Red Lace, Black Heart

Service Person's Neck Cooler Pattern

2009-05-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

A friend asked me to post my pattern for "half a washie" that can be used to keep soldiers cool in hot weather. It is made from cotton which holds water well, absorbs sweat, and when soaked in cold weather can keep a service person's body cool and protect against sunburn and bug bites too.

Soldier's Neck Cooler©

Materials: Cotton yarn and needles to match, about 100 yards seems to be plenty in worsted weight; more yards will be needed for a lighter weight yarn. Swatch it if you have never used it before; we are going for a soft but firm fabric. Choose something soft, this goes directly on the skin, and who needs sandpaper scraping that soft neck skin (which is frequently sunburned.)

Cast on 3 stitches, Row 1: K across (repeat this for every odd # row) Row 2: K1, YO, K1, YO, K1 Row 4: K1, YO, K3, YO, K1 Row 6: K1, YO, K5, YO, K1 Rows 8 and on: Continue on like this (K1, YO, Knit across to last stitch, YO, K1) until the "long edge" (the one on the needles) is 30 -36 inches across. Bind off very loosely.

©Please feel free to use this pattern to make for charity purposes. This pattern is protected by copyright laws (and all that legal stuff) but do not distribute it, sell it, or make anything to sell from it. You may make them to sell for charity purposes as long as 100% of the money goes to charity.

Thank you so much to all the brave service men and women in all the branches of the armed services. You are loved, prayed for and very much appreciated. God bless you all, keep you safe, and bring you all home soon.

Reality Check (book?)

2009-02-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

So, last night I got the bright idea that I would cast on a 'quick' sweater. Something fast in bulky yarn (Berroco Peruvia Quick- even the name sounds fast doesn't it?) that I could whip up in no time.
Rationale?
Duh! Stitches of course.
I need something fab and hand knit to wear to stitches. Something that, when asked, I could say, "Oh, yeah, this old thing? Yeah, I knit this Monday night."
Apparently my reality checkbook is severely overdrawn. -sigh-
What the F was I thinking?
So, yes I did cast on, having swatched the yarn last week, in a clear attempt to avoid the Gasoline Alley Gloves from Hell. Tuesday AM finds me frogging. OK, in all honesty, not frogging. Rather stuffing the yoke of Monday PM's work into the bottom of the bag under the other balls of yarn, to be frogged at a later time (when I have to admit to myself that I need that yarn to finish my sweater.) Cast on attempt #2 will commence tonight.
And what did I learn from this exercise?
1.) Don't cast on during a movie that requires at least a modicum of concentration or causes you to laugh so much that you have to either rewind the movie or rip your knitting.
and
2.) That I am idiotic enough to believe that one day isn't going to make a helluvalotof difference and that I can still somehow manage to cast on a sweater Tuesday PM and wear it to Stitches on Friday...
Reality check?
F-ing A!

And again with the weather!

2009-02-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

I love weather. Love it.

Most of the time that is.

-harrumph!-

Maybe it's real weather I love. Rain, sun, wind, hail the size of Cheerios! Earlier this week we had hail the size of Cheerios! Loved it! All of it. But that was 'real' weather. What has settled in outside is a freezing cold ichsome mess. Not fog, not mist, not rain. Just yellow gray blech.

Would whoever is in charge of weather changes please take note? Weather should be one thing or another. Not some limbo of gray nothing. It is possible to go from one condition to another without this goop. I know it is; I've seen it.

I have a relative who suffers from SADD. Seasonal Affective Depressive Disorder. SADD isn't it? Sorry. I think I suffer from LWDD. Lazy Weather Damn-it Disorder. The freakin' weather is too lazy to just get up and do whatever the hell it's going to do, so we are stuck in Neverland -weather style.

OK, so on to more interesting things. It seems I am also suffering from Acute FiberMustHaveitis.

Thanks to Dear Sara -spinner extraordinaire- I have developed an uncontrollable urge to snatch up any unclaimed roving within a 5,000 mile radius.

OK, so even claimed roving is up for grabs.

It was bad when I was feeling it and saying, "Ooooh! Soft!" When something is that soft, you've got to buy it. But when it is hundreds of miles away (across the country or across an ocean for example) there is no "soft" as an excuse. Just pretty colors and an over active imagination.

