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Activity is essential, but exhausting,
And it's importance is only on the surface.
Withdrawing into Tao at the end of the day.
Returning is renewal.
Deng Ming~Dao

You've seen pictures similar to this one over the years.  A good soak in a bubble bath with some epsom salt and neutrogena oil along with some essential oil is always my go to during these dark days of what now feels like winter.  
As long as I can remember, whenever I need a small break from life, I have always drawn a bath, grabbed a book, poured a drink (Carole, sometimes it is water and not wine..LOL) and turned on some tunes for 30 minutes or so.  My kids always knew that when the door was closed and music was playing…Mom needed a break and just leave her alone..ha

Sometimes I will have my kindle (which makes me a little nervous in the water) and other times it will be a paperback book.  I love both types of reading vehicles even though it really did take some convincing that a kindle was just as good.  I have grown to value that little book I can take everywhere with me, even in bed with a dimmed light that doesn't wake anyone.
 I am a convert…kind of.  I still love my paper books.

Today was my last day to drive to Wolfeboro for some additional training and it was ironic that one of my reasons for loving my new job was that I didn't have to travel too far in snow….and on my way home from this long ride home…yup, snow!
Ey yi yi!
 Winter in New England, you just never can tell what to expect after October!

 

So…..as I was driving home from work, I started thinking about my blog post for tonight and I have to tell you even when I was digging down deep, I came up with nothing.

I am still learning my new job and today I traveled down to the second office in Wolfboro which is almost an hour away today to work with the other PCC to learn how that office works.
So more than thinking about blogging on my way home in the dark tonight, I was thinking even more about staying awake truth be told.

When I got home, I said to Ken…
I've got nothing.  He quizzically looked at me.  "The blog, you know, the every day thing. My life is pretty darn boring most days."

And when I sat down to knit for a bit, I shook my head and I said, "Truly, I just have nothing…LOL"
So he said to me, "blog about nothing".
"Whaaat??"
Ken.."you know The Seinfield show"
Kim…wrinkling her nose…"??"
Ken…"Google it"
(this video may get taken down…so google it if it does, it's pretty funny)

That's it!  Haha!  That is our life, sometimes quiet, sometimes busy, often times pretty darn boring and other times adventurous and fun

So my post tonight is basically about nothing and some days it's all I have, but it's ok. 😉

Ode To Winter
~

Ode, ode to the winter
What music plays to sonnet
While a world drifts to sleep
Leaves curl and flowers bow
Birds take flight to a further place
A touch of frost creeps in
Stealing the landscape of its colour
Soon all shall be held motionless
In the still of a winters season
Now in all its changing
The beauty and perfection of life
Is left open to be witnessed
Savoured by the eye of an artist
To feed the soul, nourish the heart
This melancholy season
This changing landscape
What beauty it reveals
In an ode to the winter

~Matthew Holloway

Winter arrived in snow form this morning….much too early
but the first snow is always so beautiful.

This is the first Veteran's Day that I have had off in 5 years and I wanted to start of my post today thanking the heroes that give so much of themselves for the freedoms that we get to enjoy.

 My Dad served during the Korean War and lost a good chunk of his hearing being a gunner in a tank.  There are many good reasons why people all over the country complain about the care the VA gives to our soldiers, but I can only say good things about the care my Dad has received from the VA here in NH.  They have taken very good care of him and for that I am thankful.
Thank you US Service Men and Women!!

~

Ok…see that bag?  That bag is a birthday gift for my daughter, Ashley, whose birthday is in June (it's ok…she has seen it).  Yes, you read that right…June and it is just getting finished now.  This bag has been my brain freeze for the last 6 months because I never loved the way it finished and I couldn't seem to find the right work around to get the result that I wanted.  I'm not going to lie, this one isn't perfect either, but today when I was working on it, I think I finally solved the problem that has been my dilemma.  Of course I found a possible solution after this was finished, but I think it is going to work and if it does, I will continue to make these bags. 

Ashley is visiting this weekend and I will give her this bag, but I will make a new one for her in a different color to try out my thought process.
(as long as it comes out the way I think it will)

I chose the lining for the bag with some left over fabric from the quilt that I made for my littlest little, Cullen, because I wanted Ashley to smile whenever she open the bag.

It's so hard to believe that I made this sweater and quilt almost 2 years ago!
Time flies way too quickly.  
Hug the ones you love!

Airy in this picture was the yarn that I originally chose as a cover for my website.  It didn't play well with the mobile view so I changed it, but I love this yarn!

You will see that I have a new website and I will be maintaining a professional blog there and a personal one here because I don't want to let this one go after all of these many years of blogging. However the large volume of pictures on this blog really slows a  professional website down.
 Every now and then you will see the same post here and there though, just sayin'. 🙂

Back in 2013 (I am gobsmacked that it has been 6 years already!), Elizabeth Doherty reached out and asked if I would meet her for lunch to discuss yarns and design.  We met at a Panara Restaurant in Portland Maine and quickly became friends!  I sent her some yarn for the design she was thinking about and this beautiful sweater, Grass River is the result.  
I love it and I really enjoy the way Elizabeth designs.  It is very different from the traditional methods and back then it was VERY different. Her sweaters are always so well fitting.  Many of my favorite sweaters are her designs.
(Below is Archer)

 

 

Earlier this past fall, I vended at Amy Herzog's last "Make, Wear, Love, retreat and I brought a lot of this yarn with me because it is one of my favorite sweater yarns and it was a sweater retreat. 
I always send a hefty amount of this yarn to Elizabeth for "Stitches West" and it always sells well because of Elizabeth's samples, but at the retreat, I quickly sold out of my DK weight yarn but people were hesitant to use this yarn for a sweater and I understand why.

