Happy Birthday Mark!

Yes, this past weekend was my wonderful husband's official birthday. I originally posted this on Ravelry, but thought I would add it here as well.

So, here is my report on Mark’s big Birthday Surprise Roadtrip yesterday. For HIS birthday, he took ME on the Hill Country Yarn Crawl! I couldn’t believe it until we hit the second yarn shop. He said he knew how much I had wanted to go last year and had already made plans to take me this year without knowing it would fall on his birthday. He is just so sweet and good to me, sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe I got so lucky for us to be together. Enough of the mushy stuff, now about the important things.

We went to six different shops across the top of the Hill Country, 280 miles, and we have five more to go about the same distance, which we will do this Thursday across the bottom edge of the Hill Country, making eleven in all. We had so much fun! Mark made a picture of each shop while I got my card stamped and looked around and talked with owners and fellow crawlers. I sooo much beautiful yarn, and some really interesting yarn. At one shop I saw yarn spun out of nettles. For those of you who have never experienced a nettle plant, most of them have little stinging hairs and grew in bunches and if you accidentally walk through a patch (because you would never do it on purpose) you never do it again. The yarn looked like plain old twine, and I found it in the sale bin, and it was still there when I left. Each shop gave out two patterns, and the yarn for each pattern was 25% off. Very tempting, but I only fell for one, a lace cowl with an unusual looking yarn by Plymouth called Kudo made of cotton, rayon and silk. Actually, I didn’t fall for it as much as Mark did; he wants it made for Lisa as his Christmas present to her. At one shop I found Spud and Chloe Outer, so naturally I had to have that to make the Shroom hat for Lisa, my Christmas present to Lisa. Next I found the two colors I needed in Cascade 220 for my TKGA project mittens, ugly in my opinion but on sale luckily, so into the car they went. And at one of the last shops, I looked up at a display of socks on a clothesline and there was one in a yarn like Eggroll’s! I didn’t know it was yarn like that, I just told the owner I wanted a yarn that made up like that because I didn’t know how to knit color patterns yet, and Bob’s your Uncle, she took me right to some. It’s not the brand mentioned on Ravelry, but it is supposed to work up the same. This one is Schachenmayr Regia in Adventure Color and will be for our Pug, Louie. The pattern is Elizabeth Watkin's Pug Sweater . The Adventure Color is important because the other names of colors only stripe. And so ended my yarn purchases, as well as the yarn budget that I didn’t have in the first place. Since it came from Mark’s birthday money, I felt compelled to show restraint. On the non-financial side, I met wonderful people, including the owner of VeryPink Knits, who is one of my favorite YouTube instructors. I hope to return to that shop some day for one of her classes.

Well, that is it so far. Thursday includes five more stores. One will be to a llama ranch, and I think that one will really be enjoyable for Mark. I know he enjoyed the llamas, sheep, and alpacas last year when he took me to the llama yarn show near Austin. I love to make him happy. There is a another yarn show next month closer to our house on another llama ranch. Oh boy, another opportunity to make Mark smile! ;-)

My only other news is that I have started Lesson 1 of the TKGA Masters Course. Let's see how long this one takes. I think I will do okay on the swatches, especially since many are duplicates from the Basics Course, and I have already done quite a bit of the research for the papers to be written, the mitten project may be another issue. It has a color change and that thumb challenge, and for me personally (warm weather gal from Texas and California) I have no use for mittens. Add to that, I am developing such a wonderful group of friends on Ravelry and would love to knit projects with them as well, it brings me a true understanding of "so much yarn and so little time".

GREAT NEWS!

Well, I did it. I received my certificate for the TKGA Basics, Basics, Basics course. One small step for knitting, one large step for knitting Kathryn! It not only means I have some of the basics down, and I can do them satisfactorily, it also means for me that I finished something that frightened me for many years. For reasons I can not explain, I have owned the TKGA Masters course for almost ten years and was absolutely sure I could not do it. Thanks to Arenda Holladay for her patience and for her well-structured Basics class, I have the confidence to begin my Masters course. I have given myself a couple of weeks to just do some knitting as I have fallen way behind on my committed projects for family and friends. I will, however, be back into my number one Bucket List item very soon.

