What if......

It is a lovely early Autumn day here in the greater Chicago-land area. The sun is out, the temperature is mild, the sky is aqua blue without a cloud. Yep, it's the perfect time for a "What if.." day.  Yesterday, I was writing an essay about my two grandmothers. These women were unique each in their own way and they were both great influences on the woman I am today and I want their stories written down for my niece, Kate as she will never know them in any other way. One of my fondest memories, besides knitting, crocheting and quilting with them, was a game they use to play with me, "What if..." That's the question we would ask and then fill in the details. What if  I had an empty semi-truck and a million dollars? What if I built a house on the edge of your property and lived fifteen feet away? Then we would spend the day discussing all the possibilities of the "what if." And the best way to play this game was laying together on a blanket in the sun on a cool day out in the yard. The sky was an enormous canvas for our minds to play out the "what if" scenario.

So, with the sky being clear and beautiful today and for as long as the weather complies, it's a great day to play the game. My question today would be, "What if I had a million dollars and 24 hours to spend on knitting supplies?"

There would have to be a plan. I mean that much money and time makes my head spin a little. Would I buy online, spend some of the time driving to LYS, would I be specific about my purchases or buy on mass just to get the goods and then sort them out later. How much could I get for my million dollars? Would I just up and buy a shop pre-filled and start a business? This game may take some time and a lot of iced tea out on the deck. Ah - the muse just came running in - she felt the vibe of the game and wants to play as well. This is the perfect game for the muse, as my good friend, Laurie would say, "She's so excited that she gets silly ears."

So, hopefully you all will have a little time to yourselves today. Take a few minutes and play along. "What if you had one million dollars and 24 hours to spend on buying (fill in your art form here) supplies?"

Let me know how your game turns out.

Peace and joy to you all....
The Green Girl

An Autumn Surprise and Crochet Challenge.....

It was a busy weekend. Saturday, we had to get a new tire for DH car (4 hours.) I thought it was the lost weekend all over again. Then on Sunday we had a double family birthday party for Nic (9) and Kate (2). Although it was cold and windy (definitely time to start thinking warm wooly hand knit socks, scarves and sweaters) we all had really nice time. The children each had several friends attend and there was two very yummy birthday cakes made by my sister in-law, Shona (she is also momma of Nic and Kate.) All in all a lovely event.

Then it was time to return home and try and salvage part of the time spent waiting on Saturday for the tire. That meant (drum roll, please,) you got it - THE LAUNDRY!!! Honestly, I think it just breeds in the laundry room. It's not finished, but at least I got Dave's work clothes done so that he's not walking around the office naked. As the weather has changed, he'd be very cold. Tonight I will drag out the Fall/Winter clothes and get them going in the laundry and get the Spring/Summer stuff put away. This is a chore of great proportion, but I don't really mind as I love this time of year. Really it's like someone just flipped the switch again and we went from furnace hot to chilly in 0.5 seconds. Again, that's ok - it will get colder and that's ok. As "The Yarn Harlot" would say, the furnace wars have begun. How long can we hold out. It will have to get a lot colder.

Then I got the loveliest surprise. I was closing the curtains that look out on the deck and there in the pot of dead flowers from the summer, was one little marigold all in bloom and perfect. There havne't been marigolds in that pot since June. I had to run outside with the camera. There in amongst all that deadness (note to self: get your Autumn gardening done) was this little burst of color. So pretty.  Maybe it's a sign of good things to come this autumn.

