Left to sleep,
stones relent
Slowly reap,
time’s regret
Threads weave,
secrets kept
Granite Dells, Prescott, Arizona
Photo and Words by c.b.w. 2013
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c.b.w. 2013
Category: Writing
My journey into the knitting world started with a sock loom and gradually evolved towards using traditional needles. I made more than 20 pairs of socks, 4 hats, 1 scarf, 1 cowl, and 1 blanket before I took on a challenge that was waaaay beyond my skill level. I blame Interweave Knits magazine for presenting a pattern for a super cute camisole. Despite having limited experience with knitting needles, I decided I needed to make the Hashtag Camisole. How hard could it be? Famous last words.
I hunted online for a good deal on the yarn, albeit a different color than the pattern stipulated, (Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, #28 Blue Pine Green). Once it showed up on my doorstep, I should have taken it as a sign that I was in over my head. Even though it was beautiful, I didn’t know yarn could be that thin and split so easily at the same time. Still, my love for that camisole overtook any sense of rational thought.
Before digging into my pricey stash of yarn, I played it smart by using crappy yarn to learn all the new stitches I needed to master as well practice the chevron lace pattern that dominates the piece from top to bottom. After completing a nice sample, I felt confident in moving forward with the project.
All went well with casting on, creating the hem, and knitting the lace pattern itself . . . until row 28. Disaster! After a routine stitch count, I realized I had dropped a stitch. Worse still, it was near a yarn over, so the hole was huge. I had no idea how to reconstruct the stitch and those that fell apart around it. After more than two hours of trying everything, I thought I had it fixed. I was so wrong. Within seconds, another stitch dropped. Soon after, an extra stitch magically appeared in another section. Don’t ask me how this happened because I still don’t know.
I ended up ripping out every row in a mad fury of frustration. Then, I grumbled as I wound the yarn mess back into a little ball. Grrrrrrrrr!
After two days, I decided the pattern and the yarn were not going to win. I picked up my needles and started over again. This time, I was more careful about placing markers and counting stitches. I think my initial mistake was over-excitment with a dash of biting off more than I could chew. Not one to go down easily, I made the choice to learn from my mistakes. I took my time and went about my work one stitch at a time.
In two months, I had a beautiful Hashtag Camisole without a single dropped stitch. It fits like a glove and actually looks identical to the picture in the magazine (just in a different color).
My Hashtag Camisole!
Completing this project was an odyssey to say the least, but I’m glad I stuck with it and didn’t give in to frustration. I even got a little bonus when the designer of the pattern favorited my finished project on ravelry.com. If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is!
Knit on!
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c.b.w. 2013
Moonless sky,
blackness looms
Those who stand,
face the wrath
Willing troops,
for light’s sake
Blind to faith,
first to strike
Prague at night
Photo by: c.b.w. 2008
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c.b.w. 2013
After a four year absence, I was finally able to get back to my roots in the Northwoods of Wisconsin last week. I spent most of my childhood years playing in the snow, traipsing through the forest, and swimming in pristine lakes. There’s no place like it on earth and I feel so privileged to know it’s beauty firsthand.
While the trees, lakes, wildflowers, and marshes all lend to the region’s rustic beauty, the presence of wildlife alongside human settlement has always been a source of amazement for me. Northern Wisconsin is peppered with a number of small towns, (most with populations of just a few hundred), with large expanses of state and national forests in between. These forests are filled with everything from deer, bald eagles, bears, and rodents. Throughout my life I’ve had honor of seeing these animals in their natural habitat.
My recent trip up north was no exception when it came to experiencing wildlife. I’ll be frank and admit that I was worried I had lost my touch in spotting animals through the trees and thick leaves. I live in the city where finding animals isn’t a necessary skill and it’s been a long time since I’ve thought of the “rules” my grandparents and aunt and uncle had taught me as a child.
- Rule#1: Be quiet and listen. Rustling leaves can mean a bird or small animal like a squirrel. A dull thud is something larger like a deer. Large rustling and a deeper thud might mean something larger like a bear. A hollow thud up high means a woodpecker is around!
- Rule #2: Don’t make sudden movements. Move slowly so as to not frighten animals away or trigger an attack out of fear (this is particularly true of bears).
- Rule #3: Keep your eyes open. Wherever you hear sound scan the area carefully. Animals tend to blend into the background, but if you look hard enough you’ll see them.
Within the first hour of arriving in Wisconsin, my worries were immediately put to rest. On the ride from the airport alone, I saw six deer! Every day after that, my list of wildlife sightings only grew. Luckily, I had my camera with me for some of these sightings.
In Land O’Lakes, on Big Portage Lake Road I spotted a large Red-Headed Woodpecker.
Thump! Thump! Thump! A woodpecker at work.
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
Walking along Bearskin Trail near Minocqua, I saw a number of little critters:
A chipmunk nibbling on his dinner.
Nom, nom, nom. A chipmunk feast.
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
A mother duck swimming with her brood of 10 chicks. Look through the two big trees to see them.
Momma duck and her chicks go out for a swim.
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
A robin clutching an earthworm.
A robin clutches a tasty worm.
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
A woodpecker (I’m not sure of the species).
Another woodpecker hammers away!
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
While staying at my uncle and aunt’s cabin near Boulder Junction, I was lucky enough to see a nest of quail eggs and a cute painted turtle hanging out on a log on the lake.
Little quails waiting to hatch.
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
A sunbathing turtle!
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera handy for the following sightings:
- 1 gray wolf. This was an unbelievable sighting and I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. He was beautiful.
- More than 20 deer, including a mother with her spotted fawn.
- 4 loons
- 2 turkey vultures
- 2 leopard frogs
- 1 toad
- 1 rabbit
- Countless chipmunks and squirrels (I know they are everywhere, but they are soooo cute!)
- Fish jumping to catch bugs
- Dragonflies
- 1 bald eagle
- 4 different varieties of owls
- 3 different varieties of hawks
The Northwoods of Wisconsin will always have a special place in my heart, as will all the beautiful creatures that roam through the trees and lakes.
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What is your favorite thing this week?
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c.b.w. 2013
As promised, here are more beautiful and bright flowers from my garden! My muse was also inspired to write a couple haikus to go with these lovely blooms.
I’m not sure what kind of flowers these are, (does anyone know?), but those orange and red petals definitely pop out against the green grass.
Firestorm petals
set green aflame with fury
Delicate souls bloom
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
A bright yellow daisy brightens up a space near the rosemary and raspberry bushes.
Yellow sunburst bloom
golden rays brighten the day
Love me, love me not?
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
The biggest surprise of the season was the appearance of a giant evening primrose plant. To date, it’s grown over six feet tall, while its brothers are holding steady at four feet. At dusk, they are all covered in little yellow flowers.
A giant evening primrose! Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
My garden rabbit better be careful or he’ll get lost in the wildflowers.
It’s a jungle out there! Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
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How is your garden growing?
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c.b.w. 2013
