Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog

I have a tale in this recent Chicken Soup for the Soul books:

https://smile.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Hilarious-Companionship/dp/1611590787/ 

My tale is called "Gypsy," and it's a story about my rat terrier and how she appointed herself my guardian, companion and entertainer. You can find it on page 88.

 

 

 

And if you're a dog lover, I also have a nice dog tale in another Chicken Soup book: 


Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog: 101 Tales of Family, Friendship & Fun

 It tells the story of my childhood beagle named Kleo, and how his faithfulness went beyond all expectations.

 

What is a stash, and why do you have one/need one?

 Lots of knitters have what they call a "stash" of yarn. It may just be a closet with a few shelves of yarn, or it might be an entire "craft room," devoted to the arts of knitting, crocheting, perhaps beads for certain patterns, or tatting.

This tends to lead the husband to say, "Why are you buying more yarn? You've got a ton  of it in your craft room." Just like the sheep on a t-shirt I bought at a sheep and wool festival--three female sheep are knitting together. Meanwhile, in the background, a male sheep is walking out with his suitcases in his hands. One of the female knitters says to the other, "It's his own fault. He told her, it's the stash or him." 

That pretty much says it all...we fiber artists don't consider our stashes as simply an overgrown collection of yarns in all the various colors, sizes, weights, and let's not leave out the many different feels of various yarn. A dyed-in-the-wool (haha) fiber artist will also touch a yarn that appeals to her, not just look at the color or weight. We may or may not ever use a particular yarn skein, but just looking at it, and stroking it is enough.

Of course, we DO buy yarn sometimes with a particular project in mind, and that's okay too. That does give us a ready answer to the "Why do you need more yarn? question from the husbands. 

We simply say, "See this sweater pattern? I'm going to make this.  So I DO use my stash." And then stick out our tongues.

Try to think of your stash as a "collection." For example, in addition to my yarn stash, I collect antique ladies' compacts, giraffes, and tarot decks. Like the yarn, they are pretty to look at and delightful to hold. They can cheer me up on a tough day, and shopping for new additions to my collections gives me great pleasure.

So don't feel guilty about YOUR yarn stash...just think of it as a giraffe. :-)

SECRET SANTA YARN KIT

This dratted pandemic is sure lasting longer than I expected. It's changed my life in so many ways. One of the ways is a small thing, but irritating. That is, I can no longer go to my local yarn store to buy yarn, choose a pattern, find the size knitting needles I need, or go to a knit-along with other knitters. And you crocheters are in the same boat.

Of course, I could pull something out of my stash to work on...one of the many UFOs in my craft room. But usually I had put them aside when I got bored with them, and they're unlikely to have improved in that respect while sitting in a corner.

Frustrated, I have been wracking my brain for something unique to do with yarn. Then it occurred to me: I remembered one year, perhaps ten or twelve years ago, when one of the yarn stores participating in the annual Sheep & Wool Festival had lovely knitting bags filled with a wide variety of yarn...different colors, different weights, different textures. They also included a pattern for a "Goddess Shawl," but you weren't obligated to make that pattern. 

It was wonderful to take a chance on a bag full of yarn that I might never have picked out for myself, but something about it called to me. I made a shawl using all the yarns in the bag...pinks, browns and oranges, fake fur yarn, multi-color ribbon yarn. It was a lot of fun, and it's the most unique shawl I own.

My two adult daughters and my sister were in the same boat now...knitters and crocheters, without being able to shop for supplies in person. And yes, there is always shopping by mail. But we fiber fanatics like to look at the yarn in person, touch it, maybe put it to our cheek, before we choose. Online yarn stores are a nice alternative if you can't get to a physical store to shop, but definitely second best.

Then I remembered those surprise yarn kits and thought, "Why can't we do this amongst the four of us?" I proposed it, and my two daughters and my sister were quite enthusiastic about the idea. One daughter suggested a "Secret Santa" event where each of us would buy for another person. For this, we needed my husband to match the four of us so no one would know who they'd been chosen by. Or as he put it, he was "Fulfilling my role as impartial-chooser-of-names-from-a-hat." I love it!

