Dawn Brocco's Life and Design Blog

9/26
Tried a different allergy med last night, and won't be using it again - it kept me awake most of the night and my nerves are rattling around inside me, and it's a 24-hour allergy med - eesh - all day I'll be bouncing off the walls! Benadryl does the same thing to me - it's supposed to make one drowsy - ha! Not me.

Got the back on that cardie finished and have started the other front, but need to work on booklet photos today. That was the best batch of tomato soup I've made thus far - it takes a few times, adapting the quantities in recipes before it comes out perfect, especially when one isn't using exactly the same ingredients!

9/28
Mom has been here 2 days so far, to see after grandma's worsening condition, so I haven't been able to write or work much lately.

I'm been making some headway with that cardie - got one sleeve done and just started the other. Then just the buttonbands to do.

No list emails this morning - mail server is bouncing again, so I'll write awhile.

Have been blowing my way through this new cardigan. As of last night, had the 8" rib done, the 4" in the fuchsia / orange tweed done, then bound off the underarms for square-inset sleeves, and got 2/3 of the left front done. It feels good to make this kind of progress on a design. Am thinking of colors to do the 2nd sample in - gotta have 2 samples. Earthy tones? or greys? or that beautiful turquoise/purple tweed with grey tweed or black rib? I love color up near the face, not blah, beige colors - as they do little for the complexion or the eye color. My blue eyes will sparkle with the blue/purple in the bodice, so it looks like I've decided!

Going to make a fresh batch of tomato soup today. Hubby is outside working on the house, re-scraping the front, on top of the porch roof. He did the food shopping yesterday morning before work, as they'll be no going anywhere near downtown this weekend, with the 60,000 people that show up for the Garlic Festival! I like garlic, actually I love garlic, use tons of it all the time, but give me an ice cream festival or chocolate festival or a flower show - I'd show up every year. It takes a bit more than endless braids of garlic to thrill me.

I did no work on that design booklet yesterday, so today is it. I'll see, though, how long I can remain plopped in front of this computer before I get stiff and cranky. If I can find a good movie to listen to, it won't be so bad. I'll break it up with laundry, washing dishes and vacuuming. I scrubbed the wood kitchen floor the other day, and my knees were sore for days. One day I'll remember to cut a wad out of that egg crate thing up in the attic and kneel on that - too young for housemaids' knee. Actually, if I had my druthers, everything would be at waist height and there'd be no corners anywhere for me to walk into!

Well, first cup of coffee down, 2nd is on its way and my brain is finally awakening.
Have a great weekend all!

Am 5" into the lower ribbing on this new cardigan in Alpaca Boucle. Am planning on 8" worth, and should have that done by later today. I ran the Fibonacci numbers to make sure I would get a balanced design. For those unfamiliar with Fibonacci, one begins with one and adds the number before it to it to get the next number, so: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 etc.

When things are sized to the dimensions of Fibonacci numbers, they have visual balance or harmony.

So, I've planned 8" for the lower rib in black and 13" for the upper body in the fuchsia / orange tweed.

It's a good thing I've started this simple cardigan, as mom is coming on Sunday for a few days to see her mom about an hour away, as grandma isn't doing well at all lately. She's in the hospital again, and it's not looking good. Grandma is 87, and though she's a fighter, the body can only bounce back so many times and each time lately, has been weaker and weaker.

So, some simple knitting is the least of which my nerves will desperately need to handle this, though a couple of stiff drinks or a valium would be more like it, if I was so inclined, which, unfortunately, I'm not.

Am making progress on that booklet of designs. Retook some photos several times yesterday until I got ones that worked well. Patterns are written and proofed. So, now, just adjusting photos to do and printing samples until they all look good. Then off to the copy editor. I'd like to have it available in a couple weeks, so knitters will have time to knit the designs up before winter hits.

Is it my imagination or are knitters slow to pick up their knitting after this summer? The beginning of September usually begins the 6-month busy knitting / ordering season, as April to August is pretty much dried up, but not this September. I wonder what's up.

