Felted Friday FO--Finally

I am not quite sure what the start-to-finish time is in on this, but I sure am glad it is done. My niece begged to make a felted purse a few years ago, so I bought the yarn for her and helped her with the pattern and some of the knitting. From time to time, she would knit it at our home or during family gatherings, but it has mainly been in a state of hibernation. Occasionally, she felt that the burden of knitting it was just too great, but felt great anguish over not having a finished purse. After Thanksgiving dinner last year, she tried to teach others to knit in an attempt to get someone else to finish the last twelve inches of i-cord. Everything went back in the bag and waited for her. Sometimes she would ask to come over to work on her purse, and then forget about it twenty minutes later. One day last week she asked again, and again, we told her that would be fine. You could have knocked us over with a feather when she called the following day. In short order, she finished those last stitches, I attached the handle, and it was in the washing machine felting away. She happily posed for the photo and then took her new purse home, and the next part of the journey belongs to her.

Oh, Land Legs, Where Are You?

We are back from our travels, and it was something else. Nearly everything has been put away, and most of the laundry is done (from the trip, that is), the grass is cut ( we will not mention the weeds), and beginnings of bread are in progress. While waiting for the swimmy head to stop, how about some Ten on Tuesday?This time it is the things we like about where we live, and I do not need a list of ten to describe just why I am glad to have found this place.

This is where I found my Bruce!

I will be back later with tales of spinning and knitting.

4th, 60th, 80th

It has been very busy over the past week. My grandparents were in town to visit and celebrate. We had the big gathering on the 4th of July. Food, fun, family, and fireworks made it a great day. The celebration began a bit shakily, as in an effort to be accommodating and not be bossy, we can be a bit vague about the details, but we quickly got on track and had a wonderful time.

While getting together with far-away family is already a reason to party, we had other occasions to commemorate. This year marked my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary, and my grandfather's 80th birthday.

Of course, it was not all about the big party. Quieter times spent with just a few of us at a time gave us special moments. Grandma knits and spins, so we spent more than a little time discussing those topics. We had a fiber acquisition adventure and discussed patterns and techniques. Grandpa remains perplexed as to why one would knit socks two-at-a-time, and I remain perplexed as to why he feels the need to keep questioning us about it.

It was busy, intense, fun, and occasionally stressful, but we managed to relax enough to enjoy our time together. We even got over ourselves enough to pose for a group photo without hysterics or drama.

Wednesday Whirlwind

The summer heat is in full swing, so we say goodbye to the snow peas. We had about 3/4 pound of them, and they were so tasty. Briefly, I felt like a successful gardener. Really, twelve ounces of snow peas is a big pile. They are our best harvest so far. The stray cats have also declared the end of snow peas in the garden to be tragic. They quite enjoyed spending time amongst them. Sometimes they best loved to nap under the snow peas' cool shade. Other times, they played jungle cat--hiding and then pouncing. I think we will plant more when cooler weather returns. No, not more stray cats, thankyouverymuch.

Speaking of exciting gardening news, I have seen baby watermelons! We planted many more seeds this year in hopes of increasing our success. If you recall, one softball-sized watermelon is our current record. Bruce is very pleased to have found seeds for a variety he remembers fondly from years past called Sun and Moon. I will not even ask anyone to guess the song that runs through my head when I think of this type of watermelon. It is "The Only Time" by Nine Inch Nails.

I think I might need a yellow shirt. The Tour de Fleece is almost here, and I have ideas. Some of it involves spindling. The wheels cannot follow me everywhere I might be next month. If all goes according to plan, there is a small Las Vegas adventure happening soon. One of the travel days might need some extra knitting, but I have not yet made any decisions. Probably it will not be this, though lately, I have had an inexplicable urge to knit it. Yeah, we have conditions in the nineties for temperature and humidity, and I feel the need to knit a stranded vest.

As it has been a number of years since I last flew, I have been reading a little bit about how the rules have changed. No, I am not posting a question about bringing knitting needles on the Big Six, but I would like to be aware and prepare accordingly. Once again, the innerwebs have varied information--clearly, not all of it to be trusted. What I have determined, is that perhaps the quickest, easiest way to make it through security is to have a service monkey. Of course, I did read a lot of advice, and it is possible that some bad tips filtered through with the good.

Monday's Got a Little Love Around

Maybe I did not get completely caught up, but I made progress. I weeded in the garden and the feedreader. Clearing out what needs to be gone from the garden is continual, but in some ways, easier. It is simpler to know what should be removed. The long list from the feedreader is a bit more of a challenge. This go around, I just removed those where the blogger has ceased blogging for a year or more. The next round will be more of a challenge, but it needs to be done because I cannot keep up with it all, and the weight of trying has taken its toll. I reflected and evaluated, and was sometimes surprised at what I discovered, but will wait to decide for another day, but not for too long. I suppose it just reminds me of another situation, and that is what is makes this more difficult than it might normally be.

Anyway, I have been knitting, and the knitting has been good. I am nearing completion on another Hermione Hearts Ron. It is much further along than when I was taking photos last week. I need to finish it and get it in the mail this week, as we are reaching the end of another round over at Caps for a Cure.

I also finished knitting a shawl, but more about that later. You can see it unblocked underneath this pile of love. Fabulous friends attending Estes Park Wool Market saw these amazing Pygora/Firestar batts and thought of me. The loving gift brought tears to my eyes and brightened a dark day. I get choked up thinking about it every time.

Sweetness

The gardening is coming along. Not only did the lavender plant produce its first bloom, but kept growing enough so that I could make a lavender wand. I could not find ribbon, so I used crochet cotton to weave it instead. The wonderful fragrance has filled the living room as it has dried. After cutting the stems to make the first wand, the plant shot out some more, so I think I will be able to make another this week.

