I did get all my packing done last night, chose a few books to bring, finished emptying the kitchen and bathroom–and still had time to watch an old, silly movie with Mom. “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” Have any of you seen it? From 1965. Brian Keith, Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin, Eva Marie Saint, Jonathan Winters. A Russian submarine–at the height of the Cold War–runs aground on a fictional, New England island and sends a party ashore to find a boat to tow the sub off the sandbar. Crazy, hilarious panic ensues. Mom’s favorite part is poor Muriel hanging on the wall with her clueless husband eating breakfast right in front of her. I love the group of sailors saying “Emergency. Everybody to get from street,” in unison, in thick Russian accents, to a little boy . . . like that was going to work! And of course, the stirring ending, the kid on the church steeple (an idea stolen by the TV show “Early Edition” a few years ago).

For that matter, we watched a 1966 movie the night before: “Yours, Mine and Ours” with Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Van Johnson, and a young Tim Mathieson as the oldest son. Henry has 10 children, Lucille has 8, so of course they get married! Love the shopping trip–four, fully-heaped shopping carts of groceries for a total of $126. (Wow!) Sweet little movie.

Chappy, I think, is just glad this day is over. He looks confused and worried–the kitchen is in the dining room, the bathroom is in the guest room, I’ve got a suitcase . . . I’m afraid he thinks we’re moving, or evacuating, or something, but he’s been wandering out, checking out everything and NOT letting me out of his sight!

Anyway, as Mom, Chappy and I are driving up to the Vineyard, today, Sunday, I don’t want any of you to be completely bored so, here–even though it’s not knitting related, at least it’s something! I picked it up off somebody’s blog–I’ve seen it on so many of them lately, I don’t specifically remember whose I took it from, but I couldn’t resist it. It is, after all, about books!

Total number of books in your house

Well, let’s see. I have 2,635 books. My parents have about 200, so . . . That’s about 2, 835!Last book bought

Well, I don’t buy them singly, but in groups. In the last week or so I’ve bought:

Lapsing into a Comma by Walsh, Bill

Sanctuary by Lackey, Mercedes

Paris 1919 by MacMillan, Margaret

Blind Lake by Wilson, Robert Charles

Slight Trick of the Mind by Cullin, Mitch

Never Let me Go by Ishiguro, Kazuo

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Foer, Jonathan Safran

Saturday by McEwan, Ian

Books you often read or that mean a lot to youI re-read my favorites over and over again, so it’s hard to pinpoint specific books. I’ll name some authors that I revisit, though: Jane Austen, Sharon Shinn, Anne McCaffrey, Sean Russell, Diana Wynne Jones, Elizabeth Peters, Robertson Davies, L.M. Montgomery, Mary Stewart, John Myers Myers, Jasper Ffordes, Dorothy Dunnett . . . (stopping. getting tired now.)

Who are you going to pass this on to and whyI’m not going to actually pass this to anybody, but anyone who wants to join in, please do!

Tags: Reading by Deb
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Well, I suppose that I’m officially “on” vacation, even though I’m still at home and haven’t strayed more than a couple miles from my house all day. But I’m leaving for Martha’s Vineyard tomorrow morning, with Mom and Chappy, and I don’t have to go back to work for a week, so this is, technically, vacation time.

Except that, so far, it hasn’t been very vacation-like. I took my car out to feed her for the drive, and to get all the green tree mold washed off so that she looks silver again and not green (blech). (Don’t get me wrong, I like green as a color, but I don’t like the gritty layer of green dust clinging to my windshield, my doors, and basically every outdoor surface. My car is meant to be silver!). I went to the bank to get some cash for the trip and to make a deposit of–honestly–three different checks that add up to a total of $13.72 (and that includes my NJ state tax refund!). Mom and I stopped to get coffee at Starbucks–and saw that “Martha’s Poncho” woman from last week stroll by!–and then we came home . . .

  . . . And started moving even more things from the kitchen to the dining room, and from the bathroom to the guest room. About the only thing left in the kitchen is 2 dishes, 2 bowls, a mug, and the tv and coffee-maker on the counter. Almost every drawer and cabinet is empty. Ditto for the bathrooms–a single bottle of shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush/toothpaste, a roll of t.p., and a towel for tonight’s shower. It’s very bizarre. And at this point, finding anything is challenging. Not only has everything been moved willy-nilly as time and energy levels permit, but there’s no rhyme or reason as to where each item or box of items has ended up . . . and some boxes have contents from more than one cabinet.

I tell you, reassembling the kitchen next weekend has me scared!

It turned out to be a pretty day, though, and some time has been spent sitting out on the (green-tinted) deck with Chappy. A thing that’s very bad for allergies, but very good for the soul, you know? I’m going out to eat with my parents because, well, I can’t very well cook, can I? (Not only are all the utensils and pots and such–the “hardware” as Alton Brown calls it–scattered throughout the dining room, but we taped plastic inside the pantry door to keep out dust and . . . well . . . basically, if it’s not in the refrigerator, it’s not really accessible.

  And, oh yes, tonight ,I really do need to start packing! Except, of course, I need to run a load of laundry first . . . and can’t do that until after I’ve taken my shower. (Because, well, we are going to have workmen in the bathroom next week, and they will be laying floor into the linen closet, and well, I just don’t want to leave any dirty laundry in there . . . it may be silly, but . . . !) Anyway, I suppose I could start assembling clothing and such on the bed, but don’t really see the point. Toiletries are always packed and ready to go (I topped off the shampoo bottle the other day). Underwear is a no-brainer, and anyway, needs to wait for the laundry, and why start folding shirts and sweaters now? I just sincerely hope the weather cooperates and is DRY (or even mostly dry) because otherwise, Chappy and I are going to get awfully wet waiting outside on sidewalks for Mom!

The hardest part of packing, anyway, is choosing which books to bring. Not only do I need an assortment for myself . . . usually about five. I may only get through 2 or 3 of them, but there’s no way to know in advance which ones I’ll be in the mood to read. And while the Bunch of Grapes bookstore is wonderful, there have been times I haven’t found anything to buy, so . . . I travel with my own little library annex. (It’s just a crying shame that “1776″ by David McCullough isn’t out until next week–I would LOVE to get a signed copy from him, and I’m so looking forward to reading that one!)

There’s our shared book to pick out, too. Every trip, Mom and I bring along a book to read together–while the other is driving, or in the room at night instead of watching TV. We carry it around with us and, when there’s a likely spot in the day, will read a chapter. I’ve got it narrowed down to a choice of three, but haven’t quite settled on the choice for the year. (Next year, though, I’ve already got covered–Harry Potter #6!) In the past, we’ve covered all the Harry Potter books, “Archangel” by Sharon Shinn, “The Best of Enemies” by Nancy Bond, “A Little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (which Mom had never read, and, sorry, it’s a must), “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” was a good one, too–I always loved that run-away-to-the-Metropolitan-Museum-of-Art story! For whatever reason, Young Adult books seem to work best–they’re usually just about the right length for the trip. It’s great, though, because that way we’re still doing something together, instead of sitting near each other, but reading our own, separate things. Mom doesn’t like audio books, either, but we both enjoy both reading out loud as well as the listening, so . . . it’s fun.

Knitting-wise, I’ve decided to bring my Peacock and the sock I’m working on. My NbaT will stay at home (to make room for, you know, books).

  On the plus side, Chappy’s packed. That’s food in individual ziploc bags (Flint River Ranch Dry Water food–one of the only dog foods I’m willing to let him eat). Two plastic dishes, a zoom-groom brush (wonderful for loose fur!), and a couple of toys. Pick-up bags are in the front, Mom’s got some treats in her purse . . . all I need to do is remember his crate and towels for his bedding, and we’re set! Or at least, he is . . .

