Weeks of January 9th - February 11th

Has it really been a whole month? It's lucky that weekly blogging wasn't one of my resolutions. Joann Fabrics has had me working a lot of 6 a.m.-2 p.m. shifts, which I like just fine but they usually leave me too tired to blog. I suppose I could blog on weekends, but I'd prefer to spend the time with my husband. Priorities.

I've been busy on the design front. Last month I wrote two patterns for a local customer, both for children's clothes. Over the past week I designed and knit a superwash wool cape with Fair Isle designs; still need to type up the pattern, then photograph and list it. Right now I have a baby blanket on the needles.

As for reading, I've been working my way through the Ender's Game quartet; I'm on Xenocide at the moment. Most of my reading time comes during breaks at work, so I'm a little behind on my book-a-week quota, but the Orson Scott Card books are rather long. I finished Speaker for the Dead rather quickly, partly because it's a great book, but mostly because I got a 24-hour stomach bug a couple of weeks ago and didn't have the energy to do anything but lie down and read! I felt so icky I couldn't even knit.

And I'm pleased to be able to share some more Mother Bear Project photos featuring my bears! I found a bunch of last summer's bears with children in Botswana. Here are a few of them:



Now I'm yearning to knit more bears...

Week of January 1st-8th

For several mornings over the past week at Joann Fabrics, I've been helping set up the new seasonal merchandise. Currently, we have sections for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, plus a fair amount of spring and summer product lines. Add to that the nice sunny weather we've been having the last two days, and I'm increasingly confused about what season this is. Wait till we have another snowstorm.

Still, it is only the second week of January, and I've made four distinct plans for the year. (I hate the word "resolution" and prefer thinking of them as "plans.") Two are professional:

1 - Design something new every week. (I don't have to make it, just design it.)
2 - Start a line of sewn project bags and hook and needle bags. (Now that I have a working sewing machine and, conveniently, work in a fabric store.)

The other two are personal:

1 - Read at least 52 books. (One for each week of the year. Luckily I read quickly.)
2 - Cook more "real" food. (Boxed meals don't count!)

So far I've been doing better on the personal side than the professional. I haven't had time to start a new line because I've been so busy keeping up with sales. I did finally write up and list my newest pattern for a baby blanket toy - my first pattern of 2013!

For my first book of the year, I reread The Hobbit. My parents had read it to me when I was little and I listened to it on tape a few years ago, but it occurred to me that I'd never "read" it in the eyes-on-print way, which is how I read best anyway. My husband, a friend and I saw the movie the other week, and it made me remember how much I enjoyed the book. Here's a funny thing that struck me about the book this time around, though: there are no female characters in it whatsoever. It doesn't offend me, because it's a delightful book and I don't think having a woman or two in there would have improved the story necessarily. (In the movie, they stuck in Galadriel; I suppose that's their right. They added several characters from The Lord of the Rings and from Middle Earth mythology.) It does bug me slightly to think that if the opposite were the case - female characters only - then only a few people, mostly women, would have read it and it would never have become a classic. Anyway, I doubt it was a deliberate omission on Tolkien's part and so I just find it amusing.

December 2012: Guatemala!

I was lucky to get to spend a week in Guatemala last month, so I'm going to share some highlights. (The rest of the time I was home and working - much less interesting.) We saw some wonderful sights and took lots of pictures, but my favorite part of the trip - as it usually happens when I go abroad - was the people. I love traveling to a foreign country and just being around people going about their daily lives. I especially love seeing the children; I'm not really a kid person, but I love that no matter where in the world you go, no matter how different the cultures, children are EXACTLY the same! And Guatemalan people are, on the whole, probably the friendliest people I've ever met. I know enough Spanish to get around and be polite, but I wish I'd known more; most people are happy to chat, and I could have gotten much more out of the visit if I'd been more conversant. Another trip, I hope.

