bekka

pullover wallaby tango tank

Seemingly, this has evolved into a quarterly blog. The worst bit was that it's been so long since I logged into typepad that I forgot my password. How embarrassing.

In the meantime, I've knitted. I'm not pulling your yarn, I swear. I finished Elsa's Floyd Pullover from Vintage Baby Knits, but haven't photographed it or her wearing it. She wore it once. My mother thought it was too big for her, so she hasn't worn it since. I'll either wash and---oh what's that word? that thing I never do? blocking, maybe I'll block it, or hope she grows into it. 

It's a shame that patterns in VBK only go to size 24 months. I didn't make near as many frocks from the book as I'd hoped. They're gorgeous.

Then, Wallaby fever hit. I started one for Bergen, Kelly's oldest child, four years ago. And stopped. I think I was bored. The striping did it. And even though I finished this striped Wallaby, I'll never do another. The pattern is okay. The thought of making one for myself or for Elsa somewhat excited me. In a self-striping yarn, maybe. Or just plain solid. So I finished that.

And now I'm working between two projects. Tango--for my sister in a pale green hempathy--and the Essential Tank for me. I'm using a pale grey Paton's I picked up at Michael's long ago. 

My Ravelry account sees much action these days as I scour the site for cute toddler sweaters. Some days I have more luck than others. 

 

And Elsa rode a horse! She loved it. Of course. She is astride Jewels in this photo. She's eighteen months now and everyone tells us how tall she is for her age. Still not talking, so much. She babbles, but it's her own language entirely. Sometimes we think she says "silly," "hide," and "I did it," but who knows?

Anyway, this is my first small step in realizing my goal of blogging again. I read One small step can change your life: the kaizen way a few months ago and am trying to return to the practice and the knitting/crafting/blogging community.

rising waters

While I was in Florida last month Laura and I went horseback riding at Forever Florida. It was one of the only times during vacation that I had a break from the duties of motherhood. Alas, my stirrups were too high. The wrangler adjusted them once, and I thought that might work, but for the last 30-45 minutes of the ride, my legs dangled on either side of the horse. My horse was called Okie. He was okay, kind of lacking in personality. And with every step he took, his belly sloshed. Laura thought they watered them up really well to deal with the heat and humidity during the ride.

Forever Florida is 400+ acres of preserved lands in central Florida, actually in St. Cloud, less than an hours drive from Orlando. I loved it there. Who knew you were in Florida without all the tourists and characters?

I knew from the website's description that we would ride thorough water. I forgot to tell Laura. But I imagined a simple stream in which the horses' feet would get wet, not what we actually went through.

Our guide, whose name I've sadly forgotten, prepared us to get wet up to mid-thigh. 

Whoa.

I wasn't expecting that, and I grimly tucked my camera strap a bit higher across my chest.

Riding a horse through such deep water was exciting and scary and otherworldly. It was a small portion of the trip, but the best part by far for its novelty and for its coolness. The rest of the time that we were out in the exposed sun was miserable. It was early, around 10 am, but so humid and so hot. 

Feeling your boots suddenly cool and then the water pour over the tops, down onto your feet, into your boot, is a surreal experience. I just hoped that we wouldn't be swimming with the horses. They were surefooted and we had nothing to worry about. Other than water moccasins and alligators. But really, the only wildlife we saw were deer and turkeys.

The water wasn't as high that day as our guide first thought. When we asked her about it, she said it had receded from the previous day. Perhaps she intimated that at times, it was higher.

Then she told us how four years ago the whole area was a dry sand bed that sometimes sported a little trickle of a stream. It rains a lot in Florida. And changes in climate affect rainfall.

A couple of things that we can do at home, in an effort to preserve the earth for the use of future generations, are:

1. Tell others about climate change and how they can reduce their footprint
2. Repair leaky toilets, faucets, and pipes
3. Compost table scraps and lawn clippings
4. Recycle cast-offs into craft objects
5. Replace light bulbs with ENERGYSTAR bulbs

Hey, today is Blog Action Day. I wouldn't miss that, now.

fall showers

It's been a while since I've been to a baby shower. But now, I've got a whole passel of them lined up, most which I'm the guest of honor. The first of these was Friday night given me by Laura and Tracey, two of my favorite friends, whom I see on a weekly basis. Of course, I don't see Laura on our regular Saturday ride since I stopped riding, but we usually get together to eat or knit or try a new recipe.