Am finishing up another pair of gift socks, this time a woman's pair. Way back (a year or more), I bought 2 skeins each in 4 colors of Jo Sharp DK wool, from Ozeyarn . I always get my Jo sharp wool and even some Breeze yarn from her, as the prices are excellent, I don't mind waiting a smidge for the package to come from Australia, and she always encloses color cards of whatever's new. Ozeyarn gives great and friendly service, which should always be promoted - it's hard enough running a small business and getting it to be profitable - positive word-of-mouth is the least we can do to keep excellent businesses "in" business!

Anyway, I had begun a design in these 4 colors, but ended up ripping it out - the idea just wasn't tickling me enough to spend all that time working it up. So, I've been doubling the DK wt wool and with size 6's and 7's (cuff only), have made 2 pairs of socks. I've used some of this stash previously, but can't remember at the moment what I used it for!

Jo's DK wool yarn is a very nice, basic staple-in-one's-stash yarn. A soft, yet sturdy, well-made (worsted spun) Merino/Border Leicester wool, if I'm not mistaken. With the 6's (4 mm) and 2 strands, I got near 4.75 sts/1". I'd go up to 4.5 sts/1" for socks, but not much looser.

Feeling this yarn as a knit fabric made me think I'd like to see it in a sweater, still doubled, but at about 4 sts/1". It also reminds me that if I had a medium gauge knitting machine, I'd be more likely to knit it with just 1 strand, at the usual DK gauge of 5.5, or maybe, 6 sts/1", as I just don't have that kind of time to devote to a single design. I do like heavy worsted's gauge. Not so bulky, it can't be worn indoors, especially living anywhere where winter hits, and not so fine, it takes forever to knit "and" maybe necessitates wearing another garment with it for added warmth.

I still find that my store bought sport or DK wt sweaters aren't always warm enough by themselves. This may change eventually, as I age, but, it's still a real issue for me, as I'd think it would be for many young to early middle age women, where being cold is the norm, not being flushed! So, I'll add it to the long list of waiting ideas - a 4 sts/1" doubled Jo Sharp wool design....

I've been perusing my quite spare stash (everything's been getting knit up rather quickly), and thought there was little chance of having enough of anything to design myself a sweater, preferably a cardigan, that I can wear indoors and would be soft and snuggly. I have bits of this and that - all leftovers from other projects. Then I thought that if I made it cropped-ish - 20-21" long, maybe I would have enough.

I've got black and a beautiful fuchsia/orange tweed in the Alpaca Boucle left. 6 balls in the tweed and 5 in the black. Not a huge amount, I know. But I'm going to give it a go anyway. I "did" do a pullover, knit rather tightly that took 13 balls and had cables, so if I don't do a tight gauge and don't do cables, and with the shorter length, maybe I'll get lucky.

As it turned out, I wasn't crazy about how the cables in that pullover looked bordering the V-neckline. So, despite having a ream of pattern notes and 3 huge charts done for that design, it will remain unpublished - not the first time I've done that either. Once a garment is fully finished, all together, I don't rip out. I only rip out while the process is going on, once something is done, it's perfectly useable and I will wear it or give it away to someone who'll wear it. Maybe DD will like it, though anything reddish isn't her fav (because it's mine!)

Lovely day out today - gotta go and get more tomatoes off the vine. Sent hubby to work with 2 bags of tomatoes, - easily 3 lbs each - to give to co-workers, as we never can use all of what ripens, as so much ripens at once. If they'd just grow like peas, beans or lettuce, pick once, then they'd regrow or the plant would make another flower, but no, of course they gotta be different! All these pounds of tomatoes ripening at once!

9/19
Autumn's light is dancing through the trees today. What a crisp harbinger of days to come. The leaves of the Florida Dogwoods have changed already to russet - the first of our trees to color.

