Week in Review (a little bit late)

I seem to have lost track of time. I meant to post this yesterday. Oh well, I guess today is as good a day as any.

1.

I. Got. A. New. Phone!

For those of you who are familiar with the ongoing phone saga, this is a big deal. I have had my old phone for 2+ years, and to say that it didn't work properly would be the understatement of the century. The company replaced it 5 or 6 times, but after that, they thought I was crazy. I won't go into all of the horrible, controlling, tyrannical, things that the phone did. I was very happy when the lovely sales woman asked if I wanted to trade it in. She was a little surprised at my enthusiasm given that it was only worth $5. However, I think at that point I would have paid her to take it. I even bought a pink case.

2.

I have a favorite yarn shop. Are you surprised? I may have mentioned it once or twice. In case you are wondering it's The Artful Yarn in Chagrin Falls, OH. I've been teaching knitting classes at this wonderful shop for a few years now, but this week I officially joined the shop staff! I had my first training day on Wednesday. I think this might just be the best job ever!

3.

I'm making slow progress on my Arrow Yoke Cardigan. I think that I might be slightly crazy to think I can finish this by the end of November.

4.

One of the things that might make #3 extremely difficult is my obsession with Felfs. I finished these lovelies just in time for Thursday's snow.

 

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Felfs

I have a new obssession, they are called Felfs. And they are designed by one of knitting's most innovative designers, Cat Borhdi. Although I'm guilty of stumbling head first into many knitting projects, this one I have to I blame on my KnitSib Deb, who introduced me to them at a Knit Night a couple of weeks ago. I haven't been able to get them out of head since.

I want to start by mentioning that the profits for this e-book are being donated to the research lab of Dr. David Krag at the University of Vermont Medical School. On first blush, the cost of this pattern is definitely on the high side, $20. Yes, I did say $20! However; I'm not only receiving an extremely innovative and detailed e-book, but I have also made a donation to equally innovative research. Please take a look here for more information.

So, what are Felfs?

They are nothing short of the most innovative slipper ever. Ok maybe that's a bit much, but they are pretty cool. They are slippers that are knit flat in garter stitch and then folded, somewhat origami style, sewn and felted. And, they can be knit to fit any size foot. Did I mention that they are addictive?!

They start out life as flat shape:

After some innovative folding, seaming, and felting they look like this:

These little cuties were knit from Nature Spun Sport, colorway Red Fox. They measure about 4 3/4" long. Oh my, I just can't get enough of them. I think we all need a pair! I'm off to find yarn. I'm sure there's some around here somewhere...

 

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November is NaKniSweMo!

Huh? If you are not a knitter, you probably haven't heard of NaKniSweMo. Actually even if you are a Knitter, you still may not have heard of it. You are probably asking yourself "What is this NaKniSweMo?" Well, let me tell you...

National Knit a Sweater Month!

Yup, you read that correct. We knitters need a month dedicated to knitting a sweater. Most sweaters have over 50,000 individual stitches in themes well as multiple skeins of yarn.
The rules are simple:

1. Cast on Nov. 1 and finish by Nov. 30
2. Your sweater must be 50,000 stitches.

I'm choosing to knit the Arrow Yoke Cardigan from Brioche Chic. As you may have noticed I started it last month. Oh, no, you can't do that! It breaks the rules! You would be right, except that I wasn't happy with how the first strip came out and I frogged it. I decided that I would rewind my yarn, and eagerly await Noveber 1st.

Arrow Yoke Cardigan

So here goes!

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Kristallnacht

Berlin has been in the news a lot recently as Germany celebrates the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, this weekend also marks a very different anniversary for Germany. It marks one of the darkest events in modern German history.

Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, refers to a series of coordinated attacks againt Jews in Natzi Germany and Austria. On the night of November 9, 1923, SA paramilitary, Hitler Youth, and German civilians attacked Jewish owned businesses, synagogues, community centers, and homes leaving unparalleled destruction in its wake. Instigated by the Nazi regime, rioters burned or destroyed 267 synagogues, vandalized or looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, and killed at least 91 Jewish people (taken from US Holocaust Memorial Museum online exhibit). This night is widely seen as the prelude to the Nazi annihilation of the Jews of Europe. The full article can be found here.

