So, let’s see….

We celebrated Mom’s birthday last weekend, but the subject is rather Taboo.

No, not because we can’t talk about it, but because the Hasbro game “Taboo” kind of took over. We had had a copy of the original edition from something like 1989, but when our basement was invaded by black mold 5-ish years ago, we had to get rid of it, but Mom’s been regretting it since. So, last weekend, she bought a new copy and we played it Sunday afternoon with my sister and her family. Lots of fun (and Mom and I won by 40 points to 38 which made it pretty much perfect since it was HER birthday, after all).

Then Sunday night, my best friend—who was visiting home after her mother fell and broke her hip—came over and the three of us played. We made up our own rules and just rotated the clue-giving and guessing, and oh, we laughed. I mean, really, really laughed. More than once we had to just stop the timer and pause to regain control of ourselves. Hilarity is definitely the word. (Which was particularly good for Dawn, who really needed the fun break.)

I took Mom’s actual birthday, Valentine’s Day, off from work and the two of us went up to Ridgewood to Crumbs bakery for some fresh cupcakes. (You remember, we bought some in NY when we went to Vogue Knitting Live in January.) I made supper, we all went for a walk … even the weather was perfect. I told Mom that that was Chappy’s gift to her, and that ordering perfect weather was particularly difficult this year, so he hoped she liked it.

So, remember when I told you about the cracked spinning head for my Majacraft Aura? Well, Majacraft was nice enough to send me a new one. (I do love their customer service!) The unfortunate part is that I haven’t been able to use it yet. I simply can NOT get the whorl off the original wheel to put it on this one. The little one, yes. The inner of the two whorls would come off just fine … except I can’t get the outer one off. At all. I’ve been sending emails back and forth to Glynis, and neither of us can figure out why it just won’t MOVE. The shaft spins inside the whorl, it just won’t move horizontally OFF the shaft.

As a tribute to their awesome customer service, she finally decided to send me a new whorl, which is on its way. Only, in extreme irony, she accidentally sent me a new inner whorl, not the outer.

I’m starting to think this is jinxed (grin).

Today, though, Mom and I went on a yarn crawl—something I haven’t done in ages. It was an official one, too … the first Northern NJ Yarn Crawl. There were 11 stores participating, but Mom and I just went to 5—which was plenty for one day! And tons of fun.

We started at the Stitching Bee in Chatham.

It’s a small store (especially when filled with yarn-crawlers), and since they sell needlepoint supplies, too, there were lots of canvases being displayed which makes it look like there’s no headroom (grin). The people were super nice, though, and the store is clean (which isn’t something you can say about every crowded yarn shop around).

I bought this gorgeous skein of Jitterbug yarn in the brand new “Evergreen” color. (And I’m kind of kicking myself for not getting two to make a shawl, but let’s not be greedy.)

As an extra bonus, though, they were giving away grab-bags, and look what I got! This great skein of blue Araucania sock yarn AND a pattern to go with it. That was so generous of them, so thank you!

I took a picture of the owner, but it didn’t come out very well.

Second stop was the Blue Purl in Madison, which I love. We found this little fellow waiting outside for someone, and I thought this was adorable. Chappy would have known exactly how he felt, except he was at home staring at the door.

This is one of my favorite local shops. They’re really nice, very helpful, and the store is just gorgeous with its hardwood floors and even chandeliers. It’s got the rare gift for a yarn shop of feeling spacious. (Mom took this photo, by the way.) I would have felt guiltier about not buying yarn there today if I hadn’t been there just a few weeks ago.

I was really excited to meet Ann Weaver, too, (pictured with the store owner) who was there promoting her new book, “Craft, Work, Knit.” She was wonderful—energetic and bubbly and so excited about sharing her patterns and showing off her samples. (And, seeing the samples in person made me love them even more.) She was nice enough to give me a copy of the book to review over at Knitting Scholar, and I’ll be writing up an interview with her, too—so don’t miss it.