I'm working on, or rather, reworking, a pair of gift socks. Ran out of yarn, so i ripped back to the beginning of the gusset and am inserting stripes to extend the main color. I should have guessed there wouldn't be enough for a man's size pair, as 1, 4-oz skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky is just about enough for a woman's pair, but I did do the heels in another color, but even that wasn't enough. I've also loosened to a size 7, as the 6's with the bulky yarn were trying my hands more than they should. So, I'll decrease down to 2 less sts than I would have used with the 6's.

I need to get these socks done and get back to long-suffering-in-silence projects abandoned temporarily for more urgent work.

9/21
Got those men's socks finished and washed. Good. Have 2 patterns to reproof for the next Gazette and a booklet of designs to work on, including photos. The pics take as long to get right as does the pattern-writing, proofing, and booklet formatting!

I am contemplating running a series of color ads in Knitter's mag, as well as the ad I have coming out in 2 upcoming Vogue Knitting issues. Do knitters prefer to see the same company ad from mag to mag or do you prefer to see varying ads?

It's just, yet, one more business detail that takes a lot of time and money to do, that I would need to squeeze into my already too long days / too short budget. I'd rather not commit to something if I can't give it all the time it needs to be done right. But, at the same time, I don't want to pass up opportunities to help my business grow. I really could use an office, website, advertising and marketing manager! hahahaha!

I've received the latest Patternworks catalog. Imprinted on the cover is a "Don't let this be your last catalog!" notice. But there was nothing in it to entice me. I don't need any gadgets nor needles and there are no new yarns saying "buy me!" Am I the only one to not be inspired by the yarns offered lately?

Hubby continues with the house scraping, wood puttying and spackling. He's now redoing a section that was done before, but some sections are drying out and cracking enough to be scraped, that weren't budging before. He jokes that it will be Christmas before we get to paint this behemoth - and we both know he's not far off with that estimate. We've seen it many times before. The weather and other responsibilities extend all major projects by double or triple the time originally estimated. And this was no small project - the largest in many years, since the 1 bath redo, 1 bath put in from scratch, and the total kitchen redo, not just plopping in a few new cabinets and countertop. sigh.

Of course, 2 of the 3 chimneys need help soon too. Always did, but now they're 10 years and all the more wear older. sigh. Like Cher in Moonstruck, I gotta tell myself to "Snap out of it!" and stop thinking about the house.

Well, back to work for me.

9/22
Had to get up 1.5 hours earlier than I usually do, for a medical app't. It's been a long time since I've seen the sun through my office's east-facing window! I'm so not an early bird! I checked mail, and there was little at this hour. I'd knit but my hands aren't awake. I'd read the paper, but our new delivery person is slower than dirt, so it isn't here yet. So, I'll go check my horoscopes, check Baucom to see how what used Macs are going for and finish slugging this coffee down.

Got back yesterday afternoon from a much-deserved and long-awaited, though short, vacation. It was also a house-searching expedition, so it wasn't all R&R, as we did ALOT of driving, covering almost the entire Cape.

We now have a clearer understanding of which towns and which villages appeal to us. The next hurdle to overcome is the exorbitant prices for the type of property we would want.

I finally got to take some photos on Thursday, not having much of interest to capture from Sunday through Wednesday, except the lovely Surf Drive Beach, which we enjoyed for a bit on Sunday and Monday.

Sunday afternoon, after arriving at Shoreway Acres, in Falmouth (photos below), we walked to the beach (about 8 blocks there and back) but detoured a bit down the beach and through some of the neighborhood, getting ourselves a bit lost, but ended up exiting behind some shops on Main St.

Shoreway Acres is a quaint-looking inn that has rooms in the restored captain's houses or in the modern, motel units. Lots of lawn areas, gazebos, lawn swings and chairs, badminton, outdoor and heated (very heated! - we tried it once) indoor pool AND a complimentary FULL breakfast in the morning, not just the coffee and bagel many places offer. Really a good deal, in a pleasing setting, 1 block from Main St (Rte 28) and 8 blocks to the Nantucket Sound-facing ocean beach.







