I do so love Amazon Prime–for one annual fee, I get free, 2-day shipping on anything they ship. I love that. Because, in this case, I ordered these books on Sunday night and they arrived today.

I bought them because they have prospects for that oh-so-well-named Sublime yarn I bought on Saturday. The "No Sheep for You" primarily Morrigan and the Cables-and-Os cardigan.

And then there’s that cover sweater on Couture Knits, which is just lovely.

But still . . . I don’t know . . . they’re promising, but I don’t know for sure that they’re what I want for that yarn. I can’t define exactly what I AM looking for, which of course makes it difficult to find. I’m hoping that I’ll know it when I see it. Or that the vision will crystalize in the back of my brain somewhere so that I can design it myself . . . whatever it is.

Speaking of beautiful knitting–have you seen these lace designs at Knitting Delight?

I’ve been busily spinning away at this month’s offering from the Spunky Eclectic club. Four ounces of Shetland, and I’ve got to tell you, it pretty much spins itself. So lovely. I’ve got the first half of it almost done–in fact, I should have it done tonight, just as soon as I get this entry posted. This is my first time spinning Shetland, so I don’t know for sure if this is a normal experience, but I can definitely vouch for the fact that this roving is delish.

What else? Well, I took Chappy to the vet today for a combo-visit of his annual check-up and an examination of his ongoing skin issues. The vet is thinking that it might be seborrhea, instead of a staph infection. His skin usually has at least one pustule somewhere, but it’s flared up recently. Of course, I’m the only one in the family who ever actually notices this (grin). Chappy’s getting to the point where, every time I start running my fingers methodically through his fur, he runs away.

It reminds me of our old dachshund, Jilly. She had ongoing periodontal problems, and my Mom would sniff at her breath, checking for problems, but Jilly caught on pretty quickly that breath-sniffing led to trips to the vet, so before long, whenever Mom would sniff, Jilly would turn her head away and leave. This is kind of where Chappy and I are getting to–normal petting and back-scratches are welcome, but the careful, running-through of fingers? Not so much.

Anyway, we were sent home from the vet with a new, medicated shampoo to try. He’s not crazy about the "two baths a week for at least three weeks" prescription, but since he usually gets ONE bath a week (which really does seem to help with his skin issues), this isn’t THAT much worse. And, so, yes, we came home and he got a bath.

He’s starting to dislike the bathroom now, too….

Here’s an interesting test I found over at Lu’s–what’s your "real" age? My calendar age is 40, but according to this, my "real" age is 26.4, with a life expectancy of 88.6. I can live with that. (ha ha) Interestingly, my father, who is 30 years older than I am, charted in at 56.4 . . . still exactly 30 years older. What are the odds of that?

Oh, and I’ll tell you now that I’m not sure I’ll get a post written tomorrow–we have a wake to go to tomorrow night. A co-worker’s mother passed on after a long illness, and since I’ve known her for 26 years, well . . . I have to go. But that also means that I won’t be getting home until late-ish . . . the wake is in Ridgewood, so, about 40 minutes’ drive without traffic . . . and I wouldn’t want you to worry if I don’t find the time to post. If I’m lucky, I’ll get one written after work before we leave and all of this will have been completely unnecessary information, but I like to plan ahead, you know!

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Prospecting // 14 Comments »

The pre-blocking photo

The blocking photo. (Not the best shot since the gray blocking board kind of washes out the subtle sand-and-sky colors of the shawl, but still.)

The post-blocking photo.

The detail photo.

The "this is all the yarn I had left" photo. Not nearly enough for another pattern repeat, so I stopped at just the right time.

So, to recap. This is Evelyn Clark’s Flower Basket Shawl from Fall 2004 Interweave Knits, which yes, I’ve made before. It was ideal for this, though, because it’s a straight-forward lace so that variegated yarn didn’t matter that much, it didn’t require massive yardage, and it’s a fast knit. I mean, both times, it only took me about two weeks. This is as close to "instant gratification" as I think you can get for a lace shawl.

I made it in the yarn I spun myself from BFL roving from Vesper, in "Pacific." This was my first time knitting lace with my own handspun, and while, yes, perhaps it was just a little on the variegated side an took away ever so slightly from the lace pattern . . . I don’t care. It’s gorgeous, and it was a pleasure to work with. All the way through the process–the roving was a dream to spin, and it was a soft, cushy treat to knit once it was yarn.

In other words, I’m happy!

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Baskets for Flowers // 27 Comments »

Chappy very much wanted to help with the Millennial contest–even though he doesn’t post (very often), he still gets all warm and fuzzy when he thinks about my blog . . . although, he’s warm and fuzzy to begin with you, understand, but still . . . I named it for him, so he has a special appreciation for it.

So . . . I told him he could be the judge. There were 50 comments on the contest post (51, technically, but one was a duplicate). I wrote the numbers on slips of paper, and then–since I did say it was possible that "Extra points may be accorded to comments that are particularly flattering while still sounding marginally sincere," I gave the extra-nice (aka sucking-up) comments two chances to win.

He was so attached to the winner that I had to literally drag it out of his mouth . . . and then I barely got to see the number before he grabbed it back . . . Um, you’ll have to take my word on this because he kind of  . . . ate the winning slip.

So . . . the winner of this skein of yarn, handspun by yours truly . . .

