A week without knitting, all for My Antonia by Willa Cather

I have had such a great, yet, odd week. Not much knitting, lots of reading, and finding joy in the characters that knit in the book:)

Last fall I signed up for a one time book club meeting with a favorite teacher from my children's school. One of her favorite books, and one of her Bohemian Grandmothers favorite books, is My Antonia. (AN tonia) I had never read it before and had only heard of it because it is read in 8th Grade.

It was fun to read. The descriptions of the Nebraska landscape were captivating. I have never though of Nebraska as a particularly beautiful state, but the next time I drive to Colorado I will take more time to enjoy the view.

Yet, I looked at my unfinished knitting projects with a bit of jealousy. I have not spent an hour or two in an evening , family aside, spending time doing anything but knitting. And now my projects, ones I have started, as well as the ones swirling in my head waiting to be started, were calling to me.

But, I had Friday night marked in my calendar since last October, and I was looking forward to a book discussion lead by a favorite teacher. As well as meeting other parents from our school.

I enjoyed reading about Jim and his adventures with Antonia in Nebraska, about the interactions of the immigrants, and the dichotomy between the farmers and the towns people of Black Hawk, NE (actually representing the real town of Red Cloud, NE). I am appreciating the work of the farmers who started working the raw land to create farms. WOW! The dedication to the land was extreme.

I also enjoyed the few references to knitting, of course. Mrs. Shimerda was "the mom" from the newly arrived Bohemian family that lived on the farm next to the farm where Jim was growing up. At one point there was a fight between Mrs. Shimerda's son Ambrosch and Jake, a helper on the farm. This quote describes the knitting scene:

Our neighbours seemed glad to make peace with us. The next Sunday Mrs. Shimerda came over and brought Jake a pair of socks she had knitted. She presented them with an air of great magnanimity, saying, "now you not come any more for knock my Ambrosch down?"

I love how she presented them with an air of great magnanimity! Shouldn't we all be presenting the socks we make with "great magnanimity?

Here is the first pair of socks that I knit. I really had to pay attention to the pattern and focus. I am trying to imagine knitting them while walking along a heard of cattle with the Nebraska prairie all around. Here is description of the prairie from the book...

As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie with colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running.

And then there is Lena...

Lena lived in the Norwegian settlement west of Squaw Creek, and she used to herd her fathers cattle in the open country between his place and the Shimerdas'. Whenever we rode over in that direction we saw her out among her cattle, bareheaded and barefooted, scantily dressed in tattered clothing, always knitting as she watcher her herd....

Chris Lingard was not a very successful farmer, and he had a large family. Lena was always knitting stockings for little brothers and sisters...

After a few years on the farm Jim's family moved into town. Their neighbors the Harlings were a wonderful family, anyone would want them for their neighbor. There is mention of Mrs. Harling crocheting in the livingroom.

So, I was glad to see that the needle arts were a part of lives 100 years ago on the Nebraska prairie and passed down to us. Part of the book shared the great divide between different nationalities. What I am noticing is that most nationalities (at least the ones from colder climates) all have their knitting histories. And what fun to learn about them all!

As I am writing this my knitted slippers are felting (I hope) in my washer and my box of yummy yarn for my Latvian mittens is sitting wide open waiting for me to start!

We have another knitter!

On Sunday, in front of a lovely fire, I taught my daughters friend Louise to knit.It was a great day to learn to knit. We were in the middle of a foot of snow falling from the sky. It billowed past the window, almost blizzard like. And then there was the calm of the fireplace and ... a new skein of yarn...and someone who had called me to say, "can you teach me how to knit?".

Louise caught on very quickly. She is either a natural, or a 13 year old without a lot of other responsibilities. Not that a 13 year old isn't busy, and concerned about many things. I just saying, when I taught my 40 year old friend to knit it took her a lot longer. I think she was having a hard time with the 3 three year old wanting to sit in her lap, the loud Mario game playing on the TV, and someone wanting a drink. Perhaps Blanche was just a bit more distracted by life.

I like to think Louise is a natural:) And if she continues to knit, she may find it a fabulous way to relax when, perhaps, she finds herself with 3 kids under the age of 5!

Anyway, Louise only needed guidance for one row, and then off she went to create a perfectly knit dishcloth. We purposely used needles that were a bit to big for the yarn just to get into the rhythm of knitting. When the tension is too tight it is very difficult to continue.

Ta Daaaaaaaa

So, after such an accomplishment in less than 24 hours, I helped her to get started on the "Idiot's Dishcloth".  This dishcloth actually has a written pattern to follow. It includes a yo (yarn over) and knit 2 together.

