Cozy Knitting

Color in My World

2012-02-10T15:43:00.000-06:00

Right now as I look out my window it is gray, cloudy, and dreary. Except that when I look to the left, there are 10 male cardinals sitting in a wonderful array of red against the gray, dreary world. I am so amazed when I look at a cardinal up close and personal. There are so many shades of color in their feathers and the orange in their beaks. With all that, there is the black accents and gray little feet. Actually the females beaks look more orange because of the contrast with their feathers.

Why am I going on and on about colors in feathers? Well, I found a new tool that Sherwin Williams sent me in an email yesterday. It is called Chip It. I have it on my Favorites on my Tool Bar. I can take any photo that I can find and use it to create "chips" of color from that photo. There are other sites that do the same. There is also a site that the woman herself pulls paint colors from photos and they are not computer generated.

Okay-first of all- I remember all too well how interesting it was in my art classes to learn about how color works, etc. Some of my instructors would tell us to look at various museum pieces and study how the artist used color to create the composition. We often were required to sit in museums or galleries and try to draw a similar composition. We were never warned that there are laws to prevent one from "copying" someone's work. We never did feel like we were actually duplicating someone's work-just studying methods and skills of the artists. I will never forget the "lessons" I learned at the Art Institute in Chicago. They had just opened their Impressionistic wing, and I was in AWE of the works displayed. I was able to get close enough to think that the artist had to nuts to use that technique or those colors or whatever. But from across the room it was magnificent.

Now I know that some people think that my taking any photo that I find on the Internet and chipping it is breaking some copyright law. But I am not trying to duplicate the photo or picture. I just want something to help me extrapolate the colors from the chosen picture. Then I will try my best effort to translate those computerized chips to real-life yarn colors. I want to use it as a tool to "see" colors instead of the entire composition.

I am right now knitting a Fair Isle vest. I originally was inspired by a photo of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The friend that commissioned me to knit this goes there every year and I felt that was an appropriate choice of inspiration. I showed him my choice of colors in yarns, and he wasn't really excited about the darker blue color. My color palette was going to be darker blue and ivory. So I waffled back and forth, knit a swatch to get my thread count, etc. Then I made a brave move to do what I am doing now. It is darker brown, oatmeal, and a lighter brown as the primary colors. I haven't been comfortable with this choice since my original idea was blue. But the other day I looked at the knitting from across the room, and it was RIGHT! I had made the right choice.

But I had struggled and struggled and tossed and turned to get those colors from the photo. Now that I have the chip it program and other programs, I am hoping that it will be easier in the future to pull colors. Our brains do funny things when we look at pictures or photos. I am hoping to use this as a tool to help "see" color.

So right now I am happy to just look outside and see my red dots on the branches. Have you ever looked at the colors in a finch. They don't turn bright gold until after winter season. So it is a brassy yellowish green. The purple finches have wonderful stripes on their vests.

So while we languish in this dreadful time of the year when we have to put up with clouds, drizzle, maybe snow, gray, look for the color surrounding us.

One Month Later

2012-02-07T11:26:00.000-06:00

I started this one month ago. I finally got my yarn ordered, received, swatched and set to go. I made a few blips along the beginning, and finally found my system was the best system. I made the decision to do a regular rib knit along the bottom instead of the corrugated rib. I also decided to use the oatmeal color instead of the dark brown. I am on the second peerie now. When it is finished I will be halfway on the body part. Anyway it goes, I am happy with it. I like it.

So yesterday I took a day away from knitting and putting my eyes out. I tackled the BIG job of cleaning out the closet in my designated sewing room. OMG! There was just stuff and stuff and stuff. I opened bins and cleaned out boxes. I had one bin that was just art stuff from when I painted. There were old sketch pads and papers and all the myriads of pictures I saved for ideas. I found sketches and some scrap pieces I had practised colors on. Stuff!

It is amazing the junk we save and I am sure there is a reason to save all of this junk. I even found the admission essay for master's work. I was amazed that I used to write really well. I was accepted into the program I had applied and had my finances arranged. Then Life intervened and I never got to go. I found a short story I had written for a class, and I had a nice A for that. Funny to read that now too.

I found pictures and two picture albums. Stuff!

I burned a huge lot of paper and I have loaded the car again for Goodwill. After I finish this closet, I will have one more closet to sort through. Oh, and I have to finish the shed when the weather is nicer.

My eyes were burning on Sunday and I decided that I needed to take a break. I don't know what possessed me to tackle the closet, but I am certainly happy that I did do that.

So I guess I will tackle the knitting this afternoon after I finish working out a system to store what I saved this round.

I have always had a habit of writing down quotes when I find them. I have them all over my house. I like to review them and study them. I have always done this. I also used to save newspaper articles and put them up too. But I have discontinued that habit with the internet so handy these days. I know this sounds quirky, but I really like quotes. I don't know why.

Anyway here is one I found in my piles of paper yesterday:

Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind could invent.
-Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson

And I think that sums up my thoughts for today. I think there are 41 days to Spring. A friend told me she is already picking daffodils. Mine are putting on buds. What a mess our winter has been.

Well- It's Mid-Winter!

2012-02-05T10:17:00.001-06:00

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin

I refuse to just natter on and on about the weather. But it is weird! People are fallen out all over the place in eastern Europe, and Alaska is having record winter. I am not going to complain too much. But thunderstorms in February are strange!

Okay-now that that is over, I will discuss my mundane life. I am knitting. Wow-really. I am getting really close to half-way on the vest body. Maybe today, maybe today and tomorrow knitting. I am not knitting much on brown semi-gansey. I take it along since it is just circular stockinette knitting right now.

Patty and Noodles went for yearly wellness checkups and meds. Both passed without any difficulty. So far, so good. Last year was a record year for disasters in pet kingdom in my household.

So I am hibernating and nothing new is going on. I am entranced with the stranded knitting. I have to stop and refocus my eyes periodically. I am not sure how anyone in their right mind could actually knit this stuff for a living-which people did many times in the past. How did they do it? I have to stop and rest my eyes and walk around. Aren't we such lucky people that this is fun and not a mandatory thing in our lives?

I thought today I would spin, but I looked in my bin of fibers and couldn't really get excited about any of it. I know that I want to spin this or that, but nothing excites me. So I made biscuits.

Well, like I said, nothing new is going on. A new month and a bit closer to March and Spring.

Have a good week. Enjoy the snowless days while we can.

I Will Not Give Up!

2012-01-28T09:59:00.000-06:00

This is just a brief little note to myself that is based on perseverance. I struggled for the first two rows on the Fair Isle vest. I was determined to do everything according to Meg Swanson's video. I was going to set up my pattern work just like Meg.

Okay, Okay! Not exactly like Meg's vest, but close.

So after unknitting the second row not once, not twice, but three times, I screamed. I am sure that this is early onset dementia. I cannot believe this could be so hard. I got to the last stitch, and I was one stitch off somewhere in 288 stitches! ARGGGGH!

Why was this so hard? I have done Fair Isle before. I have done charts before. I have done more complicated knitting than this. What is wrong?

I went to bed so frustrated that my eyes were watering from trying to read the damn chart. I lay in bed thinking about the damn thing, and I finally gave up and went back into the living room/knitting room and went back over the thing from the beginning. I finally found the mistake within the first 20 stitches, which meant I would have to unknit back to that mistake.   The next day, of course.

Well, after a fitful night of sleep, I tackled the dreaded vest thing while I was fresh and the light was bright. I unknit to the mistake, counted out loud, and got to the end without a mistake. And I did what I had been taught by my grandmother-I set up markers in certain places that tell me if I am on track. And it worked! I went back to my own way of doing the thing, and it worked!

I am cruising along now with one OXO and one Peerie finished. I am on the second OXO and I am sailing along. I know immediately when I have a mistake and I unknit back to that spot and continue on without frustration. Sorry Meg-I can't do it your way. I have to do it my way.

And one might ask-Why is it so hard to get this thing going? It is because I am centering the pattern so that there is the center of an X on the front and the center of an O on the back. It makes it "pleasing" to the eye. Or something like craziness.

Anyway, now I am unsure if I like the color of the Peerie. I am going to look at it again in the daylight. It seems awful bright to me. Like "Look at me" bright instead of blending in pretty. I am unsure if I can actually unknit that much knitting. Is it worth it?

My brown semi-gansey is still growing, but it is slow going. I pick it up when my eyes bother me from chart work. And it is faster knitting than two-hand stranded work.

I can actually do the Fair Isle while t.v. is going now.   So my method is working. I only made one mistake last night, and I figured it out before the marker came up.

No other news. My neighbors are gone for a coupla months, and I am getting the mail, the newspaper, and checking on the house once a week.   I talked to one of their sons and he wanted to make sure I would call him for anything that goes on at his folks house. This is my third winter to do this and I can't understand why everyone is so nervous this year.

I leave you with these two definitions. People tell me I am stubborn, and I can be bullheaded. But there is a big difference. Have a good weekend.

Perseverance-Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness

Stubborn-Unreasonably, often perversely unyielding; bullheaded. Firmly resolved or determined resolute

A Lot of Sun, A Little Spring, A Few Storms

2012-01-24T16:33:00.001-06:00

Okay, I know that everyone and everybody has talked about the weather. But isn't it weird? Today I have the back door open and the heat is turned off. Patty likes the opportunities of going out and exploring all on her very own. I allow her the freedom because that is a big step for a scared little dog.

And then there were the tornadoes! I know that every time there is unusual warm weather and sudden colder weather that collide "up there" some where, there are serious storms. I also know that that is usually the case from March on around here. Whew!

I feel like I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. We have February and March to get through yet.

I am plugging along on the semi-gansey with the stockinette knitting round and round. I am a teeny bit over halfway up to arm hole. The Fair Isle vest is coming along. Now that I have my tried and true method in place, I am having success with the knitting. I am almost through with the first OXO section. I am ready to see a Peerie show up.

I finally opened the door to my sewing room and straightened up the mess in there. I am forcing myself to finish the binding on the quilt that was laying over the back of the chair. I pat the pretty blocks I last worked on, but I am going to finish that binding. It felt really good to feel the cloth again.

My friend CF spent the night Sunday night, and we went to the new Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville yesterday. It is very lovely and the architecture is fabulous. They have a nice collection for a beginning and it will be interesting to see what they add.

Today my friend CS came over with her spinning wheel. She felt like she needed a refresher course, but I allowed her to just feel her own way through getting started and spinning. She does fine and just needs some encouragement to "just do it". We had a great catch-up on everyone and some gossip, and it was fun to just "visit" over the wheels. She is going to take her wheel with her to Colorado when they go next. That will be great quiet time to just sit down and spin. She finally relaxed when we got back from lunch, and I didn't have to say much.

So two days of visits and I am tired. Isn't this my time to be a hermit? I guess with the nicer weather people are out and about.

I almost have the shed cleaned out and organized. I watched Peter Walsh on the OWN network last night and that motivates me to get rid of more stuff. The people he helped last night had an airplane hangar filled to the rafters with "stuff". Whew!

Jeopardy is on. Gotta go. Have a good week!

January Is A Strange Month

2012-01-15T10:55:00.000-06:00

A while back, I asked a photographer why I always have trouble photographing my skeins of yarn. I know I have a little bitty point-and-shoot camera, but surely there has to be some way to take a good pic of yarn. My main problem is the glare that comes from the skein. I don't know if there is something in the fiber or the dye, but it glares. The photographer suggested I get a portable light diffuser and try that. So I got one. My photo assistant had to help me with this. This first shot is with the sun behind me. See my shadow? This one is with the sun facing me, but the camera down facing the light diffuser.

We seem to be having a little turf problem in the family. Noodles has tried to be the dominant one in this family. Friday night he took over Patty's new bed. This is Patty's Christmas present and she LOVES her bed. Well, you can imagine what happened when Patty saw that. She rolled her eyes and couldn't get up courage to take it back. So she jumped in my chair and made a nest of the towel I keep in the chair for pet hair. I took the chair back, straightened the towel, and told her to get up her courage and let him know what she wanted.

So she jumped up on the chaise, turned her back, kicked everything off that she could, tried to dig up the quilt that is on the chaise for pet hair, and generally sulked through the evening. It was pathetic.

Today, two days later, Noodles ate a few bites of Patty's breakfast. I don't think he has the teeth to chew such big bites. But he managed two bites. This is pathetic. And dramatic, huh?

So this is my photo of the newest yarn. There is no glare. As he suggested I added a black board to absorb light. The only problem now is washed out colors. The pink is really coral and the blue is really turquoise. So I am happy I fixed the glare problem. Just how to do I get real color?

So what is happening with the weather? If anyone figures it out, let me know. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In knitting, I am working on the semi-gansey I am planning. I love, love, love the targhee wool I am using. I am convinced that this is going to be one tough sweater. It will be an everyday sweater for sure. No fancy stuff with this sweater.

I am also knitting the ribbing on the Fair Isle vest. I finally made some decisions on the colors I want in it, and ordered all the yarn Friday night. I think it will be non-traditional by the time I get it done. I am using a k1p1 rib instead of the corrugated rib. The person I am knitting this for is thin and uses his vests as a substitute for fat stores. So I wanted a snug rib to hold it close to his body. There is more stretch there with this rib and I think it is more appropriate for him. I am also doing the ribbing in a light color instead of a dark color. He wears khaki pants a lot, and I think the color I chose will go with the khaki pants. There will be less transition between colors. Okay, I know that last one is an excuse for using the lighter color instead of the darker color. But I think it will work just fine.

I haven't been spinning this week at all. I finished the stretched merino, and I am so not in love with stretched merino. I have been knitting like crazy on the two sweaters. I also taught a class yesterday, and I had to knit my sample pieces and get the instruction sheets copied, etc.

So what to spin now!? Well, I think I want to tackle the camel/merino that I bought a long time ago. There isn't a lot there, but I can always order more if I get excited about it. I also have a new bit of BFL handpainted that is really yummy looking. 4 ozs is multi-Fall colors of cranberry, orange, green and yellow. 4 ozs is just cranberry. I like it a lot.

Has anyone else noticed there is nothing on t.v. any more? I have my favorite shows, and I suffered through all the Christmas reruns. I like HGTV, but I don't care about million-dollar homes and how people decorate them. I also cannot take the sulky, spoiled kids who are buying a home and want two sinks in their private bathroom, a spa tub, a rain shower, and BIG walk-in closets. And big, beautiful kitchens that have all their wants included. I was flipping through channels and I caught, "I don't really cook anything at all, but I want to be able to have my friends hang out in a pretty setting. I need a lot of room to go from the refrigerator and microwave." Please tell me this is crazy!

Well, it is time to go see if there are any podcasts I want to listen to while I putz around in the studio. I just finished a good audio book, and I may have to get another one out of the local library.

Have a good week. I think we are to have rain tomorrow, and one bad cold day. But the rest is looking good. What a strange January this is!!

The Knitting Universe

2012-01-03T09:48:00.000-06:00

Just some random thoughts today. I am slowly moving into hibernation since the weather is holding nice for a while.

Patty and I went to a local state park and hiked on one of the trails there on Sunday. It was a lovely day-a little bit of wind and just the right temperature. I was a little bit nervous when I came to the bluff. We have a topography here of carst limestone. We have lots and lots of bluffs that just drop off to a steep decline. I walked quickly past that so Patty wouldn't explore the edge.

I am knitting something of my own design. I used a basic pattern for a recipe, then I took off with that. We will see how it turns out. I am knitting in the round, round and round and round. Then when I get closer to the yoke, I will add some colorwork.

I wrote down a quote from Cast On. It is a podcast with Brenda Dayne. There are "looking moments" in knitting-usually at the end. This is when you look at something you have made and you are marveling at how good it looks and how skilled you are and how much you love the yarn and how great you feel. I like that. I wish I wasn't so critical of what I do. It is marvelous when I spin the yarn and knit the garment. Or when you knit something that is made of a gorgeous yarn that is so soft and cuddly.

I am spinning this yarn that is made from "stretched merino". I am not enamored of this process of messing up a good fiber. It is supposed to give the look of silk when finished. Well, it does look silky in the sheen, and it is "heavy", but merino is supposed to be soft and poofy and squishy. This is not that. It is easy to spin, though, and I guess that is a good thing.

CJE and I spent the day Saturday going to the LYS in Bentonville,and we did some sitting and knitting. She said that someone mentioned to her that she seems to be knitting a lot. She told them "When I am sittin', I am knittin'" I guess in a perfect Knitting Universe, we would not seem to be so strange when we knit all the time. It would not seem so strange if we only go to functions that have places to sit and knit while you listen to the speaker or to the music or whatever. It would also be nice to have someone who knows the language too.

R and H are going to go to Mt. Magazine to celebrate their first anniversary. I hope the weather holds out for them. They spent New Year's with R's cousin Shelley King in Austin. She is a professional singer/songwriter, and they were her guest at her gig New Year's Eve. I hope they had fun. My brother told me they stayed out really late, although he and his wife did not participate in any late night stuff.

It is funny how both of my brother's daughters look so much like my mother. I showed some friends a video of Shelley, and the picture of my mother on my shelf. They couldn't believe it. And the younger daughter looks more like mother because she is so thin. She has certain mannerisms that I recognize as Mother's. Weird, huh?

I did some yard work last week, and my sinuses paid for that. It was just a little bit cool, with some wind, and all the mildew, dust, and whatever particles flew up my nose. I guess I just wanted to be out in the sun. It was so nice last week. We are having sunny, cooler weather so far this week.

So enough of this stupid random thought stuff. I am going to go sew. Have a good week. We are moving into the first week of 2012!

Did Mother Nature Forget This Is December?

2011-12-30T12:56:00.000-06:00

I finished the scarf! It is Scalene by Carina Spencer. I used size 4 needles. The red is Everlasting by Dream in Color and the black is Cosmo by Linie 33. The black has 5% cashmere in it. Actual yardage used is red: 360 yds ; black: 217.5 yds. Because of the garter ridges, it is soft and squishy. Whew! Another project DONE!

The weather is incredibly warm-high 50's! It is very windy today. I did do a bit of clean up yesterday in the front flower bed. Because of the wind, mildew, dust, and whatever else is in that bed, my sinuses are killing me today. I am not going to do yard work today, although I may go out and weed eat a little bit.

The sun feels oh, so good! We have a cold front moving in Monday, so I am taking advantage and trying to be out as much as I can.

I can't believe that Sunday is January 1, 2012 already! Wow! December went fast for me.

I have an ingrained belief from one of my grandmothers that whatever you do on the first of the year is what you will do the rest of the year. I want to take Patty out for a hike in the woods somewhere. I know that I will knit or spin or something all year. But maybe this will be a start to doing more outdoor activity again. I love to go for walks in the woods.

So have a great weekend. Enjoy your celebration, but go play on Sunday. We need more relaxation, don't we?

Happy Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

Well, Christmas is officially done. I had quite a lovely day of sitting in sunshine, watching the birds eat me out of house and home, watching the Christmas tree lights twinkle, and since it was Sunday, I listened to NPR and spun yarn.

I finished up the green Polworth, skeined and washed it, and it is on the blocker as we speak. I started some roving I got a while back that is a "stretched" merino. I am not familiar with that process, so I am not sure what that means. It is easy to spin and works really fast. So it won't take long to make it appear into yarn.

It has been lovely and sunny for two days now. I found a way to set my chair in front of the French doors and let the sun shine on me. Then this morning we are back to rain and chill. I am so thankful every day that we do not have snow or ice. I do not want much of either one, but since we have three or four more months of winter, I know it is coming.

I stood out in the yard last night watching the stars. It is remarkable how the earth rotates and the sky changes. I love the winter sky more than the summer one. I think it has something to do with light, but I don't really know why I do. I love the quietness of the nighttime, and just watching the sky. The trees are skeletons without their leaves. So viewing is very easy.

I got some really lovely gifts, and I am so thankful for those. But for me, gift giving is a year-long activity. I like to find that special "something" and I know exactly who to give it to. It is the hunt, I think. I read a long, long time ago that that is one of the differences between men and women. Women see something that reminds them of someone, and it is an emotional response to purchase it for that person. I think the article I read was about food primarily, like buying the special cheese someone likes or a special wine.

Both the animals are asleep and avoiding the weather. So I think I will turn on the audio book I am listening to and spin some more "stretched" merino. It seems the perfect day to eat soup and bread, and do something simple-like spin yarn.

I hope the weekend was good for everyone. One more week in December! Wow!

Happy Birthday

2011-12-22T11:12:00.000-06:00

Today is my younger brother's birthday. As morbid as this seems, all three of us have outlived our parents' ages when they died. That used to be a goal, but now I am way past and don't think about it. I never hear from my brother any more. He has been mad at me for some time. But every year I send him an email wishing him Happy Birthday. He used to always get a chocolate cake. He doesn't eat sweets, so I never understood the chocolate cake thing.

Yesterday was Solstice. Normally I have a simple ritual with candles and I like to cook something special. Yesterday I had a hairdresser's appointment for a hair cut. Then I swung by CJE and AE's house. CJE and I wrapped gifts until we were starving. Then she drove us to a nearby town to a wonderful new restaurant. It is run by some Mennonites in town, and the building frame was a really old, old barn from Michigan. The food was great!

We were seated at a small table by a window, so both of us had a chance to knit while we waited for our meal. We celebrated with a shared dessert-a brownie with ice cream and chocolate drizzle. Sigh!

So then we decided to go to a local antique/junk store. Driving there I saw a sign for the Wildlife Safari drive through place. So off we go to find that place. The sun was shining so brightly and gave the illusion of warmth. We saw tons of animals that I have never gotten a chance to see in real life. It is approximately 5 miles of driving slowly through different groups of animals. The emus like to run in front of the car. So imagine the Ozark hills and high plateaus with Serengeti animals. There was one really cute hippo playing with a big black rubber feeding bowl. He was tossing it around, rolling it, and pushing it with his nose. I tried not to think of the big cats in big cages. They had huge, tall platforms for them to climb on, and there was one tiger way up on his throne. I thought that surely he could just give one big jump and be out of there. Oh-there are white American bison everywhere. Some were really blondish yellow looking, but not albinos. They were everywhere. Some of the big guys had really muddy faces that I guess was from wallowing.

Returning back to our starting point, CJE parked so we could go to the petting part. They have several Pygmy goats that were expecting any minute, and a tiny donkey that looked pregnant. So that pen was locked. We went into the kangaroo section. I have never petted a kangaroo before. They have the softest fur that I can't describe as anything but downy. There were a lot of babies there too. There were bunnies, chickens, ducks, peacocks, and one big huge turkey. One chicken followed us around, and a staff member told me he follows her all the time. She just calls him Red. We stopped on the highway leaving to see a couple of young camels. They were expecting a gift (food) and one just made rude noises when we didn't give them anything. Further down the highway was a huge pasture with yaks, long-horned cattle, and those African cattle with the weird horns.

Of course our fiber eyes were only thinking of what we could do with all that fiber we were seeing. CJE is wanting some of the white bison fur.

So returning home from my day out, my two fur kids were very unkind. They were "starving", and did I notice I was gone all day. I had told them I wouldn't be gone long when I left.

So today we still have a few clouds, and occasional sun. From this day forward the days will be longer until June 21. This always works for me until March. Then I want it to be warm. I usually tire of winter about the end of January. February is a short month, and I suffer through. But by March I am so over winter.

I am nearing the end of the red scarf. It will then be time to start the Fair Isle vest. I haven't been knitting as much as normally. I am spinning some luscious Polworth roving. It spins so fast. I love this fiber.

CJE bought me a beautiful calendar from Quilting Arts. There is a most wonderful iguana on the front piece. I love all the embellishments. It makes me want to get in the sewing room. I have neglected my sewing for too long. So.....why am I not in there right now?

Happy Happy Whatever You Believe In! I am one of the few who loves Christmas, but mostly because of the Solstice thing. We are now on the side of more light!

The Year of Christmas Disasters

2011-12-15T11:31:00.000-06:00

Mom-The birds are driving me nuts!

I finished a beautiful afghan for R and H for their Christmas present. It was something that would remind him of my grandmother, which he knew and loved. I finished it, and I washed it. When I laid it out to block it, two nice size holes appeared right near the middle where the yarn gave way. SIGH! A disaster. Yes, I did repair it. Even if it doesn't look too awful, I just can't in good faith give them a gift that may fall apart again when they wash it. So I just grabbed a quilt from the pile, wrote an apology note and explained the situation, added all the embroidered pillowcases I had left from my "hope chest", and shipped it off. If they still want the afghan, they can have it with full warning that it may not last long. SIGH!

So after Noodles and I watched the birds for a while, I knit this little elephant. Isn't she cute? A little wonky, but still cute. The wool was from something I had frogged, and I even made her a little scarf to wear.

I am getting geared down for hibernation. I took on a massive project for someone to knit a traditional Fair Isle vest. We finally picked the six colors last weekend, and I ordered one skein of the yarn to knit a swatch. If the swatch is right and accepted, then that will be my winter challenge. I am insane for doing this, but it will be a challenge for the wintry months when I can't get out to do much.

We have had a lot of rain this month, and only that one little snowfall. The weather is fluctuating up and down, and we even had thunder and lightening last night. I just can't get too excited about all this.

Somehow a bad person picked up a cookie from me and tried to scam some money. The difference in this phishing is it was a fake email from a yarn company in Washington. It was something about my paypal account did not go through, and could I go to this link and check the account, etc. So I deleted it and went to the real website. I checked my account since I knew I had not made any orders. I emailed them to let them know that someone picked up their website info, etc. I guess knitters are fair game to bad people now.

AE and CJE had their annual Wild Foods Party. It seemed much calmer and not as wild as in the past. My friend GO drove us to the party, and we left early. There were lots of people leaving, and he noted that people are getting older and tamer. I guess it is good to not be so feral as some of us have been in the past. It seemed that there was not as much drinking as I have seen this group do in the 20+ years I have known them.

My brother sent me a link to a video my niece, Shelley King, did for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. She is a singer/songwriter in Austin, so it was good to see her do something like this.

