miracles

(My original post had a missing paragraph (or two) - the paragraphs have now been added.)

ORPHANS 

My mother’s life began as some fairy tales and myths do:  she entered this world as an orphan.  

Her mother died during child birth and her father allowed an elderly aunt and uncle to adopt her.  Although her father was alive, from my mother’s perspective, he might as well had been dead.  He raised my mother’s young brothers but never had a relationship with my mother.  

As in some fairy tales and myths, my mother’s childhood was a difficult one.  Her adopted mother was “old school” and taught her the danger of fire by putting her tiny hand on the burner. School was not much different as she attended parochial schools where the nuns were rattlesnake mean, like her adopted mother.

Holidays were always problematic for my mother.  As a child, the gift that she loved the most was a heavy wooden sled, and it was far too heavy for her to haul up the hills.  It became somewhat of a metaphor for her life.

On holidays her father never contacted her.  There were no gifts, and there were no calls. I don’t believe that they ever spoke.  Birthdays presented the greatest emotional and spiritual challenge for her.  

There was one birthday that was particularly difficult.  She had left “home,” had earned her education on her own, and was an air traffic controller in a new town, just twenty miles from where I now live.  It was sometime in the forties. She was on her own and she was actually somewhat happy with her circumstances. I believe she liked her job and I don’t believe she had any supervision.  On her birthday she became so sad that she could not work, and she simply left her job.  I believe she was the only air traffic controller on duty. This abandonment of her job could have been tragic.  Luckily it was not - probably because the airport had a total of two flights per day and the landing strip was most likely surrounded by cow pasture.  

I think that my mother’s anecdote sheds some light on how difficult life can be when there is no support system for young adults without families.  And I believe that is the case for many young adults who leave the foster care system.  The Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) developed a special charity project which brings encouragement.  The Foundation sends a Valentine’s Day Care Package which includes a hand knit red scarf as well as other goodies to a OFA student enrolled in college or trade school.  The project has been a success and is known as the Red Scarf Project.  And of course the knitting community knits and donates the red scarves for the project.

I think that the project is an important one.  I believe my mother might have made different choices had she received a gift from a stranger who spent time to create something in the hope of making the day a little easier.   One of the things that I don’t believe she realized was that her birth and childhood was actually the stuff that that serve as a foundation for myths and fairy tales.  She wasn’t conscious of the fact that many heroes and heroines begin as orphans.  Examples found in fiction include, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Dorothy. 

I believe that the Red Scarf Project can serve as a way to help young adults in their Hero’s Journey. For my mother, getting through the holidays was a trial for the Hero.  To deal with her birthday she needed a transformation of consciousness.  I believe that the Valentine Day’s care packages have the seeds that could lead to such a transformation.

My mother was a knitter.  She made beautiful sweaters for me.  She taught me to knit. And her last knitted gift to me before she died was a gorgeous burgundy, mohair afghan - a very large red scarf.  It is meaningful to me because the closest thing she knew of bliss was knitting, and I am certain she was experiencing bliss while she created it.

On this grateful Thursday I am grateful for those who are participating in the Red Scarf Project, and I hope they know what an important contribution they are making in the transformation of consciousness.

 

MIRACLES

On this grateful Thursday I am grateful for a miracle which occurred on Tuesday.  Peachy was undergoing her final heart worm injection.  Dr Jones noticed that her eye was red. Peachy only has sight in one eye - and that eye had undergone cataract surgery in May. (And as an aside, I had taken a picture of Peachy that morning and posted it to my blog. While working with the photo, I noticed a little cloudiness in her eye with sight that the camera’s flash had picked up.)  She measured the pressure and found that it was 40. Anything under 24 is normal, and when pressure is high, permanent blindness occurs.  This had happened to our girl, Poupon.  I picked her up from Dr. Jones’s office and rushed her to Animal Eye Care. By the time we arrived her pressure had increased to 55. Within two hours the wonderful staff of Animal Eye Care decreased her eye pressure to 14.  

It is nothing short of a miracle that her vision was restored.  

