Let’s see . . . did three loads of laundry; thoroughly dusted and vacuumed my bedroom; washed all the bedding (including Chappy’s); helped Dad with computer questions; did my taxes (a whole $3.52 back from the state of New Jersey!); remade my bed (a big project, what with the feather bed and down comforter and their covers–like trying to deal with huge, heavy, floppy pillows and their cases); gave Chappy a haircut; took Chappy for a walk; helped with dinner; sewed the zipper into my sweater; took about 4″ off the hood of my sweater . . . I think that’s about everything . . . not exactly relaxing, but very productive!

For photographs:

Here’s Chappy before his haircut.

And here’s Chappy after:

I know they don’t look that much different, really (especially since you can’t get a good look at his feet and under his ears . . . or really even the length of the fur on his ears–but they were starting to drag in his food dish and trust me, the fur is shorter). But as proof that he really got a good haircut, here’s how much fur I took off.

And then the sweater:

  The “before,” with its ridiculously long hood and the glaringly-different green zipper. (You can click on the picture for a better view, if you want.)

The “during” you saw a couple of days ago, when I pulled out that zipper and pinned in the black one I bought to replace it.

And then the “after.” The black zipper is sewn in, the hood is shortened by almost 4 inches so that it won’t drag the sweater eternally backwards every time I wear it.  (Ditto about the clicking-on-the-photo.)

Obviously, black isn’t the ideal zipper color, but I think it looks much better than that . . . what did they call it? . . . mint green one. You can see the cocoon of yarn I made as I unravelled the top of the hood at the top left of the picture. You know, I’d almost forgotten how truly luscious Debbie Bliss’s Cashmerino Aran is. So soft and silky and just . . . wonderful! One of these days I’d like to make a sweater out of the Baby version, just to have on in a lighter weight!

As to the wool from yesterday, I’m afraid that some of it may have felted a bit, but I haven’t dug through the bags to check. (Yet. It’s possible that the word “afraid” may be keeping me from doing so, although I really haven’t had time today!) However, I ordered some Indigo Hound wool combs from Carolina Handspun, along with some fleece-wash for next time around. I also ordered a couple of dog slicker brushes the other day when I ordered Chappy some vitamins–I’ll give those a try as cards while the bank account recovers from buying the combs.

As to knitting, I didn’t do any at all last night (too tired), but I have narrowed the edging choices down to two, so . . . it all depends on my mood later . . . I may just skip that last row of lace-pattern and go directly to the edging, or I may do that last pair of rows and start the edging tomorrow. I’m kind of ready to move on to the next step . . . I’m at the point now where I want this [lovely and enjoyable] project done so I can move on to the next one (Peacock Feathers shawl!) with a clear conscience. I do TRY not to have too many projects going at once.

  I know, of course, that February has one more day and all, but I feel really good about what I’ve managed to “fix” as part of this really great for incentive group. I tackled that really big Lopi sweater I’ve had for about 15 years, turning it into a smaller, felted version of itself. I came up with the closing for my hood (which, yes, I know–it wasn’t really a problem, but it could have sat there indefinitely while I tried to figure out what to do with it, so darn it, I’m counting it!). And then I fixed the zipper and hood of my otherwise really nice Debbie Bliss cabled jacket–the first cabling project I ever did. It’s bugged me that it hadn’t come out better in just those two, small areas, and I’m thrilled to have them fixed . . . or at least, fixed enough to wear!

  Now, if I want to be really proud of myself, I’d pick this pile-of-quilt off my floor and finish the poor thing. I redecorated my bedroom 2.5 years ago and figured I would just quickly make a new quilt for my bed to match the new colors . . . I swear, the whole thing is about 90% done. One side of the blue-band to quilt, then the green, and the binding . . . and even the quilting part is as minimal as I could think of–just big zigzags. There’s absolutely no excuse for it still to be heaped in the corner by my chair. No excuse at all . . . I am so ashamed….

• Tags: Chappy, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Day of Rest?? // 3 Comments »

Yesterday, I got a box of Gotland wool–2 pounds of it. It’s got a nice mix of dark and light grays, but . . . you must remember this is my first introduction to raw fiber . . . kind of stinky! Still, all very exciting.

Being that it’s Saturday and the one day of the week I get to go fun and exciting places, I dragged Mom with me today to “The Spinnery” in Frenchtown NJ–about the only spinning store I know of in the entire state. It’s about an hour’s drive, so it wasn’t quite as far as I was afraid it would be.

First, it’s a lovely store–nice layout, lots of books and magazines as well as things for knitters, spinners, weavers, and dyers (though obviously in different proportions). Big, sunny windows, baskets of yarn, baskets of roving, baskets of handspun yarns . . . nice. There was a beginner’s spinning class going on when we got there–all about carding your wool, at the point we were there. (They obviously like to begin at the beginning there!) A non-handy woman came in with a handwoven blanket that her new dog, um, ate, asking if there was anything they could do–and the owner left the spinning lesson to say that they would try. (I believe the woman’s mother made the blanket and she wanted to get it fixed before she noticed.) It was very nice of them, I thought, to help. Nice, inviting place.

The bad news, though, is that they didn’t have either of the two things I really wanted to buy today–wool combs and some kind of fleece wash. (You remember the stinky Gotland from the beginning of this post, don’t you?) The woman behind the counter offered to order combs for me, but well, who knows when I’ll get down that way again, so I thanked her and said I’d order them on the internet. I picked up a maintenance kit for my spinning wheel–just to have the chance to buy something–and that was that.

Tonight, after supper, I decided that I couldn’t stand that box of wool sitting in the kitchen any longer, and so put the wool in two net, sweater-washing bags, filled the washing machine with hot water and some dishwashing detergent, added the wool and let soak . . . Yuck! Dark brown water. Blech . . . Empty, spin, repeat . . . ick. Still brown water AND a residue at the bottom of the machine. (I really don’t want to think about what that was . . . I’m going to tell myself it was mud and just move mentally onward.)

Anyway, 5 repeats later, the water was still brown and I’d succeeded in emptying our hot water heater of all its hot water. (Meaning no shower for me tonight!) Frustrating, and I’m not sure what else to do here. . . . but in the meantime, the bags of wool are on the guest room floor (with a gate blocking the door so Chappy doesn’t go in and roll on them). The wool is definitely cleanER, but . . . if the water looks like tea it can’t actually be clean! This whole “raw-wool” thing is new to me, of course, but so far . . . well . . . buying roving is much, much easier!

I didn’t get any work done on my pi-shawl tonight–I figured I was on the last row before the edging, and it would be prudent to pick an edging pattern FIRST so that I would know where I needed to be in terms of right-side/wrong-side in relation to which side the edging’s, er, edge is on in relation to the actual shawl so that it all comes out right. (Believe me, it made sense in my head, anyway!) Besides which, all that wool-washing and driving wore me out!

And, oh yes, my lungs feel better today (that Vicks Vapo-Steam is wonderful stuff) . . . not perfect, but definitely better than yesterday. Which is good, you know, because I pretty much felt lousy last night . . .

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Spinning my wheels // 5 Comments »

I’m not going to write much tonight. I feel kind of wheezy and asthma-ish today (which is unusual because I do not–or did not–have asthma). There’s usually–almost always–a little congestion in my sinuses and a little cough in the mornings, but today my lungs just feel . . . tight. I’m not liking it very much! When I got home from work I made some tea with honey/lemon/brandy (which usually helps any kind of coughing/sore throat–it’s highly recommended), and right now I’ve got my humidifier going with some Vicks liquid. My room smells very menthol-y, but what can you do? Next step is take my shower (maybe a little hotter and steamier than usual), make some more tea, and then settle in front of the tv with my book and my knitting for the evening. It should be the next-to-last night on the main body of my pi-are-square shawl, and then I’ll start the edging.

