World UFO Day

I have heard that we are now to refer to "unexplained anomalous phenomena" (UAP) instead of "unidentified flying objects" (UFO) for what many people think are alien visitors to our planet.  I think it's going to be a long time before people change what they call those.

For fiber people, and other creative types, a "UFO" has another meaning:  "Un-Finished Object".  This is something that has been abandoned, or set aside, for one of many reasons.  Although I want to make progress on the pinks-and-purples blanket, and I was accepted as a sock-and-mitts pattern test knitter, I decided to pull out a UFO of my own and see about making progress.

The yarn is from Woolworths, so you have some
idea about how long ago I might have begun this.

I wanted to get to the end of the current skein, but won't tonight because I have been doing other things today.  It goes back in the bin while I work on the two deadline projects, and because it requires enough attention to not be mindless knitting.

My parents' anniversary was yesterday, so in addition to our weekly soufflé (their request for anniversary dinner) I made some fresh blueberry muffins and dropped them off early in the morning, so they were waiting when my parents got up for breakfast:

I made a half-batch of six, and kept two.

This week I had a number of work deadlines, and of course reading for my class, and I signed up for the Mark Twain House & Museum Reading Challenge.  I will count the same books as for my already-in-progress reading challenge, and since the books we are reading for class are literature, I've decided that I can count the ones I read in full.  We just finished Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in the original 1818 version.  Fascinating to read as it is so different from anything you see in the movies.  Our instructor was not born in the USA so she read the book before seeing any films, and discussed how it gives a different perspective.  I quickly decided that I had to look on the book as standing on its own, and not as a precursor to any film, since it really is different.  I recommend reading it if you like such things, and remember that it was written in the early 19th Century (era of Jane Austen, to get an idea of the writing style prevalent then) so it won't be the sort of science fiction most of us are accustomed to read.  Also, the book was heavily revised before the next version, which I want to read for comparison purposes - but first, I have to finish this week's assignment, and prepare my speeches for Wednesday's online production called "Pass the Skull" - I have two of Laertes' speeches, one of which involves quite a bit of movement.  That is hard to figure out with no cameraperson handy!

PS:  I have tried to remove the white highlighting over the text, without success.  UGH.

Full of things that have never been.

The full quote, by Rainer Maria Rilke, is “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”   It wasn't in one of his poems, but a letter to his wife, the sculptor Clara Westhoff, written on 1 January 1907.

What are my plans for 2023?  Many of them are the same as they have been, and which I listed last year:

• Cooking
• Reading
• Knitting and Crocheting
• Eating Ice Cream

What shall I do that is new, that "has never been"?  I have some ideas, but as always, there are lists available for those who need help.  Both Parade Magazine and NPR provide sample lists of resolutions.  Another site gives a list of "101 Things to Get Rid of on January 1st", and I am pleased at how many of the items I don't have.  I do have old toothbrushes and socks with holes, but I use these for cleaning - socks make great dusting mitts.

Thanks to a dyer/designer's blog I found the artist who created this list:

While cleaning out some things I found an old list from my congregation.  Surprisingly it contains only seventeen items; usually Jewish lists of this type include eighteen, because the word for "eighteen" in Hebrew is the same as the word for "life": חי (chai)

Again, many are things that I do.  Some are complicated; some are harder.  At the bottom is "Learn Something New".  While earlier they suggest the Hebrew language, there are other new things I can try.  I still haven't figured out what it might be.

So for the moment, these are my

Resolutions for 2023

Reading:  Of course!  I told Goodreads I would read 12 books, and on my  "Resolve to Read Giveaway" entry for Half Price Books I said 16, since they don't have you track.  I'd rather set the bar a bit lower when I am held accountable.  Personally, I am going to try for 18 again.  And yes, as with last year it will include the in-progress books, although first I want to read this one:

Just the title suggests it's a good starting place for a new year.

Completing UFOs:  I still have the second sock of the Magical Miniskeins set, but I am closing on completion as I'm in the leg portion:

Paused because I have to wind the next mini-skein.

While doing some organizing and sorting of things during the year, I've found some others.  Many others.  So quickest to hand as I write this post are a shawl, for which I think I know the pattern, and if not will start something else:

And the other baby blankets in the bin I pulled out when looking for yarn for Warm Up, America! items.

