New Path
Posted by Janet in Choice 2012 on January 20, 2012
“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.” (Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Did you guess? I started back to school on Wednesday. My work is cut out for me. It’s been a very, very long time since I was a college student and I was a little bit anxious about the whole thing. But everything has been okay. I’ll be taking a few core classes before I get to the fun stuff, but I’m excited and hopeful about this new path. I’ll still be blogging and knitting, but some of my posts might be about . . . school.
Thank you all for the supportive and encouraging comments on my previous post. You continue to affirm for me that blogging is a positive force and that we gain so much from one another through what we share, selective as it can be sometimes. I value each one of you and take your words and sentiments with me when I read them.
Choice 2012 : Admissions
Posted by Janet in Choice 2012, Kindle on January 8, 2012
I’m starting this post a bit unsure whether I’m even going to publish it, but I really feel like I have to write it — if for no other reason than to have something to re-read when I’m feeling anxious about a choice.
Before I get to all that, I have to tell you — I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I absolutely love it. The screen shot above was taken with my cell phone while I was sampling a magazine. I still have my original Kindle and won’t part with it, because it’s still ideal for me when I want to log several hours reading straight text. I wanted the Fire for cookbooks, knitting books, magazines and knitting patterns. I wasn’t sure I would try the apps, watch videos or use it to go online. But I was excited that I would get to listen to the music I had purchased from Amazon and I’ve used that feature a lot. Battery power is amazing — I watched an entire season of Downton Abbey yesterday and didn’t need to charge it until the final episode. So now, not only do I have all my books at my fingertips, I also have music, videos, magazines and personal documents. I still tend to rarely use the apps (not its strong point) with the exception of Evernote — which I use as a reference, and not to generate new notes. I could go on and on about it and probably will — another day.
2011 caused a bit of a tailspin for me and I was determined going in to 2012 that I would never have a repeat of most of those 365 days if I had anything to say about it. Throughout the year, I tried to focus on the good things in my midst and in looking, I usually found them in abundance. But the lingering feeling was that so much was happening that was out of my control and all I could do was react and adapt. Often, I did it without much grace, but I did it. I survived 2011. But I wanted to start 2012 from a position of more control and peace, and began to see ways in which I was undermining my sense of control — habits that I’d acquired that directly impacted my sense of inner peace.
It’s all about input. It’s about what I set before myself. What I put IN directly affects what comes out. I’ll back up by saying that I do tend to enjoy a good conflict, a conspiracy theory, a great debate. But for this illustration, let’s focus JUST on what’s online for a moment. There are a handful of blogs that I read (not listed in my sidebar because I don’t visit them often and you’re about to find out why) for “trainwreck” value. They aren’t people I know or have met in real life — or even want to know! But I suppose I read them for a sense of relief that I don’t have it quite as bad as they do. On the other hand, I read some excellent blogs written by people I admire, have met, see regularly, or if I don’t know them personally, I really WANT to. I probably don’t let them know often enough how grateful I am that they continue to write and share through their blogs. So I made a choice this year to visit those blogs more, but the others — the ones written by people I don’t know and whose values I don’t share (even though I’ve been reading some of them for over 7 years!) — I’m stopping. I already feel a lot more peace.
The other thing — and said this to myself many times — knitting is not my job. I’m not a slave to my Ravelry queue or my fiber stash. I can knit what I want, whenever I want, without explanation whenever the mood strikes me. I do have some deadlines and commitments to knit things as gifts or as part of a group effort, but that’s pure enjoyment. I’m just done feeling guilty (and this is inner guilt — not anything that anybody has imposed upon me). I can CHOOSE to do something about yarn that hasn’t become what I wanted it to be (release it), projects that haven’t turned out the way I wanted (frog them!) or tools that have become redundant (cull!): no more arbitrary rules for my knitting or unproductive goal setting. I’ve already told myself that I can start as many new things as I want to, and it’s interesting that giving myself permission has led to more sensible choices than I thought I would ever make. I will share more about that throughout the year.
I know that this is just a blog and only a tiny glimpse of the person behind it, but thank you for visiting here and leaving comments. So few people blog anymore, but I still value this medium very much and I appreciate you.
Charlie’s Christmas Hat
I love knitting hats and Charlie looks really cute wearing them, so he’s building quite a collection. When I needed a stranded knitting refresher, I pulled out the pattern I used when I was first learning and adapted it to the basic hat pattern I always use. The stitch count worked out perfectly and both Erica and Charlie liked his hat:
(My own hat pattern with this chart)
I hate to jinx myself by even mentioning it, but I’ve had a lot of self discipline in sticking to a reasonable number of WIPs (works in progress). And so far this year (ha!) I’ve managed to knit every single day — even if it’s just a few rows. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve stopped myself from buying more yarn by reminding myself that I can consider it only when something moves from “in progress” to “completed.” Yet I still continue to tempt myself by browsing Ravelry and adding items to my queue and my favorites. One thing is certain — between Ravelry and Pinterest, I have insurance against sudden loss of inspiration. Speaking of Pinterest, if you would like an invitation, please let me know and I’ll send you one!