Speaking of books.

I got this from Rose (http://rosebyany.blogspot.com/) who got it from http://www.littleturtleknits.com/blog/ who got it from . . . well, you get the idea. It’s the Bookish Game!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you

Making a show about it–stretching it out just a little–Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out the Book.
(from “I Dare”, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller)

What is yours?

• Tags: Family, General, Reading • Permalink:Bookish Game // 2 Comments »

So, Annie from http://knittygritty.spatterdash.org/ was mentioning how there seems to be a lot of chatter about knitting machines lately. I commented that I had lost interest in knitting in the mid-90s because it suddenly seemed that machine knitting had taken over the town’s LYS and I was bored with the lack of interesting new patterns and books, and maybe knitting goes in cycles?

She wrote back:

“You’re right, Deb. And it’s funny that you mention someone else wrote something about machine knitting today. I think that blogs go in cycles too. It seems that there is a topic that a lot of people write about almost spontaneously for some reason. Weird. I guess we’re all on the same wavelength. :)”

To which I responded “Which also explains some of the “epidemics” of specific patterns, like the Clapotis . . . (grin). ”

She said that it sounded like I had a blog entry right there, and so . . . here it is!

What do you think?

And here–a Snowy Day Meme:

1. What is your ideal way to spend a snowy (or rainy, if you don’t get snow) day? Curled up with my dog, a cup of tea, a good book and/or my knitting–maybe playing some Scrabble and eating popcorn.

2. How do you ACTUALLY spend your snowy days? Digging out my car, some shoveling, playing with Chappy and then trying to get the snow melted out of his fur . . . although there’s usually some sitting and reading in there, too–but by then, I’m too tired to really enjoy it!

3. What do you wear on your feet around the house on a snowy day? Homemade socks? Slippers? I usually wear a pair of slip-on Keds Champions–they make great slippers–comfortable, mold to my feet, sturdy enough to run out to the mailbox if I have to, and they stay on my feet–I hate mules and such that slide off!

4. What do you eat/snack on on a snowy day? I tend to snack more when it’s snowing outside. Love popcorn if I can get it (my pretty glass popper broke), brownies, fresh cookies . . . but I’m happy with cups of tea if that’s the best I can do. And, we usually end up eating pasta for supper–a holdover from the days when Mom wouldn’t know when Dad would make it home from work and wanted to be able to cook dinner fast when ready.

5. Do you like snowy days? Or hate them? I like them–especially when I can stay home from work. It’s a holdover from when I was a kid and would get out of school. And once in a while, being trapped inside by the weather is a good thing!

6. Who are you going to send this to? Jessica from “Tangled Up in Yarn.”; Lu from “Maglia”, Marcia from Spinnerella’s Attic, and Annie from “Knitty Gritty” for inspiring this original post in the first place!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Knitting Cycles // 1 Comment »

Does this look scary to you? Frightening or threatening in any way? Because Chappy (checking it out, to make sure it’s safe for me to take its photo) absolutely hates the thing.

I’ve been neglectful of doing his nails lately, and last night told him that absolutely must work on them–you can hear him walking around from the far end of the house, and it can’t be comfortable to walk on those long nails. Of course, he insisted he was fine, and going one more day wouldn’t hurt . . . but, well, can you believe them when they tell you these things??

So I pulled him in my lap, liver treats near to hand. Grinded the nails on one paw. (Good Boy! Have a treat.) Ground nails on paw number 2. (Very good! Here’s another treat!) Three nails into paw three . . . the whirring head caught in the long fur on his toes and, well, ground to a halt. Ouch! Quickly turned it off, untangled it, gave him a bonus treat, rubbed the paw where the fur had been pulled . . . poor boy! And when I turned it on again . . . let’s just say he was not a happy camper. He still sat and let me do his nails . . . Well, mostly. He sits very still, but moves the paw around so I can’t hold it still . . . which is what I tell him causes accidents like the grinder getting tangled, but does he listen?? Anyway, we finished the fourth paw, bonus treats all around, and then he sat on the rug, sulking, and licking at his nails. I’m sure I heard him grumbling to himself, “I can do this myself. She doesn’t need that thing. It’s just a torture device. I swear she pulled out half the fur on my foot…”

You must realize that Chappy is generally the sunniest of dogs and is not normally prone to sulking. Still, using a nail grinder is far, far better in my book than using clippers. I tried those and managed small accidental cuts that drew a drop or two of blood until one time when Katy jerked her foot at just the wrong moment and it took 30 minutes to get the blood to stop. I much prefer using my Dremel!! (And have been known to resort to really rough emory boards in a pinch–quiet and almost as effective–and you don’t even have to look at what you’re doing.)

For any dog-owners interested, the best–by far–instructions I’ve ever read on using a Dremel on your dog’s nails is located at www.DoberDawn.com site. Highly recommended.

  To get back to knitting content, my second order of Brooks Farm yarn came today. Yummy color! These two yarns are going to look fabulous together. Now I just need to decide what to do with them…

I want to get some spinning done tonight–what with all the mending, it wasn’t possible last night and I wouldn’t want my pretty purple roving to feel neglected!

Lastly, here’s an article from today’s Boston Globe on sock knitting, which I read about on Katherine’s blog. Interesting!

The Joy of Socks

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Pet-icure // 2 Comments »

The first thing you have to know is that I hate mending. I’d almost rather throw a piece of clothing away than try to fix it. (I did say “almost.”) Sewing on buttons: no problem; fixing a hem: not my favorite, but okay; but once you get beyond that . . . patches, tears, darning . . . I have no interest and no skill at it. And even the basics, well, I tend to put them off as long as possible.

That said, you should be very proud of me tonight. I fixed the buttons on my coat–they hadn’t quite fallen off yet, but one was awfully close. So, I tightened all of them so that I can wear my favorite coat (with a hood) tomorrow in the snow.

And THEN,

Well, I’m not quite finished yet, but I pulled out the ugly zipper in my Debbie Bliss Cabled Jacket (you know the one, on the cover of Book 4). The one thing I didn’t think of when I picked this lovely apple-green yarn (yes, despite the washed-out photo, it is apple-green) was the fact that they apparently don’t make zippers this color. The closest I was able to come was a pale green, which always looked terrible when zipped. So, I decided that a black one would be better–it still won’t match, but it’s a neutral and dark enough to “blend” a little more with the shadow between the two sides . . . or so I hope! (It was that, or silver, what could I do?)

Anyway, I pulled out the old zipper and pinned in the new . . . which was a challenge, I must tell you. My seam ripper is old and apparently very, very dull, and I managed to stitch through the thread more often than you would think possible, so, well, now my shoulder is sore, so the actual sewing-in of the new zipper is going to have to wait–probably until the weekend. At which time, I hope also to unravel an inch or two off the top of the hood, which is rather ridiculously long. It looks okay when worn, but when not (which, let’s face it, is most of the time), it hangs down to the small of my back, and the weight of it drags the entire sweater backwards . . . awkward to wear. She looks a little indignant about the wait, don’t you think?

Chappy was very interested by the whole sewing thing. I made sure he stayed far enough away from the sharp needle and seam ripper and pins. He wanted to get closer to see, he wanted to come closer and sniff into my sewing basket, but I was mean and wouldn’t let him. So he stretched out on the floor and looked bored, instead. I would have taken a picture, but my camera battery is recharging and, what can I say?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Fixing… // 4 Comments »

I’ve seen this on a couple different blogs lately, and thought it was interesting

bold the states I’ve visited, underline the states I’ve lived in and italicize the state I’m in now… (That last was easy, I’ve only ever lived in one state!)

