Life's a Stitch

Hap hap hap hap happy happy songs

It's not that I'm over the moon happy, it's that my replacement phone came with some free downloads. I decided that I would pick only happy music. Nothing touching or inspirational, no ballads nor slow sappy love songs, just plain old happy little ditties. Here's the list, so far:

1. As per my post of January 13th, Walking On Sunshine

2. Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole's Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World medley

3. This one is really schmaltzy happy, but I love musicals - Belle from Beauty and the Beast

4. James Taylor's "Everyday"

5. Hang on Little Tomato by Pink Martini

6. The Rainbow Connection, Judy Collins or Kermit the Frog have nice versions.

7. That teeny bopper hit by Taylor Swift, Romeo and Juliet song called Love Story. It was what I was nervously humming in the ICU when C still had the breathing tube. Got me through a lot, that prince and princess song. Funny what happens to your brain in crisis.

Don't these guys look happy? I imagine the one in front calling out to the other to join him at the bar:

And some happy yarn. I couldn't resist:

Quirky Work

Who'd have thought that recent weaving projects would involve the quirky combination of these unrelated items:

They were instrumental in finishing a variety of ends:

The jar of grape leaves provided the weight necessary to ply fringe with the battery operated Conair hair "braider."  Although called a braider, it actually plies whatever you feed it - hair, yarn, string... What a time saver this would have been when knitting the Bob Blankie, with its hundreds of braided ends. If you like the look of twisted fringe put a Conair hair braider on your wish list. I've seen comparable versions on e-bay (Hong Kong) for as low as $2.

I'm knitting in sunshine whoa-oh

And don't it feel good! An earworm brought to you by Lifesastitch.

C arranged a last minute vacation exchange in Palm Springs, CA. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, due to his recent surgery, but he was going with or without me. Couldn't let him go alone, so here I am in the warm, dry sunshine. Now I understand why so many Pacific Northwesterners flock here in the winter.

We've done lots of hiking and exploring - Indian Canyon, the Living Desert, Joshua Tree National Park.

Who would believe this is two months, almost to the day, post open heart surgery:

 

It's like it never happened, but believe me, it did. I feel like I'm still recovering. At C's insistence, I brought my newer camera and have been engaging in some photo therapy. Here is the first in a series of Palm Springs wildlife photos:

 

Are you still singing that song?

Funky camo

Nothing like a 24 hour project. This is what I did with the yarn from the last post:

 

Pattern: Garter Stitch Loop-Through Scarf from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb silk/merino blend, in the Vera colourway

What do I think? Meh. Way too busy looking, like camo with hot pink lipstick, it doesn't quite work. I know now why I didn't like it with any of the patterns I tried. And it's obviously a pillfest waiting to happen.

Reality check: it's ultra soft luxury and will be worn on the inside of a collared shirt, so it works.

New Year's Revelations

Not resolutions, revelations. I confess, most of my knitting projects experience a minimum of four false starts. Cast on. Frog back. Cast on. Tear it out. Cast on. Tink (non-knitters- tinking is knitting spelled somewhat backwards and means knitting in reverse).  

Knitting revelation #2: I have quite a collection of  beautiful yarns languishing in my stash that didn't work out despite numerous project attempts. Eventually that yarn will meet the right pattern and create the perfect match.

Now here's another knitting confession, and Ravelry made me do it (non-knitters, Ravelry is the equivalent of Facebook for knitters, with half a million members). Tonight, as I was checking out the Ravelry Scottie dog group I moderate, I discovered a new group called the New Year's Cast On. Here's the description: "This is a group for those of us that are celebrating the new year by casting on a new project. Cuz we all know the other 18 or so aren't enough."

I have no business starting anything right now, but hey, if the shoe fits...I'm in and if you're interested, I'm sure there's room for more. Stay tuned for a future post to see the outcome of my New Year's revelation Ravelation, which involves yarn and a pattern, the products of previous failure.

So, to all of you, knitters and non, readers and lurkers, those with resolutions or not, best wishes for a New Year with hope for a better future.