Tiny project : Heartfelt Ring
I snuck in a quick project while I was finishing other holiday projects last month. I love Stephanie‘s designs and this one was irresistible. You can knit along with her videos after downloading the free pattern and gathering a tiny bit of wool yarn (she uses Knit Picks Palette for her rings, but any fingering weight feltable yarn will work — you don’t need much). I had yarn left over from 2010′s “Ornamitten.” I can’t wait to knit another one!
(The nail color is Misa’s Beyond Infinity)
Choice : 2012
Posted by Janet in Choice 2012, Selbuvotter on December 31, 2011
If 2011 was about release and hope, 2012 is about choice. Not choices plural. CHOICE. As in . . .
I have a choice
This is my choice
My choice is _______
One choice means another choice foregone. Releasing things, thoughts, ideas — that’s easy for me. Making choices and decisions? That’s easy too. Making THE choice, however, is often difficult. A choice is not inherently bad, good, immoral, disgusting or thoughtless. But a decision to act implies that a choice will be involved and opportunity costs to pay, and there are always effects. So this is my broad and somewhat vague theme for 2012. I have a choice in almost everything I do from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning until I close my eyes to sleep and I will practice that awareness of CHOICE in 2012.
The past few days have me ending as I began in 2011 — knitting a Selbuvotter project. I still can’t fully explain why I’m drawn to knitting them, but if there was just one kind of project I could ever knit, it would be projects from this book. I love the light/dark contrast and using just two colors throughout. And I nearly always prefer that the background is dark and the design is white. I love that I can memorize the patterns of light/dark squares and that when I step back and look at it from a distance, the motifs are softly rounded in places and geometric in others.
I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings. It’s the Year of the Dragon — and I was born in a Dragon year. While I don’t live my life by the Chinese zodiac, I’ve always loved dragons. And you know how I was very quiet in 2011? I will be making up for it in 2012.
Nourishing Knits
Posted by Janet in Nourishing Knits on December 17, 2011
I am honored to be a stop on the Nourishing Knits blog book tour! I purchased this serialized (now complete) ebook almost as soon as I heard about it — I love the idea and knew the patterns would be awesome.
Kristi agreed to an interview and while I’ve already decided which recipe I want to try first (keep reading to find out which one — there might be something in it for you), I am having a really hard time deciding which project to knit.
Nourishing Knits is such an interesting concept – what inspired you to write a book of knitting patterns paired with recipes?
Over time my blog evolved into including recipes or food posts on a semi-regular basis. Mostly those posts were filler when I was working on contractual knitting designs that I couldn’t talk about. Those food posts quickly became the ones to garner the most comments. I love cooking and trying new recipes and learning new things so I just kept going. One day while talking to my sister, Amber, on the phone and mentioned how close I was to nailing down my idea of a perfect chai concentrate. She suggested once I did to pair it with a knitting pattern. I decided she was immediately onto something.
My husband had also been telling me for years that I had a book in me, but I really didn’t believe him until Amber’s suggestion clicked. I e-mailed my editor, Amanda, and we ran with it immediately. I love sharing my cooking with friends and family as well as my handknits so it seemed natural to focus on things that are great for sharing.
I’m curious to know about you process for putting together a self-published book – what were some of the challenges and pitfalls, and would you do it again? Would you do anything differently?
I would have to say the big challenge in self-publishing Nourishing Knits was to not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the project and ever growing to-do list that accompanied it. Ultimately, it was a lot of hats to wear – knitter, designer, cook, writer, photographer, photo editor, layout monkey, etc. I enjoy having varying tasks from day to day so in that sense it was very enjoyable, but it also made it easy to bogged down in tasks.
It quickly became crucial to pick a manageable task and focus on it. In the beginning there were grand plans to photograph most everything all at once in a two or three day photoshoot. That way we could include the recipe/pattern pairing together in shots. It became clear that as the recipe developer/cook, knitting designer and photographer that such a large scale photoshoot was just not going to be doable. So we broke it up in 2-3 projects at a time and to ease scheduling with the models many of the food shots were taken as stills without a model whenever I could match the cooking with good lighting conditions.
I’d love to self-publish a book again. But, I need a break before then which will provide time to for me to explore some other design inspiration and produce some smaller collections.