-sigh-

And I'm not even spinning yet!

One can only imagine how bad it will be once I am actually spinning. Once I am sucking all that fibre into actual yarn, and see how quickly it disappears, I will -of course- need more. Time for a wholesale fibre account. It's the only thing that will save me. Enter Stitches! And not a moment too soon!

-feeling better already-

So, thanks for dropping by, but say something would 'ya?

Thanks!

Oh, and happy weather.

Rain cancels

2009-02-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

So many times I read about a fabulous event that is happening.

Then the fine print, "Rain cancels."

Why? And what if we took that approach to everything in life? Not just meteorologically, you know, but emotionally and in other ways as well.

Wake up with a headache? Rain cancels.

Have a fight with the SO? Rain cancels.

Lost your keys, dropped a stitch, stubbed your toe? Rain cancels.

Life, I have come to believe, is too short to be called on account of rain.

Good thing too, given that we have had rain for about 6 days straight. And life throws rain at us so frequently that if we called the game on account of rain, we might spend the rest of our lives in bed waiting for clear skies.

So in response to the onslaught of recent wet weather, I am adopting a new philosophy to deal with the rain. I fully accept my responsibility to carry an umbrella, and if I fail to do so, I accept responsibility for getting wet. On some days I may even revel in it. But I also refuse to own responsibility for any precipitation that some fool throws at me just because his or her life sucks and he or she feels a need to lash out and share some misery.

Dry head, clear conscience.

So, umbrella in hand, I am happy to fall out of bed and encounter whatever weather may arrive. As long as it is naturally occurring, and not the result of some yahoo who either refuses to buy -or can't keep track of- an umbrella and wants to dump on me as a result.

Take that NWS!

Wuv, Twu Wuv

2009-02-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't recognize the quote, you simply must watch Princess Bride.
Then tell me, if you will, what the point of all this madness is.
But on a more cheerful note, a very happy St. Valentine's Feast to you all. The dear old saint was jailed for his unwillingness (or inability) to stop spreading love to his fellow-persons. He lived in an era of hate and violence -sound familiar? And yet he chose to live a life of love and service to the people he encountered. A fine example to us all, don't you think?
Yet, in our era of commercialism, we have taken his philosophies and bastardized them into a cynical attempt to make bank and score. "I didn't get a 'harrumph' outta that guy!"
So, my question and challenge to you for the day is this:
What "non-commercial" and sincere way will you find to alter the world for the better in some way? Because that, in my mind anyway, is the definition of love.
Oh, yeah, that and kids and grandkids!
Love to you all,
B

Now isn't that lovely?

2009-02-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

The wonderful folks over at PhatFibers are doing a drawing. Not just any drawing, but a wonderful chocolatey delights fiber drawing.
The winner receives a gift from ExtremeSpinning over at Etsy. 'Cause some people are actually on top of things and have real stuff for sale in their Etsy shops.
-head hangin' low on that one still-
-although admittedly some of it is red tape from the state-
But, do pop over and give warm "thank yous" these lovely people, for both the give away and the truly beautiful blog. Eye candy & inspiration galore!
And then stand back, 'cause there's some serious shoppin' gonna happen once Monday comes!
And don't be selfish! Spread the word!

1:03

2009-02-12T01:04:00.001-08:00

1:03 AM.
DH is snoring so loudly that there is no way in hell I'm getting to sleep pre-dawn again. Hit Ravelry, but nothing happening there that sparks an interest. All I really give a damn about right now is sleep. Which is obviously not forthcoming.
Good things to report today:
Good class at Scarlet Skein, one student learning toe-up socks, one learning crochet
Frogging and progress made on Gasoline Alley gloves -don't ask me why I named them that, not a clue
DD called, all is well in her house. Had to report my cold/flu stuff, worried that me being ill might keep her from coming and exposing the BB's, trip to Vegas coming up soon, need everyone healthy.
Luccas met a nice girl @ Scarlet Skein today, she is Independent Study also, nice, quiet, would love to get her knitting, hmmm
OK, that is all I can see to tap tonight. Heavy eyes, fell asleep mid movie tonight. Cold & snoring taking a serious toll. Missing piano tomorrow too, as a result of the cold issue. Teacher is concerned about exposure, don't blame her -wouldn't wish this on anyone.
No concrete plans for Stitches yet. Mad a hell and don't care who knows it over the whole "won't give me a straight answer about dates" thing. Missed most of the classes I wanted to take, might as well call it a wash. Hoping to make business contacts there at the very least. X-ing fingers...
'Night all

