What have I been knitting?

What have I been knitting? Trying out the Blogger for Word feature, I’ll write in Word and see if it uploads. So, here we go.

As I said earlier, I made LOTS of scarves to sell at a boutique on South Congress that features only the work of local “artists.” I am enjoying being thought of as an artist. However, in order to get me a reasonable amount plus their commission, the price is, well, to me, pricey. I hope some rich people came by this month. I made a combination of Eros scarves and various types of fluffy yarns, plus a few with textures. It was a great opportunity to try out a variety of yarns. One, Foliage, made me so happy that…

I have made two things from that yarn already! One is a very bright afghan out of mitered squares, which I am sending (any second now) to my friend, Marcia, who has a new house with brightly colored walls. The pattern is in the Berocco book that has a dog sweater on the cover, but I just read the instructions and winged it from there, and I added a crochet border. The other item is a rather interesting looking vest (from the Berocco web site) in blues and greens and purples that I just finished today. I hadn’t planned to actually make the border, then said, “Oh, what the heck,” and I ended up liking it.

I’ve also made quite a few felted items, most of which have already been given away. One very large bag has taught me that perhaps Lopi is too thick for the Lucy bag. I think its intended recipient will like it, once I surgerize the extremely long main strap that didn’t felt too well (not surprised at that). The bag is for a man with MS, who needs both hands to go up and down stairs. He will use the bag to carry items up and down. I am considering asking the friend who commissioned it if she wants me to try again in Cascade.


And of course I have made lots of socks. They are so nice for sitting on busses, sitting at football games, waiting at doctor’s offices, dealing with church meeting stress, etc. I will just show one here—the rest I will add to my knitting portfolio page eventually (maybe today if I am not totally exhausted from high school band parenting).

And booties! Cute little baby booties that will be given away at a shower tomorrow. I am very proud of the blue ones, which I used to learn how to do figure 8 cast on. That let me make the entire thing in one piece. Ooh, ahh. Both bootie patterns are from the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar. I think both are in the 2006 one. The 2005 calendar had the pattern for the socks in the picture from September 30.

As promised, a photo

As promised, a photo. This is the most beautiful sock ever created. The yarn is Trekking XXL in color 100. The yarn has three strands in it, and each one changes color randomly. I love this yarn and will wear these socks a lot. See, I posted.

oops!

Gosh, I am sorry it has been so long since I posted. Work really got in the way, plus I was in knitting overdrive trying to stock a boutique with items to put on commission, only to have them priced a bit high and not sell...hoping for better news this month on that front.

I will post some completed project pix ASAP. And write about what I think about hurricanes and the world.

In good news, I found my lost friend from when I was a wild and unprincipled college rhetoric instructor. He didn't die in a submarine like I thought he would!

Still Here!

I was out of town much of June and early July in a combo of vacation and work off site. I was busy teaching my dad to use a computer (yay dad, at age 74 finally got online) and working in a room full of computers at a big conference. We had a blog at the conference, so you can read my posts there [if they are still there]:

http://lllitechroom.blogspot.com/

I spent a lot of time with my oldest son at the conference. It was a highlight of both our lives. It was pure joy to see him interacting with my friends and colleagues at meals and evenings. He fit right in and cracked everyone up. He met a friend, a girl much like himself, and they had a great time running around and having fun, as well as helping out. They really impressed others with their behavior. I was proud of both of them.

I am learning Picasa, which claims it will upload photos to this. I'll see what I can do. I promise to write more, and to show you my beautiful poncho I finished and wore at the conference!

Comment

Stephanie said...
Hiya Sue Ann. You should be a proud momma. What a great boy you have raised! I have been using Picasa since I got a digital camera two years ago and it is easy as pie. I expect you will master it quickly and be littering the web with your beautiful photos. :-)
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:06:00 PM

Latest Knitted Item

Ta da, I finished my cardigan. I probably knitted 1.5 cardigans, given how many times I messed up the pattern or otherwise didn't do it right. The collar isn't "right" either, but I ended up liking it, so now it is my own design. Go me.

Everyone says the green color will be "neutral" and match lots of stuff. I think so, too. It is a wool/raw silk blend that feels wonderful. It was such a joy to work on, other than the fact that I didn't have enough yarn and panicked until I could phone the yarn store and reserve some! The pattern is from "The Queensland Collection," and the yarn is Queensland Aran Tweed. It has little purple specks in it. There is a larger view at http://www.braesgate.com/Knits/SweaterSAK.jpg if you want to check out the pattern. It's a garter stitch basketweave.

