Today was a day off from teaching. My allergist had me go for some tests, not a big deal but I had to not drink caffeine for 24 hours starting last night at dinner.

My friends, I love tea. I usually drink about 5 mugs of tea a day, sometimes green, often black. This has led to a fairly harmless addiction to caffeine that is rarely a problem… except when I give it up cold turkey as I did last night.

I am here to tell you that a caffeine-withdrawal headache is one way to slow me down to a halt. At least the worst of it came right after I was allowed to have tea again. It was only really bad for about an hour… and I’m clear that these are the minor afflictions of a barely-middle-aged woman in otherwise good health. So yes, I complained (funny how pain turns us into toddlers emotionally, isn’t it?), but I knew in the big picture it was just a headache.

I think it’s probably good to slow down sometimes, right? I’m spending the evening on the couch finishing simple knitting projects (wristwarmers for a friend and the sample sock for the Thursday night No-Purl, Replaceable-Heel class I’m doing at Rae’s starting Feb. 23). If I finish those, I may dive back into the Multicolor Mohair Bloom Shawl for the class I’ll be teaching (one session) on April 1/Saturday at Threadbear. OR if I feel better, maybe I’ll attempt to sew together the funnel neck I made on the machine over a week ago.

I did get help distracting myself from my complaints (yeah, progress in the positive-thinking department) early this afternoon. First I had lunch with my friend Sue R. at Aladdin’s. Then we popped over to Rae’s (just as Sharon P/Knitknacks was on her way out the door). And of course, as is true in any yarn shop within an hour from my home, if I sit there for half an hour or longer it seems that the world goes by, lots of fiber friends passing through showing off their finished projects or seeking a new one.

Sue is working on her first project from a published pattern, a stole with simple lace (diamonds made of yarn overs on a basically garter-stitch fabric). I’m so impressed with how far she has come in only a few months, she’s really starting to “get it” in a real way. Very exciting!

Anyway, Brian has gone out to play music (a jam session at someone’s home) with our Abbott Brothers’ Band friends. I feel a lot better than I did an hour ago, or I might have gone with him as I usually do. As it is, I think I’ll just put soothing James Taylor on the stereo on low volume, and knit while lounging on the couch. I don’t sit still and knit very often at all, and I might as well enjoy it. That and a lovely cup of Twinings English Breakfast tea, that is!!!

Photo: Gorgeous-colored teapot and mug, and tea I got in Ethiopia and which I’m still hoarding. I just love this tea packaging! The writing above the English is in Amharic. Under the big writing it says “Red Lable” (sic). I love the image of the man with his braids. Nothing glossy or fancy about this tea package made of unbleached paperboard. It’s very third-world practical with no marketing junk attached. The focus is on the good stuff inside.

And here we are, friends, a photo I took before I heard the advertisement. The answer is definitely Turquoise.

I did it. I had a good day.

The sun shone almost all day. I was actually able to take photos of my new yarns with natural light, which was a real gift.

Then Altu and I had a leisurely lunch together. She is such a good friend! We laugh and we plan and we talk about deep things and chatty light talk as well. And then we laugh again. I value her company very much.

After lunch, I knit with kids (at Foster Center) and a few of their family members. One girl (new last week) finished her first wristband, with the able assistance of her grandmother. (See photo.)

This has been a great year for family groups and knitting… I am loving it. Today there were: a mom and daughter team, a child with aunt and grandmother, a brother/sister team, and the child/grandmother here in the photo. Yesterday there were three families with at least 2 members. What a gift it is to the children, to have special time with a special adult, and an activity to share as well! I don’t expect this, but I love when it happens.

During midday it was about 45 degrees F (7.2C) and we opened the windows in my room. Some of the kids went out to play on the playground equipment, and I heartily encouraged that plan. This can be the worst time of year, that after-holidays couple of months where things stay gray and sunless and often very cold. It pretended to be spring today and I, for one, enjoyed driving with my windows down!!! The sun set and it got cold again, but I feel rejuvenated from a single springlike day, and I’m grateful.

After CityKidz Knit! program, I went to Rae’s and taught three wonderful women who have taken many classes from me over the last year. This time they each are working on their own project they chose themselves. We’ve got a felted bag, a seed-stitch bag and a stole. Rae sat with us for part of the time, too. She was wearing a sweater she finished last night, in Elsabeth Lavold Silky Wool yarn (a few select cables, mostly stockinette, very elegant).

We had a fun conversation about Moebius strips as a mathematical theory, and Cat Bordhi’s two Magical Knitting books. Rae has knit several of these items, I’m fascinated by the concept but so far haven’t been drawn into an actual project.

Then I had my phone conference with my friends, one from either coast (Atlantic, Pacific). And now I’m alone at home in the lovely peace and quiet. I could put my music on again but I’m enjoying just silence (and the fan on the computer) right now.

It was a good day. Whew! Just what this grrrl ordered.

Yesterday I had a rough day keeping positive. I am assuming a lot of that has to do with the low-sun situation we’ve had since mid-December. It seems we all (here in mid-Michigan) are having a time staying positive these days.

Today the sun shines. there still is a slight haze up there in the sky so it doesn’t exactly look blue, but there are shadows in my office and I am very grateful.

I’m going to start this new day right. I had Twinings English Breakfast tea and Mochi for breakfast, a favorite treat. I’m going to play Mahotella Queens very loud as I get dressed. I am going to look in my closet for the most cheerful, bright clothing I can possibly find to wear today.

I will run an errand as cheerfully as I can. I will go get an allergy shot and enjoy the 20 minute wait by knitting something I love knitting. I will go see Altu and she will give me food from her restaurant that is healthy and healing, and we will enjoy one another’s company.

I will teach children to knit one more time, and enjoy their company. I will have 3 luxurious hours with the children and I will notice that luxury.

Then I will go to Rae’s and teach my wonderful repeat students, the ones who continue to take classes I teach almost without regard to what the subject matter might be. I will be in the moment and I will have a good time. I will show Rae the fun new yarns I dyed, because she also dyes and will understand my joy.

Then I’ll go home and have a conference call between a friend in California and a friend in Maine and spend an hour working together toward a single goal. Then I will make another good cup of tea and spend time with my wonderful husband.

May you also have a good day. Enjoy that sunshine if you have some!

Today I did the best thing I do all week. I taught more new knitters to knit, at Foster Community Center. At CityKidz Knit! program I had 9 participants, two adults (one mom and one grandmother) and seven kids. I had four new knitters. It was great, as usual.

