My Little Republican?

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Here’s a funny thing about Chappy.

He loves right-hand turns.

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When we’re out for walks and reach an intersection, he always tries to herd me to the right. Which, since he’s genetically a retrieving dog and not a herding dog, is particularly interesting, don’t you think?

It always makes me think (as so many things do) of the song from the 1776 musical, “Cool, Considerate Men.”  You know, the conservatives who go, “To the right. Ever to the right. Never to the left. But ever to the right…”

I, of course, am a registered Independent voter, and vote as often for Democrats as for Republicans, so I’m not quite sure where he gets this orientation from. I mean, a right turn at the corner closest to our house leads to one of his very favorite neighbors, so that one makes sense. But he does this at almost every corner. There’s even one in our neighborhood where the only option is to turn left, but he’ll try to lead us over to the driveway across the street, rather than turn left–which takes him toward some of his favorite dog-friends.

Go figure.

Hey, remember the other day, when we had a photographer stop by? Well, the story is live and floating around the ‘Net (even translated into Spanish). Of course, I’d love to be collecting press clippings because of my freelance writing, but hey! You know, Chappy deserves as much publicity as he can get.

So, tomorrow is a travel day. Mom, Chappy and I are heading to Martha’s Vineyard to dog-sit for a few days, which is going to be fun and interesting. Here’s hoping that Chappy does NOT get sick in the car, and that he, Silas, and Balou get along famously. (In fact, as I understand it, Silas is going to be dog of the month. We’re just happy to be able to help him celebrate.)  Dad will be here, holding down the fort.

Now, I just hope I didn’t forget anything. I didn’t start packing until after 9:00, which was making Mom twitchy…

Second Corner

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Okay, I’ve rounded corner number 2 … my border is halfway there!

I’ve also decided that I’m really liking the border being ruffled down one side, but not across the top. I kind of like the juxtaposition of looks. And it’s NOT just because I didn’t want to reknit the entire long-side border. (No, really!)

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I finished the second half of my MVFF singles. Now, they’re in the middle of shipping the Fall share right now (which I certainly think I’m on the list for!), and I was at least determined to get at least HALF my Spring share spun before my Fall share arrived. So, while this obviously still needs to be plied, it counts as spun … right?

You know what occured to me? Mom, Chappy and I are leaving for MV on Wednesday morning and there’s absolutely no way I’m lugging that afghan with me. First of all, there’s no room in the trunk. (My Volvo’s biggest flaw is that its trunk is relatively small.) And, well, big. Bulky. Not exactly a portable project, you know? Especially when you consider how far it likes to spread out and that there are going to be three dogs hanging out during knitting time.

So … I need another project. Like, right NOW. Or I’m going to be forced to just knit socks on vacation. (Nothing wrong with socks, of course, but, not my favorite project, you know?) But … what can I come up with in the next 48 hours? Especially when I’ve got a few dozen other things to be thinking about, too (grin).

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Have you checked out the Lambcam yet? I should warn you it’s addictive, but it’s remarkably fun watching these very pregnant nanny goats. Some of these are due just about any minute, and who knew it would be so much fun watching them eat?

Chuck. I know, I keep nagging you about my favorite TV show, and how it’s on the bubble and all. But, here’s today’s nudge. Well, two nudges. One–WATCH IT. And, two, if you feel like writing a letter or three, there’s a letter campaign. Anything to help, you know? Because if it’s cancelled (God forbid), I don’t want to feel like there was anything else that I could have done to help. So … help me out and save my favorite show!

You know I like doing Tea, right? Well, check out this adorable Tea Party cake.

Jersey Girl

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How Professionals Do It

You know I like to take pictures. Lots of pictures, even. But I’ve never pretended to be a professional.

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For one thing, I seriously don’t have the equipment. How do I know? Because Chappy and I met a professional photographer today.

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A week or so ago, I got an email from a woman writing an article about virtual parties, and she came across my blog post invitation to Chappy’s birthday last year. (Remember? Since we couldn’t have all of you to the house for cake? Chappy even picked the winner of his party favor/prize.)

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Anyway, she wanted to know if she could interview me for the article, and naturally I said yes. Then, today, I got an email from an AP photo editor, asking if she could send a photographer.

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Imagine my surprise when I got home from work and he was on the phone. He was actually in Denville photographing Anne at the Pink Cake Box (I’ve told you about her fabulous cakes, right?) and could be right over.

