Meet Miss Tess, our 10 week old Wheaten Terrier.  She is a cutie.  I remember when acquaintances would say, "We're going to have a baby but it's not going to change our life."  Right!  Well, we have a new puppy but she's not going to change our life.  Double Right!  When a puppy comes home, you have to make time for her and something has to go.  

Knitting and puppies do not mix.  Murphy was eight and pretty much ignored knitting. We had to have Murphy put down and we are very sad. We decided a puppy would brighten our life.  I had forgotten the chaos that happens when a  puppy sees a ball of yarn.  I am currently trying to work on an orange Noni mini-bag.  It is adorable but I have run into some stumbling blocks.  Not the least of which is named Tess.  She has a pink ball, a green ball and a multicolored ball and now she thinks she also has an orange ball.  She also think that the knitted project is something to chew on or play tug with as seen here.

She loves yarn, knitting needles, knitted fabric and of course fingers.  And she needs so much attention!  From house-breaking to learning "NO" to learning our fingers aren't chew toys, she keeps us busy.  I used to have a good three hours of knit time most nights.  It was my time of day to relax and unwind.  That time now is spent with trips outside, throwing a ball, petting and fussing over this beautiful little puff ball.  Three hours has become the 30-45 minutes when she is in her playpen sleeping.  If you are thinking of getting a puppy, a doggie playpen is an amazing thing.  It gives you a much needed break from all of the commotion that is a puppy.  Needless to say, I don't have much in the way of knitting stories right now.  When I think about finishing the beautiful Dovetail scarf I just started, the finish line is not in the foreseeable future.  

Some day Tess will grow up and I'll have my 3ish hours in the evening to knit.  Until then I am in puppy heaven and learning to be much more careful with yarn, needles and everything knitting when she is around.

You know I am not a tech person.  I do not know what happened at the beginning of the post with all of the big letters and I don't know how to fix it.  It just magically went away.  Technology is magic to me.  Hopefully, the unwanted big letters won't come back.

Do you ever finish a knitting project and say, "OMG! This is just so beautiful!"  I just did that yesterday.  I finished my "Close To You Scarf" I wrote about a couple weeks ago in "Which Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?"  As I was knitting I kept thinking, "This is going to be beautiful!"  "This is going to be fabulous!" "This is going to be yummy!"  It was all of that and more. 

Remember where I started?  I found the Close To You Scarf pattern. . . 

Picked the perfect yarn Twisted Fiber Art's Evolution in Tasty, colorway  Lucky Penny. . . 

Decided to start with the teal end rather than the copper.  

This is the yarn I had left after I bound off.  That was one of the things I loved about Close To You.  The directions said to knit until you run out of yarn or it is the length you want.  I chose until I ran out of yarn.  Now are you ready for the unveiling?

TA-DA! Isn't it spectacular!?!?!?!  I just love it.  Does this fit right into My Year Of Selfish Knitting, or what!?!?!?!?!  I loved every stitch of this.  In the vernacular of Knit Yourself Calm, this was definitely a therapeutic piece of knitting.  I could watch TV, visit, or just let my mind go planning my next project.  When I came back to paying attention to knitting, it looked exquisite.  

It makes Lydia look pretty amazing!  (I do seem to be talking in exclamation points and all caps today.  That just shows how excited I am.)  You know how much I love Twisted Fiber Art, the yarn and the people.  I must say with all of the Evolution I have knit with, Lucky Penny had the most perfect color change.  It was the quintessential Evolution.  It was smooth and it was subtle.  My dear friend Barb Foor and her sister Carrie came over last night to pick up a pattern and visit the new puppy.  (Yes, we have a 9 week old Wheaten Terrier named Tess.)  When they saw Close to You on the steaming board, they squealed with delight.  It is just that kind of a piece.  

Do you ever finish a book you really love and just can't find anything for a while that piques your interest?  After spending all that time in the presence of people you've come to enjoy, nothing sounds quite right.  That will not happen with my next knitting project.  I have already started the next installment in My Year Of Selfish Knitting.  It is totally different than Close To You.  Different techniques, different yarn.  I can't wait to show you.  If you haven't already, you really need to visit Twisted Fiber Art either in person at their LYS in Mason, MI or online.  You will love it.  Just like with potato chips ("I bet you can't eat just one"), I bet you can't buy just one of their beautiful cakes of yarn.   

My Mom used to come and stay with us every weekend.  When she couldn't go down the stairs in our house any more, we drove her around to the back and had her come through our sliding glass door.  When Dick had his heart surgery last August, Mom couldn't stay with us for a while because I couldn't help her out of her chair by myself.  By the time Dick's weight restriction had been lifted, Mom wasn't quite as sure footed and was afraid she was going to fall.  To make a long story short, Mom hasn't slept in her room since August 2016.  Do you know what that means?

