I learned how to needle-felt. It is so fun. This here is my first attempt at it on my daughters little bag that I knit and felted from leftover scrap yarn. She absolutely loves it and even took it to Super Target with her this afternoon. She was very careful not to part with it, even for a second. We all know what happened the last time that she took a LisaD. original to Target now, don't we?
And Yes, I even needle felted her name on the bottom of the bag too, just in case. Looks like there is room there for a phone number, but hey, don't wanna get carried away or anything.

Here is the new happy owner showing off the other side of her bag.

Shoes

Yes, you have reached my knitting blog. However, this is obviously not going to be a knitting entry. Rather I will share with you my other passion. Ballroom.

I was going through some old boxes of stuff the other day, when I came across my old ballroom dance shoes. Well, they actually hit me square in the head. Bam! Whoa didn't see that coming. Hmm.... I haven't worn these in like ten years I thought to myself.....and there you have it.

I got all nostalgic.

Haven't thought much about it in a long time but here I was, standing in my closet, ankle deep in memories while trying to squeeze my bunioned dancer's feet into these tiny little rhinestone studded 3 inch heeled latin dance shoes. And (as if by magic) I was transported back to a time when I lived a life of glamour and invincibility. To a time, where my skills were appreciated and sought after. To a time in my life where I felt confident and indestructable. And most importantly, to a time when I was doing what I loved the most.





Straight away, I knew what needed to be done. I threw on some work out wear and headed for my huge and (otherwise good for nothing) basement. In the back corner of my basement and away from all windows where I couldn't be seen, I cranked up the volume on my son's I-pod and had "at it" on the concrete floor. I tore it up....and I mean that in a good way. Okay, now I know that (sadly) I am not nearly as flexible as I use to be or as thin and energetic as I was back in my 20's but hey......I think I've still got it! Or at least part of "it." Funny, but it's true what I used to teach my own students. Learn your basics well, and you will never lose them. It's like riding a bike. And imagine, I am doing all this in the back part of my basement where I am supposed to head directly for in the event of a tornado.

Cuban motion.....rise and fall.......swivels and synchopated cha-cha rythmns. Hmmmm it's still all right here. A little older, slower and creakier, but still.......................

So back to reality now. Being a SAHM (Stay at home mom) everything always comes back around to relating to Oprah. (for me anyway) And this anecdote is no exception. Ms. Winfrey herself has a section in her magazine that is called.... What I know for sure. I've personally pondered this question many many times and always have had difficulty finding an answer that I was satisfied with. But today, I had my first Oprah "aha" moment. And here it is.

What I know absolutely for sure is that without Dance, I am incomplete. Dance is in my heart. It is my passion. Dance is in my soul. It is the one thing in life that I have a complete and absolute connection with. I will never be the best dancer in the world or the worse for that matter.......but without it, I realize I am not whole. Yes, I know..... total cheezy "You complete me" Jerry Maguire-ish here. but, hey I'm just sharin' is all...........

As a little girl I dreamed of only two things in life for myself. To dance......and to get married and have kids. I did the dancing. I competed. I was good. Really good. I got married. We had our three children. Life is good. Really good. I always knew that the lifestyle of a dancer/instructor wasn't conducive to raising a family, and so I chose to pack away my dancing shoes. If I couldn't give 110% to it then I'd give nothing at all. I realize that I have been cheating myself by not keeping it at least a little bit in my life.

I love this picture.


Even though I am very critical of my hand lines here and the goofy expression on my face, I love this picture because it represents the very brief time in my life when I had both Dance and Family. I've also just noticed that my mom is in the background taking a picture.I was three months pregnant here with my first son Eric. This was the last time I performed on a ballroom floor. Appropriately, I am "high" being raised up by one of my students. I've decided to call this picture. Past, Present and Future.

So was it coincidence that I happened to find my old dance shoes and pictures the same day that I was discussing life's passions (and Brokeback Mountain) over lunch with friends? Or was finding the shoes and pictures a disposition of providence? Either way, I will call it a good omen. I've decided that I need to reclaim that part of me that makes me feel so alive. And it best be soon, before another 10 years of non dancing passes me by.

What is it that you know for sure? What is your passion besides knitting? Please share. Nothing is TMI (too much info).

Vogue cabled sweater. 4 skeins at once. Yep....I rock!