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Luckily, I was having a good hair day today, huh?

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Chappy thought this was all great fun. He got very excited (and barky) whenever we moved around, but he was happy to show off his tricks.

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And was intrigued by a camera that didn’t shine nasty bright lights in his eyes.

How cool is that, huh? I wonder where/when/what the article will be!

And, hey, there’s a baby due any time over at the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Lambcam.

(And, thanks to Mom for taking THESE pictures.)

Chuckles

Okay, first? The Chuck episode last night was just amazingly good. Go watch it! I tell you, if they do NOT renew this show, I’m going to be really, really upset. (I loved the slogan on the Beverly Hills “Buy More” store.) Seriously. If you don’t watch it, you SHOULD. And more importantly, you should now–anything that could possibly boost the ratings to make NBC renew it, you know?

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So, my afghan? I’m STILL working on side #2 of the border. But here’s the thing…

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Look how ruffly this side looks compared to the first side.

I’m trying to decide if this bothers me or not.

Of course, I have no idea why it’s doing this. I’m knitting one row per one row, so it really should be lying flat, huh?

Now, I really do not want to tear all this back and reknit it, and the ruffle look doesn’t particularly bother me … though I could wish that all four sides would match, rather than two-and-two. But, still. It’s pretty, huh?

What do you think?

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Oh, and that Hobby Farms Home magazine we picked up the other day, for the article on MVFF? Well, there’s an article on Depression Glass and the one in the picture sure looks an awful lot like this bowl of ours.

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Of course, that doesn’t mean that ours is Depression Glass, but … interesting!

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Have a nice day, everyone!

Buttermilk-Spice

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A neighbor won a bag of King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour the other day, and since she doesn’t bake, she gave it to me. If you’re not aware, the WWW flour is a whole grain flour but that acts like regular white flour–as in, you can bake with it without having that heavy, “whole-wheat” feel and flavor to your baked goods. It’s great for bread, of course, but I opted to start with cake. So I invented this one. I’m calling it Buttermilk-Spice Pound Cake.

And, yes, I brought some to our neighbor, much to Dad and Chappy’s chagrin. They are both really enjoying this cake!

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Otherwise? I’ve spent more time in the kitchen than I probably should–definitely a trend for me on weekends lately–but I couldn’t resist this beautiful weather, either, so Chappy definitely got a walk. (Note the beginning of buds on the dogwood tree.) I also dusted my room and did some laundry. I did NOT, however, start cleaning out my closet like I should have done. Too depressing.

It occurs to me, too, that this is the last full week of the month, and I should really start typing in my reading list for March. That monthly-reading post always takes a while!

(And, if you’re interested in the cake recipe, it’s right here, after the bump.)

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Saturday Stuff

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Chappy was all glum this morning because Mom and I went out without him. He just doesn’t seem to understand that some stores simply don’t allow dogs. Like, coffeeshops. So, Mom and I went out for coffee at Panera’s and while we were in the shopping plaza, I stopped at Ann Taylor Loft to see if I could find some jeans.

What is it that makes buying jeans so difficult? I must have tried on at least 20 pairs and not one pair worked. I hate the low-rise styles because they always feel like they’re falling down, so those are automatically out. Anything too wide-legged looks ridiculous on me. Ditto for anything too skinny. And then there’s the length issue. First, I’m only 5’3″, so most of the pairs in the regular section are too long for me. The ones in the Petite department are usually pretty close to the right length. The problem is that denim shrinks. Invariably, at some point or other, they shrink in the wash. It doesn’t matter that the water is always cold, and the dryer is always on the lowest setting … they always shrink, lengthwise. Which means a pair that was the perfect length when I bought it suddenly is too short.

I have an absurd number of jeans in my drawer that are too short, sometimes embarrassingly too short. It frustrates me to no end. And buying jeans that are too long doesn’t work, either, because hemming jeans never ends up looking right. (Not to mention that, even when I pre-wash them, hemming them to just the right length still means that they end up shrinking further at some point and then being too short again.)

Anyway, I tried on at least 20 pairs and none of them worked–there was ONE pair that was close, but it was at least 3″ too long, and curved well past the bottom of my heel. And that was it. None of the others were remotely close. Sigh.  And yet, I really need new jeans! And the Ann Taylor Loft ones have always fit so well before …

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Still, the trip to the bookstore worked out well. I picked up the current issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine.