I expect my neighbors will leave after Christmas to get away for the winter. It will be nice to just let Patty go out on her own for as long as she wants. When I do now, she heads straight to their thrown-away food in the woods. Then she gets sick and that is not so pleasant.

Well, I guess that catches us up on news. Sixteen and one-half days until the New Year. Isn't that hard to believe? This year has gone fast. It is hard to believe Christmas is only a week away. Well, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

St. Nicholas Day!

2011-12-06T11:21:00.001-06:00

Yes, I have a sock on my tree. Doesn't everyone do this?

Yes, I have a bear on my tree, too!

And yes, of course, I have sheep! Somehow the picture of the spinning wheels didn't happen here. But I have spinning wheels, too. My angel is made out of sheeps wool. What can I say?

Last weekend we went to Hot Springs for the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza. I know several folks wonder at the marvelous decor here. Instead of a bottle tree, we have a plastic flower tree. These are just sticks stuck in the fence, and covered with plastic flowers. And we are talking the whole length of the fence. We didn't tarry long in front, just long enough to take photos.

I did not take any photos of the event until at the last moment I took three awful photos of folks lingering around outside the vendor space. There wasn't a lot of seating, so people do what people do, we rearrance the whole place to make nests or pods for our visiting.

And finally-this was what my yard looked like last Thursday. Of course that is mostly weeds-or pasture plants-but green anyway.

This was early morning today. OUR FIRST SNOW of the season! I know it isn't much, but it is the first of what will come. It is time to hunker down and do some serious knitting!

Happy St. Nicholas Day! I hope you get something in your shoes tonight! Remember to leave something for his horse-carrots are always good!

Stick A Fork In It-Part 2

2011-11-29T19:33:00.001-06:00

I finished the plain socks-got a pic before washing and will get another one after wash. Like them-they fit well-whew! That's it for my socks this year. Unless I get high behind and finish the giraffe socks!

And we will see about that. I think that it is 8 pairs this year. Maybe 9, but I think 8.

Stick A Fork In It-It's Done!

2011-11-28T16:32:00.001-06:00

My handspun yarn from Crown Mountain Farms-100% merino. I used 1197 yards of handspun on size 5 needles for the body-size 3 for ribbing. It is Anne Hanson's pattern-Aztec Mazes. I started in April and finished November 26. I am calling it at 71/2 months.
Things I really liked about this sweater-
1- The softness of the merino yarn.
2- The neckline is perfect on me.
3- The armhole technique was unique.

The pattern was challenging, but very, very well written. I will sing the praises of this designer. She obviously knows how to make things as if she were designing for clothing. I know she has a background in fashion design and it shows.

I am quite proud of myself, and this year's sweater is done.

Spiraling Dance of the Seasons

2011-11-23T10:05:00.001-06:00

CJE and I got together and had another dye day. She was so excited to have a new dyepot-a big ole turkey cooker like mine-and we had to try it out. She got this lovely red stuff. JE came over later and we dyed some of her stuff up too. The blue is from the dye day two weeks ago. I never did post pics for that.

We are gearing up to go to Hot Springs for the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza. I have been saving my money for that. I have been really good to resist the impulsive buying of stuff online. I have a bad habit of seeing something and getting it right then. I am waiting until I can support the vendors at the show.

I heard a wonderful phrase yesterday that stuck in my mind-coupe de coeur. It means something you fall in love with immediately-not necessarily an impulse, but close. You just know it is the right thing immediately.

Tomorrow CF is coming into town to eat dinner with her daughter and grandsons. But she decided she would spend the night with me. That way she can relax and go to bed early. She will be spending the day with the boys on Friday and half a day on Saturday before going home. It exhausts her to spend so much time with young boys who wrestle and are interactive, but she loves them so much it hurts.

I am being my quiet self, working on my gratitude prayers, and happy to just sit and knit. It has been so gloomy and rainy and chilly. Today is sunny, warmer, and Spring again. It is a good day to be outside more.

I am about 1 inch from finishing the back of my sweater. Yeah! Today I can knock that out. Then sew it up, put on the neck band, and voila! done, done, done. Yeah! I already have another one in line waiting to be cast on. But it can wait until I catch up a little bit with some other projects.

I have been spinning yellow yarn. It is so gorgeous. I dyed it with goldenrod. It is the creamiest butter yellow. Gorgeous!

And today is a grooming day for Patty too. I got her reservation for doggie day care while I am gone. She has had her bordatella snort, and I am glad she will be well cared for. She is so happy to see me when I pick her up it is well worth it.

So Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for reading. It is time to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Patty is ready to go for a walk.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

What Delightful Weather!

2011-11-13T15:57:00.002-06:00

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

What weird and delightful weather this week has been. Yes, we have seen tornadoes, thunder storms, and other indications of Springtime in Autumn, and yes, there have been earthquakes in Oklahoma that were felt here. But it has been so warm that I have opened up the house to air it out. I have had time this week to clean the gutters, mow and mulch the leaves in the yard, and run all the gas out of the two lawnmowers. I have washed rugs and blankets and aired other things outside.

I think it is most important to know that this is only temporary, and that things will change. But I am enjoying the time I can outside.

Today I have spent most of the day out on the deck with one of my spinning wheels. It was lovely to sit in the warm sun and let the wind blow all around me. At one time I had two butterflies flit up to my wheel and stop to see if there was a flower there. The yarn is colorful, but not so tasty.

I am so very close to finishing the front yoke of my handspun sweater. I keep measuring, and as per normal knitting, it is not moving along fast enough. I picked up the giraffe sock the other day and did several more rows of that. I am so anxious to start my next project, but I am making myself finish up some of these projects.

I finished my order for the handspun yarn early last week. I was so happy to get that done. It was delivered on Saturday. Whew! I am not going to get behind again. I don't want it to be so much like work. So last night I spun up one bobbin of my goldenrod dyed BFL. I decided to spin up one more bobbin of my yarn for the sweater in progress. So today's spinning was to do that. Tonight I will ply it and tomorrow I can get it on the blocker.

I know that there are two days of rain this week. So I think I will knit during that time. I am just enjoying the warm outside while I can.

Last weekend CJE came over to overdye some yarn she wants to make AE a sweater. She bought some brown and cream barber-pole yarn, and he did not like it. She knit up a swatch to show him, and he still didn't care for it. So we got out the big dyepot, added some Gaywool, and it is gorgeous now. It is now a deep slate-gray blue and a lighter blue where the cream was. It is knitting up really nice, and he likes it. My motto is "If you don't like a yarn, just overdye it." It works most every time.

I am getting a little bit excited about the Fiber deal in Hot Springs the first weekend of December. I am not buying anything online, and I am saving my money. If I have any money left over after that weekend, I can buy stuff online. I am not too excited about Hot Springs. The only reason to go is to see people, and to be surrounded by fibery goodness. I love Fiber shows. It just gives me a chance to be with people who love the same things I do.

Noodles had his first anniversary of the broken leg. I am so thrilled he did not have any surgery, especially an amputation. The two big bones have fused into a weird bump, and occaisonally he limps. But he is killing things right and left, and still climbs trees. Not bad for an eleven-year-old kitty with a bum leg.

Patty is looking rather ragged without grooming. But I wanted her to have a longer coat for winter. I did get her down and trimmed her face, her nails, and some of longer hair. She likes colder weather, and she wants out all the time.

So we are just putzing around, getting things done before the cold sets in, and just enjoying the nice day. Noodles has gone out to the screened porch, and I am about to put some food in the oven for my evening meal.

Have a great week ahead.

Are You OCD?

2011-11-03T12:56:00.002-05:00

This is just a little thought-are you OCD with your knitting? I am just going to give a few observations about people I watch knit.

I, personally, am OCD about details. I was taught by grandmothers and great-grandmothers that if you are making something, make it right. My great-grandmother that taught me to embroidery at age 5 would take my daily lesson and look at the back when I was finished. If it wasn't "right", she would take out the stitches and make me re-do the damn thing. I learned very quickly that it was best to do it "right" the first time.

Now 58 years later, I am not so meticulous about my embroidery. But I am finicky with my knitting or crochet. I want it "right". I may take something out several times until I am satisfied. When the shoulders didn't do "right" on the Jacob fleece sweater, I redid it twice. It drove me insane that I could never figure out how you do a sock gusset "in pattern" with the giraffe socks. Those darn Estonians-huh?

So today I am baking a cake, plying my yarn, and I just sat down for a quick sandwich. I then picked up my no-brainer scarf that is garter stitch. It is taking forever to get to 200 stitches. So just for fun-sies I decided to time myself knitted across 170 stitches with an increase at each end. 6 mins. I started to flag towards the end, because the dryer timer went off and I got distracted.

So this is a little extreme maybe. But not too bad an obsession. I just want things to be "right".
And that is my right, not anyone elses.

Now I have a friend who knits teeny lace, and occasionally big lace. But she can tell you exactly to the stitch how many stitches she has knit. And how many beads, etc. I don't have the math skills, and believe me, I have tried to think how one does calculate that.

I watched one friend fiddle around with tiny beads on a scarf she was knitting. Across the table another person was knitting the same scarf and not fiddling. There was a difference, but probably not to the average person. It is noticeable to some one who fiddles a lot.

And a couple weeks ago K at knit night was talking about how she didn't like the way the drop sleeve on her sweater was a little bit tight under the armpit. And that was the end of that discussion. I guess you know I wanted to rip it off her body and "fix" it. But I sighed and restrained myself.

So I am just curious how one becomes OCD with this stuff. Is it just a matter of training, or boredom, or what? I just know that I fudged one stitch on each side of my front and back yokes on the present sweater, and it is driving me nuts. But not enough to rip it out for the third time. In another year or so, I will forget that one stitch on both sides. There is an advantage to getting older.

Follow the Trail Marker

2011-10-29T17:55:00.005-05:00

A little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I think the drought and other conditions have stunted the poor thing.

I love the pattern of the worm trails on this dead tree.
Another dead tree adorned with lichens. I couldn't focus well on the fuzzy ones. But it was gorgeous!

I know you are not supposed to go off trail, but I did wander a little bit to get this photo of the lake from the trail. I have no clue what that streak of light is to the left of the golden brown tree in the middle.
All around the visitor's center they have planted a bunch of little trees. They were all red, while everything else, especially the indigenous trees, are yellows and browns. Sumac is deep blood red. There is a dogwood up close to the building, and it is a deep red color.

So why am I showing you all these photos? Is there a story here? I just wanted to explain a little bit.

Everyone is quite aware that this is the end of October. Monday is All Hallows Eve-Samhain for some- and for others, the night we are closest to spirits that wander. Tuesday is All Saints Day. The day to honor our ancestors and others who have passed on.

This is the season that we start to go into hibernation. We go deep into ourselves and we close up the house, and we get really quiet. We use up our stores.

We just had a New Moon cycle last week. With that cycle and the end of season cycle combined, I "went down into the well" We had two days of dark and gloomy and wet. I could see that winter was going to be a long time of dark and gloomy. I became dark and gloomy. I tried to do spinning-nyet! I tried to do knitting-nyet! So I watched mindless t.v. and slept a lot.

So to restore my balance and give me some new energy, I loaded up Patty today and headed to the woods. I did not care that it is the end of the cycle of colored leaves. There is still lots of color to see. I replenished my mental supplies with how the colors interacted together. As I drove to the destination, I observed how the yellows and brown and the greens melted together. I got ideas for dye combinations. I replenished!

And, yes, I got a confirmation last night that I have another order for yarn. And, yes, I needed to buckle down and spin today and finish the first bobbin of alpaca I started yesterday.

But I went to the woods. I needed to see the last day of glorious weather-maybe the last day. We never know. I just know it was perfect. A little windy, but warm and sunny and bright enough to put on sunglasses.

I observed what I needed to observe to replenish!

So now I can focus on what I need to do and finish the order. I can study the various yellows I have dyed and think about how to combine them into a yarn I might like.

I just took the banana bread out of the oven, and I think I will now go eat a bite of that.

Happy Halloween-Samhain-All Hallows Eve! Light a candle Tuesday for your ancestors to let them know that you are thinking of them.

I hope that you realize that this cycle is normal for everyone. It is not abnormal to be sad that the season is changing. Our culture just focuses on being young, happy, and thin. Just remember that your ancestors knew that this is the time to go deep inside yourself and find the balance that is needed to get you through the next cycle of seasons. Just remember to replenish your stores and you will get through the dark and gloomy times.

Is Knitting An Addiction?

2011-10-26T18:16:00.004-05:00

Ten Key Signs of Having an Addiction
Whether it's drug use, sex or overspending, do you wonder if your behavior is crossing the line into addiction? Dr. Gary Stollman, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist who helps individuals overcome self-defeating patterns of behavior. He gives 10 key signs of having an addiction:

1) Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses. 2) Frequently engaging in those behaviors to a greater extent or over a longer period of time than intended. 3) Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce or control those behaviors. 4) Inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining the object of addiction and/or engaging in or recovering from the behavior. 5) Preoccupation with the behavior or preparatory activities. 6) Frequently engaging in behavior when expected to fulfill occupational, academic, domestic or social obligations. 7) Continuation of the behavior despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, academic, financial, psychological or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the behavior. 8) Need to increase the intensity, frequency, number or risk of behaviors to achieve the desired effect, or diminished effect with continued behaviors at the same level of intensity, frequency, number or risk. 9) Giving up or limiting social, occupational or recreational activities because of the behavior. 10) Resorting to distress, anxiety, restlessness or violence if unable to engage in the behavior at times.

I got this off of Dr.Phil.com.

The reason I ask the question is because I am presently reading The Yarn Harlot's newest book. There is an essay about this very question. She only thought of it because one of her family members claimed she was a Yarn Addict. So she went to the library and looked up info in the DSM to see if this was true. As with any other addiction, she was able to explain it all away, and she didn't think she has a problem.

So today I am watching Dr. Phil while plying my current spinning project. As usual, it was about some whiny, spoiled little girl who was mad at her parents for their divorce and she is a drug addict. There was a line scrolled across the bottom that led you to go to Dr.Phil.com to find the ten signs of addiction.

So, okay, we can certainly find faults with ourselves, so I called a friend that attends AA regularly (like 4 times a week), and I ran this by him. He said he didn't think I had to worry too much. Whew!

I know I have an addiction personality. I was anorexic until my middle 20's, and I was told by my therapist that I have an addiction personality. If I am not consumed with eating problems, then I substitute something else. Luckily I don't gamble (unless you talk about bad pattern selection) and I don't drink and I don't smoke and I am too old to worry about sex any more. So I knit a LOT. And I spin, and I dye, and I spend my days filled with fiber goodness.

And as for #8-I think it is pretty safe to say that attempting to do more challenging stuff like fair isle, or lace, or intarsia is not harmful to my health.

And as for #9-my social life revolves around knitting. I go to Knit Night when I need to socialize. I don't think it is so awful to decline a social event because you can't take your knitting with you.

My sweater does not seem to be growing very much. I am at the point when I want it to be done. I want it to be time to separate the tops so I can knit the yoke. I keep measuring and it doesn't seem to be growing. Hopefully soon.

I spent the day Sunday with CJE and playing with fiber. We measured out all the yarn she has done with her spindle (Navajo plied) and wound them up into yarn cakes, and then I put them in plastic zip-locks with the measurements inside. They are ready for her to knit now.

Signs of Fall are abounding. The trees are turning rapidly. The fronts are coming in sooner than I want them to. We have had clouds all day with misty rain. Temperatures dropped all day. There will be rain tonight with the front. The birds are eating at the feeder now. The geese are migrating. And this weekend is the work weekend at Mirkwood.

And the ads on TV are advertising Lay-Away for Christmas and what are you doing for Thanksgiving? Yikes! It is only a month until Thanksgiving! Hard to believe.

I tried to rearrange the kitchen today, but I don't like the refrigerator and freezer sticking out into the space so much. So I just cleaned well behind things and swept the floor well. I guess the thought of closing up the house for the winter is getting to me. I have been cleaning a lot. Maybe I will rearrange the living room.

Patty really needs to go to the groomer, but I want her hair to grow out more. I trimmed her eyebrows and around her mouth. She is really energized by all the cooler weather. Noodles has been eating more rodents and staying in more. Another sign of a change.

What a Beautiful Day!

2011-10-14T15:32:00.004-05:00

I know this is stretching my imagination, but I saw a heart shape in my bread today while I was putting a sandwich together.

I have been enjoying this warm weather. It is so strange to know that any minute now we could be in cold weather. In fact, next week may be our first frost. It is good to get out and store up some Vitamin D. I read today that older people cannot manufacture Vit. D as well as younger humans.

We had a goodly amount of rain, even some thunder boomers. That made things a little more tolerable. I hope to goodness that today was the last day I have to mow for the season. I actually did some trim mowing as well, since I have not been keeping up with that in the heat.

CJE and I went to the weaving meeting last Saturday and then we went to Winslow to the FiberFest. She badgered me into putting a few things into the show to give support to the community of the event. Well-I won third place for my handspun socks. CF made the comment "Those aren't even your prettiest socks!" Yes, I know that, but they are handspun, handknit socks. Oh, well.

CJE won Best of Show for her shirt she made for AE. It is made from cotton they grew, she spun, she wove the fabric, and she sewed the shirt. I think she certainly deserved the award. She also won a prize for her quivuit scarf and her gloves.

I am plugging away on my handspun sweater. I have two more weeks to meet my self-imposed deadline for it. We will see. I have four more inches to knit until I divide at the armholes for the yoke. Probably not, huh? We will see.

I also started a pair of plain old socks with some self-patterning yarn in my stash bowl. I also started a Scalene scarf from some stash yarn and some black I picked up at the yarn shop. It has 5% cashmere in it, and it is SOFT!

I took my car in for service Wednesday. I normally have to wait for about 1 hour, and I get a little knitting done. This time I was there for 2 1/2 hours and I got a lot of knitting done. I worked on both the scarf and the sock in my bag, and I read a little bit of my book. I was not very patient, but I tried to think positive-"Look how much work you are getting done on this scarf and sock." "Big whoo! I can do that much at home, too!" I told self. Oh, well. The car is serviced and ready for winter.

The leaves are trying to turn color now. Unfortunately, I think the dry spell did make them unhappy. But I love to see the colors in the Fall!

Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.

-Gretel Ehrlich

So this week we had a FREE day to drop off electronic stuff. I was so happy to get rid of an old computer, an old phone, a printer, and several other things. I was happy to drag them out from under the bed and out of the house. I had to figure out how to delete info from the computer, but I already had purchased the cable to transfer stuff from the old computer to the new one. I then could not figure out how to delete the info from the old computer. I Googled it, and all you do is Restore your computer back to a date before any files or programs were in it. I used the Restore program CD that came with the computer. It worked. Problem solved. Unless you are the FBI or CIA or someone that can pull something out, I think it is safe.

So this has been a busy week. CJE and JE met me at Bella Vista to go to one of the arts/craft shows yesterday. Just a bunch of STUFF! I did buy some seasoning packages for soups. There was Knit Night last night. And tomorrow is spinning group. So I am really behind in my schedule of things to get done. Yard work had to be done, and the car had to be serviced. But soon it will be time to stay inside again, and I will catch up with the work.

Have a GREAT weekend. Enjoy yourselves and get out to store up some Vitamin E.

Let's Dye!

2011-10-05T08:41:00.004-05:00

After washing, I came out with a soft, dull, yellow. It was a clear dye, but the color is not brilliant. I tried various places and could not get a true picture of the color-sorry!

With the leftover flowers, I made a fabric bundle to dye and was hoping for some pattern to appear where the flowers were placed.

When it was completed, unwrapped, and washed, it was an allover yellow color that was pretty. It did not have any hints of pattern from the flowers. Oh, well. It was a fabric that I had already dyed with compost, so this just added a new dimension to the fabric.

And then there was clean-up. My least favorite part of the job. I always do a soap and wash job, and it is always ready for the next time. It is all put up and ready when I get another wild hair to push my luck on the natural dyeing.

Guess What I Am Doing Today!

2011-10-02T16:42:00.001-05:00

October 1! Yikes!

2011-10-01T20:20:00.002-05:00

Hey, Mom! Mom! Mom! Is this the Animal Planet channel? Mom!

He really does hit the button while I am watching some show and knitting, and suddenly there is some conversation or commercial that does not go with what I had tuned into. I look up and realize that Noodles has hit the button again. And yes, the sun is warm and toasty and makes everyone sleepy. Sleepy. Sleepy.

Not a lot to report. I am sure this month is going to be a crazy month. October always is. The second weekend is the weekend that there are something like 6 arts/crafts shows going on. We will be getting the leaf lurkers out, driving around checking to see what the back roads are doing for Fall color.

This weekend there have been bikers around everywhere. It is the weekend of Bikes, Blues, and Bar-b-que. They run around in gaggles. The locals that drive cars either get scared of the group of bikers and slow down really, really slow, or they get angry at the bikers and hope they run them off the road as they drive too close. Yesterday I drove up to Bentonville, and I had to watch for both kinds of car drivers and the crazy bikers who dart in and out of traffic.

I began knitting a hat with the Targhee wool yarn I won at the fiber festival in July. I loved it so much that I ordered more of it from Gail at Ozark Carding Mill. So the hat is frogged and I am waiting for the yarn. I think I will have enough to knit a sweater. It is sport weight, and is semi-worsted spun. So a tight wool yarn. I think I may knit a gansey. I am not sure yet. I have to get through with the handspun sweater first. I am half-way through with the lower body up to the armpit.

My friend OSM is visiting her property in Oklahoma and just called to find out my schedule. How come I am suddenly busy when usually I putz around day to day with no plans? I am working part-time this week helping a friend out and I am teaching a crochet class Wednesday night. O sounded so let-down when I told her I would have to let her know later this week. I guess she thought I would be available and was planning to do something.

So just a little checking in and yes, I am knitting. But nothing new or exciting to report. H got her socks and they fit and she loves them.

Kindle has a new thing called Kindle Fire. They are surely trying to compete with Nook right now. It is exciting, but I am waiting to see what happens to all this. I like my reader I have just fine.

Take care. Enjoy the cool evenings and enjoy being outside while the weather allows. Have a fun weekend. Later.

Antiques Roadshow Marvel

2011-09-26T20:10:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here watching Antiques Roadshow. There was a pair of "handspun, handmade" Civil War socks. Yes-Civil War! They did not have any holes and were pristine. They had a US flag on the cuff, and a Confederate flag on the sole by the heel. They dated them to 1861 because of the Confederate flag. The meaning was "step on the Confederacy". They valued the socks at $1000-$1050. So go figure-huh?

So today I decided I needed to organize a little bit. I put patterns and yarn together in bags so I have projects ready to go. It scares me to see this happen. I love to spend my time looking at patterns and dreaming about projects. When the projects are lined up in bags ready to go, it just proves there is never enough time in a lifetime to do all this stuff we would like to do. I will continue looking at patterns and dreaming, but it is a waste of time.

We have had a warm-up and we are definitely in a time change. I will probably mow the yard some time this week. No need to hurry since everything was dead for so long. Amazingly things are coming back, but I think it is a little bit late in the year to be having pretty things coming up. I did a little bit of weed-eating today. Just to tidy some things.

I wanted to do some dyeing this past weekend, but I didn't. It was overcast both mornings, and one morning we had a little bit of spitting rain. By afternoon both days the sun would come out and heat things up. So dyeing is still on my to-do list.

I saw a black walnut tree down the road that might be accessible to get some nuts for dyeing. I also found a field of goldenrod down the road. I will have to make a run for materials soon. The nuts have not started dropping. The little piddly tree in my backyard had 10 nuts this year, but one the tree rodents has already harvested them.

Not much to report. I started a simple watch cap for simple, mindless carry-along knitting. I have about 6 inches on the sweater. I am spinning some more yarn for that.

Keep knitting and keep happy. Knitting makes me happy.

Sigh! Self-Discipline Wins Again!

2011-09-18T19:34:00.004-05:00

H's socks are done! They have been washed, blocked, dried, and wrapped in tissue. All I have to do is go to the p.o. tomorrow and mail them.

These socks started out as just another sock project that I kept in my purse for a take-along knitting. Once I finished the leg of the first one, I knew they had to go to H, mainly because of the color. Once I finished the first sock, I was in LOVE with Malabrigo sock yarn. It is the softest and easiest to knit I think of any I have knitted with.

Somewhere along the way, it got cooler outside. I know, I know, it is warmer in Little Rock than up here. So I mentally made a note that I needed to start focusing on knitting the socks daily instead of only when I went somewhere. Then a week ago Friday night I was lying in bed thinking about my knitting. I do this a lot at night when I review what I have done for the day and what needs to be done.

So I mentally said, "Okay. We need to get the second sock finished by next week. I need to knit every day and get this done." So I turned the heel by Sunday night, and cruised along on the foot during the week. I pushed myself to get it done. I realized that by Tuesday I needed to knit a minimum of 2-3 inches a day. It was doable if I pushed and did not try to do too many other things.

The nicest thing about these are the feel. You want to just rub your face on them. They are soft, soft, soft. And I used a nice wooly wash that smells good, too.

Other than that, I have been working on my sweater body, the afghan, the placemats, and the weaving on the loom. I am still spinning the Oxford wool.

I also have had three cable guys here trying to figure out what to do with my cable service. So it is difficult when you have clunky guys wandering around.

We have had major raining for two days now. It is unbelievable, huh?!? First we were in late summer and drought, then wham! Fall arrived with cooler weather, and now Spring has come with thunderstorms and tornado warnings! The sky was the ugliest yellowish color right at dark, and that always makes me nervous. Lots of thunder booming and lightening and buckets of water. You know-Spring weather!

Patty and I spent yesterday with CJE and JE. We went to the opening of a new yarn shop, we went to eat Mexican food, then to JE's shop so I could get some CotLin to weave, and then finally to the nursing home where CJE's mom is having rehab. A full day to say the least. When we got home about 8:30 p.m., I fed Noodles and Patty, and Patty went to bed. She was exhausted. I had to wake her up at 10 pm to go to the bathroom before I went to bed.

