The Mystique of Socks and my October Goals

Here are my October goals:

#1 Priority is to Unclutter my home office.
I will ( I mean, I WILL) sort through all the areas in this room and pitch things that need to go. I will begin by showing you my room - this is just the entrance into the room. There it is....all ready for the organizing to begin! Stacks and Stacks of books and stuff.

More books....

Still more books...

Yet, more books and the file cabinets and computer desk, too.

Another view of the entrance into my office....stacks of books everywhere!!!

It is a delightful and sunny fall morning here in Western Pennsylvania. In fact, it is Sunday morning and the last day of September. I am feeling satisfied with the work I accomplished in September. I finished two knitting projects and I organized my fiber studio. I got some wonderful work done on my Sabbatical project, making encrusted bead work. I should be happy, but then I look around this room where I am sitting to write this morning, and here is more clutter that needs to be attended to....soon.

Tomorrow will be the first of October. I was reading some blogs and catching up on some other knitters who write a blog that I enjoy reading. I love to see what other people are doing. Some are taking trips, some have knitted some fantastic things that are beyond where I am at in the craft. Some keep making socks and more socks. When it comes to this kind of sock mystique, well....I just don't get it.

I cannot quite figure out what the allure of socks is, but I can see that it must be addictive. I have knitted only two pairs in my life. I have two more pairs started but they just remain in my Yarntainers, there, on the back burner of "things to do." (I keep all my UFOs in Yarntainers or a basket or bag...all ready to go at any time.) Somehow, socks don't excite me very much...yet. Maybe, the sock mania will hit me one day, but it hasn't yet.


I like to knit things that I can WEAR...I mean FLAUNT....things that everyone takes note of...like sweaters and ponchos and jackets. Things that get noticed when I walk into a room...things with FLAIR...socks just don't get it for me. Maybe someday they will, but not yet.

I was thinking about setting some Goals for October this morning. I looked around my office, here where I sit to type my blogs and other things on the computer. It needs some serious attention. I took some photos just to remind me of what needs done here. I think if I set this as a goal and give myself a whole month to accomplish it, a little bit at a time, I can do it. I need to go through the stacks and shelves of books and sort them out. Just about all of them are poetry or art books in this room. I need to give some serious consideration to them and root out ones that I really don't need to keep.


Why it is that I just can't stand clutter, yet, here I am sitting amid a room full of clutter? Indeed, it is an "organized kind of clutter" and not just "anything goes type of clutter." It is limited to my passion for Poetry and Art. Yet, it is still unorganized and it is still clutter. I gotta do something to get it under control. It makes me feel sick when I look around and see things piled everywhere, yet I still do it. It is a paralyzing kind of feeling. Makes me anxious, and upset.

I sat up late last night working on updating my 2007 list of Knitting goals. I have 31 listed, and to date, I have completed 11 of them.



OCTOBER Knitting Goals:

Finish the second "Knit for Kids" Sweater - charity knitting for Guideposts project

Knit the second "Penelope Blouse" out of Dale of Norway yarn

Finish the Lana Grossa sweater that I started in July, in Germany


OCTOBER Jewelry Goals:

Finish the MTV Dragon Neck Piece. It is a big project so will take the entire month, I imagine. I am not sure if it can even be done in a month. We'll see about it. This necklace is part of my Sabbatical work, part of the group of encrusted bead works I am creating. I started the necklace just a couple days ago. It will have TEN cabochons in it when completed. I have "captured" two of them, at this writing...if you are not a bead worker, then you have no clue what that means. It could be the topic of another blog...later.

Today the bushes outside the front of my house need a haircut so people can actually see that we have a sidewalk and front porch. After today, then the goals for October will commence...

Rings and Things

Today the Rings and Things Show came to Pittsburgh, PA. It is about an hours drive from where I live. My grand daughter Brandi and I made the trip there. You only have a short time to shop in an entire room FILLED with delightful gemstones. The show runs only from noon to 4 pm! Yes, you have to get there and make your selections with determination because you have to decide what you are getting since you cannot come back another time.

