Breckinridge Diaries

Redirecting...

2013-12-17T19:29:00.000-06:00

Well is anybody still out there...

I have neglected this blog for almost 2 years. So much as changed. So much needed to change. I started this project as a form of therapy. I needed a place to vent about my professional unhappiness. And once I solved that problem, the blog fell by the wayside.

I left the museum world two years ago this March and I'm now the owner (with 2 other women) of the local yarn shop. Everything is right with the world. I have found my calling.

So if you are interested in the yarn/knitter side of this blog, join me at www.theyarnmart.com for that side of my life.

If you are interested in history and/or looking for information on Katherine Carson Breckinridge and her kin, then stay tuned. I'm still exploring and wondering about her. I guess I always will.

Knitting Down Stash Progress Report - Week 1

2012-01-11T16:15:00.000-06:00

Where did the week go? I have been knitting a little on all the projects I listed in the last post but I've made very little progress on any of them. With the exception of O W L S. In Vintage Chunky, the sweater is speeding right a long. I actually have to stop working on it and focus attention on other projects so I don't get too far ahead of the KAL group.

I hope to have a better progress report next week.

KDYS - Queue and WIPs

2011-12-27T14:59:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I'm excited about this year of knitting down my stash. I've gotten skeptical looks from my husband and my knitting friends but I think I'm up for the challenge.

To start the project off, I have organized my stash and I have donated/given away yarn that I know I will never use. I also finally realized that you have to mark yarn in your stash "Used" when you use it all up. How many years have I been on Ravelry and I'm still learning. So the official stash count is 130.

I have 49 project in my queue (on Ravelry) and 13 projects in my WIPs (Works in Progress).

My WIPs are a variety of projects from sweaters to socks and were started yesterday or in some cases, 3 years ago. For those of you on Ravelry, you can check them out. For those of you not on Ravelry, here is the run down.


O W L S for Yarn Mart KAL - started 1/1/2012

Nuvem - started 11/3/2011 for KAL at Yarn Mart

Baby Blanket for the Rattermans - started 12/10/2011

Spectrum Scarf KAL - started 10/13/2011

Grove Mitten Version 2 - started 9/8/2011

Graphic Sox - started 08/16/2011 for example for 2 socks on 1 circ class

Momma's Market Bag - started 7/7/2011

Dress for Julienne's Baby - started 6/4/2011

Huron for a Girl - started 1/11/11

Chloe

Noro Lace Cover Up - started 10/10/2010

Socks for Van 2 - started 08/05/2010

Beret for Me - started 02/20/2009

Revision on Stash Count

2011-12-27T14:51:00.001-06:00

Arrive over 3 years of using Ravelry, I just discovered that you have to mark stash yarn as "used up" once you have used it up.

So my stash count is really 129 instead of 142.

Knit Down Your Stash in a Year!

2011-12-27T13:44:00.000-06:00

I'm a project person. I need a project to occupy my thoughts and my actions. Don't get me wrong - I love a day on the couch watching movies and knitting but I need something to be in charge of and I need to feel that I'm working toward a large goal. Opening a museum, designing a new kitchen, organizing a closet - all of these activities involve planning, thought, and execution. And I get a great rush from these activities. But a lot of my projects involve spending money. I'm looking for a project that is nicer to the wallet.

So for 2012 I'm going to knit down my yarn stash. For the non-knitters out there, knitters buy yarn and lots of it. Often it is not for a specific project - you just love the yarn, the color, the texture and you have to have it. I buy a lot of stash yarn on vacation when we visit other local yarn shops. I buy stash yarn because it is a good deal. I've even bought stash yarn that I have the pattern for and I'm going to start the project next and then something comes up and it joins the rest of the stash yarn. Where do I keep all this yarn?? Well, under beds and in closets mostly. I store it in plastic bags or in plastic containers. I know what I have thanks to Ravelry and the amazing stash feature there. As you can see from the screen shot below, I have 142 different yarns in my stash. That's not 142 balls of yarn - that's 142 different types of yarn. That's a lot of yarn.

My plan is this - I will select a yarn at random (depending my mood) and I will find a pattern and start knitting. The majority of my stash yarn is already tied to a pattern or project so this should not be difficult. What will be difficult is finishing the project. I'm a process knitter, not a project knitter. This means I enjoy the process of knitting rather than the joy of completing a project. When I get bored, I simply move on to the next project that catches my eye. Some might call it ADD Knitting and it results in a lot of UFOs (Unfinished Objects). My husband gently reminders me from time to time about the pair of socks I started knitting for him about 4 years ago.