This got me thinking about how much I love the colors of Autumn - orange, gold, red, browns. I'm knitting a square for the October MOM (member of the month) for my Baker's Dozen group and it will be orange/red/cream (her choices) but the colors are just right for this season. They remind me of the leaves that are already turning in the neighborhood. I'm really enjoying this square and I had better because I have taken on a challenge with the moderator of my BD group. You see we've been having this discussion that crocheting a square in the round is easier to get the proper size than knitting one. I don't think so. With knitting you do a little calculation at the beginning and you're pretty much assured to get what you want. The crocheters keep saying that they just adjust from single/double/half-double stitches as they go to get what they want. Now, honestly I think that's fine, but not easier. So, the challenge is, I crochet a square for November and Eve will knit a square. Then we will compare notes. I know how to crochet, I use to do it a lot more than I do now, but knitting has always been my truest love in the world of fiber arts so I don't crochet as much anymore. Anyway, I have to find a pattern in the round, dig out my hooks and see what I come up with. Stay tuned.... I believe the colors are to be pink and purple. Wish me luck.

OK - It's Monday and I should do a little work today. I'm still trying to get the Autumn collection completed, but it's looking like I'll need to extend one week. Too many life events happened that side tracked my best laid plans. Sorry about that, but I hope you will all find the collection worth the wait.

Peace and joy to you all.....

The Green Girl

The Realization of Loss.... a.k.a. - Where oh Where Can My Knitting Needles Be...

For several months now, actually since I put together my new studio in our new home, I have had a feeling that something was not right in the Green Girl knitting world. Something just out of my reach and memory. This feeling has come and gone many times, but it hit again yesterday and it has not stopped bothering me all of today. So, I've been playing memory games with myself. What is it, what's wrong with this picture, what's out of focus, what can I almost touch, but not quite??? There's a foggy memory in the back of my mind that does not want to come to the fore front and be recognized. Why? What is it hiding from???

Then as I'm sitting and working on an angel assignment for my Baker's Square group it blossoms (more like it hits me upside the head with a thud.) My knitting needle supply is not complete. I've been researching and testing a new (new to me) plastic knitting needle from Boye called Perfection Points. For plastic they are fabulous and their point is a true tapered point. I really am enjoying these needles. And what struck me is that I've used them before, I'm sure of it, but they weren't the pretty colors I have now. More of the memory unfolds - they were called Balene Perfection Points and they were cream colored and suppose to be a plastic representation of Balene whale bone. I love these needles and I should have tons of them - circulars, straights, double pointed - the whole range, but where are they? That's what has been bothering me all this time, I have a plastic case and bag full of these needles. When I started using addi Turbos,Clovers, Signatures and other nicer (aka  -more expensive) needles, these got put away (back in Seattle.) Where are they????? I did not put them away in the new studio. I have not seen them for a very long time. I'm at s loss and I'm sad -I want my needles back. Why was I ever lured away from their lovely smooth finish and perfect little tapered points?

I'll tell you why - I was lured by the shiny, slick metal of the addis, by the smooth warmth of the Clover woods - and all because someone told me that plastic was cheap and not a good material for knitting needles and I must have the best to be a proper knitter. HOGWASH!!!! I was a proper knitter with my Balene's and I'm no better now with all my fancy needles. Yes, there is a needle for every project, but my Balene's were lovely and creamy and they did their job with no complaints.

So, to my dear Balene's - I'm sorry - please come out of hiding and join my other knitty friends in the studio. Take your proper place in my collection once again. I promise to never be a respecter of needles based on their cost or material just because someone told me they knew better. Come out, come out wherever you are...
I truly have no idea what happened to these needles. They have to be here somewhere, but where? So, the search begins...... to be continued.....

Peace and joy to you all......
The Green Girl

It's a Library Thing....

I make no bones about the fact that I am a book-aholic. My mom took me to the library to get my first library card at the tender age of five. I've volunteered in libraries, spent countless hours sitting in the stacks going to far away places, and even more hours researching and writing. The library is my happy place, its the place I feel most myself and most comfortable.

Wouldn't you know it, the library is a great place to knit! Why shouldn't it be, have you seen all the lovely knitting books they keep in the library? Nuggets just waiting to be taken home and read and then to have projects created from their pages. I own a substantial (at least I think so and it's mine so that's what counts) library of knitting books, but I can see even more at the library. I can give them a bit of test drive before I decide to buy. It's an adventure like no other - my two favorite pastimes (OK - we'll call them what they really are - addictions) are wrapped up in one spot.