The shower was sweet and fabulous. They made a diaper cake for me. A farm/horsey themed one, at that. See the raffia "hay"? And there's actual green baling twine holding each tier together. They said making the tiers required four hands. Was lucky they had one another. Each tier is decorated with pacifiers, rattles, washcloths, combs, and a baby hair brush. Naturally it was all topped off by a lovely bay horse. Looks a lot like Dually, my favorite equine friend at the Farm.

Anymore I tease Laura that I taught her to knit so she would knit things for T. Rex. Her first project ever was a blanket. I loaned her the needles, and she found yummy blue-green yarn to knit it with and the pattern is something she made up as she went along. It's a bit larger than she intended, yet that makes it perfect for wrapping me and T. Rex up inside it together!

Plus, she made a matching hat! That was her second project and she's quite the knitting prodigy. I was out of town and couldn't answer her questions about making the hat, except via text. She made a hybrid of two patterns and figured out knitting in the round, decreasing, and binding off all by herself as well, with a little help from Debbie Stoller.

Then too, I got her interested in quilting and sewing and she bought her first sewing machine. I like to think I'm the best bad influence ever. Tracy helped her make a diaper bag to tote all of T. Rex's accouterments around inside. I love the fabric she and Tracy picked out, since all they had to go on was that I liked red and aqua/turquoise. The horses and farm animals were a given!

And that's a great thing because Tracy made the most delicious quilty-blankey for T. Rex. She says the quilt pattern is called Puzzle or Puzzle Pieces. But I don't know any of its particulars.

Its back is luscious. I cannot stop touching it. It's silkier than velvet, lemme tell you.

You might think that was the end of Tracy's amazing gifts, but no. She zipped up three burpy pads from the same material as the quilt and diaper bag. They are so nice that I dread actually using them. And they look so easy to make. She said she'd show me how sometime.

There were other lovely gifts at this shower as well. Lots of delicous Gymboree onesies and clothes, plus several other clothing items Laura accumulated for T. Rex over the past few months. T. Rex has his/her first three board books, Good Night Moon, an Eric Carle book, and a touch and feel Farm book featuring border collies, yippee! Plus, another stuffed horse, besides the one resembling Dually in the first photo.

lens loves horses & little dudes

Maria & Leah with Jewels & Chico

Being more budget-wise (cause the economy sucks, man!) means I can't run out and buy this lens. I really love it. It took some getting used to, because it's sort of a zoom lens, in that um... well you know how that works. But it's a fixed focal length. And when you peer through the viewfinder, whoa, people are so in your face/view. That's nice, except to get a full-body shot, you have to move away from the victim.

Was tickled to get to try it out for a few hours Saturday before I must pop it in the mail back to Memphis Tuesday afternoon.

Brian leading two riders

Saturday was Horse Days at Mize in Gray, Tenn. As official photographer for Hat Creek Farms/Little Dudes Ranch Project, my job was snapping photos of children enjoying the horses, farm animals, and other activities. Despite toting along a bag with one or two knitting projects, I never dipped into it because I was busy.

Brian & Rebekah leading cutest rider all day(!)

So many gorgeous children. And I saw a woman carrying her baby in an Ergo Carrier and I talked to her about it. She loves hers, and had only great things to say, so as if I wasn't already convinced, now I know for certain I want one.

Seriously, all the children who came to Horse Days behaved superbly. No crying or moaning or ugly behavior. And there was a clown there, too. But I know her in real life, so I didn't find her presence disturbing at all like I would an unknown-to-me clown. She made balloon animals for each child who wanted one. It must be their shared interest in horses that made those children on their best behavior. I mean, what else could it be? Good parenting, maybe?

Maria

I've always thought that high-fashion photographers simply cannot take a bad photo because they have such beautiful subjects to work with. And that was the case at Horse Days. I didn't get shots of everyone though, and that was sort of sad. Having a great lens helps, too.

first block

So excited to share my first Christmas Cottage Block. Last night I cut out the pieces from my stash of holiday fabrics. Besides using up very little from the great pile o' holiday fabric stash, piecing  took no time at all. The green, red, and blue are all Robert Kauffman fabrics. Can't remember what the boot is, and the white for the sky was not labeled. Can you make out the snowmen/women floating in the sky? They're like snowflakes, rather snowpeople, drifting down onto rooftoops.

And how cool is cowboy Christmas-themed fabric? Had to have it, you know? Last fall I scored the Kauffman fabrics because I meant to make holiday-themed oven mitts and kitchen accessories for family and a few friends. That never materialized. This holiday season? I'm not planning to make a thing for anyone. I'll try to do so, but I'm keeping it low-to-no-expectation for myself.