But the goal of this project is to actually finish projects. I'm not saying that I will begin one project and work on only that one until it is finished. I would be setting myself up for failure if that was the scenario. The goal is to use yarn that I actually already have and not buy more for a little while. That will be the real challenge.

Sunday, January 1, 2012 I will start a new project and continue working on several project I need to complete. I'll post about the projects I'm working on and the achievements and struggles. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I hope I will.

I'm back

2011-12-12T11:35:00.000-06:00

Dear Breckinridge Diaries Readers,

I'm back. I apologize for the long silence but I've been super busy. First I've been spending the majority of my computer time redesigning the website for our local yarn shop. You can find my handy work at www.theyarnmart.com. I also started a e-newsletter for the shop and that has increased sales which is excellent for any small business during these difficult economic times. I have started a blog for the shop and my limited blogging time has been devoted to their blog.

But I'm back to my blog with couple of project to keep you reading. First I'm jumped back into my Breckinridge research and I'm making some new discoveries and solving some mysteries. I made a major breakthrough last week when I finally located the land that Katherine Breckinridge's birth home stood. I'll blog more details in the future but this was huge.

My other big project is "Knit Down Your Stash In A Year." I have a huge stash and last weekend I got it all out to organize it and add my most recent purchases. My husband commented "can you knit with some of this yarn? why are you always buying new?" He was really just teasing me but he had a point. I do buy yarn at a much faster rate than I can knit it. So 2012 is the year of the stash reduction. I've challenged myself not only to knit it down but to finish the projects I start. Much in the same vein of Sweater Quest and The Julie/Julia Project. I'll update the blog with my progress. It all starts in January.

Rowan Love

2011-10-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

When I first started knitting, I was drawn to Rowan yarns and patterns. Maybe it is because they are English and I love all things English. But to me (as a new knitter and still today), Rowan is the epitome of luxury yarn and elegant patterns. Rowan is selling a lifestyle or the hope of a life style. The first time I saw the price on a Rowan Magazine, I was shocked but then I discovered that it's more than a magazine. It's beautiful photography, patterns that take your breath away and a moment inside a dream world. It's like reading Jane Austen, or the Bronte sisters, or Wordsworth.

I first bought Rowan yarn only on ebay or on sale at LYSs. It was more or less for me to look at and cherish. I needed to find the right project to knit it into - it couldn't be misused. This beret was my first "Rowan" project. I got the pattern off Ravelry and ordered the yarn from a LYS in Massachusetts. I used the exact yarn and colors that the pattern called for because I loved the overall look of the finished beret. Knitting with Rowan is a dream. Wonderful stitch definition. Soft and easy on the hands.

Now I have purchased my first Rowan Knitting Magazine. Number 41 to be exact. On ebay. I'm so excited. I can't wait for it to get here so I can begin dreaming of living on a remote farm in the English countryside and knitting beautiful things with beautiful yarn.

What I've been up to...

2011-10-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

Wow - it has been a whole month since my last post and so much as happened.

First this happened,


Chicago walking into the building - I work there.

Then this,

Member of Chicago warming up. All the guys were super nice.

Then there was this,

Chicago sound check.

Then a few people stopped by,

The Ragin' Cajun was appropriately dressed.

And a few more people stopped by,

Then they went out front to say a few words,

Then they came back in,

Then we all headed down the street for some fun,

And listen to some more music,

All in all it was a good day - very tiring - but good.

Knitting Inspired by Missoni

2011-09-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

To continue the "obsessed with blanket" trend, I was inspired by fibre space's blog post about Missoni.Yet another colorful blanket that is on target and trend this season. (Pun intended!) I like fibre space's suggest that Berroco Vintage has the right colors and the right texture to make this blanket sing. And with Vintage you get almost double the yardage of the suggested yarn - making the yarn cost lower and the number of ends to weave in fewer. But Vintage's color are more variegated than the yarn used by the designer. I'm going to have to ponder this one.

2011-09-16T16:24:00.001-05:00

With all my talk of knitting projects that just won't end, then why am I gravitating toward huge projects?