At first, the room seems to spin and blur. It may be because I am partially blind since January. But, it may also be because of the dazzling of the zillions of strands of beads and there you are smack in the middle of them all. The lights glare down on the beads and you can turn around and from every angle there they are, all those beads. They are just waiting to be picked up and touched. It is overwhelming. I just have to breathe in a little deeper, and remind myself that I can take my time and look around at everything. I just say, 'stay calm, my spirit.'

Brandi and I came home with a bag of stones. I focused on replenishing my stash of Pink Opalites. I have sold most of the jewelry I made with that stone last year. I needed more.
Then, Brandi found a table full of the most far out and zaney beads. Well, I hade to have some of those ones too. They are SUPER bright - metallic looking glass beads - that have such a pizzazz they seems to sparkle from every angle.

Other finds for me today were some very large stones on a strand. Don't know what I will make from them yet, but they were so beautiful I had to have them. After I picked up that strand, I found a table of PEARLS in every color and size. I bought several strands of them in copper, and deep violet hues, and cranberry colors.

Finally, I bought a lot of copper beads. I am in love with copper these days. I guess it is the softness of their color and the warmth that radiates from them. They have a nostalgic kind of feel and look to them. They remind me of something that I cannot quite put my hand on. Something that I love. Something from my past, maybe. I don't know. But I love Copper!

September is for FINISHing

September is for FINISHING some UFOs...here I am showing off my latest FINISH!
The yarn I used for the blouse is by Lanna Grossa. It is "BASIC" in 100% cotton.


Finish #1 for September is now completed. I finished the "Knit for Kids" Sweater that is sponsored by Guideposts. I have set a goal of knitting TWO of these sweaters this year. I did the same last year and it made me feel so satisfied to know a little child somewhere in the world is wearing my sweaters.

Right after I finished this one, I stared the next one. I vow to get this done before I begin my Christmas gift knitting. My goal for each year is to send two sweaters to this charity project. It is a good feeling to know that a child is wearing one of my sweaters...somewhere in the world.



We spent five days in September on a little holiday in the Allegheny Mountains. Bob and I canoed in the Allegheny River every afternoon. It was so much fun. Then, we came back to the cottage exhausted and had dinner. After that, I was able to knit in the late afternoons and evenings on the sweaters. It was sweet. I got in a lot of knitting time, and I also worked on a piece of encrusted bead work (my "September" bracelet). We gathered lots of wonderful stones along the river's edges and those will be made into jewelry in the future.

My SECOND finish for September was the Penelope Blouse by Oat Couture. I had planned to have it finished by June but that just never happened. At long last, it is now finished. It has been a hard one for me and I spent a lot of time in the frog pond. But, I have learned a lot, too.

Here's to some good finishes for you this month, too. September seems to be a time of new beginnings. Now, I need to set some goals for October.

Happy September 1st

Happy September FIRST to everyone.

Today I will be traveling up into the Allegheny Mountains of Western PA. We'll be there for a few days, enjoying our holiday on the river in our little red canoe. I am taking my knitting along and plan to finish up my first "Knit for Kids" sweater for this year's donation to that project. The knitting is finished and now I must sew it together. I have already started another one. My goal is to do two for the project.

In addition to my knitting, I have packed up some bead work projects to keep me occupied. I am doing some kick A** pieces of encrusted beadwork and can barely stand to put them down I get so excited with them. This has turned into a passion.

In the photo we are enjoying the beginning of the summer on the Allegheny River. These special times are important for the soul. I find solitude and time apart from my daily routine so satisfying. There is peace and joy in being with family, working in my studio, teaching my grand children how to "make things." And more.

Peace and joy to you.

I was wondering, what YOU do for your soul? I would love to hear from you.