I finished my last bobbin of singles tonight. I just need to ply this with the other bobbin of peppermint singles and this raspberry cream yarn is done. Four skeins. Woohoo!

Now, all I need is for the pattern to arrive. I ordered it a couple weeks ago and am just waiting, now . . . although I do have those Christmas items to finish. I actually finished one of them tonight, which means I’ve got one more I have to do, and one more I want to do, and my holiday knitting is done.

I’ve got my Christmas cards ready to go in the mail, too–all I need to do is write one note to include in one of them, and out they go.

I do love having things prepared!

Of course this weekend is going to be the dreaded Stollen Weekend. Ugh. I really dread it every year, but, well, it’s for Dad, so . . .

1. They say that books read as a child make more of an impact on a person than books read at any other time in life. Are there any books that you particularly loved, that shaped the way you think when you were little? I’m not asking if you believed in fairies then but don’t any more. I’m asking about patterns of thought, morality–something that made an impact. There absolutely were. I think it’s one of the best things about children’s books, actually, that they can give things like lessons about good, evil, kindness, compassion . . . all of that . . . in a way that is entertaining and fun. Classics, especially. I think too many of the modern books are so dark and “Real”–they hit kids over the head with “Life is hard” far too much. The books that I loved as a child were gentler, more enjoyable, more imaginative as a rule. L.M. Montgomery. Louisa May Alcott. Frances Hodgson Burnett. Noel Streatfeild. . . .
2. And, of course, examples, please! Two life lessons that have always stuck with me?
   First, from E. L. Konigsburg’s “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil. E. Frankweiler“–towards the end, when Claudia and Jamie are given an hour to find the answer in her library, Claudia makes her brother sit down and make a list of things to look up, because (something to the effect of) “Fifteen minutes worth of planning is worth an hour of blindly searching.”
   For that matter, the Commodore in Nancy Bond’s “The Best of Enemies” (one of my all-time favorites) says something similar when reining in the young kids who were helping, that “Now is when you have the time. Now is when you can stop to think, but you youngsters never understand that.” Because, of course, it’s true–events pick up speed and momentum as they go along, but if you’re going to have a chance to shape them or change direction, it’s easier at the start than later on.
   Second, from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “A Little Princess.” When Sara explains about why she keeps her temper, doesn’t cry or run away when Miss Minchin scolds her, because by keeping her temper, she shows that she is the stronger person, that the only thing stronger than a rage is the force that lets you hold it in, and she doesn’t want to give Miss Minchin the satisfaction of showing weakness. I’m a pretty even-tempered person, but I did have a temper when I was little, and that passage made quite an impression on me. I’d never really thought that keeping my temper was a way of showing . . . I don’t know . . . fortitude, or moral strength, or whatever. But that helped me face down that weakness. I used to have that whole little speech memorized and everything….
3. Also, did you read this book/these books more than once? Many times? Even if that’s not a usual habit of yours? Oh, lordy, yes! Over and over and over . . . Not only did I love them, but it’s not like I had a large amount of disposable income to buy more, and Mom could be convinced to drive me to the library for armfulls of books only so often….
   

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Almost // 11 Comments »

You know you have a “problem,” when you, say, get an innocent catalog from one of your favorite natural-fiber stores, take one look at the cute little yarn snowman on the front, and immediately start trying to figure out what kind of yarn it is….

Because, Garnet Hill doesn’t sell yarn, you understand. Clothing, bedding, towels, accessories, shoes, rugs, kid stuff . . . all that . . . but not yarn. They’re a little pricey (some things a LOT pricey), but they can have some good deals, especially in the Sale section. I think I’m in love with this coat, though–down-stuffed wool, in a beautiful, spicy brown color . . . what’s not to love? Other than the price . . . and it could have used a hood . . . but still. So, so pretty. And warm!

Anyway, I even laughed at myself when I realized what I was doing . . . “Is that Karabella? Debbie Bliss? Who else wraps skeins that way . . . ?”

Even Chappy was laughing at me . . . he waited for me at the top of the stairs while I went down to take that picture. “Mom, you’re being silly again, aren’t you?”

Thanks for your kind, supportive words for the week my Dad is having. The back-story to the phone call he got at 2:00 this morning? Apparently, a 16-year old broke into the office, wandered around for who knows how long, ate someone’s leftover birthday cake, checked his email from the one computer not password-protected, stuffed his pockets full of rubber bands, and then “borrowed” the car keys, the gas-station credit-cards, and the company truck. Then he ended up, I heard, sleeping in the truck at a park about 10 miles away. Except for the window he broke to get in, he didn’t damage anything, steal anything personal from anyone’s desk, or steal anything valuable like computers . . . just, well, that truck . . . which is a felony, whether we choose to press charges or not. (All this is what I picked up via the gossip-chain during the day, mind you, and it’s all “alleged,” of course.)

But, still, Dad is either having a run of really bad good-luck or really good bad-luck . . . I’m not quite sure which! But since he’s now had the third “event,” we’re hoping that’s the end now!

Meanwhile….

Julie is making me drool.

Speaking of which, Margene is having a “Z” contest for the ABC-along with a similarly drool-worthy prize.

Oh, and I kind of sort of bought something from Risa today not that I exactly needed it just now, but really, what choice did I have? It’s her fault that I fell in love with it in the first place, after all–how could I let her sell it to anybody else? (grin)

Of course, now I REALLY need to sell my Kiwi!

Hey, and, go send some get-well thoughts to her kitten, would you?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:You Know You Have a Problem…. // 16 Comments »

So, you know how they say things come in threes? Well, Dad’s been having an interesting week and we’ve all been waiting for that third shoe to drop. . . .

Well, the phone rang at 2:00 this morning. It was the police, calling my 8-years-retired father because they found somebody driving through Morristown with our company truck. They tried calling the current President and the Number Two guy but had old phone numbers for them, and so they called Dad. Because the driver claimed to work for the company . . . He doesn’t, of course, but they had to check.

Poor Dad. It took him three hours to get back to sleep . . . but still, this definitely counts as number three! Sheesh….

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Number Three // 16 Comments »

I’ve been remiss about showing you knitting, work-in-progress photos.

But, you see, the problem is that some of my knitting is for Christmas presents, so I can’t exactly post pictures. Because, what if the recipients were to see?

So, for now, this is the best I can do. My knitting bag. The big swath of purple is the back of my sweater, nearing completion. There’s a sock or two, but really, other than that, I can’t say.

You understand.