Now I am working on the most beautiful poncho. In shiny silk in amazingly intense colors...ooh.

Comments

Vicki said...
Very comfy looking!! I think I'm gonna have to get me some of that Queensland Aran Tweed... anything that has flecks of purple in it is fine by me.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 8:33:00 AM

Jennifer said...
You look extremely dignified. Also warm.
Thursday, June 02, 2005 2:51:00 PM

Friends and Flaws

Last week, I had an interesting conversation with an old friend (a young person, just an old friend, LOL). We know each other pretty well and are fairly intimate in our knowledge of each others "bugs and features." Part of the conversation involved how to deal with someone who "rubs you the wrong way," other than fleeing. I thought to myself how the things that bug me most about other people are often things I, myself, still need to work on or have spent years trying to address and feel like I have improved (say, passive aggressive behavior, which I am way down on compared to say, 5 years ago). And I remember how a couple of women who are very good friends of mine today really bugged me when I first met them [edited insert: people I knew in real life, not online friends, OK???]. I am thinking of two people who talked and talked and talked in group situations, to where others never got a chance. This is one of those "things I work on a lot" so I am particularly sensitive to it in others. I really had to force myself to continue to be with them, and as I result, I did get to know their complex life stories, their many wonderful positive features, and so much more--I gave them the chance, and got to know the "whole person." They have both influenced me greatly--so glad I gave them the chance!

During this conversation, my friend had another very useful insight. She said that she tries to embrace the little quirks her friends have, and to simply observe them rather than react: "Oh, look at Suna, she's doing that little thing of hers again. Isn't that endearing?" While that may sound sappy at first glance, it really is significant to me. Heck, we ALL have quirks and idiosyncrasies (ack, no spell check). Knowing that our friends know us, love us, and embrace our flaws as part of what makes us who we are can really be freeing. If you are close enough to a friend or group of friends that you don't have to constantly self-censor yourself, you can, perhaps learn and grow more and reach even deeper degrees of intimacy with others.

The result of this conversation is that we shared the idea with a few others, and then practiced saying, "Oh, look, she's doing that again; how loveable," or whatever. It felt FRIENDLY and loving, not like anyone was being picked on or singled out. It let each of us laugh at our own foibles, knowing no one was holding them against us. And you know, it helped! Rather than being peeved at a few things last week, I was able to say to myself, "That's just how So-and-so is," and grant her the grace to be herself, even if it momentarily bugged me.

I am so grateful to my imperfect friend for sharing this idea with imperfect me!

Comments

Jennifer said...
And now I am terribly, terribly worried that y'all are or were talking about me. Isn't it adorable when I'm paranoid like this? ;)

Vicki said...
I sympathize with J... today I found out from another mom at my son's preschool that she used to think I was "really snotty" before she found out I was shy, and that she and another mom had been talking about me after the school "spring tea party" where my husband and I felt so awkward and shy that we didn't speak to any of the other parents. Gee, I wonder what they were saying about me.

Suna said...
Well, I did let J. know it wasn't her--and that by the end of the meeting, I was viewing the person I had difficulty with in a new light, thanks to the conversation with "my other friend." I guess we can't do anything about what others say about us (I recently accidentally spotted an email ALL about something I said in a public forum), but we can do our best not to be so quick to judge--and I think that is a GOOD lesson! Thanks, friends.

Jennifer said...
Vicki -- doesn't it suck SO BAD when people think you're snotty when actually you're just shy? We need to wear big signs that say "SHY" on them. ;)

Mom Moment

Wow, it is hard to believe that 12 years ago tomorrow, I gave birth to this beautiful thing. On the other hand, since he does look like someone in my family, I guess I can believe it. He had his birthday party last night (it should be over ANY second now--parents coming to pick up their 6 interesting young fellows). The boys were so well behaved, after the one who likes to shout and brandish a wooden sword got it out of his system. They even went to bed when we told them to at 1 am!

One thing I have noticed about both my boys is that they have excellent choices of friends. The older one's friends are such high achievers and so darned polite to adults, yet pretty funny with each other. And this one's friends are more of the "learning problem" set (makes sense, as he was in the section with the children with behavior issues this year), yet they are tons of fun, but not too much fun--nothing was destroyed. It is so nice to meet so many different pre-teens who have such kind spirits (under the bluster). I am watching one young fellow enjoying our pug, sliding down the stairs with him, and talking to him like he was a close friend.