Third stop, about which the less said the better, is Accent on Knits.

Aesthetically pleasing though it may be to arrange the inventory by color (cough), it makes it a lot harder to find things. (And I can only imagine how difficult it would be to find the yarn for a multi-colored project like a fair-isle design!) I thought the owner was unfriendly and while a couple of the sales people were nice enough, I wasn’t impressed. This was the first time I’ve been in their new location and I expect it will be the last. And the store smells of … I’m not even sure … but some strong, perfume-y scent that bothered my asthma and had me driving down 202 with the window open. I have no plans to go back to this store—even if it does have its own parking (which is a small miracle in Morristown).

At this point, we stopped at Wightman’s to get a couple doughnuts for lunch. Some frozen pies, too—including a pot pie on the recommendation of the Blue Purl owner who raved about them. I haven’t eaten a pot pie since the Swanson’s chicken pot pies Mom used to make when I was a kid, and I hated them. Ever since, anything that involves chicken gravy touching anything like pastry or biscuits, I can’t stand. Chicken stew with biscuits on the side is fine, but no gravy on the biscuits, please! But I’ll give this a try.

We went to Angelfire Studios in Basking Ridge next–a store that does yarn and pottery. This was the first time I’d been there—hadn’t even heard of it before this yarn crawl. We had trouble getting in the door, though, since it stuck so hard for a minute I thought they were closed! I was sorely tempted by some of the Spud & Chloe yarn they had, but since there weren’t as many skeins as I wanted in the color I liked, I managed to resist.

While there, I bought a raffle ticket to win this gorgeous art-y shawl. The owner’s husband was in a terrible accident last September and is still in the hospital, and they’re raffling the shawl to raise money. I hope they sold lots and lots and lots of tickets. Mom and I bumped into Kim buying some yarn and tickets for herself.

I met two more authors, too. Courtney Kelley & Kate Gagnon Osborn, who wrote Vintage Modern Knits, which I reviewed just a week ago. I didn’t know they were supposed to be there, so this was an extra treat because I was able to tell them how much I liked their book. And to see live samples, too, which makes me want to knit some of them even more!

The final stop was Down Cellar in the center of Basking Ridge. (Yes, apparently the same town as the other shop, but I don’t know how they drew that town line because they were not exactly near each other.)

This was the only shop of the day that wasn’t in a standard storefront, but in a converted house. Lovely. Great selection of yarn, friendly people, and tons of notions like bag handles and even zippers. Not to mention a sewing room upstairs. And great lighting. You all know how important lighting is when you’re trying to see yarn colors, and theirs was great.

I fell on my credit card again there and got this skein of Madeline Tosh DK yarn in “Vanilla Bean”—a deep, warm brown with hints of lavender. (The photo’s a little over-exposed, so it looks lighter than the yarn really is.)

And this, this! From their sale room because she’d overstocked on the color. Eight skeins of Rowan Felted Tweed (color 150, a really lovely red) all for 35% off. I am SO glad I went upstairs! My grand total for both yarns was $63. Woohoo!

One more “new” thing to show you—these socks. I’ve been working on them for months, because you know what a slow sock knitter I am. This was the first yarn I ever bought from the Blue Purl and I just finished them on Thursday. They are also only something like the third pair that I’ve made that were not plain stockinette stitch and I hope you like them, because I plan on going back to basic socks again pronto. I find that on size 0 needles, with sock yarn, cabling makes my hands hurt, and it’s not as mindless as I like my sock-knitting to be. I won’t say that I’ll never make a “patterned” sock again, but … it’s probably going to be a while.

Speaking of yarn purchases. Do you remember when Twist Collective had that article about the long-lost “Green Sweater” that Elizabeth Zimmermann had made for her goddaughter? That was recreated by a knitter for the sweater’s owner? (In, ironically, Stix-n-Stitches. One of the yarn shops on today’s yarn crawl that I did NOT visit.) Well, I loved it when I read about it and the pattern has apparently been available at Schoolhouse Press for a while, so I bought it a couple weeks ago. Even as a kit, the yarn and the pattern were only $36 so I really couldn’t resist.