Speaking of sweetness, Sara chose me for a Beautiful Blogger Award. I am humbled and speechless. Thank you, Sara. Now, I am supposed to list ten things about me that you do not know, but I am not going to because I cannot think of any. Instead, I will try to catch up on reading, commenting, and email.

Never Let Bitterness Take Root

The name, Bitterroot, has always bothered me. In fact, I almost would not knit it because of the name. Bitterness is such an unfortunate condition, and once it takes root it is even more difficult to remove. Still, it is such a pretty shawl, it did inspire me to reflect on the condition of my heart, and that is good. Also, it was an enjoyable knit, and the experience increased my confidence in my spinning. While I was a bit disappointed to run out of yarn, I was quite pleased to be able to spin more and have it match what I had done months ago.


So, I am sure you are all wondering who will get this shawl. Well, since no one guessed that planting marigolds makes either, "All I Need is a Miracle" (just substitute marigold for miracle) by Mike + the Mechanics, or "Marigolds" by Glen Phillips play in my head, I needed to find someone else. Then, on Mother's Day, I was talking to my grandma, and when I described what I had been knitting, she asked that I not give it away before she can see it when she visits next month. Clearly, this means that the shawl should be for her. If I had known that it was going to be hers, I would have knit the smaller version, as she is tiny, and this shawl is huge. Still, it will keep her warm, and I am so excited to give it to her.

UM...Becoming Gentler...or Art-ier...or...

Maybe I will learn to ply my trade more gently or artfully. I suppose those are all improvements I need to make, but for now, I am going to sit back and relax with my new dvd set, The Gentle Art of Plying. I will finally be doing something for the Tour de Fleece Training Camp. Yay, me!

Fresh air :: Breath

Bodyguard :: Protect

Wedding :: Bells

Remind :: Me

Wicked :: Game

Crawling :: Creeping

Gasoline :: Alley

Anyone :: Mind?

Dancing :: Dark

Wall :: Head

Jumping Around in June

We will just pretend that my jumping was so joyous that I sprung right past the first. Of course, after a month where I rarely knew the day of the week, missing just one day seems like I am doing great. June is sure to be better. So far, my niece, Kaitlyn, has been released from PT, and all of the other therapists have given the green light for her to go to kindergarten this year. We could see she was ready, but I can tell my sister-in-law needed to hear it from them.

Anyway, new month, new lace, right? It may or may not be the answer, but it is definitely a good idea. I am knitting another Swallowtail Shawl, and it is coming along nicely. Once again, this is not for me. This shawl will go to a friend I have recently reconnected with after many years. While seeing each other in person is not likely to happen anytime soon, it is still quite nice to be in touch again after all this time.

The beginning of what we hope will be sourdough made its way to me this week. My sister has been raving about the bread that her co-worker bakes, so she pushed my name to the top of the starter waiting list. It requires another feeding before it is ready to go, but there are already claims on the first loaves.

The weather people are predicting lots of random rain, thunder, and hot for this week. The good part is that it means we do not need to water the garden. However, it also means outside time does not always happen when I would like it, and I am still trying for a photo shoot for Bitterroot. I need to put out some food for the wandering cats, clean out my gills, and get out there and do my best at the next opportunity.

Speaking of the garden, check out my first lavender bloom ever.

UM...Skew May

I think this month needs to be over. Skew it, I say. Oh, well, I do have a nifty new pair of socks.

Cream :: Whipped
Be with you :: Always
Pancakes :: Eggs
Believe :: In You
45 :: RPM
Eat :: Chocolate
Background :: Check
Pane :: Window
Aim :: Fire
Collapse :: Exhaustion

Ten on Tuesday: Telephone Trouble Edition

I could surely go for some of those Ten Favorite Cookout Foods today.

Watermelon
Bratwurst
Corn on the Cob
Homemade Ice Cream
Cheeseburgers
Potato Salad
Picnic Eggs (old joke from church--you might know these as deviled eggs)
Potato Chips and French Onion Dip
Pistachio Salad
Coconut Cake
Strawberries and Pound Cake (maybe with a little whipped cream, too)

I am ready to rip the phone out of the wall and throw it out the door. It is quite close to voting day for the primaries. That means about six computerized messages and polls daily. They fill our answering machine when we are gone and disrupt whatever we are doing while at home. Today, however, has had an added bonus. It is a sweepstakes scam. The claim is that I am the third price winner of 2010 for paying my monthly bills on time. No fewer than five times did the same individual called within about a 90-minute period. The attempts were laughable, and if they were not so numerous, I would be laughing right now. I did chuckle on the inside picturing Hermes Conrad as the person on the other end. No, I am not going to my local mega-mart to wire money to the islands where an agent will take care of my percentages so I can get my claim receipt which I would give to a waiting UPS car that would deliver my bonus prize basket and check for 1.5 million, nor will I be attempting to cash a check at a banking establishment that has no branches in this area. My telephone service provider's response was an attempt to sell me additional features.

I think I might refuse to answer the phone for at least the rest of today, or possibly the week. For now, I am going to relax to the soothing aroma of baking bread, drink some nice tea, and maybe even finish a pair of socks.

Kneadless to Say

I have been having fun playing with my new book, Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett. I have already tried out the Country Fair White and Great Granola Breakfast breads from it. Since a few other people were interested to try the new bread, the once fresh, full loaves are now sad and small. I guess it is time to get another batch of dough going.

In between batches of bread, I finished knitting Bitterroot. All that remains is the blocking, and that has to wait for now. We have The Conjunctivitis Cowboy staying with us for a little bit. He hopes to be well enough to return to school in time for Fun Friday.

Not Quite One Year Later

When last we saw our Azalea Vintage Cardigan, its fate was in question. Would it go to live with someone else? Could I find a solution to make it work for me? Would it return to stash form? Would it really be cut into pieces and then burned? Since I was much closer to cutting and burning, I set it aside. When I put it a few days later, it fit. How? That is a mystery, but a happy one.

