Category Archives: Idle Chatter

Selling Hand-Knits – Sale!

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I have an online shops (or two) and I have an inventory of knitted items that are all done and ready to go to their new forever homes. They are currently listed in two online shops (some may not be listed yet. I really have to check my storage box!)

When I price items that I’ve knit, I (obviously) have to recover the price of the yarn and other direct costs that I incur. It’s always nice, after that is taken care of, to make a little bit of money for my time. I never “really” get paid for my time. Nobody could afford to buy a garment that would accurately reflect the time that is lovingly given as I make each of the garments that I sell. Sometimes, I make a couple of bucks. It’s all good.

So, for the big holiday week, I am offering all of the already knitted items that I have in my storage container inventory at 25% off! That’s right … basically, I’m getting my money back for the supplies … the money that I’ve already shelled out … and you’re getting some great hand-knitted by the Queen Bee garments. And, considering the crazy weather we’ve been having, you may be able to wear it now!

You can click here to be magically transported to my 3 B Street shop! Use coupon code “FRIEND” and you’ll get 25% off anything purchased between today and Thursday!

Thanks for shopping & reading and Happy Passover & Easter!

Gone knitting!

Miranda’s Lesson

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IMG_1147This is Miranda and the mermaid sweater that she knitted. She knitted it without a pattern. She’s been knitting for about a year. Let me make sure you hear what I’m saying (writing?) … She designed the sweater by herself. Without a pattern! She found the mermaid online and knitted it into her sweater with only about a year of experience. Note that each sleeve is different: One with a two-color cable and the other with fish swimming around the cuff end. I am simply in awe of such a fearless knitter.

I was fortunate to meet Miranda at Knit Night and also to have her in a class last week. She picks up a concept very quickly and even if she is struggling with size 1 (US) needles and sock-weight yarn, she has a great attitude. Telling herself “I can do this” just quietly enough that I could hear her but not loud enough to hear throughout the shop. And I think what I’ve learned from Miranda is that if we practice encouraging self-talk, we can do anything that we want. We should not fear trying new things.

Learning hexipuffs

Learning hexipuffs

Miranda’s attitude is in stark contrast to some of the adult students who don’t share the same habit of cheering herself along through a challenging project or technique or just something new. We learned hexipuffs, i-cord … and that when we use positive self-talk, we can accomplish much more than if we beat ourselves down because we aren’t immediately proficient at a task.

A good lesson and an impressive teacher. Thanks, Miranda!

Gone knitting!

 

On Being a Mentor

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I’m a mentor at my local elementary school. I had been feeling like I was missing being around children. Mine a grown and have full lives of their own; boyfriends, girlfriend, jobs, social lives, homes to clean, dog to walk … all the things that they’re supposed to have as young adults. I did my job as a mother and as a result of having done it well, my kids have moved on and are building lives of their own. It’s a good thing. And I was still feeling like I had something to offer to children. So I signed up as a volunteer with our local school district not really knowing where it would lead.

A little over a year ago, I got a call from the counselor at my local elementary school. She was looking for a mentor for a student – a third grade foster child. While the “warming up” was slow, I know now that she was holding herself back because she’d been disappointed by adults who had been in her life and was hesitant to trust that  would stick with her. We had a great time visiting over lunch at school every week. I often brought a little craft project or a book to read together or a puzzle to solve and was there for her when she decided she wanted to talk. When I met her, her foster family was going to adopt her. This fall, she moved again to a former foster home two and a half hours away from me. Now, I choose to drive down to visit with her every other week – I started out visiting every week but she’s so well adjusted now, I know she’s OK when I’m not there every week. But at first, she was having a rough time.

Last night, her “foster mom” called me and we had a face time session. I love to see her snuggled up at home and smiling because her report card was a good one and she’d been to a fun Super Bowl party. Normalcy is a good thing for children. Especially those who’ve had a rough start.

Last week I got a call from my neighborhood school again. This time, there’s a little third grader who is in crisis. Grandmother takes care of her and her siblings and cousins. We’re going to meet again next week and I’ll help her get up to speed on her math and be there for her so she feels important to somebody. No strings. No manipulation. Just a grown-up who’s there for her. This one is adorable, too. And so needy.

I’m so lucky to be able to work with these two little girls. They help me as much as I help them. They give me purpose and allow me to give something back to the community that I live in. And they give me joy – a lot of good laughs despite their difficult circumstances and hugs. There’s nothing like the full-heart feeling that you get when you make a difference in the life of a child. And there are so many children today who need a solid adult presence in their lives.

All you have to have is an hour a week and a phone to call your local school … you won’t be sorry. I’m proof!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2013

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It was a low key New Year’s Eve at our house last night. We welcomed in the New Year with a couple of friends, some food, drinks, games and lots of laughs.