Remember when I moved my furniture around so that the table is under the window? One of the things I wasn’t happy with was the garbage pail. It was one thing when it was behind the door, but now it looked so … ugly. Industrial metal mesh, with a plastic garbage bag, and being able to see the garbage every time I walked into the room. Ick.

So I did what every knitter would do.

I gave it a cozy. This was one of the sweaters I was never happy with, so last month I had ripped back the top, down to the underarms and re-bound it off, figuring it would work as a cowl or a shoulder shrug or something. Turns out, it’s the perfect size for my garbage pail. How about that, huh?

And with that, I’m exhausted! G’night, all!

Tags: Family, Friends, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Remember when I told you you’d have a chance to win Sara J. Henry’s new book, Learning to Swim?

Well–now’s your chance!

Head over to my other blog to enter.

www.PunctualityRules.com

In fact, there are TWO chances to win, because she offered not only an ARC of her book, but a signed hardcover copy, too!

That one is up for grabs over at Booking Through Thursday.

All you need to do to win is to leave comments–and you’re the only people I’m telling about BOTH chances to win (because you’re knitters and I like you).

Come leave comments–and spread the word! The book was a really great read.

Tags: General by --Deb
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Let’s see, what’s new?

Well, we’ve got some snow outside. Lots of snow.

And icicles! Some truly monster icicles. Chappy’s kind of living in fear of going outside to his bathroom.

Seriously, I am NOT complaining about the snow, though. I’ve said before that I think a person can complain about summer heat or about winter cold, but not about both. (Who wants to be friends with someone who complains about the weather practically year-round? And I’m willing to make exceptions for really extreme weather. “Boy, I usually love the winter, but 20-below for two weeks straight is too much even for me.”)

It is getting tricky to drive around, though, because the piles of snow are so darn big. I think the folks up in tractor trailers are the only ones who can really see around the corners at this point.

I got to see my best friend this weekend, which is always good, even if the reason’s not. Her mother fell in one of the storms two weeks ago and broke her hip, so Dawn came home from California to help out for the first couple weeks she’s home. I’m so glad for all their sakes that it’s not more serious. They put a pin in her hip and she’s doing rehab, but she should have a complete recovery.

Mom and I got to see her on Saturday, too, because there was some kind of mix-up at the car rental place and Dawn was stranded Saturday morning and called to ask if we could give her a ride. Of course! We’ll be there in 10 minutes! (She said later that when her brother suggested calling me for a ride—since he lives about half an hour away—that she said, “But she’s so efficient.” I’m still not sure how that’s a bad thing.)

She mentioned, though, between thanking us for giving her a ride … and, really, her timing was excellent. Mom and I had just gone out to coffee, but hadn’t placed our order yet. Dawn mentioned that she was particularly upset with the car rental place because she had hoped to visit her Mom today. Um, we can go to Chester! So the three of us went into Chester for coffee and then headed over to visit with her Mom, which was actually kind of fun. She’s not in pain and tells great stories and I’ve always liked her, so it was really pretty enjoyable, except for her being stuck in a wheelchair and all.

Sunday, I moved (well, Dad and I) two pieces of furniture in my room and what a difference it makes. I swapped the cedar chest which had been under the window with the table which had been near the door, and suddenly the room feels more open. The table is a little deeper than the cedar chest (10” to be exact), but it can be pushed right against the window sill because it doesn’t have a lid that needs room to open, so it only comes an inch or so further out into the room.