I found an incredible gold mine on Ravelry today and added it to my page for Knitting Help by Subject. ClaireAlthea's Profile page on Ravelry is a real treasure of references and a wonderful start for my page. Thank you, ClaireAlthea. Now I have a great starting point for many of the topics I haven't touched on yet as well as links to many of the best references from some of my favorite sources.

Well, it's back to work for me. Well, it's really not work. I will check in with my friends at Elizabeth Watkin's Designs group and Sally's knitCompanion app group, and then work on my every growing pile of knitting commitments. All of these things bring such joy to my life that it is a great disservice to call them "work."

And the Blog goes on ...

Well, my little place to talk to myself seems to be taking over the conversation here. I just added another page for one of my great passions, knitting tools. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Well, actually, I do know why I thought of it today. I just love the way life lives itself.

Yesterday I saw a post on Ravelry by a knitter looking for a tool like a lazy susan with a wooden peg to hold her yarn while she knitted. Well, I like to research things, and I like to hook my fellow Ravelers up with what they are looking for, so off I went. I found a post with a reference to the Yarn Lazy Susan. Not only did it do everything she wanted it to do, it was beautiful. And, it was the best price of other similar products. And, it had a great story behind it.

I had a little difficulty locating information and a good strong link with pricing and such to post on Ravelry, so I sent an email to the manufacturer. I had a response within about and hour, and after a couple of emails back and forth, life brought me a great opportunity to meet an amazing man, Bob Moffett. Be sure and check out his Facebook link under my Tools page. Buy his product, don't buy his product, you are going to like what you see and you can't help liking Bob and what he has to offer ... the best of American entrepreneurship.

Research and writing day ...

I am doing my favorite things today, research and writing. Seriously, I love it. Only one problem, I really have a problem with focus. Take today's problem; I am supposed to be finishing Lesson 3 for TKGA Basics. It is not rocket science, as real scientists like to say. Just write up a pattern to match a swatch. So what do I do? I am researching how patterns are constructed. Of course, there is very little actually written about the actual "structure." Some information is provided about content, but that was in the course information, and, you see, I always like to dig a little deeper. I am not an overachiever, but one of the wonderful things about being a research addict is that it is a great way to learn as well as put off the inevitable ... completing the project. Anyway, back to the reason for this post. While doing my thing, I came across a blog by Kate Mullen, a Suite 101 Member who had a post about where to find free patterns. Now, this is how I think and search. To find out how to format a pattern when there are no direct search results, I search for free patterns and download them and then evaluate them against the content advice I did find. Soooo, obviously I am interested in Kate's post so I can find more free patterns. Now, I think that makes sense, right? Never mind. I really just want to thank Kate for her references. Talk later; I have to finish that project today. Really. Have to. Have to go. Really.

Who knew ...

Who knew I could get so busy so fast! Let's see, where to start. Well, I will just threw a bit of this and a bit of that out there, because I really have to get going with my life in a few minutes.

I joined a group on Ravelry, Elizabeth Watkins Designs & Friends. Not only is Elizabeth a wonderful, and published I am pleased to note, knitting designer, she is a Pug mother and so are all her friends. She designed a special sweater for Pugs, understanding how difficult they are to fit and no commercial designer will entertain the idea of making a special design for them. She started a KAL, I was invited to join by a lovely lady, and I am having the time of my life. I have more friends than I ever imagined possible. They are wonderful, loving, interested in each other, supportive of each other, and just plain make you want to get up in the morning and join in the conversation. I am truly blessed.