While I wondered whether it might turn back into an odd, unwearable piece within a week, I decided to believe I had a victory, and worked on it a bit more. I was not super-pleased with the neckline. I had worked crocheted slip stitches around, but it needed more. I considered adding a picot finish, but rejected that idea after a bit of experimentation. Then I thought about the rolled stockinette others had done, but I just was not feeling that, either. The pattern calls for working i-cord and then sewing it to the cardigan, and just thinking about doing that was draining my will to live. Still, i-cord is a nice finish, so I decided to do applied i-cord. I did not even have to think about the rate of picking up stitches because of the crochet finish I had already worked. A little while later, it was finished with the exception of buttons.

I got out my button stash and tried out styles. The coconut shell ones would have been perfect if they were smaller. Then there were the pearly ones that looked so nice, but were too small. The wooden ones really called to me, but would not fit, either. I found another set of pearly buttons that seemed perfect, but I did not have enough. So, it seemed it would need to wait for a trip to the store.

The next time I went out and found myself near a Hancock Fabrics, I did not have the cardigan with me, but I did not let that stop me. The wall of buttons mesmerized me, and it took me a while to notice that they were on sale for 50% off the regular price. It did not take long to find several styles that I wanted for future knitting, as well as some possibilities for my GVC.

Then it was time to repeat the process of trying to make a match between the nearly finished cardigan and the new buttons. If I were really into having a bunch of kitty faces on my sweater, I could have stopped looking almost immediately. They actually looked nice, but it is not the look I was going for with this project, and those were purchased for future knitting. Anyway, as I worked to find just the right buttons to work with this, I picked up the wooden set from the stash again, and now they fit. I really do not know how to explain any of it.

After I sewed on the buttons, it was time for the photo shoot. After about fifty pictures I decided that if none of them were good, it was not likely I would ever get a nice photo. Once I had them all loaded to the computer, it was interesting to see how really dreadful this nice sweater could look. Then there were the shots where the sweater looked fine, but I had a horribly pained (or irritated, angry, annoyed, bored, confused, or out-of-touch) expression on my face, or a ray of sun was shining on me in an unfortunate way, or the body-image-issues-gremlins tried to ruin everything.

While just short of a year is a rather sorry start-to-finish time for a cardigan, I am pleased that it is finished, and that it fits. We even had some of that cooler-than-average weather over the weekend, which gave me several opportunities to wear my new sweater. I still have mixed feelings about it after some of the ups-and-downs I had with it, but I am thinking about calling it a win.

I Love the Sounds of Random on a Wednesday

Like dried peas in a goose windpipe within a ball of yarn (see Folk Mittens for details), so are the Randoms of Our Wednesdays.

I remember Cookie got the idea from someone else to show off a purchase of the week. When we were out-of-town over the weekend, I found this on clearance and felt compelled to buy it. Yes, it is Bacon Floss. The package states that it effectively removes plaque and leaves breath bacon fresh. For some reason, I feel that I ought to use a picture of this product as my Ravatar.

There is a certain amount of spinach one ought not exceed consuming within a short period of time. I do not know the exact amount, but it is something less than what I have eaten lately. Also, purchasing spinach from Costco is probably better suited to larger households.

I occasionally feel great anxiety over Facebook, and thus resisted signing up for an account. It is all rather odd and difficult to describe. I have worked my way through most of the issues that held me back, and decided to let it be to keep from the time-suck aspect. On the other hand, that Farmville sounds fun, so last week I registered under the pseudonym, Insaknitty Gumbo. It is the name I think I should have chosen for my blog, but I did not think of it then. Anyway, it would seem that Farmville requires neighbors, and that does not thrill me, so I decided to see how much I would like playing on my own. I was about over it when I got a friend request from someone I do not know. She is a knitter. I do not know what prompted her to FBfriend me, but she did, and I accepted. Well, I was about to be done with it when I received a friend request from someone I actually know and with whom I want to stay in contact. My experiences confirm that it is all a bit creepy and I am not sure what I will do. I could sign up with my actual name and play FB for real, I could dump it all and walk away, or I could just keep going on as Insaknitty Gumbo.

We are gardening again, and Bruce feels a bit more hopeful about it this year. There is so much we would like to grow, space and conditions do not allow for all of it, but we are trying. Also, at some point, we could cross the line where we have made more work for ourselves than we can handle, and that balance can be difficult to find. I have been putting out marigolds, and usually one of two songs run through my head when I do though I doubt anyone will be able to guess. After all, no one figured out that knitting Ice Queen made "Rocket Queen" by Guns 'n' Roses or "50ft Queenie" by PJ Harvey go wild in my brain, though there were some good guesses. Anyway, as for the marigold songs, for one I mentally replace the correct word with "marigold," thus making it something of a parody, I suppose. As for the other, it is not an upbeat, encouraging song. Perhaps if you know these answers, Bitterroot belongs to you, as she has been telling me that she is probably not mine, but is unsure whose she is.

Bursting Box

Recently, Marcia had a contest over at The Attic, and I was the winner. She put together a wonderfully generous package, and I am already enjoying the contents. There was not enough room in the photo to show all of the lovely Shetland fiber. I cannot wait to start spinning it. The colors of the sock yarns are so bright and fun. Since my Skew socks are going so well, it gives me hope that I might knit more socks in the not-too-distant future. The purple Border Leicester/Angelina yarn has been whispering that it is going to become a new scarf for me, and that I should start looking at patterns right away.

Starting the lovely Shetland fiber has waited patiently while I finished spinning the alpaca for Bitterroot. I went ahead and spun the rest of the pile of alpaca fiber, and it gave me a chance to use the fancy new orifice hook that was also in the prize package. Right now, the hook is resting in that cute little basket and hanging from my wheel, just waiting for me push everything aside to spin some more.

