Urban Jungle

One of the things I love about our home is how close to nature we are. Not only am I walking distance from forest paths, we have many trees in the neighbourhood that shelter all sorts of wildlife. It gets a little crazy actually.

Our neighbour, for example, has ducks in her pool. She hasn't opened it yet, so I guess they aren't actually in the pool. But they seem to enjoy the 2 feet of water in her pool cover. Sitting in my back yarn knitting, I'll hear Donald Duck quacking, followed shortly by heavy flapping as the duck flies over head. Thankfully, he hasn't bombed me as he files by.

The squirrels are a little nuts too. They've been digging up my plants. I put in a nice little greenhouse plant, and Mrs. Squirrel thinks that I've hidden some tasty tid-bit for her too. So she digs up my plant. The other day I found my basil resting neatly on a rock in the garden. A victim for sacrifice, or apologetic peace offering, I don't know.

Perhaps I'm a little too nice, because even with all the lovely trees, such as locusts, maple, pine and oak, the birds are using my house for nesting. Here's the wall next to my front door.

Every time I step in and out of my house I'm treated to the most darling little chirps and tweets. Can't see where it's coming from?

I almost felt bad gardening over the long weekend because we were keeping mama bird from her nest.

We had a little damage over the winter that we didn't get around to fixing yet. One of the light fixtures lost its lid. No worries though, our helpful wild life fixed the problem.

It was pretty hot in London Ontario today. I hope the little guys are doing okay. I took the risk of standing on a chair and angling my camera over the nest and found four fat robin squabs.


Needless to say we do NOT turn on that light.

Blooming Wonders

I came home from work last night to find that my bridal wreath bush had burst into bloom.


I love this old fashioned shrub for its quaint white blooms and the fact that it looks most beautiful when left to go a bit wild. Jim and I prefer our garden in a slightly wild state.

We inherited a lot of perennials when we moved, most of which I don't even know what they are or what they are called. I think this one is a white bleeding heart.


Here's one I don't know, but it's quite lovely.

This is the back garden we managed to put together this weekend, containing tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis, basil and some flowers, including marigolds because I understand they keep pests away.
My tulips are almost done, but these spectacular fellows are holding on.

I wouldn't want a whole bed of these, but as a show piece, they are very impressive.

Issues with Stash

I'd like to see more insightful critiques, backed up by reasoned thinking and delivered in polite manner in the knitting blogosphere. The going philosophy seems to be "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." I believe this short changes us all in the long run. To this end, I offer up my review of the podcast, Stash and Burn.

On the recommendations of a few good reviews, I added the Stash and Burn podcast to my iPod repertoire. I gave it a good try, listening to several episodes but the more I listened, the more it got on my nerves.

In an amongst some great interviews, helpful reviews, and interesting conversation, Nicole and Jenny complain about how much yarn they have and sigh over the difficulties of knitting it all up. They giggle and sigh a lot, but then they seem to have a lot of yarn. The sad thing is that I think they could do much better. They really are very smart women and have a lot to offer in their podcast.

The last episode I listened to, "Knitting the Natural Way", was the final straw for me. First, they started with a confessional of their knitting and stashing sins. Then they moved on to review two books. Finally, they finished with some stash busting tips. It was this last segment that bothered me the most.

The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon has turned into a destashing effort that has taken over knitters this year. The reasoning seems to be:

• I bought too much yarn
• I must knit up all the yarn I bought before I can buy new yarn
• I like new yarn better than the yarn I have now
• Therefore, I must knit up the yarn I have as fast as possible so that I can buy more yarn.

Stash and Burn offers listeners tips on how to "burn through the stash" faster. The tips include learning to knit faster, finding ways to knit longer, and adding embellishments such as bobbles, tassels and pompoms. No consideration is given to the quality of the knitting, the enjoyment of the process, or the beauty of the end product.

It seems to me to be pure consumerism, and a misplaced sense of frugality, to try and knit through a stash as fast as possible in order to free one self to buy more yarn. It detracts from the enjoyment of knitting as a hobby, turning it into a chore instead of a pleasure. Focusing on using up yarn when knitting, instead of the aesthetics of the end product, could result in more ghastliness for the pages of You Knit What? And how is it frugal to quickly knit something that uses up a lot of yarn, but that nobody will wear or want?

Instead, I would like to offer these tips for dealing with a large stash.

• Purge yarns you don't like by selling, donating, or giving them away. Keep only the yarns you love and really want to knit. Keep knitting as a pleasure.
• Get yourself a budget. Know how much you can afford to spend and then buy within your means. There is no need to feel guilty about buying expensive yarn, or a lot of yarn, if you can afford it.
• Learn to think in the long term. There is no self life for yarn. Store it well and it will last you for ages. One day, parts of your stash may appreciate.

I think I will keep listening to Stash and Burn, if only to see if Jenny and Nicole can keep their momentum through the Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon and to find out what they do with their podcast when it is over.

Unvention

I'm feeling better today and the weather was just gorgeous! This morning I only had mental capacity for socks, but I spent the better part of the afternoon working on my Frost Flowers and Leaves Shawl.

