Random Like a Lion

Well, we are glad that the beginning blast of March weather did not make its way any closer to us. I just kept the television on in the background to keep an eye on things, and curled up with the Kindle and finished reading a book. However, after finishing, I have kind of floundered, not really able to settle on anything. I knit some, but interruptions prevented any real progress. I even considered making more owl hats, but I could not find my crochet hooks. Rather than make you worry and wait, I will let you in on that mystery--I had put the hooks away where they belong. Imagine that!

We followed that with Aunt Sarah duty with a just-unwell-enough-to-need-to-stay-home-nephew. He remembered to bring his uke along, and we made great progress. I gave him a new set of strings, and he is one chord away from being able to play one of his favorites, "This Land is Your Land." Oddly enough, he was rather unimpressed with my rendition of "Hungry Like the Wolf."

After that, it was a flurry of housework that ran headlong into an unexpected out-of-town visitor, and then one we were planning on having. I had hoped for a quiet, plain, boring, nothing day, but it is not likely to happen anytime soon. Maybe one week from tomorrow, but that is the Ides of March, and I will probably not have the power to beware.

Probably most of tonight will be a not sleeping one, but maybe I will knit. I just hope everyone else sleeps in, and I can secure large quantities of coffee.

Did I mention that I volunteered to give a weaving demonstration next week?

My Lace Book Has a Centerfold

My friend came to my rescue with this thoughtful gift, I now have lace on the needles, and it feels right--it has been too long. The book is Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World, and it is wonderful. The stories and information throughout the book are fascinating enough, but then there are so many charts, (including ones that fold out!) new (to me, at least) stitches, and the projects include a nice variety of shapes and sizes. I decided on the Rata Scarf for my first project. I thought that would be a nice way to ease back into it. I am further along than my progress picture shows, but still have a long way to go. The center panel has 504 rows, and the right and left edgings have 510 rows each. I have already worked the bottom edging, and am working the left edging along with the center. I am currently working from three charts, and have to keep an eye on the written instructions for additional, important information. It is interesting without being too complicated, and still giving me the challenge that I need right now.

I'm an Owl Exterminator!

It is all owls, all the time here. I have been hooking almost nonstop for about the last week-and-a-half. I do not remember just how it all started, but once I began, I never found a stopping point, and now that season two of Downton Abbey is over, I do not know when I will stop. The bright colors and acrylic yarns are not my usual style, but they work for these hats. I did get a look from a knitter in a waiting room the other day, but when I asked how she liked the Signature Needle Arts circs she was using, my Real KnitterTM credit appeared to be restored, or not--I really do not care.

The finished hats were piling up for a while, and then I gave four away. Three went as birthday gifts, and one went to a niece because she wanted one. The kids love the hats, and so do their parents. Another niece asked me to teach her mom how to knit (and then she asked me to teach her mom how to crochet once I told her the hats are crocheted) so that she could have one. I have already taught this particular niece to knit, I have a feeling she does not want to learn to crochet any more than I want to teach her, I know her mother does not want to learn, and I have already given an owl hat to her sister, so I think making one for her is the best option.

The two sleepy owls are meant for the future new nephew and niece, and when another sister-in-law saw them, she asked if I would make two for her twin infant nieces. I am not sure what will happen with the rest. People keep telling me that I could sell them, (yes, the designer does allow this) and the same thoughts go through my head each time I hear it. Usually I think, "If people will pay, please give me money, or point me in the direction of those who will." Then I just have a chuckle to myself about being a hooker who never gets paid.

Love in Black and White

The return of knitting may be nigh, but it is not here, yet. Still, there is yarn, the need to create is here, and the desire to give to others is always with me. The next thing I knew, I was telling Bruce that he needed to decide which end of our home he wanted to be on for just a little bit because I was going to warp my Cricket.

The weaving seemed to zoom across the loom. I had a nice rhythm, and watching the pattern form was so satisfying--almost hypnotically soothing. I just knew that it was going to be perfect for my friend, and that made the experience even better.

Well, it was supposed to be a Groundhog Day present, though it was a bit late, but it arrived, and it fits, and I think it looks great on her!

Happy Groundhog Day!

The forces have been conspiring against me to prevent me from enjoying the holiday, but I did not let them. Of course, it would be fairly impossible to not celebrate, as we are getting six more weeks of winter! You might have had a hard time knowing that it is still winter if you had been in my yard today, as there were bunches of cardinals, two woodpeckers up in the trees, and a blue jay eyeing the pan of cat food.

Then, I learned that today is World Ukulele Day. February 2nd is turning out to be one of the most festive days of the year, eh? Probably, I will end the day with a celebratory hot cocoa.