Mom's bedroom has become the Stash Studio Annex.  When I went to the Spring Fiber Expo, I put my purchases in here.  When I worked on a project then switched to something else, I put the remains in here.  When I brought things down to take pictures for Knitting: A Love Story, I put them in here.  Sometimes I just don't feel like climbing the stairs to the Stash Studio so I just dump stuff in here, for the "time being."  The "time being" does go back to Christmas when Kathy, my sister, came to stay.  Well, I decided to dig in and see what I would find.  It was amazing!  Here are some of the treasures I uncovered.

I found a lost tub of Madelinetosh I have been searching and searching for.  I must tell you I was stumped and fearful I would need to start replacing it all, particularly that amazing Electric Rainbow.  Well, I also must admit this is not my only Madelinetosh stash.  I have a box in the Stash Studio of discontinued colors I bought because, well you know.  I bought them because I would never, ever be able to buy them again and what if I wanted that exact color? Oh, my!  That even sounds wonky to me!  Suffice it to say that I am very relieved to find my Madelinetosh.  Oh, by the way, I also found two smaller tubs of Mini Mochi.   

I have no idea what this is, when I bought it, who I bought it from or why I thought it was a good idea.  What I know is, probably Little Knits or Noble Knits or Websters had a one day, price slashing sale I couldn't resist.  This is a perfect example of one of "the ways my yarn stash grown."  It is fingering weight, Crabapple Yarns, merino and bamboo and I'm sure I will make something lovely one day (or not).   

I found my partly finished Wrap Me Up Shawl.  I really do want to finish this (someday.)  Oh, by the way, this is yarn from a one day sale from Little Knits.  I think I bought 10 balls of 4 or 5 different colors.  It's really very lovely.  On sale, the balls were $5.85 FOR FIVE BALLS.  Can you believe that!?!?!?!  Even at that price, I really don't think I needed 50 balls.

I was very happy to find this.  It may be my next project.  I love this and hope I get to it very soon.  

Once again, this is discontinued yarn.  I think Casablanca is the most beautiful yarn Cascade has ever produced.  The colors are crisp and beautiful.  It looks great on its own or with a plain color.  The day it was discontinued I started buying it.  Now I have quite a collection.  Some day it will become something very beautiful.  I am very disappointed in Cascade.  They haven't replaced Casablanca.  I am still waiting for a Cascade gradient yarn.

I have no idea what this is.  It has no label, no fiber content.  I am sure I had some idea when I bought it but I don't have a clue.

Something I also found was my Knit The Day scarf.  Sometime in March, I decided it wasn't bringing me joy so I put it away for a while.  I am taking "My Year Of Selfish Knitting" very seriously.  My plan is to bring it out again once the temperature turns cool so I can finish in the darker colors.  

Well, I have  plan.  All of this, and more because this is the tip of the iceberg, is going to the Stash Studio and I am going to do the biggest job of organizing I have ever undertaken.  I know this is not a one day job, maybe not one week or one month.  Kathy and I will knit in a clean and organized Stash Studio when she comes at Christmas.  I will also have a knitting party party for my knitting friends.

I want you to be careful, VERY CAREFUL.  If you have a room you are not using, with a door that hides what is within be very careful.  Before you know it yarn will begin traveling to your room and hiding there.  One day you will open your door like I did and shriek in amazement.  Yarn will have not only appeared but multiplied.  Some how this feels like the yarn equivalent of a Stephen King story.  Remember, "Yarn, like nature, abhors a vacuum."

I've been struggling since I got back from the condo for something to write about for Knitting: A Love Story.  I don't have anything on the needles far enough along to share.  I don't have any new purchases that light my fire.  I just wasn't inspired.  Then I got an email from Amazon saying a book I had been waiting for had been delivered.  I looked on my stoop, and there it was.

I pre-ordered Knit Yourself Calm months ago and had been impatiently waiting for its release.  Some books just reach inside your chest and grab your heart.  This was one.  Just as I felt I had been introduced to a kindred spirit when I picked up Knit The Sky, I felt I had discovered an unknown soulmate when I read the Forward and Introduction to Knit Yourself Calm:  A Creative Path To Managing Stress.  I felt Lynn Rowe and Betsan Corkhill had looked inside my mind and borrowed my beliefs about the soothing effects of knitting.  They even had the perfect name for it "therapeutic knitting."  I've talked many times about how knitting centers me, soothes me and just makes me a nicer, kinder person.  It was all in this wonderful little book and more.  The first sentence in the Foreword set the stage for a journey into stress reduction and self care.  "Knitting is the perfect portable tool (WOW! Do I ever love that description!) to enable you to manage the stresses and strains of everyday life, as well as those more challenging events that come everyone's way from time to time." 