I was busy making my way around the table answering many questions. I saw all this activity and bustle, and excitement which begged to be photographed. I asked Pirate Mariam to take the helm at the camera. Didn’t she do a great job? (Follow her link and check out the bell-bottom legwarmers and hat she made from a shrunken sweater.)

Top right, we have the brother of one of my regular students, who likes to sew but today decided he’d like to knit. Once we got him some good bamboo needles that were less slippery than the metal ones, he got going just fine.

Then at left we have Mariam’s friend on his second day of knitting. Someone sent me some really cool denim yarn and he’s using it to knit some garter wristwarmers. Cool, huh?

Another new knitter today is shown concentrating well on her knitting (with my help, do you see four hands in that picture?). She stayed focused in the middle of the busy room. I think she’s going to like this. She seemed pretty excited to be there.

She was pleased as punch late in the hour when her Grandma asked if she could try. You should have seen the grin on this sweet child’s face when Grandma made her first stitch. I love it when the grownups stick around with the kids. This is the first year I’ve had that happen much, and I am encouraging it. This way they keep at the knitting at home more, with good support and two problem solvers when necessary. And doesn’t every kid like sharing some special time with a special grownup?

Next is a child who returns over and over, she’s been with me more than a year. She can walk to the center, lives a block from my old house down the street. She said she got some knitting-related gifts for Christmas this year.

Last is me helping a regular since Fall. Here is proof that sometimes I do *not* wear a beret. Actually, I wore it to the center but for some reason the room was warm today.

Mariam, you did a great job at the photography! Thanks so much for sharing your time and talent with me (and the readers here at ColorJoy!).

I have been remiss in mentioning those lovely folks out there who write to me. I hope I’m organized enough to not miss anyone.

My friend Norma C. of Pittsburgh writes about a music concert performed for birds. Very cool photos.

Charlotte wrote in late December that she’d been driving around an unfamiliar part of town, and found a house with a turquoise cement driveway. Swimming pool colored. Wowie, that would not happen in Lansing!

Theresa I. wrote with suggestions for places to eat on the holiday weekend, in Ann Arbor. I ended up not going, but I did really appreciate the input.

Lynne wrote on Jan. 1: “I read your blog because I appreciate your positive attitude. It’s a good habit to develop. Counting your blessings lays down new pathways in the brain that make it progressively easier to see the good around us.”

Thanks for that, Lynne! I am sitting here in the sunshine today, drinking it in. I’m glad I have this column where I can commit to focusing on the better things in my life. I notice lately that I still complain about being cold. Sometimes I could just have dressed more carefully and then I would not have anything to complain about. I’m trying to remember what things I do have control over, and deal with those bits when possible, avoiding the whiny/complaining thing that might result if I were not as aware.

On Thanksgiving, Chelle wrote: “I enjoy reading about your inwardly rich and introspective life – not to mention your creativity, sense of style and great attitude toward life. Whenever I’m down, your appreciation of the everyday world makes me remember why it’s good to be alive.”

I guess that relates to the bit above. The act of focusing on the good can transform a life. There’s always something, if we look, that can help us see the good in life. Some days it’s harder than others. Weeks of no sun have really chipped away from the upbeat thoughts in my own mind, but I am starting to notice when I whine and then I do my best to remember that my hassles are nothing, really. Inconvenience and minor discomfort are not worth the loss of energy.

I’m learning to re-focus, it’s slow. Worry and self-centeredness are hard-wired in me but with this blog I remind myself each day why focusing on the better stuff is worthwhile.

I remember when I was in my first marriage. When I would worry too much, I’d sing loud (to myself), to drown out the doubt-voices in my mind. My favorite song to sing back then was “I’d Rather be Blue Over You than Be Happy with Somebody Else” from Funny Girl. It’s a great belting song, but what a horrible theme! And I was truly living that idea at the time.

So one day I realized that I was singing a negative message to myself. Over and over, I was reinforcing the idea that being happy was not a good option? That blue was good? So I switched my theme song, to “I’m the Greatest Star,” also from Funny Girl. I just chose that day to change the background messages I was feeding myself.

Well, folks… it wasn’t what I planned the day I changed theme songs, but fifteen years later, that first guy is gone and I’m happy with Brian, and now at least at Ukulele Festivals I can feel like the greatest star. Wow!

If you ever doubted the power of the subconscious and how it really listens to the words we feed it, I’m here to say it is very powerful indeed. Putting ourselves down to look humble (common practice among young women in the US) is really destructive to our overall life. Don’t do it!

Say nothing, before you say something bad about yourself. Following it up with “Just kidding!” does not remove the damage it can create inside you. Lynne said it above… new pathways in the brain, created by your thoughts, can change your life.

OK, enough introspection… back to letters.

Susan Hensel from Minneapolis, MN writes today that she visited a new museum with her son: The Museum of Russian Art. She says “It is a new museum here that is glorious. The architects did such a good job renovating a church.” There is an exhibit of icons there right now, which she says is world-class.

Susan’s show/installation, Desire, Just opened this weekend in Minneapolis. Go to this web page and scroll down, and see a glimpse of this amazing installation. Susan has been a full-time artist for all her adult life and continues to create in new, thoughtful ways. She’s a writer and a book artist, so it seems to me even her 2-dimensional wall works tell a story. I count myself lucky to be one of her friends.

Melissa in Australia writes: “Just wanted to thank you for posting “Ode to My Socks” by Neruda. I passed it along to my step-daughter Mara (in California) who has begun knitting again and she in turn has passed it along to her weekly knitting group.

“I like the variety and positive attitude in your blog. I like your willingness to show who you are… such a wonderfully colourful person. Thank you so much for continuing to photograph, write and publish.”

How wonderful it is that my love for a poem can be passed on to others. I’m so glad it struck a chord.

It means a lot to get these notes… thanks, Melissa. I haven’t had comments enabled in over a year because of terrible spam, and so these email notes (from all of you) mean a great deal to me.

Laura writes: “…thanks for the good writing and happy thoughts. I posted a link to your December 30th post on my own blog, and I giggled today about tea hoarding. I always save the last incense stick, piece of chocolate, tea, etc. for a ’special’ event that never seems to come. Time to savor the stashes right now…I’m pretty sure more will come along.”

Aaah, it’s SO hard to give up hoarding. Giving up whining is easier than that! I’m trying to throw away ONE thing a day that I truly don’t use, or put it in a box to give to charity. Wowie, is that hard!!! I mean, if I whine about feeling cold I can put on another layer, some longjohns, legwarmers, slippers, hat, wristwarmers or another wrap/shawl/stole. But let go of my stuff? You’d think I was going to die. Very very difficult stuff.