You know, the approximately 360 yards of superwash, silk, and nylon from Franquemont Fibers in "Flame" . . .

The fiber that I ordered in June after lusting after her luxury batts for months before finally succumbing to the temptati . . .

. . . Oh, all right!

The winner is

Kristi the Fiber Fool!

Of course, she’s such an incredible spinner herself, my handspun will probably want to crawl back into the mailbox, but . . . she’s the winner Chappy picked. So, Kristi, please email me your address!

(And, I know, I would have thought he’d go for one of those "We love Chappy" comments, too, but who can figure out the way dogs think? I guess he was just trying to be impartial . . . besides, Chappy loves everybody.)

Thank you all for playing and making our landmark so much fun!

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Judging // 11 Comments »

It’s been a while since I went to Nonna’s Yarn Cafe, and today–since Denville was having a sidewalk sale and everything in the store was 30% off–seemed like a good day.

What did I come home with? Eighteen skeins of this luscious stuff. Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in "Vanilla." (Unfortunately, there’s not really much going on at the "official" website.) I’d never even heard of this yarn (where have I been), but oh, my word, this is just . . . wow. The specs? 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, 5% cashmere. 116m/127yd to a 50g skein. 22 st/28 rows to 4"/10cm.

Did I mention that this stuff was soft? Because, it really is. And the knitted swatch and the scarf on display at the store looked just fabulous. Really crisp stitch definition, and a great sheen (without being actually shiny). It’s made up of 6 strands of 2-ply threads, and looks like it should wear pretty well for a yarn made up of merino, silk, and cashmere. (I pried one of the ends apart just to be able to tell you that.)

And, um, did I mention that it was soft?? Even softer to the touch than the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino they had in the store? I can just tell already that it’s going to be a treat to knit with.

To your next question, no, I do not know what I’m going to make with it. Except that it will be a sweater of some kind, with cables or lace or something to show off that stitch definition. Because, just . . . wow.

You’ll note that I did not sound this excited about either of those other two DK yarn purchases this month. The Elann Peruvian Highland Silk or the Reynolds Soft Sea Wool from Webs. Not because they weren’t both lovely. (And, believe me, if the Reynolds hadn’t been so NOT the color I wanted, I would have gushed over that, too. I definitely plan on trying that yarn some time.) They were both perfectly nice yarns, but . . . well . . . they’re going back. They just can’t compete!

‘Cause, you know, I kind of like this new stuff…. Now I just need to find a pattern worthy of it. Any ideas? Something like a cardigan, perhaps, with cables, or maybe lace? I’ll go off to browse Ravelry, but…

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Stashing // 10 Comments »

Chappy’s favorite yard-ornament.

No, no, not the flowers! What, you can’t see it?

I’m sure you understand why. He’s proud of his breed, you know. Of course, since he’s usually IN the yard, he doesn’t get to see the sign that often, but he still loves it. He even helped pick it out in a pet store in Olde Mystic Village last time we went through Connecticut . . . who knew he enjoyed shopping that much? He was so pleased, he couldn’t stop his tail from wagging.

(Although, maybe that was because he was out of the car?)

Brought to you by:

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

It might be a little over-plied in spots, but here it is, my really lovely new yarn. And, really, a little over-plying isn’t necessarily a bad thing for sock yarn–the socks will just wear longer, right? The really good part is that it’s pretty consistent in size. And I’m very, very happy with it. See the little sparkly bits? That’s nylon for strength. And the gleam? That’s the silk–all surrounded by superwash merino for soft wonderfulness.  Assuming I didn’t lose count, that was 179 turns around the niddy-noddy, so . . . just under 360 yards.

Right now, in these pictures (one with a flash, one without), it’s actually still wet. I haven’t been able to fondle it as much as I’d like to. I think I might have soaked it just a little too long in its hot water bath–the red dye ran and now the yellow parts aren’t quite so yellow as they were before I washed it, but again, who cares? It’s still gorgeous.

Which means that I’m going to do a really, really good thing . . . I’m going to give it up. I told you that, if it came out well, I’d make it the prize for my Millennial contest. Because, of course, I wouldn’t give it away as a prize if I wasn’t proud of it . . . but I am, and it’s gorgeous, and well . . . it’s now officially the prize.

That includes not only the fiber from Franquemont Fiber, but the blood and sweat of yours truly. Well, okay, not really any blood, but there was definitely sweat. Of course, ladies sweat. They perspire, or they "glow." Well, I was practically dripping with "glow" last night. I treadled so hard to get this all done last night! My legs are still tired today, and I finally understand the appeal of an electric spinner. Not that I’m going to go buy one, but . . . I understand the appeal.

I’ve been seriously tired all day. So tired, I barely flipped through the new anniversary issue of Vogue Knitting which came today. It’s a huge issue, as befits a 25th anniversary issue. I don’t always love the patterns in this magazine, but I’ve always loved the articles. Although in my brief flip-through, I did see a mention of Ruth from Knitting on Impulse and also one of Modern Yarns in Montclair. How nifty is that, huh? It’s always good to see friends doing well.

I’ve subscribed for a long time, too. See? Thats the Fall/Winter 1988 issue, the oldest in my collection. I think I’m going to have to reread that interview with Elizabeth Zimmerman, you know, now that I’ve got the magazine sitting right in front of me. It’s kind of fun  looking through it, actually. There’s an ad for Rowan Knitting Book Number 4–40 new designs in full color for just $9.50, and I actually made this sweater way back then.

