Back to a Tiny Needle for Tiny Needle Tuesday

Last week, I decided I was ready to start my next counted cross-stitch project.  I had already gathered everything together an put it in one place, so that when I felt ready, I could just get going.

So last Monday, I sat down and got started.  And then started again.  And then another time.  And then I put it away, deciding that I would see how I felt about it on Stitchy Saturday (my own name for Saturdays if I work on any needlework).

I was in the mood on Saturday, and keeping in mind what I had done on Monday, I forged ahead.  The project I'm making should eventually look like this (or at least close to it):

Last year, I happened upon Floss Toss, a video podcast with Rachel from Treehouse Knits, and Sue from Legacy Fiber Artz.  They started a Flosstube (which is apparently what cross-stitch podcasts are called), and one of them - I forget which one - had made this, and I just loved it.  So I looked it up and purchased the pattern, fabric, and floss after checking I didn't already have any of the colors.  I've had it for a little while, but was finally ready to start stitching!

I had decided to start with the snowflakes at the top.  Easier said than done for me, because even though the fabric was not snowy white, it was still not that much darker than the white thread.  Since I realized what had happened on Monday, when I wasn't really prepared for that, things went better on Saturday.  I got two of the snowflakes done in the morning, and three in the afternoon.  And no, they are not perfect, but they are done and they look like snowflakes to me.

You can see them here in my Instagram post.  I think I'll do OK now, at least for a while, because the white sections left will have a lot more area, and I'll wait to do them until the other parts are complete.  That's the plan, at least.

It's a large-ish project - well, larger than my most recent one anyway - so I think it will take me a while, but that's fine with me.  I kinda like knowing it will be there waiting for me when I feel like giving it some love.

Things That Have Made It Feel Spring-y

Hello sports fans!  OK, maybe I'm the only sports fan, but that's how my mother used to wake us up for school every morning (again, I was the only one remotely interested in sports ... my sisters were interested if a cute boy was on a team or something, but other than that, forget it).  

Anyway, how was your weekend?  It wasn't actually too spring-like here in Philadelphia - cool, rainy, and then even when the rain stopped, it was mostly overcast.  It was a good weekend to do some knitting reading, and catching up on recorded TV, as well as watching college basketball.  (I wanted Gonzaga to win last night, but at least it was a good game.) 

I kinda sorta finished the first Ty Dy yarn sock, in that the "tube" is finished, but I didn't do the afterthought heel.  I decided I'd wait until both socks were ready for that, and do it all at once.  Well, so to speak, who knows if it will be straightforward enough to do two at once, or one a day ... I thought I'd taken a picture, but I know realize it was an Instagram photo, with Jack blocking most of the picture. Shocking, I know.  Anyway the yarn is more like blocks of color, rather than stripes or even pooling.  But every once in a while, there's a random one-row/part of one-row stripe.  It's weird.  And I feel somewhat obliged to try and make them match, since the blocks of color are quite large.  We'll see - if it starts to aggravate me, I may end up with mismatched color block socks.  

But I digress, I wanted to show you some things that made it feel like spring to me.  

First up, my new box for my Box o' Socks:

Isn't it pretty?  I like it because it's not just springy, but it's not just a regular box.  I was using a gift box from Nordstrom's which was a lovely silver box, but The Tim kept putting it away with some other gift boxes I'd saved.  And I don't think many socks would have actually fit into it, in the end.  This one is nice and deep, so I can layer them if nothing else.  And if I don't do another Box o' Socks next year (or anytime soon), I can still have a lovely box for various uses.  I'm sure I'll get my money's worth - it wasn't that expensive to start!

Next, the happy daffodils in the front planter of our house!  Believe it or not, this photo was taken on Sunday, and there are even more of them today!  They started budding way too early, but even the cold temperatures and some snow didn't deter them.  I love daffodils, they always look so happy to me.  Even if nothing else blooms or "takes" this year, at least we had lots of daffodils!

Baseball season has started, and yesterday the Phillies won their first game of the season - yay!  I'm hoping they will have a good season this year.  Last year they weren't too bad, considering most of the team was new players, and there were some standouts.  I know they won't be heading to the World Series, but I really hope they improve on last year.

Not related necessarily to springtime, but related to knitting, I recently watched an episode of the podcast Treehouse Knits.  I liked it, but I especially liked the segment where she gave some information on the background of Icelandic Sheep.  Plus the photos of the sheep made me happy.  If you decide to check it out, the specific part about the sheep starts at about 17:30, and goes for approximately 7 minutes.  That alone with is worth seeing/hearing.

Just one more thing - thank you for your kind comments from the part of my last post where I talked about giving the woman a hug when I learned she was taking her dog for her last walk.  It turns out that a reporter at one of the local news stations saw her post, and contacted her for a story.  Granted, they misspelled my last name in the article, but it's still a nice write up.  If you are interested in reading it, here's the link.  As I mentioned when I shared it on Facebook, I mainly wanted people to stop and think about how much a small gesture of kindness can help someone more than you might think.  :-)

That's it for now.  I hope your week is going well so far.  And I hope you will come across some things that make you feel like springtime has truly arrived.

Random Things on a Rainy Friday

Well, Spring is not sprung-ing today in Philadelphia, that's for sure.  Right now, it's about 38 degrees and POURING!  Gah.  It's that kind of damp that makes you cold even once you are inside.

Anyway, this is your occasional post of random things from my brain.  Feel free to look away.