Now, Main St. in Falmouth is lovely. Quaint, clean, beautiful sea captain's homes around the square - just an all-around pleasing visual. What was NOT endearing was Rte. 28's traffic - non-stop, never-ending, even in September. What "was" nice was that traffic stops for pedestrians - they don't try and mow you down, as they do in NY!

Sunday night, we dined at a dock-side restaurant in Wood's Hole, but wasn't crazy about the food. As we walked along a narrow road back to our car, we had to wait while a drawbridge was lowered and the gates manually pushed open - neat!

Monday, we toured Bourne and Falmouth on the house/area hunt and ate at a local chain restaurant, and also walked the nearby Surf Drive Beach.

No swimming was going to occur with the non-Indian summer weather we had, but we knew we would only get to walk and sit on the beach. This is better than nothing as we haven't been anywhere near a beach in 10 years - too long a time.

Tuesday saw more hours of driving through Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennisport. We ate lunch at a different local chain restaurant.

We noticed right away that small eateries, at least in the Falmouth area, are not like what you get in Maine - fresh, simple seafood dishes at reasonable prices. It's a different ambience - in Maine, you can sit outside on or near a dock and watch the fishermen and their fisher kids working at the shore, tending their traps and boats, all the while eating chowdah, steamers and lobster.

Wednesday, hubby had a hankerin' to see P-Town, so we drove all the way from Falmouth to Provincetown, inched our way through the town, acknowledged that we saw it and promptly got back on Rte 6 to head back. We stopped in Wellfleet and had a great lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant. A great burger and fries that were, apparently double-fried - they were perfect. They were hubby's fries - my hips don't need any fries - but I couldn't help but steal a few of his.

Then we made our way to 6A and through the most beautiful areas - Yarmouthport (Yahhmithport), North Dennis (Dennisport is in the south) and the north part of Barnstable. The homes, the streets, everything - it's so picture perfect, but there was no time to stop and photograph - Rte 6A traffic is like 28's - busy. We lost count of all the homes we absolutely loved and would move into in a heartbeat, if only we had a couple mill loose change. I wouldn't know which one to choose. All antique homes - original Capes, Greek Revivals, Federals, so lovely.

Thursday, we went to Menauhant Beach (I hope I spelled that right), also in Falmouth, but to the east. It has 2 lovely white wood bridges (private) that are oft photographed in the travel and Chamber brochures. So, I took photos as well!







As I'm always noticing vegetation, here's some of some plants growing at the beach:





We also toured Dennis (again), Brewster and Harwich. We ate lunch at a busy little diner in Brewster. I had Blueberry pancakes (the menu said world's best or some such, but though they were good, I wouldn't say world's best). Hubby had an disappointing lobster salad roll-up and fries. The fries were dripping (not good) and the lobster salad was tasteless and only used chunks of celery as seasoning. Celery isn't his fav. Dinner later made up for it, tho.

We stopped in Dennis at the Howes St. Beach, which was lovely. Soft clean sand, no pebbles, only a few sparing larger rocks and few shells, so sitting and walking was pleasant, not painful. The Falmouth beaches were pebblier, which is fine until you want to stroll the length of the beach barefoot! Here's some shots of the Howes St. Beach:






and of a plant growing on this beach:



We then stopped at TJ Maxx before going back to our room. We haven't got a TJ Maxx here in Saugerties, and I always need slacks, as it's so hard to find any that fit my shape. I did manage to get a pair of stretch cotton, lower-rise chinos, and at $15 - perfect.