Tags: Family, General, Martha's Vineyard by Deb
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  So, I was here in New Jersey for the last several weeks–I really was–and yet, I have some wool from Maryland after all, thanks to Liz. Wasn’t that great of her? Such pretty, Martha’s Vineyard-inspired colors, too . . . not to mention the sweet, hand-written note.

See? You toss something nice out into the Internet waters, and look at the pleasant ripples you get floating back toward you!

Of course, this forces me to admit that I’ve been sadly neglectful of my spinning wheel, though–do you know I still haven’t even taken the plying head out of the plastic yet? And it’s been a week since I spun anything. I’m a terrible person! But now, somehow, I’m feeling newly inspired. . . . (just in time to go on vacation and well, I know the Lendrum is a portable wheel but trust me, there will not be room in the trunk!)

Okay, maybe I’m not really terrible . . . I’ve just been focusing on my knitting. I’m pretty close to that magical, invisible line in a project where I’m ready to move from “enjoying the process” to “wanting the product.” I’m on row 204 of my Peacock,and look! I’ve got proof:

  I wanted to try to get a picture of the status of my shawl, so I cleared off one of the bookcases in my room and caaaaarefully stretched my shawl-in-progress across the top, so you can more or less see the progression from the tiny neckline pattern (to the right) to the “eye” section (middle) to the “tail” section at the left.

  A closer look at the end–where the pattern’s more interesting. I think that the variegation in the yarn is going to work just fine with this. I was worried that it would take away from the lace pattern, but . . . just looking at the way this shows up, laid out over my bookcase, I think once this is blocked, the colors aren’t going to take anything away at all!

  One more, closer view of some of the stitches. It’s interesting to me, because when you look at this in close-up, it doesn’t look like much of anything, but from a little distance (like this thumbnail), you can see the “eye” of the feather pattern quite clearly!

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m very much enjoying this pattern. It’s interesting with something new going on all the time. The Knitpicks “Shimmer” is a lovely yarn. 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. It’s soft, it’s lovely, it’s reasonably strong for its thickness. I haven’t (so far) found a single knot, the color is really lovely, and you simply cannot beat the price. I’m just about at the end of my second skein and will definitely be using at least some of a third, but considering the yarn was only $4.99 each . . . such a bargain. Like I said above, I’m really happy with the way the colors are working out–the variation is subtle enough, I think, that it works . . . not bold, stark changes that would stand out like a sore thumb. Just blue to green to blue to green . . . soothing, and very “peacock.”

Yep, I’m definitely moving quickly toward impatience at seeing this done . . . and being able to wear it!!

We learned about a glitch in our remodeling scenario for next week. We had coordinated having the bathrooms and the kitchen refaced the week that Mom, Chappy and I were away–so save on wear and tear on their nerves. We made sure the company new this and everything was on track . . . until today, when they called and said the job they’re working on is going to take just a little bit longer and while they’ll be starting the kitchen on Monday, they won’t be here to start the bathrooms until Wednesday. Yikes! This is going to create a serious logistical problem–not only for the weekend we’re back (when, really, we need at least one functioning bathroom/shower), but also for the following week when I’m back at work and my parents will have to figure out some baby gate configuration that will keep Chappy out of the way while the workmen troop up and down the stairs . . . Uh-oh!

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My 10 Favorite things:

Liz tagged me for this meme (well, she hinted). So here are my ten favorite things (although I’m sure you could have deduced at least part of the list by now!)

1. Chappy. I mean, of course, I named my entire blog after him. The sweetest Boykin Spaniel you’d ever want to meet. I just love spending time with him–sitting, playing, going for walks–he’s great company. He takes good care of his mom, too–and is especially sweet if I’m stuffy or coughing from allergies. He’ll come over and quite seriously sniff at my breath, making sure my lungs are doing okay. Really. Without meaning to anthropomorphize this too much, I’m sure that’s exactly what he’s doing–he started when I had bronchitis in December, and coughing very deeply, and he would sit and stare at me with such concern. He’s a good boy! I would expand this to include our other, gone-on pets, too. Katy. Jilly. Muppy.

2. My family. I have the best parents in the world. Sure, you might think that you do, but–while they might be wonderful–you’d be wrong. I’ve got the top pair. Why else, I ask you, would I still be living with them in my late thirties? They’re good company; they’re fun; they’re loving and generous; they adore my dog . . . we three people (plus dog) get along really well and the tempo of the house is just suited to all of us. And of course, there’s my sister, BIL, niece and nephew. They live an hour away so I don’t get to see them quite so often as I’d like, but they’re all pretty much wonderful, too!

3. Reading. Yes, it comes in above knitting because it was my first love. I’ve been reading since I was 3, and cannot live without it. I seriously cannot go to sleep at night without reading first, and if I finish the book, must get a “fresh” one so I have it to pick up first thing the next morning, and then carry with me all the rest of the day. I actually remember the exact moment that “reading” made sense to me–I was looking out of the car window, up (up, up) at a sign, when suddenly the alphabet Mom had been teaching me made sense. I distinctly remember the realization that all I had to do was learn the words, and I could read absolutely anything . . . and the family joke is that I’ve been trying ever since.

4. Knitting. Well, sure. I had about a five year hiatus from when I brought puppy-Katy home, but have otherwise been knitting pretty regularly since college (about my junior year, 1988). I love trying new things and am not afraid to challenge myself. In fact, that’s part of the fun. And even better, I end up with soft, warm, cozy things at the end.

5. Other fiber arts. I’m going to lump all the others together, because I haven’t done nearly as much of them in the last several years as of knitting, but I also quilt, spin, and embroider. I’ve been known to use a sewing machine, though have never been thrilled with the way my finished products look “homemade” (good for cake, bad for clothing). I’ve made at least 5 quilts, all by hand, and I’ve got a slew of embroidered pictures around the house–I’ll do counted cross stitch, but also like to stitch in different stitches. I like the variety and the challenge. Spinning, of course, is new. I only started that in December.

6. My job. I love my job. I’ve worked at the same place–a magazine fulfillment company–since 1991. Fourteen years. I’ve hit almost every department we have and am in exactly the right spot, in a position that was basically created just for me. Love it.

7. Movies. I haven’t regularly gone to the movies since I got my dogs . . . frankly, I’d rather be home with them, my books, and my knitting, than spending several hours in a dark room . . . but I love watching movies. Ones with a brain, or that assume I have one; ones with a sense of humor and a sense of drama–preferably at the same time; light and amusing, like a good romantic comedy (“When Harry Met Sally” is about perfect); old musicals; Disney cartoons–the good ones.

8. Television. You can say what you want about the lack of quality programming–and believe me, I have (and I won’t even go near the way they program shows these days with crazy schedules of repeats, no repeats, etc)–but there is something satisfying about knitting in front of a decent television program. West Wing in its heyday was sheer perfection. This season of Veronica Mars was great. Gilmore Girls. Jack & Bobby. Desperate Housewives. Joan of Arcadia. American Dreams. Quantum Leap. Due South. I don’t like to turn it on just to turn it on, and I don’t like reality shows at all (have never watched a single one unless the PBS “Colonial House”-type series or Extreme Home Makeover count). I don’t like stupid comedy, and I really have no interest in the several dozen versions of CSI or Law & Order, but there is some television programming that’s enjoyable, well-written, and makes for a darn good hour in front of the tube. And, you know, so long as you’re knitting or sewing or reading, it’s not like your brain is going to turn to mush that quickly!

