Small is Beautiful

This is supposed to be a knitting blog.  So here are some pictures of little things I'm doing.

This is a scarf I'm working on furiously for a banquet/auction hubby is taking me to this weekend.  It's handspun llama/silk from Queso Cabeza Farm I picked up last year at Michigan Fiber Fest.  It must have been an impulse buy, as I only had a few ounces, and when I pulled it out of stash, I was surprised to find it was a blend.  But it spun up nicely.  Knitted, it's lovely.  When I work on it for awhile, I can tell where I started the current knitting session, as the earlier sections have relaxed and developed a nice haze.  But I'm into the yarn anxiety zone.  It won't be as large as I'd hoped, and I'm counting on a good blocking to whip it into a size long enough to count as a scarf, not a kerchief.

The pattern is 'Wings of the Swan' from Barbara Walker's second treasury (p. 306).  And it's the second small thing I've made using this lace pattern.  The first is here, hanging in my shower, holding soap scraps.  I made a soap bag years ago, in stockinette, out of a dishcloth type cotton.  It was great, but in that heavy a yarn, and solid stitching, it never dried.  And after a week or so of use, it started to smell like a wet dishrag.  So this time, it's knit in lightweight linen, with a lace pattern.  And it works well to gather up all those annoying little scraps of soap that are too small to use easily.

Can you tell I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to some things?  I like to use fancy soaps.  It's one indulgence I allow myself.  And when I've spent several dollars on a single bar of soap, I like to use as much as possible. (My current favorite is Magno la Toja, which comes in black bars. I've used it off and on since high school, and it has a subtle haunting scent.)  

I've also nearly finished several baby sweaters.  I think some of these have already made their debut in earlier pages of the blog.  But the sherbet colored BSJ I know is new, as it was inspired by a baby born this spring.  I've learned about myself that I have better luck knitting what I feel like knitting, then finding a recipient once it's done, than trying to knit something for anyone specific.  I rarely seem to meet deadlines, lace scarves for auctions excluded.

Here are picture from our Sunday morning.  Now that hubby has his plane flying, he's joined with a local social group that flies somewhere for Sunday breakfast every week.  Last week it was a special trip to Monument Valley.  To the left is the view approaching the airstrip.  And to the right is looking from the parking lot to the lodge.  Having the plane, and going out every week to places that would take hours to drive to, has been special.  Thank you, Pat, if you ever read this.

Another blog I follow is Crazy Aunt Purl.  She's one of the knitting bloggers who has expanded her blogging into a genuine paper and ink book. We're different.  Sometimes I get annoyed with her gushing.  (That's easier to take since I decided I get to eat a treat every time she uses the word 'eleventy' in her blog.) But I'm in awe of her her honesty, and the courage she displays in posting it in public for anyone to read.  The metamorphosis she's chronicled is amazing.  And a lot of it came about by getting rid of things.

About 2 weeks ago I stopped getting email.  I got a few emails here and there, but when I looked into it, I found that my email provider had ceased forwarding all my emails from my old address to my new one.  Tech support confirmed there was a problem and assured me they were working on it.  But in the meantime, I wasn't getting emails.  There was nothing coming through from the big Knitlist, Knitflame, spinlist, techspinning, and worst of all, nothing from SheepThrills.  The only things getting through were the few things I'd signed up for by clicking on a link that provided my new email address automatically.  I thought I would go nuts.

Then after several days the messages started dribbling through.  First just a few, then more, and finally I was getting the full load of them every day.  With a bit of distance, I saw them in a new light.  Most of them were pretty mundane.  A few were really annoying.  I suddenly realized I had been reading, or mass deleting, out of habit.  They really weren't doing anything for me.  So I dumped them.  

I didn't have the heart to unsubscribe from SheepThrills.  At one time that was truly my home online.  On Sept. 11th, in spare moments at work, I logged on and dropped in to the SheepThrills chatroom, where several folks were also reaching out looking for comfort and companionship to get through the horror.  So I've kept my membership, but don't get the messages.  And sadly, I don't miss it.  

With all the Yahoogroups gone, I see how many truly pointless emails I get.  And I've been taking myself off email lists as much as possible.  Goodbye, Marie Callenders updates! (The nearest Marie Callender's restaurant is about 150 miles away.)  So long Teavana!  The worst is Victoria's Secret, that keeps creeping back like, well, poorly fitting panties.  But I have hope they will eventually get the message that I don't want them littering up my email.  And in the future, I shall make up an email address to use when asked for one.