NC Knitter's Blog

Quotes

2012-01-21T03:58:00.001-08:00

I've saved a lot of clippings over the years. Some are recipes (OK, LOTS are recipes!), some are obituaries. Many are quotes that stopped me in my tracks because they gave me a new perspective on some quandary that I had recognized. Here are two from this week.

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.---Marc Chagall

Don't mistake the wound of the world for the world.

Musings on Jobs

2010-06-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Over the last year, my work scheduled has gone through some changes --- one job has shrunk and another has expanded. I now often work two or three evenings a week instead of just one (and, fortunately, I rarely work Sunday afternoons anymore!).

This has meant that I'm often looking for somewhere to eat supper after 9:00 p.m. There are not a lot of choices (other than fast food!) at that hour of the day. There is a local chain of Italian restaurants that are open to 11:00. One local restaurant is open 24/7 which has comfort food, but I can only take that about once a week. (A similar one closed when the interstate was widened, and although it has re-opened in another location, it is, sadly, no longer 24/7.) My favorite restaurant closes about 9 p.m. If I can get there before 9 a.m., the owner will serve me since he's there till 9:30 or 10:00 getting ready for the next day.

Which brings me to a local chicken 'n' biscuit place. They close the dining room at 10:00, and if you arrive after 9:30 and place an order to eat in, you are pointedly informed that the dining room will be closing in 29 minutes. This seems silly (and unwelcoming) to me because the drive-through stays open for another hour or two. They have usually done most of the cleaning in the dining room --- they could simply block off most of the dining room for the last hour or so just as my breakfast hangout does for the last hour before closing.

I know it's not always easy to maintain grace under pressure. I've never worked that kind of job, so I'm not familiar with the kind of pressures that that line of work carries. I've never had a job with a time clock, and I've never had to wear a badge or nametag. One of my brothers worked in food service for many years, so I'm going to ask him about what it was like.

A friend of mine just wrote a blog about his struggles with jobs contributing too much to his identity. I know just what he means. About 14 years ago, I left a job of many years. Sometimes it was too much a part of my identity. The interesting thing was that after I left, I didn't miss the job per se, but I did miss the work I had been doing and realized that the work had affected me positively even though the job (the trappings of employment) had sometimes been toxic.

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-26T04:59:00.001-08:00

Christmas Day was rainy --- all day long!

I didn't have to play anywhere, so I slept in till about 6 (that IS sleeping in for me!), but didn't get out of bed till almost 8.

Went out and got some breakfast (the food was good but the restaurant was having HVAC trouble and it was COLD) and read the paper.

Then I opened presents and cards.

Lunch was with friends. I took a bottle of Carménère. We had turkey breast, carrots, broccoli salad (not!), potatoes, apple and onion stuffing, turnip soufflé (not!), with figgy pudding (YES! YES! YES!) and mincemeat pie for dessert. After lunch, most of the folks played Liverpool Rummy, while I had a nap, then worked on a crocheted afghan.

This past week I finished a crocheted striped (claret, burgundy) prayer shawl for a person at church who has been diagnozed with a tumor (pancreas?). I know this person, so it was special to be able to do it for her. I'm going to make another one, along with a simpler variation, so I can take pictures and write a proper pattern for them.

Merry Christmas!

In the Midst of Music

2009-11-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season, so they say.

Have played two funerals this month. The first was very ordinary. The second, today, was unsual (for me, anyways). I was filling in for a colleague who is away for the Thanksgiving weekend. On the music list was UNC's song, "Hark the Sound." Seemed odd, especially since the deceased was NOT an alumna as far as I could tell. During one of the "witnesses" (read "eulogy"), a woman told this joke: Q: Why don't Southern Ladies go to orgies? A: Too many thank you notes to write. Seemed out of place to me. Especially in a church funeral service.

Yesterday I played a wedding for a (different) colleague. All went well except that I forgot to play "something" on the chimes to signal the minister, groom, and best man to enter. They figured it out and came in at the right moment just the same.

Used a lot of the same prelude music for both the wedding and the funeral (Walter/Vivialdi Concerto in B minor; Bach Nun freut' euch; Bach Von Gott will ich nicht lassen; Pachelbell Canon in D; Bach Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring).

This week begins Christmas music with a vengeance. This week there is a concert on Tuesday evening, a rehearsal on Thursday evening, and concert on Friday evening. The following week includes playing (organ) for two dinner parties, another rehearsal, and another concert. And it goes one like that for most of December.

