Purple Rain

 

I like the idea of spending a little time each day doing something for myself that will result in an actual tangible outcome, so when the idea of making a temperature blanket found me I was pretty well sold on the idea from the start.  As 2018 wrapped up, and projects wound down I had begun negotiations with myself not to start any new, long, and drawn out activities for the upcoming year ... So, naturally, that's exactly what I did!  For the last couple of years, I'd been toying with the idea of knitting a "sky scarf," where you look out the window and whatever color the sky is at that moment of each day, that's the color you use to knit a row of your project, but this being the PNW, and all, I figured if I wanted a grey scarf with little bits of blue in it here, and there I could just make that in a weekend, and not drag it out for an entire year.  I'd also kicked around thoughts about the Doctor Who scarf, but does anyone really need a twelve foot long scarf?  Answer: Yes (but I just wasn't feeling it this time around).  I needed something easy, with enough color variation to be exciting to me, and something that wouldn't take up too much of my time, and end up feeling burdensome.

Enter the temperature blanket. 

Each day this year I'll be recording the temperature for my location, and knitting the corresponding
color into my blanket.  First, I needed to make my own temperature gauge, since the ones I'd found floating around the interwebs had numbers on them I see in these parts only a few times per decade, and I want to make a blanket that has more than three and a half colors in it.  Shrinking my color palette down to nine colors, and adjusting the numbers to reflect temperatures (in Fahrenheit) that are more common to my area was a crucial step.  Since my climate is so temperate, I'll also be recording the year's lowest lows to its highest highs transitioning on days when the temperatures stay the same both night, and day.  Not only will this make a more interesting blanket, and ensure the use of all of my colors, but the finished piece will depict a broader summary of the year's fluctuations.  To me, recording just the highs would be like telling a partial story.  Next,  all I had to do was figure out what on earth I was going to make.

Visions of chevron, and cabled lap blankets danced in my head, but I didn't want to have to learn something new for this, especially if it was going to be an everyday sort of thing, and since I began planning this around December 28th, I didn't feel I had enough time to perfect a new technique.  Also, this project is supposed to be relaxing and result in a gift for myself ... It's not going to feel like much of a present if I'm giving myself a headache every day for a year trudging through difficult patterns.

Then I found this. 

In a brief yet informative post, Staci walks us through everything we need to know about knitting a scrappy bedspread.  Bingo!  "I mean, why knit a little throw blanket, when you could knit an entire queen size bedspread?" I said to myself as I, once again, over-complicated something I'd been attempting to simplify, but when I saw her adaptation of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Traveler's Life Afghan pattern resulted in 620 rows of stitches, I knew I was barking up the right tree.  I wanted to knit a garter stitch piece that could accommodate my desire for knitting two rows per day which will give the blanket a solid cord of color for each day on one side resulting in clean, sharp stripes, and create a bit of a gradient effect on the other side.  In the end, mine will come out at 730 rows, which will probably create enough fabric to pull over my pillows and create a nice, old fashioned crease of a smartly made bed underneath them, but we shall see.  Like Staci, and Stephanie I'll also be using the color changes as a further design element by clipping my yarn free from its skein at the completion of every row to create fringe up both sides of the blanket as I go instead of having to add it later.  Hopefully, tying them off at 5 strand increments should work out alright (stay tuned).

If you're interested in joining in, it's not too late!  

You can use my color / temperature chart, make your own, or find something else online.  Pinterest, of course, is loaded with ideas, and if you're not into the Care Bear Stare of a color palette I've created, there are folks who've made some pretty slick tonal combinations that elevate the look of the entire project I think, and give it a little more polish, and make it feel a little more grown up (that I wouldn't mind trying myself at another time).  Anyway, if you do want to take the leap, sort your yarn out, and you can find a back log of daily temperatures HERE.  Just click on your region, and go to the light blue "NOWData" tab to narrow down your selection even further.  Once you do, you can then select the dates you wish to view, et voilà, all of the daily highs and lows!

The Knitty Gritty:
Needles - Addi 40" Circular size: US 9 (5.5 mm)
Pattern - Staci Perry's adaptation of The Traveler's Life Afghan by, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn - Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (It's cheap, durable, and available in a wide variety of colors)

xoxo

Affirmative

My word for the year: YES

Uncorked

Pop your top, and flip your lid!

If You're Happy and You Know it

A few months ago, I came across this quote:

Happiness is a great side effect but it makes a lousy goal.

-Mike Rowe 

Followed by a jaunty quip about how it's a good thing to have it, but not to make it your main focus, because you'll fail.