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:State of Mine // 1 Comment »

Well, I’m making progress on my pi-are-square shawl. Here it is stretched out across my bookcase again (about the only way I can get it to show the stitches). I probably should have knitted a couple of extra demarcation rows between the increase sections, to differentiate the lace patterns more, but . . . I’m not going back now! I haven’t decided how much longer to make it, either. The next-to-last increase section had two-repeats of a 12-row lace pattern (Travelling Vine). The section I’m on, I’m midway through the fourth repeat of a different 12-row pattern . . . so by rights, I should be just a few rows away from completing that section. But . . . it looks almost the same length. Not that that necessarily matters! I had to move a pile of books, my alarm clock, a candlestick, and a photo of me and Katy to take this picture . . . my feeling is it’s close enough to long enough! Then I’ll just have the edging to do, and it’s done!

Of course, deciding on which edging pattern I want to do would be helpful . . .

Oh, and for those of you who voted, I did order a skein of Coral mohair from Brooks Farm to go with my Duet. It’s going to look just smashing!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Pi Progress // 3 Comments »

As luck would have it, my office is closed today for President’s Day–for the first time ever–and it conveniently coordinated with about 8″ of fresh snow. It’s even luckier that I didn’t have to be to work at 8:00 because our driveway wasn’t cleared of snow until12:30 . . . my Volvo is good in the snow, but getting past that heap left by the street plows would have been too much for her!

So, I’ve spent the morning cleaning off my car, throwing snowballs for Chappy to chase, and then giving him a bath to melt the snowballs he brought back inside with him. And reading. There is something very nice about curling up on the couch with a sleepy dog and a good book. (The Liaden series by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller–one of the only books/series written by a team that I actually like. Very “space opera,” but fun . . . good snowy-day reading.)

I filled up my first bobbin of purple wool yesterday. (Or, well, finished filling it–I’ve been working on it for about a week. How do some people spin so fast?) I’m really happy with the way this is coming out. The singles is more regular and even than any I’ve spun before, and while still not perfect, that’s an encouraging thing. It’s very nice roving, too. (I apologize for the photo being a bit blurred–it was the closest to “real” color of any I took.)

  I also did the heels on my Koigu socks. Here’s the picture I took after the first one. I love doing both socks at the same time, via the Magic Loop method, and I definitely prefer the short-row heel method, but trying to do both heels at the same time is a little too difficult, so I do one entire heel before moving onto the second sock. It’s only once both of them are done that I go back to knitting both socks at the same time. I’ve knitted a few rows past the heels now, and am going to do ribbing for the rest . . . I just haven’t quite decided which kind of ribbing!

And anyway, I’m still tired from yesterday. My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew all came down to help celebrate Mom’s birthday (and to pick up my niece, who’d been here since Friday.) I made goulash for dinner, per Mom’s request, and of course, there was birthday cake which I unfortunately did not think to take a picture of . . . a heart-shaped yellow cake/chocolate frosting, using my grandmother’s recipe (which is forever known in my family as “Grandma Cake” despite the fact that she’s been gone for almost 20 years).

It was a nice weekend, and a special treat to have my niece here. We had wanted to pick up a movie on Saturday, but forgot, so on the way home from dinner, we pulled into Barnes & Noble and picked up an assortment… Ray, Shall We Dance, De-Lovely. Ray was our first choice for the night, but it’s 2.5 hours long and there wasn’t enough time, so we went with Shall We Dance . . . put it in . . . hit Play . . . wait, there’s a Japanese logo on the screen. Okay, it’s based on a Japanese movie maybe they’re just giving credit . . . um . . . why are there subtitles? We picked up the wrong one! Instead of the Richard Gere/Susan Sarandon/JLo version, we got the Original. Now, by all accounts the original was better (Mom and I had actually seen it, but haven’t seen the remake to be able to judge) but it wasn’t going to do for our family viewing tonight. (Dad has no patience for subtitles!) But . . . how silly is that?? Oh well! We ended up watching “Little Black Book” . . . again . . . because Mom loved the Carly Simon and Dad and niece hadn’t seen it. Twice in one week is a little much for that movie . . .

Okay, I think I’m going to go make some banana bread with the overflow of yellow fruit downstairs. And if I’m really smart, I’ll work on the zipper in my green jacket for the February Fix . . . I’m running out of weekends!

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Snowbound // 3 Comments »

I’m pretty sure the calendar on the wall says it’s the 21st century, but I’m writing this by candlelight, wrapped in my knitted shawl. I considered spinning for a while, but the candlelight wasn’t quite enough to be comfortable, although I could knit perfectly well if I needed to.

As you may have gathered, we have no electricity. It’s particularly fun this time around since my niece is here for a visit. As she said, “It’s interesting experiencing a power outage in someone else’s house.” The lights went out at 9:00–a pretty convenient time, all in all. Things like dinner and showers were already done, the dishwasher had run; all we were doing was watching television. And yet, it was only an hour or so before bedtime, so if the house were to get too cold, we could all just turn in early. I mean, sure, if it had happened a little earlier, we could have gotten out the Scrabble board and played a game, but . . . no real complaints. I wasn’t even in the middle of a pi-shawl row of lace knitting, but was working on my socks instead. According to the power company’s emergency number, power is due to come back around 3:00 am . . . so, we’re hoping things will be normal for breakfast.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. If there’s no electricity, how on earth is Debbie writing a blog entry? Ah, the miracles of modern science and laptop batteries! It’s 10:00 right now, as I write. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to just save this as a Word doc and post it in the morning, or if I’ll try getting online through the buzz-hiss of dial-up . . . but yes, the entry is being written to the gentle accompaniment of softly melting candle wax. And really, isn’t that one of the most soothing scents? Just ordinary wax candles? (Maybe a vanilla scented one, but nothing else!) Love that… it’s like the essence of birthdays and Christmases all rolled up in a tiny circle of warmth.

When I was in college, my senior year, I used to read by candle light just before going to bed–so I wouldn’t have to get up to turn off the ceiling light. Every night, I’d close my eyes to that last, tiny ember and a whiff of wax and wick . . . a nice, last, soothing presence before going to sleep.

And so, now, that’s where I’m going. If I can get a candle propped high enough on my bedside bookcase, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing tonight. G’night!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Which Century, Again? // Add Comment »

Okay, so IF I decided to buy another skein from Brooks Farm . . . I can’t decide which color combination I like best.

I have this yarn–a worsted weight wool/mohair blend, which is just luscious! It’s their “Duet” in the “Santa Fe” colorway.

I want to blend it with a different “Primero” yarn–a fingering weight kid-mohair that’s got the most unbelievably soft, smooth texture . . . I still can’t believe it’s mohair. The color I bought is beautiful, but it’s basically exactly the same shads as the “Santa Fe,” just different proportion of brown-to-blue. So, I want to mix in a little extra color. But I can’t make up my mind

There’s the “Cloudloft,” which looks like it’s got the same shade of blue duplicated, but also has some purples and greens to add to the mix. Overall, it’s a cooler color theme than the Santa Fe, but since the blue would overlap, it would probably blend really nicely.

Or,

  There’s the “Coral Honeysuckle” a blend of coral pink and yellow. It doesn’t have any of the same colors as the Duet, but they’re both warm colors and would probably coordinate well, as well as being a little unexpected.

So, I’m stumped. Which one to choose? Since the “Duet” is the heavier weight yarn, its color will dominate when I knit both together, so I think that the “Primero” will come across more as an accent than an equal-partner, color-wise.

Any opinions/votes would be appreciated. This yarn is too beautiful to ruin with a bad color combination. (Not to mention too expensive to ruin!)

Our voting will be as follows:

* Use the Duet Santa Fe on its own

* Use the Duet Santa Fe with the Copper River originally purchased

* Use the Duet Santa Fe with the Cloudloft

* Use the Duet Santa Fe with the Coral Honeysuckle

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:The Polls are Open! // 1 Comment »

 Not only two knitting magazines this week, but now the Patternworks catalog, too!

Just what I need . . . more temptation.