Now, I'm Not One to Boast.....BUT

Now I'm not one to boast...BUT...... Aww, who am I kidding? Of course I am one to boast! I finished my sweater! Yippee! I love it. And here is the part in this entry where I will toot my own horn (again) I love it! (toot-toot) It fits perfectly. (toot-toot) I am proud to say that I modified the pattern (just a wee bit) in hopes that it would fit just the way I'd want it to....and guess what? after getting it all knitted up, blocked, peiced together and sewn up.....It does. (toot-toot-toot) Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa!

Altogethernow!

Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa! I can't hear you!

So, now what do I do with it? I can't wear it 'cause I am allergic. Well, I shouldn't. But guess what? I will.

Oh, I can't stop staring at it. I hardly believe that I created this masterpiece. My DH (darling husband) says that it looks professional. And he should know. He's a genius. Of course anyone who agress with him automatically gets bumped to the top of my "cool list."

Okay no one likes a gusher....and I just caught myself gushing again.

But you know what, I don't care! So, if you don't like boasters and braggers and show-offs and gushers then this isn't the blog for you. Buh-bye!


And off course I didn't need any help at all. (as she says facetiously)

roll credits

Thanks to Meleah for blazing the vogue sweater path and helping me so much with mine.

Thanks to Beth for answering my endless questions at SnB over the legality of straying off the path to add increases.

Thanks to Deb from Coldwater Collaborative who got stuck on the phone with me for quite awhile interpreting pattern instructions for me.

You Guys Rock.

Knitterly things......

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! What a wonderful holiday season it was. I spent the better part of today putting away my christmas decorations, but found it impossible to take down my tree. Maybe next week I will find the courage to part with it.

For Christmas, I decided not to ask for anything knitting related this year. Ya see, last year everything that I received was knitting related so I thought this Christmas I would ask for non-knit related gifts. Big Mistake. Santa actually read my wish list and didn't surprise me with even a single skein of yarn.

Thank God for good friends. Amy came through for me and surprised me with a couple of great gifts. (see picture above) The 2006 Pattern a day knitting Calendar. Score! ...and a beautiful skein of Vesper Sock Yarn. 440 yards of hand-dyed self-striping goodness from Knitterly things. I couldn't resist knitting myself up a pair of cozy socks right away.

And speaking of the KnitThink Diva herself.... Amy has also tagged me with the following little New Years questionaire. I feel obligated to respond (with such a nice gift bestowed on me and all)....So here goes..

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1. What new knitting techniques did you learn this year? That would have to be twisting and dropping stitches on purpose. Oh and I can cable now too.

2. Which completed project from the last 12 months are you most proud of? The basket weave felted bag that I knitted for Tara. It took my "felting" to a whole new level. And I think it turned out beautiful.






















3. What was your biggest knitting disaster of the last year?














The Giraffe sweater that was to be a gift to Laura on her birthday. I decided (after nearly finishing it) that I didn't like it one bit. So, I ripped it all out and started a cabled scarf for her instead. The scarf turned out lovely. If only I had taken a picture of it.

4. Who or what has been the biggest influence on your knitting in 2005? My Mother in Law was the biggest influence on my knitting the first half of the year and the second half I was inspired by my SnB friends and knitting magazines.

5. What knit craze grabbed you this year? Let's see....I've felted 3 buttonhole bags, 4 booga bags, one large tote, one basket weave tote, 5 sophie bags and a cell phone holder that didn't turn out so well. Yep, I'd say felting was my big knit craze this past year.

6. New Year's resolutions: To exercise at least 5 days a week, not eat after 7:00 pm and try and have breakfast every single morning to help boost my metabolism. Oh was this question supposed to be knitting related? Oops!

7. In 2006 I will knit: The Vogue Cable Sweater...and hopefully be done with it by Valentine's day. A gift to myself.

8. I will learn to: Check guage properly....so that I can knit the Vogue Cable Sweater and other wearable articles of clothing.

9. To become a better knitter, I will: Try not to stick to the same old projects like socks and teddy bears and scarfs. Rather, I will venture out and try to tackle some new more challenging projects. Also,I will dedicate more time to blogging and blog stalking so that I have somebody to tag the next time I'm tagged with a questionaire such as this.


Happy New Year! Enjoy 2006!