Hope to deliver tomorrow the baby blanket that has been sitting, finished, since before the baby was born. I've got a card, gift bag, and tissue paper all ready. Just have to figure out which knitting bag it's in.

Am working on several prayer shawls. I had a request for one for someone specific, so have settled on a design (stripes in shades of red) and have started crocheting it. It shouldn't take me too long.

Mother broke her hip and fell (that's the sequence that the doctors confirmed). She got a new hip. We are hoping the severe pain in her leg was from deterioration or cracking of the hip over the last two years. On a scale of 1 to 10, she said that her pain had been a 40!

Best quote of the week: "Food and love both begin with looking."

Compline

2009-08-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first Compline of the fall semester at the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC, where I am a member. I'd forgotten that they resumed tonight until someone mentioned it on Facebook. I still had enought time to get there, so I went.

20 singers + 1 thurifer. Nave full. Candlelight (except for music stand lights for the singers). LOTS of incense!

The picture was taken just before the service began. I tried to take some indoor pictures, but they didn't turn out well --- I think I had the camera on the wrong setting.

An exciting event took place at the end --- a man proposed to his girlfriend (yes, got down on one knee!) and she accepted.

Way Behind

2009-07-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I've been to the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat and a worship and music conference. I finished a white baby blanket for one of the prayer shawl groups and am in the middle of several shawls.

At the MSKR '09, everyone brought a 15"x15" square to contribute to a blanket as a gift to Easton Mountain. Joe bravely volunteered to do all the assembly. As you can imagine, it was not possible to assemble a queen-sized blanket over a long weekend, so he took it home to finish. Soon he shipped it to me. I had volunteered to put the border on it. I am finally on the last round! The first two rows were 1100 stitches each and the last two rows are 2750 rows each. And since I get almost no tv channels since the big switcheroo, there isn't much to watch while I'm working on it. The color of the border is olive, so I am grateful for my lighted crochet hook.

While I was working on the above-mentioned white baby blanket, the wooden handle on my aluminum crochet hook became detached. Just as a test, I worked the rest with a full-length hook inserted into the wooden handle. It worked very well, so I'm going to glue the long hook into the handle instead of the chopped-off one it came with. I also used, for some of the time, a Brittany hook. It is a longer style and more comfortable. Longer hooks are definitely the way to go!

After the worship and music conference at Montreat, I made a pilgrimage to Yarn Paradise in Asheville, NC. A fabulous place with a huge yarn, book, and magazine inventory. That's where I found the long Brittany hook, along with a new style of needle gauge and a brochure on yarn requirements for crochet projects.

Since I'm almost done with the border on the MSKR blanket, I need to get ready to take lots of pictures of it. I went to Wolf Camera at University Mall and did a little browsing for a decent digital camera. I am not satisfied yet that I know what I want, so I didn't get anything. I'm going to do a little more research this weekend.

I'm planning to write an entire blog about the MSRK, so stay tuned for that.

Just Enough Ruffles Scarf

2009-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

I took at class at our local shop, Cozy, on the pattern "Just Enough Ruffles Scarf," from www.cosmicpluto.com. It was very interesting. I was really more interested in the ruffles, but the point of the class was to get some experience in the short-row technique. I used a silk wool yarn on size 6 needles. We started the class by knitting a miniature version so we could make sure we understood all the techniques involved. I went ahead and did the entire scarf in miniature, and I'm glad I did. I decided that I needed to use the size 6 needles to make the ruffle really "ruffly"! I got my scarf done in time for the second (and last) class, which was postponed due to the threat of snow. I've donated the scarf to the youth auction (tomorrow) at Watts Street Baptist Church (where I'm organist). I've started a second scarf in a medium blue wool. I think there are some weaknesses in the pattern. There seems to be a row missing after the garter stitch beginning. And the garter stitch ends up rolling. I'm following the pattern for the second one, but if I do more of them, I will experiment with seed stitch and ribbing to start.

Have a difficult wedding to play today. Did not get the music list (I wasn't consulted) till late in the game, so have had to work harder and faster on the Widor Toccata (V) than I would have liked. Fortunately, I'd already started to resurrect it for a recital here on May 31. The trumpeter will turn pages for me.

Have fallen behind on my reading mentioned here earlier. Maybe I'll get some done while at the beach next weekend.

There is a call for original patterns for prayer shawls. I'm going to design one meant for men and submit it. Pattern and sample has to be turned in by May 24, so I've got to get moving. I've already designed it in my head, but I need to write it down and actually crochet it pretty soon.

