Natalie Knits

For a while now, I've been meaning to clean out the closet, and get rid of old clothes. But for some reason, it's always so hard to do! I hate getting rid of things (I always have), and when I was thumbing through Mason Dixon Knitting last week I had an idea-- using the old clothes for calamari knitting! I need a new bathmat/rug in the upstairs bathroom, and this would be perfect! I also could use a few placemats for out outdoor table, so this morning I got the scissors out and got to work.

The red will be the placemats. I have lots of white and grey for my rug, and I have a bunch of fleece that I might strip up and throw into the mix. I love the pic from the book, I'm hoping mine turns out half as well. But I also really like this project because I LOVE the idea of recycling, and not really getting rid of my old stuff. But this shift in thinking about things is a good one-- what else can I use this for? Instead of "I guess I should throw this out." Some of the most creative and inspiring projects I have come across are re-using materials, or taking something commonplace and using it for something unexpected.

This past weekend was really nice-- the weather was beautiful, and more flowers came out in front of our house!

We went down to Detroit to see a tigers game.

Now I should be back to my school work... It has been a kind of hard transition, now that classes are over, and I desperately want a BREAK break (you know, not just a weekend off, but a time to really give my mind a chance to recover from the semester!). So my response has been to avoid my research a bit, and to knit more. I need to pull some stuff together this afternoon for a meeting tomorrow morning, but I am thinking I might also need to get back to this!

Well, Im making some progress on the Kenobi.  I think I may just start referring to it as Obi-Wan.  Now that I have the pattern established, it's going much faster-- I don't have to keep consulting the pattern I wrote out.

I also finally went and bought the LAST zipper I need to officially finish my dropped stitch hoodie.  Sometimes I look at it, laying in a heap in the knitting basket, and I am amazed at the easy way the rows sit together, and how all of the dropped stitches formed such a neat pattern-- in many senses of the word.  Blocking was like a miracle, and I finally GET IT-- I had read so much about how blocking can change something, and how people can tell if something has been blocked, but, like many things associated with knitting, I didn't get it until I did it myself. 

I will get that zipper on, and then pictures will follow.  My first finished object, the one that inspired the start of this blog!! 

I am still trying to find my footing with the blog.  I find there is a delicate balance between writing about knitting and writing about other life events.  I am naturally a private person, and I have always felt a bit uneasy about exposing oneself to the virtual world, yet I threw my hat into the ring (so to speak) and started the blog.  Sometimes I think about why-- I am quite happy to just read other's blogs, and often find leads to new projects or ways of thinking about knitting.  I remember reading once on Cara's blog  that anyone who knows how to knit and purl can figure out a pattern and can knit anything they want.  At the time I scoffed a bit-- I was a confirmed scarf knitter.  My scarves were in demand by friends and family, and I couldn't screw them up too bad.  But the words ring true, and I remember reading through my first sweater pattern and thinking, "ok, I just might be able to do this!"  And then the magic of short rows on the hood-- when I got to that moment, and turned the knitting, and followed the pattern, and like MAGIC the knitting did what I wanted it to, what it was supposed to-- it became a hood!-- I was a convert.  I have been searching relentlessly for sweater patterns that are Just Right, and I am filing them away like insurance so I have something good to work on next. 

And I'll keep blogging for a while, trying to find my voice, and trying to keep a good balance here.  I am interested in keeping a record of my works, my progress, to refer back to, as much (or more) for myself than for others, though it is good to know that people are out there, and that what I say and do may resonate with others.  I am ok with taking my time, so we'll see where this road takes me :)

This is the view from the park down the street from our house. Tonight was one of those perfect evenings-- after dinner J and I went out for a walk, and went up through the park and around the neighborhood. Before moving to AA, I was advised to live on the Old West Side, and I think it was some of the best advice I've ever gotten! We are so happy with the house we found to live in, and our neighborhood is so full of trees and parks and families and dogs. I feel like I have been craving this for years, a homey comfortable place to just be.

This weekend we went to the market and bought some new plants:

A tomato ("Tiny Tim"):

A red pepper plant:

And some herbs. This is my lavender, it should get good sun out in the bed in front of the house:

We also planted some cukes, zucchini, lettuce, flowers, and more peppers. Some we started from seed, so I hope they do ok!

I have been taking a bit of a knitting break for the past few days. Do other knitters feel this way? Sometimes it seems like some of my favorite knit bloggers never rest, and certainly never stop knitting! I find a need a little variety in my life-- on good days I like to think I am being balanced. I am SO pleased with my sweater-- I finished sewing the zipper on the hood this weekend, and once it is blocked and ready there will be pictures! But finishing my sweater, and this semester, I feel the need to step back and regroup. I am sure I'll be back at it again soon, but I have other creative pursuits on the brain at the moment. I think I am still adjusting to being a full-fledged knitter, and a blogger-- and I spend a lot of time thinking about both. Maybe I should stop thinking so much and start blogging. When I do blog I want it to be worthy and interesting, and not too self indulgent. A harder mix than I had realized! Well, I'll keep working on it!

Why has this month been so blah? It's not the weather, that's been great! This is the squirrley (Mr. Nuts, as we call him) that has been living in our tree and likes to nap just off the balcony.

I finished school, but I had to jump right into research. And I have never been one to like to overload on things-- this year has been very demanding work-wise, and while I am excited to work on my research, I needed a break! So I have been avoiding it as much as possible.

I also shifted knitting gears. and have taken a break from my larger projects. I made a bunch of mini-warshrags, because I hate buying sponges all the time, especially when I have such lovely piles of sugar n'cream everywhere.

I also have been playing with knitting wire with stones and making new kinds of jewelry, though I couldn't get a good picture of it. I have seen this a few places-- instructions on how to knit wire, and I was really excited with how it came out!

Also, it was J's birthday, and as he is a baseball nut, we have been going to baseball game after baseball game! First was Great American Ballpark, in Cincinnati.

Then we hit up the Jake in Cleveland.

And then was Comerica, in Detroit.

So, I am trying some new tactics to stay on track. I always thought it would be so great to set my own schedule and to work from home, but WOW is it hard to stay on task! I'll share my techniques if they seem to be working, and I am definitely going to try to post more often! Promise!!

Lately I have been feeling so blah (as I revealed in my last post).  Sometimes I feel so passionate and so creative that I can't wait to work on all my projects.  And then other times I feel like now-- tired, needing a break.  A break from what?  I'm not always sure.  I know taking a break from something can allow for a return to it with fresh eyes.  But how long to wait?

My question:  How do you renew your passion?  How do you keep it fresh, keep it interesting?