Ooh, my Brooks mohair came today, too! I don’t have a picture yet, but the colors are lovely. My only quandry . . . the two skeins are actually SO similar in color that I don’t think there will be enough contrast if I knit them together. The proportions of blue-to-brown is different in each, and the texture is very different . . . though deliciously soft for both . . .

Hmm . . . so, I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could buy another coordinating skein and then save one of these two to knit up by itself . . . Or, is that silly??

(Look who I’m asking. Everybody knows the online knitting community is made up of notorious enablers! But really, isn’t that part of the fun? Knowing we’re not alone in our addiction? Heaven knows my family doesn’t get it!)

I finished reading “Creating your Own Original Handknit Lace” last night. A good, informative book, but I probably would have gotten more out of it if I had given the swatches a try, to see how the stitches behaved themselves. And while I appreciated reading how she developed some of her own designs–the steps she went through, the modifications she needed to make upon swatching–they didn’t really show me how to design lace that I might want to make–just how to make hers. That’s probably my fault in the reading, though. It was well written and certainly there’s nothing else out there like it. I just like reading technical kinds of books on techniques I may never actually use–at least the knowledge is in my head if not in my hands!

One thing I would like to state here and now, though. I like charts for lace, I really do. The pattern I’m using now in my pi shawl is charted and it makes it much easier to follow. However (you knew there had to be a “however”), the fact that almost every writer and designer around uses a different coding system drives me nuts! You just get used to one and then you move to a different pattern and suddenly a dot doesn’t mean purl anymore. Or it means it, but the writer is charting what you see on the right side of the fabric rather than what you’re knitting from the wrong side. Or a symbol you’re used to meaning one thing suddenly means something else. It drives me bonkers. Why, oh why, can’t we all just get along?

Finally . . . a photo of my dear little boy. He was curled up in his crate, all tucked up in his towel, when I got up to take that picture of my new yarn. Naturally, he wanted to see if he could help, so he got up and, well, brought his towel with him. Need I say how much I enjoy watching him maneuvering that towel around himself? You try covering yourself up just using your teeth!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Lacy thoughts // Add Comment »

It’s been a good week for knitting magazines–Monday I got the new issue of “Interweave Knits” in my mailbox, and yesterday, “Knitters.” I have a hard time getting excited about Spring and Summer issues, though. I’m pretty much never going to wear a knitted tank top, and can’t say the thought of knitting one–or any of the other summer-weight knits–gives me the least bit of a thrill. (Don’t get me wrong, they’re both nice issues, just . . . I’m already looking forward to the Fall 2005 issues!)

Still, I did like this sweater in “Knitters”:

It’s called “Scoop It” and I like the shape; I like the buckle detail at the neckline; I very much like the detail down the cuff of the sleeve. It looks both pretty and wearable. Classy, yet interesting. Not bad at all!

It occurred to me, as I finished twisting my dried, blue-green yarn into skeins last night, that I have yet to summon up the . . . courage (?) . . . to knit any of my handspun yarn. And I wonder why.

I’m not sure “courage” is the right word, first of all. The yarn (after the first really bad skein) has come out pretty nicely and it both looks and feels appealing. I’m not worried about how it will perform, not worried about its breaking. I’m not afraid that I’ll decide that, after all the work, I hate it. I’m not even concerned that the little bit of twist left in that slightly “energized” yarn is going to cause design problems.

Is it maybe that I’m so used to using commercial yarn, I have yet to make the mental leap to knitting something that doesn’t come with a label? (Hey, if that was the only problem, I could make a label!) I mean, I do have quite a nice stash of ready-made yarn just waiting to be turned into something beautiful. And certainly I can’t spin at the fingering weight yet, so sock or lace yarn does still need to be purchased. But I’m not sure that that’s the problem, either.

The little inkling glimmering in the back of my brain is that what’s holding me up is not fear of the yarn working up to standard, but rather the fear that, no matter what I try to turn it into, it won’t be as satisfying as it is right now, rolled into its nice little skein. There’s something very rewarding about having turned roving into yarn, and as it sits right now, it’s just . . . perfect as it is, no matter what “designer” flaws it may have.

Not being a gardner, I’m guessing it’s something similar to taking a ripe, juicy tomato from your garden and being just so smitten with its ruby perfection that the idea of cutting it–even for a salad–is almost sacrilege. I’ve got these perfectly ripe skeins of homemade yarn . . . if I cut into them, will they still be as perfect? Will my knitted “salad” be worthy?

And people wonder why I get my food from the grocery store rather than growing it myself… It’s a wonder I can manage that first slice into freshly-baked bread, huh? Although, of course, yarn doesn’t get moldy if you try to store it!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Too Good to Eat // 4 Comments »

So, first of all . . . thank all of you who came by to check out my new header. I appreciate it. I’ve gotten over 500 hits today which just about blew me away. I appreciate all the help . . . a lot!

Now, for the fun stuff.

First, look at the yummy wool I’m spinning. Lovely purples, blues, and just a hint of burgandy. Anyway, it’s soft and lovely, and coming along very nicely. I’ve only got about 4 oz. of it, and I don’t know what I’ll do when I’m done with it, but . . . it’s nice to spin!

Let’s see, what else?

Well! I’m so glad you asked!

So, tonight, there I was, calmly sitting, knitting and watching TV, when there was a small flick of a thump on the back of my chair, right near my ear. What could have hit my chair? Mom is sewing, Chappy’s asleep in front of me . . . I don’t have any stitch-protectors balanced nearby that would have made a similar sound (not to mention, how would one have fallen next to my ear?). . . So, naturally, I’m curious.

I twisted around to peer down over the arm of the chair . . . and . . . yikes! A spider. A big spider. As in, about 2.5″ across. Just sitting there, calm as you please, on the wall by the baseboard. The darn thing almost fell on my head! I’m not usually spider-phobic, but this was too close a call!

And so, I carelessly said something like, “Oh God.” Which made my mother turn around to look . . . and there you go. Pure chaos. She squealed and jumped up. Chappy jumped up and started barking. Mom called for Dad and ran for the vacuum cleaner, and by the time he got downstairs . . . Where’d the spider go? How does such a huge bug disappear so quickly??

Dad and I start dragging furniture out of the way–the chair, the table, the folded crate against the wall . . . the couch . . . Chappy’s toy box . . . We’re running out of things to move, and no sign of the spider anywhere. Mom, meanwhile, is standing there with the vacuum cleaner hose, poking it into the field of play every couple seconds, with all the demeanor of a soldier in hostile territory. Chappy is running around, loving this new Move-the-Furniture game and jumping up on the chair so he can look, too. Finally, Dad and I turned the chair over and there it was! Clinging to the bottom of the chair. Mom sucked it up, shouting, “I’ve got it! I got it!”

Phew! Things went back to normal. We slid all the furniture back into place. Mom got a drink of water. I folded up my knitting (not exactly in the right frame of mind anymore!). And (this is the best part), as I sat down, I noticed that the TV show was just coming back from commercial break. I called (quite calmly, you know) to Mom, “It’s back.” She jumped back in the room, “What? It’s back!”

I did of course explain, but for some reason, she was rather jumpy for the rest of the night….

Now, I’ve got to go and log in the latest additions to my library . . . Sometimes I really wonder if I have a Problem . . . but, really! I have a book habit to support!

Oh, and one other thing. I’m reading “The Power of One” on ‘Maryellen’s recommendation.

At the beginning of chapter two, there was this paragraph, which I rather appreciated:

“Nanny and I had a good old weep on the last evening at home. She packed my khaki shorts and shirts and two pairs of pajamas and a bright red jumper my mother had sent from the nervous breakdown place. We laughed and laughed, in between crying of course, because one sleeve was about ten inches shorter than the other. Nervous breakdowns probably do that sort of thing to people’s knitting.”

And on that note . . . good night!

