Colorjoy Pattern Sale!!!

My Sis in Love, LynnH of Colorjoy is having a wonderful sale on her patterns!
The link will take you to her Ravelry pattern page. Just add any 4 patterns to your shopping cart, and you will get one of them for free! 4 patterns for $18. And great patterns they are, too.
Here are a few photos of the ones I like best:

Yarn Destashing and Other Ebay, Part Two

I spent the last week going though my yarn bins again, and succeeded in weeding out more yarn I am not likely to use before we move. Then Oscar spent the day taking photos, and I put them up on Ebay.
(I also found about 50 more auctions worth that will go up in a few weeks) But for now, if you are interested in building your own stash of yarn (or in any of our other auctions, this week bells, glass paperweights and a few books in addition to the yarn) Click here to find our auctions. Most yarn is starting at 50 cents a skein, most of the other auctions are starting at 99 cents. Below are photos of a few of the 69 items:

Experimentation / Chomping at the Bit

I mentioned a few posts back that I have been experimenting with drawing up my own lace designs. (Photo to the left is a proto of a proto of a prototype to show how messy the things begin) I have come up with about 3 good ideas, now to make one (or more?) of them something I love :-}
I am on the home stretch on the third Kaleidoscope Capelet, and I like it a lot. (Photos after blocking, whenever that happens).
I want to finish a shawl/capelet idea I started a year ago, then move on to a summer-weight cotton shawl based on my Withig pattern with contrasting border.
Then there's the finished pattern for the mystery knitalong I did earlier this year, and the textured hat, cowl, mitt, mitten set I have almost finished. And a new reversible Hat and Scarf set based on a ribbing pattern I made up (maybe socks, too, who knows). If, as is likely, someone else has also thought of this, I have yet to find it in my multitude of stitch dictionaries, so I am eager to get that out there, too. I already have a name for it (saving that for it's debut).
And a sock based on an old wrapped stitch pattern.
And then there are the sketches I made of summer tank tops/baby doll tops that I have yet to do anything with.
I am SO eager to be on to the next thing, but the pattern I am working on at the moment deserves my full attention, first.

An Update

So.
The good news is the big 341 meeting is over with, and other than my electric wheelchair trying to destroy the Trustee's table as I left, things went well (the Trustee was very understanding, there was not much room for my electric wheelchair and it caught the leg of the table as the feet of the wheelchair caught on the carpet as I attempted to back away).
The medium news is that, as expected, I am fairly exhausted today. But I have some important but simple knitting to do. (As a person who worked most of my life, that sentence sounds odd to me, too, but as my business is all about fiber, it is a true statement)
The bad news is fairly bad. Oscar will not be receiving any help from the government for his training and certification from this year's budget. The next fiscal year starts in October, and the people who will be earmarked for help first include former members of the military, and laid-off factory workers. This seems fair, but left Oscar in an awkward spot.
The wonderful news is that with help from family he will proceed and do as much as he can, and in the meantime he will be excused from massive work-search duties otherwise required for his unemployment.
He has set up a grueling schedule for himself with New Horizons.
He has signed up for the Mentored Learning sessions every day they are available, and will be attending his first official class 5 days a week beginning the 27th. He is attending the mentored learning classes this week and next to get a head start.
He plans to power through the A Plus classes (two section, 21 mondules, about 4 modules a day) then take that test, all the time studying on his own for his first Cisco certification.
Then he will line up the next class (still studying on his own for Cisco) and get as much done as quickly as he can.
All the time still helping me package Ebay stuff, and keep the house running smoothly.
I am longing for the day when we move to an accessible home and I will be able to help in the house again.

