Life is a tapestry made up of who we are and the things we enjoy. I will be sharing the part of my life's tapestry that involves animals, music, weaving, knitting, crocheting, beads, paper arts and the most important part of my tapestry ~ family.
I am finally having a moment to post some finished projects on my blog. One of the items on my "to do" list was to take a new picture of my very first knitted scarf and replace the horrible picture of myself wearing the scarf. The angle at which the photo was taken was such that it was one of the most unflattering pictures ever taken of me {LOL ~ Laugh Out Loud}! Here is my neighbor's pine tree sporting the very first scarf I knitted. {My neighbor has no idea I caught her tree wearing my scarf!} Some of you have been reading my blog since day one. For those who joined me later, I knitted this scarf with size 8 Addi Turbo needles.
Variegated color: Noro Silk Garden Lite
{45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair and 10% Lamb's Wool}
Solid color: Noro Cash Iroha
{40% Silk, 30% Lamb's Wool, 20% Cashmere and 10%Nylon}
I crocheted the edging {with some help from a friend} to add an accent to the scarf and to keep it from rolling. Some friends could not believe I chose such nice yarn for my very first project. I knew I had to use yarn {and colors} I would enjoy knitting with or I would grow tired of it before I completed the project. I had to be "proud" of my choice to want to keep knitting thru the awkward beginning stages of learning something new. I have never regretted my choice.
Speaking of crocheting, back in the Summer while at a Knit-In at Gourmet Yarn Company in Oklahoma City, a fellow Raveler Sakae{Sorry the link will only work if you are a member of Ravelry.} was showing everyone her first crocheted project - Tea Scarf by Pixeldiva. Now if you read my first post, you know I used to think I never wanted to learn to knit. Well, I wanted to learn to crochet even less! haha!
At the Knit-In I was sitting across the room from Sakae, but she had my attention with her beautiful scarf! If I ever wanted to learn to crochet a scarf, this was the project for me. I waited a few months and then decided I definitely wanted to crochet a Tea Scarf. My reasoning is perfectly logical to me. If I learn more about crocheting then I will feel comfortable putting crochet edges around my knitted shawls and scarves. What better way to learn crochet than by making a scarf! Plus crocheting gave me another excuse to buy yarn... Did I say that out loud? I meant to say it gave me another venue for using my stash. {That's my story and I am sticking to it!}
I used approximately 1 1/3 skeins of Baby Alpaca D.K. Paint by Plymouth Yarn in Colorway 8817, Dye Lot 672.
I had fun learning to crochet the scarf.
I am considering making a cowl that involves quite a few stitches on the needles at one time. Not wanting to have to figure out how long of a tail to start with in Long Tail Cast On, I am contemplating the Cable Cast On Method. This method eliminates the worry of miscalculation.
Special thanks to Gingerly4it for the instructional video on Cable Cast On.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
It's a Fig, Newton!
My week in Mississippi is flying by way too fast! My parents were expecting me on Monday; however, Saturday {08.11.2007} was my Mom's birthday. Knitted Zebra's Brother, Sister and I planned a surprise for Mom and Dad. They told Mom they would take them out to eat for Mom's birthday and Mom & Dad's Wedding Anniversary. After most were gathered inside the house on Saturday, I walked in and said "Happy Birthday!" Mom said she thought she was dreaming when she looked up and saw me there. She had been trying to figure out a time when all of us could be together through the week. I live 525 miles away, so it is an all day journey to "pop in."
We are enjoying laughter, great times together and wonderful food. Some of the best food comes from the fruits of my Dad's labor. He loves to work in his garden now that he is retired. I am early for the figs and muscadines, but wanted to show you what I will be missing. Above is one of the figs. Below is a shot of one of Dad's fig plants. I am sure his figs will be so tasty!
One of my all-time favorite Southern foods ~ muscadines ~ is shown below. Muscadine Jelly and Muscadine Juice fall right in line with delicious muscadines right off the vine! I did get to taste a couple of muscadines. One was ripe, but the other was evidence that I was too early for the harvest.
I have really looked forward to some of Dad's delectable green tomatoes fried up and served hot. Yum! Green fried tomatoes are so good!