So right now I’m going to walk away from the keyboard and find one thing to toss, and then I’ll come back and tell you about it…

…OK, I found 2 necklace strands of purple plastic beads I got for Mardi Gras at the Temple Club last year, when our friends in the band Klezmeroke played there (if you click that last link, you’ll also get a pumpkin bread recipe I created). I’ll take the beads to City Kidz Knit! and do a little drawing for a prize. They enjoy that. And I don’t need plastic beads hanging from my stereo shelves. Why is that so hard?

Well, my friends… we have sunshine today!!! Glorious sunshine. I will be photographing some yarns today, woohoo!

Photos: 1) Sunshiny view, same general view as yesterday but taken from porch (the glass reflected too much light to take from indoors today). Sky is still partly cloudy but thin enough so that the sun is really doing a good job today, yeah! Can you see the tinge of blue in the sky, in the upper left-hand corner? And the shadows? I sure can!

The sauce is salty from the soy and has a punch from the horseradish, though I go very light on the punch. Mmmmm… So glad things have changed since I was a girl, I really enjoy the variety of food in my town these days.

Weather Report
Ugh. Pardon me deserting my typical good nature, but the sky is white, colorless, and almost lightless at 3pm today. Here you go… a picture of Lansing in true winter style. Snow has melted so you can see that the ground is green anyway, but the houses are white, the sky is white, the bark on the trees appears almost colorful in this foggy grayness.

Twice in my life I have planned to leave this friendly, comforting, affordable city. I’m sure the idea of moving began both times on days like this. We don’t get the piles of snow that they get in northern Michigan or Minnesota, and it melts several times during winter as a rule. But those melting times create a foggy sky that repels any light the sun might toss our way.

Thank goodness for the memory of yesterday! I noticed when I was driving to Ann Arbor at twilight, that even twilight with a sun is brighter than midday with a foggy gray sky. I ate up every bit of light yesterday, it was wonderful!

Besides the weather/sky, Monday has been wonderful thus far. I was awake far too late last night but slept in easily (I can’t always do that) today. I had a treat for breakfast, Ryvita “crackers” with a wonderful organic raspberry jam and Twinings English Breakfast tea. I haven’t knit anything yet today but I returned my requisite emails and even read a few blogs.

Sometimes people show sky pictures on their blogs which prompted my photo. The photo is taken out of the window about 4 feet from where I sit most of the time I’m home, at my desk. This is my view most of the time, except that when I’m sitting down I can only see the sky (we have those short half-length curtains covering the bottom half of the windows so people can’t peek in while I work).

I’m planning more work in the dye studio today… dyed a bunch a few days ago and that batch is dry. I also handpainted two sweaters and several hats, which will be fun to offer you. I need one more good push in the studio and then I’ll be able to skein and photograph and put up web pages. It’s going much more slowly than I’d anticipated, I don’t know exactly why… but I’m plugging when I have big blocks of time. At least I can have color in the basement studio (we have many wonderful light fixtures down there in spite of lack of sun outside).

I think I’ll be playing Mahotella Queens (South African vocal harmonies with a dance beat) at full blast today. Their album Izibani Zomgqashiyo may be my all-time favorite album of any type. I can play it over and over again and never tire of it. (The album Marriage is a Problem is also fabulous. I’m glad the title doesn’t pertain to my own life anymore, though…)

These extraordinary women always inspire me to work well, work hard, work faster! They can SING!!! (…and dance.) If you don’t know them, collect their CDs when you can find them (typically on the used market, though some of their newer ones are easier to find). Worth every penny and more.

Off to the studio.

Photos: 1) Today, 3pm, Lansing in January, typical winter view. 2) Photo of maybe 1-2 blocks from my house. Taken October 16, 2005, early fall with a few leaves barely turning yellow. I need to remember the blue sky and sunshine that are in my world when it is not snow season.

You could not have had a better day than I had on Sunday. The sun shone, for starters!

I got to class at Threadbear and had an extra student who had just called in, joining us at the very last minute. Two of my three students were familiar, repeat friends (Jamie and Esther), and the other (Robin) drove several hours from Wyandotte to attend.

Class went well. Even the newest knitter took to the First-Time Toe-Up Sock project well and everyone was well on their way before we left for the day. During class several friends and students from previous classes went by, some stopping for a hug. I identified the owners of four ColorJoy Stoles, one Basketweave Rug and one Watercolor Bag while I was there! (Jamie, Esther, Marti, Emily and Petra, some of whom have knit multiple items.)

After class I bought some yarn (more Bingo for fat yarn socks, this time in eggplant/dark purple) and sat down to knit with my friends. But of course I got going on my Bloom Shawl in Multicolor brushed mohair, as it is much more fun to knit. It’s delightful to watch the subtle color changes as I work! I did great on the shawl while I was there talking with the gang. Here I got a photo of our friend Rob proving that he really can knit without looking. The “hat,” by the way, is a Market Squares bag knit by Judith.

While knitting away I got a (rare) cell phone call and it was my beloved brother, Eric. He said yes, he could meet for dinner. I was SO delighted! He lives over an hour away and we just don’t see each other enough. We frequently schedule meetings which then get re-scheduled, and it may have been a few months since we’d had time in person together. I instantly got in the car and headed to Ann Arbor.

We tried to meet at the Syrian Deli (Exotic Bakery on Plymouth Rd.) but they were closed so we went to Zingerman’s deli instead. The food is very good at Zingermans (although they don’t have my favorite eggplant dish in the whole world) and the service is incredible. And the tea! They have a huge selection of excellent teas. Eric and I got a pot of Oolong tea to share between us. It was wonderful.

We talked and talked till he had to go home and sleep for work. Then I got a cup of tea to go, a different sort, and drove home. I was so happy! I just felt elated the whole way home from such an incredible day.

It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been feeling partly under the weather and now I feel fully energetic again… and then the holidays are over affording private time occasionally, and the sun shine finally, and the great class… and my brother. If I were Pablo Neruda, I’d write an “Ode to My Brother.” (Click link to see the closest thing to an Ode I’ve written thus far.) He’s as good as people can get, and I am lucky to have him in my life.

The only thing that happened even a little disappointingly (is that a word?) today was my knitting. I knit on the Bloom Shawl when talking to Eric at Zingerman’s. Well, I was paying more attention to Eric than the shawl (which is as it should be) and in one row I knit into the stitch below twice. And then knit two more sections after that. Well, I got home and frogged it back. Often I can figure out how to fix things but it just seemed as easy to rip this time, especially since the knitting is fast and pleasant to do. I ripped out two sections and now I’ve re-knit one of those.