Oh, and in the lame fortune cookie stakes? How is this second one possibly, remotely a "fortune?" It’s not even a pithy aphorism or saying like the other two. No, it’s the fortune cookie version of an advertisement or a shopping list. As you finish your meal, it’s telling you, don’t forget to bring some take-out home. Sheesh.

Booking Through Thursday (Come to the BTT site to play!)

Well, after last week’s record-breaking number of responses (92 last time I checked–an all-time BTT record), I was tempted to use this week’s question to ask what you all thought about Harry Potter 7–but since a decent proportion of you weren’t going to be reading it at all, that seemed unfair. So instead …

Who’s the worst fictional villain you can think of? As in, the one you hate the most, find the most evil, are happiest to see defeated? Not the cardboard, two-dimensional variety, but the most deliciously-written, most entertaining, best villain? Not necessarily the most “evil,” so much as the best-conceived on the part of the author…oh, you know what I mean!

I’m enjoying all the answers to this question–it’s always good to see such a variety of responses. (And  I’ll just pat myself on the back for the title of the post, too, because I thought "Best Moustache Twirling" was pretty clever.) I have to put a word in for Sethos in the Amelia Peabody books. He’s not "evil," but he’s got such flair as a villain–I always have a soft-spot for characters that do evil while retaining impeccable manners and charm. (And yes, Dolores Umbridge is another–a refreshingly 3D children’s book villain.) How about Acheron Hades from Jasper Fforde’s "Thursday Next" books? That villain has a wicked sense of humor  (pun intended). Jordan de Riberac and Gabriel in Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolo and Lymond series are incredible….

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Burning Calories // 16 Comments »

Now, it might not LOOK like these two bobbins are spun from the same stuff, but they are. I just, for a change, thought ahead about how to deal with the colors.

There are three colors here–red, yellow, and a combination of the two. So, what I did for the first bobbin (the one on the right) was to divide each color into 16 strips and then randomly select them as I spun, so it’s a fairly frequent change of color, in no particular sequence. For the second bobbin, I separate the colors into only four strips each and and then spun them in the same sequence–yellow, mixed, red, yellow, mixed, red–so that its color changes are further apart and always in the same order.

What effect will this have on the finished yarn? I have no idea . . . yet. I’m about half way through with the plying, and I won’t know until it’s wound off, skeined, washed, and so on. If it comes out as nicely as I hope, though, I’m thinking I might use this as my prize for my Millennial contest . . . what do you think? The colors sure are pretty, and since the fiber is superwash, silk, and a touch of nylon, it would make fantastic socks . . . you know, assuming I can bear to part with it . . .

Next up? Arrived with perfect timing–Celebrations, the July offering from the Spunky Eclectic club. It looks like a fabulous color combination, and I’m particularly happy because it doesn’t look like something I would have actually picked myself and yet it looks great, which is exactly what makes these monthly clubs fun–stretching the boundaries of the comfort zone.

So, that cabled shawl I was talking about yesterday? Yeah, it’s pretty much history on the "Debbie’s Most-Wanted" list. I still think it’s gorgeous, but it’s just too much work to get that pattern set up as something I can actually USE. It’s not that I couldn’t chart it, you understand, but I resent the need to. It irks me (possibly beyond reason) that the publisher and/or the designer couldn’t be bothered to provide both charts and text for such complicated cables, leaving the onus on me. It’s like inviting a friend to dinner and making her do the cooking. Or making someone wrap their own birthday present. It’s possible, sure (and, if you’re helping out someone who is sick and couldn’t wrap the present*, that’s not even unreasonable), but is it right to expect it? I don’t think so. Isn’t it up to the pattern publisher to make sure that the reader gets something that, all other things like gauge and needle-size being equal, is immediately usable? Because the more I look at the layout of that pattern, the more peeved I feel. If I wanted to peel my own potatoes, chop my own onions, I’d just design something from scratch myself.

I did get a nice surprise today. Remember my Tannenbaum hat pattern from 2005? It must have gotten a mention on some message board somewhere because when I logged into my AOL email tonight (something I usually only do once a day), I had three orders and two requests for information, and I’ve had one more order come in since. Which is pretty great, I think–I love that there are people interested in that pattern, since I’m really quite proud of it–but it makes me curious, too. That’s more orders than I’ve receive for it in the last 12 months put together. Maybe it’s a new trend?

*And, I actually did that once. About seven years ago, Mom was flat on her back with neck/shoulder pain for about a month before my birthday, so that year, I went to the store with her credit card and bought myself my present, and then came home and wrapped it . . . it was a unique experience. Unwrapping it in front of the family on my birthday, *I* was the only person who knew what was in the box! I also cooked my own birthday dinner and picked up my own birthday cake that year, and really? It was kind of fun . . . although, I wouldn’t want to make a habit of it.

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Progressing // 12 Comments »

Okay, first things first–yesterday, of course, was the deadline for my Millennial Contest, and thank you to the 51 people who entered. I haven’t picked a winner yet, though. I’m still dealing with novocaine-withdrawal and choosing a winner just isn’t going to happen today . . . when it does, though, I’ll let you know! It’ll be soon . . . by the end of next weekend at the latest. (Who has the energy to THINK after a full day at work?)