Hey, did anybody see the Gilmore Girls Knit-a-Thon tonight? I actually finished one object and started another while watching . . . pity I hadn’t lined up any sponsors ahead of time . . . (which, of course, will make no sense if you didn’t see the episode. Christopher is just so clueless. And Anna? Just nasty.) And Veronica Mars?? I KNEW the RA was involved . . . and oh, baby, what is Logan going to do to Mercer?? He was NOT a happy camper there at the end, and if I were Mercer, I’d be pretty worried right about now.

You’ll be glad to know that Dad got through the day without any (known) mishaps. Woohoo!

And, for Cate, who begged so eloquently for help for this MLA’s speed-meme . . . a link to the Acephalous. Please, go yourself, place a link on your blog–show all us knitters proud!

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Knitting // 7 Comments »

I know, I know, I didn’t post yesterday, and you were all worried . . . right?? (grin)

Really, I don’t miss a day very often. It’s kind of like at work–I’ve been there 15 years and have used a total of ONE sick day. Vacation time, absolutely, but not sick days. But on the days when I do take off, my boss tells me that people come in his office, “Where’s Debbie? Is she all right?” because they’re just not used to my being absent. So, you know, I wouldn’t want any of you to worry!

There’s no real reason that I didn’t post yesterday, although I wasn’t feeling great. I don’t know what, but something in the house triggered my allergies. My eyes were burning/watering whenever I’d sit in my favorite chair with Chappy–the same chair I sit in every day–and by dinner, my asthma was acting up. They still weren’t themselves this morning, either, so that I had to pull out my inhaler again this morning, and well . . . blah. I didn’t even knit last night. (Well, considering my eyes were decidedly NOT cooperating with anything I wanted to do, that’s probably a good thing, right?) I didn’t spin, either. In fact, yesterday is one of the first days I can think of in recent months that I didn’t do anything of any kind with some form of yarn.

So, of course, what did that leave me to talk about? (grin) Do you really want to hear about the return address labels I made with a photograph of my hand-written address, so that, even though it’s computer-generated, my return adress will still be in my hand writing?

See? I didn’t think so….

About all I have to show is this–two bottles of “Soak” that came on Saturday. I’m so grateful for these, really, since (don’t hate me) I decidedly do not like the smell of Eucalan. Eucalyptus and Lavendar really do nothing for me–except make me sneeze. This line of “modern” scents suit me much better. I bought a bottle of the Citrus scent, but also a bottle of their limited-time “Celebrations” scent because I was curious what a holiday-themed wool wash would smell like. (And no, I can’t really describe it, either, but it’s lovely.)

Say, did you know about this online spinning magazine?

And, how cool are these works of art made from book illustrations?

That’s about it . . .

Because, really, we won’t discuss Dad’s car accident . . .

Well, okay. The short version? An SUV that went through a red light, caused another (new, poor fellow) SUV to graze the side of Dad’s car while he sat at the intersection waiting for the light to change. He had to climb out the passenger side until the tow truck was able to disengage the SUV from his door, and luckily, his car is largely okay (although since he’s likely to need a whole new side panel and possibly a new door, it’s still a couple $K of damage–just not serious damage, you know?) and he himself completely unhurt. The poor fellow who hit him, despite his best efforts, looked to have sprained both his wrists, trying to steer out of harm’s way. (Ouch–that’s not only painful, but horribly inconvenient–BOTH wrists?) The idiot who caused the accident and insisted that the light was green–despite witnesses to the contrary–was unharmed.

This just doesn’t seem to be Dad’s week, huh? Although, again, it could have been so much worse . . . I’d say his luck is still mostly holding . . .

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Grindstone // 29 Comments »

I’ve been working on distracting myself today.

I did some filing. Cleaned the kitchen. Shipped a package. Balanced my checkbook. Took Chappy for a walk.

I even cleaned silver.

Why? Because my Dad is at the hospital with a kidney stone. He and Mom left around 9:00 this morning. (It’s 2:30 now.) Of course, they had to detour to get there, since there’s a parade through the center of town today. But they’ve been there all day. Rumor has it that, since the cat-scan showed a small kidney stone, they’ll be sending him home, but they need to hear it from the actual doctor, and apparently there was some other emergency, so . . . they’re still waiting.

And my poor mother left the house without even a magazine. Or breakfast.

The silver-cleaning, though? My new favorite use of basic chemistry. Basically, you take hot water (boiling, really), add salt and baking soda, and then pour it into a pan lined with aluminum foil. Through some kind of chemical reaction, this removes the sulfur from the silver-sulfide (aka tarnish), leaving the silver, well, silver again. (Click on that link above for the science behind it.) We don’t have a ton of silver, mind you, but, this is something I’ve wanted to try for a while, and this seemed like a good time to do it. It worked better on some pieces than others–and there were a couple that would benefit from some old-fashioned silver polish–but look at this? This is a little silver-plated creamer that I picked up at a garage sale. It’s been sitting, getting darker and darker, for years. I had to do it in two stages because it was too tall to stay underwater in the baking pan I was doing this in . . . You can clearly see the water line–tarnish/no tarnish.

One thing I thought was interesting? As the silver got cleaner, the foil in the pan got more tarnished looking. Which makes sense, really, if you’re chemically pulling the sulfer from the silver to the aluminum, but . . . This was a fun (and distracting) little science experiment! Here, if you’re interested are some other tips. (Like, for example, that Washing Soda apparently works even better than regular baking soda . . . I should have read that sooner!)

Oh, and here’s some Saturday Sky for you. It’s a beautiful day out there–which makes this trip to the hospital for Dad that much more painful. It was really a perfect late-November day for golfing . . .

Okay . . . gotta go find something else to do . . . Hmmm . . . I haven’t written out my Christmas cards yet . . .

Edited to Add: Mom and Dad got back from the hospital at about 3:30. Dad’s feeling fine–well, tired, but no longer in pain–and they’ve both had something to eat and things are more or less back to normal. Phew!

• Tags: Family, General, Sky • Permalink:Distractions // 25 Comments »

The three of us went to the movies tonight–actually the first movie I’ve been to since, what, June?

We went to these brand-new theaters which just opened near our home last week. First, the theater was huge. It’s a 16-screen multiplex and, well, it’s just huge. And very grand with its entrance, too. It’s not just a big box with a glass door. They obviously wanted to make a statement. The theaters have stadium seating, which I love, because it means I don’t have to worry about tall people in front of me. The only real drawback was in the bathrooms–the air-dryers for your hands were so loud, you could hear them roaring out in the hallway as you walked by, and they really bothered Mom’s ears (which are sensitive with tinnitus. But, really, the theater was impressive–and I love when things are new and clean, don’t you?

