I have always loved color and not just color but the color spectrum.  Any yarn or pattern that uses the color spectrum, I must have or try.  Remember this. . . 

That beautiful rainbow cardigan that I thought I would knit in Sunset Beach but decided it was torture and couldn't (wouldn't) finish it.  It was all about the rainbow, all about the spectrum.  I love this thing, but not enough to take all of the enjoyment out of knitting.  (Speaking of taking all of the enjoyment out of knitting, what is this movement about knitting faster and faster.  I think I'll have to do a post on that and put my two cents in!)  And then there is this . . .

a total spectrum afghan made for my brother-in-law Donn (really for Donn and Andi but I think Donn swept it up and Andi has never touched it).

And this. . .

a complete spectrum scarf made for Kathy out of that fabulous Kauni rainbow.

And this. . .

the fabulous Kauni rainbow double knit Bubbles scarf that I made for many people because I love it so.

Do we see a pattern here?  I think I've made my point; I love rainbows, I love color, I love the color spectrum.  I was ecstatic when I discovered Kauni in Rainbow (I think it is EQ),  I am going to do a post soon on my total love of Kauni.  

Then I discovered Twisted Fiber Art and the fabulous Roy G. Biv

I swooned (I really don't think I've ever used that Victorian word before, but it is exactly what I did) when I first laid eyes on this pinnacle of color spectrum yarn.  I was so excited when Twisted Fiber Art reissued Roy G. Biv in honor of the Supreme Court ruling on Gay Marriage.  

Linda and I were in one of our beginning knitting classes.  Participants asked us if we would bring in things we have knit.  Of course, we were excited and I brought this. . . 

That gorgeous wrap called Rocks From the River Bed made out of Kauni Rainbow and black Ultra Alpaca.  Every one was "ooing and ahing" (I wouldn't expect less with a beauty like this.)  They asked me what the yarn was and I said, "Kauni Rainbow." Linda said, "Roy G. Biv."  I said, "It's not Twisted Fiber Art it's Kauni so it's Rainbow."  Linda said, "They're both really Roy G. Biv."  I didn't get it, but the comment stuck in my memory.  I kept thinking about it and wondering.  I had always wondered "who" Roy G. Biv was and why Twisted Fiber Art had named their beautiful rainbow cake after "him."  

Many of you know the punchline, but I didn't.  Roy G. Biv stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.  Roy G. Biv is the acronym for the rainbow, the color spectrum.  Why didn't I know this !?!?!?!  I have taken art classes, loved color my whole life but never heard Roy G. Biv before!  I called my sister, she knew.  Linda obviously knew.  WHY DIDN'T I KNOW!  Well, I guess I no longer have to ponder "who" Roy G. Biv is.  But I do think I need to find the perfect pattern and knit with the spectacular Roy G. Biv.

I am the only one who didn't know this?  Please let me know.   

One of my favorite things to do is knit for friends.  I feel that they receive a piece of me.  If it is a Christmas or birthday gift, they receive my love and friendship.  If it is a retirement gift, they receive my wish for a long healthy life.  A dear friend of mine died a few years ago.  I knit a shawl for his wife and as I knit I thought about all of my great memories of John.  I tried to relive each interaction as I knit.  When I was done, I gave the shawl to Laura his wife.  It wasn't just a shawl, it was a compilation of my love and respect for John.  I hope she could feel all of those wonderful experiences each time she wore it.  When friends are ill, I think about them getting better and picture them living their life well again.

My friend Sally had back surgery a few weeks ago.  The day of her surgery I started this. . .

I bought the Be Sweet yarn and pattern at the fabulous Back Mountain Yarn Shop.  The yarn is very, very fine. It is like knitting with cobwebs.  The word "gossamer" comes to mind and Charlotte's Web. I know Sally is in a lot of pain so I thought this delicate yarn knit with such a light touch would be perfect.  As I knit with this beautiful yarn, I think about Sally's back knitting back together.  I visualize Sally walking without a walker or cane.  I see her smiling and laughing, telling stories and enjoying the stories of friends.  Sally has been in pain for a very long time and she was concerned that she was doing the right thing having the surgery.  

It is kind of ironic that I am recovering from hernia surgery as Sally is recovering from back surgery.  My surgery was a week ago today so Sally's scarf was put on hold until I wasn't feeling so goofy.  Today was the day to finish.  I may be goofy but I am not feeling goofy.  I could walk up to the Stash Studio and stand long enough to pin the scarf on the steaming board.  When I steamed the beautiful scarf, it was very much like steaming a web.  

