Knitting Iris

New challenges

Have you seen  Booga J's  Pincushion Challenge?  The theme for May is "Fruit."

I took this picture awhile back, meaning to share this set of handstitched felt fruits that I found at the thrift store, only I forgot to post about it.   They're part of the boys' play foods, not pincushions, although they could be used for that, I suppose.  They're not wool felt.  A couple of them have been through the wash and could use a bit of mending, although you really can't tell from this picture. 

I'd like to make something along these lines for the May challenge, but we'll see whether or not it really happens.  I had such good intentions of taking part in Tie One On in April.  I even picked out the fabric, all from stash, pressed it, and hung it up in a conspicuous place so I'd remember to do it, but here I am on April 30th with no new apron.  Oops.  Missed that.  Maybe in May.

Spring, in the izone.

Out of desperation, I picked up the cheapest digital camera I could find yesterday.  A Polaroid izone 310, on sale for $39 marked down from $80.  After charging it overnight (I didn't realize that the battery was internal), I tried snapping some pictures.  It was really quite laughable.  These were some of the clearer ones.  Top: a larch tree in the foreground with it's needles returning for the summer.  Bottom left: some early blooming species tulips right by the front door, the ones that bloom even before the daffodils and also before the tiny wild purple violets do.  Bottom right: for comparison's sake, the same tulips last week, taken with the old camera, with a single ball of Rowan 4-ply soft thatI bought, just to try it out, at a yarn store in Bigfork that I'd never been to before.

After about 20 or so pictures and playing around with the flash and settings, the battery, and thus, the whole camera, needed recharging for another 2 hours!   I couldn't get a single clear picture and if you use the flash the picture is either yellow-toned or completely white if you're too close to the subject.  I downloaded them anyway just to see how very poor they were.  They're worse than I had thought although, like the old-style Polaroids, they do have a certain charm and odd coloring.

I had planned on passing this camera on to the boys when we replaced our old one, but I'm not sure they could use it at all.  Even the ones I took required quite a bit of finagalling.  Polaroid has never exactly been known for high quality pictures though has it?  At least like those, these ones are still "instant."

This adventure was 1) not at all surprising, 2) slightly entertaining, 3) mildly irritating, and 4) a huge waste of time.  Needless to say, it's going back to the store, if they'll have it.  If not, I can only hope that some day it will become a collector's item.

R.I.P.

I think it finally died.  Yesterday, as I went to pick it up off the kitchen counter, the strap caught on something, knocking it out of my hand and onto the floor.  I picked it up finding the casing cracked wide open along the seam on the top.  I tried to turn it on and it played the part of the dutiful, dying robot, trying to turn on a few last times, beeping pitiully, and then shutting itself down.  Goodbye trusty Fujifilm 3800. 

It wasn't the first time I've dropped it.   I never did treat it as well as I should have.   It was a constant and faithful companion, following me practically everywhere.  It would have lasted 3 years, next month. 

C researched and picked it out, buying it with Christmas $'s from his Grandmother when E was just 4 months old.  It was intended both as a business tool and a family camera.  I was too wrapped up with a new a baby to even read the manual.  I was nervous to try it out and reluctant to learn about it at first but, obviously, at some point I just dove right in.   Having already seen digital cameras that could fit inside an Altoids tin, I thought that it was far too bulky.  I was already carrying around a baby with a 3 year old in tow, a diaper bag, and a purse.  I certainly didn't need a big, padded camera bag with extra batteries, a charger, USB cable,  manual, and extra photo cards, so I rarely brought it with me.

Pretty soon, though, I was just tossing the camera itself into one of my bags and bringing it along, e-mailing pictures of the boys weekly to grandparents.  We started teaching R how to use the camera (carefully!) when he was about 3 and a half.  After reading knitting blogs for awhile, I started taking pictures of my knitting, documenting the F.O's for my own sake.  Aside from family pictures, I had a file full of my own "miscellaneous" pictures.  Then last June I did it, trying out blogging with Typepad's free 30 day trial.  I didn't even tell C about it until after that first month.

Briefly, yesterday, I considered that this might be a sign to take a little blogging break.   Not having a camera for awhile would free me up to take care of some other things I've been planning.  The garden and house could use some attention.  I could always focus more on homeschooling.  I've been meaning to make a film with the boys which is about a month long project.  There's always more knitting. 

On the other hand...

I just finished my Sockapal-3-za socks and won't be able to photograph them.  And there's a big parade in town this Saturday that R's going to be walking in.   My SIL's birthday is next week.  Can I live without a camera?  It might be good for me.  Maybe I'd see and experience things more fully when I'm not reaching for my camera.  I'd travel a bit lighter.   I remember when I used to scoff at people for running to get their camera to take a picture of a beautiful sunset, rather than standing right there where they were and enjoying every second of it. 