The movie we went to see was Stranger Than Fiction. Have you heard of this? With Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson? Will’s character starts hearing narration to his dull life . . . but when he hears The Voice state that he was facing imminent death, he takes action. He consults with Dustin Hoffman’s character, a professor of literature, who helps him narrow down the options, just in case he IS really a character in a book. Mom and Dad both thought the whole thing was weird. Mom thought it was going to be funnier. I rather enjoyed it. I liked the interesting real/fiction overlap, and loved the idea of a fictional character going around the real world, not realizing . . .

I wasn’t idle while watching, though. When we got to the theater, my sock was right about where my thumb is (give or take), and all that you see above it, I did in the theater–mostly in the dark. (Hey, this is about as “dangerous” as I go, but sometimes it’s fun to take risks–even little ones.)

Unlike June, when I turned the heel in the dark and had a little trouble, this went quite smoothly . . . except that I overshot the whole thing by about an inch and went past where I should have started the heel. I compared this (sock #2) to sock #1 when we got home and, um, oops!

What you see here in the picture is the sock just before I frogged that extra inch. I inserted the needle into the row I SHOULD have stopped at, and then–after taking the picture–ripped everything back to the needle. (This is my favorite way to frog when I need to stop someplace specific–no messy picking up of loose stitches at the end. The needle itself keeps things from going too far, and you’re instantly ready to start knitting the second you’ve unraveled that last row.

Here’s my square for Comforting Jenn. I thought about doing a luxury kind of yarn from my stash, but decided that I liked the idea of using my own handspun better. There was just something about making this with yarn I’d spun myself that made me feel it would be more meaningful. In fact, you should recognize the yarn–it’s the background to my “Chappysmom” header at the top of the page. I finished spinning this over a year and a half ago, and never had found a project I wanted to make with it. But my sister and niece agreed that this seemed the best choice for this square–warm, with soothing colors

I also knitted it on Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and good food, and I tried to focus on that warm, fuzzy feeling the whole time I knitted. It’s not a fancy square–just basic garter stitch with a diagonal stripe of YOs through the center, but I tried to make it as personally comforting as I could.

Hope everyone’s enjoying their “Digestion Day!” I’m going to go read my new “Spin Off” now…

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Lights, Camera…. // 7 Comments »

You know, I really miss my hairbrushes. Especially my Widu. The wooden bristles set in the rubber cushion, the smooth wooden handle . . . ah, bliss. Great for getting out tangles, gentle to the hair, and that nice little massage?

Yes, I miss that brush.

Because, of course, brushing curly hair is a no-no. Except for rare occasions, like just before I color it, I don’t brush my hair any more. Maybe once every six months. (It does get combed out once a day, in the shower, when I’ve got conditioner on–just in case you were worrying.)

But whenever I do? Ah, how I miss that brush! If you’ve got straight hair–especially hair that tangles easily–this is definitely the one I recommend!

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Coif // 6 Comments »

Anyone else remember this Thanksgiving classic from WKRP?

• Tags: General • Permalink:As God Is My Witness… // 9 Comments »

Here’s a meme I saw over at KnitThink, and I thought it sounded particularly appropriate to use as today’s post.

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Absolutely no question–staying home. I’d rather be home, cooking for loved ones, than pretty much anywhere else for just about any holiday I can think of!

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? It depends. We’ve done both over the years. This year, it’s a frozen one that Mom got free for having a certain amount of receipts from the grocery store. The one thing that’s consistent from year to year is that we only get the turkey breasts–not a whole bird. As badly as I feel for the poor animals who’ve been so over-bred just for this purpose, nobody in my family likes dark meat, and buying anything else is just wasteful.

3. What kind of stuffing? Believe it or not, Stove Top chicken flavor–the “classic.” Although I haven’t liked it since they changed the formula to a single step a couple years ago . . . but that’s okay. My Dad loves it.

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie, no question. Almost all of us love pumpkin pie (and I make a good one), but sweet potatoes? Um, no.

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Neither. I love freshly roasted turkey on the plate, but I also like leftover turkey sandwiches. Or, heck, nibbled right out of the fridge. (”Pick . . . pick pick!” …. Anyone else remember that old commercial?) But reheated leftover turkey? Ick.

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Except for maybe the dish of corn (the preferred vegetable in my family), I can’t think of any one that wouldn’t be missed by someone. The stuffing that Dad loves. The mashed potatoes. Homemade cranberry-applesauce. Mashed turnips.

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? I’ve tried it a couple times, but I don’t appear to have the knack for making good poultry soup . . . it always ends up tasting more like flavored water than actual stock. Very disappointing.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? I can’t actually think of anything. This is the one meal that Mom and I have down to a science. Usually it’s either she cooks, or I cook, and except for dishing things up, we stay out of each other’s way. But the family turkey dinner? We each have our specialties and we work around the kitchen like clockwork. I admit, though, that someone to clean up for us would be helpful!

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We DO eat early in the afternoon, but our turkey doesn’t need to get into the oven before 9:00, so . . .

10. If you go to somebody else’s house, what’s your favorite dish to bring? Except for a semester in college when I was in London, I’ve only ever spent Thanksgiving away from home once. (Although, I think Mom may have mentioned going to my Aunt’s and Uncle’s when I was a year old? I really couldn’t say.) That one time, though? I brought homemade bread. A yeast bread with cornmeal, cranberries, and some molasses . . . mmmmm . . .

11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn’t bring to your house? My sister always brings her biscuits, which are good. And this year, Mom asked her to bring a dessert because my niece doesn’t like pumpkin pie. In fact, this was cute. Mom called her and asked “Bring something that T likes.” And my sister, asked, “Am I supposed to guess?” Mom laughed and repeated, “Bring something that your daughter likes!” I’m guessing it’ll be something chocolate….

12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you’re happy to see? Our usual guests are just, well, us. Me, my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece and nephew. Just family. There was one year my parents invited friends, and my sister used to alternate years between us and her husband’s family, but since they moved down to Delaware, we get them every year now. (Hurray!) Because my family includes a good proportion of my favorite people in the world. I’m always happy to spend time with them!

