Finding - Another Story

You know when I went to write that last post I named it Finding Day but then for the life of me could not remember what else I had found that day. You know besides the pattern that started the search?

So I gave up and told my story. Then a few days later it came to me. How could I forget about it?

I am an Anglophile. See I am such and Anglophile that I even know that I am one and a specific word exists. An Anglophile is a person who is fond of or greatly admires England or Britain. Now if you've been to Montreal you know what a Francophile is so you may have been ahead of my learning curve.

Long ago before I ever believed that I would ever travel to England, I worked at a job where I met a friendly and true Englishman. Yes he even had an accent. He was a sweet guy that didn't mind entertaining the South Dakota farm girl that I turned into each time he was around. I've been in love with England since I was a child so that is the age I revert to at times. Texas was as exotic a place as I could imagine traveling to, but to see England, a girl could only dream of visiting England!

One day I was talking to the Englishman and said I've never understood English currency. I understand Pound but what the heck is a Farthing or Half Crown? He went home and wrote me a note explaining it all.

A Farthing is 1/4 penny and a Half Crown is 2 Shillings and Sixpence. A Shilling is 12 Pennies or Pence. So a Half Crown is 30 Pence. (Somebody want to check my math on that one?)

His first note was that this rate was before 1960-1970, he could not remember the actual year because he left England in 1945. I'm guessing shortly after WWII ended. I could have talked with this man forever I think sometimes. Any one else have the urge to make tea and scones?

He also included modern currency. 10 Pence may now be the Shilling. The other smaller fraction of pence coins have vanished. Heck, Canada just got rid of their Penny, so you can see how the very small coins did not make it in England. Just try to buy something with a Farthing. Oh wait wouldn't it be worth a bit more now for the collectors?

I came home and proudly showed the note directly from an Englishman to Hubby. While he was happy for me, he is not an Anglophile. I proceeded to tuck it away safley in a notebook. In fact I thought it was in the notebook our England trip was planned in. But after seeing it once or twice more I realized somehow I had lost it.

Well in my search for a pattern I found the pattern and two special items I hope to never lose again.

Finding - A Story

I have been bummed. When we went camping last May I over packed my knitting. Really over packed, my poor bag had way too many projects stuffed in! (Remind me of this when I go to pack for the train trip, please.)

I thought my over packing caused me to lose one of my most important knitting tools, my tool kit.  

It was a kit I had made for myself using ideas I had collected from Ravelry. The first idea was to use an empty glasses case as your tool box. Great I thought, I have plenty of them since I've worn glasses for a few years now. I found my nicest one with an additional flap for sunglass storage. Which allows me to hide stuff in the lid. I found my favorite Swiss Army Knife, with a pen tip in it, that some kind soul had given me. I bought a small flashlight. My caseless tape measure went in too. Stitch markers galore, a couple of my Pony needles, and a tiny crochet hook completed my purchased knitter's fare. 

I also keep a few lengths of sock yarn to be used as life lines if I need them. And a few plastic tabs off bread bags work great as free yarn bobbins. 

Yep, my tool kit was fully equipped and very useful to me. I could measure, pickup stitches, cut yarn, keep track of my place and just about anything else I wanted with that little case of handiness. 

Then when we returned from camping it went missing. I was pretty sure that I had seen it at home after we returned. But days turned to weeks, and finally months with no sign of it. It must have fallen out at the campground when we were packing up. I was even planning to convince Hubby to go to the same campground this year, just so we could ask if they found it. It is a nice campground and I definitely want to go back but that was my primary reason for wanting to go.

Finally I realized I was not the knitter I once was, and put together another kit. Another flashlight, but it seemed dimmer. I bought a Swiss Army Knife in hot red, but it did not have a pen tip and was not a gift from a kind soul. Luckily I had bought two sets of Pony needles, but even they could not bind the kit together. 

It was a good kit but not my special kit. And I was sad that I had lost something I didn't even know was important to me. Then I felt silly for feeling sad about it. So I moved on.

One Sunday, I was looking for my German Stocking pattern. It would not be found, I could just make another copy but I knew I had seen it just recently. I was moving yarn, fiber and half knit things, where could it be?