So this self-discipline thing is how I finish projects that need a nudge to get it done. And this morning on NPR there was a discussion with somebody who has written a book on self-discipline. He did mention that dieting is the hardest, since we need to keep our glucose levels up to concentrate and get work done. That's when people have a tendency to cheat with a little something because their energy levels are so low.

Occasionally I get wild and set goals and push myself to get things done. It works for me. It is only a challenge for me this time, since obviously no one else is pushing me to finish these socks.
I usually set goals when I have a deadline, and I try hard to reach and obtain those goals. I don't always make it, but I can get close most times.

So no final pushes this week. I did catch myself knitting on the giraffe socks tonight and counting spots. I put it down and said, "It will get done. Don't worry about it."

Enjoy the week. The storm has passed for now. I am unsure how many more we will get tonight. Well, there is more rumbling. Weird! Spring in September.

Journeys Create Change!

2011-09-14T09:13:00.003-05:00

We are all on a journey, and sometimes our paths do pass one another. We meander along, or muddle along, and change happens without our knowing. We are now in another change of season, and it is happening rather quickly. We have 90 degrees one day, and the next day it is 65 degrees. We haven't had rain for so long, and today it is cloudy, windy, cool, and there is spitting rain. Not a ground soaking rain that is needed, just spit. The light is definitely changing.

I have been observing the moon rise on full moons for some time now. Monday night it was almost dead center east. Don't you wonder what the ancients knew about moonrises? They observed them night after night after night for a whole lifetime. And it was knowledge that led to the survival of life for many. I have mentioned constellations before in blogs, but I also observe the Big Dipper's position during different seasons and also Orion.

AE and CJE are back from their journey to South America. They actually spotted a jaguar, and CJE mentioned whole herds of vicunas in the highest elevations. Of course, they are a protected species, but she still wanted to collect something from the dead bodies she spotted. I don't know if vicuna fleece is worth scavenging a dead body or not.

My friend GO is on a journey today to the Rockies in Colorado. He goes every September to hasten his return to cold weather. It is also a reminder that he is no longer that youngster that was able to hike miles up into the mountains without much provision. Now that he has approached 60 like the rest of us, he decided he wanted to try some backpacking again. Yeah! Right! I did loan him my backpacking tent, just in case he wants to. We will see what happens after he returns to tell his story.

I am not going to Taos this year, but I sure have the itch. Especially now that the weather has changed. Whew! It is really hard not to, but I don't need to go. Just want to.

I found a wonderful link yesterday to a piece of art that is very exciting. www.bluecatheaven.com.au I bought a downloadable The Illuminated Book of Cats. It is very, very interesting and beautiful. She also makes cards to sell.

I listened to Brenda Dayne's podcast Sunday and she had a wonderful audio journey to Dylan Thomas' beach house. A friend of hers read the poem, "In My Craft or Sullen Art" while sitting in the cottage. It was so beautiful. I found a copy of the poem, and now I have a copy right here by the computer. Isn't it funny how we forget about poems or poets or writers that are no longer in the media? This was a nice reminder to go back and revisit some of my favorite writers.

I am almost finished with one set of placemats. I sewed three sets of three charms to see how they look. I think I am really, really going to like this next project. The placemats did not turn out what I envisioned, so instead of a Christmas gift, it may be something for me to use. We will see. I am again starting the give-away box. It will tickle several of my friends to death to get to go through that when they visit.

I have tried to do some yard work, but it makes me sneeze and sneeze. The dust and mold is awful. I did get some trimming done in one spot, and I had to go inside to take an antihistamine.

My neighbor had a broken pipe that I found on Saturday. It is on the side of his RV barn that is closest to my yard. I noticed a big puddle and soaked ground by the fence, and he later found the leak. He called his grandson to help dig the hole and he has been trying to get that repaired as quickly as possible. He mentioned his water bill was over $100 last month, and he did not investigate it!

The new tv season starts soon. Thank goodness! I am not really thrilled with some of the trailers I have seen, but some do look interesting. It appears that strong women are again the focus of this season. I guess they are targeting the young women that are professionals out there in the real world. No one cares what an old lady thinks, huh?

I have been pushing to finish H's socks. I am almost to the toe decrease on sock 2. Yeah! I am ready for these to be finished. Once I turn the heel, I am so looking forward to getting them finished. Isn't that weird? I think I am going to do a lacy pair after these. Something that keeps my interest, but not difficult to follow. I have a pattern that can be easily memorized.

I am still plugging along with the afghan-just changed colors again. I am now doing the body of the sweater. It was a challenge to figure out how to display the charts and keep my place, but I have a system now. I got a three-ring binder, some plastic sleeves, two magnet boards, and voila! a system. I have the pattern itself in another sleeve so I can flip over to see it when needed. It is working pretty well. I just can't have a big fat cat sitting in my lap when I am knitting that, since the notebook takes up the lap part.

I did a little bit of spinning Sunday while listening to podcasts. But for the most part, I am sewing or knitting. I give myself permission to take breaks.

So that is all the big news. Nothing much else to report. Keep busy, keep safe, and keep knitting.

Signs of the Change!

2011-09-04T09:33:00.003-05:00

Yes, it has been warm. It is dry. But this morning I opened the windows and doors and there is a slight, slight cooler feel in the air. The wind is blowing from the north, the wind chimes are singing, and the birds are eating seeds frantically. The light is different too. Surely these are all signs. Falling leaves due to the drought are all over the yard.

The hurricane season began with a flourish up the Northeast coast, and lots of good-hearted people are having hard times right now. With hurricanes, it is never over until the rain stops and the surge is complete. At least when we have a tornado, when it past, it is over. The cleanup begins. When we had the ice storm, it was just a matter of waiting until the power returns and just keep warm. When we had the snow storm last winter, it was just hunker down and stay calm.

And there are still fires in the West. Texas and Oklahoma are still in a terrible mess with the drought and fires.

I finished my spinning commission and the yarn has moved on to its happy home. I got busy yesterday and reintroduced myself to the quilted placemat project I had abandoned to spin, spin, spin. I made a major decision last week that my next quilting project will be something simpler and something I don't have to really think about during the process.

I did some research last week on The Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt pattern. This is going to be the perfect next project. I went to the quilt store with my neighbor, and we both bought some charm packs. I know it is expensive to buy pre-cut fabric, but right now I am willing to buy the fabric already cut. So once the placemats are back on track, I will start making nine-patch squares.

I am about two inches of the ribbing finished on the body of the sweater. I am still moving along on the socks, and I did catch up some on the crocheted afghan. I started spinning the Oxford wool, and it is really nice. And I still have a scarf on the loom.

I stopped to straighten up the messy house a little bit. The floor gets grungy with a dog and the cat around. With the wool, hair, and other stuff, I find dust bunnies blowing around the floor regularly. And my occasional dusting had to be done. There comes a point of wondering how long one can live dusty.

So nothing else new. The football games have started, and the crazy people have been around driving like crazies. I decided it was best to just stay home and stay out of the way. The Fall craft shows have started with the Prairie Grove Clothesline Fair this weekend.

So go outside and smell the air. Enjoy the cooler weather while it is here. We still have to get through September until I can start complaining about the cooler stuff. Summer actually went pretty quickly, but the heat this year is one for the records. Enjoy Labor Day. The last hurrah for summer.

Change always comes bearing gifts. -Price Pritchett

Blah! Blah! Blah!

2011-08-30T09:31:00.002-05:00

Just a little check in that things are going along on the normal pace of Blah! Blah! Blah! The temps are still close to 100 degrees, so indoor activity only.

That would have been the case on Sunday, except my friend JE decided to buy out the estate of a rug weaver and needed help loading everything into her truck. She had already made one truckload of yarn on Saturday. I don't want to taint the escapade with my personal judgment, but what the hell is she going to do with all this stuff? Sigh! She and CJE are definitely hoarders.

CJE and AE will not be back to this part of the world until Sept 7. I can't wait until she sees this mess of stuff.

I am now working on the body of the sweater. I am enjoying the ribbing and cable, but I know that when I get to the pattern work it will be a challenge to keep up with two charts. But it is fun. I still love, love, love the yarn.

I am trudging along with the toe-up giraffe sock. Nothing new to report there.

I finished my spinning for a little while. I am spinning the Oxford wool right now that I bought in Oklahoma. Will give full report when it is finished.

I am itching to get back to my sewing. I want to finish the placemats that I started before I got distracted with the spinning job. I also found an interesting pattern that I might make a little quilt with a coupla charm packs. My neighbor called last night and wants to go to the quilt shop this week. That's as dangerous as knit shops.

So a little bit of rain, less than 1 inch, a few clouds, high humidity, and heat. Nothing else new. I got some trim mowing done, but that is all the outside work I have done.

Just going to keep on knitting and spinning, and maybe a little bit of sewing. Keep cool.

The Spell Is Broken!

2011-08-24T11:06:00.002-05:00

Not to break the charm of our weather, I will report that the 110 degree weather has moved on. At least for this week, anyway. We have actually had a little bit of rain, and I am mowing again.
Yesterday I reached over into the dead flower bed to pull out some of the weeds, and a HUGE thorny thing jammed into my right thumb. It was very, very painful, and it bled really badly. Because it had a barbed point, I had to really pull HARD to get it out. I almost got pliers to do it. So now I have a bad bruise from the tugging and bleeding, and it is very, very tender. It is also swollen from the edema and trauma. I make it sound much worse than it is, but fingers are delicate critters.

Patty got her last short hairdo for the summer. I couldn't take the shaggy face look, and now she has the scalped look.

I am doing the most crazy thing, but what can I say? You remember that the giraffe sock was too small to get on my fat foot? It is actually a Nancy Bush Estonian pattern called Goat Eye. But my color choices remind me of giraffe spots. Anyway, I stayed awake the other night thinking about this sock, and was I going to accept failure. I got up at midnight, soaked the damn thing in soapy water, played a few games of solitaire while it soaked, and then stretched and stretched and stretched. I thought I would break threads. I was not gentle with it. I finally put it on the sock blocker and left it to dry. Now I can get the damn thing on, with tugging over the heel, and I can wear it. So #2 giraffe sock is on the needles. I am doing it toe up, and I am going to put on an afterthought heel, I think. I will decide when I get there. I am hoping that I can avoid that tight spot over the angle where my ankle joins the foot on top. That is where the first one is tight. We will see. They may just go into the give-away box. But I will finish what I started.

I am about 1 inch from finishing my sleeves on the sweater. I am still doing H's sock in my take-along in my purse. And I am still working on the crocheted afghan.

What I am really working on a LOT is spinning. I have an order to complete this week. And then I can relax. I just want to get this task done, the skeins blocked, and then tagged. Finished and done! That's all I am focusing on this week.

Has anyone other than me noticed that there is nothing on t.v.? I am really getting through the audiobooks while I am spinning. The library has a new lending thing online, and I can just click and download and listen. It's great. I am listening to a book a week. I am listening faster than I am reading, which is a lot anyway.

I read on the Harlot's blog site that her new book is published. I know she is happy about that. To finally have that goal met and in your hands. Isn't that an accomplishment?

My friends CJE and AE are in South America on their yearly trip. Last year was Borneo (to see orangutans), the year before was Tanzania (to see birds and wildlife) and Rwanda (to climb up to see the mountain gorillas), and this year to some swampy place in south Brazil to see birds. It is good they can do this while they can, and before the moms are totally 24 hr care. I hope they are safe and enjoying themselves.

R and H went to Seattle on a short 5 day trip. He called me to tell me all about everything and what they had seen. They actually went up to Victoria and then drove to different spots. They came back to Seattle to go to a ball game and to do some touristy things. They went hiking up at Mt. Rainier. Of course, just like everyone else I know, they want to go back. It was refreshing to leave the 105 degrees of Little Rock to go to 70 degrees in the mountains.

R told me H is starting a new job after Labor Day, so their trips will be limited after that. She loses her time off, although she will be paid for vacation days due when she leaves the old job. It's the sick days that she loses that hurt the most.

So nothing else new. I really need to get back to my plying. I am almost done with this skein of yarn. I will wash and block it, then tag it, and it is done! Yeah!

Keep cool. I feel sorry for the kids that have had to go back to school already. It is just too hot outside during the day to do much. I do my outside stuff early, early morning or late, late afternoon. I can hardly believe it is almost September. I will be complaining about the cold soon.

Keep the stitches going. One row at a time, one skein at a time, one stitch at a time. I never mathematically try to figure out how much longer it is, since that makes it too real. I would rather guess about how long it will take me to do this, and set a goal. My right brain kicking in.

Talk at ya later.

Whew! It's Raining!

2011-08-10T11:10:00.003-05:00

Before I get into discussions of weather, Patty likes to chew on her chewy. But she puts her front end down and keeps her back end up! What's with that? Even though she has no teeth, I found out that she likes the chewy jerky treats. She can gum them all day and it is so much fun! I am finding this a good exercise for her tongue too.

I have been watching The Dog Whisperer every day, and Cesar Millan says dogs live in the now. They have no emotions about what is happening, just what is going on right now.

So in that case, I am now happy with the rain and cooler temps. I ran errands this morning and the car thermometer said 69 degrees! Sigh! Just two days ago it was 100 degrees. It was actually cool! I have opened windows and the porch door! It is so nice for "the now".

I turned the heel and put the gusset on H's #1 sock. I read an email from someone who went to the sock summit that said Ann Budd's response to second sock syndrome is that the first sock is actually the second sock. I don't have to trick myself into thinking that way. I like to finish a pair.

Our local library has a new electronic system to download ebooks. I was so excited and really scanned pages. I downloaded two audio books and put some ebooks on Hold. I had forgotten in the library system several people vie for one book. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted. I haven't heard another word about the books on Hold. Hmmm!

We had a quick storm blow through Monday night. It was really nice to smell the difference in the air yesterday morning when I took Patty out at 7 am. Yesterday afternoon I noticed that I had two small hollyhock blossoms way up top, and the chicory had 4 blooms. I guess that is the way the desert works too. After a long spell of no rain, things bloom as soon as there is some moisture.

So last night the storms started coming in. Lots of thunder, a little bit of lightening, and some wind. Today it has just been raining. Occasionally I hear thunder. What a relief!!!

Nothing else to report. Just working on the same projects. Two of my friends are going on vacations soon, and R and H are leaving for Seattle for a quick vacation. It is that time of year. Our local school systems start school next week to make up for snow days. It will soon be a new season. Two more months of heat, then Fall briefly, then winter again. Isn't that amazing after this heat we have had?

Have a good rest of the week. Just be happy with the "now".

A Very, Very Short Reprieve!

2011-08-05T11:17:00.003-05:00

Here are the Confetti socks. I sprinkled Kool-Aid and got a confetti-like dye job. A knitter in our knit group said it reminded her of the Angel food cake mix that had the confetti in it that is sprinkled in the mix before baking. The yarn is Aracauna wool and bamboo. A nice lightweight sock. Our sock group did a fun afternoon of playing with Kool Aid and I used the last bits that were left over from everyone's play. The way it knit up was a surprise, because it did not look like much in the yarn cake.

Yesterday I woke up to actually cooler temps! It was 85 degrees and little humidity. The nicest part was clouds! It actually appeared to want to rain. I mowed the little bitty strip of Bermuda grass that grows above the gray water release. No rain, but blessed clouds!

I went to three different stores on errands, and it appeared to me that there were quite a few people out doing the same. The sun finally came out in the afternoon, but just a nice little reprieve from the relentless heat.

This morning I awoke to 85 degrees, and it was so hot when I took Patty out. The sun was blaring out heat and the wind was just hot air blowing. It was a major contrast of weather.

I am so close to finishing the sleeves on the handspun sweater. I am knitting the heel flap on my daughter-in-law's sock.

Speaking of socks, I have to repeat what my brother and I discussed yesterday. He called me after he had visited his son for his son's b.d. He again told me about H and R's trip that he had organized for them to Seattle. He tells me this every phone call. ?Senior Moments? Anyway, I mentioned that I would certainly love the yarn shops, but not the ballgame that they are going to.
And, as usual, he glossed over that and blathered on about more stuff. Finally I said, "Did you know that in that part of the world there were over 6000 sock knitters gathering for a Sock Summit, and that over 600 of them did a flash mob?" He didn't get it. I had to repeat sock knitter three times. He finally said, "Do people really still knit socks?" So I sighed and said yes and let him blather on some more about stupid stuff.

I got high behind today and sent him two pics of socks that were on my camera and said, "Yes, people really do knit socks. It is a great way to express artistic color choices."

We will see if he "gets it", but I am not holding my breath. Muggles!

I did not achieve my goal of a new skein of yarn this week. I am about 1/2 finished with the second bobbin. I tried hard for about three days, and I quit working so hard. I did finish one of the books I had downloaded from the library to listen to. It was really good. Nothing else keeps me on track with spinning like audiobooks. Podcasts just don't do it any more.

Have a good weekend.

What Can I Say?

2011-08-02T09:06:00.002-05:00

I am not going to blather on and on about the weather. Yesterday it was hotter here than in Death Valley! That is not normal. When I walk across the yard it crunches and sounds dead and dry. Ft. Smith had its 28th day of over 100 degrees. It is just too hot.

Despite all that-or maybe because of all that-CJE and I toodled over to the Fiber Christmas in July last Saturday. I was definitely bored enough to do anything. This idea of staying indoors all the time is crazy. CJE spent the night Friday night. We got up really early and left around 7 am. We beat the heat to get there, and we found a parking spot in the shade.

We had a great time and expanded our brains until we were overstimulated and exhausted. I am still on a strict budget, but I had saved some money and that was all I was going to spend. We walked around and looked everything over. The one thing I HAD to get was some BFL roving that was so soft and squishy. It was $1.80/oz! Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! I also bought some art batts that were not cheap, but have every luxury art fiber carded in you can imagine, including milk. I won a door prize of two skeins of Targhee yarn from Ozark Carding Mill. I also bought some roving of Oxford wool. I have never heard of Oxford and liked its feel. So I bought it and I will report back on that.

We did not get a single picture. I didn't think of it until we were in Tulsa coming home.

We ate lunch in Sapulpa at the American Diner. There were Christian Bible verses everywhere-doors, walls, everywhere. We ordered Southwestern chicken fajita taco salad. When it came it had curried chicken, and that was kinda strange. When CJE came back from the restroom, she announced the owners were Muslim. I said, "Really?!" So we made up our own scenario of the Bible verses were a cover-up and allowed them to live in Sapulpa, OK without too much harassment. Anyway, it was fun!

Then on the way home we made an unscheduled stop at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa. That calmed my brain down and helped me to relax some.

So an interesting day and fun, and very tiring. The heat sucks out every bit of strength one has. It was 103 degrees coming home.

Sunday I got busy and picked and carded up some fluffy batts of 50/50 alpaca and Romney wool. They are dyed in two shades of blue, so the yarn will be semi-solid. It is spinning quite nicely, and is really pretty to look at. I am really happy with this batch.

I cut the sample off the loom and I am going to rethread the pattern to something else. Another project, I know.

And as if that isn't enough, I started a Christmas project of making some quilted placemats. I found this box of fabric and some blocks that I had started when I lived in OK. I couldn't make heads or tails of the blocks, so I studied it all for a day or so. I then just decided to start a new project with the fabrics. It will be kinda scrappy, but I think it will be pretty.

And I finished the confetti socks. Picture next time, if I remember. I am now knitting a pair of socks for H. I called her to verify her shoe size. I am using a Roman rib for the cuff, and the foot will be stockinette.

That's it, I guess. Patty is snoring away under the desk. Noodles is lying under the fan on the floor. I need to get spinning. I want to finish this blue stuff pretty quickly. I have an audiobook checked out from the library loaded onto the computer and I am ready to go.

I will try to write more often, but nothing is new here. Just trying to keep cool. You do the same.

Alligators in the Toliet!

2011-07-18T07:13:00.002-05:00

I finished the afghan I made for my nephew and his lady love as a wedding present. Since there is some trouble in paradise with the parents on both sides, I am not sure when or where the wedding is going to be. Both parents have grandiose ideas of where and how they want the wedding. The lovely couple want simple and friends, etc. They have stated quite plainly that they will just elope and the parents can have the wedding they want without them. We will see what will happen.

In the meantime, I finished their little gift. I mailed it off to them and it should be there today or tomorrow. Let them enjoy it this Fall and know that I love them and want them to be warm and happy.

Have you heard of the urban stories of snakes or alligators in the toilet that come up and bite you on the butt? That is not the same story of the outhouses that have to be kicked before entering stories. Well I have proof that strange things show up in toilets.

I didn't have on my glasses. When I looked into the bathroom, I saw a piece of gray dryer lint on the inside of the toilet. It was too big to be a wad of hair, so it had to be dryer lint. When I got closer I saw it was actually a gray tree frog.

The only way one could find its way to this bathroom was with Noodles help. He probably brought it in and lost it. As soon as it disappeared, he lost interest and it moved in. Well, I will say this was one lucky tree frog day. I didn't pee on it or flush it down the toilet. I took it back outside where it truly would be happier, even in this draught.

I have been watering every day, but I am afraid I am going to lose a lot of things. It is promising to be 100 plus degrees every day this week. I can't do anything outside in the heat of the day. I get up early just to sit out on the screened porch and have breakfast. The rest of the day has to be indoors and air conditioned.

My cousin and his wife and grandson stopped by for a quick visit on their way home to Virginia. I got an email this morning that he sent yesterday afternoon. There are still things he needs to get out of the house and garage, but I think he and his sister are going to rent out the cabin and house. At least they will be used and lived in.

I am spinning some weird wool roving that I got from CJE a while back. It has a slick processed feel to it. She says the thrift store got it in and called her about it. She has spun some of it, and it washes up nicer than it feels while spinning. I plan to overdye the yarn once spun. It is a blah light brown now, and I think it needs something to jazz it up.

I am turning the heel on the number two purse sock. I picked up some other sock yarn the other night to try out a pattern I found. I spent some time trying to get it to look right, and it didn't. I ripped that out and put the yarn back. The next night I tried a coupla more patterns, and finally I found a pattern I really like. So now I have another pair of socks started. Isn't that stupid? Oh, well.

I am almost through with the sleeves on the handspun sweater. I am itching to start the body now. The wool feels really squooshy and I love to squeeze it. It is merino, of course, and it is going to have a really nice hand to it. I am so in love with this yarn. I just hope this sweater turns out okay, because I will be disappointed if I don't get to wear it.

Nothing else new. Just trying to stay cool and less humid so I can spin and knit. I need to do some sewing, but.....

Stay cool, stay creative, and keep challenges at bay.

Obsessions and Life!

2011-07-08T10:10:00.002-05:00

I think I am finally at the point where my "hobbies" are my life and that is just fine with me. I am reflecting some today, because yesterday two friends told me they are retiring. Both are knitters, and one plans to get into her weaving more and the other plans to get into her spinning more.

My advice is there is no advice. I wake up every morning and then have to decide what day it is in the "real" world outside my little sphere of being. I go through morning chores, and then I decide what has to be done today. Then again, all that can change when someone calls me and says, "Can you come over and help me with ........?" So then I stop and go and come back and my focus is off and then I may just sit down and knit for a while.

I find I don't have to do laundry more than once a week. There is more laundry in the summer because I do yard work and I do change my clothes more often. I have enough underwear so I don't have to stop and do a load of wash just to have clean undies. I still remember when I had to do a quick laundry of clothes for work because suddenly I realized at 10 pm that the pants or shirt I needed was dirty. Or that I was needing something that was not in the closet and sure enough, it is in the laundry basket.

Also, if you are eating lunch in front of the tv, you can watch that show in the middle of the day. No more having to tivo something to watch "when I can".

With no husband (or significant other) or children, I can spread my stuff out all over the place. I can put the blocking board out on the guest bed and leave it until the knitted piece I am blocking is dry. I can put the warping board up and count out my warp threads without worrying that someone needs me right now and I have to stop in the middle of the project.

I also don't have to cook all the time. I have stuff in the freezer that I can dig out and fix. I don't mind leftovers, either. If I have something a second day, it's still good. Then the rest can go into the freezer for a later showing.

Do not rush because there are no expectations. There are no rules that say you have to be up and at it by 6 am anymore. If you like getting up at 6 am and want to sit out on the deck and drink your coffee, then do so. But don't feel bad if you read that good book until 2 am and you don't get out of bed until 8 am.

Life is fun, and Life is crazy. There are always changes going on all over the place. But I don't push myself any more and I don't "have" to make choices that I used to make. I may do spinning like crazy for a week while listening to an audio book. I may decide that today is the day to finish up that afghan I am making and I will not budge except to go to the bathroom. I still like to set goals, but they are realistic goals like "I will get this done within the next two weeks."

So to my friends I say, just relax. It will all happen when it happens. Just work on the small stuff for a while before settling into the big stuff. You are going to enjoy the freedom of providing yourself your own entertainment.

Best of luck, and good health to both of you. Have a good beginning of the next phase of your life.

Wow! It's July!

2011-07-05T09:40:00.003-05:00

First off-this is a fuzzy picture of a queen anne's lace seed head. Doesn't it look like a basket? I love them. I wish there was a better-not fuzzy-picture. You can see one in the background and get the idea.

This is a fuzzy picture of the blackberry iris that I purchased last Fall when I was on the high road south of Taos. There was a lady on the side of the road with a few plant containers of some local plants. This was the only pot of these, so I got the one. I also bought a pot of purple-ly yarrow, and the flower head is a little bit different from our yarrow. It seems to be adapted to the drier desert air they have there.

I do not know what kind of moth this is. As you can see the wings are transparent. It is very pretty anyway. I hope it isn't what is eating the hostas. I have had a terrible outbreak of grasshoppers with all the dry and hot weather. They have almost eaten my tansy plant down to nubs. I had planned to dye with it this year since it is now established. Well, I am now on Plan B of keeping it alive through the heat and summer. I didn't get to the comfrey in time for dyeing. It has died down until cooler weather comes along.