So, the next time you have a free morning or afternoon - grab your book bag and knitting bag and head over to your local library. Go to the stacks find piles of knitting books, find a comfy chair (they are mandatory in all libraries nowadays) and read and knit. I'll also bet you that you get a tap on the shoulder from you dear muse. The muse loves the library, she hangs there a lot. You might also strike up a conversation that will change your life - how???? You may meet someone wanting to learn to knit, ask a question about your knitting (crow at this time - it may be your only chance for the day,) you may even meet a new friend. In the end relax, release, enjoy!!! The library can be a magical place, you never know what may happen there.

Peace and joy to you all......
The Green Girl - off on another adventure.

The Lost Weekend....

That title says it all - the weekend that held so much promise for getting important work done went nowhere. Let's get it the way back machine and dial it for Friday, 9/17/10.

It's 5:00pm and DH and I head off to dinner at our favorite diner. Busy as always, but the white fish was delicious and DH had a nice pork tenderloin dinner. DH runs off after dinner to rehearsal and I go for a quick errand and then home. I enter the Twilight Zone  at the market. In all honesty, the mistake is my own because I trusted someone else to do their job. I'm learning that this is an ever stupid idea on my part. I don't know why people cannot do the jobs they were hired for or keep their word when they say they'll do something, but honestly I'm done spending brain power on trying to figure it out. It is was it is, I will not be precious about such things ever again.We'll move on from here as I really don't want to get into the mayhem that took place at the market, suffice it to say that was the beginning of the end of the weekend.

I'm now at home and I'm so exhausted from the market ordeal that instead of cleaning out the knitting bag and getting my designs in further order, I put on the pj's and watched trashy TV (and I didn't care.) As you may have read earlier, the plague had hit earlier in the week and it helped to set-up a small infection.The meds I'm on for that seem to have the lovely effect of causing an anxiety attack (you know the feeling that you are going to crawl out of your skin.) Lovely, more meds to counter that. So, as I lay on the sofa in my cuddly pj's wrapped up in a snugly watching the Food channel, QVC, and Science Fiction (I warned you it was all trash TV) I was also dealing with this exhausting anxiety feeling.  Holy Creepy Crawly's, Batman!!! I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time and these meds just kept me awake forever.

Now, we are at Saturday. I sleep in a bit, but I'm feeling better and hoping that when I take my meds today things will be alright (hope springs eternal.) DH is up and about and getting ready to leave for the day. We talk and I tell him about my day. I go out to the kitchen have some breakfast, coffee (Warning, Warning, Will Robinson!) take my meds and then proceed to check in on FB and Ravelry. Then within 30 minutes, WHAMO!!!! The anxiety is back with a vengeance. I go and take my anti-anxiety med and no go - it's on strike or something because it's not working. No way, no how! And we have company coming for dinner (well my brother and sister in-law and niece,) but I'm making Moroccan stew, couscous, and best of all bread pudding. I wait another hour and then I go take another dose of the anti-anxiety meds (this is allowed according to the doctor that I had called - I know I sounded like someone that had escaped from a psych ward, but it was the meds man. She also informed me that I shouldn't drink coffee. Too Late!) I also had to make the decision about dinner. DH was still gone, so no conferring on this one. It was coming down to the wire for getting the stew going and the meds were barely buffeting the creepy crawly's. So, I called DB and canceled dinner. I felt awful, but I just didn't know how things would go.  Ended up spending almost all day in bed, finally made some pasta shway shway (pasta fast fast - quick and easy dish in minutes) for my dinner and collapsed on the sofa with DH for the rest of the night. Day one of the weekend lost - never  to return - I could see it walking down the road waving good-bye as it went on it's merry way.

