stripes

When we went to Tennessee for PawPaw's funeral in March, I took the brown yarn in the pictured shawl with me.  I had to be able to keep my hands busy.  I was also trying a slightly different way to make my forever shawls.  What I realized on that trip was that I did not have enough of the brown yarn to make a shawl the size I wanted.  When we got back, I took it out.

I had another fleece that I had spun.  The fleece had been dyed.  There was a lot of variation across the fleece so the yarn was a range of blues to greens.  

After the making the earth, ocean, sky shawl, I started this one.  It will go into my shop, both here and on Etsy.  I seem to being drawn to stripes and this gives me a chance to create while sitting.  The weather here has the potential to be extreme this week.  The afternoon thunderstorms are not just due to humidity and heat but a larger weather system.  There is pain so sitting is good.  Not standing.  

I have another shawl I am working on as well.  It is going to be solid and soft.  I will embroider flowers on it to add color.  Maybe tassels?  It is fun.  And I can keep creating.

pain management

Yesterday was all about pain management.  I sat in one place most of the day trying not to hurt.  I was also trying to go to sleep so I could sleep last night.

I actually finished this shawl while I was sitting there.  This is a shawl that I made from leftover project yarn that was all a similar weight.  I also dug for more colors because I am also feeling the need for more color in my life.

It is a wonderful weight.

I actually put it right on instead of blocking it.  I picked up another shawl I am working on.  It is a place where I am testing shape.  The shape is just off on the brown one I am working on.  I think I will be ripping that on out!  But this.  This like.  

Tonight is an evening where I can go coach or not coach.  I have done alright most of the day but I can tell I am wearing out.  I will have to see what the rest of the day brings.

needing color

I should not watch movies about people who do not live the norm.  Or rather live the norm I always wished to when I was younger but do not.  Captain Fantastic is one of those.  

Good things that came out of it is that ir reminded me that I need to do more yoga.  Palo Duro Canyon helped remind me as well.  More movement for arthritic hips.  More strength. 

One of the things that came out of Captain Fantastic is that I want more color.  I do not mean more prints but more vibrant colors.  Jewel tones.  I am that crazy person though if I am wearing white you may wish to check if I am depressed.  I really like blacks and greys.  Woodland tones.  But I need to intersperse more jewel tones.  More tropical.  Not the prints.  Just the colors.

I went through some of my leftover yarns and started to put this shawl together.  I had some yarn leftover from my Taos Mountain shawl I had made.  I had some skeins I had purchased just one of because I liked the colors.  After pondering this through a whole yoga asana, I started to make a triangle shawl.  Honestly, my shawls are all triangles.  This is modeled after a granny square.  It is exciting to work on.  

I am actually almost done with all the bright blue in the picture and the green.  Which means I still have two dark blues and a grey blue to go.  That bright blue is the ball of yarn that decided to roll off a mountain.  

I am having a hard time settling.  Part of it is the air in Houston.  The sadness.  Part of it is that I still wish to be in the desert camping.  Or someplace in the middle of nowhere but with ice cream not too long of a drive away.  That is me.  I can be as happy with a bowl of ice cream as a glass of a tequila based beverage. 

I have also spent a lot of time on the computer this week.  That always makes me antsy.  I was redesigning business cards for letterpress printing.  I am going to need to spend some time printing soon.  Such exciting pictures!  I am being sarcastic.  Like pictures of my working on the computer are exciting too.  Not really.

I am now going to putter off to my sewing machine after some yoga.  I might even get a quilt laid out in the next week or two!  Another way to add color. 

me time

I came to this space to write today and felt badly.  What am I going to write?  Most of the projects I am working on are taking time.  My works in progress are many!  And the food I am creating is a lot of requested food.  Like today, I am going to make blackberry buckle because it was requested.  I laugh at how many times I use my own recipes.  The recipe list here will always be around in some form because I use it weekly.  

The picture is of a shawl I am making.  It is one of two new crochet techniques I am learning.  Which is incredible in itself but it does not mean I have a lot of pictures of done projects.  The other technique is using a slip stitch for the whole body of the crochet work.  Just learning that one took a couple months!  And it was for a Christmas present!  It might get to my Mom for Mother's Day.  At least she may still wear it where she lives.

I am also learning how to refinish furniture.  I found a teak coffee or side table (it could also be a bench) that someone had left to be taken away.  In our neighborhood, that means it is left on the side of the street and either someone leaves with it or it goes to the landfill.  Which every comes first.   A free solid teak table to learn new things on.  I have been having a blast.  My dining room table needs to be refinished and I am looking for other free or cheap furniture to do the same with.  I may sell it.

I also need to create some new plates for letterpress work.  I start writing out all I am doing here and no wonder I look up at 7:45 pm and go crap.  That was what I did last night and dinner was going to be an hour later then that.  But it was good bread with stuff on top.  It is amazing how many meals are just truly bread and cheese.  And along the lines of things I am planning, I have not even added the six sewing projects that are in my head.  I just found out a friend is pregnant.  

The me time on the shawl last night was needed.  Quiet where I could work more on learning the new skill.  I did order more yarn for it though.  The skeins I had in the first place were not the size that I really needed.  It is okay because this is a learning process and I just keep going forward.  And I will not be able to wear this shawl until next autumn unless I am traveling probably.  It is giving me ideas for leftover yarn though.  Always a bad thing.  More projects!

because I had to

Am I ready for a week with family?  Where I will get very little done and Christmas and a birthday will be celebrated?  No.  I will be working on presents into January.  They just get mailed late.

This present had to be done today.  It does not look like much.  It is a hat I made with yarn I spun.  It is going to get wrapped and be gifted with a box of cookies.  It will be gifted either tomorrow morning or Saturday morning.

Why did it have to be done?  I walk every morning.  Almost five miles.  I look at the sky.  I try to breathe.  I check out the bayou.  I pick up trash every morning and put it in the bins along the path.

And I say good morning to the homeless man who lives under one of the underpasses.  That his spot.  It was his spot this summer.  It was his spot during Harvey and it was covered with water.  I do try to tell him what the weather will be.  He has offered me his umbrella when I got caught in the rain.  Just human. 

Being human, I am taking him a Christmas gift.  A hat and cookies.  Not a lot.  Something he can share.  Some small gesture to let him know I see him every morning.  I am a little worried about him.  He has been moving slowly out of his spot the last couple of mornings.  I am worried he may not be feeling well.  I know too many people who have homes who are sick right now.  There is not much I can do but I can show him that someone knows he is alive.

I will not be in this space until the New Year.  Lots of family starting soon.  I hope everyone who shares this space with me have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.