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Attack of the . . . // 2 Comments »

Okay . . . modified header . . . same background, different text, different color text-outline, and larger to look at, yet smaller file size . . .

(EDITED): Or is it? I checked the header, it was new; I posted that I’d made an update, and . . . it’s showing the old one. I’m working on it!

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Heads Up Again (?) // 5 Comments »

Opinions, please!

I made a header for the top of my page, and I’m not sure if I’m happy with it. I’d love to know what you think. (For one, I don’t know what to do to make it stretch to fit, but that’s another issue!)

Also, though, I made a button that you (yes, you!) can borrow for your own page if you’d like to link to mine and well, have a button! (Please, of course, do copy and paste it, instead of linking to the image on my site.)

I also shipped out 3 RAOKs yesterday (4 if you count the envelope I mailed to a non-fibery friend). I can’t remember ever shipping out so many things in one day! Three RAOK boxes, one large box with a humidifier I had to return because it leaked, a box of Mom’s, and that padded envelope. Juggling it all into the post office was fun! (I think I should buy some nice shipping envelopes….!)

Meanwhile, V-Day is over, Mom had a good birthday, it’s stopped raining, and I got knitting done on both my pi shawl and my socks, as well as some spinning done. AND my blue/green yarn is hanging to dry even as we speak. It’s still a little twisty–I didn’t get it as balanced as I would have liked–but it looks good and I’m happy with it, and really, isn’t that what matters?

We got some bad news last night, though. My one-and-only uncle was just diagnosed with lung cancer. They haven’t established a treatment yet, and we don’t know how serious it is, but, well, it’s lung cancer which killed my grandfather (on the other side). If you wouldn’t mind, please say a prayer for my Dad’s only brother.

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Heads Up! // 5 Comments »

And also . . . it’s my mother’s birthday today. (Let’s all celebrate!) I took the day off and went shopping with her this morning. Nice day despite the rainy/snowy weather.

It’s also the birthday of Pam, one of my college friends. She, I’m sure, is not suffering snow at all today, since she lives in Hawaii!

Happy Valentine’s Birthday to you both!

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Happy Birthday! // Add Comment »

Well, I may not have a boyfriend, but I got a Valentine this morning anyway!

Do I have the sweetest, chocolate dog, or what?

Naturally, the feeling is mutual….

• Tags: Chappy, Family • Permalink:Sweet Chocolate Valentine // Add Comment »

Well, I didn’t get to my February-Fix project of the day, but I did get a lot of spinning things done.

I turned these singles

into this yarn:

Or, for a more interesting photo:
And, lest you worry, this is neatly tied into a skein off my too-small niddy-noddy. I did not heap it on the table in one big tangle just to provide you with this photo! The color is a little over-exposed, though. (You’d think a Nikon Coolpix would like flash photography more than this does.) The plyed yarn-on-bobbins above is a more accurate color rendering of the actual yarn. Now I just have to set the twist, let it dry, and decide what to do with it!

Elsewhere, in other weekend news, Mom and I went to dinner last night with the wife of one of my Dad’s golfing buddies, who also came back to the house afterwards and watched “Little Black Book” with us (which my mother, being a huge Carly Simon fan, loved). We had a nice evening. And yesterday morning, we went to a local coffee shop and got beverages and yummies while Mom read the paper and I knitted. Just as something different (and inexpensive) for a Saturday morning.

I also stayed up late last night, reading a new “Pern” book by Todd McCaffrey (son of the original author, Anne McCaffrey). It was much better than the joint effort, YA-ish book they came out with last year, and since this is a series of books I’ve adored since high school, I was just thrilled to see it (and even more thrilled that it was good). I started it about 10:00 and stayed up until 1:30 to finish it. Still, though, it wasn’t as good as his mother’s books . . .

Today, I did spinning things (as noted above). I also got 3 RAOK packages ready to mail and just now decided to whom to send them. I’m taking tomorrow off work. Valentine’s Day can be moderately depressing, no matter how content I normally am about being single. (I don’t even want to tell you how long it’s been since I had a date–it can be measured in annum rather than diem!) But . . . more importantly . . . it’s my Mother’s birthday! I made a lasagne for tomorrow’s dinner, and am taking time off work to spend the day with her–something I’m looking forward to. Next weekend will be the family celebration, delayed because of Dad’s Florida trip, so I want her day tomorrow to be fun.

• Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Grafton // 1 Comment »

Okay, Maryellen tagged me:

1) The amount of music files on my computer. Absolutely none, unless it came with the computer… I’m a CD-girl.

2) Last CD I purchased. “Voices for Gilda” a double-cd for “Friends of Gilda.” It just arrived from Amazon today, and I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet.

3) What was the song you last listened to before being tagged. Um . . . Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run,” which played at the end of the “Little Black Book” movie, which I just watched with Mom.

4) My four favorite songs: Well, I don’t really have favorites, but…

• “Let’s Get Married” The Proclaimers
• “Human Again” from the Beauty and the Beast Broadway album. (Yes, seriously!)
• “The Pearl Fishers: Au Fond Du Temple Saint” by Bizet, one of the most beautiful opera duets ever.
• “Our Love is Here to Stay” by George Gershwin (used to sing it as a lullaby to my niece when she was a baby)
• “I Knew I Loved you” by Savage Garden (very “boy’s band,” I know, but I heard the song the day before I brought Katy home and it’s forever tied together with my memories of her. It’s known in our family as “The Katy Song.” *
• And (bonus!), almost anything by the Beatles . . . can’t name just one tune!

5) The three people I’m tagging are: No-one. I’m sure there are some out there who haven’t yet been tagged, but there aren’t many!

* And, no, Chappy doesn’t have his own song . . . yet.

• Tags: General • Permalink:The Music Thing // 1 Comment »

I blame Wendy and Rock Chick both.

Because of them, I ordered these:

Copper River Primero, 100% Kid Mohair yarn and:

  Santa Fe Duet 55% kid mohair and 45% fine wool.

They look gorgeous, don’t they? And the texture on the mohair? Unbelievable–I was drooling all over my keyboard. I can’t wait to see it, smell it, touch it, feel it!

They have a free shawl pattern on their site, which I may make, with these two yarns knitted together . . . or . . . I may not. Don’t know! I just know I had to order these. Just couldn’t help myself. (I’m starting to have as little self-control with yarn as I do with books. This could be a serious problem. . . . Can somebody say “yarn diet?”)

Oh, and if you’re drooling, too, these are ordered from Brooks Farm. I understand they’ll be at Stitches West this weekend which doesn’t do me much good here in New Jersey, but hey . . . Why should I be the only one [feebly] trying to avoid temptation?

Oh, and Alison said “Wow, you are brave popping that sweater in the machine to felt! Very inspiring. Great job kicking off the fixin.” Thanks for the compliment–it took me longer than I like to admit to put that sweater in that hot, hot water!

Next up is fixing the zipper and the hood in my Debbie Bliss cabled jacket. I’ve never been happy with the zipper (not to mention having picked a really hard color to match for the sweater), and the hood is a good 2″ too long, so I may as well fix that, too!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Someone is to Blame // 3 Comments »

Here’s a photo of the ongoing progress for my Pi-are-Square shawl. Well at least, it’s an attempt at a photo of my progress . . . This is one of the hardest projects to photograph, and I’m not even sure the picture looks different than the last one I posted! It’s hard to see the actual patterns to the lace, of course, and I don’t expect to get an actual look at them myself until I’ve got the entire thing done and blocking. I like the shade of red a lot, but am not really enjoying knitting with this yarn. The sizing (which I’m told will wash out–it’d better!) makes it stiff and harsh to my fingers–more like string than yarn. But I do like the color quite a bit, and it’s stiffness may actually aid the pattern, in that it’s not as likely to slide off the needles . . . At this stage–in the last section of stitch increases–I’m getting two rows done a sitting. I’m about a quarter of the way through the section and then, of course, have the edging to do . . . once I figure out which one to use. (But, at two rows a night, I’ve got better than two more weeks to decide, so, no rush.)

