Distractions

I have had a lot of things to do lately. Primarily, there was LOTS of packing, cleaning, painting, remodeling, and moving on the agenda. On top of those activities there were concerts to perform on the viola, Fall festivals and concerts to present with my Orchestra students at school, and a student teacher to supervise. Now I am ready to do a little relaxing and resume my favorite hobby, just in time for making all of those holiday gifts! But let me share a few pictures from "before, during, and after."

Looking into the living room from the front entrance:
BEFORE (boring...)



DURING (good riddance to that carpet / hello wheat grass color on the wall)



ALL MOVED IN! (wood floors and furniture in place. Where are my pictures?!)




Looking into the dining area from the living room:
BEFORE (How unattractive is off-white EVERYTHING?!)



DURING (New chandelier, color, flooring ready to be laid.)



AFTER (Dinner anyone?)



The view down a very long driveway. Many leaves have fallen since this picture was taken.



Some morning frost on the marigolds.



Of course I must confess to stealing a few moments to finish up with the summer knitting...



More on those soon! Happy Knitting!

PEACOCKS!!!

Once upon a time, there was a woman who unwound more yarn than she could knit... almost... (that would be me!)



Presenting: Fiddlesticks Knitting - Peacock Feathers Shawl



Details:
Pattern: Peacock Feathers Shawl available from fiddlesticksknitting.com
Needles: Size 4, 32" circular Addi Turbo lace
Yarn: Exquisite, 50% mulberry silk, 50% merino wool - 2 balls
Start date: March 28, 2009
Finish date: August 29, 2009



As I look at these pictures, I am astounded that I created this... I thought I would not be able to stop writing. I am finding that the shawl speaks for itself, and my story (and long list of hardships and complaints) is less important than its finished existence.



A few hundred hours, thousands of stitches.



This project was a true test of paying attention. Every lace row needed careful controlling. The right, focused, state of mind was helpful to accomplishing a flawless row. And then I re-checked the lace pattern to make sure I didn't miss any stitches. My day dreaming needed constant reigning in. Very interesting...



And the reason for the season: a young peacock or two, favorite pets.



(A few more months of maturing needed before the full plumage and tail feathers grow in.)



... or many peacocks! (Six, total, currently live here on K & L's farm.)



And a peacock themed wedding on my brother's farm! This is my newest sister-in-law modeling the loot on her wedding day this past weekend! (Click on picture to enlarge to see stitch pattern)



Congrats to K and L for tying the knot. Here's to many happy years together on your lovely farm!

PIGS!!!

This past weekend was my middle brother's wedding on his farm in the (nearly) completed new house. Since he and his wife were hosting the WHOLE thing, my family had to put our heads together to add a little special something to the rehearsal dinner.

As a wedding present for the bride, I made the Fiddlesticks Knitting Peacock Shawl to enhance the peacock themed wedding. It was presented to the bride as a family welcome gift. Plus, she may have wanted to use it for her wedding the next day. It turned out to be HOT, though there were some nice pictures taken at the wedding photo session.



Next up, was a presentation of the Groom's Cake... inspired by his favorite stuffed animal - a baby boar piglet.



Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it fully decorated with Godiva truffles and marzipan fruits before everyone started snacking on them... The glaze frosting was also a little worse for the wear after the car ride to Ohio. Oh well!



The groom's cake was followed by a scavenger hunt around the farm (idea compliments of my other brother, J).

You see, this farm is on McDonald Road. And Old McDonald has live horses, cows, dogs, cats, chickens, and peacocks, BUT NO PIGS on this farm. We had to remedy this situation....

Pig on a Pan



Pig Spout Snout (watering can)



If Pigs Could Fly...



Pig on a Pot (hidden in the outhouse that you see in background!!)



Back side of Pig on a Pot

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Pretty Primping Pigs (originally placed in front of a mirror)



Pigs in a Pen (originally placed near the pens in the barn)



Most A-DOOR-able pig door stop (with a very cute nephew...)