(photo is picked randomly from my files, of ferns up in Gaylord Michigan)

Dogs

Here are photos of the two Bull Terriers we are watching the next few days. They have been very well-behaved, and I am enjoying some puppy time  :-}

Busy week about to get busier

This has been a busy week by my standards. Wednesday I met my youngest brother and his family (except for Maddie who couldn't make it) for lunch at Flat Top Grill. We had a nice visit. They will be moving to Alaska in the next few weeks so I was very glad we could arrange a time to meet.
Then on Friday Oscar and I met his family at the Flat Top Grill. It had been months since we had seen his Mom, Fred and Brian and a long time since we had seen Lynnie, too. Again we had a lovely time :-}
Then Oscar got a phone call late last evening. My niece Liz and her brand new husband Tucker were ready to leave for their honeymoon early this morning but the person who had agreed to care for their dogs had backed out of helping the first few days. Of course Oscar immediately agreed that we would make sure the dogs were ok, to feed and let them out a few times a day. (They only live a few blocks away from us after all).
Monday Oscar has a meeting around noon, Tuesday around 10:30 a.m., Wednesday we both have a meeting in the afternoon, AND Oscar begins classes on Monday (two weeks of 9-5 classes. ( He can arrange to do mentored study in the evening on Monday and Wednesday to cover the first 3 days he must miss because of the appointments) Then another week of mentored studying and taking practice tests before taking his first certification test (for A+ certification).
So life got REALLY busy all of a sudden. (As it tends to do :-} )
Today Lynnie is on her way to TNNA and will be meeting Deb Robson. She offered to take along my copy of Deb and Carole Ekarius' new book to get Deb's signature (and perhaps Carole's as well if she is there).
I finished the last stitch of my large Kaleidoscope shawl (photo above just before the last round of border stitches.) I plan to make one more small size using a hand dyed worsted weight to show how other yarns will work with the triangles.
The other photo is the rose bush in Liz and Tucker's back yard. Tomorrow I'll try and get a few shots of their Bull Terriers Zoe and Fenny (short for Fenris :-} ). The roses are glorious this week all over.
Back to Otterwise designs, I have a brand new beaded lace shawl pattern almost ready. I have begun to add a lot of my own adaptations to the lace patterns and I am really enjoying finding out how my sketched graphs look when knitted up. I have yet another lace pattern that looks like growing flowers that I hope to use soon, too.
I will be shouldering more of the Ebay stuff, which means it will be going a bit more slowly. But we found a really reasonably priced camera that has more umph than our old camera which means I can take photos more easily. Oscar will still need to help with the packaging, but he will probably be able to fit that in during the evenings. Family has been very generous giving us some things they no longer need or want to list on our ebay site. Every little bit helps!
We haven't yet heard if the state of Michigan will be helping with Oscar's certification classes (the Tuesday meeting is about going further down that path) but family again is helping us, making sure he is able to begin now to gain the certification to match his experience and help him get a great job asap.

A Truly Beloved Bug

Thanks to Alison who posted the link. This person must really love their Volkswagon Beetle.
Link is to the flickr photo below, not sure who owns the car.

Makes me wanna shop at Home Depot

(image is a screen capture, to see the video click the link below)

Home Depot in Bangor, Maine has great customer service

June Already

This year seems to be so disjointed and moving so very quickly. I spent the first three months sick most of the time then the next month scrambling to try and catch up. Then Oscar's job disappeared and we've been busting our butts to get some Ebay sales rolling in (all the while I was still trying to catch up with designing and reviewing). Now it is June, the first half of the year is almost gone and life looks so different now than it did in January. We are still busting butt on Ebay and I have had even more patterns ideas join the queue waiting to be born while working to finish the Kaleidoscope shawl.
The biggest thing to happen this week was the arrival of a long-awaited book co-written by my friend Deb Robson. I had to wait until I could find it on sale and used the proceeds from yarn sales to cover the cost. I normally would not have spent the money while things are in such flux but this is a treasure I will refer to for years to come. As things go, by next year the book may be less available and cost quite a bit more (although I hope for Deb and Carole Ekarious' sake sales demand a reprint). It is a book unlike any other in the fiber arena that compares and contrasts fibers from several different types and breeds of animal with meticulous information on using that fiber in many types of hand and machine work.  It is brilliant, comprehensive and gorgeously designed. What is this treasure? The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook from Storey Publishing (the link says coming soon but it is available right now). I am only a fraction of the way through it but already I am caught by the desire to do something to help the endangered fiber breeds, perhaps adding some information on what type of scarce fiber would work for some of my existing patterns or perhaps reviewing some of the yarn produced by the small-business crafters from those yarns. I am still mulling over ideas. I have plenty of time to think because it will likely be a year before I can put any plans into the implementation stage.
Anyhow, this month will be much like last month except that Oscar will be gone more and the ebay stuff will depend more on me. And I plan by this time next month to have the Kaleidoscope pattern out for testing and to be working on some other patterns. Just a short incomplete mental count gives me a list 8 items long of patterns already partially completed.
Reviewing is going quite well, I have already submitted 12 reviews in June. I hope to keep up the pace as there are more waiting on the shelf and a few more arriving soon. Good thing I like staying busy!
Now it's time to close. Amanda, Sean, Isabella Rose and Scott are arriving for a small cookout in a few hours  and we are not even CLOSE to ready.