I have just about completed Lesson 3 for BBB from TKGA. It should be in the mail this Monday. Now it is time to move forward with the Master's Course I have been holding on to for so long. It's so long, I can't remember how long. I feel much more prepared with BBB completed, and I am looking forward to beginning.

I really must go now. Life to live and all. I hope all is well for each of you. I was shocked to find out you were even reading along. Thank you for your interest. I will continue to update my references, but I am finding less and less time, or reason, to visit with myself. Not a bad thing at all. But, if necessary, I know where to go for a real heart to heart ... with just me.

No time to talk ...

Wow, I haven't had time to visit or talk to myself or anyone else! Too much to do, exploring web sites, finishing my swatches for Lesson 3 in Basics, Basics, Basics and building my Knitting Library from eBay. Every day when the mail arrives it is just like a holiday. I will have to make something for that nice mail lady, just as soon as I have time to knit again.

I did a little project where I collected knitting needles from eBay for a non-profit and that was a lot of fun. I would get the lots of needles and then go through them and catalog them for size. I found a couple that were more a collectors item and I sent those to the gal, Susan, who is doing the history project Knitting Needle History.

I used Elaine's web site, Knitting Fool, to find a pattern for the final project of Basics, Basics, Basics. That was so amazing! I knew I only had 30 stitches to work with, as the lesson stated, and that it had to be lace or cables. I went to the site, picked the category for finding stitches by number in the pattern, then picked lace and cable (why not go for both) and then picked the closest number. I found a beautiful pattern with written instructions as well as a completed chart. Now I will enter it in my knitSpeaker app and I'm golden.

I had all my swatches blocked. Yes, I am now unblocked about my blocking. My husband set up a room, we call it the rock room because it has a rock floor and is of no use because it is either too hot or too cold and is too small to hold a chair. Then I took five of my magic COCO Knits knitting blocks and placed one-inch square red gingham on them. I swear the gingham was the magic. Something about not staring at a blank block gave me the confidence to lay the swatch down and start pinning. Hey, whatever works, right?

So, I gotta go. I have to redo one of my swatches, the cable. I don't know how, but one of my cables came out different than the other one. I could have called it a design element, but I don't think Arenda would have bought that one. I also have a bit more research to do, so watch for more activity on the reference page.

Happy Knitting!

I'll meet you in the library ...

Well, I just created my Library page. I also discovered another resource on the TKGA Group Forum for reference books. Too bad I didn't find that one first. I now own a lot of books with pictures of stitches I may never have time to make in this lifetime, especially if I keep spending my time buying and reading books about knitting instead of knitting.

Oh well, that's behind me. I did finish all my sample swatches for Lesson 3 of Basics, Basics, Basics. Now for that nasty B word again, yes, blocking. Oh, and I also get to muddle my way through that ever so lengthy list of reference books to answer the questions that go with the swatches.

I have to say, to myself and anyone who may be listening, how much Ravelry has added to my life. It's like a friend to me, one with so many different personalities and so much knowledge. I am also blessed to have a husband whose only request of me is that I be happy. And happy I am.

A life of its own . . .

Wow, this is really starting to be fun. My first page of knitting links is growing by leaps and bounds. Clearly, I spend way too much time researching about and not nearly enough time actually doing the big "K", knitting.

And now I have decided to add another page, yes, my Reference Library Bibliography. Hello, of course I have books about knitting! I spent years living in an apple orchard with no internet, I had to have some source of reference, right? Then I joined TKGA and started taking the Masters Courses, which I abandoned for the Basics, which I am finishing right now so I can move back to the Masters level. Just as soon as I do a wee bit more research. Just kidding. I only have one last swatch to finish, the "B" word, and off to Arenda it goes. So, about the books. TKGA has a recommended bibliography. I like buying books on eBay. I have the entire collection of Southern Living Cookbooks and it only took me six months to finish my collection. No, I don't really cook that much. So, the knitting library; I decided to buy my own reference library on eBay. I downloaded the TKGA list, put it in a spreadsheet, created searches and watch lists on eBay for the books I thought were relevant to the classes I would be taking, set my rules, and started the search. The rules were look for under $10 and buy nothing over $15, including shipping. I also don't buy New or less than Acceptable. Check page three for my ongoing results. I am almost complete for now. The last few are tough. They are all Barbara Walker books and hard to find for much less than $20 or $30, way out of the rules. I may have to either bend, or worse, rewrite the rules for her. Not yet, though. I have my eye on a couple of auctions for less than $10. Watch page three for updates.

