Knitting is a way of life

Southern girls learn to knit and sew at a very early age.  Mothers teach their daughters what their mothers taught them.  It was no different for me.  I was sewing by the age of 12 and learned to knit when I started high school.  My first sweater was a bright yellow cardigan with a leaf pattern going up both sides of the front by the banding for the buttons and buttonholes.  As I look back at it, that was a really complicated pattern for a beginner!  When I went away to school some of my classmates wanted me to teach them how to knit -- one was left-handed and I taught her by knitting in front of a mirror.  When she watched me in the mirror it was just as she needed it to look -- it was either that or I had to learn to do it in a way that seemed backward to me!  When my own daughter was in high school she asked me to teach her how to knit.  Honestly, I didn't think it was something she would ever do but boy, was I wrong!  She not only enjoyed it but has turned knitting into an art form!  She develops her own patterns, combines techniques and patterns to create beautiful and unique pieces.  She always has about half a dozen projects going and never leaves home without something to knit in her "bag of tricks".  I give you this background not to brag about my abilities -- far from it! I want you to understand that I now go to my child for help with my own projects.

The 3rd week-end of October each year, there is a fiber festival in western NC that has the most beautiful handmade items on display, yarns that are hand dyed and spun, sheep shearing so that you can see the process from start to finish, anything and everything related to knitting for sale and a plethora of yarns to buy. Therein lies the problem.  You see all this gorgeous yarn in every color and shade under the rainbow and want everything you see!  The dealers are there to help you with selections and answer questions about weight of wool or yarn for the item you are creating in your head as you walk through the building.  Several years ago I spotted a bin of wool yarn in a soft aqua (my favorite color) and of course stood there with my feet frozen to the floor.  Total inertia took over and I had to have that yarn!  No way I was leaving without it.  So, I bought 15 skeins because I wasn't sure what I wanted to make with it but knew that I didn't want to run out!  This was definitely a case where "less is more" was not the mantra of the day!

Okay, I found the pattern that I wanted to make with the wool I bought and began working on it with so much enthusiasm that I could barely contain myself!  But not long after I began, it all came to a crashing halt when I moved from western NC back to the Chicago area and I was having renovations done on my new home. For months, the frig was in the dining room, I had no kitchen at all to work out of and the bathrooms were being done one at a time so I didn't have to rent a "PortaPotty". Juggling what seemed to be too many balls in the air at one time, I realized that the extra yarn I needed was in a trunk under all the new kitchen cabinets, wood trims, and tool boxes.  Thus, no knitting.  Once I got my home back in order, the sweater project sat in a bag next to the sofa so I had to see it on a daily basis.  Guilt finally won out and I was back knitting again.  However, when I got to the sleeves, I was stumped at the decreases and had to pack up what I had finished and send it to my daughter back in NC so that she could try to figure it out for me.  And she did!!!  So here is the completed sweater with vintage buttons that I wanted but thought I would never find in the right color.  It was knit in the round so no seams to put together.  I used US7 and US5 circular needles to get the proper gauge.

Tweak It Tuesday #89

Sandwich Antique Show -- Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

Yes, it's Mother's Day and I know most moms would rather be out for a nice dinner or a BBQ with their kids and grandbabies but for some of us, a few hours of antiquing is the way to our hearts!  So today, I was lucky enough to be accompanied by my son's girlfriend and we went to the first antique show of the season held in Sandwich, IL.  They do this one Sunday a month from May thru October and today was the day!

Because of my primitive sensibilities, I love the patina of wood, rust, crocks, farm implements, pantry boxes, firkins, tin, pewter - utilitarian pieces that have generations of use complete with all the scratches, burn marks and dents.

The sun was shining, the temperatures were warm and it was a great way to spend part of the day.  Plus I found out we have another collector in the family! How cool is that?   And my bargain of the day?  This "little brown jug" marked $38 that I walked away with for $10.

Spring showers bring May SANTA!

It's finally spring and as the old saying' goes, "Spring showers bring spring flowers".  Well, in this case it is bringing a May Santa.  This is another in my monthly Santa's done in counted cross stitch on #14 Aida cloth in cream.  Santa is carrying a May Basket (remember those?) with a pot of flowers and small bunny at his feet.  Santa's and hearts -- 2 of my favorite things to collect!  Y'all enjoy.

Sunday Showcase Party #243

Happy Easter

Easter is finally here!  After a very long, cold and snowy winter, we are now looking forward to the awakening of spring bulbs and flowering trees.  In the Chicago area, the jonquils have broken through the frozen ground but not blooming yet.  Neither are the redbud or flowering crab.  Everything is later than normal.  Even Easter is late this year!  I love this time of the year and am looking forward to my son and his family coming for Easter dinner.  Because I have 2 little grandsons age 5 and 7,  I wanted to have things decorated to make the holiday as special for them as possible.  I have to tell ya that the one thing I got the most excited about this year -- Kool Aid dyed eggs!  Who knew?  One of our granddaughters told me about making hard boiled eggs in the oven using a muffin tin.  Now I have to admit that I thought she was a little nuts but decided to try it and it worked!  Place an egg in each muffin receptacle and cook at 325 degrees for 30 min.  They get some brown spots on them but when you place them in the dye those all disappear.  The colors are wonderful!  So, the table is decorated using my parents collection of Vintage Grape flatware, my grandfather's buttermilk glasses, a set of wine glasses from the 1880's that my dad purchased years ago, some of my white ironstone pieces and a ceramic rabbit that my mom made when I was a little kid.  Lots of memories for me and I hope new ones for my grandchildren.  One of my favorite memories of Easter was the year that my dad chewed up carrots and left a trail throughout the house for me to follow in order to find my basket!  I think I was 5 or 6 at the time.  Happy Easter everyone!

Show and Tell Fridays

Springtime in the South

Just returned from a short trip to Asheville, NC area to check on my home that is for sale there.  I decided to drive this time because I thought the redbud and dogwood would be blooming which makes for a beautiful trip.  And I was right! Lots of things blooming and welcoming the long awaited spring.