Kaleidoscope Shawl

The first sample of the new shawl (newly dubbed the Kaleidoscope Shawl) is finished! Here is it, unblocked but perky. I really like how it turned out. This is the small size. I am waiting on a few more skeins in the other colorway to finish the large size. It will have a crocheted border rather than a knitted border. Then the next steps will be making small working models for technique photos and drawing the schematic for putting the shawl together.
But the hard part is done, all the instructions are written out and the samples just shy of being finished.

Oscar the Scholar

One of the things Oscar and I most enjoy about each other is that we both value and get excited about learning new things. We often share articles with each other from newsletters like Smartplanet or Stonepages. We watch lots of History and Discovery Channel programs, and are not satisfied with just watching NASCAR races, we also watch NASCAR Performance, a show that gets into the nitty gritty of the adjustments made to the cars to keep them fast on different tracks. (I'm a huge fan of Bootie Barker, too)
Despite our different educational paths (I wound up with three degrees, Oscar spent the time learning on the job) we both share that thirst for knowledge on almost any subject.
Imagine our delight that part of the Michigan program for unemployment involves encouraging people to further their education whether it be through a traditional degree program or by pursuing certifications specific for the jobs they want to get. Nothing has been firmly established as far as funds coming from the State for Oscar's choice of certification, but he is pursuing it steadily. We hope to find out in a few weeks exactly what they can do for him. In the meantime though he has found a state-approved program that has what he needs and chances are good the State will pay for it. My Oscar soon to be a CERTIFIED Network Specialist. He has been doing many of the things already in his career, but for future employers having those certifications proving his skills will be priceless.

Unexpected Consequence

Well, not entirely unexpected. The good news is a really good lawyer has agreed to champion my SSD claim. The bad news is that relating the situation and the causes of it have brought back a spate of PTSD related to the really bad experiences that resulted in my disability. They were perpetuated by doctors doing their best to help me, but they were still pretty horrific and the PTSD has resulted in a bad case of intermittent insomnia and a few panic attacks for spice. In the way of the universe the bad times have been balanced by some really nice things. Yesterday for example I was having kind of a bad day, when Don called and we had a lovely conversation that cheered me up immensely. Right after that I got calls from two of my three brothers which also helped :-}
Of course Oscar is incredibly supportive, too. And the bad times now will be worth it when (I am thinking positively, not if, but when) the SSD comes through.
---caution the next little bit may be TMI (Too Much Information) for the squeamish---
One of the episodes that seems to be haunting me the most happened the day after the hernia repair in 2001. I had a wound 15 inches long where they installed two layers of fairly wide mesh. They had given me an epidural (inserted by a rookie) that was meant to keep the extremely high levels of pain away. That was fine, until I lost the ability to move my legs. The next doc to show up had them remove the epidural but neglected to write a scrip for a replacement med. The epidural wore off really quickly and I was left, the day after surgery with the firm knowledge of what it might have been like in the old west to be 'gut shot'. It took what seemed like forever but was likely more like 40 minutes for the nurse to come, run down a doctor, and a morphine pump to be installed. Since then, that has been my definition of '10' on the pain scale.
Another episode happened later that same year, after my body reacted to the stitches and mesh with infection. Oscar took me to the ER where the queasy intern encouraged the infection beneath the partially-healed incision to drain from the reopened wound near my navel. A few days later the head surgeon decided to McGyver together a series of doodads not really meant to work together and put in a more permanent drain to keep the fluid from building up again. One of the doctors on call, possibly an intern bluntly refused to help the doctor with this operation, which was carried out with local anesthetic in my dim hospital room as I lay in my bed. After he hooked up the 6-7 inch sequence of joined hardware and began the mechanical suction, I heard air whistle in from the top of the wound (where a more conventional drain had been installed.) My wound remained opened to some extent for more than nine months, through a series of IV antibiotics, nurses home visits, and far too many doctor appointments.
During that 9 months, I also had botched ankle surgery that lead to my current non-walking.
I guess some of the worst moments of that year will drift their way up, and it is better that they come to the surface than linger below gathering power.
This isn't meant to be a 'poor me' post, but perhaps a partial catharsis that may help me come back to normal and reduce the panic attacks a bit. Over all I am quite well, but the insomnia related fatigue is interfering with the things I want to do while I am awake and I am (ha ha) tired of it.
This too shall pass, eh?

