So I was reading this book...

I was reading this book that I picked up at one of my favorite used book stores, and I kinda got inspired.

The book is Knitting for Peace by Betty Christiansen. There is a passage in that book that has also appeared in Interweave Knits. It's an article about knitting in prisons, and how these prisoners are affected by learning how to knit and crochet and what they do with their finished products. The original article can be found here in PDF form.

I want to do that. I want to teach knitting somewhere where it will make an impact on someone's life, where it can help, not just be a hobby. I want to make a difference and knitting is something that I am passionate about.

This book is full of quotes and there is one from Theodore Roosevelt that I thought was very appropriate: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Quiet here on the home front...

... or that is what you might think from this quiet blog.

Since posting here, I have:
-Successfully merged two blah stores into one great one
-Not gone crazy because of it
-Only encountered a little drama from the merging
-Watched the DH not lose all his marbles while (almost) opening a brand new restaurant
-Helped the DH not lose all his marbles while (almost) opening a brand new restaurant
-Remembered my garden
-Watered said garden
-Found a new LYS a block from where I work
-Asked by owner of LYS to knit swatches (OMG yay!)
and almost finished this.

Maybe not so quiet.
Pictures may or may not come--I want to post, but I won't promise on something that I am not sure that I can deliver on!

That is all.

Froot Loopy!

Yay for camera phones! Even older ones--mine seems like a dinosaur at a respectable 4 years old. The DH has our digital camera right now, and I am so excited about this sock that I couldn't wait until this evening to post. Ancient camera phone to the rescue!

I cast on the Froot Loop sock yesterday to keep me from going to insane between sneezing and coughing up a lung. I hate colds. I always go so stir crazy not being able to go anywhere or do anything.

Okay, back to the sock. I love knitting it, even on the Sockotta, which surprised me a whole lot (I tried the Sockotta for a different sock a while back, and the yarn was much less than what I had expected). The colors are fun and the stripe pattern is intriguing. I know, I know, I'm gushing, but I love this project so much!

blog what?

Acho. Honk. Sniffle sniffle snork. HONK.
That is what I've been sounding like for the past few days, and even though my nose is running away and my head is foggy and stuffy, I did make it off my kiester to write that I haven't been writing.

I do have a tendency to bite off a bit more than I can chew, and to start projects and not finish them. I admit it fully, and embrace it.

That being said, hi blogosphere.
I do exist. I might not be visible all the time, but I do exist.

Things have been going well down at my shop. This past weekend was Arts Alive, and it was the most successful Arts Alive to date! (Arts Alive is a monthly reception where stores and galleries stay open late with lots of wine and cheese and local art--a way to get the community out and about to see the local artscene.) Yay! And then I came down with a cold. Boo.

Well, now I have new sock yarn to play with. I picked up some Sockotta in a fun colorway, and I just printed out the Froot Loop pattern from Knitty.com. I am all set for a quite evening of Netflix and knitting! Well, quiet between the sneezing and the honking and the sniffling.

Man, it's not looking very quiet at all ;)

I have a confession.

I have not been knitting this week. Not even so much as a complete round on the newest cabled hat. I've just been wiped out, and knitting has been the last thing I've wanted to do at the end of the day this past week (my right wrist is bad, and after a long day of computer work, it's best if I don't do more repetitive motion). One of the gals who works for me at the shop is very pregnant, and she called in sick this whole week. She is doing better, and will be back, and that is all good. On top of that, my first trunk show came in this week (yay) and I hit more than a few unanticipated snags (boo). I am writing this one off as a learning experience. Tonight is the Arts Alive reception, and I am dying my hair. I'll try to remember to post on that one.

For those of you who know me IRL, you know that my hair tends toward the brighter end of the color spectrum, and I have let my hair go--Wendy called it "mauve" the other day. That sounds like time to break out the bleach. So, I woke up early (not part of my plan for the day) and got up and started the process. Now I am waiting for another 10 minutes to rinse. And Nick is still asleep. What a surprise that will be!

This is my very first blog post.

I almost want to print out this page and post it on my fridge. My husband thinks that I have waltzed right over that line between quaintly odd and full-blown crazy for starting the blog on top of everything else that I am doing. Well, time will tell on this one. Besides, it's good to know how to waltz. You never know when the Queen might come to tea, and request a waltz. Or tango for that matter.

I am currently knitting a cute little cabled cloche for the sustainable clothing shop that I manage. The shop is new, and I think it might do well. We are all hoping so, since right now that is what is trying to pay the bills.

I'll edit the post later to include photos, but right now the batteries for the camera are charging.

Cheers till next time,
Take care out there.

Suzy