2012 was a full year – a mixture of blessings and sorrow but without the sorrow, how can you appreciate the blessings. We said farewell to a beloved mother and an adored Cocker Spaniel. We welcomed a new great-nephew and a new niece. Celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. Entertained guests and family in Florida and Maine. Watched two children graduate from college and enter the “grown-up” world with new jobs. Joyously celebrated my big brother’s new liver and improving health. Enjoyed comfort and good health.

And now ahead to 2013! We entered the new year with a clean house, clean sheets, clean laundry and (most) projects finished. “Out with the old and in with the new!” I am looking forward to growing my business this year. To teaching more. To improving my website. To designing … or publishing some designs that I’ve created. To reaching a second level of certification.

Gone knitting!

It’s the Most Wonderful (?) Time …

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Over the years, I learned to dislike the Christmas season … yes, I am a Grinch-y Christmas person. I’m not sure when I made the turn but somewhere along the line, the expectation of  making Christmas perfect for everyone got bigger than me. And it grew and it grew like the Grinch’s heart. I keep trying to scale back the expectations and it’s difficult. Even with no kids in the house and even though the pressure really only comes from me. I’m still not in love with Christmas.

So, for this year’s goal for myself, it’s to try to keep it simple. Focusing on what’s important. I’m not going to have all the gifts ready – my daughter’s leg warmers are probably not going to be finished. But she knows they’ll get to her as soon as it’s humanly possible. The rest of the family I’m keeping in my heart with small gifts to acknowledge the day. The hundred and fifty cards may not be sent until after Christmas (Happy New Year!) I want to make cookies because it’s a tradition. I want to have a small something for my family to open on Christmas and know that they’re with me in spirit although we’re separated by many miles. I want to be relaxed and enjoy the season!

I know I’m blessed to have children and family that I’ll miss on Christmas because that means I have people in my life that I love. I want to hold that close and remember how grateful I am for my children, my family and my friends – and you, dear blog readers are in that extended family, too.

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah, whatever you are celebrating I hope it’s filled with joy, wonder, good health – and maybe a little bit of yarn!

Gone knitting!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

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I will not tolerate anything less. That’s all there is to it. It doesn’t matter what your excuse. I have worked hard and continue to work hard to treat people the way that I want to be treated. I am cheerful and positive and respectful. I don’t tolerate bullying or disrespect. I choose not to be part of groups who are critical and mean-spirited. I don’t even want to hear my knitting students speak negatively about themselves.

Life can be hard. I’ve lived through some tough times. Life can be wonderful. I’ve lived through some wonderful times. I truly believe that we create the world that we live in – and we can affect (effect?) the future by our present behavior and beliefs. I am choosing to be grateful for the wonderful things in my life. I am grateful for three healthy and productive children, some money in the bank, a job that I love, my little dogs, a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. I have food in my belly and yarn in my atelier. I am so grateful for my family that is growing again this year. I feel so blessed.

I feel sorry for those who are not able to be grateful and positive. Those who have to criticize or bully because it only means that they’re not as blessed as I am and that they don’t feel gratitude for what they have that is positive in their life. Like the Grinch, my heart swells (grows?) when I think about how lucky I am. And while my life is not perfect – or without it’s challenges – I am thankful and happy and blessed.

Gone knitting!

How to Have Unhappy Employees

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One of the calls that I made this afternoon was to my area’s public school district human resource office. The first call was to the “head” person and, as usual, she didn’t answer her phone and her voicemail was full. I have left (probably) half a dozen messages over the years for her. The only time that she returned my call was after I called the Superintendent to say that I still hadn’t heard from her … and then the response was speedy and friendly (but never went anywhere after the gratuitous meeting.) The second call was when I hit “O” and got the front desk. I know the woman who works there and, no I am not a fan. It always seems like I am causing a problem in this department. The attitude seems to intimate that the day would be much better if I hadn’t pestered them while they were trying to work. Ahem! I am trying to find a job … and would like to work for the schools. I imagine that I am not the only person in this position. And, OH! By the way, there are jobs that are supposed to be open … I’m trying to help you fill them!

The third call (all within the same call … transferred and transferred again all without so much as a “hello” or “good-bye”. Explaining that I had paid for fingerprinting that was never added to my file and could I get my new prints with no charge. No. Fingerprints cannot be transferred. They must be re-done every two years. I really tried to explain what I was trying to accomplish again using different words but it didn’t work. Not sure if she was really listening to me anyway. So, if I want to be in the queue for temporary work, I have to fork over the bucks and get printed and drug tested again … and I may just sit in the queue or not even get added to the queue like the last time.