9. Sitting over tea or coffee. It’s silly, perhaps, but there’s something very satisfying about just relaxing with a beverage and a small snack. On the couch, on the deck, even in the kitchen . . . it makes for such a nice interlude. Mom and I used to do a regular, Sunday “tea” with the brown pot, Grandma’s china, homemade scones . . . just the two of us, and Jilly, the mini-dachshund (who liked her tea with milk, no sugar, thank you very much). And still, now, we often end up on Saturday mornings, sitting in a coffee shop over a drink (she likes the iced, frappucino kind; I like mine hot).

10. Martha’s Vineyard. It pretty much had to be on this list somewhere. My grandmother grew up on the island and graduated from high school there, before moving to NJ. My mother spent ALL her summers there, as she grew up, and then there was a long hiatus of over 20 years, until she dragged me and my Dad up there, the summer I was 15. My sister was just out of high school and didn’t want to “do” a family vacation that year. I, of course, being 15 was mortified by everything my parents did normally, but that trip? My mother’s first time back on the island in two decades? My clearest memory of the trip was of her having Dad stop the car so she could take a photo, stepping one foot on the street and standing to take the picture, and then asking him to move up a little and promptly falling [luckily] into the car while I sank lower and lower in the back seat, hiding behind my book (Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz). Despite that, I don’t think I’ve missed a year since. Usually, it’s Mom and I who go together–now with Chappy–and I can’t see us stopping any time soon!

The second part to this meme is to list 5 Things that I may or may not have done before that I’d like to learn or try again.

1. Get my book published. I’ve got one, complete manuscript that I’ve been trying, on and off, to get published for years now. I would love, love, love to see it in print. (And no, the print-out from the computer does not count.) And then there’s the half-written one I’ve been sort of working on, though not since I started blogging… (hmmm!)

2. Drive a stick shift. A friend taught me about 8 years ago, but I haven’t touched one since and would like to reassure myself that I haven’t completely forgotten.

3. Swim. Also, technically, something I learned about 8 years ago. (There were things I decided to try when I turned 30, what can I tell you?) I never learned as a kid, and wanted to know that if I ever fell into a pool, at least, that I could get safely back out again!

4. Go up in a hot-air balloon. Something I’ve never done, but would like to–and it seems a lot safer than sky diving, which, thanks, I’ll pass on!

5. Go back to school. Not for anything particular, but it would be nice to get my Master’s degree in . . . something. Writing, maybe. I don’t really see it happening, but I like learning new things and I loved going to college and stretching my mind. It would be fun to do it again . . . you know, if time and money and laziness weren’t an issue!

And, in theory, it would be nice to meet someone and get married so I don’t spend my old age alone, surrounded by books and wool and dogs, but . . . it’s not something I’m counting on!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Had things gone differently four years ago today, chances are the blog you’re reading would have been called “Katy’s Mom” instead of Chappy’s.

(Stop reading here if you don’t care about dogs or pets or too much sentiment; you’ll just be bored. It’s okay. Just come back tomorrow, when there’ll be knitting content again. Otherwise, brace yourself for some bittersweet nostalgia, and read on!)

That was the day–May 12, 2001–I threw her tennis ball, and it bounced off a tree (the only one in our entire yard) and into the street, right in front of a car that I didn’t see until it was too late. Katy adored chasing her ball and, when she did, focused only on that. The week before, her shoulder collided with that same tree as she chased the ball past; a month or so earlier, she went head-first, full-speed into a bush, without even a pause, just because that’s where her tennis ball went.

May I gush about her for a few minutes? She was my first dog. Not the family’s first, mind you, but mine. We got her nine months after we lost our miniature dachshund, Jilly, who we’d had since I was 17. I still joke that it was like being 12 again, trying to convince my Mommy to let me have a dog. Her name was just one of my ploys–her full name was Katama, the South Beach section of Martha’s Vineyard. (The joke was that my mother can’t say no to anything connected to M.V.)

She was born September 7, 1999, and very bravely flew up alone from North Carolina to New Jersey on her very first day away from her mother and siblings. I think she was pretty terrified about the whole experience, too, but she relaxed in my lap in the car. (That drive being the sole exception to the puppy-safely-seatbelted-in-the-back rule–that day, comfort and warmth were far more important than the risk of an accident.)

She was smart–she was the first of our dogs we ever trained to sit, lie down, etcetera. In fact, she had “sit” down cold by the third day I had her. (I tell you, clicker training is just wonderful!). She also shook hands, twirled in a circle, and curtseyed (a play bow). She went to school and thus became the first family dog with a diploma. She was also the first we ever took on vacation–to, you guessed, it Martha’s Vineyard–and she was also the first dog my sister ever welcomed into her house.

We had a lot in common–we looked rather alike, with wavy, dark brown hair–reasonably smart, funny, but we both liked things the way we like them and don’t like to be bothered when we’re trying to relax. In fact, that brings me to Mondays. Katy was a cranky little girl on Monday mornings, when I headed back to work after a weekend of togetherness. My parents still joke about how they would walk past her pillow and she would growl at them, “Leave me alone; it’s Monday.” Not in a mean way, you understand, but just as a warning (It’s Monday, don’t mess with me). I always rather loved that she had a little bit of a temper, and that she learned to control it. Which she did. When she chased that tennis ball, she hadn’t growled at anything for a month; before that, it had been three weeks. I was so darn proud of her for that! I know myself how hard it is to learn to control that.

Really, we were a lot alike!

Katy was 20-months old when I lost her. She had been acting like a nice, adult dog for about two months, like she had flicked a switch at 18-months, so I got to see what a wonderful dog she had become. Since she was practically perfect in so many ways, she timed her exit perfectly, too. She plotted a perfect collision course with that car coming up the street–the driver never had a chance to see her. Her neck was broken, and she was gone by the time I reached her (not that I was willing to admit that). No unnecessary suffering, thank God. Really. If it had to happen, she did it perfectly.

The driver couldn’t have been nicer. She drove us to the vet, where I said good-bye. The vet himself was wonderful–he trimmed off some of her fur for a keepsake and later, made me a clay imprint of her paw (something I had planned to do, but ran out of time). While I was at the vet, my next-door neighbors scrubbed the blood off the street for me so I wouldn’t have to face it when I got home. (Possibly the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.)

I wouldn’t, of course, give Chappy up for anything in the world–you all know that. And I know that if I hadn’t lost Katy, I would never have been lucky enough to bring him home, and that’s unthinkable. But still. I do wish I had waited to throw that ball.

Katy was a wonderful dog. She had to be. If she hadn’t been so loving and smart and beautiful, I wouldn’t have Chappy. She helped show us how great having an actually trained dog could be.

So in a way, I owe Chappy to her.

She would have been an excellent big sister, too . . . just as long as he didn’t mess with her on Monday mornings.

Katy.

September 7, 1999 – May 12, 2001.

We were silly together, but we sure had fun.

Tags: Family, Katy, Jilly, Muppy by Deb
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  I’m sure you’ll all be thrilled to know that we saved our “Way Out” sign when our new door was installed today. Mom managed to peel it off the old door in one piece, and then stuck it onto a flexible magnet sheet (my suggestion, stated modestly), so that it can sit proudly and firmly–and yet temporarily and without marring in any way–on the brand new, steel door.

How cool is that?

