A NOOK OF ONE'S OWN

Virginia Woolf may have wished for an entire room of her own, but I've decided that even though that is my desire, I don't want to wait any longer. Our home consists of 6 down and five up and a fully finished third story. The basement is out of the question......did I say it's a realllly old house? You have to have an exoskeleton and have six to eight legs to live in our basement. I know I've whined about this before, so I'm not going explain why none of this space is available for my exclusive use. Instead I'm going to post pictures of my newly cobbled nook which measures a little less than 3 feet square. Most of my stash is in plastic tubs in the attic, stacked 5 deep so it takes up a very small space. I had to get rid of some clothing so that I can I have the luxury of having close access to my immediate stash in the armoire right next to my nook. Do I have to count that as part of my nook? I think not; I just recycled a space that was already mine to use, before anyone else could claim it.
This stash business is tricky when you have other family members with far more "serious" collections and avocations (god forbid I should use the word hobby for what they do in their leirious time (combination of leisure and serious). ba dum bum!

Who, What, Where

I don't think I'm alone when I say that with the advent of Ravelry, I'm finding that I'm ignoring my blog. It's not that Ravelry and Knotasissy are so similar. T'hey both chronicle my knitting, but Knotasissy is much more personal and Ravelry takes less emotional energy when I'm feeling like shutting the world away. I have to be careful to resist my temptation to hibernate completely at this time of year. To that end, I'm going to bore all who stumbles in here.
FAIR WARNING!!!

First and most exciting is the news from my sister and my youngest daughter that they will be participating in Ride for World Health . My Sis will be riding the entire cross country route. My daughter will ride the final leg from Ohio to Washington, DC. I'm so proud of them both, I could pop. This year's ride will benefit Medecins Sans Frontieres Imagine that! As we know this is a charity near and dear to the hearts of many knitters. Quel Coincidence! By the way my sister is on the far left in the bottom row of cyclists.
This is a gift she's giving herself for a very big birthday. She is one of the most focused and determined people I know. She is my baby sister and I am constantly in awe of her achievements and contributions to the greater good. This is a woman who, while working as an RN on weekends, raising 3 children, caring for a home and husband, commuted 200 mile each way to midwifery school during the week. She is now a practicing midwife with a very successful practice. But hey, she's conquered that and her two sons have graduated university and are on their own. Her daughter is about to graduate High School and her life just needed a new challange. So while she is still a midwife and a community activist, social change is slow and she needed something else. Hmmmmm, how about riding a bicycle cross country for world hunger? See what I mean? I'm tired just writing about her. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but I wouldn't want anyone to think she was toooooo good.

Ok, from the sublime to the "ordinaire". What do I do when I hibernate? Knit, of course! I also remove layers of accumulated "stuff". In this big old rambling house, I had yet to find a spot for myself. I finally carved out a corner, and I do mean a corner, of our bedroom in front of the fireplace. I would say it's about 3x3 with a small cabinet and end table with a chair wedged in between. I have an ott floor lamp behind me. I haven't taken a picture yet because I must find a different chair as the one I'm using is literally falling to kindling. The result of this little change is that my knitting productivity has risen considerably. In the last two months, I've started and finished most of what is on this page.

I've decided that I'm going to the Knitters Connection again this year. Last year was the first year and I had a great time. This year, the classes are too good to pass up and best of all it means I'll be away for my birthday. Birthdays have never been all that successful for me. There was the year James surprised me with a trip to the laundromat while I was pregnant with our first daughter. We lived in a three story walk-up, so I suppose it was a treat of sorts.....but you see what I mean. This year I'm flying and I'm not renting a car. I am hoping to meet some KR people who will be there, especially the now "World Famous Clara Parkes", the Queen Bee herself. I'm just so totally looking forward to seeing her. (wink, wink)

THEY'RE POPPING OUT EVERYWHERE

Seems babies are popping up all over in my daughters' lives, as well as my husband's office. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to knit baby hats. No pattern neccessary, just wing it: On the left is a simple meandering cable which looked far too plain for a little girl named BLUE. A little felted flower added just the right girly touch. The Irish cap next to Blue's hat is for a little girl named RUE. (I'm not kidding here folks) It seems Rue has an Irish Daddy, so the cable is borrowed from an Alice Starmore sweater called Inishman. The other hats were made long ago and given away, but it was fun to bring them together so that my other daughter could send samples to another new mother on the west coast, so that she can choose a style, color, etc. that suits her little girl SIDNIE?