Mailbox Mania

Trips to the mailbox have been very rewarding this week. The beads for Bitterroot showed up, and I have already been working with them, although they are very difficult to see in this photo. With only twenty-five rows remaining, I have answers about the yarndage. Yeah, I am going to need to spin some more yarn for this shawl, but I view that as more good news.


Speaking of beads, look what Our Opal sent to me. This is such a cute book, with so many different patterns. We have both been noticing how many books we have that we are yet to create from yet. Still, there's always tomorrow, and the inspiration for today, right? Did you know that Opal has a new place? Remember to update your bookmarks and feedreaders accordingly. To celebrate the move, she is having an excellent contest you will want to enter.

Speaking of winning contests, well, that will have to wait for another day.

Yo, Dough, and Double Doh!

I made yogurt, and that was pretty much the coolest thing I have done this month. I know that I made it more work than it needed to be, and that next time will be easier and better. I am perhaps more excited about this than I should be, but I like yogurt.

I tried a new-to-me method of making bread. I had a free booklet with a few recipes from Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett. It was fine, but perhaps needs more exploration and experimentation. This is one of those long, cool rise methods. I started on a Saturday and was baking the dough on Monday.

I finished knitting the Golden Vintage Cardigan. There really was not much left, and it did not take long. It is so cute, but it does not fit me. I kind of want to take my scissors to it and then burn it. This is how it looks right now. Note that I used tape to close the front, as sewing on buttons right now would be even more ridiculous. As far as I can tell, the problem, like others of mine, is in the armpits. It is really quite horrible. I know that the trouble must be with me, as others have knit this cardigan and had it fit nicely. I have a few ideas of what I will do with this. One of them would be to undo the seaming, rip back some, and fix it. However, I think that if I take the time to pick it back apart, I will not be fixing the sweater, but rather, I will be ripping, re-skeining, washing, and returning the yarn to stash.

The Bitterroot Shawl is coming along nicely. I have reached the first row of the beads, but they are not yet here. I think they should arrive early this week, but I am not too concerned. What does concern me is how light my remaining cake of yarn feels, so I weighed it. The next step was a quick check in with the Shawl Progress Calculator (it's in the sidebar). Yeah, so those numbers gave me useful information, but not the answers I hoped to find. At least I have more of the fiber, and a reason to get spinning right now.

I Might Need to Borrow a Stronger Cup of, "No."

Actually, I just need to be alright with having said that I will not be able to do something for someone, and let the other person be responsible for understanding that my saying, "No, I will not be able to do that. I'm sorry; I cannot take on that commitment," means just that. Having someone disregard that threw me for a bit of a loop.

When the phone rang Monday morning, I learned that someone out in the family is having a new baby this year, and that the great-grandmother would like me to knit a blanket for the occasion. Twice in the past, I have knit baby blankets on her behalf. Once again, she ordered the kit, and then asked me to knit. I feel a little bit bad about turning her down, but I think that this is the right decision for me. After I had told her that I would not be knitting the blanket, I went on to explain that I am very busy right now and briefly touched on some other things going on in our life. I thought I had been polite and firm, and as we were wrapping up the conversation, her response caught me completely off-guard. She told me that I could just stop by her place and pick up the thread (her word for yarn). I am quite sure that she ignored me turning her down again as I hurried off the phone. I could hardly believe it. I was glad to have the garden to work in after that exchange.

Forward, Backward, and Several Other Directions at the Same Time

That applies to so many things, but we will start with the knitting. There is a sock on the needles, and it is growing. Skew has been keeping Bitterroot and me company. So far, I like the pattern, and how the sock is fitting my foot. Of course, I have not yet reached the heel and its "origami moment," so I may feel differently later. Being able to knit a round or two on the sock is nice for the times I want to knit, but do not have the time for Bitterroot, and the past few days have had plenty of moments for both projects.

On Friday, the plan was to meet family for lunch and then go to the hospital. We did that, but not in the way we expected. While we stood in line at Jason's Deli, Bruce began to feel unwell, uncomfortable, and then in terrible pain, and then was in an ambulance. We spent the rest of the day in the ER, and then Bruce got to take another ambulance ride to the Birmingham VA. The first concern was his heart, but it was his gall bladder that was the trouble. It was a bit of a rough weekend, and it felt very long, but hearing Katie tell us, "Happy Easter," over the phone made all the difference.

We still have a long way to go. Today, Katie went to rehab in Birmingham, and then has outpatient therapy to follow, but she has already made so much progress. Bruce has to have his gall bladder removed next week. There is so much to do, so many people to help, some real concerns that are out of my control, and it can feel overwhelming. Putting my name in the list of people I need to take care of is one step I have taken, and I am going to make my way through this. I know I have a wonderful group of friends and some great family members who will help me if I will just let them. Thank you, again, everyone, for all of your prayers, thoughts, love, and support.

Easter Miracle

She's awake!

In Pattern Name Only

Taking Opal's suggestion, I am knitting Bitterroot with my alpaca yarn. I calculated yardage two more times to be sure before I began. It actually took me a few days to get started, but am already nearly finished with the second chart. At this point, it really does not look too lovely, but I stretched out a section to get a bit of a blocking preview, and I think this might be a winner. Even if it is not, fear of the frog is not here. I am glad to have this lace on the needles now. It is nice, simple, and almost mindless. I can keep knitting along without paying much attention at all.

I consulted Dr. Google for a bit of information, as it would seem that nearly everything I have learned about comas from soap operas, movies, and other television programming is wildly inaccurate. Who knew? Anyway, I gained a better understanding of some things, but the brain is still something of a mystery, and we are all trying to not get ahead of ourselves. Katie is still comatose, but she does open her eyes sometimes. We like to think that she is looking at us and seeing us. The type of brain injury she sustained is serious; however, the degree of injury is not yet known. Passing the 72-hour mark was an important milestone, and they will re-assess again next week, around 10-14 days past the accident. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers for Katie and the rest of our family. If you want to follow her progress, my brother is posting updates here.

