Eden at Tangle:

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since I blogged. I think that’s the longest I’ve ever gone without blogging since I started almost 3 years ago. The problem has been (along with being super busy) that the only thing on my mind to talk about is the only thing I can’t talk about. (And I’m sorry for being so mysterious, I hate it when people tell me they have a secret they can’t tell me, but I’m about to explode – this is my most precious outlet.)

Earlier this week I found myself in one of the most difficult situations I’ve ever been in. I was out of town to help someone I love that needed me. Very quickly I was at the point where I was totally overwhelmed. I was away from my family and I tried calling everyone I knew in the town I was in. I just wanted to be with someone stable and normal. I needed help regaining my outlook. When I couldn’t find anyone, I sat in my car and bawled… repeatedly. I felt so alone.

I went on my trip looking for hope. The cards have fallen the wrong way in this situation and I had finally found some semblance of hope. And I wasn’t about to let go of it. When my hopes were quickly smashed into a million tiny pieces, I didn’t know what to do. I was so sure that God was going to come through for us.

I came home Tuesday from this seemingly hopeless situation and at first I was mad. I was mad that the person I was trying to help had gotten in this situation to begin with. I was mad that even though I was offering and willing to help, I wasn’t being allowed to. I was mad that my wisdom was being dismissed when I had fought SO hard to get that tiny amount of wisdom from God. I was mad that it seemed like I had wasted my precious time.

I came home exhausted, completely emotionally drained and so thankful to fall into the arms of my family. I found myself with so many things to be thankful for, but having a hard time giving thanks. I needed God to be there for me, desperately, and he wasn’t. He wasn’t there for me the way I wanted him to be. I felt so hopeless.

But I still have to believe that God will come through for us, but I don’t know how and I don’t know when. All I know is that he is the only possible hope. There is NO other way, no other hope. And I realize that it’s not going to happen on my terms, it’s not going to be MY way no matter how much I need it to be. Maybe that is what faith is: when all other hope is stripped away, when there is no other way for things to be made right – God is the only hope. He is simultaneously the easiest and hardest hope to hang onto.

So I guess that on this day of giving thanks, even though the possibility of hope seems so remote, I’m thankful that I still have it to hang onto. And trust me, I’ve got a death grip.

So that about sums it up. I am so super exceedingly, beyond comprehensibly busy. Busy. I’m putting together tons of kits for the holiday sales, I’m getting out a 650 piece newsletter (please note, office max will charge you $17 more for printer toner if you buy it in the store rather than online… that is of course, if you do not have my mothers genes that can do nothing but ensure that you don’t get ripped off when faced with over priced toner… then, of course, you pay the online price.) and – ha! – I’m also trying to get some knitting done, if only to preserve my failing sanity. (Like that’s going to happen.)

So, because the table in the yarn store is piled SO high with things for me to do and it’s only an hour until closing time, I leave you with a few more things I’ve knitted recently. (I think I need some chocolate.)

The Small Shawl

Yarn is Fiesta Rayon Boucle, 1 Skein
Size 15 Addi turbos

Buttoned Fingerless Mittens

Yarn is Misti Alpaca – 1 skein for a pair
Size 8 addi turbos
And, opposed to the certain other buttoned fingerless mittens that you might find in certain other places, my buttons are functional.

Here it is, my finished Hourglass Sweater! I’m very proud of this one, so you’ll have to endure lots photos. Eden took all the photos for me and I’m modeling it at tangle.

Neck detail

I used 5.5 skeins of Malabrigo worsted. I love this yarn and I have to say that my only complaint is that it’s hard to get continuity between the skeins even if they are in the same dye lot. I should have alternated skeins every couple rows, but chose not to and you can tell at the top where I joined the new skein. Overall, I’m still really happy – that’s just the joy of handdyed yarn.

I used size 7 addi turbos – 32″ for the body and 40″ for the sleeves. I worked them at the the same time on magic loop. I really think that knitting the sleeves at the same time is the ONLY way to go, I’ll never do them individually again.

Mods to the pattern:
I chose to knit the sleeves much tighter than the original pattern (Last Minute Knitted Gifts). I think I cast on half as many stitches to start. Because I was knitting the sleeves at the same time, I was able to sort of “wing” the increases, trying the sleeves on as I went. I made sure to increase up to the specified number in the pattern, but I think I would have been better off having a few less stitches at the top as far as fit goes.

I also made changes to the neckline. I think this is by far the most common modified portion of this pattern. Most people aren’t fans of their bra straps hanging out of a boat neck, as trendy as it’s becoming again. Joelene suggested that I knit the back of the neck higher than the front, so I knit 12 rows of the back, back and forth, continuing the raglan decreases. Then I picked up stitches along the back edge (6 each side – this was easy because I slipped the 1st stitch of every row) to join up with the front. After that I worked in the folded hem, sewed it down and was done! Blocking really helped the folded hems lay nice and flat. One thing I’m constantly reminded: Never underestimate the power of blocking.

I think I would definitely make this sweater again. It’s such a classic and the simplicity of the design lends itself to many yarn and embellishment options. And I have to say, it’s SO comfortable. I’m very warm and snugly today!

Things have been really busy/crazy around here. I owe so many emails, it’s not even funny. So, please, if I do owe you an email, don’t take it personally, I’m just behind on everything.