We did get a brief morning thunder shower yesterday. It was a gentle female rain and cooled things a mite. Until the sun came out and the humidity returned, I opened the doors and windows and aired the house. I was concerned about the neighbors across the ravine and their fireworks burning up the grass. But the rain kept things safe.

Since Patty found where my next door neighbors throw their food waste in the woods, I am now on Patty patrol. I go out with her and monitor her every move. Friday in the heat of the day, she spent most of the day over there. Her stomach was so distended and the farts were horrendous. She has tried several ways to convince me that it is okay for her to go out by herself, but I am not fooled. She has even tried to wait for me to turn my back and get busy in the yard, and then make a dash to the fence. I caught her three times yesterday doing that. The neighbors go to visit relatives this week some time, and I will give her freedom then. When they aren't home, there is no trash in the woods.

I am now plying the turquoise wool. I have downloaded a program to create weave patterns, and I spent a good time yesterday playing with that. I want to dress the loom with my new pattern, but I can't decide what yarn in the stash to use.

I am almost through crocheting the afghan for my nephew. Then wash, block, and mail. Yeah!

I have company coming this weekend, so cleaning is a priority this week. I don't like to clean, but it makes me feel better when I do it.

My cousin is driving with his wife and grandson to their property in Grove next week. He is meeting his sister and brother-in-law, and supposedly they are going to do something about their mother's things. Sigh! I told him it was time when he visited in the Spring. It is a major ordeal to organize a time for everyone to get together. I told him I would come over if he needed me. Otherwise they will drive over here one day to visit.

I guess Noodles has graduated to the big time again. Yesterday while we were out in the yard, he crooked his tail, ran galloping over to the backyard box elder and climbed up high in the tree. I haven't seen him do that since he broke his leg. So I guess he is strong enough now to do that. Isn't that amazing? Maybe I can quit trimming his back nails and let him trim them on climbing. Sometimes even old cats can amaze me!

I guess that is all for now. I baked some cookies and they are cool enough to sample. Then into the freezer for this weekend.

Have a good week. Talk at ya later.

Gosh! June Is Almost Done!

2011-06-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

I had one more skein of sock yarn in my stash waiting for dye. So I picked some correopsis tinctoria and did a very small dye pot with copper sulfate as the mordant. It is a pretty light reddish brown. In fact, what washed out mostly was reddish color. Isn't that better than another golden yellow color? I did a fabric bundle with some different flowers and the strained correopsis in the bundle and threw it into the leftover dyepot. I got a nice reddish brown cloth with splotches of darker reddish brown. It was nice too. Sometimes surprises are often what makes me happy.

Yes-it's sunflower time. This will make all the finch folk happy when the seeds come on. I don't have as many sunflowers as I have had in the past years. And surprisingly, they are not as tall in past years. We are in a drought already. After the cold and wet, we immediately went into July heat and no rain.

I also finished the pink skein of yarn. It is beautiful, even if I say so myself. I love it. It is 50/50 romney dyed with Gaywool Salmon and faux cashmere dyed with leftover cups of Gaywool dye on a dye day on the deck. CJE and I called it Clown Barf, since it was so many different colors of pink, red, green, blue, and yellow. I haven't taken any photos yet.

I am presently spinning some more turquoise merino for the handspun sweater. I have one skein left and decided I needed to have two skeins, just in case. I am halfway done on the sleeves. Then onwards to the body.

I am also chugging along on the afghan for my nephew and his lady love. I am sick of it, but I am trying to get it big enough before I give up on it. I finished number 1 sock on the traveling socks in my purse. I immediately cast on and started ribbing before I put it back into the purse.

I have also started stitching on a story quilt that I have been putting off for quite some time. When we cleaned out my grandmother's things, my sister-in-law showed me a ragged beginnings of a crazy quilt that she did not know any history or anything. She had found it in my grandmother's things. I recognized the fabrics from clothing my grandmother had made, but I know my grandmother hated quilting. She was very vocal about this. So that means it had to be my great-grandmother who started this. It would be the kind of thing my grandmother would hang onto because of the recognizable fabrics and that her mother started it.

I found this scrappy thing the other day, washed it, and the embroidery threads gave up the ghost. But I think that is part of the appeal to me. The ragged-ness is something I like. The weird part of it all is that the scraps are all wool pieces of fabric. So I started a story quilt yesterday, and today I did a little bit of stitching while it was cool out on the screen porch. A new journey!

This is a spinning wheel a friend's husband made her. Isn't it gorgeous? It is cherry and yellow wood. And yes-that is a clock mounted on the post! I sat down to do a little bit of spinning, and it is really nice. This guy is a genius. He makes all these things for his wife to keep her happy. Even a wooden needle holder for her embroidery needles! I am totally blown away! That thing in the background to the right is her embroidery stand! And on the end table is all her needlework stuff-bowls, containers, etc. that he made her.

In that glassed case next to the fireplace is all the beautiful stuff he has made. I am so amazed!

Oh-oh! I forgot! The whole wall behind the sofa is this custom quilt rack that he made for all her quilts. Too much for me to fathom.

So CJE and AE are moving CJE's mom out to their place. They will now have both moms there to monitor and take care of. CJE has been moving everything of hers out of her studio so her mom can move into it. Now her two floor looms and other stuff are in the house in half of the family room. All her music stuff and stash and "stuff" is moving into a storage unit in town about 4 miles away.

I guess nothing else new. Oh-Patty tested negative for her six month follow-up heartworm test! Yeah! Noodles is moving really slow these days. We wouldn't want to overheat ourselves with all that fur.

I guess that's all. Just trying to stay cool and busy. My strength is gaining, although I am tired by the afternoon. I have been up early most mornings to utilize the cooler time to water and sit on the screen porch.

Talk at you in July. Happy 4th!

Ah! The Lethargic Days of Summer!

2011-06-16T15:12:00.004-05:00

I know that Summer is not official until next week, but my gosh! it is plenty hot and humid. We have had a few summer thunderstorms and that helps with the watering.

I finally got Patty into the groomer and she now has a pretty summer do that seems to be helping some with her heat distress. I take her into the vet soon to retest for heartworms, and I will ask if there are side effects from the meds she was given that cause her to be so hot.

My friend CJE kidnapped me yesterday for a girls day out to get lunch and a pedicure! Boy! That was nice. A big ole comfy chair that has heat and vibrates and feet in a foot jacuzzi! A great fun day! Her husband had supper waiting on us when we got to her house, so I got home rather late. I had to call my neighbors to let Patty out since she had been in the house since late morning. Both of the animals were a little upset. Noodles sat on the arm of the chair with one front foot touching my leg. Just to let me know that this is the way it is supposed to be!

I am reading the funniest book called Sheepish by Catherine Friend. CJE and I are both reading it on our Kindles, and I have told others to get it.

The lady that worked with us yesterday is a friend of CJE's and she said it was the first time that anyone brought knitting to her shop. Both of us just simultaneously said,"Well, that's weird".

I guess I am getting to the point when people either think it is weird or they just think "That's Juliann". I remember last year when I helped Dr. B shear her llama Paco. I answered the phone just as I got into the door. My friend identified herself, and I said, "Can I call you right back. I've got to get into the shower and get this llama spit off of me." When I did call back, she didn't think anything of it. She said she knew I was doing something with a llama that pissed it off, but didn't think beyond that. Then I get the looks when I reply that "I'm making a sock." and they say, "What?" and you know the rest of the story.

My roadrunner is spending quite a lot of time in the yard now ridding me of any lizards, insects etc. I saw (I think her) with something in her beak the other day, and when I could see better it was a lizard. Now I personally like lizards, and I wish she would concentrate on snakes and ugly, bad bugs.

I haven't seen as many bumblebees as I remember from last year. There do seem to be a lot of honeybees this year, which I am really happy about. I heard on a story on NPR that the blue jays up north got some kind of avian virus, and that is why we don't see many blue jays right now. I did notice that there were not as many as I have seen in the past.

I am almost finished with the foot on my traveling plain sock. I am not working very hard on the sweater sleeves on the handspun sweater. I always start sleeves first. I did pick up the afghan again and have been getting that moving along again. I want to get that done and mailed off by the end of this summer. I am not sure if they are getting married or what is happening. It seems both sets of parents are busy fighting over the wedding, and the bride and groom plan on just going on a trip to the Bahamas and getting married while on vacation. Sounds good to me.

I purchased a used tiny Norwood floor loom from a lady in the weaving guild. It is so pretty. It is 22 inch weaving width, and, of course, it is cherry. I have been weaving the last little bits of warp that she had on it. I am making myself some new kitchen dishcloths. I am happy with the purchase, although I had doubts of my sanity. When I sold the last one to JE, I was convinced that weaving was not in my cards any more. I did not want to do that. And here I am again. Sigh!

I mailed a huge box of fabrics to the quilt guild in Joplin for their charity quilts. The lady that is in charge of that and stored all their fabrics lost her house in the tornado. So I sent off a box hoping they will like them. It was just time to let go of some things and give them new homes.

So, slowly, I am doing much better. I still don't have a great enthusiasm for strenuous activity. I have to mow the yard in increments over a coupla days. But I am used to taking breaks now, and I don't feel as guilty as before. I am forcing myself to not take naps. By this time in the afternoon, I am sleepy and tired.

So have a safe and productive weekend coming up. Happy Father's Day to anyone who has fathers. Keep cool, and don't overheat!

Just Pictures!

2011-06-07T11:15:00.006-05:00

Moving Through The Fear

2011-06-06T07:59:00.004-05:00

I have very, very severe dental phobia. It all began in childhood with an old country dentist. But my most recent adventure into dental surgery helped me move through some of this fear. My blood pressure was extremely high. High enough to cause severe damage if that were my normal blood pressure. After all the prep with cardiac leads, pulse ox on finger, blood pressure cuff attached, a nasal cannula was placed. I began to feel pretty happy with that. The doctor put in the i.v. and said he would just tie my arm down to the chair to keep me from pulling out the iv. That's the last thing I knew until the nurse called my name. Wow! No listening to the noises, no smells, no pressures, no seeing the needle approaching the mouth, Wow!

Of course, I had been warned by many people of all the things to watch out for. The nurse told CJE that she was amazed that I did not bleed very much. And that I went out really fast. Well, I haven't bled very much. Just a little bit in the beginning. I had a headache Friday afternoon that I think was due to the anesthesia. The only pain I have had is my TMJs were sore yesterday after I woke up. One Aleve took care of that. I have been taking very good care of myself, following instructions given, and I am doing so good with this.

Since I got sick in May, naps are my new friend. I have continued to nap with this surgery. But today is the first day in probably a month that I have some energy and feel like doing something. I lay in bed last night and thought about my indigo pot that is languishing on the deck and thought of things I want to dye. This is a good sign. My normal habit is to think of things when I am going to sleep. I haven't done this in a month.

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day spinning the pink yarn. I love this stuff. It is a 50/50 blend I made up of some Romney wool I dyed and some faux cashmere that CJE and I dyed. It is spinning quite fast. The faux cashmere is not too slick, and it makes the whole thing so soft. I think it is quite a lovely mauve-y pink with shades to lavender.

Oh-speaking of lavender. Mine is blooming. I am going to try to capture it at just the right time to dry the flowers. I didn't do that last year and I missed the opportunity.

My front flower bed is loaded with yellow correopsis and blue bachelor buttons. I only had one daisy bloom, although it was a really large plant. Yarrows are blooming. I rescued some plants from the jungle on the hillside. This year I have a tall common day lily blooming, but it is the old fashioned kind. I also got a very tall iris from the hillside. Since I have been sick, I have not done the weeding I should do. Sigh!

We moved from wet and stormy and cool to very hot and dry July weather. It is most bizarre. I normally don't have the air conditioning on all the time, but the humidity keeps it on. I can't spin or knit if I am hot and sticky.

So slowly now I am getting better. I am ready to do more. I have ideas in my head that want to come out. I feel like I am moving forward a little bit. Thanks to all my friends that have been there for me .

No Excuses!

2011-06-02T14:44:00.002-05:00

I called the oral surgeon on Tuesday, had a consultation yesterday, and tomorrow I have my surgery. Wow! I had an appointment for the 16th, and they called and told me there was a cancellation on Friday, 6-3-2011. So I began with getting the yardwork under control, got the laundry finished and put away, and the grocery shopping done. I will not be able to eat for a while, so I got puddings, jello, etc to carry me through a coupla days. I figure this will take at least a week to feel better, and maybe a coupla weeks to begin to feel normal. Sigh! At least I don't have to sit around for 2 weeks worrying about it! I decided to get it over with. I missed a great portion of May, and I don't want to miss June too.

So no writing for at least a week. I will get back to it after I get over the trauma. I have severe dental phobia, and surgery is not my favorite either. CJE is going with me to drive, and will stay in the afternoon to make sure I don't have any reactions.

Stay well. I will continue later after I get going again.

Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T08:26:00.003-05:00

I am so happy to say I am almost well again. I have been sick since May 14, and I never, ever have been sick like this before. I awoke at 3 am and started vomiting and had severe pain in my stomach, upper gut area. It stayed very, very severe for 5 days, and then the vomiting stopped. I finally went to a doctor, and if anyone knows me, that is like signing a death warrant. I had blood tests, a urinalysis, and an ultrasound. The urinalysis showed I had a bladder infection, but I was so not believing that with all the other problems I had. But I did take my round of antibiotics, as ordered. I never had any symptoms before, so I don't have any symptoms now. All the other tests were normal. So was this a gallbladder attack as I suspected? Who knows. I know I don't have any gallstones, so that is positive.

So everything I have been doing since has been to improve my diet, get lots and lots of rest, and just be aware of my body.

Then on top of all that, I started having severe pain in one of my back molars on the lower jaw. I had a repair done last November, and I guess it decided to fail. After an emergency visit to my dentist, he said I needed to go to an oral surgeon to get further help. So now that I am better, I can schedule that this week.

And my knitting has not been visited much in this past few weeks. I think I have slept mostly through everything. I did finish the BFL yarn and I started on the pink stuff. But sitting in that position is difficult, and I have to monitor the pain in my back and go back to bed.

On a happy note, a friend JH has a wonderful husband making her a spinning wheel. I have mentioned this before. He came by Friday to check some more measurements, and to pick my brain a little bit. In our conversation I mentioned I needed to make some templates for shibori dyeing. He went to a friend that has a laser computerized machine and I now have 126 new templates. I can hardly believe it. JH and LH came by yesterday and gave them to me. I am so thrilled to have them. They are heavy, thick, clear industrial strength plexiglass. They even etched the size of shape on the piece so I don't have to guess or stop to measure them.

Last night I started thinking up design ideas and pulled out my silk pieces. But now I really, really want to get an indigo vat going. It is finally into our summertime pattern, and I don't have to worry about fluctuating temps.

This Spring has had the worst storms in a long, long time. I am so thankful that I only got minor damage to my roof. I did get a new roof put on in the midst of all this illness. It looks very pretty, so let's hope it stays that way for many years. NO MORE HAIL!

My garden is flourishing, but it is very weedy. I have tried to go out and pull weeds, and to weed-eat some. But I don't last long. You know that commercial where the guy is up in the tree and shakes it to make a limb fall on your car? Well, I am now saying, "Shaky, Shaky. Time to quit." I am normally one to keep working until the project is completed.

I cleaned my little screened porch, and it is so pleasant to sit out there. It is like a little secret place to read, or do needlework. I am having a thing with a big, ole spider that seems to think it is her territory, but she understands that I bigger and meaner. But for the most part, she is never around. I just like to sit out there and listen to the birds.

I have a downy woodpecker and orioles that are feeding on the hummingbird feeder. I have had a major slowdown on hummingbirds, so I pulled one of the feeders so I don't waste sugar water.
A pair of brown thrashers have moved into the neighborhood and they are almost as pesky as mockingbirds.

So not a whole lot going on right now. I am laying low, and trying to stay focused on health. I will try to be more of blogger as I get my strength back. I am having to focus on just getting the riding mower mowing done. The trimwork has fallen behind. But those are not big issues, except to my neighbor who has a pristine yard.

Stay well and stay healthy. I am finally back in the world again.

Reflections

2011-05-17T12:54:00.003-05:00

Today has been a day of reflection. Why? Who knows. Maybe the full moon; I don't know.
I sometimes wonder about the insanities of the world. But my way of dealing with the irrationality of the world is to do something creative. Sometimes it takes a while to make something I like. Sometimes it is just the attempt to make something and it doesn't happen the way I want it to happen. But I think the important part is the process of doing something creative. Some times it takes a really long time for something to get done. Some times it is fast. But I think the process of planning and then following through is the important part. Or maybe it is just that I keep on doing it. I don't give up. I get inspired and I just start something. I think the fear of failure often stops the process. So some of the time it never gets going. But for the most part, I may fail or I may be happy with the result. But I tried to create something beautiful and happy and fun and silly and part of me. It may be brilliant only to me, but I finish. Where does this reflection come from? I don't know. I just know it is important to me to respond in the way I find truth.

Let the Sunshine In!

2011-05-06T09:24:00.003-05:00

Yes, the sun is shining. We had a normal little shower last evening that lasted 30 mins. A little bit of thunder, but nothing too earth shattering. I got the yard mowed just as the rain drops started their prologue. I got the tools put away, a little bit of weedeating, and then the real show started.

I am at the in-between food situation. I don't want a heavy cooked meal, but I am not ready for the liquids and salad meals part of summer eating. I know, lucky me that I have choices.

I had more company over the weekend. I am ready to seal the extra bedroom. My girlfriend doesn't get to come to town that often for shopping. She usually drives the 2 hour drive to see her grandkids, and then heads home to prepare for next day work. This week she found someone to cover shifts for her to give herself some time off work. After a day with the grandkids, they all came here for a visit. After the daughter and grandkids left, we settled down for some knitting. She wanted me to show her the linen stitch again, so we made a swatch and pinned it to the instructions.

Monday we went out in the rain to shop at all the stores she hasn't been to for a while. She needed more cotton for washcloths, but nothing else was important. She wanted to shop at some stores to look at yarn for the grandkids Fall sweaters she knits every summer. I was tired out by the time we got home and she left around 5 p.m.

Saturday I spent the day at JE's shop in Bentonville talking to Girl Scouts. I do not want to publish my opinion of how Girl Scouts get merit badges these days. Let's just say it is ridiculous and it wasn't that way when I was a Girl Scout.

JE did bring her Spring lambs with their moms to be sheared. Not the lambs, just the moms. There is nothing cuter than new lambs. They are clowns and precious. Of course, I left my camera at home.

I am proud to say I just bit the bullet and started knitting on the giraffe sock again. I like it again. I will say I will not do this again. I am tired of color stranded knitting on socks. This is the third one in six months, and I am tired of it. I said that with the pink clown socks, too. I remember that. But this time, no more stranded socks for a while. I did cast on for a plain sock to stick in my purse for knitting in public. I have trouble follow charts if I am talking to other folks.

Speaking of socks, I have yet to wash and put away my wooly socks. I was happy to have a pair on Monday in the rain and cold. Yes, I wore a light coat with a hood all day. It has been in the 30's and low 40's at night this week. The promise is warmer weather by tomorrow, and maybe next week I can wash all my sockies and put them away. I need to do the same with the gloves and mitts. Another chore to put on the list.

The insurance adjuster came by to check out my roof for hail damage. While he was on the roof he trimmed the tree branches that were touching the roof. And he cleaned my gutters that were under those limbs. Wasn't that nice of him? I guess there are advantages of being older after all. When he left, he acknowledged my thanks and said, "At least you can knock those off the chore list." I was very appreciative that I do not have to climb up to the roof to trim the limbs. I clean the gutters twice a year, and I just have to stand on the ladder to do that.

I am going to close by placing a link to mason-dixon.com. They are so clever. http://mason dixon.com I am not sure I have whatever it takes to be an operative with SEALKS.

Have a good weekend. Hopefully the showers next week will just be brief afternoon showers like yesterday. I think it is time to move on with this weather pattern. Of course, we haven't completed our tornado season. I am going to visit with CJE tomorrow and hopefully we will have good weather for a long walk.

Oh-and yes, I did watch the wedding. I am not going to hide from that. I loved watching the beauty of their event, but also to see how happy they look. I also loved seeing what I could see of the Cosmati Pavement in Westminister Abbey. YouTube has videos of the restoration of this beautiful floor. When I see it, I always think of weaving tapestries or making quilts or something out of the design. It is so gorgeous. I love the idea that a message meanders around the edges of the designs throughout the floor.

Anyway, keep happy and keep loving each other. Until next time.....

Does Anyone Know How To Build An Ark?

2011-04-25T09:56:00.003-05:00

Before I start griping about the weather again, I wanted to show off Fraternal Leftover Socks drying on the rack. I used four skeins of leftover yarns and knit 4 rows, then changed to another skein, etc. They are packed and ready to ship off today. So right now I only have 2 UFO's, the afghan, and my handspun sweater left on the needles and hook. My right hand is hurting a bit, and I have an elastic glove on it. That helps.

Right now all I am focused on is the weather. It has been raining since last Monday. No, not raining, raining, but storming, thunder and lightening, and tornadoes. A couple of days last week I would wake up to some sun and warmish weather. Then by late morning the clouds would move in, and wham! another storm. Then Thursday the mess moved in for good. Continuous rain, storms, thunder, etc.

Friday night all that was on t.v. were the weather guys. I have never seen storms like this before. You could see the wall cloud, then you could see the rotation starting, then the tornadoes (notice plural) would start dropping down from the cloud, and then they would go back into the cloud. Really dramatic and unreal. There were a few that were reported touch down, but nothing significant. That was the night of the tornado in St. Louis.

Also the rain is unreal. First you could hear a rumbling quite a bit, then someone would unzip clouds and it would pour out. That is the only way to describe it. It would let up and slow down, then more rumbling, then unzip, pouring rain. And really, really dark.

The atmosphere felt lighter this morning when we got up. Noodles and Patty went running outside and enjoyed the bit of freedom they had. Right now it is getting darker and darker, and I hear thunder in the distance. I see a wall cloud to the north from the window. Really strange.

Oh! The other weird thing. I have tons of flies in the house. Really weird! I guess every time I open the door, more come in. I have been killing flies like crazy. Have you ever heard the old saying "The flies are biting. It's going to rain"? Well, these flies are not biting, but it is raining.

Someday in a few months I will be griping about the heat and the dryness. But right now I am just thinking about boats. I even dreamed I won a beautiful scull in a contest. I was so excited, and then wondered if I can still row. It had light pastel pink and yellow designs around the top, the hull was white, of course, and I was tickled to get it. I wasn't sure how I would get it home, but I thought it was gorgeous. I don't think I have ever rowed in a brand spanking new scull. All I have used is used ones. Even when I went to rowing camp at Harvard that summer.

I started the little quilt to put in the seat of Noodles chair by the window. That is all I have done. I have read two books. And watched the t.v. for more storms. That's all. Nothing exciting.

I made a quick trip to Oklahoma Thursday to see my friend OSM while her truck was being worked on. We picked up sandwiches at Subway and went to a landing by the river so the dogs could play. While sitting on the rocks on a towel, it started raining on us. So we went to her cabin to wait out the storm. The trip home was troublesome. I would run into storms along the way, slow down and try to see the road, then speed up when the storm passed over. By the time I got to Farmington, I stopped to go to the bathroom. The local t.v. station was setting up a camera towards the north. I looked where it was pointed and saw a wall cloud and blackness. I was going to go to knit night, but decided to head home, which was north. The closer I got to home, the rain was terrible. I ran into the house, dried Patty off, and answered the phone. My neighbor told me I had just missed the hail, and that a window was knocked out of their house and that they had roof damage. Friday morning the only damage I found was my tarp storage shed has holes in the roof. I haven't checked my roof yet, since it is raining all the time now.

This has been the worse tornado season in a long, long time. There have been 45 or more tornadoes in the month of April so far. Normally May is a big month for tornadoes. I guess we will have to wait and see. I have lived through 3 in my lifetime, and I don't want to experience it again.

So guess I will go into the sewing room and work on the little quilt for a while. I don't have much left to do- just a coupla more rows. I am doing a quilt-as-you-go, so when big enough, I just have to put binding on.

Stay safe and dry. Keep your eyes on the sky. It's that time of year.

Full Moon-Time to Take Stock!

2011-04-17T15:04:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is the Full Moon. It is a time to really take stock of how the month is progressing. Are you making headway on the goals you set two weeks ago at the New Moon?

I know that I primarily said to myself I want to finish the BFL I am spinning. Then three weekends of company messed up my schedule; but as persistent as I am, I finished the first half of the singles. I made myself stay in today and listen to NPR and podcasts until it was finished. I love, love the way the colors came out and the richness of the colors.

The other thing I wanted to do was make something with my pretty merino handspun. It is turquoise, blue, green, and some teal in it. I have 872 yds. I studied patterns until I was sick of that. I don't want a vest or a shawl. Okay, what to do? Well, duh, you could simply spin some more yarn to make a sweater. I ordered the roving, and started knitting on what I have. I actually did a good swatch, and settled on two patterns. Then I put it all aside and let it simmer while I had company. Then I woke up one morning with a decision,and now I have the cuffs finished on the sleeves. I am so happy that I let it simmer, because I think the yarn is going to be perfect for the sweater. Oh-I always knit the sleeves first. That way I can learn the pattern and know how it looks, etc. Then when I get to the body of the sweater, I have the pattern in my head and my tension under control.

Now to socks. The "giraffe" socks are stuck in park, and I am so over this pattern. I am almost at the point of making a giraffe sock puppet and be done with it. Something to mull over the next two weeks of this month.

I finished the first leftover sock and am halfway down the foot of the second one. This is 4 different skeins of leftover sock yarn in the leftover box. I am doing 4 rows of each one and then repeating. This should be finished next week. The only down side is all the loose ends because I cut after 4 rows and add on the next yarn. But I feel most likely they will get felted onto each other after some wearing. Someone suggested I "carry" the yarn up, but I think it would make a welt inside. I might try it next time.

And then I must not forget that I need to finish painting the guest bedroom. And I have to finish planting the flowers I have sitting on the table waiting for the last cold snap. Yard work is forever anyway. But I do want to get these flowers in the ground quickly.

