I get adult students at knitting shops, who are learning from scratch. Sometimes they have a particular project they want, sometimes they are not sure. I have a new favorite project for those who need me to help them pick. It’s Knitting at Knoon’s Wee Welcome Set.

I talked to Chris who designed this project… and she designed it to teach with. It’s really a wonderful teaching project. There is a hat consisting of garter fabric, ribbing and stockinette. Then there are booties with the same 3 fabric types plus increases and decreases. then there is the baby sweater including even more types of increases.

When you are done, you understand a lot about making fabric and stitches, and have a lot of skills under your belt. Very nice. Never mind you have a project done as well!

I taught one student at Rae’s with this project. She used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, in two colors. In 3 weeks she had booties and a hat for a shower. Cool.

I also taught one student from Yarn Garden/Charlotte (Becky). She had a family member expecting a baby, and made the one I picture here. It uses one skein of Cherry Tree Hill handpaint and Berocco Comfort for the solid trim. Very nice combination, perfect for kids.

Now I have a woman at Threadbear who is expecting her own child, working away on the hat and booties at this point. I hope she will start in on the sweater tomorrow. She’s using a wonderful hot pink yarn, I think it’s Feza brand. It is a color I would wear proudly myself. Nice.

This is a great learning project for relatively new (or totally new) knitters. Just for the record…

I have a small handful of loyal kids this summer who followed me to Rae’s Yarn boutique from Foster Community Center. The move has been a good one for me.

I was bone-tired of working summer programs at community centers. (My first summer program was 1989 at Black Child and Family Institute where I worked 4 years, later followed by at least 5 summers at Foster Center. I think it’s OK to pass the baton.)

When you have 70+ kids in one space each day, it is intense… there is a drama-a-day, normal but high-energy. No matter what building, no matter who the kids are, no matter how much you learn to love those kids, it’s just an energy drain. I wanted to spend my focus on teaching, rather than being distracted by the drama.

At Rae’s I have kids whose families are invested in their knitting and who value what I am doing for their children. These kids knit at home. These kids are learning to knit without me, to knit from (simple) patterns.

I am really enjoying the change. I expect I’ll return to Foster in the fall, but for summer this is wonderful.

My kids at Rae’s noticed the huge knitting needles we had raced with at World Wide Knit in Public Day. They had to give these a try! Check out the photo of them exploring the possibilities!

I had much fun on the 4th of July! It started in Downtown Lansing (Michigan) with a parade. I danced with Habibi Dancers. Mom came out, all by her self with a little US flag and waved it and called to me when I passed. I stopped the parade to hug her, of course.

In the middle of the day I went home. I had to change personas from Eudora (my dance name) to “Lynn Heftone” (my singing alias). So I got a nice bath, and did my sort of Clark Kent transformation. I baked a rhubarb crisp dessert and took it over to Rae’s Yarn Boutique. I could not stay for the barbecue but at least I was there in spirit, and in dessert!

I do love costuming as an artform and as a joyful part of my life. Those who know me, know I have almost nothing in my closet either red or white, and maybe a small handful of blue items.

Therefore, I went to Goodwill on Thursday and found myself a blue skirt to dance in, and a blue gown to sing in (topped with a red sequined tunic I already had in the closet). I made it work out quite well.

It’s a good thing I did not yet dye the baby alpaca circular Peace Shawl that Alison Hyde knit for me. She suggested I dye it and I’ve intended to do so, but have not done it yet. Last night I wore it white for my holiday singing engagement. It was beautiful, AND it was a protection against a few mosquitos as well.

I was done with mosquitos when we finished singing at 10pm, and it was very dark. We headed back to the car and I watched the fireworks from there. Much better!

Luckily my camera has a setting for fireworks. If you can hold the camera steady, it works well. In the car I could lean against the frame, and that did the trick. I’m going to give you six photos that I am happy with.

It was really cool, driving to a good vantage point in the car just before the fireworks started. This town turned out in force! You can see the fireworks from the parking lots of a whole lot of stores, including the Meridian Mall, Central Park Place shopping area, Wal-Mart, Meijer (huge Michigan discount store/grocery), and many places between.

Everywhere you looked, people had set up their folding chairs on the sidewalks or front yards, just everywhere. They had policemen on bicycles patrolling, and it all looked quite civilized, but the amount of people I saw all at once? I haven’t seen that on the streets since I was in Africa.

Only at concerts or sporting events do you see this sort of density around my corner of the world. It was quite the scene. It made me remember the two years I was in Boston and the one I was in Chicago, several when I was a child… just the whole gathering-together thing that happens on this holiday. It’s a lovely thing, really, the coming together… whether there are fireworks or not, no matter what your political ideals might be.

