Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Wow!!  I know you're all blown away by my profound title!  Ha!!  But I found a link to an article through Facebook yesterday that made me think.  The young daughter of the writer had told her Mom how beautiful she is.  And, like me, this woman has a not-so-positive image of herself!  However, it suddenly occurred to her that she should try to see herself through her daughter's eyes!! That led me to think a bit further.  Now that my boys are older (21 and 18) I wonder if I'd had a better self-image it would have helped them!!  I wonder if we project our self-image (positive or negative) on to our children!!  I wonder if I caused damage on my children by not seeing more worth in myself!!  I sincerely hope and pray not!!


I know that my self-deprecation extends to other parts of my life.  Outside of my knitting, I also enjoy sewing.  Anyway, I always feel like what I do in those areas is only following someone else's pattern.  That no matter how good it looks, it really doesn't have very much to do with me.  Or that it could always look so much better that what I've done!!  When I knit something for someone I feel compelled to point out all the flaws in it!!  I think that has to do with two things:  1.  I feel dishonest if I give them something less than perfect! (Even though I know that I'm not perfect - only God is!)  2.  I wouldn't ever want anyone to think I'm all that and a bag of chips just because I knit something for them!!  I know that's probably strange but that's me!!


All that being said, I know there are things I can do that will help my self-esteem.  I absolutely need to lose weight!!  And not just those last 5 pounds!!  I've let that hold me back.  But I'm the only one in control of that - no one can do it for me!!  I need to sit back and look at all the good in my life and thank God for my blessings!!  Instead of knit picking everything to death!!  I see every thing that's wrong with my house, my hair and makeup, the mistakes I made with my boys, etc, etc, etc!!  


So lets all go out and learn to love ourselves!!  God made us and He loves us and expects us to do the same!!  And lets also try to help others see the good things about themselves!!


On to my knitting.  Tomorrow night is the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  I plan to cast on during the opening ceremonies and try my best to finish my project before the end of the closing ceremony!!  Many, if not most knitters, crocheters, and spinners know about this.  I believe that same group also probably knows about the threats made by the USOC to change the name of our competition.  I really do not like the new name but I'm not going to be ugly about it.  So I will be competing in the "Ravellenics".  I am on Team Texas Yarnivore.  I'll be knitting the Bigger on the Inside Shawl by Kate Atherley in the Knitty Spring/Summer 2012 issue!!  I am a huge Doctor Who fan and I knew I wanted to knit this the second I saw it!!  After my yearly knitting weekend one of my precious friends sent me three skeins of the Lorna's Laces Bigger on the Inside sock yarn so that I could knit this!!!  Tomorrow I have to go out and purchase size 3 circs!!  I have all sizes of needles in circular, dpns, and some straights.  However, I've never needed a size 3 circular until now!!  No matter how it ends up I will have a beautiful new shawl in the end thanks to my sweet friend!!  


I hope you all accomplish whatever you want during the Olympics and enjoy watching all the super-talented athletes!!  Let's celebrate their victories and pray for them in defeat or if they're injured!!


I'll leave you with a picture of the Rose Tyler square of my Doctor Who blanket!!

Well, until next time!!
Knit On!

Just a quick update:  My computer crashed and I'm having to share which doesn't really allow me to post.  I'll be back as soon as I get my own laptop back!!

See ya later and knit on!!
Shama D

Where Do I Stand?

I'm probably one of the most opinionated people you will ever meet!!  There's almost nothing I don't have a very decided opinion on!!  My feelings run deep and are based in my spiritual beliefs!  But even things that don't have eternal consequence cause me to have very strong feelings!!  
Another thing about me, is how I like what I like - always!!  When I was 3 years old I fell in love with Donny Osmond!!  Now, 43 years later, I still love him - and did even when it wasn't popular!!  The same thing for Rick Springfield!!  I fell in love with him in 1973 when his cartoon, Mission Magic, was on TV!!  To this day when I get to see him in concert, I scream like a teenager!!!
 
Knitting is no different!!  I like what I like and I feel strongly about the things I like!!  It seems that I am particularly drawn to cables and amigurumi!!  I love the color blue but I can still be drawn to a pattern in even the ugliest colors!!  Yet, when I see something knitted in blue, I have to really look to see if it's the color or the pattern that I like!!  Sometimes it's both!! One of the things about my opinionated self is that I don't tend to follow who or what is most popular!!  A few years ago everyone was knitting the Clapotis.  And I knit one.  But I knit it because I liked it!!  I've heard lots of talk (on podcasts) about the Selbu Modern hat.  I can see why people like it, but it doesn't appeal to me at all!  I love shawls but I hate lace weight yarn and lace done in lace weight!!  I truly appreciate the work that goes into projects made with lace weight yarn but it doesn't do anything for me!!  Am I weird?  Actually, I know the answer to that - YES!!!   But I am who I am and I stand strongly by my beliefs and I like what I like!!
The thing about me is I've grown over the years, but I'm still me!  In the last few years I've reconnected with many of my closest school friends through Facebook and a couple of class reunions.  I'm still the same person I was then, just with a husband, kids, and 16 years of homeschooling under my belt!!  But underneath it all, I'm still just me!