So here we sit waiting for the Full Moon. I think I have taken stock of everything.

Oh-the quilt for Noodles' chair. I forgot. I began sorting fabric scraps and ironing, but I have not cut the strips yet. I need to get to that too.

And Patty needs a bath and trim around her feet. I cut Noodles back toenails Thursday night. Since he is still unable to climb trees, they were extremely long. He actually was trying to chew one this week. So I cut them back. He didn't try to fight me, so I guess he was happy to get that done. He is shedding a lot now, and I have to comb him daily.

So lots to do. Just got to get busy. I am taking a little break since I finished my singles and stretching out my back a little bit.

Gardening is not a rational act. Margaret Atwood, "Unearthing Suite," Bluebeard's Egg

It worked!

2011-04-13T12:28:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to say-my solution worked. Huh? Makes no sense to me.

I AM Really Tired of This!

2011-04-13T11:43:00.002-05:00

I have been trying for two weeks to publish on this blogger. I had downloaded a new Internet Explorer, and Blogger has not been able to sync with that. That is the story anyway. So I went back today and removed my program and restored my old Internet Explorer. We will see if this works. Of course, one cannot just email them and ask for assistance. You have to post to a forum. There are tons of forums out there with the same problem-I cannot publish my posts. So I started yet another one, and the only response I have gotten so far is if it is a problem with IE, then it will be fixed when it is fixed. But if it is my computers problem, then I have to fix that problem myself. Well-DUH! Anyway, my last company left this a.m. for the airport. I have had company three weekends in a row, and I am really tired of that. I like to have company every once in a while, and usually my overnight company is only 1 night. My last company has been my cousin for his annual visit. Usually he stays in a hotel, but his business meeting was not up here this year. So he took vacation days and stayed with me. We made our annual visit to his property in Oklahoma. I went to the annual Quilt Show up here that is usually just down the street from me. But the convention center raised their prices, and they moved way out in Benton County at the Fairgrounds. I enjoyed seeing all the amazing quilts that make me feel so inadequate. And the vendors were fun. I only bought a little bit. I did buy a cute embroidery piece that I am going to use as a center for a little cat quilt for Noodles in his chair. I have an idea of what I am going to do, but we will see how it goes. He likes quilts a lot, and it will protect the chair seat. I have been scanning patterns on Ravelry to knit my next handspun sweater. I had a good idea and I bought some store bought yarn to go with the pattern last Thursday at Knit Night. Now I am leaning towards a different sweater that I think I like better. I have been spending all my time for three days with a non-knitter person, and I am itching to get back to my routine. Not being able to knit with a busy routine is one thing, but not being able to discuss knitting is another thing. I did send my "cool colors" feather and fan scarf to my cousin's wife for a gift. I think she will really like it. At least next winter. We are in our Spring up and down weather pattern. And it is storm season. I need to mow today because it is supposed to storm tomorrow evening. The weeds are growing really well. So here's hoping this publishes. Talk at ya later.

Sigh! It was a false alarm!

2011-03-30T09:53:00.003-05:00

Well, this week has been about patience and tolerance for silly Spring jokes by our mother the Earth. I don't think I have ever been this anxious for Spring to really get here. It just seems so long this year.

At least I have not been able to work in the yard. It is too windy and cold in the wind. And, of course, the rain. But we need rain, even cold rain. When I get out in the wind and cold I get cold sores on my lips. It is yucky!

So, my friend YC came to visit at the tail end of Spring break last Friday night. She lives in Wichita, and has an incredibly stressful life. Whenever she visits me, she gets to sleep in late, have someone feed her, and someone to vent to. I started this red yarn for her as a pair of socks. Her secretary has been asking her for years to bring some of my yarn to her and she will knit YC a pair of socks. The red is actually a tomato red, not that putrid pinky red in the pic. It is deep and really pretty. When things happen, I can usually flow along with them. Last week was one of those weeks. I just couldn't get the yarn finished. Now that it is finished, I am not sure if there is enough yarn for a pair of socks. I made the green/red as toe and heel yarn. The green is nylon I dyed. I will send it along and perhaps her secretary can knit her a hat or scarf.

I picked this fiber out of the pile I have to spin up. I wanted to see how it would look. The colors are true in the photo. Isn't that the most luscious purple? The greens are light to dark with teal and a teeny little bit of turquoise. The purple is grape-y to deep, deep purple. It is BFL from frabjous fibers. The colorway is Green with Envy. It has been some time since I have spun BFL and it spins like butter.

For someone who claims to be a hermit, and it felt that way during hibernation, my Life is full right now. First YC came to visit. Tomorrow OSM from California is visiting. Then my cousin is arriving on the 10th. Last Friday night JH and her husband came over to look at my spinning wheels and pick my brain. He is going to build her a spinning wheel with cherry as the main wood, and yellow heart as the wheel. He is making an 18" wheel, the same size as my newest one. So I guess this is what Spring means. People are out and about again.

What this truly means is I cannot get all the stuff done I want to get done right now. I have not had the time to spend with my Shibori class, and I want to really understand that. I have not had any time to spend with the sewing machine either. I have learned how to keep the floor clean in between visits, and try to keep the kitchen straight. I still have the dye table set up in the middle of the kitchen floor, and it will probably stay there until the temp is okay outside. And less wind.

I also have been busy trying to keep clean sheets on the bed in the guest room. I still haven't had the chance to paint that room. Oh, well.

The days are longer with light and now I can get more done. Soon the rush will be over and I will return to hermit-life again. I am in no hurry to finish any one project. I just want to play.

No knitting since last Thursday's knit night. Too busy. On hold right now. But I am spinning.

Yes, It Is Finally Spring!

2011-03-23T10:34:00.003-05:00

If you have never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom. Terri Guillemets

I know that cold will return next week, but I am just enjoying this week of warm. The March winds have been blowing, primarily from the South. I have been planting seeds, and trying to maintain a somewhat appearance of a tidy lawn. The weeds are quite prolific this Spring.

I am supposed to get company this weekend. I hope she does come. I am making myself stay indoors and clean a little bit. I know it is silly, but she has never seen my house and I would like to have the floors clean and the bathrooms clean. I have fresh linens on the bed in the guest room.

Patty got a major haircut yesterday, and the wild and wooly little dog is now the sleek and skinned dog that she evidently likes. She has been outside three times this morning and seems to be quite playful. She actually prances. It is so strange to see her act the way she does today.

I spent a lovely day on Saturday with CJE and JE. We went to the Spinning Guild meeting, visited with lots of folks, went to lunch with one of the friends from the group, and then headed back to my house. After some visiting and a wee nap by CJE, we headed to her house. We knit, talked, CJE wove on her scarf, and took a little walk. After the walk we ate a nice bowl of soup and then headed home.

It appears that more folks than just me are happy that Spring is finally making an appearance. We talked a lot about the weather with friends at the meeting, and I have heard lots of conversation in the stores when I am standing in line.

I got lots of compliments on my new sweater. It is really a sweet feeling to know that I have petted the sheep, I have helped shear the sheep, I have spun the wool, and I knit the sweater. It makes it feel different to me somehow. I guess this sounds somewhat silly, but it feels comfy to me.

I decided I needed a plain sock to knit when I am away from home. So I scrounged around in the huge box of leftovers and put together 4 skeins of blues, three of which are self-patterning yarns. I knit 4 rows and change colors. It is amazing how nice they look. I love them. I am so excited that I am about halfway down the foot already. I cast-on Friday night so I would have something to knit while I was at the meeting.

I haven't gotten a response from anyone about the giraffe sock and the gusset issue. No one seems to really understand my problem. I was talking to people on Saturday at the meeting, and CJ says, "How can you stay in pattern on the gusset if you keep changing the number of stitches?" I said, "Exactly. That's the problem!" So one person out of hundreds understands the problem. So I just went ahead and finished the gusset and said it will just have to look weird and not be right. I give up on this issue.

Normally I just do what I want to do when there is a weird pattern situation. I should have gone with my gut and put in a striped gusset and sole and put the pattern on top like I did for the pink socks. But I wanted to try to learn this, and it was just not working for me. Now I am frustrated and I don't like the sock because it looks wonky. Oh, well! Life is tough, huh?

Patty's out again. She is one little strange dog. Noodles is out on the screened porch in his favorite chair.

I think I am going to tackle the jacket I was trying to knit a coupla years ago and see if I can progress on that. I was knitting in a bulky handspun that I had dyed in Fall leaf colors. I think I can figure out where I left off. I think I stopped because the bulky yarn was beginning to hurt my hands to knit. I can't really remember, but I will try to bring it out. This is Spring, time for rebirth, right?

I also have another thing I was knitting, and it did not go well, and I just folded it up and put it in a basket. I think it is time to make a pillow or something out of that. It is time to clean up messes left behind.

I painted my kitchen last week. At least that is fresh. I want to do something with the cabinets. But not right now. Maybe between my company this weekend and my cousin's annual visit.

Guess that is all for right now. The wind chimes and the bell are really ringing loudly. The wind is up. I just washed one of the blankets and my garden gloves. So I guess I will put those out on the line to dry.

Enjoy the sun and the Spring temps. A cold front is supposed to blow in over the weekend. I am hoping for some rain soon. My bushes I planted last week are leafing and I am watering them every other day.

Gotta go. Have a good week.

This Journey Has Ended!

2011-03-16T10:13:00.005-05:00

It starts with a sheep. Not just any sheep, mind you, but Diablo, the pet Jacob sheep. He is approximately 14 years old in this photo.

I sent this fleece to a mill to be cleaned and put into roving. Then I spun it into 2-ply goodness to be knit into something. I didn't know at the time, just that it would be something.

while looking through old Interweave Knits, I found this pattern. It is Gatsby Girl Pullover by Jodi Green. It has ribbed sleeves, and I made mine in the lace pattern.

It has taken me some time to do this, but I wasn't concerned by the time. I just worked on it sporadically in the beginning. By the time I was finishing the front, I really got busy and worked hard on it to get it done.

In the beginning, I debated whether to make it seamless to the armholes, but then I reminded myself there are reasons to have pieces to sew together. Mostly the fit. It looks fitted snugly on the model in the photo. So I made mine a size bigger than normal, and it drapes nicely on me. It is a tad bit short, just coming to the tops of my hip bone. I like mine just a bit longer, but not much. So I won't quibble about that.

I always make my sleeves first. I decided I really didn't want to do K1P1 rib and have a snug sleeve. So I chose to do the lace, and then I knew when blocked it would not be snug. And it isn't. I also did not put the buttons on the shoulder. The neck opening is large enough to slip over my head without difficulty.

I found this a long project, but worth it. It seems that my other handspun projects did not take nearly the time it took for this one. But I am not in a race. Handspun yarn is so satisfying to use, especially if I spun it.

So kuddos to me! Another finished project!

I spent the afternoon yesterday digging huge holes to plant red buckeye bushes. AE gave them to me Sunday when I went to their house. My neighbor mowed his non-existent weeds and it has begun already. He has to have the perfect yard. Sigh! I am still trying to clean up mess from last year before the grass starts growing up again. Later in the evening I weed-eated some tall stuff around the fenceline.

AE told me he thought my bird I saw was a brown thrasher. He pointed one out in a tree nearby and gave me the binoculars to look. I still think it could be a juvie mockingbird, but perhaps it was a juvie thrasher. I am not too worried about it at this point.

The Sisterhood of the Pointy Sticks met on Saturday again. JE, CJE, and I met at the Weaving Guild meeting. We went to lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon sunning on my deck and looking at old issues of Shuttle, Spindle, and Dyepot. When it started getting cool in late afternoon we moved indoors. JE did some spinning of some sari stuff that looked like dryer lint, but was a pretty yarn. CJE is knitting a pair of Nancy Bush gloves. We both are having difficulty with these Estonian patterns. I went over to CJE and AE's house Sunday and spent the afternoon. It was very chilly, but CJE and I took two short little walks with Patty.

So right now I do not have any major knitting projects going. I am trying to knit these socks with the Estonian pattern, and I have the afghan I am crocheting for my nephew's wedding gift. I am spinning the red yarn. And that is it.

I have been dyeing some silk for my Shibori class. I guess I am just not really good at this fabric folding and stuff. I am terribly disappointed that it does not look like what I would like it to look like. I know the dialog about "just beginning", and "just learning a new technique". But it should like something other than a Rorschac strip. I made the mistake of looking at some of the photos of other students stuff. I can't figure it out. But I am learning some new stuff, and that was what I wanted.

I found an interesting site for anyone to check out. rebeccaburgess.com She has begun the Fibershed Project. It is an ecological way of using fiber sources near you within a 150 mile radius. Like my sweater above. I found it interesting and worthwhile to check out.

I guess that wraps up this week so far. I am trying to pace myself with the yard work. But with the nicer weather, I want to just jump right in and get to work. I paid for that last night. It took some time for my back to settle down after the hole-digging.

Happy St. Patricks Day and Happy Spring next week! Yeah! I can't wait! Bring on the heat.

Oh-before I go, there is a cute commercial on. There is a group of men in someone's backyard grilling burgers. Suddenly this man stumbles into the group wearing a huge parka and looking dazed. They surround him and ask him "Where ya been buddy?" He says "I don't know. I was inside and it was all white." One of them says, "It was Winter, buddy. Someone get him a burger, quick!" Yeah-it was winter. Everyone is talking snow by the end of March. We had sleet on Monday. That was enough for me. Bring on the sunshine, please!

Another Week Has Passed!

2011-03-11T10:29:00.002-06:00

It is hard to imagine another week has passed, if one is measuring their time in work weeks. I guess old habits, etc. I really have to tell myself every day what day of the week it is, but many of my friends still work. So I think about them in their time measurements. My friend YC is coming for Spring break the end of March, which is two more weekends away. That's another weird thing. The end of March already!

YC has been going to school as long as I have known her. She hopes to finally finish this year, but it seems every year some crisis comes up and it postpones the end somehow. You would think that having grown children with their own children would free her to do her own thing, but you know how it is when people take care of the family whenever a need comes up.

I have been blessed that no one calls me and asks me to help out. It helps that mine just got married, is happily paying off his own debts, and is saving money for "whenever". When I talked to him he told me that he and H turned down two parties to go to that would have cost them ___ amount of money. He thought they could use that money on the trip to Phoenix they are making at the end of the month. She has to go to a conference for work, and since she has a room paid for, he bought a ticket and is tagging along.

They loved the quilt, by-the-way.

I went to Knit Night last night, and there was a large group of folks there. There is a little eating place nearby that was having a fundraising event for the University fine arts department. They were selling ceramic bowls made by students, and you got soup to go with it. TR and I walked down there and looked over the bowls. I saw several I liked, but I told myself I did not need anything extra.

I finished knitting the handspun sweater and it is blocking/drying. I only have my giraffe socks, so I took them to group last night. No one there had ever heard of knitting in pattern when the gussets are being decreased. I am just not smart enough to figure it out. So the pattern will have to be wonky.

I don't know what just happened, but I just lost two paragraphs of writing. It just went away somewhere.

I saw the strangest bird the other day. I think it must be a juvenile mockingbird. It was gray, the size and shape of a mockingbird, but it has a russet colored thatch on top that looked like a bad toupee. It also had brown and cream stripes on the breast like a sparrow markings. I will ask AE when I see him and he will know.

The weather is warmer. I am happy with the sun out. I need to get outside, but there is still a slight cool breeze and it is cool in the shade. I am thinking I will have to mow weeds soon. Weird, huh?

So no plans for this weekend. Just the same thing that I do every day. I think I might sew, but I have to finish this red yarn I am spinning. I am also dyeing fabric. And there is always yard work to fall back on if one gets too bored around here.

I was cleaning out a pile and found a note card that I had saved for the saying on it.
"Cultivate friendships wherever you go, and gladness will bloom all around you."

My Little Helper!

2011-03-08T09:47:00.002-06:00

Noodles is checking out one of his catnip spots. He loves to eat catnip. He hunkers down and starts grazing. That is my garlic in the first pic in the upper left hand corner. It is so tall already. I am glad I put catnip in two places. This is his favorite spot, but I have seen him in the front bed too.

I went down into the ravine to dig up some daffodils and other bulbs the other day. Patty would not venture down there, but, of course, Noodles was right beside me. I had to cut my way through the honeysuckle and briars.

After I carefully replanted these bulbs with "good" dirt and composted horse manure, Patty decided it was time to eat the dried up horse manure. I had to run her out of that and clean out her mouth. Even though it is dried, it becomes wet in her mouth. It was gross.

And I found my first tick later that evening! March 4-first tick this year! Whew! You would think that winter would have killed them off.

Nothing else knew. Just wanted to post these pics of Noodles. He is such a good helper. Note that he is using his broken leg really well. We are approaching 4 months since the break. I think it is healing well. I saw he was limping a little more the other day, but probably just a habit now.

Patty has recuperated well from her heart worm treatment. She is still limited in her activity, but you would never know it the way she acts. She spends a lot of time outside now. She is really blossoming for an emotionally traumatized dog. I just have to keep an eye out that she does not head to the street. She has no concept of the danger that is there.

Have a good week. I start my Shibori dyeing class online tomorrow. So something to look forward to this week. I am really excited to learn something new. Until later, think warm and happy thoughts.

Take Those Shoes Off!

2011-03-04T09:45:00.002-06:00

My feet were screaming at me the other day to just take those ole shoes off. So now I am barefoot again. I remember as a child I hated to wear shoes so badly. But the rule in our household was no bare feet until after Easter. That was unbearable this time of year. I love to feel the earth under my feet. I like to feel the coolness and moistness of the dirt. Summer heat is a different feeling. This time of year it is the expectation of what is to come.

I have been really going on the handspun sweater. I am shaping the armhole, and the lace knits so much faster than the cabled part. The only downside is that I had to stop and spin some more yarn. I was so sure that I had enough the last spinning. So last night I spent the evening plying up the single that I had spun in the afternoon. No knitting last night.

I did get going on the color stranding on the new pair of socks night before last. I was watching NCIS and I got one whole set of pattern rows knit. I am now going to dub them the giraffe socks. They look like giraffe colors and spots. It is supposed to be goats-eye, but looks like giraffe spots to me.

I worked in the yard a goodly portion of the day yesterday. It is already starting, isn't it? The endless yardwork. I don't mind admiring the flowers, the insects, etc. But it is the work that gets done behind all that that is tedious. What is so crazy is that I spent hours doing yardwork, and I can't really see much done. I still have an untidy yard. I spend time cleaning up stems and flower beds, weeding, etc. I always leave the beds with stems through the winter so the birds and small critters have shelter. So now I can see all the grass and weeds in the beds. Sigh!

Today a cold front is coming in with a storm. It is beginning to cloud over. The wind is picking up. I have found that I do better if I work hard one day and rest the next. I can get more done if I pace myself. So today I took the yarn off the blocker, wound it into a ball, and I think I might spend the afternoon on the sweater. Maybe. Right now I am hungry, and all I can think of is food.

I find when the weather changes, so do my food habits. I like to eat smaller, lighter portions during warmer weather. And I eat often. In the colder weather I eat one big meal a day and two smaller ones. I drink more liquids in warmer weather to hydrate myself- especially if I work outside.

Well, have a great weekend. I am going to have some fun some time this weekend. Probably Sunday since the rain is supposed to carry over tomorrow. Maybe Patty and I will go exploring somewhere. She likes to nose around places.

Take care and stay safe. Enjoy the weather while we can.

Cycles!

2011-02-27T10:49:00.002-06:00

Yes, the earth is cycling again. It turns and rumbles around in space, despite whatever horrible things humans can do on earth. Humans are such bizarre creatures. They think they are so important, when actually we humans are not so important in the scheme of things.

The universe is such a marvelous place. It is good to look at the big picture and realize that we are just specks in the whole picture. Just little motes of dust!

The SAD is finally wearing off. I have been going out in the yard and working in the flower beds. I am trying to prepare things for the cycle of Spring. Things are beginning to poke up through the ground. I think it is a silly thing that I am trying to dig out the grass that has made a home in the big flower bed in front. But that is what I did. I dug up a lot of things I did not want in the place that it had found for a home. It sounds rather cruel, but actually in the big picture I am preparing the space for things that will support the bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Last year I had more bees than I have seen in a long, long time. Thank goodness for that. Of course, I remember that the stupid Japanese beetles decided to invade too.

I am feeling some creativity seeping in. That is good. I actually started a pair of socks! Yes, I know. Something small, but it will be really nice. I am using a pattern from Folk Socks of Estonia. It is a goats-eye pattern. Yes, I know. I mumble and groan when I do these stranded colorworks. But I like something that will give me a little more challenge. I am using some yarn I dyed with Padauk sawdust and some brown that I found in the sock yarn bowl. It will be nice, I think. I just started the pattern work. When I get a little ways along I will put out a picture.

I had a moment of insanity on Friday. I actually had an estimate done to remodel the tub in the hall bathroom. I just looked at the total amount and thought, "This is so stupid!" But I actually fretted about it and thought about it for a long, long time. Then the insanity passed, and the moment is gone. I am not going to fork out that many bucks for the vanity of a "nice" bathroom. I can do a little bit of freshening up with paint, new vanity, new fixtures in the tub, a new backsplash, and new lighting. And it will look okay with the big bucks. But I am not going to do anything any time soon.

I have been seriously thinking about what it is I really want in my life right now. A new bathroom is not on the list. What I want is a place that is comfortable for me to find creativity and a space that I can create within. I have always said that my house is really my studio. I just have more room in my "studio" than I have ever had. It is convenient that I can designate spaces for knitting, for spinning, for dyeing, for sewing, etc.

I will maintain my space as needed and update as needed, because some day it may have to be sold. I bought this space as an investment against the future needs that occur as one ages. I can easily change the "studio" to a home and move on. But I do know that I like my space to be in some order and some cleanliness. I finally got the floor cleaned after the snow mess, and I noticed that I tracked in some dirt from the garden yesterday.

I gave myself permission to live an unorthodox life in a culture that doesn't understand what I am doing. But as long as I understand, I guess it doesn't really matter. I am reminded at times that I can slip up and want the same things as culture dictates (a new bathroom), but usually insanity is only temporary.

I was discussing with CS at Knit Night Thursday that I am often reminded that the majority of people do not "do things". I was telling her about everyone at the wedding kept telling me how beautiful the quilt was that I gave R & H for Christmas. I thought it was strange, because to me it was just a quilt. It was pretty, but it was just a quilt. My girlfriend CF reminded me that I take for granted that people "make things." I grew up in a family that made things all the time. But I know that for many, many years (1980's and 1990's) I found that many people did not do the things I do.

I remember that I was at work (I used to be an occupational therapist) and one girl was leaving early to run by Wal-Mart to buy her husband some socks. Without thinking I asked about this. She said all his socks had holes in them. I asked why she didn't darn them! I know, stupid question. I won't give you the whole conversation-you can imagine that!

But later I was discussing this with a male friend on the phone. When he picked up, I asked him what he was doing. He was darning some socks that I had made for him ten years prior. I laughed and told him darning was not acceptable any more. I told him about the conversation. He listened and answered with, "Well, I guess you didn't tell her you spin your own yarn and knit your own socks, did you?" So it became a joke between us.

So now my friends are people who "do things" like I do. I meet lots of people that say"I could never do that. It takes too much time" I don't know if it is age or what, but I just smile and go on. I become overwhelmed when I have gone to fiber events, and everyone there is so remarkable and doing what I do. My type of creativity is usually found in a solitary life, and I find validation through my friends. I think that is why I am looking forward to the dyeing class online. I can do this alone on my own time, but I have the connection to the "others" through chats and forums. We will see.

Well, this has been a rambling mess. I just have been doing some thinking, and trying to move out of the cycle of SAD. I am trying to flow with the energy of the earth at the moment. I am feeling more energy out of the trees, too. But it is way to early for them to bring their sap up. We still have to get through March. It is enough that I am watching little things poking up and looking for the light of the sun.

A new storm is moving in today. Then nice, sunny days this week for three days! Yeah! Well, good-bye to February. The cycles are occurring as we go about our little lives. It will soon be Equinox! The light has changed, the winds have changed, the earth has warmed. Keep on moving! On with March!

Simple Pleasures!

2011-02-24T10:38:00.002-06:00

The wedding quilt is done. It is washed, and dried, and folded up into its storage bag. It took three tries to get the label on, but it is on. Whew!

This is a close-up of the quilting. I LOVE it! I always leave it up to the quilter to pick a pattern. I told her it was a wedding quilt, and that maybe hearts would be too corny. But don't you just love it! I do! To me it looks like a meandering vine with heart-shaped leaves. It was the perfect balance for the geometric-ness of the blocks. I am very pleased with the outcome!

And this week I finished the sage-dyed romney wool. I started it a while back, but I just putzed along with it. It came out really a pretty soft green, and it is more of a semi-solid shading. I am finishing up the red wool that I started mixing and quit mixing. I will have to see if it enough to do a pair of socks. If there is enough yardage it will be gifted to a friend of mine who has requested some sock yarn. It is coincidental that it is her favorite colorway. I hope, hope, hope there is enough yardage.

Wow! There is some serious thunder overhead right now. It is too early for a Spring storm, but here it is.

I have the wandering-itis, and I really have been perusing fiber shows, etc. The difficulty is the cost. My gosh! It is getting to be just too expensive to go on a trip. The cost of gas is going to sky-rocket, and the headlines today mentioned airline prices are going up too. The other downside is now fiber shows are getting to be too expensive. Now that fiber-related stuff is zooming along, so are the prices for the workshops. I think the marketers think that we are rich. Well, there are some rich people, but there are some not-rich people too.

I am trying out some new ideas. I signed up for an online course in Shibori dyeing of silk. I think the ideas I learn will be able to translate to other fabrics as well. I am excited to learn something new. I got my packet of dyes and materials, and now I just wait for the class.

I think the internet use for classes makes sense to me. I can't afford the cost of travel, and the cost on the internet is much cheaper than taking a class at a fiber show.