13. What’s your absolute favorite thing on the menu? I really love the whole meal. But, I suppose, especially the things I don’t get all that often–the turkey, the cranberry-applesauce, and the mashed turnip. And the pumpkin pie. The other items (mashed potatoes, Stove Top, corn) we get fairly often the rest of the year.

Consider yourself tagged, if you want to be. And Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Thanksgiving Meme // 8 Comments »

A sunset like this is just one other thing to be thankful for.

I hope everyone has a safe journey, if you’re travelling, and a good day tomorrow–whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re eating turkey, but it shouldn’t require a national holiday for you to take a moment to be thankful for the good things in your life.

Be well, be blessed, be joyful.
Happy Thanksgiving.

• Tags: Sky • Permalink:Thankful. // 7 Comments »

I’m about 72% through my two skeins of roving from Rhinebeck. All I have to do is finish plying these two bobbins together, and I’ll have three out of four of my skeins of yarn done.

How nifty is that, huh? I feel so accomplished. I only started this, what, two weeks ago? A little less than that, I think. This is particularly speedy for me . . . or at least it feels like it!

Next up, once this fourth skein is done, probably next week? Well, I still have two pounds of this lovely, beautiful merino/silk in the gorgeous purpley-gray from last year’s Rhinebeck. I had taken a much needed break from it. (It languished on my wheel for, what, seven months and I hadn’t gotten past the first bobbin full yet?) But now it’s just getting sad and neglected. All these other pretty rovings I’ve spun since August (obviously that visit to Liz’s in August really inspired me, huh?) . . . it’s really not fair to let such pretty, soft, luscious roving sulk in the closet.

Of course, the sad part is that since I’ve done so much spinning lately, I just know that my singles are going to end up a completely different size than those first two skeins. So what I’ve decided to do is that the first pound that I spun, I’ll keep separate, turn it into a shawl, give it as a gift, maybe a hooded scarf. Something. But the next two pounds I’ll try to make as consistent (to each other) as I can and will turn those into a sweater, as I’d always planned. Ideally a cabled one. But . . . before I do any more of the pretty Crown Mountain Farm roving, or the rest of the Sheep Shed roving from this year’s Rhinebeck, well, I’m doing this pretty stuff from last year.

It’s only right, right?

I also just signed up to knit a square for Comforting Jenn. This young woman has gone through more than any one person should bear . . . I can’t think of anything more appropriate to knit over Thanksgiving weekend.

Here’s a post about the creative process–about how you have to go after the muse, not wait for it to come to you. I thought it was really interesting.

You’ve heard about the Yarn Museum, right?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Seventy-two // 6 Comments »

Isn’t it nice when fun things arrive in the mail?

8 oz of Superwash Merino Sock Hop roving in “Twist and Shout” (one of my favorite songs on the list, I might add–but it’s got to be the Beatles’ version) and 8 oz of Corriedale pencil roving in “Tibetan Dreams.”

I’ve so liked how the other yarns I’ve spun in these fiber have turned out, I couldn’t help myself . . . even if I DO have quite a bit of fiber in my closet at the moment. Although I am getting a fair amount of spinning done these days, which is good. I just think I need to KNIT faster….

Maybe this will help, though.

I also got my latest order from Amazon today. Victorian Lace Today by Jane Soweby, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (enthusiastically recommended in her comment to this post), Ingenious Pursuits by Lisa Jardine, and Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis (because, well, it IS almost December, and I like Connie Willis). And, oh yeah, don’t ask me why, but a silly Christmas album.

Good mail day, huh?

I have to say that, just looking through, I’m much more impressed by this XRX than any of their other recent knitting books. Each chapter of Victorian Lace Today focuses on a Victorian knitter/pattern writer and takes a pattern of hers and updates it in some way. Which means, first of all, that it’s a knitting book with some real text to it–not just patterns and pictures. And, there are a lot of patterns, too. Nice ones. Ones I actually want to knit. It’s impressive. I can’t wait to sit down with it and go through it in detail. I can’t speak for the quality of the pattern-writing at this moment, but it’s enticing, this book. What you’ve heard elsewhere is true. Trust me on this one–if you get a chance to look through this book, take it! (The chance, of course, not the book. We do not encourage thievery here at Chappy’s place.)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Mail Call! // 20 Comments »

I want to talk about one of my favorite eXtra-curricular activities, today.

This is what my kitchen looked like this afternoon–three spinners, two Lendrums, one Majacraft, lots of fiber, and one dog–at least some of the time.

How eXcellent is that, huh? This is Jessica and Risa (sans twins).

It was fun the way this came about, too. EXtraordinary, even. Jessica had been interested in buying my Kiwi until she went to Rhinebeck and bought herself her Lendrum instead. Which is also where she met Risa, who mentioned her on her blog, which made me say, “Hey, I know her” and anyway, we all decided that we should get together to spin–preferably on a day when Risa’s parents could look after the monkeys. And we figured my house would be a good spot because of the three, it’s the most centrally located.

So, how much spinning did I get done in the four hours or so of spinning? An eXceptional amount. Two full ounces of my peppermint merino, plus a decent start on its corresponding magenta corriedale.

Not that we ONLY spun. We also talked. A lot. About all sorts of fun and interesting things. We ate the oatmeal cookies that Jessica brought (some with raisins and some without because I really don’t like raisins). We also ate the popcorn, which I made.

And I opened the birthday present that Risa brought me–a lovely green sweater from J. Crew. (So soft, it’s not even funny.)

Chappy was thrilled because he had guests, and there’s practically nothing Chappy likes more than the chance to say hello to people and be fussed over. I think saying hello and eating are pretty much tied for him as favorite activities. So he was beyond happy to have eXtra people in the house. He napped during most of the afternoon, though . . . watching spinning
wheels just isn’t that exciting for him . . . but he was still happy!

Speaking of spinning, a couple people asked about my wheel skeiner–which, I grant you–didn’t look like much of anything other than tinker toys in the picture I showed you the other day.

Well, assembled, it looks like this.

Hmm . . . it does rather look like a tinker toy, doesn’t it?

Okay–maybe an eXample will help:

I finished my second skein of raspberry yarn last night, and promptly wheeled it off onto this instead of laboriously winding it onto my niddy-noddy.

I love it already. Even if the little handle promptly came off. Really, it’s not that necessary (grin). It took a matter of a minute or two to wind all of this into a skein, rather than the minutes of the shoulder-tiring winding.

This means, of course, that I’ve got half of this raspberry yarn finished. (It’s hanging in the bathroom drying at this very moment.) And thanks to all the spinning today, I’m well on my way to getting the next quarter done. Isn’t that eXciting??

