It's Magic!

No matter how many times I see it, the transformation from this:

to this:

amazes me. It's finished!

And now I am slaving away on the charts while making pins. Thank the powers that be for my wonderful husband. We'd all starve without him. :)

Monday's Musing

"I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one." - Henry Ward Beecher

Forgiveness is sometimes a real struggle for me. What's amazing is that my younger son seems to have a natural and endless supply of it. I marvel at him.

Have a great week, everyone! Hope to see a lot of you at Stitches West!

Progress

Yes, it's true. Your speedy vibes are working! Thank you for your comments and good thoughts!

There has been progress made.

And I am past the halfway mark. I am hoping to finish tomorrow since there's a swim meet this weekend. Keep those speedy thoughts coming! Oh, and maybe think about a sunny weekend, too? :)

Jammin'

Fingers flying.

Why does alpaca lace always look so much worse than lace in other fibers before you block it?

There are beads involved, too.

It's a new stole design that needs to be ready for Stitches West. Ulp. Send speedy vibes my way, please!

Monday's Musing

"Be happy for what you have, not unhappy for what you don't have." - Clint Holeman

This is my husband's favorite thing to tell me. And I work on it every day. At first I thought he was saying to be perfectly satisfied with your lot in life and not to try to better yourself or your circumstances. But that's not what he means. He means to live in the moment, taking joy from everything you have and everything that is around you. It's a worthy goal. :)

Have a great week, everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day Sale!

Introducing the First Annual Designs by Romi Valentine's Day Sale. Through Sunday, the 15th of February, receive 15% off your purchase of pins or other jewelry when you enter coupon code VALENTINE at checkout!

Kick back with your

pet the

or

have a

while you're listening to some

and have a fabulous weekend!

Start shopping! :)

Presenting...

Love Squared!

Thank you all so much for the great names! It was very difficult to choose. And then the thought of a superscript 2 in Love Squared appealed to the geek in me and put it over the top! So thanks in particular go to Diana for the name and Jen for appealing to my geeky side. :)

Here are the particulars:

Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock!, St. Valentine's colorway, 1 skein - 450 yards
Needles: US 5.3.75 mm
Width: 10 inches
Length: 58 inches

It's a pretty simple pattern to memorize, so makes for great travel knitting! And I decided to make it free for a bit longer than I originally said, so through February 22, Ravelry members can download it from the pattern page here, and non Ravelry members can download it here. Enjoy!!

Monday's Musing

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave. - Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar, 1894

I remind myself of this often, especially in these difficult times.

Make it a great week, everyone!

What's in a Name?

Because honestly, I can't think of one for this scarf.

I really like the way it's turned out.

There are squares,

and hearts.

Blocking has worked its magic! What do you think I should name it?

I'm putting the pattern together now, and until February 15th, it will be free: my little Valentine's Day gift to you all! Stay tuned!

Hearty

I've been lucky enough to be playing with some of Lisa Souza's lovely yarn lately. I won this skein of Sock! in a blog contest over on Trek's blog and it was the right time of year to be knitting it. It's the St. Valentine colorway!

But I didn't do socks. You know, I just can't get into socks. I have tried! Maybe because I've never knit myself a pair? Only my husband, and he wears a size 13. And likes plain socks with ribbing all the way up. :yawn: Can you blame me?!

So, at any rate, I designed and knitted up a little scarf. There are hearts involved. :) Here it is in the awkward stage.

Waiting to be blocked.

I think I actually knit lace faster than other projects because I want to see that amazing transformation. Somehow, even though I know that lace looks terrible before blocking, I always doubt that it will once again transform itself into something beautiful!

Tune in tomorrow and we'll have the results! Plus a pattern. :)

In other news, I have gotten word that Library Journal will be reviewing my book! Terri tells me this is a very Good Thing. (She should know, since she got a prestigious starred review of her book, Selbuvotter!) I am on pins and needles until February 15. Ulp!

Monday's Musing

Lately, I've reconnected with old high school and college friends on Facebook. Which has been wonderful, but sort of strange. Most of them knew me as a musician, and trying to explain who I am today has proven to be, um...interesting. So much so, that I found myself deeply regretting quitting music (I played French horn). That is, until a classmate of mine from Eastman reminded me why I quit. And another friend reminded me how everything in life adds up to the present moment. How much I have forgotten lately! So I have been feeling pretty lucky.

I thought I'd share these quotes with you. They seemed appropriate.

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment." - Author Unknown

"Bring the past only if you are going to build from it." - Doménico Cieri Estrada

Have a great week everyone!