Huge Ebay Week and Other Stuff

We have 62 items up on ebay this week.
Lots of yarn, lots of books on the writing craft, and some interesting knick knacks as well as some Elfquest books and other odds and ends.

The modular shawl pattern is going very well. I had to rip off the edging on the sample I photographed a few posts ago as it was waaay more ruffly than I wanted. I re-wrote the edging pattern, making it more balanced over all and am on the final stretch. I like it now, it is more wavy than ruffly. I have also worked out part of the crocheted edging for the other sample, and am aching to start on it. Then I will make the schematics, have Oscar take some technique photos (I need to make the props for those) and get some final shots of the shawls on Zelda (the dressmaker's dummy.) It is already too warm here in Michigan to put a live model through wearing wool just for photos.

After the modular triangle shawl, I will plunge into other projects that have been on the back burner; a summer shawl in cotton based on the Withig stitch pattern, a shaped (small) ruana, the pattern resulting from our Mystery Stranded KAL, some summer tank tops, and some lace shawls. And a set of hat/cowl/mitts already written. And another hat already written. Enough to keep me busy through the summer, I'd say.

The Fabulous Heftones

You may have heard that my Sis-in-love and her husband Brian are musicians.
This past weekend as they almost always do, they played at the East Lansing Art Festival. This shot made it into the paper (Lansing State Journal). From Brian's expression, I'd say he was 'Eefing'. Lynn and Brian specialize in Tin Pan Alley music from the 1920's and forward. Many of their songs are available free on their site:
The Fabulous Heftones

The Movie The Boat that Rocked / Pirate Radio

Highly Recommended. Best movie I've seen in years. Watch it.

The Boat That Rocked / Pirate Radio

Hint of Upcoming Shawl Pattern

Productive Week, and BIG Yarn destash

First, I am destashing quite a bit of yarn. I had hoped to reduce my total bin count from 11 to 5 or 6, but only succeeded in reducing the count to 8. Ah well, I will try again in a month or so. For now, though, those three bins chock full of yarn are being destashed on the Ravelry website:
HERE if you are interested in yarny goodness.

I am also pleased that I have been able to submit 6 reviews this week, 3 of them today. 
I am feeling pretty well overall, although my ankle has continued to deteriorate further, more quickly than expected. I will be so grateful to be in a new accessible home before the year's end (we hope).
Oscar is 50, and thus we may be able to move to a retirement community. We think this will give us the best possible chance of finding a lovely accessible apartment or home.

Oscar is looking into further education through programs at Work First Michigan, and has found some classes that will add quite a bit to his resume. There are various hurdles like applying for a Pell grant to get over, but once all the details are squared away, he will be able to take all of the classes online.
In the meantime, we will continue clearing the house of items we won't wish to move, and putting various things up on Ebay. We are enjoying the extra time together, and are managing very well, I think.

Bra Supports Japan on the Two-Month Anniversary of the Quake

From CNET's Leslie Katz:

Triumph International Japan model Hikaru Kawai, who's from Sendai, joins a mannequin to model a "Support Japan Bra" and matching wraparound skirt in Tokyo today, the two-month anniversary of the quake and tsunami.