(I hope you don’t think I’ve over-eXtended myself by using this for my “X” post, but . . . it’s not like I have a xylaphone in the house to photograph. XXX OOO.)

• Tags: ABC-Along, Friends, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Spinning ‘Til We’re Dizzy // 16 Comments »

So, my friend Cindy and I went shoe shopping today, at DSW, and . . . even though I don’t know WHEN I’ll wear them . . . I bought these.

I mean, how could I leave them there? They are absolutely fabulous?

F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

Who cares if they’re impractical and that I really don’t have any place to wear them, since I don’t wear heels to the office.

Want a closer look?

(You know you do.)

(Who said, knitting blog or not, that I can only post yarn-like eye candy??)

Yes, that’s a velvet stripe at the toe.

To be honest, I didn’t expect to love these so much. I had just finished saying to Cindy how I really don’t like shoes with more than, say, a 3″ heel, but one of the fun things about stores like DSW is that it’s easy to try on pretty much anything you see, so when we saw these, we both went, “Oooh,” and I tried it on solely for kicks. But then I glanced down . . . Oooooohhhh . . .

To my credit, I did buy this very practical pair of Sketchers that will be great for taking Chappy for walks. Not only were they nice and they matched my outfit perfectly, but they (unlike the ooh-la-la pair above) were on sale.

And besides, Cindy spent the same amount of money as I did . . .

Actually, after the shoe store, we went over to Borders, and she actually spent MORE than I did. I can’t remember the last time that happened!

Although, I got a deal there, too . . . three books for the price of two. And I’ve wanted to read Team of Rivals since it came out in hardcover. But . . . it’s heavy enough in paperback . . . there was no way I was going to buy that in hardcover (grin).

Oh, and I promise that I paid for everything this week.

Now, two other things.

One, let’s give a hand to Amanda over at Clothesknit for being a fabulous KAL hostess. Not one, but TWO people participating in the Yarn Aboard contest dropped out and just stopped returning emails, which I think is a really shoddy thing to do. (Okay, unless it turns out that they were run over by a bus or something, in which case, well, I guess they’re excused.) But otherwise? That’s just . . . uncivilized! But Amanda? She rocks, because she went out and bought the two people who SHOULD have been getting the missing boxes new, wonderful gifts herself to get things back on track. How great is she, huh?? Go tell her what a nice person she is, okay?

Two . . . the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . Can we have a drumroll, please? . . . the Winner of the Calendar contest!

Although, first, let me just say thank you to everybody who participated. That post has 119 comments on it, and there are about 20 others scattered through other posts this month. And I’ve seen calendars floating around blog-land by people who never actually left me a comment to be entered in the contest. So–thanks every one! I feel so special!

And now, without further ado . . .

First, I went through all the comments left on the all-important Calendar Contest entry and copied the “posted by” lines into Excel, and then sorted it alphabetically by name.

Then–since I have nobody else in the house at the moment to pick a random number for me–I went here to have one generated for me.

They picked number 35, the comment (dating November 10th at 10:04 AM) belonging to Deb at Wound Too Tight.

I think this is particularly apropos–even though it was totally random–because, well, not only is her name Deb, but her husband and I have the same birthday. How cool is that, huh?

Now, the prize?

Three skeins of Misti Alpaca lace yarn in my favorite shade of green, plus . . . because this WAS a Calendar Contest . . . a cute little “Passport to the World” mini calendar for 2007 that I picked up at the bookstore today.

Congratulations, Deb!

Oh, and for the record? The local Lite FM station started playing Christmas music today. All Christmas music, all the time . . . and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! I really do like Christmas music, but . . . sheesh!

• Tags: Friends, General • Permalink:Can You Say Fabulous? // 24 Comments »

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• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Candlestick // 5 Comments »

  Well today is my birthday, part two. (Or three. I’ve kind of lost count.) The present from Mom and Dad (and Chappy) finally came today. Woohoo!

Naturally, my able assistant was more than willing to help me unwrap it . . .

  And here’s what was in the box!

Okay, it’s a little hard to see, I grant you. This is the lace kit–a special lace flyer and two extra-wide lace bobbins–a extra plastic bobbin (because four is just a good number to have, you know?), and the wheel skeiner, which I’m very excited to have, but apparently need to find some glue to put it together. Which I’m more than happy to do!

So, yay! Happy birthday to me . . . again!

Now, if only my assistant were a little better at cleaning up . . .

  We’ve got some big, heavy storms headed our way tonight . . . as in, like, they should be here in about an hour. That’s an awful lot of yellow . . .

At least I have hobbies that don’t absolutely require electricity, anyway . . . (grin) With knitting, I can even manage without light, if I have to! Although lack of power does put a damper on the whole blogging thing…. hence the early post tonight, just in case.

Hey, if you get a chance to watch Larry King on CNN tonight, do. He’s doing the second part in a series about “The Secret” which my Dad has been talking about for months. Serious results from serious positive thinking, there . . . I just hope we have the electricity to be able to watch it with! It’s really fascinating. A little “new age”-y, perhaps, and yet . . . fascinating really is the word. And I figure this falls into the “It can’t hurt” category anyway . . .

Okay, dinner’s almost ready (Mom pushed it up to even earlier than usual, just in case. Our stove’s electric, so….), and it’s raining out there and starting to get a little windy . . . I think it’s time to shut down the computer for a while.

1. So, last week we asked you if you kept a list of books that you’re interested in, wanting to read, wanting to buy, etc. This week, we want to know–do you keep a list of the books you’ve READ? Well, you know I do, since I post it every month….
2. If so, how? In a journal? A notebook? On the computer? I jot down the books as I finish them in a paper journal, but then (obviously) enter them onto the computer as well. I’ve been keeping my list since January 1996. (The first book for that yeat that I read? “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.) Interestingly (to me), at the very beginning, I jotted down quick reviews, as well as magazines I was reading . . . but it didn’t take long at all before I was just putting down the date, the Title, the Author, and whether it was a new read or not. It’s just in the last year or so that I’ve been tracking page numbers as well.

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Part Two // 21 Comments »

I got this lovely book in the mail today. (The whole pre-order feature on Amazon is a great one, you know?) Nicky Epstein’s newest, “Knitting Beyond the Edge.”

I have to say, I like this even more than her other two (Knitting On and Over the Edge). It’s got collars and cuffs and button bands . . . Nice. There’s a pattern in there for a hooded shawl that I think is just gorgeous, too.

