the first day

could you ever just kick yourself?  you know, playing that same situation over and over and over again in your mind and wish you could do it again.  just two minutes, that's all you need, if you knew then what you know now you'd do different........wouldn't we all!

i mean totally go right back in time, to about eighteen years ago. just like you were really there, in your grandmother's last apartment.  be in the room, sitting on the couch, the same people are there, they are doing the same things.  she has passed away after a long and wonderful life and we are going through her things and sorting and packing. and there you are, your parents and aunts and uncles are asking you that question .....  "Laurie, I know you don't knit but you're crafty, would you like this box of Grandma's knitting needles and stuff?"  and what you hear yourself say in the past....is....is....is  what you just want to kick yourself over....still.....to this day!

grandma wasn't a patient teacher.  and i had the dread of "being left -handed" hung over me most of my life.  i remember a few brief, very brief lessons with hellish rainbow Woolworth's yarn.  "i knit way too tight" is really all i can remember.  but knew "i would never learn".

it sure would be fun to have the big-o stack of vintage knitting needles on display in my craft room.  or to knit on them once in awhile just for the karma of it all.  even tho grandma didn't really teach me to knit i do believe that Norweigian Blood flows deep.  

hope those ladies at the nursing home made lots of wonderful premie hats and blankets with them.

yummmm!!!!!  soon the feasting will begin! 

soon the family will be arriving for the long weekend of Thanksgiving celebrations.  a house full of hungry souls.  i've been "dog-earring" and "post-it-noteing" cooking magazines and watching cooking shows for weeks.  then the lists started.  finally the $hoping began.

 on sunday it started with a trip to one of my favorite feast stock-up places, Trader Joe's.  everything they have is just the best.  and now they have some of their special holiday goodies.  then on monday picked up 21# Tom and he's thawing nicely.  and today headed to the local grocer with "the big list" to finish off the final $hoping.  took three stops to get everything but all went as planned.

tomorrow will start the baking and cleaning and final to do list. and thursday the big day of cooking.  i love lots of delicious, creative recipes with leftovers too.  so it will be a funfilled weekend of cooking.

i have the worlds smallest kitchen, nothing modern, not even a dishwasher.  but that's never stop me from having a yummy dinner.

yum-o as rachel ray would say...........bring on the guests and let the feasting begin.  there's much to be thankful for!

had the day off yesterday so i took a little field trip.  one of my favorite stores in chicago is just off the magnificent mile (michigan ave/chicago) on rush street.  Anthropoligie!!!!  (i love the catalogs, save every one.  i look back at them for color and design ideas when i am planning knitting projects.) if you've only looked at a catalog tho....you MUST visit a store!!!  www.anthropologie.com

 i could just move in there!  i would be quiet as a little mouse, they would never know i was there.  i could take a little nap in that great, big, beautiful, fourposter bed they have in the romantic bedding dept.  under those three or four fluffy duvet covers they would never even know i was there. 

i can just taste a yummy late' in one of those great late' bowls, with the cutest homemade french marshmallows (that are now for sale in tins). i would enjoy this sitting either by the magical decorated Chrismas tree with all those cute, tiny sweater ornaments or by that stone birdbath that is now filled with sparkly faux snow and bluebirds for Christmas.  and when i'm finished...i would be the perfect guest.  i would do my own dishes in the antique sink they have there, where they are showing off all the cute dishes and towels, you know the one with the real, running water.  see, they would never know i'm there.

what a dreamy store!!!  what i love is the non-christmas, christmas items you can find at anthroplogie.  and i love, love, love the displays inside and the front windows.  i usually just stand outside for a few minutes.  just like at the Marshall Field's windows.

i could fill a shopping bag and be $300 poorer in about 20 mins. but what did i buy?  well i spent an hour drooling and enjoying and walked away with:  4 not so christmasy christmas mugs @ $8 each in bright colors, with apples, finches, snowflakes and sparkles on them.  for $16 a knitted/felted, ice-skating girl ornament, and for $3 a card with instructions and ribbon and yarn bits for gift wrapping. (i thought the price was great and mostly took it home for inspiration).  and a head-full of free ideas!!!

oh, and treated myself to a Micheal Star's long sleeve t-shirt.  they're the best.  if i could only have one shirt for life this would be it.  i have a short sleeve and wear it every time it's clean.

added later:  hey, just browsing the blogs and kathi over at  http://www.liquidskyarts.com/liquidblog/blogger.html  must be thinking the same thing go check it out.

it all started back in the summer, when the temps were in the 90's.  one evening i had about 15 or so women from my "women over 40 tribe" from church over to my house for our monthly gathering and we talked about my journey with yarn.

let me back-track for a moment.....first off, all of the small group gatherings at our church are called "tribes"  different, cool, trendy,  maybe it's really some secret, inner, Survior Show envy thing,(not really i'm the only one i know who watches the crazy thing) whatever.....anyway....  i talked here before about how i teach jr. high full time but have always wanted to do "something" with knitting and yarn so i do that part time. 