Boom! Happy 4th to those in the US. How nice it gave us a 3 day weekend this time!

(Photos: 1) Me as Eudora. 2,3,4) The Fabulous Heftones at Meridian Historical Village… thanks to Sharon’s SO, Lynn, for taking photos yet again. I owe him many favors back! 5-10) Meridian Township fireworks, taken from Meijer parking lot.)

Fun: Knitting with Beth

Last weekend I took a two-day workshop with Beth Brown-Reinsel. We learned about the Norwegian Fana Cardigan, a historical sweater type which is still worn today. It is knit in two colors, from the bottom up as a tube. Then you cut open holes for arms and the front opening. Yes, cut. It’s called steeking (though steek is apparently a Scottish word, not Norwegian).

After you cut openings for the neck, front and arms, you pick up stitches around the cut openings and you knit down for the sleeves (and up from the bottom ribbing for the buttonhole bands and neckband). You even knit built-in facings to cover up the rough cut edges. Brilliant.

The Goal

We made a tiny version of the sweater in two days. That is, some of us finished and all of us got a good part of the way. The first day I was able to finish the body of the sweater after dinner. The second day I sewed reinforcement and cut my openings, knit one sleeve , sewed in most of that sleeve, and knit one front band/facing.

I have other deadlines, so I could not go home and just finish (as I did when I took Beth’s Gansey sweater 2-day workshop, and her Norwegian mitten class). I have hope I will return to it and finish that up at some point this summer.

A Plug for Beth B-R

I really love being in Beth’s classes. She is very knowledgeable, focused, and a calming presence. This is particularly good for a class where people cut their knitting.

Many people really have a hard time with that one. I don’t know if they think it won’t work or if it’s just about “breaking” something they made. I know that one of the things I love about knitting is that I can unravel and rebuild it without losing anything but time.

However, I spent many years sewing as my primary artform. I can imagine my knitting as fabric that needs a shape cut into it. I also did my first cutting of knitting on a small tube I knit of some not-that-great yarn I had sitting around. I made the tube, reinforced on either side, and cut. And nothing bad happened. Knitting likes to run down, not sideways, it’s the nature of the fabric. And that test cut convinced me that the piece would not unravel.

Beth made a comfortable and supportive environment for those who had never cut their knitting before. It is interesting how many responses to the same activity can inspire. Even thinking about cutting handknits can be difficult at times, depending on the person.

There were a few who had a hard time starting to cut. Some knew they liked projects with this technique in it, and wanted the support of the group to get through that unfamiliar moment of the first cut. I want to pat all of those on the back, who took the challenge and got through it. We all have different challenges, but some run away. Good for you!

Meeting Gwynn

The best part about the weekend, though, may have been the fact that I got to meet Gwynn. She lives in Kentucky and came north for the weekend class. It turns out she reads this blog, and she was kind enough to start right away by introducing herself and letting me know she was a reader here.

We sat very near one another during class, and we got to take a walk one day to buy water on a break. I think we could chat a long time before running out of things to discuss. It was really a delight and an honor to meet her and make friends.

What a bonus, on top of the excellent class we both got to take.

Photos? 1) My sweater after the first cut (up the front, where button bands will go). At the bottom it looks funny, but we had made extra ribbing to attach to the button bands and put those few stitches on waste yarn to hold them until later. There is no sideways-raveling going on, no matter what it looks like.

2) The inside of my sweater, showing what the yarn does when it is not being knitted. We call that “stranding,” where the strands of the unused yarn float across the back of the fabric.

3) Gwynn cutting her sweater’s armholes.

4) My sweater, flat, with both armholes cut.

5) My sweater as it stands now, with sleeve partly sewn in and one button band complete.

6) My new friend, Gwynn (notice Beth teaching a few students in the background. I only got one shot of Gwynn that she might find acceptable (I blur everything when I’m distracted)… and trust me she’s usually even prettier than in this photo. You should have also seen the striped tee sweater she wore Saturday! she combined features from two different sweaters when knitting, and it fit her really well.

I have three things going on for the 4th. If you are in the Lansing, Michigan area, maybe you will want to join me for some of the fun.

1. First, the City of Lansing 4th of July Parade. I’ll be dancing with the Habibi Dancers (photos are of 2006, dancers before the 4th parade, I’m third from left in front with cane, in the 2nd photo). There is a press release page with details on the parade on the City web page. This is the text that matters most:

Sponsored by the City of Lansing (Parks and Recreation Department) this family friendly parade will take place in downtown Lansing on Friday, July 4, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. - Parade will step off at the State Parking Lots on Allegan Street and travel east on Allegan Street to Capitol Avenue, north on Capitol Avenue to Ottawa Street then travel west on Ottawa Street to return to the State Parking Lot.