Something about the way the light streams in UNDER the table makes it look roomier. And the cedar chest by the door actually provides something like a seat for when Mom or Dad come by my room. Before, they needed to pick their way past me, around the computer, past the spinning wheel and the computer cables … mostly they lurked near the doorway. It’s just a shame the edges of the (cheap) filing cabinets look so crappy, from where the tape that held them closed when we moved tore off the laminate.

I’m even going to try using the table as a desk, kind of—at least I can spread stuff out a little more when I do things like book reviews. Right now, sitting on the floor in the corner between my red chair and its ottoman, I need to either lean things against the spinning wheel treadles or prop them on the chair and then get a crick in my neck. (Because the computer itself is in my lap.) I’ll need some kind of nice, tall desk lamp, though, because it’s kind of dark over there at night.

Now, about the spinning wheel. I was sitting in my usual place Friday night and glanced, as I often do, at the wheel and … was that a crack?? It IS. My brand new, two-month-old Aura has a crack in the Spinning Head.

I sent an email to Majacraft and (naturally things like this always happen on weekends), they’re sending me a replacement. Isn’t that nice of them? Not only are their wheels stunning and efficient, but their customer service is great.

What else? Chappy got to romp in the snow a little yesterday at the playground up the hill. It’s full of snow (not surprisingly) and he LOVED bounding through it like a puppy. He told me I called it quits way before he was ready, but I had thought we were only going for a walk, not a romp, so he didn’t have his coat on. His fur keeps him plenty warm for walks (if it’s warm enough for us to want to brave the cold, it’s warm enough for him), but the snow gets him WET and so when we play in snow, he usually has his water-resistant fleecy coat on. I didn’t hear him complaining, though.

He did have one of those odd little “events” Sunday. Sometimes it just seems like his back leg locks up and some massaging helps ease it away, but a couple times it’s been very much like a seizure. Yesterday’s was sort of in between—something about his hips was bothering him, but he sat UP instead of lying down, and was very much mentally present (and looking kind of worried). No drool. No shudders. Just “Mommy, I don’t like this!” And—don’t tell him I told you this—he had an accident all over my lap, poor little guy. But in about 5 minutes he was licking his paws and asking what we were doing for lunch, and did we want to go for a walk? (Because yes, it was AFTER this that we romped in the snow.)

As to his blood work issues and the prednisone? We’re almost done! His blood counts have been excellent (knock on wood) and we’re down to half a pill every other day. This involves some extra mental gymnastics for me (“today-not-tomorrow” or “tomorrow-not-today,” and keeping it straight), but he’s worth it. This is the last decrease before he’s DONE, which also hopefully means I’ll be done with the monthly $100 vet visits.

This winter sure is keeping us busy, though. I got to work at 8:00 one morning last week and the parking lot looked like this.

Completely empty except for my car, though luckily one of the other people (who comes in from Pennsylvania) was in, dropped off by her husband, so the doors were open and the alarm was off. (This last bit is important because I don’t have an outside-door key.) Usually there are about 8-10 people when I get there in the morning.

Today, though? In the ice storm? The office was open, but … I got there at 8:00 and NOBODY was there. At all! And it wasn’t until about 8:15 that Gail arrived. She does have a key, but she was nervous about the alarm because it had been so long since she entered the code.

It turns out that we should have been nervous because, she hit the wrong button while entering her code so that, somehow, we sent a distress signal to the police department. Not just the “alarm is going off” alert, but an actual alert as if we were being robbed. Oops! I don’t know how we managed that but we felt absolutely terrible! Thankfully the three officers who arrived were very nice and forgiving, but … talk about embarrassing.

By 9:30 this morning, there were three of us at the office (there’s usually a full complement of about 35 by then). Around 10:00 there were four. And that was it. At noon, Gail went home and our part-time person showed up, holding the number at four. This was kind of ridiculous, I thought. Essentially nobody came to work today, but I was there, doing other people’s work because I was caught up with my own, so I decided that I’d come home for lunch and take the rest of the afternoon off. Reasonable, don’t you think?

This way, I got to watch Chappy barking as the icicles fell.