I may add to the list as the year progresses and I decide to work on other items, or just keep track of them as an unearthed UFO when I record their completion.  I know there's a blanket, and at least one other shawl, and at least one mini quilt top, plus one that is pieced but needs to be completed with backing, filling, and edging.

Cooking:  Yes, I'll be doing that.  Today I made hoppin' john (but with merguez instead of andouille sausage), and a blueberry pancake, both of which are traditional in my family.  I will keep making cheese soufflés when I visit my parents.  So what will be my new cooking challenge this year?  I think I'll try to cook once per month from one of the historical cooking YouTube channels I follow:  Tasting History, Townsends, English Heritage's "The Victorian Way" series.  And if I find others, I may try those too.  Franklin Habit has some cookery on his channel, and has blogged a few things, so I may try one of those as well.

Something New:  Still pondering.  I'll let you know what I decide.

The one on the right is from The Reader's Digest, in case you don't recognize the logo.

Midmonth - UFO Completed

The Omega Shawl is complete!  I didn't do the lace at the bottom - I tried it and really didn't like it.  So the bottom is just three ridges of garter stitch, to blend with the borders.  It's light and large and two inches longer (because I did extra of the stockinette part) than the pattern indicated, so I think it's just fine and I have a UFO converted to a FO.

I decided to celebrate by trying a new pattern:  Fae Elf Mitts.  I used oddments of wool yarns:

 

Since they are very long on me, and I am not a fingerless mitts kind of person, and I did these just for fun, I asked if anybody in my circle wanted them.  A fellow knitter, somebody I met in the group I joined when I first moved to Connecticut, spoke up first.  I dropped them by her house this afternoon, and she's quite happy with them.

Last night I did a flurry of holiday baking and this afternoon a round of deliveries, all surprises, to friends in the area.  I made Caramel Latte Muffins and Apple Cider Muffins (subbing fizzy cider for the beer), both from Pampered Chef mixes that I purchased during a friend's online party.  I don't need more gadgets and things, and figured the mixes would work well as food gifts and potluck contributions.  I also made Peanut Butter Wreaths (think peanut blossom cookies but rolled in red, white, and green mixed sugars, and with a white chocolate disc in the middle instead of a kiss) and Grinch Cookies which are just tinted sugar cookies (I made mine from scratch because I don't have cake mix on hand) with a red heart on top.  I forgot to take pictures but one of the giftees posted one with her thanks:

Apparently some sampling occurred pre-photo.

I've also done some reading.  I've gotten into the habit that after Thanksgiving I shift to some light holiday fare, and it was the same this year, so they were all quick, inconsequential reads.  I did a few more chapters of The Agony and the Ecstasy before setting it aside for seasonal tales, and then I found Tuesdays with Morrie which had fallen behind the laundry sorter that's on the other side of my headboard.  I am almost done with it and decided to save the last bit to finish on Tuesday, so it's packed for my trip.  My parents lent it to me so I'll return it as soon as I read the last chapters.

Mid-Month Resolutions Report

As noted, one UFO finished!  The other two are packed to go with me to visit family over the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully one, if not both, will be done before I return.

The cardigan is now a pullover, and I am on Round 25 of 26 of the yoke.  I probably won't pack it for the trip, due to size (and to focus on the UFOs) but I should be on the stockinette before I leave and that will go quickly once I return.

That will just leave the cheese soufflé to make, and my parents sounded interested, so I might make it for them.

Harvest Moon Night

 It feels just fall, a bit cool, but perfect for a movie outside:

Real Art Ways has been holding movie events and concerts in its parking lot, with bubbles painted on the pavement.  Tonight was a special event, a showing of "RBG" in memoriam, and for only women members.  Plus a couple toddlers and at least one small dog.

We sheered, we applauded, we cried.  Even those of us who have seen the film before.  And parts were made so much more poignant by her death the Friday before last, especially her reaction to the 2016 election.

It was my first big event since March.  I went to tashlich but it was small.  I knew that I could leave if I needed to, but I felt safe in my bubble, and people were respectful of others.

Mini-Resolution Update

I did not finish the Boneyard Shawl, but I did finish one of my UFOs.  And quite a few hats, mittens, and at least one other scarf.