The last time I wrote about this shawl, I described how I was planning on using circulars as DPNs. I think it took me this long to pick it up again because I was anticipating that the result would be messy. I wasn't wrong, but the technique is simple enough.

I put a point protector on every end that isn't active. The shawl lives on three circulars. I knit each one in turn onto the fourth circular. When I get to the end of the needle, I take the point protector off the next needle and place it onto the newly full one.

It looks like cyborg knitting.


The best part of this technique is that as long as I can beg, borrow, or buy more 4mm needles I can knit this out for as long as the wool lasts. Of course, I'm not willing to knit a carpet for a football field either, Elizabeth.*

*A reference and a tip of the hat to Elizabeth Zimmerman who used this analogy in the Knitter's Almanac when describing that one could, in theory, use the Pi formula to knit a shawl of any dimension. Elizabeth also used the term unvention to describe a technique that she discovered because she was certain that some other knitter, at some other point in time, had likely come up with a similar technique. That is exactly how I feel about using circulars as DPNs. Surely someone, somewhere, has tried this harebrained scheme before!

You gotta take the good with the bad...

Let us review the good and the bad, shall we?

The good: fun knitting with awesome yarns on a beautiful pattern.


The bad: gauge kicked my butt. I must confess, that instead of actually checking the size of my needles, I assumed I had the right size. I didn't and so my gauge was off by 1/2 a stitch. The result was snug even on Alex. This project is no more.



The good: stripes going across the sock. I love the way they look!


The bad: ladders going up and down the sock. (As always, click on the picture to see it bigger). These occur at the join between the needles. The common cure is to pull the first stitch snug. I believe that I am tugging too firmly. Hopefully it will come out in the wash.

The good: getting the garden planted.

The bad: sore muscles.

The worst: tummy troubles!

Thank goodness it's a long weekend, because I need another day to recuperate.

Long Weekend Knitting

While my husband is off to collect a rototiller for this weekend's gardening projects, I'm taking a quick moment to line up this weekend's knitting projects. Even with the gardening, you know a long weekend means long knitting!

First up, Sockapalooza socks are finished!

My youngest son graciously modeled them for us. (Ewh! Boy feet! I'm going to give them a good wash before packing them up. ) My pal loves Koigu and didn't want anything too bright, so I think these will fit the bill. I was in a bit of a hurry to finish them up because I got some really nice things in the mail.

I ordered Selbuvotter, Biography of a Knitting Tradition. I had chills reading this. I know that sounds dramatic, but I did! The designs really spoke to me, and Terri's writing is wonderful. She's a down to earth knitter. It's funny because one of the reviews I'd heard praised the book for offering techniques to perfectly meld the hand pattern into the thumb. The book does do this, but right in the prologue Terry describes how the mittens in the museum have many flaws that weren't always corrected. She speculates that modern knitters are obsessed with perfection because we are too used to seeing machine perfect knitting. I thought Yes! I've long held that perfection in knitting is overrated and I've written about knitting organically before.

So I'm really thinking I'd like to start knitting a mitten this weekend. I've got some lovely black Apple Laine yarn and some off-white Koigu as well as some semi-solids.

The reviews didn't mention that the book is signed.

I started a summer top on the sly, using some ribbon yarn I got on sale (no label).


The pattern is Sweet Peas from Interweave Knits, Summer 2006. This knit almost didn't live, because after knitting for a while, I started calling it "the big pink thing" in my head (ala Yarn Harlot) and was getting ready to rip it. Too pink! Too varigated! But my real-time knitting buddies gave it a thumbs up and told me I was just too close to it. I've been working on it on and off, when ever my hands get tired of itty-bitty sock needles.

Yes, lots of tiny needles this week, because my true love still waits for me.

I still love this yarn (Schaefer Anne) and this color (Pirates Cove). But would you look at those ladders? Sheesh. I think I pull too tight, because I just can't seem to eradicate them.

Oh yes, and a long time ago, when I learned I would be going to the Toronto Knitter's Frolic, I ordered some Sea Silk from Red Bird Knits. It never arrived. Now Canada Post won't say they lost it, but they did send Robyn a cheque. Hrmph. Robyn took good care of me and I got a replacement of this Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester 2/8.

I'd heard rumours, but nothing prepared me for the ultimate lusciousness of this yarn. Even my husband was hugging it. I looked it up on line and some referred to it as "poor (wo)man's cashmere". Wow. It's gotta be lace, don't ya think? And then I had a design idea for a sweater where the body was knit in that purple, with lace bell sleeves and a huge swoopy lace color done in the red. Dramatic! So maybe I'll be swatching this weekend too.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about my Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl. I should get that started up again too. Sounds like I should have something interesting to report at the end of this long weekend. I just hope I don't get mired down in project angst. Wish me luck!

Whew! It's Wednesday

I'm really happy it's Wednesday. Work has been exceptionally busy, but today the worst of it is over. I'm a technical writer for a software development company and we are shipping a preliminary release soon, so the documents have to be in order.