I took the afternoon off from work to help “supervise” the installation of our new doors (three in all). Mom had to go get her haircut, too, which left me the only adult, human family member around to answer questions. (And, just a word to the wise, if you see her, don’t ask Mom about the haircut–the cut itself is fine, but it was supposed to happen at 10:30, but her friend and hairdresser forgot the time and went out, and Mom is stressed enough this week, and . . . really, it’s safer not to mention it at all.)

  Poor Chappy had to spend the entire afternoon out on the deck, out of the way. (Thank heaven it was sunny!) But isn’t it nice? He was rewarded with a brand new door all his very own. It’s more or less impossible to tell in the picture, but the door is blue, and that’s a brand-new doggie door down at the bottom. The installer–who had a sense of humor–teased that they didn’t have the doggie door, didn’t we? When I had ordered it myself and the company picked it up at our house so that the hole in the door would be the right size . . . What did they mean, where was it?? Except of course, he was teasing. (My poor mother almost had a heart attack. Really, I’m telling you. Don’t mess with her this week!)

  I got a treat, too (as if spending the afternoon at home instead of at work wasn’t treat enough). A delivery from Amazon of four brand-new books. Hopefully a couple of them will be tempting enough to bring along on vacation on Sunday. (They are hardcovers after all. Naturally, they all look appealing or I wouldn’t have bought them, but to be schlepped from New Jersey to Massachusetts, they need to look really good.)

I don’t have anything of a fiber nature to discuss tonight. Nothing. I spent the afternoon–between watching doors being hung, calming Mom and Chappy, and cooking dinner (for good measure) catching up on magazines. I think I’m the only person I know who finds most magazines more of a chore than a pleasure–they really only take away reading time that could be spent on real books. I mean, I wouldn’t subscribe if I weren’t interested in what the periodical had to say, but . . . they so seldom have anything resembling character development or interesting plot twists, why bother?

I also feel like I’ve been neglectful of leaving comments at other people’s blogs lately. I’m reading just as many (if not more) as usual, and am just as interested, but . . . does making a comment really take that long? Of course not! So how am I justifying this by telling myself that I’m busy?? Sheesh.

Of course, I’m dreading the whole, after-vacation, catch-up-on-blog reading thing next week. Like I said earlier, any internet access next week will be through the hotel phone line and, well, while I’m going to try to post, I can’t promise how many blogs I’ll be reading! At least it will be more fun than catching up to the hundreds of e-mails that will be in my mailbox at work the following week . . .

Can anybody else tell, I’m looking forward to my vacation?? (grin) All I have to do between now and then is finish emptying every scrap of everything from the kitchen, ditto the bathroom, remove everything hanging from my bedroom walls for safety’s sake, try to keep my mother from winding herself so tightly she springs off into the atmosphere, and, oh yeah . . . pack! (Actually, packing the clothes is the easy part; the hard part is figuring which books to bring . . . because naturally, one is never enough!)

Oops! I almost forgot–happy birthday to my brother-in-law, Mike, today!!

Tags: Reading, Uncategorized by Deb
3 Comments »

This is just a test to see if I can compose my posts off-line on my vacation–hotel phone time is expensive!!

Tags: General by Deb
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  So, this is the eyelash yarn I picked up on Saturday, to make a scarf for Mom. Anyone have any pattern suggestions? I could just do a drop stitch, or I could do something a little more interesting. I don’t usually do much with novelty yarns and haven’t knitted with eyelash before, so I feel like I could use a little guidance, suggestions, input and such.

We had another beautiful day today, but it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. I’m on row number 200 of my Peacock shawl. There’s 223 rows on the pattern chart, and then the edging. The end is sort of in sight, but not exactly nearby!

I can never exactly pinpoint if I’m a process or product knitter. I think more process, because I love the act of knitting, the creativity, the way of passing time, but the closer I get to the end of a project, the antsier I get about seeing it done. I’m not about to rush through to the end of this shawl, but it’s far enough along, and still looking like a big, old messy pile of yarn. I know that blocking it (you know, about a month from now!) will perform the usual magic, but . . . I want to see! (Is that wrong?)

The book I’m currently reading is “Winter’s Tale” by Mark Helprin. It’s an odd, interesting kind of book, not quite a fantasy, but not exactly mainstream fiction, either. It came out in 1983 and I’ve read it several times since then, but it’s a hard book to “match” to my mood–I have to be looking for just the right kind of read to be able to work my way through it. It’s got whimsy and wonder–never a bad thing in a book–some interesting characters, and it’s certainly an ode to winter . . . especially winter in New York City. (And I’d still like to know what kind of hot drink an Antwerp Flinder is!) And yet, it’s hard to pin it down. For example, take a look at this excerpt:

Though Mrs. Gamely was by all measures prescientific and illiterate, she did know words. Where she got them was anyone’s guess, but she certainly had them…. Mrs. Gamely’s vocabulary was enormous. She knew words no one had ever heard of, and she used words every day that had been mainly dead or sleeping for hundreds of years. Virginia checked them in the Oxford dictionary, and found that (almost without exception) Mrs. Gamely’s usage was flawlessly accurate. For instance, she spoke of certain kinds of dogs as Leviners. She called the areas near Quebec march-lands. She referred to diclesiums, liripoops, rapparees, dagswains, bronstrops, caroteels, opuntias, and soughs. She might describe something as patibulary, fremescent, pharisaic, Roxburghe, or glockamoid, and words like mormal, jeropigia, endosmic, mage, palmerin, thos, vituline, Turonian, galingale, comprodor, nox, gaskin, secotine, ogdoad, and pintuary fled from her lips in Pierian saltarellos. Their dictionary looked like a sow’s ear, because Virginia spent inordinate proportions of her days racing through it, though when Mrs. Gamely was angry a staff of ten could not have kept pace with her, and a dozen linguaphologists would have collapsed from hypercardia.

“Where did you learn all those words, Mother?” Virginia might ask.

Mrs. Gamely would shrug her shoulders. “We were raised with them, I suppose.” She didn’t always speak incomprehensibly, in fact, she sometimes went for months at a time strapped down firmly to a strong and worthy matrix of Anglo-Saxon derivatives. Then, Virginia breathed easy, and the rooster was so happy that had he been a chicken he would have laid three eggs a day. Or was he a chicken? Who knows? The point is, he thought he was a cat.

How can you not love an author who can construct a segment like that?

Oh, I was asked to provide that bread recipe, which I’m doing with the understanding that it’s not my recipe but that it’s not under any copyright restrictions of which I am aware. It’s in the extended post, if you’re interested.

Four days until my vacation!!

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Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading by Deb
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What a beautiful day we had today! Blue skies, a bare handful of white, puffy clouds, 70-degrees (Farenheit, of course) . . . scents of lilac and all sorts of other flowers on the air . . . just really beautiful.

Except, of course, on our street, which is still being torn up by the electric company, filling the air with dust and dirt and really excessive noise. At least Chappy isn’t too bothered by the big, orange, square “Work Ahead” sign they stood on our front lawn today!

  I got a lovely little RAOK card from Maryellen today. Plus an origami camel!

She asked how Chappy got his name. It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who knows my family, but it’s a Martha’s Vineyard-related name. Chappaquiddick, in fact, and it says so on his registration papers with the Boykin Spaniel Society. Conveniently, though, “Chappy” adapts quite nicely to “Chapter,” too–which, along with Martha’s Vineyard is one of the favorite things of this Biblioholic. Isn’t is nice when a name is that versatile? I even sometimes sing that little Gershwin ditty at him: “I’m the Chappy to make you happy. I’ll tie your shoesies and chase your blue-sies, oh lady, tell me, oh would you, could you use me?” (Except, of course, I change the “I” to “You’re” and it’s “UN-tie” the shoesies, though really, he hasn’t done that since he was a puppy!)