Meanwhile, I’m having a good hairday today, and refreshingly, don’t look like a ghost in this picture . . .

Chappy’s stretched out next to me and has obviously given up trying to find his Grandpa (who landed safely in Florida yesterday and who has already played two rounds of golf). Chappy was looking all over the house for him this morning. He saw him leave with his suitcase yesterday, but I think he was hoping he would have snuck back in during the night. Ah well . . . In the meantime, he’s keeping close tabs on me and Mom.

Next up for the evening–get some spinning done, help Mom with a little plumbing problem, take my shower, make some tea, and then sit and knit in front of the television–West Wing is on tonight (still Must-See for me, even if it can’t compare to season two), and so is Jack & Bobby, which we’ll tape and watch tomorrow. (And no, don’t have Tivo–it’s apparently not compatible with our cable service. Go figure.)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:More Pi, Anyone? // 3 Comments »

• Tags: Chappy, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Long Draw // 1 Comment »

  Well, my socks are coming along. They just about come up to the balls of my feet, and everything! And now I know why so many people in the knitting community have been raving about Koigu. Nice yarn and what beautiful colors! It didn’t photograph as well as I’d like–there’s more green and yellow in the real thing . . . it’s like the photo picked up all the subtle colors and left the primary ones alone.

And, today, my order from Allegro Yarns came–my Fiddlesticks Yarn Peacock Feathers shawl pattern, and a lovely green yarn in the color, “Peacock.” (Honest!) Given the choice, though, I think I’m going to try the Knit Picks yarn I got last week–I like the blue/green/turquoise thing for a peacock feather shawl. I think I’ll save the green (which is really pretty, mind you!) for something else.

Okay . . . want to get some spinning done before bedtime…!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Sock it to me // 1 Comment »

Well, Chappy was in rare form this weekend. Last night, while I is the shower, he stole my last skein of Dale of Norway yarn from my chair and turned it into this:

He chewed off the wrapper and luckily didn’t damage the actual skein too much. He’s not a destructive dog, but thievery is one of his favorite games–he steals a slipper or a towel (generally something soft) and then waits until someone comes to get it. His patience while waiting is impressive, and he’s pretty good about giving up his prizes, though he may run around the dining room table a few times before he’s willing to concede. Anyway, I rerolled it into this:

Which, this evening, I turned into I-cord ties for my green hood which is now completely done. I’m counting this as part of the February Fix because it could have sat in the closet without ties almost indefinitely. I had it on my bedroom chair because of the February Fix, and then Chappy provided some, ahem, additional incentive to do something with that last skein of yarn instead of just letting it sit there! That’s two problems/projects, though, that I’ve addressed because of this group. Incentive is good!

I did get my hair cut yesterday, and I think it’s a good one–I always have a hard time telling for the first day or two. The first day, well, it’s never, ever styled by the stylist the way I would do it. And, of course, the extra handling during the cut breaks up the curl clusters, and it generally looks pretty bad that first day. (I had it pulled back in a barrette all day.) Then I gave it a protein treatment last night–something I haven’t done in a while–using the Ouidad Deep Treatment and the microfiber heated turban I got for Christmas. And so it wasn’t looking its best today, either–the protein is good for the hair and good for the curl, but it’s a little drying, and I think that basically my hair was feeling a little sorry for itself. That will hopefully change by tomorrow.Still, Before and After shots, for what they’re worth (with the caveat that flash photography tends to make me look like a ghost):

Again, it’s hard to say for sure, but it seems like a good cut. It doesn’t look like she took off a lot of length, but some of that is because of the curl . . . and I do still want to grow it out some more.

Also, did anyone see what the Animal Planet was airing during the Super Bowl? It started at 3:00 this afternoon (EST) and went until 9:00.

Puppy Bowl! This was hilariously cute. A “stadium” filled with romping, playing, fuzzy puppies. And that was it, for six hours. Nonstop cuteness. I especially liked the “Bowl Cam” they had hidden at the bottom of a water bowl, that the puppies kept pawing at. Just silly, wholesome fun, and remarkably watchable . . . at least, for dog lovers. For those of us not interested in football, it was actually not bad at all!

• Tags: Family, General, Hair • Permalink:Puppies and weekends // 2 Comments »

First, I’m just so glad the work week is over. It’s Friday, and that means Chappy gets to sleep on my bed tonight (a non-work-night-only treat for both of us). I can also stay up later reading without guilt, knowing I can sleep later tomorrow if I need to.

Though, not too late–I’ve got a haircut in the morning. I’m a little nervous about it–it’s my first one since August! I haven’t gone this long between cuts since I wore my hair one-length and past my shoulders in college. Since I’ve been encouraging the curls, though, and since I told my hairdresser, Jen, that I wanted to grow it out, she gave me a great cut that had a shape that “grew” well. (I couldn’t believe how short it got last winter–shorter than it’s been since the early 1980s.) She gives good haircuts, though–one of the only hairdressers I’ve ever had who (1) really listens and (2) pays close attention to what she’s doing–she doesn’t get distracted chatting, or cut on auto-pilot. I really like that about her.

And then, my most recent order from Amazon came . . . more books! I love books…. Two are children’s books that I just wanted a copy of (and which I highly recommend, by the way); One knitting book, one autobiography about a Chinese family that comes to America, and a series of humorous essays by the scientist Richard Feynman. Yay! This brings my library up to 2,573 volumes.

After my haircut tomorrow, my parents and I are going to the NJ Home Show to look at things like acrylic bathtub/shower inserts–the kind that fit into the existing space in one, big piece, in one day. Also at kitchen cabinet refacing. Our house will be 30 years old in November and deserves a little sprucing up, especially in the bathrooms! I still can’t believe we’ve been here this long. I remember that we moved out of our old house the day after my 9th birthday (and that I wasn’t allowed to take the shrink-wrap off of some of my birthday presents because Mom had to pack them!), and into this house several days later. Except for college, I’ve lived here ever since, though thank heaven the decor has changed! Though my parents made some wise choices–the mandatory 70s panelling is white, with black molding trim, and so still actually looks just fine in our family room–not dark and dated. The kitchen, too–dark wood cabinets with white counters that actually still look white. The appliances have changed (white now, instead of the original Harvest Gold), but except for some nicks and scratches, the cabinets don’t look nearly as dated as some of the other houses in the neighborhood. I love this house…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Friendly Friday // 1 Comment »

Well, I tried my first “February Fix.” I have this pair of Lopi sweaters, knitted way back in 1989 when I began “serious” knitting in college. The brown one was my very first sweater, and the green one–with, I think, 3 more stitches per row, but knitted back and forth rather than circularly–was my second. As you can see, the gauge was (ahem) rather different), even though the basic sweater shaping was the same . . .honestly! Anyway, the green one never fit quite the way I would have hoped, and the front corners have always hung low and long, and basically, I wore it over my pajamas for years–nice, big, warm sweater. But I thought it would be nice if it fit just a little bit better, so I decided I’d try gritting my teeth and full the thing–my very first attempt at felting anything.

As you can see, it certainly did shrink down in size . . . after I fought with it for a while. First, I tried the washing machine, but it felted the right side (left of the picture) and barely touched the other side). That I did myself, by hand, in the bathtub–an experience I am not eager to try again. Hot, steamy, aching arms . . . really not that fun! But at least the sides ended up symmetrical. (They are, really, even if they don’t quite look it in this photo–it’s just the way it’s laying on the floor.) The only problem is now it’s just a tiny but too small. Granted, I tried it on earlier over a thick shirt and it would no doubt fit better over a t-shirt, but the sleeves are just a little tight and about half an inch shorter than they should be. Sigh. But at least I tried something new! I do like the way the color intensified, though–it’s a much brighter shade of that green.

