Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

FO: Deep Peace + New Project: Fresh Chaos

Let me begin with the knitting, for a change. After much ado (and I do mean much ado), I have survived my knitting kryptonite and completed Deep Peace. All told, I knit this wrap nearly three times. My problems had nothing to do with the pattern, which fulfills its promise of two straight-forward lace repeats, but had everything to do with being new to lace. And did I mention, irrationally afraid of lace?

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When I first started knitting Deep Peace, I flashed back to those early knitting days — the half-holding your breath when working through a pattern for fear of making a mistake with no idea of how to correct it. I went in with the low, low goal of knitting something *close* to the pattern. Hey, this was a "lace experiment." Even then, the center section is what nearly did me in. Each unmistakable mistake meant ripping it back to the garter-stitch divider. After a half-dozen starts, I got smart and hunted down some tips ... and (cue choir of angels) discovered lifelines.

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Once I knew that sustained perfection was no longer a requirement, I exhaled. And relaxed. Started feeling that deep peace. And then frogged the whole thing to start over. Because why not aim for something close to perfection when it's within reach? (And being the knitter my grandmother raised, really there is no other choice.)

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So, feeling all ridiculously "hear me roar," I decided to tackle another aspiration.

Meet Violet, our 10-week-old puppy.

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The Birds (and Mess) Are Growing