Knitting news . . . well, I didn’t gain any ground last night, but I didn’t lose any, either. I knitted half a row on my Peacock, but the count was off and I had to tink it, and by the time I’d done that and made sure all the stitch markers were in the right place, I’d pretty much had enough peacocking for one night, so I moved on my to my NbaT and frogged the whole thing (since you’ll remember, it was too large despite my efforts at pairing gauge to yarn to needles. I’m just going to have to try to remember to knit tightly!). I managed to get back to the place I’d left off, though–with both sides of the hem knitted, just not yet joined.

Really, it was a rather unsatisfying knitting night! And, I’m sure you’ll understand, neither of those projects deserves a photo today. They really need to behave better than that.

Hey, do you know, my blog had its 9,000th visitor today? Not bad for a blog that’s only been around since January!

Tags: Chappy, Family, General by Deb
4 Comments »

Except for a stroll around the neighborhood with Mom and Chappy, I’ve been home, puttering, all day.

  I started by making Blueberry Corn muffins for Mom. It was going to be either that or blueberry pancakes . . . her choice. (Blueberry scones were off the list because she’s “saving” that for Espresso Love on MV next week. She adores their scones, even more than mine.)

  I also baked some bread. This is the Grapenut Bread recipe from the old Daggett House B&B on Martha’s Vineyard, which makes some of the best toast ever. (So good, in fact, it’s almost a crime to eat this bread any other way.) The Daggett House, of course, is no longer an inn, but is now a private residence once again, but at least the bread recipe lives on.

  Then, we started emptying the kitchen. We’ve got one week to get it totally empty, but needed to get at least some of the cabinets clear now. (If it were solely up to Mom, we would have emptied everything today except perhaps a single saucepan and a couple dishes and forks, but, really, there’s still 5 days that we need to be able to use the kitchen! I think we’ve emptied out enough for right now, don’t you? The table is 3/4 full and the one wall is lined with filled boxes.

Who knew a kitchen could hold so much??

Speaking of food and kitchens and mothers, check out this hilarious excerpt from “More” magazine: an essay by Ruth Reichl called “Becoming Your Mother.” Very funny!

  There is one sad thing in the kitchen, though. Back in 1987, when I was in college, my parents visited me on my semester abroad in London. Mom was captivated by the exit signs in the Tube (or, subway, as we Americans would call it). And so, she bought this sticker, and it’s been on our kitchen door ever since. Only now, the door is being replaced, and the sticker will be history. She doesn’t know that she would have wanted to put a new sticker on the new door, but she’s kind of sad about having to see it go.

So, really, it’s kind of a somber Mother’s Day in our household. Let’s all have a moment of silence for the near-empty kitchen cabinets and the “Way Out” sticker, shall we?

(pause)

Thank you.

As to knitting, I did the hem on my “Nothing but a Shirt” last night, only now I’m not so sure . . . I’m thinking the gauge is still a little too big. Especially if it’s going to expand when I wash it! This, for me, is the frustrating thing about sweaters–they have to fit. Mathematically speaking, that shouldn’t be a problem. Number of stitches divided by gauge per inch equals size. Should be simple! In fact, I even enjoy figuring out the math for that. And yet . . .

. . . And yet, I’ve had problems fitting the last few sweaters I’ve knitted. Either my gauge has been off as I knitted (despite test swatches at the beginning) or worse, the gauge changed when I washed the sweater to block it–extraordinarily aggravating! And how can you plan for that kind of irregularity? Even the Calmer swatch the other night–it was exactly right, then I washed it, and it bloomed and stretched a quarter inch. If my sweater’s going to do that, how do I account for that? What if it only expands a quarter inch over 8″ instead of the 4″ I swatched? Or if it doesn’t stretch at all? How can I know?? And if the Back on my needles right now is looking like it might be just a little too large (despite having checked the gauge and picked the mathematically-appropriate size to knit) . . . what do I do if it stretches, too?

How does one adjust for variables beyond one’s control? I can only pass so many sweaters on to my niece! (She is the current owner of my Audrey sweater, which looked beautiful, but was just a little too clingy for my waistline and looks much better on my niece’s trim figure.) Planning–much as I hate to admit it–can only take you so far.

Tags: Baking, General by Deb
4 Comments »

  First, here’s a picture of me (the “sexy model” shot) in my lovely new shawl. (Pity there was no sun.)

Now, I wore it into town this morning and . . . I don’t want to offend anybody who liked it, but as Mom and I were waiting for traffic at a crosswalk, a woman came over and asked, “Is that a Martha Poncho?” And, I’m sorry, but . . . what? That was a gray, crocheted poncho with fringe (note the restraint in regard to derogatory adjectives); mine is a triangular, knitted shawl in corals and blues, with lace along the edge. I don’t see any resemblance whatsoever. In my shock at the question, I said, “This is a shawl.” Her reply? “Oh, it looks just like it.” And, well, I’m just completely offended at that (grin). (Especially since she didn’t even start with something like, “That’s so nice. Is it a Martha poncho?” No, no. She never actually said she liked it, just that she thought it looked like that . . . {pause, while self-editing is in progress} poncho.

Sigh.

Ah well, I know it’s nicer than that! (I will say, though, that it does shed–which I knew it would. Its one flaw.)

I went to our closing LYS this morning, and really scored, as you can see by the two bags of yarn I brought home. (And really, I showed what I think was admirable restraint.) As of right now, everything is 30% off. I’m sure the discount will increase between now and the end of the month as the inventory gets smaller. I might go back in a couple weeks, just to see, but am working on the assumption that this was probably my last visit.

  I picked up a couple things for my KR Secret Pal, so I can’t show you those, but for me, I got 19 balls of Calmer, with which I have just renewed my love affair. There’s a couple skeins of an eyelash yarn for a little scarf for Mom (which we decided will be her Mother’s Day present–though obviously it won’t be done by tomorrow!). Some stitch protectors, a Chibi, another row counter, some hand lotion . . .

  And, oh yes. Two skeins of novelty yarn which Mom will be using–not to knit (she cross-stitches, but does not knit or crochet). No, these are to be used for gift-wrapping purposes. She worries that the yarn it too expensive to use as ribbon, and yet, considering the yardage (not to mention the 30% off), I think they are great deals. Heaven knows the fancy, ribbony, sparkly yarns are a lot more impressive than the gift-wrap ribbon you find at your local Hallmark store. Personally, I think she was brilliant to think of it. (And by all means, feel free to borrow the idea.)

Who says you have to be in Maryland this weekend to get good fiber deals??

(Naturally, of course, today was one of the days when everyone in the store was helpful and friendly–and all kind of sad at the shop closing (though they’ll still have the online store). It just figures, though, that this would be the time when they’re nice so that I’m forced to regret their closing more than I would otherwise have done.)

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For the Readers, these questions come from Shelley: (If you pick this up and pass it all around, let her know!)

1. How? How do you find books to read? Reviews? Recommendations? Favorite Authors? Other?

All of the above. I look for authors I love and genres I love, willingly accept recommendations from friends, and just plain old browse–either online or in a store.

2. Where? Where do you get your books? Independent bookstores? Chain stores? Online? Library?

More than anywhere else, Amazon.com. After that, mostly chain stores like Barnes & Noble or Borders. I’d love to patronize independent stores but there are so few good ones anywhere near me (as in, any that are near aren’t that good, and if they’re good, they’re not that near). I can’t remember the last time I checked a book out of the library, though. Given a choice, I’d rather adopt a book and give it a good home than to “foster” and end up giving it back to the system. Books need love, too!