Airy is a single ply yarn that is energized, so you fear that the sweater will twist in a directional way once it has been soaked and blocked.  I won't lie, I was a bit hesitant to use this yarn for a sweater for just the same reason.  
Knitting a sweater is a lot of work and when the yarn doesn't behave it's a lesson in frustration right?

I knit this Marklee sweater with Airy back in 2017 and it is a sweater that I wear ALL.THE.TIME.  It has never pilled and it has never twisted.  It's a Superwash yarn and even though I recommend on my tags to air dry it, myself, I always toss it in the dryer.
It is still one of the sweaters that I grab when I am looking to be comfortable.  Light in weight and such a comfortable design.

I have sweater quantities in my shop available now.

It's been a while since I have been to downtown Portland and I forgot how much I love it here!  A few weeks ago a friend of mine invited me to go with her to see the NC Wyeth exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art.  
At the time I wasn't able to go but I really wanted to see this exhibit, so she took a second trip with me today.

How did I not know that there was a Museum of Art in Portland??  I don't know what rock I've been hiding under because I have been down this street many times.
(This picture is not the museum but a building that I just love architecturally across from the museum)

I could have spent the entire day here, there was so much to see and this exhibit was just beautiful and I loved all of the informations for each picture.  All of the artwork was displayed in chronological order and it was enjoyable to watch his talent grow with age.
(I love the strength of the horse in this picture…so beautiful and correct)

Another thing that I loved about the exhibit were the different perspectives that were added next to the descriptions on some of the paintings.  The exhibit is called "New Perspectives"

This was one of my most favorite paintings along with the ocean paintings.  There is SO much going on everywhere in this painting and the image of the boy (Andrew perhaps?) in the very corner reading a book with his dog..so special.

It was a beautiful day to be in Portland!

 

Whew…it's getting late and I was nervous that I would not get this post in today because my brain has been so blessed exhausted.  Trying to be creative with a post was pretty much out of my grasp today…ha! 

So….I thought I would show you what is causing my brain to go into overdrive…this!

See all that paper?  It's a week's worth of hand written notes, training manuals, taking HIPAA tests, medical insurance and learning all of the very many parts that belong to the world of hearing aids.  There are a LOT, just sayin'

I did manage to squeak out another swatch last night and yay, size 8 it is for the body of the sweater, the gauge is spot on. Later tonight I will work on the pattern stitch gauge again with a smaller needle as well to see if I like the fabric it makes better and is closer to the yoke gauge. 

 I am rewarding my brain with a glass of wine and a good soak in a bubble bath infused with peppermint essential oils as soon as I finish this post.  
A little winter tip ~ peppermint essential oil is a wonderful oil for itchy, dry skin in the colder months!

You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
Deng Ming Dao

Big things in life seldom come along, but life is full of small things that make us smile.  
Today I am in a hurry to get out the door for work, but this brand new lunch bag that has a lot more room and negates me having to bring 2 bags to work definitely makes me smile today.
What little things make you smile?
~
Have a great day in your corner of the world!

Honey bees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require it's social companionship and support.  Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.
~The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men

(I love the inside of this cup!)

Many of you have seen this favorite quote of mine over the years.  It's no secret how strongly I feel about our little sister bees and the challenges that they are suffering with viruses, pesticides, etc.  We really need to protect these little pollinators because they truly hold in their little pollen collecting legs the future of our population. Without them many of the foods that feed us will cease to exist.

So…it makes my heart smile when my friends and family think of me when they come across beeutiful items and gift them to me in various ways.  I have received so many beautiful unique hand written and treasured cards that include bees from my dear friend Margene. Manise aka @manise2 is always sending me pictures of her beautiful sunflowers with sleeping bees, along with the lovely mug that she purchased in Rhinebeck this year and a treasured framed bee picture a few years ago. Lovely Wendy aka @hivetender gave me the most delicious NH harvested Honey last year when I vended at Fiber Revival.
I could go on and on and you see in the picture above that I treasure each and every one of them.

~

It is said that  Bees are a sisterhood of workers, devoted to each other and to the work that is so important to them.  Bees have a unique kind of communication called the "Waggle Dance"  This type of communication is very sophisticated and unique to the Honey Bee.  I love that the Fiber Sister Hive is devoted to each other as well and I love that we dance together in our own unique way, tending to each other when we need that extra little bit of love and honey.
~ Thank you grrls!

 

I'm not going to lie, I don't always love swatching yarn for a sweater, but historically when I haven't or I haven't trusted those little swatches I usually end up with a sweater that is too big.

One thing I have learned is needles can tell their own story as well. See these swatches?  The two in stockinette were both knit with size 9 needles, which is a size smaller than is recommended, but both swatches are still a bit big, with the first one I knit with a pair of circular needles being a whole stitch larger than the second one done with another pair of circular needles of the same size.

I'm going to drop down to a size 8 to see what this gives me, but knowing the I knit Helvetica with only a size smaller than the recommended needle with the same yarn substitution makes me a bit leary….but this is why we swatch, and why I always recommend buying that extra skein of yarn to sample.

I will be making Elizabeth Doherty’s Elorie and I really want this to fit well so this will all be worth it in the end.