I don't think I've ever really written about my work, and I've enjoyed branching this blog from strictly knitting topics, so I've decided to describe what I do. It's rather complicated, so I'm going to try to keep it simple for starters. If people enjoy reading about this stuff, maybe I'll write some more about it.

Our company has adopted an Agile software development methodology which I really like, in part because of the different opportunities it provides. In the first place, part of working in an agile environment is that the technical writers work with the team to deliver the end product. We write our documents as the the code is being developed. We get a lot more input this way and a greater understanding of what we are writing about. I'm the documentation specialist for three different teams.

Since our company has switched, I find that I have a lot more to offer besides my writing and organizing skills. I received training to be a certified Scrum Master and I am a Feature Lead for one of the teams I also do documentation for. This is part of the reason that I'm feeling a crunch. While I'm extremely grateful for these opportunities, it does mean that I get a double time squeeze.

Yesterday seemed extra long because after work I attended the monthly meeting of the Forest City Knit Club where I gave a tutorial on toe-up socks. It went quite well. Well enough that next month I'll be doing a tutorial on heels for toe-up socks. I enjoyed giving the presentation, but I do find that sort of thing draining because I need to focus my attention in a lot of places and think on my feet.

One of the jobs of a Feature Lead is to facilitate a retrospective meeting in which the team examines the last month's work in order to improve and adapt in the future. I've done well in this role, so I sometimes facilitate retrospectives for other teams. This experience came in handy last night.

But now Wednesday is over, the weekend is two short days away, and we Canadians get a long weekend! It's the May two-four. Better bloggers than I have elaborated on this holiday. Our family shall be following the gardening tradition by planting vegetables and flowers. When I first started gardening, my next-door neighbour, a seasoned gentleman with years of experience, told me to never plant annuals until the May two-four weekend. I have found this to be wise advice.

So did you like hearing about my work? Do you want to hear more? I'm thinking that Wednesdays I'll do some tech-talk on whatever strikes my fancy (such as TS, or technical writing, or anything I like!) and save the knitting posts for the weekend. I do care what you think and what you're interested in reading about, so let me know.

Stuck on Socks

Help me! I've started knitting socks and I can't seem to stop! I finished my long time traveling pair this week:
The stripes in this yarn disappointed me. I was expecting charming variation in the width of the stripes, and instead I got mechanical regularity. So I mixed them up. I used an entire 50g ball for each sock to see how high up the leg I could go, which was not as high as I hoped, but that has to do with the width of my foot and leg. These will be my hiking socks next winter.

I joined Sockapalooza 4 and I hate deadlines, thus we have this:

The pattern is Go With the Flow socks from Interweave Knits Summer 2005, the yarn is Koigu, cause my sock pal loves it! I must say, it was quite a treat to work with after the stripey yarn. So soft and cushy! Such pretty colors! Too bad it wears out so fast on my big, bad feet.

Here's a tip. This sock needed a blocker because the pattern is really stretchy. So I used a bent wire hanger. Cheap and adjustable and super fast for drying! I also use coat hangers for drying Fair Isle mittens.

Check out the innovative way Alison has coped with the horde of sock knitters. It's a knit Pligg! I just wish I had more time to browse through it. Go check it out for me.

And then, as I was knitting with pastels, I kept eying my Schaefer Anne in the Pirate's Cove color way and so this happened:
I'm in love with this. The colors in the sun just glow. For Mother's day, my boys took me for a beautiful walk in the park, followed by a picnic lunch and I enjoyed working on this simple sock with the wonderful colors.

Marred Mothers

I am sometimes struck with awe, when I look upon a large crowd of people, to think that every single one of them was born of a woman. Every single person began as a mystery inside a woman's body. A woman who became a mother when that tiny human emerged from her body.

The Hallmark portrait of motherhood that we celebrate in May is only one path women take on the motherhood journey. It portrays mothers as always there for their children, nurturing, and supporting them. Not all mothers can do this. Some women haven't had sufficient mothering of their own. I was born to such a woman. My mother was was born to such a woman. My grandmother lost her mother at the tender age of five. She and her siblings were adopted out to local farms. The impact of that loss has echoed down through the generations.

My mother doesn't fit the stereotype mold of motherhood. As a child I was always cared for and watched over, but I don't feel that I was nurtured, or cherished, or even seen for who I really am. My mother did encourage me to be independant, she taught me many useful skills, including knitting, and I know in my heart that she did her utmost best for me. I love her and I admire her for going back to school at the age of 40 and for finally pursuing the art that she put aside when she had children.

I just feel that it needs to be acknowledged that not everyone had the best mother ever. That not everyone's mother is an inspiration of the highest order. And that's okay. I feel like I'm beginning to learn who my mother really is. To accept what it is that she can give me, instead of longing for what she can't. To accept her and see her as she really is.

I'm working hard on the best Mother's day gift I can think to give her. I'm trying to learn to unhook emotionally from my mother so that the things she says or does can't hurt me the way they have in the past. If I learn to do this, I hope I can have a better relationship with her. One that is based on acceptance.

Happy Mother's day to the Hallmark mothers, and the marred mothers. What a wonderful gift they have given us.