Here’s a photo of the shawl after the frogging event. Seven pie-shaped sections of multicolor mohair. It’s odd, but this photo looks like it is knit in stockinette. It’s really garter stitch in short rows, for those who know what that means. Much more texture than is shown in this photo, in any case. I totally adore the color changes, can you see that it’s predominantly a pale turquoise/aqua with bits of greener and bluer and even slightly purplish areas? It’s lovely, and subtle, and very very ColorJoy!

I’ll be gone from the computer most of Sunday, so allow me to recap my week with CityKidz Knit! program.

We started a new term. I got two new kids, one who brought her Grandmother along. I also had two kids, a brother/sister team, come back after being gone since last spring/end of school year. I was very happy to see them come back!

The new kids are doing just fine. The older of the two took to things very well and got going on her own in no time. She had 2/3 of a wristband finished in an hour. That is good for most of the kids her age, even better for a first day.

The younger one is 7, which is a little young for it to come naturally. That age does not yet know cursive writing which develops small-motor skills. Those who really want to do well, can do it, but it takes a lot of concentration at first. I was very happy for this child that she had Grandma there. Grandma is a knitter but did not know how to teach the child. They did very well together once I got them going. It was sweet to see them work together.

And then, I had my regular kids, the ones I’ve known a while now. I love my kids, you know that, right? They are such amazing people! They do things I wouldn’t think to show them, and I’m glad they didn’t ask or I might be somehow discouraging at the wrong time. Fabulous people, they are.

The first photo is a girl who came last year, took a vacation from the program, and returned maybe a month or so ago. She didn’t stop knitting, but she stopped coming to class. She doesn’t need me for much (she’s the one who did the lace bookmark in an earlier post). But she and her grownups seem to feel she gets inspired by coming to class. I’m selfishly happy that she is back.

Look at her hat! She made it up all by herself. I loved hearing her tell the other older student in class how she’d figured out how to make it. They were talking as two knitters do, they didn’t have to explain every little thing because they had a language in common. It was wonderful.

The second photo is ***Intarsia***. You know, that thing where you can make blocks of color, maybe images like a heart or diamond or argyle? That takes sometimes several balls or butterflies of yarn in one row? Well, one of my CityKidz wants to do a tank top with perhaps a heart or some other motif on it. So she asked me how to do intarsia.

It’s sort of funny… I’ve done a *lot* of stranded colorwork knitting in the round. I’ve listened to people discuss Intarsia. I had never tried it before. But I’d listened well, I guess, because I got this young lady going just fine and lookie what she made! Her first sample intarsia. Probably it will be a mug rug, maybe not. In any case, it was her learning piece. For something that many adults never try. Go, Grrrl!!!

Tomorrow/Sunday I teach the first of 3 sessions, my First-Time Toe-Up Sock class at Threadbear. I have 2 students, it’s a “go,” and I’d definitely welcome any latecomers. Noon to 2pm. $30 includes a 9-page, 13-photograph pattern which works for any size foot, any gauge. No swatch necessary.

Monday night I have Needlefelted Yarn Embellishments at Little Red Schoolhouse. One session, 5:30-7:30, $20. Please join me.

(Both classes are in Lansing, Michigan. I’d love to teach at your local shop anywhere… let me know if we can schedule a road trip!)

Photo: Purchased beret with needlefelted yarn patterns.

My friends, I’ve never been hip, cool, or edgy. On the other hand, I think I’m interesting, and I’m usually just as happy this way. Even when I was younger, I think I aspired to be sophisticated more than I aspired to be cool (not that I ever accomplished that goal)… but I digress.

These days, I dress the way I like to dress. More color, happier Lynn! More wool, even happier yet! I go for warm over fashionable, though I guess having your own look is its own kind of “stylish.” I am glad to have passed the 40-yr-old mark, where I somehow gave up worrying about what other people think, at least about how I dress.

One blogger, I think it is Subway Knitter (?), sometimes mentions that her fashion sense typically limits her to one handknit item at a time. I think she probably is stylish, young, and no doubt cool. And a good writer, and a great knitter, and I love her blog.

But me? I have been photographed wearing 6 items I’ve knit, all at the same time, and I hate to tell you that this is not an unusual number for me.

As my friend Susan E. would say (about herself, although I’d say she’s wrong), “Dork, dork, dork.” But it’s me. And I get SO cold, and I’m a bit phobic about being cold, so I knit things that keep me warm against that possibility. Which means that sometimes I wear a half dozen items I’ve handknit myself. But it also means that I don’t get as cold as I once did, before I started knitting all these things!

Now, you know I’m a dancer. I’ve always loved legwarmers. Maybe it’s a dancer thing… maybe it’s a cold thing… maybe it’s some personal sense of style. I loved legwarmers *before* Flashdance in the 80s. I loved them during that fad (was delighted I could buy them in colors other than ballet pink and black at that time). And I kept wearing them when everyone stopped. When I started knitting again this time, I started knitting myself wool legwarmers almost right away (I’ve only seen one pair of wool legwarmers for sale in a store, they are usually acrylic or cotton).

So today I go to visit Spun Magazine online. Trust me, they are cool. And they have a free pattern for something called Felted Ankle Sleeves. Tubes for keeping lower legs warm. And the first sentence includes the words “a fashionistas delight.” (sic)

Imagine that. Fashionista? I’m not even sure exactly what that word means, but I’m pretty sure it is signifantly far away from dorky.

The ankle sleeves don’t look much like my legwarmers, and they are worn under jeans rather than over skintight leggings… but hey, they are tubes for leg warmth. Theirs don’t scrunch and bag at the ankles as mine do. Theirs are more dense than mine, because they are felted… but personally I like more wool. I sometimes end up pulling up mine as far as I can, to cover my knees for warmth. I LOVE my wool! I love my legwarmers.

I may be dorky at times, but practical is practical. Even the cool and hip people are bound to get cold sometimes, right? This pattern may be proof.

Leg tubes may go out of style again. But I’ll be able to knit my own this time around, I’m not giving them up. I’m loyal if nothing else.

Well, I don’t wish to be cool very often. But it’s great to see a little echo of my style sense in some cool places… every once in a while. I’m sure you understand.

First Photo: Legwarmers made on my knitting machine, finished Wednesday night. Knit from Maggie’s Ireland yarn, given to me by Rae for my birthday. These are the warmest legwarmers I’ve ever owned! And also the most magenta. With periwinkle and hot green specks. Perfect.