So, let’s see. Today was thankfully sunny, and really quite nice, weather-wise, so Chappy was more like himself today. I think that he was just miffed at me yesterday for deserting him on such a wet, dreary Monday. Today was more of a normal Tuesday, except, well, that dentist thing.

Now, knitting . . . You may have noticed that I haven’t started that new project yet. The one I was so excited about that I bought not one but two (or even three) possible yarns to make it in. Ironic, huh?

There are a couple of reasons for that.

First, I’ve been working diligently on my handspun lace–I really just love the way this yarn feels going through my fingers (again), and since it’s a fairly quick project, I’m trying to just burn through it as quickly as I can. (Last time, it only took me two weeks.) I haven’t touched my other lace project in days.

But, second, it’s the way the pattern is written. Normally I do cables off of cable charts, but this? This is written out line by line . . . which I can deal with also, but each of the three main cable patterns works over a different number of lines, and they’re spelled out as Patterns 1, 2, 3, listed sequentially in columns. Which means I’d need to knit row 1 from the first one, skip down to find row 1 for the second cable, and then jump ahead to find row 1 for the third . . . repeat for each row, until row 8, when the first cable reverts back to row 1 . . . cable pattern 2 reverts to row 1 on the next row, and cable number three goes up to row 18 . . . making it impossible to keep track with a row counter.

"But, Deb," you’re about to say, "Why not just chart the cables yourself? That’s what graph paper is for!"

I’m so glad you asked. Because yes, of course that’s occurred to me, and I would do it too, except . . . there are some funky stitches in these cables that I honestly have no idea how to chart. Like, the "5-st LC" I could figure out, but how does one chart a "K1-b" where you insert the needle in the row below where you are? I mean, I’m sure there’s a symbol for it somewhere, but . . .

So, sadly, my enthusiasm for this pattern is waning fast, leaving me with lots  and lots  of new yarn I don’t particularly need….

…Unless I were to decide to adapt the cables in the pattern to be something a little more "chart" friendly . There’s no reason I couldn’t just browse through my stitch dictionaries and choose something else, right, while keeping the basic structure of the shawl the same? Of course, that’s more work….

But, meantime, this pattern languishes, waiting for me to make up my mind what to do. And so, I do lace. And spinning.

Which, really, isn’t exactly a bad way to spend some time.

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Toothsday // 10 Comments »

Blah . . . what a very Monday. Let’s recap, shall we?

• It poured with rain all day. Buckets of it. When I brought in the empty garbage can after work, there was at least half a foot of water in the bottom, and the garbage trucks only went through while I was home for lunch.
• Naturally, with all the rain, Chappy did not get a walk today.
• To make it worse, the poor boy was home alone all day–alone on a dreary Monday? Horrible!
• Adding insult to injury, he was alone because not only was I at work, but his grandparents were down at my cousin’s horse farm, where they met up with not only my cousin and my aunt, but also my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, AND my other cousin’s three daughters, all visiting from Texas. In other words, practically the entire family except him, me, and my other two cousins.
• Not to mention my cousin’s new shelter-rescue, 7-year old spaniel, who I’m told looks like he could be Chappy’s cousin.
• And no, don’t ask my why they always choose to schedule these things on weekdays when I have to work. But, still, at least I didn’t have to drive an hour and a half each way in the pouring rain today.
• Also, making the Monday extra-Mondayish, I started off just wonderfully by accidentally pouring sour milk on my oatmeal at breakfast. Of course, I only eat the 5-minute Old-Fashioned kind, so when I had to dump out that entire bowl, that left me with no time to make more. The only cold cereal we had in the cabinets that wasn’t a year past its expiration date or so old it tasted like stale cardboard was Mom’s shredded wheat, which I can’t stand. So I ended up eating two pieces of toast for breakfast and being five minutes behind schedule. Which might not sound like a lot, but I detest running late . . . and so I started the day feeling rushed.
• When I got to work, a co-worker whose mother is very ill . . . as in, she’s been fighting cancer for years and isn’t expected to last much longer . . . walked into my office and said, "I need you to do something for me, but you can’t ask a lot of questions," and laid down a photo of her mom, the lyrics to her favorite song, and what was basically a eulogy, and asked me to make it into a book and an insert . . . presumably for the funeral. She ran out to Staples and bought the paper to print them on, and then I sat and typed in this long, loving paean to her mom and felt like crying myself, even though I’ve never actually met her. (Although, her mom is actually one of the very few people on the planet ever to have read my book. Which means the readership for my still-unpublished book is dwindling already . . . but that’s another story.)
• And then, Chappy just isn’t himself tonight, I just can’t figure out why. He’s unusually quiet, but I can’t tell if it’s because he’s in a bad mood (exceedingly rare) . . . if it’s because he was lonely too long today and is holding a grudge (possible, but not very dog-like) . . . if his stomach hurts (considering he cleaned his dinner dish, I don’t think that’s it) . . . if his back hurts (faintly possible since it has in the past, but he doesn’t seem stiff so much as quiet) . . . or if he just doesn’t want to be bothered talking to me. I mean, that’s possible, right? I just hope he’ll be his usual happy self tomorrow, when things get back to normal and the rain clears away.
• Of course, he could be upset that I accidentally nicked him just a tiny bit on his thigh when I gave him his haircut yesterday. I told him to hold still!
• And then, tomorrow . . . well, tomorrow I have to go to the dentist, which means I’ll be an hour and a half (or more) late getting home from work AND I won’t be eating supper AND I’ll probably be numb until about 9:00 which means that *I’ll* be cranky tomorrow night . . .
• Hmm . . . it could be a long week here in the Chappy house . . .