UM...Love Your Head

This week we will start with a glimpse into my brain.

Burrito :: Bean
Spike :: Watermelon
Tougher :: Than She Seems
Mock :: Mercilessly
Slurp :: Slap
Knock :: Try
Conference :: Call
Madness :: Sock
Minds :: Alike
Connection :: Missed

I went in search of a different pattern to use for a chemo cap, and when I came across the Hermione Hearts Ron, it seemed like a good choice. I used Plymouth Dreambaby DK because it is so soft and is an easy-care yarn. I was able to finish this one pretty quickly, and think I will start another tomorrow. Either that or maybe an Odessa will be up next.

Speaking of heads and brains and the love they need, please keep my five-year-old niece, Katie, and family in prayer. She is still not awake following a car crash Friday afternoon. They were able to take her of the vent this afternoon. I have not been able to get up to the hospital to see her as I have been taking care of my nephew.

Babies, Babies, Everywhere

Well, not so much, but I know of one that just made her grand entrance one week ago, and another that still has several months to go. Anyway, like birthdays and holidays, I do not usually do much planning for the babies until shortly before they are here. That is why I was casting on for a little something earlier this month.

I chose the Bella Baby Sweater from The Knitter's Book of Wool. Then, to make it extra-special, I chose discontinued yarn, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Sportweight, in purple. This brings me to my mini-complaint about Lion Brand keeping Wool-Ease Chunky and Thick & Quick along with the regular worsted weight version, but dumping their Sportweight. Ah, but that is not the topic of the day, so we now return to the regularly scheduled sweater discussion.

This was a fun, quick knit. The beautiful, bright color was a joy for the eyes. After I finished the individual sweater pieces, I pinned them out, blasted with steam (this pic has the right color), and got out another book. I like The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques, and was glad to receive this reference last year. It seems that at the very least, I need to have the book open to start the seaming process, as it has usually been more than a little while since my previous seaming adventure.

Anyway, while I knit the sweater, I kept thinking about cute ways to embellish it. I considered little bugs, flowers, hearts, stars or butterflies. I thought about careful embroidery, or bold, i-cord additions. However, when the time came, I found two perfect buttons, and could see that the sweater was finished.

Since I did not knit the smallest size, it will be a little while before I can beg for modeled shots, so the fabulous living room floor photography has to suffice for now.

UM...Electricity

Taking a bath by candlelight is so nice when it is a choice. Yeah, we have electricity problems, and like us, they are odd, and puzzling to solve. No power in the bathroom and half of the bedroom means I look even more attractive than ever. I am not much of a mirror-gazer, but now I am doing none. It has certainly altered our week more than a little bit. Still, we have done pretty well, especially considering we had a nephew here for part of his Spring Break. Anyway, we hope to have things fixed soon and back to what passes for normal around here.

UM
Children :: Loud
Saddlebags :: Giant
Restraint :: 5-point
Awake :: Barely
Blood :: Type
Shutter :: Speed
Posted :: No Trespassing
Corn cob :: Latrine
Flagrant :: Abuse
Fart :: Smelly

Wednesday?

How did I miss so much of the week already? Wait, I think it is that magical time of year when The Groundhog rises from The Watermelon Patch, gnaws on alarm clock cords, startles the sun, pees on couches, and leaves prizes in closets. Well, that probably is not right either, but it calls to mind some words from the Tree of Wisdom. It says something like, "When you've been around as long as I have, you sleep less and hallucinate more."

The secret knitting does not make for very good blog material until later. However, the last two have been so nice to make. Actually, one just has the last of the finishing details until it is complete. Then all that remains is getting these packages in the post. Oh, and speaking of the post, I just received a disappointing shipping update of one item that could be quite late by the time it reaches its destination.

Anyway, with those other knits finished, (yes, yes, little details) now is the time to pick my next project. I think I want to use my handspun alpaca, and have narrowed down the choices to the Lilac Leaf Shawl or Bitterroot. What do you think?

UM...Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Across the miles, I am sending super-magic birthday wishes to my Lizzie!

While I am in such a super-great mood, how about some love?

Near-fo status on a secret knit, and it is different from the one I had been knitting. That one is done.

Dark Cherry Mocha Nonfat No Whip. I've tried it hot; now to try it iced.

We are home

Clean ceiling fans

Twiddydinkies are priced to move

Now, to peer deep into my mind:

Detective :: Uncover
Bangs :: Drums
Consultant :: Color
Puzzle :: Mystery
Learn :: More
Necklace :: Bauble
184 :: WaysToDie
Stimulation :: Mental
Layered :: Lasagna
Police :: State

Experimental

Last night I spent some time with the fluffy stuff and the Kiwi. I treadled and drafted, and did not have much fun. I spent a bit of time examining the fiber more carefully. It is possible that it could have problems. It is also possible that it just wants to be spun in a way that is not my default spinning style. What is probable is that both of these things are true. However, instead of just forcing myself to make my way through a significant portion of the fiber, I did something different. I stopped spinning the singles, wound them off the bobbin with the ball winder, and plied. Then it went into the water followed by a small bit of thwacking. The result is this 11.7g skein of about 48 yards of two-ply fingering-ish weight yarn (yes, I'm too lazy to check wpi). It is not fabulous yarn, and it is not as horrible as I thought it would be. I plan to swatch with it later to learn more about what I have done.

Fairy Tale Mittens

Spring is likely to be here at any moment. In fact, it could sproing right past us all and directly into summer. How did I reach this conclusion? I finished my mittens. This has been a difficult winter for many, and for them, I should have completed these weeks ago. However, there are those of us who feel a little less-than joyous about Spring, and waiting until August seems like a better time to finish. It has been an awesome responsibility and enormous pressure, and the closer I got to the end, the more the obstacles popped up around me.