Speaking of something new, I got two packages in the mail today. One was this lovely jute tote bag from Levenger.com. They have great things; their slogan is “Tools for Readers,” but their bags are also great for knitting. This one was on sale for $30, with a matching leather pouch for inside. Very nice. Then the yarn is “Shimmer” from KnitPicks in the color “Turquoise Splendor.” It’s a lace-weight Baby Alpaca/Silk blend and very soft. I bought it to, well, try it (of course), but also as back up in case I’m not happy with the color I ordered for me “Fiddlesticks Peacock Feathers” shawl. I’m not usually a fan of turquoise, but this seemed like a very good choice for that shawl. (You can’t really see the green shades in the picture, but they’re there.) Oh, and the first volume of Barbara Walker’s stitch collection. I have the second one already and figured I should really have the first one to go along with it.

My Pi-are-square shawl is now at the “slowly-creeping” stage–we’re into the last increase section and it took me over an hour to do two rows tonight. Which means two rows is obviously going to be about all I can manage in any given sitting. I also got some work done on my newly-restarted socks while watching the “Happy Days Reunion” special with Mom, while recording it for my niece–a new H.D. fan. (She’s got a picture of Fonzie in her bedroom.) Up until the last season or two, that was SUCH a good show! My opinion is that it wasn’t jumping the shark that marked their decline; it was when Ritchie left the show. Up until then, though, it was all pure gold. “Laverne and Shirley” was pretty darn good, too . . . and even “Mork & Mindy” had its moments . . . mostly thanks to Robin Williams! (And who could argue the logic of having your baby born old and “ageing” into youthfulness? Just imagine having the wisdom of age and the energy to do something with it! Always made a certain amount of sense to me, even if it was ridiculous on the show…)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Fixed (?) in February // 2 Comments »

(Not exactly an exciting title, but hey, I can’t always be original.)

First, thank you, Samantha, for the gift certificate for Adagio tea. I’ve heard good things about their tea and am looking forward to giving it a try. Yum!

Second, I’ve been driving my mother’s car around today, which is just weird. It broke down last Friday and got a new battery. Then it broke down on Monday (in the exact same spot), and got a new alternator. But still . . . the windshield wipers are sluggish and the battery warning light on the dashboard is intermittently coming on. She has an appointment tomorrow at Infiniti, which is only a couple miles from our house, so there wouldn’t have been any crisis . . . except she had to go to my sister’s tonight. My brother-in-law has a medical procedure in Morristown tomorrow–about two hours from their house–and so they have to get an early start tomorrow, but somebody has to get the kids off to school. So Mom volunteered to go up, spend the night, and watch after the kids in the morning. All of which was planned over a week ago, before her car started acting up . . . and Patty’s house is still an hour away.

So, since I work just on the other side of town, I offered to trade cars for the day–she could take my (healthy) Volvo to Pennsylvania, and I would sedately drive from one side of town to the other in her Infiniti–a lot less worrying for all of us, especially my mother (the Queen of Worrying). It’s just odd to drive a different car–you get so used to the sensitivity and feel of your own car (and I love the way my S60 handles).

Luckily, my B-i-L’s prodedure is relatively minor tomorrow, so we’re not too worried about him. I’m more worried about my uncle, who was hospitalized with chest pains this week. His heart was fine, but there’s some kind of “mass” between his lungs and they’re waiting for test results. (sigh)

For tonight’s knitting content, I did the final increase on my Pi are Square shawl, but it took me a small age to knit my way back across the row. This last section is going to take longer than all the rest, I can just tell. (And then let’s not forget the knitted-on edging to finish it off.) I also frogged my socks–I wasn’t happy with the way the toes were shaped, and figured now was the time to fix it, before the pair got too big.

Jessica wanted to know how I have time to do anything other than read? I just read preternaturally fast. I’ve been reading since I was three, and the family joke is that I’m trying to read everything. I’m not, really, since I like to re-read old friend-books almost as much as I like to read new ones, so that affects my odds (grin). (For the record, I read 320 books in 2004. 142 of them were new reads, the others were re-reads. Considering that I read fastest when I don’t already know the ending, I sometimes wonder how much I’d get done if I didn’t do any re-reads at all . . . .)

Lastly, I jinxed myself yesterday–Chappy didn’t get a walk today, though it wasn’t the fault of the weather. I had to cook for him at lunchtime if he wanted to have food for supper tonight. He did get a chance to romp in the snow, though, so he forgave me just as soon as I opened the back door . . .

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Wednesday // 2 Comments »

  Just to prove that I haven’t spent all my time reading lately . . . Less of it than usual, in fact . . . Here is the pair of socks I started last night. I know, I know, it looks more like a really weird pair of shades, but it is in fact two toes–just not deep enough yet to really look like toes yet!

(But you know . . . sunglasses! In high school, my friend Dawn had a pair that was like plastic blinds–just horizontal plastic slats–that worked remarkably well (and which we thought was very cool). How neat would it be to knit, say, a lace pattern over sunglass frames? You’d be able to see through them, yet they’d block some of the sun–even if they weren’t really safe enough for driving . . . hmmm! You heard it here first, folks!)

Anyway, in addition to the Koigu socks, my pi are square shawl is coming along. Here it is, draped over the edge of my bookcase. I’ve got about 4 more rows before the next–and theoretically the last–increase, but I don’t quite believe, at this moment, that it’s going to be long enough in another 52 rows . . . but it probably will! I just need to see it to believe it.

Here’s another look–I tried to get the “square” section in the photo. The diagonal running from left to right is the demarcation between the circle portion and the squared-off fronts. You can just barely make out in the picture, the last set of stitch increases, where I did “dummy” ones into the garter stitch, square section, before starting a vine-lace panel down along the front edge. (This will all be much easier to see once I get this blocked, trust me!)

  Let’s see, and then there’s the spinning. I finished my second bobbin of wool from Grafton fibers (which looks a little smaller than the first one. I don’t think I divided very evenly! I really need to get a scale one of these days.) It’s a deeper blue/green combination, almost jewel tones. I decided I wanted more, but couldn’t remember which colorway I had ordered, so I ordered this, more turquoise-colored batt, which I’ll spin next, and then ply with the original colors. If all works out correctly, it should be a very nice yarn when I’m done. . . I hope!

I am a little concerned, though. I’ve been trying to figure out the long-draft method (or at least, something that resembles it), and I have a feeling that some of the singles in this bobbin aren’t twisted quite enough. And I know some is over twisted. I just hope it all holds together . . . (grin)

When you use “singles” in a sentence, is it a plural or singular noun?

Meanwhile, our weather allowed Chappy and me to get a lunchtime walk for the fourth day in a row (shhhhh . . . don’t tell anyone . . . I don’t want to jinx it). This is the most exercise I’ve gotten in almost a month….

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Evidence of Progress // 1 Comment »

I just started reading “American Jezebel,” a bio on Anne Hutchinson (kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony way back when), written by Eve LaPlante–her 11th-great-granddaughter–and I came upon this sentence (page 21):“Shocking many, Puritans wore hats in church (following Jewish practice), refused to bow or kneel during worship (which they saw as a violation of the third commandment) and allowed pigs and chickens in the church, and some of them didn’t even know the Lord’s Prayer.”

My question is, how many pigs and chickens DO know the Lord’s Prayer?

(And, don’t editors actually edit sentences anymore?)

Now, speaking of books, here’s my list of books read for the month of January. (The AOL Favorite Fiction group posts monthly lists, and it seems a waste to type the whole thing in and then not share it with all of you, too.) Twenty-six books for the month, with a total of 9,209 pages.