Sunday: woke and felt much better, but realized that I had to take my meds. OK- I'll try something different, no coffee as apparently it expands the consciousness in a bad way when on this drug. Eat a full breakfast, drink my appropriate juice (recommended by doc) and do my Sunday morning reading, then take drugs. If this plan fails to keep the creepy crawly's at bay at least I will have had a nice start to the day. And it worked!!!! The angels sang, the heavens shown brightly, no anxiety side effect. Praise the Maker!!! I also kept drinking bottles of water, which in my mind tells me that I was keeping the meds diluted in my blood stream and that kept the effect away (maybe, maybe not, but I'm sticking to that idea.I need something to cling to at this point.) So, I shower, get in the car and go out to do the real marketing. Then WHAMO!!! I'm at same said market as Friday night and as I'm bagging my groceries, I turn and the stand that the bags are held on stabs me in the stomach (right in my surgical incision from my cancer surgery.) Stars, birds, lightening bolts all flash before my eyes, I double over in horrific pain and lean against the trolley. Who would have known that a three year old scar could still hurt so badly. After what seemed forever I finish bagging  the groceries and limp out of the store (this store has it in for me I'm sure of it - I told you Friday wasn't a pretty scenario.) And by the way, I think the eco gods were getting back at me for using plastic bags. I always use my own bags, have for several years, but had forgotten to bring them into the store on this day. Even though I'm enough pain to bring down a 500lbs bull, I make it to the next shop, get the marketing done there (remember to bring in my own bag) and get myself home. I take a headache tablet for pain and put an ice pack on my belly. Too late - black/purple/red/green bruise already appearing and spreading out to three times the site of impact. It's lovely!!!!
Moving on, I decided to make a quick Hoisin  glazed chicken with Chinese noodles and asparagus for dinner. I'm keeping myself together, oh I'm in pain, but DH is home now and I can't moan and groan to quite the extent as I can when he's gone (it just freaks him out, and there's no use in us both being edgy today.) Now, when I have made Chinese noodles in the past, I use regular old thin spaghetti. It works like a charm, but while at the market today I noticed actual Chinese noodles by the fresh ginger and thought why not give them a try. Bad idea - don't know what happened but they were basically wallpaper paste. I had also tried a new sauce recipe, way too much peanut butter (tasted like a PB&J sandwich.) Chicken was yummy though - lesson, stick to known recipes that I know aka - if it ain't broke, don't fix! Grrrr....

Finally, dinner is over, laundry is done ( that is the one thing I was able to do with exactitude while in my anxiety ridden haze on Saturday, even gave me enough vim and vigor to organize the pantry) DH and I settle on the sofa to watch Boardwalk Empire (new HBO series.) Learned some things I didn't know about this part of American history. Anyway, I finally break out the knitting at 8:00pm CST and start the test knit on one of the last designs for the Autumn Collection. Ten minutes into the show I rip in out, start again, at 30 minutes I rip it out again. I love the yarn, and the effect I'm getting, but something isn't right. Ah - it's the needle size, this pattern needs to be a bit looser, up in size we go. 45 minutes - rip it out again. DH looks and says, trouble or are you just having fun. Hilarious!!!! Grr.... Now he knows this is my process and I'm guessing he was just testing the waters to see if I was in another drug induced freak out. Fourth times a charm...not only does the needle size need to change the pattern needs to be altered. Fourth test is lovely - done and done! However, by this time it's 12:02am, Monday morning so officially I accomplished nothing in the knitting department over the weekend. At least not in my time zone. If I still lived in Seattle it would only be 10:02pm and I would have saved the weekend from being a total loss. So, I choose in my head to be in Seattle. The pattern name is Twilight on Tahoma (so that's perfect.) Oh, as an aside, Tahoma is the ancient Indian name for Mt. Rainier out in Washington state.

I have three more days of meds, but hopefully I've figured a way to keep the creepy crawly's at bay. This Green Girl is rather black and blue from this weekend, physically an emotionally, but as Scarlet would say, tomorrow is another day. And as I would say, it better be a good one!!!!