2. Rae’s Yarn Boutique is having a potluck, barbecue (she provides chicken and hot dogs) and the first day of her 3-day summer clearance sale. (I’ll be there for some of the knit in but probably not the barbecue) She sent out a notice and wrote it up on her blog, Extravayarnza. Basically, this is the important part:

Join us at Rae’s Yarn Boutique July 4th!
Knit-in All Day
Grill starts up at 5pm
Bring a dish to pass or a small donation towards the main dish
Remember your knitting & a folding chair.
We’ll head down to the riverfront for Fireworks in the evening!

3. Brian and I/The Fabulous Heftones will sing at Meridian Historical Village from 7:30 to 10pm (fireworks start at 10:15). The address I have finally figured out, it’s Central Park in Okemos, 5151 Marsh Road. That should help fans of online driving instructions/maps.

We are not the only thing going at this large gala… Meridian Township issued a press release/fact sheet (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) if you want all details. Here is an excerpt:

• Children’s Area with giant inflatable games
• Live Music by the “Fruitflies” near Central Park Pavilion and the “Fabulous Heftones” in the Historical Village
• U.S Marine Corp Color Guard Flag Ceremony (dusk)
• Mascots from local businesses
• Food from Little Caesar’s Pizza, Ice Cream from Melting Moments, Tony’s Hot Dogs, Culver’s Frozen Custard, and Subs from Guido’s
• Meridian Historical Village Tours
• Fire and Police Department Demonstration Area
• FIREWORKS AT 10:15 PM

We got a LOT of rain on July 2. It came down so fast and so hard, it was a mess to drive on streets that are normally no problem in normal rain. There were flood warnings, and a bit south of us they had a lot of hail. Mom says they had enough to need shovels.

I drove home and found my car acting like a boat, just pushing water in big sprays on either side. It was hard to turn onto our side street. I remembered Brian going out there and clearing the street drain in the past. He was not home so I realized it was my turn.

For the record, I’m NOT a nature girl. I’d rather be inside or on a porch than out. I am all about open windows in house and car as much as possible, but I don’t like getting dirty or sunburned or wet. I also have a very strong aversion to being splashed with water. Not a good combination when you have to go out in a serious downpour!

I put on wool socks (they stay warm in wet) and my chaco sandals which are made to withstand wet conditions. I put on layers of light wool and my best raincoat (I know I looked a sight) and a thick wool felt beret to protect my head, and I went out.

As I walked around the house between our lot and the neighbor’s drive, I was in at least two inches of standing water. Houses are so close together in our area that there is nowhere for water to drain, pretty much.

I got to the corner with my small spade, and dragged the tool along the street next to the curb until I found the drain. I started pushing against the water to get leaves and sticks out of the way. It was almost instant, there was a sort of water-tornado like when you flush a toilet, and that water was SO happy to go down that drain!

By the time I went back to work less than an hour later, the street was wet but there was no longer water several inches deep on the street. It worked!

I am glad that when I had to go out and get that wet, it was a bit warmer than room temperature. I did not get cold, just wet. I dried out pretty quickly. I didn’t even get grumpy, though I was definitely entertained by it for a while.

I hope everyone out there did not have disappointing after-effects from this storm. I guess if I can look at it well, I did not have to water the gardens Wednesday!!!

Pondering

I will be 50 years old in November. My classmates in school are all taking turns, one at a time, turning 50 years old. It is something I never imagined, really… it is not old, but it is more of a milestone to me than 40 was. I had just started discovering myself at 40, had only been married to Brian about 2 years, was starting a new and happy life.

Fifty seems more about making peace with what is. This seems to be the life lesson repeated often for me and for many of my friends as we notice where we are in our lives. A new decade brings reflection.

Reality

We all are on this or that medication for high blood pressure or whatever, nothing major but with minor aches and pains we never imagined not long ago. For most of us it’s inconvenience, nothing life or death, but we do need to accept and adjust.

For example, I can not sleep on the floor anymore, or in a tent without an air mattress. This happened only in the last year or two and it surprised me. My hip takes several days to recover from one night of inconvenience. That’s life. I make sure to have an air mattress when I sleep in a tent now, but I do need to change.

My Food History, Readers’ Digest Version

Ten years ago I was allergic to only one group of foods (mold/yeast/cheese). Now I am allergic to more foods than not, or so it seems. I can not eat at most restaurants successfully. However, as I have said here before, the quality of the foods we eat is significantly superior to what we once ate and certainly to what most restaurants offer.