Well, I've been contemplating starting on this blog again.  One thing that's held me back is lack of FO's!!  My younger son just graduated from our homeschool and I'm working on a blanket for him.  I started it a month later than I started Logan's.  I've run into quite a few issues with this blanket.  And a few weeks ago Kelby and I were discussing  his "secret" gift that I was knitting in front of him.  He told me that he likes Doctor Who, but doesn't love it!!  Blasphemy!!  LOL!!  So, we've picked out some patterns and some things I can design to make JUST the blanket for him.  I can put up pictures of  the finished squares.  (When I take some)  The way I knit my blankets is in strips from bottom to top and then I join the strips and do an edging.  


Well, I don't want to get too carried away on my first blogpost back!!  One question I have is this:  Since I'm finished homeschooling, should I change the name of my blog?  What do my faithful readers have to say about this? Oh, that's right, I have no faithful readers!!  ; )


Knit On and Talk to you Soon!!
Shama D

My Changing Life

It's been many months since I last posted on my blog. I plan to start back on a much more regular basis now. I spend all of my time with my family and a lot of time knitting. I've spent the last 20 and a half years being a full-time Mom and homeschooler. As you know, just over two years ago my older son graduated from our little homeschool. Since then he's continued to live at home and go to a local junior college!! However, last month he moved out and to a town about 70 miles from here to finish up college. It was one of the hardest things I've ever been through. I'm handling it a lot better than I ever thought I could. It helps that we have a really close relationship and talk and text daily!! I miss him but he's very happy and with a great group of Christians!! That's very important to me!! This is not the only huge thing in my life...In a few weeks my younger son will be starting his senior year at home. I intend to make the most of our last year together on a full-time basis. We'll do school but we'll also do some things we enjoy- like going to the zoo, going to visit Logan, getting coffee at Starbucks and spending lots of quality time together!!! It's going to be a year to remember.

As far as my knitting...There have been so many projects over the last several months. But the big project that's coming up is another senior blanket for my younger son. He loves video games of all kinds but he's partial to Mario. There are tons of cute Nintendo/Mario patterns on Ravelry and I will be going through them, picking out the ones I think he'll love the most, and laying out my design!! I'm in no hurry for the year to be up but I will knitting a memory for my son.

When Logan graduated I had knit him his Harry Potter blanket. It is currently on his bed in the other town. That means a lot to me.

Well, this is very short and there are no pictures to accompany it but I needed to get my blogging feet wet again!! I will be back on a regular basis - blogging does a lot of good for me!!

Knit On and more later!
Shama D

I'm Back

It's been months since I last blogged. I love blogging!! It does a lot for me to be able to write about my life and my knitting. These last few months have brought about a lot of changes in my life that I had to adjust to. After 13 years of homeschooling my older son started college in August. Not having him home with us everyday took quite an adjustment. He still lives at home and is going to the local community college so the adjustment wasn't SO big! It's a great little school. There are a reasonable number of students in each class (about 30) and the professors genuinely care!! He's had a great experience so far!! He'll be staying home until he's finished his sophomore year.

The other big thing has been the diet. So far I've lost 70 pounds but it's not been easy. I've been very tired and just did what I had to do. I did, however, continue knitting. I'm only about halfway through losing it all. But I think I'll be finished by November...

One of the biggest things that happened to me in the fall was my 25th high school reunion. I LOVED high school!! I was in band, choir and Madrigals (a swing choir). I had an awesome group of friends!! I had a very pleasant place in my world!! I was very happy!! However, the summer between my junior and senior year we had to move 12 hours away to West Texas. It was such a difficult transition for me. I'm still in contact with some of my friends from there but when I think of "my" school I always think of Vidor!! Going back to my class reunion became a much easier decision because I had gotten back in touch with a bunch of my friends on Facebook! I decided that I needed a new shawl for that night. AND I had to dye the yarn!! I had about 1000 yards of dye-it-yourself yarn from Knit Picks in my stash and I'd had it for several years. I broke it out and 3 jars of acid dye. I was going to knit this shawl Fibertrends Pattern #AC-27x Queen of Hearts by Bev Galsekas. It was great until I make some mistakes and I realized that I wouldn't be able to get it done in 2 or 3 weeks. So I did something I didn't think I would ever do - I decided to knit the Clapotis, like everyone else in the knitting world!! I really enjoyed it and I got it done very quickly!! I bound it off and wove in the ends about 3 am the day of the class reunion!!




It was an amazing night full of love and laughter and reuniting with some of my favorite people in the world!! The best part is that we're now determined to keep up with one another on an ongoing basis!!! I really love my friends!!

Tomorrow I'm going to tell you the story of one of those very precious friends!!

Knit On and more later!!
Shama D
It feels great to be blogging again!!!