My friend CJE called yesterday and told me she sold her first short story. It will be in a collection that is coming out in March!

It is getting darker, so I guess a storm is brewing! Yikes! It is only February. I hope this doesn't mean a long storm season this Spring! I hate Spring storms. So unpredictable and unstable!

I am now floundering around looking for a new project that inspires me. I am looking through old magazines and studying patterns. Surely the knitting thing will start again. I just don't want to knit. I don't know what's wrong! Usually I have a pair of plain-ole-socks on the needles and I can trudge along through these hiatuses (spelling?). Nada on the socks. I just don't want to knit.

At least I am still spinning. I am listening to the stupidest book on tape. I go to NetLibrary and download audiobooks. This one is stupid. I should just quit listening, but I have a thing about just quitting a book. But this may be a good thing to do with this one. I don't have to concentrate and I just kind of zone out as I am spinning. It is a pleasant way to pass some time.

Oh! Another sign of weather changes-Noodles starts screaming at 7:30 am. I am still locking his cat door at night, and he wants out. He goes by light and his light-clock says it is time to go out! I was in a very deep sleep and dreaming when he started his yowling this morning. It took some time to arouse myself and come out of sleep. But he was very persistent. Even Patty got into the game and started nosing me. I was not a happy camper-needless to say! I looked at the clock and saw 7:48 a.m. I groaned and tried to just lie there a while. No luck! YOWL! NUDGE, NUDGE! SIGH!

It is raining now! Guess I better get off the computer for a while.

Hope you have good plans for the weekend! Enjoy!

This Is Only a Sneak Preview!

2011-02-21T10:03:00.002-06:00

I have a few friends that think the latest weather is Spring. No this is not Spring. This is not a green-up Spring. This is February. Not March. I know it is so pleasant to sit out in the sun and be warm. But in the shade it is still coolish. The ground is not totally thawed yet. It is just mucky on the surface. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

We have gotten snow even into April, although it is a wet, sloppy snow that melts quickly. But it just means that it is not Spring yet. I mentioned last year that my friend in Little Rock always called it the Snow Tire and Daffodil Festival days. My daffs are just peeking up. My girlfriend CF has buds that are ready to open. Who knows?

I ordered a few new seeds in January, and I am just waiting until after the Equinox to think about it.

I haven't been knitting much. I just am working on the handspun sweater. I am almost ready to begin the lace part.

What I have been working on is the quilt for my son and daughter-in-law. I got it back from the quilter last week, got the binding sewn on, and now I am doing the handwork. I am slow and it will take this week to finish all four sides of the binding. I will put the label on, wash it, and then off it will go to Little Rock. I am so pleased with it. The quilter put scrolling vining meandering around the quilt and hearts hanging from the vines that look like leaves. It is so pretty. It makes the quilt.

Last weekend was the Home and Garden Show. Somehow the Garden part was forgotten. There was one landscaper there. The most expensive stuff was displayed everywhere. To me it was so frivolous. Who needs faucets that look like sculptures? I just need a plain-ole showerhead that sprays water and rinses the soap off. I guess some folks have been watching the DIY shows on t.v. There was tons of outdoor "rooms" set up with very expensive furniture, lamps, umbrellas, etc. There was the most expensive set of washer/dryers I've ever seen. They were very pretty. But who can afford that much money for a set like that?

I did visit with my girlfriend JE. Her business was there and she and her parents manned the booth. She stopped by Saturday night to unwind before coming home. We caught up on magazines and books I have gotten since I last saw her. I didn't have much knitting to show her. Just the clown socks and the gray socks. She has seen everything else. And I did show her the quilt, since I was sewing on the binding when she came over. I showed her the latest spinning projects. That's it. Not much, huh?

I have been going through some weird dream cycles lately. I have these dreams that I call "story dreams". They are like a t.v. movie or something. It is hard to describe. I often wonder why I have these kinds of dreams, but it has been happening all my life in certain cycles. I just know that eventually I will cycle out of these and into another type of dream.

I drove up to Harrison to pick up my quilt last week. I took some back roads and went to visit my friend CF afterwards. We went into Jasper and had lunch, and then I headed home over the mountain route. I did not see any elk or any of the swans in Boxley Valley. But it is interesting to observe all the shades of gray, gray-brown, and the various greens of everygreens. I like the tones this time of year. They are very soft and muted. I always think of watercolors this time of year. That soft bleed of color around the shadows. It makes me want to paint again.

Today is a rainy day. It is a female rain with wind and cooler weather. It is soaking into the ground easily. The chickweed and early weeds are quite happy. The heavy bell I have is making a nice deep tone next to the tinkling of the wind chimes. Noodles is going in and out of the cat door this morning and he seems to be eating quite a bit. That is always a sign that it is cooler.

Have a good week. Just relax. Spring will come; it always does. I am as antsy as the next person. But I will not fool myself into thinking "This is IT!" We still have to get through March.

The Sun Is A Wonderful Thing!

2011-02-13T15:08:00.003-06:00

I know it has only been less than a week, but it seems a lot more to me. I knew I was in trouble when the snow was up to my crotch. And we had record low temps too.

Today it is all a memory, except for the snow that is left in the yards and parking lots. The sun is hot and melting everything it can. I have been sitting on the deck in my chair and reading a book. It is marvelous! I have my sweats pulled up to my knees and a short-sleeved t-shirt. It is beyond marvelous! It is luxurious!

So what if it is global warming? I am enjoying the sun!

Clown Socks-Check!

2011-02-06T10:20:00.003-06:00

Here's the pink socks drying on the rack in the laundry. Okay-why clown socks! Well, really-look at that pink yarn! Someone left it on the table during a stash exchange. I just stuck the balls of yarn in my bag while cleaning off the table after our meeting. Somewhere I wondered what to do with it. So the only thing I could think would tame the colors would be to use a solid. Try to find a solid pink sock yarn that would go with those colors and I ended up with this light pink. I found the Scandinavian Pattern Socks in the Little Book of Socks by Charlene Schurch. And now I have these really loud, pink stranded knit socks! We had such a lovely day yesterday! It actually got above freezing, the sun was shining, and some melting got done. There is a crunch now in the snow from the ice on top. Today we have clouds again, and the weather people say more snow. We will see. Then another mess on Wednesday. Really! Can't we just get on with Spring?

So for the first time in a long, long time, I have no socks on the needles! Can that be? Not even baby socks! So I finished the grey socks and the pink socks, and do I need more socks? I thought I could do a pair for H for her birthday in March. Maybe. But I am happy to focus on the sweater right now. I am still going to get going on the afghan for my nephew. Isn't it strange to not have a ton of projects going at one time? Maybe. But it feels good just to focus.

There is a show on NBC called "Who Do You Think You Are?" It is focused on famous people, but it is really interesting to me. I gave up on genealogy last year. But then I see this show. I think the question I want to answer right now is "What is Steve's story?" He was my paternal grandfather. He died in 1945 at the age of 42. I didn't realize until a while after my grandmother's death that she never ever talked about him. I think as a child we hear stories that our parents, grandparents, and maybe great-grandparents (in my case anyway) tell us. It is the story that they want us to know at that time. I know my grandmother's story before Steve and after Steve. But I know nothing about them as a couple. How did she meet him? Where did she meet him? I have found pictures of them together, especially with my father. So I tried at one time to find out the flow chart of genealogy with the usual searches of census records. I have found that frustrating because it allows ten years in between. There are large gaps. So I stopped and put it away. So today I am starting a new tactic. I have ordered his death and birth certificates. Maybe that can give me more info about his parents. I hope anyway. I just want to know Steve's story.

Well, let's see. It's Sunday. I am listening to NPR, and I am going to spend the day spinning the green yarn. And wait for the weather to change.

Have a good week. Be safe and watch out for the ice!

Sigh! Is It Over Yet?

2011-02-05T09:37:00.002-06:00

I am not going to even do the usual griping about the weather. It doesn't change a thing. It is not fun, it is not going away, and it is not over yet. Today is the only day that will be above freezing, and the sun is out. A week ago I was enjoying the sun and sitting outside on the deck. I had the windows and the back door open. Today there is snow and more snow and some more snow. Yesterday was supposed to be a "light dusting, maybe up to an inch of accumulation". Well, it snowed all day and I got probably 3-4 inches of accumulation. Enough to cover up all the footpaths I had made so Patty could potty.

So take a deep breath. It is not over. Tomorrow there is some more and Wednesday looks like more.

I haven't done a whole lot of creative. I have been lying in bed with Patty and reading a lot. I have read two books this week. I have done a little bit of knitting. I have maybe an inch to go on the pink sock to start the toe decrease. I have been ploughing along on the sweater. I have maybe an inch to go of the waist shaping. I like to do the cables better than I do the lace. But it is all good. I finished the book on tape and one bobbin of the green sage wool and have almost finished the second bobbin. I downloaded a new book from NetLibrary yesterday so I can get that second bobbin finished.

I did pick up the crocheted afghan I am making for my nephew's wedding gift. I did get another color finished on that.

I did get a little bit antsy yesterday about maybe starting another project. I went on Ravelry and Knitty and looked at patterns. I got distracted and even went to Knit Circus. But then it became more of a lurking around at patterns. I lost interest. I am not into knitting right now. Which is okay. I got the quilt pieced and sent off to the quilter.

Poor Noodles is having to use the kitty litter. That is a serious situation. He will go outside for a little bit; then as soon as he slides through the cat door, he goes to the litter box. It is just an awful situation for him. I am trying to help by keeping it clean. He justs looks out the back door and scans for any place that may be safe to go to. Then he walks back to one of his window seats and sleeps for a while.

The birds have been frantic about feeding. I am feeding them 3 times a day now. The bullies are out. The big black birds and red-winged blackbirds are taking over. I will be glad when the snow is gone and they can go back to the fields.

So nothing is new. I have been house-bound and have not been out in the car. My road is still pretty treacherous. I think the main roads are cleared enough to drive, but getting there is not easy. If it continues to warm up today I may try to go to the grocery store. We will see.

Stay warm, stay safe and snuggle in wherever you may be. It is not over yet.

47 Days Until Spring!

2011-02-01T09:53:00.003-06:00

Well, unless you are living under a rock or in a cave somewhere other than the U.S., there is a massive storm moving through. This one is the BIG ONE! We are holding our breath, hoping there will be no power outages. Two years ago we had the BIG ONE, and I did not have power for six days! Some of my rural friends had it much worse.

I have fuel in my lanterns, and I can hunker down really well. I know the animals are very unhappy right now. Both went out for potty breaks, but both are on separate beds curled under blankets. The real secret is my hot water bottle. I can use the top burners of my stove, and I can heat up food and water. My hot water tank is gas, so I can use that. I will not have heat, since there is an electric thermostat/control on my gas furnace. Camping in the house!

I did check the trees, and they are coated with ice. There is one limb over my power line, and if that puts enough pressure on the power line, that's it.

The birds are frantic! They are squawking and scrabbling like it is serious to get food right now.

This past Saturday it was in the 60's and I was able to sit in the sun for long stretches of time. It was heavenly! And now just a memory!

CJE came over for a short time on Sunday to get away from her house for a while. We played with our "stuff" and went for a nice lunch. Then she had to return to reality and home to check on her mother-in-law that lives with them. AE was going to a meeting and she promised him to be home between 3:30 and 4 p.m. A short break from insanity.

I wonder where the term "weather the storm" comes from? I like to think I am doing that. I have food, shelter, and all the necessities. I filled the gas tank in my car just in case-of what, I don't know. I can't drive anywhere. Oh, I know it has something to do with the gas line freezing.

I just talked to my friend in Kansas. She works for Red Cross on blood drives. They actually sent them out to Independence last night. Of course, the community college that was going to sponsor the drive is closed. So she is holed up in a motel with a book and not much to do. The Red Cross is a business, just like any other business. Since they are not having the drive today, they are making them take PTO time. Isn't that crappy?! At least they get their motel rooms paid for.

Well, I am going to go hunker down and try to not look out the window so much. I keep watching the power line. I am getting to the end of my book, which is getting to the good part now. It is a complex book, and I have to go back and reread things. It is a good distraction. I also have my knitting. I am decreasing the gussets on the pink sock, and I am shaping the waist on the sweater.

I am also going to take a shower and wash my hair. I know that doesn't make sense. If the power goes off, I do not take showers when there is no heat. I spot wash. And my hair does not get washed without a shower.

Hunker down, get a warm spot, find a good book, get your knitting out, and weather the storm. I know I am there now.

At Least The Sun Is Shining!

2011-01-28T08:14:00.003-06:00

The weather is so weird! Now this week has been milder weather with a lot of sunshine. Then next week we are going back to frigid weather again! Sigh! I know it is boring to keep on harping about the weather.

I have finished the quilt top. I want to get a backing together and send this off to the quilter to finish the quilting. So the wedding quilt is a little bit late. I don't think they will mind.

That has been my whole focus this week has been the quilt. I did go outside and work at picking up more trash in the side yard. The former owners just dumped their trash on the ravine side, and they had a burn pile there also. Last winter I did not pick up much, but I am making an effort to pick up more this year. It is an endless job, since a lot of it is piled upon one another. Just as one pile is unearthed, picked up, and taken away, there is another mess underneath it. Really what is needed is to shovel it out, but where do I put it? I did hire someone to do that with the most obvious metal and upper layer when I first moved in. The local dump is very, very expensive.

I did finish that skein of yarn to finish my handspun sweater. I am back to that again. I am on the waist shaping stage, and have to keep up with that with the cable pattern.

I went to Thursday night knitting last night. Darn! My LYS, HandHeld, has roving now. Shoot! I had to buy one, but gosh! did I really need another thing to spin? I have a lifetime supply as it is. I have a pile that I started of "play" fiber that I want to get to soon. If I can motivate myself, I will have some really pretty yarn by Spring.

Patty just came home last night from the hospital. She has been undergoing heartworm treatment. Evidently she was negative for mature adult worms when she got rescued last February, but there were eggs or larvae that matured in the time I have had her. She tested positive on her yearly checkup. I have been giving her the monthly treatments, but that only kills eggs or larvae. Now I have to watch her like a hawk for the next two weeks for any symptoms that might occur from the treatment. She also is on an antibiotic for the bacteria that come with heartworms, and baby aspirin for thinning her blood. There is always a chance that a dead worm segment can morph into a blockage in a blood vessel, and, like a clot, can kill her. She seems to be pretty much back to her normal happy self since she is no longer contained in a cage. She was pretty depressed when I picked her up yesterday, but she seems to be really perky this morning.

There is a young adolescent male cat hanging around here lately. Noodles is beside himself trying to defend his territory with a bum leg. He is the aggressive one, not the interloper. The little guy is very friendly, and does not look malnourished or abandoned. He sure does need a trip to a vet to take care of the wandering gene that goes with that part of his anatomy. He needs to stay home.

The days are getting longer, and it is more light out when there is sunshine. It is the time of the year I start getting antsy for warmer weather. I did order some seeds last week. I am getting ready. I have plans of how I want to do the yard this year. I removed the fencing that took forever to put up, but it is useless. It just made the mowing harder last summer. I can't get the posts out yet. I will have to wait for more of a thaw.

Oh-I did finish the gray socks, and I am still working on the pink socks. But as you notice, I am not knitting very much.

That's it, I guess. Try to stay warm and toasty until the real warm-up comes. These teaser days are a killer for me. But I try to get out in the sun when I can get the sun. Next week I go back to hibernation stage.

Have a good weekend. More later.

Hibernation!

2011-01-18T11:26:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my friends that seem to be worried that I have gone underground and have not been out to visit anyone. I have decided maybe hibernation is the correct thing this winter. I DO NOT LIKE COLD anymore. I began hallucinating about where a nice beach would be and wouldn't it be wonderful to just lie in the sun and be WARM. My husband used to tell me that I was a lizard in the wintertime. I would find a nice sheltered place out of the wind to sit in the sun every winter. I found myself standing in front of the french doors in the sun a lot-when there was sun. The cloudy, gloomy days are dreadful. Noodles has been very helpful. He helped me lay this scarf flat to dry. He sits in my lap while I am knitting. He snuggles under the covers at night. He stays close by to get any chance of shared heat.

I really haven't been doing a lot of knitting. Unfinished projects just languish in the piles. I pick them up and work a row or two if I am sitting still. But for the most part I have been sewing on a new quilt top. I made these blocks, and now I am sewing the blocks together. I think there are two more rows to finish. I first sew the row, then sew it to the bigger sewed rows. I have to lay things out to check colors, patterns, etc.

I have been reading a lot, too. I finished two books last week. I am telling you-hibernation. Limited activity.

There was a spurt of energy this past weekend. There was a brief warm-up, and I worked out in the backyard both days. I needed the sun, I needed the exercise, and Patty and Noodles needed company.

I know bears sometimes come out during the warm-ups and maybe eat a few roots. I think that's the idea. Go out in the warm-ups and get a little work done. Then when it is cold again-hibernate some more.

I like this photo of Patty. It sums it up. I had thrown a pile of clothes on the floor while I was in the bathroom. I came out and there was Patty. Is there anything better than Mom's dirty clothes, a sunny spot, and a toy mouse nearby?

So thanks again. I am fine. I am just staying close to home and I don't go out much. But this will pass, as it does every winter. It just seems that each winter that passes becomes the one I hate the most.

A Little Snow After the Wedding

2011-01-10T09:27:00.003-06:00

This is my brother and my niece before the wedding. She was warming up and trying to tune her guitar.

As you can see, the wedding was on the mountain top and it was a sunny, clear day. The wind had died down some, so it wasn't totally frigid, just cold. It was a beautiful day to have a wedding!

My niece is Shelley King, a professional singer from Austin, TX. She sang them a song she had written called "Is There a Reason?" I found it on ITunes yesterday and downloaded it. It was so perfect for their wedding song.

I got this shot with my brother and his wife behind the couple as they climbed up the path to the cars.

So it was an emotional roller coaster all day, and I took the whole day yesterday to recuperate. I thought I was getting a cold, but I guess it was allergies. My cousin emailed me after I sent him pics and said it was too early to tell if I had pneumonia.

So now it time to settle down into the winter's rhythm and knit and sew and stay quiet until it is time to garden again.

We did get a light snow last evening and night. It was not very much, but enough to close the schools because of the rural roads. I had called my brother and told him they needed to head home sooner than later. They ran into snow near Ft. Smith, but once they turned off I40 to go south, it got really bad. So they had a long, slow drive home. Shelley is supposed to fly to New York today for an East Coast tour. I hope she can get there. I think this storm was heading that way.

Well, I will close now and head to the sewing room. I want to knock out a coupla more blocks. I have neglected that for a while and it is time to get back into a routine. I also need to spin up the sweater yarn and get that plied and blocked this week.

Have a good week. Stay warm and keep knitting!

Do You Have A Plan?

2011-01-02T11:18:00.002-06:00

I am not one to sit around and think about what I want to do during the year-as in resolutions. But I do like to have a plan. But this year, I do not have a plan. I am still a fairly organized person, although the chaos does occur when I am in a dither.

When I was younger, I used to make distinct goals on the decade birthdays for the next ten years. I liked to work on those things. Then the August after the 50th, I got laid off. I no longer had money to do the things that were on the goal list. I went into survival mode, and the whole goal thing was forgotten. I think it was frivolous.

I spent the day yesterday cleaning and organizing my sewing room. That feels really good. I am so amazed at the amount of fabric I really have tucked away for whatever emergency that may occur. Some of it is not so good, so I think the next task is find a home for some of this stuff.

I think the new word for the year should be possibilities. There are infinite possibilities for knitting, quilting, sewing, spinning, dyeing, etc. etc. You get the idea. There is such an extraordinary resource in patterns out there on the internet. There is always a pattern to be found for whatever yarn I have decided to work with at that time.

Yarn-oh, yeah! I don't need any yarn right now. I just need to use it up. That is the rub-huh? Time to do all that knitting with all that yarn.

And fiber! Lord, I do not need any more fiber right now. But I got some really nice stuff for Christmas presents this year. And those push all the old stuff back in the bins again. I also carded some yummy stuff in pink that I want to get to really soon. In fact, it will be next in line. But I really like that deep red stuff I got from M. I have to get the yarn finished for the sweater, then finish the green I started, and then I can do pink or red or whatever. That's kinda like a plan, huh?

I don't think of myself as lacking time to do stuff, but sometimes it seems that things just don't get done.

That's why I think I need a plan. I really have no idea of how much I knit this year or spun or dyed. I haven't really sat down to think about it. Because that is what it takes-thinking and trying to remember everything over a year. I started a journal some time ago, but never kept up with it. I just kept going. As soon as something was finished, something took its place. I was really tired of everything by November, but I pushed through to the fiber show at Mt. Magazine. Then I slowed down through December, and most everything was just light knitting or spinning. There was no rush.

But now it's January. Time to move on to a new beginning.

I have a knitting friend that can tell you exactly how many stitches she knit in a finished piece. Shawls are overwhelming. On my Yarn Harlot calendar she said it takes 1,760 yards to make a mile. I cannot do the math. I am not that kind of knitter. I just enjoy the skill and the finished project. I am definitely a process person, but the finished project is satisfying.

Okay-so now we move on. I expect that it is a good idea to have a plan, but I have a tendency to do something impulsive that is not on the plan. So maybe I will come up with a loose plan. Something like-knit more yarn out of the stash. Spin up the fiber stash. Do more dyeing (include an indigo pot). That's all pretty loose and could really be tightened up. But right now, I think I will stick to the loose plan and fill in the spots as I start doing some of the things I would like to get done.

Well, I am just rambling today. It is time to just think out loud. I am eating a sandwich, trying to get my spinning quota done today, and then off the JE's shop to sit and knit this afternoon. She had me at "We will go get something to eat after the shop closes." I like the idea of eat.

Happy New Year-Happy New Beginnings!

The End Is Near!

2010-12-31T09:23:00.002-06:00

"Another fresh year is here...Another year to live! To banish worry,doubt, and fear, To love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me, To live each day with zest...To daily grow and try to be My highest and my best! I have the opportunity Once more to right some wrongs, To pray for peace, To plant a tree, And sing more joyful songs." --William Arthur Ward

This is the time of year that I find most reflective. It is a time to take stock of what works and what doesn't work. It means too much to some folks, but to me it is just a time to think about what I would like to do better.

I have been busy this week with the usual knitting, spinning, and sewing. I am trying the compost dyeing technique, and it is an interesting process. I will show pics another posting.

We had a tornado this a.m. about 15 miles away from here. It was quite devastating to a small community of Cincinnati. I have been watching the news, but only because CJE called this a.m. to find out if I was ok. Evidently Tontitown was mentioned in the path, and it was really just west of here about 10 miles or so as the storm headed northeast towards Bentonville.

I just wanted to say thank you to all my friends that have supported me this year in all my endeavors in the fiber world. We have had some fun and have certainly learned a lot of new techniques and some new skills. I hope that we can continue to learn and share and laugh and have more fun.

My son gets married a week from tomorrow. So I may post one more post before then, but who knows. I may get stressed out and not do anything but stress out. I have been making sure I am not doing any stress eating, but I sure do want to.

I have to make appointments and get a lot of things done. But in the evenings I have been working on my socks and a new scarf. Pics to follow when done. My spinning was going well, but I lost the groove and could not get my rhythm going the last time I sat down. So that handspun sweater is on hold until I finish the yarn. I am sewing on a cute quilted wall hanging. I also decided it was time to clean up the sewing room.

Thanks again to everyone for a good year in fiber. May we keep our spirits high and our needles clicking!

Santa Brought the North Pole With Him!

2010-12-25T13:02:00.003-06:00

Today is very WINDY and blustery! It is certainly a cold enough day without the wind. We had some kind of frozen stuff that left white on the deck. It didn't seem to be real snow, more of freezing drizzle-"frizzle". It didn't stay out there long with the wind. Nothing on the ground. I noticed it when I went out last night, and it only seemed to be visible in front of the flashlight.

Anyway it is a day to snuggle in and keep your nose warm.

The last nice day I scoured a batch of cloth to start a new dye project.

I finished number 1 of both socks. I have started number 2, but am not pushing myself.

I got the binding on the quilt, a label made, and made a storage bag. The large printed something in the left lower corner is the storage bag.

I washed the quilt and left it out on the line to air dry. I got photos of both sides. I like it.

I got it mailed out on Tuesday, and my son called me on Thursday morning that it had arrived. He and H. were very excited about having it. I did not know that sunflowers are her favorite flower. Synchronicity again rears its head.

I have been busy the last coupla days getting my chicken and vegetable broth made to put in the freezer. With the real winter weather comes illness. I decided since I am in a cooking mode to make a batch of cracked wheat rolls. They are a little bit dense, but still very tasty. Of course, with the cooking of the broth comes the necessary evil of cooking a whole chicken. I pulled all the meat off and put in freezer bags. Last night late I threw the carcass and stuff out into the woods, yelling to the critters, "Merry Christmas!" And maybe they will stay out there and leave my cat alone.

Noodles is walking a little bit like Grandpa McCoy. With the bones healing at a wonky state, his leg is uneven. He actually is putting a little more weight on it. When he runs, he lifts it up and runs on 3 legs. I guess naively I thought that he would heal and be back to himself and life goes on. I am not sure whether he will ever be able to defend himself with that back leg again. I kinda gave it three months to heal, but I am thinking maybe all winter. Then I have to worry about the bad boys that migrate around looking for lady love in the Spring. Being a kitty mom is hard.

I have been sewing the blocks on the quilt top that I have laid out for ever so long. I just wanted to get it done and finished. After the blocks are done, then I have to lay it out to see how I want the blocks to be. I mentioned to my son that I wasn't sure if this one would be big enough for their bed, but it will be close. He, of course, said that any quilts I want to give them they will take.

I just had a memory flash. A long, long time ago I remember a co-worker asked me what I was going to do with all this "stuff" I make. I said, "I don't really know. I guess my son will have to deal with that." She said, "What if his wife doesn't want any of this 'stuff'." I snorted," Well, obviously, he married the wrong person." I guess I am lucky that H. likes all this "stuff", and seems to be really attached to family "heirlooms".