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Very Monday // 13 Comments »

I started writing my post and then realized–I don’t have any pictures to demonstrate how I spent my day, so . . . luckily, my favorite model was nearby.

I didn’t just lie around all day though, despite my eyes being a little tired after yesterday’s marathon…. Not only did I read all of Harry Potter 7 yesterday, but when I was done, I reread the last 200 pages a second time. And it’s possible (cough) that I reread the climactic final chapter one more time before bed, too.

Mom and I watched "Little Miss Sunshine" last night, too . . . sweet and funny . . . and focusing my eyes further than the ends of my arms was a refreshing change. I worked on my second sock (too tired to concentrate on lace), and now have both socks done up to the heel. This is amazing, you know, because that means I’ve just about reached the halfway point on another pair of socks in one week. ONE week. For me? Incredible.

I’ve been spinning, too. I’m about a quarter of the way through this second bobbin of Franquemont Fibers roving. It’s really beautiful stuff.

Otherwise . . . let’s think. Um, I vacuumed my room. Did some laundry. Swept and rinsed off the deck–which is still filthy. We had new gutters put on the roof on Friday, so there was lots of grit down there, but also, we have a vinyl deck, and the texture imprinted in the (white) vinyl boards captures every speck of dirt. Powerwashing is about the only way to get them clean short of scrubbing them, and since we don’t have a powerwasher (or an outside electrical outlet to plug one in), that doesn’t really leave many options. But hey, at least it’s clean dirt now.

The weather was so perfect, we sat outside on the deck drinking tea for a while, too.

I also gave Chappy a haircut, capped off by his favorite part–the brushing with the ZoomGroom brush, which he thinks is a toy. He starts spinning around, trying to catch the thing, I try to keep it in contact with the fur, and meanwhile, since it’s so good about grabbing loose fur to begin with . . . and by then, there’s a pile of fur on the floor from the actual haircut . . . fur literally flies. Especially when I accidentally drop the thing, so that Chappy grabs it and runs off, scattering loose fur even further throughout the house . . . Yeah, the brushing thing doesn’t really go very smoothly, but I’m not complaining. As long as he sits still while I’ve got the scissors in my hand, I’m happy, and the moisturizing bath every one or two weeks to help his ongoing sensitive-skin problems pretty much takes the place of brushing anyhow.

Besides, everyone know that you should never brush curly hair, right?

Hey, did you know the Interweave Knits Fall Preview is up?

One more thing before you go–head over and wish the birthday girl a happy day, would you?

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Sunny Sunday // 11 Comments »

Well, if you don’t care for Harry Potter, this post will be completely boring for you, because THAT’s what I did today….

I’m done, but I promise not to give anything away–no spoilers here!

The local Barnes & Noble opens at 9:00. This is what the line looked at 9:05 when I walked in. How’d all those people get in there so fast??

This is what the display of books looked like . . . considering it must have been full when they opened . . . again . . . people move fast!

So . . . 9:30, and home, ready to start reading.

The second copy I ordered from Amazon (which will be heading to my sister’s house) arrived at 11:45, by which time I was on page 200. This is exactly why I didn’t just order two copies upfront and then wait for them. (And, really, I had trouble falling asleep last night and I started waking up at about 6:00 this morning . . . I was so excited, you would have thought it was Christmas or something.)

The half-way point, at 1:25

Finished, page 759 at 4:25.

So, seven hours to read the whole thing. That’s about 1.8 pages a minute. See? I told you I was reading as slowly as I could.

What am I willing to tell you that won’t give anything
important away? (Really, I promise.)

Well, for one, I really liked it. Much more than the last one, which felt like she was laying out information we had to have but not so much story-telling. JK Rowling described this book in an interview as a "bloodbath," and she wasn’t wrong about that. There are quite a number of deaths. The war which really started in book 6 is at full-force and it’s not going well for the good guys. You do find out for sure whether Snape was truly evil or not. Dudley was surprising. Luna plays a nice part in this one, as does Neville. (Really, I’m quite proud of Neville.) The Malfoys aren’t doing terribly well at the beginning of the book. A new headmaster at Hogwarts. There’s another visit to the Ministry of Magic, and one to Gringotts. We see dear, dear Umbridge again. Finally, I understand what Deathly Hallows ARE, and I got to officially meet Dumbledore’s little brother. And would it be giving too much away to say that there’s a chapter called "The Battle of Hogwarts?" And Harry? Harry, Ron, and Hermione were just fabulous–brave, resourceful, and (mostly) unflinching. Especially Harry, there at the end. But I won’t tell you if I closed the book with a smile or with tears on my face . . . although that "nineteen years later" epilogue was nice to have, even if some faces were missing.