Leaky Brakes 101 - Part 6

Tonight was our last session at the Leaky Brakes workshop. It consisted of a short presentation, reviewing what we had covered in previous weeks, and a panel of experts made of of previous presenters, members of the Tourette Syndrome Association of Ontario, and two young people with their parents. I brought a question, one that had been nagging at me on and off during the entire series of workshops, but that hadn't been addressed.

Here's my question:

We are very fortunate in that Luke's tics aren't a problem for us. I manage them using several techniques. One, we never bother Luke about his tics, we just ignore them for the most part. Two, using the analogy that a tic is like an itch that must be scratched, I usually wait for Luke to tic a bit and then say "That's enough" in a calm voice. My reasoning is that if you keep scratching an itch, it sometimes builds on itself to become even worse. Luke will often stop if I ask him at the right time. Three, if he doesn't stop, I can ask him to please do it in another room since I'm getting annoyed. Usually, he'll stop rather than leave. Fourth, I sometimes play with Luke and his tics because often his tics are fun and silly. Is it dumb luck to come across this method of dealing with tics, and would it possibly help other families?

I received answers from several people on the panel and I'll try to summarize them.

Often families find their own way of dealing with tics that is individual to each family. Its a case of whatever works for you. The techniques I described above likely reduce Luke's anxiety and we know that reducing anxiety will reduce tics. The only time you have to treat tics is when they become annoying or when the interfere with normal functioning.

Luke's principal also attended the Leaky Brakes workshops (for which I am very grateful) and he told me afterwards that he thought my question was quite good. He has noticed that Jim and I always use humor when dealing with Luke and that this means a lot to Luke. Well, it means a lot to me that the principal has noticed.

The biggest thing I have learned through this six-week experience is that our situation is really not that bad. I wish I could have had this information about 8 years ago, but we've figured out a lot all on our own. I know we still have some challenges in front of us (high school!) but I'm also confident that we have the skills we need to guide Luke through the upcoming transitions.

The thing that has touched my heart the most through all of this is the response that I have received from readers who have TS and TS+ kids. I'm glad that my reports have been helpful to others. I feel for everyone who is struggling to help a child thrive and grow through a childhood riddled with complications.

I have a series of handouts, written by Dr. Dunc that are freely distributable. E-mail me at laurie_corriveauAThotmailDOTcom and I will send you what ever you are interested in. For further reading, I've copied the bibliography compiled for this lecture series below:

Barkley, Russell A. & Benton, Christine M. (1998), Your Defiant Child: Eight Steps To Better Behaviour, New York: Guilford Press.

Chansky, Tamar E. (2000), Freeing Your Child From OCD, New York: Three Rivers Press.

Chowdhury, Uttom & Heyman, Isobel (2004), Tics & Tourette Syndrome: A Handbook For Parents & Professionals, London: Jessica Kingsley.

Chowdhury, Uttom & Robertson, Mary (2006), Why Do You Do That? A Book About Tourette Syndrome For Children & Young People, London: Jessica Kingsley.

DeFilippo, Michael G (Ed.)(2003), Getting Personal: Stories Of Life with Tourette Syndrome (foreward by Duncan McKinlay), Lebanon Tennessee: Second Chance.

Fitzgibbons, Lee & Pedrick, Cherry (2003), Helping Your Child With OCD, Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Gooding, Nadyne, "Nine Faces Of The TS Parent", in The Green Leaflet, TSFC (available online).

Greene, Ross W. (2005), The Explosive Child, 3rd Edition, NY: Harper Collins.

Greene, Ross W. & Ablon, Stuart J. (2005), Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach, New York: Guilford Press.

Haerle, Tracey (1992), Children with Tourette Syndrome: A Parent's Guide, Winston-Salem NC: Woodbine House.

Handler, Lowell (1998), Twitch & Shout: A Touretter's Tale, New York: Dutton.

Klass, Perri & Costello, Eileen (2003), Quirky Kids: Understanding & Helping Your Child Who Doesn't Fit In, New York: Ballantine.

Seligman, Adam Ward & Hilkevich (Eds.) (1992), Don't Think About Monkeys: Extraodinary Stories By People With Tourette Syndrome, Duarte CA: Hope Press.

TSFC (2006), Understanding Tourette Syndrome, Toronto: TSFC.

Wagner, Aureen Pinto (2002), What To Do When Your Child Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Lighthouse Press.

Waltz, Mini (2001), Tourette Syndrome: Finding Answers & Getting Help, Patient Center Guides, Sebastopol CA: O'Reilly & Associates.

Wheee! That was fun!

Quick and fun weekend projects: gotta love'em! I know, I just posted this morning, but I love me a finished object. It isn't a purse, but rather a little bag for carrying a ball of yarn. I predict that it will come in handy this summer. When you knit outside in the summer, don't you hate to put your yarn down onto a grubby picnic table? And if you put it on your lap, it rolls off! Well, this little bag is going to solve my outdoor knitting problems.

Pattern: from Spin Off, Summer 2006 (I bought the magazine from Interweave because of the cute sheep puppets).
Yarn: Orlec
Hook: 2.25mm Yes, I crochet, but it's been so long, it looks like quite the mess. I'll bet a good blocking would cure it.