So, not only did Louise start on her 2nd dishcloth, she also began to learn the art of decoding a knitting pattern.Which is no small feat!

What's next? Maybe some cables!!

Review of my 2010 Goals...

OK, it's time to check last years goals. Mainly because I want to set some new ones. Let's see how I did...

1. Finish the Coral Sweater!! Really all I need to do is attach the sleeves!!

Yes, the sleeves are now attached.

 

2. Explore all that Ravelry has to offer. I joined, but have not done more than that!

 I need to keep this one for 2011. I joined, 1/2 way linked my blog, added a few projects, joined a few groups, found 2 friends, and have so much more to learn.

3. Make something to felt.Check:)

4. Try ordering yarn on-line. The prices seem to be great. I want to find out if the colors will be close and the service will be fast.Check, favorite on-line store of the yearn is www.knitpicks.com

5. Visit more local yarn shops.  Yes   www.yarngarage.com, www.3kittensneedlearts.com, www.borialisyarn.com

6. Attend a knitting event this spring. I took my 6 year old to the Shepherds Festival on a very cold day!

7. Make a knitting basket. This one may be the felting project I am looking for.

Does a knitting bag count? Yes! See felted item above.

8. Teach someone how to knit. Yes, I taught my friend Blanch how to knit.

9. Find a nice yarn for knitting dish cloths.  Yes, I found corn yarn.

10. Knit a sweater for me! (I already have the pattern picked out.) I started one...this will have to be continued on the 2011 list;)

OK, now to plan for the rest of 2011....

One more Scarf for my Fabulous Husband

Remember this scarf? Yup, it's the one I knit for my fabulous husband...and now it is gone. We are sure that it is not in our house or car. So, we suspect he lost it at work. We can only hope someone who really needs it is enjoying it!  

So the missing scarf leads to my husband having no scarf and high temperatures of 8 degrees! Yes, a high of 8. Which means that in the morning we are starting out at -8, or so. And a great need for a scarf.

I had been saving this yummy Yukon yarn by Plymouth Yarn, which is 35% Mohair, 35% Wool, and 30% Acrylic, for a scarf for me. If we had :"touch-o-vision" you could feel how rich and soft and thick this yarn really is.

 

  

When I bought this yarn I also bought 2 ribbons of silk. I was thinking about how great weaving these into the camel colored scarf would be. At first I tried weaving the ribbon in a vertical pattern following the natural rows from my knit/purl pattern. It was difficult to see the ribbon in this direction. So, I decided to try a pattern at each end of the scarf.

 A great thing about this yarn, and being creative with the silk ribbons is that you can try something, undo it, and then try something else until you get the look you want. 

In the end I took the ribbons out so my husband can go back to being warm. He loved the creativity of the ribbons, but did not think they enhanced his manly appearance:)

A Pair of Felt Clogs for me! Part 2

I just realized we got from Part 1 to Part 2 quickly. Next time I think I will take a few more pictures!!

Here they are...almost ready for felting! I have finished the pink tops and attached the second sole.

Then I secured all the ends...

And now they are awaiting my sisters washing machine for felting.

 

Why am I going to my sisters house for this event?  Well, because I have a front loading washer and have not had good luck felting in it! She has a great big, really old, washing machine that works really well for felting. And I get to catch up with what is happening in her world:)

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Knitter!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear MOM!

Happy Birthday to you!

What a great 1960's photo!! 

We have both changed so much over the last 40 years!

Thanks for teaching me how to knit! 

Thanks for being the always available phone helper. What a gift to describe knitting techniques over the phone!

Looking forward to many more projects!

I love you!

A Pair of Felt Clogs for me! Part 1

The girls boots (yes I will share the pre and post felting pictures once I figure out where they are!) look so comfy, I decided to make a pair of clogs for myself. Especially since I feel like I live in a snow globe! Really, is it supposed to snow EVERY day in winter?

First I selected my yarn and carefully wound the balls from the skeins. See how nice they look....

 Then along comes...Stella....apparently she had a blast while I was not in the living room....

...Because this is what I picked up off the floor when I returned to the living room!

 So, then I did this...some of the yarn was so twisted. It was easier to cut and then join (see a previous post about joining wool yarn)

 And then it was time to begin. Here is the first of my 4 soles. Each clog has a double sole so they will last a really long time.

 

And all of that took a really long time. Now on the the rest of the clogs!

I hope to be wearing them soon.