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Not only is there a great, multi-page article about the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm, but…

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…  Mom and I made it into one of the pictures! That’s from the MVFF gathering at Rhinebeck last year.  (This is what it looked like from my point of view.) That’s pretty nifty, huh?

Hope you’re all enjoying the first full day of Spring. We actually had a dusting of snow when I woke up yesterday morning, but it was gone by 10:00, and today’s lovely. It was about 50 degrees and sunny.

And yes, Chappy got a walk after we got home from the bookstore.

Oh, and I received my first payment for my first official freelance job. It only took me 5 months to get this far, but still … that’s a start, right? You have to start with one!

And, oh yeah, the wheel skeiner I told you about? Unless it falls through, I found a buyer on Ravelry.

Angel

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From my visit with my twin the other day … because it never hurts to say a little prayer. And it’s even better if you can get an angel to pray with you! (And, hey, even if you don’t believe in angels, what can it hurt?)

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Reading Material

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Can’t talk. Have book reviews to write!

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And, when I’m done? I’ve got my new Spin-Off to read, too…

First Corner

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Yes, I rounded the corner and did NOT tear back. I figure that, challenging though maneuvering the cables while doing short rows for the corner is, since the cables aren’t going to be at the same place at all four corners, trying to end them nicely  would be even harder, so …

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You’ll note, please, how this afghan doesn’t remotely even pretend to fit into my knitting bag anymore. Instead, I’m carrying it downstairs bundled in my arm each night, with my knitting bag in my hand. Some nights I don’t bother with the knitting bag at all–it depends on how close I am to the end of a skein, and whether I’m going to need scissors or needles or lip balm, or any of the other stuff that’s in there. But the knitting itself? Nope. Doesn’t fit, even a little!

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Here’s my tired, tired boy. He got not one, but TWO walks today, it was so gorgeous out. Mom went to Pennsylvania to visit my sister for the day. Dad went out to golf (for the first time in ages, poor guy), so Chappy was alone most of the day–something he’s not used to these days. So, naturally, he got a walk at lunch time. But, it was still so pretty, that I convinced Mom to come out with us for a second walk after I got home from work. Really, such a lovely day.

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In fact, I stopped to visit my other sister. (You know, my twin, NOT the sister who lives in Pennsylvania that Mom was visiting today.) I don’t actually know where Susan’s buried, but she’s in here, somewhere. It’s actually been three years since I went to visit, but I was feeling stressed and was driving by, so I thought I’d stop and walk around a bit and say hello, ask her to put a good word in for us. Did I mention how beautiful a day it was?

Turning the Corner

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Here’s a look at my border.

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I like it, but am wondering if it’s just a little TOO cramped–that I should have added at least one or two stitches to either side of the wavy cable, so it wouldn’t be bumping into the edge?

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And I rounded the first corner last night. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. I like the outer-edge, and think I got the proportions for the miter just right (on the third try), but am thinking it would be better if I had just finished the “waves” instead of trying to maneuver them around the corner. It’s possible I might tear this corner out tonight and try it again.

What do you think? (Although, I realize that by the time you answer I’ll probably have made my decision, but still!)

And, you MUST go watch this Extreme Sheep-herding Video that Knitgrrl linked to. Hurry for creative shepherds!

Then, when you’re tired of high-tech, wonder sheep and sheepdogs, go spend some restful time with the MVFF flock, because Susan and her crew have finally got the Lambcam up and running, so you can watch the sheep and goats just hanging out … and when the lambs start arriving any time now, this is going to be GREAT fun.
Now, since it’s possible my book-space is going to be severely curtailed in the not too distant future, I’m wondering if it would be worth my while to invest in a Kindle–books without needing the shelf space, which is a plus, but … they’re so darn expensive, and yet such a very cool toy. And … minimal storage space. Easily portable. Hmmm.

Good to be Impulsive!

Okay, so I don’t know if you read Ruth’s Knitting on Impulse blog or not, but she does beautiful things with yarn and jewelry. (Her tutorial on playing with color, and how she pulls out colors to dye with is inspirational for all sorts of things, too.)

I’ve resisted buying her stuff for a while now, but her Dark Water colorway pulled me in. But, it came with a bonus!