Another Southern tradition, besides Mom's outstanding cooking, is a bowl of Boiled Green Peanuts. Sometimes it is hard to find them fresh, but believe it or not Peanut Patch Green Boiled Peanuts are the next best thing. {I did not believe Mom until I tried them.}
Yes, I call them Boiled Green Peanuts and they call them Green Boiled Peanuts. To me they are green peanuts that are boiled, to Peanut Patch they are Boiled Peanuts that are green. Somehow though I am not going to let semantics stand in the way of enjoying them. {Rest assured, no peanuts were wasted in the making of this photo!}
While speaking of the South, I have to mention Elvis, especially in relation to tomorrow {anniversary of his death}. While growing up I lived across the street from Elvis' birthplace for five years. {Click on birthplace to go to a link that shows pictures of his home.} At that time the birthplace served as a "rent house" and was owned by a local lady. This type house is known as a "shotgun house" in local terminology. It is a small two room house with wooden steps and a small porch the width of the house. The front door opens into a small room with another small room immediately behind the first. The back door is at the end of the second room.
When I lived in Tupelo, I had a memory of why they called it a shotgun house, so I "Googled" the term to see if I was correct. "The Shotgun house is a narrow one-story dwelling without halls. Each room is placed behind the other in single file. The roof ridge is perpendicular to the street. The traditional description of why these houses are called "shotgun" is that if one fired a shotgun through the front door, the shot would pass through the lined-up doors of each room and out the back door." {Definition from bywater.org}
I did not live in Tupelo at the time, but Elvis held a concert at the Tupelo Fair Grounds in 1956. The following statement was made by Elvis as reported in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, August 16, 2007: "Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together."
Knitted Zebra's Brother worked for South Central Bell in Memphis for over 30 years. During this time he was assigned to handle telephone service to the downtown medical center. It was his assignment {and pleasure} to "hook up" the private telephone for Elvis each time he entered the hospital. Elvis would always be admitted after midnight. On one occasion, Elvis left him a short note as he was being discharged: "Thanks, first name of KZ's Brother, for your help." One thing that made this note unique was Elvis wrote this at 2:00 a.m. on his doctor's prescription pad. This is to the memory of Elvis as we remember him 30 years after his death.
It is amazing what some wizards can do! Tomorrow {08.17.2007} on spinner.com and on itunes, you will be able to see a duet between a now-grown Lisa Marie Presley and her father, Elvis, who died when Lisa Marie was 9 years old. In anticipation, here is a replay of the American Idol duet of Celine and Elvis. Elvis' image was taken from a concert in 1968, the year Celine was born. Double click on the arrow to start the music.
This afternoon I went to a place my sister told me about ~ The Fillin' Station at the corner of Fillmore and Wick Street in Historic Downtown Corinth. When you walk in, it is very evident the owner is a true Elvis Fan!! A number of people were enjoying "Dogs on the Run" with slaw, homemade chili and Sweet Vidalia onions. If you are in the mood for a thick slab of bologna in a cheese sandwich or a Grilled Cheese freshly made, you have come to the right place. If I am not mistaken, those are some of the sandwiches Elvis enjoyed. I stopped in for some ice cold Dr. Pepper and picked up a couple of glass bottles of Soda Pop for memorabilia from Corinth. If you are ever in the area, I know they would love to have you drop by The Fillin' Station.
The picture above was taken at my parents' home. All of our guitars are at the homes of Knitted Zebra, KZ's Brother and KZ's Son, so a piano was substituted for a musical instrument. That is a menu from The Fillin' Station though. My apologies that the pic is blurry, I needed more light.
For those who have waded thru this for the knitting content, I present to you the start of "My So Called Scarf" which I found on Sheep In the City's blog. I first saw this scarf on Stacey's blog when I was just learning to knit. I knew someday I would knit one of these. After a few projects on my knitting needles, I went in search of the beautiful ManosdelUraguay yarn she had used. It was well worth the wait! This is the Wildflowers colorway and I am using Denise Needles, size 15. I found the yarn at my LYS, Stitches.