Hello again

2009-02-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Home again,
Little has been said in this arena of late (and long) but I have returned, and shall stay so, gods willing and the Back Bay don't rise.
I needed to pop in and just post, to re-wet my feet if you will.
Doing the work isn't the hard part -most of the time- the hard part is the picking up and starting of it.
So, here, having started, my goal is to post a sentence or two every day. Sometimes more, but never less.
Real, legitimate, pictures will follow, as will a new and "re-vamped" format.
But that will have to come later.
For now, be forewarned, I'm back!
Bee

...and, no, I am not one of those crazy cat people, I am one of those crazy kid people, but my kids want nothing to do with the insanity that ensues here...

So, given their reluctance to appear, I am posting gratuitous knitting pictures, as follows:

I told Baby (aka. Freak Face) that she could help knit socks, but only if she promised to stay out of my alpaca stash.
BTW - she lied!

She says, "I don't know what all the fuss is about. I can knit socks laying down."

I thought that if I taught her to knit it might help keep her off the streets.

Especially important -given that she dresses like a ho!

OH, and a little patience here folks

2008-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

So, I recd. a not so nice E-mail from some woman with -OBVIOUSLY- way too much time on her hands, pointing out to me that there is a way to add my own banner (she nicely explained that a banner is the picture at the top of my blog) so I didn't look so "tacky" when people visited me.
Thank you so much, honey, you know who you are. And in the words of my hero (me) I can only say, "Bite Me!"
Now, if she had been nice, or was sincerely trying to help, that would have been cool, but she was just plain being snotty. Not even creatively enough to give her credit for snarky. Just plain snotty -with a dose of snooty tossed in. Wonder when she lost her sense of humor & when her hubby started doing the nanny. Oh, well, the world is resplendent with sad little people who would rather snipe than knit. Sad, so verrrry sad.
OK, I'm over it now!
Back to Fabulous Friday!
Drinking will ensue tonight - and she doesn't get any! (Probably part of the problem... :} )

Rainbow's End

2008-02-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Je sui fini!
The bloody rainbow Revontuli is finally finished!
Pictures to follow soon, perhaps even before the blisters caused by the gosh awfully scratchy yarn begin to heal.
But it was hard not to jump up and down and scream, "I rock my world," when the last stitch finally came off the needles last night!
As I said, picts to follow, now onto pink and blue sweaters, & Christmas hats ahoy.
Happy knitting and a Fabulous (if freezing here) Friday here.
Bee

Can't help myself

2008-02-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

OK, I admit that I have WAY too many projects going at once, but I did it again.
I found this fabulous skein of Koigu in my closet in an unprecedented cleaning and organizing fit (don't ask) and it occurred to me that the colors are perfect for a certain someone's bedroom. So, what to do? Certainly not enough for a shawl, a lap robe was way out of the question, anything else... stumped.
A hat. There was just enough yardage for a hat. But she couldn't put a hat on her bed, or hang it in her window, so - what to do, what to do? Hmmm... What about a "flat hat?" If I made a hat, but skewed the shaping on it, it would still be round, but it would be flat, and it would be verrry 50's chic for her boudoir. So, I did.
Pictures to follow; but may I say, it is the single most fabulous pillow top I have EVER seen. Lucky girl... wish I could find another skein of it to make me one. Heavy sigh.
But -insert big grin here- a FO (knitting wise anyway) and one present down. Yeah!
Progress report, the Revontuli is 13 rows from being finito! Frog pond visits aside, that is. It is beautiful -but scratchy. Once it is done I am breaking out the naked merino and I will be dying and selling my own on Etsy. There were just too many UFO's (unidentified foreign objects) in the yarn, and it is way too scratchy to ever use again. My merino version, however, will be fab.
Boy child (#1 son) arrived home safely from Texas today, and is already taking advantage of his new bed, still in his jeans & hoodie, but snoozing like an angel just the same. I can breathe again.
Happy knitting and a happy long weekend to you all,
Bee

Ops! I forgot!