Isn't it beautiful!  It is so delicate (I know I've used that word before, but it describes it perfectly) and whispy.  I can't wait to give it to Sally because I believe when she wears it, all of my thoughts about her back knitting and getting stronger will be transferred from the scarf to her back.  

I think Lydia looks beautiful in this scarf and I know it will look even better on Sally.  I love the bold but delicate (there it is again) colors.  

It always feels good to finish a project AND to include the project in Knitting: A Love Story.  This project is all about knitting a love story; a love story to help my dear friend Sally recover and recuperate.  

I had hernia surgery two days ago.  Planning for surgery knitting is a lot like planning for travel knitting:  memorable pattern that you don't have to continually refer to, small, beautiful yarn that you love to knit.  Except for surgery knitting you have one more element to consider: DRUGS.  I have a new requirement for both travel and surgery knitting:  knit on circular needles.  That way you won't loose one of your needles and be SOL.  

On my May 29, 2014 post I talked about my last experience in surgery knitting.  What a hoot!  I won't retell the story, but if you haven't read it, it is worth reading.  

This is what I am knitting right now.  It is a beautiful wrap called 5th Avenue Shawl.  I got the yarn from those wonderful women at Knit Purl in Portland, Oregon.  The yarn is Shibui Pebbles and Silk Cloud in denim.   

I have it started and it is yummy.  I was already to pack it into my hospital bag when I remembered my post from May 29, 2014 and my knitting experience in 2013.  I remembered what "Knitting Under the Influence" was all about.  I took another look at this beautiful wrap which you either must follow a chart or use a row by row pattern and thought, "ARE YOU CRAZY!" Talk about a disaster in the making.  Two kinds of yarn knit together to get tangled!  A complex chart! Sticky yarn that sometimes does knot with itself!  To repeat, "ARE YOU CRAZY!"  Well, I know I'm not and even thought the last experience made for a great story, I am a smart girl!  I learn from my mistakes.  

I went to the Stash Studio and found this just waiting to be knit.  It's a Blue Sky Alpacas pattern called Sasha Wrap which I am knitting from Rowan Thick 'n' Thin in a pink, cream, black with just a touch of light olive green.  It will be beautiful and it will not be a disaster.  I think this is what I will knit for my Mom.  

I am home, recovering.  I must admit that I under estimated what hernia surgery meant.  I thought I might come home the same day,  HA!  Thank God that hospitals give morphine.  Thank God I changed my mind on my surgery knitting.  My first day home was pretty awful as morphine doesn't come home with you.  Pain pills don't do the same job.  I got about 10 inches of Sasha Wrap knit.  Even though I am home, I think as long as I am on pain meds the 5th Avenue Shawl will be put on the shelf.  I find it hard to go from one line to the next reading a book, so a line by line pattern would be a disaster.  Besides, I don't want to be arrested for "K.U.I."

It's amazing!  Just when you least expect it, inspiration and epiphany strike.  Today started like any other day nothing special.  I decided to go to the Stash Studio and begin planning my big reorganization.  How many new tubs will I need?  What sizes?  How will I convince Dick that the storage room by the Stash Studio is really part of the Stash Studio so it's really mine?!?!?!  If I can't do that, WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS NEW YARN?!?!?!  You've seen it.  There is no more wall space for more shelves.  

But there is much yarn to incorporate.  

It's every where!  I started going through tubs to see how I can reorganized to consolidate projects and create more room.  I opened a tub of yarn I'd purchased when a yarn shop in Toledo went out of business (that's always a very sad day) and thought, "I probably will never use this.  I really don't like it that much."  WHAM!  Like a bolt out of the blue I thought, "I don't have to keep it!"  OMG!  I am not sure if that has ever been a consideration.  It always seemed like a parent giving away a child.  I always thought I loved every skein of yarn and it was all special.  Well, I don't and it's not!  I am going to get rid of some of my yarn.  I have a whole new approach to organizing the Stash Studio.  Believe me, I am not going crazy.  But there really is yarn I do not want to use, and that is history.  WOW!  I had to sit down I was so over come when that thought entered my mind.  

Then, FedEx came and brought me this. . .   