3. When? Or more accurately, how often? How many books on average do you get or buy each month?

Um, er, I’m almost ashamed to admit that my book-buying habits are worse than my yarn-buying habits. Got to have them; can’t live without them; must have new ones. Every couple of weeks, usually, at least once a month, and rarely ever fewer than three at a time . . . more specific than that, I’m not going!

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And for the knitters, a knitting bag survey, for anyone who’s ever complained about not being able to find a bag with everything they want. (Linked courtesy of knit-one-chic-too).

For those of you in the never-ending search for the perfect knitting bag, here is your opportunity to voice your opinion. I received the email below from an SnB mailing list.

A Chicago area knitter, Julie Grusin, has launched a business designing and manufacturing knitting bags and cases for hip knitters. Julie is a passionate knitter who knows the challenges of carrying multiple projects, needles, etc while “on the go” as well as keeping everything clean, organized and accessible while at home. Her line is being designed using sophisticated colors and fabrics that look great and wear well. In addition the products will have the functionality that knitters need.

Julie is currently conducting customer research to ensure her designs are “on-point” (and what better way to do that then to ask knitters!) Please take a moment to take her survey, it is on-line, very easy and takes just a minute to complete. She will be sending out special previews and discounts to anyone who completes the survey prior to the product line debut in the Fall.

Finally, please pass this link along to any knitters you know…the more responses from knitters the better!

Here is the link…simply click on-it or cut and paste into your browser and it will take you directly to the survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=4328857819

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading by Deb
10 Comments »

I definitely recommend Brooks Farm Yarn. No question about it.

If you’re going to MDS&W this weekend and you see their booth, by all means, run don’t walk over there. (Though, please, try not to run over any small children. I’d hate to feel responsible.)

Obviously, here’s my shawl, pinned out to the guest room bed. (The points don’t quite fit–they’re curved over the edge.) In an interesting little bit of serendipity, I had exactly the right number of T-pins in my container. Not one too few or one too many. Exactly what I needed. (I do have other pins, but that would have required getting another container. How lucky is it for it to come out just right?)

And, here’s a close-up of the edging, properly pinned out this time. I love how the color variations give the edging an alternate, vertical “stripe.”

I can’t tell you how happy I am with the way this came out! How delighted I am that I splurged on this yarn. It was worth absolutely every penny. It’s incredibly soft; the colors are amazing and the two rather different colors I picked blended so well together. The closest thing I have to a complaint is that it sheds, but well, it’s mostly mohair. Of course it’s going to shed at least a little. I can’t wait intil it’s dry and I can try it on.

I made a swatch for Alison’s NbaT and miraculously came up with 4″ exactly with my 19 stitches. On my first try. That’s practically unheard of! The pattern calls for a US size 8 needle, and I used a size 6, knowing that I knit loosely and that the 8 would be nowhere near what I needed. I’m being SO good, though, because I’m actually washing the swatch so I can verify the actual, real gauge for later on.

  This is a rare, rare step for me. Usually I’m so anxious to get into the actual knitting, I just skim past the swatch process as quickly as possible. That is, until I knitted my last sweater, and when I washed it for blocking, it streeeeetttccccchhhhhhhheeeeeeeed. Badly. I ended up putting the poor thing in the dryer to shrink/felt it enough to be able to wear it. It had fit pretty much perfectly right off the needles, and I found out later that the yarn (Jo Sharp’s Silkroad Aran) was notorious for expanding. I’ve never had such a drastic difference before, but I don’t want it to happen again, and so, I’m washing this swatch.

That said, it’s still nothing like the nice, large, formal swatches I see on some other blogs. I frankly don’t worry too much about row gauge, except around armholes and necklines. All I really want to confirm is that the width of my knitted garment is going to be the size I need it to be. Length, I can handle as I go.

You know, I’d forgotten how much I liked using Rowan’s Calmer! A cotton yarn with stretch, a real delight to work with. Not only that, as I was watching my swatch, I was thinking what a great washcloth it would make . . . well, if I have extra, I guess I know what I’ll do with it!

Edited to add: I measured my now-dry Calmer swatch at lunch time, and it’s grown. What was exactly 4 inches is now 4 and a quarter. How weird is that!

For those of you not Maryland-bound this weekend, we need to stick together! Julia and Margene had a great idea. Why should the festivizing people have all the fun? We can have a nice, internet part of our own!

Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
6 Comments »

  I got an RAOK from Lu, today. Wasn’t that sweet of her? She felt badly that my KRSP package hadn’t arrived, and sent me a missing-package-sympathy gift. (I just hope she doesn’t regret it now that it appears that we may have thrown the poor package away ourselves! All that excessive cleaning in preparation for the kitchen refacing this week . . . )

The yarns are both lovely, orange-y shades–a little washed-out in the picture, but beautiful in person–and the little box in the middle is a candle.

Thanks, Lu!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
2 Comments »

I can’t believe it’s May 5th already. May is a red letter month in my family. My brother-in-law’s birthday is the 11th. My niece’s 16th birthday is on the 24th. My nephew’s 12th birthday is on the 20th.

Naturally, I graduated college (Drew University) in May–on the 20th, 1989–on, in fact, my niece’s due date. She very thoughtfully waited four more days before being born, and thus timed her arrival exactly halfway between my brother-in-law’s and my sister’s birthdays (June 7th). Not bad timing, considering she didn’t have access to a calendar, but then, she’s always been pretty thoughtful. And my nephew obviously thought that date sounded so nice, he used it for his own arrival. (We’re a very close family.)

May also ties in with almost all of our family dogs.

  We lost Muppy (on the left), our very first dog on May 5th, 22 years ago, when she was exactly 5 1/2 years old. (It was a rare form of anemia; nothing we could do.) Almost exactly a year later, on the day after Mother’s Day, we adopted Jilly (to the right). They were both miniature dachshunds; Muppy was a wire-haired; Jilly was smooth. Poor Muppy (whose name is short for “Mustard,” since she was a hot dog and we were kids). She was here for such a short time, and none of us had really decent cameras, so this professional shot is one of the only good pictures of her. Her fur was beautiful–she was more silver than tan, but had some of just about every possible hair color in there somewhere. It’s just such a shame she was so often sick.

Jilly had more classic dachshund coloring, and we were lucky enough to have her for a long, full life–almost 15 1/2 years! For my Boykins, I also lost Katy in May (on the 12th), four years ago . . . (Right around the time Chappy was being conceived, actually, so I suppose he’s got some connection to May, too!)

Mom and I always go on vacation together in May–have been since I was in college. In fact, in two weeks, I’ll be on Martha’s Vineyard. (Can’t wait!) We’ll have Chappy with us, too, and I’m sure a good time will be had by all. We’re timing this trip to overlap the refacing of our kitchen and bathrooms, too, so Mom and Chappy won’t be stressed by the household chaos. (My father actually volunteered to give up golf for a week, which, if you knew my father, would tell you exactly how stressed my mother would have been.)

Which reminds me, I need to find some good reading material to bring with me. Usually, I’ll have at least one, looked-forward-to book to bring along. (A relic of the days when Mom would buy one “Vacation Book,” which I wasn’t allowed to start until we were actually on vacation. Waiting to start it was agony.) This year, though . . . nothing special. I’m sure I’ll find something decent to bring along, but . . . nothing that’s got me champing at the bit.