Later addition: Two other pairs of legwarmers I’ve knit myself. My own made-up-on-the-needles design using New Zeeland Charisma yarn, and a variation on Sally Melville’s Maximum Legwarmers (ribs rather than rolled edges) from Knit Stitch book. If you wish to see the Felted Ankle Sleeves, the pictures are at Spun Magazine.

Weather
If you live near Lansing, stay home today! It is doing what the weather dudes call “freezing drizzle.” Nasty! There is sheet ice on everything, and it is thin, and it looks wet rather than icy. Even the sand in our driveway was slick this morning.

I was raised in Michigan, and I drive a lot. I put 250,000 miles on my last car. Snow is no problem most of the time. Ice is just plain dangerous.

I tried to go out to meet Yasmina for our Grand Rapids performance. I started out with plenty of time, but every street in town was maximum 20 miles an hour and I could not make any good time just getting to the other side of town to meet Yasmina. She cancelled the performance, something I’ve never seen her do before. It was the only sane thing, as the news said that I-96 was already littered with cars in every ditch. Even if we went slow enough to be on the safe side, there could be patches out of our control… and if someone near us drove in an unwise fashion they could take us out on their own spin.

The weather report for Lansing says we’re going to get just above freezing today, with a high of 35. Maybe that means this afternoon will be better. They are salting the roads, but I followed a salt truck down Pennsylvania Avenue and it is going to take a while before that effort takes any effect. Even with salt, it’s easy to find a slippery patch just when you don’t expect one. Stopping and starting at intersections is a major stress event today.

New Plans
Now what? It’s 9:15am, I got merely 6 hours of sleep (I don’t have children, so I typically do get 8 hours and feel it when I’m short). Yet I just ate some breakfast and sleeping after a meal doesn’t work well for me. So I guess I’ll try to get some work done (finally I can get a block of time in the dye studio) and maybe take a nap later this afternoon.

Hear me, Lansing friends: Even your front stairs are potentially deadly. Please stay home!

Weather
First things first: We saw the sun several times today! Once it even lasted longer than a minute. Maybe even five minutes! It was still mostly cloudy, but the sun shone through my window and the cut crystals in my window, and made rainbows on the walls in my office.

For those who are puzzled by the title of this entry… it is a bit of the lyrics to a cheerful song. (I can only sing a few more words than this phrase before I can’t remember any more, but I love the optimism here.) I think I heard it on the radio in the late 60’s or early 70’s. I didn’t actually have lollipops today but I had the other two!

Dance
Yasmina Amal and I danced at Aladdins, and had a wonderful time. Tomorrow we’ll be dancing again, with one more dancer, at the Grand Rapids Museum of Art. They have a program (for families, I think) on Saturdays where they explore different countries, and this weekend it will be Morocco. You may need to register ahead of time, I’m not sure… Our performance is at 10:45am. This means waking up very early for me, but it will be a fun day.

A Special Visitor
I didn’t knit a single stitch today and I’m writing this at 10:20pm. I haven’t had a non-knitting day in what seems like months, but I may still pick up something before the day ends.

Why didn’t I knit? The cool news is that our friend John who we met at Midwest Ukefest in Indianapolis, came into town today. He hung out with Brian and they played music together a few times. I guess I could have joined them but I needed to work today since I will not be working tomorrow, which is normally a workday for me.

John did a lot on his short day in Lansing. Brian met him for brunch at Pablo’s, then they played music with a friend of Brian’s, then they came back to our house for a while and played more. John stayed long enough to have dinner at Aladdins and see the first show. It was cool to have him there. I’m glad he spent the day with us, even though I saw him only part of it.

Now What?
So tomorrow I’ll have almost two hours in the car, with Yasmina Amal driving. Knitting time! I need to sit and take a good look at my projects and decide what is best to do.

If I can get to a place which needs not much thinking, I’ll go back to working on the sample sock for Rae’s shop… the night class that starts in March, toe up with replaceable/afterthought heel. With a new way of starting the toe that doesn’t require wrapping or picking up stitches. Maybe someone else has done it before but I’ve not seen it, and so my own little mind thinks I’ve got a new toe going… More research is necessary on that opinion, but it works great no matter if it’s new or re-discovered.

There is a lot of talk on the Socknitter email list right now about afterthought heels. I find it amusing… it seems that in previous years these would come up for discussion and people would decide that they were not “their thing” without trying them. Now this year they are the coolest thing since sliced bread. I’m not in charge, you know?

The first knitting class I ever taught was an afterthought heel class. I had something like 5-6 students in that class, but since then I’ve been hard pressed to find any interest in this at all.

Last summer I offered an Afterthought Heel class at Michigan Fiber Festival. The class had to be cancelled for lack of enrollment. Now blogland is just brimming with enthusiasts. I guess I was ahead of the curve this time, or something. I need to pull out my heel class handout and renovate it into a real pattern for this new class. With all the chatter out there, I think we’re ripe for something like a spelled-out pattern with a whole lot of photos. March. That’s the ticket.

Photos: 1) Me as Eudora tonight at Aladdins. Thanks to Donna/Maya for once more being my photographer. 2) Yasmina Amal doing a cane dance tonight, photo also by Maya. 3) My favorite afterthought heels I’ve ever knit (and I’ve made many)… for Brian, from Meilenweit that was a gift from the Boyz at Threadbear when they were still in Indiana. 4) Afterthought heel socks for which I did not use waste yarn to save a place for the heel. I actually snipped the yarn I’d knit and opened up a hole, the Elizabeth Zimmerman way. No wonder people think they won’t like this method… snipping knitting is scary… but that’s not how most people do it and I have only done that two times out of many. The “placeholder” waste yarn is wonderful and stress-free for most knitters (this is how I teach it, I vote for stress-free).

I’ll be transforming myself into my dance persona, Eudora, tonight. I’ll be at New Aladdin’s restaurant in Frandor (next to Sparty’s, not that far from the Video store), with Yasmina Amal. She’s my teacher and the director of Habibi Dancers… a real class act!

Please consider joining us if you’re in Lansing and get this note in time. Shows are at 6:30 and 8:00pm for about 20-30 minutes. No cover.

The food is incredibly good. If you are not adventurous, they have a wonderful chicken soup and great desserts including baklava and rice pudding.

I’d love to see you there. Do let me know if you heard it here.

Photos: Me as Eudora dancing at Aladdin’s last May. Yasmina Amal on stage in Minnesota last year.

My friend Janine has a new blog. We met on the Knitlist first. Then we met in person, I think twice, in Ann Arbor. It was one of those convenient mid-way places with yarn shops, you surely understand!