We walked the 1 block to Main St. in Falmouth and ate at The Quarterdeck Restaurant. Nice ambience, great food, prices weren't terrible at all, for the quality. I had put off having chowder for as long as I could, as it's always so rich, but I couldn't leave the Cape without having "any", so I had a cup of chowder and a crab cake and meslun greens with a cajun sauce, but it wasn't too spicy, as I don't like my food to bite me back! I didn't leave a crumb. nor a drop. Hubby finished his shrimp and scallop scampi, stuffed quahog and a couple beers, as well. We walked back and was greeted along the way by a raccoon, which we quickly shuffled past. Other than the moose that hubby saw on the highway going to the Cape, this was the only other ground-living wildlife we saw, so we were surprised to see it.

Then, Friday morning we packed and was on the road to home by 10:30 am.

As for our house hunt. I'd been researching Cape real estate online for many, many months (prior to this search was a year's search for a homestead on the coast of Virginia, followed by a trip there, but the area wasn't for us - we also tried Maine several years ago - also not for us) and had a folder filled with real estate printouts of houses to drive by, most of which were temporarily off the market for the summer, though a few were active listings. We've discovered that agents can be very creative with the photos, and no-one is going to put in a listing that a house faces a trailer park or an industrial park or is on such a busy road or sits 10' below road grade or is next to a motel, or, or...

We drove past 13 homes or so, would have been 1 more, but couldn't for the life of us find the road and I bought the tome that is a Rand McNally street map for the entire Cape. Only one house is even something we'd consider selling our place for, and it's at the high end of our range. As we've heard a few times already - best time to buy was 2 years ago - yup - but 2 years ago, our house was worth substantially less, as well. Isn't that the way it always goes!

So, we're back to work on our house and I'm preparing for a busy fall and winter knitting season.

Did more scraping Monday, but not yesterday nor today. The tendonitis in my right elbow was acting up, and I'm not about to make it worse than it is.

So, I've been knitting. All day. All evening. How enjoyable, to get to just sit and knit! Today is rainy, as tomorrow is supposed to be, so no outdoor work will get done, and will further rest my elbow. I am getting both pairs of slipper samples done for the 2nd design for the winter Gazette issue and I really should get working on that booklet of designs, but all I want to do is knit! Working with a worsted spun yarn (which is not the same as worsted weight) is a nice change, as there's no fuzzy bits to float into the air, then onto my eyelashes and irritate my contacts.

I need to start on a hat and scarf design. I have the natural color cashmere to work the first samples in, then I'll need to get the natural black to make them for my Dad for Christmas. I go flip through the stitch dictionaries later to get me inspired. I always pull out piles of books and plop onto the couch with them all - leaving barely enough room for hubby to sit! I love being surrounded by books. Books are comforting. The process of seeking, then finding, knowledge is exhilarating. I love that feeling of being on a mission - having a purpose, either temporary or long-lasting, requiring the seeking out of information.

Did more scraping yesterday, but it was so humid, that 2 hours work left me soaked and pooped. Tomorrow, I'll be sanding and as it's to be cooler, I should be able to work longer. Heat is one thing, it's the humidity that really makes working difficult. Scraping is best done by those with enough upper-body muscle (men!).

I finished binding the extra 150 booklets yesterday, and the new boxes came in, so I boxed them up today, and will do the packing lists for them.

Each evening, I try to get some knitting done, but the achey breaky muscles won't allow much the last few days. I also need to get moving on that Alpaca Boucle booklet of designs, so I can have it done before the end of autumn. Brother John is coming up again tomorrow for a few more days heavy labor on the house - what a guy! We were going to do more house work today, but needed a day of rest, so I'm finishing up the 2nd stranded slipper sample for the Winter Gazette and coloring my hair. Of course, as soon I leave my spot on the couch, Pickles climbs into my seat! Well, we'll see about that!

Sundays are perfect for knitting, while watching the Poirot mysteries on the Biography channel. I should be able to get another colorway in this slipper design started, so there'll be one cool colorway and one warm colorway for the issue.