We've decided to give a few guidelines to each other. They include "Knitting or Crocheting or Surprise me?" "favorite colors," and "items you'd be interested in making." We also included a spending limit, and decided though it's only February right now, aiming at Christmas would give us plenty of time to come  up with a bagful of goodies. It's an exciting activity, and we are all looking forward to Christmas this year with extra-special joy.

So, do YOU have any special fiber-related activities? Do share!

A Blessing in Disguise?

 

How many of you are getting totally bored with staying home with the kids, working from home, not being able to eat out at a restaurant or go to a movie? Raise your hands. This darn Covid virus has changed many of the ways we live our lives, and since it's an inanimate object--or at least, it's alive but dumb as a post--we can't reason with it or bribe it to go away. All we can do is hope for an effective vaccine, and try not to go nuts in the meantime. So, we're left trying to find ways to entertain ourselves. and our kids or whomever we still have contact with. Here are a few suggestions for what to do with your time when you get bored.

Suggestion #1: Think about something you've always wanted to learn how to do, a hobby, but you didn't have time. Well, now you do! Order the supplies you need for watercolor painting, woodworking, or baking an extravagant wedding cake. While you're at it, order a "how-to" book to help you get started on your new activity. When you're done, post pictures on your blog.

Suggestion #2: Write a series of love poems to the special someone in your life. Print them out on pretty paper, enclose in a fancy folder, and present them to your sweetheart over a delicious homemade dinner. I guarantee, it will become an heirloom that will be viewed with delight for many, many years.

Suggestion #3: Learn to play an instrument. There are several instruments that you can teach yourself to play. For instance, you can order a recorder online: https://smile.amazon.com/Soprano-Recorder-Instrument-Cleaning-Instruction/dp/B07672X8KR/ . It's easy to learn on your own and comes with instructions. If you have kids, buy recorders for them, too and you can play duets!

Suggestion #4: Decide you're going to read all of Shakespeare that you can set your hands on, or Chaucer, or all the Sherlock Holmes stories. Even more fun: recruit some friends or relatives to read the same things that you do, so you can discuss the books with them as you progress. You'll never be sorry you did.

Suggestion #5: Go to your local hardware store and pick up a couple gallons of indoor paint, plus paintbrushes, paint trays, and masking tape. Use it to paint one room in your house, changing the atmosphere and feel of that room. And who knows?...when you're finished with that room, you might decide to do another...and another.

Suggestion #6: If you know how to knit or crochet, create something special, something you ordinarily wouldn't make. Perhaps a knitted lace dress for your friend's new baby, or a crocheted shawl made of cashmere or alpaca yarn. The fancier it is, the more you'll enjoy wearing it, or giving it away to a good friend. When you're done, post pictures on your blog.

These are just a few thoughts. I'm sure you can come up with many more. There's no reason to be bored, even under the current social distancing circumstances. Go for the gold!

Masking and Washing and Six Feet Away, Oh My!

Normally I write about knitting and/or crocheting in this space. But what with the world turned inside out from the coronavirus, it's become not only difficult to amuse yourself or hang out with others...it's actually dangerous and life-threatening. People are told to wear masks (and gloves) when they go out, and to keep the socially acceptable distance from person to person of 6 feet. But do they? Noooooo.

I've heard teens and twenty-somethings say, "I don't need a mask. I'm healthy and young. I won't get the virus. Or if I do, I will fight it off."

Of course, going along with that belief means you think the masks are to protect YOU. But of course they're not--they are there to protect everyone ELSE from you.

Or they say, "I won't catch it. No one I know has it."

Ah, but you can be contagious days before you show other symptoms...so that excuse won't hold water.

Or they say, "If there are people out there whose health is poor, they should stay indoors with a mask on. Why should I have to suffer to keep them safe?

Because WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PLANET TOGETHER, DUMMY!

Oy.

Liz Can't Knit

Lately I've been having no end of trouble with knitting and crocheting. I have been knitting since I was 5 and crocheting since I was 13, and taught myself to tat at around 16. So you'd expect me to be pretty good at it, wouldn't you? And until recently, that was true.

But suddenly it seems I can't figure out patterns...they come out with too many or too few stitches, or the wrong row(s), or the gauge is off, or they just don't look or fit right.

There could be lots of reasons, such as I'm distracted when I work, or I don't do gauge swatches (well, I *don't*), or I'm still making a size 12 when I haven't been that size in...let's just say it's been a long time.