I was talking to an acquaintance recently and she suggested that maybe my fatigue is "adrenal fatigue." I did some reasearch on line and didn't come up with a whole lot of information, but it certainly is possible.

Have an annual church financial audit starting Monday. I got several boxes of materials packed this morning and will go back tomorrow to finish packing stuff up and run the last of the reports I usually have on hand. This one is earlier than usual, for which I'm thankful.

February 15, 2009

2009-02-16T07:30:00.001-08:00

I'm shipping the purple shawl to my sister-in-law today. I'll e-mail her and let her know to expect it.

Am almost done with the mohair shawl for the St. Philip's J2A auction. I thought I'd get it done on Saturday, but didn't have enough yarn with me. When I got home that night, I spent the evening unraveling (not always easy with mohair!) an abandoned shawl using the same yarn. Got about 2/3 of the ruffle knitted yesterday. I should be able to get it completely done this evening and turn it in tomorrow.

Have just started reading Phyllis Tickle's "The Great Emergence." The world's great religions seem "re-set" every 500 years of so.

Am also reading a book on writing by Pat Schneider. It was listed as recommended reading by the leader of a writing workshop I'm going to next month.

I'lll be having extra bloodwork done at my physical next month to try to pinpoint a cause or causes for my persistent weariness.

Scarf finished

2009-02-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the knitting on the exchange scarf. I blocked it yesterday, but it may need to be lightly pressed before I'll be satisfied with it. Hopefully I can get it in the mail before the end of this week.

Now to really steam ahead on the mohair shawl for the fundraiser on the 21st!

Finally finished all my January bookkeeping crunches. Still have tons to do, but the pressure is off.

Still January

2009-01-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Can't belief January is over half gone. Wish it were over, since it is my busiest month!

Last Friday, as I was locking my apartment door, I saw through the lobby door that someone had picked up my newspaper and was walking away with it! I ran out and said, "Excuse me, but that's my paper." He turned around and came back, saying, "I was just going to read the sports section." Now, I only look at the sports section if Penn State is playing bowl game. But it was MY sports section just the same. He look very embarrassed, of course. I think he is one of regulars at Biscuitville at the end of my street. Haven't seen him there since.

Today I am enjoying some unanticipated free time due to a snow storm. When I looked out at 4 a.m. (and my paper had already arrived, so I retrieved it then and there, just in case), it was snowing, but the streets were just wet. Of course, there is now a layer of ice under the snow. About 9 a.m. I cleaned off the car (which I just got back from the shop, complete with a replaced engine, yesterday) and drove to the end of the street for breakfast. Street not in good shape. By the time I came out 30 minutes later, the windshielf and back window had already iced over.

Then went four blocks in the other direction to check on the church. All was well there, but that part of the street was in worse shape and the parking lot was an ice rink!

So, I will have some knitting time today. The exchange scarf is about half done. I've already gathered together the "goodies" to send along. Still have a ways to go on the shawl for the fund-raising auction at St. Philip's, but I should still be able to get it done in time.

Half of January already gone!

2009-01-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

Where did the first half of January go??

Have gotten through a financial restructuring at one of my jobs. The accountants hired to help with this were not very easy to work with, but we all minded our manners and got through it fairly smoothly. Getting ready for that (they were on site two days this week!) is where most of my January went!

Am finally moving along on the scarf for the MWKSE2. I have to use up the first ball of yarn tonight so I can calculate if I need more than the 4 balls I've already purchased.

Am also moving along on the fund-raiser shawl (beige mohair with ruffles on the ends). Need to have that done by the end of the month.

Then I'm going to concentrate on finishing two shawls in time to take them to the MSKR '09. One is purple and crocheted. The other is knitted in an off-white alpaca in Old Shale. I got distracted the last time I was working on it and made a mistake somewhere. I have to unknit about 3 more rows until I'm back on track.

On the 6th Day of Christmas . . .

2008-12-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

1. I finished the purple stole for my sister-in-law. Just need to get it packed and shipped.

2. Managed to do on time all the charitable giving I'd planned for 2008.

3. Finished winding the yarn for my Men Who Knit Scarf Exchange Scarf. I've decided on the pattern. Just need to knit a swatch to get the gauge, then it's off to the races (it's due 1/20!).