well i spoke to the group that night about that experience and the journey, growth and excitement for me with teaching some classes and selling some yarns. 

one thing that came from that was a gal calling  me with a knitting out-reach idea.  she asked if i would be interested in teaching some of the women there that night to knit and we could then knit scarves and find a charity to give them too.  she did all the organizing.   i just showed up to help.

well.......it was funny, at the monthy meetings there were small handfuls of women but we kept on going, women learned how to knit, closet knitters appeared, women knitted at home, they taught their kids to knit, some even taught their high school boys "there shall be no idle hands while watching TV".

after months of knitting, sharon collected the scarves last week, and i think at final count we have 34 scarves 3 hats and 1 pair of mittens!!!!! 

maybe we'll start a new "knitting tribe".   

BTW ( by the way) there is a local site housing relocates from New Orleans and i think that's were the handknit items are going.  think about this.........when we began knitting this summer the hurricane hadn't even hit.

thanks sharon!

okay, okay....so i know i haven't been clicking away at the key pad much lately, but the needles have been clicking!  little projects have been rolling right on or off of them.

and for the most part i have been focusing lately on little projects.  don't know why, that's just where my mind is right now.

i've got some cute little mittens about to roll off the needles. i had to do a lot of experimenting with those.  it seemed like such a simple project.  toddler mittens.  well... getting the sizing was not so easy.  the first pair are so "wee"  too cute to be "frogged".  too tiny for thumbs even.  so they will be gifted to a mom-to-be at  work who is at home on bed rest right now and due in Jan.  that tiny baby will need mitts being born that time of year!!  the second pair STILL too small but "frogged", this is getting crazy!  third time... a charm, cute.  then, this morning  before work, i cast on the tail for a "critter scarf".  hummm???

i re-felted and embellished my knit vases this weekend.  they are my entry on the "artist's expression table" at church this sunday. ( i have before talked about the artist's group that i belong to at my church).  the vases turned out great and were fun to do.

while i was felting, i refelted a bag that i made last year and got it back into shape, then knitted a flower for it and now i love it.  it is right back in style.  i'm using it this week.  i also made another knitted bag this weekend from the Suss Cousins Hollywood Style book.  Made a cute flower for that bag and a fabric lining.  (just need to stitch the lining inside that bag) love it too, i must say!!

tonight i will cast on for the Fur-Trimmed Winter Hood, pictured on the cover of the Handknit Holidays Knitting Book mention over there on my siderbar.  i have a green and brown verigated merino in my stash, with a light brown trim.  i think it will be perfect.  i'm not ready for the two color knitting that the pattern calls for right now.  and i want to use up "stash yarn" ya know!!  that's me, the stash girl!!

oh, i did make  a tiny, little, on-line  purchase      ...you know those cute yoga socks?  the pattern is written by Mac and Me.  i first saw them at  www.purlsoho.com   Wendy over at http://knitandtonic.typepad.com is knitting them too.  go check her's out.  well i ordered the pattern and some yarn too!         oh...when do my yoga classes start?  ah?  let me get back to you on that...........

wow, didn't realize i'd been away so long.  thanks for not giving up on me and remembering to check back in.

in knitting news i finally wore my finished Scoop du Jour sweater today.  fun! fun! fun!  it is a fabulous fit and love the finishing touch of the oval buttons that i bought for that sweater on my trip this summer to NYC.  it's funny how you can feel good all day when you feel good in a snuggly sweater.  did you ever have that feeling?  i will wear it out tonight to dinner and to see the movie, "proof".

also on the needles; a christmas stocking, that has been "hanging out there for some time" and deserves to be finished.  by the way, i have been sooo inspired by all the great christmas stockings that i've seen in a the mail order catalogs lately: sundance, garnet hill, anthroplogie.....

in other knitting news i started and restarted and restarted and QUIT for now the Cabled Shrug from Fall Interweave Knits.  just too "fussy" for me right now.  gotta give that some more thinking time and see if it is something that i really want to buy into.

and that brings me to the birthday boy news.  i gifted the Wild Stripes (pattern at www.knitty.com see archives) one year old birthday blanket and i think he loves it.  i hope it will be loved to shreds for years to come.  i have lots of left over yarns and so i plan to do some christmas gifts for that little grandson with those.  i just love that yarn, and those great colors. 

speaking of the birthday......the party was so fun and my daughter did such a wonderful and creative job.  you can check out some of the details and pixs at her site.  www.confessionsofasahm.com   too cute.  and that one year old was the life of the party.

hard to believe November is already here.  a year ago tomorrow i was meeting my little grandson for the first time.  this has been a wonderful year of firsts as a grandma......with many more great years to come.