She posted at the beginning of the month that, for every yarn sale she made in the month of March, she’d include a custom, copper shawl pin, made specially for the buyer. Since I love shawl pins and I love, love, love copper’s sheen, well … that was all the added incentive I needed. And, look what I got!

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Does this remind you of anyone?

Let me give you a hint.

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Yep. That’s my Chappy, immortalized in a shawl pin.

How great is that??

Thanks, Ruth! It brightened up my day immensely. I really needed that!

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One more look. Awww!

(And, did I mention that the yarn is gorgeous, too?)

Go check out her store!

Random Sunday Things

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As my able assistant is showing you, I did some baking today.

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A coconut-lime cake (recipe from the Smitten Kitchen). The only real difference between hers and mine is the amount of sugar. I only used 3/4 cups in the cake itself, and did NOT use a cup of confectioner’s sugar for the topping. I figured that would have made it too sweet, especially since Dad is trying to cut down on sugar, so I only used enough for a little glaze on top–just enough to help the coconut stick.

It was only fair, making this cake, because it doesn’t have any chocolate, and Dad doesn’t really like chocolate very much. Why fair?

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Because I made a pan of brownies yesterday. Darn good ones, too, with a recipe from King Arthur Flour.

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Other than baking, I cleaned the bathroom (including cleaning out old stuff from the cabinets), and the four of us went for a long walk this morning, and are now all feeling tired. (Chappy is zonked!)

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I pulled my Journey Wheel out, too, for the first time in ages.

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I’ve decided that there are two reasons why I don’t regularly use this wonderful wheel. The first is that it’s so hard to see what’s going on on my bobbin. From where I sit, I can’t see the bobbin at all, so I can’t see how the yarn is piling up, when it’s time to change hooks, anything. Not to mention that it’s hard to reach the bobbin to change the hooks–especially if you’re sitting back, relaxed, like the JW people recommend. I found it actually easier to stand up to change the hook and, well, who wants to bounce up and down every few minutes?

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But, more importantly, I’m forever having trouble with my driveband. No matter how I loosen it, it always seems like, when I open the wheel, the driveband just doesn’t want to drive anything, and it takes too much fiddling to get everything moving with sufficient “pull”, as if, while closed, it stretches out about 2 inches. Very discouraging, since part of the appeal of this wheel (other than it’s completely cool, nifty, neat-o construction) is the idea of being able to open it, lower the treadle, and GO.

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But, still, I did eventually get it working this afternoon, and I think it’s enjoying the chance to spin and get some air…

My Little Gem is still my favorite, though!

In other news, check out my book review of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society over at Joyful Jubilant Learning.

And, you DID see my interview with Wendy from Wendy Knits, right? She pointed it out today over at her blog.

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Oh, one last thing! I’m selling my Majacraft wheel skeiner, the kind that attaches to your Majacraft wheel and looks rather like a tinker toy. They come new for $79, so I’m asking $60, plus shipping (which would probably be $5-$10 inside the US). (Just the skeiner, mind you, not the wheel–and it’s useless unless you have a Majacraft.)

(Edited to add: The wheel skeiner has been sold, as of March 21st.)

Something Bright

We got some bad news from the bank today, but instead of dwelling on that, thought I’d just share this pretty picture instead (colors extra saturated, thanks to Photoshop).

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I took this on my way to work yesterday morning. (In fact, you can just see the edge of my car window on the right.

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But there’s also that patch of rainbow on the right … it looked even better in person.

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A back-lit swoosh of white cloud, pointing right at three spots of rainbow.

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… That almost looks like a footprint in this picture…

Pretty, no?

Lunatic

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I think it’s named for how tricky it is getting it back together…

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He IS a Good Boy!

Didn’t Chappy do a great job?

I was so thankful, that not only did I get him out for a (very short) walk at lunchtime … short, because we got a late start, but still, we were OUT … but when we came home, we went into the backyard for a few minutes. I took his leash off and … I don’t think he moved further than 10 feet away from me the entire time, but his tail was wagging and he was happy. Even if he WAS looking as if he expected me to pull a toy out of thin air to play with.

But, also, I just wanted to tell you that I’ve got a new interview up at Knitting Scholar–Wendy from Wendy Knits. Come take a look! Tell a friend!

Oh, and congratulate me, please. I got my first freelancing client–it’s not much, but it’s a start, and you’ve got to start somewhere! Here’s hoping it’s the beginning of an avalanche.