4. Finished reading "Amarcord" by Marcella Hazan. The Queen of Italian Cooking (she did for Italian cooking what Julia Child did for French cooking) has written a fascinating memoir. Highly recommended if you're into food, into Italian food (or Italians!), or into memoirs.

5. Printed up a first batch of Epiphany cards. Need to get started on addressing and mailing them!

6. Remembered to update this blog!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

The 2nd Day of Christmas

2008-12-26T04:07:00.001-08:00

Only managed to finish 5 hats (crochet) for the Knit 1 Save 1 project for Save the Children. I have not yet heard how many our group at FPC did.

Am almost done with the purple shawl for my sister-in-law. Just have to do the stripes to finish it off, then weave in ends. I thought I might get to visit her and my brother over Christmas, but now it doesn't look likely. Will have to ship it to her.

One of the churches I work for has an auction every other year to help fund the youth group's pilgrimage. I don't remember where they're going , but I have agreed to donate something. I have a mohair shawl on my needles that is not already spoken for, so that will be it.

My bookkeeping work will keep me very busy over the next five weeks. So, after the shawls are done, I will concentrate on my Scarf Exchange project (due 1/20). I finally found the yarn I want and have settled on a pattern. Just have to wind the hank before I get started.

This year I decided to put together my own card for Epiphany. The lay-out is done. I just have to get some cardstock and print them. I found an 15th-century German painting of the Adoration of the Magi and will use that, along with some verses from the carol "What Child Is This."

I'll need to work some today, but nothing too stressful as far as I can tell. Got up early so I could finish reading one of my Christmas presents ("All I Could Bare" by Craig Seymour). It was fascinating. I also got some interesting DVD's which I will have to watch on my laptop or wait till I get a new TV (mine is dying fast). One of my projects today is to do some more shopping for a new TV.

Spent a nice day yesterday. For the first time in a long time (decades, I think), I didn't have to play anywhere on Christmas morning. So I slept in for a change. Had a nice lunch with friends at 1 p.m. After lunch, I worked on a crocheted prayer shawl while the others played Liverpool Rummy. Then at 4:30, a friend and I went to the Christmas party of the owner of our favorite restaurant. We did a Chinese gift exchange. I took an egg cuber and came home with a large-print calculator.

I have to work a lot tomorrow, but I'm not playing on Sunday, so that will be another day to sleep in!

Project News; What I'm Reading

2008-12-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for my sister-in-law's purple shawl. I have one more skein of purple to crochet, then add the border at the end. I don't think I'll add any fringe as it will detract from the border (gray and purple stripes).

I'm crocheting a prayer shawl in claret (in lengthwise ridges). I like the color and bought all the yarn they had at the time, so I'll be able to make several of these.

I've crocheted 5 hats for the Knit 1 Save 1 project for Save the Children. The group at First Presbyterian, Durham, did over 100 last year. I think I did six, so will try for 12 by the December 21 deadline. Without interruptions, I can do one in about an hour.

I'm reading H.V. Morton's "In the Steps of the Master" about his trip to the Holy Land in 1934. I'm sure some of it is not dated, but it is fascinating to read his descriptions. I will have to read it a second time and take notes. One fascinating passage describes the probable location of Jesus' 40 days in the dessert. It is a bleak and desolate place, which makes the Devil's taunts even more tempting. There ought to be some retreat meditation material there.

I got a copy of "Son of Stitch 'n' Bitch." It was interesting, but not many projects that I would make. In "Stitch 'n' Bitch" I found only one pattern that I liked (a baby blanket in a four-square basketweave). I made one for the church bazaar and have a commission to make a second one by sometime in May.

I'm in the midst of planning a scarf for the Men Who Knit Scarf Exchange 2. I got some Skacel Merino Lace in Teal and want some gray to go with it, but I'm having a hard time finding it. I may have to re-group and think of something else. I'm contemplating some sort of herringbone pattern.

Bazaar results

2008-11-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

The church bazaar was Saturday. The baby blanket knit with two stands of variegated sold, and I got a commission to do another one. The sailor scarf did not sell, but I got a commission to make one like it in wool in a different colorway. So the bazaar will end up making $80 from my stuff, eventually.

This morning I finished a crocheted prayer shawl. St. Matthew's needs several shawls this week, so I will drive it up there tomorrow. It is worsted weight in a claret color. I worked a swatch to do another one in double crochet ridges, so I'll get that one going tonight.