(Credit: AFP Photos/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

We have uplifting news from Triumph International, the company that brought us the solar-panel bra, the husband-hunter bra, and the environmentally minded No Plastic Shopping Bag Bra, among other novelty lingerie.
Today, on the two-month anniversary of the Japanese quake and tsunami, the company unclasped the "Support Japan Bra", a strapless bustier and matching skirt covered in encouraging messages to disaster victims delivered from around the world.
Now, it's probably safe to assume novelty lingerie isn't a priority for the many people still reeling from the epic natural disasters. Still, encouraging words from the global community, be they delivered by disaster relief agencies, social media, or brassieres, will hopefully remind victims that they're still very much in hearts and minds around the world.
The bra delivers 54 encouraging messages from 36 countries, and if you look closely at the picture above (hey, hey, not that closely!), you'll notice a range of languages scrawled on the undergarment alongside images of flags from countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Israel, Argentina, Switzerland, and Germany.
"Japan, with you 100%" reads a message from France. Reads another from China, "Those who have already left us let us know life is so fragile, and those who are alive let us know life is so strong." The Support Japan Bra is not for sale--yet, at least.
Hikaru Kawai, a Triumph representative from hard-hit Sendai who modeled the ensemble at today's unveiling in Tokyo, said she read every message herself.
We're not sure who, exactly, penned these messages (it looks to be staff from Triumph affiliates and not foreign ministry representatives), and it's clearly a PR stunt. Still, we have to credit Triumph International Japan for donating 62,000 units of women's underwear (regular ol' undies, not the kind covered in international messages) for distribution to Japanese women in need.

Read more

Rising of the Dreaded Germy Monster

Blergh. I have been sick for about 3 days now, although I AM getting better each day. I am still sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night (My normal cycle is 6-7 hours) and still feeling tired enough to hit the hay at 9 p.m... after getting up at noon. I figure if my body wants sleep, sleep it shall get!
 During my limited awake time I have been making progress on the modular triangle shawl and working on ebay stuff, as well as helping Oscar with mutual decisions on what to keep (very little) and what to shuffle off to ebay/friends/charity/trash (everything else).
I like this kind of thing, and Oscar has really developed some great skills at the task.
Since a visit home when I spent too much time on my feet, my "foot time" and "sitting upright time" has been cut back even further, but we have adapted.
I hope to have this latest bug kicked in another few days, and be back at full speed again.

My Sister-In-Love; The SOCK STAR!!!!

LynnH of Colorjoy is my beloved Oscar's sister. Back when it was first sinking in that my abdominal surgery wound was not healing as it should, when my long-term disability was ending and we were learning my ankle was no better despite THAT surgery Lynn asked if I would work through one of her patterns. My memory is faulty, but it may have been for First-TimeToe-Up Socks. Perhaps it was the Wristwarmer Pattern, or maybe one of her wraps. At any rate, as a rank beginner, I would be the perfect person to test the directions. If I could make her pattern, ANY one could. Back then, although I didn't know it, I was knitting every stitch twisted, Eastern style. Not surprising when the most recent time I'd learned knitting was from looking at diagrams in a book when I lived in Japan.
At any rate, Lynn was the one who got me started knitting again, and just in time, too. As the rest of my life was falling apart, this renewed fascination with sticks and string helped me focus on the positive. The internet was at my fingertips which allowed me to learn something new every day, almost any question was answered and each answer led me down a trail to a new piece of the puzzle and a new area of interest.
As the months passed, Lynnie asked me to help out on other patterns, which gave me a sense of purpose, and a feeling of being useful. Having the yarn and needles helped me feel in control of my life while my health was destroying some of my dreams. I am not sure she really understands the gift she gave me. The gift I rely on to this very day to help make my life a million times better than it would be without it.
Lynn is achieving a dream this July, and it couldn't happen to a more deserving person. She has been tapped to be an instructor at Sock Summit 2011, and will be teaching five (FIVE!!!) classes. Her name is listed among other heroes of mine: Cookie A., Cat Bordhi, Anne Hanson, Stephanie Pearl-Macfee and even Anna Zilboorg! She is in good company. Her lucky students will be able to experience Lynn's excitement and enthusiasm first hand, and I know no better teacher if one of them is learning a new technique.
I am so proud of Lynnie, I wish I could be there in person, but I know SHE knows I will be there in spirit.