Not only that? But … it’s a surprise to all of us … but Mom, Chappy, and I WILL get up to Martha’s Vineyard this year. In about three weeks, in fact. A friend on the island needs a dog-sitter and instead of hiring someone local, thought we’d like to use the opportunity for a visit instead. All we have to do is GET there. Isn’t that great? Now we just have to hope for really good New England weather for the first weekend of April. Thanks, Julie!

Speak! Good Boy!

Chappy Playbow

Hi, Chappy here!

Mom’s been too busy the last couple of days to write a post, so I thought that I would do it for her. But, shh! I want it to be a surprise! She’s at work and I’m sitting at her computer, even though I’m really not supposed to. I don’t think she’ll be upset, though, and even if she is, I’ll just wag my tail and look adorable and she’ll forgive me in a minute. (Works every time.)

So, like I said, she’s been busy. She’s been working on MY afghan, though. You know, the one that she CLAIMS is for her, but that she obviously meant for me because it’s so soft and comfy and looks so good with my fur? (I know, you think only girls worry about this stuff. Frankly, it’s the soft, squishy, warm part that matters most, but if pointing out the color helps convince her that the afghan belongs to me, well, I’m not above a little vanity.

Anyway, she’s got about 2 feet of the border done. It’s about 4″ wide and a little narrower than she’d really like it to be … and she says she should have added at least 2 stitches to either end of the cable panel, but that she’s not going back now. Considering how many times she knit and reknit the first half of that skein of yarn, I think that’s probably a good thing. Besides, who would notice, other than her?

Now, I know she really meant to write a post last night, but she got tied up working on an interview for her Knitting Scholar site. You know how much she loves doing interviews! And this one is with Wendy from Wendy Knits. (Which is a really good blog, you know, even if she does post cat pictures ALL the time.) In fact, it’s the very first blog Mom ever read, even before she knew what they WERE. So she was pretty happy about that. She said that she needed to write up a review for Wendy’s first book before she could post the interview, though, so she could link to it, or something like that.

Actually, most of her time in front of the computer last night was doing stuff with pictures and graphics for book reviews. (Did you know there’s a book by someone named Cookie, and it’s NOT about food? I know, it doesn’t make sense to me, either, but she says it’s a good one anyway.) She also did some stuff on Grandma’s computer, too, which kept crashing yesterday … though, I have to tell you, I didn’t hear a thing. She was so busy, though, that she even forgot to schedule her Booking Through Thursday question until after she left the house this morning. (I know this because the question is up NOW, but it wasn’t THEN. Besides, I’m a smart dog.)

She’s all happy, though. She just won a copy of the book Writer Mama at the Writers Inspired site. And you KNOW how Mom feels about books! (And she says I totally count as being her kid in terms of being a writing Mom. I agree. I mean, have you SEEN the name of this blog?)

Okay, all this typing is making my paws tired. Keyboards just really aren’t designed for paws, you know? But at least you’re all caught up now. I wonder if I’ll get a biscuit for being so helpful? At the very least, I’m hoping for a walk when she gets home for lunch because at least the sun is shining!

Woof!

Finally Got It?

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Okay … I’m cautiously optimistic here … Here’s hoping that this border is going to work. It’s narrower than I had really wanted … about 4-5″ wide, but I think it will work. I hope.

So … in terms of other news? Not much. First Monday of Daylight Savings Time, so getting out of bed this morning was hard. The fact that it was raining didn’t help.

I DO have a bunch of links for you, though.

From BoogaJ, this great animated video, “Sita Sings the Blues: The Greatest Break-Up Story of All Time.” It tells the Indian legend of Rama and Sita, but with clever animation and fantastic music from Annette Hanshaw (a 1920s jazz singer).

Over at Ask the Bellwether, she mentioned this new travel spinning wheel. The SpinOlution Bee. OMG, how adorable is that? Look at it!

Speaking of wheelmakers, wheelwright Bill Wyatt passed away this weekend. I never met him, but have heard about his legendary wheels and therefore mourn.

Then … I’ve heard of people proposing marriage on their own blogs, but how many people think to get help from someone else’s?

Do you still have a VCR? Don’t throw it out! You can hack it and get all sorts of useful things … just, make sure you have a bag of marshmallows handy. (Trust me on this one. That 2 minute video is worth it.)