I did manage to capture a few photos of my most recent store models on my phone. I really like them both. A lot. (And hopefully, hopefully, hopefully kits for both of these will be available very soon at tangleonline.com – cross your fingers!)

The softest baby blanket ever
Yarn: GGH Esprit
Size 13 needles

I loved knitting this baby blanket! I wish I would have made one for every baby I know, and now they’re not babies any more! My crappy photo doesn’t do it justice.

Mistake rib scarf
Yarn: SWTC Karaoke 50% soysilk 50% wool
Size 9 needles
Pattern from SWTC

This one was really fun to make too. I loved watching the colors change. I’m fairly certain that this pattern is very similar to the on in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but the soy silk is SO much softer than Noro.

I’ve got one more thing finished that I’m really excited about, but I’m going to wait until I can get a proper photo to do it justice.

48 Things You Could Care Less About
1. FIRST NAME? Allison
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? not that I know of
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? um? Last week, but I wanted to cry yesterday.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? mostly I do, it could be a little neater, but it’s not too bad.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey or Pastrami
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yep
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I think a blog counts?
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? still here and large as ever.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? no
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? hmmm… I like kashi pretty well, or grape nuts. Things that are really healthy tasting and crunchy.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? never.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I was just telling Jim yesterday, I’m strong when it counts.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? something with chunks. I like chunks. I also had a really yummy Merlot ice cream at the local ice cream parlor a few months back that I can’t stop thinking about.
14. SHOE SIZE? 10. Thanks to two certain kidlets I know.
15. RED OR PINK? pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? the 20 extra pounds on my a$$
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? today, my niece.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? um, no, post it if you want to, but I’m not a big fan of making others do things like chain mail or meme’s
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? blue jeans, green shirt with a black cami underneath. Brown converse.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? potato broccoli soup
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Honor making crashing sounds, Eden singing a song
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? teal
23. FAVORITE SMELL? campfire
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jim
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? eyes
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don’t remember who I stole this from?
27. FAVORITE DRINK? cosmopolitan, beer, americano with cream, arnold palmer, club soda… I like my drinks
28. FAVORITE SPORT? to watch? none. to do? swimming
29. EYE COLOR? green
30. HAT SIZE? I have no clue, but smaller than most of the people I’m related to.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
32. FAVORITE FOOD? hmmm, sushi would be a front runner but I’m not sure I could choose. I have a favorite at every restaurant I visit and I always order it, because I can’t risk getting something that might not be as good.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings.
34 – there’s no 34!
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? winter
36. HUGS OR KISSES? if I had to choose, hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? hmmm, another thing I can’t choose, but I like things creamy, like tiramisu
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? well, see this is the joy of not making people respond… see how good this is?
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? see above
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I’m not! Knitting and kids and yarn store running leaves me no time to read!
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? nothing, but I would have liked to watch 6 feet under.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? quiet
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? um, hmm… beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Africa
46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? blowing air out of my eye
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Wyoming
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from someone, but I can’t remember who.

My kitty. I realized today that he’s got to be 10 years old. wow.

“At night the sporks pick on me.”
I’m possibly the only person who is amused by the Taco Bell sauce packets.

‘Nother photo of the herringbone scarf. It’s SO comfy, I need to make myself one in Celery, I think.

This pic and the one before it are for Tangle’s upcoming newsletter.

So Joelene posted some photos from her trip out to visit me!! We had such a great time. I’m constantly amazed at the quality of friendships I’ve made online. I’m very lucky.

Activities of most note from her visit would be when I hit a deer on the Interstate going 75 miles an hour. Wow, that wasn’t fun. The deer had been hit by another car and was laying in the road. When I moved to the other lane to avoid hitting it, it got up and basically ran into my car. Luckily for me (not the deer), we didn’t hit it head on. The only damage to my car was to the side mirror, which is now totally missing. ooops.

But we did fun things too, we went to Glenwood Springs (I know, I was just there) to swim in the hot springs, ate lots of sushi, shopped down town GJ and found a cute new children’s boutique (see Honor’s new hat below.) And we spent some time at Tangle on Saturday; there was a huge group of people hanging out knitting – it was such a riot. See Joelene’s pictures of the store here.

It was a much needed, very fun weekend.

(And to answer the question why we don’t celebrate Halloween: We’re just not comfortable with the holiday’s pagan roots.)

We may not celebrate Halloween, but we can, however, rock the giant November 1st sale on dress up clothes. Of course, included is the requisite grumpy Eden photo.

It’s been a crazy last couple of weeks. I feel like I’ve barely had a moment to breathe, as evidenced by the lack of interesting blog content. But life always seems to continue wether we have time for it or not. And so there is cleaning and laundry and yarn orders to be placed and knitting classes to teach and children to chase and dogs to pet and husbands to catch up with. (What? Who are you? You seem familiar, like maybe I married you a few years back?) So everything is happening at once, and we just move forward, always forward, watching to see what will unfold.

I did have a wonderful time with Joelene who was here visiting me last weekend. I’d love to share all the fun things we did just as soon as she uploads all her photos as I didn’t take a single one. Of course.

And now I must go clean up the giant mess of dress up clothes. That seems to be my number one supreme job title today – the cleaner up of messes that could have been easily avoided by anyone other than Honor. Oh Honor… at least you’re cute.

watch the starbucks movie

(requires quicktime, taken on the camera phone)