I am going to try some compost oven dyeing. I have a roasting pan I use for steaming dye bundles. So I am going to try to hasten the process a tad by cooking it in the roaster. I don't think anything is going to "cook" in my compost bin for some time. Especially on a day like today. That's why I scoured the fabric.

I also started the front of the handspun sweater, and I am making the knitted hem right now. I have to get busy this week and make a new skein of yarn for that.

I hope Santa was good to all of you. My friend CJE got quiviut from Ingrid the muskox in Alaska! She must have been a really good girl, huh?

Just like Patty-do anything you can to stay warm. Even if it means using a wool sweater! That's what sweaters are for-right? Talk at ya later.

Friendship

2010-12-16T10:01:00.002-06:00

I have a tendency to keep friends. I don't mean in a drawer or a jar, but as friends. Last weekend I went to AE and CJE's house for the end-of-the-year party that our "tribe" has each year. They have been doing this for ?35 or ?40 years. I don't know how long, but a long time. I have only been with this group for 21 years. There is something about these people. I may never see some of them but once or twice a year, and they always act as if I haven't seen them since a week ago. And they always want to know what I've been doing, and how am I doing, etc. It is very validating as a person to have people that really, really care about you.

I managed to bring a guy that has been in the group for almost 30 years, but has kinda stayed away from events with this group for personal reasons. I didn't think he needed to do that anymore and told him to go with me. I don't always stay a long time, and that we could leave after 3 hours if he chose to. Everyone acted like he had only been gone a week or so, and everyone hugged and kissed and asked how he is doing and what is he doing and where have you been in so long and we have really missed you.

So since the weekend I have been trying to stay out of the cold and just hunker down with projects in the house. It is getting to be that time of the year when the cold settles in and the gray skies move in and it is time to hibernate.

I downloaded a book from NetLibrary and stayed in the sewing room one whole day. That felt pretty good. I managed to get 11 blocks completed, and umpteen million to go. I stayed focused the whole day. That's amazing.

I also have gotten to the shoulder shaping on the sweater back. This week I have made a major decision that this sweater will not be warm enough for the blustery cold up on top of a mountain. So I quit pushing myself. It is always best not to push, because that is when I start making mistakes. I am being very careful with this now and if it gets done, I can wear it in the Lodge on Friday night before the wedding. But it is not going to be a warm enough sweater for the mountain winds.

I am decreasing the toe on the pink sock and I am one inch from the toe decrease on the gray sock.

I blended some yummy pink wool with the multi-color faux cashmere. I can't spin that until I finish with the sage-dyed wool I am spinning. I also need to spin up a new ball of the grey for the sweater to start the front.

I did some spinning on one afternoon while watching the History Channel. I have discovered this show about underground cities in Europe. Evidently many cities over the centuries have built new layers on top of old layers. Old is the operative word. I did not know that much about the history of Budapest or Prague until this show.

So that has been my week. CF came for a school play that her grandson was in and to deliver presents. She then came over here to spend the night. We had to catch up on knitting projects and to catch up on news.

Not much else to report. Not a busy week, but productive anyway. It is the time of the year to stay indoors and keep busy indoors.

It's Thursday Already!

2010-12-09T09:47:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I washed the binding fabric for a quilt that I need to put binding on, and then I ironed it well while it was still damp. I left it to finish drying before I cut it. So when I did return to the sewing room, one of my little helpers found a warm spot and claimed it. Thanks a lot! That is his broken leg, by-the-way, on the top.

There is nothing like a plain sock out of one yarn to remind one that stranded knitting is nuts! These are my two WIP's for socks. I am still working on the handspun sweater. I actually started my plain sock for the weekend, because I knew I could never do stranded work while the show was going on, or when I was too tired to think. I haven't touched it all week, since my mind is still tired.

I have almost caught up on laundry. I did my personal laundry Tuesday, and then today I stripped the guest bed and washed all the sheets and the towels from the bathroom. I forget about them in the washer/dryer when I get busy with other things. Then I have to go push the dryer button again .

My new personal goal is the wedding in January. Then after that I will have to think of something. I have to get the handspun sweater finished so I can wear it then. Thank goodness I have a very heavy, long wool coat to wear. I am thinking of hats, but I hate to wear one of my pull-down-over-my ears cover-up-my-head kind of hats. I think I will have to have something a little dressier, but warm. HMMM! I may have to felt one.

Tonight is our knit night, and I will talk to some of my cohorts. They always have good ideas.

Nothing else new to report. I am still keeping busy, but at a much slower pace. I am a little bit tired.

I got some wine from our new local winery for the Wild Foods Party at CJE and AE's house this weekend. It is the official close of the year for our group. Everyone shows slides of their adventures through the year. I think AE will be showing the official video of our 30 year celebration at Mirkwood. I know he will set up a continuous loop of video of their trip to Borneo on the big screen tv in the living room. He did the same when they went to Madagascar and Uganda. They went to see the mountain gorillas before they disappear. The trip to Borneo was to see the orangutans before they are gone. Last year they also went to Trinidad to see some tropical birds that are hard to find anywhere else.

Patty is asleep on the sheepskin rug. Noodles is asleep on the guest bed. So now is a good time to sew. Talk at ya later.

Well! That Was Fun!

2010-12-07T15:19:00.003-06:00

CJE, JE, and I decided to have two booths at the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza this past weekend. This is the last year at Mt. Magazine State Park, and I will miss that. I love this park. We stopped on the way up the mountain to look out one of the overlooks. A friend, SDH, went along, and offered to take a picture of the three of us.

Here is CJE talking to a customer. Everyone enjoyed her shawl that she handspun and handwove.

JE made a banner to put out on the front table. Isn't it cute. I really, really think she tried to bring her whole shop. It took all four of us to put it together.

SJM was supposed to man a booth for Buffalo Gold. UPS lost the boxes somewhere in Little Rock, and they never made it. So she bought a Spindolyn from JE and taught herself how to spin while she waited for the boxes to not make it. By Saturday afternoon she had spin a little bit of yarn and knit a tiny little sweater. We put it on one of our ornament animals, and now she has her first handspun for a Christmas ornament.

Right by our booth there were two spinning classes - 1 in the a.m. and 1 in the p.m. That was fun to watch.
I sold my "Damn" socks. The lady really, really liked them. Her friends threatened to steal them. So she put them on. I got a picture.

We got home early afternoon on Sunday. It was really a nice weekend, but I am still very, very tired. I took a long nap yesterday afternoon, but I think I can make it through this afternoon without that. Anyway, it is too late in the afternoon to think about it.

I spent the morning running errands, and now I am ready to sit down and knit. I put up a Christmas tree with some of my ornaments and one string of lights. That's it for decorations. I am in the mood to make candy, but the window of opportunity closed this afternoon. A new front is moving in with more moisture. It has been very, very dry, and it is perfect to make candy then.
So Happy St. Nicholas Day a day late. Remember Pearl Harbor today. Have a great week the rest of the week.

Get Excited about Linen!

2010-12-01T09:24:00.002-06:00

One of my fellow knit sibs CP has put out a video on Ravelry that is so fascinating. It is called
Be Linen, A Movie. It takes flax from seed to couture houses in Europe. The farmer talks about flax so lovingly. It is a living thing, it grows only in certain conditions in certain regions of Western Europe, etc. etc. It made me want to run out and buy some linen. I don't think I have seen the yarn they were discussing in the design studio. It was a 50/50 blend of linen and cashmere. It looked very drapey and light.

I am packed and ready to go to Mt. Magazine for the Fiber Arts Extravaganza. If you read this and want to come out this weekend, be sure to stop by our booth and say hi.

Gotta go. Have to get more stuff done before this weekend.

But be sure to look at this video. Wonderful!

Last Week to Get Ready!

2010-11-28T09:42:00.002-06:00

I met with JE and CJE yesterday to finalize our plans for the booths and the set-up and all that stuff. I feel much better that we have a sorta kind of plan. Of course, I know that in reality that our intentions could be pure, but we may have to punt and say a few prayers to get everything right once we get there and see the space.

I still have to price and tag a few things. I want to get everything packed by Wednesday evening, but it may be Thursday before things are completed. I am really excited to go, but I am nervous at the same time.

I am getting really close to done on the back of the handspun sweater. Yeah! Just the front to go after that. Of course that is just the knitting. There will be blocking and sewing it together to finish. I am really happy so far. I am glad that I ripped out all the lace and did everything right. I wasn't so happy at the time of trying to get it right, but now I am happy with it.

Noodles' leg is slowly healing crooked. The big bones have found each other and are overlapping. The process at the end of the tibia sticks out and makes a noticeable huge bump to the inside of his leg. He is outside right now on the deck. Yesterday he walked to the edge of property and sprayed a huge amount of urine to mark that part of the territory. Then he went into the brier patch and stayed over in the woods for a while. I worry that some of the wild kitties will attack him while he is unable to fight right now. But he is trying to act normal.

Patty is getting really brave and has found a way out of the yard into the woods. I haven't worried too much since there are briers and woods debris and other blocks to her escape. But she found a hole under the neighbor's fence that allows her access to the back woods. Sigh! What a difference from that meek, scared little dog a few months ago!

I probably won't be writing this week, and I suppose I will be doing what I am supposed to be doing-getting ready for the show next weekend. Sigh!

Have a good week. I hope this weekend has been relaxing for everyone.

Gratitude Week!

2010-11-22T13:32:00.002-06:00

Gratitude is the fairest blossom that springs from the soul.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

This is the week that I remind myself that I have so much to be grateful for. It is often hard to sort through the emotions and the ego that say, "I wish........"

Noodles was able to get out of his cast, and is now quite happy that he doesn't have to drag that thing around. I had a conference with my vet, and she finally agreed that the best thing to do is leave him alone. The bones may never heal together, but hopefully it will eventually heal without infection. Noodles is part Bengal, which is still a wild cat. He is used to being outside, in the bushes or woods, and he is a hunter. He has been learning to be three-legged. He is ten years old. Sigh! Sometimes decisions are hard to make. But he is happier and he is monitoring himself pretty well.

The frogs are calling for rain. It is so warm today and it is hard to believe this is Thanksgiving Week. The weatherman says that a cold front is coming in for Thanksgiving, and that it will be really blustery and cold. Okay! I can't watch the parades without some holiday chill.

Patty finally got a bath this morning. I couldn't stand the smell any longer. I washed all the bedding, too. Later this afternoon we are going to do a little bit of grooming-nails, ears, trim. She looks really shaggy, but I hate to give her a traditional cut in the winter.

I know that all the folks on the t.v. say people are buying more, and that people are out in the stores more. But I made a quick trip to the mall to Penney's to look for a tablecloth for the show in a coupla weeks. I purposefully went at opening, thinking I could beat the crowds. There were no crowds, and there were big empty parking lots. There were sales people that are jumpy and really willing to help out. I went across the street to go to Home Depot, and that lot was pretty vacant too. It was so weird. I was wondering if I was in some kind of alternate dimension.

Not much to report. I am only knitting on the pink fair isle socks and my handspun sweater. I am spinning some yarn that I dyed with sage last Fall. It is hard to be a nurse and mom and do all the other stuff.

Yesterday we had a little group at our sock club meeting. We met at SDH's house, and that was really nice. I kinda like this meeting at people's houses. It is more intimate. We will skip December, and start again in January.

Have a good Thanksgiving! Enjoy the feast.

Broken Bones!

2010-11-16T11:03:00.005-06:00

Sometime Thursday evening between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., Noodles got into a fight. I was at the Thursday Night knit group, and when I got home I was trying to get dinner ready, etc. I heard a funny noise in my studio-his food bowl is there-and when I peeked in, he was standing kinda funny. I then saw the wounds and the blood. I grabbed him to check it over, and his rear foot just flopped.

Friday he went off to the vet's office for the day. She did not want to cast it since he had wounds. But when she looked at the x-rays she knew she had to do something. He broke both the fibia and tibia right above the knee joint. They were really severe. Being an occupational therapist, I could tell right away this was serious. But when I saw the x-rays, my heart just sank. This was going to take a long time to heal.

It was a very long tedious weekend. Finally yesterday I gave up, opened the door, and said, "Go for it." He is much better in the attitude department since I have given him some modified freedom. He is not an indoor sissy cat, and he wanted out of this house. I had a terrible time with the potty business. Now he is allowed to go out in some of his favorite places.

I really don't care if his leg heals perfectly at this point. I just wanted to respect him and try to give him some freedom. Today he has a plastic bag and little sock over the lower part of the cast since we had rain last night.

This is much like having a toddler with an attitude. He is no longer on any pain meds, and I am hoping maybe the uncomfortable part of the cast will slow him down a little bit.

And to top it off, I was eating some scrambled eggs and toast this morning. I felt something stuck in between two back teeth. I have really close teeth in the back, and I am always digging stuff out with floss. I put my fingernail in there, and out popped a piece of tooth that chipped off. Now we are talking about a rush to the dentist. I go tomorrow morning. I am going to my friend AE, and maybe that will help my dental phobia some. At least he knows me. Strangers never seem to take it seriously when I tell them I don't go to the dentist regularly because of my fear.

JE came over to visit Saturday after the Weaving Guild meeting. She was surprised when I told her over the phone about Noodles. It was good to have someone there to help distract me from being so worried. She is making some really pretty counting bracelets to sell at our booth at Mt. Magazine. I have gotten distracted from what I was doing last week. I need to get back on track again.

I was digging around in my basket yesterday, and I found my last pair of gloves in the bottom of the basket. I guess I never finished the fingers. I have two fingers and a thumb to finish. I think I can do that without thinking. I tried to do my fairisle socks yesterday, but I couldn't concentrate. And I am not doing any lace on the handspun sweater for the same reason. I messed it up once, and it was such a pain to repair.

I found these mushrooms in the back yard in a wood chip pile. The color is accurate. I cannot find them in my i.d. book.

I have to go peek out the back door now and check on the kid. He gets this look on his face if I stick my head out and ask him if he is okay. People don't understand that he and I have always been able to communicate pretty well. A friend of mine once told me that she was impressed that both my cats always looked people in the face as if they could understand what that person was saying. She said most cats do not make eye contact and they certainly don't appear to be listening.

Patty has been totally oblivious that anything is wrong. She is pretty upset that she is not the center of attention right now. Dogs!

Have a good week. Catch up with everyone later.

Happy Six Months to Miss Patty!

2010-11-10T10:11:00.003-06:00

Miss Patty has been here 6 months today! I am letting her hair grow out through the winter. She is happy, healthy, and getting so much braver than the first time I showed you her photo.

She is now spending a lot of time outdoors during the day by herself. A lot of time means maybe 20 minutes. When your bravery is measured in minutes, that is a long time.

I think I have finished all my outdoor chores for the Fall. I am always getting myself into some kind of mess that reminds me that I am now in my sixties, and there are reasons to call someone to do chores. But -no!- I can do this one myself! Yeah! Right! It took me all day long to do this chore.

I have always wanted my gas cylinder bell in a different location, but my neighbor snuck over in the early morning hours of my first week in the house and hung it in the tree by the deck. When there is full leaf on all the trees, it does not catch a good wind. I have full knowledge that it is very, very heavy, and hard to hang. So I left it.

When I went to Taos I found two galleries that had these same kinds of bells-just fancier, of course- and that made me want mine in a good wind place. So I have been studying this for a month of where to put the silly thing. There are no trees, except the one that it was mounted on.

And how am I going to mount this thing. So I found this cast-iron thingie that I thought would be sturdy enough. Then I decided I wanted it in a place that someone would not be able to steal it.

Sunday I climbed up my extension ladder about 13 feet off the ground and tried to screw in the cast-iron thingie. Well- the screws just would not go in, and it took many trips out and up the ladder to finally get that done. Then I decided maybe it really wasn't strong enough, so I put something over the support piece to support that.

Okay! Now I had to remove the bell from the tree location, and I got out the eight foot stepladder. That took a lot of effort, strength, and at least three trips to do that. I mean this sucker is heavy! I rested a little bit, and contemplated how I was going to carry that heavy thing up my extension ladder 13 feet and get it onto the cast-iron thingie!

But it is done. Everything groaned a bit when I placed it onto the support. It held. If it falls, nothing will break. I would just have to repair the wood. But my god, it took me all day to do this. And I really was shaky in the arms by the time I finished this last part.

I got the stalks cleaned out of the garden, and the pokeberry stalks cut back. I got some grass cleaned out of the front bed. It is too dry to pull out much grass. I got the rain barrel and spout cleaned out of all leaves and gunk. I disconnected the rain barrel for the winter. I cleaned out the gutters this morning of leaves directly under the tree.

A little bit of spinning going on. This is the orange, happy yarn that I finished last week. I am spinning on my sage dyed Romney right now , and I am not working really hard. I am finished with my toddler-sized socks, and almost done with the last pair of fingerless mitts.

I am starting to get labeling done for the Fiber Extravaganza at Mt. Magazine.

Oh-speaking of Mt. magazine, my son RC and his fiance HJ are getting married at Mt. Magazine on January 22, 2011. And yes, it will be cold! And yes, they want to have the ceremony at the scenic gazebo outdoors!

So back to work. Did anyone see the Conan O'Brien American Express commercial in India making his curtains for his show? Too funny!

Perseverance!

2010-11-05T17:29:00.002-05:00

Wow! I am back on track with my homespun sweater! It took over 4 un-knitting tries and much, much concentration. Last night there was victory! I am to the point of decreasing the armholes! I really thought that maybe I was retarded. I just could not get the unknitting to get to a point of figuring out the pattern. I was off my count by two stitches. During CSI last night I took a deep breath, unknit the last row one more time and found the two stitches and was able to get my lace rows on track! WHEW! What a mess.

I also took these blurry photos with my old camera. I did buy a new camera, thought it was easy to use, and it isn't as easy as I thought. Somehow the old camera has forgotten to tell me that there is an error 45, so I did get two shots for the blog.

The reason I took the photo of the marigolds in the weeds is because I did not plant marigolds, I was weeding one day and saw them over to the side. Volunteers are nice to have, but so late in the season is another thing. I did not weed around them, and I am letting them re-seed themselves again. Another perseverance example, huh? I have not "felt" good for a coupla days. I decided maybe I just need to rest and get myself back on my own schedule again. So yesterday I put on the podcasts and made myself spin all day. I was able to find one more little pkg of pin roving that appeared to match the bright orange and yellow yarn I spun. Now that I have finished it-spun and plied-it is not exactly a match. But it is a fraternal twin. I like it.

I like to listen to podcasts or an audible book or something while I am spinning. Especially if I am on a spinning marathon. There certainly is limited interest in t.v. and I especially have been turned off by the election mess. The media is still full of it. As if they can prove anything by talking so much about it. No one knows what is going to happen until it all happens.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my conversation in Tacoma two years ago with another fiber lady that said she belonged to the Slow Fiber Movement. I found a link today for the Slow Cloth Movement. I think this quote from Elaine Lipson sums it up:

"It's not a project or technique; it's a way of working with textiles in any ____ that begins with recognizing the value and beauty making things with integrity and skill." My computer did not print all the way to the side and I can't read the missing word(s) where the blank is. CJE and I talk a lot about only doing things that create joy for us and that we love.

Sometimes I wonder what my perseverance is with this handspun sweater. I got so frustrated when I made the big mistake, recognized it, and was disgusted. I threw it aside for some weeks. But then I was determined to correct the mistake, and that has taken me a week to do. And now I am back on track. I don't think of myself as having a deadline with it; it's just getting it done. It will be a beautiful sweater when completed. It will last a long time. Believe me, the yarn has held up to a lot of unknitting and tugging and poking and pulling. And it is still a nice yarn. Handspun yarn is meant to last a long time.

So I guess I am on the train now with the Slow Fiber Movement. I want to create something I like, something that shows my skills as a spinner and knitter, and yes, it will take me a while to complete it. Actually I have the upper part of the back and the front to knit. Then I block it, and sew it together.

I want to get the dyeing done with the red oak that I have and I have a coupla other things to dye. I looked at the walnut tree, but it appears the squirrels have been busy there too.

So keep working. We have time on our side and we want to use that time wisely. Oh- Fall Back this weekend. I hate daylight savings time. Don't even get me started on that. Have a great weekend.

Happy Election Day!

2010-11-02T17:58:00.003-05:00

I am sick-I mean really, really sick- of all the stupid campaign ads. I have gotten so used to just walking away from the t.v. when there is all that crap going on. I mean-Campaign 2010- is the newest slogan!

Anyway, the weekend went pretty fast. We got a late start, and we ended up at our meeting place later than planned. Our ride was waiting on us. It took a major effort to unload all our gear! One would think that we were staying a week or two. But luckily we had eaten in the car while driving, and all we had to do was set up our tents in the dark and settle in.

It was the worst coldest night I have ever spent in a tent. It wasn't just me, either, because everyone in a tent was complaining about being cold. I have spent many nights in a tent with the same sleeping bag, and I have had my tent covered in snow and frost. I have never been as cold as I was Friday night.

Patty was shivering so badly that I stuck her down into my sleeping bag. Now you have to picture me in a mummy down bag with a little dog stuck in the bag. I was not able to zip it totally closed, but I was able to pull it up and around my head.

We got up pretty late, despite all the noise of the early risers. You have to imagine that there are always early risers that start the coffee, start the hot water, and are generally pretty noisy. There were more small, little children than we have had in a very long time. They were pretty raucous and tree-climbing and pretty much having a great time in the woods.

After our Saturday night meal-always a community meal- we had our trick or treat time for the kids. Then there was the spider hunt, which the kids all love. Finally we had a video session with everyone telling their memorable story about Mirkwood. It was the 30th anniversary, and this was a documentation and testimonial video. I snagged one of the couches in the cabin as my sleeping place for the night. It was much more comfortable than a cold tent.

Patty blossomed. She went from person to person and socialized all the whole time. She really won everyone's heart. I was like a proud parent watching her. She actually snuggled in my lap a couple of times during events and took little naps. She pretty much ignored the other dogs. She never barked or made any noises. Oh-and she actually did a First. She drank out of the creek! I was so proud of her. It took a while to figure out she was not going to get a bath, and that it was safe to just drink the water.

I got little knitting done. CJE, JE, and I did get a lot talked about our booth at Mt. Magazine.

Last night my son and his new fiance (notice no longer girlfriend) called to talk to me about their trip. My heart is so full of love and emotion about it that I can hardly express much. She told me she finally is able to talk about the trip without crying. She loved the family ring, and the history behind it. We laughed about their last visit, and how hard it was to keep everything secret and how hard it was getting the ring out of the house without her knowing. They are thinking of a January wedding. Pretty quick!

I have been studying cameras. I have pretty much settled on something, but I have not really gone into the stores to shop for it. I know blogs are pretty boring without pics.

Time to find something to eat. Have a good week!

Wow! The First Frost!

2010-10-29T09:30:00.002-05:00

Yep! There was actually frost this a.m. I can't believe it. It is actually Fall now! And in that case, it is time to go camping! Yeah!

It is time for our annual trek to Mirkwood. Remember in past loggings I mentioned our annual trek to Mirkwood, and how our "family" gets together at this remote-I mean nine creek crossings remote-place in the middle of the national forest. Well, my friends JE, CJE, and I are heading out this afternoon to actually work in one extra day of camping. Someone will meet us at the first crossing since we do not have a vehicle capable of getting into the location.

Right now I am baking cookies, and I have most of the food ready in the food box. Yesterday while I was at our Thursday Night Knit Night, Patty got into the food box and ate all of her treats. I mean a sack full of treats. I am surprised that she wasn't throwing up all night. She bypassed her food sacks I had prepared. I guess the treats are more better.

This will be Patty's first camping trip, and her first sleeping in a tent trip. I am actually carrying a small blanket for her. Since I am not backpacking, I am not so concerned about the extra weight. I can't wait for her to realize that we cannot go inside the house to get warm. It will be a shock for her, I am sure.

I am not sure what knitting I will be taking. I know the mitts, since they are just a rib stitch. I want to take the fair-isle socks, but that will require some concentration. I finally dug out the handspun sweater that I had thrown aside in disgust about a month ago. I have almost tinked down to a spot that I can study the pattern and try to get back on track. That's about 4 inches of unknitting. It will require some concentration, too. I thought of baby socks, since my friend GAK wants me to knit a pair for her new baby grandson-of course, in green.

I will be carrying my Kindle, of course. I have a great book light that I clip onto my clothes and I can knit or read or whatever. I have my lantern/flashlight, of course. If I am sitting in a group, it isn't polite to have a bright light just to do my thing. My book light is a small LED light that I can direct down to my lap. It works great for this sort of thing.

There will be no phone service either, so everyone is out there without communication. You will not see anyone with a cell phone in hand, texting, talking, or other rude behavior. There will not be any computers anywhere, either. My Kindle is about as tech-ie as it gets.

I haven't replaced my camera yet, so there will be no pictures. Sorry! It is totally gorgeous in the forest, and the creek will be pretty high.

So off to get last minute things done. I have to get the ice chest out of the shed, clean it up, and then I have to check my list of camping gear one more time. Then I guess I better clean myself up and make sure I have all my activities lined up. Off to the woods! Yeah! First Frost! Yeah!

It's Spring Again!

2010-10-25T08:55:00.002-05:00

My camera is dead. I got the new battery, installed it, and the same error message came on again. I talked to a friend that knows a little bit about cameras and he told me immediately it is a wiring problem that is probably connected to the lens opening mechanism. So it is cheaper to go out shopping for a new camera at this time. I am not ready to do that, but will add it to my to-do list.

Yesterday was our sock group meeting. We met at someone's home instead of at the LYS. It was a very relaxed and happy group. One of our friends had some knitted garments in a fashion art show, and the people that attended gave us a report on that. We ate a lot of sugar, but it was all good.

My son and his lady friend are on their vacation. They will have some news to give us when they get back. My older brother called at 8 am to tell me he saw them last night. They were in Atlanta staying overnight with his daughter, and he came into town on a swing through to Mobile. He said they seem really good together, and that his daughter now has a boyfriend that is settling her down some. So I guess all the kids are settling down. His son is engaged to be married next year.