Like this one...

Lizard Ridge Blanket - Laura Aylor

And this one...

Chevron Baby Blanket - Purl Soho

And heaven forbid this one...

The beekeeper's quilt - tiny owl knits

2011-09-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

I love love love these little outfits for my boy. He looked so cute for church.

My obsession with socks...

2011-09-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

About 2 years ago, I declared to my mother-in-law - "I have no desire to learn how to knit socks."

First pair of toe up socks - completed!

Well with that statement, my sock obsession began. It was like once I said that I couldn't stop thinking about socks. Yes, I know that I can go to Walmart or Target and buy them for a lot cheaper than I can knit them but where is the challenge in that? I tried knitting one sock at a time on double points and I just didn't enjoy the process, not to mention that I never started the second sock. Then I tried two socks on one circular needle - cuff down. They are all out of wack and the Kitchener didn't make sense at all. Finally I tried toe up/two socks on one circular and I got it. My gauge isn't always perfect and my socks don't always fit right but I do enjoy knitting them. So until I get all the bugs out of the process and can knit a pair a month like the Yarn Harlot, I will continue to enjoy knitting socks as well as buying them from Walmart and Target.

Will the knitting ever end???

2011-09-07T15:25:00.001-05:00

No I haven't lost my mind by asking this question. I don't mean forever - I mean on certain projects. You know the feeling. You start a project with the best of intentions and you knit a long happily for some time then, well, you begin to loath the project - the stitches, the pattern, the needles, even (heaven forbid) the yarn.

I'm faced with a few NEKP (Never Ending Knitting Projects) right now. I could frog them and give it another try in a few months or I could hibernated them and completely forget about them. But these 2 project are not going to get the best of me.

The first is a pair of elegant socks. They have dogged me from the beginning. I missed a few increases in shaping the toe and I had to tink my way out and start again. On my 2nd start, I worked the wrong size and so I had to modify it back down to the smaller size. Then I didn't pay close enough attention to the cable pattern in the beginning and there are several mistakes. Plus my gauge is all off (it was ok on the swatch) and they are more like slipper socks. Finally the last straw was that I miscounted before starting to work the short rows for the heel shaping and was 10 stitches short. Had to tink out again. My confidence level with socks is low right now and to ice the cake, I'm teaching a sock knitting class for the next month.

The other project is a baby blanket. A garter stitch baby blanket. Simple right??!?!?! Well it should be. I started with the Super Easy Baby Blanket pattern from Purl Soho. You begin the blanket by casting on 130 stitches. Well, 130 stitches didn't look big enough on the needles, so I cast on another 40 stitches for a total of 170. Now I'm knitting a twin size bed cover for a newborn. It is crazy big!!! And because it is so wide, I have to keep knitting on the length so it will not be out of proportion. I love the alternating colors and the varying lengths but it feels like the baby will be graduating from high school before I finish it. Maybe the cooler weather will inspire me to charge forward.

Where did August go...

2011-08-22T15:55:00.000-05:00

How is it August 22nd???? Where did the month go???? I haven't blogged a single entry and there is so much progress to report, stories to tell, and wisdom to impart (ha!). I promise to be a better blogger.

WIP Wednesday

2011-07-27T07:23:00.001-05:00

I mentioned to DH that I was going to do my Work In Wednesday post and he response was - "Well, you certainly have work in progess."

As always I have several projects going at once.

I made great process during our trip to the beach and these are pictures that I took that week.

These socks are very elegant and the cable pattern look difficult but isn't really - isn't that the case with all cabling.

The Market Bag is knitting up very nicely and I will probably write it up and post it on Ravelry for free.

This is the front side (and 2nd half) of a dress for a friend's baby girl. She was born last week and I'm make the 12 month size so it will be perfect for next summer.

Dream Car

2011-07-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

This is my dream car.

Always has been.

What kind of car is it you ask?

It is a Volkswagen Cabriolet! This is the 1988 model. I have loved this car since I was in 7th or 8th grade. My father-in-law bought this car a few years ago when gas prices were over $4.00 a gallon and he needed a fuel efficient car - well, more fuel efficient than his full size Ford pickup. He had no idea that it was my dream car. So every time I'm at their house, I drive it. It is wonderful.

So why are these picture at the beach you ask?