Really, this, today, is practically my perfect day. Oh sure, you’d think it would include more knitting or spinning or laughing with friends or something, but you have to realize–when I was a kid, there was NOTHING I liked better than to curl up on the couch with a good book. And a good one that I hadn’t read before? The best! And that hasn’t changed–spending a day with a really good book that’s brand-new to me . . . especially if it’s by a favorite author . . . is ideal. Perfection. Add in the extra anticipation surrounding this book AND the rare opportunity to read something that thousands, if not millions, of other people were doing at the exact same time? When does something like that ever happen with a BOOk? And, as I said, I really enjoyed reading this one. I took frequent breaks to rest my eyes, and all, but practically every time I did, there was a smile on my face. Or, well, you understand, depending on what was going on in the book, it wasn’t always a smile, but even the teary parts were surrounded by that "Wow, this is fabulous!"  glow. Who cares that I haven’t done any knitting today? This was perfect.

Even if Chappy would really have preferred getting out for a walk or something . . . but at least we sat in the back so he could play in the yard for a while  . . . although he spent most of his time staring at me, trying to entice me to come down and play. Hmm. I suppose we could go for a walk now, huh?

Because, come to think of it, there WAS some blue, Saturday sky up there….

Hey–great article here (also, without spoilers). And this article talking about why spoilers are bad things.

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:A Good Day // 14 Comments »

Well, I’m going under cover, as it were, until after I’ve gotten and finished Harry Potter 7 tomorrow–I’ve been really, really careful online today so as not to risk being spoiled (although I did watch JK Rowling’s reading from chapter one from the midnight festivities over in London) . . . anyway, I will not be checking my email or even turning on the computer tomorrow until, you know, after.

So, for your viewing pleasure in the meantime, some yarny, fibery goodness. You know, so you won’t be bored (assuming you’re not busily reading a copy of your own.) See you on the other side!

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I don’t want you to think that I’ve been spending all my time obsessing on the new Harry Potter book. I’ve been spinning, too. See?

Here’s the first half of my luxury-sock blend from Franquemont Fibers, with the second half all ready to go.

And now, please don’t think that I purposely picked Gryffindor colors, either. I know that scarlet and gold are Harry Potter colors, but I honestly didn’t do it do purpose. You’ve seen pictures of my bedroom–golden-yellow walls, a comfy red chair in the corner. Gryffindor has nothing to do with it.

I’ve been knitting, too. You’ve seen this yarn before.

Now, before you say something like, "But, Deb, that looks like lace. I thought you were doing a lace project already? And you’re usually so linear about these kinds of things."

Well, that’s true. And I don’t want you to think that I’ve abandoned my Japanese lace. Or that I’m going to go willy-nilly knitting all sorts of crazy lace projects. I mean, I haven’t gone nuts or anything!

But what DID happen is that I really, really wanted to do something with this yarn! I had spun it with the intention of doing socks, but when I took a closer look at it, I thought it really wanted to be lace. And while, yes, I had a lace project going already, the urge to knit with this really lovely yarn was well nigh irresistable. I didn’t want to wait however many months it would take me to finish a full-size lace shawl to start. And since I was waiting for yarn for that cabled, hooded shawl . . . I decided to go for it.

I know, it’s busy for lace–something I almost never, ever do in anything like a variegated yarn–but . . . I don’t care. I love the yarn. I’m proud of the yarn. And the colors are just so great. Did I mention that I’m loving working with the yarn? That Blue-Faced Leicester is so soft and springy . . . it’s a real pleasure.

Of course, I might be biased.

Don’t forget that there’s only a couple more days to enter my contest!

Oh, and for a huge knitting accomplishment? Go check out Agnes’ Great American Aran Afghan. Wow.

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Another nice day today, though it started early. I woke up at 5:53 with POUNDING rain thundering down on the house. I even got out of bed to look out the window to see if it was hailing, it was so loud. I can’t remember the last time I heard rain like that. According to Dad’s weather-bug on his computer, it was coming down at a rate of more than 2" an hour. I believe that! And it kept up for at least half an hour after it woke me up. (And, believe me, if you knew me, you’d know what an impressive thing it was that it woke me up at all. You’d be amazed at what I can sleep through.)

Chappy, during this, was hiding over in the corner of the room . . . until the thunder that you could barely hear over the sound of the rain was overhead, at which point he moved over to the floor between my bed and my closet. He was not happy. Though that changed once we were up. (Well, I did go back to sleep once the storm moved on around 6:25, because why get up that early if I didn’t have to?) Because my niece was still visiting, and Chappy loves having my niece here. He even played for a good half hour this morning, with both of us, just looking thrilled. As usual, he was on his "host" behavior–where he pretty much ignores me and spends all of his attention on the guest (something I mostly manage to accept with aplomb).

The only real disappointment was when Mom, my niece, and I all left for lunch. Or, Tea, I should say. We had been so disappointed that they were closed yesterday, we went back today. Early, mind you, so that we’d have time for a full "tea." Like, we showed up as soon as they opened at 11:30. We had a great time, though, and everything was yummy, so no complaints.

Really, the only complaint is that my niece went home today (sniff). We always have so much fun with her, and since she’ll be heading off to college next month, this could end up being the last overnight visit . . . (sob). At least it was a fun one!

And now, tomorrow, it’s back to work for me . . . Oh well! I guess I can’t really complain, huh?

Oh, and for your viewing pleasure–check out Lifted, a short film by Pixar that just made me laugh out loud. (More on it here.)

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Another // 5 Comments »

Park sunshine.

Photos (a little blurry).

Puppy (also a little blurry, but very, very happy, walking along).

Pretty flowers growing on a tree.

Harry!(Enjoyed this one.)