Mental Indigestion

Overwhelmed by a plethora of choices, I frittered away most of Saturday morning trying to design a sock. It didn't happen. Bleh.

Look at what did happen:

PS. Noricum, Ford's neck hole is large enough to fit over my big head. Thanks for asking!

Do What you Want Weekend!

Yippee! It's Saturday and we're having a Do What you Want Weekend. The previous two weekends were filled with obligations and chores, so this weekend, you guessed it, we're doing what we want.

So far, I'm just having too much fun saying "do what you want!"

This is the type of weather we're having:

Pretty eh? I think I want to take a walk, and knit outside, and maybe do some gardening. Or maybe I'll just goof off and do stupid stuff. Whatever I WANT!

I finished up the body of Ford:

I'm pleased with the curve on the neck. The Lopi wool is pretty scratchy so rather than knit the neck band double and sew it down on the inside, I knit it to the length I want and did a sewn tubular bind-off. I'm satisfied with it. It looks ripply in the picture, but I'm confident that it will smooth out in the wash and wear.

Just look at the hairiness of the Lopi. I won't be working on this sweater too much longer. Even though a sleeve doesn't fill your lap the way a sweater does, the yarn will feel unbearable between my fingers in warm weather.

Warm weather! Wee! Do what you want! Awesome! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Hooray for the W words!

Leaky Brakes 101 - Part 5

Tonight's presentation at the Leaky Brakes workshop got down to the nuts and bolts of parenting children with TS+ (that is some combination of TS, ADHD, and OCD). We listened to two speakers: Jackie White and Peter Black who discussed the technical side of parenting and the emotional side of parenting respectively.

Ms. White gave a brief overview of Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) as outlined in the book The Explosive Child, by Dr. Ross Green. The main idea is that parents need to work with the child during calm moments to find solutions to problems they both share. Being proactive about a problem should result in less stress for both parent and child. Being collaborative about a problem should help both the parent and the child get their needs met. To learn CPS takes time and self awareness, but ultimately, CPS is a valuable skill for both parent and child to learn.

Just this week, Luke and I worked together to solve a problem collaboratively. It wasn't by the book, but it worked for us. Here's how it happened. It was just after dinner and Luke was on the computer, but he hadn't done the dishes yet. When I told him to do the dishes, he began to melt down because his game had just gotten started. I said "Hold on. How long will it take you finish up?" He told me half an hour and I asked him "If I set the timer, will you do your dishes then?" he said yes. And he did. Without being reminded. I was pretty proud of us both.

Mr. Black discussed the emotional side of parenting TS+ kids and how our emotions affect our ability to effectively parent our children. He pointed out that there are two emotional extremes that cause difficulty, intense frustration and excessive sympathy. The frustration leads to authoritarian parenting and that can cause resentment in the child. Excessive sympathy results in passive parenting and a child who thinks they are omnipotent. The ideal to strive for is a balance between sympathy and firmness in order to raise a self-reliant child.

It was acknowledged that parenting a child with a disability causes a strong sense of loss, and that parenting an intense child is exhausting work. As a result, parents must first take care of themselves before they can be capable of caring for their children. An audience member recommended group support. For my part, therapy helped me a lot.

Mr. Black described the need for emotional awareness using Dr. Dunc's favorite metaphor: a car. Parenting a normal child is like cruising down the open highway on a sunny day. You can almost do it automatically. Parenting a child with TS+ is like driving down a treacherous mountain road in the dark. You really need to pay attention! Having an awareness of your own emotions is like turning on the headlights and it helps you see to steer the car.

Next week will be our last session. There will be a panel of experts that we can ask questions of. If anyone has a question that they would like me to bring to the next session, please leave a comment or write me an e-mail. If I get a chance, I will try to ask.

Also, for those of you reading this in Southern Ontario, the CPRI will do presentations in other communities. You just need to organize a big enough group and get your regional organizations to request it. Finally, several people have commented that they wish they had Dr. Dunc where they lived. Well, he does occasionally do international presentations.

Sneaking up on the Left Brain

Call off the hounds! The answer has been found and I've solved my neckline dilemma. Sunday morning I woke up and thought, "Oh, I know exactly how to do this." and wrote it down. It's a relatively common technique for problem solving. Write down the problem, do something else or sleep on it, and your brain will quietly work on the problem for you. I'm not sure why this is. Is it that both halves can only work together when no one is looking?

I'm sorry to do that to my blog readers, but I've noticed that I'm not alone. Many times I'll read a blog post that describes some knitterly problem, leave my suggestion (or sometimes just a "gee, that's a tough one"), only to find in the next post that the problem has been solved. And usually with something truly clever.

Me, I'm not clever. It was an obvious solution that worked with the fact that using a neck steek means I'm knitting in the round. I put one extra stitch on the holders on each side, then I'm decreasing a stitch on each side every round for 4 rounds, then every other round for 3. It's pretty close to the original slope, and it might look nicer since it eliminates the stair stepping of the cast off. Of course I'll post a picture when I'm done.

