For what seemed like forever, I had only one red sock finished for my son. He was very patient, but I could tell he really wanted to be able to wear them. And the socks weren’t being knit fast enough for either of our liking. After Christmas vacation, I continued working on the second red sock as my project to do while I waited for Johann during his guitar lesson, but that wasn’t getting me very far. The guitar teacher has a beautiful Shetland sheepdog, who begs to be scratched behind the ears and petted for most of the time we are there. How can I say no?

We took the train up to Boston recently to go to the Museum of Science. I brought the second red sock to work on and finally finished it! My son is very happy to have both socks. That is another completed, old project out of my stash and made into something that has a place to be put away. I’m finally getting things better organized, one project at a time.

Ever since my husband discovered “The Potter” a few years ago, whenever I need an inspirational boost, I watch this short. The creative process for me is very much the same. I put myself into everything I make. As a way to get my New Year jump started, I made a point of watching “The Potter” January 1. Until I took my art class last November and then started this blog, I felt very much alone as far as finding other people who were just like me in their creativity.

If you have problems viewing this video, “The Potter” is at YouTube.

The first time I saw this short it brought tears to my eyes. Josh and everyone else who worked on this project captured exactly what I think and feel the creative process is all about, but have never been able to put into words. I’ve also longed for a mentor like the ancient creature in the animation, since I had to move away from my art teacher at the age of 10. Because I couldn’t find one, I’ve had to teach myself.

Any time the subject of teaching comes up, I naturally think of my son, since I homeschool him. Wanting him to be challenged in school and have more science and math in his curriculum, especially from an earlier age, are among the top reasons my husband and I chose to homeschool. Homeschooling is very rewarding, although hard at times, and as many teachers have confided in me, I’ve also had days when I wondered if I was making a difference or not. My son made my day when he turned to me after seeing this short for the first time and said, “Mom, you’re a teacher like that for me. Thank you.”

For the past two weeks I’ve been knitting away at my new cardigan. My father-in-law took me shopping for the most gorgeous yarn as a birthday present while we were visiting. A family friend told us about a going-out-of-business sale at the yarn shop in Fredericksburg, TX, so we went over to take a look.

This shop was special and I was very sad it was closing. Even though it was a small space, the shop was beautifully laid out, with the main focus being the community knitting table. Everything was carefully selected and placed. I could imagine myself coming in to sit, knit, and chat, if I lived there. The owner also carried every color of high-quality fulled wool you could imagine for applique and sewing projects. It was one of those places that inspires you and makes you want to go straight home and start creating. As I looked around, I tried to make a memory imprint of my surroundings. It’s sad to me that it won’t be there the next time we go to visit.

My father-in-law, husband, and son were all coaxing me to shop with wild abandon. “Get whatever you want!” they said. I knew I couldn’t, or shouldn’t, go too crazy. I’ve been trying to use up my stash and get it to be more manageable, i.e. easier to store in the small space I have. One of my goals this year is to not only knit up projects sooner, but also to knit up what I’ve already bought for and be sure I finish ALL of them! There are still a few projects from a few years ago that I just stopped knitting once the challenge was out of it for me, but now those projects are clogging up my space. It took me some time to switch gears on shopping style.

As I was trying to decide which yarn to buy, I was particularly drawn to the colors in the Manos del Uruguay kettle dyed yarn in one of the yarn cubbies. The colors are perfect: all shades of rose, lavender, moss green, and tan. I love that it’s called Wildflower. The fiber is a luscious blend of silk and extrafine merino wool. I looked at everything else, but kept gravitating back to this yarn and touching it. Being a very tactile person, once I touched this yarn, I knew I had to quickly calculate how much I would need for a cardigan. I could already imagine the garment I would knit from it and the buttons I would find to go with it. Before we paid and left, I got coaxed into tacking on a few more skeins, just to be sure I had enough.

Once home, I pored over knitting books and magazines for the perfect pattern that matched what I imagined in the yarn store. I searched online and found the perfect tagua nut buttons at LillianOlive on Etsy. They match the tan in the yarn exactly. I suspend my knowledge that this yarn is really caterpillar spit and fine sheep’s hair, which is a quality in human hair that we don’t always prize. Or maybe I marvel even more at the natural fiber because of it. Who would have thought something with such simple beginnings could become this gorgeous yarn? It knits up so beautifully and is a joy to handle.

This has been one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. Shopping sprees are fun, because you get to splurge on something guilt-free and get what you really could use, but haven’t had the money for. But every stage of this project has been exciting for me. Even hand winding the skeins into balls has been enjoyable, because I get to touch the yarn again. I’m relishing all my knitting time and can’t wait to wear my new sweater!

Yarn and supplies — $30.00.

Labor costs — $105.00.

Surprising a friend at work and making her laugh — priceless.

As soon as we got there, I got out my knitting and started the new special order I got right before we left. One of our friends wants a scarf in shades of purple. I had a lot of time alone in between outings, so I was able to get the scarf done in just a few days.