Yep. That’s pretty much my day in a nutshell. Today was a vacation day to spend with my niece, and just about the only disappointment was that she wanted to go out for Tea, but the tearoom . . . we found out when we got there . . . is closed on Tuesdays.

Otherwise? Nice day.

And, oh yes . . . socks! That’s a completed pair of the Claudia Hand-Painted "Walk in the Woods" an one foot in my new pair of Koigu. Almost all of that was done in the movie theater today, and I only stopped because I was getting close to the heel–much easier to do those in daylight!

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My cashmere/silk yarn is done. This is 2 oz, and about 225 yards. The plying still isn’t perfectly even, but I don’t care. I’m happy with the way this came out anyway. And regardless of the plying’s consistency, the yarn is pretty consistent in size, so . . . and, did I mention? Silk and Cashmere. Can anybody spell SOFT? The only problem? While I was perhaps over-enthusiastically thwacking it against my shower walls on Sunday, one strand got caught on the shower-head and broke. (The yarn, that is, not the shower.) So, there’s just a little bit of a problem there when I go to wind this into a skein some day, but, well, these things happen, right?

This is what I’m spinning right now. Superwash, silk, and nylon from Franquemont Fibers. It’s beautifully-prepared stuff, and great colors. (Boy, does it ever coordinate with my gold-and-red bedroom!). I agree with Theresa that the nylon makes it just a little rougher on the hands than just merino and silk would be, but not enough to make me stop spinning, and it spins up just beautifully. The colors are really fabulous.

Then, this fiber came today. I finally broke down and ordered some from Spunky Eclectic–that’s four ounces of Blue-Faced Leister in the "Vineyard" color. How could I resist a name like that?

And, um, did you hear about the Knitpicks Book Sale?

And–thanks for the entries so far on my Millennial post. You people are really excellent at sucking up! Keep it coming . . . Chappy and I will try to prevent our heads from swelling….

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Spinning Along // 13 Comments »

My box with Option Number Two arrived yesterday while we were off partying. I didn’t actually photograph all the yarn–just the loose skeins I carried upstairs and dumped on my bed . . . the bulk of the order was actually still downstairs when I took the photo.

The option for the hooded shawl is the dark pinkish-red yarn–the Reynolds Soft Sea Wool. Because, yes, as it turns out, the yarn I ordered is actually a dark pink, rather than a true red. More the color of the diagonal one at the bottom left of the picture than the one that’s front and center–which makes it close but still not quite actually red. This is a little disappointing, but it’s not TOO pink . . . I think. While I obviously haven’t tried knitting with it yet, I really have to tell you–the yarn itself looks pretty fabulous. Soft, springy, nice twist . . . and not too expensive. I saw it compared to Koigu, and when you consider it’s got 162 yards for about $6 and comes in a decent range of nice colors . . . You might want to check it out.

The other yarns in the picture? That’s some Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in a lovely honey color. I bought that with no specific plans in mind, but mostly because the closeout-sale price over at Webs was so good. I guesstimated that fifteen skeins should be enough for anything I’d probably want to make with it.  And, um, yes, I AM aware that that yarn would also work perfectly well for this hooded shawl. And that, also yes, the color would actually look pretty smashing with my hair. You know, if I gave up on the "red" obsession.

(Oh, and there’s also some E.L Hempathy yarn, too. Not any time soon, perhaps, but I’ve been thinking of knitting up a net shopping bag at some point, and thought that would be a good choice . . . and it never hurts to have the yarn handy for when you need it.)

Also in yesterday’s mail, I got some adorable stitch markers from Mama Llama. They’re unique in that the part that goes over your needles is soft wire rather than a hard circle like most other stitch markers, an the wire ends are hidden under the beads, so there’s nothing to grab your yarn. And that cute little sheep? He glows in the dark. What’s not to love?

Now . . . about that post title. You see it, up there? "MIllennial?"

That’s because this is my One-Thousandth Post. Wow. I know. I’m speechless, too. We’ve come a long way since we started in January 2005. (And thanks, Norma, for inspiring me to check my blog-stats to know that I was getting close to this milestone.)

Clearly, I can’t let this milestone go uncelebrated, huh? I figured a contest of some kind would be good, but then had the hardest time thinking of one. Just saying "Leave a comment," works but is a little boring, but I don’t want to make you all jump through hoops, either. So, how about this:

Leave me a comment on this post stating what you like about reading blogs–in general–and if you feel so inclined, what you like about my blog in particular. (Extra points may be accorded to comments that are particularly flattering while still sounding marginally sincere.) The winner will be chosen by either having written the very best, possible answer which just makes me want to give the writer a big, congratulatory hug, or if all the answers are equally good (or equally mediocre, which I’m sure will not be the case), we’ll just throw it to the Random-Number-Selector gods. Or, you never know, I might just let Chappy pick out the winner. (Hey, it’s my contest, I can play with the rules a little if I want, right?)

The prize? I’m not exactly sure yet, but it will be something yarny and delicious. Possibly something handspun by yours truly.

Because, well, 1000 posts . . . that’s not a number that comes along every day.

And for the statistically-curious? On the 999 posts preceding this one, I’ve gotten 8,109 comments. Not as many as some of the more popular kids on the block, but pretty decent. It’s nice to feel appreciated. (grin)

Oh, and the deadline for entries? Let’s say a week from tomorrow, so . . . July 23rd.