My in-laws hooked it to a trailer behind a truck and used the VW as trunk space. Once at the beach, it was the perfect car to have for trips to the store, evening drives, and outlet mall shopping.

What a wonderful car!!!

I want to knit an afghan!!

2011-07-20T14:42:00.001-05:00

Specifically I want to knit this afghan!

It isn't incredible! It is knitted with Noro Kureyon and uses 21 skeins of yarn. It is uses a lot of short rows - which is not my favorite knitting technique. But for this afghan I think I can stomach short rows in large quantities.

I'd learn to crochet for this!

2011-07-18T20:02:00.001-05:00

Loken by Shelby Allaho

This is one of the most beautiful cowls I have ever seen. I may have to get my friend, Betsy, to teach me how to crochet just so I can make this cowl. Stunning!!!!!

Tom Hanks plays pracitical knitting joke on Julia Roberts

2011-07-18T11:48:00.001-05:00

How wonderful is this?!?!?!?

Pictures from our Beach Vacation

2011-07-17T18:43:00.000-05:00

The Beach House

The Beach

This Clam Dish was at the house and I couldn't resist the temptation to use it.

The full Shrimp Boil spread.

View to the west.

My DH's brother with the Kid. The Kid calls him Crane Bob.

My Mother, My Father, and My Mother In Law.

The Kid and his Cousin with some big bubbles.

Busy day as evident by footprints.

BUBBLES!

My Father-In-Law.

Herron.

Mine, mine, mine...

2nd and 4th Generation Train Geeks at the Train Museum.

We celebrated the Kid's 3rd Birthday.

The Kid and DH digging in the sand. Like father, like son.

The Herron again.

I got a little knitting done.

Fort Morgan - literally!

The Kid and Father-in-Law at Fort Morgan.

The Cousin and the Kid.

The whole crew.

My Family

Sea Turtles Nest Warning Sign

Sea Turtle Nest

The Cousin

Crane Bob

Very rare picture of my Sister-in-Law

Me and Sister-In-Law hanging out.

What a wonderful week!

Blogging from the beach!!!

2011-07-16T08:29:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been a wonderful week at the Redneck Riviera! We are staying at the Fort Morgan end of the Gulf Shores peninsula and it is quiet most all day long. We have a private beach and as far as I'm considered, renting a house is the only way to go. The whole family is here and we have enjoyed the time together.

The weather has been beautiful with sunny, waves, and breezes. It is hot but not nearly as hot as at home and the steady ocean breezes make sitting on the deck, in the sand or under the screened in porch a complete delight.

I have spent my days reading, knitting, and napping. We spent two days shopping in Foley at the outlet mall and got some great deals. You know outlets are not always the best deals around but as long as you know what the things you are considering buy are selling at retail you should do okay. The shopping was a nice break and a great bit of exercise.

Of course no road trip is complete without a yarn crawl. On the way down we stopped in Fairhope, Alabama. This is the coolest Gulf Coast town I have ever been to - not touristy or junky souvenir shops but classy and elegant shops and restaurants. The reason we stopped was because I wanted to check out The Yarn Cottage. What a gem of a yarn shop! The selection was not the best I have seen, just the standard stock like Cascade, Blue Sky Alpaca, and Berroco. But the atmosphere was so warm and inviting. There was a shop cat and dog that welcomed us in to the shop and the shop owner was friendly and knowledgeable. While I was in there, she helped one customer select yarn and then loaned her the right size needles to do the project because the customer didn't know if she had that size. I picked up some more Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton (love this yarn!) to make this sweater.

Fairhope also had a fabulous toy store and my mother bought my son a really cool front loader for the beach. Then we had lunch at the R Bistro. Lunch was elegant but casual and the cinnamon rolls that we bought were great over the next few mornings at the beach. My mom and dad had a salmon burger which they are still talking about. I want to go back and stay in Fairhope. We drove through the rest of downtown as we were leaving and it is like a little French Quarter without the smell and the drunks. If you are on your way to Mobile and what a little side trip, try Fairhope, Alabama. You will not be disappointed.