I searched a bag that I occasionally use for knitting, the pattern was not there, but you know what was tucked in the pocket that I would never use?

My original knit tool box is back!

I am so happy!

Sometimes it is the small things in life that bring us the most joy. 

I need more adjectives

Bouncy, plump, smooshy and sproingy, OK I admit I made that last one up. But really these are all the words going through my mind as I knit one of my swap yarns into socks. You remember the yarn swap don't you?

I chose the Spellbound colorway in the Smooshy Sock base from Dragonfly Dyewerx. And yes it is holding me spellbound. I think it is the orange bits that keep me knitting along. Well that and the afore mentioned adjectives used to describe how nice this feels running through my hands. This contrast with the project right before was astounding. That one was a rugged, rustic yarn that I loved for not coddling me. This one is the opposite, it could only coddle me more by bringing me tea and tucking me into bed.

Now I struggled with was to do with my special swap yarn. I wanted to make something breathtaking and one of a kind. But I settled instead on the thing that makes me the happiest, plain socks that fit well. Socks knit in a fabric that shows off the yarn coloring but does not distract from it.

In my heart of hearts, I feel many times, less is more. What can be more beautiful than a humble sock to place upon my grateful feet?

Oh yeah, humble socks with a touch of cashmere, you're right!

Ringing endorsement

Lucky, lucky D is being inundated with questions from me. What was it like? How were the bathrooms? Did you like the seats? What yarn was she using?

I threw you all with that last question, didn't I. D went to Boston for a conference and he decided to try out the train system, rather than driving or flying. He said some things are very different. The restrooms are reportedly three times the size of airplane restrooms. I told him that was not as impressive as he thinks it is. It would be very hard not to improve on an airplane restroom. Don't get me wrong I am very happy they're there!

The seats however, were quite a step up, roomy and reclining in such a way that you're not in someone's lap. He enjoyed the feeling of having personal space while traveling. 

There was no safely announcement or seat belts which he found a tad disorienting. We're so used to doing certain things when we travel in a metallic tube. He did note you have to be on board only two minutes prior to departure. I got to watch his journey start, like in the old days. We came from a small airport, back in our college days, you could watch planes from the time you kissed goodbye to the time they were airborne. 

D texted me from the train as they were leaving, he was seated next to a sock knitter working with four DPNs. I asked what yarn and the reply was pink. How can you not love that? They had a nice conversation in spite of the fact that she did not know what Rhinebeck is. I'm guessing she is a knitter not a knitter, you know the yarn obsessed kind of us?

Oh, I forgot to tell you I amazed the gent working the security door for D's return trip. The train was early but I did not know it, so I settled myself in for a bit of knitting time. Then I heard an announcement about D's train that lead me to believe that the train was already at the station. I wandered off to look for him, but alas he was not in sight, so I went back to the gate guy to ask if it was indeed the Boston train sitting out there. Before I could ask, he looked at me in amazement (He had watched me knit while I walked) and said you don't even need to look! I assured him I was experienced enough to do just that. I do so enjoy amazing people with my sticks and string.

So it looks like we will indeed be going on a train trip this year! Wahoo!

I hope my mother in law forgives me

First a disclaimer, I think my mother in law is great. She has never made me feel bad or foolish. She welcomed me into the family. She reads the blog and likes my knitting. She has never been the stereotypical monster MILs are made out to be.

Last night, I dreamed that she came to visit us and started cleaning my house. No really cleaning my house; the beds were flipped and naked, the dresser was standing in the middle of the room so she could vacuum underneath of it. Who vacuums under the dresser? Wait, you do that? Never mind.

The funny thing is, I was so ticked off because she started it at  9pm and now I had to help her clean instead of getting ready for bed. I just wanted to go to bed! Rarely have I woken from a dream more tired than when I went to sleep, but this night? Whew! Good thing I did wake up, so I could reset the dream button so I could get some rest. I don't remember dreaming anything after that.

Do you think I am worrying about being too pushy at her house? She has MS so I try to help, but maybe I feel I am treading to heavily on her territory? 

Or it could be one of those wacky dreams that we all have from time to time. At least no one was naked except the beds. 