I'm doing these in Botanica, a really nice worsted spun yarn made exclusively by Halcyon Yarn. It comes in a lovely array of colors and is very sturdy, yet not coarse or rough feeling. To give you an idea of its strength, when I put a length in my hands and try and break it, I can't. I dent my hands and I feel it pull apart a bit, but not to the breaking point. This bodes well for good wear. I designed a sock pattern last year or so in this yarn - A Touch of Honey Clog Socks, on the Socks page on my site. I haven't worn them yet. I don't wear all the socks or sweaters I design. Some I give to family as gifts, others I keep as samples for shops to show.

I'm also planning on a sock yarn review for that issue. It's been awhile since I've done one and this time, I'm going to review the heavier wt. wool and nylon yarns, which is timely, for a winter issue.

The tomatoes have been ripening and are nice and sweet. So, I think I'll make an omelet as my dinner with provolone and fresh-picked garden tomatoes! Hubby had to shore up the plants though. The vines have hardly any weight, but the fruit - they've been toppling those cages almost every day. So, he attached each to its neighbor with tie wraps, then put hooks into the wood surround of the raised bed and tied each cage to a hook, to stabilize them - should do the trick.

Well, just about time to rinse out the color, so I gotta go then get back to my knitting - what a relief to get to sit and knit! I haven't had time to knit for a while, or even to just sit! Now if I just had one of those huge, down-filled, overstuffed English Country sofas, I'd be in relaxation heaven!

Helped hubby scrape the house yesterday for a few hours. This afternoon, I'll do more. It's a killer on the back and shoulders, though, as one must put their whole body weight into each scrape, and as my body weight isn't as much as his, not to mention I have 1/10th the muscles!, so it takes more scraping for me to get each section done than if a guy did it, but we plough onwards. At least the weather is holding. Lots too many weeks to rain.... And one can't paint once it gets too cold, so time is of the essence!

Have the extra booklet printing done, am working on the punching and binding. Ordered heavyweight boxes for shipping them, as I have such a mushgalonz of boxes here, and nothing really suitable or large enough.

Well, to the great outdoors for me....

S I X T H A N N U A L K N I T - O U T & C R O C H E T 2004!
Sunday, October 3, 2004
R A I N O R S H I N E
Union Square Park, 17th Street, NYC
Noon – 5 p.m. • Subways: 4, 5, 6, L, N, R
See Knit Out for details.

• Scarf Contest • "Beyond the Basics" Classes • Yarn Doctor
• Retail Exhibits • Kids Crafts • Demos and Displays
• Trendy Fashion Shows for All, including Kids & Dogs
• Prize Drawings • Guilds & Clubs • Show & Share
Bring a friend, roommate, sister, brother, mom, dad and grandparent!
FREE knitting & crochet lessons!

Warm Up America!
Bring a 7" by 9" crocheted or knitted section which will be joined with others to make patchwork afghans for someone in need.

ALSO: Staten Island Knit Out
Limited program
Saturday, Sept.18, 2004
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Cromwell Center, Pier 6, Bay & Hannah Streets

See Knit Out for details.

Sponsored by: Craft Yarn Council of America
In association with the Big Apple Knitters Guild, New York City Crochet Guild,
The Knitting Guild Association, Crochet Guild of America and The National Needlework Association.

I'm not able to attend BUT, I have donated one of my Cyclamen Pink Cashmere Garden Yarns "Double Knot Cable Scarves" kits, as a prize! It sounds like it will be a fun day out for those that can make it!

Where did August go to? It's nowhere near my favorite month so, as the weather here has been very un-August, it's been tolerable enough to fly by instead of torture day by day, heat wave by heat wave!

Went to Kingston yesterday to get a street map of all of Cape Cod as well as DH's dentist visit and a number of errands. Got an email this evening though that means 150 more booklets to print - very good news, but it necessitates another trip to Kingston for more paper.

I have all the Gazette subscriber issues ready for mailing tomorrow. Later than I usually get to mail them, but things all around have not been easy for some time. At least it's only a few days later than I wanted to send them....