Basil Roasted Pig



Pig Pics on a Post (Pictures in magnetic frames were originally placed on a post supporting the deck)



Pig ornament



Sunday morning reading and relaxing



Painted Prize Pigs



More Pig Prizes - My father cut out these little pigs on a band saw, both parents sanded them off, and an artist neighbor applied the paint. (She also painted the pig "on the pot" and vase of "pretty primping pig.") All scavenger hunt participants received a prize pig as a reward for participating. The whole affair happened in the dark by flashlight... a little sketchy on a farm full of potholes and manure.



A ton of fun was had by all! And Old McDonald can now sing the pig verse on his farm! There he is with his piggy garden ornaments!



Congratulations!

Post Script: I know this is a knitting blog, but I didn't find a knit pig pattern until three days before the wedding. Clearly, a miscalculation in planning; that pig was not going to be made in time. Maybe for Christmas!

Where, oh where has summer gone?

Summer freedom has come and gone. My school has been in session since August 10th! In spite of oodles of free time, no blog posts have appeared. Knitting has been happening, sometimes in beautiful places.

At Two Jack Lake in Banff National Park.



Lace knitting in a tent is quite an experience!



Airplane knitting. That break in the clouds was the end of some of the worst roller coaster plane riding I have experienced...



Also a new experience this summer: entering knitting at the Indiana State Fair AND winning an honorable mention! I entered the "Spring Break Sweater" in the "two or more colors" category, not remembering that stranded knitting would be entered into this category. All the color ribbon winners, of course, did indeed knit intarsia. I felt honored to get some recognition, even though my work was less complicated.



More finished projects coming up soon.... including a post or two about my brother K's wedding next weekend! Stay tuned, and till then, Happy Knitting!

Beautiful Blogiversary

Saturday, May 2, this blog turned one year old. I was planning on commemorating the event with a post on the day, but it so happened that I was taking 57 middle school orchestra students to Kings Island for the day, all day. I was dreading it all week, due to a horrible weather forecast. Every time I logged onto the weather website, there was a greater chance of rain and chilly temperatures. Until Saturday morning, when suddenly, the precipitation percentage dropped to 30% and only "showers" were predicted. As our buses rolled closer to Ohio, the sky became progressively bluer and sunnier. Once at the park, it was a P E R F E C T day for riding roller coasters and entertaining young teenagers.



On top of that, there was plenty of time on the bus to start some knitting that also included stash busting. Here is a little headband that I came up with.



Details:
Pattern: Mine 108 stitches in the round
Needles: size 4 16" circulars
Yarn: leftover from reindeer headband in Christmas post
Knit 11 rounds
Purl 1 round
Knit 4 rounds
Add blue in this pattern (go bottom to top)
oooxoooxoooxoo
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
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Knit 1 round in original color
Knit 1 round in contrasting color
Repeat pattern above in contrast
Knit 1 row in contrasting color
Knit one row in original color
Repeat pattern above
Knit 4 rows in original color
Purl one row
Knit 11 rows
Bind off, fold inward at purl rows, and sew together
Started: May 2, 2009
Finished: May 3, 2009

Happy Beautiful Birthday, Blog!

A Knit Mouse!

I recently ran across several very cute mouse patterns. This one came with free instructions on the website, so the knitting choice was easy.



Details:
Pattern: Marisol Mouse (yarnigans.vox.com/library/post/marisol-mouse.html)
Needles: 4 size 3 DPNs
Yarn: leftover Lyon Brand wool-ease in dark gray and Encore in dusty rose
Start date: April 27, 2009
Finish date: April 29, 2009



This mouse is going to a dear, dear person who needs a great deal of cheering after a long string of bad luck. I hope it makes you laugh!!



And the knitting de-stressed me greatly too. There is nothing like dealing with the stress of administering standardized testing (for the third time this year!) during a school day. An evening knitting diversion is just the ticket for continued sanity.



Happy Knitting!

Humans have usable wool too...

It's donation time! Last Friday I decided time was up for this long mop of mine. I got 10+ inches chopped off and made my 5th donation to Locks of Love (locksoflove.org). If your hair grows quickly, please consider donating 10+ inches to this fine organization, which makes wigs for children who don't have hair.



Since I am a teacher, I try to donate every 2 years to inspire my students to also grow out their hair. 80% of donations come from children under 18 who wish to help other children. Two years ago four other students and another teacher joined me in cutting their hair. I hope this year will be as inspirational!