DaveyKnits!

So here it is Easter weekend am I find myself pondering relationships again. I always become a little distressed this time of year, due to the fact my Nana passed away on Easter 11 years ago. I was thankful to be able to spend a lot of time with her during her last days, but also find myself disheartened that I didn’t spend more.

It’s been a rough month to say the least emotionally, having to deal with Moms illness, my siblings ungratefulness, and my own personal daemons of insecurity. Most people when they meet me think I am the most secure and strong person they know, but that’s far from the truth. Sure, there are drugs that can help with these low points I go through, I’ve just never been a big fan of taking meds in the first place. My friends tell me to give them a call when this happens, but the calls often soon to go unanswered, so I don’t call anymore. So I do what I do best, paint on the game face and pretend that everything is okay. I dare not speak what I truly feel, that I want to stabs in the middle of the street and scream from the top of my lungs “why!?!.

Perhaps thats what I should do, although I’m much to centered to perform this act in the middle of the street, but rather in a field or in the middle of a lake where no one is around.

Why is it that we as humans have the need to internalize our feelings? What is the point? A famous movie quote “a woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets”, this is true not only of women, but people in general. It certainly rings true for me.

So where does this leave me? I have spent most of the day working outside in the yard today, cleaning up a patio that desperately needs it, using this work as an excuse to get my mind off things. It still amazes me that when I am angry or hurting, I tend to focus that energy on cleaning. Perhaps this should be my new workout routine.

I have decided though to spend the rest of this weekend just focusing on the wot that needs to be done around the house and enjoy being outdoors.

Pics of the patio to come later. It’s really starting to look good.

So in lieu of my FO Friday, here it is on Sunday with a special post.

Last night my WONDERFUL Mom threw me a cookout to celebrate my birthday along with one of her friends who is also a St. Patty’s Day baby. Last night was awesome, it was so good to have some of my friends there to help celebrate. Mike, Oneale, Rachel, Heather H. and Heather S., Tiffany and Andrew, Christine, Kristy (another St. Patty’s Baby!), Remi and Ava – thank you so much for making the cookout a special one for me! I know there are others that I am probably forgetting, so I apologize in advance, and for those that could not make it, you missed a great time!

I love having people over to my house for cookouts and parties. It is one of the things that I will keep up with this year as the summer rolls on. There is nothing like a house full of fun and laughter to show that you really are loved and thought of. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a good meal cooked out on the grill right? Now to get ready for the party, i cleaned up the house in true J.C. fashion and really scrubbed down the place. Baseboards, doors, windows – you name it. I discovered that I worked so hard on the house yesterday,that I actually had a blister from cleaning! WTF? But it was all worth it.

My owie!

I also got a little charged up yesterday and really have the urge to finish up more of the projects around the house. There is so much to be done, but I really am anxious to finish them all up, especially in the yard. So expect to see some progress reports in the future.

Here is a pic of one of the berets I finished. The second one is almost done.

Until next time my loves!

Well, I certainly have no shortage of projects happening around my house!

First, I am working on another Brioche Beret to make matching ones for my Mom and Sister.   I love this stitch, and  the pattern is so easy to do!   If you have not gotten into Brioche, hop on over to Jane Prater’s website – www.jpknits.com and buy this pattern from her.   You will love the results, and it is not as hard as you think it might be.

The Beret in Process!

I just simply love pink and brown together, it makes for a nice contrast and and pretty much go with anything.

Next up on the WIP lot, which I will finish tonight, is the second mitten to my Arden Mits to complete my Arden set of mits and hat.   The pattern is Arden by Mikka Tokuda-Hall and is available for FREE!   Click on Mikka’s name to be taken to Ravelry to get the pattern.   You can also check out her site at http://www.wayfaringknitter.com.  I love how these knit up, and the chart is not too difficult to follow.   The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted and has been a dream to work with.

Arden Mits Back

The front side of the mit...

I also have been at the wheel and the sewing machine again.   Yup, my A.D.D. ass always needs to have something to do, and I find that sewing or spinning at night, helps me calm down enough to sleep through the night.   So, I got out one of the four sewing machines I own and sewed up a test knitting bag.   I loved it so much, that I am going to sew up more of these and sell them on Etsy.   Why not right?