When we last left the mittens, they were finished except for thumbs. Then, they needed to wait while I did not medal in the Ravelympics with the giant lace. At my next knitting opportunity, I brought the pair back out, and spent most of my time socializing. It was important. Then the needle disappeared. As in, I am holding it to slip the stitches from the waste yarn, and the needle is gone. I cannot find it anywhere. It is not in my hair, around my neck, in my knitting bag, on the floor, in my knitting already, in the book, under the chair cushion, tangled in the yarn, or shoved between the pattern and the notebook. I looked up, down, all around, and even enlisted the aid of a fellow knitter. I crawled around on the floor once again, lifted the flap of the chair, reached into its scary coils and swiveling parts, grabbed what felt like it could be the needle, and coaxed it out carefully. I thought that I was either breaking the chair, or destroying my needle. It felt like it was going to be a bad outcome, but I was wrong. I retrieved the needle, and it was fine. Then I managed not quite two rounds on the thumb before the coffee shop closed. I figured I would finish the pair before bedtime. I made it as far as the end of the thumb, and my eyes and hands were too tired to kitchener.

The next day, we are about to head out the door, and I figure that the bright sunshine would be a perfect time to complete the first mitten and get a nice start on thumb of the second. We make our way to the interstate, and I reach into the knitting bag and cannot find my tapestry needle. If only it were in a cute purple pouch with other knitting notions. Oh, wait--it was! I just did not see it at the time, and ended up leaning my seat back and closing my eyes for a bit. I discovered that it had been there all along when I was getting things out of the bag to sit and knit for the evening. I felt special, but moved on from the experience. Then, I make it about a half-dozen rounds into the thumb when the skunk makes its presence known. It had to have been just a few feet from the front door, but I did not open it to investigate. I have already learned that lesson. Anywho, either the air cleared enough, or I just got used to the stench, and I finally was able to sit down and finish.

Despite the possible meteorological implications, I am glad to have my new mittens, and plan to wear them as much as possible.

Pattern: Mitten 28 from Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette Black and Fairy Tale (I had trouble capturing Fairy Tale's true color with the camera)
Needles: US0/2.0mm

UM...Broken-ish

Yep, the comments are broken for now. I am working on fixing it.

UM
Harm :: Self
If :: Then
On my own :: Again
She said :: That's What
Illegal :: Sick Bird
Broke :: FixIt
It’s a :: Long Story
Chatting :: Gabbing
Cottage :: Cheese
Podcast :: Not So Much

If you read this far, you get to know that it is time to crawl around in the living room to pin out a giant something and let it dry.

Ten Thumbs on Tuesday

The bulk of my mitten knitting for this pair is done. They just lack thumbs, and I hope to add those in a day or two. Since I normally only carry yarn in my left hand, colorwork can leave my right hand a bit fatigued. Then, last night, because I mistakenly I ended my mitten three rounds too soon (making a few modifications), had to un-kitchener, pick up the stitches, Russian-join, knit the omitted section, and re-kitchener the tip, I am ready to set this project aside for a little bit.

Speaking of thumbs, I continue to be entertained by my amazingly green thumbs over in my PVZ Zen Garden. Yes, I caved and bought the full game, but am glad that I did. While it did eat much of my weekend, it was perfect for when I could not sleep and could not concentrate on anything more demanding. Even if it devours my chances at Ravelympic gold, I made the right choice.

I am glad that Carole keeps coming up with Ten on Tuesday topics since the official site has not been updating for a while. Thinking up ten of my favorite places to knit was easy.

Sporting events--I do not enjoy sports, but I can enjoy being with others who do without losing my mind.

Coffee shops--It is wonderful to sip a tasty beverage while clicking along with needles. Whether it is a small local place or part of a large chain, I love knitting at the coffee spots.

Cars--While Bruce drives, I love to knit during a long road trip. The stitches add up even on short trips across town, too.

With friends--Technically this is not a location, but wherever I am with fun people, whether the stitches flow or not, it is always a great time.

Medical facilities--It makes the inevitable wait seem shorter, relieve stress, and provide a necessary distraction.

Outside--This does not happen often, but when the weather is just right, knitting in the sunlight and fresh air is a wonderful way to enjoy the great outdoors.

My living room--Sitting and knitting at home is still one of the best.

Social gatherings--Sometimes I need a little help in the social settings, and knitting helps calm my nerves, relax, and enjoy time with others.

Yarn shops--It is inspiring to sit and knit among all of the pretty colors, fibers, and other knitters and their projects.

Lines--Waiting at the bank, the post office, the store, or anywhere else with knitting in hand seems to make the line move more quickly. Even if it doesn't I don't mind the wait as much, and play little games in my mind estimating how much I will knit before it is my turn.

Happy Valentine's Day!

MWAH!

UM...Cruise, Please?

I think I could go for a lengthy boating adventure on that river in Egypt. On second thought, maybe I will do something silly, instead.

UM
Humbled :: Honored
Buns :: Steel
Snowstorm :: Century
Sweetheart :: Deal
Punch :: Hawaiian
Glass :: Animals
Classical :: Music
Heels :: Dogs
Twitter :: Pated
Husband :: Wife

Detracting from Fancy

I do not normally feel fancy, but I did for a moment because I bought a tea set.  Then, I tried to fix my comments and felt decidedly un-fancy.  I may have broken the interwebs about forty-seven times.  Now I think I have a solution, but am unsure of how I like it.  Changes, eh?  I think I might just give the rest of my day to looking at tea cozy patterns or the sunflowers and zombiez.  Wait, I had a plan to take care of winter.  I really should get on that; it's getting wild out there.

UM...Blogiversary

It feels odd for me to celebrate my blogiversary, but five years feels like too much of a milestone to not acknowledge it, at least. Thank you for being a part of my life and letting me into yours.