Mulling it over

You know how I am a wee bit obsessive and like to plan things? I am still at a point where I am planning a lot of knitting. Pretty much that is always running in the back of my mind. You know the part of your brain that kick in and keeps you safe driving to work. On those mornings when you're getting out of the car and you suddenly realize you have no memory of driving there? Yeah, that part of my brain also plans my knitting.

It gets pretty frustrated with me when I have too many projects on the needles and it has nothing to plan. While the actual knitting part is firing away, the planning part is plotting ways to lose a project or two, you know, just so it is needed again.

Well this part of my brain is busy chugging away planning a train trip that is not even booked yet. It has decided that train knitting should be somewhat like plane knitting, no complicated lace projects. While socks are always a go to project, they don't take that much effort to plan. Sweater knitting is out since it is too bulky to lug around and the trip will most likely be in the summer.

Planning brain is thinking a shawl would be nice. But not a lace shawl, that's cruel. It keeps focusing on  a nice garter stitch shawl. Actually it is pretty darn focused on one garter stitch shawl, the Color Affection Shawl. Lovely is it not? Those nice long rows would allow me to sit and stare out the window, watching the countryside roll by, while keeping my hands happy.

Now my dilemma is what yarn to choose? I bought the pattern before Rhinebeck so I would know how much yarn to get, but alas I did not buy yarn that would work together. I've had a vendor in mind to get yarn from but they don't seem terribly active right now, so that is out. I've even resorted to googling for a kit, but the trend seems to have passed so no one seems to have them. (You can usually tell when a trend has hit its peak if I am finally interested in it.)

So we will have to wait to see what pops up before the train leaves the station. Hey, what colors do I want? I like green a heck of a lot, what goes with deep forest green as the darkest color? Maybe I should just spend a bit of time slogging through all the completed projects on Ravelry. All 7000+ of them, see what I mean about being the tail end of a trend?

I still want to knit it though! Any color combinations will be considered. Let me know what you think.

And to top it off I am one of those weird people that does not like to mix yarn makers. I don't know if it is because they will fight or just that they may have different tension or feel. I just know it is one of my things.

On reading and viewing

I am one of the rare people that jumped off of the Downton Abbey train. I enjoyed two seasons but just could not bring myself to go crazy in anticipation of season 3. Honestly I think I may be committing heresy but I haven't even watched any of the new season. Yes, I already know some of the spoilers. There is a reason why you have to keep up with the crowd on these things. Thank goodness I managed to read the 7th book of Harry Potter before someone told me who did and did not make it.

Even though I am not all caught up in the TV show, I've been reading Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon. In case you did not know from the title; Highclere is the fictional Downton. It is where the show is filmed.

The book, so far has not discussed the show, which I am very happy about. It gives a loosely historical look at the 5th Countess of Carnarvon and Highclere. I am enjoying taking a look at what it took to run a country house at that time. Heck, I would love to take a look at what it takes to run a country house in this time. While I learn about the Earl and Countess's lives, I am also learning about the house and the servants lives. Turns out it takes a village and an estate to run a house like that.

Reviewers have said that the author sees the 5th Countess through too rosy of glasses, but I have not seen it yet. It is clear she admires the strength of character it takes to step into that role. Which I think is totally understandable given her perspective. I may be fascinated by royalty and aristocracy but I would never wish it on anyone. Talk about an exhausting job, one that you could not really turn away from.

I am planning to read Up and Down Stairs: The History of the Country House Servant by Jeremy Musson. I am thinking this book may give a different point of view. And really I just love reading about English country houses.

I would love to travel back to England and see more of the countyside, including some of the country houses. I had looked in to diverting to Blenheim Palace  but my timing was off as the palace was closed to the public. Turns out January in England is not the full tourist season. That of course was one of the reasons we went at that time.

We have however, toured a couple of American mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. The Breakers is something to see! D enjoyed it less than I did but he was good trooper. That was where I bought my copy of The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan. This was the book to introduce me to the difficulty of living as an aristocrat. A loveless, arranged marriage between two people that ended up hating each other. It is great having all that money and all those estates, it really brings you ultimate happiness.

Well anyways that is what I'm reading and enjoying. How about you guys?