And speaking of done:

It took me one weekend and I like it! Maia, I felt almost guilty cutting up your handspun for a fringe. But I love the marled fluffiness of it and it makes the scarf look a little longer. I have lace scarves, and funky scarves, but no soft, warm scarves. This one just hits the spot. Thanks Maia!

Have a good Monday everyone.

Shifting Gears

As I suspected, many of you find knitting to be both a left- and right-brain pursuit, which is just one of the reasons so many of us love this hobby so much. I liked Nicole's theory that we are most happy when both sides are in balance. This makes a lot of sense to me since I believe that being in balance is the ideal goal to strive for in all aspects of life.

I've noticed that the nice weather has made my right-brain more active. After finishing up those Sailor's Rib socks, I came up with an idea for Maia's handspun. This beautiful yarn had quite an attitude problem and didn't like any of the ideas I came up for it. I'd already ripped it twice, and it sulked in my yarn basket for quite some time. Then I found the right stitch pattern and the right needle size and we were off to the races together!

I've decided to make a lacy version of a fisherman's scarf. The stitch is called twisted brioche stitch and it makes a lovely fabric with this yarn. The fabric is light and squooshy with a really good drape. Love it! Here's a close up:



I've also been working on my oldest UFO ever, Ford, or as I think of it, the Rainbow Lopi Fair Isle. It's amazing how odd hours of knitting, snatched here and there, accumulate:

Of course, I decided to put some steeks in for the arm holes and was quite prepared to do the same with the neck, when my knitting came to a screeching halt by a decidedly left-brain problem. How do I decrease the neck? The pattern calls for putting 17 sts on a holder, and then casting off 3 sts on the neck edge once, 2 sts once and then 1 st three times. It's those first three stitches that has me perplexed. Now I think I understand why so many Fair Isle designs have v-necks.

Here are the ideas I've come up with:

• v-neck; tried and true, but doesn't seem to fit with this drop-shouldered design
• knit back and forth; it's only for a couple of inches, I can suck it up
• try a placket neck; that fits with the idea of an outdoorsy sweater like this, but I've never done one before. (Like that would stop me.)

So, dear readers, my most excellent knit pals, what do you suggest? What would you do?

This project has been through a lot and I don't want to abandon it again. It sat in the closet for 3-years, stuffed in a basket. It moved with us from one side of the city to the other. And it has grown in spite of only getting the most sparse knitting time. I just can't knit it in front of the TV or in company because of the syncopated pattern. Help me rescue this poor thing. Because in spite of the barfing rainbows, it is really pretty.

Right Brain Knitting

Have you ever heard of a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain? Although I never followed through all the exercises, I did read the theory information at the beginning and it shaped my thinking about how I approach knitting.

The author, Betty Edwards, defined two types of thinking, left brained and right brained. Left-brained thinking involves language, logic, and symbols. Right brain thinking is visual and hence its tie to drawing. It's also perceptual and wholistic and therefore more closely tied with creative leaps of thinking.

Knitting is a task that integrates both sides of the brain. It is creative, yet mathematical. We read the task, but must translate it through our hands. I seem to admire knitters who channel the left brain, like Grumperina or Eunny. But I'm starting to open myself up more to the right brain knitters, such as Cara.

It's funny, but I feel slightly shy, or is it ashamed, of my right brain knitting. It seems somehow less legitimate than knitting that is mathematically precise. In the interests of facing up to my pre-conceptions, I present to you my right-brained socks:

I had two small balls of Lorna's Laces left from these mittens, so I started a pair of toe up socks and then just made it all up as I went along. I let my right brain decide what to do when I got there, no forethought in them at all. I did knit these in turns, so I wouldn't have to write it down in order to duplicate my first try.

Here's some of the details of which I'm not proud:

• Increased one stitch just after the toe to make the Sailor's Rib pattern fit.
• Decreased unevenly after the short row heel to make the pattern fit, yet again.
• Modified the tubular sewn bind of in a less than graceful manner, again, to make the pattern fit.

I don't care, because they're just socks. But, I also don't think anyone should admire or emulate them. Honestly though, I'd do it again. Why not?


Okay, I am proud of those heels. I added a 5 stitch gusset before and after the short row heel to give it more depth for my big feet. I learned this little trick from Criminy Jickets. Only next time, I think I'll only increase four stitches. These heels have pockets. And I'm pleased with the stitch pattern. It's stretchy, and the purl bumps soften out the striping in the yarn. And I'm pleased with the way I used up my yarn.

No waste here!

So what kind of knitting do you do? What kind do you admire? Have you ever tried just letting the knitting tell you what to do?

Leaky Brakes 101 - Part 4

I personally had a tough time in tonight's Brake shop session. It was raining today, so I did yoga in the morning instead of a walk and it was raining at lunch, so I knitted a sock instead of taking a walk. This resulted in me having some pent-up energy. Then, during the talk, the people in front and behind us were talking. It really bothered me. Oh honestly, it pissed me off. Even the sock was annoying me. (I bring a sock to knit on during every session.)