She’s been busy the last few years doing more rubberstamping than knitting. Now she’s back! I’m delighted.

We’re planning another tea and yarn meeting in early February, for old times’ sake. Goodness knows that neither of us really needs more yarn, but that seems to stop nobody… obsessions are just that, obsessions. And wool does for a fact make me happy. I’ve got proof!

At least I can honestly say I’ve been cranking out knitting/using up yarn like a wildwoman lately. Getting out the knit machine helped a lot there, because since Christmas I’ve used up 4 skeins for a funnel neck sweater and 3 skeins for a pair of legwarmers, just on the machine alone. Add to that 4 skeins on a Bloom Shawl, parts of skeins for 2 pair wristwarmers as gifts, and countless hat samples for shops, I’m truly using up bits of the stash. (Did you say hoarding? Well… not this week, anyway.)

I’m grateful I’m primarly a socknitter. Merely $12-20, enough yarn for one single pair of socks later, I’m happy and the need to acquire is appeased. Let’s hope that’s all I’ll want when Janine and I have our reunion.

Janine has started a knitblog called Will Work 4 Yarn. Perhaps you’d go visit her and say hello?

Weather
It is just as sunless today, but with active rain (rather than just mist/fog as in several previous days). The picture here seems to show several clouds with a brighter patch top left. Trust me, in real life it all looked like one single blanket of total gray.

The red car shown in this photo is a bright, crayon red… I did not mess with the color here. You can see how there isn’t really enough light to show color properly outdoors here these days. It was a perfect day for being a cat on a heat vent, you know?

The snow is gone in all places other than where there were once large piles made by snowplows. However, the good news is that I am finishing knitting items like crazy. I still feel behind, but that is normal for a creative soul and I’m trying not to feel stressed by it.

Knitting Progress
I stayed up too late finishing the second legwarmer on the knitting machine. I sewed the seams today at Foster Center and wove in ends when I got home. They got a nice washing in Eucalan woolwash and are drying as I type this. I am eager to wear them tomorrow. These are a bit different than previous legwarmers I’ve made, they are not as long so they don’t scrunch up at the ankle much. I think they look good, we’ll see how I like them after a few months of wearing them and comparing to the other pairs I’ve knit for myself.

These are now the fifth pair of legwarmers I’ve made. The first were aqua stockinette Philosophers Wool of my own design, then purple cables from a pattern, then variegated blue/purple/fuschia I made up, then the Maximum Legwarmers from Sally Melville Knit Stitch (a virtual rainbow, mine with a ribbed top rather than rolled), now these magenta with purple/lime flecks on the machine (yarn was my birthday gift from Rae) with my own design.

I recently bought some great hot pink Rio de la Plata yarn (on sale!) from the Boyz at Threadbear, for my next pair o’legwarmers. Those will have to be hand-knit as the yarn is far too fat for my machine. However, I’ve promised a pair to “My Sara” who is a dancer, out of Opal 6-ply (DK weight, about 5.5 st/inch). I’ve only knit maybe 3 inches on each one of those, so that needs to come before even more for me.

Cleanup Time, and How!
It’s time to take the knitting machine down to the basement for storage for a while again. When I have it out, it takes over the small kitchen, and we’re having a guest on Friday. I will need to move as much of my “I work at home” mess down into the utility basement so that our guest can be comfortable. He’s never been here before.

Therefore, it’s “shovel the yarn” week at casa de ColorJoy, trying to put the wool in places that make it reasonable for a guest to sit down without being stabbed by a knitting needle or finding a ball (or bag) of yarn where they want to sit.

If I were Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, I could write about this and it would sound funny. I guess it’s funny in a way, but I can’t seem to put words together to bring a chuckle. Normal people have plenty o’stuff, artists typically seem to have WAY too much and WAY too messy stuff. (Unless you’re Pablo Picasso, anyway, who seems to have perfectly scrubbed floors in all photos I’ve seen of his studio.) I’m in the WAY WAY department, myself. Good thing I like being an artist.

The good news is that I feel like a million bucks, in the middle of all this what-work-should-I-do-right-now craziness and no-sunshine-for-days gray. I don’t mind working hard and late if need be to get things back in some sort of order. Never mind I’m still in the midst of a dyeing extravaganza and need to get on that. (Hat testers have completed their work, more on that here very soon.)

Bloomin’ Wonderful Surprise
OK, back to today. The coolest thing that happened Wednesday? I stopped by to see The Boyz at Threadbear (to drop off their order for even more patterns, I could kiss them for selling my designs as well as they do).

And I walk in and who do I see? Trish Bloom! My friend! The designer of the Bloom Shawl! She lives over an hour’s drive from here. And I’m at the shop for 10 minutes in the middle of a Wednesday, and there she is! (Redeeming a gift certificate, lucky grrl…. but I won’t complain cuz I got one to Yarn for Ewe from My Sara’s mom, and will be on that side of town next Monday so will have my turn then.)

I wish I’d had time to say more than hello to Trish (and her friend whose name I neglected to ask… I was really in a hurry). I did, however, show her the progress I’ve made on the Multicolor mohair version of her shawl design. It is SO pretty! I’ve only done 3 sections so far, so it’s not much to photograph yet, but I’ll show you that one soon enough.

Blocking my Bloom
But here are two photos that are for real. I often don’t fully block things with pins. I do get them totally wet and then I spin them out in the washer. Then I tend to just let them relax, and I smooth them out on a sweater dryer rack to dry. Some things need pinning at the edges so they won’t curl, but most things I make, I like relaxed (I don’t do lace or sweaters, at least almost never, which probably benefit more from pinning than do other things). So here is my relaxed-blocking version of my Bloom Shawl.

This shawl is knit from center back, knit to one edge, bound off, then picked up center back again and knit to second edge. Well, I was three rows short of my final repeat when I ran out of the 2nd skein on either side. So my friends, I decided to bind off 3 rows early and return one skein of $9.99 yarn to the shop… of course, so that I can buy more yarn for something else… but 3 rows just was too close to dive into another skein. I don’t like wasting things, yarn or otherwise.

And even then? It looks like a full circle before blocking. Notice it’s just wider than the sweater dryer (it’s slightly hanging off both sides). Then I washed it in Eucalan and spun dry, and I seemed to remember that Trish or someone had folded their Bloom Shawl in half to block it because it was so big. So I did that, once it was wet. I could have pinned it but it wanted to be this shape, sort of a flippy hem like a gored skirt.

Actually, after I took this photo I left it sit for a while and then went back and made the edges straight. It just needed a rest, I guess, before it would comply with my prodding.