Well, I just added all of the links I have been collecting for the past year to videos and web sites I use for knitting help. I entered 27 links; I had no idea I had that many. I will be working on entering my knitting library next. I was surprised to see that there are people viewing my blog. That is pretty exciting, and I hope I add information that is usable. When I started it was just going to be a place for me to have a conversation with myself. I was lonesome and I wanted someone to talk to. Then I started being more active on Ravelry and found a very nice community of people there, so I am less in need of talking to myself. Now I am more about using my blog as a storage place for my knitting resources. To any of you out there who do find this site useful, you can find me on Ravelry, tkparker, and message me through there. This blog will never be a place for comment by anyone but me, myself, and I. It's a tight little group.

Okay, this is getting bad. It's been almost a month since I have spoken to myself. It is not a good idea to let that much time pass without a good heart to heart with your own truest self. Now I can't even remember all the things I said I was going to have to talk to myself about later.

Let's see. I took a trip to George for a couple of weeks to help my Sister move into her retirement home. That was a little traumatic. She told Mark and I to move here so we would be close to my family, then she, being my only family within a four-hour drive, moves to Georgia. Hmmm. All and all, it was a nice trip and I saw a part of the country I had not visited before. I created my own yarn crawl in Atlanta. That was fun. Then I went to a Stitches show and met Charles Gandy. That was really nice; he is such a special person and made me feel as if we were going to be lifelong friends. Well, it worked for me. I will always think of him in a friendly way.

Since I have been home I have been knitting for my last Basics lesson, learning some new computer programs, starting a new regimen of pills that my doctor felt would be better for me. I hope the pill combination is better in the long run because it has not been pretty in the short run yet.

I have developed an addiction to Ravelry. I know, there are worse addictions, but this one is pretty bad. I am on there at least four to five hours a day. I keep addressing my issues for staying on there so much and hopefully I will spend that time knitting soon. It could always be that ugly "B" word raising its nasty head.

That's right, Blocking. I really have no excuse now. We had a spare room, not really a room, but a nice sized entry into our house. Mark put a table in there with all my supplies for blocking. I purchased the extra blocks from Julie at Knitting Blocks, even though I didn't really need them for five 4" squares of yarn; I bought four boxes of "no rust", not "rust resistant", pins from Lacis, definitely an overkill; I have watched every youTube video available; and I have read every article I could find.

Must go now; must block ... must block now ... no more waiting ... blocking room is empty ... can not hurt husband's feelings ... must block ...

Wow, ten days later ...

... and I am still learning all the ins and outs of knitSpeaker. No, it is definitely not that hard to learn. I put the pattern for my second Basics, Basics, Basics swatch on it in about five minutes, including my learning curve mistakes. It is more that I was just so fascinated with the app I wanted to know everything it could do. So, I dissected the app, the Instructions, and the free patterns that came with the app! It's a beautiful thing; I am definitely in love.

Well, I really have to get back to basics (pardon the pun) and get Lesson 3 back to Arenda this week. The sooner I finish the Basics class, the sooner I can start the Level 1 Masters Class. Actually, I don't think there is anything magic that is keeping me from just starting the Masters Class, except my own thinking. I think I will decide to think about it differently and just get started!

Mark is doing so well in his studies. He has completed three classes now with all A's. That's my man! He finally quit his second job, but not before he started physically breaking down. He developed neuropathy in his feet and legs. Now we have back to back appointments with my wonderful neurologist. We asked for a family discount, but no can do. Doctor says he is barely getting by with insurance system now. Oh my. Maybe I can take some canned food on my next visit.