I know you’ve said that choosing a favorite Nourishing Knits design is like choosing your favorite child, so I won’t make you name one of them — but which pattern appears to be the most popular?
Well, Guided By Love, since it was originally released several years ago as a fund raiser for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey is the top pattern according to Ravelry. It has many more favorites and projects than the others. The Masala slippers are the next most queued pattern, but both it and the Cornucopia cowl have the most projects. And Ganache shawl just released in the final installment of the book is next in terms of favorites, though for several days it was leap frogging with Hits the Spot, a children’s pullover with fun bullseye elbow patches.
Photo used with permission - copyright 2011 Kristi Schueler
I’ve noticed that you’ve been very prolific this past year — several of your designs have appeared in popular knitting magazines. What’s on the horizon for you in 2012?
I am not certain what 2012 has in store for me. I certainly have several proposals taking shape. I’m looking for more steady work with benefits so my husband can focus harder on finishing his Ph.D. in Mathematics. Finding something like that will likely cause the designing to taper off a bit. I won’t stop though, I have too many notebooks full of random sketches and the bones of other pattern ideas!
Thank you, Kristi, for allowing me to share Nourishing Knits with my blog readers. Here’s the recipe I’m hoping to try this weekend — it’s Pepperkakor, a Scandinavian cookie similar to gingerbread.
Photo used with permission - copyright 2011 Kristi Schueler
One of my lucky readers will win a copy of the Hits the Spot pattern — but remember, if you also want the recipes, buy the complete ebook via Ravelry. Leave your comment on this entry and I’ll draw a winner on Monday!
Photos used with permission - copyright 2011 Kristi Schueler
Secret Rose
For the annual ornament exchange with my co-workers, we all decided to knit Christmas balls using 55 Christmas Balls to Knit, by Arne & Carlos, as a guideline. I’ve wanted this book ever since I’d seen the Norwegian version, Julekuler, last year — so I was really excited about it. The basic pattern and a blank template are included, but the book also includes a lot of fantastic narrative about their Christmas traditions and point of view, along with some background about their knitwear design empire.
From the book:
“A simplified rose pattern is often used, some call it a “secret rose,” others the rose of the heart or Selbu Star . . . “
I love all the variations of the Selbu Rose or Star and was a little bit obsessed with them last year. I really want to make more Christmas balls, but the most important one is finished and since I’ve a few more things waiting in the wings, it might turn out to be my post-holiday project.
And if you’re not charmed enough already, you’ll have to watch this video:
Arne & Carlos – 55 Christmas Balls to Knit
Where I left things
I couldn’t let another month go by without posting and sharing some of what I’ve been up to:
From left to right:
FO – orange and blue acrylic & wool – a little something for a yarn-bombing project
WIP – Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Ocean Mix – Knitting Pure & Simple Children’s Neck Down Cardigan
WIP – Dale of Norway Baby Ull – this blanket
WIP – Punta Yarns Merisoft Handpainted Aran, Ocean – fingerless mitts (3×3 throughout) to learn Magic Loop
All of this will be set aside temporarily to work on a fun holiday knit. Or two. Or three. The challenge, as always, is making time for all of it.
But — in 2012: No excuses!
Baby Ull : Baby Red
In my Ravelry library, I’ve listed 60 books, 45 magazines, 11 booklets and 166 PDF files. I plumbed the depths of all that pattern inspiration to try to find a pattern for the seven skeins of Dale of Norway Baby Ull that I originally purchased in 2007 — purchased, by the way, just because I loved this deep red color. It’s rare that I buy yarn anymore without having a pattern in hand, but red yarns always seem to be so enticing. So I have a casual goal of helping my stash of red yarns become what they were meant to be. This yarn wants to be a baby blanket.
The pattern details are on Ravelry and it can be purchased and downloaded from there, or you can click here for all the details. For those of you who like to know these things in advance, the pattern isn’t charted (you won’t need it — you’ll figure out the pattern quickly), there are a few tricky maneuvers, but they’re all spelled out in the pattern and they don’t occur very often. There are plenty of “rest” rows and you’ll be able to knit this while watching television.
More red knits coming up!
Glittery Flicker : Eternity Scarf
I’ve been enjoying this project — it’s proven to be the perfect combination of mindless and mindful. I started this last weekend and I’m almost finished, in spite of limited knitting time.
The stitch marker in the first photo is from a set that Gail sent me for my participation in her Pay it Forward challenge. (Go check out her awesome stitch markers!)
I had intended to post my own Pay It Forward opportunity before now, but better late than never, right? Here’s how it works:
It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this Pay it Forward exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
Like many of you, I’ve been passionate about different hobbies prior to knitting, so you won’t necessarily get something that I knit — but it will be handmade. I hope you participate!
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