So it’s drying like this (see how much it grew in length, you can see the sweater dryer here and the folded-in-half shawl is about 2/3 the height of the drying gizmo. And it’s still nearly half a circle, folded in half. I’m thinking this promises to be a really wearable item!

(I haven’t even looked at sewing the funnel neck together any more today. It’s a tangled mess with all the ends dangling from all the pieces… but I’ll do it. Probably once our company has gone home, though!!!)

OK, time to go unclamp that knitting machine and put it in its sleeping place in the basement…

Weather
It seems that the cloud sitting on Lansing likes it here. We have had two days in a row where you could not tell what part of the sky was where the sun might be. On January 1, we did see one part of the cloud that was brighter, so we knew that was where the sun was. Since then, no such luck. It is hard to feel awake when you can not tell what time of day it is! It seems to be twilight all day.

Yesterday we had lightning and thunder, and the piles of snow are almost gone. Funny, the grass is still green underneath the snow, it seems as if it never went dormant. Yesterday I had to brake in order to avoid hitting a very fat squirrel. He’s not slumbering, but he’s doing fine staying fed anyway.

This is the time of year during which I used to sit on the heat vent. With the new furnace, it’s not as warm and inviting as before. Today, however, I went up to bed and slept about 2 hours around dinnertime. Two hours! I have been sleeping strange and waking up before I’m quite rested enough, and with this low-light situation, my body took over. It was hard to wake up but Brian took me to dinner and now I feel fine. At midnight! This too, shall pass.

Attitude/Hoarding
I’m doing my best to throw away at least one thing each day that I’ve had too long. I’ve caught myself bellyaching a few times, mostly about lack of sun or the headache I got from the rainy weather. The things I complain about are so very minor! It’s good to be more aware of this.

I’m trying to allow myself to use things up, too. I especially hoard good tea and yarn, and old clothes that were once favorites. I’m working through a box of tea given to me by Cheanne, one of my local knitting comrades. I’m down to two teabags and I’m just enjoying them very very much.

I literally have one cupboard that is just for tea and spices. I mean, three shelves! I won’t run out of tea, even if I don’t buy one more bag for 6 months. I need to start using it.

Part of the problem is that some of my best tea is loose tea which requires a tea ball and teapot. I’m home enough, though, I could use this tea more often and really have some special moments. OK, that’s my goal for the next week. I have some green tea with cardamom I got in Montreal that is not getting any fresher and I will make at least one pot this week.

Dyeing/Kits
I’ve got a bunch of yarn dyed, and a bunch more skeined and ready to dye. Then I go and take a two-hour nap instead of dyeing it! I am not in charge, I guess. Next Sunday I start teaching again, so I need to hop on the yarns while I still have time at home.

My three testers on the rolled-brim button hat are doing great. Two have sent photos and one is on the final bits of her hat. Now if I can only find good packages to hold the two small skeins, button and pattern, I’ll be doing well. The package needs to hold everything I want, look appealing, and not cost a lot. I want my customers to pay for content, not packaging! I’m still looking…

Knitting
I finished the knitting of the Bloom Shawl today and I think it will be good. It’s very warm and textured and colorful. I still do not know if I’ll keep it or give it to a friend whose name it keeps whispering. I don’t have to decide today.

Then, even though I swore I would finish the sample for my new sock class at Rae’s, instead I instantly cast on another Bloom Shawl. In Multicolor brushed mohair. Oh, wow… this one is mine, mine, mine. It’s floaty and glowingly pretty, and warm without weighing much. I have already knit 3 of the 18 sections.

Oh, and on the knitting machine… I started sewing the Funnel Neck together, and it’s more a hassle than expected. I didn’t know how to really work the shoulder stairstep-bindoff on the machine and it wanted to have huge holes. I got something decent but I hope nobody looks really closely at it! Now I’m trying to get the sleeves sewn on, but it’s going slowly. It’s not as portable as knitting!

I did one legwarmer out of the yarn Rae gave me for my birthday, also on the machine. It’s a 4st/in yarn and that is really pushing the machine to its limit, it prefers sport to worsted yarn. One legwarmer is done, and it’s nearly bulletproof on the loosest setting. It will be warm! I will like it warm! Now I need to knit the second one before I forget how I did the first one. I did take notes but I’m notorious for forgetting something.

Photos: A year ago today I was spending my last day in Ethiopia. The whole time we were there, 38 days in Africa, we saw a few sprinkles of rain one day in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) while we were in the car, and we had one day of real rain in the morning, in Alexandria (Egypt). The rest of the time it was sunny as you see in these photos. People use umbrellas in the sun, to keep it out of their faces and to stay cooler, a woman is holding one at the center of the first photo here.

Folks, we’re lucky, lucky, lucky to have lives of relatively simple physical demands here in the western world. But trust me, people smile even when their bodies work this hard. These photos were taken my last week in Addis, Ababa, at the market and a small group of clothing shops.

I promised pictures and here they are!

On New Year’s Eve, we went to the Central United Methodist church in downtown Lansing, literally across the street from the State Capitol building. It’s a gorgeous old brick and stone building (I’m guessing early 1920’s or even earlier) with wonderful wood trim indoors, and a wonderful old wood dance floor. There is a stage at the end of the room, with a red velvet curtain. There is a balcony surrounding the dance floor upstairs. A very special place, for any day. Best of all, for New Year’s Eve, I’d say.

The night included three Contra Dance Bands, and one Scandinavian dance band as well. We are rich in this town, rich with talent and opportunity for live music. Imagine, the dance cost merely $15 for this richness of music and surroundings! And that doesn’t even count the social fun and artful food of the potluck before the dance, and all the desserts and snacks enjoyed between bands.

I don’t go to these dances much, although Brian performs at many throughout the year. They tend to be on Saturday nights, when I just want to be alone and quiet. I’m glad I went this time, though. My friends Ulyana and Sharon P were there, as expected. Also Irene B who sometimes reads here, and several other friends I see less often.

There were a good number of knitters there, but most of us did not find time to knit much! It’s such a social, active environment I knit just a tiny bit on my Bloom Shawl.

I danced with Sharon P’s sweetie, whose name is also Lynn. I met him years ago at his first Contra Dance. I really enjoyed dancing with him, that was a treat. Also, Brian and I danced two contra dances and two waltzes. We almost never get to dance together, because even if I attend, he’s in the band. Sometimes he’ll sneak out of the band for the closing waltz and dance with me (the band doesn’t mind), but we’ve only contra danced together maybe one or two times before. It was fun!