Peace and joy to you all.....
The Green/Black & Blue Girl.

The Green Girl On The Go.....Going....Gone!!!

It's Friday and it's almost time to head out for the week. DH is taking me to my favorite diner for their white fish dinner (love it.) So, as I start to get things picked up around the office, I look over at my knitting bag. It's a mess and I don't mean a little one. Yarn, books, fig newtons, needles, coffee mug, juice bottle, all bulging out of the top and around the sides, plus I still have two projects, another book, and a camera to stuff into the depths of said bag. Ouch, was that a needle poking me in the hand??  I didn't realize that I had become a "Bag Lady" or at least a "Knitting Bag Lady". I've been so busy trying to get projects and patterns finished that instead of emptying my bag each night and repacking it with the things for the next day, I've just been piling it all in the bag and hoping for the best. This image now has me worried that when I get home and look at my studio it's going to look the same. In the back of my brain I know the studio looks just as bad, where are those freakin' helper mice again. I'll bet they're over at Cinderella's house sipping tea.

Then no sooner did I snap the pictures to show the world my disgrace and slothfulness (really I don't know why I show this to anyone - note to self: have head examined), but I hear crash, bang! Slowly I turn and the bag is on the floor, the contents spilled into the dusty corner. All my lovely knits in a heap as if they were to go out with the daily trash. Poor, poor knits! So, I pick them up, dust them off and stuff them right back into the bag. I didn't even take time to fold and place them nicely. What's wrong with me???

Tonight, DH is going to be gone and so it was going to be a "Gavin and Stacey" marathon with some last minute design work on the side. Now, it's going to be a take out each piece from the bag and treat it with the proper respect - I mean this bag is so full those helper mice might just be in the bottom, who knows! Then if there's time, "Gavin and Stacey to the rescue of my addled brain with design work on the side and  my own cuppa.


And that's what it's like to be the Green Girl on the go and as you can see I'm way far gone.

Peace and joy to you all...
The Green Girl.

The Right Tool For the Job or How This Old Dog Learned a New Trick.....

I have said it many times and I drill it into students - having the right tools makes all the difference in your end result. Your product or knowledge base can be poor, good or fantastic depending on what tools you use to get the job completed. Now, I tend to abide by this rule (thus why when I tell DH that Dooney and Bourke handbags will last forever, he knows I'm right as I've had mine for 30 years and it's still doing its job,) but yesterday I learned that low and behold a very simple little tool had been overlooked in my knitting kit. The humble darning needle/weavers needle, whatever you call it. I have been using plastic needles for years - I always tended to stray away from metal as I thought they wouldn't work as well. Plastic is flexible and usually has a bigger eye for ease of threading - what could be better.

Enter - Simply Knitting - Issue #71 and the freebie that was in the package. A little egg with 3 metal darning needles. Big eyes, smooth and sleek and heaven to use. As I was weaving in the ends on a project last night, they were just sitting there and as I was entirely too lazy to go to the studio and get the needle I normally use, I tried the new ones. OK - to say that these needles are good is to miss the chance to say. "The heavens opened and angles sang." These little goodies are slick as you please. They wove through the yarn as if by their own power. The working up part of this project was complete in half the time it would have taken with my plastic needle. Now, I have to wonder if this has been a conspiracy from my fellow knitters to keep these from me or if this something you just learn through trial and error. I choose to believe the trial and error idea as we all know that knitters are good, honest and helpful as they can be to their fellow cohorts.

So, give a listen - go invest in Issue #71 of Simply Knitting and get your own set of these little jewels. I may have to get a second copy in order to have two sets of these darlings. I'll just donate the second magazine to YMCA or the library. And if you knew all of this already - you may now stop laughing at my ignorance (I hear it causes wrinkles.) ;>)

Peace and joy to you all......
The Green Girl