IntrinsicTina

Tina snuggling her beloved ALS afghan. Got a great idea to weed out my yarn stash.  I was an avid knitter and crocheter, as well as a budding spinner and novice designer, and have accumulated a nice stash of specialty yarns over the years.  Since getting limb-onset ALS, I lack the fine motor skills to participate in this beloved hobby/therapy.  I know I can gather it all up and take  it to any senior center but I LOVE these fibers and each skein and ball has a story behind it and I want to be the one to decide who gets each gorgeous piece.  Most will go to my daughter who followed in my footsteps and knits and crochets beautifully.  Check out the lap afghan she knitted for me in ALS colors last Christmas! (Regrettably, no, I did not teach her.) Jennifer crochets first blanket - 2006 Through the years crocheting bonded me to my grandmother and knitting bonded me to my mother as each had their specialty.  I crocheted to my heart's content with ...

This weekend marked the 12th anniversary of my marriage to my husband, Rod. Actually, our anniversary date coincided with Earth Day. I'd love to tell you that we spent the day cleaning penguins or stoically and stubbornly not using fossil fuels around the home taking up the push-mower or the humble rake but that would be a lie. We started our day seated in our Subaru trekking northward participating in the annual migration of tourists to visit the tulip fields of Mt. Vernon. We love a road trip that culminates into varied photo opportunities. Vast expanses of blooming flowers on a promised sunny day guaranteed success in that regard and it did not disappoint. Additionally we got to indulge in our passion in sampling the local cuisine as well as mingle with the locals. Our first stop was at Bill's Diner in the heart of Mt. Vernon proper, across the street from the courthouse. Normally this historic establishment caters to the business crowd Monday through Friday from 7 am t...

March brought serious surprises to my life. Although I haven't mentioned it, I've been struggling with an increasing disability.  Since late last year, I've been plagued with an unstable spinal condition. What started off as a troublesome pain in my neck (October/November) has deteriorated into diminishing control over the fingers in my right hand (January) and arm (February).  This condition left me without any other option but to file a claim with our state's department of Labor and Industries. (March).  The tenacity of this condition coupled with the state's lethargy to diagnose and treat my condition, spurred my employer into cutting me loose (April). Unfortunately, because of this relentless deterioration, I've had to give up many of my preferred activities and pastimes: personal computing (blogging, social networking, learning new programs). Digital photography (capturing, uploading, captioning, classifying, and printing), knitting and crocheting, p...

This is what I've been up to for the past few months. Lots of baby knitting for impending new parents. This one is a blanket I hand knit for Rod's former co-worker who is having his second child. Of course, if there is an adorable first child, it is wise not to leave her empty-handed. I also knit a sweet little seed stitch hat for the wee one. The Skull and Crossbones and Heart Earflap Hat and Mittens are a hand-knit gift for my co-worker and supervisor at work. Her baby shower was today.

My mother and I compare projects and knit together on Christmas Day. She's been a knitting fool over the Katia Triana specialty fiber. I've been ga-ga about Misti Alpaca that I got on a severe close-out. (severe close-out was 70% off!) Before the day was done, we went out on the Jimmy Beans Wool website and bought 10 balls of Katia Triana. These projects are just too much fun!!! Oh, by the way, this sexy pink one was a Christmas gift to my little sister and I was hamming it up for a Ravelry picture. It's a sibling rivalry thing.

This afghan is an oldie but a goodie, hand-knit by my mother, Charleen. Each year I am excited to unpack it and display it and bask in it's Christmas ambiance. The festive hat is my idea of a good time. I am told it is reminiscent of what the Whos wore in Whoville in the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas". I like that.

Baby it's been a long time since I've blogged! Between summertime and getting a job, my focus has been turned away from trivial pursuits (sort of). I have absolutely neglected my knitting and opted to lounge in the pool during my non-work hours. That is not the whole truth. I have also been scraping and painting the exterior trim of my house before the rains come. I've also been hauling the hose around my 1/2-acre watering the plants, hoping for massive amounts of tomatoes and peppers in the near future. My blueberries were a veritable bust this year. They just never quite ripened to their full deliciousness. THAT is a big bummer. On a positive note, my Clematis is finally blooming with two (count them...two) pretty purple blossoms!