And, we may be the only family that bothers to keep track of these things, but my half-birthday is in May. Tomorrow, in fact. Yes, I know it sounds silly. Who bothers to know when their half-birthday is? Except that, when you’re a kid, those halves are important! Four-and-a-half is much older than just plain, old four. (Everyone knows that!) We never did anything elaborate, of course, but Mom would say, “Happy Half-Birthday,” and might make a point of not making anything particularly disliked for dinner. One year, honest to goodness, she gave me half of a birthday card. (I really do come by these eccentricities honestly.)

May has Mother’s Day (U.S.) and Memorial Day, too . . . that includes a nationally-mandated 3-day weekend from work.

Really, except for the allergy thing, who could have anything against the Merry Month of May?

Oh! And I finished my shawl last night! I’ll get some pictures when I block it . . .

Tags: Family, General, Katy, Jilly, Muppy by Deb
8 Comments »

First, an update on my KR Secret Pal package. My pal has contacted UPS and they’ve called me twice, and . . . I’m starting to worry that somehow, this is our fault, that the package may somehow have ended up being (gulp) recycled. The sad part is that nobody remembers doing so or not doing so, but my local UPS driver (who’s at our house at least once or twice a week) distinctly remembers dropping off two packages on Friday, at the same time, and with the same time stamps on their tracking system. Since I definitely have one of them, I have a hard time believing the other one got up and walked away!

The problem, assuming it comes down to this, is that we far-too-frequently get sent unsolicited catalogs from both Office Depot and from Staples–big, thick ones in cardboard boxes–and since my secret pal shipped the package from Staples, it’s possible . . . just absurdly possible enough! . . . that the box was tossed without really looking at it–which would explain why none of us remember it. (Who remembers junk mail once it’s out of your hands? Not that this would have been junk mail, but assuming this is what happened, we didn’t know that! And if this is what happened, I feel even worse about it than I did yesterday! Believe me, if one of us accidentally recycled my gift package, nobody feels worse about it than I do!!)

Sigh. That would be just my luck, wouldn’t it?? Talk about stupidity!

On the plus side, I got an e-mail from Woodland Woolworks and they’re sending me a check for the amount they accidentally overcharged me. Edited to add: Or will they? I just got another e-mail saying, basically, “nope, we were right the first time,” when they clearly weren’t. My packing slip states exactly how much more I was due to be charged for the back-ordered items and I was charged more than that. It doesn’t get simpler than that, does it? Argh! They’d better send the check! I’ve got plenty of back-up documentation if they need it.

  I passed the halfway point on the edging for my Brooks Farm shawl. I figure, two more nights and it will be done, and I have no problem letting my Peacock rest that much longer!

  Here’s a close-up of the edging, unblocked though it obviously is. (You can really see the colors beautifully in this shot. Man, this yarn is gorgeous.)

The sweater-strike of yesterday has been resolved. The Fluffer‘s services were not required, and everybody’s back in the closet, where they belong. I offered some new cedar blocks, and they accepted the deal, and everyone’s happy.

I got an e-mail yesterday that my local yarn shop is closing June 1st. Now, it’s not one of my favorite shops–they seem to have been rude and unhelpful about eight out of each ten times I was there–but they do have Rowan yarn, which I often like, and some other nice ones, although, there’s always been such a leaning toward novelty yarns, which I almost never use. And once they stopped carrying Debbie Bliss, I really haven’t found much worth going back for. But, since they’re closing, they will be having sales . . . I’d say that maybe a visit is in order, huh? You know, to say good-bye (good-buy?), for old times’ sake?

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
7 Comments »

I seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties . . .

First, I heard from my KR Secret Pal today. She shipped my first gift over a week ago and UPS says they delivered it on Friday (which, to do her credit, would have still been in April and therefore not yet late!). And yet . . . there’s no such box here! She’s checking with UPS, and feels just terrible. (So do I; I hope it wasn’t anything that happened on our end!)

Then, I got my Visa bill, and Woodland Woolworks overcharged me for my Lendrum–since two of the “complete package” items were backordered, they were billed separately and at $40 too much. I’m sure they’ll fix the error, but . . . I’m not happy about it and just sent them a (very nice, polite) e-mail to check on it.

Typepad no longer remembers me, and every time I come by to post or update anything, I have to sign in as if I were new, instead of it knowing who I am, as it used to do. I know, it doesn’t take that long to type in a username and password, but why, Typepad, do you keep giving me the “Remember Me” option, if you’re always going to forget, like a bad boyfriend? It’s not like I’ve changed any firewall options on my pc lately.

Sigh.

I love computers!

And, oh yes, my closet exploded.

You know how, you keep your sweaters neatly folded, and everything’s going smoothly . . . and then that last month or so of winter comes along, and suddenly, none of them want to behave? It’s like they know they’re about to be put away for a long, long time, and so they rebel.

Well, this morning, two cubby’s-worth of sweaters decided it was time to ACT, and so here they are, staging a strike on my bed. (If you listen really carefully, you can hear them, “Knit? No! We won’t go!”)

  My next step is to try to negotiate, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to send in the big guns–The Fluffer. (Doesn’t he look like he means business?) Yes, in his meek and mild non-professional persona this is my sweet little Chappy . . . but give him a pillow, blanket, towel or sweater and he will fluff the living daylights out of it! Vigorously shaking it, pounding it against the floor, rubbing his head into it, scratching with his paws . . . I don’t know how our sofa pillows managed without him and think they love the rough-housing, but I’m pretty confident my delicate handknits are going to cave before it gets that far.)

Meanwhile, I’m working on my Brooks Farm shawl. Since that’s just a matter of days away from being complete, and my Peacock shawl is still a few weeks away . . . I kind of like the idea of having a Finished Object. It’s been a while!

Hey, on the plus side today, I did successfully get two UPS shipments from Amazon–including the third book of a trilogy that I’ve been looking forward to, so I guess it’s not ALL bad!

Tags: Chappy, General by Deb
2 Comments »

  This was fast! I just ordered this yarn. On Thursday. From Colourway in England. And here it is, in my house in New Jersey on Monday. Talk about speedy service–and it had to go through Customs, too!

This is wonderful, because now I can start my “Nothing but a T” (though not, really, until I finish at least one of the projects I’m working on!). The Coral yarn is a little pinker than I’d hoped it would be–I thought it would have a little more orange to it–but it’s still a nice color. The khaki on the left is the one I picked to be the accent color. The four skeins of green Kid Silk Haze? Well, the price for the yarn was really good, and I thought it would be nice to make something else with it . . . it’s about the only fuzzy yarn that I’ve ever liked, and so soft and light!

I started the edging on my Brooks Farm shawl last night. So far, I’ve done the entire thing in garter stitch, with paired increases at the center and at the ends of every other row, to make a nice, elongated triangle. I wanted it to be simple, both for the sake of knitting, but also because I wanted the focus to be the yarn, not the fancy stitch work. You’ll remember that the two yarns looked like this. (I really love that photo–the colors are practically perfect, and you just want to dive right in there!)

Still, I couldn’t quite let it go without doing something a little special along the edge! So I’m doing this nice, little Diamond Edging. Except, at this gauge, it doesn’t look little at all. It adds a nice fillip, though, don’t you think?

(Oh, and interestingly, that same site has this same, exact lace pattern with a completely different name. Same exact thing. Makes you wonder how many other, identical lace patterns are floating around out there!)