October Mini-Resolutions

On the KnitTalk list we call this "Aftober" because a woman started encouraging people to finish things in October.  Anything.  Something old, something new, any color, red or blue.....  You get the point.  Since some of the others on the list made Boneyard Shawls I should finish mine.  They've been encouraging it.  But first, the third hat I started on Yom Kippur; part of my way of distracting myself during all the discussions and services and other services and ......  I finished two crocheted ones on Monday, having started the first on Sunday evening.

How did September get here?

I don't know whether it's because I haven't been traveling, or just because time is warped this year, but it doesn't seem as though it should be September.  And yet, here it is.

I also don't feel as though I have much more to report than I did in the previous post.  Work has continued, and we signed one deal but another has taken quite a turn, so I'm busy with it but in a different way.  I found out that eBay was offering sellers extra free listings in August, and that gave me incentive to go through my stash and post a number of auctions.  Many years ago somebody sniffed that you never receive what you paid for the yarn, so why bother?  My thought is that I get the advantage of more space in my home, a bit of money in return, and somebody else may love getting yarn at a good price.

So far, it seems to be working that way.  I've also sent boxes to people who make items for charity, and donated a bunch more (do you know the IKEA Dimpa bag? we'd had one of those donated to a local makerspace, and after sorting out the yarn it included I filled it with other yarn to donate) to a local thrift/charity store.  A woman on KnitTalk has been posting about the good things she is excited to find at her local charity/thrift store, so I don't mind donating to mine.  Again, somebody benefits.

August mini-Resolutions Update

As I said, no progress.  I didn't finish the Boneyard Shawl, nor any of my own UFOs, although I did finish several that were in the Dimpa bag with the yarn.  In addition to the striped hat in the last post, I finished the hat with the entrelac top, and put together some granny triangles into a scrappy scarf:

Also shown are a hat and mittens made of scraps of a multi and some royal blues, and an in-progress scarf of (not mine) handspun.  So I've made plenty of things this month, just not the ones I resolved to finish.  So........

September Mini-Resolution

Easy ones, just rolling over from August:  Finish the Boneyard Shawl, and at least one of my own UFOs.  I've made some progress on one UFO, but not to finishing.

Where did the summer go?

I intended to update the blog over the summer, but I was out and about and kept forgetting.

RESOLUTIONS:

I have now finished all the books in my Resolutions post!  I'd previously reported about finishing "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles", and since then I finished "Dreams in the Golden Country" (I almost finished it on the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, but couldn't, and finished it earlier this month instead), "Rookie of the Year" (which I did indeed finish while at summer camp), and "The Whisperer", which was better than I expected, although with an unsurprising ending.

I have also finished an additional book, "Shopping for Buddhas", a Lonely Planet book from the late 1990's.  I started it at camp after finishing "Rookie of the Year" and since it's not seasonal I continued until the end.  An interesting light read, definitely viewing Nepal through the eyes of an unschooled but sympathetic American.  I feel as though I have read more, but it may be that I read a lot of articles and such, not proper books.

I finished one of the three shawls I listed, the one of handspun (two different skeins by related but different spinner/dyers) purchased at DFW Fiber Fest:

I tried to get a closeup to show
all the wonderful colours.

Very simple basic triangle, with four rows from one skein in stockinette, and two rows from the other in garter, which helped disguise the differences in spinning.  Although they looked very different in the hanks, the yarns blended so well people sometimes though it was a single skein.  The yarn is incredibly soft and this is both light and warm.

I finished another UFO shawl that I located after creating the resolutions post. It's a basic pattern (based upon one I got in a holiday gift exchange an number of years ago) from a single ball of Taiyo Sock purchased on an excursion with two friends a number of years ago, and which languished a lot.  I took it on a whirlwind trip I had to make suddenly in July, when I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to think and not a lot of space for packing.  Here it is on a long layover:

Yes, it has since been finished and worn.  Another basic triangle, this one with an eyelet row at every colour change, until those got very skinny and then at every other colour change.

I have made several other shawls, all for my grandmother.  She is always cold, and mentioned that shawls are "the thing" right now, and since they are simple and fun to do, I whipped up a couple:

Crocheted Shawl of Red Heart Dreamy Stripes, and knitted shawl
(Wailea pattern) in Lion Brand Cupcake, colourway "Tundra".