I went with my mother and a student of hers, and we spent most of the trip in the city of Quetzaltenango (commonly known as Xela) in the Western Highlands. Its main industry is education, and most of the city's foreign visitors are students. There we took classes (Spanish for them and weaving for me), explored the city, and took a few afternoon trips to neighboring towns. Our favorite small town was Zunil, which was nestled in some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen:

Toward the end of the week, we took a bus to Antigua, where we spent the last day of the trip. On our way we stopped by Lake Atitlan and took a boat ride from Panajachel to Santiago Atitlan and back. This is the best picture I got of the lake and its surrounding volcanoes:

The city of Antigua is a beautifully preserved 18th-century Spanish city, also surrounded by volcanoes, some active. It was built and then abandoned by the Spanish when several earthquakes made it impossible for them to stay. Now it's a World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination:

And of course, there were the textiles. Guatemala has an ancient and rich weaving culture in particular, and everywhere you go, you see colors like these:

And that's not a particularly good picture. What's especially wonderful is how many people - Mayan women and girls in particular - still wear traditional handwoven skirts (called cortos), embroidered tunics (huipiles), and, depending on the location, tapestry-woven headbands called cintas. I imagine their clothes are comfortable and functional, but also, I believe it's a matter of pride. It was a real privilege to see such a rich and vibrant tradition.

Weeks of November 7th - 27th

I've been working hard this entire month, both in my shop and at Joann, and it has certainly paid off. It's been a great month for business. It also doesn't hurt that I often have my cat friend napping by my side while I work, interrupting me periodically to be petted. Having lived with us for over a month now, Teddy is settled in and seems perfectly happy with his new life as an apartment cat. Since he used to be a stray, I was a little afraid he'd try to escape, but so far he's expressed no desire to slip out the doors and only a little interest in looking out the windows. He seems quite content as long as he gets his daily doses of play time and affection. And he enjoys my cat blankets. :)

In knitting news, I finished a new baby sweater using Ella Rae Amity Prints:

Otherwise, it's been lots and lots of hats and gloves!

Weeks of October 17th - November 6th

Yes, I know it has been three weeks since my last post. I was distracted first by being sick (better now), then by being busy, then - the best by far - by adopting a cat! For the first time in our married life we're in a cat-friendly apartment, and on a cold, drizzly Friday a couple of weeks ago we went to the Cleveland APL and adopted a handsome 4-year-old tabby we're calling Teddy:

He was picked up as a stray on the west side and brought to the shelter. Though he shows signs of living on the street for a while, I suspect he started out living with people because he's adjusted so well to our home. He's still fond of hiding in corners, but he loves being petted and is quite playful. Teddy is a quiet kitty, but he purrs readily and he's learning to ask for what he wants - he has a tiny meow that sounds like a squeak! He's been with us just a week and a half, but we're already finding it hard to imagine life without him. He is just the best cat.

As for work - I've been knitting mostly shop stuff, but last week I made a couple of hats and a pair of mittens for the new Afghans for Afghans campaign:

I now have some custom orders to keep me busy over the next few days.

Weeks of October 3rd - 16th

I've put in a lot of hours at Joann Fabrics lately, mostly at the cutting counter - it has been so busy there! At home I've done a couple of custom orders, most notably this cute toddler sweater:

It's made with my new favorite non-wool yarn, Lion Brand Cotton Ease; it's for a two-year-old living in the deep South, so wool wasn't really an option! I borrowed the basic shape and added the wildflower knot design to the body to keep things interesting and to add a feminine touch. The adorable pink buttons are from my workplace.

Otherwise I've been stocking up on shop staples - gloves and such. I'm giving myself a refresher course in Spanish, since I'll be going to Guatemala for a week in December and I want to be somewhat functional! I know it's just a week, but I want to make the most of it. And it's good manners.

Week of September 26th - October 2nd

Fun stuff first. I spent a while going through the Mother Bear Project photo gallery and was rewarded for my efforts with three new photos of my bears with their children. These are in South Africa, Togo, and Mali:

Now the boring stuff. I was dedicated over the weekend and listed patterns for my red lace sweater (finally!) and my knitted necktie. Here's the red sweater on a real person - namely, me - and now I have to sign off and go work on a custom order. The holidays are coming!