It is amazing!  I immediately read it all and was speechless.  What a concept.  I can't wait to try it.  It gives many projects which are absolutely not cookie cutter patterns.  One of my favorites is "Knit the Sky."  You get several (she says 7 is a good number) colors of lace weight yarn in blues, grays, whites.  You knit with 2 (or 3 I think) strands of yarn at a time for a scarf.  Here is the awesome part, you knit a few rows every day for a year that are the color of the sky on each day.  When you are done at the end of the year, you have a weather history of your year.  With 7 colors, knitting 2 or 3 strands together just think of all of the colors you can make!  She also describes a project that traces your moods for a month using color.  I just think this is one of the most creative books I've ever read.  Lea believes like I do, knitting is more about the process than the product. Just think, I could be working on a sky project and a mood project and still knit other things because you only knit a few rows at a time.  

I have had an absolutely amazing day.  (I have used that word a lot in this post!)  I discovered that I can actually let go of yarn AND a new process for approaching knitting.  I am a very happy girl.

I've always known that The Knitting Room in Birmingham, MI is one of my favorite LYS.  Linda and I discovered it on our very first Yarn Tour that cemented our friendship forever.  We started at Crafty Lady in Macomb, next went to the Knitting Room and proceeded to visit 6 or 7 LYS between Macomb and Adrian.  It was in the Map Quest days rather than GPS so we had pages and pages of directions taking us from one LYS to the next.  It was great and we were exhausted and poor when we got home.  We even went to one place that was a couple rooms in a motel.  Linda bought some beautiful teal yarn there, but I had already drained my wallet.  I think Crafty Lady and the Knitting Room were the only ones we returned to.  I bought my first Charisma at the Knitting Room.  Wait a minute!  I have a beautiful sweater still on the needles knit from pink and gray Charisma!  It is beautiful.  Maybe I will do a post showcasing my unfinished works of art.  Well, in all honesty, it would be more than one post.  But maybe it would inspire me to finish some of those oldies but goodies.

Linda and I had planned to go to the Knitting Room for a Norah Gaughan class.  We were so excited!  We hadn't taken a class in a long time together.  There really is nothing better than spending a knitting day together.  We have had some really great times taking knitting classes together.  Maggie Jackson, Valentina Devine, Sally Melville to name a few.  It also was going to complete one of my 2015 knitting goals.  It was perfect.  Another exciting part was I was going to get to see Barb, one of my Stitch Together sisters.  WE WERE GEEKED!

We had to leave at 7:00 A.M. to get there.  I got up at 5:00 (really a little before because I was so excited) and it was pouring.  Not just raining, it was torrential.  Now we had a two hour drive in Amazonian-like, torrential rain and I was the driver. I have been a little skittery about driving after my accident in the fall.  The down pour made me really nervous.  I called Linda to do a trip check.  She didn't say, "That's ok, I'll drive," so I figured hydroplaning from Adrian to Birmingham didn't sound great to her either.  We decided not to go.

At 8:45 (the class was supposed to start at 9:00), I called The Knitting Room to let them know we wouldn't be there and got ahold of Barb, my Stitch Together sister who works there.  Linda and I were sad, but not sad enough to get in the car and slog our way though horrible traffic and horrible rain.  It poured for the rest of the day.  There never was a time when you could say, "oh, it's just raining."  It was torrential all day.  Two of the routes we would have taken to get home (M50 and US 223) both closed due to flooding.  It rained so much that Linda and I didn't even get together to knit.  We didn't even go get Mom to spend the night. Murphy the wonder dog didn't want to go out and do his thing.  I swear I saw an ark floating down M52 a block from our little subdivision.  It was horrible.

We were sad we missed working with Norah but relieved that we didn't have to drive in torrential rain, didn't get trapped away from home by flood waters, didn't get passed by cars hydroplaning going 80 miles an hour and most of all didn't get in an accident.  (WOW! I sounded just a little crazed there didn't I!)  Linda and I both knit all day and had an unanticipated, unscheduled day.  Those are always a gift.  

A couple weeks after the event, I got a package in the mail and the sweetest note.  The owners of The Knitting Room felt bad that we were unable to come.  They sent the handouts and gift cards for Linda and me.  Isn't that great customer service!  They know us so well!  Our gift cards will grow into something bigger.  We will want to use use it all and will end up spending more.  Not only had The Knitting Room given us a gift card, they have given us a day together--PRICELESS.  Thank you to the wonderful owners of the fabulous Knitting Room.  

If you live in or are visiting Michigan and want to visit a LYS (did you notice I didn't say "Need yarn?"), you need to go to The Knitting Room in Birmingham, where you will receive the best customer service ever.