2008-01-31T12:44:00.001-08:00

And so we dance

2008-01-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

Dancing has been on my mind a lot lately.
I think it relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - OK in a somewhat warped fashion.
Once our basic food, shelter, clothing, yarn needs are met, we begin to long for more. And it seems to me that those things we have been too long without are the things that loom larger in our perspectives as "NEEDS."
Dancing for me was always a need, not a want. I have been dancing since I could stand, and if my #1 son is any indicator, probably prior to that too. He danced like crazy before he was born; no not kicked or swam -but danced. I know it was dancing, because he only did it when there was music playing. To this day, music is incredibly important to him. And he does a mean DDR, when no one is watching.
So, dancing is one thing that I would devote enormous amounts of time to, given the chance. Than being said, I am grateful for the folks doing my PT, as they have put me in the hydrotherapy pool, so at least I am in love #2 (maybe tied with dancing) 3 times a week.
Grateful seems to be the operative word these days; I wake up in the morning, TA DAH!
And for those of you who have never come close to loosing that privilege - don't take it for granted; it is NOT a guarantee you know.
So, on the knitting front, too many irons in the fire (so what else is new) and needless to say, nothing is getting done.
So I am prioritizing, beginning with the Spider Web, then the BB & Roz sweaters. I need to have Phoenix’s done by April, and I don’t want to have one for her and not one for Roz. NOT cool. He is, after all, Granna’s #1 boy. Pictures to follow.
As for the Revontuli, I will be making the trek to Golden Fleece in Santa Cruz on Sunday to get the yarn to finish it. Margaret generously offered to send it to me priority –but #1 son is car hunting up there so I can combine trips and pick it up myself, and see the new colors and the awesome sale table as well. I am also hoping to pick up a good selection of dyes, to do my own colors for the Revontuli. OOH! And visit the cookie factory too.
Wish us luck and clear skies.
Pictures to follow, for my “Not This Year friends”
Happy & grateful knitting,
Bee

Progress Report

2008-01-20T22:38:00.001-08:00

I wish I could report a fabulous "finished." But so far, all I have to report is "frustration." I was booking along on the Revontuli, only to find that the yarn suddenly dissolved into nothingness. I have been unhappy with the yarn since stitch one; it is scratchy, seems to be spun with thick places and then bits that are so thin that they almost fall apart in your hands. Then there is the issue of the sticks, stickers, little flibbidy bits of who knows what... The color is the reason I purchased the yarn in the first place; as you can see it blends from one color into the next with amazing flow. Until, that is, the unfortunate yellow to blue dissolving yarn fiasco. The yarn suddenly went from yellow to blue, without warning or so much as an "if you please." Unforgivable in my book. But the pictures don't show the "AARRRGH!" unless you look at the tail end of the inside of the skein.
I was working from the inside of the skein when the yarn went from yellow to blue and then just dissolved into nothing. I switched to the outside of the skein because it seemed to be a more logical color step - but the color flow just isn't happening. I will call my 'not so local' LYS in the AM and tell the owner what happened. Hopefully she will send me more yarn when it comes in, but it is Kauni and is hard enough to get given that it is coming from Finlandia. So that is my rant for the week.

The fingerless gloves are coming along nicely, hopefully in time for Jan. 31, we shall see.

I love the acid green and pink combo, hope DD #1 will love it too.
Happy knitting to all and a good night's sleep too. It has been a long, long day, and more to come tomorrow.
Bee

