Thursday, July 28, 2016

Catastrophes : what is a catastrophe?

Simply put,  a catastrophe is anything that causes a lot of distress of any type.   Now why am I talking about this?   No, nothing bad has happened to me or my family.   Nothing terrible has occurred in the knitting or crocheting that can't be easily fixed.

I listen to Tv a lot as I go about my day.   My favorites are knitting shows but they are in short supply right now.   I love old movies and pick them by the actors.  I also like a lot of DIY shows.  In this category comes, not only  remodeling and cooking but prepper shows and certain reality shows, such as car building and the Alaska centered.

Something that is stressed in most of these shows is having a stockpile.   I couldn't help but see the connection between that and a yarn stash.   From what I see in friends homes and online in various groups,  very few, if any, knitters and crocheters purchase only the exact amount of yarn called for in the pattern only.  We are told to get an extra ball for swatching, an extra ball if we have to lengthen the garment.   We may not need that extra ball depending on the gauge we get.  And so a stash begins.  Then there are the skeins we might get as gifts from those who know yarn is good for presents but not in a fiber, color, or quantity we can use for anything just now.

But what is a stockpile,  or stash, for really?  Well, I know that my stash is there for a few reasons.   1. The yarn came in faster than I could use it.  2. The yarn on hand wasn't right for the project I was making, for a variety of reasons.  Usually the color is the culprit. 3. I purchased yarn on field trips with the guilds or on vacations with my family.   That yarn has special memories.  4.  I was gifted yarn which I can't use but didn't want to hurt the feelings of the giver by making a fuss in a negative way.  My mother did manage to teach me a few manners.  5.  I foresaw a time when either money or yarn might not be there in quantities that allow me to make what I want so a skein or three needed to come home with me.   I'm  thinking about retirement or if one of us becomes incapacitated for a while and can't go back to the jobs we currently have.  6. The yarn called to me.  Either I felt the color was extraordinary,  the price was too good to pass up,  or I wanted to try the yarn because it was new, I had to have it.  Or the fiber is something I absolutely had to have RIGHT NOW.

I don't have the idea of some of the more pessimistic minded people that we are going to have to restart civilization.  But the retirement and health issues make a stash a useful thing to have.  Yes, I will admit that there is a small chance that a catastrophe will happen and I will need it.  As an example,  we moved 15 years ago from one side of town to the other.  Our previous home saw two blizzards with huge snowfall and record cold temperature. But by happy circumstances we were never without power or stranded.  The head of the road work department lived on that street.   Fast forward to today and two moves made in quick succession.  We have had two major accidents that cut electricity from the neighborhood at large,  had flooding that prevented us from getting into town or to work three times (it never got into the house unlike those down the hill from us),  been cut off from water once and another three record snowfalls. 

We take the weather more seriously and plan ahead now.  We don't wipe out the egg, milk, bread aisles but we do fill gas cans,  keep the freezer full and check batteries for flashlights and the candles.   My yarn stash was there for me during these times. It gave me ways to fill hours when there was no way out until the weather cooperated and we could get dug out.


Saturday, July 23, 2016

Upcoming .....

Great things are coming.  Great things have already occurred.  One great thing was my church festival is over.  It's always a lot of work and a lot of joy and a lot of weather worry.  We had help when it was needed.  We experienced joy before during and after the festival.  We had 3 days of good weather, hot and humid but no rain. 

Upcoming things include online classes.  Eventually each class listed on the different pages will be available online.  A local high school teacher and I are teaming up to learn this online process.  I will post updates as they occur.  First up will be some Tunisian crochet.  I offer how to do the stitch and how to tame the inevitable curl.

I'm also looking to do more designing.  I will keep you abreast of where to find the patterns or post them here if they are free.  I will also be revamping previous patterns.

For now we are having a heat wave complete with high humidity.  Small children, the elderly, and those who are not working at 100% are asked to stay inside.  I'm taking advantage of this to finish a project that I needed done before July even started.  With the bright sunny days, I have plenty of light.  This is something I didn't have back in April and May.  I'm working on repairing an heirloom tablecloth for a friend.  I finally (with help from Wanda and Jane, thanks ladies) found the correct thread size.  Now I have good light and can get this work done.  I'm finding the getting older eyes do not work so well in all levels of light.  Maybe I'm not as young as I think I am.....

Thanks for sticking with me through the long silence.  I did actually write but was not willing to post them publicly until I could edit them.  There is a series about when I was a child and Wilbur Wabbit.  Do any of you know about him or is he a local phenomenon?