Plus, when I find that there's a mistake in my project, after I've ripped it out, shouting and scowling, and I re-do it only to find out there's another mistaken, at that point I give up and put the project in the "Corner of Shame."

Has this happened to you? If so, what do you do? Frog it, pretend you didn't see the mistake, try to work around it?

All sensible ideas welcome. Heck, all silly ideas too!

Can't Focus, How About You?

I have been having difficulty staying focused on a project long enough to finish it. This has been going on for some time. At first I thought it was my Parkinson's because it made it difficult to keep my hands still. But then a new procedure (okay, brain surgery) fixed the constant, unplanned movements. But I'm still working on, say, 10 or 12 different projects.

I start a new project with the greatest of enthusiasm. I cast on, knit a few rows, and then find I've made a mistake...dropped a stitch, knitted an incorrect stitch, etc. The first few times it happens, I sigh, frog it and start again. But by the time four or five ripouts happens, I give up, toss the offending project in the "Corner of Shame," and start something else.

Or, I don't make any (or many) mistakes, but the project just isn't coming out as I hoped. Maybe the yarn I chose is scratchy or doesn't drape well, or I don't like the color as well as I thought when I bought it, etc. Then there's always the dreaded moment of realization that, because I don't do swatches (I know, my bad), the project is coming out too small. Or way too big. So, into the Corner it goes.

Do you have similar difficulties? If so, what do you do to get yourself back on track? Any secrets you care to share? I'm grateful for any tips you would like to pass along. I thank you and my unfinished projects thank you!

Thought you'd enjoy this, all you crafters out there:











So true!

Knitting as Therapy

My name is Elizabeth Delisi, and I am a yarnaholic.

I buy yarn whenever I have an opportunity...at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival every year; at the yearly Wool Arts Tour; the yearly WEBS tent sale; and that doesn't even count the online shopping extravaganzas. I'm addicted, I admit. But my excuse is, it was tough for me to see how much yarn I had and what kind, when it was all stuffed in drawers and bags and not really visible.

Well, now we're moving to a different house and a different town, and I will have a craft room of my very own. I've already begun setting it up and the best part is, all the yarn is visible in pink plastic milk crates and other spots.

But now I've found another problem, this time with being able to see all my yarn. What is the problem with that, you may ask? Guilt! When I want to buy more yarn, how can I convince myself that I NEED more yarn, when I can see dozens of skeins just waiting to be used?

I reach for a gorgeous pink alpaca, stroke it, and put it back. Then a blue-shaded boucle catches my eye. As I put out my hand to pat it, a green cotton worsted shouts for attention. Too many yarns! Too many choices!

But I know that feeling won't last. Soon I'll be ready for more yarn, I just have to find a new justification. Thoughts, anyone?

My Yarn Hates Me

I wrote last time about the insane difficulty I'm having with some gorgeous fuzzy lace yarn. I've restarted the shawl/scarf project multiple times as I keep making mistakes. At last I decided to keep going regardless of mistakes, as it's so fuzzy and so many yarn-overs that (I hope) no one can tell there are a million errors.

But I do find working on it frustrating, so I only do a few rows at a time, then go to something else for a while. I wanted to find a yarn and pattern to work on that wouldn't be so difficult, so I chose to pull out something I'd put aside years ago, half-done. It's called the Mitred Square Vest, and with worsted yarn and made out of mitred squares, it IS pretty simple. You can check it out here:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/delisi/mitered-square-vest

Or if you're not on Ravelry (and why AREN'T you on Ravelry ?), here's a picture.

It worked fairly well with minimal mistakes. So why am I upset? Because it came out HUGE. I made the size that shoud have fit me well, but as always, I didn't do a gauge swatch. Have never done them, so from time to time a project comes out too big or too small. I have no one to blame but myself.

This habit came about when I was young, and had a minimal budget for yarn. So I would buy the exact amount I needed for a project, not purchasing extra for a gauge swatch. Most of the time, that didn't cause trouble.

But this project required me to buy extra yarn to finish it, only to have it come out two sizes too large. I could rip it out and start over, but I would end up going crazy doing that. So I will try to find someone it WILL fit to give it to, and start something new.

Something that with any luck, will include yarn that likes me. Sniffle!