The lace has some K3-togethers in it, too, which are particularly challenging with thick yarn–not to mention two strands of yarn. In fact, I’ve been slipping the first stitch to my right needle, doing a K2-tog and then sliding that slipped stitch back over, instead of trying to knit all three stitches at once. It’s working much better. The amount of edging you see, though, is about an hour’s worth of knitting. I’m sure it will pick up a little now I’m familiar with the pattern, but I’ve still got a ways to go. Now I’m trying to decide if I should just let my Peacock rest until I’ve got this completely done, or should I continue working on both of them . . . or, you know, just knit as the mood strikes each night! (Yeah, like you can’t guess which one it will be.)

And, do you know, it’s May now, and I still haven’t gotten my first package from my KR secret pal? The one that’s supposed to arrive in March/April? I admit I’m a little disappointed, but am trying to have faith! I did, at least, get a Comment from her at the beginning of April, so I know she’s out there somewhere . . . (grin)

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Here’s my reading list from the month of April–because this blog isn’t only about the knitting!

 

 

1. SERPENT ON THE CROWN by Elizabeth Peters. (350 p). The latest Amelia Peabody mystery. Not as good as the earlier ones (it’s one of my favorite mystery series), but a reasonable diversion.
2. SCALES OF GOLD by Dorothy Dunnett (519 p.)
3. UNICORN HUNT by Dorothy Dunnett (656 p.)
4. TO LIE WITH LIONS by Dorothy Dunnett (626 p.)
5. CAPRICE AND RONDO by Dorothy Dunnett (539 p.)
6. GEMINI by Dorothy Dunnett (671 p.) The last five of the eight-book “House of Niccolo” series of historical fiction by this, the master of historical fiction. What can I say? It’s the third time I’ve read through this and I’m still in awe. So MANY things going on! Absolutely amazing.
7. A GATHERING OF LACE by Meg Swanson. A book of lace knitting patterns. Most of them are beautiful and amazing, a few are just “nice,” and there are actually a couple that are downright ugly . . . but it still counts as a great lace book. I don’t think much of its production value, though. The start and end of each pattern is awfully hard to spot, and finding the names of the patterns? Far too difficult!
8. AMERICAN BRUTUS by Michael Kauffman (400 p.) The first of two amazing history books this month. The story of and behind John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln. (Did you know it started as a plot to kidnap him? Did you know that there WAS a plot, that he didn’t act alone? Did you know there was an attack on the Secretary of State the same night? And possibly one that didn’t pan out on the Vice-President? Me neither. Well, okay, I read some of that a year or so ago in the book “April 1865” but I know I never learned it in school, and it’s fascinating! Great book.
9. LARSSON by Renate Puvogel (93 p.) A small little volume of Carl Larsson’s paintings and a brief history of him and his work. I just love this man’s art. Love it.
10. PONCHOS AND WRAPS by the editors of Knitters Magazine (78 p.) Another book of knitting patterns, bought primarily for the “Sleeves in Your Pi” pattern, since, really, I’m not that fond of ponchos!
11. NO COLLAR, NO SERVICE by Paul Gilligan (128 p.) A collection (the second) of “Pooch Café” cartoons—the very best dog cartoon strip out there, in my opinion. I read it every day at www.sitstay.com. Always! Poncho is quite a little dog . . . and reminds me, sometimes a little too much, of Calvin from “Calvin and Hobbes”—I think he’s channeling him from comics heaven, or something, but that’s fine with me. “C&H” is my other favorite strip, gone though it is!
12. CONRAD’S FATE by Diana Wynne Jones (375 p.) Yes, I know she’s a young adult author, but I got hooked on her when I was one (6^th or 7^th grade, I think) and have been reading her books ever since. This is her newest, with a starring role from a young “Chrestomanci” (who has appeared in four of her other books, including the first one I ever read, which is why he’s one of my favorite characters). I enjoyed this one a lot more than her last book. Fun.
13. POWERS OF DETECTION edited by Dana Stabenow (224 p.) A book of fantasy-related mysteries, some better than others. Not a bad collection, but still, even though I keep trying, I’m really not a short story fan.
14. THE GAME by Laurie R. King (442 p.) The latest in her Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes series, this one set in India. It’s an enjoyable mystery series, though the first book is still my favorite.
15. PAWN OF PROPHECY by David Eddings (258 p.)
16. QUEEN OF SORCERY by David Eddings (327 p.)
17. MAGICIAN’S GAMBIT by David Eddings (305 p.)
18. CASTLE OF WIZARDRY by David Eddings (373 p.)
19. ENCHANTER’S END GAME by David Eddings (372 p.) I don’t know how they came up with those titles, but collectively, these five books are called the “Belgariad” and it’s a much better title. These are comfort reads for me, since I read them first as they were published, back in the 80s, and that’s pretty much what I needed, the middle of this month,
20. THE GREAT INFLUENZA by John Barry (451 p.) The second great history book of the month, telling about the pandemic that swept the world in 1918. Absolutely amazing (and scary) story, well-presented, and dramatically written. (Okay, there were occasional lapses toward melodrama, as in the frequent repeats of “It was influenza. Only influenza,” but the book was so well done, I’ll forgive the author for trying to drum up extra dramatic effect—even though this is one story that really didn’t need the help.) Excellent
21. MORETA by Anne McCaffrey (314 p.) I thought after reading of a real pandemic, this fictional one—taking place on her fictional world of Pern (one of my favs)—would be appropriate.
22. SUBURBAN SAFARI by Hanna Holmes (245 p.) Basically, for a year, this woman sat outside in her back yard, watching the surprising amount of wildlife. It was interesting and thoughtful and, really, beautifully written. She’s very good at evoking a place or a feeling. Natural history’s not my usual “thing,” but this was good.
23. ALPHABET OF THORN by Patricia McKillip (291 p.) A fantasy book by one of those unique authors . . . her books have such a feeling of mystery and haunting magic—just like fairy tales did when I was a kid. This one involves a book written in an alphabet of intertwined thorns, being translated by an orphan, raised to work in the kingdom’s library. I enjoyed this a lot.
24. STRING IN THE HARP by Nancy Bond (365 p). Also a YA book, and one I pull off the shelf periodically. I love Nancy Bond’s writing, and her sense of description is well-honed, indeed. This involves a troubled family, transplanted to Wales for a year, where Peter finds what he’s sure is an ancient harp key that belonged to Taliesen. I’ve been re-reading this book since I was about 12. Love it. (And don’t let the young-adult heading fool you; this actually took me longer than the last three novels I’d read, which were written for adults.)
25. SEDUCTION OF WATER by Carol Goodman (356 p.) I really wanted to love this book—sort of a modern day, Gothic mystery. The main character, a struggling writer, heads to the hotel her parents used to manage to look for hints that may have caused her mother to not have published her last novel, and what may have made her leave . . . The writing was capable, the descriptions were apt, the main character reasonably interesting . . . and yet, I was bored. And I picked the “villain” right off the bat, too . . . A book is far too predictable when you can identify the love interest and the bad guy(s) from the minute you meet them. I put this down halfway through (and peeked at the last few pages to confirm my guess). There were lots of raves for this at amazon.com, so it’s clearly not a bad book. It just never grabbed me. I did like the links to fairy tales, though, and I also think the author is a knitter, since there were a lot of references to it!
26. MY SISTER’S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult (423 p.) Anna’s parents conceived her specifically to be a genetic match for her older sister, ill of leukemia. Now, at 13, they’re asking for a kidney transplant, and Anna goes to a lawyer to ask for medical emancipation, effectively tearing her family into little, emotional pieces. Like most of this author’s books, this addressed a compelling, moral issue, had 3D characters, and was a good, fast read. Emotionally wrenching, since you know that her sister is going to die if herAnna wins her lawsuit.

Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading by Deb
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