Autumn and change

This is the third time I have written the following words…

This is the third week in October, and I am excited and scared. This is the season of change for me, because I quit my job effective in 6 days. I have tickets for a plane trip down to San Diego, my hometown, for the next month. The goal is to close my mother’s estate. My mother passed away 4 years ago and between my brother and I we haven’t been able to close her house up and give away her possessions.

Let me tell you a little about my mother. She was a short, large woman if you get my drift. She was a Montessori teacher, she had a huge classroom worth of material plus she had inherited her Mentor’s materials too. She was multicraftual too. Where do you think I got those genes? She sewed, beaded, embroidered, crocheted and knit.

Shortly after my mother passed away I was cleaning out my mother’s clothes and I found a full length (even for me at 5 foot 8 inches) Icelandic coat. I had found my mother’s Magnum opus. I didn’t know she knew how to knit until I found this sweater. I vaguely remember her knitting it now.
I was excited to find it and I wore it to knitting group. I wore it with pride even though it liked I had a hunch back. I hope this will block out when I get a chance. But what made me giggle the most was the epitome of my mother.














That would be a safety pin holding some of the under arm stitches.
My mother sewed the dress she wore to my brother’s wedding. She pinned the buttons on because she didn’t ‘have time’ to sew them on.

But these issues are all forgiven when the end product is this gorgeous!
















So think of all the things in your life you have started - did you finish them as well as you could?

Did you leave something undone that you can finish with help, with doing something new, with challenging yourself?

It doesn’t have to be drastic like quitting your job and moving to a new state even for a little time, but try something new, finish your projects whatever they are as if they were all your Magnum Opus.

Wish me luck, I'm going to finish closing my mother's house, with some help from my brother and cousins, and try something new, and challenge myself to get it done this year.

Always Knitting

So I have been thinking... why don't I have time to clean my house, why do the small projects never get done? It seems like I don't have time to do them. I've had a few request from some friends and family for hand knit items. Some I would never entertain and some I would love to do. But I don't seem to have time to add to my Queue. I finally figured out where all my time goes. There is something that we knitters do and especially the ones that belong to Ravelry a online knitter-verse.

Swaps, I have been in 5 swaps this year. A swap is a kin to pen-pals when we were young but depending on the group will include, yarn, notions, a hand knit item and assorted candies/edibles. I always try very hard to spoil my swap buddy. I read the questionnaire, whatever post they have written, blogs and surf their queues, projects and the likes.... Then I start compiling the theme to the package. I am a really good shopper so I often find goodies for really cheap like the last two swaps I was able to find knitting books perfect for the themes at 1/4 of the retail price of the books. The swap I'm working on right now is to celebrate the second to last Harry Potter movie. So I have the Harry Potter themed item, I bought the yarn from a small hand dyer. I started knitting the project. It's a double knit bookmark

Hogwarts Double Knitted Bookscarves

My partner and I sort, according to the sorting hat, into Gryffindor. So I started knitting that bookscarf and I really started to fall in love with it. My husband's nickname is Lion so I guess that makes sense. I was getting really sad because I was going to send it away. But it turns out my partner feels closer to Ravenclaw! So I get to keep my Gryffindor one. :)
Double Knit is really kind of fun but hard... You knit a two sided fabric that mirrors itself.

Vita Brevis

Today is my 37th birthday.

I am thankful for Facebook, and my friends that are close at hand. They made this birthday not so bad. I miss my mom, and my grandfather and grandmother and even my dad a little.

I am working on a swap project for a ravelry group called the The knit girls and it's a burlesque swap so what am I knitting? Betty of course! It's a fun knit it's taken me less then 2 weeks to knit it, and I finally got all the stuff together to finish it today. I finally found the 'tricot' to add the ruffle which I really think it needed. I taught myself to knit and purl backwards today! There is one section of the g-string that is 6 stitches in garter stitch and man was that going to be rough... So knit backwards!

Carpe Diem

First Post

Hi! Well I opened this blog over a month ago and still haven't posted. I thinking this will be my quiet blog, not linked to anything... The title says it all. Art lasts forever and kind of why I love all the art that I do. And life is way too short. Both my parents died young (65 or less) and I fear that I will follow suit. I would like to say I take better care of my self then they did but it's not always true. But I try. I have some stumbling blocks in my life right now. I am a little dis-satisfied with my job- I just feel like I'm not as good as I used to be and I really would like to have child... but no insurance kind of puts a damper on the second one, and if I moved jobs I might get insurance but then what do I say sorry I have a kid now bye? ARGH. I wish I didn't have to think things through and be a responsible adult.