Or maybe I'll pick up a disposable, just to get through.  That's the most likely option.

There are already some pictures in waiting for the next few posts so there are probably enough to get through the weekend.  Maybe this is a good time to experiment with some other ways of posting?  Maybe I could learn to master the scanner C bought for business purposes a couple months ago?  With summer on it's way, maybe it's time to share my collection of vintage crocheted and knit swimsuit patterns?  Or some favorite illustrations from chilren's books?  Hmmmm.

I think I've found the replacement camera.  Fujifilm S5200  No, it doesn't fit inside an Altoid tin.  It's the same size as the old one.  It has a few extra features and a better zoom.  The price seems fair.  It has good reviews, for the most part.  I'm just not willing to give up a good zoom for a smaller camera or a bigger price to have both.  This time, however, I'll look for one of those close-fitting cases for it, so I can still carry just the camera itself without doing the damage I inflicted on the other one.  It might just be a bit before we can put the money towards it.  Hopefully sooner than later.

I'd still like a camera tiny enough to fit inside an Altoid tin. Or maybe a stylie one like this pretty, less functional, orange one.  Or maybe I could just use orange fingernail polish?

Speaking of critters

Peg on Vancouver Island, B.C. sent us a link to this site where someone set up a webcam next to a pair of nesting bald eagles.  Amazing footage.  The eggs are expected to hatch soon, sometime on or around the 27th.  Tomorrow!  I have a feeling we'll be checking in often throughout the next week or so.  Apparently there is an overload of viewers though, so in the last few minutes they've posted a request that people not just leave their computers set at that site all day long.  Enjoy!

Here's the best picture I could get of a bluebird in the weedy, unkempt part of the yard yesterday morning, taken from our bedroom window.  It doesn't quite compare to that Eagle Cam now, does it?

Critters. That's all.

Driving past a lake one warmish, sunny, evening last week, we saw these turtles & swans.  Aren't they wonderful?

Fiber Board

Our knitting guild had a fiber arts show in the lobby of the theatre/arts center in Whitefish during the month of February.  My task was to present the different fibers that can be used other than wool in knitting/felting/weaving/etc. as well as display some of my handknit items.  This is the display board that I put together for the show.  In true form, I finished it off last minute and didn't have time to  photograph it before the show.  I only recently received it back.

My hope was to make an interactive display, one that would be kid and adult friendly, so I knit up swatches from different fibers and tacked them to a linen covered board so that people could feel the swatch and guess what it was knit from, and then lift the swatch to reveal the answer underneath.   Behind the swatches, I included the content of the yarn, the source from which it came (plant, animal, petroleum) and a picture of the plant or particular animal, found by doing image searches on Google.   

Surprisingly (or maybe not, considering the typical knitter's stash), I didn't have to spend much money on this project.  The board was a scrap of insulation I found out at C's shop.  The linen was leftover from other projects and fit perfectly without even cutting it.  All but two of the swatches were leftovers from other projects. 

I bought a couple dollars worth of bamboo yarn from a wind-off cone at Weaving Works in Seattle.  The big splurge was the Alchemy hand-dyed silk.   I couldn't find ANY other silk locally, and I hemmed and hawed over whether I should spend that kind of money on this project, but then the owner of the LYS in Whitefish gave me a 20% discount on it since she knew the purpose of my purchase.  I still have over half of the ball left, and I've no clue what to do with it.  It's beautiful but I never would have bought this except for this project.  I'm actually quite surprise how worn that paricular swatch looks after the show.  The whole board looks a bit ragged,really.  I'll probably offer it up to be displayed at other local fiber art shows this summer, but the swatches will need a bit of blocking again before that.  Gravity seems to have taken it's toll.

This was fun to do, but a bit bothersome at times.  I found myself resenting having to knit up all those squares when I really wanted to be working on other projects.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to take notes about what needles I was using for each yarn so that at least I'd have some usable gauge swatches when I was done.  Oh well, I was still pleased with the outcome.

"...and what is good is doubly good when it is a matter of two socks..."

For those needing a bit of inspiration in this final homestretch, check out Whimsy's post here.  Perfect.  It will give you the strength to go on!

In response to some recent comments:  Yes, it's a toe-up sock based on a combination of Wendy's Toe-up sock pattern and the Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks.  The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock  in Valentine, knit on #1 dpns, over 52 stitches.  I started with the Textured Rib pattern from the same book, but after turning the heel and starting to incorporate the pattern across all the stitches for the leg section, I realized that I had started with the wrong number of stitches and now the pattern wouldn't line up.  Looking back, I think that I could have just picked up some stitches to make the pattern work but, impulsively, I ripped instead.   Oh, well.  I've been wanting for awhile to try out a sock pattern with tiny cables.

As for Jessie's question about the mismatched needles, I almost never have a full set of the same needles possibly due to the fact that I use them for other purposes...