I brought three knitting projects with me so I could rotate. I am working on a dress for my friend, Julienne's baby girl. I'm knitting it in size 12 months for next summer because my friend is due this month. Actually she was due a week ago. The pattern is A-Line Dress by Sandi Prosser and it is knitting up beautifully. I love the bamboo yarn. I also brought my Ballet socks from Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks. I started these last year and they just didn't look right. So I frogged them and started them again last month. But this time they are looking beautiful. Finally I wanted to knit a market bag with my Brown Sheep Company Cotton Fleece. I picked the Rutabaga pattern but it just wasn't look right. So I'm working a pattern all my own. It is coming along very nicely. I might just write it up and put it on Ravelry.

Tomorrow is our last day of vacation and I'm going to miss the beach and the sound of the waves but I'm ready to get home and sleep in my own bed again. Until next year...

This is the life!

2011-07-13T17:57:00.002-05:00

Guilty Pleasure

2011-07-07T20:02:00.001-05:00

One of my most vivid childhood memories was the night I tasted by first meringue! I had had meringue on top of a pie before but I had never tasted a hard, baked meringue. I was about 8 or 9 years old and my parents took me with them to a Christmas party for the Arkansas Chapter of the Herb Society of America. It was at the Remmel's house in Edgehill. White columns, two-story house. A circular drive. The highest form of elegance for a Southern girl growing in 1980s America. The house could have been Tara from Gone with the Wind or Southfork without the ranch for all I knew.

Oh back to the meringues... Mr. Remmel made this legendary duck soup (my mother still talks about that soup). I have a dream like reconciliation of a massive dining table full of food but I only remember the duck soup and the hard meringues. And these weren't any meringues. They were made by a French women and she carried them around in a little basket with a linen cloth. Like you might envision Little Red Riding Hood or Gretel from Hansel and Gretel carrying through the forest. The meringues were shaped like mushrooms. The tops and stems had been made separately in molds and were assembled with chocolate as glue. They were sweet and crunchy and light. They were like little clouds of heaven. If I could have, I would have eaten every last one of them but I knew my manners and only ate one or two.

So if you ask me what my favorite dessert is, I'll probably tell you Trio's Raspberry Cream Cake or Izzy's Strawberry Shortcake but if you ask me my food guilty pleasure, it has to be the meringue.

Cleaning Out Closets

2011-07-06T20:02:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I love to do more anything is to clean out closet. I know -- it is odd but I find that we have so much clutter in our lives and in our house the clutter gets shoved in a closet most of the time. And we have lots of closets to shove stuff into in this house.

So I've been slowing cleaning out closet one at a time over the past few weeks. I stress the slowing part but if I try and clean them all out at once, my DH and the Kid start to tick. They don't like the change that comes with moving stuff around the house, not to mention getting rid of stuff. It seriously bother them. So I clean at a part of a closet at a time or wait until they are both out of the house and then I can attack with full force.

The point of this post is that instead of scooping everything up and putting it in the car and giving it away to Goodwill, I'm taking a different approach this time. EBAY!!!!! If I can, I'll try and sell it. Why not??? For minimal effort, I can list the item and it might sell - it might not. With even less effort I can relist items that don't sell. And people will buy anything. This time last year I bought a bunch of Eddie Bauer jeans on sale in my size. Well it wasn't my size by the end of the summer so I only wore them once or twice by the time they didn't fit. I listed them on eBay and every single pair sold. I didn't recoup all my money but at least I got something back.

Two weekends ago I tackled the VHS tapes and DVDs. We moved into this house over 3 years ago and I clearly organized the VHS tapes, CDs, and DVDs in a closet so they would be out of sight but easily accessible. Then came Netflix. Don't need the videos anymore. We haven't watched a single one since we moved in. The only videos we have watched are new DVDs we bought for the Kid. So to eBay they went. DH questioned if anybody would buy a VHS tape anymore. I've sold more VHS than DVDs. Amazing!!!

Last Day in DC

2011-06-26T06:55:00.000-05:00

For our last day in DC, DH got up early and went out to take picture of the Library of Congress and the Capitol while the light was good. Here are some of this amazing pictures.

Madison Building, Library of Congress

Detail, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress

Library of Congress Street Light with US Capitol in background.

Fountain, Library of Congress

United States Capitol

Portico, United States Capitol

Dome, United States Capitol

Fountain with United States Capitol in the background.

Fountain detail with United States Capitol dome in the background.

United States Capitol

Detail, United States Capitol

Smithsonian Castle taken from Capital Hill

Crane

Flowers Gardens and Fountain

Washington Monument