One lovely surprise was that Abby was wearing some really pretty socks. I looked closer and they were clearly handknit. I asked about them, and she said that Sharon P had knit them. I looked further. Darned if they weren’t knit from yarn I had dyed myself! How cool is that? They were so pretty, and she felt they were special enough to wear on the town for New Year’s Eve. They definitely were.

The food was incredible. As usual, my beloved Ulyana brought food she knew I could eat. It was that great Indian dal soup she’d made me about a week ago. I ate two bowls, it was so good! Brian and I brought blackeyed pea salad (he actually made it, not me). There was much artful food, but one of the prettiest plates was the cheesecake Ulyana brought, embellished with orange slices and fresh raspberries. True art.

Photos: 1) Scandinavian dance band in center of dance floor. Edna at far left is playing her Heftone Bass but it’s hard to see. 2) Dancers, including Abby in long green dress with handknit socks. 3) Close up of Abby’s lovely socks, by Sharon P. 4) The best photo of the night (photographing dancers is a losing proposition most of the time), Julie and unknown partner, doing what is called a Swing. How beautiful is that shot? 5) Crowd in motion, the band on the stage is Brian’s band, Scarlet Runner String Band. 6) Ulyana’s artful cheesecake.

OK, guys… I’m having a busy week or two coming up. The more of you I see, the happier I am… singing or dancing to an empty room is not nearly as fun as a room full of friends!

Here’s the lineup:

Friday, January 6, I’m dancing as Eudora with Yasmina Amal (my teacher, she is fabulous) at New Aladdin’s restaurant in Frandor. Shows are at 6:30 and 8:00, they don’t last a whole half hour so be there when it starts. No cover, but be sure to eat the wonderful food or at least dessert and their special coffee.

Sunday, January 8, (& 15 & 22) my first class of the year! This is the ever-popular “First-Time Toe-Up Socks.” This is perfect for those who have tried other sock types and want something new, but it also is a good sock for a first-time user of double-pointed needles. No gauge swatch, any yarn weight. It’s a three-week class at Threadbear Fiberarts in Lansing. Noon to 3pm for three weeks in a row. $30 includes my pattern with 13 photos to walk you through. I know I’ve got at least one student already, and so I’m committing that the class is a go. Please join us!

Tuesday, January 10 (and 24th and 31st) 5:30-7:30pm First-Time Toe-Up Socks at Little Red Schoolhouse. If weekends don’t work for you, I’m also teaching the First-Time Toe-Up socks on three Tuesday nights (skipping one week to go to knitting guild).

Wednesday, January 11 11am-1:30pm Baby/Lap Blanket (Reading Knitting and Fixing Simple Mistakes), Threadbear Fiberarts. One session, $20 includes pattern. The project is a lovely basketweave blanket which adjusts easily to many yarns.

Thursday, January 12 (& 19, & 26), Reading Simple Patterns at Rae’s Yarn Boutique. Pick a simple pattern and I’ll help you work through the abbreviations and any new techniques it might present for you. Choose a bag, mittens, hat, or other item which can be completed in the three-week class period.

Saturday, January 14, 2pm-5pm, Wristwarmers at Little Red Schoolhouse. This is a perfect class for learning Double Pointed Needles. It’s also just a fun quick knit, if you need a break from a large or complex project. One afternoon, and a great pattern (included in price of class) with many photos. Any warm yarn, any gauge, no gauge swatch.

Saturday, January 14, 6:30-8:30pm, Fabulous Heftones at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine, East Lansing, Mich. Brian and I are doing our first public performance in a few months, and we have a lot of new material with our new CD that just came out at the end of October. Romance and novelty songs, retro classics.

I knit a little bit, finally, on the first day of the year. As far as handknitting, all I did was knit a few inches on Sara’s wristwarmers (belated Christmas present, but it’s finished now).

However, I’m happy to say that I finished both sleeves on my machine knit Funnel Neck from Sally Melville’s Color book. I decreased slightly differently than specified in the book but it will look right when worn.

It’s not finished yet, not until it is blocked and sewn. Good thing I like to sew! I have so much work to do this week, though, and I’m already a little guilty for taking a holiday day off (I swear I can be a guilt machine if I don’t watch it). So that will need to wait for a few days until I have time free for myself again.

It was a good day off, actually. Slept without an alarm clock (woke up when I dreamed the phone was ringing downstairs… it was not). Went on a walk with Brian, had a cup o’tea with him as he had breakfast at the neighborhood diner. Made a special breakfast for myself, drank lots of tea, read some blogs, took a nap. Dreamed of knitting, woke up and played some music with Brian. Made Hoppin’ John for dinner, read a few more blogs, finally sat down and finished the first sleeve and made a whole second sleeve for the funnel neck. A pretty fine day, all in all. Very relaxing.

I am excited about the funnel neck. I have only a few turtlenecks that are wool, and I find myself wishing I had more. It’s funny, all three of them (the two in my closet plus this funnelneck) are some variation on turquoise. No problem, it’s my best color, but maybe the next one should be magenta or raspberry or fuschia, or maybe even eggplant. Now that I know I can make it work on the machine, I may try this again. The yarn I did this one in, is a standard worsted weight wool and so no doubt I could use the same notes for another yarn, it will be easy to hit the same gauge again. Maybe next time I’ll use a washable wool.

The pieces are not blocked so it’s just a pile of wool right now. I’ll show pics when something looks recognizable.

Back to knitting my Bloom shawl! I knit on it a little at the dance Saturday night, so it’s nearly done. And I’m about a third done with a sample sock for the no-purl, replaceable-heel sock class I’m teaching at Rae’s later this term.

May you all have the best of all years. May health, wealth, and happiness be yours and that of all those you love.

Don’t forget, eating blackeyed peas on New Year’s day is good luck. If you missed it on the first, try it on the 2nd. It’s tasty food, even if the luck thing is just a dream…

Two years ago I posted a recipe for Hoppin’ John, a traditional southern (USA) dish combining blackeyed peas and rice. My version is vegetarian… traditionally it has some salty pork ingredient for flavoring. However, a bit of olive oil and some soy sauce substitute nicely for salt pork or bacon.

The picture I took today. This time, I added chopped collard greens to my normal mixture of vegetables. I also used a lot more beans in proportion to the rice (increasing the protein content). It was wonderful!

You guys seem to love recipes. I hope you enjoy this one.

I’m being rather lazy this day off, napping on the couch and drinking good tea. We did go for a walk, but I’ve barely knit a stitch today. I’m considering a return to the knitting machine yet before bedtime. We’ll see what I feel like doing, and I’ll report back.