Winning the War With My Yarn

I've been knitting since I was five years old, and most of that time, I've been able to knit easily and with minimal mistakes. I made afghans, sweaters, hats, scarves, shawls, headbands, bags, and anything else I found. I even convinced some of my teachers in high school to let me knit during class, if we were watching a movie or just having a dialogue.

But lately it seems all I can knit is mistakes. If there were a trophy for the most mistakes in one project, or the most frogged project, I'd win hands down.

A lot of things are to blame. First is not matching the project to the type of knitting needle: material it's made of, the shape and sharpness of the tips, and the type of yarn. Second is the yarn...is it fuzzy? Hard to work with? Slippery? Is it loosely plied? Third, is the project too complex for me, or will it frustrate me with charts (I hate charts)? And finally, a chunk of the blame lands on my shoulders because as I get older, I naturally get slower, have more difficulty concentrating, and a lower boredom threshhold.

Take, for example, the Madeira Wine Lace Shawl. You can get an idea of what it looks like here:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/delisi/madeira-wine

Keep in mind there are a lot of mistakes in there!

And here's the yarn: https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/valley-yarns-southampton Gorgeous, isn't it? But with a high fuzz factor. Still, I was determined to use it.

And these are the needles I settled on after trying three kinds: https://www.interweave.com/store/bryspun-flexible-10-single-point-needle

After a few rows, I was off in my stitch count, so I frogged it. (Frog only if you have all the time and patience in the world. It's darned hard to get those fuzzy stitches apart.) So I started over. After a few rows, another mistake. Virtually impossible to fix a mistake without ripping it out. Each time I ripped it out, I swore I was going to burn the yarn and walk away. I even threatened to never knit again and never do anything that takes two brain cells, just sit on the couch and watch TV for the rest of my life.

But as I reached a certain number of rows after frog #5, I decided  to keep knitting this time  regardless of mistakes. Yet I had to do something about those mistakes...the only trouble is, what?

Finally, I made up an unorthodox method of "fixing" things for when the stitch count is off. I just knit all the way across one row, adding or subtracting stitches evenly spaced across the row, till the count is correct. Then I go back to the regular pattern.  This only works reasonably well because the extreme fuzziness of the yarn disguises the mistakes.

I'm determined to win the war with this yarn, no matter how many mistakes I make or how long it takes. Do you have a project like that in your stash? Do share!

Experimenting with Pattern Creation

As I said in the last post, I've been having trouble concentrating on patterns, ending up frogging repeatedly until I give up. I have tried favorite patterns and that helped a little, but not a lot.

So I decided to try inventing a pattern of my own. I figure if something goes wrong, since I'm the creator, I can just say it's not a mistake...it's something creative and avant-garde and I planned it that way! This in turn makes me a little less stressed as I'm not constantly on the lookout for mistakes.

I chose to make a hat. I don't have many as I don't wear them much, but it seemed it would be fairly simple. Although I knit more than I crochet, I chose to crochet as I thought it would be easier to do in the round than knitting. I chained a reasonable amount of stitches, then started on a crochet ribbing that would go sideways around the rim of the hat. Measuring frequently, and ripping back or adding more, I eventually got what seemed the right amount of stitches.

For the cap part, I started out with a shell pattern, but it was too complex for me to figure out how to decrease properly, so I went back and pulled out all the rows of shells except the first one. Then I just did DC but regularly decreased to the top, where I was down to a few stitches. I threaded the yarn on a tapestry needle, pulled it through the last few stitches and fastened off. Tried it on:

Didn't like the look of that. It needed something else. I tried to make a pompom and failed miserably. So I decided on a flower with a decorative button in the center. Here's what I came up with:

I think it looks better, though I'll never be a hat person.

Anyway, then I decided to make a matching scarf. As I was working, it occurred to me I have 3 other buttons that match the one on the hat, so I plan to make buttonholes at one end and sew the 3 buttons on the other end. That way it can be a cowl or a scarf. What do you think so far?

I'm not a genius, but I am enjoying creating my own patterns. If you haven't tried it yourself, check it out! You'll have fun too.

Favorite Patterns

Does this sound familiar? You go to a yarn store or a wool festival, and come home with skein upon skein of gorgeous yarn. When you get home, you go through your patterns and choose one for the new fiber.