Tired of spinning that boring old wool and cotton and other traditional fibers? How about spinning … newspaper! (No, seriously.)


Drawing Board

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Yep, back to the drawing board for my afghan border.

I got about 3/4 through my skein of yarn last night and only had about 8″ of border … which means there was no way on earth that 18 skeins was going to make it all the way around the afghan.

So, I’ve picked a cable pattern (reluctantly giving up my lovingly made chart), and, well, we’ll see.

030809_0053 I was asked to show a picture of my carrot cake so, here you go … along with this little carrot cake fan who showed up last night. (I suspect Mom knows something about this.)

Hey, remember the WB tv show called “Jack and Bobby,” that told the story of a boy who would grow up to be President? It only got one season, has never been on DVD … both things together are a crime. Well, I just found out that you can watch the episodes at thewb.com. Now, I haven’t watched all 22 of them, and it’s true that the series occasionally drifted a little too far into the “teen soap” direction, but when it was good, it was very, very good. And thank heaven they had enough of a chance to kind of sum things up in the final episode. SUCH a good show, and one of those “I can’t believe it got cancelled” ones.

Today, of course, is the start of Daylight Savings Time. My father is thrilled, Mom and I have been griping all day about too little sleep, and Chappy’s just confused as to why we’re doing everything an hour early all day. Got up an hour earlier than usual, had breakfast an hour earlier, went for a walk an hour earlier … you get the idea. I’m dreading tomorrow morning–it’s about the hardest Monday morning of the year … as if Mondays weren’t bad enough, it’s going to feel like I’m getting up an hour early. As if I didn’t have enough trouble dragging myself out of bed!

030709_0004 I saw this article in the new issue of Bon Appetit–talking about this “new” version of the string bag, made from “green” Hemp, with extra-strong seams at the sides …

030709_0003 Which is all good, of course. But my jaw dropped when I saw the price. Now, I know that not everyone is a knitter, and I know that we all deserve fair pay for hours of work, and good, organic hemp yarn isn’t cheap. But. $75? For a string shopping bag?

Maybe I should start selling mine… (grin)

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Beautiful

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It’s really just a beautiful day out there today. Upper 60s and sunny–far too pretty a day to stay inside, so this morning, Mom, Chappy and I went into town.

We stopped and got coffee first (for me and Mom) and then found a bench and just sat to watch the people go by.

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Then we went for a walk, and look at this tree–Mom pointed this out. It looks like a row of frogs sitting on the branch. We walked all over town, and nicely wore out Chappy (and Mom).

030709_0022 If there were any doubts that Spring is coming, though, I’ve got evidence. Chappy pulled me into one of the little parks apparently just so that I would see these sprouts. (Daffodils? Crocuses? I have no idea.)

We made a quick stop at the grocery store for some carrots and pineapple because I’ve been craving carrot cake. (Actually, I got baby food strained carrots–would you believe my favorite carrot cake recipe starts with baby food? SO much easier than grating the carrots myself.)

And, otherwise, it’s been a lazy afternoon.

I’ve been thinking about my afghan, though, and worrying about running out of yarn. Which is probably silly. My border–which I started last night–is about a foot wide, and being knitted on, but since it gets two knit rows for every stitch that’s joined at the afghan … that is, knit a row, join to the afghan by knitting the last stitch together with a stitch on the afghan, and then turn, slip the first stitch and knit that row … you’re knitting two rows for every one you connect to the afghan, which could make this border really, really long.

But, I was looking over the instructions at the back of Victorian Lace Today (one of the very few books that has instructions on how to knit a border, joining it to the finished piece as you go), and while it recommends knitting into every stitch on the cast-on/cast-off row, while working up the sides, you knit into every other row … so that the side border ends up having the same number of rows. Which makes me feel better. There was no way I was going to have enough yarn for that wide a border if I was knitting two, full border rows (102 stitches) for every stitch and row around the outside edge.

I’ll have a better idea, though, when I’ve used up the first ball of yarn and seen how much border I get per skein.

I wonder if it would be more thrifty in terms of yardage) to simply knit the borders separately and then sew them on? Although … ugh.

Okay–I’m tired now, too, so I’m going to go curl up on the couch with Chappy and a book until it’s time to make the frosting for the cake!

Oh! And go send Jessica some get-well thoughts, would you?