...In the beginning.....

…always wanted to start something with these words…this kind of fits the bill. In the beginning, there were only words and pictures on a page, with stacks of assorted yarns and fibers and needle-paraphernalia as well as patterns galore! The paper, how it flies and floats when tossed to the side…the scattered mumblings of ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ and ‘what in the world was I thinking of?’ are punctuated with exultant “Yes!” and ‘perfect opportunity to try this technique’ and ‘who am I kidding? I am not ready to tackle this one yet!

So the choosing process has commenced, with several definite’s now waiting in the bin, each pattern matched with it’s yarn/spun fiber and assorted post-it notes with the giftee name(if applicable)/needle size needed/buttons or beads. The bin also contains a carry-bag so that at a moment’s notice a Kit can be grabbed. The remaining necessities for the carrybag is the “essentials” kit that will remain – you know the one, it’s the bottomless purse for needlecrafters that contains the space crochet hook for catching drops (though a bobby pin will do in a pinch), the tape measure, the extra short pieces of yarn for provisional cast-on’s and/or stitch holders, an extra small caliber double-point (or cable needle, or in a pinch a paper clip), an assortment of stitch markers (an unopened Dollar Store special of 500-pack mini hair elastics) that double as row markers, a small pair of scissors, a mini notepad and pen (an extra Post-It pad is always good too, mark and move about on your pattern without ruining the pattern copy), a travel pack of Kleenex, and of course there must be something chocolate! I am sure that other bits and pieces will eventually find their way into the bag over time, but for now, these are my essentials. Each pattern is enclosed in its own page protector, and any books have their pages appropriately tagged with multicolored post-it’s.

Now, as to the order of the patterns….I have always been one to flit from one project to another unless a deadline loomed large – that way, I did not have time to get bored or frustrated with any one pattern, and I got to enjoy a number of different fibers/techniques concurrently. So to, there was always something new that would demand to be added to the list. And if the mojo to work on those projects just wasn’t there, there is always the assorted cottons for making cloths/towels/scrubbers or small amounts of wools for wristers (both my projects of choice for random brainless knitting). But, for this particular Year of Projects, I find myself starting before July 1st for a special surprise pressie due within a few weeks. I also have a few baby presents to be made for this summer and fall, and a graduation present that may be needed for January instead of June……So, I will list my YoP-Book items but not in any given order…I will leave that to the individual postings of what I worked on….

So, without further ado (other than explanation/rationale for the choices), the following is AnDy’s Amble through the Fiber Patch……as it has been quite a challenge to winnow this list of “Must Do/Should Make/Already Begun/Asked For” down to a workable sized list. With over 30 items (more, if I dig further), something had to give. So, beginning with the gift items that figure prominently:

- A special birthday (details to be revealed afterwards to prevent the secret from getting out)
- An upcoming graduation (see Spinning section below)
- Several babies: (1) Emil’s PeaBabe, and (2) a pair of longies
- Christmas items (not determined yet)

Add to this several of the SIP’s currently being rotated through -- I am going to pick 2 pairs to finish:
- Alaine
- Tabi socks
If time allows, rotate another pair or 2 – these sox are on top of a pair on my To-Do list for my DD
- Spiral Eyelets

Spinning has been completed for Wendy’s Mystery Summer Shawlette and knitting will be worked on as soon as I complete a SheKnits mystery from a previous year, Robin, that has been languishing on the needles (I need the circulars, hence Robin must be completed in order to cast on!). Add to this, the silk roving is almost completely spun, and will shortly thereafter be knit into a shawl as graduation gift for a niece (beads will add just the right touch of bling).

I have several other shawls to be added to the mix (including at least one new SheKnits Mystery-8, and one to make in cotton thread Autumn Sun) but these are going to wait to be listed until I finish a few older ones (Cedar Wrap is over half done; Saroyan has been started; and Wagon Wheel is over ¾ done).

…And if I find I don’t have enough to do (ha ha), there are always washcloths/towels, wristers, or`naments, mindless-hockey-socks, etc…

Luna !

I am on a roll here.... I either go for months on end without a single post, or I am finding inspiration and beauty every where I go. Take for instance yesterday when I went to see how the building of the woodshed was going. Hubby is in the process of building walls on top of a concrete box base -- on an inside wall, I found this little guy (?gal)

Hubby said he had not seen that one but had almost stepped on another that he moved outside the shed, and upon looking where he told me he had placed it, yup, still there, and a third one attached to the outside of the building. Now, around here, we may see 2 or 3 over the entire summer, so to see that many all in one place was very kewl. This morning hubby needed my help to hold a beam he was nailing in place so I looked around to see if they were still there -- they were, along with 2 more !