My first sewn project bag!

This little beauty was made out of scrap fabric I had from redoing a calendar board.   The fabric is extra tough, and has stood up to my abuse nicely.   I did change the ribbon on it and added a big yellow button, so you will see more of these soon.   I have been using this little bag for everything!

Lastly my spinning adventure continues.  I have only spun up one skein of yarn, and it came out really chunky, so I need to practice more.   When I got home from the retreat, I decided that there was no time to waste in getting started again!  So out came the wheel and the roving I have had for three years now, and off to the spindle we went!

The beginning...

I am no where neat perfect yet, and the beginnings have a lot of twist and there are some chunkier spots in the yarn, so this really is just practice for me.   I do like though how the roving is coming together to form the colorway in the yarn.    Pretty huh?

So thats WIP Wednesday for me.   Be sure to check out other WIP sites from my dear friends and their blogs.

Click to visit other WIP sites!

Well as you can see February was a hectic month, and I did not get to blog at all during the month.  That just means more for you to read right?   So where do we start?

Well first things first…   Many people know, but some still do not, my Mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer back at the end of January.   This has taken up most of my time as you can imagine.   Mom has had her surgery now, and is recovering from that before we move on to step 2, which is the chemotherapy.    You can read about her story and journey by going to our CaringBridge website for her:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/karenroberson

So that is the biggest news that has happened recently.  It is amazing how your focus on everything can suddenly stop when you find out that a loved one has Cancer.  I know we will get through this, and that my mom’s strength will keep us going over the next year.  I just hope that I have half of the strength that she has shown me she has over the years.

This also leads me to friendships.  I am very lucky to have a close friend whom it seems I am growing closer to each day.  I am sure he will read this, and will be throughly embarrassed, but he knows I am writing about him.  When all of the bad news came to a head, Chris came down from D.C. to kidnap me for the weekend, and make sure I had a good time.  I am so overwhelmed by his friendship, and look forward to having him in my life for many years to come.   So my boy, if you are reading this, thank you, and I love you so much!  You have been my rock lately, and I am very happy to say that.

I just got back from our annual Knitting Guild Retreat  which was awesome!   We were in Hickory at the Catholic Conference Center.   Our instructor, Candace Eisner-Strick was awesome.   The weekend was filled with friends, knitting, and of course yarn!   I will post about my yarn purchase in a new post, but oh my word, we had a lot of it to choose from thanks to the lovely Miss Babs.

 We also had a little time to be silly at the retreat.  There is nothing better than just relaxing with some knitting (or spinning) and having some plain old fun.   One of the little ice breakers we did was the rope game.  With this, two people are “handcuffed” by two pieces of string, and without taking the handcuffs off, or breaking the yarn, they have to get away from each other.   Here are a couple of pics from the sillyness that ensued.

Jet and Chelsi

Debs and Donna

So that is just a smidge of what has happened this month.   Oh!  I also have a new nephew!   Wyatt David Roberson was born on 1/17/2012.  More pics of him will follow too!

The Family Meets Wyatt!

Since my brain is on overload, I am going to end this post now, and start working on tomorrows post.

Love to all…

Davey

What a crazy month October has been!   For all of you, my faithful 10 readers, here is a quick recap.

Lot of knitting happening, classes going strong at the Community Center, new job, new relationships, and a whole lot of new beginnings!

So first, down to the new job business…   At the end of September, I performed my yearly resume update and posted it as normal.   A few hours after the post, a recruiter called me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing with them for possible direct placement at one of their clients.   No harm in checking things out right?   So I go down, not really knowing what to expect, and the loved me.   Off to interviewing with the client now!  The following week, I interviewed with ACBJ and their help desk team. I did not realize that I would be in a panel interview, and one after another they fired off support questions to me.   Scared as all hell since it has been a little while for me supporting Windows in a corporate environment, I kept wondering, “I hope these answers are right…  mama is a little rusty on her knowledge.” Well after the 2 1/2 hours of interviewing, I was invited back the next day to interview with people one-on-one.   Again, after nearly 2 1/2 hours of interviewing with department heads, I felt really good about the company and thought this will be a great career move.  So the next morning there was an offer in my email box and I accepted it.   I am now employed with American City Business Journals!  My first week at ACBJ has been awesome, and I am sure that I will have many more to come.