I also sat at the table in the window this afternoon, which worked very nicely. It’s a little drafty by the window, but my cute little handspun lap blanket worked wonderfully. It might get awfully hot in the summer, though, but I’ll deal with that when I get there, right?

And, lastly in this very long post—current knitting.

Here are the fronts of my Celtic Dreams cardigan, with that center cable broken in half.

This is what the back looks like, as a reminder.

Man, I love these cables!

One last look at the icicles before I go.

Tags: Chappy, Knitting/Spinning, Weather by --Deb
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Here are the books I read in January.

1. Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. An old favorite book from their Liaden series, following Jethri as he tries to learn Liaden manners as well as Trade. Love it, and am thrilled that the authors are planning a sequel.
2. The Paradise War (The Song of Albion) by Stephen Lawhead. I love this author’s King Arthur series, and this book gets rave reviews at Amazon, but … I just can’t get into it. I’ve tried twice now, and while I finished it, I really didn’t care at all about the characters one way or another.
3. Grant by Jean Edward Smith. Excellent biography of a great man. I didn’t know much about U.S. Grant other than that he won the Civil War and was elected President, but the more I read of this book, the more I liked him for his determination, his fairness, and his generosity of spirit. No histrionics or puffed-up ego, he just did the job he needed to do, every time, if humanly possible—and didn’t make excuses when it didn’t work out.
4. The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery
5. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery
6. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery
7. The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery
8. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline: An Enola Holmes Mystery
9. The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer. Oh, oh, oh! These books were so much FUN!! Enola is the (much) younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, living with their mother and never seeing her brothers until, on her 14th birthday, their mother disappears. She sends word to her brothers who come and “threaten” her with boarding school since their mother has so obviously neglected to teach her the things she needs to know. How will she ever find a husband? But she wants nothing to do with boarding school (especially since she knows how detrimental they are to a girl’s health), and so she runs away. Except, knowing her brothers are brilliant, she runs to the last place they’d expect–London–where she starts looking for their mother as well as, along the way, a series of other missing people. All while trying to keep away from her brothers. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed these 6 books. Every time she bumped into or outsmarted her brothers, I wanted to cheer. I started with grave doubts (Sherlock Holmes with a younger SISTER?), but ended up loving everything about them. Except, well, that there are only 6 books. Totally fun.
10. Learning to Swim: A Novel by Sara J. Henry. An advance-copy of this book which I’ll tell you you MUST read. Remember I told you about the contest I’ll be having closer to its release in a couple weeks? Trust me—you’re going to want to read this book. It all start when Troy, sees what she believes to be a person fall overboard from a passing ferry and, without thinking, dives in to save the life of a little boy. But when she gets him to land and doesn’t see any frantic parents or rescue crews, she starts to wonder—did he fall? Or was he thrown?
11. Dark Lord of Derkholm
12. Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones. An utterly delightful pair of YA fantasies by one of my favorite authors. Imagine an alternate universe that’s been turned into an amusement park for … us! And what happens when they all decide to rebel? (You know, in a fun, amusing way.)
13. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James MacPherson. Well! There’s no question why this book won the Pulitzer Prize. What an excellent history of the Civil War. Totally fascinating.
14. Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley. Retelling of Sleeping Beauty by a dearly-loved author.
15. The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Sauvage, Ed Gandia. Because who couldn’t use some great tips on how to be a better freelancer?
16. Knitting Ganseys by Beth Brown-Reinsel.
17. Vintage Modern Knits: Contemporary Designs Using Classic Techniques by Courtney Kelley & Kate Gagnon Osborn.
18. Knitting Plus: Mastering Fit + Plus-Size Style + 15 Projects by Lisa Shroyer.
19. Fearless Fair Isle Knitting: 30 Gorgeous Original Sweaters, Socks, Mittens, and More by Kathleen Taylor

Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading by --Deb
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