1. BROKEN FOR YOU by Stephanie Kallos (368 p). I very much enjoyed this book, an eldery woman learns she has a brain tumor and decides to open her house to a boarder . . . sweet, moving story. It’s rare for me to read a “Today Show” pick, but got sucked into this one—and was glad I did!
2. KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER #3: THE CROSS by Sigrid Undset (424 p). The final in this Nobel Prize-winning trilogy. Excellent, but darn it, it seemed like everyone died! Deeply religious books about medieval Norway, a great deal of discussion about sin and the meaning of sin.
3. TRUTH ABOUT BEAUTY by Kat James (318 p) . Pretty much a self-help book, one that takes a fresh look at beauty—instead of cosmetics and diets, it looks at how simply being healthy can and does make one beautiful. Interesting, grain-of-salt reading.
4. ASHFORD BOOK OF SPINNING by Anne Field (151 p). Beginner’s how-to book about spinning. Figured it went with my Ashford wheel . . . not that I need an excuse to buy books!
5. JACKIE BY JOSIE by Caroline Preston (314 p). A re-read from years ago. Josie, a young mother and PhD candidate is hired by a celebrity biographer to research Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ life. A nice story, with parallels between what Josie finds in the archives and what goes on in her own life. It deserves to still be in print.
6. ANGELICA by Sharon Shinn (485 p). Her fourth story set in Samaria, telling of how Susannah becomes angelica to Gaaron’s Archangel. I love this series of books—not quite science fiction, not quite romance, not quite fantasy . . . they are completely unique and beautifully written. Love them
7. SPINDLE’S END by Robin McKinley (421 p). Young adult retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with special emphasis on spindles and really helpful wild animals.
8. SAFE-KEEPER’S SECRET by Sharon Shinn (222 p). A stand-alone YA book that takes place in a world where secrets have their own power—there are “Secret Keepers” who will share but never tell a secret, but keep it safe until it’s time to be released by “Truth-Tellers.” It all starts when a baby is left at the house of a secret keeper, who is told it’s the bastard child of the King …
9. LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST’S CHILDHOOD PAL by Christopher Moore (444 p). What a silly story . . . Levi (also known as Biff) is brought back from the dead to tell his version of Jesus’ (also known as Joshua’s) story. I didn’t find it riotously funny, but it was certainly different and entertaining!
10. PATTY JANE’S HOUSE OF CURL by Lorna Landvik (292 p). The tale of two sisters, crossed in love in cold, wintry Minnesota. The first novel of a really good author.
11. DECIDER by Dick Francis (318 p). Classic D.F. mystery—the hero gets caught up in the shenanigans of the Stratford family and their racecourse.
12. WHERE THE HEART IS by Billie Letts (376 p). What does a 17 year old, 7-months pregnant girl do when her boyfriend leaves her at a Walmart and takes off? Lives IN the Walmart, of course. . . the story of Novalee Nation. Lovely little book, made into a movie several years ago. The only original “Oprah’s BookClub” selection I ever enjoyed—probably because it’s one of the few that leaves you feeling good and not depressed!
13. LACE FROM THE ATTIC by Nancie Wiseman (95 p). It sounds like another mystery, but in fact, it’s a knitting book, giving lace patterns from a Victorian notebook found in the author’s attic.
14. A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT by Sebastien Japrisot (327 p). The story of Mathilde, a French “White Widow,” whose fiance was executed, along with 4 other soldiers, by being forced into No-Man’s Land on a cold winter night during WWI. A mystery, in that she seeks to find the truth as to what happened that night, a love story in that she does not or cannot let him go. Good story.
15. BLUE RODEO by Jo-Ann Mapson (318 p). A woman moves to New Mexico after her divorce to provide resident-status for her newly-deaf teenage son, so he can go to a state run school for the deaf.
16. WILDER SISTERS by Jo-Ann Mapson (364 p). Rose and Lily both find themselves back at their parents’ ranch when their own lives fall apart—Rose’s as a book-keeper to an alcoholic veterinarian, Lily’s as a medical-supply sales rep in California.
17. KABLOONA by Gontra de Poncins (322 p). True story/memoir about his experiences living with Eskimos for a year in the early 20^th century, before their culture was too “sullied” by contact with the white man (aka Kabloona). Interesting, and good reading for a blizzardy weekend!
18. CITY OF SORCERY by Marion Zimmer Bradley (423 p). A Darkover novel I haven’t read in years—Magda and Jaelle guide a search team into the mountains, looking for a hidden city of legend. More of an “adventure” book than many of the Darkover books are, but good.
19. MARY THOMAS’S BOOK OF KNITTING PATTERNS by Mary Thomas (299 p). It sounds like all this is is a dictionary of patterns, but it’s more . . . she presents them in such a logical fashion, with explanations of why and how each group of stitches vary from the ones that have come before, it’s an education in itself.
20. BY THE SWORD by Mercedes Lackey (492 p). A “Valdemar” book that tells the story of Kerowyn, a mercenary soldier. (It’s better than I make it sound, believe me—Lackey tells a good story.)
21. EIGHT DAY S OF LUKE by Diana Wynne Jones (150 p). Very much a YA book, but I can’t resist the introduction of Norse gods into the story . . . Luke, for example, is really Loki, the god of mischief. Then there’s Mr. Fry, and Mr. Wedding… they’re all very much toned down from their classic selves, but having read the Norse legends, I can’t help but enjoy this little peek at how they might fit into modern day England. (Again, it’s young adult, so there’s not that much substance to the story, but it’s entertaining all the same. DWJ has been a favorite of mine since 6^th grade and I still enjoy reading her books.)
22. LUCY CROCKER 2.0 by Caroline Preston (362 p). Lucy Crocker and her husband, years ago, created the most famous computer game ever, but now she’s stalled on the sequel, and just found out he’s had an affair with the company publicity director. So, she ships their precociously-computer genius twins (who have been running a software consulting company since 4^th grade) off to a wilderness camp—adequately unprepared though they are in terms of physical skills—and heads off to her father’s old, cabin in Wisconsin. This is the only other book by the woman who wrote “Jackie by Josie” (#5 on my list, above) and is also out of print. I’m so glad I found a copy to buy, though, as I definitely enjoyed this.
23. HELEN AND TEACHER by Joseph P. Lash (786 p). A thorough biography on Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, which only took me 24 years and 3 months to read. (grin) My parents gave me a copy of this massive book for my 14^th birthday, but I never got past the first section on Annie’s childhood . . . until now! I’m glad I finally read it—there were so many things I didn’t know about both of these remarkable women, and I am, as ever, blown away by Helen Keller’s accomplishments, her skills, her personality, and her spirit. Remarkable woman.
24. PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by Philip Roth (390 p). What would happen if Charles Lindbergh had been elected President in 1940? Told from the point of view of a young jewish boy in Newark NJ, this is a good supposition of what might have happened (although, one of the major plot point/explanations at the end is really a stretch . . . but hey, it’s fiction). My only complaint is that the next to last chapter summed up the major plot points, only to backtrack for the last chapter, when I sat there thinking, “But you told me that already.”
25. AMERICA’S WOMEN by Gail Collins (452 p). A historical look at women and women’s roles in America from Virginia Dare through today. (Well, the last chapter was the 1960s, but the epilogue brought it up to the 2000s.) Incredible amounts of research—the end sections of bibliography, index and so on was a full 100 pages long, and for a book with 452 pages of text, it was pretty exhaustive. A lot of good information crammed in there, even if it had a slightly “women’s studies” slant to the whole thing, which isn’t really all that surprising!
26. THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini (371 p). Not a book I normally would have picked up, but since it was voted best for 2004 . . . got to admit, I liked it quite a bit. Moving, beautifully written story about a Amir, growing up in Afghanistan with his servant and best friend, Hassan, and what happens to them when war comes. Really good—glad it was recommended.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:And then there’s the Reading // 3 Comments »