Yay!!!!!!!!

The State of Michigan has ruled that Oscar's employer does not have sufficient cause to block his unemployment insurance.
This means we will have enough to cover the bills until Oscar gets his further certification and finds a MUCH better job!

Knitcircus Magazine Summer 2011 #14

I just got my Summer issue of Knitcircus Magazine and there are several very neat patterns in the issue, but the shawls in particular caught my attention. (BTW, that link is to the main magazine site which has 119 pages of fantastic FREE articles and some free patterns as well. I look forward to delving into the interview with Keiran Foley as soon as I post this.)
The first is Fanette (pg 66-670) a sweet little shawlette that looks like the perfect knit. Not too hard but with plenty of interest to make the knitting a joy. It also looks like it would be a great pattern for hand-painted yarn, and uses just one 437-yard skein of fingering weight.
Then there is Keiran Foley's Mughal, (pgs 64-650 which uses two colors of Madelinetosh and a leafy lace pattern to create a long luscious rectangular stole inspired by Mughal paintings. 
If that weren't enough, there is also a shawl from another of my favorite designers, Susanna IC where she uses her skills to recreate the shape of and orchid in her Orchidea. (pg 50-51).
This issue also has patterns for summer tops, socks, bags, pillows etc. I swear Jaala (the editor) manages to cram more goodness in every time.
This issue also features a video aimed and children who knit all about the purl stitch, An article by Wendy Johnson on knitting at full speed and more.

Still Spring, Still Jaunting

One of the huge positives of this whole period of time is that Oscar and I can go for jaunts every day there is sun. Yesterday we noticed the cloud cover had cleared enough to let some sunshine through so we scrambled and got out there even though we could still hear thunder in the distance.

Another Spring Jaunt

Things are a lot warmer and prettier outside. Oscar and I are keepign cheerful and using the opportunity for some lovely long jaunts in the neighborhood.

Progress on the Mystery KAL

We have been having fun with the Mystery Stranded Knit Along (KAL) I have been running on Ravelry.
We are in week 3, after various health-related and life-event inturruptions delaying the release of the separate parts, but I am pleased with our progress so far.
This is what the mitt looks like at this point. (although less blurry in person.) Only one more week and the KAL will be finished! This will be transformed into a completed pattern/stranded knitting tutorial that I plan to sell for $3.00.
The pattern also includes directions for a matching hat.
The final pattern may only use two charted designs, I am still pondering.
(but the KAL folks will have a third chart next week).

Cute Patterns, Money for Japan Relief

My friend Leslie of the blog More with Les is making a wonderfully generous offer. She says:

"I’m so amazed that Kay Gardiner’s Mitered Crosses Blanket pattern has raised thousands of dollars for aid to Japan.  It’s so awesome.  While I don’t have any new pattern designs to offer for the same cause, I’m pledging that all pattern sales I earn in the next 10 days will go directly to The International Red Cross.  Because I don’t generally sell a lot of patterns, I am pledging to match any pattern sales.  That means for every $3 pattern I sell between April 20 and April 30, I will donate $6 to The International Red Cross.  You can find my patterns on Ravelry and on Patternfish. "
(Go to her site and all those links will work just fine. Plus you'll get to see her adorable patterns! I especially love 'Jake' with it's cunning basketball topper and 'Sarah' with it's subtle feminine detailing)

One Smart Dog

With thanks to Don for sharing this:

Ebay

Oscar and I are listing several auctions on Ebay over the next few weeks. This week's auctions include some dvds and blu-ray discs (The Princess Bride, Harvey, On the Town and several more) as well as books of various genres. If you are interested, the auctions can be found HERE

Changes

Oscar lost his job yesterday. Unemployment may not happen. His employer is gifted at firing for cause, no matter how slight, and keeping the lost employees from filing. We have had friends and former coworkers go through this process too often the past year. My only income comes from pattern sales and the occasional ebay auction of books (not the ARCs, but the books) I read for review. The government decided long ago that my particular concatenation of circumstance does not qualify me for social security benefits.