She liked them, so I made three more that I delivered at my last visit, but I forgot to take pictures of those.  One was a rarity for me, using the actual yarn and pattern together, but it came out nicely and my grandmother likes it a lot.  The other two were basic crocheted patterns, both different from the one in the photo.  She likes all of them, and even shares them with friends, but only for the duration of a meal or concert and then makes sure to get it back.  I think she's showing off a bit.

October is coming, which means the KnitTalk list has its annual "Aftober" of completing projects, and I plan to finish the "Omega" shawl (also on my Resolutions list) next month.  I have a lot of travel scheduled, and it's still small enough to be a briefcase project.

SUMMER:

I went to camp.  A friend teaches at a camp, and she has a small cabin of her own during that month, so can host guests.  She gets one day off per month, and we go exploring.  Last year, it was to a local glassworks museum and a small hike.  This year, we went to a local town and wandered through secondhand shops and a flea market, then stopped at a chocolate shop that also carries non-chocolate items.  We got some really cute things for her family and my grandmother.

I visited my grandmother; we wandered around flea markets (one has a pickle-on-a-stick-snack-as-you-shop stand, and you get any of the pickles they have on offer - mine was garlic half-sour - or you can buy quantities to take home) and attended a concert and drove around looking at stuff.  And clouds, my grandmother loves looking at clouds.

MakeHartford celebrated its fifth anniversary with a gathering, and show-and-tell that included a portable pizza oven and a "thermonuclear hot dog cooker", otherwise known as a solar cooker.  We had competing chocolate chip/candy cookies, and I made strawberry marshmallows, and much food and drink and conviviality was had by all.

I've traveled a lot, some for work and some for family and friends.  I've tried to get out more, especially given how nice the weather has been, so movies in the park and concerts in the park and lots of cemetery walks and park walks and other things.  Since the weather is lovely, I think I'll go do more of that today.

Baby Sweaters - including a 40-year UFO

Once again, I've been busy and not updating the blog.  Of course, part of the reason is that I have been busy doing things - such as making or finishing three baby sweaters.  They are going to a "baby house" in FSU (not at the orphanages where I donate things through Mittens for Akkol, but another one) and I had fun with these.

First a sweater from one ball of Patons Classic Wool in "Commotion":

It was supposed to have a hood, but I didn't have enough yarn, even making the three-to-six months size, so gave it a placket and collar instead.  I had fun rummaging through my button box and debated several other options until I found the lone card with three purple "jewel" buttons.  Perfect!  Why shouldn't an orphan have special buttons?

Similarly the ones on this sweater, although they are not the only star-shaped ones I have:

 

The yarn is oddballs of (I think) Cleckheaton and a ball of Noro Kureyon, and I used all of the blue and the Kureyon but have a bit of the green left.  It's the Super-Natural Stripes Sweater in about 18 months size.  I received a lot of compliments about it, including when I was knitting while waiting for the annual Om Street to begin (you can see me at it in the background of picture #107).  The colours show up much better here - they really are bright, and one friend said quite classic:

It's almost hard to give that one away, but I have no use for it and some child will be warm.

Finally, a sweater that I had very little to do with.  You see, my mother found an old knitting bag with pieces of two sweaters in it.  She made them when my brother was an infant.  They are nicely done but were never put together.  Mom gave me permission to finish and donate them.  I had time to do only one for this shipment, since the woman going to visit the baby house is leaving earlier than we expected.  I chose the one that seemed to be more complete:

At the top is a back with two fronts attached at the shoulders.  We're not sure what the middle piece is; I guessed a hood of some sort.  And the two sleeves below.  Since there was no other yarn and of course no instructions, I decided to use my best guesses, and to unravel the hood piece for yarn to finish the sweater.

First, set in the sleeves and sew side and underarm seams:

The fronts have no buttonholes and just touch, so I wonder if they are supposed to have a zipper?  I don't have one, and I do have a lot of buttons, and I've heard that buttoned sweaters are more popular in FSU countries.  How to adapt?  I decide to knit on another six stitches in the same 1:1 ribbing, and attach it as I go.  Like this:

 
For one side, I skip attaching every so often, to create buttonholes.

Then to finish the neckline, I added a ribbed collar:

And of course once some buttons were sewn on (the backside is very much prettier than the front, although the white side would have been fine too), it's a cute little cardigan!

So decades after it was first knitted for a then-little boy, hopefully it will keep some other little child warm.  It's not the first time I've put together a decades-old UFO for my mother, and I said it's proof that dislike of sewing-together is genetic!