You may have read about our Vice-President saying at one point that he never eats alone with a woman other than his wife.  Which I find terribly weird, but I also think it's creepy that he calls his wife "Mother."  In any event, this picture of Mike Pence and the expression on his face, along with the headline from the Onion made me laugh out loud.  He does look rather concerned ...

I'm doing something new (to me) with the pair of socks I'm knitting - I'm going to attempt an Afterthought Heel.  I don't know how well it will turn out, nor do I know if I'll want to do it after this pair of socks - it feels like it's making the knitting of even just one a long slog, since there's no "progression."  I think I like the feeling of cuff, leg, heel flap, heel, gusset, foot, toe - they are all progress markers for me, and it starts to look like a sock.  But who knows, I may feel differently once I actually install the heels on the socks.

Have you watched "The Detour"?  They are on season two, and it is the most ridiculous show (gross sometimes, too), and we laugh ourselves silly watching it.

Apologies to the blogger who mentioned this, since I cannot remember where I read it, but they recommended the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast.  I've listened to the first two chapters' episodes and the teaser, and so far am really enjoying it.  It's not preachy, it just looks at the books from a whole different perspective.

Since it was raining so hard, I put on my rain boots to go to work.  It was the first time I've worn something other than the cast or my walking shoes on my right foot since January 11th, when I broke my ankle.  It was extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.  At least once I make my way home today, I won't have to go out again.

OK, this falls into the category of Blowing My Own Horn, but ... last Sunday, I went out to take a little walk around the block, and I saw a couple walking their little doggie.  I asked if I could pet the dog, and they said that it was the last walk for her, and they were on their way to the vet for the last time.  The young woman was sobbing, so I gave her a hug, because I know only too well how she was feeling.  Then  on Monday, I got a notification of a post on the Nextdoor site for our neighborhood, and when I opened it, this is what I saw:

"To the stranger who saw me crying in the street this morning as I walked my dog one last time before I had to let her go- who hugged me and told me everything was going to be okay- thank you."

My Monday was a little better because of it. :-)

I saw this picture on Facebook this week, and ... well, let's just say that I think we can all guess how this would go over ...

OK, that's it for now.  I'm glad the weekend is just a matter of hours now.  I'll probably watch the Final Four games of March Madness, and do the usual weekend things, but so far I have no specific plans.  Which is fine, since some busy weekends are coming up.  I hope yours is a good one!

I saw this the other day.  I think it's worth keeping in mind, for the weekend and every day.  :-)

About Podcasts

Hello all, here's hoping your week has started out OK.  It's supposed to be in the 60s today in Philadelphia, and then on Thursday, we are supposed to wake up to freezing temperatures and 3-5 inches of snow.  Sigh.  This wimpy winter weather here is making me think we are doomed for this summer.  Usually when we don't have a regular winter, the summer is deadly hot and humid.  I am truly hoping to be proven wrong ...

Anyhoo, I was just wondering if any of you are podcast listeners/fans.  I used to enjoy audio podcasts, because I could listen while doing any number of other things.  But it seems that most podcasts today are video podcasts, which mean that a) you need to have your computer/tablet/whatever with you, and b) since you are "watching" you need to pay closer attention to see what is being talked about or shown.  Which, at least for me, means that I need to be actually sitting down, planning to watch and pay attention.  At first this really annoyed me, but I've gotten used to it to some degree.  I still miss audio podcasts, but I do enjoy actually seeing what people are talking about.

During evenings or weekends when I sit down to knit, I've started using that time for podcasts.  Also, in the morning when I get to work, I listen to some of them while clearing out e-mails that have accumulated while I was gone.  I get to work anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half before anyone else, and clearing out e-mails usually takes about half an hour, so it's nice to have "company" while I'm doing that.

Here are some I've sampled recently.  All of these are on YouTube, and a few have become favorites while others are still being "tested."

Grocery Girls
YarnGasm
Once Upon a Corgi
Tea and Possibilities
Along the Lanes (Dee told me about this one, though she hasn't done a podcast for a while)
SaratogaKnitting
By the Lakeside
Sew Sweet Violet
Knitting Envy
Brooklyn Knitfolk
Saralovesockwool
Little Bobbins

The good thing about podcasts are that they make you aware of patterns, yarns, and notions that you may not have heard about otherwise.  The bad thing about podcasts are that they make you aware of patterns, yarns, and notion that you may not have heard about otherwise ... ;-)

Case in point:  The Knitter's Chatelaine.  These were mentioned on one of the above podcasts (Tea and Possibilities, I think), and I looked them up.  And then became obsessed.  I am going to treat myself to one for my birthday, I just have to decide which.  Actually, I think it's a brilliant idea.  Not that I don't have plenty of other little containers/bags for this kind of stuff. but these do appeal to me, and my birthday is coming up, so there!

What about you?  Do you have any podcasts that you like and/or recommend?  I'm still experimenting with most of the ones I come across, but I have found some that "click" with me (and some that definitely do not!).

Even better - do YOU have a podcast??  Let me/us know in the comments!

Unrelated to this topic, here is a photo my niece Lauren sent of her family.  If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you may remember when we went to Mexico for her wedding about 6 years ago.  Well now she and Ben have two kiddos (and she has a friend who is a professional photographer, so her photos are a lot different from the rest of the family's photos!).  So here are Lauren, Ben, Parker (5), and Ari (2) somewhere near where they live in the San Francisco area.  You can see that some of us clean up pretty well.  :-)

See you next time!