She is doing fine - we spent most of yesterday at Animal Eye Care so that her pressure could be monitored.  We will be returning tomorrow and Monday for more pressure checks.  

It does not appear that her vision has been degraded.  Truly a miracle.  Squirrel season is still scheduled to resume on January 10 - which I consider to be another miracle in light of yesterday’s events.

Ms. Calendar Cover Girl

The Friends for Life, Robeson County Humane Society Calendar arrived yesterday afternoon.  It was perfect.

Ms. Peachy is MS. FEBRUARY AND (a perfect month for her as she is so incredibly affectionate!)

 

SHE IS ON THE COVER!!!!

 

The arrival of the calendar was perfect timing because yesterday Ms. Peachy spent the day at Dr. Jones’s office for her heartworm treatment.  She did great!!!!  No fussing or whining, such a brave girl. The arrival of the calendar was an added bonus on a difficult day.

When I picked her up last night, I dropped off a calendar for Dr. Jones’s office.  While we were there the calendar was passed from person to person, and everyone enjoyed the pictures and the stories.  The story of Bitsy, the little black and white kitty, was particularly touching. Bitsy is Ms. January.  As a kitten she was found covered in oil, gasoline and mud........now she and her very big, black lab brother are inseparable.  

This morning Ms. Peachy had to go back for her final heart worm treatment injection. Last night she was really near normal in terms of spirits, she just wasn’t as bouncy - which was a good thing.  Taking her back this morning was tough.  Our strange morning routine was similar to yesterday’s and I think she suspected that something was up particularly when breakfast wasn’t served.  

I snapped a quick picture of her before we left - and she looks worried.  I sat with Peachy at Dr. Jones’s office for awhile and she didn’t tremble or have a fear response. I know that the site of the heartworm treatment injection is very painful, and this whole process must be very scary for her.  However, she is a strong, courageous little gal.  

After a little more exercise restriction for Ms. Calendar Cover Girl, it will be all fun and bliss with breakfast served on time. 

Decisions

It’s been a difficult week on the knitting front.  I was trying to get Aeolian #3 finished so that I could get it in the mail to Jo Ann, my mother in law, LAST Tuesday.  

That would have been possible.  

At 7PM on Monday night I was finishing the next to last patterned row. I figured I would be done with the last rows and bind off, and blocking around 11PM.  Row 31 of the alternate edging is a bit of a Rambo row because of the amount of beading and decreases.  I was half way through that row (which took about an hour) when I decided I did not like the beads.  They simply are not spectacular.  I did not want anything showy but these beads look like dog spittle...which is not horrible, particularly in view of my love for dogs... but I wanted a different look.

And to be completely honest, I was not sure that I even liked the Aeolian in Sea Silk.

 

I spent a good bit of time stretching it, trying to see what it would look like when it was blocked, and speculating if I would like it any better.  I asked Eric’s opinion and he thought everything was fine.  I was hoping that this Aeolian would be beyond fine.

The Aeolian is exactly where it was at 7PM Monday night.   And as I see it, there are three options:

1.  Finish it (with another three hour investment), block it and then reassess.

2.  Rip back to row 8 of the alternate edging (ahem, I don’t have a single life line) which is where the beading starts.  Row 8 is mostly stockinette stitch so I should be able to rip it rather than tink.  I am thinking about inserting a “lifeline" under the "right legs" of each stitch on row 7 for insurance.  

Then I can do one of two things, finish it without beads or find another bead that works better.  

3.  Frog it and restart it in a lace weight yarn.

When I switched from the Sundara to the Sea Silk I totally forgot that I had this in my stash.  (My stash is so small it is incredible that I forgot that I had this.)  This yarn would present no problems with respect to beads - any size eight would work.  It’s 100% tussah silk by Tactile Fiber Arts. 

 So while I am awaiting a decision, I began to knit some holiday gifts for the dog people in our lives. 

 

I am using Chiengora - yarn made from dog fur and wool.  It’s a 50-50 blend.  Before you say EEEWW, it does not smell when it is wet.  Last year I made these from chiengora - and when I blocked them, the most extraordinary thing happened - it didn’t even smell like wool. There was no odor of any kind.  As I work with the yarn, it forms a lovely halo.  It is very soft, the color is lovely and the chiengora is eight times warmer than wool.  