Therapeutic knitting equals knitting plus knowledge: the knowledge of knitting, the knowledge of the detrimental effects of stress on the body and the knowledge of what the body feels like stress-free.  This made me think.  I believe this from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.  But, I wondered when did knitting go from a stress inducing activity to an activity which channels stress from my body.  I think a piece of it for me is when I quit knitting with a deadline.  Once I quit knitting things for people for Christmas and started just knitting things I love and then deciding who they would go to, knitting became my yoga, my zen.  

If I would have decided to knit this for Linda for Christmas, I would have faced months of stress and uncertainty.  Would she really like it?  Would it fit?  Would I get it done in time.  My stomach would have been tied up in knots and it would have become "have to" knitting.  Where is the joy in that?  As it was, I took a class at The Knitting Room (which was a joy), I  continued knitting,  learning many new things and enjoying every minute.  When I was done I discovered this was meant for Linda.  

I also hopped on the entrance ramp to less stress in knitting when I changed from American to Continental knitting.  There is always less stress in my hands.  No throwing the yarn, no struggling to keep gage.  

Did you know that research has proven the more frequently someone knits, the calmer and happier they feel?  I won't go into the statistics on that as I would put myself to sleep.  

One of the beauties of knitting is, it is an anytime, anywhere calming activity.  I always have a zip lock bag in my purse with a small piece of knitting so if I have to wait in the doctor's office, I knit.  If I get caught in traffic, I knit (but not while I'm driving).  Any time I am waiting, I can be knitting and instead of increasing stress because of the impatience in waiting, I am reducing stress with the rhythmic, calming movement called knitting.   

​Lynn and Betsan introduced me to a whole new way to look at knitting and relieving stress.  They identified five different kinds of knitting and explained their importance in searching for calm.  They encourage having one project in each area on your needles to facilitate the appropriate stress reduction for the appropriate time.  The Stash Studio would tell you I have many from each area just waiting to be finished, just waiting until it is "want to" not "have to" knitting.

1. QUICK AND EASY: This is my current example of QUICK AND EASY.  This is a project which is meditative and relaxing.  It will quickly raise your mood as you feel accomplished in the rhythmic moves and easy movement.  For this adorable necklace from Olga Jazzy, you knit two 9 stitch strips with a YO and K2T every few rows.  It is totally mindless and wonderful.  I knit on this while I watch TV, while I visit with friends and while I problem solve.  This pattern allows me to relax while letting my mind think of something else.   

2. PORTABLE:  This is my very favorite pattern,  the Olga Jazzy Issey Scarf.  I have made many.  The Issey Scarf has greatly contributed to my yarn stash.  It looks tough but it is easy.  I usually have one in a ziplock bag in my purse, though I don't right now.  I love to pull it out as I wait in the doctor's office, the dentist office, the DMV, a restaurant, just to name a few.  

The Bandito Scarf is my second favorite PORTABLE knitting project and one I've knit many times.

3.  GROUP PROJECTS:  Reading about this made me want to be involved in a GROUP PROJECT.  It is about friends, knitting and giving, three of my favorite things.  Currently, we have a community blanket at Ann's By Design.  When people come in for social knitting, they are encouraged to knit a little (or crochet on the crocheted one.)  Then we'll give the blankets to charity.  Just think knitting with other lovers of knitting, making something for someone in need and wine.  Sounds pretty darn good to me.

4.  BIG PROJECTS:  This is my beautiful Zigzag afghan.  It has all of the elements of a calming BIG PROJECT.  It is cozy, it is comforting and it is completely yummy.  Everything about a BIG PROJECT is soothing.  I love the weight of the project on my lap.  It works for me like Murphy's Thunder Vest is supposed to work for him.  I love the warmth of the massive quantities of yarn as it grows bigger.  It will be finished when that huge ball of yarn is gone.  Every time I work on it, it makes me happy. I am in no hurry to finish.  

5,  NEW SKILLS:  Learning new skills is essential in nurturing a healthy brain.  My brain must be ready for the Olympics because I love learning new knitting techniques.  My first foray into swing-knitting or short-row knitting was amazing.   

This brioche cowl combined two of my favorite things; learning a new skill and taking a class.  I just love the social aspect of a knitting class.  

Now you have it; all of the reasons you should rush right out and buy Knit Yourself Calm:  A Creative Path To Managing Stress.  Not only is there all of this beautiful insight into the zen of knitting, it also has patterns to go along with the five type of knitting you should have on you needles at all times.  I really love this book!