I think that in the future, I will call Groundhog Day my blogiversary because it is a much more significant day, and worthier of celebration. Of course, I may not get back around to taking note of the blogiversary until the tenth, if I am still doing this in five years.

Speaking of the blog, I have to change my commenting system, as Haloscan is ending. I am disappointed, as I liked that format well enough, and it has served me well for over nine hundred comments. On to the next thing, eh?

UMFurniture :: Table
Beauty :: Beast
Sip :: Hot
Block :: Head
Forehead :: Palm
Championship :: Bowling
Hurl :: Chuck
Whip :: Crack
Destruction :: Total
Leather :: Pants

Happy Groundhog Day!

Hooray! Today is that most excellent of days, Groundhog Day! I hope that you are enjoying the holiday, and that maybe something special and wonderful is happening for you today.

I have been alternating between knitting, spindling, and decluttering. Only two are worth showing a picture, but since it is Groundhog Day, you only get a sneak peek.

Prairie Rose Petals

After listening to me wax idiotic about The Knitter's Book of Wool and how enthralled I was with information about different breeds of sheep, you might think that my first knit from the book would be from an exotic yarn, spun from the wool of a rare sheep. Instead, I went to the stash for the yarn to knit the Prairie Rose Shawl. Since this is a gift, I went for the color I thought would be best for the recipient, and came up with Knit Picks Palette in Petal. Still, the information from the book flitted through my mind as I knit the lace. I considered the different characteristics the author urges us to look for when we examine a new skein of yarn. It gave me a different perspective as I formed each stitch.

Actually, that makes the process of this shawl sound much slower than it was. This was a quick knit. The lace has such a lovely rhythm. The stitches danced by as the rows fairly flew off the needles. While I have plenty more of this yarn in this color, (Hi, Lizzie!) I did not knit any additional repeats of the main chart. Still, with this fingering weight yarn, I knit a nice-sized shawl. Now, I only need to get an address and pop it in the mail.

Pattern: Prairie Rose Lace Shawl
Source: Knitter's Book of Wool
Designer: Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Petal
Yarn Total: 114g/526.7yds
Needle: US 6 Knit Picks Harmony Interchangeable

Random--Not Just for Wednesdays

This has not been an ordinary week. It has not been my favorite week, but it has not been completely horrible. However, when I type it out, it seems much worse.

There was a close encounter of the aviation kind. On Monday, a plane crashed very close to my brother's house. The news vans were stationed at the end of their driveway for a couple of days.

There were close encounters of the wildlife varieties. This included two skunks (one in our yard), a coyote, and a possum (not the cat).

We had extended family sadness. This roused a sleeping, ancient, family drama llama, but it will probably drift back into slumberland soon. It is just sad. Slowly backing away is probably the best answer, although far from being a good one. Some things cannot be fixed, and some things are not ours to fix.

There was a surprise tornado. It was not near our home. We had eerie, shining sun combined with rain and a bit of hail.

There were good things that happened, too. There was a birthday. My nephew turned eight. The party included plenty of bowling, silliness, and chocolate cake.

There was a good time with a friend. While my camnesia leaves one item undocumented, I can show yarn that I received. I have never worked with Jojoland Melody sock yarn, and Hoobody Fibers sock yarn is new to me, too.

I have also been knitting the Prairie Rose Shawl. I only have about sixteen more rows to go, so I will wait to take photos.

Oh, and I had an amazing shopping trip, bargain-wise. You need toilet paper and caffeine-free Diet Pepsi? We have it here.

UM...Cookie!

Hooray! It's Cookie's Day! Happy Birthday, Cookie!

Resolutions :: Declarations
Page :: Turner
Narrow :: Minded
Refuse :: Deny
Fountain :: Pen
Grunt :: Groan
Construct :: Build
Nightmare :: Mind
Inch :: Along
Instant :: Pudding

Slow Starts

The fiber adventure I felt coming on has taken a different path than I would have guessed. Mostly, it has involved curling up with a book. So far, I am quite liking The Knitter's Book of Wool. Slowly taking in a paragraph or two at a time, I am ready to begin the second chapter. Oh, yeah. You did not realize I was operating at that speed, eh? I like thinking about the wools in the context of spinning and knitting, and wondering how the new knowledge might help me. I even took a quiz online, and learned what kind of sheep I am. Who knew? I just know there is never any reason to doubt the results of a quiz from the innerwebz.

The book is more than just talk. When I wanted a break from reading, I skipped to the pattern section, where part of its introduction reads:

William Shakespeare wrote, "Joy's soul lies in the doing." Those words ring especially true in knitting, where the fun is truly in the doing. The real pleasure comes when we pick up our needles, choose a yarn, and cast on--which is how we arrived at this chapter.

While I know this was not written solely for me, the message certainly resonated with me. There is a nice selection of patterns, there are more than a couple that I would like to knit now, and getting something new on the needles might currently rank as a necessity. In that light, selecting amongst the knits that first jumped out at me is easy--lace. This is not just any lace; it is an Evelyn A. Clark triangular shawl (Prairie Rose Lace Shawl--just in case you were curious). I love that I can just dive right into one of her patterns, confident that it will be well written, easy to follow, give wonderful results, and have a just right start to finish time. Mmmm...comfort lace.

UM...Tangible

It is easy to become bogged down by feelings of helplessness and frustration at what I cannot do, things I cannot fix, pain I cannot take away. I was wearing myself down, just spinning my wheels in the muck, and then I stopped. First, I needed silence and stillness to sit with acceptance. This allowed me to not let what I cannot do stop me from doing what I can. It also showed me more that I can do, and letting go of the rest allowed me to have the energy to do it. I even found a way to translate some of what I am doing into something that can be seen. Well, it cannot be seen right now, and it might not make its way to the blog, but others will see it.