This is the third time that I’ve tried to “work” with these folks. And from the top on down, it seems that they’re all unhappy. Put-upon. Inconvenienced by the people who they are there to “help”. I’d love to be a happy voice at the other end of someone’s phone call. Maybe they’d like to switch lives with me?

Gone knitting.

Afternoon Storm

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Not in Florida … just a pretty picture! Flox with a bee.

It’s normal here in Florida, in August, to have rain in the afternoon. Today’s is with thunder and it’s sent my little dogs scurrying to the center of the house where they seem to feel safer. Maybe because the TV is on in the living room and the noise helps dull the outside booms.

I am feeling blocked. Haven’t been blogging. Have been knitting but not designing, and certainly not writing new patterns (or writing down the ones that I’ve already written.) What is it about Florida that seems to kill my creativity?

Gone … with my knitting to watch TV.

 

Knitting with Friends

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Camp Smedley – From the Water

We have our first house guests (maybe I should call them “camp guests” since this house is really a “camp”).

Our friend Bob comes up with kids each summer and the kids keep on growing. They’re fun to watch around the lake each year and it’s interesting to witness the excitement that they get when they’re “let loose” at the lake.

Coffee discussion this morning centered around what it is that one of the kids likes about fishing. Talk amongst yourselves….

We decided that Bob was probably “right” in his observation that the joy of fishing is in not knowing what you’ll get. The adventure of the hunt. Walking through the grass and finding a snake or up on the railroad tracks and finding a long-dead porcupine or dipping a hook into the lake over past the boathouse and waiting for the thrill of the first underwater tug. The joy of the unknown? Would that that joy continued into an adventurous spirit in adults rather than fear!

Meanwhile, I’ve had lunch and attended a knitting class with a new knitting friend. My post about the Ravelympics was picked up by a reporter for an Olympics News-related website and I was asked to respond. (Little old me?!)

On my needles … my tunic sweater is growing again after its too-large frogging. 🙂 I really love knitting with my Signature needles. The cord is so flexible. Much more so than the other needles that I have. I’ve finished my first Maine Lobstah sock and must admit it’s a tight fit … not sure if I’ve knitted it more tightly or if the yarn is a bit heavier than typical sock yarn but they’ll be fun. Sock number 2 is cast on and a new WIP. I’ve decided to pull out a few of the older projects and yarn that has been in my stash for a (long) while. I’ve cast on the Gaia Shoulder Hug shawl by Anne Carroll Gilmour. It’s a simple lace design knit in Noro Kureyon Sock (or Silk Garden Sock) and the lace/eyelet rows are knit as the colors transition. The color way that I chose is difficult to knit with as the color transitions are so slight. But, I’ll finish it this time … if for no other reason than to do it. And, last, I’ve pulled out my mohair lace yarn to cast on the lace scarf that I had attempted years ago. I’ve done a successful cast on as required in the pattern and I’m ready to try the pattern again.

Bought a bit more yarn the other day, too! (I don’t know what to say, I can’t seem to help it! Must be just like I wrote above … the wonder in the discovery!)  Ron Miskin had another surprise purchase (with an excellent discount) on The Buffalo Wool Company‘s Facebook page. And, I’ve had an order from that wonderful grandma who won the socks give-away. A little hat and mittens for her grand-daughter for the holidays! More goodness to come! Blessings are all around me!

Gone knitting!

USOC Attorneys Attempt to End the “Ravelympics”

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I just found out from a Facebook and knitting friend that Ravelry is under fire by the USOC.

Here’s a link to the letter written by law clerk, Brett Hirsch.

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/for-the-love-of-ravelry/2189293

Seems that the use of the “ympics” part of the word “Olympics” MAY be an impingement of the USOC’s exclusive right to use the word Olympics. An obvious blend of Ravelry and Olympics attempting to “falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement” Are you kidding me? This is ludicrous and surely these attorneys have better ways to spend their time than trying to intimidate a bunch of knitting/crocheting crafters and artisans who are, in actual fact, having a little competition of their own in HONOR of the Olympics.

Is not imitation the highest form of compliment?

So, knitters, beware! Do not ever dare knit the Olympic rings into your hats or afghans. They, too, belong to the USOC. The word “Olympics” is not allowed in your pattern titles or posts. The USOC attorneys have nothing better to do than to pick on us as we attempt to stretch ourselves and have a little bit of fun as a community during the Olympics.  (By the way, as we were knitting we were also WATCHING the Olympics.)

While, at times, a bit tongue in cheek, it is certainly not meant to be disrespectful of the athletes. They are all winners by virtue of their participation in the Olympic games.

Gone knitting … with a bitter taste in my mouth.