In knitting, I’ve started shaping for armholes on the back of my cabled sweater. I’m also thinking about some other small Christmas items. Like, I made my nephew a Tychus last year and still have some leftover Cascade. I was thinking about making him one of those circular scarves . . . you know, the kind you pull on over your head and then it just sits in the right place, keeping your neck warm?

On the request of a couple of my co-workers, I brought my new wheel into work today. The looks on people’s faces when they saw it were pretty funny.

You know as well as I do that when you say “Spinning Wheel,” people think of this:

So the reaction when I brought my cute little Gem was general, “Wow, really?”

And, I have to say, my Gem looked very cute sitting in the backseat of my car, wearing its seatbelt!

• Tags: General • Permalink:The Edge // 15 Comments »

Believe it or not, the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission was actually OPEN today. (I know, I was surprised, too. I mean this was my third try.)

I knew right away that they were open, though–just by looking at how full the parking lot was.

To be fair, crowded though they were with the lunch crowd–and they were pretty packed when I got in there–everything moved along pretty quickly. They have a receptionist right at the door who’ll direct you to the line you need to be in, and who’ll check your documentation to make sure you have everything you need before you get any further. That alone is pretty helpful. I ended up going to four separate stations–each of which checked to make sure I had everything I needed along the way. Which, again, I found more reassuring than inconvenient. (Though knitting my sock with my hands full of miscellaneous documents was a little tricky.)

And when it came time for the photo? It’s all digital, of course. They have monitors right there so that, as soon as they snap the picture, you have a chance to go, “Oh, no, it’s horrible!!” before you get stuck with it on your license. Mine was pretty good on the first try, though, so that’s the one I went for, but I appreciated the option–and the fact that the woman behind the desk seemed to have people’s best photographic interests at heart. She convinced the man in front of me to take a second picture because the first one was rather too deer-in-the-headlights.

Of course, after two holidays in the last week, they really don’t have any reason to be cranky today, huh? Although, really, again to be fair, most of the people I talked to were reasonably pleasant. I was even told that my license number was lucky. And I was in and out in about an hour, smoothly, no problems. That really IS lucky.

I bought Sundara’s new “Tatami” kimono pattern today. First of all, it’s lovely. Second, as much as I’d love to knit it with her yarn (which, believe me, is still tempting), I’m thinking . . . that might look just lovely in, say, some handspun yarn??

Okay, a couple of things:

Check out the Purls of Hope, trying to raise money for a good cause.

And, then, this great video of stop-action music.

Hey, has anybody noticed that, now that we’re past the mid-term elections, the gas prices are starting to creep up again?

Also, thankfully, I borrowed a can of air from the office and blew out around my “D” key and (knock wood), so far, it seems to have helped. Phew!

Don’t forget–tomorrow, the 15th, is the last day for the Calendar Contest!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Fully Licensed // 19 Comments »

Well, I finished my Dad’s hat . . . modelled here by a candlestick, which is why it looks rather pointy.

And, didn’t I tell you the blue was so dark as to look almost black? I just hope Dad’ll believe me when I tell him it’s really blue (grin).

But the important thing is that it’ll keep his head warm, right?

Now, here’s a closer look at my raspberry-colored yarn. Clean, dry, and just so pretty. It actually looks more pink in this photo than in person. In real life, it’s a little darker.

This stuff is SO going to be a sweater for me. Cardigan, I think.

And, have I mentioned that it’s SOFT, too?

Have I mentioned that Chappy is a thief? He has a tendency to steal things like slippers, napkins, socks . . . towels.

Like, this one that he stole out of the laundry basket this afternoon.

Or, well, maybe this one doesn’t actually count as stealing.

Because, well, it DOES kind of have his name on it.

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Monday Stuff // 18 Comments »

Well, I promised that I’d announce the prize–and winner–for my 5000th Comment Contest this weekend.

So, first–the prize. Two skeins of Koigu KPPPM yarn. I mean, really, Koigu? Didn’t I tell you it was going to be a decent prize??

The winner??

(Insert drum roll here)

Elizabeth from Trailing Yarn. True, she left me something like three comments right in a row that day, but . . . it still counts, right? (grin) Congratulations, Elizabeth! (I’ll need your address, please.)

I’ve also picked out the prize for the calendar contest . . . which, don’t forget, is closing on Wednesday the 15th. I’m not going to show you in advance, but I WILL say that it’s going to make some lace knitter (or lace knitter wanna-be) happy. The winner, incidentally, will be picked by a random drawing. There have been far too many beautiful calendar pictures for me to be able to pick a favorite!

I did quite a lot of treadling this afternoon.

See?

This is two ounces of the “peppermint” merino I showed you the other day, and two ounces of magenta corriedale which I just started on Friday.

I spun about half of it this afternoon, which surprised me in and of itself, because I don’t usually spin for such long periods of time.

But I wasn’t done yet, because I promptly went upstairs and (after taking this picture), plied all of it on my Lendrum

It’s not perfectly balanced, but I don’t care. This yarn came out just so . . . pretty. It’s like raspberries an cream. Or a peppermint stick. A candy cane. Warm without being “too” pink. Just . . . lovely.

This is about 310 yards or so of yarn. I’m not sure of the WPI, but don’t really care at the moment, either. I couldn’t wait to see what it would look like, and it looks great, so for the moment, I’m just being happy with that.

You’ll be pleased to know that I returned my “extra” sweater this morning. I walked in, told the story, and the sales person said, “Oh, well, thank you.” She sounded sincere enough, but not particularly pleased or surprised or grateful . . . just polite. Which, really, is nice enough to come across, so no complaints there. And now my conscience is clear, which is a relief.

In current knitting news, I’m about 2/3 through with the Tychus that I’m making Dad for Christmas. I made one for my nephew last year (in Mets colors), which he loves, except that the pattern calls for five repeats of the “wedge” pattern, but three was more than enough to make a good-size hat. And I know it fit Dad, because he nicely tried Tyler’s on for me when I was trying to judge the size, so his is going to be three “wedges” also, instead of five. Which means I’ll have it done tonight. I’m doing Dad’s in Yankee’s blue-and-white, but am thinking I should have picked a lighter blue. I just KNOW he’s going to look at this hat and see black and white . . . Mom and I have ongoing issues with him anyway about what color is what. “Nice green shirt today, Dad.” “What? This is blue!” “No way–turquoise, maybe, but more green than blue. Are you blind?” You get the idea. So, yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s going to misinterpret these colors, but *I* know it’s blue. And anyway, it’ll still match the Yankees pinstripes, and isn’t that what matters? (My apologies for New England readers, but there’s no way I can argue him out of rooting for the team that’s been his favorite since childhood.)