I continue my unintentional tradition of missing the local Roc Day celebration. I really thought I was going to make it this year, but a family something made its way to the schedule, and it is more important. That is not to say that the spinning is being left by itself in a corner to cry. I do not know what fiber adventure is about to begin, but it is definitely time.

365 :: Days
Tombstone :: Pizza
Dumb :: Bag of Hammers
Intrusive :: Loud
Fat :: Lard
Axe :: Grind
Planned :: Idiocy
Spike :: Watermelon
Bleach :: White
Shopkeeper :: Annoyed

I'm Covered in Bunnies (and Distractable)

Yes, it is winter, and colder weather is not a surprise. Others scoff and note that it is colder elsewhere, and they are right, but it is cold for this area. We are in the midst of colder-than-average temperatures, and their effects are compounded by what is predicted to be at least a weeklong stretch. However, I do not mind the cold, but rather am enjoying the chance to use more of my warmer handknits. A too-long retail endeavor was a bit less unpleasant as I noticed an increased number of handknit scarves worn by other shoppers. My handspun, handknit Shetland/Angora scarf really makes a difference against the chill. Perhaps I look like one of those fiber festival people attempting to display everything knit since last year, but I am warm.

Casting on for a new something on New Year's Day seems like something of a knitterly tradition, and I decided that was a good enough reason for me. I had been trying to decide between an EZ Spiral/DairyQueen/Snail Hat and Quincy. Then the idea to spin the yarn for the EZ hat came to me, so Quincy automatically won the honor of this year's first knit, and I love it.

I had already selected the yarn I wanted to use for my new hat. It is GGH Lamour (50% Extrafine Wool/33%Angora/17%Nylon), and it is so soft. It had lived in the stash for years, having been given to me by a knitter thinning out the stash before moving to a new home. Several times, I had swatched with the yarn, but nothing was ever right. It was a joy to pet, and the color always pleased me, but each experiment ended with its return to the yarn bin.

I hoped that the yarn would finally find its match with this mostly garter stitch pattern, and as I knit, it appeared to be working. By the time I completed the i-cord and garter portion, I was sold on pairing of yarn and pattern. This was a quick knit, and I love my new hat. If I were to make it again, I would make it a bit larger because my head is big, and so is my hair. The finished hat got a thumbs-up from Brucie. He later told me that he was not too impressed with the picture in the booklet, and that my hat is better. Yep. He's a keeper.

Yes, I need a new staff photographer. If anyone can point me to a tutorial on how to train wild, stray cats in photographing knits, it would be greatly appreciated.

Speaking of New Year's traditions, I did have black-eyed peas. Cookie asked how I planned to prepare them. I was not sure. I have been working these past few months to gain experience and improve my preparation of legumes. I think Nora might have thought I was not being serious when that was my comment on her post about learning, but it really is true. When she asked, I had no answer for Cookie. Also, what is up with this spell of mine having trouble responding to comments? I must be a terrible person. Anyway, a good chunk of the legume-preparation instructions goes something like this:

Pour legumes on counter and sort out rocks and rotten pieces
Rinse legumes and soak in water overnight
Drain off soaking water
Boil legumes and pigs until desired tenderness is reached

Still, that is not all of the information available, and I ended up using this as a jumping off point. It gave enough inspiration to help me throw something together that we enjoyed. I think that along with some cornbread, it might have been all we ate that day. Oh, yeah--Happy New Year!

End of Traveling

Fall has always seemed more like the beginning of the year to me, but I am not in charge. Therefore, it is time to close out this year, and perhaps look forward hopefully to the next. It seems that many people are ready for 2009 to end, and are loudly trying to convince themselves and others that 2010 will be so much better. For me, it has just been another year. There have been good times, as well as those that have not been favorites of mine. Truth be told, the years seem to blur together with each other, and on a given day, I might not correctly state which year it is or how old I am.

Still, I am knitting. I do not think I was overly productive this year, but I did make more than few things, spun a bit, and survived times when I was not up for any of it. The deadline/production mode of late had moments of exciting energy, but it also took its toll and had its depleting effects, too. However, I am coming out of that, and thoughts of new are returning. While I have felt the itch to cast on for something new, I have been unable to translate those feelings into action. Instead, I decided to work on finishing some things.

I started with my sister's mohair moebius. Polly wisely advised me that it would be good to give her for New Year's, and she was right. I nearly finished it on Tuesday, but I ran out of yarn on the bind-off round. It was just as well, as I was not quite thrilled with the traditional bind-off I had used. I tinked back the 3/4 round of binding off plus another round of seed stitch, and then worked a stretchier bind off, and had about four inches of yarn to spare.

After I had the moebius soaking, I went directly to the next knit in need of finishing. This time it was something for me. I decided to figure out how I could fix my Traveling Woman shawl. I ended up tinking back five rows, skipping four rows (13-16) of Chart B, knitting the last three charted rows, and then knitting (instead of purling as per the pattern's instructions) the same stretchy bind-off I had used for the moebius. Again, I had about four inches of yarn left. I am thrilled to have been able to completely use my handspun yarn, and I will be able to begin a new year with a new shawl.

Contrasts

I fell off the innerwebs for a bit, but (mostly) caught up with blogs (but not much with the email) yesterday and today between laundry and other assorted household tasks. It has been a busy few days, but it was pretty good, too. I spent time with family, played a little Super Mario Bros, slept, and ate. I do enjoy tasty foods, but too much all at once is not quite as enjoyable, and my body has reminded me that doing this once a year is probably too frequent. However, it has already given approval to black-eyed peas and cornbread for a New Year's celebration. Then it begins in on the new fitness routine it would like, and I remind it that we had already agreed that moderation is important in all areas of life.

I have also spent some time getting to know my new books. Over the past few weeks, many new knitting, crochet, and spinning volumes have made their way to me. We just picked up the latest from the post office. There are stories to tell, pages to read, patterns to queue, techniques to try, and lovely things to make. For now, I present this sampling of the wide range of books I have received.