If I complete one block each night, or even two, then I'll be done in less than two weeks. Huzzah!

Ruthie emailed the rest of us in our group asking whether we would make our squares all the same. My immediate response was, heck no. I usually like playing with fabric and moving it around a pattern. And what else could be more fun than to totally redecorate a cottage exterior? But since I cut out all the pieces, and they're ready to go,  I'm sticking with the simplest solution and making them all the same, unless I screw up royally at some point and have to start over/buy new fabric.

not so great weekend

Our trip to Ohio?

They advise women in the third trimester not to travel and sometimes say it's because you need to move around so much to prevent blood clots. Nah, it's that you cannot get comfortable. And that the southbound route on the West Virginia Turnpike is so poorly maintained that driving its length is more like four-wheeling. But I'm ahead of myself; that was the return trip.

We didn't want to miss Gretchen's wedding. Especially since I/we made the quilt for her. So we loaded up in the Jeep because my VW was in the shop. Basically undriveable. Couldn't get it out of P after it screamed STOP in red capital letters on the panel.

Crocheted opossum at Tamarack: Tempting, but no

Keeping my legs/feet elevated during the 6-8 hour drive up was impossible. We stopped several times. And once was at Tamarack in West Virginia. I don't know what you'd call it, but they showcase the best of West Virginia arts, crafts, and foodstuffs. Also host special events throughout the year and always have several dining options for travelers.

There were at least a dozen quilts on display that ranged in price from $750 and up to $4,000, or more, perhaps. This was my favorite in regards to color and pattern. Anybody know what it's called?

Oh, no, wait. I really liked this one, too. It looks fairly simple to replicate at home without pattern/instructions.

I found this crocheted horse for a steal, really. Is it for me, or for T. Rex? If T. Rex doesn't like horses, I don't know what I'll do. Horses seems like a gender neutral sort of animal to start a baby on, right? Tamarak artists also offered a few crocheted baby items, but most were made with acrylic yarn. Just wasn't interested in that. Baby items are heirlooms, at least, in my estimation, and I'd want something that stands the test of time well, like a natural fiber.

That was about the high point of the weekend, believe it or not. Actually, any time that I spend with Ian is wonderful. And he's be best father-to-be I know. He's so kind and helpful and tries to make everything more comfortable for me. All of his tenderness is nothing new, mind you, but it's been almost constant the last few weeks as I grow bigger, clumsier, and less agile.

Saturday we drove to visit one of the LYS there, Yarnia. But it didn't open until 11am. Inn Stitches was practically across the street, and so we went there and I bought two cross stitch patterns. Kim, the woman working there, told me about two new cross stitch patterns they'd be getting in the store soon by other primitive/Early Americana artists, which I noted, but cannot find now. Then we were off to Target to find wrapping paper, tissue, and wedding card for Gretchen, as well as a dress belt for Ian. I staggered out of the bathroom and barely made it to a table at Starbuck's inside the Target.

July's bad dizzy spells returned. Ian helped me out to the car, where I vomited into a hurriedly emptied Target bag. Then we returned to the hotel where I crashed for a few hours. Then out for a bite to eat, which I barely ate. Felt really dizzy again and Ian helped me to the bathroom and them motioned for server to box up our food. He asked if I felt like stopping by the yarn store again since it was open now, and I had to say no. Later, Ian sought out Dramamine because I thought part of the reason I was so queasy was due to motion sickness; must be those Canton city roads.

Just before he left for the wedding without me, I managed to snip errant strings off the quilt I made for Gretchen and then Ian wrapped the gift and wrote out her card.  Totally meant to take a great photo of finished quilt suspended between Ian and my arms, but didn't have the energy. I missed the wedding.

Gretchen & Ian dollar dancin'; her curls reminded him of Nellie Olesen

I felt sure that if I went, I'd have another spell and make a scene and make Ian miss the wedding so he could return me to the hotel. So I stayed in bed with a plan that I might get to make it out for the reception. Ian called to see how I was, and I felt much better an hour or so later, and so he picked me up and we drove to the gold club where the reception was held.

Ian, his grandma Elsie, & me

Seeing everyone was lovely. We stayed several hours longer than I wanted, but I sat most of the time. And ate cake. And visited with his family. Also rescued Great Uncle Jerry from a bout of heartburn, just pulled out my travel-sized Tums and told him to take two. At least I was useful.