Does it make a lousy goal?  And will you fail, though?  What if it doesn't?  And what if you didn't (respectively)?  I happen to think happiness is a wonderful goal.  To achieve happiness in our lives in spite of our challenges, and the unpleasantness we can all face, to me, is great success.  What better goal is there, then, if not to live a life in happiness inviting others to experience it with you, holding space for their sorrows, and lifting them when they're down?  What better goal than to be of service to one another?  I honestly don't think there is one, but I understand how this notion of happiness as the end goal can seem problematic. 

In every area of life, we run into trouble when we over-complicate things.  

Look at what we do to love!  We over-complicate our relationships to an absurd degree, and then conflate that with love, because we (most of us, I think) haven't figured out that something can be both simple, and awesome at the same time.  No, we must make it a HUGELY deep, and sophisticated concept to the point where it does seem fictional, and legendary, and perpetually out of reach for the masses, because something that feels as good as joy, and love can feel incredibly intimidating if you're not ready to receive it, become it, or pay it forward. 

By perpetuating the myth that happiness is this colossal concept of perfect contentment, we end up pushing it away, and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where it remains comfortably out of grasp.

We've been conditioned to treat happiness like some fleeting, unattainable outcome.  First of all, happiness does not equal a problem-free existence.  Happiness does not mean a life free from sorrows.

Happy literally means: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.  

Nowhere in that definition does it say, "All of your problems have magically disappeared!" or, "You must experience happiness 100% of the time, all day long, everyday, for the entire year, and every single year thereafter for the rest of your life in order to qualify as having lived a happy life."  If that's closer to the definition people are using to measure their happiness against, of course we are going to buckle under that pressure, and gloriously fail at reaching the end-goal of happiness.  I've already failed it today, myself, and some of you probably have too!  Do I believe we're not going to live happy lives because of it?  Nope, and it certainly doesn't mean any of us should stop making moves in order to exist in pleasure, contentment, and dare I say it ... actual joy.

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.  

-John Lennon 

xoxo

In the Bleak Midwinter...

Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

-Christina Rossetti

Merry & Bright

As the year winds down, it seems we are bombarded with pumpkin or peppermint everything, and the hotter the better!  So, for anyone (like me) needing a recipe for something bright, crisp tasting, and a little bit different...

Here's what you need:

(All fruit is frozen) 

• Bananas 3
• Cranberries 2 cups
• Mango Chunks 3 cups
• Raspberries 2 cups
• Ginger Root 1" knob, grated
• Shredded Coconut 1 Tbsp (+ extra for garnish)
• Full-Fat Organic Canned Coconut Milk 2/3 cups
• Pure Organic Maple Syrup 1/4 cup
• Water 1 cup

Here's what you do:
Throw everything in a large blender, and blend the hell out of it.  Pour, sprinkle with a pinch of extra coconut shreds, serve & enjoy!

When using all frozen fruit like I am, you may need to give your blender intermittent rests, and add a little more water.  If you prefer a thinner consistency, add more water, or use fresh bananas rather than frozen.

This recipe makes about 64 ounces.

So Long, Farewell ...

If you missed your chance to geek out with Worldbuilders over the last two weeks, you can always support their charitable efforts through the Worldbuilders Market, or support Heifer International directly all year long.  If you like to get a little something in return for your giving, I suggest swinging through Heifer's virtual gift shop where money from sales go straight to the makers (I recommend the Confetti Farm Animal Ornaments because turquoise cows, and hot pink pigs speak to my soul on a truly profound level).

Another charity worth checking out, if you haven't already, is new kid on the block: BStrong.  Polarizing Real New York Housewife, Bethenny Frankel, has always known how to leverage her exposure, and popularity for maximum benefit, but she really hit her stride when she expanded into disaster relief after watching the chaos that followed Hurricane Maria (2017), and the lackluster response the region received.  Love her, or hater her she is dedicated to getting cash into the hands of people who need it most, and uses her voice to educate donors on how to spot a less than charitable organization, and how some of the ones we've been led to believe are the most reputable only deliver pennies on the dollar to those in need.  I really think this is one to watch.  I personally feel completely comfortable donating money to her disaster relief initiative, with the boots on the ground belonging to volunteers, and the transportation covered by generous vehicle and space donations, I believe any money received is going exactly where it needs to be going.

xoxo

It's a Wrap! -- Winter Craft Project

I thought with schools about to press pause for winter break, that's a lot of days with a lot of hands with nothing to do until Christmas morning in some households (you can only bake, and decorate so many batches of cookies).  Also, with a lot of families looking for ways to minimize screen time, it can be fun to sit down together, and make some ornaments for your tree, or tabletop decorations.  I first learned about yarn wrapped sheep from The Inadvertent Farmer, during my search for a craft my niece could tackle ... Leave it to little folks to ask, "What else could we make?"

This is my answer to that.