So I cook now, almost everything we eat. Although I will never love spending this much time in the kitchen, I am learning a lot.

It’s a good thing to keep learning as we grow, as we continue to live on this earth. Mom says it’s always a good day if you are not 6 feet under, if you are on this side of the grass. I tend to agree.

Therefore, I keep cooking and I do what the doc says. I cut out huge groups of foods that most Americans eat every day. I eat well but not the same things I once did and not as I maybe would prefer given all the choices in the world. I’m still just fine in the scheme of things.

My Biggest Food Challenge Yet

I do not like meat. I prefer not to eat it (I love beans… some including chickpeas agree with me, some like lentils do not).

I do not like thinking about meat, touching it, eating it, the texture of it. I would love to be a vegetarian. However, at this point in my life if I did not eat meat, at least some of it, I would wither and waste away.

As it is, I am having a very hard time keeping my weight. I once was on Weight Watchers in college… then a few years after that lost 50-60 pounds in about a year.. and kept it off for 25+years. Now, I am edging down to where I weighed in early high school. I weighed more when I graduated HS in 1976 than i do now, and I am 3/4″ taller.

No, you do not want this problem no matter how much you think you might. When I got the evil flu in February and could not keep anything but water down for 2 days, I stayed unwell for 29 days total because my system did not have the resources to bounce back. I am glad I was only 49 years old when that happened, at least time was on my side.

So the doc says protein is absolutely key in my health. I am allergic to nuts and fermented soybean products, as well as yogurt and cheese. I can eat only a few eggs a week successfully. The beans I *can* eat well do not have enough protein in them to be every-day foods.

My Plan for Health and Success

My compromise is that I still do not eat mammals; I eat poultry (birds) and fish. I have only 3 kinds of fish /shellfishI’m not allergic to, but luckily I like those three types. Sushi/sashimi is my one lucky food I can eat in restaurants reliably when I am traveling. I don’t adore it but it’s OK, and it’s good for me. And I don’t have to make it myself. Yippee!!

Um, so that brings me to today’s photo. I did something I swore I never, ever would do. I bought a whole chicken at the grocery store and I roasted it in the oven. I feel like I turned into Martha Stewart overnight. (Anyone in Lansing remember Martha Dixon? Her, too.)

Paz as Inspiration

I was inspired by my friend “Chef Paz” in New York who found on yet another food blogger’s site, a recipe for roasted chicken. Paz waxes poetic about this recipe. She cooks it and then digs in so fast she forgets to take photos of the chicken. She has done the recipe a few times.

I thought, “if I ever made whole chicken I’d make that.” And then we got a new oven. And I noticed the price of whole chickens was incredibly good (and they had no unwanted additives, when most chicken parts do at most groceries) and in an adventurous moment I bought it.

Abundance in the Refrigerator

Then I went home and had to admit to myself that I had to prepare it before it could go in the oven. And I did do it, and it worked really well, and it was good (for meat, anyway). We ate meat and potatoes, then we put it in spaghetti sauce over rice noodles. One chicken lasts a long time for two people!

Then I used the bones and skin and boiled them in the crockpot for most of a day, strained it and made soup with the broth. I did honor the bird this way; by being very respectful and frugal about using as many parts as I could. And broth made this way is so thick and flavorful that even broth soup is satisfying (not usually my cup of tea).

An Amusing Twist

The new oven made it easier to follow the cooking instructions. However, this woman who has never really cooked meat before this year (me), had to read on the internet to find out “How do I know if the chicken is done?” I did for some reason own a digital meat thermometer.

I cooked the bird as directed. At the appointed time, I checked and it was not done yet (was at 140F rather than 165F). So I put it in again. And again. And Again. And then… the thermometer started acting totally off, couldn’t climb up to anywhere near oven temperature. So I kept putting it back in.

Mind you, I got home from work at 9:04pm. I put the chicken in the oven at 9:50. The recipe said 45 minutes covered, 15 minutes open pan, and then let it rest a while. Four hours after I put it in, I was still baking that bird!

Finally at 2am the lightbulb went on over my head. My digital thermometer was not wrong. I had pushed a button accidentally which switched the display to Celsius. No wonder it did not climb fast enough. It was climbing to a 2-digit number rather than a 3-digit. At 2:15 I finally got to bed, still mostly hungry.

The Good Part: Success

But I did a good job. Every time I’d checked the temp., I had drizzled a little olive oil on the bird, and it was not too dry at all. It was pretty darned good, at least for meat.

By 2:15 I could chuckle about the digital display “hiccup.” Not perhaps the lack of dinner, but the little joke I’d just played on myself.

At least what I’d spent that long making, turned out as promised. Mission accomplished.