We are cheerful, though. We are exploring the assistance available to deal with the debts and the upside-down mortgage, we are streamlining our lives and preparing to move, if necessary. Oscar is a heck of a good worker, and we hope he will find a good job soon, but this is Michigan, all too near Detroit where unemployment is rampant.

Like I said, though, we are cheerful and optimistic as well. Making lists and prioritizing tasks, getting our ducks in a row, contacting Greenpath for advice, talking to creditors; all that not-so-fun stuff that may help us keep going long enough for Oscar to find that job.

There are a lot of positives that might happen because of this bad news. If we lose the house, it may mean we can move to a place that is handicap accessible which will mean I can do more in the house without injuring myself. It may mean we are free to move, and Oscar may find that job somewhere other than Michigan.
Oscar and I both have been in similar sticky situations and we have great survival skills. We both have been through enough to know how to take joy in small things, and celebrate anything and everything we can.
We also are blessed with the support of our families, which is HUGE. Not just a financial net to keep us from becoming homeless, but emotionally. This really empowers us to move forward.
So. Changes. But my heart tells me the final result of the bad day we had yesterday will be a life much better than the one we had.

Maple Flowers

I'll Fly Away

Back in September 2008 I designed a free pattern based on Clara Parkes' triangular shawl instructions. I used colors I knew my friend Faye would like and a combination of yarns that ended up in a snuggly, squooshy fabric.
I named it Faye's Cozy Shawl and sent it to her along with her husband, Ralph's scarf, the protoype for another free design the Easiest Farrow Rib Scarf.
One of the things I like to do every few days is look at a page on Ravelry that shows me any recent activity regarding any of my patterns. This can range from someone favoriting or queuing the pattern, a comment on someone's project or my favorite, photos of completed objects.
Not long ago I noticed a Faye shawl made by a user named Tayogini, titled 'My First Shawl' and one of her photos struck my heart. At Faye's memorial a few weeks ago, one of her friends mentioned whenever the old gospel song 'I'll Fly Away' was played, no matter where she was Faye would spread out her arms and dance back and forth, moving her arms like wings. I can remember Faye doing just that. What a wonderful memory.
And what a lovely joyful reminder Tayogini gave me by choosing Faye's pattern for her first shawl. (the photo above is used with the permission of Tayogini)
Another pattern I wrote in September 2007 was made expressly for my friend Deb Nickerson. (Affectionately called Nickers). Each time that pattern (Cloud on Her Head) is made it brings the memory of Deb close again.
Now I have Faye's shawl to do the same. I had no idea when I designed them they would provide such lasting comfort, not only to those who were gifted with a project made from the pattern, but to me, each time they are discovered and used anew. I am very thankful.

Spring!

Today the projected high was 78, and sunny. We hit 83 an hour ago. Last weekend we had a bit of snow.
Oscar and I went on a jaunt, and it felt like a miracle.

Then Liz and Tucker stopped by with Levi (they live near by) and all in all it has been a wonderful day :-}

Levi in the Dragon Butt hat

Squill near the front door

Expanding Income

I've been thinking about selling some of my pattern samples on Etsy. That got me thinking about creating some other things to sell there. For example, I am very particular about my stitch markers. I hate using anything that has any form of separation (like a traditional jump ring used in making jewelry) as it always seems to catch on my yarn no matter how careful I am. I am looking into what circular item would fit around a knitting needle that I could use. I already have a nice selection of gaskets, but they aren't very decorative. I am looking for solid metal rings. I can then use jewelry wire and sparkly beads to make them even more beautiful (hiding and securing the ends of the wire inside the beads, to keep the yarn safe).
I am also thinking about knitting some simple and funky things that people may want to buy on Etsy. Hats with interesting logos come to mind, perhaps knitted mitts with pithy sayings.. etc.
Perhaps the first step is to find out what other Etsy sellers' price points are, and see if it is worth the time, energy and materials. What do you think these items may be worth?

(photos include some of the samples I may list)