Sometimes I find it hard to put my thoughts down on paper. I can hear them rolling around in my head but I just can't seem to get them out. As this anniversary approached, I have thought about what it means to be Jewish. That Judaism isn't just a religion I practice, but it is at the core of who I am. I have thought about how lucky I am to have grown up in the United States where I can openly be a Jew. I sometimes forget that not everyone enjoys the same freedoms that I do. I take for granted going with my children to synagogue, or talking openly about my Jewish heritage. There are still too many places in the world where this isn't possible.

As strange as this may sound, it has also made me think about the recent elections, and how divided our country is right now. Hitler took the fears of the German people and gave them someone to blame. He told them that the Jews were the reason for all of their problems, and that the solution was easy, eliminate the Jews. Today our politicians, on both sides of the isle, stand up and blame each other for the problems we are facing. Sometimes I think we forget that there is more that unites us than divides us. We forget to respect each other. We must not let ourselves be led down the path of hatred and separation.

There are events such as these that change the face of history. Let this anniversary of Kristallnacht serve as a reminder not to let or differences overcome our humanity. I will leave you with two things. The first is a quote from Anne Frank, and the second are images from Kristallnacht.

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

The interior of the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue in Berlin after Kristallnacht

Destruction of the Dortmound synagogue, Kristallnact 1938

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Follow-up

I'm still getting back into the swing of blogging on a weekly basis. As you can see I'm not doing a great job. This week has been uneventful, but yet still extremely busy. I've been at the sewing machine making a costume for Little Miss M.

As I mentioned last week I went to village discount and picked up a Coldwater Creek vest and some old curtains for her costume.

I will leave you with bits and pieces of the costume; however the final reveal will have to wait. I didn't have time to get pictures before she left for school.

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Week in Review

1.

Have I mentioned that I love knitting? Well I cases you missed it, I rarely go a day without knitting something. I've also discovered that I enjoy teaching knitting just as much. I have been teaching classes at my favorite yarn shop, The Artful Yarn in Chagrin Falls, OH.

On Sunday I started a new three series class on the Carradal Shawl. I have a great group of ladies! However, I was very nearly late to my own class. I must have looked at the schedule 10 times, and It never occurred to me that it was a physical impossibility to make it to the shop and set up for a 1pm class. I think I need better time management skills.

2.

I can't believe that Halloween is just around the corner. I went to Village Discount to find bits and pieces for Little Miss M's costume. Now to start sewing. Photos to come, I hope.

3.

On Wednesday, I helped my knitsib Michelle get ready for Vogue Knitting Live. She makes the most beautiful shawl pins (as seen in the above shawl).

4.

I finished a project! This is: Easy Brioche Scarf, knit in Malabrigo Mecha, colorway Piedras.

That's about it, I lead a very boring life.

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Knitting Love

As the title of the blog suggests, I'd rather be knitting than doing most other things. Before my blogging hiatus, I may have mentioned that I have a slight problem with startitis. (In case you missed it, startitis refers to a rarely fatal affliction that often affects knitters and crocheters where they begin several projects all at one time but don't really make much progress on anything before starting another new project.) I can always come up with an excuse to start a new project.

I'm not sure what it is, maybe it's the cooling temperatures here in Northeast Ohio, but lately I've been seduced by thick, chunky, warm projects knit on big needles. For someone who is used to knitting with thinner yarn and smaller needles, these projects are working up very quickly. Am I insane to think I might finish two of them this week?

 

Well, here are some of the latest additions to my "on the needles" projects.

 

Wavy Lace Caplet

Easy Brioche Scarf

Arrow Yoke Cardigan

 

These are only the most recent, please don't judge.

 

 

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Soft (Re)Opening

You know how stores have soft openings so they make sure that everything goes smoothly before throwing the doors wide open. This post is a little like that.

It's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Now, I know that blogging isn't for everyone. But I really did enjoy my short stint at it. So here goes. Round 2. (ding)

So much has happened in the last year that I can barely keep track. I also have some new tools that I hope will help me with my blogging goals. I've invested in an iPad, which I love! And I'm trying out the blogsy app. So if things go wonky, you know what happened.

So here is to new beginnings.

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