I am really enjoying both my boys right now. They are still talking to me, yet growing and changing every time I turn around. I am really looking forward to a week at a conference with the older one this summer!

Comment from Vicki: He's gorgeous! :-)

brave

I am considering whether or not to be brave. So I have linked here a photo of my "group" from the workshop I was at last week, as they helped me become brave. What wonderful women--I felt so lucky to be in this group (which is missing my pal, NJ, who had to go home a day early). In the workshop we practiced the meeting techniques that I think I mentioned in the previous post. This showed me that you can really get a lot accomplished if you take the time to really get to know the people you are working with, and to listen to them. We spent many hours after the official workshops were over, in our rooms, just talking and listening. One night, a group of us from very different backgrounds shared our spiritual path stories. The range went from pagan to liberal Christian to LDS to Catholic (liberal). What I loved about the discussion was how respectful we all were and how well everyone attended to the others' stories. In the end, I really could see how each of us ended up in the place that was right for HER, and I think the others shared this experience. What a contrast from the knee-jerk reaction we often have, "Oh, she's an X, so she must be an idiot." (A thing I have done in the past, don't get me wrong, not perfect here.)

Back on the home front, I may have mentioned that things have become painful for me again at my own spiritual home. Some circumstances I thought I was handling well (thanks to years of wonderful therapy, which, yes, I will go back to when I am not so effing busy) resurfaced, and I was disappointed to see that I had a very hard time coping. I became fearful, distrustful and uncomfortable around the people even tangentially involved, like I used to be. Afraid that if I said anything that could be negatively interpreted by a group who was looking for me to make mistakes, it would be reported and exaggerrated to put me down. As this has happened a number of times in the past, I knew it was possible. I had spent two years being very careful what I said and to whom, but had been feeling more relaxed this year.

I had decided to withdraw again, and have not been back in many weeks--thanks to travel and other circumstances. But, the group of people working toward change kept asking me to stay involved. And the ministers called in a mediation team (whew, was out of town for THAT painful meeting), and when one of the ministers phoned me to find out if I could go to a later meeting...she began to tell me what she was looking into as ways to improve the situation. She actually mentioned World Cafe and Appreciative Inquiry. So I had to say, "Hey, you should look into Open Space Technology, too."

It occurs to me that, after this training, I actually have something constructive to offer. I could help. And that has been my goal this year--to not focus on negativity, but on what positive things I could do to help. I had been unable to figure anything positive out until that conversation. So...maybe I will be BRAVE and see what I can do to bring these useful techniques for conflict resolution and deeper understanding to this community.

To remind me I can be strong and brave, at right is a photo of me at the workshop, explaining my grand plan to start a couple of helpful and positive email lists for my organization.

Consensus Fun

I am now in Illinois at a lovely resort where a bunch of women are gathered to look into various ways of facilitating conversations among groups. We used "appreciative inquiry" yesterday and today are doing something called "world cafe."

We have been sitting around talking about how to help our organization value our diverse membership and their disparate perspectives. It was so exciting when, after hashing out many variations of "valuing each other" or listening, or whatever, we finally came to a pithy, short summary of hours of conversation. We decided we can facilitate change and honor diversity this way:

All important conversations occur in the open

Why? Because so many issues are ONLY raised in the hallways, or in our rooms after hours, or in private email lists--which means there ends up being lots of "elephants in the room." If we could create more opportunities for this sort of thing, MAYBE conflicts could turn into constructive conversations...

What is it with people?

It's my last day in California, and I had a good time here! Even the work part has been great so far. I don't look forward to getting home at 3:30 am only to have to teach knitting to many small children at 8:30 am but am prepared to crash.

But, what is it with some people? Email seems to make folks feel free to write just about anything about people they don't know--making things up, calling them names...isn't it still slander when you do it by email for hundreds of people to read? I see so many of the volunteers at my organization engaging in this behavior, over and over, with no consequences, that I seriously am considering becoming just an employee and not a member as well. I don't want to be associated with this type of behavior--I feel guilty by association.

Just a little vent. Really, I know everyone has good intentions. They just don't realize people they don't know are human beings, too. And that they don't have the facts (or choose to ignore it).