I knit up another baby hat, this time for a baby girl. I neglected to photograph the little delight as I was much too excited to give it to the recipient, our favorite nursing assistant at my mother-in-law's nursing home. She was so excited to receive it and immediately showed me some of her crochet projects. She does beautiful crochet work. Every time I run into an avid crocheter, I get all interested in picking back up the hook. She inspired me but I'm trying to stay focused on the knitting at hand. Don't you know that I have another one of the hats to knit for another baby girl for another friend? I do. And if I don't get over-excited about giving it away, I'll aim for another photo and post it here for your viewing pleasure. It is tried and true Cascade 220 Superwash in light pink and dark brown stripes, worsted weight for sure.

A young member of our extended family is going to be a father shortly. We (my husband and I) only learned this as of late. Realizing that this young couple are very young and not exactly flush with cash, we are setting out to provide them with a few items to welcome the new baby. Clothing, some purchased and a few handknits for a baby boy, ought to be well received. So far I've managed to knit a couple of baby blankets (one using the "dishcloth" pattern) and to design and knit a hat for a newborn. I like the idea of stripes rather than the typical solid baby blue for boys . I hope to knit a few more items in the near future a couple of sizes larger. We aren't looking to compete with Grandma and Grandpa, just want to do our part to welcome a new life to the family. We hope this will help...

Sounds erotic, doesn't it? Touch Me is actually a yarn made by Muench. It is the softest and silkiest (and one of the spendiest) yarns in my stash. It is a chenille that tends to "worm" but I love it all the same. My first project with this spendy fiber was a red and purple crocheted scarf that is perfect for the discriminating 'red hatter'. The yarn was actually a birthday gift from my father and mother and they had bought two balls of the stuff at about $15 per ball. I added a third ball to complete my project. Again I bought this "splurge" for a friend going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. I knitted up a delicious hat in a deep burgundy but alas! I never saw it grace her head even after she lost her hair. I pondered asking point blank if she didn't care for it because I would have loved to wear it. I did no such thing. Between the last two Local Yarn Store tours (a.k.a LYS tours) in the Seattle area I bought another two balls in ...

I indulged in one of my favorite activities...growing my stash. Not that kind of stash! My yarn stash. With the tough economy and my unemployment, I knew I wouldn't be purchasing much but I did manage to make a few strategic buys. Every year there is an event called the LYS Tour (aka Local Yarn Store Tour) which covers a large area in Northwestern Washington. Last year we (my mother, sister, and I) traveled as far north as Birch Bay, as far south as Kent and as far west as Bainbridge Island, and east to Issaquah. This year they added two stores out on Whidbey Island, increasing the miles we had to travel (570 miles to be exact) but providing beautiful scenery and adorable stores to visit and learn about. Last year I bought quite a bit of yarn, I think to the tune of a few hundred dollars but this year I spent less than $75 and was shocked that I spent that much. We pared down expenses by bringing food and drink but still could not resist visiting Trophy Cupcakes and bought ...

Calorimetry - scientific term describing the measurement of heat lost or gained. Also the name of a fabulous and versatile little headscarf to hold in the heat without covering the whole head. Perfect for those with long hair. I have also discovered these nifty little blasts of color are perfectly suited to keep out the cold if worn as a cowl. I like mine for the motorcycle. When I stop and can shove it back over my head and mask "helmet hair". These have become very popular with ladies working at the nursing home who want to compliment their cute little scrubs without completely sacrificing style. I've made a number of these delicious little beauties because they are so rewarding with their eye-catching colors and short row simplicity. Not to mention that shopping for cute buttons is a newfound passion. I'm probably not finished creating these. They make perfect gifts.

2 76 77 What can I say? Apparently a designer lurks within my heart. Every once in awhile I get an overwhelming urge to make something without following a pattern. The yarn just screams to be worked into a specific shape for a specific purpose. I was sitting there minding my own business, contentedly following someone else's pattern when the feeling could not be ignored a moment longer. I dropped my knitting WIP (work-in-progress) and picked up my crochet hook and a wad of leftover yarn that my mother had given me then rooted through my own stash of leftovers to come up with this soothing combination that goes very well in my own living room. Since I liked it, I thought I should write up the pattern. No sense squandering divine inspiration by hoarding it all to myself. The pattern follows: Potted Plant Sleeve By Tina Flink Sleeve Using base color. Ch 50, join with sl st in first ch. Round 1: Chain 3 (this is the first dc), dc all around, adding one dc into bot...