DS {Dear Son} and DIL {Daughter-in-Law} spent a month in Bulgaria this summer. DS met his in-laws for the first time, DIL caught up with relatives she had not seen in a few years and the month went by way too quickly for them. When I told them I was going to blog a tribute to Bulgaria, DS posed for a picture in the neat jacket he purchased while in Europe.
They were able to travel all over DIL's birth country. Christianity was adopted as the state religion in 865. Monasteries were built as literary, cultural and artistic centres. This arch is on the road to the Bachkova Monastery, which was built in 1083. Bachkova Monastery, the 2nd largest monastery in the country and also one of the most visited, is 189 km from Sofia.
The monastery survived the first round of Turkish invasions, but later was looted and ruined. Bachkova was restored in the late 15th century.
This beautiful fountain is on the monastery grounds.
Here are some more scenic photographs, including one with the traveling couple in the mountains.
While visiting DIL and DS after their trip, DIL pulled out this neat hooded sweater that an outstanding Bulgarian knitter had knitted. This looks like it was a work of love ~ Check out the detail!
Before DS and DIL left for their trip, they asked me what I wanted as a souvenir from their adventure. Naturally I said "Yarn!"{Was there any doubt?} While in Levski, they picked up some fancy Kan Kan yarn for me to make a scarf or shawl. Here's a picture of two of the skeins they picked up for me. The third skein of Kan Kan is a different colorway and will be used for a yet-to-be-determined project. Another time I will show you the beautiful yarn they bought in Turnovo. {It's a secret project, so I can't say any more at the moment.}
I decided to make a shawl with two skeins of the Kan Kan yarn and I'm calling it "My Bulgarian Shawl." Since it is my first shawl, I am doing a simple pattern. {It did not take long to learn knitting shawls can be addictive!} I am randomly alternating between the two shades of yarn. Here's a picture of the shawl on my size 13 Denise needles with 52" blue cable {they now have pink cables in awareness of Breast Cancer ~ read the story on their website}.
The picture below was taken on my parents' beautiful dining room table. I have temporarily set the shawl aside to work on a birthday gift {will show in future blog}, but will be eager to resume work on it soon.
I wanted to close this blog with a photo of my favorite Bulgarian knitter. DIL loves to knit in between college studies and work. She doesn't have much spare time, but enjoys the moments she is able to grab. I wanted a picture of her modeling her first scarf for my blog. She has made a number of scarves since this pic was taken.
Carpe Knitting and Happy Thanksgiving! KZ
P.S. As with any of my blogs, click on photos to view only that picture, click on underlined text to links for more information.
P.S.S. My apologies for the long delay since my last blog. I have had fits with my computer. I finally upgraded operating systems {OS} and installed a non IE internet browser, only to discover it's best not to do that. Then I bought "name brand" antivirus software and learned the OS does not like it because it's not by OS's company. Sunday my hard drive will be reformatted so I can start fresh, leaving off the software aforementioned OS does not like. Yet another reason to save up for a Mac!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
With a Little Help From My Friends
Ahh, at last a moment to sit and do some blogging! Seems like life loves to throw curves just when I think I will have a moment to blog. Finally a chance!
First things first... I want to thank my computer graphics guru friend DottieB for my new Knitted Zebra blog button. I am placing it in a sidebar so it will be visible on the front page all of the time. Thanks, DottieB! I love that sense of accomplishment when you finish something. That definitely holds true with knitting, so it seems about time I showed you a completed project. My first project was a simple scarf: knit and purl, alternating between the two. This scarf gave me the opportunity to practice my technique. I definitely improved as I went along. Having the variegated colors kept me going because I wanted to see how it all ended. This is the scarf in it's almost completed phase.
When I got to the end of the skein, I was going to add fringe. Susan {my Knitting mentor and Knitter with a capital K} suggested I enhance the scarf with a crocheted edge. Now if you thought I chuckled when I decided I was going to knit, you can only imagine the chuckling about me crocheting! I told Rori, Crocheter extraordinaire, that she would never believe what I was going to ask her. After she got over the shock, she graciously agreed to teach me. Our letterboxing, postcrossing, knitting and crocheting friend from Nashville Barbara introduced me to a great group of knitters and crocheters in Broken Arrow when she was here on business recently. I told Rori that Barbara would never believe I wanted to crochet! Rori had her work cut out for her because I injured my index finger years ago and I just cannot hold my finger up in the air indefinitely to keep the correct tension. I told Rori she would have to teach me to do the edge of my scarf so that I did not have to hold my finger up. I'm sure Rori was thrilled (ha!), but she acquiesced and graciously taught me. Thanks, Rori!
