The joy of music

Music has long been a source of solace for me. Most people who know me now don’t realize how much music was my life in my teens and 20’s. I sang a lot. I sang at my grandparents funerals. I sang for my sister’s wedding. I was actually quite good, my senior year of high school I auditioned and was accepted into a national choir that performed Philadelphia,in New York’s Carnegie Hall (do you know how cool it is to realize I got to walk in the artists entrance?) before leaving and touring Europe where we performed in various cities and amazing locations including Notre Dame Cathedral. I was a 17 year old girl from a small farm town in Minnesota and I left the country for my first time and traveled to Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland and England before returning home. It opened up the world to me. I had never traveled alone before and Ilearned I could do a lot of things I wasn’t sure I could.

Singing and playing the piano was a place of refuge for me. I sang in college andlater joined church choirs. I’ve always listened to a wide range of music and still do. I can listen to classical, country, Christian, blues, jazz, Broadway, old and new, it didn’t matter to me, I loved music. I haven’t sung in public for probably 15+ years. It just fell away, I’m not sure why. Sometimes I felt people never knew who I was, only that I could sing and that got tiresome. Once I had the girls it was hard to find the time to join a church choir. I think I’d like to do it again, but it just doesn’t fit in my life at the moment. I don’t play piano anymore either. I have my piano and won’t let mom sell it, but I haven’t sat down to play in a very long time.

Listening to music is still part of my life and how I deal with stress I think. I use music as a way to talk to God. I use music to change my mood. While I have an ipod, I still mostly choose to listen via cds. My girls laugh at me, but it suites me. When I pull out old cds I remember where I was in life or something that happened when I listen to that cd. Today I pulled out my old Rich Mullins cds. Lord I had forgotten how I loved him. And it reminds me of living in Dallas. So today I sit wrapped in the musical cocoon of Rich Mullins filling my head with encouragement and faith. It is holding me together and soothing my jangled nerves.

Working my way back

I've been silent for a while, now I've been spinning and knitting nearly all the time, I just needed a bit of a break from writing.  But to tease you a bit, look what I recently got from Ginny at Fat Cat Knits

 Isn't this a wonderful box of fiber?  I get them delivered at work so I can enjoy them all day long.  I kept shifting fiber from the bottom of the box to the top as the day went so I could ogle every colorway in turn.  What you say?  There is more?  Why yes there is...this is the next layer in the box of fiber goodness.

See what I mean?  To have 7 pounds of fiber sitting in a paper filled cube all day literally had me smelling fiber fumes happily all day.  People on my floor now know to watch for these types of boxes and readily stop over to squeeze and relish in the joy of Ginny's amazing colorways.  Me?  I just dream of spinning all day.  Can't hurt that is for sure.

I'm heading back to Duluth to Yarn Harbor for another spinning demo day on March 23.  If you are in the area, stop by, I'll be spinning (see box of fiber) and laughing with all the wonderful people who come and go during the day.  And a month from then, on April 27th, I'll be at Yarnover, the annual knitting all day extravaganza held at the Hopkins High School.  They have an amazing line up of nationally known teachers, Stephanie Pearl McPhee, Stephen West, Annie Modesitt among a few.  They also have a market place all day filled to the rafters with amazing yarns and fibers and just all things related to fiber.  I'll be there and can't wait to see everyone. 

I finished a Leftie scarf recently.  See how pretty?  And one of the beauties of using my hand spun is that it does a lot of the work for you.  See the different colors of the leaves?  Well all I did was use a skein of my hand spun and knit and it created the most magical array of colors.  Makes it look like I really am much better than I am with color.  This is a super easy pattern to knit and one that with the variegated yarn really turns out well.  I'll have this scarf at Yarnover as a sample, but currently it can be found at Needlework Unlimited as they are the newest store that is stocking my hand spun yarn.  smile...I'm thrilled to add them to the other stores selling my yarn.  Stop in and say hi to Karen and the gang and tell them I sent you!

I took a much needed respite last month with a friend.  We drove up to Grand Marais and stayed in a beautiful hotel suite which was basically a mini apartment right on Lake Superior.  It is one of the first times I've been up there in the dead of winter and I loved it.  How could you not love views like this?

This was taken from our balcony.  Grand Marais is turning into my hiding place.  A wonderful soothing place when I can truly relax and let my spirit sing. 

I'll try and be back at a more normal pace, I thank those who may still be reading.  I appreciate it.