The best surprise was that we stopped by the yarn store on Sunday on a lark to find it Open! Hooray. Turns out it was the perfect weekend to be in Canton because they had a yarn shop hop. Lots of lovely yarn inside.

Bought 6 skeins of O-Wool in two different colorways in hopes of making Foliage for two friends who may (or may not) decide to come visit the first weekend in October. It's a pattern I've wanted to try for a while, despite having to start out with 4 sts on 4 dpns. And, also saw that the owner has a huge supply of Bryspun Flexible dpns made in New Zealand. Only bought one set, US4. Have a set of US7 I bought in Canada a few years ago and have never seen them since. Or sought them out, despite how much I love them. They're also perfect for holding my hair in a chingon.

Sunday we were part of Party of 18 at Perkins for brunch. I thought I'd have another spell, I felt icky twice, but it passed, luckily. Then a quick stop at Border's. We don't have one nearby at home. This was the first time I've ever not looked in depth at a bookstore. Mostly looked at magazines and childbirth/parenting books, but didn't have the energy or interest in buying any books. And that's just wrong.

Then another quick stop at Ian's Uncle Todd's home, and then we were back in the car for a 6.25 hour drive south to Tennessee. It wasn't terrible. But the last hour or two was not fun. I was never so glad to be home and crawl into bed and get lots of attention from our three dogs. Roxy was mildly destructive in the kitchen because we left her out of her crate to frolic with the other dogs and she ate a hole in our drywall/sheetrock.

I'm so glad that's the last trip I'll be taking for months and months.

horse days

cutie pie with bunnies

I got way too much sun Saturday. I went to Horse Days, a biennial event that Jim, owner of the farm where I hang with horses, puts on at the locally owned feed and seed, Mize. There are two Mize locations, one in downtown Johnson City, close to home, and the other out in Gray, not too far from the Fossil Site, and that is where Horse Days was. Supposed to be overcast most of the day, so I didn't bring a hat.  Jim invited me to previous Horse Days to help out, but I've always declined, looked at those Saturdays off as another day to sleep in late. But this time, I came to help out.

And sleeping late? I have memories of that. Roxy wakes me up around 6:30 every morning. I put her off until, oh, maybe 7:10 and then let her outside. She's getting me into that early-morning mode which surely will be helpful when baby arrives.

Jessie bobs for apples

Horse Days has a clown, horseback rides, face painting, bobbing for apples, and a petting zoo with Wilbur the calf, Chiquita the lamb, and a goat with no name. There were bunnies, too. Almost forgot that Trap, father of my Roxy, displayed his frisbee catching skills as well. My job, for much of the day, was being Trap's keeper. Not such a bad job, though there were dicey moments when we thought he might break pottery or get aggressive with other dogs.

Jessie and Joelle ahorseback

Mostly to socialized with Laura and all the other equestrian types. Also answered a few questions about the summer program that their non-profit org is having beginning in June. Little Dudes Ranch Project meets on Thursdays from 12-5 throughout the summer and is free. Kids of all ages learn horsemanship, gardening, animal husbandry, and farm chores. I just wish I could help out during the summer, but I have work. Wah. So maybe I'll take a few days of annual leave just to be involved with that.

another cutie pie, Jim, & Jewells

Whew, never enough horsey activities for me. Horses, horses, horses. One of the highlights was seeing all the children's faces light up at the sight of the horses.  From toddlers to teenagers, they lined up and waited in the sun for twenty or thirty minutes at a time to have their chance to go around the parking lot on Biscuit or Jewells.

equine boredom

When I'm bored, I find ways to entertain myself. I pick up a book or magazine and read. Or I start another new knitting project. Sometimes I turn on the television and hope to find one interesting thing. On rare occasions I even clean/de-clutter my home. But one thing I don't do: I don't gnaw wood. I have some average-sized teeth, but I don't put them to that kind of use.

Horses do. This is a an open stall door that some bad bad horse chewed on. The sign, that isn't visible, reads Traces. But I'm not certain she's the culprit. Stable owners often replace boards when they're destroyed by bored bored horses. You'd think they might do a jig or something, but no. The horses, not the stable owners.

unplanned hiatus

Somehow, it got more and more difficult to get back into blogging after my recent break. Thanks for your inquires wondering if I was bucked off the back of the earth or something. I'm okay, just overextended and somewhat perpetually snotty.

