The Delightful Miss M

She asked me what I was doing.

I said I was knitting.

She said she wanted to learn.

She had my undivided attention.

The following week I bought needles just for her, I made plans to keep her for the weekend and the two of us raided the box of gifted yarn that is stored upstairs. Then, with her sitting on my lap, we proceeded to learn to knit. It wasn't long before she had the technique down and was knitting on her own.

This makes me incredibly happy. I love watching her little fingers work the yarn.

I love it....

when the people in my life (females in particular) share my passion for handcrafts. Jewleigh is a much better and more daring knitter than I am. I love that she jumps right in with new projects and figures them out as she goes. I also love that I can go to her when I'm stumped, and believe me, she's fixed a fair number of mistakes for me. Thanks Jewleigh. She finished a hand-knit purse a year ago, but because she doesn't (didn't) sew, she needed my help with the lining. I gave her a quick lesson on the machine and how to hold the material and thread to begin, Jewleigh sat down, got her hands in position, paused, and then pulled her hands back and laughed. "I'm scared," she said. But then she just went for it. Not only did she make the lining, but she added a pocket, and not just a simple pocket. Nooo, not Jewleigh, she pulls out all of her necessities like her phone and pens and keys, measures them and makes dividers in the pocket to hold everything. Told you she was daring, and she's creative too.




Tah dah! A beautiful handmade purse.


The next day? Yeah, she was visiting with a friend of her mother's and the woman gave her a sewing machine that wasn't being used. Does Jewleigh say thank you, go home and put the machine in the closet because she doesn't really know how to use it? Nope, not Jewleigh. No, she goes to the fabric store for instructions on how to thread it and put the bobbin in and then she buys more material. She's so like that! Suppose I should brush up on my sewing skills so she doesn't blow right by me?

Love you Jewels...

Why risk frostbite?

My friends and I were supposed to go paddling over the weekend, but the biting cold, blowing wind and below zero wind chill made it the perfect recipe for frostbite....and that's no fun. Cold? Bring it! Cold with wind? Not so much. Oh well, we hit the winery instead, had ourselves a marvelous time, aaaand I found a couple of Michigan treasures to send back to Taiwan.


It hurt our cheeks to be out walking in this. B braved the cold for these shots while I watched from inside the warm truck. Smart girl, don't you think?

Back at the 'cabin', it was cozy and warm and friendly in this room so I played with the camera a bit while my girlfriends played with paper and pencils.




I snuck in a little bit of knitting in between playing a game or two. That knitting project is also going back to Taiwan with Alex as a thank you gift to dear friends of his who sent me coffee from their shop. On the off chance that you happen to get to Taoyuan, you must visit Shen Cafe and tell Shen and Fanny that Alex's Mom told you to go. They are a delightful couple and they take marvelous care of my son.


Oh, and for some really great news (rubbing my hands together).....I have a new camera. Someone, you might guess who, happened to find a fantastic deal on a used D70. It's sitting at his house right now and I'm chomping at the bit to get to it. Soon....very soon. I love my Pentax because it's small and waterproof (very important) and although it's wonderful for using on the rivers and lakes when we paddle, I find it to be quite limited for the many types of photography I like. I love close-ups and low light situations. The Pentax doesn't work so well for those.

I'll bet I get to play with the camera this weekend.....

Summer Time

No, that's not a misprint.....I didn't mean summertime. I really meant Summer time. As in, the time at the end of a workday when my chores are complete and there is still enough sunlight that I can venture out to the porch for a while. Enough time left of the daylight that I can read, or knit, or simply bask in it's warm glow....whatever I want. Yes, Summer time......

(shhhh....I've been known to blow off all chores and just go out on the porch. Yep, guilty.)

And it's not just the light at the end of the day. It's also the extended daylight that allows me to go outside at the beginning of the day to explore the world that is my yard.

When I awoke this morning, I thought it felt overly humid. Looking out the window I realized why. My world was shrouded in a thick, heavy fog. I find the image of this tree, the solitude, to be very soothing to me today.

Later, as I wandered about with my bucket of soapy water collecting slugs (I know, it's cruel, please forgive me), I came across several of these webs in the grass. I spent time squatting next to this one inspecting the design. Is it architecture? Or is it art? The spider came up out of the hole for a bit and we had a very one-sided conversation, which consisted of me commenting on the cleverness of the location and suggesting that s/he must be Mensa qualified to build something so remarkable. For the spider's part, s/he just wiggled his little wigglers at me and disappeared back down the hole.

I did find time last night to get this started on the needles. It's hard to put down.

Seeing Green

What a weekend for weather! It was classic Michigan in that if you don't like what it's doing outside, wait 5 minutes and it will change. It rained and changed to sleet, then it snowed and quickly started melting as the weather climbed into the 40's. The wind blew and it rained again, and then the temp plummeted back into the 20's overnight bringing with it more lovely snow. Really, I think snow is lovely.

I didn't sleep my whole weekend away either. Friday evening I went to a holiday party . Saturday, I visited my sister so we could work on a book we're making for our brother, stopped at the grocery store on the way home and I managed a walk during a break in the weather. Sunday, I attended my granddaughter's Christmas concert. The blustery weather really put me in the mood to be crafty though and since the warmest spot inside the house was under the afghan, I picked up the needles and some spare yarn and made this.....in between naps.

Just a little something to tide me over until I can get the boat home and in the water. I thought I might need a hat to match. It's my first time editing a pattern to fit the yarn. It fits so I did it right. Cool!

Oooh, I just got an email from my friends saying we're scheduled for a Boxing Day paddle (I'll borrow a boat). Woo Hoo!! 3 hours north on the Jordan River. We winter paddled there 4 years ago and it was beautiful. Huge, fluffy snowflakes coming down. It's a beautiful river all the time, but especially in the winter. Here's a picture from back then. Sorry about the quality - I didn't have digital yet.

What is it?

I can't say yet other than it's for F.M.S. - for his birthday. I've finished it, but now have to wait 6 weeks before I go to Taiwan and can give it to him. It was so much fun I've bought more wool to make one for myself.

Now can I say I'm a knitter? Yeah, and I'm welcoming myself to the club. What a great club to belong to.

Now, about that welding I've been wanting to learn. I found a place in Kalamazoo that teaches classes.

Knitter's Heaven

I'm not a knitter by any stretch of the truth. I knit poorly at best. I know it's lack of experience and a matter of being self taught, but being unable to find the rhythm, I've been so ridiculously clumsy at it! But I want to be a knitter for the peace I'm sure it could add to my life. How could I not be peaceful when I'm creating something that takes over my soul?
I found out that Cat Bordhi was going to be at City Knitting last night for a talk and book signing and I thought, "why not?" and why would I miss a chance to learn something from one of the best? Look what I bought!

Cat is wonderful and she uses stories to help you understand the steps. Needless to say I bought more needles and Manos yarn and sat next to Cat for about 45 minutes while she talked me (and others) through casting on and making my first few rows. It was wonderful and I'm pretty sure I melded into her aura. It was so.....peaceful. I knew it, I just knew it would be. I went home and continued knitting while snuggled in bed all relaxed and cozy. (Except for the part where my cat thought I brought these items home as toys for him.) And just to be sure I really knew what I was doing I took it all apart and did it again.

I'm in knitter's heaven.