Well, time to get off the computer and back to the real world. Hmmm ... what to do next?  House work? Knitting? I know, I think I will eat!

Inspiration from Rita Pierson at TEDEducation

 In addition to knitting, one of my other passions is education. I can't get enough for myself and I can't stop advocating it for others. I don't care what the subject matter is; it feeds your soul! The following are some quotes from a lifelong educator who spoke at TEDEducation. If you have never connected with this online community, give it a chance. There is lots to choose from and it is all good.

This is what Rita Pierson tells her students the first day of each new term -

You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students. They put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it.

Next, she has the students recite this statement every day, because she believes that if you say it often enough, you believe it, and if you believe it, you will achieve it.

I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I will be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go!

This is an example of how Rita turns negative classroom results into positive opportunities for motivation.

A student missed 18 out of 20. Student asked, is this an F, and I said yes. And when we review you can do better, can't you. He said YEAH. Minus 18 sucks all the life out of you, but +2 lets you know you can do better!

This is Rita's basic philosophy about being an educator.

Every student deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can be.

This is one of Rita's inspirational quotes that frames her philisophy.

"No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship."
       James Kerner

 In Rita's own words ...

Kids don't learn from people they don't like!

Well, now I am working on the last lesson for Basics, Basics, Basics. Dare I say, when this lesson is finished it is on to the Lesson One for the Master's Class? Yes, I will say it!

I discovered a new app for the iPhone called "knitspeaker" that reads your pattern to you while you knit. Now this was made for me. Like anything else in life, it takes effort and commitment to get back what you need from the thing, but I think it will be worth it long term. Of course, right now my OCD has kicked in and I have stopped in the middle of Lesson 3 to learn the program. Not good. Must knit. Must knit. Oh, and must do laundry and must load dishwasher. Yuck! All of these musts. That's one of the bad aspects of OCD. That non-stop self-chatter of MUST, MUST, MUST. Of course, the good aspect is that you do get things done; just not always in priority order.

Later ...

New purpose ...

Well, it's been awhile. I have been to Georgia to help my Sister move to her new home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Beautiful, but too far from me for my liking. I spent a week with my niece, Janey Kathryn. Wonderful. She is my namesake and that was our first really in-depth visit. You learn more about each other in the quiet moments than in hours of talking. She is absolutely wonderful and I could not be prouder for her to carry my name.

My original purpose for creating this blog was to talk to myself. Now I am adding another purpose. Mark, my husband, is studying to be a teacher. Of course, he is still working full time, so this part of his learning journey is on line. I am very proud of him. There is nothing more important in our relationship that each of us, as individuals, reach for and attain our aspirations in life.

So today, we begin his bucket list of quotes and resources to share with his students. The quotes are for use in reinforcing strong self-esteem in the students and the resources are for Mark to use in developing his teaching skills as well as teaching style.

"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."
-Norman Vincent Peale

I'm still here ...

Yes, I am still here. I should leave some type of instruction in my will for a last post, but not today.

I've been busy lately, no time to really visit with myself. That's not good. We need to all take time for those moments of self-contemplation and conversation. But I have been productive. I finished Lesson 1 of Basics, Basics, Basics for TKGA and I am now knitting my way through Lesson 2. I am really enjoying the learning experience, although I know I will be going back to the videos each time I come across increase/decrease or whatever in a real pattern. My short term memory just can't handle it. But that's okay. Ruby, my wonderful MacBook (a gift from my loving sister, Susie) has it all bookmarked for me.

I did finally reach my medicine deductible and I am back on my brain meds. What a difference. It's too bad they are $600 a month. When I am insured for them, they are almost $200, but that is much better. It is just one of life's challenges to find a way to pay for them as I simply don't function without them. When I don't have them it is kind of like I have had a small stroke or something. I have trouble putting words together to talk to people and I forget to do things like bathe and cook. Not good.