I will get up early tomorrow to vote. My polling place is just a 5-block walk from home. So I will plan to be there before the 6:30 a.m. opening time. I will, of course, have a knitting project with me in case there is a line. If I heard correctly, over half the registered voters in Durham have already voted! Wonderful!

Bazaar knitting and other stuff

2008-10-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is the annual bazaar at Watts Street Baptist Church in Durham, NC, where I am the organist. I knit them a few scarves every year. This year I'm using a Paton's yarn called Paint Box to make the seaman's institute pattern. I think I'll have two completed in time.

At one of my bookkeeping churches, this was financial review week. I had quite a bit to do over the last several weeks to get ready for it since they haven't had one in several years. Now that we are past the on-site portion, I feel like I can have my life back.

I have signed up for the Men Who Knit Scarf Exchange. This is the second one they have sponsored (I couldn't participate in the first one). It will be just over two weeks until I get the information on my "spoilee."

My gut problem seems to have improved since I started assaulting it with yogurt. I ran out for a day or two, and it seemed like the condition had returned somewhat. I'm stocked up again now, so I'm hoping that the improvement will return.

Weather turned cold overnight, so I had to dig out a hat this morning. I grabbed a shawl to wear under my coat --- it was the prayer shawl I was given last year before the first of my surgeries. It was a great comfort then, and it still is.

End of a Full Week

2008-10-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

I knew it would be a full week. And it was.

I finished the retirement shawl (cream mohair, ruffle on each end, a version of basketweave called "mint flip" for the body). I have to make a date with the recipient to give it to her. She likes lighthouses, so I'm going to give her a photograph card with a lighthouse on it as well.

I delivered a white baby blanket to a friend for the Interfaith Hospitality Network fund-raiser. Glad I had it on hand.

One of the priests at my parish has a new son, so the other baby blanket may go there, though I did do a blanket for their first child; I may rely on them to hand it down to son #2. Other wise it may go to the bazaar at the church where I'm organist (Watts Street Baptist, Durham, NC).

Last night, went to the first half of an organ recital in Raleigh (NC). The organ is not terribly good (though it is brand new -- $2 million). The organist was so-so. We left at intermission to go to supper at Bella Monica, a very good Italian restaurant in Raleigh. They do great flat bread pizzas!

And since we were near a grocery store, did some grocery shopping. I'm learning to eat yogurt in the hopes of solving my long-standing gut problem. So far, it seems to be helping. Greek-style, low fat yogurt seems the best. It's just like eating sour cream, but with less guilt!

Worked at one of my bookkeeping jobs for several hours today. Then stopped for lunch. Read the new Lion Brand book on prayer shawls (vol. 2). I don't think much of the Homespun yarn that is recommended, so I generally use other yarns.

Am now waiting to practice for tomorrow's service. The pastor is rehearsing his sermon right now, so I'll slip in after he's done.

I'm playing a lunch-time recital at the Chapel of the Cross (Chapel Hill, NC) on November 12, so I'll do some practicing for that as well.

Then I'll probably spend the evening at home attending to laundry and trying to finish a prayer shawl for a meeting tomorrow.

Monday, again

2008-10-06T03:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Monday again.

The swatch of the Seafoam stitch pattern didn't work. I'll have to try it again on smaller needles.

So, at prayer shawl group, I worked on the cream mohair shawl being knit for a colleague's retirement. Only two rows to go, then bind off and weave in ends. It is late, so I'll take it to her house this week.

A friend e-mailed asking if I had something to donate for the Interfaith Hospitality Network auction. I do. A knitted white baby blanket. Glad I have it on hand.

Have just received a book of quotations for the Church Year. Lots of good stuff. I'm sure quotes will appear here.

Have a good week.

TGIF

2008-10-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

Friday.

Finally!

This has been a long week. The secular company I work for moved last week, so this week was spent unpacking (not done yet --- a long way to go!) and trouble-shooting move-related glitches (like getting the newspaper subscription changed --- still not solved). On top of which I've been trying to get rid of a minor cold.

One of the church prayer shawl groups is taking part in a fund-raiser later this year. The festival is based on fund-raisers that a group had in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. In the minutes of that group, a seafoam shawl is mentioned. A number of us have tried to track down what this might have been. I discovered a knitted pattern called "seafoam," so I am going make a shawl out of it and donate it to the fund-raiser. The ps group meets tomorrow morning, so this evening I'm going to try to get through the pattern a few times so I can show it to the others.

I have so enjoyed reading others' blogs that today I decided to start this one. I hope to write on a regular basis.