Another UFO Blog Hop

A couple months ago, the UFO group I joined this year did a blog hop so that people could post about progress on their items.  Although I have not made much progress on the shawls that I announced as my UFOs for the year, I did finish two other items.

At MakeHartford we have a Paper Artist Gathering group which I am part of mostly because I was part of the original Geometric Origami Club that grew into the current group.  And somehow, I was talked into contributing to a group exhibit that opens on May 6th at the Farmington Valley Art Center.  Titled "Paper Possibilities 2017: Exploring a Modest Medium" it shows all different types of art created from paper.

When people were talking about the exhibit, I mentioned some UFOs I had from a workshop on creating altered books from the lamentably gone (the artist moved to Virginia!) from Hartford, Studio N111.  In this workshop, we took books and learned about cutting and rearranging and folding and all kinds of options to decorate them.

Although I did a little work after the workshop, this is where they were, and had been for quite a long time:


The open book at the left, "A Road to Hope", is about a couple who helped to create a home for families near a cancer treatment center.  I ended up not doing more to it this time (if it doesn't sell, and I don't expect it to, I may do more and enter V1.2 in next year's exhibit) and didn't take pictures of the little that I did do, but I did more work on the other item.

That book was a young adult paperback, rather battered.  I removed (and recycled) the cover, and began to fold the pages into the same three-fold pattern, but alternating which corner I used to start.  So the shape formed as shown.

When I went back to it to finish the piece for the exhibit, I envisioned something mostly painted white and pale yellow, with maybe a touch of pink, and some deeper blue and purple circling it at angles.  I found a crystal dangle in a shape that echoes the one that is forming, and wanted to add it to add some interest to what I thought would be an unimpressive piece, especially compared to other artworks in the exhibit.  To attach a hanging loop and the crystal, I envisioned satin cord monkey's fist knots at each end, coordinating with the blue or purple or even both.

Of course that didn't happen.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post about randomness, a friend had counseled that sometimes art takes its own direction and doesn't end up as planned.  Without a lot of time to struggle, I wasn't going to fight the art.

First, I finished folding all the pages, and I noticed that the pages that had been exposed were slightly but noticeably yellowed.  This happens with the type of cheap paper often used in paperback books, and I realized that not only would it require a lot of paint to cover to get the white background I was envisioning, but the pages were going to continue to yellow as time passes.  So I decided to make that part of the art.

I'd obtained a set of pearlescent watercolours, and used them to add tints to the piece, focusing on yellow, orange, rust, and two shades of green:

You can see very clearly the newly-folded pages below, and the sun-tinted ones above.

I did more than one pass, some more watery and others drier, to get different depth of colour.  Then I decided that the monkey's fist knots wouldn't quite work, in addition to not having any beads or balls at home large enough to act as a base, and not having time to shop for any before the piece needed to be delivered.  So I took some wool yarn that seemed to coordinate with the paper colour and two buttons scrounged from my stash (I wanted two of the ceramic one, which seemed to coordinate best without adding more colour to the piece, but only had one, and so relaxed my stress of symmetry) to create a tasseled hanger.

Sorry it's not focused.  JHB Collection on left, something artsy on the right.

The darker, thinner button went on the top with the idea that it would be less visible when the piece is hung.  I didn't fasten the cord into the paper piece; it's held by tension and the curve of the spine caused by the folding.

Here are a couple quick pictures taken when I dropped off the piece:

Although it's not what I had envisioned, I like the end result.  The colours are much more visible to the naked eye than they photograph.  You still see that it was a book (one of the other artists wanted assurance that I would not obliterate the words, and I told her that was why I selected watercolours) but it has turned into something almost organic.  The tassel is at the top, slightly off-center from where the hanging occurs, and not visible in these photos.  I'll try to get one at the opening on Saturday and add it or link to another post.

Now that you've read the story of my UFO, check out what some of the other artists in this month's blogroll have been finishing:

Karen Williams, Baublicious

Francie Broadie,  FAB

Christine Van Dyke Altmiller, One Kiss Creations

Therese, Therese's Treasures

Kim Dworak, CianciBlue

Liz Hart, Treetop Life

Liz En, Bead Contagion

Amy Severino, Amy Beads

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope

Christi Carter, Sweetpea Path

Bobbie Rafferty, Beadsong Jewelry