by Clesha on September 1, 2010
Last June, during the KnitWits trip to NY, I bought 5 skeins of Lion Brand® Nature’s Choice Organic® Cotton yarn in 
blueberry. It’s very soft and feels go good against your skin. A nice diversion from all that worsted weight yarn I have that can be a little stiff and not so soft.
I’m going to make the Edith Shawl, a gift to myself since I usual give my creations away as Christmas gifts. Well, three weeks ago I decided I wanted to knit something in a lighter weight yarn, so I picked up the pattern and got started.
It’s nice right. Even looks pretty easy to make. Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Can I tell you that I am having the hardest time getting this thing started?! Well, believe it. The pattern consists of eight rows that you repeat until you get the desired length. There are a ton of yarn overs, knit 2 together through the front of the loop, knit 2 together in the back of the loop, and they’ve even thrown in a few knit 3 together. This one definitely requires more concentration than my earlier works.
I can usually pick up a pattern and get into a rhythm after doing it a few times, but not with this one. I get to row four or five and always seem to have too many stitches at the end of the final repeat. I cannot get past those first eight rows! I have frogged this thing about four times already! Frustration is setting in, but I’m determined to get this started and moving. My next plan is to use a lifeline after each finished row so I don’t have to frog the whole project, just the one row.
It usually only takes me two times of frogging before I wrap my brain around a complicated pattern, but this lace pattern is giving me a run for my money. We’ll see what happens. This one may end up in WIP purgatory with that crochet blanket I’m still no where near finishing.
by Clesha on August 29, 2010
Finally, the last and final phase was here! This was the last trip to Home Depot and it would prove to be an expensive one. We were getting the patio stones, and lucky for me, they were on sale for $1.24 because we needed 86 of them. But, before we did any shopping, we did a big return of everything we hadn’t used in the previous weeks. By this time, I’m not longer willing to hang on to things “in case we need it later” when the money can be spent elsewhere.
Whilst standing in line, I spotted a worker watering the plants and saw the name on her apron. Patty. I know it means nothing to you, but this is the person who I’ve been trying to find the last two weekend trips to Home Depot. Why? Because she knew all things that involved organic gardening. I quickly abandoned my cart, and the guys, and approached her with a huge smile. I’m sure she thought I was crazy and wondered how I knew her name when I said, “Are you the Patty that knows all things organic?” It turns out she was said Patty and she was more than happy to give me tips and product recommendations. I grabbed Andre and we set off through the gardening department and got a noggin full of suggestions, natural insect control and websites to help in my gardening journey. She was such a help and I really appreciated the time she gave us.
Having said that, I tried to make this make over an organic one, but there were some things that may not fit that description. For the most part, the majority of the materials I used were eco-friend and organic wherever possible.
Back, home, Andre showed me his pattern for the bricks again and went to work on the lay out. Stones were cut, corners were filled and sand was poured. The highlight of the day? The new lantern was installed. Before I go any further, I gotta tell you the story of our lightless front.
The homes on our block all have the one lantern outdoor light on top of a black pole. It comes on at dusk and goes off when the sun comes up. And, being on the corner, had one as well. Over the years, the base of the pole rusted and it came down. I mentioned to my dad that we needed to replace it and he promptly found one to take its place. That was about five years ago. Yeah, you don’t have to say it. I know already.
But, today is was getting installed! The foundation was created and set in the ground, the pole went up and now came the interesting part. Getting the wiring right (don’t worry Charles Sr. handled this part, not Andre). After a few calls, sparks and close calls, the light test passed and the lanterns were put in place. It was a beautiful site to see and an expected lovely addition to the overall beauty that was now my front yard.
I waited until the sun went down and ventured outside in the midst of the insect fest that was going on and just looked out. The glow from the lantern now illuminated in our front yard and beyond. It added light to the entire corner and the scene from the street is spectacular.
It was four weeks of spending, deciding, cooking, digging and entertaining, but it was sooooo worth the memories that it created. When I went back in the house (the bug population has literally doubled since we started the project), I let out a deep sigh and felt so relaxed. By taking the time to do something, even if it’s outside of the main things I was supposed to be doing, it made my thinking clearer and thoughts less scattered. It reduced my heart rate and put me back in a state of gratitude and relaxation.
I didn’t know it when I made the decision to follow through with the makeover that it would actually serve as the one thing I needed to get me going on all the other “projects” I needed to complete. It showed where wasting time has put me and how not working on the vision the was giving to me, and instead being distracted by shiny things, was holding me up from all the awesome changes that is coming my way. It got me back to seeing what is before me now, instead of always trying to see ahead to the bigger picture. It taught me to savor and taste, instead of gulp and swallow.
I’m amazed at how much more I can “see” now that I don’t have so much stuff blocking my view.