Of course, I didn’t work on my cabled sweater at all last night, since I wanted to get that hat done as quickly as possible. I love the pattern, love the design, love the finished product . . . but since it’s made with alternating stripes of two colors, worked with double-strands of each, the dangling, tangling, twisting yarns are driving me moderately crazy. I want to get this (lovingly) made and out of my knitting bag as soon as humanly possible! I mean, it’s worth it, but still . . .

Oh, and the reading mojo? I might have found it with Connie Willis’ Bellwether last night. I do love that wacky book!

Lastly, two things.

One, my sister, BIL, niece and nephew all went to meet their new niece/cousin yesterday. They stopped at our house on the way to pick up the baby gifts we had for new little Caitlin, so she’d get them promptly without us having to ship them. Here’s a picture of the proud new parents holding the sweaters I made for her. Apparently, they were quite impressed that I would make her a gift–but then, my sister had said that they pretty much got NO handmade gifts at the baby shower, except what she and my niece had made, so . . .

And, here, a look at the happy little family. Thank you, Patty, for the pictures!

And also–happy 18th anniversary to my sister and brother-in-law!!

Man, I miss my fully-functioning “D” key . . .

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:First Prize // 19 Comments »

  Despite a foggy start to the morning, it turned out to be a beautiful day today. Here’s my Saturday Sky picture for you–the same view I’ve shown you the last four weeks or so, now. Not too many leaves left up there!

Mom and I went out to the bookstore this morning–I haven’t been able to find any books I want to read, lately. I’ve tried all sorts of different kinds of books–different genres, simple ones, complicated ones, new ones, old favorites . . . and yet, nothing has really been “clicking.” So we started our morning at the bookstore . . . but, no luck. I couldn’t find anything there I wanted, either. This is unusual for me, but not completely unheard of. I usually leave bookstores with an armful of books or nothing at all. Unfortunately, today was a “nothing” day at the bookstore.

  Afterward, though, we went to Starbucks, where I had a really-very-tasty pumpkin spice doughnut and, at last, my first Peppermint Mocha of the year. I told you about that the other day, remember?

  Here. Take a closer look. Yummmmm…..

  After Starbucks, we walked over to Ann Taylor Loft, where I did remarkably well. I don’t usually buy this many things at once, mind you, but not only were all of these except the jacket on sale, they were having a sale on the sale items. And I’ve been wanting some decent autumn skirts to wear. I wore a lot of skirts this summer, but all my cooler-weather skirts seem to be straight, pencil skirts, and not nearly as much fun to wear. And when you find $80 skirts on sale for $20-25, well . . . is there really any choice? (grin) They’ll all go great with the boots in my closet, too….

But, here’s where we get into the reason for my post title . . .

When I got home with my stuff an took them all out of the bag . . . I couldn’t find the little sweater/shell/tank top I’d bought to go under the jacket. Now, when I paid, I had asked to keep the hangers, and the sales girl had put the sweater–which didn’t have a hanger–on the counter, while she hung all the other items to put in one of those full-length hanger-bags. Well, when I got home, I didn’t see the sweater. I figured she’d missed that while hanging the other things and I’d missed it because when she mentioned that sale items were an additional 30% off, I ran back to get one of the skirts I’d originally decided against. So, I drove back to the store (luckily it’s really close), and told the story, showed my receipt, and left with a sweater.

  But, um, take a closer look at that jacket . . . It’s really hard to tell, especially since the colors are so close, but . . . er . . . well . . . she put the sweater on the hanger UNDER the jacket. (Believe it or not, they’re both actually green . . . not that you’d know that from the picture!) I didn’t even see it until around 4:00 when I was cutting off the tags and thought, “Gee, I thought that jacket was more than that . . . hey . . . wait a minute!” and then there was this swooping, embarrassed feeling in the pit of my stomach….

  So now I have two. One which I paid for, and one which I inadvertantly, well, stole. Oops! I think I’ll be heading over to Ann Taylor Loft again tomorrow . . .

Uh-oh. My “D” key is sticking again. If there are any missing in this post, I apologize for the lack of proof-reading skills . . . it’s really very frustrating!

And, I don’t think my dinner agreed with me . . . I hope that ricotta cheese wasn’t bad . . . I thought confession was supposed to make you feel better . . . !

• Tags: General, Sky • Permalink:Shoplifting for Dummies // 20 Comments »

So, here’s my first bobbin-full of singles from my new Little Gem. Two ounces of lovely peaches and pinks and creams, all rolled into one, soft, merino length.

It’s sitting nestled in the next two ounces of deep magenta corriedale which I’ll be plying it with . . . you know, once I’ve got that spun up, too!

Overall, it’s a lot more “pink” than I usually go for, but I think it’s going to look just lovely when it’s done. And I’m enjoying spinning it a whole lot more than those Spinner’s Hill batts that were making my lungs fill up! (grin). And no, I don’t know what I’ll do with it when it’s done, but I’ve got 8 ounces of each, so that should be plenty for a sweater….

Hey, have you seen Sundara’s sweater pattern? So pretty. I’m really tempted….

And how cool are these postage stamps? (Thanks to YarnLife for the info on those stamps. )

So, remember how I tried to renew my driver’s license on Tuesday, only to find that the DMV was closed for, of all things, Election Day? Well, I couldn’t go on Wednesday because work was too busy, as was yesterday . . . so I went today. You can see where this is going, right? Because, guess what I found out when I got there? Closed for Veteran’s Day. Now, Veteran’s day is tomorrow. Not today. So . . . why (Why, why?) would New Jersey choose to give its employees not one, but two, days off in the same week on unofficial holidays? Since when is Election Day a holiday? And, Veteran’s Day isn’t until tomorrow. And . . . this is the part I found most interesting. Apparently the DMV offices where you renew licenses and such were closed today . . . but the inspection stations to get your car inspected?? Closed tomorrow. You’d think they’d at least be consistent, huh?

Sheesh. So . . . I’ll try next week, I guess! But I’m thinking Tuesday rather than Monday . . . with this kind of track record, I’m thinking going on the 13th might be a mistake, huh? Not that I have Triskaidekaphobia, or anything but . . . I still think it’s ironic that they suggested I renew in the first week of the month and then have basically been closed for half of it (grin).