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Millennial // 51 Comments »

Well, we made a new acquaintance today. Kaitlyn.

To be more precise, she’s almost, kinda-sorta, but not exactly family. She’s my sister’s husband’s brother’s daughter. Not clear? My brother-in-law’s niece. Niece by marriage to my sister . . . She’s not exactly a limb on our family tree, but her tree and our tree intersect.

I’m not sure what, exactly that makes her to me (niece-in-law?), but no matter what the technical degree of (near) relativity, I’m happy to have her near my family (grin). And, hey, we consider her parents to be close enough to "real," blood-family to BE family. Kaitlyn is part of the same family tree as my niece and nephew, after all. We went to her parents’ wedding two years ago, you might remember, and I did make her some sweaters last year . . . and since I only knit for family members, (barring the occasional charity-square), well, clearly . . . family!

Actually, technically, she’s made an appearance here before, just shortly after her world-wide debut last November 1st. Today was the first time we met her, though. We’d tried before, but what with one thing and another, today was the first time. But that’s okay–she was old enough to be charming and entertaining for her adoring public. That includes the three of us, my sister and her family, her in-laws (Caitlyn’s grandparents), and cousin Chris, who drove up from Maryland for the festivities, though his new wife had to stay home to study.

The "festivity" in question? A graduation party for my two favorite graduates. Their other grandparents were up visiting from Delaware, so naturally, we had to throw a party. Well, technically, Kaitlyn’s parents through the party, but you know what I mean.

It was so nice getting everyone together. My niece and nephew didn’t know it was a party . . . they just thought they were going to see their uncle, aunt, and cousin  . . . and looked completely flabbergasted when they saw us there. Surprise!

It made for such a nice afternoon, though. We got to see family that we hadn’t seen in ages, and we all chatted and mingle and ate and took pictures . . . but somehow, when Caitlyn was in the room, we all kind of congregated around her . . . And I did love watching the happy, baby-smile my sister got on her face while playing with her–it’s been a while since hers were that size, you know. And my nephew was so sweet with her–he looked intrigued and enchanted, and was a lot happier about letting her play with him than I’d expected him to be (what with his being a fourteen-year old teenage boy). It was so much fun watching my closest family being close-family with somebody else, if that makes sense–like standing in an a spot in your house you don’t usually stand in, and absorbing the different perspective of the familiar space. Nice. The only one not there was Chappy, who was home with a buster cube and a kong to help wile away the time.

But, yeah . . . I’d definitely say "family," wouldn’t you?*

* (And, well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt that Betty is as excited as I am about Harry Potter #7 next week, huh?)

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Family // 6 Comments »

Mom gets all the credit for this picture. She was out on the lawn on Thursday afternoon, talking to the gutter-man who’s going to replace our rain gutters next week, when she glanced up . . . Against the blue, blue sky and the frilly wisps of clouds . . . a rainbow. She pointed it out to Chris, who was just as enchanted as she was, and then she ran inside for her camera–just in time before it faded. How often does THAT happen, huh?

A couple others, not quite as stunning, but still….

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

Okay, here’s option number one for the hooded shawl I want to make. Peruvian Highland Silk in "Tapestry," a really lovely shade of blue. Practically my very favorite shade of blue, in fact.

But, um, you may have caught the clue in the post title–that, even though I bought this, I’m not 100% sure I want to use it. It’s lovely, and I’ll definitely make a swatch, and yet . . . there’s still a part of me that’s longing for red. There’s just something so nice about wrapping yourself up on a cold day in something that’s not only warm, but a warm color. And so, there’s option number two on its way.

Because you know I like options! And, well, the price was right. I couldn’t justify the $8+ per skein of the recommended yarn (not for 15 skeins), but $3 to $4? Sure. I can do that. You know. Because it’s the responsible thing to do–to make sure the PATTERN gets the best possible (reasonably-priced) yarn . . . right?

Hey, remember when I mentioned that favorite author, and writing her a fan letter? Guess who I got an email from today? Thank heaven I got the right address, huh?? Such a nice, friendly email, too. I wonder if getting my letter made her day as much as getting her email made mine? For the record, here’s a look at my first book of hers, from 1981. It’s still got the B. Dalton price tag in the top corner (only $2.50–boy, did I ever get my money’s worth that day). Not only that, I read it into such a tattered condition, I took it to the school library one day and completely covered it in plastic tape from the book-repair station to protect the cover. It looks like the bottom corner is completely gone, but, in fact, it’s a secure, right-angle of clear plastic. Yes, that’s right. My copy is more or less laminated. (I did that with some other books, too–like my copy of Fellowship of the Ring.) Anyway, it was nifty to hear from her–I just hope I didn’t come across sounding too much like Kathy Bates.

It sure was a pretty day today. Mid-eighties, sunny, blue sky, no humidity to speak of. Refreshing after the hazy, humid heat earlier in the week. Not that I want to rub it in for all the people who are still suffering under massive heat, rain, flooding, and all the rest, but . . . it felt really nice, you know? Chappy even got a walk–his first one since Saturday. My tooth was feeling better, and I didn’t have even a touch of a headache for the first time since early Monday. And WCBS FM is back, even if in a modified way that may or may not be what people want. Still–they sure sounded like they were having a good time over there on the station.

All in all, a good day, you know?

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