Haven't felt like I had much to blog about of late. Knitted one thing, a scarf for Debbie, a colleague, who lost her husband before Christmas. I planned to give her it for Christmas, but she was out quite a bit and I decided to wait and present it to her on Valentine's Day. That worked. She was touched by my gesture.  She crochets but wants to learn to knit, so I told her that we'd have a knitting lunch together sometime soon. It was similar to all the other scarves I made this fall, but much wider; and was also made of Noro.

But part of the making of the scarf for her was honoring her husband's memory. One of Barry's brothers gave a grand eulogy. He said that Barry figured out the meaning of life: Find something you love to do and then give it away. I love knitting. So I made this scarf and gave it to Debbie. Barry was a fine carpenter. He spent hours making objects and then gave them to those whom he loved.

Otherwise, I'm just not knitting so much. Roxy, my four month old border collie, eats up a lot of my time. We're going to obedience training Thursday nights, so my accordion lessons are pushed into the afternoon and I do that instead of lunch. Roxy has earned quite a reputation at obedience class and is referred to as "The Border Collie."

Mondays I have a public history class which is interesting to me, certainly. For my project I'm researching the 1918 influenza pandemic and its effect on my city. Also have an online class, I'm taking courses towards earning an archives certificate. So lots of reading and working on busy work; not so much time left to blog.

On Tuesday night I'm volunteering at the farm where I ride.  There's a local organization called Coalition for Kids, and they provide after-school and evening activities for low-income, at-risk children. Julie, Dually's owner, who is on its board of directors, asked me to help out with things in September or October. I had to fill out an application and go through a background check. Then, I started showing up in January and let me tell you, the cold was bitter several nights while we worked in the semi-sheltered arena.

The kids are great fun, plus I get constant reminders on tack parts, so I'm building my own equine vocabulary. I work with Rebekah. She schools the kids on everything and I'm mostly the person who walks alongside to make sure the child doesn't slip off the saddle. Darek, one of the nine year old boys, is a constant questioner. From "What is that pipe in the ceiling?" to "What is that red on your teeth?" Lipstick, I told him. Those questions keep me on my toes. They exhaust me, really. That and telling them to keep their shoulders back and heels down. It's all about posture and seat, you know!

On to snottiness: I've been plagued with sinus infections. So I'm not feeling well at all. Instead of blogging about it, I've curled in front of the tv watching way too many Jane Austen adaptations or Austen-inspired movies. Also checked out several Austen books to read since I have the basic plots and characters down due to motion pictures.

And, I may soon gain the moniker "Chicken Lady." Jim, the owner of the farm where I ride and volunteer with kids, said that the next item on his agenda is finishing up his chicken shed. This summer we talked chickens and he offered to let me be in charge of his chickens. Now I've got a bit of work to do as well.

Farm-fresh eggs, yum.

Then, too, he wants to start a non-profit organization that pairs all kinds of kids together and teaches them about farm life. He's quite upset that many children don't understand that beef comes from cows, not from McDonald's and wants to rectify that, by providing an environment in which children can learn and play and discover the workings of nature. He's asked me to be a part of that in whatever regard I can manage.

But, that is a great commitment, and I'm still thinking about what role I might play and how much time I might spare. During Saturday's ride I asked Laura, my riding companion who is doing some of the administrative work on the project, whether she'd applied for 401c3 status. And that tipped her and them off that I might be more valuable than what they thought.

I'm also not carrying my camera along with me everyday and have not been taking photos like usual, like crazy. Sorry, no good photos to share, either. The scarfy one above was taken with my cell phone.

these boots

my Ariats and Jewells

Besides wedding and engagement rings, the only other thing I wear with any kind of regularity are my cowboy boots. At least four days a week, I slip them on over long socks, pull my jeans over top, and go to the stable/farm to work with horses. If it's wet out, which isn't an issue so much, or if my boot cut jeans are slightly longer than my legs, I tuck them inside the boots.

My cowboy boots are in my top three of comfortable footwear. I could wear them everyday. I  could walk miles and miles in them. They're dusty from our very dry summer. They're slighty stinky, too. I don't clean them up but maybe once a month. Hasn't been any mud to knock off of them, so mostly it's manure. They're perfect workboots. Great for getting down in the soil. And, the best at protecting my feet from when Dually steps on them. If you didn't know, the front part of a horse's hoof doesn't hurt when it lands on your foot. It's the back part of the hoof where all the weight is. Keep away from that part.

burred-out Trap begs for biscuits beside my boots

Pull on your boots and see what other photographers' favorite walking shoes are at week two of Self Portrait Challenge's What You Wear.