Murderer! Apparently it is possible to "kill" your yarn and I did it, though I will plead to manslaughter since there was no intent to "kill". This morning at my LYS, a fellow knitting aficionado, began showing me the finer points of using the mattress stitch to join garment pieces. All at once I had an epiphany, this garment looks too wide and short. I panicked. I already knew that the length-wise gauge was off, adding one more diamond shape would have gotten me to get the proper length, but let's face it...we don't know what we don't know. I had already decided that a half shirt was perfectly acceptable and my daughter, the intended recipient, would likely wear it to the beach with her blue jeans. A quick measure confirmed my newest fear. The garment that I'd been loving working on, frogging, re-knitting, measuring and toiling over grew 2 inches in girth. It was a tragedy! Did you get that? A TRAGEDY! "How could this happen to me?...

So, I'm working on this diamond tank top and I get to the second half of the second diamond and then it hits me.....This pattern is wrong! The diamonds aren't lining up correctly. Actually the diamond was too small by one whole row. I got help with the first diamond so I'm thinking, "Did my friend, Diana, do it wrong?" No, she did not. She made a bad pattern work. I figured out how to make it work properly, silently cursed the designer (or Family Circle for printing it wrong) but definitely not happy with whomever is causing me to have problems with this pattern. Then...I frog my work back to the second half of the first diamond. Yeah, my husband thought I was nuts, too. But when something isn't right and you're giving it as a gift...you take the time to make it right...and so I did. So glad that I took the time to make it right. I learned that I am capable of correcting a bad pattern. I learned that I am capable of making the tough decision to ...

I finally got the courage to take those fabulous hand-knit headbands that I made to the person who commissioned them. They were sooooooo well received that I have to ask myself why I hesitated. One of her daughters (pictured here) started wearing hers immediately and I promptly got another commission along with advice to make up a selection to sell on Etsy.com. Why do I doubt my abilities?

I was hung-up, stuck, baffled by the knitting. I thought I was doing everything correctly but could not progress past a certain point. I would proceed "as if" but it wouldn't look right then I would knit backwards again, painstakingly unknitting my work. I think I did this 3 or 4 times. I was more than ready to frog it (rip it out) when the delightful Diana made a few deft movements and corrected my errors. Perserverance, I thought, that's the key. But in this case humility reigned supreme. I needed to ask for help. When I finally was able to accept the help, all was smoothed out. Isn't that the way of life in general? I push and push, perservere, then hit the brick wall of frustration. But sometimes if I humbly ask for help, I get it and realize that I wasted a whole lot of time and energy in vain.

I awoke this morning with a mission in mind. Scones to share with my fellow knitters. One of our number is a youngster and she is a marvel. She knits, crochets, and doesn't seem to mind sitting around chatting it up about life with a bunch of women who are clearly older than she is. Last week when I shared that I would be making scones, lemon curd, and devonshire cream to take to my mother-in-law's nursing home, she asked for the opportunity to try lemon curd. How could I resist? You can explain it but it takes tasting it to understand and store bought just doesn't cut it, now does it? And you can't serve lemon curd without scones and it's just not the same without Devonshire cream. See where I'm going with this? Our knitting circle was a wee bit brighter this morning as we knitted, chatted, and reached for homemade scones with all the trimmings. My young friend finished her knitted pillow project, I got help with my tank top, and we got to see the progress of ...

My knitting is coming along swimmingly. (That means really good.) The pattern seems like a good one. No surprises, yet, and the yarn (Berocco Weekend) is suitable for a summer casual top. I completed the back of the top and cast on the 90 stitches for the front and started the pattern for the reverse stockinette diamond motif. I'm so excited to work on this one. I can picture my daughter receiving it (and being excited about it) and wearing it with pride. After all, it's Mom Couture, made with LOVE just for her. Oh my God, I'm a slobbering ninny when it comes to my own kid. Just what I didn't want to be. Oh well, not a bad thing to love one's own child and bristle with pride at the thought of her. I sure hope she likes "Mom Couture".

From Family Circle Easy Knitting Magazine, Spring/Summer 2004. I chose a "Diamond Detail" motif set into a stockinette-stitch sleeveless shell with knotted fringe. I purchased 3 skeins of Berroco Weekend, a cotton/acrylic blend (25%/75%), which will allow machine washing and flat drying. My daughter sent me her measurements, which lands her between extra small and small. I'm going to opt for the small size. Entered my project info into Ravelry and ready to knit up a swatch during a meeting I'm scheduled to go to tonight. Me, my peeps, and my craft...(sigh).