I finished the feather/fan scarf. It is really pretty, and it blocked out really nice. I used Noro sock yarn that was gifted to me. I don't like single ply yarn for socks, so it was destined to be something else.

I am almost finished with one of the ribbed fingerless mitts. I tried a cable pattern, but it got lost in the colorway. The yarn is very nice. It feels good, and I think it will be soft once washed.

I put everything on hold last week to get the alpaca spun for the judging deal. I got lazy about Friday, and did not push myself to finish by the end of the week. I set goals and push myself to meet goals. I get grumpy and I get mad. So I backed off, gave myself permission to not finish, and I have just a little more to do. Last night I got out the fiber I had carded, and spun up my single. Today I will ply it and card the last one. I will get it done, but it will take me longer than planned.

We are having the weirdest weather. I know I have been saying that a lot this year. But it is the fourth week of October and it is in the high 70's! Maybe close to 80 degrees today. It is muggy with humidity from the rain we just had over the weekend. It feels very Spring-like. Yesterday there were tornado warnings out for the southern part of the state up towards Little Rock. They say we are going to have a cold front this week, and that the low will drop to the 30's. Really! We are not getting a good Fall color season this year. It has just been too warm and dry.

My friend CJE spent the afternoon yesterday dyeing some more fiber. She found a tree had gone down over the driveway when she walked out to get the newspaper. So she just spent the day putzing around and decided to dye. I think she has finally gotten the dye-bug.

My computer just froze and I am hoping all this is working now. I had to go back and correct a few things, but I better quit while I am ahead. Have a good week!

$500 Socks! Yeah! Right!

2010-10-20T08:58:00.002-05:00

I tried to copy/paste the article today on Shine at Yahoo about the $500 socks that were ugly as sin and were not washable. Okay! What's the deal? I hope that my homely homemade socks are not going to be the ugly step-child in the closet. I like my warm woolies on my feet, I like that I can wash them, I like that they are handmade, and I like to make them. The joy of homemade socks is boundless.

It just doesn't seem right. Sock people have tried to tread on the surface for some time. We like socks, we like making socks, we like wearing socks. Despite the prejudice from What Not To Wear that threw out all the ladies socks she wore, I have persevered with making socks. I dare Clinton or Stacy to touch my socks.

Now this ridiculous parade down the runway with ugly tights and ugly socks. Huh! Sock people have more class. And cuter feet!

I believe it is daytime, although the fog has set in for a little stay. We had an unusual hot and dry spell for some weeks, and we finally got the rain we needed. With that rainfall, we got a cold front, so we had lots of thunder-boomers and lightening. Patty does not do well with that show of fireworks, and pitter-pattered up and down the hallway until I yelled at her to just get in bed and go to sleep.

I am waiting for the battery for my camera. I had to order it and it should be delivered today by UPS. Then I will find out if that error message was for the battery or is the camera DOA. I hope this works, because I have lots of things I want to take pics of .

Saturday my friend CJE came over and we spent a blissful day in and out of the kitchen dyeing and experimenting. We got the most luscious blue alpaca, some really lovely blue wool, some pretty pink wool, and she had faux cashmere from Paradise Fibers. I had never heard of it, but let me tell you, it sucks up the dye within minutes and sucks all the dye out of the water. We did several batches of that with just fun kind of dyeing. I also did one skein of blue that I consider to be a denim blue that looks like indigo. The sock yarn is an alpaca/merino blend. Unfortunately the alpaca rebelled and frizzed. I didn't do a second one because of that. It was very exhausting (what a pun). CJE took a nap late in the afternoon, and when she woke we went to eat. A rather busy, busy day.

Right now I have the handyman doing some essential repairs that have to be done now, rather than later. It is terribly distracting. But I am glad to find someone who really is doing the work, and not someone who will call me back later-then never does.

I got up early this a.m. to get ready for the repairs. Poor Patty. I had to make her go outside and then afterwards she went back to bed to sleep. She keeps yawning and stretching. I am seeing an older dog in her more and more as it gets cooler. I don't think she is as young as 5 years old. She moans and groans as she goes to lay down. And the snoring!

Noodles insisted that he wanted the lap every time I tried to sit down yesterday. It is hard to knit around a big ole cat in your lap. I finally gave up and put my feet up on the recliner. Then he eventually spreads out on my legs, and that gives me more room.

I have been working on the alpaca for the spinning guild work. I am not too happy with it, since I want to play with the stuff we just dyed.

The finches are definitely in their Fall coats. I miss seeing the bright gold and black flashes outside. Now everyone just blends in. They haven't started a feeding frenzy yet. There are too many seed sources still, and we haven't had a freeze yet. My cosmos is gorgeous. I hope the camera works so I show them.

Well, I will stop now so I pay attention to the handyman and what he is doing. Keep knitting socks, and don't expect to get $500 a pair for them either!

The Simple Life

2010-10-15T09:20:00.002-05:00

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln

My life is very simple, and for most days it is equivalent to watching paint dry. A lot of people ask me what I do all day, since now I consider myself retired. It sounds rather dull and boring, except to me. I get up, I open the back door, greet the back yard and scan around, walk Patty for her first little walk, and then I begin my day. I may spin a little, I may dye a little, I knit a little bit, I read, I do all those things and more. I check my emails, I might visit Ravelry once a week, and I do read other people's blogs.
This past week has been out of my comfort zone. I have had strange people in checking out the furnace system, and a new handyman that hopefully will do the priority things that will make it through another winter. I have been making appointments for winterizing the house and my riding mower. All these things are not part of my simple life, except they have to be done so I can have my simple life.

I am letting Patty's hair grow, and hopefully it will help her get through the winter okay. She is already groaning and moaning, so I think she is maybe a little bit arthritic. Everyone last weekend thought she was older than 5 years old. I can't tell. She's just a little dog to me. I now am calling her granny lady when she groans and moans. Right now she is in deep, deep sleep and is snoring loudly.

I could not find a manual online for my camera, but I did find a q&a section that mentioned some other error message for a different camera. It was suggested that they take out the battery, wipe it clean, reinsert it, then try that. When I was in Taos one of the vendors I know from the times I go there told me it was my battery. I tried the taking it out, wiping it, reinserting it, and it still was giving me the error message, and the black screen. So I tried recharging it. It would not recharge. So I took it out and I have tried every place I can think of in this town to get one. No one has that size battery. Everyone suggested the priciest camera shop in town. I am not going there because that store scares me. I am going to the Internet first. I will try to track it down. It is beginning to look like I may have to spring for a new camera if this becomes any more of a hassle.

I finally broke down and turned on the heat last night. It has been around 40 degrees, but yesterday morning when I got up my indoor thermometer said my house was 61 degrees. I was cold. I did not put on a wool sweater, but the sweatshirt was not all that warm. I did put a child's flannel shirt on Patty. It was good to just sit in the sun on the deck. Last night I turned it on and it was pleasant all night and this morning. I am one spoiled puppy when it turns cold.

So I am off to run a few errands. Then I will return to my simple little house and live my simple little life that is probably boring to most folks. But I am happy, and my birds are happy, and my pets are happy. What else could one ask for?

Yep! It's Fall!

2010-10-12T09:06:00.003-05:00

My assistant is looking for warm places lately. This seemed the best place at the time, even though it wasn't really the best.

I spent two days cleaning and sorting through things getting ready to go again on another quick trip. My son and his lady friend spent Friday night with me, and they left early on Saturday morning.

Then I rushed to take a shower, pack my bag, get the food together, and pack the car. I threw Patty and her stuff into the car and away we went on a trip to south Oklahoma. I have another friend that I used to go on trips all the time, and now just an occasional trip or two. So I guess this trip was in honor of those trips. I knew I needed to go west and south. So I held the map in my lap, and when I got to a road I would glance to see what direction it would go. I zig-zagged west and south and it took forever. At least one hour longer than was necessary. Coming home I took a direct east and north route and was home in much faster time.

I am now dead tired from all this traveling. I emailed my cousin and talked to my brother last night. They both have to travel all the time for their jobs. I cannot understand how they do it. I am truly worn out.

This morning I awoke to a heavy fog outside the window. It really and truly feels like Fall. It is chilly enough to wear a sweat shirt while I have the back door open. I have started feeding the birds.

Another sign of Fall are Fall chores. I have had the furnace inspected. The lawnmower man should be here today to service the riding mower for post-season stuff. And the handyman is lined up tomorrow to give me an estimate on all the chores I need done before winter. The furnace man assured me that my furnace and air conditioner are old and decrepit. I knew that already, but I am not ready for a reality check. I do have a sales person coming today to discuss all the options I have and I can do some more studying.

Yesterday evening I went online for the umpteenth time to study hvac issues, and I found an energy stick on one website. After I plugged in one year of utilities, I found out on a scale of 1-10 I am at 10 already with my old, decrepit units. I have a 0% footprint at the moment. But I think that is because I live alone, and that I am very,very conscious of my actions. I am insulating the windows and doors more this year than last. I put on more clothes or socks or a sweater or something. I was raised in a drafty old house with little insulation, and I know how to dress for the colder weather. It isn't pretty or sometimes comfortable, but it's do-able.

How do people manage without savings to prepare for these emergencies? I don't like to write big checks. It pains me in a way that is hard to explain. Maybe it is because it takes so long to get some savings, and I don't want to give it away. Maybe I have enough Scots-Irish in me to genetically say I am frugal. Maybe it's because I was raised by grandmothers and a grandfather that went through the depression. I don't know. But I hate to tap into my savings account.

Patty is still hunting for grasshoppers. I am hoping that soon she will forget them. If she eats too many of them, she throws up. Since she has no teeth to chew them, she gums them into small enough pieces to swallow. So when she throws up, there are grasshopper parts that are pretty recognizable.

Well, I am going to go back to winding off this skein onto the skein winder. I need to get the spinning off the wheel. It is hard to get back into my normal routine after all this chaos.

Have a good week. I hope all goes well. It feels like time to get the woolies out.

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. -Eden Phillpotts

Fiber, Food, and Fun!

2010-10-06T13:27:00.003-05:00

This is a HUGE pumpkin patch on the road to Taos through Kansas! This is in Granada, CO. It was after this picture that my camera screen went black and a message that said, "Error 45. Please see your user manual." So I was only able to get three photos the whole trip. I tried several times.

My girlfriend and I got up early Thursday morning, loaded up her stuff, and away we went across southwestern Kansas. I will not try to explain about the feedlots that hold huge amounts of cows waiting to be slaughtered. You smell them miles away and there is only that aroma that comes from a feedlot.

We stayed in Trinidad, CO, which is near the New Mexico border. Then after a stop at WalMart to get cold medicine for my friend, we crossed over to New Mexico. We saw tons and tons of antelope and one bison farm in the grassland before the mountains.

Once we arrived in Taos, we drove around a while so I could orient myself to the town again. We had a very hard time finding the alley that led to the bed and breakfast we were going to stay in.

This is the door to our room. I am pretty sure that this at one time must have been the maid's room. It was up three flights of very, very steep spiral stairs. It was located over the kitchen area.

This is only a part of the stairs we climbed up and down to and from the room. I think it was perhaps two feet wide. But I loved it. It was really a little bit isolated from the rest of the rented rooms, and I guarantee that no one would climb those stairs unless they wanted to. The door was not secure and we had a wide window in the bedroom that was open to the roof. We left that open most all the time. There was a skylight in the bathroom that allowed a cross ventilation.

What do I have to say about the Wool Festival? It was wonderful. There were 60 vendors this year. Some were new and some were old and familiar. The weather was hot during the day, and I got a little red burn in the face. I went to a class on how to start a business on etsy. That was very good.

Sunday we went to Espanola and Chimayo and returned to Taos on the High Road. They now have a brochure to promote the artisans and galleries on the High Road called The Art Tour of the High Road. Of course, most everything was closed since it was Sunday, and many of the studio require prior notification. We just enjoyed the twisting mountain road, and the coolness up at higher elevation.

Then we left our fantasies behind and returned to the real world.

Food was wonderful. We tried to eat outside as much as possible. We tried all kinds of stuff, but I don't do as well with strange food as I used to. My friend can eat peppers and hot stuff better than I can.

On the way home we stopped in Granada to buy some produce. My friend bought 50#s-yes, 50#s- of onions. I bought some melons. There is a town called Rocky Ford that has a reputation for melons. This is the last crop and they are smaller than previous crops. They smell wonderful.

So now I am back home, trying to get several things done before I have things to do this weekend. I have a load of clothes on the line outside, and I did a small permanent press wash that is in the dryer. I ran some errands in town earlier. I need to wash and vacuum the car, but I haven't done that yet.

Patty and Noodles were ecstatic to see me, needless to say. Noodles brought me a live rat sometime in the evening. I made him take it outside to eat it. When we went to bed, he got under the covers up close to me. Patty slept with her head on my feet.

I got up early and spent a lot of time in my studio. I love to brainstorm with other people about problems with different dye jobs or spinning problems. One lady gave me an idea this past weekend, and I wanted to try it out.

So now I must buckle down and get back to work. I need to finish some sewing. But I am still tired from my trip. It will take a while, I am sure.

More details later. Just to let you know I am back!

Friday Updates!

2010-09-24T18:12:00.002-05:00

Yes, this is Friday. A day that is unlike any other day this week. Just when I think I am getting ahead, I am reminded that I am behind.

Plus this Blogger goof is constantly editing itself. I lost one whole paragraph when I hit the space bar.

I finally finished the stupid linen stitch scarf of 450 stitches across and knitted long-wise. I tried 4 different bind-offs and I do not like a single one of them. I was told at the Knit Group that a standard bind-off is fine, and that when washed and blocked it all works out somehow. Well, I did not like that chained effect that conflicted so harshly with the cast-on stitches.

This morning I finished the bind-off, and I hate it. I tried my 4th one, and said to Hell with it. I am just going to finish this thing. I hate it. I am afraid it did not "work out" in the wash and block. Right now it is pinned and drying. I do not know what to do with the thing now that it is finished, and not to my liking at all.

I am on the home stretch with fingerless mitt #1. I decided to do something easy and fast to make up for the scarf debacle. I am using some fat merino yarn gifted to me, and #7 needles. Works up FAST!

I have been contemplating what knitting to take with me to Taos next week. I know I will take the feather/fan scarf, and what else? Actually I thought of not taking any knitting and giving my hands a break for a while. So what I will probably do is take the scarf, and not work on it much. That would give my hands a bit of a break. My arthritis is screaming today (we had rain this a.m.) and I have a sore tendon in my L thumb.

Our sock group meets on Sunday. CJE is coming over early so we can catch up on news. A lot of people are still busy, so it will be a small group.

Patty has certainly taken macro-steps this week. She has discovered the hunting and catching and gumming to death of grasshoppers! It is so totally gross, and I will not go into any details to anyone. But this has made her want to go out on her very own, and I have left the back door open for that purpose. Anything to encourage her independence. She is so intense with the hunting thing. I see her looking into bushes and plants. She pounces on them. It is funny to watch, until I see the legs sticking out, etc.

The babysitter for Patty and Noodles is coming tomorrow evening to get her key and to meet the animals and get the routine down. Yeah! for babysitters!

I am getting really excited about leaving on this trip. For the longest time I really dreaded the whole idea of packing up and driving and all the hassles. But the more I think about the cooler weather, the energy from all the fiber folks, and just being in Taos again, the more excited I get.
Just to be around people who speak the same language helps.

Well, Happy Weekend! Stay cool and remember it is never too early to knit for Christmas!

Is It Really the Middle of September?

2010-09-17T11:17:00.003-05:00

My gosh! I looked at the calendar just now, and yes, I will be in Taos in two weeks! Wow! Two weeks! I better get high behind and get this piddling knitting done and get something portable on the needles and get ready.

I am sorely tempted when I go onto blogs or etsy sites to buy something woolly, but I am holding myself back for the wool festival. I know that I will find something really nice there. I mean-who wouldn't find something nice there?

I also will make my regular trip to LaLana Wools and to Rachel Brown's store. I don't really have an agenda this time. I just want to go. I just want to be away. I just want to smell the sage and chimisa and all the desert plants. I want to have some different scenery.

I did get my car serviced this a.m. bright and early. They even washed it and vacuumed out the interior! I can strike that off the list.

I am really tired of the knitting I am doing right now. I want it over and done with. I have really found out that I am a process knitter. Once I have figured out the pattern and casted on and knitting is going smoothly, I am bored. I think that is why I like colorwork knitting. Lace is good too, but I get distracted easily and I don't always know how to read the knitting to figure out where I am on the chart.

I am disgusted with myself over the handspun sweater. I started decreasing for the armholes-no problem. I started with the lace pattern, and I thought it was no problem. Then somewhere about 2 inches into the lace pattern did I remember that one has to mark off the repeats so it lines up right as I decrease the armhole. Duh! How stupid! So now I have to unknit all that and start that over again. SIGH! Some days I could just scream at myself!

My friend's kitty that was sick did not die! Whew! She is eating again and is doing so much better! I am so relieved.

I did get a call from a long-distance friend that her mother had passed away yesterday. She has been in hospice for three months, and she passed in her sleep around 12:30 a.m. without pain or anymore suffering.

The weather is in that in between state of coolish mornings and 80's in the afternoon. Just now I could hear the woodpeckers calling. So it is getting close to time to put out the birdfeeder. I noticed that the finches are turning colors, too, into their winter time plumage. They are still eating on the sunflowers that are left. I made sure the manure tea has plenty of water and will age some more over the winter.

I had a huge garden spider in the compost bin for quite a long time. The biggest storm we had lately made her lose her web. I did notice another one attached to the shed wall and the comfrey stalks. I don't know if this is the same one or another one since I didn't get her name when I tried to put compost into the compost bin. When I was a little girl I called them letter-writing spiders.

Patty is wanting to go outside, so I guess I will walk out with her. Have a good weekend.

Weird Friday-Random Thoughts!

2010-09-10T13:06:00.002-05:00

Yes, the weather is changing. I read other bloggers and many up further north of this state are actually have coolish nights. Enough to actually be unsure about plants outside. We still have one more solid month before we begin to worry about plants outside.

The blackbirds are migrating. I toyed with the idea of putting out the birdfeeder so the finches would have enough seed to molt and fatten up for winter. But when I looked out and saw birds on the power lines like in the Hitchcock movie, I thought the birdfeeder can wait. If one of those pesty birds gets an inkling there is choice feed, all the birds will come around.

The light is changing. Normally I wake up around 6 a.m. and stay in bed as long as I can before Patty realizes I am awake. Lately I have been waking up around 7 a.m. instead, and I am always surprised that it is later than I think when I look out the window.

I am listening to a Deepak Chopra tape-The New Physics of Healing-while I am spinning. I decided to blend the two dabs of wool that I dyed with the brazilwood. So this yarn will be 50% romney, 25% merino, and 25% angora. The bunny is almost greasy feeling-certainly harder to spin than other fine fibers.

I am now decreasing for the armholes on the sweater. I haven't been knitting as much this week. My arms ache, and I decided to give it a rest. Last night was Knit Night at HandHeld.

Our sock club will begin again in a coupla weeks. That will be a nice intimate group of knitters, and I like that smaller group better. It seems we can share and talk about things better than a big group of people all knitting different things and talking about everything under the sun.

One of my knitter friends has a sick kitty, and it makes me sick to my stomach. It sounds just like how Baby got towards the end, and it makes me cry more. I know she is really hurting and trying to do everything for her kitty, and I can only hope the best. It is so difficult to lose one's fur child.

I finally made up my mind to go to Taos to the wool festival. I signed up for a class on Saturday morning, and that will be fun. I made reservations last February for a B & B downtown near the Plaza. Everything will be within walking distance, and I can just park my car. I found a sitter that will take care of Patty, and that's a relief. It will be very difficult to leave her, but it is not feasible to take her. If I was just traveling around, I would take her along. But since I am parking and not traveling for a few days, I can't take her along. I feel guilty, but I know I will get over it by the time I get through Tulsa. That sounds awful, but it will be good to be away for a while.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11, and it seems a lot of people are working themselves up into a tizzy. I just shake my head, and wonder what is wrong with people?

This morning at 3:30 am Noodles got in a big cat fight with someone traveling through. I ran out to the deck, quickly assessed the situation, and threw a big bucket towards them. It broke up the fight, but the intruder still had a hard time getting away. Now I just hope Noodles doesn't get sick from something he might get from the fight.

I think everyone is beginning to feel the need to knit sweaters and other garments since the weather finally broke. I am thinking about socks lately, but I have too many projects going right now. I kinda like the new group on Ravelry called Frankensocks. I have been using my leftover yarn for a lot of projects.

Have a great weekend. Get out and enjoy the weather while it is nice. I know Fall sports are starting, and don't forget to take your knitting with you to the game. We can root for our kids in all their games and still knit.

Don't forget that it is getting close to Fall chores in the yard, too, before the Frost. And don't forget to have your lawn mowers serviced at the end of the season.

Keep knitting and have fun!

Whew! The Drought Broke!

2010-09-03T13:42:00.002-05:00

Yes! It is Pre-Fall! We have had some rain, a little thunder-booming last night, and a cool front blew in with a lot of north wind! It is one of those glorious days of listening to the wind chimes and bells, and letting the wind blow in through the open windows and doors.
I boiled up some marigolds that were stashed in the freezer and made a wonderful dye. Although the color looks washed out in this photo, it really was a golden mustard yellow. Really nice! So nice that one of my little friends decided to visit. I had to wait until it left before bringing in this skein. I didn't want to disturb him/her.

I am having a hard time concentrating today. I just want to do stuff. I guess I just hunkered down waiting for the weather to break during the whole month of August.

Yesterday I took Patty with me to Knit Night. The LYS has some really gorgeous yarns in right now. A sure sign that Fall is coming soon. It was really noisy at some point, and I just packed up and came on home.

I am in the mood to sew right now. Don't know why, but I am. I haven't actually cleaned up that room since I did the floors way back in the Spring. I still have stuff just stashed in there, and I really need to clean it out. That seems to be the one room Noodles likes the best; I guess because there is less traffic through there than the others.

Speaking of Noodles, he is on one big ole rat-killing spree. Every night he tries to bring one into the house. So far I have managed to way-lay him and keep them out. I found one decapitated on the back doormat, and a whole one on the front doormat the other day. These are field rats-like pocket rats-not those ugly big ole Norwegian sewer rats. They are not too repulsive. At least he has laid off the birds for a little while.

Speaking of birds, the hummingbirds have slowed down. Maybe they are going to migrate soon. I have noticed a change in light lately, so maybe they will take off. The earth is rotating again. Another season is approaching.

I did get out and repair and remake my post birdfeeder. It seems the bottom was totally not savable. With Noodles and the raccoons jumping up on it, it had finally decided to give up. Noodles will jump up and hook his arm onto the feeder and swipe out to catch the bird. It is quite a feat, but doable for him. I put a new bottom on and got it all ready for birdfeeding season.

So stay focused and enjoy this glorious weekend. It is wonderful weather again for a little while. So enjoy!

Busy Week!

2010-08-27T15:39:00.001-05:00

Well, this has been a busy week! It has gone by fast, and when I look at the calendar, I wonder where the month has gone.

I have been knitting a lot, and I have been spinning a lot. But there does not seem to be a lot of progress made. The linen stitch scarf is on the last two inches now, but it is such a slow-knitting scarf. I have to finish it this week to avoid humiliation. Everyone else has finished at least one, and TR is on her second one already. I have lined up a fair-isle scarf as the next one, but it is waiting patiently for its turn.

CP brought a pair of socks she is working on in a knit-a-long that incorporates the linen stitch in the pattern. I really like the idea of using the linen stitch for the heel flap. Seems a nice sturdy heelflap that would take the wear and tear. You know, I do not have a sock on the needles! How strange. I am socked out right now.

I was honored that SDH asked me to play with dyes with she and her granddaughter yesterday. We did splatter-dyeing for t-shirts and we ended up dyeing two skeins of yarn for me and three for her. I do not take dyeing very seriously, but I am always amazed at dye results from first-timers. I think that it is always interesting when one has never learned the rules and feels no fear to try something that is new. And a child always thinks a lot of dye is better than a little bit of dye.

My neighbors have gone on a little trip, so I am getting their mail and newspaper. It is a chance for me to catch up on news. I quit reading the newspapers a long time ago, and I seldom watch news on the t.v. But I grew up reading the paper twice daily and discussing it. But the newspaper here is dull and repeats the same old news all the time. But I do like to read the local reviews of movies and get the happenings around town. Not that I go to movies any more.

JF went to see Eat Pray Love and said it was definitely worth going to see. I trust my friends reviews. I read the book, and I am sure Julia Roberts integrity would not allow a sleazy movie.

I am presently reading a wonderful book about a guy that blew up the Glen Canyon Dam and a smaller dam downstream. He is -gasp!- an environmentalist that was tired of the bureaucrats and other politics in the organizations he joined that he hoped would save the Colorado River. Of course, they were a waste of his time, so he concocted his own scheme to save the Colorado River. I think I shocked the others in our knitting group when I told them that one of my fantasies as a young girl was to blow up Hoover Dam and save the Colorado River. That's why I like the book, I think. Someone else had the fantasy, too.

I just made a cable boo-boo on my handspun sweater. It is really difficult to unknit cables. I am not happy with it, but I think it will be okay. I am not going to rip it out again. Pooh!

Patty went to the groomer this week, and he skinned her good. I am trying to let her go back to the Schnauzer look, but it will take a while to undo the mess I made in my haircuts. Luckily her hair does grow pretty fast.

It has been pretty cool at night, and she is sleeping pretty close to me at night. I get too restless at times, and she moves away. But I will wake up with her attached to my back or my butt or my legs. I may have to make her a sweater this winter.

Well, must go. Have a good weekend. I still have some marigold dye left, and I am going to dye a coupla more skeins of yarn. Nothing else is planned.

I know CJE and AE are back from Borneo, so we will probably get together some time this weekend. Nothing else going on.

Talk at ya next week.