On the knitting side of life, I am continuing to work on Christmas scarves, as well as a new hat project.   Another Entrelac hat made out of Zitron yarn that I purchased in Baltimore.  The other skein of yarn, the hand painted rayon – was for the scalloped shawl that I finished back in the beginning of the month.   This shawl made it’s first public debut as Moxy’s shawl worn for my performance as a guest star at Men of Petra’s – Season 3.   If you wanna see the performance, here is the link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0JbP9Yk2E0

Knitting at the Community Center is coming along nicely.  Two of my students are making their first pair of socks now.   They are working on Fuzzy Feet, which really are HUGE socks that are then felted down to make slippers for around the house.  This is the perfect way to teach sock construction, and is a quick knit.   Pics to come later this week when I see their progress on Thursday.

more to come later…

Davey

Whew!  It has been a while since I have posted so there is a lot that has happened over the past two months since Pride.   Trouble is, where do I begin?

In my knitting world, a lot is happening.  I am currently taking a break from the sweater and working on a lace shawl.  My first lace project ever (other than some simple socks).   I am VERY happy with the results so far, and should have it completed in the next week or so.  The pattern and yarn came from Lovely Yarns in Hampden, MD (Baltimore).

The Scallop Shawl by Lovely Yarns

See how the scallops are defined?  This is a modular piece, so each scallop is completed one at a time to make the shawl grow horizontally and vertically.

I am also working on the Christmas gift knitting.  Some scarves, hats and gloves for some friends and family members this year.   This is my work knitting, so it goes pretty quickly. Scarf No. 1 is almost done, so then I will move on to No. 2.

I am still teaching knitting at the orphanage as well as teaching at the community center.  While I can not share photos from the orphanage, I can share the ones we have taken at the community center!   I have three great students right now with more to come.

My students and I showing off our work!

Recently I have also been thankful for some friendships that I have made recently.  There is one person in particular whom I am very grateful for.   We connect on so many different levels.   So you know who you are mister man, if you are reading this update, thanks for being there.

Thats all for now, more to come later…

OK, here is a quick shout out and note for you to take action on.   Last Sunday I met this amazing husband and wife singing duo – Neely.  This beautiful couple performed at my friend Cathi’s house for a concert in the home.  This is the most perfect setting for a little acoustic concert.   THESE TWO ARE AMAZING.   I completely fell in love with their music and will totally support them.

Check them out at www.neelymusic.com or in iTunes!  I have bought their first CD and have nearly worn it out in the car.   They have a new song debuting soon, called Complete (The Wedding Song) that is also the bomb.   I so can not wait to get it.  (Hopefully in two weeks on iTunes.)

So here is want I want from my friends who read this blog…

Jeremy & Kaci are in the process of recording an acoustic album, called “Color Blind”, which will include 6 studio acoustic tracks (featuring two new songs), 3 live acoustic tracks, and the long awaited radio edit of the song “Complete” (The Wedding Song).

This is where you come in!  After touring the nation as an acoustic Duo, we have learned two things:  One – people love our debut album “Everything I Am” and really want to see the full band show.  Two – people want to have an acoustic version of those same songs to take that acoustic experience with them.

To record, mix, master, and manufacture an album like this will cost us $6,000 from beginning to end.  However, because Kickstater is an “all or nothing” campaign, our goal is set at $3,500 which we feel is a reasonable goal for our friends\fans to meet.  That being said, we still hope that we would exceed the $3,500 goal and reach the $6,000 mark to completely fund this project!

Every last penny of this kickstarter campaign will go to pay for “Color Blind”, the acoustic album.  With many options to choose from, we hope that you will partner with us and see this project to completion.  After all, in today’s music business, YOU are the record label!

Here is the link to fund the project…

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1141917338/neely-acoustic-album-with-complete-the-wedding-son

Help support new music!

Kaci, Jeremy and Me at Cathi's House