Chappy got a bath today–he’s needed it, been scratching a bit lately, and all the allergens in the air and in the leaves on the ground . . . and he IS allowed to sleep on the bed on weekends! It’s so nice to see his curls back. He lost so much fur with that skin infection in September. (Remember? He practically had bald spots on his back, as well as on the backs of his legs, his chest…) Anyway, he wanted to show you how nicely his fur is growing back in, how nice and fluffy he is again. I don’t know which of us is happier.

Okay–off to do more spinning!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Blush // 15 Comments »

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• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Les Fleurs // 7 Comments »

Well, the calendar posts keep coming, and I can’t tell you how thrilled that makes me. And, here I was afraid that I’d only get about three entries, but no! Lots of them! From bloggers I’ve never had the good fortune to “meet” before, which is even better. There are almost 100 comments telling me about the posts, and I’ve seen some around that I DON’T have comments from . . . Please, if you want to be in the contest, be sure to leave me a comment on the Contest post! Otherwise I can’t guarantee that you’ll be entered in the actual contest drawing.

Speaking of calendars, I’m trying to decide which one to get for myself this year. I already have my Peter Simon Martha’s Vineyard calendar for the office, without which life would be incomplete. (I’ve had them hanging on my walls since I was in a dorm room in the late 1980s.) But, for my bedroom? Over the years I’ve had the Deborah Dewit Marchant Reader’s Calendar, which I love. Or a Carl Larsson calendar, because both of them are so cozy and homely. This year’s Sierra Club is certainly beautiful. Anselm Adams is never exactly hard on the eyes, either. Norman Rockwell is sweet. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong with Georgia O’Keefe….

I wouldn’t want you to think that I haven’t been knitting, though. I showed you my finished Clapotis last night. Well, here’s a status shot of the back of my sweater. I tweaked the color a bit, to get it closer, but it gives a good look at the oh-so-pretty cable. Yum!

Do you know what else occurred to me? It’s November and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet. This may not sound surprising to many of you, but I give myself a deadline of Thanksgiving every year, and . . . it’s only two weeks away! Uh-oh!

Mary wants to know…

1. Do you keep a list of books to read? No.
2. Where do you keep your list (computer, PDA, paper, etc.)? Well, I keep it, um, no, it’s over . . . oh, wait! I don’t have one!
3. How often do you refer to your list? Every time you go for a new book to read? When book shopping? Or? Since I can’t seem to locate it, clearly, I don’t reference it much at all . . . Seriously, I don’t keep a list of books to read. I do have a couple waiting in my Amazon shopping cart, but otherwise, when I’m shopping, I browse; and when I’m looking for a new book to read, I browse my own shelves. No TBR pile to speak of.

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Update // 10 Comments »

  One finished object. The famous Clapotis, of course. (I held out as long as I could!). With my assistant for scale.

Knitted in Brooks Farm Four Play merino/silk blend. I used about a skein and a half. I wasn’t sure how the yardage would work out, so I made the whole thing narrower than the pattern called for, but not TOO narrow. It’ll make a great cross between a scarf and a stole. And the yarn is luciously soft, the color gorgeous.

All in all, very happy with this.

I do plan on blocking it. I like the finished look it gives it, instead of the extremely-ribbed look the just-off-the-needles wrap has.

Two. This currently leaves just two things on my needles–the Celtic Icon sweater, and my second sock in my handspun yarn.

I know. Not even lace! Shocking, huh?

Three. The number of times I’ve sat and played at my new wheel. (This shows great restraint, I think.) The first two times, I was spinning the batts from Spinner’s Hill that I bought at Rhinebeck . . . unfortunately, we didn’t get along. I didn’t love spinning the fiber, despite its luscious colors, and adapting to that while also adapting to a new wheel just, well, didn’t go well. Not to mention the fact that something in that wool was bothering my allergies. I could feel my lungs filling up while I treadled away. So. That wool is now banished. At least, it’s out of my room. I unwound the singles I’d spun from the bobbin and have to figure out what to do with them. Right now, they’re on my niddy-noddy in the other room, sulking.

All is not lost, though, because now I’m spinning this, also from Rhinebeck, from the Sheep Shed. Beautifully prepared, silky-soft merino in colors that are making me think of a peppermint stick. (Hmm, when is Starbucks coming out with their Peppermint Mochas, anyway, this season?)

Anyway, this is going much better. (No extra wheezing is definitely a plus–at least I know I’m not allergic to my wheel!)

Speaking of my wheel, we are getting along just fine. She spins very smoothly, though the accelerated wheel takes a little getting used to–more or less instant stops and starts, when I’m used to a little leeway/momentum on the Lendrum–and the treadles are very sensitive, so any foot movement moves the flyer. This is not a bad thing by any means–just something to get used to. The Delta Orifice, which I know some people don’t like, is just fine by me–no orifice hook necessary? No problem! About the only thing I don’t like is the metal-on-metal yarn guide on the flyer–it makes my teeth ache (grin). Oh, and figuring out how to secure the yarn when I take a break is challenging, too–there are hooks on the flyer to wrap around, but they’re slippery. These are very minor complaints. Overall, I’m very happy, and she seems to be settling in just fine.

Four. The day that Gracie’s baby Catherine arrived! Be sure to go and welcome the new arrival.

Five Thousand Seventeen. The number of comments I had as of the time I logged in. Wow. You people don’t mess around! Word of a contest sure makes you spring into action! (grin)

Now, I know exactly who won the contest, but I’m not going to say who it is until I’ve determined the prize. Which will be this weekend. After I’ve found something suitably wonderful to honor such an important milestone. You understand.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Counting. // 23 Comments »

Remember how I said I had passed the 4500th comment, and was thinking about maybe having a contest for the 5000th?

Well, what with the Calendar contest and the birthday wishes (thank you), I’ve gained REALLY quickly in the comment stakes, and 5000 is coming up a lot faster than I’d thought.

So, true to my word . . . there’ll be a prize for my 5000th comment. I won’t tell you how close I am, but . . . we’re gaining!

(I cannot believe I’m coming up on five thousand comments. Wowzer! And, how about this multi-tasking, huh? Two contests at once!)

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:4900+ // 31 Comments »

W is for Wheel of course!

Specifically, my new Majacraft Little Gem II.

(Please, don’t anyone tell me you’re surprised. And yes, I know that by rights this post should have been up on Sunday, but I didn’t HAVE the wheel on Sunday!)