It brought to mind an image that Dr. Dunc uses, of one's beaker being full. Imagine you have a beaker that holds every little thing that annoys you. In the morning your beaker is empty, but as you go through the day every annoyance, from rainy weather, to a noisy workmen, to a traffic jam, goes into the beaker. Put too many annoyances in the beaker and it starts to overflow. That overflow is a melt down.

I was very close to having a melt down myself tonight and suddenly that beaker image just clicked for me. Now the difference between me and my son is that I kept a lid on that beaker until I was out of the room. Then I let my husband have an earful! And I shook myself, and jumped up and down a bit, and then I had a hug. But Luke doesn't have the brakes to put a lid on the beaker. He probably would have had to remove himself from the situation (I've done that before too).

So I didn't catch the name of tonight's speaker, because people were talking. His discussion was about the accommodations that can be made in school for kids with Leaky Brakes. I'm not going to write out the list, because it was extensive. The key thing is that accommodations must be individualized, doable, and fluid. They must suit the child, teacher and school. It must be something that can actually be accomplished; it's no good saying that the kid can go outside to simmer down if it's the middle of winter in the country. And the accommodation must be subject to change as the child grows or his circumstances change.

In his current situation, Luke has received many accommodations and I honestly couldn't tell you what all they are. I just know they are working for him. Here's some though. He is a "copy kid" in that his homework instructions are written down for him. He gets to use special software at the school to create his written assignments. He gets time with the resource teacher. The accommodations are formalized in a written document called an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan (the link is to a pdf).

I was looking for Luke's IEP so I could share some of it with you, but I couldn't find it tonight. Instead I found my kid's class pictures. Here's Luke in Kindergarten. It made me feel much better.

A Nice Way to Start a Monday Morning

Before work I like to go for a walk in the woods. It's damp in there, but I have the proper foot wear.

These are serious rubber boots and they work well into the cold season with some nice wool socks. I left this morning at about 7 o'clock, just as the sun was coming up.

The woods are just beginning to awaken from their winter sleep, so the trees are bare, but the ground is alive with new shoots and wee flowers. It's a good time to see details that can get lost in the height of summer growth. Don't these fungi look like some feather and fan lace done in a variegated yarn?

This is my rock. I come to it to think, and feel, and cry. I love this rock. It feels like a hand of the mother earth, cupping me and supporting me.

This is the view from the road of Fox Hollow ravine. The street I live on backs onto this ravine and I come here to pick grass and weeds for my guinea pigs to eat. There's nothing much for them yet, they're still living off store bought food.

It's hard to believe that all this is in the midst of a city with a population of over 350,000.

Satisfaction

Oh yes, I am well satisfied with these socks.

Pattern: Clessidra from Knitty, Spring 2007
Yarn: Sheepjes Invicta Extra less than 3 balls
Needles: 2.25 mm
Modifications: none

This is how I will be seeing them most often. Jim is a good person to knit socks for because he most often wears them in the evening while he watches TV. I'm hard on socks because I wear them all day, every day. But he can't have these yet, I'm going to save them for the Fair. I still have to go through the prize book to see what the categories are!

Knitting in the Park

It looks like somebody needs a new pair of socks!

Leaky Brakes 101 - Part 3

Whew. It's been a busy day and I'm tuckered out. I'm going to be brief. Tonight's session had two speakers, Kathryn Harris, Occupational Therapist, and Dr. Dunc.

Ms. Harris spoke about Sensory Integration Dysfunction. This occurs when the brain isn't sorting and processing sensory information, things like sight, taste and sound, the way it should. Some kids will have a high threshold, where it takes a lot before they will feel or see something. These kids tend to enjoy high impact activities like sports or will seek out heavy stimulus like loud noises. Other kids will have a low threshold and are extremely sensitive to things. These kids will say that their clothing is scratchy or the music is too loud and so on.

My son Luke is definitely a low threshold boy. He's always been sensitive to his clothing. For example, he won't wear t-shirts with an iron-on decal because he can feel the sticky part on the inside of the shirt. I understood this, easily, but Ms. Harris' speech helped me to identify one area that has puzzled me for a long time.

Luke is 12 and he still eats with his fingers. I gently remind him time after time and he still does it. Well, apparently, children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction can also be bothered by the feel of a utensil in their mouth. Luke eats with a spoon at breakfast, but I imagine a fork is just pointy enough to bother him at supper. I may suggest to him that he try using a spoon at dinner too and see if that helps. At some point, this boy needs to learn how to eat with out using his fingers.

Ms. Harris also offered some resources to help with Sensory Integration Dysfunction including these websites:

• www.AlertProgram.com
• www.sinetwork.org
• www.sensorycomfort.com

Dr. Dunc's talk was about "Brake Jobs", or ways to help kids with TS or OCD put on the brakes and stop some of their bothersome behaviors. For kids with TS there is Habit Reversal Training (HRT), and for kids with OCD there is Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).

Dr. Dunc has used HRT himself, with success, but he reports that it is very hard work. First, you have to be aware of the tics, what they are, when they happen and what things are likely to trigger then. Then, starting with one tic only, you try to replace the tic with a different behavior that makes the tic impossible. The replacement behavior should be less annoying than the tic and easy to do. It does sound like a lot of work, and fortunately for us, none of Luke's tics are terribly annoying.