My friend Kat, Knitter extraordinaire, sent me tutorials to study before my first blocking attempt. The tutorials were very thorough and I felt confident I was doing it correctly.
Additionally I was able to study the pictures of some blocking Kat showed on her blog Creative Popoffs. Thanks Kat!
{Updated note: I am replacing the photo of the scarf so you can concentrate on the beautiful Noro colors.} It was fun to watch the various colors emerge on my size 8 Addi Turbo needles.
Variegated color: Noro Silk Garden Lite {45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair and 10% Lamb'’s Wool}
With a little help from my friends... Carpe knitting, KZ
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Who Me?
Chuckling was heard the day I decided I was going to start knitting. Least you decide these sounds were emitted from the Peanut Gallery, I should quickly confess I was the one chuckling. Until the moment of decision arrived, I had no desire to learn to knit. When the idea began to spin {yes, pun intended!} around in my head, I found humor in the thought that I suddenly wanted to learn how. Even more surprising was the realization that it all made sense to have the desire to knit. After all, I had always enjoyed fiber arts and I needed some projects that were more portable than the more complicated bead projects I enjoy so much.
To those who have knit since childhood, it probably seems strange for someone to say they had no desire to learn to knit. While growing up, no one I knew ever mentioned knitting, so there was no enticement around. Nor do I remember any yarn shops in the towns where we lived. Weaving with fibers is intriguing and I have spent countless content hours bead weaving {on loom and off loom}. Additionally when I saw my first spinning wheel, I knew it was something I wanted to investigate. Yet knitting was just not in my plan ~ until two months ago. So what possibly could entice this Southern born gal to seek out knitting needles?
Being a very tactile person, I have always enjoyed creating things. Fibers and colors brighten my world. When I was in college, I enjoyed macramé and string art. Then I progressed into embroidery, needlepoint and bobbin lace. While making hand bound journals, it was fun to add fibers and beads to the spines. I have always enjoyed embellishing my paper art creations with fibers. It was only natural to move into making fiber and bead necklaces. {A side note for macramé enthusiasts: Micro-macramé with the beautiful cords now available makes wonderful modern bracelets!}
Having the privilege of growing up with parents who enjoy reading, I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. Having read a couple of books centered around a knitting shop, I was searching our wonderful library system’s website when I discovered some “cozy mysteries” that continued the theme of the knitting shop. {I will review these books in future posts so you can enjoy them also.} In these books, the men and women were really enjoying knitting ~ some spinning ~ and the camaraderie they found in sharing these creative endeavors.
Before I knew what had happened, it was all making sense for me to learn to knit. Having taught paper arts and beading for a number of years, it was only natural to seek out a teacher. Having purchased some beautiful fibers and glass buttons from Naturally Needlepoint and Knitting in Tulsa, I remembered they had some beautiful yarns. I went in on my next day off and signed up for beginning knitting classes with Susan, a delightful and talented Knitter {yes, Knitter with a capital K ~ for those who have read Yarn Harlot}.
I just had my 5th knitting class this morning. Here’s a picture of my in-progress first scarf that is my practice for knitting and purling.
Knowing I would need to use yarn that was very appealing to me if I was going to want to finish my first project, I chose a skein of Noro Silk Garden Lite {45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair and 10% Lamb’s Wool}. This skein is getting smaller and I am getting faster in my knitting and purling. The solid color is Noro Cash Iroha {40% Silk, 30% Lamb’s Wool, 20% Cashmere and 10%Nylon}. I will be using it for fringe and embellishments. When the skein has been used up, I want to learn about embellishing and blocking. {A side note for the curious in nature and for those with Knitting Attention Deficient Disorder ~ yes, I have other knitting projects in the works!} My crazy work in Information Technology has slowed my progress down, but I have learned a lot during this time and look forward to sharing more of this part of my tapestry with you.