The first few rows are great. The yarn is deliciously soft, the color is perfect, and you're in knitting heaven.

Then, something happens. Maybe you make a mistake or two and have to take out a row. Maybe the yarn splits when you knit, or the points on your knitting needles are too rounded to do a K2tog easily. Soon, you find yourself putting the project in the "Corner of Shame" where all the unfinished projects reside.

But you have finished SOME projects, right? They're in a drawer, in your closet, or living with some other person whom you gifted with one of your completed projects. That's proof you can actually finish something. 😁 Then you study your finished items and realize there are a few patterns you go to time and time again, and you never have any problems finishing them.

So you ask yourself, what is it about this particular pattern that keeps you working, not getting bored, not anxious to finish it so you can move on?

I'd love to tell you I have the answer to that...the perfect pattern, perfect needles, perfect yarn...but I don't have any clue.

How about you? Do you have a favorite item you make over and over, and if so, do you know why? Enquiring minds want to know!

One of my favorites

Knitting for Superheroes

I came across an article recently about New York designer Josh Bennett, a knitter who is busy creating hand-knit sweaters for Marvel superheroes in the upcoming movie, "Thor: Ragnarok." Check out his work here:

http://nyp.st/2wHd01O

I especially love the Loki sweater with the Celtic designs.

I know how much effort goes into knitting a sweater, since I just finished one for my husband. But creating  the pattern itself adds an extra layer of complexity. And when the sweater is finished, an extra feeling of pride!

Looking forward to seeing the sweaters in the movie when it's released in November. 

Extreme Knitting

For those of you (and me) who don't feel quite up to extreme sports, here's something we can all get into: Extreme Knitting. Check it out!

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/breakfast/extreme-knitting/8536804

Imagine what you could create with knitting needles the size of broomsticks...the size of baseball bats...the size of logs?

It boggles the mind.

Dog Blanket

Lately my dog, Gypsy, has decided when she sleeps on the couch, she needs to scratch and paw at it to get it comfortable enough for her. But as you can imagine, enough scratching and the fabric begins to fray and tear.

We are already using an old afghan to cover the seat cushions for protection from her. Currently it's a scrap afghan made from leftover bits of dozens of yarns that I started in high school and finished in college.

Here's a picture taken as I worked on it, though it's in black and white so you can't see all the wild colors:

So when I decided to make another afghan for the couch, this one to cover the back cushions, of course it had to be another scrap ripple afghan. Here's a picture of some of it:

At least I'm using up some of my voluminous stash! And doing a good thing at the same time.

What do you do with your scrap yarn?

Win a Lifetime of Sock Yarn!

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Win Socks for Life! Well the yarn, you’re on your own after that.

(Vancouver, BC) “To be fair, it’s actually only a 25 year supply, so we can only hope the winner dies early to keep me an honest woman.” - Nikki Smith, VP YarnCanada.ca

After extensive research YarnCanada.ca discovered two key issues which continue to plague the world which we’d like to help bring to an end.

1. Some people have hobbies other than knitting (idiots)
2. Other (marginally insane) people buy socks at Costco 

“With one final blow we’ll give someone years of knitting and make it so they never need to succumb to Fruit of the Loom again.” - Robert Matherson, YarnCanada.ca

Don’t want to use all the yarn to make socks? That’s okay, no hard feelings.

Yes, some marriages may end as the winner ignores her husband in a multi-year knitting frenzy. But that’s simply a risk we must take. On the other hand, maybe getting non-terrible socks for Christmas could bring families closer together.

The prize will go to whomever can show how their life will most be changed by winning and what you will do with the prize.

Anything could happen:

“I’ll use the yarn to start a knitting business on Etsy!” - Beth C, Winnipeg

“My friends always get together to watch The Bachelor, but goodness it’s boring, now I’ll have something to do to keep me distracted.” - Janet G, Toronto

“Honestly I have no self control. With all that yarn I’ll knit non-stop, stay up for days and miss work. I’ll get fired, not be able to pay rent and get kicked out of my apartment. But… I’d have so many socks!” - Samantha T, Vancouver

“I’ll knit them all up as fast as I can and give them to charity.” – Nicole

Whatever the reason, let us know why knitting is important to you and how a lifetime supply of sock yarn would change your life.

Enter to Win a Lifetime Supply of Socks