Weight Loss and Knitting

I've been overweight far too long. If there are any excuses it's that I've had a thyroid problem. I know, that's what everyone says...But almost 5 years ago I had to have half my thyroid removed. Since then I've been on medication to regulate it. The dosage has changed several times since then. I had such hope of weight loss and more energy once I did get it worked out. However, that hasn't been the case. But the other reason is that I just plain like food!! This is not a weight loss blog, but it is about my life and my knitting so I will be talking some about my weight loss for the next several months. This time the talk of weight loss and knitting go together.
Since I started knitting almost 7 years ago, I've wanted to knit certain things for myself like cardigans and pullovers but I didn't want to waste the yarn on knitting for a fat body!! However, I've knit a cardigan for my Mom and a pullover for my niece and I'm about to start two Humpty Dumpty intarsia sweaters for my nephews. But now that I've started this weight loss I'm having thoughts of sweaters and other fitted items for myself!!! One of my favorites is http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/PATTviveka.html . Another of my favorites is Provence Women's Floral Cardigan by Celeste Pinheiro from the Classic Elite #9071 book. It's got huge floral designs on it, but it's not overpowering or bulky. And my new favorite is the Classic Coat by Deborah Newton in IK Fall 2009. I don't usually go in for hand knit coats or bulky yarn but there's something about this coat that just grabs me! Now, I'd probably do a completely different colorway for all of these, but the patterns are lovely!! I'll let y'all know how the weight loss is going and also the knitting!!!! I'm very excited about this!!

Now on to things I've knitted but haven't blogged about. In the last post I mention two UFO's that are waiting for me to finish this baby blanket. One of the UFO's is a pair of socks from Opal Harry Potter yarn that my parents gave me for Christmas. I mentioned that back in my January 1st post. I also mentioned the pattern - the Horcrux sock pattern. I completely finished the first sock and am down to the heel on the second. It won't take me very long to finish it. But here's a picture of the completed one:

This sock and it's mate will look much better on me when my leggs are thinner!!


I named him Winston. He's a precious little duck that my friend Alice sent to LSSK. He was fast fun and easy.

Well, I guess that's about all I have to say this time!

Knit On and more later,
Shama D

The Blahs, Ravelry, Excitement, and Inspiration

I touched on this last time but I thought I'd talk a little more about it now.
Every once in a while I feel a little out of sorts with my knitting. I will finish a project and if I can't seem to get the next one going in a timely manner or feel frustrated with what I'm working on, I get blah about knitting. It never lasts for very long but I hate that feeling.
Another thing that sucks the life out of my knitting is having too many projects going at once. For example, I am working a baby blanket right now, but I also have about 2/3's of a sock and an unfinished market bag still hanging over my head!! It's dragging me down!! As soon as I finish this blanket I must finish those other two projects so I can start my Christmas knitting with a clear head!! I know most knitters have multiple UFO's, some even have many UFO's, but it just doesn't work for me.
But something has now happened to my knitting life that I think will keep me inspired for the rest of my life!! It's called Ravelry!! In October I will have been on Ravelry for two years. Everyone goes on and on about how much they love it. To be honest, I've enjoyed it and played around on it a little but I haven't understood all the obsession. Howeverrrrrr, I've suddenly jumped on the Ravelry bandwagon!! I have a feeling I've just touched the tip of the iceberg, but I'm having fun!! I'm looking at patterns- either specific ones or searching for a type of pattern (i.e. shawls) I've joined several new groups and dropped a few I was in. I've never really participated in any of these groups, but I think I will now!!
Anything knitty makes me tingly!! I love knitting patterns (like Dumbledore), yarn, and knitting magazines, not to mention all the gadgets that go along with it... Along with Ravelry, these things keep me endlessly inspired.
Another thing that not only inspires me, but teaches, me is blogs. I don't read a ton of them but I have a few I love. The first one I started reading was Wendy Knits!! I've learned so much from her. She's amazing!! Right now I'm trying to catch up with Faith of Flash Bang Fibers/The Needle and the Damage Done and Jasmin of Better that Yarn blog and the Knitmore Girls podcast! When I read a blog I must start from the beginning. It took me more than a year or two to get completely caught up to Wendy. That's probably why I don't read more blogs...Yet...
What inspires you/brings you down?

Now, a project I knit earlier this summer. My husband's boss and his wife had their first baby back in April. Chuck had asked me to knit something for them. At the time I was working on the Harry Potter blanket and I couldn't take on anything else. But I finally got around to knitting her a little dress. The pattern is... http://fortheloveofyarn.com/Issues/07Summer/patterns/jumper.shtml
I knit it out of I Love This Cotton yarn from Hobby Lobby. I can't remember the colorway. You know how you knit a gift for someone and the response makes it all worthwhile? This was one of those!! They told Chuck how much they loved it!! How it was something they'd keep forever!! Then I got the sweetest Thank You note!! WOW!! It makes me want to knit for them again!!
Here's the dress:


Last fall I got an equally satisfactory response from two little jumpers I knit for my friend Kim's little girls. Here's a picture of them wearing their jumpers...


More later and Knit On,
Shama D