The Exposure and Response Prevention therapy for kids with OCD took up most of the discussion time because it was very dramatic. Basically, Dr. Dunc has a set of tools that he uses to help kids with OCD see it as something separate from themselves that is a mean bully making them do these things. He uses humor to support the kids as they tackle the OCD bully and turn it on its head. For kids with OCD, this type of therapy can be even more effective than medication.

Praise and Thanks

Tonight our local knitting club got together and we held a swap. I'd cleaned out my closets of my guilt yarns: things I'd bought on sale, but didn't enjoy knitting, or leftovers of yarns I'd loved while knitting, but had no desire to come back to. Only a few people brought yarn and the group is quite large, so my yarns sold quite well and I only brought a few things back home with me.

Looking over my yarn closet now, I love everything I see (the things I just like, but don't love, are stored out of sight). I'm looking forward to the time when I can knit with these yarns. And the money I earned went straight into my yarn tin which has grown to a respectable sum while I wasn't watching. So I know that I can buy the yarn for just about anything I can dream up. Or have a mad spree if I want.

Plus, I received a sweet present in the mail.

This is my prize yarn from Maia and it's just a bright ray of sunshine in these grey days. So soft and cushy, I'm thinking it wants to be a hat or a baby sweater.

I feel very privileged tonight. Very, very fortunate. I'm not a religious woman, but I do pray sometimes, mostly to give thanks, and right now my soul is giving a big thanks. Not just for yarn, but also for a kind husband, healthy children, and a safe neighborhood. I'm privileged to hear birdsong in the morning, and to appreciate the bare trees against a cloudy windswept sky. I've been gifted with a strong spirit and friends helping me to overcome adversity.

Thank you world. It's good to be alive. I'll do my best to pay it forward.

Rescued!

Well that was fast! The Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl is back in business. I've got two more 4mm circulars to work it on. I'll be using them like DPNs, just knit off one needle and onto an empty one. Except I think I'll put a point protector on the end of the working needle, for safety's sake.

Tonight was Monday night knitting, and Mary Jane kindly brought her longest 4mm needle, which is 100 cm, for me to borrow. Tomorrow knit is the knitting club and we're having a swap and trade. I was digging through my stash for yarns that might be better loved elsewhere, and I found my 4mm Addi Turbo. Yipee!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night. It sounds exciting, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'll bring my camera and see if I can collect some yarn p0rn shots for you all.

Hey Angelika! Here's a scan of the rainbow sweater, especially for you:

It's from the Lett-Lopi book number 13 which I purchased at a sale at Len's Mills about 3 years back. I don't know where you could get it from now.

Stymied

Once again, knitting mirrors my life: I've been stymied in both. This left me with a mood all last week. By Friday I felt like a sulky 15-year old. All that was missing was the black lipstick and nail polish. But I've had a nice weekend that has left me in a much better mood.

It's funny, how I don't feel entitled to my bad mood. I know that I'm very fortunate in my circumstances. I have a lovely family, a house, a job and a closet full of wool. There's got to be some compromise between feeling our feelings, and still recognizing that things could be worse. Anyway, I'm working on learning what it is.

So, enough of life, I came here to write about my knitting. Unfortunately, write is about all I can do, since I don't have much of anything to show. The Clessidra Stockings are progressing; I've started the ankle shaping of the second sock. That means I still have one sock's worth of knitting to do.

The Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl stalled out because of needle issues. The largest 4mm needle I have is 80cm or 32 inches. I haven't finished the first repeat of chart 2 and this needle is already full. I tried knitting on two circs at the same time, but that's terribly awkward with lace. I'm considering buying a KnitPicks circular because they go up to 60 inches. The longest Addi Turbo I can find is also 60 inches. I have a Boye NeedleMaster, but when I try joining multiple cables together, they come together at an awkward angle. I haven't tried knitting with it yet.

The real problem is the jumperweight wool. It takes too much room on the needles. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can comfortably knit this shawl? Perhaps a large jumperweight shawl in the round is just a Bad Idea. I'm very close to ripping this out. I only started it because it was such a pleasure to knit, but without the right needle, the pleasure will be gone.

So, I'm tired of knitting blue socks. I wanted some color, and I found it in a 3-year old project that I've resurrected. It's a fair isle pull over in Lopi that I put aside when the weather warmed up in the spring and then never picked back up. Since this week has been so cold, I've enjoyed having it's warmth on my lap. I keep having the phrase, "barfing rainbows" go through my head as I knit on it though:

The sock in the picture was started on Saturday night as Jim and I watched Casino Royale. It was a good movie, so I needed something simpler to knit than what was currently on the needles. I'm loving the bright colors and the stitch pattern. It's Sailor's Rib, but I've added an extra knit row.

I gotta run, dinner is almost ready. Roast rabbit, roast vegetables, beets, mashed potatoes, and I've chopped some fresh pineapple for dessert. Hmmm.... I'm counting my blessings, including the support of all my knitting pals. Thanks to all of you. Cheers!