I am scheduled for a trip to Georgia in a couple of weeks to help Sister move to her new home. I am looking forward to seeing Georgia, especially Atlanta, as I have never been there. Atlanta has seven yarn shops! I sure hope I can go to all of them, but I won't have a car so it will depend on Sister's schedule. I have mixed feelings about Sister moving. In part Mark and I moved to Texas to be near her and Poppy and now she is moving away. Bummer.

That's it for right now. I am anxious to finish my samples for Lesson 2 and get them in the mail.

New paragraph ...

So, I have just been to busy to visit with myself for days! I started taking my medicine again a few days ago and it is amazing how my life kicks into high gear when my brain is running right. My great neurologist worked with me for over a year to get the right combination of medicine to balance the chemicals needed to bring my function levels back to normal. He isn't sure what happened; maybe an old childhood injury, a light stroke, or a series of night seizures I have been experiencing for some time. His philosophy is to correct the problem and then worry about the cause if it continues to get worse. The problem only gets worse if I don't take the meds, so the problem is solved. So why, you say, do I ever stop the meds? Simple enough; those pills are almost $600 a month without insurance coverage. With coverage, the co-pay is $186 a month, with the balance eating you into your "doughnut hole" in about six months. That means you only have prescription medicine at all for about half the year.

Part of what I have been doing since we last talked was researching what I could do to get help with the cost of that medicine. So far, nothing. There is not a lot of help for Seniors, but what help I have found does not cover that particular medication. It is new on the market and there are no substitutes. But I do intend to do something with everything I have learned. On Monday I am calling our local Senior center and volunteering to meet with other Seniors and share my information with them. I think that is something that will be good for my mental health, especially if I can help some other Senior. Of course, I will also take my knitting along, just in case it generates some interest in a knitting circle.

Speaking of knitting, my first lesson is in the mail to TKGA! Now I wait for review and suggestions before I begin Lesson Two. Hopefully there won't be many do overs and I can get started right away on the next lesson. It felt really good to see it off. I also got Lisa's box in the mail with a couple of things I made for her.

When I am tracking properly, I always see how far behind I am on housework and such. I cleaned and organized the laundry room yesterday. I cleaned the kitchen as well, but left the floors for today. I still have dusting and vacuuming to do.

Lisa bought me a beautiful gently used side piece that I put by my knitting chair (that she also bought me) to complete my "command central" area. I am sure that was not it's intended use, but it is perfect for me. Now if I can just get Mark to do something with his half of the room. He gets a pass for right now though. He is still working two jobs AND taking two classes toward his teaching degree. He never has a moment to himself.

I also have taken a few tentative steps toward becoming politically responsible. I have spent my entire life avoiding politics because they made no sense and seemed beyond the influence of individuals. I don't think my opinion has changed much, but with our country in the mess it is in, I feel each of us has to try. So I am. I have picked one Senator from my State to communicate with. I have no way to know if he is good or bad, but I agree with what is coming out of his mouth so far. I will continue to watch his actions and send him my input. I also communicate with the President, but I have little hope that those communications ever reach his ears.

One last item, the dreaded E word. Yes, Exercise. My lovely Lisa has sent me YouTube links for chair yoga. I bought a used straight back chair at the SPCA Store, and no, I did not have one I could have used. The time is now. I made my commitment to her. Must ... do ... yoga ...

"D" for Done

So, the swatches didn't disappear in the bowl of water; it took a gazillion pins to make them look like the shapes in the example pictures; they looked so much better when they were all rolled up like little sausages. Now to sew the loose yarn in. Simple, maybe. I used to just run those threads right up the sides. Not for the class. Nope, they use something called "duplicate stitch" which means I have to make them look invisible, i.e. loop them through the backs of stitches until they disappear.