 

...and then misplace or lose them altogether.  I did this on Saturday while making eggrolls for a potluck and now there's a bamboo needle in the mix. 

If she's a'sittin', she's a'knittin'...

...or starin' at the fire, fireworks, sky, trees, computer, camera, etc. 

Friday night: a campfire at home.  Just us.  We ended up following the Use What You Have -a-long.   Without the proper fixings for s'mores on hand, we improvised with mini-marshmallows on bamboo skewers and substituted the chocolate bars with Girl Scout Thin Mints.  NOT a bad compromise.  Finished the first Sockapal3za sock while sitting by the fire. 

Saturday night: campfire and potluck birthday party celebrations for a friend in "The Enchanted Forest" right up the road from us.  Lots of fire and sky watching, drumming and laughter with friends.  Didn't knit a stitch.

I'm loving all the comments left on the last post, how everbody has such a unique take on this.  Thank you for sharing.  Many good thoughts.  Obviously the sleep issue is one that hits close to home for others, too.  How could it not?  Of course, as soon as I posted about this, both the boys slept straight through the night on Friday night, and then on Saturday night they tucked themselves into their sleeping bags by the fire and fell easily to sleep enabling us to stay late at the party and then scoop them up into the car and drop them right into their beds when we get home.  You've got to enjoy the good nights!  There are probably quite a bit more of them than I alluded to in that post.  You forget when you're in the thick of it, and apparently then again when you're beyond all this.

Sleep deprived

You know that saying?: "Choose your battles wisely."  I think I learned that one way back when R was nearing a year old and he still woke up 5, 6, maybe even 7 times each night.  We were sleepless and delirious.  It made me angry whenever somebody used the phrase, "Sleeping like a baby."  Yeah, right.  BABIES DON'T SLEEP!  And if they do, not for long.  I had to get out of the house every day just to stay sane, so I think I shopped for groceries one or two items at a time, a little bit each day.  One day, in desperation, I asked a woman I knew who was working at the local health food store, a mother of children ranging in age from 6 to 16 at the time, "Tell me, exactly when do they start sleeping through the night?"  She responded, "What do you mean, sleep?  With four children, I haven't slept through the night in 16 years.  The youngest is finally sleeping fairly well and the oldest one is starting to stay out late."

This was one of those moments that could have discouraged and destroyed me, but instead it was a significant turning point, one that changed my perspective quickly and wholly.  I felt utterly relieved.  What?  You mean CHILDREN DON'T SLEEP?  Oh. Well.  If that's the case, then I can stop wondering when it'll ever happen and accept it for what it is.

At age three, E still wakes up most nights, once or twice, and one of us usually ends up crawling in with him for part of or the rest of the night (that is, if we haven't already fallen asleep in his room reading to him at bedtime).  Occasionally R, at age six, goes through phases of waking up and crawling in with us.  That is life in our house.  Maybe other people's children sleep, but ours don't.

Two nights ago was one of those nights where they both woke up crying and had a hard time getting back to sleep.  It woke me up enough so that now I couldn't sleep.  I was up from 11:30 p.m.  until about 4:30 a.m.  sleeping only a few hours on either end.  The trouble is, you still have to get up and try and make it through the day.

Yesterday, it was clear and beautiful so we met a good friend of mine, another homeschooling Mom, and her four children and went on a nearby nature walk loop.  You know, the ones with the signs to read along the way?  The kids got to run free jump, climb on logs, find good walking sticks, look for trolls under bridges, spot pussy willows, poke sticks in slimy water, play in a creek, and have a blast together.  There were only a couple of minor scrapes and whiny requests to be carried.   My friend and I probably whined the most, venting our woes to eachother.

E wore his pajamas with his new hand-me-down red rubber boots.  This would be his outfit of choice every day if he could.  Yet another one of those battles not always worth fighting, especially after a sleepless night.  Besides, he looked cute.   If I don't have a girl to dress in stripey cotton tights, I can at least have a boy who wears stripey pajamas.

At home again, we put pussy willows we had found in a vase, and made collages from dried grass from outside and pussywillows, acorns, pinecones, and parts of a paper wasp nest that I had hoarded away in a jar from a couple of years ago.  R's picture became a birthday card for a party/potluck we went to that evening for a friend of ours. (No, he doesn't sign his name "R".  I doctored the photo.)  In the meantime, E changed into a pair of C's Carhartt shorts and one of my shirts and then cinched it all tight with a white silk playcloth, claiming himself to be a pirate.  For the party, he threw on his penguin costume from Halloween.  His regular clothes?  He didn't wear a stitch of it all day.

Even now,  it is the keeping busy and getting out and being with others that keeps me distracted and sane after yet another sleep deprived night.  It's interesting looking at these pictures today after a solid night of sleep.  I was in such a scattered and delirious fog when I took them.

Hmmm...

Something is amiss.  Clue.