One stitch to rule them all!

additional pics for the knitting challenge over on Craftster. More info later (The Gaming One must game!)

Lela

I inherited this 401A Singer from my Great Grandmother, Lela. I have had it for years, and before that it sat at my Mom's house gathering dust. This past week I decided it was damn time it worked (partly due to the awesome quilt Steph made, but I digress) and took it to have a little much needed TLC. This machine is over 50 years old and let me tell ya'll it still sews like a champ. It seems to remember the miles of thread that has traveled through it before, and has given me no problems.

I have been sitting thinking of my dear grandmother as I sew, feeling connected to her as my fingers are just where hers where for so many years. Saying this woman was amazing would be an understatement. Sometime during the early 1940's, after the birth of her fourth child, her husband left her for another woman. He moved to California never to be seen again. My Great Grandmother never remarried, had no family that lived near and still managed to raise four small children all alone. I could not imagine what that must have been like. She mainly kept to herself and preferred not to talk of the past.

By the time I knew her she had a sewing addiction for sure. I remember her sewing storage room: A bare bulb hung from the ceiling illuminating an ironing board island surrounded by a sea of cloth and doll parts. The smell of moth balls wafting out of everything. There were closets so full of cloth you could not see the floor. Half finished dolls, patiently waiting for an arm or perhaps a face. Lela made hundreds of cloth dolls and I bet that every child that was supported by The Christian Children's Fund in the 70's - 90's has one of her dolls. She made them for less fortunate kids, the homeless. I would love to have one of those dolls now. I was amazed by that room, with all the different colors, prints, textures. How I wish she could have lived to see my interest in all things crafty.

She also made her own clothes. For some reason she always choose crazy polyester prints to make her matching pants suits. I don't think I ever saw her when she was not wearing polyester. Oh yeah, and she was mostly deaf. So it was always comical to have conversations with her. One I really remember between her and my oldest sister... Lela was well into her 80's at this time.
Sister: So did you have a good time in California?
Lela: Oh yes, we had lots of fun.
Sister: What did you do?
Lela: aye? (cupping her ear)
Sister: Did you go surfing?
Lela: yeah lots of times.

I can never smell peppermint without thinking of hers growing in her back yard garden. Ahhh....memories.

On the needles

Here are the first few fishies for my Tessellating fish afghan. I have not the heart to calculate how many of these I will have to make to have an afghan worth... So far I have enough to make a dishtowel.

Here is the beginning of my entry for the Knitting Challenge on Craftster. I am thinking 3/4 length sleeves, tunic length, as well as garter stitch lace v neck. We shall see what happens as I have never attempted to knit anything for myself without a pattern. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft -color soft yellow (this pic is a bit washed out...the color is a bit brighter) Size 6 needles.
Icarus is poking right along. I am almost to the end of the first skein. Lace looks so small and pitiful while on the needles.
Twinkletoes seemed like such an awesome idea. I knew The Girl Wonder would love them. I loved the pics on Knitty...maybe I am not getting gauge, perhaps I am reading the pattern wrong. But this does not look like the ones pictured on Knitty.
So, I adapted them a bit. Fewer cast on stitches, shorter toe, no short row heel, single crochet around edge and crochet ties. This is my third attempt. Personally, I think they look more like ballet slippers, but who am I to say...at least they do not have a funky heel. They are still not quite right, but I am getting closer.
That is all the knitting for now. I have officially been blogging a year now, which is a major thing for me. Hobbies do not generally "stick" with me. My step-dad has told me time and again "I am so proud of you for sticking with knitting like you have...you are usually not the type to stick with things." I have never written in journals for more than a few pages, and here I am a year later still going strong! Thanks to all y'all that have left me such nice comments and good advice throughout the past year! I appreciate y'all more than you know!

2006 Finished Objects

Red Baby Shoes

Five Hour Baby Sweater

Pinwheel Baby Blanket

Pinky

Eve

Anthropologie Capelet

Lolita Legs

Elephant

Monkey

Clapotis

Somewhat Cowl

Saving Grace

Anthro. inspired

Swallowtail Shawl

Silk Corset Top

Modified Razor Cami

The Gaming One's Socks

Starsky

Nephew's Raglan

Miss Dashwood

Daisy Baby Hat

take two...

I just spent over an hour composing a post full of self-doubt and my computer froze and the post is gone...Is that the universe telling me to keep those thoughts to myself? perhaps. I have not the time or energy to try to recap it all. So no personal thoughts today. We are all probably better off. Perhaps I should start another blog for my ranting and self doubt and keep this one strictly knitting.

Needing motivation I have decided to join a Craftster Knitting Challenge. So far all is going well and I will give more details as my project progresses. I have also started a tessellating fish afghan to use up my acrylic stash. It is a fun project so far, very portable and I am really loving how the little fish are fitting together. I am weaving in the loose ends as I finish each fish so piecing together will not be so horrible. I will try to take pics tomorrow as it is dark now and we all know that my picture taking is sucky enough in daylight and downright craptastic at night....I blame the camera.

Twinkletoes is still waiting for it's mate. I really am not happy with the way the third attempt looks, but The Girl Wonder thinks they are cute, and she will not be wearing them to any beauty contests so I guess they will be fine. sigh. I hate "fine" I prefer "ohhh, those are awesome" but don't we all.

The Icarus Shawl is at that stage that I am really wishing the gnomes will complete the last pattern repeat for the first chart as I am bored with it....also, I realized I forgot a ssk about 8 rows back and can't decide if I want to ladder down and fix it or just do an extra ssk on the row I am on. No one would ever notice (except me that is). I do know I am not frogging those 8 rows because I can't bear to knit them again.

I hope y'all are keeping all your resolutions if you made them. I don't make new year resolutions...I make birthday resolutions...but I usually don't keep them either...

I just realized that in three days my blog will be 1 year old. I can't believe that I have stuck with it this long...as I am notorious for starting things but not sticking with them.