After I was done helping, I headed back to the house ...among other things to get to work, and also to find some info on the moths, or Actias luna. Apparently, these moths developed from caterpillars hatched from last fall's eggs (which over-wintered somewhere nearby). The adult moths only live for about a week, they do not eat (no mouth), their only purpose is to mate. Once they do that, they will die. The eggs will hatch, and the caterpillars will eat their way through several stages of development before finally spinning themselves into a cocoon (this silk is spinnable by people, I am given to understand, though it is not the strongest of silks to use for this purpose). These cocoons will hatch and the new moths begin their life cycle again, with this batch of eggs waiting until the spring to hatch.

I suppose I will need to look around the area a little closer this weekend...maybe I might get lucky enough to see one emerge -- now that would be way-kewl !

Confirmed !

A month or so ago while on one of my rambles through the woods & trails, I spotted a gnarly-looking tree with the immediate thought being "hey! that's an apple tree!".....of course, with it being early spring full of mud and assorted snow covering much of the ground beneath the trees including any water-filled ditches, it was not possible to get closer to check it out. So I made a mental note to myself to come back when the landscape started to bud out. We had already found one old apple tree beside the trail several years back, and knew the deer frequented that spot as well -- for that matter, it is not unusual to see deer tracks through much of this trail, and several spots seem to be the main "runs" if you will. In any case, the rain finally let up long enough for the sun to emerge and dry things up a bit, so off I went down the trail....yes, I can still see a little ways into the woods, but not for much longer. The understory of the forest has come to life in a big way, such that a stream I could see from my kitchen window has already disappeared from view, and seeing much on the ground level is not easy either, so the eyes go up and see what the canopy and under-canopy have in them. My gnarly tree is all decked out in its white/pink glory of blossoms...yes! it is an apple tree !

I am thinking I may have to go a bit further afield and see if I can find any more such surprises...we know the house we live in has been here for quite some time -- my neighbor gave us a picture of it when it was a farmhouse at the turn of the century (1900), and with all the various moss-covered stone walls that are to be found in the middle of the woods it is easy to see how much things have changed. It would not have been an uncommon thing for a farm to have fruit trees, or for that matter that people or birds and or have probably done their share of dropping seeds over the years as well. So, my mission, should I choose to accept it, is to follow some of these stone wall boundaries and see if there are more apple trees to be found.......and, no, this will not self-destruct in 5 seconds...lol....until the next time, when this intrepid wanderer will say.............

Well hello ......seems I have been very remiss of late, too busy being too busy that I have forgotten to stop and smell the roses...well, a little early yet up here for roses, though my rose bushes are starting to leaf out so I will have some. Instead of roses though, this little beauty was found in the woods.

We almost didn't see them because it really wasn't the purpose of being near that stream, but still a nice surprise. Walking through the woods here is a never-ending treat -- depending on the time of year (time of day and/or weather conditions), you could easily miss something today that you are sure you saw the week before. I especially enjoy the early spring, late afternoons....looking through the wooods, you can see so far into the shadows where the old moss-covered stumps almost disappear....A month from now, it will be almost impossible to see so far into the wood as the small shrubby stuff will have come in and will get progressively fuller and green...you will soon "hear" the skitterings through the undergrowth but not see it.

I have signed on to a new group with Ravelry, so expect to see some of my needlework projects in the coming months. Still have to decide what to do, where the patterns are from, what fibers to use, etc., so have some work to do on that list yet, but suffice to say they will be tagged...look for a YoPP designation, for Year of Projects Post.

...should have listened to the bees....