And speaking of dog fur, today is Mark Twain’s birthday.  In a letter he said, "The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.”  And I agree with him.  Hoping you are surrounded by dogs, Mr. Twain. 

Grateful Thursdays

A number of years ago I spent the Thanksgiving weekend reading Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices which Create Miracles by Caroline Myss.  The book has had a profound effect on my life in helping me step outside the bounds of my comfort zone.

The book had an immediate effect - that weekend I decided to provide a home for a five year old sheltie whose sole purpose was to have litter after litter at a commercial kennel - AKA puppy mill.  The decision was based simply upon the idea that this dog needed a home, and it was the right thing to do.  She was not at all socialized, and she was terrified of Eric.  She also displayed fear aggression.  Being inside the house was quite unnerving for her and that first winter was a tough one for everyone.  I had no idea that every problem would be resolved...perfectly. 

Life is very different for her now.  

She is confident and easy going...she gets along beautifully with everyone...

 ... she is gentle with the small poodles...she has the most tender spirit....and I am very thankful for this very special friend.

A year ago the world was very different for Ms. Personality, Peachy.  It is almost exactly one year ago that the Friends for Life Volunteers pulled Peachy from a kill shelter.  At that time she did not even look like a poodle.  So for Peachy, Thanksgiving is kind of an anniversary.  She lived in the Friends for Life, Robeson Humane Society's lovely office spaces and was their mascot.  I remember first seeing her on Petfinder and thinking, oh, she will be adopted very quickly.  But I was wrong, and when I still saw her still listed in the middle of January, I called to inquire. It was somewhat of a coincidence last night - the eve of Thanksgiving- that I received the following email (the poodle in pink is our Peachy):

Hi, everyone!

I'm so excited, I just couldn't wait for next week's newsletter to let you know that the Robeson County Humane Society's 2010 Wall Calendar is here! 

Each page displays full color, before and after pictures of a dog or cat who went from rags to riches, along with their story. Every one of them were rescued right here in Robeson County, North Carolina by the Robeson County Humane Society. 

The Wall Calendar is in full color, glossy paper, and is 11 inches wide by 17 inches tall.

This is a Limited Edition, so please get your order in quickly while supplies last!

Pick up the Calendar at the Friends for Life Animal Shelter located at 3180 West 5th Street in Lumberton beginning Sunday, November 30 for ONLY $12 each. Or place your order online and pay $14 each, which includes shipping and handling!

Please pass the word - these make great stocking stuffers and 100% of the purchase price goes to saving the lives of more dogs and cats, thanks to corporate sponsors who helped us by paying the printing costs.

The sponsors were (in alphabetical order): Baird's Animal Hospital, Bowen & Berry PLLC, Jerry Johnson Chevrolet-Cadillac-Buick-Pontiac-GMC, Nelson Price & Associates, North End Veterinary Clinic, PostNet and an Anonymous Donor. 

Here Peachy is today having a giggle and a snicker with her poodle buddies

I am so very grateful to the Robeson Humane Society, Friends for Life for their work in rescuing companion animals.  I am also grateful to the work of individuals who devote their lives to helping animals in need.  Like my friend, Tammie, who is solely responsible for saving this little one's life...Eric's been calling her Lucifer Lite...she just has that other worldly glow as well a huge, big bad 'tude (and she bites him at least once a day). 

And as I predicted, the three foot tall impatiens were with us on Thanksgiving.  They've perked up a bit after the Nor'Easter.  

I would be remiss if I did not mention how grateful I am to see the world change for the better.  I never thought I would live long enough to see a black man become president of the United States.  

I am grateful for the service of the men and women who protect my freedom - those in the military or working as "civilians."  In many respects, I have insight into the depth of their sacrifices as both Eric and I had careers in the Navy and are retired from active duty.   I have a great deal of hope that military service will evolve into something much different, and I will be very grateful to see that day.