Okay, what have I done today to make that happen. I put all the swatches in plastic bags, per the instructions. I wrote all the labels for the swatches, but did not attach them yet because the yarn ends are not hidden yet. Then I spent five hours on the computer reading reviews about awesome knitting apps for iPad and iPhone; bought two apps; wrote reviews for one app that was super; organized the app icons on my phone. Did I mention I never touched the swatches again? I also reviewed word processing and note taking apps for my husband to use in his online degree program and learned a little more about Google Docs and iCloud. The last two are so I can help him with his homework. I am his editor and help with his research. Hey, my education has to contribute somewhere!

So last night I got a bit upset. Remember, this blog is for me from me, right? Well all of a sudden it became important to me that my husband should demonstrate his love for me by reading it so he could understand me better. Never mind that he is working two jobs and taking two online classes toward his own four-year degree. He should be finding the time to show me the love, right? Okay, I got over it. So I told my daughter about it today. She will read it just because that is what we do for each other; we show our love for each other by showing respect for our interests and efforts. It's a mother/daughter thing.

And that brings me to the Ellen show. I really want to write to Ellen to be on her show but I haven't figured out exactly what to say. I haven't survived any great traumas, like health issues or financial loss, at least none I want to discuss on a major TV network. I just love Ellen like everyone else that watches her show, and I miss my daughter. I want a trip to California to see Lisa. Not that I wouldn't have a good use for some of the money she finds to give to people. It would be so nice to set up an education fund for Mark, that's my husband, so he could finish his degree without having to work full time; and the same for Lisa, my daughter, so she could immerse herself in a lifetime study of Yoga throughout the world and share her special spirit with all she meets. But for now, I just want to see my BBG (Bouncing Baby Girl)!

Well, that's enough visiting for today. I have to decide on a program and download it for Mark. Then, must hide yarn tales ... must get to post office and mail swatches ... must ... must ...

The dreaded "B" Word - Blocking

So I belong to TKGA, The Knitting Guild of America. But let me digress. I joined TKGA and discovered something called the Master Knitter's Program. I had to be one. Yes, I love all certificates, degrees, etc. I have an AA, BSBA, Certificate in Library Science (almost), and before I die I will be a Master Knitter with one of those little pins to prove it!

Now, on with the blocking thing. I began the TKGA classes with the Master Class, Level 1. As soon as I had the swatches done and it was time to block them, I froze. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it for two years. Okay, I had to get past this. By this time TKGA offered another class called Basics, Basics, Basics. Okay, I will take that class before I continue the Master Class, Level 1. Maybe  I will have more confidence if I spend another $100 first.

I finished all the swatches for BBB two weeks ago. It was time to block again. OMG. Frozen again. I have to get past this. I read about, watched YouTube videos about, had nightmares about, whined about, you name it ... I did it about it. Finally, I made a notebook about it. That's right, when you can't do it, organize it!

Today, I actually put the pieces in the water to soak, Step 1. That is where I am headed now, to see if they disappeared or some other horrible thing I didn't even imagine. But wait, I have to clean the kitchen first. The blocking board has to go on the table so that table has to be wiped down, and there are dishes from breakfast still on it because I have been busy creating this blog so I would have another place to whine about blocking, so the dishwasher has to be unloaded and loaded again, but I think I can resist doing the floors, I usually do resist a dirty floor.

Must get up. Must turn away from computer. Must block ...

Why I Decided to Blog

I decided to start a blog just for me. It is a place for me to have conversations with myself. It's kind of like a diary, but not nearly so exciting. Mostly it's about knitting right now, although life can take some unexpected twists now and then, so I am leaving myself open to other conversations with myself as well. I have no expectation that anyone will ever read this but me, and I have blocked comments from others. This is strictly a conversation with me and for me.  So here we go; me, myself, and I.

What I Love

I Love my beautiful daughter doing Yoga.

I love Texas.

I love the sheep that make my yarn.

I love to knit.