.”…picture-perfect memories…..” -- memories are like little windows-in-time -- when you open one up, you never know what you are going to find, that glimpse into who or what or where or when….happenings that you have forgotten or get to laugh out loud at again because of, or just think about in a different way ……

Looking out my office window I see the small tree atop the snow…. No, wait, that’s not a small tree, that is the Top of the tree sitting above the pile of snow. We have had so much snow of late that what we plow gets shoved up when it can go no further back…. That tree sits in the center of a flower bed, one where my daughter ran over a hornet’s nest this fall while mowing the lawn… a nest that had not been there the previous week…and a very active nest it was too, with lots of yellow jack’s going in and quickly exiting carrying sand bit in their excavation of the nest. I remember my father telling us years ago when I was a kid, that you could tell what kind of a winter it was going to be by watching the bees – how high did they build a hive in the tree, or how deep in the ground or protected wall did they go…the flower bed is a raised bed built into the side of the slope on the lawn, in full sun the greater part of the day…..and this is where they chose to stay for the winter. This was not acceptable to us so close to the house, especially as there is a fair amount of traffic (us and the dogs and cat, on our way down to the garage) going beside it, so out came the bee spray late in the day when the majority if not all were back. Hubby sprayed all the way around the raised bed so that the bees would not decide to simply move the nest elsewhere in the flower bed (I usually am the one to putter and pluck weeds in this one)…..Yup, missed a few bees, cause a week later daughter almost ran over a nest some 20 feet away by a rock edging the property line…think we got them all this time…we’ll see come the spring if we didn’t….

Don’t get me wrong…I don’t mind bees in general, so long as they stay where they should. Had it been a nest of bumble bees, they could have stayed – yellow jack’s have a tendency to be downright ornery, mean, and nasty, and short-tempered…not a good neighbor (or houseguest if they find a hole in your foundation)….

I have heard that bees are supposed to be good luck, but not if you killed the bee…. hmmmm….some bee lore I found online: “if a bee enters your home, it’s a sign that you soon will have a visitor. If you kill the bee, you will have bad luck or the visitor will be unpleasant” – hmmm, don’t know if this holds true when the bee in question, the yellow jack, enters the house in daughter’s pants leg after stinging her……not good luck for daughter I am thinking, but there you go……

the Invitation

I have been invited to attend something different…..it is a Reveal. Now for those of you not in-the-know or who don’t follow any ghost hunters’ type of program, this is where the hunters come in with their findings after having checked out a particular location.

The particular building is an old one, having been located on that spot for over a hundred years, so it stood to reason there might possibly be spirits from another time….The building was formerly a church, now used by the town’s Historical Society as well as various community groups as a meeting hall, some of whom involve children. Once such group has had odd feelings/sensations when going upstairs into the church proper by themselves.

In any case, this sounds like it could be interesting, on many levels. For starters, I was raised as a Catholic, and ghosts are not something usually accepted in that faith – angels as messengers of God yes, spirits of long-departed persons no. Now, add to this that over the years I have sidestepped some of the Church teachings of my youth because I found them to be close-minded and out-of-touch with the common man…their lack of acceptance of who/what a person is with their insistence that the only RIGHT way was theirs, has made it very difficult for me to claim myself as a fully practicing member of the community. I tend to accept people for whom and what they are, irregardless of color/gender/creed, and yeah, that goes to having a belief in the supernatural and what are considered to be pagan faiths. As far as I am concerned, it does not matter what your God or Goddess is called….all are names for the same being(s). Seeing God only as the one you cannot see who expects obedience to all His dictates is a bit hard to swallow right now….Seeing him/her as that spirit embodied by the earth renewing itself and sustaining you, THAT makes more sense to me. And how, you wonder, does this connect to my attending a Reveal? A number of reasons including curiosity – who, when, why, etc; education – paranormal study is a bit of science and faith, and philosophy – understanding the undercurrents of why a spirit chose or was caused to remain, what message they may have for us, how is their past connected to our future, and more importantly, will our belief or lack of such cause their feelings toward us to change?

So…will I accept this invitation? Will I go to satisfy a curiosity, or to connect with something unseen? Will I find answers to the un-asked questions that I keep buried deep? Will attending change me?....hard to say, but certainly something to think on a little more, and perhaps to attend….we shall have to wait and see…..

..there's gold in them thar' ......

It's morning here, and the usual rush of activity in the house goes on...daughter trying to get her things ready for school but seemingly too busy listening to her iPod to really get anything else accomplished...dogs underfoot alternating between people, hoping that someONE will feed them their breakfast...sounds of traffic outside including the rumbling roar of the schoolbus as it heads up the hill to start it's first run of the day...And me, I stand at the back door with coffee in hand, enjoying the growing glow of sunlight on the treetops......a few moments in time is all that glow lasts, yet it is enough to calm the disquiet and allow me to start my day on a bright note....so here's to your starting your day and savoring the gold......