Anyway, it cannot be all ukuleles and groundhogs around here, so I have been doing other things. Some of them are gifties, and others are just slow and not great for progress shots. Obviously, I cannot show the giftie-bits, but I can show the slowness. I am carding fiber. I suppose I should have warned you to sit down for a moment before laying excitement like that on you, but I am wilder than ever today.
I know that I have wool and silk, but that is about all that I know. What I thought I knew was that this was going to be blended for me, but it was a misunderstanding. It is fine, because it gives me the opportunity to use my hand cards with good fiber. My previous experience has been with some not-so-stellar stuff, and my results showed it. Anyway, I am about halfway through, and now that I have cleaned up the runaway bits of fluff, it is time to take up the process again so that I can get it on the wheel.

p.s. I just received a text from my brother--Katie is going to be a big sister to a little sister!

These Dreams

You know--the ones that go on when I close my eyes. Well, they have not been so great, and their meanings are not so hidden. I had one where Cookie emailed me and asked why it had been so long since I had blogged. Of course, that was a reminder that I had missed Cookie's birthday. Then there was the one where people were yelling at me while I played ukulele. This is because I am musically horrible. The most disturbing was the dream where everyone was after my ginger root. They only came around when my ginger root had regenerated enough for a piece to be cut off, and it was all very stressful. I have that dream figured out, too.

Anyway, I have not been knitting, and I think I have worked why that is the case, but issues remain. However, I have been at the sewing machine some. Mostly that means I hemmed my nephew's pants, but I did make a pincushion, too. I made mistakes with it, but it is not completely terrible. Soon, I hope to sew an apron, and it will have cupcakes on it.

Speaking of cupcakes, I have been spinning my Leafy BFL/silk Cupcake Fiber Co (Happy 1st Birthday!) batts. The spinning experience was wonderful and even more comforting during this time of not knitting. I did pretty well, and am pleased with my efforts and results. I spun, plied, washed, and now have my big, squooshy skein of two-ply, laceweight yarn, (yardage undetermined) as well as my tiny, squooshy, mill-end skein of eleven yards. I finished it just before my new box of Cupcake batts arrived. I almost got the Mother of Pearl, but decided to get Royal because I have wanted it for so long.

Speaking of long, I have yammered on long enough, so, Happy Wednesday!

Living and Learning

Perhaps I could be jumping for joy that it is January, but that might indicate that December was not good, and it really did have some wonderful times. There were some difficulties as well, and they greatly affected everything else. When last we parted, I could not sleep, and it was not the kind where I can get things done when I should be sleeping, but rather the bleary-eyed, sitting-like-a-useless-lump, type. Yeah, I often have trouble with that, but this was worse, and after about two weeks of not getting more than about two consecutive hours of sleep, my back could not cope and it brought on that vicious cycle of pain and sleeplessness. Eventually it changed, and I am so very grateful for that.

While it is true that this explains much of where my December went, there was more. We had anxious times when it seemed as though the ukuleles for the nieces and nephews would not arrive in time, and then cheers of joy when they did. More about ukes in a bit.

There was not nearly as much knitting (see above) but I did manage to finish two birthday gifts in time. By the way, the other moose hat was not lost, but a re-sizing attempt went horribly wrong, and that is why the replacement hat was necessary. I even made it to the post office on time, and for that I deserve extra brownie points. I suppose I lose points because the Bella Mittens were still damp, but it takes for-evah for bulky, cabled knits to dry.

One knit that I thought would be for Mom ended up being mine. I was going to knit as many Calorimetry as possible for her, but I only made one, it is big, and I love wearing it. My unlabeled Unclaimed Baggage yarn was not Plymouth Boku, but rather, Noro Silk Garden. There were even twigs and a knot to prove it. I used every last bit of the yarn, and could not be more pleased. It works on even my biggest hair days.

The process of getting ukuleles for the nieces and nephews revealed something to me. Last year, I bought one for Bruce for his birthday. What I discovered last month is that he did not really want one. Well, he wanted me to get one for him, but he wanted me to play it. I found that out while I was looking for a simple Christmas song to teach the kids when they got their ukes. Then, I learned how to play "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, so there you go.

That is not the only thing we learned last month. We learned that my nephew, Roshawn, needs glasses, and that he will be a big brother to a little brother in April. On Thanksgiving, we also learned that my niece, Katie, will be a big sister in July, so we will have to wait a bit to find out the brand on that baby.

With all that we have learned lately, I wonder what all we will learn in 2012. I suppose I am a little bit excited and a little bit scared, but that's life, isn't it?