Updated list, realism inserted

2008-01-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

After looking over my January list, I smacked myself firmly in the forehead and asked Moi, “What the H were you thinking?”
So, after a not-so-good night’s sleep, I revamped the list, and split the unreasonableness into 2 months. See, I am not completely insane. Don’t debate that question with my children; you will get a totally different answer.
Following is the new, revised, and split list.
Someday, I hope to be somewhat like Jared, in that I just knit it, and post the pretty pictures, and sit back and collect all the “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” and “OMG’s.” Forget the list making... But then Jared doesn’t have 4 kids, a DH, grands, and school. OK, so maybe he has school, but only part time and he is almost finished –SO not fair! So, once I am done with school, and have no children at home then we’ll talk. But for now…
January:
1.) Revontuli (Revontuli for more info) Shawl, truly beautiful and amazingly simple once you get the pattern in your head it kind of knits itself, who can argue with that? Due date 4/??/2008 Due before Sunny goes into labor, hopefully well before labor so she can get used to having it around…
2.) Black hat for Kiki, like the one she saw in Urban Outfitters (hope she still likes it by then) Due date 10/12/2008
3.) White mittens for Rozz to go with the book he loves SO much! Due date 12/23/2008
4.) Fingerless gloves for Heather Due date 10/05/2008
5.) Crocheted "Spider Web" lovely Due date 2/20/2008 -yes that means blocked too!So, that is the January "Dream Team."
I had all of these lumped together in January on my blog, but let’s face it –who am I kidding? I will be lucky if I get January’s done by April. So, in the interest of sanity and realism (highly over-rated I know), I am splitting the list into two months, and part of my daydreaming has been shuffled into February.
Wow! An unprecedented bit of logic if ever I’ve seen one. Hmmm; perhaps a sign of things to come?

So, with no further ado, I give you February:
1.) Sweater for Phoenix Due date 4/??/2008 As in HER due date. I personally am betting on 4/10 but we shall see; she seems to have a mind of her own already –I wonder where she gets that... Hee Hee Hee
2.) Organic cotton hat for A for next Christmas Due date 11/25/2008; which actually gives me shipping time for Christmas
3.) Hemlock Ring in alpaca due 7/30/2008 Happy Birthday to me –‘cause I am SO going to want to curl up under an alpaca cozy in July in California @ 99°! Right!
4.) Blue scarf for Luccas to guilt him into finishing my blue scarf
5.) Some spectacular lace shawl that I am currently writing the pattern for, I’ll let you know once the pattern is finalized.
6.) Something from the Loop-d-Loop Crochet book, just ‘cause I have to justify spending that much on a book. I will gift it to someone on my list once it's done and I see who it "looks like," especially since it's a 'stash buster' and I will be parting with a long cherished yarn so it needs to go to someone on Santa's "NICE" list.

And, sneaking in one March project, another lace shawl, either from A Gathering of Lace or Victorian Lace Today.
Grand ambitions, indeed,
Happy knitting to one and all, and if you can't love the journey -change the path!
Bee
P.S. Say "Hi" won't you please?

The Brown Berry Chronicles: Face Lift

2008-01-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

The Brown Berry Chronicles: Face Lift

So, not so great at the follow through are we?

2008-01-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

How long has it been?

No I am not even going to do the math. Let's just leave it at "too long."

But now that I have found my motivation to post on a regular basis, let's just see what I can accomplish.

Ah, yes, on the motivation front...

... I just received my invitation to join the Year Long Gift-A-Long and I couldn't be happier,

well unless I finally had my own yarn store that is.

And in the spirit of the KAL,

here is my list of "to be's" for January & February.

January:

1.) Revontuli (Revontuli for more info) Shawl, truly beautiful and amazingly simple once you get the pattern in your head it kind of knits itself, who can argue with that? Due date 4/??/2008

2.) Organic cotton hat for A for next Christmas Due date 11/25/2008 which actually gives me shipping time for Christmas

3.) White mittens for Rozz to go with the book he loves SO much Due date 12/25/2008

4.) Blue scarf for Luccas to guilt him into finishing my blue scarf

5.) Crocheted "Spider Web" lovely Due date 2/20/2008 -yes that means blocked too!

6.) Fingerless gloves for Heather Due date 10/05/2008

7.) Black hat like she saw in Urban Outfitters for Kiki Due date 10/12/2008

8.) Sweater for Phoenix Due date 4/??/2008 I personally am betting on 4/10 but we shall see...

So, that is the January "Dream Team." Sorry, February will have to wait until tomorrow.

But strangely enough, making the list seemed to be harder than the actual knitting... go figure.

Grand ambitions,

See you tomorrow,

Bee

Day One...

2007-08-16T09:06:00.001-07:00

Day one and no time to talk.
Faith and patience here folks; I am a working girl you know.
Life and research goes on, so until next time;
your fearless writer signing off,
Bee