Then I pulled out my son’s socks. I’ve been taking this project with me while I wait during my son’s guitar lessons for the past month and a half. I was so busy knitting wrist warmers for selling that that was the only time I could work on his red and charcoal gray twist wool socks. These were fast becoming the socks I was never going to finish, so I hoped to get them done while we were away. I completed the first sock and started on the second. When I came to the end of the first skein, I couldn’t find the second one. I was sure I had packed it and was worried that when my suitcase had been searched that it had inadvertently fallen out. Either that or I’d left it at home. Not being able to continue was frustrating at best and I had to wait a full week to see if the yarn was at home or not.

Luckily, I had brought a third project. I found the perfect use for some beautiful, hand-painted Punta Yarns I bought on our last trip to New York. I couldn’t afford to buy a lot of it, so I got two skeins. I couldn’t resist the combination of the blues and greens in the soft merino and cashmere blend. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it, as I have enough scarves and socks already. When I saw the modern reticule pattern in the new Jane Austen Knits magazine, I knew that was it! I had the base already finished on the needles before the trip. I was able to finish the body of the handbag and start the handles during the rest of the time we were in Texas.

On the connecting flight home there was a woman who’d managed to get through security with a cowl on 16 inch aluminum circular knitting needles, which really bothered me! I made the effort to ask and thought the double pointed needles would fall into the “tools under 7 inches” category that would be allowed and was denied. But I also wasn’t willing to take the chance and have my knitting needles taken from me and thrown away. This woman probably just brought it not caring and talked her way out of it.

Now we are home. I searched for and found the sock yarn on the floor mixed in with other yarn I’d gone through near where I’d packed my bag. I had already come up with a plan to rip out the first sock to the heel and reknit it, using what was left of the red for the legs, heels, and toes of the socks. I would then get a matching dark gray yarn for the feet. I still like the idea, but I’m glad I don’t have to rip the sock out! I’ll save that idea for another time. In the meantime, I am happily knitting on the second sock again.

We’ve already decided the issues with possible cats on the plane is like playing Russian Roulette with my allergies. I didn’t know cats were allowed in the cabin now. I’ve never been so stressed while traveling before in my life. My son’s guitar humidifier was taken from our luggage by TSA, I guess because of something in the water-absorbing crystals? That paired with the unfair and inconsistent treatment of being able to bring knitting on the plane has made us want to drive instead of fly next time.

Hope everyone out there had great holidays and lots of good knitting!

Tai’s rainbow gloves

Tai loves her new gloves! I finished them last Tuesday. We had lunch at Thai Sawasdee, her restaurant, on Wednesday. (Best Thai food in southeastern Connecticut, by the way!) When I gave them to her, her face lit up. She tried them on right away and showed everyone.

Tai’s cousin, Nat, saw the hat and scarf when she was here several months ago and asked me to make her one of each. Tai told me she plans to take her gloves with her when she goes home to Thailand for a visit. I’m reserving the leftover yarn just in case Nat decides she’d like a pair of the gloves too. I don’t want to be caught again without the supplies, if I need them!

Tai modeling her new hat.

She wasn’t sure at first how to describe what she wanted, but knew what she didn’t want if I showed her pictures. So we went through the process of elimination. I searched for pictures to show her. When it didn’t strike her as being what she wanted, I kept searching for what she might like. On the fourth try, I took in several of my knitting books for her to look at. She saw one style she liked, but wanted the palm to be a different pattern similar to a mitten pattern in another book.

The knitting technique for the mitten, however, was adding different colors of scraps, creating shag on the inside and the look of various colors knitted into the mitten on the outside. I confirmed with her that she was after the colors, not the bulk the felting of that shag would create after wearing. She wanted the main color to match the scarf and all the other colors to match her hat, which was a neat way to create a uniquely matching set, while still making each element of the set different. I wasn’t sure how I would do it, but I told her I’d try.

My first idea was to use a variegated rainbow-colored yarn I had seen at KnitPicks. Unfortunately, at the time I needed to get started, they were temporarily sold out. I couldn’t wait, so I had to come up with another solution. I settled on using leftover yarn from her hat and splicing the yarn, which I vaguely remembered reading about somewhere. After deliberating over which color from the scarf would best showcase all the colors that would be in the palm, I chose the dark gray for the cuff and fingers. Once that was ordered, I did a Google search to learn how to splice the yarn, something I’d never done before.

After watching several tutorial videos on you tube and receiving the dark gray yarn in the mail, I got to work. This project was a challenge, but I was excited about it. Tai is a creative person and is always putting different elements together to create something completely fresh. She’s never overwhelmed by too many choices and can visualize what she would like in her head just as well as I can for myself. I just have to pay attention and listen carefully, which is a lot easier than guessing or fishing for answers.

In making these gloves, I ended up writing my own pattern to translate what she wanted into a finished knitted product. I had her try on glove number one to be sure of the finger lengths and get feedback, then duplicated it once she said she liked it. The picture below is of glove number two right before dividing the palm stitches for the fingers. These gloves took me a long time to make, but I reaped the benefit of learning a new technique, writing and testing a new pattern, and putting a smile on a friend’s face.

Knitting up Tai’s gloves — a work in progress

Purple Hearts for the daughter

Orange Skulls for the son

Rainbow diamonds for the Mrs.

White skulls for the Mr.

*This post originally appeared at Eclectic Echoes

Johann and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Sweater

Jocular Jesters

*This post originally appeared on Eclectic Echoes